A/N: =( …Feel free to review with any questions
--------------------------------
October 30, 1981 - Morning
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"
Stupid prophecy.
Harry James Potter opened his eyes, blinking them rapidly; his eyes unused to the bright ultraviolet rays of the sun. Shielding his glasses from the sun, he finally regained his footing as he realized he was standing in the middle of an empty park. He inhaled deeply, his lungs accepting a blast of fresh air; untainted by smoke or ash or death. He fell to the ground, clutching the green grass with his fists. Laying his cheek against the ground, he rubbed against the grass softly, a smile adorning his face for the first time in ages.
"Green grass," he murmured, still rubbing his face softly against the dirt.
He suddenly snapped up, standing alert as if he were an animal that suddenly felt the presence of a predator. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed his surroundings. There were no people around him and it was eerily quiet. Had it not worked? Had everything failed?
Harry sprinted towards a relatively tall hill, the incline forcing his legs to work overtime as he desperately tried to reach the top. He heaved deep breathes as he reached the top, placing his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his composure for a moment. He did not raise his head, fearing the absolute worse. After a moment, he slowly raised his head inch by inch as he took in his surroundings.
Harry smiled and cheered to himself as he saw an untainted sky. All around him, he could see for ages and ages, unobstructed by the tower that haunted his nightmares. Normal people were driving around automobiles, attending classes, and shopping for new clothes. Off in the distance, he could see the tell tale buildings of downtown London. Harry cheered, spinning around with his arms in the air.
His heart was filled with joy at the sight of an unblemished land; unscarred by war and death. Tears seeped out of the corners of his eyes as he unabashedly cried for joy. He fell to his knees, his hands still raised in the air as he wept for minutes. A smile was glued on his face, so happy that his plan had finally worked. Yet there were still things to do.
"You have work to do, Harry," he said to himself.
Harry James Potter walked into a store, the slight ringing of a bell indicating there was a new customer. He smiled gently at an exiting shopper, careful to keep his hat pulled low on his head. He entered the Muggle store with one purpose and one purpose only. Carefully making his way to the newspaper stand, he casually picked one up and read the date.
October 30, 1981.
If he bothered to read past the date, he would have seen reports of strange, unexplained occurrences all around the British countryside. But Harry did not care for the main article or the editorials or the obituaries; he only cared for the date printed at the top of the paper. Harry had to make sure the date was true. Too many times he had dreamt of this exact situation and woken up to return to the nightmare of reality. He approached the store clerk with an apple in his hand, a small purchase used to buy the clerk's trust.
"Hello, sir, will that be all?" the man with a fat belly asked kindly.
"Yes," Harry said with a tight smile.
"Almost Halloween isn't it?" Harry asked as casually as he could.
"Wouldn't you know it! It just creeps onto me. The 31st is tomorrow already. Looks like some people have got a head start on it by all the weird things happening about," the store clerk amicably spoke as he registered Harry's purchase.
"Thank you," Harry said softly as he exited the store, taking a bite of the apple and relishing its sinful taste.
He turned into an unused alley as he clutched the newspaper in his hand. It had worked! He pinched himself one more time to make sure that this world was real and not a figment of his imagination. The combination of the paper and the store clerk confirming the date cemented the fact that Harry's plan had worked. It was time to execute the second phase of said plan. Harry pulled out his wand and gave a small twirl. Only a small pop indicated that Harry Apparated away from the spot.
Finding Peter Pettigrew was easy enough. A coward of the highest degree, Pettigrew spent most of his time at a local pub on the corner of Knockturn Alley. It was in this mangy pub that Harry Potter found his father's friend, talking to some rather unsavory characters as he sipped on a pint of frosty, red ale. He looked terrible even at a younger age; the portly belly, the pointy nose, and the buck teeth only enhancing his features as a disgusting piece of vermin. Harry sat in one corner of the pub, his hood pulled low over his head as he watch Pettigrew carefully.
How easy it would have been just to kill the putrid piece of vermin and rid the world of his abominable existence. If Harry killed Peter, would Voldemort never find the Potters? If he never found the Potters, what lengths would he go to find the Longbottoms? The questions bounced around Harry's head as he sipped on a rather foul tasting Firewhiskey. Butterbeer was out of the question; he needed to fit in the crowd and Butterbeer was much too weak for the crowd at this particular pub.
Nonetheless, the prophecy must be fulfilled. Voldemort would have to mark his equal soon or else the world would have to deal with his existence for more years to come. Harry needed to change the boy who would be marked. His gut stirred at the thought of inflicting Neville Longbottom, his former friend, with the burden of being the Boy-Who-Lived. Neville was his former friend not because they had a falling out but because he had been killed by Bellatrix Lestrange not so long ago. Harry shook his head, trying to block out Neville's screams in his head. He had a job to do.
Pettigrew paid his tab and pulled on his coat to leave. He sneered and said something to his compatriot before grabbing a piece of bread and leaving the pub. How rat-like he looked just now, nibbling on a piece of bread as he navigated the sewer-infested streets of Knockturn Alley. Harry followed him, careful not to be noticed; not that Peter would ever notice anything out of his own existence. As Peter rounded an alley to presumably find a shortcut, Harry pounced on him.
Grabbing him roughly by the back of his robes, Harry disarmed him and shoved him up against the wall, careful not to let Peter see his face. Deepening his voice was not too difficult as all the ash and smoke had scarred his throat and lungs to some degree. In a raspy voice, Harry spoke into Peter's ear, once again careful not to make sure the Gryffindor saw his face.
"I have a message, Peter. It's from the Dark Lord," Harry hissed into the other man's ear.
"Wha - wha - what is it?" Peter stuttered, his face scrunched against the hard pavement of the alley.
"He wishes for you to tell me of the Potter's location. He is about to strike on those who defy him."
"I can't tell you that!" Peter yelped as Harry shoved his wand into the other man's neck.
"The Dark Lord wishes it so. Do you want to feel his wrath? The pain of the Crucio?" Harry made sure to enunciate the last word.
"No - no!" Peter gasped, "I'll tell you."
Peter ratted out the location immediately. Harry was disgusted at the relative simplicity of the task. Was Peter really that easy to intimidate? How could he have ever possibly been a Gryffindor of any nature? It seems as if even the Sorting Hat makes mistakes every now and then.
"Make sure not to tell the Dark Lord of this conversation. He will not want to hear that you hesitated when faced with a direct order," Harry had to cover his tracks.
"I won't tell him this happened," Peter whimpered.
"Take care, Peter. We shall see each other again; in this life or the next," Harry Disapparated with a pop.
"What? What does that mean?" Peter whirled around once he felt the pressure of the wand ease from his neck. When he turned, there was no one in the alley but himself.
-------------------------------
October 31, 1981 - Late Afternoon
Harry found Godric's Hollow with relative ease. He had visited it previously; or was it in the future? Time travel logic was never Harry's strong suit. He always had to rely on Hermione to explain to him the complexities of time flow and open and closed loops and the grandfather paradox. But Hermione was gone. Ron was gone. Everyone was gone. In the end, Harry was the only one left.
"It won't end that way. Not this time," Harry whispered to himself as he sat in the bush, masterfully Disillusioned.
There was a slight jingle from inside and Harry peeked through the window, careful not to stand too much lest he reveal himself to the Potters. Inside, James Potter strolled through the kitchen and tossed baby Harry into the air. Baby Harry laughed as he felt gravity pull him back down his father's arms, laughing gaily all the while. James spun him in a circle, imitating the vrooming noise most usually associated with Muggle airplanes. Baby Harry looked giddy, clearly reveling in the flying experience. James smiled at him as he slowed down and pulled Harry into his arms, pinching his noise affectionately.
"Dad," Harry from the outside whispered, his hand reaching out to touch the window.
He held his finger out so that it looked like he was touching his father's face. One single finger traced the profile of his father's head, carefully memorizing the figure. Splaying his fingers out, Harry pressed it against the window before realizing what he was doing. He pulled his hand back as if it were shocked. He quickly turned away from the window and buried his head in his hands.
"What am I doing? Can I do this? Can I possibly go through with this?" Harry muttered to himself, rocking back and forth.
The plan seemed simple enough when Harry formulated it at the time. Traveling back in time and killing Voldemort was out of the question. The whole reason he was traveling back in the first place was he was unable to defeat Voldemort in his timeline. Harry doubted it would be any easier when Voldemort was at the height of his power.
But what if he were to slightly alter the course of events? How many things would change? Harry knew that changing too much would lead to a radical turn of events he could not possibly predict. He needed to keep the incident isolated. The more he changed at the origin, the more the final picture would change. Hermione had explained it to him in a way he would understand.
They were sitting near a pond; one of the few times they found peace from the death and ash. Skipping rocks idly across the surface of the pond, Harry had brought his plan to her for the first time. He remembered that she looked at him curiously, not dismissing it immediately. The longer she thought and the longer they conversed, the more she bought into the idea. If anyone could execute this plan, it would be Hermione; the brightest witch of her age.
Picking up a couple of pebbles, she attempted to explain her theory on how his plan would work. There was a yellow pond lily floating a couple meters off shore. Hermione pointed it out and said that it represented the future. Carefully taking a rather large pebble, she dropped it into the lake. She told him to watch the ripples and watch how it affected the yellow lily. The yellow lily moved slightly, not too much but enough to know that it was indeed in a different location. Hermione explained to him that this effect is what they needed to achieve. She also explained that if they only dropped one pebble into the pond, they could even possibly predict where the lily would travel.
Then she took the rest of the pebbles in her arms and threw them into the air, scattering them in different places all over the pond. There were several ripples bouncing against each other and reverberating through the water. Harry watched as the lily sloshed about, bouncing against the several waves as it struggled to return to equilibrium. Hermione pointed out that this approach was severely unpredictable and potentially volatile as the lily had almost tipped over at numerous points. It was much safer for Harry to drop one pebble into the pond; Harry agreed with her. That was one of the last times he ever saw Hermione alive.
Harry planned on dropping two pebbles.
The first pebble was easy enough and almost completed. Although Harry already knew where the Potters were located, he needed Peter to tell him since they were technically still under the Fidelius. Now that Harry was here, he could easily help them escape from Voldemort before he arrived at Godric's Hollow thus altering the course of events. Though it was a large pebble, a rock even, Harry knew that once Voldemort found Godric's Hollow empty, he would immediately move for the Longbottoms.
Although Harry longed to protect baby Neville from such an enormous burden, the prophecy must be fulfilled. He could not save everyone; not this time. Once upon a time, Harry would go to all lengths to make sure everyone survived the encounter. Harry would fight through and create a scenario where all parties interested would live and Voldemort would die. Ironically, it was Snape who told Harry his "No-Lose" attitude would be his downfall. Snape's vision indeed came true as one by one, all of Harry's friends died.
It was the second pebble which proved problematic.
The second pebble was dangerous and rife with terrible consequences. The very thought of it sickened Harry so much that he had to lean down and press his face against the grass to prevent himself from throwing up. The second pebble was a gamble to the maximum proportions but the pay-off would be enormous. It would be the key to defeating Voldemort.
But at what cost?
Harry picked his head up and poked his head inside as he heard more voices. Lily walked downstairs, smiling at her husband and giving him a quick peck on the cheek before picking up baby Harry and walking him over to the table. She fed him lovingly, dabbing the corners of his mouth as food spilled from his lips. James laughed as he pretended to fly Harry's food into his mouth with a spoon handle carved into a miniature broomstick. Baby Harry flapped his arms, enjoying the attention of both of his parents. The sight broke older Harry's heart and drove him to complete the mission. It must be done, for baby Harry's sake.
Harry checked his watch, noting that Voldemort would arrive once the sun set on the horizon. He planted himself by the window, watching and biding his time until the moment arrived. Lily picked up Harry to presumably bring him to his crib for a slight nap. James nodded as Lily said something to him, blowing her a kiss as she walked up the stairs with his child. James set about cleaning the various kitchen equipment, humming a jaunty tune all the while.
James never saw Harry Potter stun him from behind.
Harry stepped to him quickly, making sure his father's body did not hit the ground lest he make too much noise. He stayed there for a moment, observing his father's face. They were truly look-alikes besides Harry's violently green eyes. They were almost the same age despite Harry's time traveling exploits. He traced the outline of his face, brushing against his eyes as his fingers lingered there softly.
"I'm so sorry, Dad," Harry whispered.
Harry quickly and quietly bound up the stairs, listening to Lily whisper baby Harry a lullaby of sorts. Peeking around the corner, Harry could see Lily rocking her baby in her arms, murmuring softly to him as baby Harry dozed off to sleep, sucking on his thumb all the while. Harry watched with tears in his eyes as Lily laid baby Harry gently into the crib, brushing the fringe of his hair aside as she looked at her pride and joy.
Lily never saw Harry Potter stun her while her back was turned.
Harry rushed to her and let her drop softly, making sure to insert a pillow beneath her head so she did not feel uncomfortable even in her unconscious state. As soon as he was satisfied, he leaned over the crib and observed the sleeping baby. His forehead was unblemished and unscarred by a Horcrux. Picking him up gently, Harry cradled the baby in his arms carefully. He traversed downstairs where James Potter remained on the ground, stunned and immobile.
It was time to drop the second pebble.
Harry drew his wand and looked at baby Harry uncertainly. The baby was rousing, twisting about on the ground as he struggled to pick himself up. The baby was still rubbing his eyes uncertainly as he acclimated to his surroundings. Older Harry immediately threw up his strongest Occlumency shields, effectively severing him from any emotional connection. It was the only way he could possibly accomplish this unholy task.
"Legilimens. Imperio."
Harry needed the first spell to force himself into the baby's mind. Baby Harry would never have the capacity or emotions to do what older Harry wanted him to do. It was an unexplored area of magic, casting Unforgivables on little children and invading their minds. The sensation was certainly different, easier but difficult at the same time. Entrance into baby Harry's mind was easy, deciphering it was decidedly less so. The baby's brain was still under construction and it took a while for Harry to make sort of the baby's head.
Curse Voldemort for improving his defense and attacking of the mind.
"Harry, take my wand."
Baby Harry crawled over to where older Harry had dropped his wand and picked it up, his eyes glazed over.
"Crawl over to your Dad."
Baby Harry did as he ordered, positioning himself so he was pointing a wand at his Dad.
Older Harry then started channeling magic and energy to the baby. There was no way that baby Harry could possibly perform this sort of magic on his own, no matter how powerful he was. He was only a baby and as such could not feel the emotion and power needed to pull off this particular curse. The darkest curse of them all.
There was a brief moment before Harry gave the order. He thought back to all the important moments in his previous life. He remembered meeting Ron on the train. Saving Hermione from the troll. Defeating the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. Rescuing Sirius with Hermione. Voldemort killing Cedric. Bellatrix killing Sirius. Voldemort raising the tower. All the deaths the followed. The never-ending ash that fell from the sky. Harry remembered all these things just before he committed an act so foul, so terrible that no one could ever know lest the world be turned into the devil's playground. Summoning his hate of Voldemort and channeling it into baby Harry, older Harry ordered the unspeakable.
"Avada Kedavra."
The green spell looked strange coming from a baby's hand, but it was just as deadly. The green light struck James Potter's body, killing him on the spot. The only sick solace Harry could derive was that James was already stunned when he died. But the ordeal was not yet over.
"Nec possum tecum vivere, nec sine te."
Hermione got the idea from Voldemort or rather Voldemort's resurrection in the Riddle graveyard. They were exploring books related to blood magic just in case there was a spell to find a way to reverse Voldemort's resurrection. There were no spells that could defeat Voldemort through blood magic, but there were several other…interesting spells. One such spell detailed the splintering and strengthening of one person's magic through the act of murder.
However, this particular spell could only be used on one's own father. It roughly translated to, "I am able to live. I can live neither with you, nor without you."
Threads of magic started to flow from the dead body of James Potter. It latched onto baby Harry, swirling around him and filling his every orifice as it entered his body and strengthened his magical core. James Potter's magic was combining with baby Harry's magic to effectively strengthen the little child. However, the strength was not without consequences.
Immediately, a fragmented soul started ripping itself from baby Harry. It shrieked from his body, a ghostly spirit twisting into the air through baby Harry's mouth. It spun in the air, seeking a target to infest and destroy. Older Harry could feel it staring at him, assessing the situation.
"That's right. Me," older Harry growled.
The ghostly manifestation accepted the proposal and surged into older Harry's body, knocking the man into the ground. Older Harry could feel the Blood Magic worming its way into his body, establishing itself within his very magical core. The scar on his head glowed again, indicating the Dark magic had worked.
Harry finally lifted the curse on baby Harry. The baby dropped down the ground, his magic exhausted and drained. Older Harry continued to drain his own magic into the baby, hopefully keeping the baby alive and supplying him with his own set of magic. The transfusion of older Harry's own magic was another cog in this terrible machine.
Since baby Harry performed that spell after he killed his father, his true magic was split in half between himself and the older Harry. Older Harry had effectively hampered baby Harry's magic but for a purpose he knew would serve to be useful. When Voldemort would return - and yes he would return - he would not suspect this weakened Harry until the very end. Older Harry continued to channel his own magic into baby Harry, thus making him even stronger than he was supposed to be.
Once all the fragments of baby Harry's magic were rejoined, he would wield a magical force that rivaled all of the greatest wizards ever known. Older Harry held the other fragment within his body and the only way it could be separated from older Harry was through death.
Older Harry was exhausted as he brought baby Harry back up to his crib. Lily remained on the floor with a pillow beneath her head, sleeping peacefully as if nothing had happened. Dropping the baby off in the crib, Harry made his way downstairs to bury his dead father.
As his Occlumency shields dropped, the anguish and pain wracked Harry's body as he struggled to cope with the murder and abominated he had just committed. Gallons of tears fell down his cheeks as Harry dragged James on the floor, too tired to levitate him with his spent magic. He dug the grave by hand, making sure to bury James deep enough in the enchanted ground so no one would suspect to ever dig him up. He could not risk anyone finding the body and left no marker or trace that there was a dead body buried beneath Godric's Hollow.
Harry knew that what he just did was unforgivably awful. If he believed in hell, he would most surely be sent there and crowned king. But Harry knew the type of sacrifices he had to make. He once believed that as long as he did not sink down to Voldemort's level he would eventually defeat him. His life told a different story; one where Voldemort succeeded and killed everything around Harry until it broke his soul.
So he would carry the burden for everyone else. He would make sure no one would ever had to fall into the depths of madness that Voldemort casually reached into; he would make sure that he would be the only one to suffer this terrible fate.
"Lily, we have to go!" Harry shook her after he performed a Glamour charm on his eyes and his forehead so he looked exactly like James.
"James?" she muttered, "What happened?
"Death Eaters attacked us, but I fought them off. We have to leave!" James insisted as he picked up Harry.
James picked up their belongings and helped Lily side-along to a safe location.
-------------------------------------
It did not take long for Lily to know something was wrong. This James did not respond like he should. This James did not answer the right questions. She knew he was an imposter as soon as he talked as she did not recognize the verbiage and pronunciation of his words.
Harry had to stun her repeatedly as he tried to explain the situation. Eventually, she believed the lie he created. He truthfully told her that he was Harry from the future; a dark future which could not be saved. He had returned in hopes in creating a better future for everyone.
The lie was in that the real James had been killed by Death Eaters. Harry could not reach Godric's Hollow in time to save James from that fate. The Death Eaters killed him and took his body as soon as Harry arrived. Overwhelmed by the situation, Lily took this news poorly. She collapsed onto the ground, crying and pounding against Harry's chest as he tried to soothe his mother. She cried out for her real husband, all the while holding onto her husband's murderer. Harry bit his lip as he cried for completely different reasons than his mother.
They agreed not to tell anyone, the consequences too harmful for anyone to know. Harry's Occlumency shields were strong enough to keep Dumbledore at bay for he knew the old man would come looking once he realized the Potters' were compromised. Harry planned to break into the Ministry later to destroy any magical files they had on this potential blip on their map.
They also agreed to let Voldemort think he killed James at first. Harry slipped the idea into Peter's mind once he found the fat, balding man. It took every ounce of his restraint not to kill him on the spot as he instead planted a false memory of James dying inside Peter's mind. Eventually, Voldemort would find out that some version of James Potter still lived but not yet. Not so soon.
The hardest part came when Harry had to convince Lily to go along with Peter's story on how Sirius forced Peter to tell Voldemort where the Potters lived. Lily was not a natural liar and could not look Sirius in the eyes as she sent him to Azkaban. Harry looked on sadly, remembering Hermione's warning in his head. He could not change too many things or else the outcome would be totally unpredictable. Harry also did not destroy Voldemort's many Horcruxes. That would be Neville's job when the time came.
It was only a matter of time before Lily could not live with him. She could not live with the lies, the constant reminder of her husband, the never-ending feelings she endured when she faced Harry James Potter. So for everyone's sake, Harry left to live by himself. Harry, as James, still occasionally visited baby Harry, but it pained him to look into his eyes, knowing exactly what he had forced him to do even when he was a baby. Only time would partially heal the guilt. Time would never break their connection though as Harry was constantly reminded of the Blood Magic that lived within him. Older Harry used this connection to sometimes tap into the younger Harry's thoughts and magic. Little by little, the younger Harry would regain his magic but at the cost of older Harry's health.
James used that connection to hold Harry's own magic down. It was for his sake that Harry did not perform any strong bursts of magic. The less Voldemort knew about him, the better. James knew that as Harry would grow older, he would struggle to break from the connection between the two. When the time came, Harry's magic would be restored but only when James decided that the time was right.
Only when the time was right.
-----------------------------
Present…
Harry looked up at You-Know-Who with the sword in his hand. The evil psychopath seemed to be happy for some reason. Harry's eyes flicked over to Hermione. Bates was still holding her, but she seemed to be okay for the time being. His eyes flicked over to You-Know-Who and for the first time, Harry felt the wrath of his mind invasion.
Images assaulted Harry's mind as You-Know-Who combed through the lobes of Harry's brain. Flashes of his childhood appeared before him until You-Know-Who was quickly reaching Harry as infant. All of a sudden, You-Know-Who was violently kicked out of Harry's mind as he tried to access the part of Harry's mind when he was just a toddler.
"Interesting, Potter. You seem to have strong defenses around your mind there. Much stronger than your friend, Longbottom," You-Know-Who sneered Neville's name.
Harry did not speak, wary of You-Know-Who's ability to twist and turn his own words against him. He clutched the sword tightly as he looked around the Great Hall, looking for a way to escape and hoping the rest of the people would arrive soon enough. You-Know-Who seemed to notice Harry's wandering eyes and laughed.
"There's no escape, Potter. Now, the sword," You-Know-Who flicked his wand at the sword, performing a Summoning spell on it.
The sword yanked from Harry's hand, but Harry did not let go of it. He dug his heels in the floor as he held onto the sword for dear life. He did not know what You-Know-Who wanted with the sword, but he was not going to give it up without some sort of fight. You-Know-Who seemed a bit surprised that Harry was holding on to the sword and redoubled his efforts. Unfortunately for him, he was distracted by several loud booms outside the Great Hall.
Dumbledore had arrived.
Voldemort looked at him with deep loathing in his eyes. He dropped the Summoning spell on Harry as he immediately engaged Dumbledore. Several sparks flew in the air as more Aurors poured into the Hall. Chaos had ensued.
Harry ducked away from several of the spells, keeping a tight grip on his sword as he made his way to Hermione and the others. It occurred to Harry that this situation was not unlike the ones Sheppard had used to train them. As he ran along the way, Harry used the sword to slice away a large bag that one of the Death Eaters was carrying. He did not look back to see what exactly caused the howl of pain and instead carried the bag to his fellow classmates.
"Everyone, grab yours!" Harry yelled as the students huddled around him, grabbing at the bag.
"Ron, help me pull up some defenses!"
Harry and Ron started pulling tables and chairs about to form a blockade around them as several spells from both Death Eaters and Aurors whizzed throughout the Great Hall. It would not take much for a stray spell to find its target and Harry was not going to take any chances. He fired a Stunner that hit a Death Eater in the back, but Harry was not allowed any time to celebrate as a green curse flew just inches above his head. Ducking below a makeshift barrier, Harry looked back to see that most of the students had regained their wands and were firing into the crowd.
"Choose your shots! We don't want to take out any Aurors!" Harry yelled.
As he searched the crowd, however, it occurred to him that Hermione was not readily visible. He scrambled towards Neville, who was furiously casting hexes to and fro. Shaking the boy on the shoulder, Harry yelled in his ear so the other boy could hear him over the dense atmosphere of spells and screams.
"Neville, where's Hermione?!" Harry yelled.
"I don't know," Neville yelled distractedly.
"Harry! I saw her with that Death Eater that took her," Seamus said as he knocked down a torch on top of a Death Eater.
Harry's blood ran cold as he remembered that the Death Eater that took her was Mr. Tattoo himself. Bates must have escaped through the back door of the Great Hall. Looking back, Harry could see that Malfoy had already beat him to the punch and was running towards the back. Not trusting Malfoy to leave any survivors, Harry made his way back over to Neville.
"Neville! I'm going after Hermione!"
"What - Harry - no - I'm going with you!" Neville started to pull away.
"No - no, they need you here. Keep them safe. I'll bring her back," Harry insisted.
Their eyes met, green versus brown. Harry could see the tumult of emotions in the other boy's eyes as he fought versus himself to decide whether or not he should give chase to Hermione. After a moment, Neville seemed to come to a conclusion and pushed Harry on the shoulder away from him.
"Bring her back, Harry."
Harry did not need any more words to force him away. Ducking a stray curse from the battle between You-Know-Who and Dumbledore, Harry ran for the back door. Bursting through the door, Harry saw Malfoy running up the back staircase to the Second floor. He quickly followed the boy, hoping he was not too late already. Leaping up the staircase, Harry saw that Bates was dragging Hermione by the arm on the far end of the hallway. Malfoy was halfway down the hallway as he gave chase to his mother's killer. Harry started after them, hoping to make ground.
-------------------------------
"Lavender, stay down and watch your fire. That one almost hit Dumbledore!" Ron ordered as he surveyed the battle ground.
The situation was a nightmare. The students were mostly tucked into one corner of the Great Hall with their backs against the wall and a row of tables and blockades formed in front of them. Dumbledore and Voldemort were facing off in the middle of the Great Hall. They were performing spells and magic that did not require any words and were not certainly not on the level of the Fifth years. Ron swore that Voldemort managed to summon a dragon out of fire at one point as the two most powerful wizards of their time engaged in a battle of epic proportions.
All around them, Aurors and Death Eaters were exchanging fire in little skirmishes. Though there were certainly more Aurors than Death Eaters, the crowded Hall made it difficult for the Aurors to use their superior numerical advantage. Above all of the battles, more Aurors were flying on brooms as they tried pick their targets out without harming their own. Precision was the test in this Great Hall.
"Zabini, to your left!"
Blaise fired a curse to the Death Eater on his left and toppled the Death Eater to the ground. The mask rolled off of him and Ron swore as he saw the man's face. Blaise looked at the Death Eater with an amused look on his face.
"Hey, Crabbe. I think I just got your father," he joked.
"My father's here?" Crabbe said in confusion.
Ron shook his head. Only Slytherins would find that amusing. As he turned around to talk to Neville, he found that the his friend was gone. Looking up, Ron saw that Neville was joining the battle against Voldemort.
"Oh boy."
---------------------------------------
Harry finally caught up to Bates and Malfoy. The two were already exchanging fire, but only haphazardly. Bates still had Hermione in a choke hold as he warded of Malfoy's spells. He was smiling at him, the grotesque burning on his face only making the man uglier and filthier. Malfoy was using several powerful curses, but Bates simply waved them off.
"Stupefy! Reducto! Crucio!"
Malfoy was apoplectic as he raged on Bates, not caring if Hermione could be a casualty of his anger. Bates kept grinning as he dodged and shielded himself from Malfoy, still holding Hermione hostage all the while. Hermione struggled to escape his grip, but his hold on her throat was hampering her ability to fight him off. Bates caught Harry over Malfoy's shoulder and laughed gleefully.
"All three of you in one fell swoop. It must be my lucky day," Bates shrieked in happiness, the psychotic man obviously enjoying the fight.
Harry could not see a way to hit Bates without harming Hermione. Bates was using her as a perfect shield, placing her in front of him and crouching so his body was even less vulnerable to being hit. The only advantage to Harry was that Bates was much larger than Hermione and Harry could still hit him with some mildly irritating spells around the frame of his body. Malfoy, on the other hand, kept throwing darker and darker curses at Bates.
"That's it, little boy. Get mean. Get evil. Avenge that whore you call your mother," Bates egged him on.
Harry anticipated that these words would definitely set Malfoy off. Time slowed down in Harry's mind as Malfoy started to raise his wand. Harry looked around frantically, knowing exactly what spell Malfoy was going to use. Apparently, Hermione anticipated this action as well and used all of her strength to loosen Bates' grip and jam her elbow straight into Bates' groin. The Death Eater doubled over from pain, but that movement incidentally saved him from the Killing curse that Malfoy had cast. The Avada Kedavra swooshed over both Bates and Hermione, narrowly missing them both. Had Hermione not broken free, the curse certainly would have hit her first.
As it were, Hermione broke free while Malfoy redoubled his efforts to take down Bates. Bates had regained his posture from the slight setback and now focused his curses directly on Malfoy. Harry fired random spells towards the Death Eater but was mostly concentrating on making sure Hermione was safely away from the flurry of spells. Hermione crawled over to him, breathing hard as she watched Malfoy and Bates duel.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked her.
"Stupid bastard wouldn't let me go," Hermione gasped as she ran her hands over her neck, "Yes, I cursed."
"No time for jokes," Harry grunted as he pulled Hermione to her feet and hauled her away from the line of fire.
"Harry, you have to help Malfoy."
"I know," Harry said grimly, "You think you can make it back?"
"Not without my wand."
Harry bit his lip as he tried to figure out a solution.
"Alright, take cover behind this desk. I'm going to help Malfoy and then we can get out of here," Harry ordered. Hermione nodded and scrambled behind cover as Harry jumped up to engage Bates.
Malfoy was on the losing end of the battle as Bates simply overpowered him through experience and sheer power. The man had to be half-giant or something as Malfoy's curses were simply bouncing him off of his skin. Harry started attacking him with a series of Cutting curses, hoping to get under Bates' skin.
Bates was caught off-guard by Harry's sudden participation as he winced from the pain that cut into his arms. Harry maneuvered himself so that he and Malfoy were setting up a cross fire and Bates would not be allowed to focus all of his attention on one of them. Malfoy seemed to catch on the strategy and wisely sidestepped away to widen the radius of the attacks. Bates was now on the defensive as he brought up different shields against Malfoy and focused his attack-based curses on Harry.
Harry had no trouble shielding himself from Bates curses but could not find a window of opportunity to attack him. One Stunner was not enough to take him down as Harry remembered from his last encounter with Mr. Tattoo. Something drastic would be needed. Bates was apparently thinking the same thing and sought for a way to relieve the waves of curses that were splashing against his shields. He spotted his opportunity as Hermione lifted her head to watch the battle.
"No!" Harry yelled as he watched a yellow curse fly to Hermione.
Harry need not worry though as Hermione knew that Bates would attempt to use her a distraction for Harry. She raised her head above the table, anticipating that Bates would attempt to curse her. Armed with that knowledge, she simply ducked down as soon as she Bates' wand move her direction. Malfoy, undisturbed by the knowledge that Hermione could even possibly be hurt, used this split second distraction to hit Bates in the knees with a Reductor curse. The Death Eater's knee blew apart and he howled in pain as he buckled and fell.
Malfoy wiped the sweat off his forehead as he approached the downed wizard with his wand drawn, aiming to kill.
------------------------------------------------
Ron watched as Neville joined the fray and started casting some spells against Voldemort. As soon as Neville came close to Dumbledore though, Dumbledore pushed him away and kept fighting Voldemort on his own. Voldemort, sensing Dumbledore's weakness, focused his attacks on the boy. Dumbledore kept defending Neville, unable to land a deathly blow on the Dark Lord. Ron was entranced by the battle and almost did not notice Mr. and Mrs. Potter land beside him.
"Ron! Where's Harry?!" James shook him on the shoulder.
Ron snapped out of his stupor and pointed to the back door, "Harry and Malfoy went after Hermione. One of the Death Eaters have her!"
"James, come on!" Lily dragged James to his feet as the weakened man stumbled to the back door.
Ron watched them disappear before refocusing his eyes on the fight between Voldemort and Dumbledore and Neville. Neville kept trying to stand and fight against Voldemort but Dumbledore was having none of it. He continued to repel Neville at all costs, shielding him from Voldemort's curses. Dumbledore was so wrapped up in protecting Neville that he did not see Voldemort hit him with a large, transfigured boulder.
Ron knew that the diagnosis was not going to be good from the way Dumbledore's knee was bent. The aged wizard did not break stride, however, as he continued to cast spell after spell against Voldemort. But Voldemort took advantage of Dumbledore's weakened state to hit Neville with a vicious blasting curse, knocking the boy back into the wall. With Dumbledore and Neville effectively neutered, Voldemort took his cue to leave. Ron watched as Voldemort seemed to slither away from the battle unnoticed.
"Shit. Where's he going?" Ron wondered to himself. With Dumbledore crippled on the ground, Neville unconscious against a wall, and the rest of the Aurors remaining occupied, Ron was the only one to see Voldemort escape.
Summoning all of his Gryffindor bravery, Ron leaped over the barrier and gave chase.
"Ron, where are you going?" Lavender yelled.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Ron said under his breath.
--------------------------------
Malfoy stood over Bates, his hair sticking up wildly and his eyes manic as he took in the sight of his mother's murderer. Bates laughed at him, blood trickling from the side of his mouth and a bloody stump where his left leg should have been.
"Come on, Malfoy. Do it," Bates hissed.
Malfoy raised his wand to perform the deed. Harry contemplated stopping Malfoy but knew the boy would simply ignore him. As Malfoy was about to hit Bates with the Killing Curse, a voice stopped him.
"Draco!"
Harry could recognize the authoritarian voice of Lucius Malfoy any day. Malfoy turned around, distracted by his father. Harry was too slow to react when Bates pulled his wand and hit Malfoy with some unknown purple spell. Malfoy rocketed back off his feet and hit the adjacent wall, slumping over in unconsciousness.
"No!" Lucius yelled as he ran to his fallen son.
Harry was again caught off-guard as Bates used some spell to sweep him off his feet and sprawling on the ground. As Harry scrambled to his feet, he watched as Bates cast the dreaded green of the Killing curse in Draco's direction. The spell seemed to move in slow motion as it flew across the classroom to Draco. It would have reached him had Lucius Malfoy not stepped in front of it and saved his son. The green spell hit Lucius directly in the chest. The older Malfoy fell backwards in the air, his eyes squinted tight in death, and landing on Draco's unconscious form. Their bodies ended up so that Lucius Malfoy was being held in Draco's limp arms.
"Appropriate," Bates grinned.
Harry snapped out of it and hit Bates with a Stunner. It only seemed to be a mild irritant for the giant tattooed man as he flung a number of hexes in Harry's direction. Harry was light on his feet as he dodged the curses and returned fire. Harry knew he could defeat the Death Eater if given enough time in his weakened state; he was too fast for Bates. Bates, however, played dirty. Harry saw the Death Eater's eye swivel to the desk where Hermione was hiding behind and fired a spell towards it.
"Protego Maxima!"
Harry jumped in front of the spell and brought up his shield, absorbing the blow of the spell. Bates laughed maniacally as he strengthened his spell against the shield, causing Harry to take a step back at the power of it. Harry held his shield strong, but Bates simply kept applying more and more pressure on Harry. If he did not find a way out, the shield would eventually break.
"STUPEFY!"
The spell came from outside of the classroom and struck Bates with a surprising amount of force. The spell hit Bates at his most unguarded spot and sent him flying across the room. Harry dropped his shield and looked thankfully at the door as his mother and his father rushed into the room.
"Harry! Are you okay?" Lily asked as she hugged her son again.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Malfoy though," Harry croaked.
James checked the two unmoving bodies and delivered the diagnosis, "Lucius is dead. Draco's alive but got hit by something pretty nasty."
"Hermione! Thank goodness you're okay too," Lily pulled the other girl in a hug as well.
"Thanks, Mrs. Potter. I wouldn't have gotten away if it wasn't for Harry," Hermione looked at Harry with admiration.
"Well, we're not done yet. You-Know-Who is still here," Harry picked up the sword and checked the hallways outside. It was empty.
----------------------------------
Ron ran by one of the fighters and noticed that it was the real Moody. He doubled back and caught Moody's attention.
"Moody! Voldemort's not in there anymore! He's going somewhere, but I don't know where!" Ron yelled at him.
"Why would that bastard leave Dumbledore and Longbottom?"
"That's what I was wondering. He went this way," Ron pointed down a corridor.
"You might be onto something, lad. Owen! Michaels! With me! Have to make sure Voldemort isn't terrorizing the rest of the castle," Moody barked out.
The three soldiers and Ron ran down the hallway after Lord Voldemort.
---------------------------
"Alright, we need to get going. They're still all in the Great Hall, I think," Lily said as she checked the hallways.
"Okay, Harry and Hermione you go this way and -"
James was speaking to them but fell to the ground in pain, clutching his head.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Harry rushed to him and knelt on the ground to cradle his Dad's head.
"It's nothing, just a pain," James muttered.
"James," Lily looked worried as she knelt down on his other side. James and Lily exchanged a glance and communicated something wordlessly. Hermione watched in fascination and confusion at the whole scenario.
"Harry, there's something we have to tell you," James started, still bent over on the ground.
"I'm sure it can wait, Dad. You two really don't have to get back together for me. There's time to talk to later," Harry tried to joke. Joking always put his father in a better mood.
"No," James said fiercely, "I have to -"
James stopped and groaned again, clutching his head more fiercely.
"What's going on?" Harry said as he tried to help his father to his feet.
James suddenly stood, his back straightening and his head held up high. With a power Harry did not know James could summon, much less in his weakened state, he pushed his family and Hermione back and conjured a magical barrier between them.
"Dad!"
"James!"
Harry and Lily cried out as they pounded on the magical barrier. James looked at both of them sadly as he turned to them. He smiled, the kind of smile that was associated with a certain knowing of the upcoming events. But James suddenly moaned and bent over, his hands clutching his head.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off…"
James ordered them to leave as he turned around in time to see Voldemort turning the corner, looking as angry as any of them had ever seen them. Lily did not need a second warning and grabbed Harry and Hermione by their hands and tore off in the other direction.
"Wait - Mum! What are you doing!? Dad!" Harry tried to pry her hands off of his but she was not letting go as she dragged them around the corner.
"Harry has it under control," Lily muttered under her breath.
"Mum! What are you talking about? I'm right here! We can't just leave Dad there!"
"He will be right behind us. That magical barrier can let him through and hold off Voldemort," Lily bit her lip as they careened around the corridors.
Harry looked back worriedly, hoping James would be right behind them.
--------------------------------
"James Potter; and I thought I was the only one who could come back from the dead," Voldemort said as he came closer and closer.
"Peter's never been one to get the facts right," James said quietly as he looked straight into Voldemort's eyes. He did not flinch when Voldemort tried to invade his mind, repelling the Dark Lord easily.
"Powerful. I knew someone must have been teaching the Potter boy," Voldemort almost acknowledged Harry's strength.
"Raising the tower will not stop them from killing you. Not now. Not anymore," James almost smiled at him.
Voldemort looked shocked by the possibility that Potter might know about the tower.
"I will raise the Dark Tower of the Founders and capture it's power to enslave all of this land. No wizard, no Muggle, no half-breed will be able to stop me. Certainly not you! Avada Kedavra!"
The green spell hit James in the chest but instead of falling over like most victims usually did, James erupted into flames. His body was set ablaze, a reaction Voldemort had never seen before. As the body hit the ground, still burning all the while, a small ball of magic shot off down the hallway. Voldemort could hear a distant screaming from Potter's body but knew it could not be from the already dead man.
"Stupid boy."
----------------------------------
Harry, Hermione, and Lily were still running down the corridor when Harry suddenly fell over, a pain erupting inside his chest. None of them saw the tether of magic streak down the hallway and hit Harry in the back.
"Arggggh!"
Harry yelled as an overwhelming pain brought him to his knees. Hermione frantically took Harry's wand and started to perform a diagnosis on him. Lily looked back worriedly as she tried to pull Harry to his feet. Harry stood but stumbled, the pain holding him down.
"My chest. It hurts," Harry said through gritted teeth.
"Harry, your magic. It's too much," Hermione's eyes widened as she watched Harry start to emanate a strong, blue aura around himself.
The sudden pause in their escape was enough for Voldemort to catch up to them. He flew around the corner, literally hovering above the ground as he found the group of three. He menacingly drew his wand and pointed it at them.
"The sword, Potter!"
Harry grit his teeth and kept the sword by his side, refusing to let it go even through the pain. Lily shielded Harry and Hermione from the Dark Lord, her arms splayed over them in a form of defense. Hermione was catatonic as she came face to face with Voldemort, unable to move from her position behind Lily.
"Stand aside you silly girl…stand aside now."
"Not Harry, please no. Don't kill, Harry!"
Lily begged with tears in her eyes. Harry tried to stand up from behind her but the overwhelming pain in his chest was rendering him almost comatose. He could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness as more bursts of magic exploded inside his chest.
"Not Harry! Please…have mercy…have mercy…"
Voldemort laughed; a cold, high laugh that pierced their ears as he raised his wand. Harry did not need to hear the dreaded words or see the bright flash of light to know which curse Voldemort used.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The curse struck Lily, killing her on the spot. She tumbled backwards, collapsing on Harry and Hermione with her hands outstretched. Her last pleads of mercy fell upon deaf ears as the psychotic terrorist succeeded in killing Harry Potter's mother. Harry watched as his mother fell into his arms, her eyes still open as the tears began to dry on her face. A numbing pain washed over Harry, cancelling out the torturous pain inside his chest. Time stopped for him as he looked at his mother's beautiful face, still frozen as if she were alive.
No.
"The sword, Potter."
No.
"Accio Sword."
No.
"Thank you for the sword. Now, let's complete the collection."
"NOOO!"
It felt as if dam broke in Harry's chest. He could feel the grief compound with his magic as it started rushing through him, the powerful current of magic threatening to erupt within him. Fueled with anger and grief, the strong river of magic broke the dam inside Harry's chest and unleashed a powerful force into the world.
Glass shards and bricks broke free and swirled around Harry. Harry was still screaming in the air, his lungs burning as he yelled in vain. A tornado of debris flew around them and Voldemort looked genuinely afraid as he held the sword and looked at the boy. Shards of glass started flying at Voldemort and the Dark Lord had to use his most potent defenses to deflect the curses. Harry continued to summon everything in sight: glass, rocks, desks, torches. He hurled all of them to Voldemort while still howling in pain. Voldemort could not defend himself from all of the materials but eventually waved his wand and turned them all into sand.
"Voldemort."
Harry's eyes were glowing green as he raised his wand and simply pointed it at Voldemort. A deadly red light erupted from the wand and raced towards Voldemort. Voldemort raised his own and met the red beam with his own green beam. Pulling his wand to and fro, Voldemort was shocked at the strength of the magic behind Harry Potter. He finally pulled his wand so the connection would snap, but Harry Potter was not done.
Screaming as loud as he could again, Harry shattered everything in sight. The walls started to shake as the doors broke off their hinges and flew at Voldemort. Voldemort turned on the spot and created a magical barrier that repelled the flying objects. Bits of glass were tearing at Voldemort's robes as Harry's magic threatened to overtake him.
"My Lord!" a voice yelled from behind him.
Running through the force fields of magic was Bellatrix Lestrange, a boot clutched in her hand. Voldemort took one more look back at the powerful boy before grasping onto the boot and disappearing from sight. The Portkey took the pair away as Voldemort finally escaped from Harry.
Harry stopped screaming when Voldemort disappeared. Several bits and pieces of debris were still hanging in mid-air; an after effect of his magical destruction. He turned to Hermione and saw she was curled into a ball, her hands over her ears and her eyes shut tight. There were rocks and glass all around her but she seemed to be protected by an invisible dome. Harry felt the power drain out of him and watched as the glass and debris fell all around them. He looked down at his mother's dead body, the pain and grief suddenly shooting sharply in his heart.
His mind ceased to function then, not accepting the deaths quite yet. As Harry fell to the ground, he could see the blurry outlines of Ron Weasley and Mad-Eye Moody racing to the scene just before he fell into a deep unconsciousness.