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Harry Potter and the Final Flame | ||||||
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Category: Post-HBP Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, General Warnings: Death Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 235 Summary: COMPLETED!!! Following the events Harry Potter is focused and determined to fulfill a destiny that only he can fulfill. Simple isn't it? Track down and destroy piece by piece the Darkest Wizard to ever live. If only things were that simple for Harry. Watch as the his best friends come closer together, the Order crumbles with a traitor in their midst, and the people he cares about the most suffer through heartache and trial. Can Harry succeed and if he does will there be anything for him to come home to? Hitcount: Story Total: 175411; Chapter Total: 4696 Author's Notes: EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!! I know it's been really, really slow, but I swear I have a great excuse. I wasn't ready to share before, but I'm pregnant and I've been really sick, plus had a few complication. Now that I'm starting to feel better, past the morning sickness, I'm going to finish this. It is my goal to be done before bk7 comes out, so hopefully that will happen. Thank you for your patience and consideration for my health. |
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“Well that was…” Hermione began. “Unexpected,” Ron finished. Harry wasn’t sure how to feel about it. On the one hand Snape’s appearance had shaken him completely. Did he really know the whole of the prophecy? And if he did, what did that mean for him, Harry? There were too many questions and not enough answers. More than that, it seemed that Voldemort now knew that Harry was out looking for something, or at least that he wasn’t staying at home. Voldemort probably knew that they were searching for the Horcruxes. Or maybe he didn’t, and they were still safe. In any case, they couldn’t put it off any longer. “We have to have missed a place.” “I really thought that it would be at Godric’s Hollow, you know?” Ron said. “I mean, it was a significant place for You-Know-Who.” “Yes, I thought it would be as well,” Hermione agreed. “But unfortunately, we can’t really search through it-” Harry sighed, “And I felt sick when I went in there.” “Did you really?” Nick asked curiously. “How so?” Harry thought back to that day, so long ago. “I relived some things and felt sick.” Hermione’s eyes went wide. “That’s rather… odd. I think we should go back there and check, one more time. I mean, did you check for the-” She broke off and looked quickly towards Nick. The old man smiled. “I will wait while you pack up, and see you off. I think, however, that you three might be on the right track.” Harry hoped so. If Snape had found them, then they really didn’t have much time. They packed up quickly, throwing things together pell-mell and were ready to leave within the hour. They bade Nick a hurried farewell, and Harry saw that he looked worried. It wasn’t anything compared to what Harry was feeling, though. There was a sick feeling growing in the pit of his stomach, which he thought might be worry or dread. They Apparated directly to Godric’s Hollow. It looked exactly as he remembered it, although there was a bit of snow on the ground now, and the sky was a dull grey that always seemed to loom in early March. “If it’s here,” Hermione whispered in to the silence, “Then we’ll only have Nagini to kill.” It was a chilling reminder. He didn’t know how they would get close enough to the snake to kill it, but that could be a problem for tomorrow. Right now he had to focus on destroying the penultimate Horcrux. Harry left Ron and Hermione to set up the tent while he went back to the house. The house sat still and quiet, but Harry felt that sick feeling, yet again. Was it here? Slowly he made his way in to the house, stepping over the rubble until he was standing in what was probably the front sitting room. Memories threatened to overwhelm him again, but he wasn’t going to give in. He needed to check through the house for the Horcrux, as quickly as he could. He started the search pattern as he, Ron and Hermione had done many times before. It was dull, for the most part, except for the sick feeling that would not leave him. What he also noticed was that the feeling seemed to be getting stronger with every minute. A few times he’d looked up to see Ron and Hermione working around the tent or else, walking about the large yard. Finally, when he’d hit the middle of the room, he found it. His wand tip glowed to show the place where the Horcrux was hidden, and Harry felt his breath hitch. He didn’t know exactly how he knew, but he was certain that this was the place, albeit from the floor above, where Voldemort had tried to kill him. Harry let out a woosh of air and sat down next to the spot. How was he supposed to get to it? Was it burried? What were the enchantments? What was worse is that he didn’t have Ron or Hermione in here to help him. They couldn’t help… they couldn’t get in to the house with him, as they could not see the house. He was on his own. Harry closed his eyes and tried to think. Was it hot in here? He opened his eyes and for a moment the air around him shimmered. He blinked, trying to see it again, but it was gone. Now that he had his eyes open, he could tell that it wasn’t actually hot, but rather drafty in the ruins. What was going on? Slowly he stood, thinking back to his one trip with Dumbledore. He had told Harry that magic left an imprint. Was that it? And if it was, how was he going to see it again? Yet again, a wave of heat hit him that he couldn’t explain. He spun around, searching for the source, but saw nothing. The heat hit him a third time and this time he saw it was coming from where the shimmer had emanated. “Okay,” Harry said out loud. “Here goes nothing.” Raising his wand, he pointed to the spot and said, “Incendio!” Fire shot immediately from his wand, hitting the spot where the shimmer had been. For a second the stream of fire seemed to ball in place, before it exploded out, throwing Harry backwards through the rubble. He yelled, although no one would hear him, and rolled into a ball while searing flames licked as the ruins around him. He had to think! The fire was spreading quickly throught he place, consuming everything in its path at a rate that Harry could barely fathom. THINK! But he couldn’t think. “Aguamenti!” Harry bellowed, pointing his wand towards the flame. A stream of water burst from his wand, hitting the bright red flames nearest him, but instead of putting out the fire, it only made it worse. The inferno seemed to grow exponentially before his horrified eyes. He quickly lowered his wand and swore loudly. If water wasn’t going to help then… and then it hit him, and he reacted without giving himself time to think. “Ardesco Glacio!” The Flame Freezing charm… It worked. The fire around him turned from white hot, to pleasantly cool. Slowly, not sure what he should do, Harry walked through the flames towards the place where the ball of light still danced above the floor. Facing it, he thought he saw something fluttering in the fire, almost like a Snitch. Reach out, Harry stuck his hand in and felt around. His fingers closed around a cool, metal object, carefully pulling it out. It was the pendant that they had been searching for. As soon as he removed it from the flame, all of the fire extinguished itself. He stuck the pendant in his pocket, breathing out a sigh of relief. Harry sat down on the ground, panting hard. Now the question was how was he going to destroy this Horcrux? He nearly took it from his shirt pocket, to examine it, but decided against it. He’d bring it out to Ron and Hermione to see if they could help figure it out. He didn’t have a voice in his head, telling him what to do this time. “It is fitting,” came a cold, high voice from behind Harry. Harry spun around and felt his heart freeze. Voldemort… “That I finish you here, where it all started. When I heard you would be here, and that you would be unprotected I knew I couldn’t waste another minute, waiting for the perfect opportunity.” Harry glanced quickly towards the camp and saw the tent surrounded by robed Death Eaters, but Ron and Hermione weren’t in sight. They must still be safely in the tent. “Really? Who told you I was here?” “Oh,” Voldemort’s smile was satisfied, “A little flower whispered it to me. I came as soon as I heard. So Potter, we’re not delaying this any longer, nor is there anyone here to save you.” He pointed his wand straight at Harry’s heart and before he could think to move, the red eyes glinted as he shouted, “AVADA KEDAVRA!” Harry fell backwards as the spell hit him, burning him so badly that he yelled out in pain. Panting hard, he rolled on to his side, trying not to scream, and he felt the hot metal of the pendant on his arm, as he hugged himself. Could it be? The pain remained, but he got up anyway, trying to ignore the hot metal in his pocket. Voldemort’s eyes were wide with fear. “This can’t be!” He hissed quietly. “It is,” Harry retorted brazenly. “Face it, Tom. You can’t kill me.” Harry pointed his wand at him, but did not move. It was not the right time to kill him. He thought that the pendant was probably destroyed, moreover it had saved his life, but this wasn’t the end. They would have to kill Nagini before he could finish Voldemort off. He could Apparate away from here, but there really wasn’t anywhere to go, and he couldn’t leave Ron and Hermione behind. He didn’t steal another glance towards them, even though he wanted to. He knew he couldn’t take his eyes off Voldemort. The red eyes narrowed even further. “You are lying, Potter! I can tell.” For the first time in his life, Harry felt his mind go blank. He didn’t know if it was fear or freezing, but he shut his mind down and breathed out a slow breath. He was not going to let Voldemort see that he had the pendant. If Voldemort found out, then it really would be over. “So what if I am? You could try again, of course, but I rather think you’re wasting your time.” This time he did sneak a glance to the tent and saw that the Death Eaters were now trying to blast the tent apart, but to no avail. “Ron and Hermione will know we’re under attack and they’ll call for help. We’ve got a way of getting messages to the Order.” The mirror flashed briefly through his mind, but he quickly clamped down on it. He heard a scurrying behind him and nearly turned. “No,” Voldemort said softly, dangerously. “We’re ending this now. I don’t know how you lived, but it was a fluke and it won’t happen again. I’ve waited too long to kill you.” Harry laughed. It was this impatience that had ended Voldemort’s reign in the first place. He knew it was stupid to laugh in the most powerful dark wizard’s face, but he couldn’t help it. If Voldemort wanted to kill him, Harry had no chance. There was no where to hide; no where to run and Voldemort was right, there was no one to save him. “Do you really think death is so funny, Potter?” Voldemort asked, taking a step towards him. “I’m not scared of it, as you are, if that’s what you mean.” Harry realized that it was true. He wanted a life, but if he lost it… well, some things were worth dying for. “It doesn’t keep me awake at night, as it does you. Isn’t that sad? You’re an old man and yet you’re terrified of something that doesn’t even bother me.” Voldemort did not respond for a long moment and when he did, it was not to talk to him. Anger and fury rolled off him in waves as he shouted, “Avada Kedavra!” Harry ducked, and heard a squeal of pain come from above him as a body fell over his. He looked up and gasped, as did Voldemort. It was Wormtail. For a moment Harry was too stunned to do anything. Then he laughed; hysterical, irrational, belly-aching laughter. “Wormtail?” Voldemort said it as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Harry pushed the small, fat man off of him and barely spared him a glance. Right now was not the time to think about the dead. “Yeah, he owed me a life debt. Did you know that?” Voldemort tensed and looked down at the dead man again. “I did, but I did not see this coming. He had no loyalty to you.” “We’ll never know,” Harry said. “His debt is paid, though, and now you really can’t kill me. He wasn’t my mother, but he’ll do.” “Incorrect, Potter.” Voldemort raised his wand again, and this time Harry was ready for him. “I can’t use the Killing Curse but there are other ways to end a man’s life.” He waved his wand, shooting out a dark blue light and Harry ducked, rolling away. Harry raised his own and thought, Levicorpus. Voldemort flew upwards briefly before he waved his own wand and lowered himself back to the ground. Harry didn’t wait to see him. He sprinted for a large pile of rubble off to the side and dived behind it. Only then did he really look towards the tent and what he saw made his heart skid to a halt. The Order of the Phoenix, including Hagrid and most of the Weasleys, were out there fighting the Death Eaters. Whether he liked it or not, Harry thought morosely, the final battle had begun. |
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