The Labyrinth of Amagor

The Labyrinth of Amagor

Chapter 11: Confrontation and Cataclysm

Shiro Yoshida, like Alison Blair, was a novice X-Man. Unlike Dazzler, Sunfire had been trained from birth in the Way of the Warrior. As a child, Shiro learned martial arts and the code of the samurai. When his mutant powers appeared, he accepted his differences with the stoicism imparted by that philosophy. By fortunate coincidence, his cousin, the Lady Mariko Yoshida, had a gaijin lover known as the Wolverine. Lady Mariko entrusted her young cousin to Wolverine at Xavier's, where Shiro's abilities could be put to honourable use.

Sunfire had known the three English wizards during their time at Xavier's, and had been impressed by them. They had courage, skill and loyalty. Hawk-san, in particular, seemed to understand the full meaning of honour. Shiro admired the new British friends he had made as well.

He had been pleased to come on this mission, but until now had had little to do. His first encounter in the Labyrinth had been with some silver-haired female creatures that attempted clumsily to seduce him. Shiro was no stranger to the pleasures of the pillow (a fact his friends at Xavier's would have been surprised to learn) but had instinctively distrusted the apparitions. A single fire-bolt had been sufficient to send them fleeing in the form of strange avians. Disposing of the giant earthworm threatening Ariel and Firebird had also been simple.

So, when Hawk gave the signal to attack, Sunfire was determined to bear his full part of this mission. He concentrated on a group of hostiles standing close to the head of the stairway. Aiming his plasma bolt at the floor, Sunfire sent some of the enemies plunging headlong down the stairs while razor-sharp stone splinters sliced into others. Those closest to Sunfire were seared by the heat of the blast; their robes burst into flame and their wands turned to ash. Shiro paused to see where he should attack next.

He saw Iceman, who was focusing on wizards nearest the dais with the throne-like chair on it. The wizards there found their feet frozen to the floor and their wands coated with thick layers of ice.

While the men fought with fire and ice, the women used their powers over mind and emotions. Psyche struck out at those she could reach the most easily; several Death Eaters began to scream at visions none of the others could see, panicking and striking out blindly at invisible spectres born from their imaginations. Meanwhile, projecting a display of light so intense and beautiful that her victims' senses were overloaded, Dazzler transfixed a group of enemies. Storm confused others with a ball of lightning that floated around the hall, imparting powerful static shocks to those whose attention was elsewhere.

The smell of magic was thick in the air. Wizards hurled a barrage of curses and hexes, adding to the pandemonium that had broken out in the hall below them. For a few moments, the Death Eaters milled in disarray, until they realised they were being attacked from above. Shields began to spring up, and counter curses were launched. None of the Death Eaters noticed that several doors around the hall had opened silently.

Cyclops waited until almost all the enemy wizards were looking upwards, then spoke sharply into his communicator, "Hit them!"

Watching from the balcony, Harry saw the familiar scarlet blast of Cyclops' eye-beams cut through the crowd; at the same time, dark wizards began to stagger and fall, trying to protect their ears from Banshee's scream. Other powers were at work that Harry didn't recognise-bolts of white energy with a similar effect to Cyclops' beams, for one. He also saw wizards encased in a blue aura picked up and thrown across the hall. More spells and curses took their toll.

By this time, Voldemort's troops were in total disorder. Before they could recover, a number of newcomers darted into the fray to close with the enemy. Harry recognised Bill, Fred, and George Weasley. The slim fighter beside Bill turned out to be Tonks. Nightcrawler teleported into the thick of the fight, and the Beast leaped from wall to wall, effortlessly dodging spells. Two other men in Aurors' robes also joined in. Harry was most astonished by a tight flying wedge of three figures that advanced relentlessly. At the apex was Wolverine, followed closely by Mad-Eye Moody and- Professor Snape?

While Harry kept on hurling spells, two allies rose up from the hall to the gallery. One was the familiar form of Banshee; the other was a woman he did not know-a woman with green hair.

Acting on Banshee's instructions, Sunfire scooped up Wolfsbane, who had assumed her semi-human form. Storm, along with Banshee, grabbed Sunspot under the arms. The two young X-Men were delivered into the melee, and landed fighting. In his human form, Peter was too heavy to be lifted, but the weight of organic-steel Colossus was meaningless to the magnetic powers of Polaris! She dropped him into the centre of the fight from a height of ten feet. Colossus landed with a thud, and began laying about him with punches that sent men flying yards.

By now, fully half of the Death Eaters were out of action, but the rest rallied. They fought to capture, preserving the option to kill slowly later.

Colossus still advanced like a juggernaut, untouchable by spells, but one of the Aurors and George Weasley had been petrified. Wolfsbane had narrowly dodged a fireball and Sunspot had been stunned. Beast was helping another Auror defend his fallen comrade, while Bill, Tonks and Fred had drawn into a circle around George. Wolverine, with Snape and Moody, was trying to break through to where Roberto lay.

Harry swore. The melee was too thick for him to fire off spells without hitting one of his comrades. He had to get down there, but Apparating into that crowd was asking for trouble.

"Iceman!" Harry called, waving frantically. "There are more of us who need to get into it."

"On it, Hawk!"

Iceman placed his hands on the rail, and a steep slide formed, leading down into the hall. Harry leapt onto it, using his skateboarding skills to stay upright as he shot along.

"Geronimo!" yelled Ginny, sliding after him with fine standing balance. A second behind them, Ron and Hermione came down, sliding on their bottoms, hand in hand.

"Thank Merlin I'm not wearing that thong!" Hermione gasped, as she hit the bottom, did a forward roll and came up on her feet, launching a fireball from her wand seconds later.

Seamus and Alison followed, Seamus howling an old Irish war cry and Alison demonstrating an amazing range of obscenities and insults! Neville descended last, face intent, managing to volley spells even as he slid.

This was--though no one realised it just then--the turning point. Hermione covered Ron's back as he used strength, size and skill to bull through to his brothers. Hermione slipped into the circle to restore George.

"Right!" bellowed Ron. "Let's show them how we Weasleys do it!"

"I'm not a Weasley!" yelled Hermione.

"You will be!" vowed Ron, and Hermione's heart soared as she followed her man into battle.

Harry and Ginny arrived beside Sunspot at the same time as Wolverine's group. "Howdy, Hawk," Logan greeted him nonchalantly. "How's it goin'?"

"Keeping busy," quipped Harry, stooping over Roberto to say, "Ennervate!"

As Harry helped Sunspot to his feet, Logan looked Ginny up and down. "So you're the famous Ginny, eh? I'll say one thing for Hawk, he knows how to pick his women."

"Excuse me?" Ginny protested. "I picked him!" Wolverine gave a short bark of laughter.

Moody shook his head. "You're as reckless as ever, Potter! Your father was just the same."

"You knew him?"

"By reputation only, but I've heard the stories."

"'Scuse me," said Wolverine, "but we got a scrap goin' on here."

"Back to work, then, lady and gentlemen," said Snape, who leaned close to Harry. "Do try not to get killed, Mr Potter," urged Snape. "I have so few opponents worthy of my steel, I should hate to lose one."

Harry smiled wryly, and they all got to work.

From the gallery, Sirius watched the fight progress. The Death Eaters were trapped in the hall. Every attempt to reach the door drew a devastating response from Sunfire. Shortly after that, Colossus took the stair landing, imposing an immovable, invulnerable bulwark. Sirius turned his attention to Harry and his friends.

Ron and Hermione worked as a team, silently anticipating each other's moves. Ron used his fists and feet as much as he used his wand; he was strong as a bear and far more skilled in spells than his teachers would have credited. Hermione had all the magical expertise Sirius expected, but also demonstrated an agility and skill in unarmed combat that was surprising.

Seamus and Dazzler also worked in tandem. Alison hurled intense sparks of white light into the faces of foes, blinding and disorienting them, enabling Seamus to take ruthless advantage of every lapse. Neville had joined up with the Aurors and Beast. After restoring the petrified man, he fought coolly and steadily.

Ginny and the lad called Sunspot-now transfigured into a black silhouette--followed Harry. Both were intense, ferocious, but Harry himself was astonishing. His movements flowed, switching from punches and karate kicks to spell casting and back again without pause or hesitation.

Sirius was awed and troubled: What would James and Lily think of the fighting machine their son had become? They'd be proud of his skills and courage, Sirius decided, but Lily would not have wanted her boy to be a warrior. James might not have minded so much; he'd been a scrapper himself. But there was a relentless, lethal precision to Harry's fighting style that would have worried James Potter-maybe even scared him a little.

Sirius' reflections were interrupted by a number of loud booms. The final reserve of Death Eaters had decided to attack the gallery. It was for precisely this reason that Sirius had not followed the others. He spun to take down two of the wizards. He felt another behind him and turned again-too late!

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Bellatrix Lestrange. Sirius' wand flew from his hand, and the woman gave a mad whoop. "Oh, this is too delightful! I get to kill you again, cousin, and properly this time! Avada..."

In mid-curse, Bellatrix's eyes rolled up in her head and she sank to the ground. Rogue released her hold on the woman, picked up her wand, and applied a binding charm. Sirius scooped up his wand, peering hard at Marie. The American girl's eyes were her own, rather than Bellatrix's. Sirius released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

Rogue flashed him a smile, then darted past Sirius, shouting "Stupefy!" and sending her wizard victim to the floor. Sirius followed her.

The affray was sharp and quick. Iceman froze three wizards in their tracks--Bobby was through pulling punches with this scum! Psyche, still concentrating on the fracas below, had fallen victim to a stun spell. Parvati was down, as well.

In a few moments of frantic fighting Sirius, Rogue, Iceman, Lavender, Padma and Luna cleared the gallery, aided by Storm, who appeared out of nowhere to hover protectively over them hurling an icy wind into the faces of the opposition. Then a wizard leaped out of the shadows, clamped an arm firmly around Ariel's neck and pressed his wand to her throat. "Surrender!" he snarled, eyes flickering wildly from face to face of the encircling throng, "unless you want to hear this one's death cry!"

"Bite me!" snapped Kitty, who simply stepped out of his grasp, phasing through the arm that held her. As he stared stupidly, she pivoted and kicked him, hard, in the groin-then jumped back to avoid the splatter as he fell to his knees, retching.

"Ouch!" muttered Sirius. "Was that really necessary?"

"He got off easy," Ariel asserted, swiping her hands with satisfaction. "You don't want to know what Petey or Harry would do to that guy if they knew he'd threatened me!"

Around the hall, there were a few duels still raging. Other wizards set about securing the fallen and reviving allies. Nothing was happening near Sirius, so he took the opportunity to speak quietly to Rogue, asking, "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Back last spring, I didn't feel able to take on wizard stuff, but when I used Harry's power earlier today, it sort of fell into place. Anyway, compared to him, this Bellatrix was a piece of cake. I just had to feed her a couple of kinky fantasies, and she was done.

"The magic is mostly gone now. I can't do spells anymore," Rogue realised. "But people sort of leave things behind in me. My senses have been sharper since I absorbed Wolverine's power. Harry left a lot of stuff; he's such a strong personality." She looked at Sirius with new appreciation. "I'm always going to feel kinda special about you, and Ron and Hermione, and Ginny, too. So it's possible that Harry and Bellatrix lent me a bit of their magic. Not much, but some. Could come in handy one day."

Sirius was perplexed. "Bellatrix is one of Voldemort's favourites. There are rumours that she's his lover. I'd have thought she'd be quite formidable."

Marie shook her head. "Guys like Voldemort are too paranoid to surround themselves with strong-willed lieutenants; Professor X told us that. As for that Bellatrix broad being his lover- please, don't go there!" Rogue's eyes turned inward a moment, then she said, "Whoa! That's just wrong! The sooner that bitch is outta my head, the better!"

A shout from below caught their attention. The last Death Eater was taunting Ron. The infuriated Ron didn't mess about; he landed a solid roundhouse left that spun his heckler in a complete circle before he slumped to the floor.

For a moment, there was silence. Everyone looked around. Then there was a storm of cheering. Sirius was about to join in, when Marie suddenly sagged against him. Instinctively, he put an arm around her and her head drooped against his shoulder. She gasped, and then exhaled heavily. "That's that, she's gone!" Rogue breathed. "I threw out the last of Bellatrix, thank God!" Marie smiled, and shifted away from Sirius. "Thanks. I'm all right. Let's get down there."

They had to wait until Iceman repaired his slide, which had melted a little. Everyone on the balcony slid down to the hall. Sirius managed to land neatly, and jumped up to find himself being roughly hugged, first by Harry, then by an exultant Remus.

Harry turned with Ginny once again firmly tucked under his arm to see Cyclops striding towards him, a wide grin of greeting on his face. That, in itself, was not strange; after they'd clashed a bit at Xavier's, Harry and Scott had discovered they had much in common. What made Harry stare was the small figure who clung to Scott as closely as Ginny did to him. That's Fleur Delacour! Isn't she seeing Bill Weasley?

Harry spotted Bill, who was wrapped up with Tonks. Merlin! A lot's happened in a few days! thought Harry. Then Scott was shaking his hand and thumping his back. "Good work, Hawk!" Scott said.

Fleur kissed Harry warmly on both cheeks. "'Arry! Eet is good to see you, mon ami. But you 'ave become the man now, n'est-ce pas? An' 'oo ees thees belle petite? Èlas! Eet seems I am too late; your 'eart 'as been seized already."

"'fraid so, Fleur. This is Ginny Weasley, and she has definitely got a grip on my heart-among other things."

"D'you mind!" Ginny hissed in mock outrage. To Fleur she said, "Ignore him. He's got a one-track mind."

"But of course. Do not all men?"

"Damn!" said Scott, "They've found us out, Harry."

"Too right!"

"Ah, but per'aps we weel forgive you, eef you are good to us," Fleur suggested, nestling close to Scott again.

Severus Snape snorted. He had watched this exchange with growing disdain, finally deciding to undertake the more congenial task of congratulating Moody and Logan. Before he could, he heard a familiar voice yell, "Professor Snape!"

Alarmed, he found a tall, slender woman launching herself at him. Strong, young arms wrapped around his neck, and for the first time in years, Snape found himself being warmly kissed on one lean cheek. He stood paralysed with indecision until Wolverine's wry voice rang in his ears. "She ain't gonna let go 'till you hug her back, Severus. You might as well get it over with."

His sallow cheeks hot, Snape awkwardly gripped and released Marie, stepping back with alacrity. "Miss D'Ancanto," he began. She glared at him. He sighed. "Marie, this is hardly proper behaviour!"

"Oh?" Marie replied impishly. "Then how come everyone else is doing it? C'mon, Professor, I've missed you! Can't a girl say hi? Besides," she stepped closer and spoke confidentially, "your Skinseal Potion's done so much for my love life, I owe you one, Professor."

Snape shook his head. "I despair, I truly do. What has become of decorum, of dignity, of the manners proper to young ladies, Moody?"

Moody grunted. "She is only a Colonial, Severus."

"And a rebel at that," added Wolverine.

"Oh, y'all are such a bunch of old grouches," Rogue declared, then hugged Logan, who was one of her favourite people. Wolverine introduced her to Moody, she shook his hand politely, then leaned forward and planted a mischievous kiss on his leathery cheek--"Just so you don't feel left out!"

Moody said smoothly, "Gratefully accepted. Only blows refused from a pretty thing like you, girl."

Remus introduced Sirius to Beast and Nightcrawler, the two X-Men with whom he'd become particular friends. Shacklebolt broke in to say, "Welcome back! Damn, I'm glad to see you, Sirius. Never could accept that Veil thing as the end of you. And now, after this fight, we should be able to clear your name, once and for all."

Freedom. Can it really be mine at last? And what of this beautiful, sexy, silvery woman coming toward me? Could she be mine, too? Sirius didn't know if this was dream or reality until a single, lingering kiss from Ororo convinced him there was a flesh and blood woman in his arms. They stepped back from each other in wonder, oblivious to everything else.

Harry watched that embrace unfold. For the briefest moment, he felt a surge of irrational jealousy: How dare Ororo steal Sirius from him? For that matter, how dare Sirius steal his friend Ororo? The surge passed, leaving a wake of chagrin. Harry, you're being a prat! If anyone deserves a little happiness, it's Sirius. And how could he possibly do better than Ororo?

Harry shook himself mentally. He said in a light-hearted voice, "Anything I should know about?"

"Ah!" said Sirius. "Thought you already knew about men and women. Should we have a little talk?"

"It's no use," Harry declined. "There's no explaining it." He smiled at Ginny. "What this wonderful girl sees in me is a total mystery."

Harry reached out and grasped Sirius' shoulder. "I'm glad you're happy, Sirius. Merlin knows you've earned it." Then he turned and pulled Storm close. "I'm happy for you too, Ororo."

Eyes shining, Storm held him tight for a moment. "Thank you, Harry."

Around them, there were more congratulations and introductions. Fleur bustled about treating minor injuries, while the Aurors made sure that the Death Eaters were all secured.

It was Arthur Weasley who stated the obvious. "Wait a moment! Where's You-Know-Who? And this Dr Banner?"

Shacklebolt and Cyclops took charge-though they made a show of consulting Harry and Rogue-and organised a search. The shadowed space behind the dais proved to conceal a door leading into a room with two exits. One door led to a spiral staircase leading up; the other was blocked by a black, pulsing membrane resistant to both Mutant powers and spells.

Bill Weasley came forward to examine the membrane. "This is pretty potent stuff," he allowed, "but not as bad as the gate. Bear with me a minute."

He appeared to struggle with himself for a short while, then his body convulsed and he coughed out a single Word of Power. None of those around him them could make out what it had been. It had a harsh, thunderous sound, and it seemed to the listeners that the language belonged to a species whose vocal organs were different from humans'. Bill relaxed into Tonks' solicitous arms as the membrane split, retracted toward its edges and vanished. The doorway opened onto another spiral staircase, but this one led down.

"For some reason," grumbled Harry, "these little spots of trouble I keep getting into are forever ending up underground."

"Or in a girls' loo," added Hermione.

"No kidding?" said Roberto curiously. "What's it like in there, Harry?"

"They write on the walls, same as we do," Harry revealed.

"OK, that's enough!" Scott interrupted. "There don't seem to be any guards at this end, but there'll probably be at least two at the bottom. It's dark down there, so Nightcrawler had better take point. Colossus, you back him up. Kingsley, which of your people should follow Peter?"

Shacklebolt said, "Moody and Tonks, you go with them. The rest of us will follow."

"Wolverine and I can take rearguard," Snape offered. Shacklebolt nodded his agreement.

Nightcrawler moved off. Instead of walking down the stairs, he scuttled, spider-like, along the wall, its rough stone providing ample grip for his remarkable fingers and toes. The darkness swallowed him almost at once, and Shacklebolt finally realised the aptness of his codename. Colossus followed a yard or so after, with Tonks and Moody sheltering from possible attack behind his massive, metal frame.

After a few moments with no alarm, Cyclops noted, "Clear so far. Shall we, Kingsley?"

"By all means. Harry, stick with me, son."

"Rogue, you're with me," said Cyclops.

They filed quietly down the stairs, pausing every so often. Cyclops called a halt with one hand held up in warning. A flurry of muffled sound drifted up the stairs. A moment later, Scott moved on.

It turned out that there had been six guards in a kind of antechamber at the foot of the stairs. There were still six guards, but they were now quite incapable of guarding! Tonks was binding the last one as the rest of the party came in.

A door at the other end of the room was slightly ajar, and through it came sounds none of them had expected to hear. To the X-Men, the sounds were familiar at once: the chatter of a printer, the chirps and warbles of advanced electronic equipment.

A high-pitched, cold voice demanded, "Well, slave? Are you close to accomplishing your task?" Voldemort!

The second voice was American, and spoke tonelessly, apathetically. "Within minutes, Master. I need to get an exact frequency match. I can't sustain the gamma-negative projector for long without more power and--"

"Silence! I tire of your Muggle babble. Make haste!"

"Oh, Bruce, what has he done to you?" sighed Beast.

"Imperious curse," Harry whispered through gritted teeth. "Voldemort loves that one!"

"Shh!" warned Polaris. "There's something...." She moved to the door, spreading her hands in front of her. "There's a magnetic field in there. It's very strong, very concentrated and localized."

"Of course!" Beast nodded. "That explains a good deal. Gamma radiation is lethal to all forms of life. By rights, the area for miles around this Keep should be a sterile desert, like the Forbidden Zone in Siberia. But a strong, local magnetic field would contain the radiation."

"Whatever, Hank," Cyclops said irritably. "We don't have time for a science class right now. Let's get in there."

They went in fast, without caution, spreading out quickly for a fight. This was no dungeon, but a natural cave, irregularly shaped and rough walled. Towards the back of the cave, stood an array of high-tech equipment and a generator. A slim, bespectacled Muggle in dirty clothes was working on the equipment. Beyond him rose a pulsing dome of intense green light, and in the centre of the dome hung what could only be the Talisman of Life Unending.

It appeared to be a large medallion of white metal. Around its circumference was the Orobouros-the serpent devouring its own tail. In the centre was the double ellipse, symbol of eternity.

Between the invading force and the Talisman stood the tall, gaunt figure of Lord Voldemort. He turned to face them with a sneer. "So you have overcome my minions. No matter, there are always more like them and they served the purpose of delaying you.

"You are come too late, fools! Within moments, my servant will break the barrier that keeps me from my destiny. I shall claim the Talisman for my own, shake off the shackles of mortality and time, and complete the purification of the Wizarding world. When all of you are dust, I shall endure, moulding the future in my true image!"

"I don't believe it," muttered Logan to Snape. "The dude is monologuing! Why do they always do that?"

Voldemort suddenly focused on Harry, and his red eyes flashed fire. "Potter! You survived? Unchanged? The noble Harry Potter left his godfather to die?"

"What makes you think that?" asked Sirius, stepping forward. Voldemort stared uncomprehendingly. Sirius offered him a grim smile. "My godson has more resources at his disposal than you realise."

For a moment only, Voldemort seemed stricken with doubt. Then he rallied, muttering the words, "That may be, but he can still die!" He jabbed his wand at Harry. "Avada Kedavra!"

But as the Dark Lord cast his curse, a huge figure darted in front of Harry. With a loud, metallic clang, the Death-curse bounced off Colossus' chest and struck the device Banner was working on. The machine exploded in a shower of sparks, and the unfortunate Muggle was flung several feet away.

Voldemort hissed, "Resources indeed, Potter! You have made yourself a golem? Begone, creature, I command you!"

"Job tvo madje!" replied Peter crudely.

Voldemort gaped. "You speak, golem?"

"I'm not a golem!" growled Peter, taking a menacing step forward. "And I say, 'Kiss my shiny metal ass!'"

Voldemort stood seething until he threw back his head and howled with frustrated rage. In the silence that followed his insane bellow, another voice called, "Voldemort!"

The dark wizard spun to see his erstwhile slave dragging himself upright. Banner's voice was thick, his face twisted with anger and pain. "You...you kidnapped me. You took away my will. You starved me, tortured me, made me work. Kept me here..."

With each phrase, Banner's voice deepened and strengthened. His body swelled and grew, his skin turned green, and suddenly Voldemort was facing the Hulk!

The jade-skinned giant boomed, "Red-Eye made Hulk slave. Hulk will smash!"

Voldemort hurled his death curse again, but the Hulk simply shrugged it off, growling, "Snake-face hurt Hulk, but Hulk is strongest one!" At that, Voldemort, shrieking imprecations, Disapparated with a thunderclap.

The Hulk roared in fury, snatched up the portable generator and heaved it towards Harry and his friends. Polaris managed to deflect the hurtling mass. Arthur Weasley sank the Hulk up to his thighs into the cave floor. The Hulk roared louder, and began to pound at the ground in front of him. The entire cave shook; rocks and dust fell down from the roof.

"That's not gonna hold him," yelled Cyclops. "Everybody out!"

They dashed to the door, only to find that the anteroom was blocked with debris. Cyclops turned to Shacklebolt. "Kingsley, you and your people can Apparate out of here. Go! We'll do what we can."

"Not a chance, Scott. Would you leave us? Besides," Shacklebolt jerked his chin at Ginny, "not all of us can Apparate."

"Stand away, if you please!" shouted Sunfire. "I will clear a path." He raised his hands.

"Fire in the hole!" yelled Marie, and everyone backed off, Mutants dragging wizards out of harm's way. Sunfire's plasma bolts did not melt the rubble, they vaporised it! Shiro was exerting his power to the full, and within seconds, the room was clear but the walls and floor glowed red hot. Sunfire dropped to his knees, flushed and sweating; he had overheated himself. Iceman cooled Sunfire with a touch, and then applied his power to the anteroom, making it safe to enter.

The Hulk was still pounding relentlessly at the stone that held him. Wizards at the front of the group were doing their best to shield everyone from falling stone.

"This whole place is comin' down," bellowed Logan. "Let's move, people!"

Halfway up the spiral staircase, the roof finally gave way. Crouching under shields, Mutants and wizards surveyed the wreckage. The stairs leading upward were gone, but the room behind the throne was still there, hovering fifteen feet above them. The four flight-capable X-Men promptly soared up to it. Nightcrawler teleported, and Ariel ran up on the air itself.

"How am I going to...?" wondered Ginny until Colossus put a hand on her and Harry's shoulders. "Hawk, get up there and get ready to catch her."

Harry Apparated up to the ledge. Colossus stood with his back to it and laced his fingers in front of him, saying, "Come on, Firebird!" Ginny made a short run, put a foot in his linked hands, pushed off from his shoulders and sprang as he heaved. "Alley-oop!" Peter grunted. Harry caught Ginny at the top of her jump with a Hover Charm and brought her safely to the ledge.

The other wizards Apparated up to them. Far above, more of the roof gave way and a shaft of sunlight shone through. Roberto stepped into the light to become Sunspot. He took up a position beside Colossus, and the two of them began to toss the other X-Men up, to be deftly fielded by the wizards. After Colossus tossed Roberto toward Harry, Polaris lifted Colossus to the ledge.

They stood there, pleased to be reunited, until a violent tremor shook the ground, throwing them all off their feet. Ginny and Hermione went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

"Oof!" said Hermione. "Putting on some weight, dearie?"

"Cheeky mare!" replied Ginny without rancour, helping her friend up.

Ron looked at Harry, who lay sprawled across him. "Harry?"

"What?"

"When I said about going gay-I didn't mean it!"

"Damn! Here I was about to try for a snog."

"Some other time."

"Enough jokes!" barked Shacklebolt. "We have to keep moving."

They dashed across the hall, avoiding the heaps of rubble and gaping cracks in the floor. The stairs led to a long corridor at the end of which the great door stood closed. In front of the doors, stood a wavering apparition of Bellatrix.

"You'll never escape," she mocked. "I sealed this door. You'll all be buried."

Cannonball streaked through the projection, which looked shocked, and crashed into the door, ripping it from its hinges.

They ran through the courtyard and outer ward, out through the main gate, and into the woods, regrouping on the small rise where Fleur and Cyclops had stood that morning. Despite all that had happened, it was now just past noon. The weary combatants watched in silence as the subterranean pounding continued.

The tall tower wavered, then slowly toppled down. Massive walls split, cracked and fell. There was one final rumble, and the entire structure seemed to fold in on itself, dissolving in a cloud of dust. The ancient Keep of Salazar Slytherin was nothing more than a pile of dirt.

George Weasley broke the silence. "Well, that's that."

"No," said Kurt, "I think not."

From inside the rubble, something was struggling to escape. Then a shower of stone exploded upwards--along with a green form that landed just short of the tree line.

"Bozhe moi" breathed Peter.

The Hulk stared around him, not seeing the people gathered on the rise.

Cyclops exhaled heavily. "Now things get really tough!" he said.