What Once Could Never Be...

What Once Could Never Be...

Chapter 18: In Conclusion

Voldemort hesitated for only a moment as he strode into the Ministry. He had not expected to meet resistance of any kind. However, the Death Eaters had been trained to deal with this kind of threat and he was, therefore, not worried.

Once he had fully entered, chaos ensued as the group of defenders rushed the hooded figures in black. The battle had commenced and everyone faced off against his or her respective enemies.

Neville Longbottom faced off against McNair in one corner of the lobby. He was able to disarm him and then cast the Leg-Locker Curse that Malfoy had performed on him in first year.

Hermione had cornered the younger Crabbe who had followed in his father's footsteps in becoming a Death Eater. He was cowering before her knowing that he himself was inferior to her in curses. He waited for the blow to fall and was surprised when she only disarmed him and then put a Binding Spell on him. Hermione gave him a small grin of satisfaction before rushing back into battle.

Draco was watching everything that was happening with as much patience as he could muster. He knew that if he acted too quickly, all would be lost. So, he waited to metaphorically pull the trigger while standing at Voldemort's right side. Any moment now.

It was hard to tell which side was winning since casualties were occurring on both sides. Harry's band of followers had effectively disabled many of the Death Eaters, but some had been hit with the Killing Curse.

The battle continued to be at a standstill as Harry and Ron fought back-to-back. They muddled through the dueling opponents until Harry was confronted with Lucius Malfoy. A cruel grin passed over the older man's face. Harry's expression was past the usual hate and loathing; he was absolutely disgusted with the sight of him. Lucius wasted no time with pleasantries and immediately sent the Killing Curse his way. Harry blocked it and rebounded with the Full-Body Bind. It hit Lucius before he had time to block. Harry bent down towards the angered face of Lucius Malfoy and locked his eyes with him.

"This is for Hermione. Avada Kedavra!"

The cold light in Lucius Malfoy's eyes went out and they were now lifeless. The former school governor who had commanded so much fear and respect was now dead. A look of final contentment crossed Harry's face as he let his gaze pass over the dead man's body.

Draco finally saw his chance. The battle was finally turning in their favor and he knew there would be no other time. He glanced to his left and observed Voldemort. He was gazing at the pandemonium in front of him with glee. No trace of defeat was present in his expression. His wand was sticking out of his robe and not in his hand.

Draco, wand in hand, turned slightly where he was angled from the front. With a flick of his wrist, he was upon Voldemort.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Voldemort acted upon instinct and blocked the spell without thinking. His face cracked with rage and his red eyes began to glow with the knowledge of Draco's betrayal.

"You defied me, Young Malfoy. Did you honestly think you could single-handedly kill me?! Me, whose name cannot be mentioned without stirring up a deep fear that will not be quelled? You have lots to learn. Crucio!"

Draco's head split open with the pain of the Unforgivable Curse. He felt like he was burning and bleeding and throbbing all at the same time. His energy drained out of him as he tried to find his voice. He struggled to maintain his grip on reality as he shivered with the onslaught of the curse.

Voldemort continued to torture his chosen heir as he illustrated the punishment in store for him. He was so distracted with the fury he felt at the double-crossing of his most trusted follower that he didn't even see the Killing Curse cast his way.

Voldemort looked stunned before collapsing on the spot. The pain had ceased and Draco looked up to find Harry looming over the dead body of Voldemort making sure that he was really dead this time. The two boys locked eyes and shared a conspiratorial smile before the survivors of the light side joined them.

The remaining Death Eater, having seen their master killed, fled in search of safety. The others gathered around amid cheers of victory. Draco stood from his spot on the floor when Hermione raced towards him. She nearly knocked him over before being pulled off by Ron.

"Calm down, Hermione. You're going to strangle the boy if you're not careful."

Hermione gazed at Ron exasperatedly before looking between Harry and Draco. "So, what was this big plan that nobody wanted to tell me about? When am I going to find out?"

Draco's head suddenly shot up. "There's no time. We have to save Dumbledore." And with that, he was off towards the Floo Network Headquarters that was located in the Ministry building. Hermione, Harry, Ron, Sirius, Remus, and Snape all rushed to catch up to him.

The group arrived on the correct floor and pushed their way through to the nearest fireplace. Draco grabbed a handful of the shimmering powder and threw it into the fireplace before screaming, "Malfoy Manor." Soon, the others followed suit.

They tumbled out of the fireplace, one after the other, and found themselves in Lucius' study. Here, Snape took the lead and the group followed him down towards the vast dungeons that lay beneath the manor.

Sharp twists and turns awaited them in the maze of keeping cells as the path grew dimmer and damper. Finally, they were standing in front of a large oak door that was padlocked in five places.

Snape turned to address the others. "I knew that Lucius would keep Dumbledore in his best keeping cell. It's nearly impossible to get into."

Sirius looked up to the challenge. "But not improbable, right? I mean, what are our chances of actually getting it open?"

Snape was not amused. "Probably one in a million."

Sirius' face changed to a slightly downtrodden expression. "That good, huh?"

Draco shifted his weight from one foot to the other in impatience. "Well, somebody do something. We can't just stand around all day."

Remus looked at Draco in amazement. He had never seen him act this way where Dumbledore was concerned. "Mr. Malfoy, I assure you, we are not going to just stand around. We must figure this out before rushing ahead. There is no telling what Lucius Malfoy has guarding this door."

Draco tilted his head. "We don't have all day. We need to hurry up and try something before -"

Draco and Harry both collapsed to the ground and began to shudder uncontrollably. Hermione went to Draco, but Ron just continued to look on. Their skin started to melt off and Hermione drew back. The boys had switched places; Harry now stood where Draco had been and Draco stood where Harry had been.

"Polyjuice Potion." Hermione muttered underneath her breath. "It was Polyjuice Potion." She let her eyes fall upon Draco. "I still don't see why you couldn't have told me."

Harry went to her. "Because Voldemort isn't stupid." He exchanged a dark glance with Draco. "We'll explain later. Let's get Dumbledore out first."