Brian Knight Potter

Chapter Nine: Beginnings and Endings

Harry groggily opened his eye, but quickly shut them, head pounding. He moaned and tried to move, but found himself chained to a chair. He slowly opened his eyes again and managed to keep them open.

"Sleeping beauty has finally awoken."

Harry froze as everything came back to after hearing the Dark Lord's voice. Harry moved his gaze from the chains on his wrists to Voldemort standing a few feet in front of him. Harry couldn't suppress a shudder as Voldemort grinned evilly at him.

Voldemort walked closer to the defenseless Harry until he was standing directly in front of him. Harry's brilliant green eyes met Voldemort's red ones head on ignoring the pain in his scar. Voldemort held his gaze for a few minutes before turning away.

"Malfoy, bring the child." A figure hidden in the shadows left the room. An uncomfortable silence fell over the most feared wizard and the savior of the wizarding world. Malfoy returned a minute later with a small figure behind him. As they came closer Harry recognized the child.

Why in the world is Brian here? Why would Voldemort want him?

"Potter, I assume you now him?" the Dark Lord inquired voice oddly sweet. Harry nodded curtly. "Did you know he was my son?" Voldemort smirked as he saw the astonished look on Harry's face. "That's right, Potter, my son. You never would have guessed that would you?" Harry numbly shook his head. "Normally I don't tell my prisoners what is going to happen, but in this particular case you must know what I am going to do in order for it to work." Harry forced himself to forget about Voldemort being Brian's dad to pay attention. The Dark Lord continued.

"Brian, being my son, inevitably has many of my powers having inherited them. This is not good for me because it know means I have competition. Yes, I admitted that, but you're not going to live to tell anyone so I am safe. Sure I could just go ahead and kill you both now, good riddance, but then I would only get satisfaction from that. Instead I can kill you both slowly, draining you of your energy, and power."

He turned back to face Harry, grinning maliciously, eye filled with evil. "It's a very simple ceremony, but in order for it to work you must understand completely what I am going to do, and how it is going to affect you." He paused for breath and looked down at his frightened three year old son. "I will make a small cut in each of your arms, and mine, and then blend our bloods together so we are connected. This will give me some of each of your powers and from then on out if I want more of your power, or need it for some odd reason; all I have to do is place my hand where I made the cut."

Voldemort looked sharply down at Brian as he whimpered. "What's wrong? Are you scared of getting cut?" he said sweetly though it was laced with malice. Harry was reminded forcibly of Umbridge. "Doing this will also put you under my complete power. It works much like the Imperious curse, but there is no known way to resist it; if you try to resist you will only kill yourself faster." He began to pace and Harry followed him with his eyes.

"You will have to do whatever I say," he paused in his pacing to look Harry in the eyes, "including helping me take over control of Hogwarts."

*~*

"Something isn't right," Remus muttered as they made their way to the Headmaster's office. Hermione and Amanda looked at him,

"What do you mean?" Amanda asked concerned.

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. Something isn't right. Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it," he said quietly.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked voice shaking slightly.

"Yes, Hermione. I've only felt like this a few time before. Once the night when Lily and James died, and then again right before Sirius died."

*~*

Albus Dumbledore lay broken in the field where he had been left for dead, breathing shallow, each one paining him greatly. The old man knew his time was almost up. He knew he wouldn't live for much longer.

Is this how you imagined you death? Dying in a field that Death Eaters left you in after being tortured by the Dark Lord leaving him to take over your school?

I can't do it anymore, another part of his mind argued. He sighed painfully and closed his eyes.

He wasn't scared of death; now it seemed like a blessing. But what would happen to the school if Voldemort took control of it?

And Harry.

The child, young man really, still had many more troubles to face in front of him. He knew he should have told him more, but...

It's to late now. You're going to die. There's nothing more you can do. You have to let it go. Let someone else take care of things.

Another part of him spoke up. But should that person by a sixteen year old? Why should he have to bear the burden alone?

He has to. It's his destiny. There's nothing you can do about it.

I should be able to. There has to be something I can do about it.

There isn't you old fool. Give it up.

There is something I can do. I know there is.

Albus Dumbledore, former Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardly, most respected wizard, the only one Voldemort feared, gathered his last remaining strength preparing to do the one thing he knew would save the wizarding world, and the thing that would kill him.

*~*

Harry glared coldly back at Voldemort as he withdrew the knife from his pocket and took Brian's arm. The child whimpered before the blade bit into his skin. He made a sound of distress and started crying as the blood rose up from the small cut. Voldemort then sliced his own arm before placing it beside Brian letting their blood mingle. He left the crying child in his spot and went over to the bound Harry. Harry knew he wasn't going to be able to resist, but that didn't mean he had to like it, or be accepting of the face that he was going to being the wizarding world under the reign of darkness.

He didn't blink as he felt the knife pierce his skin, the stinging sensation, or the unpleasantness of Voldemort being so close to him. Harry could feel some of his physical and magical energy leave him, and then he felt another presence in his mind that the recognized as Voldemort from last school year.

Voldemort turned away from Harry, cleaned the knife, before placing it back in his robes. "Malfoy, come here."

The Death Eater obediently came forward. Voldemort raised the sleeve and placed his hand on the Dark Mark. Harry could see the Death Eater's face contort in pain. Voldemort removed his hand moving back to Harry. The chains suddenly unlocked themselves and Harry was free to move. He rubbed his raw wrists and stood up uncertainly. "You will stand beside me," Voldemort said shortly eyes glinting manically. Harry took his place beside him without a second thought.

Harry glanced down as he felt a tug at his pant leg. He looked down to see Brian staring up at him with wide watery eyes. A vision flashed in his head.

A man, he couldn't see his face, walked toward a woman, obviously his face, with a gun in his hand, screaming at her. The wife pleaded with him to put the gun down, but he wouldn't obey.

"No, you disobeyed me. I won't let this go unpunished," he said no hint of kindness in his voice.

"Please, don't. What about Brian? Do you want to raise him on your own?" she said obviously grasping at straws.

"What about him? He won't dare disobey me once I'm through with him, will you Brian?"

He turned around to look into a corner where his two year old was huddled, crying. The toddler didn't answer. "ANSWER ME!" he screamed at the toddler. Brian nodded immediately. "That's my good boy," he said voice turning sweet. He turned back to his wife face full of malice.

"Good-bye, Janie."

With that said he cocked the gun, and then shot his wife three times in the head ignoring his son's screams has he mother's body, the only person who had ever truly loved him, fell to the ground.

Harry hadn't realized it, but he had picked Brian up and was cuddling the small body to his chest, tears running down his cheeks, heart aching for the small child.

Brian was laying on his bed, arm and leg poking out of the covers at odd angles, eye black, and lip swollen. Tears silently streamed his cheeks, soaking his pillow.

Harry was jerked back to reality as a sob escaped Brian. Harry instinctively began to rock the child, swaying his body back and froth, rubbing the child's back in little circles. Harry took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, willing himself to stop crying. Harry got his tears under control rather quickly. Harry could feel the wetness from Brian's tears through his shirt. He opened his eyes and looked around the room.

Voldemort's Death Eaters has faithfully come to him once they felt the burning of the mark. The Dark Lord began to speak.

"As you can see, I have successfully captured Potter." He then went on to explain what he had done to connect the three together. "We will now leave, led by Potter, to attack Hogwarts and the wizarding world will finally be under my control."

Harry's heart dropped to somewhere near his feet. It was going to happen. It was actually going to happen. Voldemort was going to take over Hogwarts, and he, Harry, savior of the wizarding world, was defenseless to stop it.

*~*

Remus walked to the North Tower, the highest point at Hogwarts, gazing across the sloping lawn. Everything was silent, a gently breeze creating rip lets on the lake. It was a perfect autumn day, but there was a definite dread in the air. Remus's heart dropped as he saw the black robed figured approaching the school.

"He's coming," he announced quietly to the two teenage girls behind him.

This was it, he knew. This was the day Hogwarts would fall and evil would triumph.

*~*

The nurse walked into the hospital's longest staying patient. He had been there for fifteen years in a coma. They doctors had considered taking him off life support, and almost had, but something has stopped him. None of them could explain it, but something was telling them something earth shattering would happen if he died.

She walked quietly, though the patient wouldn't have heard a herd of elephants, into the room and stood at the end of the bed. He looked at the various machines eyes resting on the one monitoring his pulse.

She screamed for the doctors to come as he went into cold blue.

*~*

Harry looked sadly up at the iron gates of the place he had called home for the past six years, Brian still in his arms. They had portkeyed to Hogsmeade and the made the short walk to the gates.

"Let us in, Potter," Voldemort commanded. Harry nodded and stepped forward placing his hand on the latch.

He knew how to bring down all the wards. He didn't know how he did, but the knowledge was there waiting for him to use it. He sighed; energy leaving him as unconsciously resisted the command that had been given.

He gathered his strength and began taking down the first few barriers of Hogwarts.

*~*

Dumbledore focused completely on repeating the chant in his head. If he lost focus the wizarding world, and muggle he was sure, wouldn't stand a chance. Mankind would cease to exist. He counted how many time he had said until he reached ten. He then began another one in order to transfer all the power and knowledge to the shoulders of a sixteen year old boy.

*~*

The doctors were in a flurry trying to save their longest staying patient.

"Clear," a nurse shouted. The doctor sent a shock through the patient's body, but nothing happened.

Come on buddy, live!

*~*

Tears began to stream unknowingly as Harry felt the first wards fall. He immediately began working on the next few no other thoughts in his head, but to break down Hogwart's defenses. He continued like this for several minutes until he was at the last one, sobbing now.

He began work on it, the most complex and difficult of them all, when he felt someone presence in his mind, Unlike Voldemort's cold one, this was warm and hopeful. He almost fell over as he was bombarded with new information.

He suddenly knew exactly how the school worked, where all the students were, how many rooms there were in the castle. Everything you could ever know. It felt like he had a century of information on his head. One thing he knew was how to break the spell Voldemort had over him. Harry drew his hand back from the gates, sat Brian down on the ground, and turned toward Voldemort to fulfill the prophecy that had been fifteen years before.

*~*

The machine beeped as it registered heartbeat. The doctors sighed in relief though it was short lived as the patient went cold blue again.

*~*

Had anyone been in the field on the last day of Albus Dumbledore life, the happiest days the wizarding world would ever see, they would have seen a spectacular sight.

As felt his knowledge leave him he grew weaker and weaker, breath becoming slower, and heart rate plummeting.

He felt the last bit of knowledge leak from his body he breathed in his last breath and let the warm gentle hands of death take him away.

A second later a bright white light burst from his chest, shooting high up into the sky for everyone to see, sending out a signal, for those you knew it, that their best friend and mentor had died. The light came back down and consumed the now lifeless body, turning it into ashes before scattering it over the land on the breeze.

*~*

Remus looked worriedly down at the gates, Hermione and Amanda on either side of him. He had felt the wards fall one by one until he could sense only one left. What was taking so long? Why hadn't he entered yet?

His eyes were drawn from the battle beginning to play out just feet away over to the Dark Forest. Tears stung his eyes as he saw a brilliant white light shoot into the sky.

Albus Dumbledore was dead.

*~*

Harry raised his wand from his pocket slowly being sure to keep his movements subtle.

"It's time to die, Voldemort," Harry said voice cold, all kindness gone.

*~*

The doctors worked furiously to save the patients life, though his life didn't depend on their work. It depended on what happened thousands of miles away. The doctors's still worked furiously to save the sixteen year old life, but were almost ready to give up.

*~*

Voldemort pulled his wand quicker than anyone had though possible already saying the killing curse. Harry instantly threw up a glowing white shield absorbing the killing curse instead of sending it back to Voldemort. Harry closed his eyes, drawing power and strength from all his new knowledge. He slowly let it build for several agonizing minutes before unleashing it.

The only thing comparable to it would be water breaking froth from a dam.

Brilliant white pure light shot forth from him, making it appear as if Harry was fire.

Voldemort, along with all his Death Eaters, only had a millisecond before the light consumed them, tearing skin from the bones, ripping out eyes, tearing off limbs, and then finally grinding them all into dust and letting them float into the breeze.

*~*

Breanna Stephanie Potter opened her eyes for the first time in fifteen year looking around wonderingly at the white walls of her hospital room. She blinked up at the nurses and doctors around her, knowing somehow who she was, and everything that had happened while she had been in a coma.

*~*

Remus watched in utter amazement as a bright white light come from the direction of the Death Eaters who were still standing outside the gate. It was only two second, but Remus knew it had changed everything.

Remus turned and ran out of the towers down into the entrance hall and out into on the lawn waiting for Harry to come through the gates.

*~*

Harry stood stunned as he looked out before him.

He was gone. Voldemort was gone.

He had killed the Dark Lord.

He would have stood there longer had it not been for Brian. "Is he gone?" the child asked quietly.

Harry turned to him, smiling. "Yes, he's gone. He won't ever come back."

And he was. The Dark Lord would never rise again to cause anymore suffering.

*~*