The Dark Prince

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Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before

Ever just as sure

As the sun will rise

Disney - Beauty and the Beast

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Chapter 25

...just the same...

"Die, you stupid son of a..."

"I think he's unconscious now, lad."

Ron looked up at Moody as the old Auror placed a scarred hand on his shoulder. He looked back down at Malfoy's bloodied face and saw the steel colored eyes were closed and had been for a long time.

"Oh."

Ron got up, rubbing his hand along the side of his pants to get the blood off. He looked at Moody and asked, "How are we doing?"

"Pretty good," growled Moody. "Voldemort's vanished and most of the Death Eater's are done. Now all we have to worry about are those two."

"Huh?"

Moody jerked his head towards the other side of the large room and Ron looked. Two dark-robed figures face each other there, faces twisted into grimaces of pain and anger as they shot curses at each other. He blinked for a few minutes then asked, "How long have they been going?"

"Half an hour, at least," growled Moody. "I expect they'll go on till one of them's dead."

"Which one?" asked Ron, not really caring.

Moody looked at Ron steadily with his good eyes as his magical one kept staring straight at the battling duo. He sighed and said, "For our sakes - and as much as I hate to say this - I'm hoping Snape wins."

The old Auror then turned and limped off, his wooden leg making dull thumps on the floor. Ron looked after him for a moment then quickly turned around, searching as he remembered something.

Where had Hermione gone?"

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Across the room, Snape dodged a well-thrown Cruciatus from Harry and fired a jelly legs curse back in retaliation. Harry dodged it easily and taunted, "Is that all you have, Snape? Spells a first year could do?"

Snape bared his teeth and shot a beam of Cruciatus at the younger man. It struck his foot and Harry went down hard. Snape threw a hand forward at the same time and used Harry's falling momentum to throw him across the room, firing another acid pain curse simultaneously.

Harry hi the wall with a satisfying thunk and shot a beam of imperious at Snape as he curled up in pain. Snape quickly performed a mirror spell, sending the unforgivable hurtling back to Harry, even though he knew it would not work on the boy.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Green light filled the room and Snape felt the wind as the curse shot past him. It struck something as a body crumpled to the floor behind him and he turned to see that it was a young Auror, eyes wide in shock. He turned back to Harry and saw him struggling to his feet.

"Expelliarmus!"

Snape's wand snapped out of his hand and flew into Harry's as he was sent flying across the room, a beam of Cruciatus following. He landed with a crunch against Voldemort's throne, hearing something crack under the force of impact, and fell to the floor, barely rolling out of the way in time to dodge the curse. Pain exploded in his back and he bared his teeth against it.

Footsteps approached and Snape looked up into Harry's face. Ash and holly wands pointed squarely down at his chest and Harry smirked as he softly said, "Good night, sweet prince."

"Avada..."

Two voices cried as one, "Expelliarmus!"

Harry was thrown across the room and the two wands clattered to the floor at Snape's side. Snape blinked. Who else had fired the spell at the same time he had?

Green eyes blazing at someone standing behind Snape, Harry rose only to be knocked down by another spell.

"Riscumseptra!"

Harry's legs collapsed and he fell to the floor again. He lifted on hand and the green light of the killing curse gathered there...

"Stupefy."

Harry fell, green light fading from his hand as he collapsed onto the floor. Aurors immediately rushed forward and began casting any spell they could think of that might hold Harry is he woke up.

Someone walked up behind Snape and scooped up his and Harry's wands, gently touching the tip of their wand to his broken back at the same time. They whispered the words of a containment spell and he felt the magic of it sink into his back, wrapping about the battered bones of his spine and holding them until they could be repaired. Then, as gently as possible, they conjured a stretcher and levitated him up onto it. Lifting his head as the footsteps then began to walk away, Snape said, "Thank you, Miss Granger."

Hermione half-turned to smile as her professor, eyes dull and nothing behind the smile.

"You're welcome, sir."

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

I've been thinking and here's what I've come to conclude

Sometimes the distance is more than two people can use

But how could I have known girl

It was time and not space you would need

Darling tonight I could hold you

And you would know

But would you believe

Blessed Union of Souls - Light in Your Eyes

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Chapter 26

...time and not space...

When the Aurors, Hermione, and Ron finally got to where Natasha was waiting with the now bandaged Auror, the older woman grabbed Hermione and shook her violently.

"You ever do that to me again, Mione, and I'll kill you. You just disappeared on me!"

"Sorry, Tash," said Hermione softly.

Natasha held Hermione at arms length and frowned at her.

"What happened?"

Hermione only shook her head and pursed her lips together, refusing to answer.

Ron came forward and said, "We won. The Death Eaters were captured. You-Know-Who got away though."

Natasha looked at Hermione then back to Ron.

"Harry?"

A scowl flickered across Ron's face and he growled, "Fighting with Snape. Would've won if Mione hadn't come in and saved his ungrateful ass."

Ten points from Gryffindor, Weasley. And twenty more for lying," snapped a slightly hoarse voice.

An Auror same forward, pushing the stretcher that Snape lay on before him. The Potions Master eyed Ron coolly and said, "I am very grateful to Miss Granger. I hope that teaches you to get the facts before you speak."

Ron's ears tinged pink and Natasha smirked inwardly. He really was cute when he was angry...

"How do we get out of here?" growled Moody, a limp Draco Malfoy hovering behind him and a small cage in his left hand.

Snape lifted hand with a wince and said something in harsh Latin. The portal from the cave appeared with a crack like a whip, its black maw swirling menacingly.

"Where did that come from?" asked Ron in wonder.

"It was always there, Weasley. Perhaps if you were a bit faster in thinking, you'd have noticed it," snapped Snape.

Ron scowled at the downed professor and considered dumping him on the floor. But he didn't get the chance as they began to move forward into the portal. There was wild motion and a dizzying sensation before they landed safely on the other side. Around them the Forbidden Forest was as dark and forbidding as ever.

Moody turned to an Auror near him and snapped, "Go tell the Minister we succeeded. Then go to St. Mungo's and tell them to expect injured Aurors. Lastly...FIND SIRIUS BLACK!"

"Black ,sir?"

"Are you deaf? Yes, Black! GO!"

The Auror nodded frantically and Disapparated. Other Aurors began fishing out Portkeys and activating them, disappearing in a flurry of subtle pops with their captives.

Natasha stared at Moody and asked, "Why do you wand to find Black?"

Moody held up the cage, his blue eyes fixed on Hermione and Ron as he growled, "Illegal Animaging is one thing. Faking your own death and putting an innocent man in Azkaban is another."

Hermione couldn't believe it. After all this time they had finally caught Pettigrew! Sirius was as good as free!

The brunette sagged against Natasha, smiling happily. If only Harry could be here to celebrate with them...