Harry Potter and the Defiance of the Hero

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEFIANCE OF THE HERO

Chapter 6 - Defying Our Demons

He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

~~Fridrich Nietzsche

Okay, he thought. This is what you do. The saving-people thing! Eyeing up the advancing group of Death Eaters again, Harry pooled some raw magic into his palms and created two glowing spheres of light.

His first real fight in this world had now begun.

Harry thought fast. The Death Eaters were only about seventy feet away now, and the rest of them were already heading towards the castle entrance, which would cut them off entirely. What he needed to do was distract the Death Eaters coming his way, while at the same time race back to the castle with the forty or so students behind him.

The spheres of magic in his hands were white hot and that gave Harry an idea. He saw that Hagrid had gathered everyone behind his cabin, which was still under the assault of the approaching Death Eater's curses, but it kept them safe for now. Seeing he had one small chance, Harry called to Hagrid.

"HAGRID!" he called, and the half-giant ran over to him.

"You tha' Potter?" he asked.

Harry nodded. "Listen," he said. "I'm going to create some protection. When I say so, you all have to run to the castle, fast as you can."

"We'll be cu' ter ribbons!" Hagrid exclaimed, but Harry shook his head and turned back to the Death Eaters.

Harry broke out into a run towards the fifty or so enemies. Dodging a few of the shower of curses that rained down upon him, Harry threw his hands together and the two magical spheres combined into one, deep red ball. With a cry, Harry threw the sphere high into the air, it crackled and sparkled as it went, and then turned on his heel and ran back towards Hagrid.

"READY!" he shouted, and Hagrid nodded. Harry was his only option right now, and if he said he could get them up to the castle, then he had no one else to turn to. The sixth years were staring fearfully at the Death Eaters, but many of them were also staring at Harry and the sphere of red light that hung suspended in the air.

Running back around to the safety of the cabin, Harry watched the sphere for a moment. Then, with a wave of his hand, he let it fall. "GO NOW!" he cried over the sound of the Death Eater's curses. "TO THE CASTLE."

"Come on now!" Hagrid began to usher the students out from behind his cabin, just as the red sphere of Harry's magic collided with the ground. It became clear almost instantly, what Harry's distraction was.

The red ball exploded with the awesome force of raw magic and the grass and small plants in the surrounding area in a fifteen feet radius caught fire. Because it was coming up summer, the grass was incredibly dry and it had just been freshly cut, so big piles of flammable refuse littered the area Harry had just set on fire.

It took quickly, the flames spreading and thick, billowing clouds of smoke rising from the green wood and storks. The flames spread so fast along the grass that the smoke began to obscure the view of the Death Eaters, and Hagrid couldn't help but smile as he and the forty or so teenagers ran out from behind his cabin. If they couldn't see the Death Eaters, then the Death Eaters couldn't see them.

The race was now on for the castle though, which was roughly eight hundred feet away, or two hundred and fifty metres, and the two separate Death Eater forces were both converging on them and their goal. They were going to be right on top of each other the whole way.

"RUN! RUN!" Harry shouted as his classmates, with no one else to follow and nothing they could possibly do on their own, obeyed and broke out in a sprint towards the castle. "DRAW YOUR WANDS!"

The billowing smoke clouds did impair the Death Eaters vision, but they were close enough now to do some real damage. Harry ran in between his fire and friends, and was the first to realise that the Death Eaters were not stopped by the flames. When they came, they came thick and fast. Anticipating their move, curses now came shooting through the flames, fired blindly by the group of Death Eaters.

Harry jumped straight into the fray though and began deflecting as many curses as he could away from the group, and at the same time construct shields to give them more of a fighting chance.

Ron and Hermione ran near the back of their Magical Creatures class, and watched in untold amazement as Harry Potter deflected curse after endless curse, fired from unseen wands behind the smokescreen. He had clearly already saved the lives of a dozen of them from the sounds and shouts of the curses coming their way.

Running up and over a small rise in the grounds left them visible for a moment and Harry conjured the strongest shield he could now that they had left the relative safety of his fire. A dozen harmful curses impacted against his hazy blue shield, but it held.

"Come on now!" bellowed Hagrid, ushering the students under his care on. He had also seen Harry's brief display of power, and it made him believe that they just might get out of this alive.

Deflecting another three curses and sending them shooting up into the clear blue sky, Harry took a deep breath and assessed the situation as best he could. They were about half way there. The fire and smoke he had created had given them enough time to put some real distance between the Death Eater horde and their curses, but that protection was gone now and the only thing keeping his classmates alive was the strength of his shield and deflection spells.

The other group of Death Eaters, the group that had marched up the castle driveway towards the double entrance doors, was closer to the castle than Harry and his group were. But they were not moving as fast. At their current rate, Harry would reach the castle first, but only just and it would not be unhindered. Both groups of Death Eaters would probably be on his heels by the time he made it back, if he made it back...

And there was also one question that burnt furiously in Harry's mind, and did slightly distract him from the task at hand. Where was Voldemort...? Harry knew without a doubt that the Dark Lord was in the grounds. Only he could have damaged the wards, and he would want to be here to see Hogwarts fall. Yeah... Harry thought. That is not going to happen!

Harry swore as a Killing Curse hit his shield and it shattered into a thousand magical sparks, falling down like snow in a blizzard upon the retreating students. Thankfully, the curse was too high to hit anyone, but the message was clear enough. The Death Eaters were going for the kill.

"FASTER!" cried Harry, and most did put on a valiant burst of speed, but a few were falling behind. With a cry of energy, Harry extended his deflection net and new shield to a wider range so as to keep the group covered, but he knew it wouldn't last long. At his best guess, they were about one minute away from the castle doors and had about three hundred feet, one hundred metres ahead of them. It might as well have been a mile.

Sighing in frustration, Harry increased his deflection magic with a tremendous cry of power. They were now close enough to the other group of Death Eaters, that both forces were now raining down curses upon them. The noise was deafening as Harry's shield fell again under the barrage of searing curses. Abandoning the shield, Harry focused all his efforts into deflecting the dozens of deadly curses that flared magnificently towards them across the wide expanse of the Hogwarts grounds, which had become a battlefield on which Harry was the only opposing force to the Death Eater onslaught.

Glancing over his shoulder as he ran along the length of the group, Harry let a pain curse slip through as he deflected a dozen others. This curse hit Hagrid square in the chest. The half-giant screamed, but bit his lip and didn't fall. He carried on running, pushing others before him and standing in between his students and the curses.

The castle doors were flung open as they closed the gap even further, and Harry sighed with relief as he beheld a wall of friendly spells issue forth from the top of the steps, as the Hogwarts professors joined the fight. Dumbledore stood at the front, and he cast a powerful knock back jinx, which knocked a fair portion of the advancing army off their feet, hindering their progress up to the castle and giving Harry and his group the time they desperately needed.

We're almost there! Harry thought with relief. Dumbledore worked his magic again, and for a few brief seconds the barrage of curses being fired at Harry and his friends ceased. A few more Death Eaters fell as they were stunned by the other members of staff.

With the smell of burning grass and smoke in their nostrils, and the sound of an unexpected battle all around them, Harry, Hagrid, and the forty or so teenagers finally reached the castle, just as a blasting curse managed to get through Harry's deflection net.

Harry watched it sail past him almost gracefully, before it slammed into the earth behind him, throwing him and one of the other students to the ground. Hagrid and the rest were now running into the safety of the castle, as Dumbledore and the other Professors provided some much needed cover.

Getting to his feet, Harry shook his head and began to move in a disorientated manner as he was still reeling from the blow of the blasting curse. He looked to the approaching Death Eaters and then up to the castle steps, where his parents were waving at him to run towards them. Also, he saw Ron behind Snape, having to be dragged into the castle. Harry nodded, and almost set off at a run towards his parents when he heard an ear-piercing scream.

Looking back again, he saw a single Hogwarts student lying with her back to the ground, screaming as the Death Eaters took careful aim at her. Harry realised instantly that he was not the only one knocked down in the blast of only a few moments ago. He did break into a run this time, but away from the castle and towards his fallen friend, towards Hermione.

His heart pounding in his chest, Harry threw himself at Hermione's fallen form, just as one of the nearby Death Eaters cast the most unforgivable of curses. All of the professors watched from the castle entrance stairs, holding their breath as Harry fell through the air towards Hermione, and the green light of death nipped at his heels.

Harry fell hard, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist and pulling her up and over him as they rolled out of the line of fire. They kept rolling, just as the killing curse exploded where Hermione had lain only a small second ago. Dirt and debris was thrown into the air and Harry felt the coldness of the curse on the back of his neck. Fear in her eyes, Hermione swallowed and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet by Harry.

"RUN!" Harry shouted and turned to face the approaching Death Eaters, who stood now barely ten feet away. Hermione didn't need telling twice, and as Harry began to conjure some powerful offensive magic, she made another break for the castle.

Dumbledore and the others provided protection for her, as Harry began to lay into the Death Eater lines, walking back towards the castle himself. "Vestic! he cried, and a purple light erupted from both his palms, killing two Death Eaters. Shaking his head, knowing it was either them or him, Harry fired three reductor curses at the ground in front of the Death Eaters, who had begun to split up into smaller groups as they were too big of a target as one.

Harry's reductor curses destroyed one Death Eater and sent another three flying back over the heads of others. Fire in his eyes and magic in his palms, Harry slowly deflected some dangerous curses as he struggled back to the castle. He knew Hermione would have made it by now, and the Death Eaters to his far left were no hassle as Dumbledore and the other teachers were keeping them at bay.

Harry dodged a Cruciatus Curse but this put him in line with a Killing Curse. Thinking fast, he pulled another Death Eater towards him through the air with thought magic, and placed him in front of the Avada Kedavra, as a shield. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Harry could hear his mother and father calling for him now, he was so close. But the Death Eaters were almost just as close. Calling more raw magic to his palms, pooling it together into spheres, Harry repeated his earlier display of power. He threw his hands together and tossed the ball of raw magic to the ground, just in front of the main Death Eater advancement.

This moment of distraction allowed a cutting charm to get through his defences though, and Harry winced as his cheek was cut open, splattering his face and neck with blood. But there was no follow up curse, as that was when his explosive ball of power hit. The sound of the explosion was devastating, as were the effects. Harry was thrown back; onto the castle steps and all the Death Eaters nearby were thrown back as well.

Standing up and coughing heavily, as the blast had nearly winded him, Harry began to walk painfully up the stairs, relying on the protection of Dumbledore and the other Professors as he went. Reaching the top of the stairs and safety, Harry turned again and looked out a final time at the sea of Death Eaters, and beheld the trail of destruction he had wrought to get everyone back here safely.

The Death Eaters were still splitting into separate groups and converging on the castle, but Harry took a deep breath and looked at the fires he had started on the way up here. Most of them were still burning, and the grounds were falling under a smoky haze as there was an ample supply of fuel for the flames. Shaking his head, Harry began to turn when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Standing on the steps, he was above the Death Eaters and protected from behind, but as such he could see right over the army. A lone figure stood silently and unmoving behind the Death Eaters, two red pinpricks of light shining out from beneath his hood.

Harry knew it was Voldemort. And for a moment all his wits and common sense left him as they were replaced by a deep hatred and anger. Harry would have jumped right back down the stairs, if it wasn't for the strong pair of hands that grabbed him from behind, and pulled him into the castle.

Wincing as his shoulder was disturbed by his father's strong gasp, Harry and James collapsed just inside the Entrance Hall as Dumbledore and Sirius threw the castle doors shut and began to place protective charms upon them.

Coughing and breathing heavily, Harry's head swam as he struggled to stand up, and the doors began to shake under the assault of the Death Eater's magic. "Is everyone all right?" he asked, looking around to see if anyone was injured.

"Harry..." James whispered. "That was unbelievable. You just... just took on a hundred Death Eaters alone."

Harry turned to his father and offered him a hand to get up. James took it and Harry pulled him up off the floor. "Where are the Aurors?" he then asked. "Weren't you getting them?"

"They're mobilising right now. Remus will be here within ten minutes."

Harry nodded as everyone began to surround him. Lily reached out and hugged him, but Harry broke away quickly, looking over to the Great Hall, where he saw through the open doors the entire school was seated. Near the stairs were Hagrid and the sixth years he had just saved. Hermione was being comforted by Ron, as she was openly crying and the others were looking around fearfully, clearly at a loss as to what to do.

"They shouldn't be here..." Harry whispered, and then repeated it a little louder. "Dumbledore," he said, turning to the headmaster who was enforcing the protection on the doors. "Everyone needs to get back to their common rooms."

Dumbledore left Sirius to continue warding the door and walked over to Harry. "Your power is beyond impressive, Harry," he began, "but leave the well-being of the students to me. Now, I want you to go and join your classmates."

Harry shook his head. "I knew you'd say that," he said. "You don't trust me!" It wasn't a question.

"I did not say that," Dumbledore argued gravely, as the high windows were shattered and glass rained down upon them.

"Remus better hurry," Sirius growled as the doors shook and splintered.

"You didn't have to," Harry shot back at Dumbledore. "Look... those Death Eaters out there are coming in, whether we like it or not. Having the entire school population seated in one place, right next to their entrance isn't very smart, is it?"

Lily stepped forward. "I think we should listen to him, Albus," she said slowly and James backed up his wife, and his son.

Harry wiped some blood out of the corner of his mouth. His cheek bled profusely from the one cutting charm that had hit him, and the entire left side of his face and neck was red from the blood. But Dumbledore sighed and nodded.

"Order them back to their common rooms," Harry said quickly, above the noise from outside. "Have them barricade themselves in."

Dumbledore looked into Harry's eyes for a moment, before conceding. "Sirius, Severus, Lily. Make sure it's done."

As soon as this was said, Dumbledore turned back to the doors and began to reinforce them. Sirius, Snape and Lily ran over into the Great Hall, as Harry healed the cut on his face with a small healing charm. He then ran over to Ron and Hermione, and the other sixth years.

"Head back to the common room," he told them. "It'll be safer there. Go now..."

Most of them did obey, having faith in Harry now that he would protect them, but Hermione hesitated. "Are you coming with us?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "No. I'm going to go deal with Voldemort."

"Come on, Hermione," Ron said, pulling on his girlfriends arm. "Harry here seems to know what he's doing."

Hermione bit her bottom lip, and allowed herself to be pulled up the stairs as the rest of the school began to filter out of the Great Hall. Ron gave the smallest of nods and thanks to Harry, Harry returned it and then turned back to the castle doors. Hundreds of scared and confused looking first, second, and third years ran past Harry as he battled against the tide of students to reach Dumbledore.

The castle walls shook under the constant barrage of so many curses, and Harry began to prepare himself, in case the Death Eaters did manage to break in. After some struggling, Harry reached Dumbledore and set about adding his own strength to the splintering massive wooden doors.

"HE'S OUT THERE!" Harry shouted, above the noise of the stampeding students and the endless noise of the destructive curses.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Dumbledore replied, smiling forlornly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw the other professors ushering the children up the stairs as one of the ancient bricks in the wall to Harry's right cracked under the immense power of the Killing Curse. The doors groaned on their hinges and Harry summoned up all his strength into a force charm that would equal the pressure being pushed upon the doors from outside, balancing out the strain.

"Sestum Forderius!" Harry said, remembering being taught this curse in his own world by Thomas Fright, his Auror curse instructor. The doors ceased their groaning, but the slightest tilt in the balance of power would blow them off their hinges.

"I fear you may have only just bought us a few brief minutes, Harry," Dumbledore stressed, his own arms aching against the strain of the power being flung at the castle doors.

"A few minutes is all the Aurors need," he replied, turning around to see the last few students run up the Entrance Hall stairs. It was now only the Hogwarts Professors in the Entrance Hall, as well as Harry, Lily and Madam Pomfrey. And for a moment the heat of the battle had abated, as the Death Eaters tried relentlessly to break the magic on the doors.

"So..." said Harry, leaning against the wall to catch his breath, and rest his shoulder which was burning terribly. "Any guesses on how he got past the wards?"

Many in the Hall shook their heads, even Snape, who had not been privy to any information concerning this attack. Dumbledore gave a fairly accurate guess though, as there was a respite on the bombardment of the doors. "To repeat a well-used phrase once again," the ancient wizard began, smiling remorsefully. "I believe Voldemort came in through the backdoor."

Harry laughed slightly under his breath, but he was the only one that did. "What do you mean, Albus?" asked Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy scholar.

"There was a key in the wards," Harry said slowly. "Something that once activated, could let anybody in. Like an unprotected backdoor."

"Exactly, Harry," agreed Dumbledore. "An unknown weakness... in the strongest wards of our world."

"I bet we have Salazar Slytherin to thank for that," Sirius spat. "Bloody Dark Wizards..."

"Oh please, Black," Snape hissed. "If you believe that you may as well believe in the Chamber of Secrets myth!"

Harry laughed out loud at that one, and attracted many odd gazes from the staff present. "Is everything all right, Harry?" Lily asked gently, knowing that this was neither the time nor the place for such laughter.

"I'm fine," Harry replied, still giggling slightly. They all looked like they wanted to say something else, but Harry just shook his head and waved them away. It was then though, that a grave knocking sound was heard, and it took them all a moment to realise that it was the castle doors.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

It was like a reverberating gong, obviously magical because of the strength needed to create a knocking sound on one of those massive doors. For a moment all of them were at a loss as to what to do. Except for Harry. "WHO IS IT?" he called, and James and Sirius couldn't keep the smiles of their faces.

Taking a few steps back from the door, a cold voice now rang out in an inhuman way. It pierced every corner of their minds, and sent shivers down their spines.

"Open the door, old man," hissed a voice of the purest evil.

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed, as did Harry's. "Three guesses who that is!" he whispered, as the sound of echoing breaking glass reached his ears.

Dumbledore raised his wand to his throat and cast a sonorus charm. "LEAVE THIS CASTLE, TOM!" he commanded. "THE AURORS ARE ON THEIR WAY."

"Let them come..." the unseen voice hissed again, and then a great burst of power was thrown at the doors, splintering them directly down and across their middle. James, Sirius, and Dumbledore jumped forward instantly, and began to restrengthen the dying doors.

Harry, meanwhile, had just processed something he had heard only a moment ago. The sound of breaking glass. Now that he thought about it, it had come from the Great Hall, which should have been empty. Removing his wand from his robes pocket, Harry grasped the smooth, polished wood firmly and carefully took a few slow steps towards the doors of the Great Hall, which stood wide open.

As he drew closer, Harry could definitely hear the sound of movement, and of boots crunching glass. He was now only a few feet away from the Hall entrance, on its right side. He could see the corner of the Slytherin table, which was deserted. The barrage of curses from outside was taking its toll on the main doors now, but Harry barely heard it.

He approached the Great Hall, just as his mother spotted him. "Harry," she said, taking a few swift steps over to her son. "What-"

Harry waved his hand and motioned for her to be quiet, and then with a running leap he jumped into the Great Hall, as Lily came up behind him. SNAP!

Lily screamed as the doors of the Great Hall closed just in front of her, separating her away from Harry. But she had seen enough to know that the Great Hall wasn't empty. It had at least ten Death Eaters in there. That was about how many she had seen before the doors had been magically sealed, forcing her to remain outside.

"HARRY!" she called, banging on the doors. "HARRY!"

Her screams attracted the attention of the other staff members. "JAMES!" Lily screamed. "DEATH EATERS- HARRY- TRAPPED."

But James, Dumbledore, and Sirius couldn't move. If one of them did, the castle doors would fall and a sea of Death Eaters would swarm in uncontrollably, as well as Voldemort. Lily realised this instantly, and drew her wand to blast away the Great Hall doors, and help Harry. "REDUCTO!" she cried, as Flitwick, Sinistra, Madam Hooch, Snape, Hagrid, and the other members of staff ran to her side.

Her curse hit the doors as it should, but it merely dissipated along its length, the magic and wards cast upon it preventing its destruction and opening. Lily tried again, frantically as the sounds of curses being fired from within the Hall reached her ears.

"It's no good, Lily," Flitwick said gravely. "It is a time delayed ward. Nothing can destroy it except the passage of time. We can't get in."

Lily sighed in frustration and even Snape tried to disable the ward on the door, knowing full well that only Dumbledore could probably do it, and he couldn't help them even though he was standing only thirty feet away. Whatever was going on in there, Harry Potter would have to deal with it on his own.

It was then, though, that several things happened all at once. One, the Aurors had arrived down at the castle gates, and were now racing up the field to meet the Death Eaters, and two, the castle doors exploded under the force of so much magic, and the battle spilled into the Entrance Hall, with James, Sirius, and Dumbledore at its head.

****

Harry waved his hand and motioned for her to be quiet, and then with a running leap he jumped into the Great Hall, as Lily came up behind him. SNAP!

Harry fell into a dive as he heard the doors snap close behind him, and came up with his back to the end of the Ravenclaw table, and his wand pointed at the sealed doors. A wave of golden light passed over the brown wood and Harry knew instantly it was a ward, one that would prevent the doors being opened.

He stood and turned quickly, knowing what he was going to see. Sure enough, standing halfway down the Hall, in between and even on the house tables, was a row of unmoving Death Eaters. Harry counted fifteen in all, and each of them had their wand trained upon him.

Harry instantly raised his own wand, as a deep silence fell upon the Hall. Looking behind them and at the discarded broomsticks lying at their feet, Harry surmised that they had flown into the castle, smashing many of the panes of glass in the massive window of the Great Hall to get in.

Taking a deep breath, Harry took a few slow steps out from behind the table, and walked so they all could see him. None of them moved and none of them attacked, but Harry knew that some of them were pretty high ranking Death Eaters, as their masks were red as oppose to the regular white.

"Er... HI!" called Harry, his voice echoing in the vast emptiness of the Hall. He could smell the smoke from the burning grounds outside and looking up briefly at the enchanted ceiling, he saw that smoke was heavy in the sky, not very thick, but casting a haze over the bright spring sun.

One of the Death Eaters stepped forward, and Harry recognised the faint strands of blonde hair that hung out of his mask and hood. "Lucius Malfoy..." he said, loud enough for the approaching Death Eater to hear.

The man stopped moving, and motioned for the Death Eaters behind and to the left and right of him to keep their wands trained on the boy. He then removed his hood and mask, revealing himself. Harry was right, the arrogant, pointed smirk of Lucius Malfoy, frowned down upon him as he took a few steps closer.

"You seem to know who I am," Malfoy began coldly. "And you remind me of that fool James Potter. Could you be... are you the seemingly immortal Harry Potter?"

Harry inclined his head slightly and Lucius smiled smugly. "I'm he," Harry replied, grinning.

"Hmm..." Lucius shrugged. "This was easier than expected. Found you without any trouble at all."

The muffled laughter of the other Death Eaters reached Harry's ears, as Malfoy smiled victoriously. "You are to come with us, boy. My Master demands your presence immediately!"

Harry shrugged. "I'll eventually get to him," he said, with the hint of a smile playing at his lips. "But first you guys are gonna have to go. Can't have you running around the castle."

Malfoy frowned, obviously not expecting such... sarcastic... defiance from a boy who should now be begging for his life. Lucius knew he must be bluffing, and raised his wand. He would stun this boy, and his master will kill him... again. "STUPEFY!" he cried.

Harry sighed and took a quick step to his left and up onto the bench of the Ravenclaw table, the deep red light of the stunner streaming past him like a bolt of red lightning. "Not on orders to kill me then?" Harry said, raising his eyebrows and smiling inwardly at the flush of anger that spread across Lucius Malfoy's face.

"Come quietly, boy," Malfoy growled. "And your death at the hand of the Dark Lord will be quick."

Harry shook his head and continued to smile. "That is not much incentive for me to come at all now, is it?"

The other Death Eaters now began to move forward, just as a massive bang echoed into the Hall from behind the warded doors. Harry knew the castle had just been breached, in more places than one. He hoped Dumbledore and his parents could manage alone for a few minutes.

"Stun him, Lucius," came a cold, female voice from behind one of the twelve red masks.

Harry knew that voice, and pure magic sprung to his hands at the anger it summoned. "Bellatrix," he whispered dangerously, his skin crackling with little bolts of blue power.

"My, my, my," drawled Malfoy. "Quite educated for a dead man, Potter. You seem to know all of us..."

Harry was no longer listening. His eyes had narrowed to two deep, emerald green slits. He raised his wand and with a quick spell whispered underneath his breath, the summoning charm, all of the masks of the Death Eaters present were ripped away and flew through the air towards him.

Some of the Death Eaters cried out in surprise as their identities were revealed. Another wave of his wand and Harry banished the masks flying towards him, and got a good look at who he was about to fight.

There were a majority of the inner circle that he knew, others from pictures, and some he had never seen before in any context. From left to right stood Antonin Dolohov, who Harry remembered from the Department of Mysteries battle. He had nearly killed Hermione. Next in line were two Death Eaters, who had been in white masks, he didn't recognise. After that came Rodolphus Lestrange and then Bellatrix Lestrange. Rabastan Lestrange was also there, one more from the Department of Mysteries. In the middle stood Lucius Malfoy, and right from him were Walden Macnair, another unknown Death Eater, one Harry knew only as Mulciber, Nott came next, and then Augustus Rookwood. And finally, standing to Rookwood's left, were Crabbe and Goyle, and an unknown man.

"Well the whole gang is here," sighed Harry, scratching the back of his neck and twirling his aching shoulder in small circles, to keep the circulation going.

"Impressive," Lucius Malfoy spat as the other Death Eaters recovered from the loss of their masks. "But enough, Potter. Surrender your wand or die!"

"The entire inner circle," breathed Harry, smiling excitedly. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."

"Enough," said Rookwood. "Crucio!"

Harry jumped out of the way of the curse and immediately went on the offensive. Talk was over. He could hear the sounds of battle outside, and knew that the Aurors must have arrived. He didn't know how strong they were, in numbers or magic, so he wanted to get out there, where Voldemort was.

"Cusindeo!" Harry retaliated against Rookwood, firing a bone breaking curse. The Death Eaters spread out and Harry's curse impacted against the Hufflepuff table, snapping it and destroying a big chunk of the wood, which splintered and whistled away, smacking against the hard stone of the floor.

"Spread out," ordered Lucius. "On my count, stunning spells." The fifteen Death Eaters spread out so they covered the Great Hall, forming a single line. They thought Harry would not be able to defend from an attack on such a long arc. "Now!" Malfoy cried. "Stupefy!"

Malfoy's wand exploded with red light, as the fourteen other Death Eaters simultaneously repeated the curse. Fifteen equal jets of red stunning light rocketed through the air towards Harry, upturning the goblets and bits and pieces of paraphernalia left lying on all of the house tables. It was like a river of red light, coming in on a one hundred and eight degree radius, directly towards Harry.

Harry, for his part, took a single step back and rose what looked like a simple shield charm. "Protego!" he whispered. The Death Eaters who were watching smiled as Harry's blue shield charm popped into existence. They knew that even one of their stunners would shatter it instantly.

Working fast as Harry knew he only had seconds. He subtly reinforced his shield charm to withstand the blow from all of the stunners using pure magic, and then added a few new touches of his own devising, that Dermas had taught him after a particularly vigorous sword training exercise back in his own world. He added a multiplier charm to the shield, as well as a counter charm and a heat seeking charm. If all went to plan the Death Eaters wouldn't have a chance. It was then that the stunners reached Harry.

The Death Eaters all smiled with premature victory. They had all been slightly unnerved by this boy's brief display of power, but if a protego shield charm was all he could manage then they had nothing to worry about.

Harry braced himself as he knew this was going to drain him of some power, and closed his eyes against the bright red light that exploded against his shield in a shower of sparks that nearly deafened him. All fifteen stunners hit his shield and the blue barrier turned a deep red and then a thousand golden stripes of light began to absorb the stunners. The Death Eaters eyes widened in momentary surprise as Harry disappeared behind this wall of red light.

Soon Harry's other spells took over though, the multiplier spell, designed to deflect a curse and send another three back at the original caster, multiplied all fifteen stunners into forty five stunners, whilst the counter charm began to throw them back upon the Death Eaters. Finally, the heat seeking charm allowed the stunners to hone in on the line of Death Eaters, who stood in disbelief as forty five stunners erupted from the shield wall and began to return upon them.

Harry stumbled and felt a wave of expected dizziness and nausea as he was drained of the magic required for forty five stunners. He almost fell, but if Harry had one thing it was power, and he recovered, only slightly weakened a few seconds later and smiled triumphantly. If the Death Eaters fifteen stunners had resembled a river of red light, then Harry's forty five stunners had to be called a flood, as they shot through the air.

But there was a nagging thought in the back of Harry's mind, as the Death Eaters rose whatever shields they could in the brief seconds they had left conscious, that he didn't feel as powerful as he had before his final battle in his own world. It was almost unexplainable, but definitely undeniable. There was like a piece of his magic missing, which had been pure and powerful, but it was gone. Harry could think of only one reason why, and it shook him to his very core.

The Voldemort of his world had it. When he had jumped in front of and survived Voldemort's Killing curse, he had lost some of his power and it had transferred, along the string of the Avada Kedavra and into Voldemort. Harry knew it had almost killed both of them, as he had spoken with the Dark Lord within his mind one final time before he had portkeyed away. He had saved Hogwarts, his world that day, but he had also given its greatest enemy power that could destroy them all, and that no one in that world could match. Not even Albus Dumbledore.

So it was then, in the heat of battle as one hundred Death Eaters and the Dark Lord lay siege to the castle, and the Aurors fought for its freedom, and the Great Hall was bathed in the red light of forty five stunners, that Harry felt homesick. He was worried for the safety of the one place he couldn't enter for a year. His own world was defenceless against the wrath of an infinitely powerful Voldemort, as he fought for another world that had long since given up on hope.

Harry shook himself out of those thoughts though, as he had a job to do now. Can only save one thing at a time... he told himself, as his stunners exploded magnificently and like thousands of sparkling fireworks against the weak shields a handful of the Death Eaters had managed to raise.

Line after line of stunner fell upon the helpless Death Eaters, who had neither expected nor defended properly against such a barrage. Harry's vision of them was lost as everything glowed red and the heat of so much magic melted the metal of the goblets and cutlery on the house tables, which were also scorched from the sea of stunners.

The sound of bodies hitting the floor and tables reached Harry's ears as the red light began to disappear. The hot smell of magic was on the air and a single groan was heard from atop the Gryffindor table.

Harry walked slowly down between the house tables, staring at the slumped and broken forms of all of the Death Eaters, who had been so sure of themselves half a minute ago. Lying on top of his house table though, was a Death Eater Harry had known all to well in his own world, in his other war.

Bellatrix Lestrange coughed and rolled over, having just managed to deflect the five stunners that had targeted her. She made to roll off the table but as she did, came face to face with the tip of Harry's wand. She glared and made no attempt to move, but looked up into the eyes of the boy who had just shamed them all.

"You going to finish us, Potter?" she asked coldly. "Finish me?"

Harry showed no emotion as he summoned a glowing curse to the tip of his wand, watching the red light of it reflected in Bellatrix's eyes. Unlike the Bellatrix in his world, Harry noticed, this one had not spent time imprisoned in Azkaban, and her considerable good looks were not diminished. As like the living Sirius here, she held the beauty that was almost seen in every member of the Black family. Harry knew it was a cruel beauty though, and his hatred for Bellatrix was only topped by his pure hatred for Tom Riddle.

"You deserve to die," Harry whispered emotionlessly, the only sign of his anger was the fire in his emerald eyes. "For the evils you have committed in more than one world."

Bellatrix frowned. "What are you talking about?" she asked viciously.

Harry moved his head slightly and his eyes glazed over. "Nothing, Bellatrix," he said quietly, sniffing. "Just be thankful I don't find pleasure in taking lives, even yours. Stupefy!"

The stunner sent Bellatrix spinning and she landed on the floor on the other side of the table hard. Harry sighed and put his wand away, his hand shaking from the anger he felt. He walked slowly back towards the doors of the Great Hall, his eyes and mind reflecting a storm of emotion. As he approached the doors, he waved his hand and the golden ward upon it shattered and the doors flew open, revealing a very frightened James and Lily Potter.

Harry walked out of the Hall to greet them, and Lily took one look behind him into the Hall, and at the slumped bodies of so many Death Eaters, and she looked back questioningly at Harry who, apart from the dried blood on his cheek and neck from a deep cut, was unscathed. "Wha... how...?" she managed.

Harry shrugged and rubbed his sore shoulder. "Did not know who they were messing with," he said simply, as his mother and father looked on at him in awe, and all the sounds of battle outside ceased ominously, and the only sound heard was that of a high pitched evil laughter.

****

Fifteen Minutes Earlier

"Come on, Ron," cried Hermione as they reached the second floor corridor with a throng of other students behind him.

"I'm coming-" Ron said, but suddenly stopped in his tracks, as he beheld the Hogwarts grounds from a nearby window. "Bloody hell..." he breathed. "Does anybody else see this?" he asked slowly.

The movement for the common rooms came to a stop as the students of Hogwarts spread out along this corridor and others that looked out upon the grounds, to witness the battle between the Death Eaters and the recently arrived Aurors, who were now running to meet each other in the centre of the field. The Death Eaters were coming from the castle entrance, whilst the Aurors were coming up from the castle gates. They would meet in the middle, as the grounds still burnt from the flames that Harry Potter had started and fed.

"Oh my..." whispered Ginny Weasley, standing next to Hermione as the corridor fell eerily silent. "Is that... is that..."

At the head of the advancing Death Eater party was a single figure, dressed entirely in black.

"That's You-Know-Who," Ron said, and gasps of fear reverberated along the corridor.

****

James, Sirius, and Dumbledore cried out in pain as the castle doors exploded around them. They recovered quickly though, and raised shield charms against the curses they expected to be coming their way, but none did. Outside they could see that the Death Eaters had abandoned the doors and were running once again down the grounds towards...

"REMUS!" James and Sirius shouted in unison, jumping up and down on the spot. "You gotta love that furry little guy," continued Sirius.

"Gentlemen," Dumbledore said, clearing his throat. "We should join the fight." Then the headmaster bounded down the steps with speed that belied his age, leaving the others to follow in his wake.

James nodded and took a deep breath, turning to see what his colleagues were doing, and frowning when he saw Lily beating upon the door of the Great Hall.

"It's Harry," she said. "He's trapped in there with Death Eaters."

"Damn it," cursed Sirius.

"It's a time delayed ward," Snape whispered, heading away from the Great Hall and towards Sirius. "We can't break it, and Dumbledore has already left."

"WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" cried Lily, somewhat hysterically. "I can't lose him again..."

James felt a pang of guilt that was so familiar. He had felt it the past six years, ever since he had been unable to save the life of their Harry from Voldemort in Diagon Alley. And as the other professors ran past him and out onto the grounds for a fight, James walked over and embraced his wife, who was now crying.

"Come on," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "I'll stay. Let's get him out of there."

****

Remus Lupin ran up the grounds at the head of sixty five Aurors, dressed in their bright, light-representing robes. They showed no fear as the forces of the Dark Lord descended down from the castle towards them, and had faith in their leader that they could win this fight.

Remus still marvelled that he had been given this job at all. Graduating from Hogwarts was one of the proudest moments of his life, but afterwards no one wanted to employ him anywhere because he was a werewolf. He wasn't trusted as the Dark war stretched on for two decades, and then only a year ago the head of the Auror division position had been filled twice, but both men had subsequently died at the hands of Death Eaters. Having extensive training in duelling from his work within the Order, Remus applied for the job on Dumbledore's advice and was head of the department a week later.

No one else had wanted the job, but to this day Remus was the longest surviving head of the division, and had long since earned the trust and respect of the men and women who served underneath him.

Remus raised his hands and ordered the Aurors to assume an offensive position, as he caught sight of the Wizarding world's worst fear standing at the head of his army. Swallowing nervously, Remus began to ignore his fear, as there would be brief negotiations before the inevitable battle.

Sure enough, the Dark Lord ordered that his Death Eaters assume an equal position and then moved forward into the space in between the two separate forces, into what is known as no mans land.

A quick count of the numbers told Remus that the Death Eaters outnumbered them by about fifteen, which wasn't a remarkable difference really. But they had Voldemort at their front and Remus knew he was absolutely no macth for the Dark Lord, and would need Dumbledore, who was probably protecting the castle.

The Aurors watched as Lord Voldemort stepped away from his Death Eaters and took the standard twenty five paces towards Remus, which was the expected minimum in Wizarding warfare.

"You sure about this?" whispered Remus' second-in-command, Kingsley Shacklebolt. "You know he likes to put on a show. We should just attack..."

Remus ran a hand through his hair but held his wand tightly. "There is going to be a fight here today, but I have to try and prevent it. That's my job."

"He'll kill you!" Kingsley warned.

Remus smiled sadly. "If he does you'll know the negotiations weren't overly successful," he said, and then began to walk the minimum required paces. Kingsley swore under his breath, but he couldn't help but admire the courage their leader possessed.

Remus felt weak to his very knees as he approached the embodiment of fear. A man that could inspire terror a hundred times worse than that of a Dementor. A man that had held the world at war for twenty years. A man... no... A monster that was slowly winning that war. When Remus came to a stop, both sides fell silent so as to hear what was said. Voldemort and Lupin stood roughly ten feet apart, as both sides held their ground.

"Good morning, Werewolf," hissed Voldemort, his red eyes glinting with malice.

Remus couldn't help but shudder at the coldness in that voice. "Lord Voldemort," he began. "Cease your actions or the Ministry of Magic will be forced to neutralise you and your followers by any means necessary." Remus knew it was a rehearsed, by the book, response, but he was just stalling for time.

Voldemort ignored what he had said. "You, werewolf, should not be standing against me. By right you are my natural ally. Join my forces now and you will be spared."

Remus stared into that pale white face that reduced grown men to tears, and couldn't help but feel angry by what had been said. He was a werewolf, but not a dark creature. He controlled his transformation every month, and would never serve the dark.

"Don't let good people die today over the purity of blood," Lupin managed quietly, not really believing he was trying to negotiate with the Dark Lord. In his one year as leader of the division, never once had he spoken directly to Voldemort. Dumbledore had been there the only other time the Dark Lord had come out to fight with his army, and he had done all the talking.

"This school will be purged, traitor," hissed Voldemort. "As will the world. Prepare to die!"

Remus immediately fell into a defensive position, but the Dark Lord merely spun on his heel, black robes billowing out behind him impressively, and headed back to his army. Remus turned and walked back to his Aurors as well, breathing a heavy sigh of relief that he would not have to duel Voldemort... yet.

"What did you say?" asked Kingsley, as Remus began to motion the lines for an attack.

Remus took a deep, nervous breath and looked Kingsley right in the eyes. "I... I just asked Voldemort to surrender," he said, laughing at the hopelessness of it all.

Kingsley laughed morbidly as well. "Well I never would have managed it. I just hope Dumbledore appears soon."

Remus nodded, and then looked back across to the Dark Lord, who had sent his Death Eaters forward, but was himself unmoving as they walked past him. "I think he's sitting this one out," Kingsley commented, as the Auror lines began to move.

"We can only hope," Remus whispered, as both sides broke out into a run, and the lights and sounds of curses cut the relative silence, as the battle recommenced on the burning grounds of Hogwarts.

It was at this time that Dumbledore and the other members of staff who had run from the castle appeared. Having been caught behind the Death Eater lines, Dumbledore had led his staff around and along the edge of the forest, using the smoke from Harry's fire as a cover most of the way, to come out behind the Aurors, who were now advancing on the Death Eaters. No one noticed them at first though as the battle had begun, and curses that could kill were thick in the air.

Aurors clashed with Death Eaters and both sides lost many in the first few minutes of combat. Dumbledore strode around and through the Aurors, who had broken away into smaller groups to match the Death Eaters strategy, and towards Voldemort.

He disabled three Death Eaters with a wave of his wand, and moved ever towards the Dark Lord, who had spotted him in the crowd and smiled as he sensed victory over the old man.

Voldemort did not have to wait long, Dumbledore was quite proficient in dispatching the Death Eaters, and both sides were now scattered into one huge force, that had Death Eaters and Aurors battling at either end of the field, as the ground was soaked red in parts from the blood of the fallen. At least half of each force had been decimated within the first three minutes, and the fighting was intense on either side.

As he walked up to meet Voldemort, Dumbledore saw his allies out of the corners of his eyes. He watched Remus Lupin battle two Death Eaters and defeat them both, Sirius Black soon joined him and together they pushed forward with a group of Aurors behind them. He saw members of the Order, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks battling side by side, but his main gaze was focused upon Tom Riddle, who was awaiting him just ahead.

"Hello, Tom," Dumbledore said gravely as he finally reached his goal.

"Dumbledore," nodded Voldemort, raising his wand against the headmaster. "Come to meet your end?"

"We both know why I'm here, Tom. This has to end!"

"Indeed it does," Voldemort agreed. "And it will, with your death and that of the unworthy in Salazar's school."

Dumbledore raised his own wand now, as it had previously been hanging at his side. "I will never allow you to set foot within Hogwarts castle again."

Voldemort smiled. "You, old man, will have no choice. AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Dumbledore remained calm, he had expected that. A flick of his wand and he transfigured a nearby boulder into a wall of rock, six feet by three, and placed it in front of him. The green light of death disintegrated against the rock, which promptly exploded into many fragments.

Voldemort didn't miss a beat though, and quickly cast a fire curse at Dumbledore, who deflected it easily, and retaliated with a disabling charm of his own. This broke upon Voldemort's shield, and he shot back a powerful blasting curse.

Dumbledore brandished his wand like a whip, and caught the blue beam of light and deflected it to his left, not really having time to keep it away from any Aurors, who had to jump to safety as the ground they stood on exploded with an awesome force. It was around this time, that Harry unleashed his forty five stunning spells in the Great Hall.

The Aurors and Death Eaters had come to something of a stalemate, as their strongest fighters duelled at the head of the field. Roughly thirty fighters remained on each force, and all of them had their wands pointed at one another, and all of them were watching the duel. Remus and Sirius stood side to side, each holding a wand on a Death Eater, who in turn held it on them.

It was the same all across the field. A Hundred or so bodies littered the ground, but those that remained now watched the duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore, the winner would take the field and the school.

Power reverberated and rang like a gong along the purple light of death from a Vestic curse Voldemort had just unleashed upon Dumbledore. Dumbledore's shield absorbed it though, and he fired another fire-binding charm upon his former pupil, who had grown incredibly powerful over the last fifty years.

"When did you walk this path, Tom?" Dumbledore asked sadly, walking towards Voldemort and transfiguring three stone guardians as he did.

Voldemort fired three destructive curses at the stone protectors surrounding Dumbledore, and reduced them all to dust. "I chose power, Dumbledore," he spat. "I chose immortality."

"Both you and I know eternal life would be a curse. You are no more immortal than I."

"LIAR!" Voldemort cried, firing another Avada Kedavra at the ancient headmaster, who, despite his best efforts, was tiring but did manage to avoid the curse. One hundred and fifty three years was not an age to be duelling Dark Lords at. "I have taken many steps down the road to immortality. You are all that stands in my way."

Dumbledore managed a tired smile. "I beg to differ," he said calmly. "I am not the only one who stands against you, Tom. Remember the prophecy?"

Voldemort's red eyes were alight with rage and he sent three quick waves of sheer power at Dumbledore, who managed to absorb one and deflect the other two, but his wand shook in his hand. "Nexusis!" he whispered, and long vines grew from the tip of his wand, clawing at Voldemort and binding him strongly.

Voldemort smiled and raised his wand above his head, bringing it down in a cutting motion that severed the vines, and knocked Dumbledore back. But he wasn't finished yet. He took a step forward, sent another power spell towards Dumbledore, complete with a killing curse and finally the disarming jinx.

True to his title of the strongest wizard of the age, Dumbledore managed to dodge all three spells, but he did almost lose his wand, and every wizard who beheld that duel could tell that he was losing. The Death Eaters began to cheer on their master, who had a sadistic smile on his face that showed he was enjoying this duel, while Dumbledore had a look of sheer concentration and exhaustion upon his.

"No..." breathed Remus.

Breathing heavily, Dumbledore tried one final time to best Voldemort, but it was all for naught. Finally succumbing to the frailties of age, Dumbledore was struck in the chest with a pain curse that broke his ribs, which in turn damaged his lungs and forced him to cough up some blood. He was knocked to his knees. Voldemort smiled victoriously and with a flick of his own wand, summoned Dumbledore's wand to him.

"How the times have changed, old man," hissed Voldemort, walking towards the fallen headmaster, whose beard was speckled with blood from his punctured lungs. His breath came in struggled gasps as well, as his lungs were being crushed.

All was quiet upon the grounds, and those watching up at the castle, or on the field, were completely silent as well. Fear welled up in the hearts of the Aurors and the Order then, as Voldemort pointed his wand at Dumbledore for the final time, and laughed.

****

Harry shrugged and rubbed his sore shoulder. "Did not know who they were messing with," he said simply, as his mother and father looked on at him in awe, and all the sounds of battle outside ceased ominously, and the only sound heard was that of a high pitched evil laughter.

Harry's eyes hardened, and without another word he swept by his parents and made for the castle exit. "Harry... wait!" cried Lily, as James joined his son's side.

"You should go and restrain those Death Eaters in there," Harry said calmly, without turning around. "They should be out for a few hours after what hit them, but you never know."

James turned to see Lily nod slightly, wiping her eyes and running into the Great Hall. "Thank you, Harry," he then whispered.

"For what?" he asked.

"For keeping her out of what's to come."

Harry nodded ever so slightly, and then he and his father stepped out into the smoky, bitter grounds of Hogwarts. They saw the battle had come to a stop across the way, as Voldemort had beaten Dumbledore into submission. "Dear Merlin...." breathed James, his wand now shaking in his hand. "We can't lose Albus."

"You won't," Harry said, and the simple pragmatic truth in his voice made James believe him without question. He hadn't seen a real display of power from Harry yet, he had only seen him defend himself on the way back up to the castle, but he felt that he was about to throw down the gauntlet, right at Voldemort's feet.

"Stay low," Harry continued, as they set off towards Voldemort and the remaining Aurors and Death Eaters. It must have been a quick fight, thought Harry. It has only been about forty minutes since I got everyone back to the castle.

The smoke was again their best defence, but many saw their approach and thought nothing of it. The Aurors really didn't think anyone could help them if Dumbledore had fallen, and the Death Eaters knew their victory was sealed with the headmaster's death. The fate of the battle, and of the hope of this world, now rested with Harry.

As Harry and James approached, walking back to back through the mingled lines of Death Eaters and Aurors, both having wands raised in defence as several turned upon them. They past Remus and Sirius, who Harry gave the slightest of nods and a small smile to and continued up through the mass towards the rise where Voldemort held Dumbledore at wand point.

Voldemort had not yet seen their approach, as his mind was focused solely on killing Dumbledore. He had envisioned this moment for twenty years, but first he had some questions. "Tell me, Dumbledore," he hissed, trailing his wand along Dumbledore's bearded cheek. "Are the rumours true? Has Harry Potter returned from the dead?"

Dumbledore managed a small smile, even in his pained condition. "The prophecy... holds true," he said through painful breath.

"And where is this Potter now?" Voldemort spat. "Where is your supposed saviour?"

Dumbledore just shook his head sadly. "Death, Tom... He comes for you."

Voldemort had had enough. He had sent his inner circle to retrieve this Potter boy, they would return soon and Dumbledore would tell him no more. Keeping his wand trained on Dumbledore's throat, he addressed the crowds. "TODAY!" he began. "TODAY A NEW POWER WILL CLAIM THIS SCHOOL."

There were cheers from the Death Eaters and Harry clenched his teeth as they slowly moved towards the Dark Lord. "WATCH NOW," continued Voldemort. "AS ALBUS DUMBLEDORE, HERO OF THE LIGHT, FALLS AT MY HAND!" Voldemort then turned and spoke so only Dumbledore could hear him. "Any final words, fool..?"

Dumbledore blinked away the pain in his eyes, and looked passed Voldemort and down to all the Aurors and Death Eaters on the field before them. He sighed, but then beheld a sight that blossomed hope in his heart. It was Harry, and Dumbledore knew that all their hopes now rested on this boy's shoulders. Either Harry defeated Voldemort, or they all died that day.

"He has come, Tom," Dumbledore said, wheezing as his chest burnt from the pain. "Prove your immortality now, and defeat the prophecy!"

Voldemort's eyes narrowed and he turned to follow Dumbledore's gaze. He was momentarily surprised to see a lone figure standing only twenty feet away, wand in hand and emerald green eyes shining out from behind wire-framed glasses. Could this be...?

All of the Aurors, Death Eaters, and students watching from up at the castle held their breath, as they waited for someone to do anything. For a moment, Voldemort was blinded by what he knew of the prophecy, and he forgot about Dumbledore and stepped into a duelling stance to greet this stranger.

"I killed you, boy," he hissed, hoping to see this teenager cower in fear as all but Dumbledore did when they looked upon him.

Harry took a few more steps forward, wand hanging lazily by his side and approached the Dark Lord. It was then that Harry got his first real look at his enemy in this world, and he did not resemble the Voldemort he had known, not entirely anyway. If it wasn't for the red eyes, a sign that a person had been emersed in the Dark Arts for too long, then this man could have passed for a relatively pale human. His skin was almost white, but he did not resemble a snake as the other one had. He had a nose, not slits, and his skin looked more like flesh than the bone his Voldemort had.

"You killed Harry Potter," Harry said, shaking his head. "And yet here I am."

Voldemort frowned. This boy showed no fear. Who was he? Why was he so confident? "If you are the Potter the prophecy spoke of, then you are dead."

"Oh Tom," Harry sighed. "It would take too long to explain it all now, but have no doubt, I am Harry Potter."

Voldemort kept his wand raised, the killing curse already on the tip of his tongue. Smoke and ash flew around them from the dying fires and no sound but that of the wind reached their ears. "Well no matter," hissed the Dark Lord. "My power destroyed you once, and it will do so again."

Harry smiled incredulously. "Your power!" he cried, laughing slightly. "You killed Harry Potter when he was defenceless, a boy shopping with his parents who could not perform any magic to defend himself against your power. Well, in case none of your loyal morons had the courage to say it, I will. That was not power, Tom, that was cowardice."

Gasps of awe, anger, and respect rang out across the field from the assembled Aurors and Death Eaters, and James, who stood with Remus and Sirius now, could not help but smile. "What does he think he's doing?" whispered Remus. "He's done for!"

"We'll see," smiled James. "I think we're about to see a very powerful duel."

"HOW DARE YOU!" cried the Dark Lord. "I have killed men for less."

"I know," said Harry. "Much less... but that's beside the point now. You have to leave these grounds, and you're going to go quietly or I'm going to kill you."

Now Voldemort laughed. "Kill me, boy?" he spat. "You are not worthy enough to duel me. My inner circle shall dispatch you."

Running a hand through his hair, Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "They won't be joining us," he said.

"And why is that?" raged Voldemort, increasingly infuriated at the lack of fear this boy was showing.

Harry smiled slyly. "Because they got in my way..."

Voldemort swallowed but was more than confident in his own abilities. He stepped forward, closer to Harry, and swung his wand down in a sweeping motion. Great torrents of blue flame shot through the space in between Harry and Voldemort, and at the last possible moment Harry flicked his own wand, and the flames exploded against his shield, falling in familiar blue sparks.

And it was then that the two strongest wizards in that world duelled.

Taking a deep breath, Harry could scarcely believe he was about to do this again. Duel the Dark Lord, in another world, and restore the hope of a people that had long since despaired of it. He still marvelled at the fact sometimes, that it was he who had to take on this burden. Little Harry Potter who had lived under the stairs for ten years, had grown to survive death and destruction countless times and even break through the boundaries that separated universes, all to bring him to this point.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" cried Voldemort.

Harry knew he would not survive that curse again, not under these circumstances anyway and he swore under his breath, wishing there was a shield that could deflect the Killing curse. Harry purposely tripped over his own feet and fell onto his back, the green light rocketing over him and coming within an inch of his cheek.

"CUSINDEO!" he shouted from the floor, and stood quickly as his bone breaking hex dissipated upon Voldemort's strong shield.

"Very good, boy," hissed the Dark Lord. "You know of the Dark Arts."

"I have to know my enemy," Harry replied, walking left as Voldemort walked right.

"Indeed," nodded Voldemort. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Harry was far enough away to side step this one, although it did come at him incredibly fast and almost hit the side of his billowing robes as the wind blew them around. Again he felt the cold bite of death, but retaliated quickly.

"AROS CRI!" he shouted, and was encouraged to see six metallic arrows, hard as silver, fly out of the end of his wand and shoot towards Voldemort. He had never tried that curse before, but was pleased with its success.

Voldemort moved his wand around in small circles and muttered heating charms. The air in front of him became as hot as a furnace, and the arrows melted away to liquid metal as they flew through the scorching air. Keeping his wand spinning, Voldemort melded and fused the falling liquid metal into dozens of tiny sharp pieces of shrapnel, each one jagged and deformed.

Harry realised a moment before it happened what Voldemort was doing, and prepared himself as a hundred pieces of jagged metal screamed back through the air towards him. He smiled to unnerve Voldemort and as the wall of metal approached, Harry sent out magic from his thoughts, and began to stop them in mid-air.

It only took a few moments, and his wand had hung uselessly at his side the whole time, but the air was now spotted with little pieces of suspended shrapnel. With another thought, Harry let them all fall to the ground, as he knew they would melt if he sent them at Voldemort. He could feel the heat of the air from where he stood.

"What did you do, boy?" Voldemort asked, confusion in his eyes.

Harry smiled. "I asked you to leave, and now you're going to pay. VESTIC!"

Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise but the vestic death curse was shattered against his shield. It was more of a surprise that anyone would have the courage to fire a curse designed to kill at him. He realised then and there, that this was no childish duel.

"IMPERIO!" he bellowed, and Harry received this one in the chest, as Voldemort smiled. He now had the boy under his control.

Harry felt the familiar light headed feeling of the imperious curse, but his pure magic and will broke out of it a moment later, and he sent a wave of power at the Dark Lord.

Voldemort's eyes widened in disbelief as Harry broke free of his Imperius curse, and he was knocked back as a wave of pure power hit him.

"You'll have to do better than that," Harry growled. He had realised now that this Voldemort was not as strong as the Voldemort in his world. He had not had the bond to strengthen them, nor had he received Harry's blood. This would be interesting.

Voldemort no longer spoke, he raised his wand again. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" he cried.

Harry jumped to his left and fell into a roll, coming up a few feet from his previous position, just as Voldemort fired another Killing curse. Thinking fast, Harry turned on his side and took a few steps back. Both Killing curse now flew past him, one quicker than the other. But he stood in between both equal jets of green light, and the second past within millimetres of the bridge of his nose.

As soon as they had gone by, Harry breathed a sigh of relief and turned to see Voldemort, but swore as he saw, in the small moments between seconds in which the mind worked, silver arrows hurtling through the air to meet him. "Damn it," he whispered. He should have anticipated this move. Working fast, Harry managed to deflect five of the seven of the arrows.

The final two shot through the air at an incredible speed, one whistled over his head, just missing him, but the other struck his right arm, just below the elbow. It was travelling at such a velocity that it pierced Harry right through the bone and came out the other side, the shaft of the metal arrow embedded right in the elbow joint.

Harry cried out in pain and lost all use in his already damaged right arm. His wand fell from his fingers and blood flowed freely down his arm. He began to breathe heavily, and only just managed to get out of the way of a second barrage of arrows fired from Voldemort, before he began to master the pain. Come on he thought. This is nothing.

His wand had rolled a few feet away, but Harry didn't want to waste any time retrieving it, so he pooled some raw magic into the palm of his left hand, keeping it hidden from Voldemort.

"You are defeated, boy," hissed Voldemort triumphantly. "An admirable effort, but sadly one that will not be remembered."

Harry glared with nothing but absolute hatred at Voldemort. "You always make the mistake of underestimating me," he said quietly, and then in the blink of an eye, threw the raw magic in his palm at Voldemort. It swirled through the air between the two duellists faster than any curse that had gone before it. A spinning, spiralling disc of white light that shattered Voldemort's defences and hit the Dark Lord in his stomach, burning through the robes and knocking him to the ground.

Voldemort screamed in untold pain.

****

"Bugger me..." breathed Ron, holding a pair of omnioculars to his eyes that he had run back to his dormitory to retrieve. "I think Harry just... won."

Hermione bit her bottom lip. From where she stood she could see two figures had been duelling while they all watched, both from the castle and the grounds. She had seen some awesome spellwork being cast between the two duellists, but she didn't know who was winning.

Ron passed her the omnioculars and she focused on the fight, on Harry. She winced as she saw the long silver arrow that was stuck through his right arm, but she couldn't help but smile. He was standing, while the Dark Lord had fallen. Her hope lessened though, as You-Know-Who rose to his feet, and began to conjure a thick black string, that at first looked like cloud, but was in fact dark magic.

****

Harry didn't move as Voldemort rose unsteadily to his feet, clutching his wounded stomach with one hand, whilst muttering small incantations with the other. A thick black stream began to flow from the end of his wand, and swirl slowly around Voldemort, rising up above his head.

Breathing heavily from exhaustion, Harry held his wounded arm close to his side and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the other. What is he doing? Harry wondered, but then recalled a passage he had read in one of the Dark Arts text he had studied over the years.

Resembling a black cloud, the Grínoú, is a physical manifestation of the evil and dark power within the caster. Designed to kill its intended victim, the only defence against such a spell, which has not been used in centuries, is an equal Grínoú of pure light magic. For the purpose of defence, the incantation is, 'Fors grin axá' Warning: requires large amount of power to use. Not recommended.

Harry sighed and wiped his bloodied hands on his robes. His right arm was slick with blood, but the knuckles on his left hand had split open at some point, and were now dirty and sore. He watched as Voldemort completed his 'cloud' of dark magic and then with a sadistic smile, raised his wand, and brought it swinging down in a long sweeping motion.

Harry didn't move as the line of thick, black dark magic swept across the space in between him and Voldemort. He took a step back to tighten his position though, and then summoning some pure power, formed his own Grínoú. Now he was using wandless magic, so he didn't know if it would work the same way, but he wasn't disappointed.

"Fors grin axá!" he called, and his entire hand was instantly encased in a thick, white light that felt like a second skin. It doubled in size a brief second later and then Harry knew what he had to do. As Voldemort's stream closed in on him, Harry balled his unseen hand into a fist, and then thrust it forward into the air in front of him.

A white line of this light erupted from the ball on the end of his hand, and rushed to meet the approaching spike of Voldemort's dark cloud. Harry braced himself, as did Voldemort who could not believe that this boy had managed to counter one of his darkest spells. The two Grínoú, both light and dark, met just in front of Harry. When they touched a deafening explosion sounded and a wave of grey energy pulsated from the core of the impact, pushing both Voldemort and Harry back a few paces, more so for Harry because he stood closer.

Harry's good arm shook with the force of the two meeting energies, and he fell to one knee to garner the strength to keep his arm raised, and his magic strong. Voldemort's wand also shook in his hand, and he pushed all his magical strength into destroying this boy and his protection, but found an unbelievable wall of resistance before the boy. It seemed impenetrable.

Rocks, debris, and the hundreds of little metal pieces of shrapnel that littered their duelling area were blown away as the power from the two beams of magic fought for supremacy. A couple hit Harry in the chest and legs, and one on his cheek. He did not feel the burning wounds they caused though, as he had grown accustomed to smaller injuries and his mind was fully focused on defeating Voldemort.

Voldemort was also hit by a few pieces of shrapnel, but like Harry he ignored it. Superficial injuries that could be healed instantly later. Right now he had to focus.

The magic being thrown into the two Grínoú though, was now reaching a climax. Screams of power echoed along the vast expanse of the grounds as Aurors and Death Eaters alike were being pushed back by the pulsating rings of energy that flew off of the magic, but many now had hope that this boy, whoever he was, may just win this fight.

Harry closed his eyes but kept his arm raised. He calmed himself and reached deep inside for that extra well of magic he knew to be there. He had felt it in his last battle with Voldemort. It was what had saved him from the Avada Kedavra the second time. The power the Dark Lord knows not... He could feel it deep inside of him, but it was just out of reach. He wasn't ready to have control of it yet.

Shaking his head and frowning, Harry moved away from that power and headed for his ample supply of pure magic, forced into him through circumstance. He felt the piece that was missing, that the other Voldemort now had, but moved on from there and tapped into his remaining power.

Harry opened his eyes and any who looked into them at that moment would have seen silver sparkles amongst the emerald green. With a monumental effort, Harry rose to his feet and pushed a final burst of power into his Grínoú. It reverberated like a gong and shook the earth as it touched Voldemort's black power.

Instantly it overcame the Dark Lord's magic, and clipped Voldemort on the shoulder as a dozen waves of equal power exploded from the broken connection, destroying large patches of the nearby grass and throwing dirt and debris high into the air. Harry fell back to his knees with nausea from the power he had exuded, but bit his lip and struggled to rise again as Voldemort was driven into the ground by the pure magic.

Harry blinked and shook his head to clear his mind, holding his pierced arm close to his body as he did. Smoke and ash hid the form of Voldemort but it was slowly clearing and the entire school population and the Aurors and Death Eaters held their breath.

But the hope filled eyes of hundreds were now upon Harry. Inexplicably drawn to this strange, quiet boy who alone in this world of terror and dark confusion seemed to know what he was doing.

****

"Did you see that!" cried Ron, once again passing on his omnioculars to Hermione and then Ginny. "He just... he just... he just..."

"Duelled You-Know-Who and won," a voice to Ron's left said. He wasn't sure who it was, and he didn't turn to look, but they were right.

"His power is amazing," Ginny whispered, staring at the kneeling form of Harry through the omnioculars, which had been recording the entire duel. "And he's only sixteen!"

****

The smoke cleared slowly and Harry saw a form develop in a deep crater the explosion of magic had caused. He slowly stepped over to it, dodging the small holes and fires that littered the ground.

Sure enough, Voldemort lay in the crater, breathing heavily and slowly. The magical battle had not killed him, but Harry hadn't thought for a moment that it would. He waved his hand behind him and caught his wand deftly in his left hand, and made to levitate Voldemort out of the hole so that he was visible to all.

Harry threw him roughly to the ground and looked out upon the sea of faces before him. "YOU SEE!" he cried. "HE IS NOT AS IMMORTAL AS HE'D HAVE YOU BELIEVE!"

Voldemort coughed and rose achingly to his knees, and glared defiantly up at Harry, who had his wand trained upon him.

"If only it was this easy in my world," Harry whispered regretfully, and Voldemort's eyes widened as he realised where this boy had come from.

Not wasting another second, Voldemort delved deeply into his robes pocket and pulled out a small metallic object, bringing his wand around to tap it as he did. Harry swore and instantly fired a Vestic curse at the Dark Lord. But it was too late, the Portkey was activated and Voldemort shimmered away to nothing, leaving a very enraged Harry behind.

"DAMN IT!" he cried, kicking the ground where Voldemort had knelt only a few moments ago. Why is it always a Portkey! his mind screamed at him.

The Aurors and Death Eaters were momentarily shocked at the disappearance of Voldemort, but soon everything fell into place and the Death Eaters made a break for it. Voldemort had fled, they had lost, and the thirty or so that were able to move, tried to escape.

The Aurors realised this of course, and began to stun and disable the retreating Death Eaters, who were running for the forest or the castle gates, anywhere to escape the anti-Apparation wards the castle had. A few had portkeys themselves and they managed to escape. One or two did make it into the forest but the remaining Aurors and Hogwarts staff did stop the majority of them.

The battle was over, and Harry had won a much needed victory for the light, but it hadn't come without its cost.

As the Death Eaters began to escape, Harry collapsed on to the destroyed ground that had taken the brunt of their duel. His arm hurt him terribly, the long silver arrow still pierced through it. His legs were also a bloody mess, from all the flying metal shards that had hit him a moment ago. Several other shards were embedded in him elsewhere as well but Harry blocked out the pain.

It hurt to breathe and Harry realised he must have cracked a rib or two at one point; he hadn't really felt it happen. He frowned as he watched the Aurors chase down the Death Eaters, leaving him relatively alone at the head of a field of bodies, both light and dark alike.

Looking down to the arrow in his arm, Harry waved his hand on the end of it that was nearest to his flesh, melting it into a straight point that could be easily extracted. His right arm was useless as the point of the arrow had shattered his bone, so when Harry grasped the arrow from the other side, he closed his eyes and bit his lip. He knew this would hurt.

Taking a deep breath and then counting to three, Harry yanked the arrow hard and cried out in bitter pain as it was pulled through bone and cartilage, setting his nerves on fire. Blood flowed fresh and anew in a stream that Harry did his best to clot, but his healing skills were rudimentary at best. He managed to stop the blood flow, but a professional would need to heal it properly.

Over the grounds, Harry saw the Aurors begin to bind the Death Eaters together, awaiting reinforcements from the Ministry to take them away. He saw his father, Sirius, and Remus running back over towards him, and as he waited he cleaned his glasses of the grime they had accumulated over the past few hours. It was then that he heard it.

"Harry..." whispered a croaky, and almost unheard voice.

Harry turned his head around from where he sat on the grounds, and beheld the broken form of Albus Dumbledore, a hand on his chest and tears in his eyes. Forgetting his own pain in an instant, Harry leapt to his feet and sprinted over to the fallen headmaster, coming to a stop and falling to his knees as he reached him.

"Professor..." he whispered, seeing the blood on Dumbledore's face. "What..."

"Impressive, Harry," Dumbledore managed, smiling ever so slightly, his half moon spectacles lying shattered at his side. "I should never have doubted you."

Harry smiled slightly himself. "We need to get you to the Hospital Wing," he said.

Dumbledore coughed, and in so doing brought up some more blood. "I believe you are correct."

Harry nodded and stood up quickly, pointing his useable left hand at the broken form of Dumbledore. "Mobilicorpus!"

Feeling the connection between his hand and Dumbledore's body, Harry levitated him a few feet above the ground, and then, ignoring the pain in his legs, ran for the castle. His father, Sirius, and Remus watched him go, and changed their direction to follow him, back into the castle.

Coughing slightly as the dying smoke in the air burnt his lungs, Harry made for the castle. It took three minutes and he did not stop, even though his ribs hurt, as did his legs, and the exhaustion was almost overwhelming.

The shattered and splintered doors that lay in pieces on either side of the castle entrance greeted Harry as he levitated Dumbledore up the steps and through the broken entrance. He sighed with relief when he saw Madam Pomfrey, and his mother Lily rushing down the Entrance Hall stairs, wands in hand and looks of determination upon their faces.

They spotted Harry instantly and gasped as they beheld Dumbledore, floating in front of him. Albus Dumbledore didn't move as Harry lowered him to the floor, and he had lost consciousness on the run up to the castle, but Madam Pomfrey set immediately to work, as Harry stepped back to catch his breath.

"He's alive," Lily said happily, helping Madam Pomfrey as assistant matron.

"Only just," Madam Pomfrey said seriously, and waved her wand over his body, a light green light encasing him for a moment. "That will keep him in this state until I can get him to the infirmary. Come along, Lily," she said, and then performed the mobilicorpus spell.

Lily gave Harry a brief look of awe and thanks as they disappeared up the stairs again, and Harry finally succumbed to the exhaustion in his limbs, and collapsed against the wall next to the door, near the house point hourglasses.

His head swam with memories of both worlds and Harry mostly thought of Ginny. He had left her in a world that was home to a Voldemort of untold power, and he could not get back to that world yet. It made him angry, and once again his magic responded to that anger, cracking all over his skin electrifyingly.

Thankfully, it was then that James, Sirius, and Remus ran into the castle, straight past Harry as none of them saw him against the inside wall. "Do you think he went on to the hospital wing?" James asked the others, panting heavily.

"Probably," breathed Sirius, hands on his knees. "You two go on ahead. I'll catch you up."

James and Remus nodded as Sirius caught his breath in the middle of the hall. None of them had seen Harry, and Harry made no move to get their attention, and he watched as James and Remus disappeared up the stairs and around the corner.

That just left Harry and Sirius alone in the Entrance Hall. Harry was quiet and Sirius was breathing heavily, muttering under his breath. "Bloody unbelievable. Not even Dumbledore could have..."

"Hello," Harry said calmly, pushing himself up off the wall and limping over to Sirius.

Sirius jumped in shock and surprise and turned quickly, wand at the ready. His eyes widened in awe and respect as he saw Harry, but he soon became concerned.

"You... look like you need to get to the hospital wing," he said calmly, walking over to meet Harry and placing a hand on his good shoulder.

Harry stared remorsefully into his godfather's eyes. They weren't haunted or hollow like the Sirius' he had known, but full of life and, at the moment, concern. "You're probably right," Harry said sadly, looking at the floor.

Sirius swallowed and began to lead Harry up the stairs slowly, a guiding hand still on his shoulder. For all his power Harry was still a boy, and Sirius could sense that he was battling some inner demons.

"You put up one hell of a fight out there today," he said encouragingly. "Saved us all."

Harry laughed quietly. "You should see me when I'm on top form," he replied, coughing and wincing in pain.

Sirius smiled as the two of them made their slow way up through the castle. At a few points Harry wavered and almost fell, but Sirius caught him each time and Harry muttered his thanks.

Soon the doors to the infirmary appeared up ahead, and just as Sirius and Harry approached them, James and Remus came barging out again.

"HARRY!" cried James, upon seeing his eldest child. "What are you-"

"Prongs," Sirius whispered urgently. "He needs to see Pomfrey now."

James took another look at Harry and then nodded, moving himself and Remus out of the way of the doors, so Sirius could lead him in.

"I'm all right," Harry said softly, as he sat down on the nearest bed. "I just need a drink."

Remus conjured a goblet of water and passed it to James, who in turn gave it to Harry. Harry drank deeply and drained the goblet, sighing with relief as his parched throat ceased stinging.

"So I guess we won then..." Harry said smiling, looking down the length of the infirmary to see Madam Pomfrey and his mother performing complex spells over an unconscious Dumbledore.

"I'd say so," James smiled nervously. "Harry, where did you learn all that?"

Harry shrugged and pulled his legs up and around onto the bed, resting his back against the soft frame. "Books for the most part, and a few trainers that I worked with earlier this year."

It was Remus that spoke next. "You really are from another world..." he whispered, having had Sirius explain Harry's arrival a few days ago. He hadn't truly believed half of what he'd heard, but now it was undoubtable.

"Hello, Professor," Harry said quietly, looking at Lupin, who frowned.

"I was never a professor, Harry," Remus replied.

Harry shook his head. "No... Oh! There are some Death Eaters in the Great Hall, by the way. The inner circle. You might want to go check on them."

Remus looked at James and Sirius, and then nodded. He had to oversee the prisoner transfers anyway. "I'll see you all later," he said, and then exited the infirmary.

The sheets beneath Harry's legs had been smeared with the blood of all his wounds, and Sirius noticed this. "I'll go see if Lily can be spared," he said, leaving James and Harry alone.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, as his father sat down on the bed next to him.

"For what?" James asked, smiling bemusedly.

"I let him get away," he replied, his left hand instinctively balling into a fist.

James frowned. That wasn't right. "You have done more today for our cause, than anyone has managed in the past two decades, Harry. You don't have to be sorry."

Harry shook his head in regret. "Yeah..." he whispered. "Sure."

James continued. "Do you know what this is going to bring to our world, Harry?" he asked and Harry shrugged. "Hope," James said. "You did a great thing today, Harry, and hundreds witnessed it."

Harry nodded slowly and then sighed. He removed his glasses and placed them on the table next to his bed, before leaning back and resting his eyes. The magical and physical exhaustion finally overran him though, and he did not remember falling asleep.

****