By Skill Not Force

Prologue IV: Malfoy's Mission

Room of Requirement, Hogwarts-February 17, 2007-Draco

Unfortunately, Harry's prediction about Draco's fate proved to be all too accurate. As soon as he arrived, Draco was forced to take the Dark Mark and was then given two tasks. The first task was to find a way for the Death Eaters to breach the Hogwarts wards. The second, and far more important task was to kill Albus Dumbledore. And to make things worse, the Dark Lord had threatened to kill his parents if he didn't obey, and so, Draco was stuck.

Luckily for Draco, Harry was very supportive, and wanted the headmaster dead for his own reasons, even to the point of poisoning his cursed sherbet lemons, which had certainly doomed Dumbledore, even if he weren't suffering from the Withering Curse. Even now, Harry was attempting to help him fix the Vanishing Cabinet, although his idea of helping was going through the random books of the Room of Hidden Things looking for a book to help. With anybody else, Draco would say it was impossible, but having been Harry's best friend for nearly six years, Draco knew better. Harry made it a habit to do things that were believed to be impossible. Merlin, they'd already found Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem in here, and that was without even looking for it!

And as always, his faith in his best friend was rewarded. "Draco, you are never going to believe what I just found!"

"Try me, cousin," Draco said with a laugh. Technically Harry was his second cousin once removed, but Harry had been so happy to find out that they were related that Draco had just continued calling him 'cousin'.

"Very well, cousin, but you asked for it. The title of this book is Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Vanishing Cabinets. How's that for help?"

Draco gaped at his best friend. Sure, he knew that Harry had ridiculously good luck, but this was nearly unbelievable, even for him! "Harry, give me that book! That might actually have the answers I need!"

Well, Harry gave it to him, sort of. But instead of giving him the book, he made a copy and gave the copy to Draco, who immediately started going over it to find the information he need. He had just found it when Harry shouted out "Draco, I've found something incredibly interesting!" Then, with just that for a warning, he started reading a passage from the book. "Vanishing cabinets are one of the most incredible pieces of magic ever deliberately invented, but even they have been the catalysts for even more amazing pieces of magic. Due to the accidental damage of the runic structure on one vanishing cabinet, it has been discovered that the cabinets have the ability to send someone or something to another reality. However, this can be an incredibly dangerous action to take, as some realities are radically dangerous, and others have no magic.

"For the realities without magic, one must quickly build and enchant a vanishing cabinet, otherwise the traveller will be stuck there for the rest of his life as a squib, for his magic will slowly dissipate, even faster if he uses magic. If a realm used to have magic, then the traveller will keep his magic, but his children will not have magic until magic returns. However, in both realms magical traits that belong to a family (like parseltongue for House Slytherin) will remain in the family, even if magic is never created or returns. What do you think of that?"

"Sounds like a great back up plan if we can't stop the Dark Lord, or if the Ministry decides to arrest you for no good reason," Draco had to admit. "Now, let's get to work on this thing, otherwise there's no way I'm going to live, and you won't have a chance to run if necessary." Harry had to agree with that and the two quickly started examining the runes on the cabinet.

Tilly Whim Caves, Dorset-May 9, 2007-Harry

Harry marvelled at Tom's ingenuity at creating the second cave, and at Dumbledore's lack of observation skills. How did he not notice the snake carved into the wall? True, the blood part was crude, but seeing as how it was connected to Tom's school days, he doubted that Tom could have done better at the time, no matter how much of a genius he was, there were some things that just couldn't be done when one was still in school, or only recently graduated. What impressed Harry even more though, was the boat that Tom had placed in the . . . would it be proper to call it a lake? In any case, it reminded him of the legends of Charon the Ferryman who carried people across the River Styx to the Greek underworld. How did Tom enchant it so that it would come when called? And what else was in the lake?

Once on the island, (and absolutely disgusted by the thought of actual inferi being in the lake,) Harry again wondered at the foolishness of Dumbledore. Why didn't he just think of simply dumping the potion, or putting it into another container? Oh well, at least Dumbledore wasn't asking him to drink it, just force Dumbledore to drink it. And with the reaction from the first drink, Harry had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. The Draught of Despair? How brilliant! Even if the person drinking the draught managed to finish it, they'd still feel a desperate need for water, allowing the inferi to kill them! Harry silently congratulated his fellow Parselmouth as he forced Dumbledore to drink the potion, just waiting for the final drops to be given, and secretly revelling in the obvious emotional pain that the headmaster was going through.

When Dumbledore finally finished, and Harry had fished the locket out of the basin, he leaned in to the old man. "You know, I've been waiting for this day for six years now. Ever since I learned about magic and the truth about my parents deaths, I've dreamt of the day that I could have my vengeance against the ones responsible for me being sent to the Dursleys. Pettigrew has paid his price, thanks to you I'll be able to make Tom pay, but now, it's your turn." Dumbledore's eyes widened in fear at Harry's words. "Oh, don't worry Professor, I'm not going to kill you. No, I'm a Slytherin, I believe the punishment should fit the crime. You dropped me off at the Dursleys and left me to rot, well, so am I. You are going to die here, but not by my hand. But before I go . . . expelliarmus!" And with that, Dumbledore's wand flew into Harry's hand. "Sorry about that, but first, you left me no way to escape, so why should I? Second, I know what wand this is, old man, and there is no way I'm letting anyone else take this. Goodbye, Albus Dumbledore. When I'm through, no one will ever remember you with fond memories again." And with that, Harry apparated out of the cave, and back to Hogwarts, while Dumbledore was dragged into the lake by hundreds of inferi.

The Burrow, Devon-July 31, 2007-Draco

Draco watched with amusement as Harry paced in the living room, waiting for evening. He couldn't think of a single time that his best friend had been so nervous, even when he was preparing for his warlock test two weeks earlier. Ah, now that had been a day of change! After acquiring the locket from the cave, the group of friends were naturally quite upset that it was a fake, replaced by one RAB. Fortunately, thanks to Draco's knowledge of the Death Eaters, and his own family, they were able to identify the thief as Sirius' late brother, Regulus. Unfortunately, the thief Mundungus Fletcher had stolen the locket and sold it, to Umbridge of all people! Yet Harry's luck held true as, right after he passed his warlock test, who should he run into but Umbridge, and on her neck was Slytherin's locket. Harry managed to quickly claim it and cleanse it, making it three soul pieces destroyed, two to find. As it was, their only hope lay in Draco now, and the hope that Tom would spill something when he returned. In any case, Draco's return would result in a great victory either way, thanks to Harry's most devious plan yet.

Ah, but today would have no impact on the war, today was all about Harry and Hermione. They had celebrated Harry's birthday that morning, and now they were preparing for a double wedding, one side of which had been seen coming for six years now. Bill and Fleur were getting married, and in thanks to Harry for bringing them together, had agreed to a double wedding so Harry could finally marry Hermione.

One hour later, and they were finally reciting their vows. Harry turned to Hermione and recited his. "Hermione, from the moment I first saw you, I knew you were special. Though you had read about what made me famous, you were interested only in the boy behind the legend. You have been by my side every step of the way, through the good times and the bad, no matter how dangerous it was, or what people thought of me. I am yours, just as you are mine."

Hermione then recited her vows as Harry placed the wedding ring on her finger. "Harry, you were my first, and without a doubt, my best friend ever. Where others saw a buck-toothed know-it-all, you saw a beautiful girl just trying to learn as much about this new world she had been thrust into. You have never mocked me or my causes, only giving me your love and support, or gently correcting my misconceptions." The three friends all smiled as they remembered the short-lived SPEW. "Despite the fact that you could have had anyone in our world, you chose me. I am yours, as you are mine."

"If there is anyone who has reason that these two should not be bonded, let him speak now, or forever hold their peace," the officiator announced. After two minutes of silence, he then turned to the couple. "Then, in view of these witnesses, I now pronounce you man and wife, bonded by love, magic and law. You may . . ." He never finished as Harry pulled Hermione into his arms for a kiss filled with his love and passion for his new bride. After the wedding feast ended, and the bedding ceremony had started, Draco apparated out in order to make their last preparation for their greatest strike against the Death Eaters. Meanwhile, as Harry and Hermione consummated their love for each other, Harry's time as one of Tom Riddle's Horcruxes finally ended as their love destroyed the soul piece marked by hatred and the darkest of the dark arts.

12 Grimmauld Place, London-August 7, 2007-Severus

As Severus stepped out of the Flue, he felt terribly conflicted. On the one hand, several of the Order members were his friends and he had his promise to Lily to think about, not to mention Harry was one of his snakes. On the other hand, he had his loyalty to the Dark Lord and his absolute hatred of Potter and certain other Order members. Well, for now he had no choice but to follow up on Draco's information. As the other Death Eaters exited the Flue, he made his plan. "Yaxley, Macnair, Rowle, you take the top floor. Selwyn, Nott, Mulciber, fourth floor. Jugson, Crabbe, Goyle, third. Lestranges, first floor. Carrow, Rookwood, Avery with me." Despite the fact that they had come during what Draco had claimed was an Order meeting called by Potter, Severus knew that he'd have to clear the entire house to be sure they found everyone. However, due to the fact that an Order meeting would be going on, he had the largest group in order to take them on.

But something was wrong. Despite Draco's insistence that Potter still trusted him, the entire house was silent. Then when they entered the dining room that served as the Order's meeting room, he knew: this had been a set-up. Either Potter knew that Draco would leave to tell the Dark Lord about the meeting and moved it, or there never was a meeting, and this was all a trap, and they were left with the question of whether or not Draco was on their side or not.

"Snape! We found the elf!" Rudolphus called out. Curious to see what the elf knew, the Death Eaters all gathered on the first floor. When they had, Rudolphus started interrogating the elf. "What's going on here, elf? Where's you master and the Order?"

"Nasty Master Potter and his filthy friends are gone! They set up wizard wards to let wizards in but never out! We are all going to die!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Amycus asked.

"Everyone, spread out, search the entire building for anything that you don't recognize!" Snape ordered. Within minutes, everyone had found strange bundles that they couldn't move no matter how they tried, and no spell could identify them. Finally Yaxley found something else and brought it before Snape. Recognizing it as a recording ball, Snape activated it.

Every Death Eater watched as Harry Potter rose from the memory ball and taunted them for the last time. "Hello, Professor Snape. Yes, I knew it would be you to lead the Death Eaters here, who else could? I always wondered what side you were truly on, but now it doesn't really matter, does it? You were willing to lead Death Eaters here to slaughter me, my friends and allies, not to mention my family. Well, you've lost. Grimmauld has been abandoned for the past two weeks, ever since Neville, Hermione, Draco and I finished emptying it of everything of value, and placing bombs throughout the building. Oh yes, Draco knew, he knew everything. What you need to know is that Draco has been loyal to me since First Year, and always will be. Now, ever since you Flued in, or Apparated in, or even just walked in the front door, the bombs have been preparing to go off, and they will kill you and whoever else you brought with you. Oh, and before you try to escape, don't. You can't, because I have set Parselmagic wards all over the house. You can't leave, no matter how or what you try. So long, Snape. I'd say it's been great knowing you, but that would be a lie. Mischief managed."

Instantly, the Death Eaters all tried to escape, but they couldn't. And when the bombs started going off, they knew they were doomed. Though they didn't know how, Potter had managed to bottle Fiendfyre and placed it in the bombs. In a last ditch attempt to escape, six of the Death Eaters gathered together to assault the door, and the rest scattered to try other avenues, but nothing worked, nothing! "Damn you, Potter!" Snape yelled as the last bomb went off, killing all of them instantly.

12 Grimmauld Place, London-August 7, 2007-Kingsley

The Aurors arrived within an hour of the destruction of 12 Grimmauld, just as the Muggle police arrived. They immediately noticed the oddly dressed men and women and one of them went up to the man who was obviously in charge and asked "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt, MI5. We have reason to believe that this was an attack by Al Qaeda, if not one of the IRA splinter groups still operating. Do you mind if we check?"

The policeman shook his head and allowed him through. "I should warn you though, Shacklebolt, the building's pretty unstable. I don't know how much you'll find, or how safe it will be." Shacklebolt nodded, though he doubted they'd need to worry, after all, how much of a threat could a destroyed building be when one had magic?

As the Aurors entered the building, Kingsley wasn't too surprised to find out that they discovered many house-elf skulls, but when they announced a complete skeleton, Kingsley was shocked. Kreacher was dead now too? Were there any other casualties, and if so, who? And what had caused Grimmauld Place to be destroyed?

Soon they had some of the answers. Fifteen others dead, fourteen of them were known Death Eaters, and several of them were Inner Circle. And why was Yaxley here? "Kingsley! We found it," Banks called out. Following the voice to his youngest Auror, he found him in what used to be the dining room. "This is what caused the explosion, or rather, ones similar to it," Banks started, showing him a bright green package with runes along the sides. "Inside is a mixture of Greek fire, along with a timer connected to a set of runes that were set to react to a specific magical signature, probably why this one didn't go off. On the outside of the package is an ancient Norse spell that made the Greek fire even more dangerous, truly the work of a genius."

"Any clue who made it?" he asked. Normally he'd have asked Tonks, as she was a genius when it came to magical signatures, but she was out on her last day of maternity leave.

"I'm not completely certain, sir, but I think it was Potter. You see these runes? They're not in any language I've even heard of, and I was acknowledged as one of the top linguists in the Academy. The only thing I can think of is that it's written Parseltongue."

"Very well, let's get out of here. We don't need the muggles wondering why we're not worried about this place." They had nearly made it to the door when a rumble was heard from somewhere above them, and Kingsley knew no more, as he was buried beneath the rubble, one of the pieces piercing his heart, killing him instantly.

Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire-August 8, 2007-Lord Voldemort

Voldemort was shocked when his spy inside the Auror ranks reported what had happened at Grimmauld. What had been planned as an ambush to destroy Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had turned out to be a trap! Fifteen of his most loyal Death Eaters killed, and not so much as one Order member dead, unless one counted Shacklebolt's death! It was a complete disaster, and with Yaxley's death, he would have to come up with a new plan for the takeover of the Ministry. But what? As he could not have an Imperioused Minister in control, he would have to manipulate things so that someone at least sympathetic to their cause. "Lucius, who is the most sympathetic, high-ranking member of the Ministry towards our cause?"

"Dolores Umbridge, my lord. I am certain that had Yaxley survived and your original plan gone ahead, then she would have had an even higher ranking than she does now. It would not be hard to remove those standing between her and the head office, and she is not Marked," Lucius explained.

"Good, make a plan to place her in office as quickly as possible. This war has taken a turn against us ever since Potter took control," Voldemort replied. Salazar, Potter had already destroyed all his Horcruxes without damaging most of the vessels! Not even Potter's most trusted friend knew how they had been cleansed. Speaking of whom . . . "Draco, what has brought you before us? I certainly did not call you."

"No, my lord, however, I was sent a message for you. Harry has sent you a challenge. He challenges you to a final duel near Hogwarts, just you and him, with our allies and representatives of the Ministry watching. It would be a duel to the death, winner take all. What do you wish for me to reply, my lord?" the Malfoy heir asked.

Voldemort had to think about this. A chance to end the war now, with no more casualties, and a chance to kill Potter, but at the risk of his own life. What to do, what to do? "Does Potter state when the duel is to take place, should I agree?"

"No, my lord, he leaves that up to you."

Hmm, then he could have his Death Eaters take the Ministry while he killed Potter. "Very well, tell Potter that I accept, and will have you send a date when I have decided on one." He then turned back to the elder Malfoy and started discussing plans to take the Ministry.

Hogwarts grounds, Scotland-August 23, 2007-Harry

This was it, the day that Harry had been waiting and training for ever since he learned the truth of his history. The last person responsible for his twelve years in hell was finally going to pay. He watched as Voldemort came up to him, and the two bowed to each other. Then, with three Ministry employees, several Death Eaters and Hogwarts teachers watching (from behind wards specifically set up for the duel,) the two archenemies cast their first spells, and the duel had begun.

In the Ministry of Magic, Remus Lupin was visiting his wife, Nymphadora Tonks, when out of nowhere, spells started flying. Arthur Weasley was the first to fall to the surprise attack, followed closely by Sturgis Podmore. Remus and Dora quickly pulled their wands, and duelled the attackers, even managing to take two of them out, but there were too many of them, and they were killed, holding each other's hands, united in death.

As the duel continued, the witnesses all agreed that it was the greatest duel they had ever seen. Each brought their unique talents, knowledge and skill to bear, and while Voldemort brought sixty years of experience with him, it was easy to understand why everyone called Harry 'the Chosen One.' He had truly earned the title of warlock-a title given to only the greatest wielders of DA/DADA, and Harry was proving that in this duel.

Rufus Scrimgeour turned to the reporter and replied, "No, I do not feel as though I need to be at the duel. I have every confidence that Harry Potter will win the duel and end the reign of Voldemort forever. As such, I have ordered the Auror department to arrest any and all Death Eaters with the exception of Draco Malfoy and-"

But the media never heard the second exception, as a Death Eater had apparated behind him and killed him with a quick Cutting Curse to the neck, instantly decapitating him.

Finally, after two hours of duelling, Voldemort began to tire, and Harry seized his chance. With a whispered "Sachera!" he finally hit his nemesis, and Tom Marvolo Riddle, the Dark Lord Voldemort, finally fell to the ground, dead. Draco and Hermione were the first people to run up and congratulate him, while Harry just collapsed in their arms. His long quest for revenge was finally done. He could finally live a normal life with his best friend, and the love of his life.

A/N: And that is the end of the prologue. I will not start working on the true crossover until I have written up to at least King Robert's arrival to Winterfell in Game of Thrones. Seeing as how that will be at least three chapters in, it will not be for a while, especially seeing as how I have several other stories being published that I want to focus on. So until then, farewell! The complete, five-part prologue will be published on Friday, August 15, and I will publish a note when I start publishing the rest of this in the Harry Potter/Game of Thrones crossover section.

Chapter Playlist:

Malfoy's Mission (HP: HBP)

The Drink of Despair (HP: HBP)

The Killing of Dumbledore (HP: HBP)

I Am Hers, She Is Mine (Game of Thrones S2)

Freedom Fighters (Two Steps From Hell)

Showdown (HP: DH2)

Battlefield (HP: DH2)

Voldemort's End (HP: DH2)