Harry Potter and the Birth of a New Sun

Harry Potter and the Birth of a New Sun

Chapter 48 - The Death of Harry Potter

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The night of the full moon was as bright as day and the pooling water feeding the falls shimmered beneath the fierceness of Ebyrth. The comet's tail curled in an unnatural way about the planet Mars. Was it some strange gravitational pull, or was something greater at work? Ebyrth had passed the god of war and it appeared that the planet would be untouched by the comet's fire. Ebyrth, unwilling to surrender, seemed to reach out in one last desperate attempt, but it was to no avail. There would be no grand collision this evening. The cycle would remain unbroken and the war between Centaur and Dementor would continue again when next the comet returned. Worse yet, Mars, unchecked and undamaged, would continue to grow brighter as it neared the earth, an increasing cycle of violence that the Centaurs knew all too well.

Along the water's edge, Ron and Gabriella walked toward Snape, Voldemort's host. His white face was more pale than ever and his shoulders were hunched. He appeared more aged by the moment, but he refused assistance, revelling in the death that was about to be dealt out. At his side Dakhil Barghouti continued to smoke his cigar, twirling it in his fingers in eager anticipation. In front of them, James Chang stood, as lifeless and zombie-like as Ron and Gabriella. The three of them had been hosts to Voldemort's evil and somehow he had left a controlling curse that would spell their doom as it had Patrick O'Riley's.

Behind the trees Death Eaters still struggled to rejoin their master. Only a few were free, standing near Tonks who still resembled Cho Chang. They had been commanded not to attack her for fear they might harm the child - Voldemort's last hope of regaining his true form. Harry, who also transfigured to resemble Cho, was the closest to Voldemort and he rolled his wand in his fingers considering Dakhil's true intentions. Harry could see that the vampire's emotions were as heightened as ever, but what did that mean? He stepped closer with his rock that almost resembled a small child, but upon close inspection would look more like a squiggling cantaloupe with eyes. He tucked it further within the flaps of his cloak.

Hermione crouched low next to Cho who held James tightly in her arms. They were nearest the edge of the falls and had no way to escape. Harry wished he could get to them, but the magical lake was pooling between them and he wasn't willing to risk what might happen if he should fall in those waters again.

Unable to stand still any longer, Hermione ran to grab Ron, but was repelled by some sort of protection charm. "Ron!" she screamed. "Ron!"

"Hermione, stay back near the rocks!" commanded Tonks. "You're too exposed!"

No sooner had she said the words than a Death Eater cast a stunner. It flew at Hermione whose eyes narrowed as it approached. With the instincts of a cat, Hermione deflected it deliberately toward Voldemort, forcing him to use a shield charm and duck. Unable to move as quickly as he would like, his body recoiled when the spell struck and the action caused him to grimace. Clearly he was in some sort of pain. When he straightened, his eyes were on fire.

"I had considered killing James first," he said with a sneer, "but perhaps I shall kill your fiancée for your impudence! A shame really; he was my most worthy adversary. Not even Potter matched his skill. Where is your friend anyway? Perhaps friend's not the right word, if he won't dare to show himself. I suspect he's finally realized his place - cleaning the Centaur shit holes."

Again, Harry stepped forward. From across the water, Tonks noticed and slightly shook her head. She motioned that he should move toward Cho and away from Voldemort. He wasn't sure what she meant since it was impossible for him to cross the water. That position would place him directly opposite Tonks; they would be like goalposts on opposite sides of the falls. He was about to shake his own head in opposition when he heard a faint voice calling his name.

"Harry!"

It was thin... less than a wisp of a cloud.

"Harry. Where are you?"

Harry looked to the forest and then to the waters. Ghosts were swirling about, but this voice was familiar, though distant. He closed his eyes and reached out his mind taking in all the life forms around him. Seeing Gabriella's aura almost made him sick. It was weak as if she were giving up her life force to the cosmos. He then looked at Ron's and...

"Harry. Are you here?"

Ron's was burning brightly. He opened his eyes and fixed them on his best friend. Barely perceptible, behind his right ear, what looked like a large vein was protruding. Harry hadn't seen that since last year. Ron must have been using the massive energy churning about the falls to amplify his mental skills, but it was taking the same physical toll as last time. Somehow he was shielding Voldemort's control in a ruse to... well, Harry didn't know why.

"Ron!" Harry called back across the bridge that his friend had erected for him. "I'm here!" They knew this dance well and once they were connected the conversation could have been as simple and as clear as sitting before the hearth in the Gryffindor common room.

"Where's here?" Ron asked, still keeping his face blank and his shoulders slack as he proceeded with Gabriella toward Voldemort.

"I'm... erm... I'm Cho," answered Harry awkwardly.

"No shit, Sherlock? Which one?"

"Across the water."

Ron deliberately tripped on a stick so that he could turn and get a look at Harry on the other side of the small lake. Harry swore he saw a twinkle in his eyes that vanished the moment he began to turn away.

"Don't worry," Ron said. "I'll break his hold on her and, after that, I'm taking him down. I just need to get... a little closer."

Ron and Gabriella were about twenty yards away. They looked like the walking dead and no one knew what to do. As they drew closer, Ron's eyes remained locked on Voldemort who was more interested in the three children, one of which was his prey.

"Damn," he communicated to Harry. "He looks weak; you could blow him over with a feather."

"Don't underestimate him, Ron!"

"I did that once already. It won't happen again."

Harry considered Patrick's words about how Ron could defeat Voldemort, but if that was the case, the prophecy was wrong... Dumbledore was wrong. He watched as Ron drew closer... ten yards... Eventually, Harry could no longer sit idly. He had to move in.

"Ron, I can't let you do this. He'll kill you."

"For once in your life, Harry, keep your wand in your pants!" Ron hissed back, giving Harry a mental shove while the redhead stepped ever closer. "I can... I can hear his thoughts... barely... there we go... Yes! He wants Jamie, but... now that he's seen it, he wants the cloak too. He knows its power, but there's something more. Just a little... closer."

Watching Gabriella move within arm's reach of Voldemort was more than Harry could bear. He began to move in. "Ron, I'm--"

There were shrieks from the others, a 'Swoop!', and suddenly Harry's feet were leaving the ground. Long talons clasped tightly about his shoulders - one claw digging into the wound on Harry's chest. Blood began to drip down the front of his imitation white robes. He'd been taken up by Draco, in full vampire form, and in his surprise Harry dropped his rock-child to the ground. The stone began to scream loudly and then sprouted legs and ran into the forest. It all happened so quickly, no one noticed that Jamie was nothing more than a transfigured rock. What they did see was that little Jamie, if he was the right little Jamie, was disappearing into the trees and Merlin only knows what kind of dangerous creatures. A dead Jamie was no use to the Dark Lord.

"STOP HIM!" cried Voldemort, his voice high, but thin. For a moment, Harry thought he was talking about Draco, carrying him around the falls as if her were a rag-doll taking a tourist ride, but he was pointing instead to Harry's little rock-child. Evidently, he hadn't noticed that it was a fake.

Harry fumbled with the black ring on his right hand. "I can make you put me down, Draco." In response Draco carried him over the edge of the falls, just above the sharp jagged rocks below.

"Would here work?" Draco drawled, chuckling in a very beastly sort of way. He briefly loosened his grip, then dug his talons in more tightly than ever. "Have I told you? You're such a drama queen, Potter. And what's with the Cho Chang getup? It's really a crappy disguise. I would recognize your ass from a mile away. HE didn't notice. Did you notice he didn't notice?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Of course you wouldn't notice; too busy worrying about her." Harry dangling from his clutches, Draco turned toward Voldemort and Dakhil, unwilling to trust either of them. "I'm talking about our chance, Potter; our opportunity. Something's wrong."

"Draco! What are you doing?" The words came from Dakhil in yet another unspoken tongue - vampiric. They were sharp and biting.

"What?" questioned Draco silently in return. "You didn't think I'd find you out? You didn't think I'd discover your change in allegiance?" He roared, flapping higher into the air. Unlike Dakhil, Draco's words were pitched high. They were bitter and sad. "If you've taken his side old man, then so shall I!" He kept flying higher. "I don't care how great a wizard Potter is; he still can't fly without a broom!" Draco brought his cheek next to Harry's. The smell of dried blood filled the air. "Can you, Potter?" he whispered.

Suddenly, Draco turned and started to dive straight toward Voldemort, Dakhil and the others. "Want to feel speed, Potter?" He accelerated. "Ten times faster than the P2," he spat. "If he doesn't save your life, I'll know. Either way, know that I'll finish the job."

The wind was screaming in their faces. Below, only Dakhil was looking their way. The others were fixed upon the distant forest into where Harry's rock-child had run.

"You're being foolish, boy!" cried Dakhil. "Put him down!"

"Oh, he's going down," said Draco with a toothy grin. "This time, for the last time!"

Draco released Harry like a missile hurtling toward the earth in front of Snape's feet. Dakhil slipped out his wand, but didn't hold it up. Instead, he pointed it down so no one would see. Though the wind was blinding Harry's eyes, he saw a blue light strike the earth below. He hoped that was a good thing, or this was going to hurt.

"Retardus!" Harry cried out, hoping to slow down. The spell was too little, too late. Its only real effect was to draw everyone's attention to the sky. They all cast shield charms, thinking for an instant that it might be an attack, just as Harry smashed into the dirt. He was expecting a crunch, but the earth gave way and he sunk some two feet into the wet loam. Draco came to a gentle stop at his side. Directly to the vampire's left stood Ron, James and Gabriella - statuesque spectators.

"The Malfoy boy!" said Voldemort, curiously enamoured with Draco's form. "I had heard you were... turned." He stepped closer to the pit of muck that Harry had just made. "I understand your anger at the girl, Draco," Voldemort said tenderly. "I understand that you think she should pay for what she did to your father." Then a flash of anger flushed his face.

"Crucio!" Voldemort cried. Draco was down on his knees, screaming in pain. "But I gave specific instructions to leave these ladies alone until--"

"This one's... no... lady, my lord," said Draco with an indistinguishable growl. The pain stopped. "It's Potter!"

Dakhil began to translate. "He said--"

"I know what he said," Voldemort cut him off. Though his mind was a bit cloudy, he was a good enough Legilimens that he understood what Draco had been trying to say.

"My lord!" cried one of the Death Eaters from near the trees where Harry once stood. "We've captured the... the boy!"

One of the Death Eaters brought Harry's rock-child over to their master and held it up so he could see it. He began to laugh. "Your son, Potter?" Voldemort heckled. "HE must be. You share the same thick expression and dull intellect; as it was with your parents, now that I think about it. Right off the old rock pile." Voldemort held out his wand and cast the killing curse, shattering the stone into dust and killing the Death Eater holding it in the process. Ignoring the wizard as he crumpled to the ground, Voldemort muttered, "One down... two to go."

Harry transformed back and pushed himself out of the soggy earth, wiping the mud from his face. He'd twisted his ankle, but there were no broken bones. Pure hate flamed from his eyes as he looked up at... Draco. "You'll die before the sun rises, Malfoy." He spat into the vampire's face.

"I had heard you were... friends," said Voldemort, looking closely into Draco's eyes and then into Harry's. Both bore nothing but animosity for the other. "Clearly there's no love lost here." He stepped over to Harry, holding his wand just under Harry's chin. "I wish you could be there, Potter, when I am born again. Your child's blood... a little magic... By Morgana, perhaps I'll even take this one." He stroked Gabriella's hair. "She will certainly have her uses, or haven't you discovered them yet?" He jabbed his wand tighter into Harry's throat. "I've waited all year to say good-bye... Harry Potter."

Voldemort planted his feet in the earth, drawing from what energy it would give him. His eyes were filled with hate.

In the distance, Hermione cried out, "Severus... no!"

His wand ready to explode with green light, Snape's hand began to tremble. He brought the left over to the right to regain control, but the shaking became worse. Slowly, the wand pulled away from Harry and pointed into the air. Snape spun staring at the redhead who had stepped in front of Gabriella and was looking straight into his eyes.

"YOU!" he screeched in a high, cold voice.

"Time to dance, Tommy boy!" whispered Ron.

The remaining Death Eaters were stepping somewhat away from their master and only those nearby could clearly see what was going on. Ron and Voldemort were having a mental go of it. Harry could see the gnarls of nerves winding about the nape of Ron's neck. Immediately, the hold on James and Gabriella was broken.

"Run," Ron hissed. "I can't..." His eyes twitched; a drip of blood pooled in the corner of one eye and trickled down the side of his face. "Damn it, run!"

Gabriella looked over to see her love standing in front of her. "Harry?" she asked disoriented and in disbelief. She wrapped her arms about him. They kissed, but Harry quickly pulled away.

"Get out of here!" he commanded. "Both of you! Run!"

They took only a few steps when Dakhil raised his wand.

"Incarcerous!" he cried, wrapping both Gabriella and James in ropes.

"What are you doing?" cried Harry. "He cast a spell that freed the two and they began to run, again." Dakhil cast another spell and missed as they went to join Tonks who was still disguised as Cho, standing near the door to the stronghold. Dakhil simply grunted as if he'd missed a rabbit and that there would be more.

"Pain?" replied Ron to an unheard question. Harry's attention turned to his best friend. "I'll show you pain!" Voldemort dropped suddenly to one knee and cried out in agony. "Do you know what you've done to me? DO YOU KNOW!"

Voldemort fell to two knees. While the whites of Ron's eyes had turned red to match the colour of his hair, blood began to trickle out of Snape's ears.

"Ron!" said Harry. "Ron, stop, you're killing--"

"Leave them, boy," snapped Dakhil. "If you interrupt now, they both could lose themselves in the other's mind. Detached, they could die. They could both die."

Harry raised his wand and pointed it at Dakhil and then at Draco, moving it back and forth between the pair he said, "You! How could you? You're a traitor to the Votary, to Singehorn. And you, by all that is holy, how--"

There was a familiar hiss. Harry turned to see the arrow coming. He tried to react, but it was too late. It pierced Ron in the right shoulder, spinning him to the ground. If there was such a thing as an abrupt interruption, that was it. Harry looked up to see two Centaurs standing in the clearing - Bane and Shahan. Bane had cast the arrow. From this distance he would have easily killed Ron, if that had been his intent. What was he up to?

"Ron!" Hermione screamed. Tonks sent out a blast of red light that struck the Centaur, dropping him to the ground. Hermione cast another at Shahan who moved out of the way. Not sated, she began to attack the half-dozen Death Eaters that were near Tonks. They returned fire. In seconds, everyone was firing spell after spell. Huge chunks of earth and stone were ripped and torn and flying with blasts of light. Draco pulled his wand to join the fray, but Dakhil stayed his hand, taking a quick glance up to the moon.

"You will know the proper target when the time is right," said Dakhil with his gravelled voice. Harry looked up to see that the moon was near its apex.

He ran to Ron's side, hoping he could stop the bleeding and heal the wound. He was surprised to find that the arrow was neither poisoned nor enchanted, nor had it struck any vital organs. Ron reached to his shoulder and groaned.

"Harry?" he whispered. "Bloody hell, I had 'em."

At the same time Voldemort began to gather his senses and Dakhil helped him to his feet. "Are you well, my lord?" he asked as a blast of blue light shot over their heads. "The boy didn't harm you, did he?"

"Boy?" asked Voldemort, taking Dakhil's hand. Another blast of red crashed into the ground before them. "What... what's going on?"

"You were attacked. The men started fighting."

He looked up to see his two Cho's, the real and the imaginary, fighting for their lives. In the mayhem, Cho set Jamie down at her feet beneath the protection of her robes that she might better attack those pelting her with spells. Dobby, still resembling Jamie, began to wander from Tonks' side. Something about the water was calling to him. Tonks was forced to deflect the spells being cast at her. Professor Flitwick's enchantment skills had been spectacular, but her robe would not hold out for much longer.

The occasional spell would come close to Dobby who, somehow, was able to deflect them without much difficulty. In one case he appeared to catch a stunning spell in his hands. The red light balled up and exploded, sending sparks into the air that rained down over his head. It was this that Voldemort saw and it was this that convinced him that he had discovered the true Jamie.

"Hhhhiiimmm!" he hissed, pointing at Dobby.

"Excuse me, my lord?" asked Dakhil, apparently unable to understand.

The real Jamie saw the flash of sparks and, unbeknownst to his mother, slipped out from under her robes and began to walk unsteadily toward Dobby who was now near the water's edge.

"'gain... 'gain!" cried Jamie with joy. Dobby smiled at his twin, but the water continued to beckon. He bent low at the shore's edge.

Simultaneously, both Cho and Tonks saw one Jamie running toward the water and the other reaching down to put his hand in. They had each lost track of which was which and they both began to run toward them. Voldemort noticed the boys nearing the water as well.

"Stop them!" he cried, pointing to the twin Jamies, but his Death Eaters took the command to mean the girls.

There was a flurry of more spells, but none struck true. Harry heard Shahan snort in disgust. It was followed by a hissing sound that Harry recognized at once and this time prepared for. The enchanted arrows sang out in the air toward their victims. Thwish! Thwish! Thwish! Three poisoned arrows, cast by Shahan, with the sole purpose to kill. The first was aimed at Harry who caught it in his hand. The second was aimed at Cho Chang, the real Cho Chang. Is struck the cloak with a clang and fell to the ground. The third was aimed at Tonks and it struck her straight between the shoulder blades. With a gasp, she fell face first onto the wet ground near the rushing water that plunged over the falls.

"You fool!" yelled Voldemort.

There was a small outcropping of rocks near Harry and the others. Severus climbed up to get a better look at the girl that had fallen. She was the true mother of the boy he had identified as Harry's son. It had happened again - a mother's life for her child - ancient magic. His face was white with horror and his raging eyes on fire. He looked up toward the night's sky and let loose a piercing scream.

"NOOOOOOO!"

The earth shook, splitting the trees behind Voldemort and allowing a handful of the trapped Death Eaters to join their master.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort cried. A blast of green light erupted from his wand and struck Shahan before he could even begin to comprehend. The colt fell dead, his eyes open, staring at the heavens above.

"Dakhil," hissed Voldemort. "Now I'll never...." He began to cough.

Casting an accusatory glance at Dakhil and Draco, almost daring them to take action, Harry lifted Ron to his feet.

"Come on, Ron," he urged. "We have to get out of here." Already Hermione was at Tonks' side trying to heal her. But Ron held fast, refusing to leave.

Snape coughed some more only this time blood splattered from his mouth.

"It's poison," whispered Ron. "I knew there was something."

On the other side of the water, Gabriella stood frozen, looking down at the scene playing out before her. Hermione was casting spell after spell in a frantic attempt to save Tonks' life. For a moment, they were the only spells being cast. The attention of the Death Eaters had turned once again toward their master who appeared more ill than ever.

Watching Tonks transform back into her own image, Dobby followed in kind, but Voldemort, hunched over his own pool of sputum and blood, never noticed. James ran to his sister's aid, swooped up Jamie, and placed him into his sister's arms as she stepped over to help Hermione.

"She came to protect me," Cho said, holding back the tears. "Why? Why her and not me?" Then her attention turned to Gabriella. "You know, don't you? What's special about this cloak?"

"It's Voldemort," whispered Gabriella, tears streaming down her eyes.

"It's Voldemort's?" asked Cho.

"No. It is Voldemort - the soul of Tom Riddle. It is all that was ever good in him and he cast it aside. Still, he covets it. Harry took it from the Ministry to hide it away. I thought... I thought it would protect you."

As if she were covered in spiders, Cho began to rip the cloak off her body. "Voldemort?" She balled it up and tossed it on the ground, backing away. Gabriella reached down and picked it up. The cloth was brilliant white, unstained by the muddy earth. Then she considered the waters rushing over the falls.

"Voldemort!" she called out. "If you want your soul back, come and get it!"

Voldemort looked up to see Gabriella holding his cloak in her hands. He held out his arm as if he were about to say something, when she cast the cloak into the pooling waters. It didn't sink; it didn't drift with the current. It simply floated on the water's surface, slowly making its way upstream to the centre of the lake.

He coughed again, splattering blood onto the ground. "Thirsty, Draco?" he said with a smile and then he began to laugh a slow, sickening laugh. "Release the Dementors," he whispered. Dakhil echoed his orders and a cool wind blew forth. Above the trees behind Voldemort a dark cloud grew. Harry could hear some of the Death Eaters still trapped behind the trees scream. It was an alliance of convenience and the Dementors were hungry. Harry looked at Draco, wondering when the last time was he had fed.

An enormous black cloud rose up from the north. It would be impossible for them to stave off the attack. Worse, Voldemort might be dying, but it wasn't really Voldemort at all. It was Snape. Harry surmised some Death Eater had poisoned him, or maybe... maybe Dakhil. Voldemort wouldn't care; he'd take a new host. Harry looked about wondering which new Death Eater would serve their master. None, willingly, he was sure.

The cloud came up and over the trees. Already the falls were crusting with ice. James and Gabriella began casting patronus spells, trying to push back the darkness. The free Death Eaters were about to join the Dementors in the attack when a red glow grew out of the east. The ground began to rumble and then a tremendous hissing filled the air.

Hundreds of arrows began to explode in the night sky as nearly two dozen Centaurs, Felspar at their lead, stampeded over the rocks where only a moment before stood Tonks. Along side of them were a number of wizards, which Harry couldn't make out because the air began to fill with too many ghosts. The Dementors began to scatter and Harry thought they might have the advantage when, above the roar of the falls, screams could be heard coming from the wizards below. The Dementors had realized there was more to feed on below the falls than above them.

"A host," coughed Snape. "The boy's right... poison. Severus has betrayed me."

"Thorfinn!" called Dakhil. "Your time has come."

Harry looked over to see a large brutal-faced Death Eater fighting hand-to-hand with a Centaur. He was tall enough to meet the Centaur eye-to-eye and held the creature's arms behind its back. He was holding his wand to the Centaur's head when Dakhil called his name again. A look of horror filled his eyes. The indecision cost him his life. He lost his grip, the Centaur spun, and an arrow pierced Thorfinn's chest; he was stabbed through the heart.

Undaunted, Dakhil called impassively to yet another. "Selwynn!"

"There's no end to them," thought Harry as he watched bodies drop all around him. One body would be as good as another and eventually... eventually he would find Jamie. He looked over to Cho and his child crouching over Tonks' body, James attempting to shield his sister. Together with Hermione they were a whirlwind of fire, but it wouldn't matter. At some point they would lose... they would all lose and Voldemort would come back as strong and as powerful as ever. The cold and sorrow began to penetrate Harry's mind and he began to weep.

It was then that Harry felt them. It was warmth replacing the cold. Drahmir and Talisan were near. They had finished their work on the Dementors near Terntalag and had come to help dispatch these. Harry fiddled with his wand. He had to do something to stop Voldemort, but he didn't know how. If he killed him, all he would do is kill Snape. Voldemort would rise from the body and take over someone else.

He could hear Drahmir and Talisan beckon to him. They were excited, perhaps too excited. "The stone... use the stone!" they called out, eager to see more fire fill the air and, for a moment, he considered the proposition. With their help it would be possible to atomize everything within a hectare. Certainly, Voldemort would be destroyed then. The fighting would end. That's all Harry really wanted. It had to end. Gabriella and Jamie would be protected; his family would be safe. His mind flashed back to Greece, when he used the purifying power of the dragons Casinius and Crestian to destroy the onslaught of Dementors overwhelming his godfather's castle.

His eyes looked at the waters and up to the stars. He raised his wand, his eyes in some other place, some other time - the Heart of Asha beating in his chest. The mark of the Viswa Vajra burned brightly upon his forearm. "To destroy all evil," he whispered.

"Harry?"

A hand touched his arm - Ron's hand. The fire of Asha's heart cooled as Harry looked back at his friend and then up to the dragons flying near. "Stay behind the trees. Take out the Dementors," he commanded. "Nothing more. Do not enter the battle at the falls." He slipped his wand away and took Ron by the hand lifting him to his feet.

"Let's get out of here," said Harry as fire began to light the sky above them. He was beginning to enjoy the screams of Dementors and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. He turned and snapped Dakhil and Draco a look of pure hatred.

"No!" argued Ron. "Now... we have to do this now! If you won't I will!" Ron pulled his wand as Harry looked over to find that the Death Eater Dakhil had summoned, Selwynn, was gone. He had run off into the trees. Ron continued toward Snape who continued to cough blood. Harry grabbed his arm.

"You'll just kill Severus," said Harry.

"For once, you're right, Potter," said Dakhil. "Clearly, your fool of a Potions Professor thought he could kill our Dark Lord by committing suicide, but that's all it is... suicide. The Dark Lord will rise again. Harry could sense that Snape had little time left. For a moment, he considered trying to heal him. As if reading Harry's thoughts, Dakhil handed him his cigar.

"Here, boy," he sneered. "Put yourself to good use. Hold this. I'll no longer need cigars."

Harry took the cigar. He was about to throw it away when he felt something hard, something very un-cigarlike. Dakhil stepped down toward Snape and helped him to his feet.

"It would be better, my lord," said Dakhil, "if you make the transition before death." All Snape could do was to nod his head. "Then, if you would have me, I offer you my body." Dakhil held out his arms. "It would be an honour, my lord." Voldemort nodded weakly in agreement.

"No!" yelled Draco, but all that came out was a horrible screech.

"Fool!" snapped Dakhil.

Voldemort looked at one and then the other. He held up a weak finger toward Draco and whispered, "Let me see your form." Harry could feel Dakhil grow very nervous.

Draco nodded, but before he transformed he looked at Harry and said, "Remember, shit for brains... the headline has both our names - Malfoy and Potter." He looked away. "I want it that way... at least once, anyway."

He then transformed into his human self. He stood before Voldemort a pale nude; his youthful, muscular body in stark contrast to the aged Vampire next to him. Voldemort tried to stand taller and took Draco by the arm.

"Like the son I never had," he hissed. "I thought perhaps Nott, but you... a vampire. I never considered it before. I will share this power with you my son. You shall be my Phobos... the centre of my Shield of Herakles, for when wizards set eyes upon your terrible form, all will fly in terror, knowing that Voldemort has arrived."

Voldemort muttered some words then held up his face to the sky and opened his mouth. A green smoke issued forth and Snape fell to the ground, gasping and coughing as he clutched his throat.

"Don't do it, Draco!" cried Harry, but Draco just stood there smiling at Harry. The smoke wrapped once around him and then began to enter his body.

"In Asha's name!" cursed Dakhil, his eyes darting about, trying to figure out what to do. "You!" He pointed at Ron. "Use your mind... hold him. Don't let him take control!" He then turned to Harry. "You! The cigar you idiot. Give it to Snape before he dies."

Ron grabbed Draco by the shoulders and looked deeply into his eyes. "Stay with me, Draco. Stay with me." The neural tendrils began to wind their way down Ron's back. "That's it," he muttered, straining. "Push him away."

Nervously, Harry pulled the cigar apart to find a glass vial. It fumbled in his fingers and nearly fell.

"Don't break it!" yelled Dakhil

Harry dropped to his knees and swung Snape around, holding him in his arms. Carefully, he poured the golden liquid down his throat. At once Snape's breathing eased and the colour, what little there was, returned to his face. His eyes closed and he fell asleep in the middle of the battle. He set him back to the ground and looked up at Ron and Draco.

"You can't have him!" Ron snapped through gritted teeth. Whatever fight was taking place, it was taking its toll on Ron. The tendrils were growing larger, bulging out through his skin like raised, red welts the size of giant slugs.

"We need to get him into the water while we have the chance!" cried Dakhil.

Draco began to chuckle and it wasn't clear if it was Draco, or Voldemort. For an instant, standing in the nude, he glanced down at Harry. His two grey eyes bore nothing but pure happiness. Then he spoke, his words distant, yet deep.

"There is another name for Phobos, my lord... Flight!"

Draco shoved Ron aside and ran toward the rocks at the fall's rim, beyond which was a sheer drop of over a hundred meters. Without looking back, he took one leap high into the air and disappeared over the edge.

"Draco!" Harry screamed.

"Yes!" said Dakhil. "The falls. The water below will--"

Harry's heart sank. Rising above the falls in full vampire form was Draco, his batlike wings pulsating rhythmically.

"Did you think you could so easily defeat me, Potter?" he screeched.

"It's Voldemort!" Ron yelled.

"The time has come," the voice of death whispered in Harry's ear. "You'll lose one you love." He looked over at Tonks. Was there still time to save her? The mark on his arm began to burn again. The Viswa Vajra, raised and red, would not be denied. Harry had one last chance to destroy him... here and now. Once again, he could feel the Heart of Asha burning with anger inside his chest. He could sense the great dragon Singehorn approach.

"Finally," he whispered. Voldemort moved in closer, moving away from the precipice and over the pooling lake. Harry recalled Dumbledore saying that Tom Riddle didn't care much for heights.

"Come closer," Harry whispered.

Seeing their master with renewed strength, the Death Eaters regained their courage and began to fight harder. The wizards that had accompanied the Centaurs began to pull back.

"You will die with your boy, Harry," sneered Voldemort. "The name Potter will be stricken from the records and no one will speak the word under penalty of death." Voldemort held his wand down toward Cho and Jamie. As fast as a Centaur, Harry was at their side, rolling him and Cho away as a blast of green light cratered the ground near Hermione and Tonks. James was knocked to the ground, but unhurt.

Voldemort was about to blast again when he looked down and saw his white cloak, still floating, motionless in the water. It wouldn't hold his attention long. Harry was wishing that they had more help when he thought of Helena's words. "If you need us, call," she had said. "One of us is always near, and never forget, Harry Potter... you are one of us."

"Helena!" he called, hoping that somehow the ghosts nearby would understand. "Help us!"

Mist began to pour through the trees and hover about the lake. It concealed Voldemort's cloak and he screamed again, casting spells that had little effect on the spirits. More and more flowed in and they began to slowly swirl like some celestial galaxy. Gently, imperceptibly they were causing the water to rise beneath the mist, while Voldemort refused to fly higher. He cast more spells, inflicting pain to shoo them away, but for every one that scattered two took its place. The forest of ghosts was emptying out over the lake and there were hundreds.

Harry rolled back over, Jamie in his arms, and saw Hermione still trying to heal Tonks. He handed Jamie to Cho and crawled over to her. Tonks was taking in short, sharp breaths and Hermione was sobbing.

"The arrow," she said woefully, "it's enchanted. Nothing I do..."

Harry knelt over Tonks and took her hand; it was cold. He reached out to heal her, but all he could find was an empty void. There was no hint of life energy. He began to reach deeper, pouring some of his own energy into hers, when her hand touched his lips.

"No," she whispered softly. "Save your strength."

What he thought was just a little effort he recognized was much more. Pulling back, he found that he was dizzy and the forest was tipping to one side. She was right. If he tried to save her, he would not be able to do anything to protect the others. A tear slipped down his cheek.

"She's been with Cho since she entered the stronghold," said Hermione. "I had told her about Gabriella's vision."

"Why, Tonks?" he asked. "If you knew Gabriella's vision... why?"

"I wasn't going to have another Potter grow up without his mother. Not... not this time." She smiled, brushing the back of her hand against Harry's cheek and wiping away the tears. "Kill the bastard."

Her hand fell, lifeless, in Harry's lap.

The sprits that had been hovering on the edges of the forest, nearest the trees, moved in and, for the first time, Harry had a clear view of the wizards that had come to help them. Sirius stood near Felspar. She was firing into the Dementors above and he was attacking Death Eaters below.

"Sirius!" called Harry.

"Sorry, I'm late," answered Sirius. "The Hebrideans routing Voldemort's army made it tough to leave."

Another wizard in green robes rushed forward. Harry knew the colours of Slytherin and drew his wand. He was about to fire when he recognized the wizard as Blaise Zabini. The Slytherin's eyes kept flashing between the Vampire encircled by ghosts over the water and the group about Harry.

"S-Sirius wants you back in the stronghold," said Blaise. "There, behind the rocks." Blaise was pointing them toward safety, when Voldemort let out another scream. There was a flash of light from his wand and the impulse pushed the ghosts back ten metres. Blaise stepped to the water's edge.

"Don't let him take you, Draco!" he yelled. Voldemort turned toward Blaise. He held out his wand to cast a curse, but his hand began to shake. He turned and again took out his frustration on the swarming ghosts. There was a roar overhead that shook the ground. Singehorn had arrived and he circled them just above the treetops, his massive body dwarfing the trees.

A Death Eater, realizing the new threat, sent out a killing curse, missing low and blasting off the top of a large pine tree.

Just as Harry was about to respond, a small hand grabbed at his legs. He looked down to see Jamie, his lip curling up as if he were about to cry.

"NO!" he yelled, pounding the ground with his foot in something of a tantrum. A whip of water flung out of the lake, grabbed the Death Eater by the legs and pulled him into the waters.

"NO! NO! NO!" Jamie yelled repeatedly. Three more whips flung out of the lake and three more Death Eaters disappeared beneath the lake's surface. The others began to step away from the water, leaving their master hovering alone above the cloak he coveted.

"The mark," Gabriella gasped. "The mark on his arm. He has shown a kindness to the dragon!"

Harry wasn't sure what she meant when he looked down to see Jamie's arm glowing. The Mark of Asha had been set upon his arm and the image... the image was that of Singehorn.

As the ghosts pressed in on Voldemort once again, Singehorn called to Harry.

"Use the stone," he commanded.

"I know what you would do," answered Harry, "but there are too many lives to be lost. We cannot turn to evil to fight evil. There are hundreds below."

"You have learned the cleansing power of both fire and water, Harry," said Singehorn. "It is why you came to this place. It is why destiny has brought us all together that we might see the prophecy fulfilled. Command the stone to use the elements at your disposal and I will offer what fires are left within me."

Harry looked up as Blaise kept calling Draco's name. Harry bit his lip. "I need him lower," he whispered. There was a roar at the far end of the falls as Dakhil Barghouti rose from the shore as a vampire. He flew out to meet Draco, trying to pull him down toward the water. There was also a ghost climbing upon Draco's back, choking him from behind. Harry was stunned to see that it was Patrick and the choke hold was working. Voldemort began to descend as the ghosts swirled about in a giant spiral.

"Now!" Dakhil called to him. "Everything you've got, man. Everything!"

Harry summoned the stone and held it high in his hands. In his struggle, Voldemort saw it in Harry's hands.

"The stone!" he gasped.

"FIRE!" Harry called. What he meant was for Singehorn to release his flame. What resulted was that every wizard and Centaur sent all they could at the vampires fighting above the lake.

Harry looked up as Singehorn roared down from on high, opening his gaping mouth wide. Beyond him Harry watched Ebyrth strike its target - Phobos, the moon of Mars. The heavens exploded in a flash of light. Above the lake, just as the arrows pierced their victims, the dragon let loose his flame.

"Incendiamos aqua!" cried Harry.

The water ignited as if it were nitroglycerin and rose up to meet Singehorn's fiery breath. The explosion filled the air, focused by the stone in Harry's hands and amplified a hundred fold. Draco and Dakhil were ionized and vanished. Singehorn, the great dragon, burst into flame and smoke. Moulding this tremendous energy, trying to keep the others safe, Harry could feel the force of the heat shredding through his body in a fantastic white light. His flesh ripped open and his cells began to tear apart. He thought of Gabriella and his heart sank, knowing that he would never see her again. He looked down, hoping to catch one last glimpse of little Jamie at his feet, but all sight had failed him. He could feel the atoms that were Harry Potter disintegrate.

A gentle hand touched his soul. It was Helena.

"At last, Harry Potter," she said warmly. "Your destiny is fulfilled."