Alone

Chapter 26

"NO!"

Jake's shout rose above all other screams in the hall. The curse controlling his mind shattered like glass. His green eyes blazed with anger and defiance. No one told him what to do.

Harry Potter was back.

If Voldemort was surprised at the change in Jake, he didn't show it. Instead, his face just grew even whiter (which, despite popular belief, was possible) and his ruby eyes narrowed until they were merely slits.

"So this is the way it's going to be Potter?" he spat. Harry glared back.

"This is the way it was always meant to be you bastard."

The emotionless face suddenly broke into a chilling smirk. It did nothing to calm Harry's nerves and he shivered unconsciously.

"This is going to be your last day to live. Say goodbye to your pathetic friends before you all die."

"I think the only person who is going to die here today is you Voldemort."

With that, Harry lifted his wand and pointed it at Voldemort.

Voldemort was agile and he sprang from his throne with surprising quickness, ducking Harry's curse before it was within three feet of him. Harry's brain worked frantically. The Order didn't have their wands and he had no idea where they were. However, if his beliefs were correct, then their wands would be with one of the higher ranking Death Eaters.

"Kill him!" Voldemort shrieked. Immediately, all the Death Eaters jumped into action. The Order members were still recovering from the curse. Even though Voldemort had removed the curse in order to battle with Harry, their bodies still tingled with pain. Struggling to his feet, Sirius threw himself at a nearby Death Eater, using his momentum to knock both of them down. As soon as he hit the ground, all the air was knocked out of his lungs. Seeing what Sirius was trying to do, the rest of them gritted their teeth and followed his example. If Harry was going to battle Voldemort, they were not going to let him face a whole herd of Death Eaters as well.

Strings of curses ran in the air as members of the Order tried not to get in the way of spells and Harry tried not to get himself killed before he could kill Voldemort painfully.

Draco crawled over to his father and tugged on his robe, avoiding all the spells that were zooming overhead. Lucius turned towards his son and Draco looked back with cold eyes, obviously not forgiving him for what he had done in the past few years. Lucius felt his heart break. Draco was his only child and he loved him so much.

"Take down the wards," Draco whispered fiercely. Lucius furrowed his brow.

"Wards?" he questioned. Draco looked at his father oddly. Maybe that knock to the head in the dungeons had done something to him.

"To the manor. You know? So that people can apparate in and out?" Draco asked and Lucius's eyes lit up.

The protection around Malfoy Manor was so strong was because the magic used to protect it was just as strong and ancient as the magic Lily Potter had used to protect Harry. It was blood magic and only Malfoy blood could enable or disable the wards. Lucius had never taught Draco the spell because of Voldemort.

Draco swore suddenly as he pushed his father to the ground and out of the way of a rather nasty dark curse. However, he wasn't fast enough to duck out of the range. Landing on the ground next to his father with a painful 'thump' Draco coughed several times. When he removed his hand, blood covered his palms. He was coughing up blood. Racking his brain for what the curse was, Draco coughed several more times as he remembered. The curse was an agonizing way of torturing a prisoner.

Draco thanked whatever God was listening that it wasn't lethal. Though, that fact didn't mean he didn't wish that it would kill him outright. The curse destroyed his lungs and then repaired the damage with magic so that Draco would literally choke on his own blood time after time. The actual torturous part was that he could feel his lungs being destroyed by the curse. To say it felt like knives ripping through the inside of his body was an understatement. Physically, once the spell was ended, he would be fine, except for the fact that he would be low on blood - considering he had coughed up most of it.

Curling up into a ball, Draco whimpered softly as his body shuddered with the coughs again. He felt gentle hands on his shoulder. The same hands turned him around. Hearing a sharp intake of breath, Draco cracked open his eyes and saw the concerned face of his father.

"Wards," he croaked dryly before coughs overtook his body again.

Lucius was torn. He wanted to help his son, but also knew that he had to take the wards down. Not to mention that he couldn't help his son without his wand, which Blaise still had. Looking around to see who could help him, Lucius exhaled painfully when he realised that the Order didn't even have *their* wands. No one could help him, at least, not at the moment.

Taking another look at Draco, Lucius pressed his lips into a grim line and hugged the young man to his chest. Ducking the curses and spells with an expertise that only came with years of practise, Lucius carried his son to a dark corner that would provide the shelter that Draco and he both needed at the moment.

Taking off his robe and wrapping it around the Draco, Lucius gritted his teeth and swept his gaze over the hall. Where the hell was Blaise?! He thought furiously. He jerked is attention back to his son as he felt a feeble tug on his shirt.

"Ward?" Draco questioned. Lucius smiled reassuringly.

"I'll disable them now," he said softly. Looking at Draco's blood, Lucius sighed and dipped a finger into the liquid that pooled on the ground near Draco's face. Any Malfoy blood would do, Lucius knew. He drew a design on the ground whilst simultaneously muttering words under his breath.

The next second Lucius smiled again as he felt the wards disappear. Now all he needed was his wand to stop the curse on Draco.

"Wait here my little Dragon," Lucius whispered to his pale son. "I'll be back soon and then you'll be fine." With that Lucius disappeared into the crowd, intent on finding Blaise. If he had turned back at the moment, even for a second, he would've seen the small smile on Draco's face.

~~*~~

Dumbledore sighed for the umpteenth time that night. He needed to get to Malfoy Manor as soon as possible. He knew that the other Order members needed his help.

"Albus! Albus!" McGonagall shouted excitedly. Dumbledore turned, as well as the rest of the Order members, and fixed her with a stare.

"The wards," McGonagall continued on, her rush of words bordering on blabbing. "The wards around Malfoy Manor. They're gone! Lucius Malfoy must've disabled them!"

McGonagall had been monitoring the wards around Malfoy Manor, Voldemort's stronghold, for the past few years. When the wards around the manor faltered, even for a second, she would go flying into Dumbledore's office to let him know. They had been hoping that one of these days the ward would falter enough for the Order to be able to get through and hopefully end Voldemort's era on the wizarding world. Now was their chance.

Dumbledore didn't even have to nod before all of them disapparated with a pop.

~~*~~

Derek wrung his hands. It was a nervous habit he had never been able to outgrow. He stood up abruptly and paced around the room. Stopping in front of the window, he gazed outside. In the moonlight he could see the quidditch pitch, the lake and the forest.

Growling under his breath, Derek turned and paced his room again. Damn it! He wanted to help, but he couldn't. He couldn't even fly a broom to where ever Jake was. His scowl softened as he remembered something Jake had said before he had left.

**Flashback**

It was the day that Jake had flown for the first time in four years. Derek had finally calmed down and the two were sitting quietly in front of the fire.

"What's flying like?" Derek questioned. Like all boys, he had dreamed of flying like a bird when he was five years old. And like all boys, his hopes of being Superman had been dashed when his mother had rushed into the kitchen in time to save him from jumping off the kitchen table with a red sheet tied around his neck. Jake grinned and slapped his friend on the shoulder.

"The best feeling in the world. It's like, you're finally free, you know? When you fly you can leave everything on the ground. It's just you and the air. When this is over I promise I'll take you flying with me," Jake said seeing the dejected look on Derek's face.

"Can you do that?" Derek asked finally. Excitement was quickly building up inside him. Jake laughed at the eager expression on his face.

"Of course. As long as you have someone with magic on the broom with you, you can fly too," Jake said his eyes sparkling. He was glad he was finally able to share something as special as flying with his best friend.

"If you get yourself killed in this whole thing with Voldemort, I swear I will dig you up again just to go flying. I don't care if bits of you fall off during the flight, you're flying with me no matter what," Derek warned, trying to put some light-heartedness into the whole grim situation.

Jake's laughter joined in with his as the mental image of that particular flight was produced.

**End of Flashback**

Derek smiled softly.

"I'm holding you to your promise, Jake," he whispered into the night. "Don't let me down."

~~*~~

With a pop, the rest of the Order appeared in the already crowded hall. Silence reigned for a full few seconds as everybody mentally processed the appearance of so many people at once.

However, it didn't take long for the fight to begin again.

Harry ducked, jumped and squatted as he avoided all the deadly curses aimed his way. His energy was being sapped slowly. After not using magic for so long, he knew that using so much and in so many powerful curses was not good for him. If this fight didn't put him in the infirmary for a couple of months, well, he didn't know what would.

His target, Voldemort, was the person that was firing off many of the curses aimed at him. Harry gritted his teeth and ducked behind Voldemort's chair. He could not, *would* not lose to Voldemort. Suddenly the chair exploded. Harry winced as a piece of wood flew past his face, cutting his cheek in the process. Springing to his feet, Harry ignored the pain his scar caused by being so near Voldemort and knew the best plan was to catch a breather for a few minutes. He needed time to restore some energy. He was swaying on his feet.

Throwing himself head first into the fighting mass, Harry spotted a dark corner. Tucking his head in, Harry sprinted as fast as he could to the spot. He stared in surprise when he saw Draco curled up and coughing up blood. Putting a hand on the blonde's cheek, Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when he realised that Draco was ice-cold.

Draco turned over with whatever little energy he had left and saw two concerned green eyes peering at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be fighting Voldie and saving the world?" Draco asked between coughs. Harry quickly, but gently lifted him up and propped him against the wall, so that Draco wouldn't choke on his own blood.

"My magic isn't what it was four years ago after not using it for so long. Besides I need a break," Harry explained with a grimace. "Even on the verge of death you're still so.....Malfoy-ish."

Draco chuckled softly.

"Part of my charm," he said. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Are you all right? Is there anything I can do to stop you from coughing up blood?" Harry asked anxiously. Draco shook his head and immediately wished he hadn't. His head swam and his vision blurred. He had lost too much blood.

Before Harry could say anything else, another voice joined their conversation.

"What are you doing here?" Lucius asked, surprised. He had finally found Blaise and grabbed his wand back. Harry explained and Lucius nodded understandingly.

"Lie still," Lucius ordered Draco in a fatherly fashion. Draco raised an eyebrow as if to say "Look at me! Can I do anything apart from lie still?!" Lucius chuckled softly. Looking back at Harry, he decided to ignore the gaping mouth and astonished eyes.

"You can't kill Voldemort with magic," Lucius said quickly and softly. He had seen Voldemort making his way through the crowd looking for Harry. It was a wonder that their hiding place hadn't been discovered already. Ending the spell on Draco, Lucius smiled as his son sagged against the wall in relief.

Lucius turned around and whispered a few frantic words with Harry. Harry's eyebrow raised and then lowered. A determined look came into his eyes as he nodded. Lucius pressed something into Harry's hands and Harry studied it before smirking slightly. The two exchanged a few more words before Harry ran back into the fight.

Lucius turned around to see his exhausted son was already asleep, even witht eh battle going on around them. He smiled as he smoothed his son's hair back. "I have to go fight. I'll be back as soon as I can." With that he leaned down and kissed Draco's forehead softly before plunging back into the fight.

~~*~~

Harry hadn't been fighting for more than a couple of minutes before Voldemort found him.

"Don't you want to play anymore?" Voldemort hissed mockingly. Harry glared back at him.

"On the contrary," Harry said slowly. "I'm just getting started."

Curses were aimed at each other. They flew as thick and fast as rain. Harry gasped with pain as a nasty curse hit his leg. Glancing down, he wished he hadn't. He wasn't sure what Voldemort had done to his leg, but it was bloody and raw, like a rather vicious bulldog had gnawed it for dinner.

Limping, Harry took a deep breath and knew that it was now or never. Voldemort was tiring as well, he could tell. The next time Voldemort slowed, it would be his last chance. He couldn't keep up with the pace of the spells anymore and his energy was almost taxed out.

Straightening his shoulders, Harry gritted his teeth against the pain and without a second's warning, launched himself at Voldemort. Together the two tumbled to the ground in a jumble of arms and legs. Harry abandoned his wand and fumbled for the 'present' Lucius had given him, which he had tucked in his trousers. As the two landed on the ground, with Harry pinned under Voldemort, Voldemort smirked.

"Looks like your idea didn't work out so well," he taunted, his wand pressed to Harry's temple. Harry glared back with all the defiance his stubborn soul processed.

Suddenly Voldemort made a gurgling sound in the back of his throat, the killing curse halfway out of his mouth.

"I think it worked out quite well," Harry said nonchalantly as Voldemort's surprised eyes dimmed and the life leak out of his body. Harry grunted with pain and pushed the corpse off of him. He sat up and looked at the white body next to him. The handle of Lucius's knife was sticking out of where his heart should be. Crawling over, Harry checked to make sure that Voldemort really was dead before pulling the knife out. Lucius would probably skin him alive if he didn't return the knife. After all, the knife's handle matched Lucius's cane and Harry couldn't let Lucius walk around without his matching knife now, could he?

~~*~~

The fight ended surprisingly quickly after the news that Voldemort was dead spread to the remaining Death Eaters. Order members and Death Eaters alike had died here, but everyone knew that there were many more Death Eaters out there in the world who were not needed by Voldemort's side twenty-four hours a day. The fight against the Dark Side had not ended, but the peak of Voldemort's terror was over and the rest of his organisation would hopefully collapse soon afterwards. Of course the death of the dark wizard would have something to do with it.

Harry leaned against the wall next to Draco and looked out towards the hall. What was he supposed to do? It was finally over. There was nothing he needed to do anymore in the wizarding world. He had fulfilled his purpose and done what everybody had expected of him. Now what was his supposed to do? Going back to his old life in the wizarding world wasn't the answer, but staying the muggle world wasn't the answer either. Sighing, he rubbed his temples. This wasn't the time to think about it.

Looking around again, Harry breathed a small sigh of relief as he realised none of his old friends had died. Many were injured and would probably bare signs of the injuries for the rest of their lives, but he supposed that was better than not living at all.

Draco stirred beside him and Harry steadied the still pale blond as he surveyed the hall for himself.

"It's finally over then?" Draco asked a small smile on his lips. Harry nodded and smiled back.

"Yes, it is," he answered.

Then, from across the hall, something that Harry was sure had taken ten years off his life happened. Lucy stirred and sat up, rubbing her eyes as if nothing had happened.

Everybody gaped at the girl who only looked around with a small smile on her face. Harry made an odd sort of whimpering sound in his throat before his eyes rolled upwards and he fainted. Draco hurriedly grabbed hold of Harry's shirt before he could splatter his brains on the hard stone ground of the hall.

Softly snorting with laughter, Draco laid the hero on the ground.

"Bloody Potter who single-handedly defeated the Dark Lord has fainted," Draco said between his chuckles. Lucius limped over and smiled at his son. His leg was injured and he doubt he could use it properly again, but all that mattered to him was his family.

"Where's my knife?" Lucius asked. Draco nodded in the direction of Harry's hands, and Lucius bent down and removed it from between the grasps of Harry's fingers.

"I wouldn't touch that," Draco said wisely, looking pointedly at the knife. Lucius raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" he asked, wiping the last of Voldemort's blood from the blade.

"Well," Draco said slowly, a wicked look coming into his eyes. "The last I saw of it was when Potter stuffed it down his pants-"

The rest of what he was going to say was cut off as Lucius hurriedly dropped the knife.

Laughter erupted in the hall.