Harry Potter and the Angel of Justice

Chapter Thirty-One - Pyrrhic Victory

Harry and Hermione roused everyone and bound the Death Eaters. The disillusionment spells had worn off, or they would have had quite a time finding Luna. She was in the far corner of the room, still unconscious from whatever curse the witch had hit her with. Once they revived her, Luna was weak and needed assistance in walking, leaning on Ginny's shoulder.

"Hermione, what did you say to me when I was just coming around?" asked Ron.

Hermione went a bit pink and replied, "Nothing."

"You said something. I heard my name, at least."

"If you must know, I called you a great prat. But right now we have more important things to worry, about don't you think?" said Hermione. Her voice was higher than normal. She hurried ahead to walk next to Padma.

Harry went as fast Luna and Ginny could manage. They made it safely up to the next floor; there was only one hall left to traverse when Ginny asked Luna, "How far did you manage to scout ahead?"

"I reached the door to the storeroom, but I didn't take much time looking it over," answered Luna.

"Why would you need to look over a door?" asked Harry.

"Oh, I think you'll see for yourself."

Harry didn't much like the sound of that.

They made it down the last hall, turned right, and came to the door.

"I understand what you mean, Luna," said Harry, staring at the door in shock. The door was covered in glyphs of all different sizes, shapes and colors. However, it didn't hum like the other glyph door Harry had seen.

"Can you read much of it, Luna?" asked Padma.

"Not the glyphs, no. I can tell this one does more than just stay shut; it will hit back if attacked. But the key, it's really simplistic," said Luna, sounding slightly confused as she looked over the door.

"That's your idea of simplistic?" asked Ron, inspecting the incomprehensible collection of symbols drawn on the door.

"Just the key: it's in the most basic alphabet, and it's also written very straightforwardly. Certainly not the style I'd expect from Mars; more like a student created it than a master," answered Luna.

"What's the key, Luna?" asked Hermione.

"It looks like a riddle." She read it aloud:

Give thanks for respite, give thanks for renewal;

Thank her for the gift, greater than a jewel.

From her gift we are replenished;

Without her gift, we are diminished.

Give thanks not to suffer a fate so cruel.

"Thanks for renewal and respite? Sounds like he wants us to be grateful for the summer holidays," said Ron.

"Don't be thick," said Hermione.

"I'm not. It fits the riddle, Hermione. Respite, renewal, replenished. You get them all during holidays. And it'd be a cruel fate to have school year round!" retorted Ron.

"I can't see Mars being so dramatic about missing out on leisure time, Ron," said Ginny.

"I agree, Ginny," said Hermione. "But Ron does have a point about the holidays providing replenishment, respite and renewal. What else gives you those things?"

"Relaxing?"

"No--remember, Mars considers being without it suffering a cruel fate," said Padma.

"What would he have considered an awful fate?" asked Harry.

"Being banished?" suggested Ginny.

"That doesn't fit the first part," Harry shook his head.

Hermione's head snapped up with a flash of realization. "Not being able to sleep was his cruel fate," she said.

"And it fits," said Ron.

"I think I understand the entire riddle now," Hermione said as she walked up to the menacing door. "We give thanks for the gift of Evaki. We give thanks for sleep."

The door slowly opened inwards.

Ron, Ginny, and Padma congratulated Hermione enthusiastically, but Harry cut them off. He wanted to be on the other side of that door and behind its protection. He rushed them through the door and slammed it shut behind Ginny and Luna.

"I thought you said this was an old storeroom, Harry," said Ron, looking around the place.

Harry understood Ron's confusion. The shelves he remembered were now gone. In fact, except for an odd V-shaped barrier in the back left corner, the room was completely bare. The room was large and rectangular, with a high ceiling and only one large window for light, over fifteen feet off the floor.

Harry walked over to the spot on the wall where the entrance to the secret passage should have been, but found nothing.

"This is very odd," said Harry. "Why are the shelves missing, and who would seal this secret door?"

"Not to mention, why would Mars put so many powerful glyphs on the door to an out-of-the-way storeroom? It simply makes no sense," said Hermione. "Why would he want to keep everyone out of here?"

"Not everyone," said Luna. "That key was purposely easy to read. Anyone with even a little knowledge of glyphs could read it."

"Yes, but other than you, what other students know anything about glyphs?" asked Padma.

"None, really."

"And only a few of us heard Steele describe the gift of Evaki. Mars must have known that we were going to make it to that door!" said Harry.

"Oh come on. You're saying he knew both Luna and Hermione would need to enter this room?" asked Ron.

"Yes! I think he saw all of this happening, in fact. All the spells he taught us this year, we used them today! Remember what he said about Hermione and dementors?" asked Harry.

Realization lit Ron's face now. "That the next time she faced one, he wouldn't be there for her," he answered. Harry nodded.

"Do you think he knew he was going to die in the forest then?" asked Hermione sadly.

"DIE?" squealed Padma.

"Yeah, I think so. Something he said earlier bothered me, but I didn't know why until now. Remember that bit about Dumbledore returning today? He said Dumbledore would be returning this very day and that you would celebrate together. He left himself out...he knew." Harry's voice broke.

"Why are you talking like Mars is dead?" demanded Padma, her eyes tearing up. Hermione explained what they had heard; Padma was crushed.

Harry spoke to Ron in a low voice so only he could hear. "This is it. This room is where we fight."

"What? Us versus all the Death Eaters?"

"No, me and Voldemort." Harry walked over to the barrier. The others followed him, except for the sobbing Padma.

"Look at this barrier," said Harry. "It's covered in glyphs; I bet they repel curses or something. It's also got holes to cast spells through. Mars put this here for us to use."

"Use for what?" asked Ginny.

"As a shield against the Death Eaters," he answered.

"That won't shield us for long, Harry," said Hermione anxiously.

"Long enough for me to challenge Voldemort to a duel," Harry said darkly.

"What? Harry, that's insane!" said Hermione.

"No, it's the only way. I've been trained all year to kill him, Hermione."

"Harry," Hermione said desperately. "You're not making any sense. That battle must have jarred your mind, or something. Mars was going to kill him, Harry, not you. You were trained to defend yourself - ,"

"NO!" said Harry loudly. "I have to do it. No one else can."

"What on earth are you talking about?" demanded Hermione. She looked at Harry as if he were a raving lunatic.

"It's the prophecy, Hermione," Ron put in earnestly. "It said only Harry can vanquish the Dark Lord and that neither Harry nor Voldemort can live while the other survives. It has to be Harry."

Hermione glared at Ron. "You're both mad. That prophecy was smashed, no one knows what it said!" She looked frantic.

"Dumbledore witnessed its original telling," Harry told her. "He's always known what it said. He showed me his memory of it with his pensieve last year. I-I didn't tell anyone. It was Mars that told Ron about the prophecy, right when we started our training."

Hermione fell silent. The color left her face; Harry wondered if she was about to faint. He felt Ginny put her arm around his waist.

"We're with you all the way, Harry. You're not alone in this." Ginny looked up at him seriously.

Just then, they heard footsteps running in the hallway outside the door. "I found'em! I found'em!" came a husky voice. "Send word to the Dark Lord!"

"Back behind the barrier, everyone, quickly!" Harry ordered.

They all hurried behind the wall, except for Luna, who still looked vague from her earlier curse. Ginny quickly ran out and fetched her.

"C'mon, let's get him then!" said the voice in the hall.

"No, we wait for the others," answered another voice.

"What? And let Reynolds take all the credit and rewards? Nothin' doin'. I say we get them first!"

"All right, after you then."

Harry heard the doorknob rattle...

*Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzt*

The wizard screamed in pain - it sounded like he was being electrocuted. A moment later, the buzzing ceased.

"Baba Yaga's boiled covered bum!" swore the other wizard. "He's snuffed it."

Harry looked around at everyone huddled behind the glyph-covered barrier. "When they get here, keep behind the wall. Don't interfere with my duel: if you do, so will they. Once the duel is over, regardless who's still alive--Voldemort or me--" Hermione whimpered; Harry continued: "start jinxing immediately. It's our only chance."

They all nodded at him.

For the next few minutes the room was silent as they all strained to hear the Death Eaters in the hall. After about a quarter of an hour, they heard what they had been waiting for and dreading.

"The master, he comes. Out of the way!"

Harry then heard a voice, his voice, the voice of his parents' murderer. It was high pitched and deathly cold.

"Quite a collection of glyphs. That fool Mars should have spent more time learning to duel and less on this silliness. He might have lived long enough to see his beloved Harry Potter die."

The Death Eaters laughed.

Voldemort then said some odd incantation and the door glowed yellow. A high-pitched whine grew steadily louder. After five minutes the whining was piercing (Harry and the others had their fingers in their ears) and the door glowed brilliant yellow, but it was still intact. After ten minutes Harry had just started to believe that the door might hold when it suddenly exploded, sending splinters flying across the room. Their eyes were riveted on the doorway as Geoff Reynolds walked through it.

"Gidday, Potter! I'm afraid it's the end of the line for you, mate," he said, twitching his head about. He looked as insane as ever. Harry and the others kept their wands fixed on him, but said nothing.

Witches and wizards poured into the room, some wearing masks, and some not. Over two dozen had entered when Voldemort himself walked through the doorway. For a second Harry had a clear shot at him, but he missed his chance when Voldemort moved behind several of his followers.

Hermione let out a small whimper, and Harry could feel Ron trembling behind him - they had never been in Voldemort's presence before. Stay focused, he told himself.

"Hiding behind a wall, Potter?" The high voice said nastily. "How do you think that will help? I suppose with Dumbledore dead, it's the closest thing to hiding behind him you can manage."

Before Harry could challenge Voldemort, Reynolds' voice rang out.

"Stupefy!"

A large red stunner streaked across the room and slammed into Lucius Malfoy. He bounced off the wall and slammed onto the floor.

Everyone whirled to face the Australian. He was standing away from the others, near the entrance to the room.

"Reynolds, explain," hissed Voldemort furiously.

"He's a traitor, in't he?" answered Reynolds, his head twitching even faster than before.

"What?"

"And so's young Montague here!" snapped Reynolds, flicking his wand again. "Stupefy!" Another large stunner streaked across the room and knocked a masked wizard to the floor.

Voldemort and the other Death Eaters pointed their wands at Reynolds. "Reynolds, you have gained my favor recently, but it is quickly receding," Voldemort said icily. "You have five seconds to explain what you are doing before I kill you."

Harry noticed that two things had changed in the room. A V-shaped barrier, like the one Harry and his friends now hid behind, but smaller, had appeared near the doorway--or near where the doorway had been just a few seconds ago, because the second odd thing he saw was that the exit was now gone. The wall where it had been was completely smooth, as if the door had never existed.

Reynolds quickly turned, took two steps, and leaped over the new barrier. From behind the wall he shouted, "Honest m'lord, I'm just looking out for ya. If people see you hangin' round this lot all the time, they'll start to talk."

"He's flipped!" said one of the witches loudly.

"What happened to the door?" demanded Voldemort, looking around wildly. "And the window, the ceiling--this whole room has changed!"

Reynolds cackled loudly. Voldemort slowly spun around, looking up as he turned.

"He's right," said Ginny. The ceiling now towered more than sixty feet above them; the large window had become merely a slit near the top of the wall.

"What kind of trap have you led me into, Reynolds?" screamed Voldemort.

"A trap? That's slander, that is! It was Malfoy that gave ya the okay sign to enter Hogwarts, ya son of a muggle," laughed Reynolds.

Voldemort's snake-like face contorted with anger. His fists balled up as he took a very deliberate deep breath. He exhaled slowly and hissed, "Death for them all. Right here, right now."

Voldemort and all of his followers raised their wands. Half pointed them at Reynolds; the other half pointed at Harry's barricade. Harry and his friends aimed their own wands through the firing holes in the wall.

"So much for my duel," thought Harry darkly as he tried to get Voldemort lined up.

Like two Napoleonic-age armies before the first order to fire, there was stillness for several seconds as the two groups stared at each other in tense anticipation. Then, instead of the incantation of a curse or counter spell Harry expected, he suddenly heard music. The tune he did not recognize, but its source was unmistakable.

"Lily!" Ginny exclaimed next to him.

Lilandria flew in through the high, tiny window and circled the room. Her song was a war chant with a deep three-beat rhythm. As always, her song boosted Harry's morale; the fear and apprehension inside him wilted away. Voldemort and his Death Eaters, on the other hand, looked unnerved.

Voldemort looked up at Lily in confusion and annoyance. "Rockwood, kill that thing," he said in his cold high voice as he pointed up to the ceiling. "Then we finish the rest."

Boom, Boom, Boom, continued the rhythm.

One of the masked wizards stepped away from the group and raised his wand.

"Stupefy!" Reynolds cried again.

The stunned Rockwood fell to the floor.

Boom, Boom, Boom.

Voldemort and most of the Death Eaters immediately fired off a volley of curses at the unstable Australian. The hexes exploded when they hit the barrier, but did no visible damage. Reynolds, who had ducked to safety, cackled maniacally from behind the wall.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

"Do you know what that bird is? Do you know what she signifies, Lord Voldemort?" shouted Reynolds from the floor with insane glee.

The Death Eaters gasped. "How dare you speak his name!" screeched a witch.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

"It is a herald," said Reynolds. His voice now sounded sane and steady. "A herald of twin purposes: it is a harbinger of your imminent and long overdue death, and a forerunner of his arrival."

Many of the Death Eaters looked uncomfortable, but Voldemort was outraged. "Let him come. I do not fear Dumbledore!" shouted Voldemort. The Dark Lord then whipped his wand up at Lily and cried, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" An evil green light flashed up at Lilandria, followed by an explosion. Ginny, Hermione and Padma all screamed.

An instant later, Harry spotted Lily flying on the opposite side of the room, and the war chant continued.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

Voldemort stared up at the bird, shaking with fury.

"It's been nice knowing you, Tom Riddle," said Reynolds sarcastically.

Harry then heard the loud *crack* of someone apparating. He looked for the source of the sound and saw a tall figure standing at the opposite end of the room. Mars' robes were missing, and his leather jacket was a bit worse for wear: it had several tears, and about half of its talismans and charms were blackened. There was blood on his neck and left shoulder, but Mars looked much better than the last time Harry had seen him this close. Mars was standing straight and tall; his eyes crackled with sparks and his wand was steady as he pointed it at the crowd of Death Eaters.

"DISPLACIO!" he barked.

Innumerable red spheres shot out of his wand and blanketed the room. Screams filled the air as the Death Eaters were ripped off the floor and thrown into a red vortex of globes. The vortex lifted them high into the air and spun them about with tremendous speed, forcing them into bone-crushing collisions with the walls. After three or four such hits, each Death Eater was forever silenced.

The great mass of the spell, however, was concentrated on Voldemort. Thousands of the orbs surrounded him, but the Dark Lord was not swept into the air. Voldemort's wand rose, slowly, against the force of the red spheres.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

Harry heard something hit the floor behind him; two hands fell on his shoulders. He started to turn, but the grip stopped him. "Don't worry Harry, it's me," said Geoff Reynolds.

"Don't move a muscle, Death Eater!" hissed Ron. Ginny and Padma, on either side of Harry, both had their wands pointing over his shoulders.

"Ronald Weasley, you git," snapped Reynolds, "don't you recognize your own brother?"

"Wha?" Ron stammered in confusion. Then he grew angry. "Look, mate, your insane act might work with the Death Eaters, but it doesn't with me. GET AWAY FROM HARRY--NOW!"

Reynolds sighed. "Harry, look at this. It'll prove who I am." He shoved a roll of parchment into Harry's hands. Harry immediately recognized the parchment as the Marauder's Map.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

"Where did you get this?" Harry demanded.

"Took it from Neville Longbottom."

"After you killed him!" said Padma furiously.

"He's not dead, you stupid girl! I only made it look that way so the Death Eaters wouldn't really kill him. Now look at the map, Harry!" said Reynolds bossily.

Harry stared at the room on the map, and saw that in the middle of his group was none other than Percy Weasley.

"Percy?" he said.

"It's really you, Perce?" asked Ron.

"Yes, you heard him. Now get those wands out of my face," snapped Percy. Padma and Ginny lowered their wands.

Harry stared harder at the map. None of the swirling airborne witches or wizards were showing, so Harry figured they must be dead. He could see the names of the three wizards Percy had stunned, but it was the names of the remaining wizards that interested him. Voldemort showed up as Tom Riddle, which didn't surprise Harry, but made him smile despite their situation. The other wizard, however, was not listed as Mars or Angel, but as Mordecai Saunders.

"Yes Ginny, I've been taking that potion for months while I posed as Reynolds. Please, no more questions," said Percy crossly. "We're missing the greatest wizards' duel in nearly sixty years!"

"But shouldn't we help him? That's Voldemort he's fighting!" Hermione said, trembling.

Percy looked at her as though she was as insane as he had acted earlier. "Mars need help? I thought you were supposed to be the smart one of your year. We stay behind this barrier until he tells us otherwise. That was his order," said Percy, and he turned back to watch the duel.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

Hermione looked furious but said nothing.

Harry looked back at the duelers. Voldemort had almost managed to raise his wand high enough to point it at Mars. Sweat poured off Voldemort, and he screamed angrily as he strained to raise the tip of his wand a few more crucial inches. A second later, an explosion ripped through the room. Energy crackled around Harry; his neck hairs stood on end, and every inch of his skin tingled.

The multitude of red globes disappeared, and horrible thuds sounded across the room as the mangled bodies of the Death Eaters fell to the floor like some morbid necromantic rain. Harry shivered.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

Both wizards stood, catlike, facing each other. Voldemort's wand and Mars' fiery sword bobbed slightly as they balanced on the balls of their feet.

"I know who you are, boy. I shall kill you now as I did your mother, in front of your very eyes, many years ago," hissed Voldemort.

"You ran that day, Riddle; you fled because you were losing. Today ends your running from death," replied Mars. He glowed and crackled as energy pulses swam around him.

Voldemort scowled. He spun his wand in a tight circle and cried, "Avada Kedavra!" An evil green light shot out at Mars. Mars swung his sword up and spat an incantation. Something flashed in front of the sword; the green light crashed into it and exploded harmlessly. Mars stared threateningly at the Dark Lord.

Hermione said, shocked, "The killing curse--it--"

"Cannot be blocked!" said a stunned Voldemort.

Mars grew brighter, and a wind whipped throughout the room.

"Avada Kedavra is unblockable..." roared Mars, stepping toward Voldemort.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

"You cannot apparate inside of Hogwarts ... "

Mars took another step closer.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

"Loooorrrrrd Voldemort...is the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

Another step.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

"You should be proud, Tom Riddle. Proud to be dying the same day as these myths!"

Voldemort screamed and swept his wand in front of him. A dozen large snakes appeared on the floor between them and immediately slithered at Mars.

Mars leaped at the closest snake, easily avoiding its strike. He did not cleave the beast with his sword, as Harry expected, but waved his sword over it instead. The snake transfigured into a songbird which flew into the air and joined Lily in flight and in song.

Boom, Boom, Boom!

Mars continued his dance around the snakes, transfiguring as many as three at a time. Each new bird added volume to the song and made the radiant energy surrounding him glow brighter. His moves were so graceful and so in time with the chant that the whole event might have been choreographed.

"Kill him, Mars!" Percy chanted in time with the beat.

Mars seemed to be a blur of speed and light as he finished off the last of the snakes. Voldemort had tried to curse him several times but Mars had blocked each hex effortlessly, as if it was simply part of the red wizard's dance.

Harry and the others joined in Percy's chant; Mars glowed even brighter and looked somehow taller. The energy pulses around him now flashed and danced with the beat of the war chant.

"Kill him, Mars!"

Harry felt as if he were a part of a gigantic effort to kill Voldemort. Each chant he shouted pulled him more deeply into the fight. It felt like the air, the stones, the walls, and even the very magical foundations of Hogwarts itself were all helping Mars. The entire room was in complete harmony and focused upon accomplishing one thing:

"Kill Him, Mars!" chanted Percy, the children, the air, the walls, and the Castle.

Harry could never have imagined Voldemort, the Dark Lord himself, looking so puny as he did now facing the rage of Mars.

Mars was within ten feet of Voldemort when his sword slashed at Riddle. A purple flame shot from its point towards his enemy. Voldemort hastily summoned a silver shield to block it. The flame shattered the shield and struck Voldemort's leg. The Dark Lord fell to the floor.

"That was dark magic!" cried Hermione. "Why did he use that?" The others ignored her.

"Kill Him Mars!"

Voldemort tapped his leg with his wand and sprang up, but Mars was upon him. With dizzying speed, Mars' left hand seized Voldemort's right and lifted it to point Voldemort's wand harmlessly upward. Mars' right hand, now free of wand or sword, flew to his enemy's throat and began to squeeze.

There was a snap so loud that Harry heard it over the music and chanting. Voldemort's wand fell to the floor. The Dark Lord's right hand, now wandless, looked boneless as well, as it hung limply at an unnatural angle off his forearm.

Mars slowly raised Voldemort off the ground by his throat and drew his enemy face to face. Tom Riddle seemed to wilt as he was brought within the glow of the red wizard. Mars' terrifying eyes blazed at Voldemort, and Harry himself could see the fear in the Dark Lord: fear that he had never known before. Harry could see the doom that the evil sorcerer felt was so near. But a flicker of hope sprung into Voldemort's eyes, and Harry's contact was broken.

Voldemort's left arm swung behind him; his wand leaped from the floor into his hand. Voldemort swung his wand at Mars, but the red wizard disappeared. Voldemort dropped to the floor; hastily, he scanned the room for Mars.

"Kill Him Mars!"

Mars was standing behind Voldemort. He flicked his wand; an enormous yellow beam flew from it, ripping Voldemort off the floor and throwing him across the room into the far wall. Bones shattered and blood spattered. Voldemort slumped to the floor, bending in places where no joints existed.

"He's got to be dead," said Hermione, who had not been chanting for a while.

Voldemort, however, was still alive and moving. From the floor, he said some evil-sounding words, and an ill-looking green gas rose from his body. The stench quickly spread throughout the room. Voldemort rose from the floor stiffly and unnaturally. His muscles were obeying him, but not very well. His myriad open cuts were no longer bleeding, and his skin was a nauseating green-gray color.

Fire flew from Voldemort's wand and hit the floor between him and Mars. From the flames on the floor shot up three fiery dragon heads, each atop a twelve-foot neck of flame. The heads roared loudly; from the mouth of each, a ball of fire flew at Mars.

"Repello!" cried Mars; the fireballs turned and sped at Voldemort.

Voldemort exploded the fireballs harmlessly in the air, while Mars cast a hex on the fiery dragon heads. A second later, one of the heads hiccuped, and a songbird came from its mouth and flew up to join the circling, singing flock. The second head hiccuped, and a red soap bubble floated out of its mouth; from the third came two perfectly-shaped smoke rings. Harry could have sworn the fiery heads actually looked confused.

"Kill Him Mars!"

"Avada Kedavra!" cried Voldemort, and a green light shot at Mars again.

Mars easily leaped out of the way and fired a spell back. His spell hit the wall behind Voldemort. From the wall, a giant stone hand appeared, reaching out and seizing Voldemort. Mars disappeared.

Voldemort's wand hand was still free; he tapped the stone fist with it. The hand disintegrated, dropping him back to the floor. Mars appeared again behind Voldemort, but the Dark Lord whirled to face him. Mars stepped forward, swinging his sword, but Voldemort made a slashing motion with his wand and a purple flame shot out, catching Mars in the chest.

Harry and his friends flinched; their chant missed a beat. It seemed that their worry was unfounded, however, because Mars was unhurt, and had not even paused. He completed his swing, and his sword lopped off Voldemort's left arm at the elbow. The arm and the wand landed several feet away; Voldemort fell to the floor once again.

"Kill Him Mars!"

While no blood flowed from the wound, Voldemort was clearly in great pain. He struggled on the floor, trying desperately to stand. Mars stepped forward and kicked him viciously in the face. Voldemort's upper body flew off the floor and slammed backwards into the wall. Voldemort groaned.

"Go on, boy," Voldemort grunted with an effort. "Kill me, you'll be famous. Your-your family in England might even acknowledge you."

"Still got some fight left in you, eh?" said Mars, turning. "Accio wand!" he cried, and Voldemort's wand flew into Mars' hand.

"I'll give you a chance, a better one than you ever gave your victims," said Mars, and he threw the wand back down to Voldemort. Mars then walked about a dozen feet away, and raised his sword over his head.

"What's he doing? Why did he give the wand back?" Hermione cried. "Mars, stop playing with him! He's too dangerous," she shouted.

Mars was now spinning rapidly; after a few seconds, Harry's chant faltered again, because he swore he was seeing Mars in two places at once. Then Harry saw three, four, five and then six of Mars, all spinning and shimmering. Soon they stopped spinning, but each still shimmered, almost impossible to focus on.

"Oh my," said Padma. "I wonder which one is really him." Harry nodded, dazed.

Voldemort had managed to stand up; precariously, he held his wand with his broken hand.

"Make this curse a good one, Tommy; it'll be your last," said the six forms of Mars.

"Avada Kedavra!" said Voldemort weakly.

The green light flashed again and passed harmlessly through one of the middle illusions.

"Stupefy!" cried the six copies of Mars, and six enormous stunners streaked at Voldemort.

The Dark Lord managed to get a shield up, but the three stunners that it blocked all passed through it and himself, while the massive stunner from his right hit him and the wall. Voldemort was thrown powerfully backwards into the wall and bounced off onto the floor, where he lay motionless. Mars' stunner had also ripped holes in the wall and floor.

"Three down, and only Pettigrew to go. You'll soon be avenged, dear Sirius," said Mars darkly, as his doubles faded away.

Hermione started to stand up, but Percy barked at her, "No, he'll call us!"

"Lilly," said Mars, looking up. "Your work is done here. Please go to Bill." Lilandria and her flock flew out the tiny window; silence descended upon the room. Mars placed two of his fingers on one of his jacket's talismans. "Sally, are you well?" he said, smiling for the first time. A pause, then, "What do you mean, did we win?" he asked in mock outrage.

Harry smiled at Ginny. She smiled back, and simultaneously they moved together for a kiss. A real kiss, a real good one.

"Why didn't I ever do this before?" thought Harry.

Percy patted him on the back. "Time for that later, kids."

Mars was silent for a moment, then spoke again. "He's at my feet. In a few minutes I'll turn control of the school over to Percy and meet you there. Congratulations on getting Dolohov; tell the Defenders ten thousand galleons to whomever bags Spikes. Goodbye, darlin'."

The faraway look returned to the red wizard's face. "Percy, get to the Hufflepuff entrance quickly. Snape and some other Order members are about to be ambushed as they're setting their own ambush. Afterward, y'all shouldn't have any troubles cleaning up the stragglers," Mars commanded. He flicked his wand at the wall, and the doorway reappeared.

Percy leaped out from behind the barrier. "You were brilliant, Mars. Just brilliant! The greatest wizard in history! Riddle was nothing compared to your lore," he brown-nosed.

"Your performance was unbelievable, Percy, but we've no time for celebrations. Off you go!"

Percy bowed and fled through the door.

"But Mars! Snape is a traitor. He's the one that caught us and then gave us to the Death Eaters," yelled Harry.

"No, Harry, you don't know the whole story," said Mars. "Professors Snape and McGonagall were both working to subvert the Death Eaters from the inside. The explanation is complicated, and will have to wait; your date with destiny is at hand." Mars looked down at the three stunned Death Eaters. "Those three may recover soon: Ron, cover Montague; Hermione, get Malfoy; Ginny, get that other one, and Padma, you watch the door. If they move at all, stun them, but don't kill them, not even Malfoy. We need them for questioning - Percy thinks either Malfoy or Montague knows where Pettigrew is. Harry and Luna, come to me."

Mars' students quickly obeyed his commands.

"Hermione, I wasn't playing with Riddle," Mars explained. "I wanted him to waste his last bit of energy on some spells before I dared to let Harry near him.

"Harry, prepare yourself. I can't help you now, you have to do it on your own. We cannot risk defying the prophecy.

"Luna, come over here by the wall, right behind me, darlin'." Mars looked at the still-wobbly Luna with concern, then turned back to Harry. "There's no rush, Harry. This should be the last time you ever cast the Killing Curse, so take your time and get it right."

Harry nodded, closed his eyes, and thought of all the evil that Voldemort had wrought.

"The Killing Curse?" said Hermione. "Harry's supposed to cast the darkest of Dark Magic spells?"

"Shut up, Hermione," thought Harry, trying to refocus his thoughts.

"Quiet!" commanded Mars.

"My parents, Cedric Diggory, Mars' mum ...," thought Harry.

"Mars," said Hermione tearfully. "He could only know this Dark Magic because you taught him! How could you?"

"SHUT UP, Hermione!" yelled Harry.

"Watch your man, Hermione!" barked Mars.

Harry heard Hermione step backward. He thought again about the Hell his and so many other's lives had been because of Voldemort. He remembered the agony of his godfather Sirius; he thought of living with the Dursleys instead of with his loving parents. He relived his Mother's screams for mercy on his part. His rage grew. The Herberts, a loving family according to Hermione and Ginny. All these murders were so horrible, but he could now end Voldemort's reign forever.

"HARRY PLEASE!" wailed Hermione. "If you do this you'll be just like ... ARGGGH--"

Harry spun around, ready to scream at Hermione. However, she was not shaking her finger at him as he had imagined, but lying on the floor and clutching her face trying to stem the bleeding.

Lucius Malfoy was now standing in front of her, holding her wand and aiming it right at Harry.

"Avada Kedavra!" shouted Malfoy, and a green light, and the sound of rushing death, flew at Harry.

Harry was caught flatfooted, his wand pointed worthlessly at the floor. For the fourth time in two years he simply accepted that he was going to die. Just as the light was about to strike him, a red blur moved in front of him, and the spell struck Mars full in the chest. The Angel of Justice crumpled to the floor at Harry's feet.