Rating:
R
House:
Schnoogle
Characters:
Harry Potter Lord Voldemort
Genres:
Action Romance
Era:
Multiple Eras
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Quidditch Through the Ages Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Stats:
Published: 12/26/2003
Updated: 08/25/2004
Words: 314,830
Chapters: 31
Hits: 230,812

Harry Potter and the Sword of the Hero

joe6991

Story Summary:
A thousand-year-old oath stands to be fulfilled. The war between Good and Evil has been raging on for a millennium. It has a chance to end, but has the hero of the side of good lost the will to live…``Harry Potter returns to the Dursleys care for the summer, but he finds the loss of Sirius hard to bear. He blames himself for his death. Voldemort doesn’t let him rest though, and soon Harry is flung back into his world. The war escalates, and more people die or join Voldemort. The fear of the Dark Lord reaches beyond the wizarding world and into the Muggle one. Both worlds will collide, as Harry will have to make the ultimate choice between what is right and what is easy. For in this war, some things are more important than life or death…

Chapter 29

Chapter Summary:
All the promises broken, all the lives ruined have led to a cold end. The greatest battle ever fought between light and dark for the past 17 years is about to be fought in and around the wizarding village of Hogsmeade. Harry struggles against inevitability, as the choices he has to make are impossible, and carry the weight of the world within them. Is a shattered victory worth having....?
Posted:
07/30/2004
Hits:
6,776
Author's Note:
Well here is the longest chapter I have ever written. Sorry for the delay but I hope you think it was worth it. Big, big, big thanks to my betas and please read and review.


HARRY POTTER AND THE SWORD OF THE HERO

Chapter 29 - The Sword of the Hero

I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.

~~Sir Winston Churchill

As Harry ran out of the Hall with Dermas Trask behind him, he did not hear Neville calling his name, nor did he notice that Ron, Hermione and Ginny had never made it to the Great Hall at all. There was also, Snape noticed as he recounted his Slytherins, one of his students missing.

****

Five Minutes Earlier

"Come on, Ron," Hermione said earnestly, dragging him down the corridor that led to the moving staircase on the fourth floor. "Something is happening. Didn't you hear the urgency in Professor McGonagall's voice?"

Ron nodded. "It might not be anything...." he said, trailing off as he really thought about it. "I wonder where Harry is now?" he asked aloud as Hermione pushed them through a slower moving crowd of students.

Hermione faltered for a moment at his question but she still held his arm strong. "Harry will be fine. He'll be in the Great Hall," she said quickly and then proceeded to shout at a slow moving bunch of third years, her Prefect mode kicking in.

Falling silent, Ron increased his pace and the two of them were practically running towards the Great Hall now. They took a shortcut behind one of the portraits and soon emerged a floor above the Entrance Hall. It seemed that no one else had used this shortcut though, as the corridor in which they now stood was deserted.

Ron and Hermione set off at a jog again down the corridor, passing portraits and suits of armour that chastised them for running in the castle. What happened next was something that when Ron looked back on it, had to be the will of fate. They were the only ones in the corridor, no one else was around, but that didn't stop Ron from hearing the cry.

"What was that?" he said, coming to a sudden stop. Their linked hands forcing Hermione to do the same.

"What?" she said impatiently, a frown appearing on her face. "Come on, Ron," she continued, "We have to get to the-"

Hermione stopped abruptly as Ron placed a hand over her mouth and then turned to listen hard. Barely a moment passed before he and Hermione heard it again. A stifled cry, coming from within the walls.

Only it wasn't the walls, Ron realised turning to look at the slightly ajar classroom door to his right. It was coming from in there. Not waiting for Hermione, Ron stepped forward quickly. That cry had sounded too familiar. He didn't know what he was about to find in this room, but he knew who he would.

Ron threw the door open angrily and his suspicions were confirmed. There was Ginny crouching behind a desk, crying out as a barrage of curses hit it. A deep red curse, the Stunning spell, flew towards her. Not wasting a second Ron turned to the source of the curse and found himself staring at Draco Malfoy.

Ron's anger increased ten fold and he charged at the Slytherin. With his back to the door, Malfoy had not yet seen him. So it came as a surprise when he was knocked hard to the floor.

Malfoy hit the ground hard, but no sooner was he down than he rolled out from under the weight on his back and sprung to his feet quickly. "Bloody hell," he cursed when he saw Ron Weasley stand as well, fumbling for his wand in his robes.

Ignoring the second Weasley, Draco turned to Ginny crouching behind the desk. She was his mission, his task. He had to do this less he incur the Dark Lord's wrath, which, as his father had warned him, was not a wise thing to do. "Come here," he shouted viciously, jumping over the desk and falling behind her. Malfoy whirled around fast, pulling Ginny up by her hair as he went.

Ron, having finally gotten hold of his wand aimed it at Malfoy, but he was too late. Ginny stood in front of him, anger and a slight fear evident in her eyes. Though she didn't stand by choice, Malfoy held her in front of him, like a shield.

"What are you doing, Malfoy?" Ron asked angrily, aiming his wand in a vain attempt to curse the Slytherin. But he held Ginny well; Ron could not get a shot in.

"Helping the Dark Lord," he sneered laughingly.

At that moment things got a lot more real, but Ron's anger increased. Five and a half years of hating the Slytherin had now accumulated and taken their toll. "VOLDEMORT!" he exploded, surprising even himself. "You want to take Ginny to Voldemort?"

Malfoy opened his mouth but Ginny beat him to it. "Ron, he tricked me," she said. "I was running to the Great Hall and I thought I heard Har-"

"Shut up," Malfoy snarled, yanking her head back by her hair. "Now," he said looking back up to Ron. "It has been a pleasure, Weasel, but your sister and I have to leave now."

Hermione silently observed this confrontation, wand drawn impotently, puzzled by the fact that Malfoy had not drawn his own. What is he doing she thought. He has to escape. He has become a Death Eater, and Voldemort wants Ginny. Why....? her mind screamed at her, but another part did hazard a guess. Harry and Ginny have become more than good friends. She had seen all the signs, apparently so had Malfoy and he had told Voldemort.

"Malfoy," she began as he pulled something out of his robe pocket. It was a.-

Rock...

She frowned at the rock in his left hand. All the books she had read and memorised flooded her brain. An improbable answer formed in her mind as to the true nature of the rock. Malfoy held a voice activated Portkey. He was going to escape with Ginny.

Ron groaned in frustration as he searched for a shot at Malfoy, but Ginny was in the way. He could not do it. Deciding he had had enough anyway, Ron pocketed his wand and simply lunged at the Slytherin. Taken by surprise Malfoy didn't react straight away, and Ron's fist connected with his jaw.

He fell backwards, rock in hand, pulling Ginny down with him. She screamed as she fell, landing hard on the stone floor. Ron fell as well, hitting Malfoy in the stomach. Malfoy choked at the blow but then merely smiled. Ron frowned and raised his fist again but it never connected.

Hermione had not been idle. As soon as she saw Malfoy fall she ran forward, knowing without a doubt she was about to lose her boyfriend and one of her best friends if she did not act quickly. She jumped over a desk in her way and saw Ron raise his fist against Malfoy on the floor, who still held Ginny roughly by the hair. But she was struggling.

"No, Ron" she cried, rushing forward and grabbing his fist in midair.

"Hermione!" he said angrily, taking his attention off of Malfoy for only a second.

That was all the blonde Slytherin needed.

"Activate," he said ominously and Hermione froze in horrified realization as the rock in his left hand glowed a deep blue.

They were all connected. Malfoy held Ginny, Ron held Malfoy and Hermione held Ron. A brilliant flash of deep blue light later and they were gone. A few upturned desks the only evidence that anybody had been in the room.

****

Harry and Dermas ran through the echoing, empty halls and corridors of Hogwarts. Up flights of stairs, across landings and balconies, and through one very handy shortcut that brought them out two floors below Dumbledore's office.

"What are we going to do, Harry?" Trask asked.

"Not actually sure..." he shrugged, rounding a corner. "But Dumbledore will be at the head of the action and he has to know Voldemort won't be."

Trask frowned. "What?"

Harry shook his head. "Don't ask me how I know, I just do. Voldemort is not in Hogsmeade with the Death Eaters."

The two of them came to the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office and for a moment Harry struggled to recall the password. "Skiving Snackbox," Trask said quickly, but the gargoyle did not move an inch. "That worked earlier this morning..." he said, confusion etched into his features.

Harry ran through the names of his favourite sweets and Trask did the same, but try as they might the gargoyle remained stubbornly still. "Damn it," Harry cried in frustration. "Come on," he said, pushing on the gargoyle.

"I don't think Dumbledore's up there, Harry," Trask said looking out of a window that overlooked the forest and the mountain in the distance.

"Why is that?" he asked quickly.

"Because the battle is at Hogsmeade."

Harry strode to the window and looked out into the distance. What met his eyes was nothing short of chaos. In the distance he could just make out the village of Hogsmeade near the eastern edge of the forest. The Army headquarters on the road had been emptied and he could still see some Aurors hurriedly making their way up the road to the village.

What he could see of the village itself was a disaster. Lights from hundreds if not thousands of curses illuminated the sky even in the daylight. Several buildings were alight and so were a few parts of the forest. Thick black smoke was billowing up and out of the town and from the forest.

Harry then made a decision as he saw the Dementors regrouping on the road to Hogsmeade. He had to get there and help. He turned to Dermas who was still watching the destruction. "I have to go to Hogsmeade," he said. "You can-"

Just then a massive fireball erupted next to Harry near the stone gargoyle. Harry turned quickly, palm already raised. He felt his magic tingling through his arm, ready for use. It actually felt as if it was eager for use. The fireball blazed into existence as Harry and Dermas turned. Dermas flicked his wand up from the holster around his wrist but they both relaxed a moment later when a golden and red phoenix emerged from the flames.

"Fawkes," Harry said quickly, extending his arm so the phoenix could land. After he did Harry saw that the bird was carrying a scrap of parchment in his mouth. "Thanks," he said, taking it. No sooner was the parchment in Harry's hands than Fawkes took flight again, singing loudly as he disappeared in another ball of flames.

"What does it say, Harry?" Dermas asked.

Harry's eyes ran across the parchment quickly, taking in the fine script that he recognised as Dumbledore's.

Harry

Stay safe at Hogwarts. You are not yet ready to face him.

--Dumbledore

Harry frowned and felt a great deal of anger right then. "Stay safe at Hogwarts..." he whispered. "Well bollocks to that!" Knowing he had a chance to make a difference today, to prove his worth, Harry wasn't about to hide behind the safety of the castle. No, he would fight.

"Back to the Great Hall, Dermas," Harry said, leading the way.

****

Kingsley Shacklebolt had known this day would come. He had known the Death Eaters would attack. He had known that he would be at the head of the army. He had not known the day would come so soon. The army had only been fully formed for a week.

Nevertheless he supposed he was ready. As he ran into the battlefield of Hogsmeade once again he felt more regretful, than scared. He and four hundred others had battled through the Dementors and finally several hundred Death Eaters stood in their way of victory. Line upon line of dark hooded figures once again blocked the High Street. They were unmoving, unflinching. They were ready.

Kingsley knew that they were outnumbered for now, but the rest of the Aurors from headquarters would Apparate in once the threat of the Dementors was eliminated. So there he stood, the recently rebuilt Honeydukes to his left, and a few thatched cottages to his right. Behind him stood hundreds of loyal Aurors and beside him his trusted lieutenants.

The Death Eaters still remained unusually still. Kingsley eyed their numbers nervously. He saw the bodies of a few witches and wizards in the street. It had been their deaths that had set off the Unforgivable detectors. The Death Eaters had counted on it. They wanted this fight now. It would be the crucible, that much was clear. Whatever the outcome, the world would once and for all awake to the threat of Voldemort. Dumbledore had assured them all the other night at an Order meeting that they had not yet passed the point of no return. The free Ministries of the world still had a chance to save Britain and themselves but, sadly, this battle had to be fought for that.

Apart from the Death Eaters and Aurors, the street and the surrounding buildings were deserted. After the last Hogsmeade attack, the Ministry had issued three Portkeys to every shop on the High street. They had been put to good use, allowing the residents to escape. Several of the thankfully vacant buildings were alight and billowing in great clouds of black smoke.

"It's going to be a slaughter, sir," the leader of the French Auror Division said to Kingsley in fluent English. "What are your orders?"

Kingsley inwardly sighed and hesitated, though nothing of his hesitation showed on his face. One of the first rules in basic leadership is never to show any other feeling but determination to those who served under you. "We're not going to get them to surrender," Kingsley said strongly. "Tonks?" he called.

Nymphadora Tonks, who had been appointed leader of one of the British squads, stepped forward from the front lines behind Kingsley. "Yes, Sir?" she said.

"How many do you count, Tonks?"

"Five hundred I can see, they're all over the village."

Kingsley nodded his agreement. "Okay," he whispered almost to himself. "Here's the plan." His seven lieutenants stepped in closer. "This is only going to be resolved if we can beat them back. There are going to be losses. I want it known that you have been licensed to kill. Take them out anyway you can."

That was the hardest order Kingsley had ever had to give.

****

Harry and Dermas arrived at the Great Hall to find it disturbingly silent. A thousand heads turned to greet them as Harry pushed open the oak doors. Snape and Flitwick stood guard near the entrance. The remainder, including Harry's special-training teachers, sat at the Staff table.

Never had Harry known the Great Hall to be so silent. McGonagall had obviously just announced something as she was still standing at the table, but the silence worried Harry. He presumed they had just been told about the attack happening on their doorstep.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall said nervously, a slight shake to her voice. "Did you find the headmaster?"

Harry frowned, something wasn't right. Something had gone terribly wrong. "No," he answered his head of house. "He had already left when we arrived there."

"Oh dear..." McGonagall sighed and looked down the Gryffindor table. Harry followed her gaze and his eyes quickly swept the entire table from where he was standing in the middle of the Hall. Nothing jumped out at him at first and he was about to turn back to McGonagall when is heart leapt into his throat.

NO.... his mind screamed at him. "WHERE ARE THEY?" he shouted to the Hall nervously. Pure, undiluted fear shot through his veins. He had finally noticed the empty seats of Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

Surprisingly, it was Severus Snape who answered him. "They are gone, Potter," he said emotionlessly, walking down the aisle to meet them. "To where we do not know?"

"How long have they been gone?" he managed, with an urgent tone to his voice.

"They never entered this Hall," Snape said, shaking his head with what may have been regret. "It may also be wise to know that Draco Malfoy is also missing."

Harry turned sharply and looked at Snape painfully. At that moment his anger overtook his fear and those standing and sitting near him felt the raw power exude from him. It came in waves that sent an electric charge through Snape, Dermas, and several Ravenclaws and Gryffindors.

"Easy, Harry," Dermas said calmly.

Harry ignored him. "MALFOY! Shit..." Not wasting another second Harry ran from the Hall again, ignoring the calls for him to stop. Dermas spoke in hurried whispers with Snape for a moment before taking off after him. They were once again running through the castle, but this time with an even greater sense of urgency.

Harry ran from the Great Hall heading immediately for Gryffindor Tower. His mind was a kaleidoscope of images and emotions. A gnawing fear had settled in his stomach and he found himself wishing over and over that they were all right, that he would find them alive and well. But another part of him denied that. Whatever had happened, he would kill Malfoy for being responsible.

Harry came panting to a stop at the portrait of the Fat Lady. Twenty-five minutes had passed since Harry had stood upon the Astronomy Tower and watched the battle begin. In that time he had traversed the castle three times.

The common room was deserted. Not a sign of life anywhere. Racing up the stairs to the dorms Harry took them fast. He burst through the door that led to his trunk and came to a skidding halt in front of it. Throwing open the lid Harry only had one idea in mind. He had to get the Marauders Map. He threw books and clothes out of the way as he searched for it. He had saved the map from the destruction of Privet Drive all those months ago and it had lain in disuse in his trunk since.

After a moment searching Harry found it underneath his old Charms textbook and quickly unfolded it. He knew this was supposed to work with a wand but his wandless magic was just as competent so-

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry felt a tingling sensation in his fingertips and then the map began to appear. Ink lines whirled across it quickly and soon he was holding a completed map in his hands.

He scanned it quickly, determined to find his friends somewhere on the school grounds. He did not see Demas enter the room, so great was his desire to search every inch of the map. His eyes flew from corner to corner of the parchment. Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Malfoy were nowhere to be found within the boundaries of Hogwarts.

"DAMN IT!" Harry cried, kicking his trunk hard. The strength of the dragon hide so strong that his foot splintered the thick wood.

"They're gone?" Trask said quickly. Harry turned abruptly and nodded, sickened.

His friends, his closest friends, the few people he loved, were most likely with his mortal enemy. A creature that would not hesitate to kill them. Ginny was with him. They had only just really found each other. NO... This can't be happening he told himself. This isn't meant to happen... I can't lose anybody else.

"Stay with me, Harry," Dermas said strongly. "Where could they be?"

Damn it! his mind cried. WHY? When will it end?

"You would know if they had died, right?" Trask asked.

Harry blinked and for a moment thought rationally. Yes he would know if Voldemort had used the Killing curse, his scar would have burned with extraordinary pain. It was burning now, but it wasn't overly painful. "We have to find him," Harry said determinedly. "I don't know how long we have... but..."

"I know," Trask said. "It looks like it's only us. Where are we heading?"

Harry did not have any idea where he could find Voldemort. Something unexplainable told him simply that he would not find him in Hogsmeade, where the battle for the Wizarding world was currently being fought. He could think of nowhere else though. Hogsmeade was at least a place to start.

"We have to get to Hogsmeade," Harry told Dermas. "We have to get there now." As he said this he turned to his trunk and pulled out his Firebolt. It hadn't been used in awhile but magic kept it in mint condition. He shoved the Marauders Map into his pocket and then motioned Trask to follow him.

"But you told me Voldemort isn't at Hogsmeade," Trask said, following Harry across the room.

"He isn't," Harry said. "But that is all we have right now, and I'm not going to sit here and wait until my forehead explodes to let me know the only people I care about have just been murdered." His voice took on a hard edge as he said this. "I have to do something. You're welcome to come along if you like, Trask."

Dermas Trask nodded. He would follow Harry. He was at least four times his age but Dermas felt as if he could follow Harry anywhere at that moment. There was a certain feeling you got from being around him. A feeling that just by being near him you could do the impossible. Harry, whether he knew it or not, was the one who over the years had taught the world to hold on that extra second. He was their hope. He was all they had. Dermas would follow him.

Harry approached the window in the dormitory, broom in hand. As he drew near, the glass shattered for his arrival and a cool breeze rushed in to meet them.

"We're not walking then?" Trask asked wryly.

"No," Harry answered simply and then, surprisingly, passed the Firebolt to Trask. "I trust you know how to use this, Dermas," he said.

Trask nodded. "Aye, but how are you getting there?"

Harry offered a nervous smile and then without saying another word, turned around and ran the few short steps to the window. Without a moment's hesitation, a moment's fear, a moment's indecision, he jumped clear of the sill and out into the open air. Trask watched his form fall from sight and it took his mind a second to realise what had just happened. He ran to the window in disbelief. No sooner had he reached the shattered frame than a great mass shot up past him and high into the sky.

Dermas stepped back in shock as the rush of air from the creature ran through his robes and hair. It took him a moment to realise that it was Harry. Harry had told him of his ability to transform into a Griffin at will, his ability to perform the Animagus transfiguration, but that was nothing compared to seeing it up close. Trask was floored.

Harry flew up and past the window of his dorm room and circled once around the tower. As he passed the window again he did so slowly and looked meaningfully at Dermas. Then he soared up in a drift of wind and arched his wings gracefully taking him towards Hogsmeade.

His enhanced griffin senses could already smell the smoke rising from the village.He could hear the clash of spells and the sound of the screams. He was about to enter into a battle that would be the fiercest he had ever encountered. Preparing himself as best he could, Harry covered the distance to Hogsmeade effortlessly.

****

It had happened so fast Kingsley reflected, as he took down another Death Eater. But for every Death Eater struck down, there seemed to be another three to take his place. The battle had begun with planned strategy, but all plans, all scenarios, all tactics had gone out the window after the first Killing Curse was flung by a Death Eater.

The Death Eaters and Aurors had learned their lessons from the last Hogsmeade battle. They did not fire hundreds of curses to meet each other in the middle of the street to have them come shooting back on their casters. They had charged into each other, drawing the battle into hand to hand fighting, with the curses flying fast in the air. The first few minutes were the worst. Dozens, maybe even hundreds fell on both sides as a green glow illuminated the street.

Shattered, smouldering wreckage was all that remained of most of Hogsmeades recently rebuilt buildings. Fire engulfed both ends of the street, seemingly trapping both groups in a fiery pit, from which the only escape was victory or death. Though Kingsley remained strong. He had seen Dumbledore arrive with Remus Lupin so he knew they were fighting on the stronger side. The rest of the Aurors from headquarters had made a spectacular entrance and with them, the numbers on each side were rounded off almost even.

Kingsley was leading an Auror squad of fifty into the heart of the Death Eater lines. He had been hit three times by burning curses and had a long jagged cut running down his cheek to his chin. Adrenaline and the heat of the battle allowed him to ignore his injuries. His squad of battle hardened Aurors pushed hard. They did not have a clear objective, only the desire to rid the street of all whom possessed the Dark Mark.

And that's something else Kingsley thought, ending the life of a Death Eater with a neck breaking curse. Voldemort and his inner circle had not yet made an appearance. Kingsley thought nervously. The forces of Light had Dumbledore, who was most likely taking out large numbers of Death Eaters single handily, while the Master of the Death Eater Army was nowhere to be found. It was cause for concern.

Kingsley with three men by his side and about four dozen in a close knit group behind him, managed to push into the Death Eaters as far back as the Three Broomsticks, but to go any further would be suicide. Beyond the pub and further down the street, Kingsley could still see the endless mass of black robes that was the lines of the Death Eaters. He sighed and fired a reductor curse into a group of his enemies angrily. They had only just begun.

Knowing further advancement up the street was foolish and relatively impossible, Kingsley ordered his squad to form a strong line to keep the Death Eaters from advancing any further down the street. While this tactic was incredibly brave of the fifty or so Aurors, they were soon bearing the brunt of the dark assault. Thirteen Aurors cast shield charms quickly, but in their haste the charms were not as strong as they should have been, and were useless against the Killing curse.

"HOLD THEM!" Kingsley shouted, but only those to his immediate left and right heard him. The message was quickly relayed down the line as more Aurors ran up the street, dodging scattered Death Eaters in an attempt to join the leading squad.

With renewed forces the Aurors pushed ahead as hard as they could, but it was all for nought as Kingsley watched an entire section of his line obliterated by some serious Dark magic. An explosion rocked the street and Kingsley was nearly thrown off his feet as a fireball of blue light ripped into his squad from the combined magic of six Death Eaters.

A second fireball was fired from the same group of Death Eaters, screaming down into the cluster of Aurors that was closest to Kingsley. This knocked Kingsley off his feet and sent him hurtling back into the black, burnt wooden support beam that had once held up the front wall of the Three Broomsticks. It collapsed under him as he hit it failing to break his fall.

"Bugger..." he moaned as he landed in the hot ash of the still smouldering floor of the pub. His Auror training took over and a quick freezing charm took away the heat of the ash, but he was still slightly burnt from the fall.

His limbs and joints aching in protest, Kingsley got back up and performed a few quick healing spells that he would regret later on when they wore off. The battle raged on in the High street, or what was left of it. The Death Eaters and Aurors had struck a deadlock. Neither side was giving an inch, and as a result neither side was moving an inch. The fiercest of the fighting took place just outside of the ruins of the Three Broomsticks, where the two forces met and where Kingsley had stood only moments ago.

Taking a deep breath, Kingsley erected a quick shield charm and jumped out of the burning ruins that were the Wizarding pub. He fell to the ground on the cobblestone road, as he had planned, and a quick roll brought him up on his feet. He came up firing and was soon at the lead of the Aurors again.

"STAND FAST!" he called, as a third fireball from the small group of Death Eaters rained down upon the Aurors. Kingsley was ready for this one though, and he raised his wand at the falling missile of fire. "FORS-" he began but at that moment his left side exploded in blinding pain and he fell to his knees.

The fireball, now falling unchecked, slammed into the Aurors hard. Several were incinerated instantly, but others burned more slowly. For Kingsley the entire fight seemed to slow almost to a stop. He saw everything in slow motion but assessed it normally. The sounds of battle were a dull roar in his ears. It was as if time had slowed down just for him. He saw good men, good Aurors die in the explosion from the fireball and then he saw the shockwave of the blast rush out in an amazing circle of light that knocked many to the ground.

Turning slowly, Kingsley felt the unrelenting pain in his left side and, almost regretfully, he looked down to it. A blade protruded from his robes, and it ran through right between his ribs and just barely avoided puncturing his left lung. His breathing came in sharp, ragged gasps as he looked, uncomprehendingly, at the hand grasping the ivory handle of the blade. He followed the black gloved hand up the black robed arm until his eyes connected with that of two others hidden behind a slit of a white mask.

The eyes that met his were cold, merciless, unforgiving. They belonged to a Death Eater who followed Voldemort out of sheer reverence. In those eyes Kingsley saw the unassailable belief in Voldemort and his ways. The man who had stabbed him believed he was doing the right thing. He believed that magic should only belong to Pureblooded wizards.

Kingsley grimaced as the man twisted the blade. It hurt like hell, but a realisation had just hit him hard. It was the realisation that all faced at one point or another in their lives. No matter who you were you never escaped this truth. It was the realisation that came with being faced with your own mortality. As his blood trickled down the side of his chest and stained his white Auror robes, Kingsley realised he was dying.

And with that, time sped up again for Kingsley and he roared with pain as the Death Eater pulled the dagger from his side. All the sounds of battle returned full force and Kingsley felt tears of absolute agony in his eyes. He looked up again at the man who had stabbed him and saw the dagger rise above his head. He was going to finish the job, bring the dagger crashing down for another blow. One that would end it all.

Kingsley found himself holding his side as the blood gushed from him. He saw the glint of the blade that would end his life shining in the sunlight that managed to penetrate the clouds of thick black smoke. He saw Aurors and Death Eaters fall out of the corner of his eye and then he saw the blade fall.

With an inward cry of fear Kingsley closed his eyes against the coming end, knowing he could not escape the sharp steel of the knife. He had come so far and now it was over. One second passed and then another, but nothing happened. He heard a deafening roar and his eyes snapped open fast. No matter what he had expected to see, he wasn't prepared for what met his eyes.

The Death Eater who had attacked him was now lying dead on the floor, his blade resting harmlessly beside him. But it was what had stopped the man from killing him that made his eyes grow wide and momentarily forget the growing pain in his side. It was the last thing he had expected to see, standing astride his fallen enemy. It was a griffin.

Kingsley did not see the man on a broom land next to the griffin. In fact no one took notice of Dermas Trask's landing and the fighting ceased as Aurors and Death Eaters alike stood stock still at the appearance of this impressive magical creature. It made for an unusual sight. The griffin stood in the small space between the two fighting forces where only moments before thick streams of curses had run through ruthlessly. It let out another mighty roar, this one directed at the Death Eaters and then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

All who saw it gasped at the disappearance and watched with wide eyes as a figure rose up from where the griffin had stood only moments before. In this figure's hands were two balls of glowing white light that shot off small bolts of gold lightning as he rose. There was no wind but the black hair and clothes of the figure swirled as if there was. The figure faced the Death Eaters so the Aurors could not see his face.

Harry rose angrily from the ground after transforming back into a human. His pure magic leapt to his hands as he went and Harry welcomed it. He was furious with the way the day had turned out. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were missing and he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were with Voldemort. His scar kept up a constant burning but nothing as bad as if Voldemort had killed. And now he had seen Kingsley stabbed, just after he had seen Dumbledore duelling with several Death Eaters further down the street by the crater in the ground that used to be Honeydukes.

Harry looked to his left and saw Dermas hurrying to join the line of Aurors, a brief look to his right and he saw a few injured people on the ground crawling to safety as the battle had halted for the moment. He turned back to look at the army of Death Eaters in front of him and saw with a smile that some of them had finally recognised him and were just now raising their wands.

Not wasting another second, Harry did not blink or hesitate as he threw his hands together, fusing both balls of pure magic into one. The result was instantaneous. A blinding light exploded with a crack from Harry's hands and a white wall of pure magic rose up from within him.

All but Harry had to look away from the blinding light as it rose into the air. It rose above the beleaguered village about thirty feet and then, in one quick moment, split down the middle and returned to earth. The two thick beams of magic fell on either side of Harry silently and reached out underneath his feet for the length of the village, effectively drawing a line between the Aurors and Death Eaters. With a roar that could have rivalled thunder, the magic jumped forth from the ground in an impressive blue sheet that stretched high into the sky.

The barrier of blue light rose as Harry had turned back to the Aurors. The Death Eaters, who had gotten over the initial shock of seeing a griffin and then seeing Harry, finally fired their curses, but they were useless against Harry's pure magic shield. Another devastating fireball collided with the blue wall of sparkling light but it was deflected back onto the confused Death Eaters, incinerating half a dozen of them.

Harry knew he did not have long. As soon as an Avada Kedavra hit the shield he had erected it would shatter. He had to work fast. The Aurors still seemed surprised by his arrival and those on the few lines up the front followed his progress with their eyes. Harry turned and ran the few steps over to the fallen form of Kingsley Shacklebolt. He came to a skidding halt and fell to his knees beside the Auror commander.

"Harry...?" Kingsley whispered, his breath coming in sharp ragged gasps.

Harry did not speak. He nodded quickly and ripped Kingsley's robes of off his chest. He saw the thin shirt he wore beneath his robes was stained red with blood. Harry winced and then quickly, urgently as he heard the spells shattering against his shield, covered Kingsley's wound with his hands.

"Sanitas," he spoke, thankful he had paid attention in his Charms and Healing lessons earlier that week.

Kingsley saw light on Harry's palms and then he felt the pain in his side recede. It lessened so much that he was able to sit up and examine his wound. He saw that the magic had rejoined his skin, sealing the jagged cut. Harry had saved his life.

BOOM!!!!

The shield shattered under the force of the Killing curse and the green light shot through the blue and hit an unprepared Auror in the face. He died before he hit the ground. Harry turned sharply to see the Death Eaters raise their wands as one, all the while blue particles of light falling like snow from the recently destroyed shield charm.

"Damn...." he breathed, raising his palm. "Cusindeo!"

Dark red light shot from his arm and hit one of the nearby Death Eaters in the leg, shattering the man's bones. A volley of other curses followed Harry's as the Aurors were the first to strike back now the shield was down. Kingsley rose shakily to his feet and rejoined the fight, and Dermas was creating Portkeys out of loose cobblestone to hand to the wounded. He keyed all the Portkeys for St. Mungo's.

Many in the Death Eater front line fell under the volley of Auror curses but the next line quickly replaced them, and fired curses of their own. Harry found himself up the front of the Auror lines, deflecting any curses back the way they came. The Death Eaters were targeting him though, and he was hard put to it to deflect the curses back onto their caster.

The Aurors, seeing Harry's power, recognising his face, knowing their hero, began to group either side of him and return curses, protecting him from the merciless Death Eater onslaught. They couldn't block against the Avada Kedavra however, and the Auror next to Harry fell, enveloped in green light.

Harry swore, deflecting all the curses he could.

Harry and the two dozen or so Aurors around him had been drawn into the centre of the fight. On either side of them the street was busy with both sides fighting, but it was the most intense where they stood. Harry had not wanted this to happen, he had not wanted to get drawn into the fight. He needed to speak to Dumbledore and had been flying his way when he saw Kingsley fall to the Death Eater with the dagger. At that point his hero side had taken over and now here he was at the head of the Auror army, keeping as many alive as he could.

"PROTEGO!" Trask cried, shielding himself from a neck-breaking curse. "Portus..." he said quickly afterwards, enchanting a piece of burnt wood and shoving it into the hands of an equally burnt Auror, who was only just alive.

He looked over to where he had last seen Harry, but his line of sight was now blocked by battling Aurors. Dermas could hazard a guess as to where Harry was though. He could see one particular area of the street being absolutely rained upon by Death Eater curses, but most of them were being deflected. Harry has to be there he thought with awe. Only he would try and deflect every curse flung at the Aurors. Though Dermas noticed he was doing just that, and slowly the Aurors were pushing further up the street and on to a hopeful victory.

Harry sighed and winced as he faltered and three curses hit their mark. One Stunning spell was deflected off of his chest armour. A cutting charm slashed his cheek open and he tasted blood. A burning curse set fire to his white polo shirt. Not showing a moment's hesitation though, Harry took two steps forward and the Aurors followed him. He was flinging deflection spells from his hands constantly and was raising weak shield charms just as fast. It was draining him physically, but he was doing well. He was saving many lives and annoying the hell out of the Death Eaters.

The armour he was wearing protected his skin from his burning shirt but it was a little bit distracting. Just as the flames engulfed his sleeve and singed the hair on his forearm, Harry was doused in cold water. He chanced a quick look to his right and smiled as he saw a familiar face.

"REMUS!" he cried happily, deflecting half a dozen spells from the Aurors, himself and his former professor. "WHAT-"

"I CAME WITH DUMBLEDORE!" Remus shouted back just as loudly, raising his own shield charms. "HE GUESSED IT WAS YOU WHEN THAT MASSIVE SHIELD CHARM WAS RAISED. HE SENT ME TO PROTECT YOU!"

Harry nodded. "WHERE IS DUMBLEDORE?" he asked quickly, pushing back a Death Eater and firing a stunning spell.

Remus bit back a curse as an Auror fell next to him, claimed by the Killing curse. The one thing that Harry could not block. "AT THE BACK, DUELLING WITH DEATH EATERS ATTACKING FROM BEHIND."

Harry swore upon hearing that. It meant the Aurors were fighting on two fronts now. He had to keep pushing through the lines in front of him and free them this side, if they were to have any chance of winning. Shaking his head to clear it as best he could of the scar pain, Harry went on the offensive. In quick succession he fired four bone breaking curses and three Death Eaters fell.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE, HARRY?" Remus called. "YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED AT HOGWARTS!"

Harry ducked a cutting curse and raised what felt like the millionth shield charm that day. "THEY'RE GONE, REMUS," he shouted angrily and his magic bubbled within him. "VOLDEMORT'S GOT RON, HERMIONE AND GINNY."

Remus gasped. "HOW?"

But Harry never got to answer. A powerful blasting curse was fired from one of the nearby Death Eaters and shot through the air towards Remus at a devastating speed. Harry felt the power coming off of it and he gasped. It was a forged spell. It was several blasting curses combined into one of awesome power. It was enough to rip Remus to nothing.

Harry jumped in front of his former professor, his father's last friend, his friend and he briefly saw Remus' eyes widen in shock and surprise. "HARRY-" he called but it was too late.

The dark red light of the fused spell hit Harry clean in the chest and collided hard with his dragon armour. To Harry it felt as if he had been hit with a sledgehammer. He was lucky that was all that happened. The force of the spell flung him into the air barely missing knocking Remus on the head as he went.

Struggling to breathe, Harry was thrown back over the lines of Aurors and over the main force battling the Death Eaters in a spin. Everything was a blur as he fell hard. He fell onto a dead Auror in a part of the street that was littered with bodies, and several duelling pairs of fighters.

Harry landed on his back and all the air was knocked clean out of him. He had fallen onto a dead Auror but still he coughed and struggled to stand as he sucked in desperate breaths. His vision was blurry as he stood and it took him a minute to realise he had lost his glasses. He could see a mass of black up ahead on the street that he assumed was the two fighting forces but it was hazy. He saw fallen lumps around him and the burnt out shells of cottages and businesses but it was all a blur.

Not good he thought. Okay, concentrate. "Accio Glasses!" he shouted, raising both his palms. A long, desperate moment passed and Harry heard a hundred different sounds of battle. Explosions, curses, cries, and then he felt something fly neatly into his hand.

Breathing a sigh of relief Harry placed his glasses on his face and everything became clear. Almost clear anyway. "Reparo," he whispered, the spider web cracks in his lenses repairing themselves. It was then that it happened.

Harry's glasses repaired themselves just in time for him to see a dark figure rushing directly towards him. Harry instantly raised his palm but the Death Eater was too close and he crashed into Harry hard, sending him back to the ground. The man landed on top of him with a grunt and then mercilessly punched him hard in his jaw. Harry heard a sickening crack that was accompanied with a shooting pain right up the side of his face.

"ARGH!" he cried as his jaw snapped. The Death Eater laughed and landed another blow on Harry's broken jaw. The pain from this one was blinding as sharp jolts of pain ran up every nerve on the right side of his face. As the man hit him again, Harry suddenly thought of Ginny, and how her life was in Voldemort's hands. A sudden, unexpected well of fury erupted inside of him and with a vicious cry he tensed his right arm and balled it into a fist as he went. He did not stop there. Mercilessly he swung his arm upward from the ground and it connected with the Death Eaters chin, shattering his mask and tearing the skin on Harry's knuckles.

Both of them winced and the man fell off of Harry. Not wasting a second Harry rolled away and came up on his knees. He saw the man fumbling for his wand but Harry now had the advantage. "CUSINDEO!" he cried, his palm alight with the magic.

The bone breaking curse only had a short distance to travel but somehow the Death Eater managed to get a shield charm erected. Harry's eyes widened in surprise and he fell back against the stone as his own curse flew back over his head. What happened next happened so fast Harry didn't even realise it had until it was over.

The Death Eater lunged at Harry, drawing a dagger from his waist belt as he went. Harry saw what was going to happen and he twitched. The man had pounced from the ground and was now coming down on Harry with a dagger positioned right above his throat.

His basic survival instinct took over and Harry saw his only way out. He blinked and then in one life changing second the long, silver blade of Godric Gryffindor was grasped firmly in his left hand. Harry saw the Death Eaters eyes widen in fear the split second before he fell onto the extremely sharp point of the blade in Harry's hand. There was a gut wrenching crunch and a moment's resistance before the sword came clean out of the Death Eaters back, impaling him fully on the length of the blade.

Harry lay there in shock for only a moment before he realised he had had no choice. It was either me or him he thought, pushing the man down to his side and pulling the blade out of his stomach quickly. "Jesus...." he managed, putting away the sword with a thought. His eyes were locked with the now dead Death Eater and he shook his head sadly. The reality of the matter was that it was war, there was no longer any time for doubt. He had grown up too fast.

It still took something out of him though. Every life he claimed took a little something out of him, making him feel less of a person. No! Harry told himself. He had to concentrate on what he was trying to save, not what he was destroying. A world without Voldemort demanded these sacrifices on his part.

"HARRY!" shouted a familiar and welcome voice.

"Dundledore..." Harry tried to speak but winced as sharp pain shot up the side of his face from his broken jaw.

Dumbledore ran over to Harry. He had just come from the far end of Hogsmeade by the road that led to Hogwarts. He had been keeping, along with dozens of Aurors, the Dementors and any other Death Eaters from entering the village. But he had seen Harry fighting with a man, and not doing very well, and had rushed to help.

"Why did you come, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, sounding disappointed that Harry had disobeyed him.

Harry did not speak. He looked at Dumbledore briefly and then spat out some blood. He then took a deep breath and rested his hand on the right side of his face. "Firmus Sanitas!" He breathed a sigh of relief as the quick heal spell took effect. It was a spell his Healing teacher had taught him, that took away the pain of any injury and made that body part work as if it was uninjured. Though when it wore off the pain and injury would be worse. He did not care much right now.

Looking back at his headmaster, Harry spoke quickly. "Professor," he said as Dumbledore finally drew level to him. "He's got them. Ron, Hermione and... and Ginny. Voldemort's got them."

Dumbledore's face paled and he stared at Harry unbelievingly for a moment. A word forming on his lips that Harry answered before it was said. "I don't know. But Draco Malfoy is missing as well." A shadow passed across Dumbledore's ancient face and he looked back up to the castle in the distance. "And I also know that Voldemort doesn't plan on coming here. He's up to something else, but I don't know what."

"Can you see-" Dumbledore began but was cut off as an explosion of such force rocked the ground where they stood.

Harry turned sharply and looked twenty metres down the street to the back end of the Aurors trying to make their way up the street and past them to the Death Eaters trying to push the other way down the street. Blue fire shot high into the sky from the front lines where Harry had stood only three minutes ago. The Death Eaters had used a fused fireball spell and it had obliterated two dozen Aurors. It had been huge and made of liquid fire.

Harry felt his heart skip a few beats as his mind jumped to Remus, who he had last seen near the area where the blue sea of fire now burned all in its path.

****

Remus only just managed to raise another shield charm as he watched Harry flung back through the air. His mind registered the fact that Harry had just saved his life. He was a werewolf so most curses could not easily kill him, but the strength of that blasting curse would have.

There was no time for anymore thought though, as with Harry gone the Death Eater curses were coming in thick and fast. Remus took over Harry's previous duty and began deflecting as many curses as he could from the Aurors, but he was nowhere near as proficient at it as Harry had been. Though he did his best.

Remus' wand swung through the air as he deflected three stunning spells from the nearby Death Eaters. It was relatively useless though as more rained down only moments later. Remus sighed in exasperation and decided to keep on the offence. He fired two stunning spells and one Death Eater fell for his efforts. He did not get off another though as he had to renew his shield charm.

"Protego!" he cried, the blue light surrounding him instantly in a magical protection. It did not last long though as he heard the Killing curse incantation.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" shouted a Death Eater barely seven feet away from Remus.

Remus saw the green light of death shoot through the air and head towards a group of Aurors about three paces to his left. With a cry Remus jumped forward and tackled the nearest Auror to the ground, just as the green light flew over him. He felt the cold of the curse miss him by an inch and he breathed a sigh of relief as he and the Auror he had tackled hit the ground.

"REMUS!" the Auror beneath him shouted and Remus gasped in shock.

"HELLO, TONKS," he said as casual as if they were back at Order headquarters.

She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Thanks for that." she said with a tired smile, pushing a piece of hair out of her face.

Remus nodded and was on his feet again in an instant. Tonks was just as fast and soon the two of them were swept away in the tide of the battle and lost each other. Shaking his head and wiping away the perspiration from his forehead, Remus continued to fight.

The battle raged for another minute in which Remus did some quick spell work that kept him (and several Aurors) alive for another few seconds, but he was tiring. The adrenaline coupled with his werewolf strength could keep him going longer than most but the intense physical and magical strain the fight was putting on him was immense, and he soon began to feel light headed.

It was then that he saw a giant blue light shoot up into the sky from within the Death Eater lines. He frowned, knowing that a small group of Death Eaters had been casting horrendous dark magic throughout this battle, and that was devastating the Aurors. Remus watched the beam of blue light morph and stretch into a ball of blue fire and then triple in size. His eyes widened in realisation and he began to run across the line of Aurors, dodging spells and shouting to anyone that would listen.

"SHIELD CHARMS!" he shouted, casting several as he ran. "SHIELD CHARMS." But it was no good. The huge blue ball fell just as the Aurors began to scatter and raise what protection they could. Remus realised even he was not far enough away to dodge the massive fireball and was certain the thing would either kill him outright or worse, leave him burning on the street.

The fireball hit twelve feet from Remus and the jolt from the impact sent him falling back over a body and hard onto the ash covered ground. He saw many Aurors and some Death Eaters engulfed by the stream of blue fire that moved out from the point of impact like a flowing river.

He gasped as he saw the stream gush towards him fast. His wand was lying a few feet away and Remus knew he would never reach it in time. This was the end, he had run his race. The river of dark blue flames engulfed the dead lying on the street and burnt them to nothing but ash and it was two feet away from the fallen form of Remus.

Remus's mind flicked through a thousand images of his life up to that point in one agonizing second as he was certain he had finally met his death. He saw James and Sirius at the Sorting ceremony in his first year, when Voldemort had been nothing but a rising power at the time. He saw James coming to talk to him at the Gryffindor table when no one else would, Sirius sitting next to him in Transfiguration when everyone else stayed clear of him as he appeared to be constantly sick. There was Lily holding Harry after giving birth and James wrestling with Sirius after Sirius had remarked on how much Harry looked suspiciously like tiny Professor Flitwick.

He remembered when it had all fallen apart with the apparent betrayal of Sirius and from there it was just all downhill. Oh well he sighed, looking back to the rushing flames as they flowed ever closer. He felt the heat for one instant before it washed over his small piece of ground, taking with it many bodies of the dead. Remus was no longer there.

****

. After Dermas had landed he had shrunk Harry's Firebolt down to pocketsize and placed it in the left pocket of his white robes. He had then created two dozen Portkeys and had saved as many lives. Now he was fighting for his life.

Trask dodged and his shield charm deflected two burning curses and one blasting, the magical protection resounding with each impact. He breathed a sigh of relief that was short lived as he returned fire with a body bind jinx. The lines of Death Eaters seemed endless from where he stood and Trask shook his head as curses of death rocketed above and to either side of him.

Throwing himself to the ground, Dermas avoided the Killing curse, which he noticed the Death Eaters were using more and more. Things were starting to get really dangerous. He jumped back to his feet and cast a few shield charms around the immediate area, offering some protection to the half a dozen Aurors to his left and right.

Trask watched angrily as Aurors were cut down mercilessly, bathed in green light that ended life unforgivingly. He cast a cutting charm that slit the throat of the nearest Death Eater and whirled around on the spot to deflect a blasting curse. For a moment Dermas contemplated drawing his sword, but the sheer amount of magic in the air put a stop to that thought. If he did not use magic he would be defenceless. He may take a few down with his sword but in the end he had to use magic or die.

So use magic he did and slowly but surely he held his ground against the Death Eater onslaught. Trask knew the Death Eaters held the upper hand, as they were not above using Unforgivables and dark magic. He knew that the Aurors had to win here, or the Death Eaters would just simply wash over them.

As he fought, Trask recognised a few of the people closest to where he was fighting. He saw Remus Lupin tackle Tonks to the ground. He had saved her life and nearly lost his own. Dermas knew both of them from the Order. There was Kingsley directing an assault on the front of the Death Eater line and the ranks of the Aurors were filled with familiar faces. People he had taught how to use a sword years ago during Voldemort's first rise to power.

Trask winced as he took a burning curse in the shoulder, his magical robes offering some small protection against the heat. He stupefied the Death Eater that had fired it and renewed his shield charm. It was shattered a moment later though as he once again fell underneath the cold light of the Killing curse.

"Damn it..." he cursed under his breath, getting back to his feet for felt like the tenth time. He looked around helplessly now, the rest of the battle all too clear for him. The Aurors and Death Eaters would fight until one side had no one left standing. It was a fight to the death. And the Death Eaters may win Dermas thought as he saw something rise up into the sky that made his blood run cold.

A great beam of blue light ascended high up above the battling forces, connected to the wands of six Death Eaters who stood in a tight circle behind the enemy lines. The beam converged on one point and then slowly morphed into a spherical object. It was about half the size of the Three Broomsticks and was seething with blue ripples. Trask knew instantly that this was dark magic, as he felt the heat from where he stood.

A second later the Death Eaters flicked their wands and the ball began to fall towards the front lines of the Aurors, a place where Trask now stood. "Oh... shit," he breathed, watching the fireball fall mercilessly. He heard someone run past him, shouting to raise shield charms but Dermas knew they would be useless against this.

It was then that his mind caught up with him, and he turned desperately, looking for a way out. Aurors were running all around him as the fireball was almost upon them. He saw them trip and fall over the bodies of the dead and injured, saw them raise shield charms quickly. They would not do much good. He had no way out, none of them did.

And then it hit him.

Praying that it was still there, Trask delved into his robes pocket and felt his hand grasp something long and thin. With a sigh of relief that lasted half a second, Trask pulled Harry's miniaturized Firebolt from his robe pocket. A second later and it was full size again, just as the fireball hit a group of Aurors ten feet away from him.

The shockwave sent him flying to the ground and the sound of the explosion almost deafened him, but miraculously he managed to hold onto the broom. Coughing slightly as he rose, Dermas enlarged the broom quickly and mounted it just as fast.

"Ha," he kicked off from the ground hard, just as the torrent of blue flames from the fireball washed over the road where a second ago he had stood. Dermas flew up ten feet and came to a hovering stop as his eyes connected with something devastating.

Remus Lupin lay sprawled out on the ground, resting on his elbows as the stream of searing hot blue fire gushed towards him. Trask saw that he had lost his wand and from the look on his face he had accepted what was about to happen.

Trask shook his head. This would not be happening. It had been many years since he had ridden a broom properly. The flight from the castle was definitely a quick refresher, but he thought he could do what he was about to do anyway. Pushing the broom forward, Dermas entered a short dive and the broom responded as he pulled up slightly. He was now flying barely a foot above the seething blue fire beneath him and the heat of it was burning his skin as he flew with its current towards the collapsed form of Remus Lupin.

Trask had to cover half the street and he knew it would be close. He had not had enough room to accelerate to any great speed but he was pushing it hard now. He was so close to the fire that the tail of the broom burst alight from the heat and sweat dripped from his forehead. He saw, barely three feet away now, the head of the stream and Remus fallen on his back with his eyes closed only four feet away.

"ARGH!" cried Trask, pushing the broom for one final burst of speed. He sped just ahead of the gushing blue fire and dropped his left arm, grasping onto any part of his fellow Order member that he could. His hand connected with the scruff of Remus' robes, just around the collar, and with an almighty heave Dermas pointed the broom upwards and rocketed up away from the fire.

Remus's eyes opened in complete shock as he saw the ground retreating beneath him. "What...?" he whispered quickly, but then felt his stomach lurch as he began to fall again.

Trask struggled under the combined weight of Remus and the broom. The trajectory slowly arced and soon the tip of the broom was pointing again towards the ground. They had only risen about twenty-five feet. Holding onto Remus as strongly as he could, Dermas tried to aim the broom over the lines of Aurors and into the emptier part of the street that lay beyond.

The broom fell fast and so it picked up speed fast. Dermas and Remus fell fast and Trask was sure the fall would kill them both. Over the heads of the Aurors they fell, only just regrouping after the fireball attack. After a few seconds they cleared the Aurors but the ground was fast approaching, and they were travelling at too great a speed. This is going to really hurt, Trask thought.

The wind was screaming in his ears as he strained to keep hold of Remus and to slow the broom down. But it was no good. With a cry Trask pulled up as hard as he could on the broomstick as they past through a cloud of smoke, and he did feel them slow ever so slightly, but they were still going in too fast. And then they simply stopped.

Dermas stared at the ground six feet in front of him and his gaze travelled across and up from that. There stood Harry, his hand raised and the strain evident on his face.

Harry sighed with relief as he stopped Dermas and Remus from crashing hard into the ground, and then slowly lowered them the rest of the way. Remus felt his feet touch the ground and he stood shakily, turning to Trask who had promptly collapsed in a heap, breathing heavily.

"Thank you, Dermas," Remus said sincerely.

Dermas offered him a small smile but breathing took precedent over it. "No... problem..." he managed.

"Remus!" Lupin turned and saw Harry standing with Dumbledore. He nodded to them.

"That was close," Harry commented.

Remus nodded as Trask tried to stand. "Too close," he agreed and then offered Dermas his hand to help pull him to his feet.

"Should we return to the Aurors?" Remus asked Dumbledore, looking back at the struggling lines of fighters. There stood only three hundred left of the original eight hundred. It had been a god damn massacre.

Harry followed his gaze and after a moment of indecision he decided. "No," he said. "I have to find Ron, Hermione, and Ginny."

"What?" Remus said quickly.

"They could be anywhere, Harry," Dumbledore said gravely.

Harry shook his head. "No," he whispered. "Voldemort is close," he raised a hand to his scar. "I can feel him."

"Perhaps we should return to the castle," Remus said.

It was at that moment that a great cry went up from the Aurors. It started with one and soon the entire group began to move.

****

Kingsley let out a small cry as he was hit in his recently healed side. He had not had much time to rest after Harry had healed it and the battle was taking its toll on him. He had just seen two dozen good Aurors incinerated in the blast and his strength was wearing thin.

One thing he had noticed about the Death Eaters was that they had no problems using Dark magic. This put the Aurors at an immediate and huge disadvantage, as most dark magic is used to kill. He had not seen that fireball charm before and it was not taught in Auror training. He did not even have to think about the Unforgivables that they were using either. They were devastating in their own right.

We're losing, Kingsley thought as he pulled a fallen Auror out of the fray. He recognised the man as the leader of the French Aurors, one of his lieutenants. No sooner had he pulled him out than he watched three more Aurors fall as they tried to dodge a barrage of Killing curses.

"DAMN IT!" Kingsley shouted. They were getting massacred in this close quarter fighting. He had to take the fighting somewhere else, break the Death Eaters into smaller groups instead of one large group capable of wiping out the Aurors. He had to bring the fight back, and the linear lay out of the street they now fought on could not do that.

Thinking fast and dodging curses, Kingsley thought of the landscape in the immediate area. He saw the castle and the Auror headquarters, there was the village of course and the road that ran parallel to the forest. The forest...? he wondered. Could we...?

He needed to break the Death Eater lines. If they fell back to the road and the forest, attacking from the protection of the trees just might do the trick. There were many downsides to this plan though. Primarily, it brought the Death Eaters closer to the school and Headquarters.

There is no other way... he thought, and tried to convince himself he was making the right choice. It could be the end of the fight either way. Kingsley made his choice.

"FALL BACK!" he shouted, running to the front line. "FALL BACK TO THE FOREST, TO THE ROAD!"

He ran down the length of the line, dodging the curses and shouting. "FALL BACK!"

It took him several seconds but soon the message began to relay throughout the Auror lines. As he ran, Kingsley saw the Death Eater mass begin to move forward, they were pushing for the kill. This is not a defeat he told himself as the Aurors began to move back down the street as well.

"BACK TO THE ROAD," he shouted. "BACK TO THE ROAD!"

And with that, the ranks broke. Turning fast the Aurors began to fall back. Firing a few final curses, they ran, and the Death eaters gave chase.

****

Harry watched the Auror lines break and begin to scatter. He heard the call to fall back to the road and realised the Aurors and Death Eaters would be heading this way and may even make it up to the school. Hogwarts he thought. They won't know...

"Professor," Harry began, turning to Dumbledore as he observed the rush of Aurors and Death Eaters heading towards them. "This could make it back up to Hogwarts."

"Indeed, Harry," Dumbledore replied solemnly. "We need to warn them."

Harry blinked and ran a hand through his hair, his jaw aching slightly even with the quick heal spell. "I'll go," he said finally. "But we have to find Voldemort."

Dumbledore nodded and then raised his wand. Harry watched as a shield momentarily raised itself between the Aurors and Death Eaters, giving them time to get away. "Warn Hogwarts, Harry," Dumbledore said. "Don't face him alone."

Harry paused as he saw the fear in Dumbledore's eyes. Fear for him. Shaking his head he cleared his mind and with a simple thought, Disapparated. After getting caught up in a fight that was not his, Harry was finally going back to Hogwarts. He reappeared almost instantly one mile away outside the Hogwarts castle gates, and set off at a run up the dirt road to the castle.

Harry felt strangely detached as he ran up to the castle. He ignored the pain in his leg but the world seemed eerily calm now. There was no smell of smoke or sounds of battle, there was no mass of duelling forces. There was nothing on the grounds, nothing at all. A false peace. Harry felt very odd having just come from the nightmare that was Hogsmeade.

He ran over the greening grass heralding a spring that was coming again after a long winter. Harry reached the castle and flung the doors open quickly, making straight for the Great Hall. He rubbed his jaw as the ache in it worsened and entered the Great Hall.

The first thing he noticed was that the entire school was still in the hall. Dumbledore must have told McGonagall to keep them safe in the hall, where the staff could keep an eye on them. The next thing he noticed was that the tables were lined with food. The house elves had been busy. The final thing he noticed was, in fact, the time. It was twelve thirty. He had been in Hogsmeade over one and a half-hours. It had felt like a lifetime.

There were audible gasps from many in the Hall as he ran between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw house tables. Harry realised he must look a bit under the weather. He wiped his cheek and winced as the crusted blood fell off. That's right, he thought. Hit by a cutting charm there...

"Potter?" McGonagall said, standing at the Staff table and shushing the rest of the school with a few hand movements. "You need to get to the Hospital wing."

Harry shook his head. "No," he told her and then quickly moved on. "Ron, Hermione and Ginny haven't returned, have they?" he asked hopefully as he drew level to the staff table. He saw Hagrid and Snape to McGonagall' left.

McGonagall frowned worriedly. "No, Potter," she said. "Oh dear..."

Harry felt his hope sink and for a moment he almost lost it. It wasn't fair he thought. I can't lose them.... Not now he told himself. Other important things... "Professor," he said quickly. "I've just come from Hogsmeade." Harry took a quick swig of pumpkin juice from what he presumed was usually Dumbledore's goblet. He was incredibly thirsty. "The battle has left Hogsmeade," he continued, lowering his voice so as not to alarm the one thousand students behind him. "It may spill over onto the grounds."

McGonagall paled slightly but then nodded. "Thank you, Potter," she said. "Now I am telling you to get to the Hospital wing."

Harry sighed and put his hands in his pockets. He frowned when he felt something he could not identify. Harry pulled the object out of his pocket and held it out before him. It only took him a moment to recognise what it was and when he did he laid it out on the table in front of him, opening it up to its full width.

"This should help," he told McGonagall.

"What?" she asked confusedly. It was just a black piece of parchment.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Harry said, his palm stretched out across the Marauders Map.

"Pot-" McGonagall began but then stopped short as lines of ink began to whirl themselves across the parchment, and she realised what she was looking at.

"This is the Marauder's Map," Harry told her. "It shows the entire castle and all the grounds."

"I can see," she said. "It also shows the position of everyone on those grounds."

Harry nodded. He was glad she had understood so quickly. "Sirius, Remus and my father made it," he said with a hint of pride in his voice. "If anyone comes onto-"

Harry stopped and he felt his stomach do a flip as his eyes were drawn to the map. He felt as if he could not breathe as a name appeared just on the boundary of the map, where the grounds met the forest. He grasped the parchment hard and his eyes went round as what he saw really sunk in. He watched the small ink name tag take a few steps onto the grounds.

Ginevra Weasley

There was no mistaking it. Ginny had just come out of the forest. Harry stared at the map and was just about to turn and go and meet her when his blood ran cold. Two more names appeared on the map, just behind Ginny. Harry let out a cry and turned on the spot, throwing the map back onto the table carelessly. He sprinted across the Hall, ignoring the cries of his professors and classmates.

Pure fear shot through his veins as his mind grasped what he had just seen. Ginny had come out of the Forbidden Forest, taken a few steps onto the grounds, and then barely five seconds later two more names had appeared on the map just behind her. Harry sped from the Hall, fear pushing him to go faster as the entire school broke out in whispers.

McGonagall frowned and looked down to the map on the table before her. She saw a moment later what it was that Harry had and she gasped, her hand covering her mouth. She saw the name of Ginevra Weasley heading back towards the forest, between two other names that realised her worst fears. Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange re-entered the forest and all three disappeared from the map.

Run Potter McGonagall thought, urging her young Gryffindor on. She saw on the map that he had just gone flying down the Entrance Hall stairs, but he would no longer find anyone on the castle grounds. For all his speed and magic he was already too late.

****

Two Hours Earlier

They were all connected. Malfoy held Ginny, Ron held Malfoy and Hermione held Ron. A brilliant flash of deep blue light later and they were gone. A few upturned desks the only evidence that anybody had been in the room.

For Ginny the world spun completely unexpectedly. She held her stomach as a barrage of lights swirled around her with a deafening roar. Closing her eyes against the dizziness, she waited for it to stop. A few seconds later it did, and she fell to the ground hard as the Portkey deposited her.

The first thing that hit Ginny was the cold. It pierced into her like a knife as she turned and looked up into the morning sun. Confusion settled upon her before realisation came crashing down hard. With a start she tried to sit up but immediately felt a pair of arms grasp her shoulders and she stifled a scream.

It became all too clear then. She looked around her surroundings and saw that she was sitting in a large clearing with great, twisted trees forming the walls and hiding from sight anything but more trees. She lay on cold dirt that was sprouted with small shrubs and plants but for the most part was clear.

Ginny felt herself being pulled roughly to her feet and the world spinning again as she beheld the dark robed figures before her. A hand was in her pocket and she realised a moment too late that she had just lost her wand. She gasped as she recognised the masks of the Death Eaters and immediately began to struggle against whoever held her. To her left she saw Ron and Hermione, each being held by a Death Eater.

"What-" she began but was stopped as one of the masked Death Eaters struck her roughly across the cheek, causing her to cry out in shock and pain.

"BASTARD!" Ron spat, struggling to jump forward and attack the Death Eater who had just hit Ginny. But he was held tight and a second later magically conjured chains held him in place. He and Hermione had also had been disarmed. They were defenceless.

The Death Eater who had struck Ginny laughed, and removed his mask. Ron's fury increased as he saw the sneering, pointed face of Lucius Malfoy looking down upon him. Ginny and Hermione were chained around the wrists and ankles just like Ron and then thrown to the floor next to him.

"Draco," drawled Lucius Malfoy, turning to face his son who had just risen from the ground after the Portkey had deposited them. "You were only supposed to bring the Weasley girl."

Draco Malfoy looked up to his father angrily and wiped his lip of blood from a cut. Ron had gotten one lucky punch in back at Hogwarts. "I tried, father," he began, glaring at Ron. "But these two insisted on coming along."

Lucius Malfoy nodded. "No matter, Draco," he began, looking down at Ron, Hermione and Ginny with a look of disgust upon his face. "The Dark Lord will be pleased we have Potter's closest friends. You will be rewarded well."

Draco's eyes lit up expectantly and he nodded once to his father as he held his burst lip, before turning away without giving Ron, Hermione or Ginny another look.

Ginny looked around the clearing fearfully as she saw all the black robed figures moving across it. She counted at least a dozen, all busy waving their wands conjuring large stones into place. She frowned at this but had no time to think about it, Ron was speaking.

"Where's Harry?" he asked Lucius Malfoy quickly.

Malfoy's sneer increased. "No doubt he will be joining us soon, Weasley. The Dark Lord will use you three to destroy him." Malfoy then walked away, leaving the three of them alone, but under the watchful eye of all in the clearing.

Hermione looked around herself nervously, trying to weigh her options. There were no good ones. She had no wand, she was bound at her feet so she could not run, and Death Eaters were everywhere. "This isn't good," she whispered and Ron nodded.

"You okay, Ginny?" he asked.

Ginny nodded ever so slightly and desperately looked around for a way out. All she saw were Death Eaters. "What are we going to do?" she whispered to Hermione and Ron.

Ron tried to shrug but his arms were chained too close together behind his back. He sighed in frustration. "We're just going to have to wait for now," he said resolutely. "Harry will come with the Order."

Hermione bit her bottom lip and hoped that Harry would prove Ron right. Her mind kept flipping back to the Ministry all those months ago, and more recently to the destruction in her hometown of Abingdon. The Death Eaters had been ruthless, and here they were, prisoners of Voldemort's inner circle.

Minutes passed slowly as the Death Eaters moved around the clearing, muttering incantations and clearing it of vegetation. They were preparing it for something. Ron was not sure he wanted to know what. Knowing Voldemort, it would not be good. Occasionally he pulled on his chains and instructed Ginny and Hermione to do the same

The Death Eaters talked quietly amongst themselves and Ron did not have to struggle to hear what they were saying. Their voices carried quite clearly across the clearing. What he, Hermione and Ginny heard was not comforting.

"Things go well in Hogsmeade," a familiar voice said. Ron placed it as Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Indeed," Lucius Malfoy replied. "The Aurors have little protection against out dark magic. Our Lord will be pleased."

Bellatrix nodded behind her mask. "Where is he?"

Lucius nodded away into the trees on his left. "Preparing for the spell this afternoon. It is going to take a huge amount of raw power."

Ron sighed in frustration at the situation but Hermione's mind was working furiously. The Death Eaters were attacking Hogsmeade she thought. If she strained she could hear faint explosions and occasionally the sound of a scream or curse. That has to be Hogsmeade she rationalised. Which means this is the Forbidden Forest she realised, looking around at the thick trees in all directions.

"Ron, Ginny," she whispered. "Do you recognise this place?"

Ron frowned. "It's a forest," he said simply.

"It's the Forbidden Forest," Ginny added, looking around herself for anything that might tell them what part of the forest they were now captive in. "But the forest is huge, we could be anywhere!" she exclaimed.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think so..." she whispered thoughtfully. "If you listen carefully you can hear the battle at Hogsmeade. We're closer to Hogwarts than you may think."

"We have to escape," Ron said quickly after that. "I don't know what they're doing here, but it probably won't be good for Harry. We have to get back to the castle."

Ginny and Hermione nodded, carefully eyeing all the Death Eaters they could see. "The sounds from Hogsmeade are coming from over there," Ron nodded straight ahead and into the trees across the clearing from them. "Where does that put the castle?"

Hermione fell into quick, deep thought. Her mind flicked through all of the geography of the area and she hazarded a guess as to in which direction Hogwarts castle lay. "That way," she nodded after a moment, looking to their right. "Hogwarts is through those trees."

"Now all we have to do is get these chains off," Ron said, struggling with his cuffs. They burned into his skin and only got tighter as he pulled on them. "And make a break for it without wands with You-Know-Who's inner circle right behind us."

"Or if one of us could get away..." Hermione speculated, looking at Ron and Ginny respectively. She saw that Ginny was the only one of them with her hands cuffed in front of her, giving her more movement. "And then get help."

Ron shook his head angrily. "It all rests on getting these damn chains off though," he said bitterly. "Which," he continued struggling against his restraints and wincing as they bit into him, "is impossible."

Ginny sighed and felt her voice get caught in her throat as the full realisation of the hopelessness of their situation hit her. The Death Eaters were going to use them to bring Harry to his death. And Harry would come, she knew that. Even if he knew he was going to die he would still come and try. That was just Harry.

An hour passed, maybe more. Ron was not sure as he struggled tirelessly against the chains binding him. They were magically enchanted to burn whenever strained so Ron was doing more damage than good, but he had to try. For Hermione's and Ginny's sake he had to try. It was not long after that that he had begun to smell smoke and he knew that Hogsmeade was burning.

The Death Eaters around the clearing had been keeping an eye on all three of them for the past hour and seemed satisfied that they would not escape. If they escaped the Dark Lord would not be happy, and that was to be avoided at all costs. Draco Malfoy walked around the clearing with his father, burning away the vegetation. For what purpose he did not know but if the Dark Lord commanded it, it would be done.

He kept a wary eye on the three Gryffindors he had brought here with the Portkey. If he had learnt one thing over the years at Hogwarts, it was that they had a nasty habit of surviving. He watched them whispering amongst themselves and how foolishly Weasley pulled against his chains. It only tightened them.

Ginny's mind was a kaleidoscope of images. Most of them held Harry and she could not help but wish for him to come and save her again, like he had in the Chamber. The fear of the situation made her feel sick and nervous sweat broke out on her forehead. She had no idea how Harry had survived so long when he must feel like this all the time. It was worry for her own life, and that of Ron and Hermione that had her scared now.

She and Harry had only just accepted one another. Years of waiting and silent regret and he had finally noticed her. They had come together when Harry was so close to the edge. In fact she would go as far to say as he was hanging on by his fingertips. Their stolen moments were all that had mattered over the past few weeks. Ginny saw him kissing her in the small window alcove on the seventh floor, and quickly before the DA meetings. He made time for her no matter what else he had to do and he always seemed to know just exactly what to say.

Ginny saw him training out on the grounds with Dermas, the look of sheer concentration upon his face mixed with the understanding that all the training he pushed himself through would one day help him. She hoped today would not be that day, and if it was she hoped he lived through it. She hoped they all did.

Ginny sighed and let a silent tear fall from her eye and roll down her cheek into the corner of her mouth. It wasn't fair! she found herself thinking for the thousandth time. Harry was still just a kid and yet he was supposed to save the world, to destroy Voldemort. He did not deserve the hand Fate had dealt him.

Feeling an unexpected surge of anger, Ginny found herself focusing completely and entirely on breaking free of her bonds and running to Harry. She screamed in frustration as the chains around her wrists and ankles just got tighter for all her efforts. Her scream had of course attracted the Death Eaters but they were simply laughing at her futile attempts to escape.

"Calm down, Gin," Ron said worriedly. "It'll only get tighter," he explained, his own wrists having almost lost circulation.

"I have to see him!" Ginny cried desperately. "He doesn't deserve it," she continued. "We have to tell him not to come..."

Ginny thrashed and pulled at the chains but only succeeded in strengthening the hold they had upon her. She was frantic now, pulling at them with all her might and getting nowhere. She was practically seething as the chains burnt her skin and began to feel something welling up inside of her. It was a feeling she had never had before, like a caged animal desperate for release.

With a cry she pulled one final time and kicked her legs out hard. In that one moment the feeling of power inside of her exploded viciously and quickly and the chains around her ankles exploded shattering into dust, freeing her legs.

Surprise and shock emanated from all that had witnessed this. Ginny just simply stared at her free ankles in confusion. She had not done any accidental magic for years, and it was rare even then. Unexpectedly, it was Ron who came to his senses first.

"RUN, GINNY!" he shouted loudly, struggling once more against his own bonds. Hermione repeated it and Ginny jumped to her feet, holding her bound hands in front of her.

"Towards the trees," Hermione said, pointing with her head. "Hogwarts is through that way."

Ginny did not need telling twice. She felt a moment's hesitation at leaving Ron and Hermione but if she did not go they could all be doomed. The Death Eaters had also come to their senses and were raising their wands just as Ginny got to her feet.

"STUPEFY!" cried Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange in unison. Two equally powerful beams of red light shot across the clearing, straight towards Ginny as she began to run.

"Go for it, Gin!" Ron said quickly, jumping up onto his knees with his ankles and wrists still bound. He threw himself the short way through the air and in front of Ginny, taking both stunners to the chest.

Ron was out cold instantly and Ginny set off at a sprint over and into the trees. She pushed back the tears at leaving Ron and Hermione at the mercy of Voldemort's inner circle, but she knew what her mission was now. She had to get to Harry, to the Order and bring them back to the forest.

Ginny pushed into the trees and was soon enveloped in the dark canopy. She heard the shouts of the Death Eaters behind her and knew they were coming after her.

"NOTT!" bellowed Malfoy. "STUN THE MUDBLOOD AND THEN INTO THE FOREST!"

Ginny began to breathe heavily as she ran across the leaf strewn ground of the forest. The recently departed winter had left a thin layer of icy snow still covering most of the ground in the darker parts of the forest, where she now ran. She still had her hands shackled in front of her and was completely defenceless as she heard the Death Eaters behind her.

Putting on a burst of speed but being careful not to tire herself out, Ginny tried to put some distance between her and her pursuers. The ground raced beneath her and she barely registered in what direction her legs took her. Her concentration was devoted to not tripping on any of the knotted roots that stuck up in the ground. She heard the hurried steps of the Death Eaters behind her and tried to increase her pace.

The castle can't be that far away she thought hopefully. She could get there, and get to Harry and stop him from fighting today. It wasn't right. He isn't ready. As strong as he may appear he can't do it yet. A thousand outcomes to a battle with Voldemort flashed through her mind and she saw Harry die each time. These thoughts urged her on and as she ducked under a branch, she felt the hot sting of a curse explode on the branch above her.

The Death Eaters pushed through the forest behind her, knowing that if she escaped the Dark Lord's wrath would be terrible. Lucius Malfoy was the closest and he fired a stunning spell at the youngest Weasley as she disappeared under a tree branch. Swearing as he missed, Lucius continued the chase.

Ginny ran with a purpose. She had to get to Harry and get the Order to save Ron and Hermione. She felt her shackles burning into her skin as she ran and threw her hands about to avoid the forest foliage. Tears of pain sprang to her eyes but she ignored it stoically for now. It was more important she escape.

The forest trees and bushes rushed past her and she was breathing heavily. The forest seemed to have no end as she lost count of how long she had been running. A thought came to her that perhaps she was running deeper into the forest, away from the castle.

Ginny strained her eyes ahead against the impenetrable darkness of the forest, to see if it came to an end. She could still hear the Death Eaters closing in fast behind her and the thought of recapture and this being all for naught urged her on faster than she had gone before.

Gradually the trees began to thin around her and up ahead Ginny could see daylight. She took a deep shuddering breath that was filled with hope and willed herself to carry on. She did not remember feeling so winded but the effort of her run was starting to take its toll and she pushed against the stitch that had developed in her side.

The trees had thinned to almost nothing now and her heart rose at the brief glimpse of Hogwarts castle she could see about half a mile away. Determination blossoming in her heart, Ginny gave her all to run out of the forest. The forest simply ended and the trees around her disappeared as the vast expanse of the Hogwarts grounds appeared before her.

With a smile she saw Hagrid's cabin and the lake across the grounds and the castle in its full glory before her. Slowing, Ginny used what little strength she had left and set out across the grounds at a jog, as running had become much too painful. In her mind she could not believe she had made it so far.

The castle was just ahead. Harry would be there. This thought kept her going a few more steps, before the world abruptly went dark, and she knew no more.

"Grab her," Malfoy hissed to Bellatrix as the two of them emerged from the forest, having just fired a stunning spell and hitting Ginny hard.

Bellatrix ran out onto the grounds with Lucius following carefully behind her. His grey eyes surveyed the grounds arrogantly, searching for any witnesses. Unfortunately the grounds were empty, and Lucius and Bellatrix had soon levitated Ginny's prone form back into the forest.

****

Harry raced from the castle, throwing open the great oak doors as he ran for the grounds. He had seen Ginny on the map. He had seen her. She was alive and had to have been in the forest. Possibly with Ron and Hermione as well.

Harry had seen her name briefly on the map and it had warmed his heart with relief as she had appeared on the grounds. That hope was crushed viciously only a moment later when the names of Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange had followed.

Reaching the gravel path outside the castle, Harry looked down to the border of the forest as he ran. He looked towards the gate where he knew she had emerged. Nothing but a cool wind stirred upon the icy ground. Harry bit his lip in frustration and fear. He prayed that Ginny hadn't been hurt for running, and he had no doubt that she had made a bid for freedom. That was simply Ginny.

Harry ran for a few feet and then in the blink of an eye transformed into the mighty griffin. With a deafening roar and screech he kicked two claws and two muscular paws off from the ground and spread his strong, thin wings. A few feathers fell from his form as he took flight and sped off across the grounds. He flew higher into the air with the wind and desperately hoped to view Ginny with his piercing eagle eyes.

Harry roared again as he knew she had been taken back into the forest. He had a rough idea where they would be heading in their though, and was just about to fly over the forest in hopes of seeing anything when his eyes locked onto the battle now raging on the road to Hogsmeade.

A brief moment of indecision fluttered through Harry's mind as he had to make a choice. He wanted, more than anything else, to get the people he loved away from the clutches of Voldemort. He wanted to charge into the forest palms blazing and hurt those who had dared to harm his friends. That is what he wanted to do, but the more rational part of his mind made him listen before he dived into the forest as a griffin.

Going alone he risked losing it all. He could not protect his friends and duel Voldemort at the same time. The Death Eaters would most likely harm his friends to distract him. He had to get somebody to come with him, anybody. They could get his friends away while he dealt with Voldemort.

Harry flew high above the grounds providing him with an impressive view of the battle on the road beneath him. He saw the mass of Death Eaters marching up the road as the Aurors retreated back to a defensive wall behind which other Aurors were now stationed, providing defensive charms and shields to the retreating Aurors.

Harry gasped at the destruction the Death Eaters were leaving in their wake. The village of Hogsmeade lay in smouldering ruins and was completely covered in a canopy of thick black smoke. The forest on the verges of the road where the Death Eaters now marched was also going up in roaring flames. The orange flames rose up high and spread slowly over the icy trees.

Lights and screams lit up and rang along the road. Barrages of different coloured curses were exchanged between the two fighting forces. Making his decision, Harry veered left on the wind and began his descent towards the battle-strewn road. As he descended he promised himself he would not linger. He would find someone to come with him, preferably Dumbledore and head into the forest after Ginny.

Harry followed the wind and with a roar fell onto the road just before the barricaded wall the Aurors had erected. It was just short of the headquarter building that separated Hogwarts from Hogsmeade. This was the Aurors last stand before Hogwarts.

The Aurors behind the wall and those in front of it were momentarily distracted by his presence and even more so when he reverted to human form. Harry did not wait to explain himself though. He set off down the road towards the approaching Death Eater army, his palms already tingling with magic.

As he ran, Harry assessed his situation and did a quick check of himself for injuries. He knew that the quick heal spell he had cast on his jaw would last a few more hours but he had several cuts and bruises that were beginning to ache from his constant exertion. He ran past Aurors who were firing hexes at the Death Eaters and dodging curses that were thick in the air.

Harry realised he was limping slightly as he ran but that would have to wait. He had to find Dumbledore, find anybody to come with him. The Death Eaters were advancing up the road fast, using the Aurors retreat to attack hard. For their part the Aurors were doing their best to fight back but they were spread out to far and only a brave few remained at the head of the fight. Harry knew that was where he would find Dumbledore.

Aurors were rushing past him, holding wounds or carrying fallen friends. The air was heavy with curses and some of these retreating fighters were hit in the back as they tried to escape. Harry watched angrily as many fell. He turned his attention to the swarm of Death Eaters barely fifty feet away now.

"Declino!" he cried, jumping over the fallen body of an Auror, while saving the life of another with his deflection spell.

The sounds of battle reverberated in Harry's ears as he ran ever closer to the centre of the fight. His eyes scanned the crowds for Dumbledore, Remus, or Dermas. For anybody that could help him. He saw Kingsley and Tonks holding a group of Death Eaters back while other Aurors escaped. He was slightly relieved to know that Kingsley had survived but had no time to help him.

"Cusindeo!" Harry said, breaking a nearby Death Eaters wand arm and saving the life of yet another Auror.

Harry was getting worried. He was being drawn into the fight again, something he could not afford to do. His friends could be being tortured or worse as he fought here. What am I going to do? he thought, running past a group of advancing Death Eaters and heading on towards the main fighting force. Save them he told himself strongly. I'm going to save-

BOOM!

Harry gasped as the very earth shook under his feet and knocked him hard to the ground. Several fused reductor curses had just exploded a few feet to his left, scattering Aurors and maiming others. Harry coughed as ash was thrown into his face and the rubble cut his skin as it rocketed over him.

His ears rang for a moment as he struggled to get back onto his feet. Aurors were lying dead around him and Harry wondered briefly how he had survived the blast. He was not left wondering long though as he heard a familiar voice behind him.

Harry whirled around fast and saw Dermas Trask standing two feet away, his wand raised and casting another shield charm. His last one had just saved Harry's life. "DERMAS!" Harry called.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE CASTLE!" Trask cried over the sounds of battle.

Harry shook his head. "THEY'RE IN THE FOREST."

Dermas frowned. "WHAT?"

"RON, HERMIONE AND GINNY," Harry replied. "THEY'RE BEING HELD IN THE FOREST."

Trask nodded and cast a severing charm that cut a Death Eaters throat as he wrestled with a nearby Auror. He then ran back down the street away from the advancing Death Eaters, and motioned Harry to do the same. They retreated to a good distance, not exactly safe but not as loud.

"And what are we going to do, Harry?" he asked, panting to catch his breath. "Voldemort will be there."

Harry looked into the forest on his right. "I'm counting on it," he said cryptically. "Look, Trask, I can go alone but I'll die. And trust me, I will go!" Harry stared deep into Dermas' eyes, determination shining in his. "I owe it to them for standing by me all these years. I'm not going to lose them." Harry knew he sounded slightly frantic but he did not care. "I just need help...."

Trask stared at Harry for a moment and then cursed under his breath. "We should really tell Dumbledore," he said, a frown appearing on his forehead.

"Where is he?" Harry asked quickly.

Trask bit his lower lip in worry. "Hogsmeade, evacuating the injured with Portkeys."

Harry shook his head. "I don't think my friends have that long," he said, and as if on queue, his scar rippled with pain. "He's hurting them," Harry whispered and then took two quick steps forward, planning on leaving now with or without Trask. He paused for only a moment when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"All right, Harry," Dermas said. "But how are we going to find them in the forest?"

Harry blinked and winced as his scar burnt viciously. He knew that Voldemort was calling him. "Get on my back," was all he said to Trask. A brief second later and he had transformed into the magnificent griffin, a rough screech coming from his eagle beak.

Harry took a few steps forward and looked from the fleeing Aurors, to the approaching Death Eaters, and finally to the hesitating form of Dermas Trask. He screeched again and inclined his head at Dermas. It took Dermas a bit of an effort to throw himself onto Harry's lion back. He fell on just below the wing joints and grasped his neck feathers tightly.

Not wasting another valuable second, Harry began to run up the road towards the Auror barricade. It did not take him long to gather speed and, bracing his back legs, he pushed off from the ground hard, his wings spreading and flapping furiously. For his part, Dermas held onto Harry a little tighter that was probably necessary. He had ridden a broom for the first time in a decade that morning, he was riding a griffin for the first time in his life now.

Harry took off and immediately began gaining height above the forest. He ignored the extra weight that Dermas provided and they had both soon left the horrific battle behind. Harry could still feel his scar burning, even though it was no longer visible. The link he shared with Voldemort still existed even when he wasn't in human form.

They were soon over one hundred feet into the air and the Death Eater army on the Hogsmeade road just looked like one big black mass. Harry saw the castle to his right and mile after mile of forest beneath him. His sharp eyes flew over the entire expanse, searching for any sign of his friends.

Dermas remained silent on his back, although with the wind in his ears Harry doubted he would have been able to hear him anyway. They made slow progress and stayed relatively close to the road as they searched. Harry did not know what he was looking for, only that wherever he found his friends, he would find Voldemort.

With his sharp eyes it did not take Harry long to notice an irregularity in the foliage of the forest. He saw a clearing, a circular clearing in an otherwise densely covered area. He swooped in lower staying hidden in front of the sun so as not to be seen. He dropped to just above tree top level and his blood ran cold as he saw the hooded figure standing tall above three unmoving forms, two of them with vivid flame red hair.

Harry cried in rage as his scar burned. He knew Voldemort was torturing them. He knew they were suffering for being his friend. He knew he was going to do anything to save their lives. A part of him wanted to just fly in there now, but he realised this was going to take something more. He needed to be fast to save them, and as such he needed surprise on his side.

Harry swooped down out of the sky and broke through the canopy of trees. He landed about fifty feet away to the left of the clearing and waited a moment while Trask got off of his back before transforming back into a human.

"Did you see them?" Harry asked.

Trask nodded. "I did. I counted about a dozen Death Eaters and Voldemort himself." Trask looked at Harry seriously after that. "Whatever you're thinking, Harry, I hope it doesn't involve trading your life for your friends."

Harry did not answer, but began moving through the dark forest towards the clearing they had seen from the sky. "We'll see what happens," he shrugged. "I know he'll kill my friends even if I did offer a trade, so we'll just see what happens."

Dermas shook his head. "Don't do anything foolish."

Harry moved with purpose through the sparse trees and bushes. "Define foolish," he said and Trask smiled slightly.

"There is a very good chance we're about to die," he warned, almost slipping on the icy ground.

Harry shrugged again. "We've just come from the biggest magical battle being fought on this planet and you've only just realised that?"

Trask sighed heavily and gripped his wand hard. In a few moments he would be closer to his fiancés murderer than he had been for twenty years. He was understandably nervous.

It took Harry and Dermas five minutes to navigate through the forest quietly, though they could not be sure that they hadn't tripped any warning wards the Death Eaters might have set. Harry was confident that they hadn't, as he had not felt the familiar tingle that he always felt when passing through wards.

Harry knew they were close as he ducked under a low hanging branch. His scar was burning viciously and he could hear laughter up ahead. It was cold laughter though, and it sent a chill right through Trask. He could also hear a desperate scream. Harry knew without a doubt that it was Ron.

They approached slowly, a growing feeling of dread and nervousness developing in both of their stomachs. The silence was only broken by the laughter and screams from up ahead. Harry had to clench his fists against the anger inside of him. He wanted to just run out there now. Damn the consequences. He wanted his friends out of harms way. Dermas sensed this, and placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"We need to see what we're running in to," he whispered.

Harry said nothing but pushed a small branch out of the way giving himself perfect view of the clearing. He noticed several things at once. It was covered in Death Eaters, his friends were in the middle, and Voldemort was standing over them, his wand drawn.

Harry heard Trask's quick intake of breath and for a moment he was at a loss as to what to do. He knew that Dermas was waiting for him but now that Harry had come to it he realised just too much was unknown, too many risks had to be taken. He forced himself to calm down and in the small moments in which the mind works he assessed the situation.

Okay, he told himself. Think!

Who is your enemy?

Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

Why are they here?

To kill me. Using my friends as bait to draw me to them.

What options do you have?

Not many. It's only me and Trask here; but we can't leave them to be tortured.

Damn it! Harry cried to himself. The biggest problem he had was getting his friends out of harms way. I have only Trask to work with. Harry turned and looked Trask up and down. They don't know he's here... Harry thought quickly, the beginnings of a plan forming in his mind.

Harry looked back into the clearing and was thankful for the darkness under the trees in which he stood. He could use it to his advantage. He saw Voldemort standing above Ron now, as he placed himself in front of Hermione and Ginny, shielding them from Voldemort. The Death Eaters were silent as Voldemort spoke and Harry forced himself to listen.

"Where is your hero now?" Voldemort asked of Ron, who seemed incapable of answering. "Crucio!" Ron began screaming and thrashing around on the ground, his shackles tightening as he moved.

"Harry will come!" Ginny shouted and took Voldemort's attention away from Ron, breaking the thread of the Cruciatus.

"I know he will, child," Voldemort answered. "His love has forever been his weakness."

Harry turned quickly to Trask who was watching Voldemort with a murderous glint in his eye. "Listen quickly, Dermas," Harry said, his voice nothing more than a low whisper. The closest Death Eater was only fifteen feet away. "I've got a -er- plan..."

Trask stared at Harry for a moment. "Whenever you're ready..." he said, raising an eyebrow.

"I want you to walk around the edge of the clearing, stay in the trees so you won't be seen," Harry began. "Get as close as you can to Ron, Hermione and Ginny. You have to get those shackles off of them and then escape into the forest back to Hogwarts."

Dermas stared at Harry again for a long moment and clicked his teeth. "Right..." he said, his forehead settling into a frown. "And while I'm out there eating an Avada Kedavra sandwich," he continued matter of factly. "What will you be doing?"

Harry smiled and shook his head. "I'm going to create a distraction," was all he said.


"Care to elaborate?" Dermas asked, beginning to walk away around the clearing.

"Voldemort wants me," Harry answered. "He's going to get me,"

Once Dermas was out of sight beneath the dark canopy, Harry turned back to Voldemort and took a deep breath. He saw that he was talking to Ginny and he listened closely, waiting for his opportunity. It wasn't until he heard what Voldemort was saying to Ginny, that he threw all caution to the wind and ran through the undergrowth of the forest and out into the clearing.

****

Fifteen Minutes Earlier

Ron shook his head as he worked off the after effects of two stunners to the chest. He felt woozy and slightly sick but he was conscious. He sighed heavily when he saw both Ginny and Hermione still lying next to him in the clearing.

"You awake, Ron?" asked Hermione.

Ron nodded and tried to sit up, but the shackles bit into his skin. "You didn't get very far, Ginny? They didn't hurt you did they?"

Ginny shook her head and for a moment looked utterly defeated. "I made it to the grounds but they stunned me in the back."

"How long was I out?" Ron asked.

Hermione shrugged. "I've only just been revived," she said.

"About half an hour," Ginny told him.

Just then a Death Eater walked passed them and he hissed under his breath. "No talking, the Dark Lord approaches."

Ron shuddered and looked helplessly at Hermione and Ginny. He wished they were not here, he wished it was just him if it had to be anybody. His fear for them grew as he realised they were about to meet Voldemort. The very evil that plagued their world and he was soon going to be here.

Harry had seen him many times, but Ron hadn't once. He had grown up on stories of the terror that Voldemort had wrought upon the world, most of them quite horrific. He had seen enough in his own experiences of the war over the past few years. He knew it was not going to be good.

He looked over to Hermione and Ginny and saw equal fear and nervousness upon their faces. Ron knew he probably looked the same but he was going to do his best to protect them.

He took a deep breath and suppressed a shudder. "Any last minute plans, Hermione?" he asked quietly.

Hermione looked at him with glazed eyes and shook her head. "Not unless you have a wand, Ron."


Ron shook his head. "It'll be all right," he whispered, trying to reassure himself as well. "I'm sure Dumbledore and the Order are on the way...." his voice trailed away to nothing at the end and his gaze was inexplicably drawn to a bunch of trees to his right. Hermione and Ginny also followed him, feeling the urge to look that way.

They waited a long moment and nothing stirred at the trees. Ron vaguely noticed that all the Death Eaters had stopped moving and were also staring at the trees. He frowned, knowing that it was not his own will at work. Something else was forcing him to look into the trees.

The forest was silent. Ron found it unnerving that not even a bird was chirping in the trees. No wind blew. There was absolutely no sound except for heavy breathing coming from Hermione. It was then that Ron felt a wave of piercing cold spread over him and he gasped as the light around the trees he was staring at seemed to dim.

A darker colour than the natural darkness beneath the trees seemed to envelop the small grove and the cold increased. Ron shivered as he saw the foliage and low hanging branches of the trees bend away unnaturally and then heard footsteps hidden in the darkness.

The footsteps approached slowly, with an air of power about them that drained the very air of its warmth. Ron watched as a figure darker than the failing light around the trees could ever be emerged from within the forest.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing had prepared him for the sight that met his eyes. Harry had described it when pushed, but nothing ever came close in Ron's imaginings as to the appearance of Lord Voldemort. He stifled a scream as those merciless red eyes swept over him, filling him with fear.

The Dark Lord was robed in the darkest robes and only his eyes were visible beneath his hood. Hermione watched with an absolute terror as the Death Eaters fell to their knees as he appeared. She had heard her mother give a description of Voldemort after seeing him at Christmas but seeing him for herself terrified her beyond all comprehension. For one brief moment she knew what it felt like to stare pure evil in the face, and have it stare back at you.

Ginny trembled and shook as the creature that had grown up from Tom Riddle entered the clearing. He was hideous. Sunlight seemed to avoid him as he walked, drawing it into a darkness that emanated from him. His eyes were blood red and cut right through her. She trembled again as every story she had ever read or heard about this demon sped through her mind.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny had never been more terrified in all the years they had been alive.

"My Lord," said Lucius Malfoy, approaching Voldemort.

"How go things, Lucius?" Voldemort asked. His voice was like ice.

Malfoy bowed again to the Dark Lord. "News says your Death Eaters have pushed the Aurors as far back as the castle."

Voldemort nodded. "Excellent," he hissed. "And your son? I trust he completed his task satisfactorily."

Lucius Malfoy nodded quickly and motioned behind him. Ron watched as Draco Malfoy appeared from under the bows of the trees to his left. He walked over to his father and bowed low when he came to Voldemort. "He has not only brought the Weasley girl, my Lord," Lucius said as Draco rose. "But also Potter's closest friends." Malfoy then motioned to the three tightly bound forms of Ron, Hermione and Ginny across the clearing.

"Fortunate," Voldemort said quietly. "Well done, Master Malfoy," he hissed, looking Draco in the eyes. "Though I expect nothing less from those in my service. You shall receive your Mark when our work here is done."

Draco could not hold Voldemort's gaze for long. He looked down to the ground as he spoke. "Thank you, my Lord," he said without any hesitation.

Voldemort nodded and turned away from both Malfoys. "Bring our guests," he called to the Death Eaters closest to Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

Ron did not try to struggle as he was levitated over to the ground beneath Voldemort. He did nothing but stare at the Dark Lord, his fear growing to absolute terror. Hermione and Ginny were likewise silent as they were dropped at the feet of the demon.

Ginny looked defiantly into Voldemort's eyes, using every ounce of courage she possessed not to look away. Ron and Hermione did the same.

"Such defiance in three so young," Voldemort mused, twirling his wand in his hands.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny remained silent as Voldemort walked around them. The Death Eaters had moved in closer around them as well, standing at strategic points around the clearing.

"Not speaking, I see," Voldemort said, looking at Ron. "If Potter were here I would expect some last minute bravado to say the least."

"Harry will be here," Ron said, feeling brave for a moment.

Voldemort's eyes pierced through him, it was all Ron could see of his face. "Indeed," he whispered. "He will come to his death."

"No..." Ron shot back. He felt that if he was going to die he was not going out quietly. "He will come to destroy you."

Voldemort simply laughed as Hermione and Ginny gasped. "Crucio!"

Ron felt pain beyond pain. His very bones were on fire as his nerve endings exploded and his skin boiled. It was everything Harry and Moody had described and so much worse at the same time. He wanted nothing more than for it to stop. He would have welcomed death over the searing pain now ripping through him.

Hermione stifled a cry as Ron writhed in pain on the ground. After what felt like an eternity, Voldemort broke the connection and left Ron gasping for breath.

Voldemort was laughing again. It was a cold laugh, full of hate and malice. "You will die first after Potter, Weasley," the Dark Lord said. "And it will not be painless."

Ron seemed incapable of speaking as he shuddered violently from the after effects of the Cruciatus. The Death Eaters around the circle were laughing as well and the sound of it cut right through Hermione.

"Harry will defeat you," she spat, anger in her own voice. "He has more power than you'll ever-"

"Crucio!" Voldemort cried again for the second time that afternoon. Hermione instantly fell back and began to scream in absolute agony. This roused Ron and he struggled to put himself in front of the curse, in an effort to stop Hermione's pain.

"Stop it," Ron said desperately. "STOP IT!" he shouted.

"Where is your hero now?" Voldemort asked of Ron, breaking the connection with Hermione. "Crucio!" Ron again screamed and thrashed on the ground, his shackles tightening as he moved.

"Harry will come!" Ginny shouted, diverting Voldemort's attention from Ron, breaking the thread of the Cruciatus again.

"I know he will, child," Voldemort answered. "His love has forever been his weakness."

Ginny paled and squirmed under Voldemort's murderous glare. "Did you think you and Potter could hide it from me?" Voldemort questioned. "I see everything in his worthless mind. We are connected by magic so deep that it truly runs beyond this world."

"I-" began Ginny.

"I felt his love for you," Voldemort hissed. "My Death Eaters confirmed it. Your fate was sealed the moment you came together."

Ron tried to speak but all that came out was a deep groan. Ginny spoke for him. "That doesn't matter," she said quickly. "He'll save us and destroy you!"

Voldemort merely smiled, and his eyes narrowed. There was something in the way he glared that made Ron, Hermione and Ginny feel absolutely terrified. It was something they had never seen before; it was the glint of a madman. Ginny blanched under that gaze and realised all too late that this was happening too fast.

"He'll save you?" Voldemort repeated, clenching his wand hard, the end pointed at Ginny. "Perhaps there will be nothing to save..."

"What-" Hermione tried to speak but she was cut off.

Voldemort smiled mercilessly, though nobody saw it from underneath the darkness of his hood. "I believe, Ginevra Weasley," Voldemort hissed. "That young Mr. Potter will be joining us shortly. Your hero will come, and expect to find you alive as bargaining chips in our ever growing battle."

Ginny felt her blood run cold as Voldemort turned those murderous eyes to Ron and then Hermione and then finally back to her. "He'll come..." she whispered to herself.

"However," Voldemort continued. "I believe I may need to do something much more drastic to draw our hero out." The Dark Lord's face lit up with a smile and he slowly lowered his hood to the three captive friends. They all gasped in terror at the snake like face before them. "I'm going to kill you," he hissed dangerously, and there was no lie in his voice. "I'm going to kill you... and Harry Potter, will come."

And with that, Voldemort stood up to his full height and pointed his wand directly between Ginny's eyes. Ginny saw the spell forming on his lips and she closed her eyes as Ron struggled frantically to move in front of her. Harry she thought. I'm sorry.

****

Once Dermas was out of sight beneath the dark canopy, Harry turned back to Voldemort and took a deep breath. He saw that he was talking to Ginny and he listened closely, waiting for his opportunity. It wasn't until he heard what Voldemort was saying to Ginny, that he threw all caution to the wind and ran through the undergrowth of the forest and out into the clearing.

Harry ran out with no other thought in his mind other than to stop Voldemort. He had heard what was said, and for one terrifying moment he thought he was going to be too late. "VOLDEMORT!" he shouted as he saw the words forming on his enemy's lips. "I'm here..."

Voldemort and the Death Eaters turned so fast that Harry almost did not see it. He could tell that they were surprised, as many were now fumbling for their wands. Voldemort wasn't though; he had his wand trained on Harry immediately.

"Potter," Voldemort spat. "Just in time."

"Let them go, Voldemort," Harry said, his eyes flicking from Voldemort to the Death Eaters and then finally to his friends. "This has always been between you and me."

"I think not, Harry," Voldemort replied. "You come alone, boy?"

"I came for my friends," Harry said strongly.

Taking a few steps forward, Harry looked Ginny in the eyes and tried to tell her with his that everything was going to be all right.

"Very well, Harry,' Voldemort hissed quietly. "Surrender your wand and they may go."

Harry shook his head. "Don't have a wand," he said simply.

Voldemort blinked and was immediately on his guard. "Lucius," he said cautiously and nodded towards Harry.

Lucius Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry. "Expelliarmus," he said. Nothing happened. "Accio Wand" Again nothing.

Harry shook his head. They could see that he was not hiding a wand, not anywhere in the burnt and bloodstained tattered white polo shirt that hung loosely to his frame, over the dragon armour chest piece. His jeans were torn and bloody as well, there was no wand.

"You came before me unarmed, Harry?" Voldemort hissed with cruel laughter.

Harry did not move, he didn't give any sign that he had heard Voldemort. Truth be told, he was trying to see if he could find Dermas in the trees. His mind raced on forming a plan to get everyone out of this situation alive. He could think of nothing accept distracting Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and that meant duelling them.

I can't fight them all! his mind screamed at him. I can bloody well try, he reasoned right back.

Harry took a deep breath and looked deep into the eyes of his enemy. The snake like demon stared back strongly. "Let's end this, Voldemort," he said, his voice held no emotion until he looked down to his friends. "Ron, Hermione, Ginny," he added. "I'm sorry..."

"Harry-" Ginny began but was cut off as Voldemort cast a silencing charm over the three of them.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed. "Let us duel!"

Harry nodded. "Move them out of the way," he motioned to his friends.

"Very well," Voldemort said, and began walking towards Harry. As he went a quick flick of his wand sent Ron, Hermione and Ginny floating roughly across the clearing and coming to rest near the edge of the trees. "Watch them," Voldemort called to his Death Eaters.

Harry began to breathe heavily with nerves. He knew this duel was probably going to hurt. He knew he was going to have to use everything he had learned over the years. He knew he had to provide enough time for Dermas to get his friends out of here.

Voldemort stopped walking when he was about fifteen feet away from Harry and raised his wand ominously. "Bow to Death, Harry," he whispered and fell into a mock bow himself, although his eyes never left Harry.

Neither moved. The silence in the clearing was absolute as these two stared each other down. Two wizards, both possessed of awesome, almost unmatched power. Voldemort had a more extensive knowledge of curses and dark magic, Harry knew this but he also knew he could be faster if he concentrated.

It was Voldemort who struck first. "Carnis Sumptum," he cried, his wand swinging down in an arc of fire that ripped through the air towards Harry.

Harry saw it coming and braced himself. He didn't move until the purple fire was almost upon him. At the last moment he took a step back and raised his hand in front of him, a white orb of magic in his palm. The purple fire hit his raised palm and with a cry Harry pushed it back and both spells exploded in the air. A shower of sparks fell over the clearing, purples and whites that were reflected in Harry's eyes.

Harry was quick to respond after that. "Aduro!" he said, bitterly hot flames jumping from his own hand and roaring over the clearing to Voldemort.

A brief second later and Voldemort deflected them with a dark spell. Harry side-stepped to the left and avoided contact with the rebounded spell. Voldemort did not waste time. "Congelo!" the Dark Lord fired a freezing curse.

Harry ducked and felt the cold of the spell rush over his head; ruffling his hair and making him shiver. He noticed the Death Eaters watching the duel silently, and his friends with regret etched on their faces. There was no sign of Dermas.

"Vestic!" Harry stood and shot. The purple light of death rocketed through the air, making a deep throbbing sound as it connected with Voldemort's shield, a shield Harry had not even seen him raise.

Voldemort smiled. "You know, Harry," he said, as both hero and villain walked separate ways around the clearing. They kept the distance between them equal, but neither was going to lose a shot at the other. "You are the only one who has ever fired a curse designed to kill at me."

"It's a pity I missed," Harry replied, bringing his own shield into existence in a haze of blue light.

"Indeed," Voldemort sneered, his eyes blazing with hate and fury. "Crucio!"

Harry took a deep breath and dodged the curse expertly, his shield taking the brunt of it. "Incendio!" he returned his own curse, a hot wave of fire flowing like a river through the air towards Voldemort.

It missed as Voldemort moved with lightning fast agility, his wand already pointed back at Harry before the curse had fully passed. "Abrumpo Caput!"

Harry, not knowing this curse, did not attempt to block it. Instead he fell hard to the ground, the blood red light skimming over his cheek as he pressed into the ground. Voldemort fired another curse quickly and Harry only just got to his feet as the ground exploded in dirt and icy grass around him, small rocks cutting his skin as they were propelled into the air.

"Expelliarmus!" he cried hopefully, but the spell was reflected off of Voldemort's shield.

Harry sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow, his eyes flicked from Voldemort to Ginny and he wondered where the hell Dermas was. It was then that he saw him. He was crouched behind a tree roughly four feet away from the back of Hermione, unnoticed by the Death Eaters engrossed in the duel. Harry hoped he had a plan.

"REDUCTO!" Harry bellowed not at Voldemort but at the ground around him. A dust cloud erupted where the curse hit and dirt was thrown high into the air. It hid him from Voldemort for only a few seconds but Harry used those seconds well. He ran towards Voldemort, palms raised in defence, a curse already forming on his lips.

"Cusindeo!" he fired twice, once from both hands. Two equal streams of bone breaking light pelted towards the Dark Lord, who threw himself out of the way.

The Death Eaters angrily moved forward as Harry advanced but Voldemort waved them back. "I am impressed, Harry," Voldemort conceded halting Harry. "You have grown much since we last fought in Hogsmeade."

"You killed hundreds," Harry spat angrily. "At Beauxbatons, today in Hogsmeade. I've grown to kill you!"

Voldemort's face split into that patronising snake-like grin. "Harry," he said, his wand pointed directly at his heart. "Your power is nothing against mine. You will die today."

Harry frowned and his hate for Voldemort was evident in his eyes. "I'm not afraid to die," he said truthfully. "You're the one who fears death."

Voldemort scowled, bringing his wand down in a sweeping arc. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" he cried.

Harry's eyes widened. The curse had been fast. His instincts taking over, he threw himself as far as he could to the left, hitting the ground, knocking his breath out of him. He felt the cool curse of death pass only inches above his head. This provided Voldemort with the opportunity for which he had been waiting.

With a flick of his wand he brought Harry to his feet and bound his body in mid air. Harry was stuck half a foot off of the ground, unable to move anything but his head. His arms were strapped tightly to his sides and his hands were balled into fists. He could not do wandless magic. He had been caught.

"You are beaten, Harry," Voldemort gloated. "What now, hero?"

Harry stared into the eyes of his mortal enemy and despite his predicament he smiled. "Nothing, Tom," he said simply. "Nothing...." Harry then looked past Voldemort and over to the Death Eaters.

Voldemort followed his gaze and it took him a moment to realise what Harry was looking at. He was looking at nothing. "FOOLS!" Voldemort cried in anger. "You have let them escape."

The Death Eaters turned in horror to the spot on the ground where Ron, Hermione and Ginny had sat only moments before. It was indeed empty. How or where they had gotten to was anybody's guess. Dermas had succeeded. Harry could work unencumbered by concern for their safety.

Harry, still suspended in the air, laughed. Voldemort turned back to him angrily. "DIFFINDO," the Dark Lord cried mercilessly.

Harry stopped laughing and gritted his teeth as a deep six inch long gash appeared on the inside of his right forearm. It began to bleed heavily but Harry did not care. He had saved his friends lives, and now could work to save his own.

"You did not come alone, Potter?" Voldemort spat.

Harry did not give anything away. His arm bled heavily but he could not move it or cast a charm to heal it in his current state. "My friends are very resilient, Tom," Harry said emotionlessly.

"They will die sooner or later," Voldemort hissed, waving his hand dismissively. Harry noticed that Voldemort did not approach him, even in his helpless state. The masked Death Eaters observed silently. He saw Draco Malfoy watching the scene with a sneer on his face.

"You'll never touch them," Harry replied forcefully.

Voldemort laughed and this was the queue for the Death Eaters to do the same. "Harry," Voldemort mused, shaking his head and taking a few steps closer to him. "You duelled me and through your courage and resilience you have spared the lives of your friends. Once again," he sneered, "you are, to the people of this world, a hero."

Harry saw the glint in Voldemort's eye and the murderous smile as he clenched his wand tightly. "But your victory will not last. For you are about to discover what happens to heroes." A truly hideous smile spread across the face of the demon. "You are about to die, Harry, but not before you witness the destruction of Hogwarts castle."

Harry blinked and frowned. "You'll never get past the wards," he said without any hesitation.

"Perhaps not. But I do not intend to..." Voldemort replied cryptically, and moved closer to Harry as the Death Eaters formed a tight circle around them.

Voldemort was standing face to face with Harry who still hung suspended half a foot off the ground. Slowly, Voldemort reached out and traced his finger down Harry's lightning bolt shaped scar.

Harry cried out in true pain and thrashed his head around wildly, as it died down to a harsh burning. Voldemort and the Death Eaters were laughing as Harry regained his senses.

"Alas, Harry," Voldemort said. "We must proceed with today's events. I fear the escape of your friends may bring some unwanted company all too soon."

Harry trembled and breathed heavily as blood from his scar streamed down into his right eye. "What are you going to do?" he asked breathlessly.

Voldemort seemed to hesitate for a moment but in the end he spoke. "Did you ever wonder how I destroyed the wards around your Muggle home last September?" he asked.

Harry, remembering how Voldemort had killed his last family members, snarled "How did you do it?"

Voldemort waved his hand dismissively. "Ancient magic, Harry, ancient magic. In fact there is no older magic than that which I now possess."

Harry did not say anything but a cold feeling had begun to develop in the pit of his stomach. He felt the anticipation in the clearing, in the very air. Something very bad was going to happen. "What are you talking about?" Harry finally spoke.

"Patience, Harry," Voldemort smiled. "Patience...."

****

Five Minutes Earlier

Dermas moved silently through the undergrowth in the forest, trying not to step on anything that could give him away. He moved as quickly as he dared, as he could hear Harry duelling for his life just beyond the next tree.

Trask shook his head and smiled as he rounded a tree and saw the bound forms of Ron, Hermione and Ginny only four feet away. Harry had tricked Voldemort into moving them here, and he would lose them for that. Stealthily, Dermas approached Hermione from behind. He had seen Voldemort silence them so he did not have to worry about them making any noise. He tapped Hermione on the shoulder.

Hermione turned so fast Dermas had to duck as she swung her arms at him. It only took her a moment to recognise him as a friend. Trask raised a finger to his lips, telling her to make as little noise as possible. The nearest Death Eater stood just three feet in front of Ron, but was totally engrossed in the duel between Voldemort and Harry.

"Deliquesco!" Trask whispered, his wand resting on the shackles around Hermione's ankles. The bindings vanished and he quickly did the same for her wrists.

Now that she was free, Hermione tapped Ginny on her shoulder in front of her and drew her attention away from the fight. As Ginny turned so did Ron, and five seconds later they were both free of their manacles.

"Into the trees," Dermas whispered, his voice only just reaching the three of them. "Into the trees, now."

The four of them quietly backed away from the clearing, the Death Eaters, Voldemort and Harry none the wiser. It was not until they were far back under the dark canopy of trees that they spoke.

"We can't leave, Harry," Ginny said strongly, rubbing the burnt and bruised flesh around her wrists. Those chains had tightened immensely, and had cut into her skin. Ron and Hermione shared equal wounds.

"Harry can look after himself," Dermas replied. He did not know these three teenagers well, but he knew their importance to Harry. "You'll just be a distraction, and that is not what he needs right now."

Ron and Hermione seemed to be of different minds. Ron insisted in going to Harry's aide, but Hermione wanted reinforcements. "We have to get Dumbledore and the Order," she said. "Why didn't they come with you?" she asked.

Trask shook his head and looked back through the darkness of the trees to where he knew Harry was. "Dumbledore and most of the Order are fighting for Hogwarts at its very gates,' Dermas replied truthfully. "Harry knew you had been taken, but he was waiting for Voldemort to make contact. We had no idea where you were."

"How did you find us?" asked Ron.

Dermas turned to face him. "Harry found you actually. He somehow knew where to find you in the forest."

"That's why we can't leave him," Ginny repeated strenuously. "He can't die..."

"Thinks about what you're saying," Trask replied, picking up a stone from the icy ground. "You have no wands. You'll just get in Harry's way."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Portus!" Trask whispered, turning the stone in his hands into a Portkey, destination Hogwarts. "I mean," he added, turning to Hermione. "That Harry has his job to do, and we have ours. Hold this!"

Ron and Hermione both put a hand on the offered stone but Ginny hesitated. "He is going to try and kill You-Know-Who, isn't he?"

Trask sighed and put the Portkey in Hermione's hands. "Grab the key, Ginny," he said. "We can't help Harry now...."

"No!" Ginny said quickly, turning back the way they had come and breaking into a run.

"Damn it," Trask whispered under his breath, turning back just in time to see Ron and Hermione break into their own runs. "No," he breathed, pointing his wand at the Portkey still clenched in Hermione's hand. "Activate!" he cried, and two seconds later both Ron and Hermione had shimmered away, linked once again by their hands.

Not wasting another second and wanting to get to her before she did something foolish, Trask turned and ran after Ginny, stumbling through the darkness of the forest. He found her standing just under the protective shadow of a tree near the edge of the clearing. He came up next to her silently and looked out into the clearing at Voldemort and Harry.

Harry was suspended in the air and the Death Eaters had formed a circle around both him and Voldemort. Trask could only see the back of the Dark Lord but he saw the anger and hate on Harry's face. This was going to get really nasty Trask thought nervously. Harry was in real trouble.

"We have to help him," whispered Ginny. "We can't leave him like this."

Trask only nodded.

****

"Ready to meet death, Harry?" Voldemort questioned, his eyes alight with excitement.

"More than ready," Harry replied stoically.

Voldemort laughed and turned to his Death Eaters. He spoke with his back turned to Harry. "Do you know what day it is, Harry?" he asked. "What the significance of March the 20th is?"

Harry frowned and winced as his jaw began to ache again. It meant the quick heal spell was dissipating. He looked quickly around the clearing, searching for a way out. He didn't see one. "March 20th? No?"

Voldemort turned back around to face him and for a moment Harry saw a face that truly terrified him. It was the face of someone who was sure they had won, someone who was about to. "Today is the Vernal Equinox, Harry. Exactly twelve hours of sunlight and moonlight respectively. Great magic can be performed on such days and only such days."

"What's your point?" Harry asked, anger and hate in his voice, though it didn't match that in Voldemort's eyes.

"Blood magic has always been the deepest in our world. Blood binds us, Harry, and blood can destroy Hogwarts castle."

And it was then that it happened. Harry was powerless to prevent it, powerless to stop it. Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it directly towards the sky. Harry knew he had to be stopped but there was nothing he could do. He watched words begin to form on Voldemort's lips and he knew this was not going to be good.

The world was silent as Harry and the Death Eaters alike, waited for whatever end was coming. When Voldemort spoke the strength in his words was so much that the air vibrated and they resounded off of every tree, every rock for miles around.

"TEMPUS AC CAPACITAS!"

What happened next, Harry would remember for the rest of his life. All was completely an utterly silent for a long moment, and then a great and powerful roar erupted from the end of Voldemort's wand, with a blinding white light.

The light shot high into the heavens and reached the very clouds, lighting the area for miles around. Wave upon wave of power emanated from the light and the Death Eaters struggled to remain standing. Loose rocks and dirt from around the clearing were blown forcefully away.

Forcing himself to look, Harry saw that Voldemort remained unaffected by the gusting winds and the amazing light. There was a clap like thunder and several bright blue flashes lit the sky like lightning, but there were no storm clouds.

Harry felt the warmth flee the clearing, replaced with bitter cold. The beam of swirling white light from Voldemort's wand turned a blood red and Harry saw the Dark Lord place his free hand on the point of his wand. Harry realised Voldemort was adding his own blood to the spell. Blood magic Harry thought. This was Voldemort's blood magic!

An unearthly scream assaulted Harry's ears and the ground shook beneath him. Leaves, rocks, debris and ice were thrown around him and his eyes widened as the red beam began to gather itself above the tip of Voldemort's wand, like a giant red sphere hanging in the air. It swirled and bubbled, the deep roar emanating from within.

Harry saw that the Death Eaters had all retreated behind him and, apart from Voldemort who was unaffected by the spell, Harry was closest to the growing red sphere of blood magic. "VOLDEMORT!" he shouted over the roars and screams as the magic seethed in the air. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

Harry's shouts died on the wind as all at once the magical screams ceased, and all grew quiet once again. The spinning ball of red magic hanging in the air had almost slowed to a stop and Harry found himself desperately hoping that whatever it was hadn't worked. Though deep down he knew he wasn't that lucky.

His eyes remained fixed on the pulsating globe of magic suspended in the air. He could feel the power emanating from it. It was the only source of heat in the area. The wind and all else seemed to have died. It took Harry a moment to realise that Voldemort was staring at him, and when he did he felt himself fall from the sky and land hard on the freezing ground.

"It is done, Harry Potter," Voldemort said way too calmly. "Hogwarts will fall, and with it, the world. You have failed all who placed hope in you, all who called you, saviour."

Harry gasped for breath and struggled to stand. He saw Voldemort standing barely six feet away, a red shadow cast upon him from the growing magic above his head. "What is it?" he cried.

"Death, Harry," hissed the Dark Lord. "It is the end of this world, and the beginning of mine."

Harry's anger was so intense that it blinded him to all else and all he saw were two red eyes staring back at him, mocking him and his efforts. Voldemort's snake-like voice filled his mind and Harry found his body tingling with raw, pure magic.

"Sacrifice, Harry," Voldemort hissed, his voice full of malice. "The blood magic demands sacrifice!"

Those watching Harry were taken back at the look of pure hatred on his face. He looked so different from the Harry everyone was used to. His mind was set and with a roar that no one expected, Harry rose from the floor in the blink of an eye and rushed at Voldemort, his left arm coming up fast.

Harry ran, and as he did he raised his left arm high above his head and called for the sword he knew resided just out of sight. It appeared in his raised hand as a spike of pure silver and the glowing sphere of red light was reflected in the long blade of the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

Harry covered the distance to Voldemort in less than two seconds and with another cry he plunged the sword down towards the Dark Lord's face, aiming to kill as the world was silent and magic frothed overhead. For his part, Voldemort did not even move as the blade fell towards him, did not even flinch. It became apparent why a moment later as the blade was caught in an invisible force just short of Voldemort's face, and Harry almost fell back from the protective wall surrounding his enemy.

Harry's eyes widened in momentary surprise and it was that that almost cost him everything. Moving with an unbelievable speed, Voldemort pulled Harry's sword from the air and turned it around in his own skeletal hands. Harry gasped.

Mercilessly, Voldemort thrust the sword downward into Harry's chest. Harry was wearing the strongest dragon armour money could buy. It could stop a variety of curses and prevent most blades from piercing him... but not this blade. The magic in the sword of Godric Gryffindor was over one thousand years old and as such was much stronger than dragon hide. The blade shredded the armour and pierced Harry's flesh.

Harry cried out in pain. Voldemort had taken his own blade and pierced him high in his right shoulder, just below the collarbone. He was blinded by the pain and it was at this moment that Ginny ran out from her hiding place in the trees, Dermas following quickly behind her.

They both saw that the blade protruded a good nine inches down out of Harry's back. The length of silver slick with dripping blood. His right arm now hung useless by his side as he fell to his knees at Voldemort's feet. Ginny gasped and covered her mouth in horror as Voldemort ruthlessly twisted the blade in his flesh. Harry cried out desperately and his voice broke into a hoarse whisper as his face was twisted in a grimace of unbelievable pain. Blood gushed from the wound and down his chest, arm, back and dragon armour.

"The bitter end, Harry..." Voldemort whispered and all in the clearing held their breath as Harry clenched his teeth and tried to speak.

When he did, his voice was even, cold and surprisingly steady for a man who had a sword stuck through his chest. "I am going to kill you!" was all he said.

Voldemort laughed.... he merely laughed. He was still holding the ruby-encrusted handle of Gryffindor's sword as he twisted it into the prostrate Harry before him. After a short moment Voldemort smiled. "Not in this life, Harry. Farewell!"

Then as Dermas pulled Ginny back as she rushed forward towards Harry, and the Death Eaters began closing in again, Voldemort pulled the blade upwards and through Harry's flesh below his collarbone, driving it up and cutting through the bone and armour before it came out just to the right of his neck.

Harry screamed and the instant he was no longer impaled on the sword he fell backwards and everything grew black. He saw spots on his vision as unconsciousness threatened to claim him. He could vaguely see the glowing sphere of magic but his mind had trouble comprehending what he was actually seeing as the relentless numbing pain in his torn shoulder took hold. Blood gushed from the wound and Harry paled.

With the world darkening around him, and a feeling in his chest colder than a Dementor could ever be, Harry felt, achingly, that he had lived a very, very long time. Too long.... He felt detached to what was happening in the world around him. Voldemort's words came back to haunt him as the cold feeling increased, like an icy grip on his heart.

This is what happens to heroes....

Harry coughed and rolled over, still feeling the blood rushing from his pierced shoulder. It wasn't right he thought in some corner of his mind that was still coherent. He can't win, that shouldn't happen.

He had come too far to lose now. He had seen too many good people die and it would all be for naught if he joined them now. Though Harry knew he was dying. The amount of blood he was losing from his mortal wound was enough for him to realise that.

In the farthest consciousness of his mind, a part that still belonged to the real world, the waking world, Harry heard a familiar voice calling out his name and he also heard the voice of the demon.

****

Ginny watched Harry fall to the ground in a bloody arc that he did not get back up from. Her heart screamed out to him as Dermas Trask held her back from rushing to his side. All the while her mind shouted at her that this is not happening.

This can't be happening, she thought as she panted heavily. Harry... he can't be dying.

He's Harry, Harry wins. Harry destroys basilisks and dispels hundreds of Dementors. He

faces down impossible foes that would have left anyone else shaking in terror and he beats them! Ginny felt herself fall to her knees but she could not care. He doesn't end like this...

Dermas watched Harry fall off of the sword in a numb terror. For all he had taught Harry of the blade it had not been enough, and now he was either dying or dead on the ground at Voldemort's feet. And the hope of the world was dying with him Trask realised devastatingly.

"NO!" he cried. "HARRY!"

This was not a smart thing to do. Voldemort turned on his heel and smiled when his cold gaze fell upon Dermas and Ginny. Throwing Harry's sword aside carelessly, Voldemort advanced. Dermas noticed he and the Death Eaters begin to move towards them and he tried to pull Ginny up to escape. But she seemed too shocked to do anything as she beheld Harry's fallen and broken form.

So Dermas did the next best thing he could think of. He moved in front of Ginny and raised his wand at Voldemort. He shook slightly as the Dark Lord approached but he was determined to show no fear. His eyes moved from Voldemort, to the dozen Death Eaters, to Harry and then finally up to the sphere of magic in the sky before resting on Voldemort again.

Voldemort stopped advancing eight feet away from Trask and the Death Eaters kept their distance on the far side of the clearing, they were closer to Harry than anything else. "Who are you?" Voldemort asked him as Ginny managed to stand behind him, fury and hard tears evident in her eyes.

"My name is Dermas Trask," he answered Voldemort. Anything to stall for time while he worked out what the hell he was going to do.

"And why are you here?" Voldemort really wanted to know. He could not understand why they had come back.

Dermas opened his mouth to speak but Ginny pushed past him and now stood before him. "We came for Harry," Ginny cried, tears streaming down her face as Voldemort's gaze fell upon her.

"Harry is dead, my dear," Voldemort hissed wickedly.

"No..." Ginny breathed. "We love him. He will live."

Voldemort frowned and became deathly silent before, after a long moment where nothing but the red magic suspended in the air moved, he spoke. "Love..." he scoffed. "Why? Love is a weakness. Love has cost Mr. Potter his life."

Ginny shook her head. "GET UP, HARRY!" she called hopefully, desperately and tearfully. "Don't die...."

"He can't hear you," Voldemort smiled. "He has passed into another world."

"HE HASN'T," she screamed, showing no fear of Lord Voldemort. All that mattered to her now was that Harry got up. All that mattered was that Harry lived.


Voldemort's red eyes blazed in anger and he took a few steps forward and with a wave of his wand, Ginny was forced to her knees and Dermas was thrown back against a tree. He hit his head hard and was unconscious instantly.

"Tell me, child," Voldemort growled, raising his voice. "Are you willing to die for your love?" As he said this he brought his wand between her eyes, his threat all too real.

Ginny stared at the tip of the wand in front of her. It was this wand that had caused hundreds, if not thousands of deaths throughout the world. It was this wand that might claim her own life depending on her answer to Voldemort's question. Would I die for Harry's love? She questioned of herself.

Looking up into Voldemort's face Ginny gave her answer. "I would die for him," she managed, giving one final look at Harry's bloodied and battered form lying twenty feet away. "As Harry would for the world, I would for Harry...."

Voldemort shook his head. "Very well," he hissed. "You will join you saviour. You will die for your love. AVADA..."

****

In the farthest consciousness of his mind, a part that still belonged to the real world, the waking world, Harry heard a familiar voice calling out his name, and he also heard the voice of the demon.

"I would die for him... As Harry would for the world, I would for Harry...."

Harry blinked and for a moment he saw the glowing sphere of magic hovering above him in the sky. It faded again but he had recognised that voice. That was Ginny, his Ginny. Ginny whom he had loved and had her love returned. Love that was built of the foundation of five years of friendship. He felt the icy grip of death fall from his heart and the warm, unmistakable feeling of love take its place.

"Very well. You will join your saviour. You will die for your love. AVADA..."

What happened next happened so fast that no one saw it happen until it was over. Harry felt more than heard that Voldemort was about to kill Ginny, and it was this that brought him back out of the very clutches of death. He felt the icy grip of death fall from his heart and a fabulous, warm, unmistakable feeling of love take its place.

His pure magic exploded inside of him like fireworks in a sparkling night sky and he felt it seeping into every part of his body. The pain in his shoulder was forgotten and the blood had stopped flowing. He was lying in a pool of it, but for now it had stopped flowing. And then, as the magic was finally released and he had a full and complete understanding of it, Harry knew without a doubt what he had to do. A thousand images of Ginny from the past year flew through his mind and Harry remembered in particular the prediction Firenze had made that the woman he loved would die.

God willing, he was about to change that!

To all watchful eyes Harry appeared dead on the ground that was soaked red with his blood. But inside he had never been more alive. And as Voldemort began the final word of the Killing curse, Harry disappeared from his place on the ground, and reappeared twenty feet away.

Ginny stared at the glowing green tip of Voldemort's wand a few feet away. She knew he was about to kill her and she also knew that she could not stop it. Voldemort had killed Harry and now she was going to join him. She heard the first word of the most unforgivable of curses and braced herself against the end.

She looked stoically up at Voldemort, she was not going to go out screaming. She would not give the creature in front of her that pleasure. Nothing could stop it now death was coming for her. It was at that moment that he appeared.

Instantly and completely unexpectedly, Harry appeared on the ground before her, standing with his back to Voldemort who was half way through the final word of the curse of death, such was the speed in which the mind worked. . In the infinitesimal millisecond left Ginny's mind assessed Harry in front of her.

He was smiling down at her reassuringly, but he looked different. The closest she could come to describing it was that he seemed to be glowing. Not glowing exactly, but pure white magic was streaming on his skin and through his eyes and hair. It ran across the grievous wound in his shoulder and shone on his teeth. His hair and clothes were moving though there was no wind, and the green in his eyes was brought to life so amazingly by the pure magic that they sparkled as if they were on fire.

It was then that time caught up with them. Harry turned faster than Ginny could see and was facing Voldemort as the Killing Curse was finally spoken.

Briefly Ginny saw the surprise in Voldemort's eyes just as the curse was released. "...KEDAVRA!"

The green light of death shot forth from Voldemort's wand as it had done so many times before. Ginny's eyes widened as she released that Harry was going to take the curse full-blown in the chest. "NO-" she cried but it was too late.

Harry stood before her and took the green light in the chest and face. He was not thrown backwards, but he slowly fell back and his head landed softly in Ginny's lap where she sat on the ground. Neither Ginny nor Voldemort moved as the green light passed and Harry's eyes stared up into the sky.

A bright white light shot out of his chest and snapped up into the air, crackling with raw power. A modicum of Harry's pure magic survived. The magic sparkled in the air and left its master's body. It had been a protective shield stronger than anything that had gone before it. It had protected Harry against even the evil that was the Avada Kedavra.

The raw pure magic hung in the air for a moment in between the fallen form of Harry and the standing shocked form of Lord Voldemort. And then suddenly it cracked forward like a whip and smacked into Voldemort's chest.

The Dark Lord shrieked with an unholy scream and he fell to the cold ground. Writhing in pain he screamed and thrashed as the pure magic assaulted him, piercing him. It cut into his blood and seeped into his body, forcing its way in.

Voldemort rolled and blood fell from his eyes as the pure magic did whatever it was it was doing. The Death Eaters had begun moving to help their Master but they could do nothing now. Voldemort had only ever felt this much pain once. It had been when his own Killing curse had ripped him from his body that fateful Halloween night so many years ago. This was different though. He could feel this white magic becoming a part of him as he fought for control over the pain.

He was breathing heavily and shrieking when he felt something in his mind. Voldemort's screams turned into a snarl as he recognised Potter in his mind. The boy was still alive, and the connection between them was stronger now than ever before. Voldemort knew that if he spoke Potter could hear him, so he did.

"This is far from over, Potter," Voldemort spoke with his mind. Only Harry heard him.

Voldemort heard nothing in response but he could feel the light in his mind that was Harry and he knew that he had been heard. It was then that Harry's voice filled his own head.

"You stay away," Harry whispered, his voice bouncing and resounding in every corner of Voldemort's mind. "Stay away from those I love."

And that was all that was spoken. Voldemort screamed a final time as the white magic finally permeated his body and weakened him beyond all belief. Wearily and angrily, he reached into his pocket and grasped a Portkey hidden within the folds of his dark robes. "Activate," he hissed, and Ginny and the Death Eaters watched as he shimmered away to nothing.

The sphere of red blood magic still hung ominously in the air and the Death Eaters looked from that, to Ginny and Harry and finally to where their Master had been only moments before. Then all at once they grasped at their left forearms as their Marks burned viciously. They were being summoned to Voldemort's aid.

As one, with Draco Malfoy guided by his father, the Death Eaters Disapparated from the clearing. All that were left now were Ginny, Harry in her lap and Dermas with his head bleeding against a tree.

Ginny watched the Death Eaters as they Disapparated and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. It was then that she looked down to what she thought was the lifeless form of Harry in her lap and the tears fell anew from her eyes.

She cradled his head in her hands and brought it up to her chest, holding him for dear life and sanity. She looked down into his face and saw his eyelids heavily closed and his right one crusted over with blood from his scar. Her eyes travelled down to his arm and she saw a deep gash on his forearm before she gazed at the wound in his shoulder. She gasped at the amount of blood on his tattered shirt and jeans and ruined dragon armour.

The cut in his shoulder had clogged with congealed blood but it was still horrendous to look at. She cried out loud and gazed up at the red ball of light, noticing that it had started to spin but she did not care now. Harry had died for her; he had taken the Killing curse and-

"Ginny..." croaked a sore and utterly defeated voice from within her arms.

Ginny gasped and almost dropped Harry out of her lap as he spoke. She looked down into his face and saw that he had opened his left eye and was staring at her. She was amazed that after all he had just been through that he was alive, and was even more amazed that he had managed to keep his glasses intact.

"Harry..." she replied just as hoarse, disbelief in her eyes. No one could have survived what he had just been through. It was impossible.

Harry coughed and spat up some blood as he did. "How'd I do?" he asked, trying to smile.

Ginny smiled and even more tears fell as she now held on to Harry strongly. "You... You're alive,' was all she could say.

"Should I not be?" he coughed. He managed a smile this time.

"Oh, Harry," she replied, crying and laughing at the same time. She brushed his hair back out of the blood on his forehead. "You survived the curse again!"

Harry breathed in heavily and winced as he tried to move his useless arm. "I know," he whispered. But Voldemort got some of my pure magic for it...

"And Voldemort and the Death Eaters are gone," Ginny continued happily. "You won, Harry. We won...."

Despite it all Harry laughed slightly. He had continued to live; he had beaten Voldemort and death again. "I think we should get back to-" he began but was cut of as a tremendous bang erupted close by.

Ginny was thrown back against the ground and Harry held onto her with his good hand as he turned to see the source of the explosion. What he saw he could not believe.

The red sphere of magic was stretching in the sky and after destroying the perfect silence of only a moment ago, was now roaring with untamed power and growing white around its edges.

Harry watched with wide eyes and a deep pain in his shoulder as the very air, the space in which it moved was torn open and stretched as the now white sphere became a gaping hole in the air that was at least twenty feet tall. It cut into the ground and shot up above the trees of the forest.

"HARRY!" Ginny called. "What's happening?"

Harry did not answer her. He recognised what now writhed and spun before him. It was a creation out of his nightmares, something Firenze had told him to avoid. He had been dreaming about it for months. It was the fiery circle of light, and death surrounded it.

"No...." he breathed. This was not fair. He had been through enough, this wasn't fair. He did not know what it was going to do, but he knew it was not going to be good. What Voldemort had told him about it was enough of a claim to that.

Slowly stones and loose debris were pulled toward the spinning circle. Small bolts of magic shot off the disc's edges and rent the ground. Harry could not take his eyes of it as he stared into the gaping black maw that was a hole in the fabric of space.

"Help me up, Ginny," he gasped. "Before it's too late."

Ginny nodded and looked from the circle to Harry before grasping him under his uninjured left arm; she pulled him unsteadily to his feet. Harry leaned on her for support as he was absolutely shattered from his fight. He had lost a lot of blood and had had some of his pure magic ripped out of him by the Avada Kedavra curse. He was not in a good state.

And there they stood.

Two lonely figures that had been saved by love only minutes ago, staring at the destruction that now unfolded before them. It did not seem right now, it did not seem fair. To have survived so much only to be cheated at the very end. Harry was annoyed more than scared, and he was going to do anything to stop it.

"Bastard..." he said under his breath. "This is not good, Ginny."

"What is it?" she asked.

Harry stared into the image from his nightmares. In his dreams it had not been this big, but there was no mistaking it as the circle of light in front of him sucked in everything, including the air. Loose leaves and wood were now being dragged across the forest floor or floating on the wind into the black hole that stood open like a doorway in the middle of the clearing.

Harry realized it had gotten bigger than it was only a moment ago and words that Voldemort had said earlier on came back to haunt him.

"You are about to die, Harry, but not before you witness the destruction of Hogwarts castle."

"Blood magic has always been the deepest in our world. Blood binds us, Harry, and blood can destroy Hogwarts castle."

"No..." he managed, his eyes growing heavy and his mind drifting in and out of consciousness. He held on to Ginny for all he was worth.

Harry thought of the students and professors that lived in the castle and were huddled there now. He looked at the circle in front of him again and saw that it had grown bigger, and that it was getting stronger. He could now feel the pull of it as a large branch flew past him and into the darkness.

"What are we going to do, Harry?" Ginny asked.

Harry let go of her briefly and swayed on his feet for a moment. He then raised his left hand and with a cry pointed it towards the twenty-five foot circle. He shouted, "VESTIC!"

He almost fell over and was disappointed to see that he was not strong enough to cast the curse. His magic was drained from the battle fought only moments ago. Harry did not think he could manage a simple summoning charm right now.

He looked at Ginny and saw her hair moving in the wind across her face as it was pulled towards the circle. He saw the fear in her eyes that turned to love when she looked back at him. "How can it be stopped?" she asked nervously, her lip trembling slightly.

Harry sighed. "I don't know," he croaked. "I just don't know."

But slowly a thought was forming in the back of his mind. It was a dark thought, and one that only existed because of something else that Voldemort had said earlier.

"Sacrifice, Harry," Voldemort hissed, his voice full of malice. "The blood magic demands sacrifice!"

His mind raced and Harry saw the only conceivable way to save the school, to save the lives of a thousand innocent people. To save Ginny's life he thought, turning to look at her with tears in his eyes.

"I have to go now, Ginny," he said with a frown. He didn't want it to sound as if he was not coming back.

"Harry..." Ginny began nervously.

With a sigh Harry almost lost consciousness as he remembered Voldemort adding his blood to the spell cast half an hour ago. The spell that was now threatening to destroy Hogwarts. If Hogwarts fell, millions would lose hope and many would flock to Voldemort out of fear. Harry tried not to think about that, and concentrated more on the fact that Voldemort had used his own blood to solidify the spell.

Ever since his resurrection back in that godforsaken graveyard, Harry had shared a connection with Voldemort so powerful that it bordered on the two of them sharing one mind. And that connection existed to such an extent because Voldemort had used Harry's blood in his rebirth ceremony.

They shared the same blood.

And with that thought it was all clear to Harry. The circle wanted sacrifice; Voldemort had opened it with his blood. Harry could close it with his, as they were one and the same. It wasn't fair, he had no idea what waited for him when he went through. It may finally be death, but he was going to find out.

"I can stop it, Gin," he whispered, holding her hand with his useable left arm and staring deep into her brown eyes. "But it means saying goodbye."

"Harry," Ginny said. "You better not be thinking what I know you're thinking."

Harry smiled sadly and brushed her hair back behind her ear. "I have to," he said strongly. "But I won't be gone long."

"You can't go through there, Harry," Ginny almost screamed, looking in fear at the growing darkness that was the tear in space in front of her. "You don't know where you'll end up."

"That doesn't matter,' he replied, shaking his head as a single tear fell from his eye. "Voldemort has been beaten back for awhile. I intend to be back before he is."

Ginny started to cry and she sniffed, looking at the ground and not at Harry. "I almost lost you a moment ago," she managed. "I don't want to lose you now."

Harry lifted her chin up until she was looking into his eyes and he back into hers. Then slowly, but gently, he kissed her deeply and wrapped his good arm around her. "I'll come back, Ginny," he whispered in her ear as she wrapped her own arms around him tightly. "I promise..."

Ginny sniffed into his shoulder as she realised fully the complete and utter hopelessness of the situation. "I know you will...." she managed.

Harry held onto her strongly for a few more moments, and then slowly he pulled something off his finger from behind her back. "Here," he managed, looking deep into her brown eyes. "Take this...."

Ginny sniffed and looked down into her hand as Harry placed something warm and metallic in it. "But I gave this to you," she said through the tears.

Harry followed her gaze down to the silver ring now resting on her palm. He closed her fingers around it with his own hand. "Hold on to it for me," he said tearfully. "I'll come back for it."

Ginny breathed a heavy, shaky sigh and offered Harry the smallest of nods.

Harry let her go and her legs gave away beneath her. The ground was shaking from the immense power of the circle and an almighty howl went up from within it as Harry approached. He glanced back to Ginny and saw her crying on the ground. Turning back, he did the hardest thing he had ever had to do....

He had to walk away.

As the wind blew his hair about and he limped the last few steps to the blackness of the circular tear in front of him, an unexpected calm floated over him. Harry knew what he had to do, and he accepted that. All the fights, all the anguish, all the loss and personal pain had led to this one moment, where the fate of a thousand lives and that of the world rested on his actions. A painful destiny had to be realised. He had to sacrifice himself to the unknown, and stop the inevitable.

With a final deep breath, Harry simply fell forward and into the blackness of the blood magic in front of him.

He disappeared and knew no more.

Ginny watched in a numb disbelief as Harry fell into the shaking circle of light. The edges were illuminated the brightest white but Harry had fallen into the darkness. It was over.

With a sound like a zip, the gap in the air simply closed. No bangs, no protests, no howls. The circle had ceased to exist, and nothing was left to show that it had ever been there. Ginny's world grew quiet as she cried in the middle of the clearing, her head in her hands.

Time lost all meaning and she did not know how long she cried for before she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She looked up quickly and saw the sad face of Dermas Trask staring past her and over to the spot where Harry had existed only moments ago.

"Come on, Ginny," he said quietly, respectfully. "Harry has passed beyond our help now. We have to get back to the castle."

Ginny allowed him to pick her up; she was beyond caring what happened next. She noticed vaguely that Dermas had Harry's sword strapped to his belt next to his own. He must have picked it up before it was dragged into the circle.

Barely two minutes later and Trask had made his final Portkey for that day, and both he and Ginny walked up the castle steps defeated, a raw and numb disbelief clawing at their insides. Ginny had not spoken once since Harry had stepped into the void, and as she reached the top of the castle steps she turned around and looked back at the forest.

There was no way of telling where they had stood and watched Harry save the lives of every person at Hogwarts. The forest was silent, no sign of the apocalyptic and life changing events that had just taken place there. Ginny turned her gaze away from the pain and looked further on past it, towards the mountain in the distance. Black smoke covered the sky over Hogsmeade and Aurors could be seen moving up and down the broken road. Ginny stifled another cry, and then turned into the castle.

****

Dermas Trask had his injuries looked at briefly by Madam Pomfrey later that night. As he healed in one of the hospital beds for a few minutes, he replayed everything that had happened since he and Ginny had returned to the castle.

They had walked into the Great Hall carelessly, and from the gasps of every person in the room, they knew that they must have looked pretty bad. Dumbledore had been up the front of the school, making a speech when they had entered but now he was rushing down the aisles to meet them.

The Headmaster, who was arguably the strongest wizard in existence, though after seeing Harry survive so much today Trask had his doubts, had paled when Dermas had whispered to him what had occurred and that Harry was gone. They had retired to his office, both Ginny and himself, and had told the story in full from what they both saw and knew.

Dermas smiled sadly as Ginny recounted how Harry had survived the Killing Curse again. There seemed to be nothing that boy could not do. As she spoke Dermas saw her passing a small silver ring from one hand to the other nervously. He had seen that ring on Harry's hand. After she had talked herself hoarse, Dumbledore comforted her before dismissing her. Dermas had seen from the look on her face that she dreaded having to tell Ron and Hermione, but he let her go.

Dumbledore then told Trask all that had happened on his end after he and Harry had gone into the forest. The Aurors had fallen back as far as the gates of the castle and the Death Eaters had pushed in hard for the kill. They would have got it as well but they had all Disapparated, presumably when their Dark Marks had begun to burn.

Hundreds of Death Eater and Aurors littered the streets of Hogsmeade and all the way up to the castle gates in a long trail of death. Dermas had seen the worry behind Dumbledore's eyes whenever he mentioned Harry, and this had concerned him. He could not think of anyone else who could bring Harry back. If Dumbledore could not accomplish it, then no one could.

Although, Trask thought as the Pepper Up potion began to take affect as he left the Hospital wing, we don't know enough about where he has gone, or even what took him there to think about bringing him back...

These dark thoughts took Dermas all the way back to his quarters in the staff wing. And as his tired limbs longed for some rest, Trask stared out of the window and over to the dark mass that was the Forbidden Forest. He sighed and thought of all the death and destruction this day had wrought, and how it all came back to a boy with a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. A mark of great deeds.

Dermas sighed again and lay down achingly on his bed, his limbs protesting the movement. Harry had saved the lives of them all that day, by seemingly sacrificing his own. He had won them a victory over the Dark.

Although Trask personally thought that Harry's victory had come at so high of a price that it was almost indistinguishable from defeat.

****


Author notes: I think this is my favourite chapter to date. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Won't say anything about the next chapter, only that it will be up soon.

Please head over to the review board and tell me what you think about this chapter. It would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all the reviewers from the last chapter.

Kaywitch: thanks for reviewing.

Numba1: All the dragons died of natural causes and their armour taken afterwards.... Yes that sounds suitably humane. Bellatrix wasn't killed.

Northern Comfort: Thanks

Melindaleo2000: Thanks. The next chapter is the final one.

Kaystar: Thanks much for reviewing.

Ems89: thanks

johnapple: I don't think Harry lost his maturity in this chapter. Thanks for reviewing.

EnterTheLion: thanks for compliments.

Stagnus: Thanks for reviewing

Faile: I am planning a few sequels. Thanks for reviewing.

jmerriampaul: thanks

TreyFury97: there we go. The inner circle survived but Riddle didn't get stabbed with the sword. Thanks.

AmethystPhoenix: Thanks for reviewing again.

Jaquelyne: Don't think we have to worry about Dark!Harry... yet. Thanks for reviewing.

RowenaDeVandal: Thanks for reviewing.

Magical Merlin: Didn't have much deaths,well not for the main characters anyway. Plenty of aurors and death eaters bit the dust.

ESINED: Thanks for reviewing.

Serena Sanchez: thanks for reading and reviewing.

JadeYzPearl: Thanks for reviewing.

Well there we go then. Please review and thanks to everyone who does and has. Next chapter is the end, but it may not be a happy one....