Okay, there's one more chapter! Many thanks to my faithful betas, David and James! You have both been great.
Thank you for all the reviews. I'm nearly all caught up, but I reserve the right to wait until after DH to really catch up.
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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: 175363; Chapter Total: 5062 Author's Notes: |
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Harry turned back to Voldemort and ducked without thinking. A spell barely missed hitting him. Harry waved his wand thinking, Sectumsempra, which Voldemort deflected easily. As Dumbledore had once told him, it would take uncommon skill to kill Voldemort and… Harry froze, which turned out to be a huge mistake as a blue spell hit him in the stomach and sent him flying back into the remains of the back wall. Harry groaned and rolled over, flinging as many spells as he could think of as he crawled over to a rock and hid behind it. He needed a second to think, and cursed silently under his breath that he hadn’t thought of this before. Dumbledore had said that his strength was his ability to love. “Come on out, Harry… we’ve been through this before. We’re not playing hide and seek.” Voldemort’s voice was cool and dettached, but somehow Harry knew he was angry. “If I remember correctly,” Harry growled, trying to think frantically of how he could kill him with love. Unfortunately nothing was coming to mind. “The last time we met like this, you ended up losing. In fact, your record of trying to kill me is rather pathetic.” Harry knew he’d gone too far when the rock he was hiding behind exploded in a shower of dust. He coughed as it enveloped him, but he didn’t sit still. Harry shot to his feet and ran for cover, shouting “Diffindo!” and waving his wand over his shoulder. He skidded to a halt behind what must have been the stairs at one point. A lot rubble was piled up in one place, blocking it from view. What could he do? Harry thought frantically. He could try to touch Voldemort again, but that would mean getting his wand from him and Harry wasn’t sure he’d be able to manage that. He hadn’t yet hit Voldemort with a spell. In any case, his wand wouldn’t fight properly against Voldemort’s because they were made from the same core. THINK! “Harry… Harry…” Voldemort’s voice was cool and in control again. “While we play this little game, your friends are being killed.” Harry fought the urge to look around the debris, to see if he was lying. He needed a chance to think and he wasn’t going to run away to get that chance. Why hadn’t he tried to work this out before?! The answer was simple, of course. Harry thought he had more time. Well, if Nagini was still alive, then he did. Whether he liked it or not, he would have to run for it now and bide his time. He was fairly certain that the Horcrux in his pocket was destroyed, as it was part of a soul and it had been hit with the killing curse, but he couldn’t be sure. Harry had to test it, but there wasn’t time now. Right now he had to worry about staying alive so he could finish the job properly. Slowly he stood, and worked his way around the rubble, trying to get a good look at where Voldemort was. He didn’t speak, even as Voldemort continued to taunt him, but simply moved with the reflexes born from sneaking through the castle and away from Filch for years. When he got to the edge of the stairs, he crouched down and peaked around the stairs to see Voldemort about to move around the wreckage, as if they were circling a table, trying to avoid each other. He planted his knee, and thought Sectumsempra, practically shouting it in his head. Amazingly, and almost unbelievably the spell found its mark, hitting Voldemort in the chest. Blood splattered everywhere, as Harry ducked back around the rubble. “Ah… so you’ve learned a few dark spells, have you? It feels good, doesn’t it Harry?” Voldemort didn’t even sound as if he was in pain, but then Harry heard the chanting, as Snape had done for Malfoy, and knew he only had a few moments to check. Harry pulled out the pendant that had probably, at one point, been beautiful, but was now only a melted, mangled, tangle of gold. He pointed his wand at it and quietly muttered the spell to check if it was a Horcrux. Nothing happened and Harry let out a sigh of relief. This one was finished; only Nagini was left before he could try to finish it. He heard a noise off to his left and rolled just as a spell cracked into a broken beam above his head. Reducto! Harry thought desperately, accidentally hitting the floor at Voldemort’s feet. It exploded, causing Voldemort to jump back as a large crater formed at his feet. Before Voldemort could react, Harry pointed his wand as him and thought again, Sectumsempra! Again it hit him, and Harry could not believe his luck. “You’re wasting my time, Harry,” Voldemort sneered as he began to heal himself. Harry went in for another shot, again thinking Reducto! Voldemort was blasted off of his feet, hitting a lone support beam on the southern side of the house. He slowly got to his feet, and before Harry could do more, he’d Disapparated. Harry didn’t care. He made a break for the edge of the house and saw, to his horror, that the Death Eaters were everywhere. He couldn’t immediately see who was there from the Order, but knew that several were Weasleys because of their vivid red hair. Looking around frantically, he spotted Hermione, who, with Tonks, was dueling with the tall, blond Death Eater that had helped invade Hogwarts a year ago. He also saw Hagrid, with his pink umbrella, fighting with Fenrir Greyback and Lupin. Hagrid was picking up everything he could and chucking them at Greyback, who was struggling to dodge the curses and the flying debris. Harry also saw Bill, who looked wild with rage, fighting against two Death Eaters that he didn’t know. Then he saw Ron and his heart leapt in to his throat. His friend was running as fast as he could for a small grove of trees near the house, with three Death Eaters on his heels. Harry didn’t wait, but sprinted over to the edge of the house, still inside so that the Death Eaters wouldn’t know what hit them. “Stupefy!” Harry shouted, hitting one of the Death Eaters in the side of the face. He fell instantly, tripping up another of the three. “Reducto!” Harry said, aiming for the Death Eater that was still moving, and he was relieved to see the man fly through the air and land hard, not getting up. One more time… Just has the tripped man was about to hex Ron, Harry stunned him and he fell flat on his face. Ron, however, was not even looking at the action behind him. He skidded to a halt, shouted, “Difindo!” at something on the ground, that Harry couldn’t see, and cheered, pulling up was Harry saw, with enormous relief, was half of a very large snake. Harry too let out a cheer, half from relief, and half from nerves. They hadn’t been sure that the snake was a Horcrux, but Dumbledore had thought so and Harry trusted Dumbledore. Now he could end it. Harry watched for a second longer as Ron chucked the bit of the snake he was holding back in to the trees and set off for the battle, then he got to work. Harry took careful aim for the closest Death Eater, and stunned him. He was gratified to see the man fall, and Tonks quickly tying him up and snapping his wand. Harry had never seen a wand snapped, but it let out a white spark and he understood why. If the man somehow got free, he was defenseless. Harry pointed his wand at another Death Eater, took aim and missed. It went by his left ear, but it was enough to distract him so that Mad-Eye could take him out. “Now, now, Harry,” came a cold voice from behind him. “That really isn’t fair, and I can’t see Dumbledore approving of this behavior. You’re hiding, like a coward, while the others do the hard work.” Harry spun around, and had his wand ready, as did Voldemort, but neither of them moved. They both knew that directly confronting each other would get them no where. “I think it’s fair, since the Order isn’t using the Killing Curse. They need all the help they can get.” “Ah yes, the noble drivel that Dumbledore always spoke about… he swore that there was something worse than death, but he’s not here to speak of it now, is he?” Harry felt hatred rise up in him, so powerful that it practically stole his breath. He didn’t say anything, though, simply stared at him, trying to keep his mind blank. “There are worse things, and it’s your biggest weakness that you can’t see that.” “My biggest weakness, is it? Does that mean you’ve found love, Harry? Is that why you defend it so readily?” Voldemort held his wand steady, but his slit-like nostrils flared as if he smelt something foul. “Oh, I believe you have. How touching.” His voice became higher as he asked, “so who is it, Harry? Anyone I know?” For a brief moment, Harry thought about denying it, but Ginny was safely in the Burrow and she wasn’t likely to be moving. “As a matter of fact, your younger self, from that diary, did; Ginny Weasley.” “Ah, I see. How touching.” Voldemort looked at him intently. “I believe I tried to have her killed, and I almost succeeded. If I had known she was so important to you, I’d have worked a bit harder.” “I thought you did know she was important to me,” Harry said. “If you didn’t, why did you try to have her killed?” Voldemort’s eyes flashed an angry red. “I knew there was a spy somewhere, and after a conversation with Nott, I could tell it was her, so I set a trap and she fell straight in to it, tipping off the Order. When my spy learned of it, and ran straight to me, I knew and I ordered her death. Little did I know that the whole Order would come in to save her.” “Like I said,” Harry bit out. “That’s your biggest weakness, not seeing how much love can do.” Now if only he could figure out how to use that against Voldemort. Voldemort laughed a high, cold laugh. “We shall see about that.” He flicked his wand, almost lazily, at something behind Harry. Harry ran for it, as he felt a biting cold that reminded him of Dementors, spread through the room, and without thinking or trying to reason why, he thought of telling Ginny that he loved her and conjured his Patronus. It soared from his wand and went straight for Voldemort, although that hadn’t been where Harry had meant to aim it. Voldemort laughed again, his high pitched laugh, but it stopped almost as soon as it had begun. Harry stopped running too, and turned to find Voldemort impaled by the silver stag, and the man shrieking in horror, and if Harry wasn’t mistaken, anguish. Harry didn’t wait for another chance. Expelliarmus! Voldemort’s wand sailed from his hand and Harry caught it, breaking it in half as a green spark shot from it. He threw the pieces and his own wand into a corner, so that Voldemort wouldn’t be able to use it against him, and ran for Voldemort, who looked as if he had a ghost sticking out of him. He was still screaming in agony, as Harry grabbed hold of his face, and felt pain shoot through him as he’d never felt before. This was worse than the Cruciatus Curse, worse even than being possessed by Voldemort in the Ministry. This was pain beyond tolerance, but he didn’t let go as they both fell to the ground, screaming in agony. Harry closed his eyes, and prayed to die. It would be better than this. “You can’t die, Harry,” a voice whispered in his ear and he opened his eyes to see Ginny swim before his vision. “You have to come back to me, Harry. You love me and I love you.” The pain eased slightly, “Ginny?” “I’m here,” she said, bending down to kiss him. “I’m always with you, but you can’t let go. You have to hold on a bit longer, until he’s dead. I’ll help you.” Harry felt her small, warm hand touch his forehead and immediately the pain in his scar began to lessen. “Ginny…” “Don’t let go, Harry… it’s almost over.” He didn’t know if it was seconds, minutes, or hours, but finally the pain fled from him, and he realized that Voldemort lay still beside him. Harry let out a breath and then looked around, but Ginny wasn’t there. What had happened? Slowly, weakly, he got to his knees. His vision swam and he vomited, but was on his feet seconds later. He ran for his wand, and went back to Voldemort, kneeling down to feel for a pulse. Harry swore loudly. It was faint, but it was still there. Standing up, he held his wand, pointing at Voldemort, felt all of the anger and hatred spread through him and shouted, “Avada Kedavra!” A feeble green light meandered out of his wand, not even reaching the body three feet below him. Harry stared around, wishing he knew what to do, but then it hit him and he nearly laughed. “ Accio Gryffindor’s Sword!” He wasn’t going to take any chances, though. “Stupefy!” This spell did it, and he knew that he had time for the sword to get there. Only after a minute did he realize that he was hours away from Hogwarts, and the Muggles were going to be horrified to see a flying sword rushing through the air. Harry thought though, that on the whole, the new Minister would probably forgive him. He turned to look once more at the battle and saw that the Order finally seemed to be winning. There were several Death Eaters down, and not many from the Order. Once again he stunned several Death Eaters, or at least tried to, while he waited. Finally a whirring sound came from behind him, and he turned just in time to catch the sword. Slowly he made his way over to Voldemort. He knelt down at his side, near his head and took a deep breath. Raising the sword, he swung it down, decapitating him with a sickening crack. Harry nearly vomited again. Standing up, he dropped the sword and pointed it at his body before saying, “Incendio!” Fire shot towards it, lighting it instantly. Harry didn’t wait around to watch, however. As soon as he was sure that Voldemort’s body would be completely consumed, he ran for the battle, to join in with the Order. “Harry!” Ron yelled, as he reached him. “Did you see I got the-” “Yeah,” Harry called, ducking a curse. Stupefy! Harry thought, but the Death Eater blocked it. “It’s done, Voldemort’s dead. I just burned his body.” The Death Eater, who had just raised his wand, tripped and both Harry and Ron cursed him simultaneously. “Seriously?” Ron asked, as he watched the man twitch on the floor. “Yeah,” Harry said, feeling lighter than he had his entire life. Spells seemed to flow like water from his wand as he helped his best mate fight them off. Together they worked seamlessly, fighting together until he realized with a start that all of the Death Eaters were either tied up, or Apparating away. “Bloody hell, mate,” Ron said, wiping at an oozing cut on his cheek. “Is this it, then?” “Harry!” Remus called, and Harry turned to see his old professor white in the face. “I just looked into the house… is it really him?” Harry could only nod as Remus pulled him into a tight hug. “Was anyone killed?” Remus nodded, letting go of Harry. “Yeah, we lost McGonagall and Arthur is hurt badly. He’s already been taken to St. Mungo’s, but I think he’ll be okay.” Harry felt sorrow fill him at the thought of his old professor. She’d never been soft with him, but she had been fair and he was going to miss her. Ron seemed to have known that his dad had been hurt, because he did not react to this news. “Did you hear about Fleur?” “What?” Harry asked, bewildered. Remus turned away, clearly disgusted. “She was the spy for Voldemort. She tried to kill Ginny today, but then chickened out and confessed everything to Molly and Bill. That’s how we knew that they were going after you today.” Harry’s blood went cold. “No way! She can’t have-” but then he remembered Voldemort’s words, ‘a little flower told me’. “She told Voldemort where I was going.” “Yes, we knew that because Nick told us. She was in the room when he came by Headquarters.” Remus suddenly looked old, and tired. “Bill is devastated; took her to the Ministry to turn her in, after she confessed at the Burrow.” “Wait,” Harry said, suddenly confused. “She was at Headquarters then…” “Then about an hour later, she showed up at the Burrow and tried to kill Ginny. Molly caught her and she confessed.” Remus said. “She didn’t even say why she did it, just that she was sorry.” “I-” Harry didn’t even know what to say, and this time he could tell that Ron was just as shocked as he was. “Harry! Ron!” Hermione ran over and hugged him, before throwing herself in to Ron’s arms for a long kiss. “Is it over then?” She asked, when they’d finally broken apart. “Yeah, he’s dead. I burned his body.” Before she could ask, because he knew she would, he explained. “I got the Horcrux from the house and put it in my pocket. He tried to kill me, but the curse hit the pendant and sort of melted it.” “Horcrux?” Remus said, clearly horrified. Hermione didn’t seem to hear him. “Oh yes! That would do it, I suppose. It is part of a soul. Then what?” Harry then explained about Pettigrew and their stand off, how he’d weakened Voldemort and how he’d seen Ginny when he touched him. Then he described how he killed him, while Hermione turned a fair shade of green. “I’d seen Ron kill Nagini, so I knew I could end it if I got the chance, but I still don’t understand about the Patronus.” Hermione also looked baffled. “I don’t know.” “A Patronus is pure positive energy, Harry. Depending on what you thought of when you conjured it, it could be very powerful.” Remus still seemed to be shaken, but now he was smiling. Harry remembered back to the attack on Luna’s house and how he’d been able to repel the Dementors then. “I was thinking of Ginny.” “That would do it, then,” Hermione said, grinning broadly. “I don’t know about you, but I think I want to get out of here before the Ministry shows up. I don’t really feel up to answering questions right now. Maybe we could also go see Ron’s dad.” “Go on,” Remus urged them. “I’ll stay and bring out his body when the Aurors get here.” Harry hadn’t really thought about Remus being able to get in to Godric’s Hollow, but it made sense. “Thanks,” Harry said, shaking his hand. Without another word, he, Ron and Hermione Disapparated to the Burrow. |
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