Summary: When aunt Marge visits the Dursleys after the events of OotP things become too much for the Boy Who lived and he snaps, the power of his dark side that Voldemort helped create on that horrible night fourteen years is unleashed and he decides to fight the war on his own terms, his ultimate goal to create a world where there is no corrupt government or discrimination towards magical animals and half-bloods or Muggleborns.

Warning: swearing, angst and tragedy.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, Warner Bros., Inc. and Sunrise Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Everything else is mine.

Author note: Before you begin reading this chapter I just wanted to say to all of you: thanks for keeping on reading this far. If you stick with it to the end you will know why it ends like it will.

Power

Of

Revenge

Crying heavens

In war there are no victors, only those whom have lost the least.

Rage: It burned him. The heat out there could not equal it. He did not know how hot it was outside. He was sure however the searing anger inside him would make it look like a matchstick against a blazing inferno. A blizzard of dust, ash and debris raged outside yet the glare of the fireballs could be seen through them. Not even the battle against Voldemort had resulted in such carnage. He had not noticed the devastation they had unleashed on the landscape back then, when the storm of pure magic had been raging. However, he could not imagine it having been as bad as this. A sphere of light hovered above him, the only thing he had managed to accomplish. The outside was completely dark now. His voice didn't work. He had screamed his throat raw. The things he had seen smash against the shield. The horrors outside that he had glimpsed between moments of a clearing in the storm lighted explosions like solar flares. He wanted to be out there. He could do something! Anything! But try as he might the shield would not let him pass. Whatever magic the dragons had used to hold him, it was unyielding. He could see them still, standing against the shield. The three dragons leaning on the bubble that kept him a prisoner but they did not move. They did not even breathe. When he called out to them they did not respond. He didn't expect them to. He had felt them die. Where their minds had been connected to him for all those months there was an emptiness now that could not be denied. That tentative control he had over himself slipped away. With a roar that set his throat on fire with pain magic gathered to him; enough to shatter anything to dust, to destroy whatever lay in sight. His eyes blazed and the ground trembled. Raging in frustration he slammed his fists on the ground. The ground shuddered as if from an earthquake. A cloud of dust burst up, filling the bubble. He did not feel the dirt stinging his eyes or his own coughs. All he could think of was getting out there and finding those he cared about. If even one of them was harmed he would find whoever was responsible and rip their guts out with his bare hands. But he knew they were hurt. Maybe dead... The thought alone had him shivering.

At last the bubble around him burst apart in a shower of sparks. The air that hit him knocked him to the ground. Scalding heat burned his lungs. An immediate feeling of sickness overwhelmed him. The ash in the air was so thick he could not breathe. With some effort he cast a shield on himself, pushing away the filth. The sickness did not leave him. But his determination flared to life. His body flooded with magic. With great gulps of fresh air from his bubble shield he sat up on his knees. His body felt heavy and sluggish but that was fading. He still couldn't see a thing save for the eerie statues that had once been Arakir, Meganos and Sitara. He got up on wobbly knees, stumbling to Arakir. Reaching out with a hand to touch the dragons belly he pulled his hand back as if burned. Even at the slight touch of his fingertip the scaly skin crumbled to ash. How they had survived the storm he did not know. Maybe it had been the shield keeping them in one piece but it had not protected them from whatever had done this. A strong gust of wind peeled their skin away in flakes of burnt scale. With a cracking of charcoaled bones the bodies collapsed. The cloud of black ash that rose engulfed him. In mere moments it was swept up by the wind and carried away. Harry did not even notice the tears making tracks down his sooty cheeks. With a focus sharp as a knife he grasped one of his more rarely used gifts, something that linked him to this island forever. The winds that whipped in every which direction all stopped. A stiff breeze blew from east to west. The weather on Insania still listened to him if he wanted it to. Slowly but surely the clogged up landscape cleared. A hazy moon appeared halfway up the sky. The dust and ash did not only cover the ground but hovered high in the sky as well. When the last clouds were rolling away across the grounds the devastation finally became clear to him and he sunk back to his knees in disbelief. The rage boiling in him shattered, his determination disappearing in the blink of an eye. There weren't any candles or other lights from the festival left but the fires that burned everywhere made up for them. A hundredfold. He had been blown almost to the other side of the lake by the first explosion. On the other side Dragons' Keep burned. Its towers were blown off; most of the roof had collapsed. Thick smoke billowed out of the flames consuming timber. The lower parts of the castle still stood whole but the white marble was scorched black. Not a single window remained. Even from this distance he could see the entrance, its gates depicting his dragon form blown from their hinges. Fires raged inside like a furnace. The central square was a barren waste. Where thousands of people had been seated at a field of tables was only a crater in a field of ash. Further away were the remains of the rollercoaster. The small parts of the wooden structure that still stood aflame. The town was nothing but burning ruins and behind that what remained of the woods was a raging inferno. All was black, all was scorched. All was ash and dust. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The lake steamed. The water wasn't boiling but it looked hotter then what you could put a finger into. Of the fleet there was nothing in sight save for the Ekliptica. The ship had been unmanned and its shields activated at any sign of a threat in such a case. But her hull was blackened from the heat, the pink ribbons now black and still burning in some places. The three cruisers that had formed a triangle around her lay washed up on the shore; heaps of twisted metal that vaguely resembled hulls. Their shields were not near the calibre of those of the Ekliptica. More wreckage littered the channel out to sea but not nearly enough for the amount of ships that had been at anchor. The rest must have sunk or been blown out to sea. So far the Ekliptica was the only thing that had survived.

Without another thought, Harry apparated to the bridge. The inside was a ruin like everything else. The windshields had all been blown out. The controls were half melted or scorched beyond recognition. But that did not matter. Inside the shield he had not been able to connect with any Core but now, when he reached out, he could instantly feel the heart of power in the bowels of the ship. He still didn't feel completely right so passed on trying to reach out to any other Cores right away instead using the means at hand. Tapping into the ship's systems he was relieved most of them still worked.

Through the speakers he could hear his own voice as he called out to anyone that might still be alive: 'This is Harry Potter calling out to everyone and anyone. Is anyone still alive? Please respond.'

Silence interspersed with static was the only thing he got. He tried wireless communications, different channels and emergency backups. After several attempts at all of them a voice finally came through. Harry heaved sigh of relief.

'This is Lieutenant Larson from the Sirius Black calling for Harry Potter. Can you hear me commander?'

The broadcast was riddled with static but Harry could understand it, if barely.

'I hear you Lieutenant Larson,' said Harry with pure happiness. At least someone was still alive! 'Are you the only one?'

'Negative sir. I have a couple dozen that are unharmed but dozens more severely injured and sick beyond belief. None of us are feeling all too well. We have the Tailspike alongside. They are in mostly the same shape. Our ships have suffered damage but are combat-capable. What the hell happened, sir? Are we under attack? We saw huge mushroom shaped clouds on the island. At least seven of them. Shockwaves unlike any I've ever seen hit us along with incredible heat. Most injured are badly burned. Our shields took most of the damage but so far we haven't been able to get in touch with anyone else. We have made a quick tour of the island and so far have spotted no enemies.'

'I'm trying to figure things out myself,' said Harry. The news could have been better but at least two ship crews had survived for the most part. That was good. 'I don't believe we will be under attack any time soon but the island has been hit pretty hard. Please come to Dragon's Beak as soon as you can. There might be more survivors. I will start looking right away. Soon as you get here mobilize your available troops and organise search parties. I'm leaving whoever's highest in rank in charge.'

'Yes sir.'

Harry broke the comm. The Sirius Black and Tailspike had been the only two ships out patrolling. They had been farthest away and thus spared from the worst of it but it gave him hope. There had to be more survivors!

Apparating away from the bridge he arrived at the central square where the head table had been placed. But there was nothing there. Not a single table or chair. Nor people. A wasteland. Something Larson had said finally seeped through the haze in his mind. Nukes! Someone had used nukes on them!

He was shaking. His veins shone with magic being pumped through them. His eyes were ablaze. He would make them pay! His magic filled eyes looked around one last time. There was nothing to save here. The faces of Luna and Hermione popped in his mind. Tears sprang to the front but from his expression no one could have said he was crying. Looking back at the blazing keep he reached out to Hedwig but even there he got no response. Apparating again took him to the depths of the castle. He had no solid proof yet but he had a suspicion of who was behind this act of depravity. The dungeon he was in was pitch-black. A flick of his hand brought the lamps buzzing to life. While this was the deepest you could go underground while staying on the island even here there was damage. Some of the fluorescent lamps were hanging by their cabling alone. The overhead crane had been knocked from its rails. Chunks of the ceiling had fallen down, cluttering the ground. A flash of blond caught his eye. His heart stopped. It couldn't be. Yet it wasn't a hallucination.

'Luna!' he yelled, the magic gone from him in the blink of an eye. Dashing over to her he skidded over the floor on his knees stopping beside her. She was smiling weakly up at him from the floor.

'Harry,' she said faintly. 'Thank Merlin you're alright. Although I hadn't expected anything else from you.'

Tears were streaming down his face while she looked so serene.

'It's alright,' he said gently cupping her face in his hands. 'Everything is going to be alright now.'

She nodded drunkenly. Looking down the length of her body his face turned aghast when below the bellybutton there was only a block of concrete, a chunk of fallen ceiling.

His shocked face did not surprise her. She reached up with a hand to touch his cheek. His eyes swivelled to her face. A feeling of dread was overwhelming him.

'Hold still Luna,' he said on the verge of panicking. 'I'll go and get help.'

She grabbed his arm with surprising strength. 'Don't,' she whispered. 'It's no use Harry. I can feel myself dying. Please don't leave. I don't want to die alone.'

His façade was gone, an expression of pure sadness and loss distorting his features. 'No Luna,' he said. 'Don't leave me. Please don't die.'

She smiled a smile of pure sadness. 'I'm afraid it's not up to me.'

Magic blazed to life in him. She shivered as she felt it roar into existence. Her eyes were sadness incarnate as his magic flooded through her. Such a pleasant sensation: Warmth, comfort and love all in one. It was to no avail. He could feel what she was feeling now. Life was seeping out of her. No matter how much magic he used, no matter how much he tried to revive her with it, the spark of life was fading from her and he could do nothing about it. Sobs wracked his body as he slumped down over her, cradling her against him. Her hand came to rest gently on top of his head.

'Why?' he demanded. 'Why did this happen?'

'What happened Harry?' she asked gently. I only saw a fireball go off against a mountain. The next thing I knew I was flying through the air feeling like I got rammed by the Hogwarts Express with Hermione right in front of me in the same predicament. The pendant you gave me was aflame with magic. I tried reaching for Hermione but right before I could reach her there was a feeling like taking a Portkey but not quite the same. When I opened my eyes the ceiling came down on me.'

Harry lowered her. Looking at the pendant hanging on a chain around her neck its emerald eyes were glowing. His gift to her had protected her but not quite enough.

'We got nuked,' he said with anger through his tears.

'Nuked?' asked Luna, mulling over the strange word.

'Hermione once told you about the Muggles most fearsome weapon,' he said through clenched teeth with tears still flowing like rivers.

She nodded. 'She told me that Zeus was a mere toy when compared to the arsenal the Muggles had at their disposal. I thought she was overestimating it or underestimating Zeus.'

'She was not. They used a small part of their arsenal on us. You should see the devastation out there. So far I found no survivors on the island save you. Only two ships and their crews are still alive.'

Her eyes widened. 'You mean…' She could not even imagine it. 'All those people…'

Harry nodded grimly.

Luna burst into tears as well. 'So everyone is…'

'I'm afraid so,' he said.

She cried while stuttering: 'Hermione, Severus, Sarah…'

Harry nodded again, crying along.

All the while Luna's life ebbed out of her. Her eyes were getting droopy.

'Please Luna, don't leave me,' he begged once more.

She just smiled sadly. 'I can't stop it Harry.' Harshness overcame her features. 'Do not let this crime go unpunished,' she said. Her voice was weak but an undertone of steel made his bright emerald eyes focus. Looking into those eyes she still felt butterflies in her stomach. 'Hermione worked on something to trace objects flying through the sky from Zeus. I don't know if it is finished or usable but if I remember correctly nukes are a sort of rockets.'

Harry nodded.

'You can see where they came from,' she said. Her eyes were still beautiful to him. They were sad but determined at the same time. 'Don't let whoever did this get away with it.'

'I won't,' he said, his teeth clenched in anger and revenge.

She coughed. Blood stained her hand. She smiled apologetically at him, wiping it off on her robes as if it was nothing to worry about. Softly stroking his cheek she asked: 'Can I ask one last favour Harry?'

He nodded fervently. 'Anything you want Luna, I'll make it happen.'

Her hand left his cheek. Her slim finger pointed to her desk against the wall not far away. 'Bring me the helmet on top of my desk.'

Without his gaze ever wavering from hers he stretched out his hand. The helmet floated up from the desk, soaring into his hand. He held it out to her. Her hand traced over the patterns and runes etched in the surface. Further away from them something buzzed to life. Harry could feel magic flowing but he did not care what it was. He only had eyes for her. She looked deeply into those emerald eyes that had captivated her so long ago.

'I love you Harry Potter,' she said with such love and tenderness his tears began flowing anew.

'And I you Luna Lovegood,' he said.

Their lips met in a kiss unlike any other and for a moment they both forgot their world had collapsed around them. The last hours hadn't happened. Everything would be alright. Luna broke the kiss. Reality took over. Taking the helmet out of his hand she put it on with some effort.

'What are you going to do?' he asked, trying desperately to keep up a brave face and failing miserably.

The runes flared to life. She looked at him with a truly happy smile: 'I will give you the Huneco in its true form. I'll be with you whenever you pilot it. I promised myself to be by your side forever. I won't break it. Make them pay Harry. Make them feel the power of revenge.'

Magic swirled around her. Not his but purely hers. The feel of it was…magical. Something frail. Comforting. Something to relish.

'Luna, no, don't do this,' he begged her. 'I will save you! I don't care if it's your destiny. I don't care if it's the will of God himself. I won't let you die!'

With a last weak breath she whispered her final words: 'I love you.'

A flare of magic that made him shield his eyes engulfed her body. It lasted only a moment but it was intense. He was swept in a feeling that Luna in its purest form. It was to die for. It was over too fast. Way too fast. When he lowered his arm she was peaceful. Her eyes closed with a happy smile as if asleep in his arms.

He could not utter a sound save for a random sob. She was dead. His Luna was dead. After all they had been through. After all they had achieved. After those few short months of happiness he had shared with her. Her smile, her laugh, her whispering voice... It all flashed through his mind. Along with memories of her came those of others. His magic raged into him. It demanded retribution, blood, revenge. Lost, they were all lost.

Through the magic that bubbled in him he felt something else behind him. A familiar glow that had just died in front of him. With sadness that wrapped his heart in ice he lay her down gently. Standing up and turning around he faced the source of that small glow that felt like Luna. Magic still flowed where he had felt it before. A machine that looked like a giant computer but from the days of the very first hummed steadily. The bubble of magic that felt like the love now gone was in there. He stumbled to it. He did not know what it truly was he felt but it drew him like a moth to flame. He halted a few metres away, staring dumbly at the contraption. He felt numb. He didn't know what it did. Luna had never shown it to him and he knew better than to ask about things she didn't see fit to share with him. After only a moment of staring, a hatch hissed open. The feel of Luna became stronger. Inside a small chamber that was revealed stood a black box with intricate carvings and shifting runes that gave off a soft blue glow. He did not know how it was possible but the object the size of a shoebox sent off the true feel of Luna. A letter lay folded on top of it. With a trembling hand he reached out to pick it up. Gingerly he unfolded it to reveal handwriting that was unmistakably Luna's.

Dear Harry,

If you ever read this it means things have taken a turn for the worst and I can no longer talk to you. I hope you never do read this. I can't stand to think of how you are feeling when you do. But Harry, I am sure that whatever happened you did everything you could to stop it. I could never blame you for whatever happened. I have not told you yet when I write this but I love you. Something is growing between us. I hope you share that feeling. I want to see through the end of it all together with you. But it wasn't meant to be, I guess. And thus I'll give you something to achieve victory. It may not be able to defeat Voldemort but it will surely help with whatever foe you are facing. The Huneco is the most powerful weapon we will ever produce. Detonating a series of Cores in resonance may be the most powerful bomb and Zeus the most fearsome weapon of mass destruction but the Huneco is unstoppable. Using you as its power source and all the other technology we developed combined it will lay waste to anything in your path. And with the object you found along with this letter it will transcend even what you know of it. The interface is a truly unique piece of work but to be truly used to its maximum potential it needs something…more. A mere computer is not nearly as ideal as I would like. So in the case of anything happening to me I developed a device that will capture a piece of me. My mind and soul will be bound to this gift of mine. Take it and insert it into the Huneco. It will show you were. Do not even think of not doing this! I will never forgive you if you do not accept my final gift to you, my final wish. I would give my life for you right now as I write this. You have done the impossible. You are changing the world and my death should not keep you from using whatever means are at hand. Forgive me Harry, for placing such a burden on you. It is what I want, however. If I never get the chance to tell you how I truly feel or if my feelings are not returned I will have you accept my love in the end. It may be a bit selfish of me but I know you. You won't hold it against me. Take my love for you, use it and come out victorious. Be what you want to be and create a happy world for all. It is my greatest wish. To see all of us enjoying a good life after all this has passed. Me not being in the picture will not hinder that. Go, Harry, and show the world what Insania is made of. Show them our conviction in doing the right thing. Show them that even if we should die we will keep on fighting them.

I love you Harry. I have for a while now and I wish you all the happiness you deserve even if it is not with me. I can only hope that I have known how it was to be loved by you.

Love,

Luna

Teardrops stained the paper at the end. They were his. How amazing had she been to care about him this much. He could never have imagined someone could love him so much a couple of years ago but Luna had shown him there was still pureness in this world. If only she knew how her dream was burning out there. Insania was a scorched ruin. Its people were mostly gone. Whatever was left he would not put through another war. He would not have the last souls on his conscience. Whoever had done this would PAY! And they would pay it in blood. Blood spilled by his hands. The letter crumpled in his clenching hands. His knuckles turned white. He screamed in rage, pure, unadulterated rage. He did not care anymore what happened to him. He did not care for the sins he was about to commit. He would see them all burn in hell!

With some effort he unclenched his hands. Smoothing out the rumpled letter he gave it one last look before it burst into flame; Soft pink flames that ate away the words. But they were not forgotten. That letter was burnt into his memory.

His voice was a whisper that would make Death itself shiver: 'I will see you avenged Luna. I will see all of them avenged. On my life, and my magic, I swear I will make anyone pay that ever dares commit such atrocities.'

The flare of magic that burst from him would have blinded anyone were they to see it. The room was pure red. All devices sprang to life at once and went haywire. It subsided slowly, the light fading. Everything went dead again, even the lights. The room was darkness and silent as the night. There was a flutter of cloth that made him whirl in the direction. Two emerald green eyes sprang to life, gazing at him. With open palm he summoned a ball of light. Not so bright to light up the entire dungeon but enough to reveal the outline of the Huneco standing halfway to the back. Eighteen metres tall with its two menacing weapons, one held in each hand, the humanoid robot looked like a gift from heaven to him. Limbs painted white and a black torso with dark blue highlights. Long closed pods on its back held Gravitation Manipulation Drives and regular rocket boosters fuelled by raw magic to give it an extra edge when needed. They folded open when there was need for the extra boost of the rocket engines. The MAGROV with its bright red shield and six twelve metre long barrels attached to the left arm with its elbow bent. The weapon was too long to let it hang straight down. Once those barrels started spinning you did not want to be anywhere near. The BALROC, a simple looking square metal tube painted pure black was attached to the underside of the right arm. While a look a lot less intimidating than the MAGROV its destructive power equalled if not surpassed that of the Ekliptica's main guns. With a hiss the armoured hatch in the torso opened. Without hesitating Harry walked towards Luna's ultimate creation. The design she had seen on Muggle television once: A show about giant robots fighting for justice for colonies up in outer space. He had forgotten the original name but Luna had named it the Huneco. Normally you would call down a cable to pull you up or use an elevator but the elevator stood wrecked to the side by another piece of the ceiling. He did not bother calling down the hoist line. Without missing a step he stepped on thin air, ascending as he got closer. He was at level with the hatch when he stopped in front of it. Looking up at the head of the machine with its V-shaped antenna on the forehead and those two emerald coloured eyes he silently thanked Luna for her love and devotion once more. His ball of light disappeared. Bending down to crawl into the cockpit he plopped himself down in the seat. He still held the box in one hand. The hatch hissed closed on its own as soon as he was inside. Screens sprang to life all around him giving some light. The surface of the cockpit and the hatch were the screens with only faint lines separating them here and there. Above his head a smaller hatch popped open. Behind it was a rectangular cavity about the same size of the black box with is glowing runes and patterns. Remembering Luna's words he held the object up and inserted one side of it. There was a small jolt. Harry released his hold. The box was pulled up by itself. As soon as it was fully inserted the hatch swung shut with a clack. The rest he knew by heart. He had spent hours upon hours in the simulator. Luna would drag him by the ear if he didn't spend enough time in it to her liking. With his left hand he grabbed the joystick on the left armrest. A multitude of buttons were placed in easy reach of his fingers but he touched none. Flipping switches on the right wall of the cockpit the machine buzzed to life. He could feel magic flowing from his hand to the joystick. With every system given the go to start his right hand gripped the joystick on the right armrest. Magic flowed from that hand into the machine as well. His feet rested on the pedals and his fingers were on the buttons but all those physical ways of control were merely backups of the Huneco's true control system. Closing his eyes and concentrating he gave a mental command. Colours burst into his mind. All sorts of odd sensations like from limbs you did not have but it was all part of the process. There was a difference however to what he had experienced before. It had always felt like connecting to a machine no matter how natural you appeared to flow into the system but now there was none of that. Instead it felt more like a warm embrace by another person. His sight returned without opening his eyes. He was looking through the eyes of the Huneco. The dungeon was still dark but he could see everything. He breathed in deeply and while the machine's torso did not expand the rest of the motions the machine mimicked. Lifting up one arm to inspect it and the weapon attached. Followed by the other arm he nodded, pleased at it all. Despite still being away in his body in a far off place he was one with the machine. But there was more to it. He did not feel alone like usual. It felt like someone was watching his back. It did not feel strange but familiar and reassuring. Reaching out for it he could feel the familiar presence of Luna. It was the same as he had known it in life yet different. Vaguer, and more distant, but undeniably there. If the Huneco could cry it would be doing so right now. But he had no time to mourn right. There were things to be done, things to be settled. With a command from the Huneco the stone floor just in front of its feet trembled. A section came loose from the rest and went down like a giant button being pressed. A good ten metres down the section stopped. Moving sideways it disappeared revealing a tunnel going straight down wide enough to let the Huneco pass through if it was upright. Harry did not hesitate. With a minor push of the GMD's the Huneco lifted up a couple of feet and hopped over the edge. The stone wall of the shaft raced past him. He felt weightless, the sign of freefalling. Deep below the eighty ton machine smacked into water. It decelerated so fast it would've blacked out most people but thanks to the internal gravity manipulators Harry only experienced a fraction of the forces involved. Just enough to let him feel he was slowing down. Further down the machine went. Armoured feet touched bedrock. He was at the bottom. His sight shifted. He was underwater yet he could easily see a couple hundred meters ahead. Here a tunnel began heading straight forward. Tall enough to let the Huneco pass with meters to spare upright Harry used the GMD's to lift the Huneco a good metre up. With a light push the Huneco floated forwards faster than most fish could swim. At the end the tunnel went up sharply making a forty five degree angel. A couple hundred meters up it ended abruptly in a metal door that put most nuclear bomb shelters to shame. Another command and the three metre thick door split in half, sliding open. A stream of water from outside along with silt and mud rushed in. The Huneco's sensors didn't even struggle with the sudden loss of visibility, adjusting so fast it was hardly noticeable. The lake followed. Sensors told him the water temperature was still far above normal levels. Notifications of his body reacting badly to something went off but he ignored them. Most likely they were signs of radiation. He didn't care about any of that. The consequences could be dealt with later. Above him bobbing on the surface were the two cruisers and the Ekliptica. They had arrived while he was down saying goodbye to Luna. Opening a comm. channel to the two ships he said: 'This is Commander Potter. I am taking control of both your vessels. You are to abandon ship immediately and commence rescue operations. Not a single person is to be left behind. That will be all.'

He closed the channel. He wasn't in the mood to explain his actions. If they did not obey his command he would toss them off the ship himself. He reached out with his magic, the Ekliptica responding like an extension of his mind. The cargo hatch near the bow of the ship opening a moment after. That cargo bay had never been used thus far. It had been designed to house the Huneco after it was complete. At long last that day had arrived. Harry pictured himself and using one of the Huneco's special capabilities. Underwater the Huneco transformed. Its torso turned a hundred and eighty degrees. The pods split wide open and swung to the side of the machine, guns coming to rest underside them. Huneco's fighter form was revealed for the first time. Looking like a bulky jet fighter with little to no aerodynamics but with a lot more punch than any other fighter in the world, it could even achieve greater speed than any known one. With its weapons only capable of firing dead ahead it was less capable of short ranged combat but speed would more than make up for it. The Ekliptica could only house the Huneco in flight form anyway. Ascending almost vertically into the belly of the mighty ship he was greeted by docking clamps that guided him into his proper position. Big robotic arms sprang to life. Swinging to the Huneco they unbolted armour plates and hatches weighing more than most cars. More arms unfolded themselves from against the walls. Bullets rattled through transport systems and across conveyor belts into the MAGROV. Other arms took care of regular maintenance. Harry said a momentary goodbye to the warm comforting feeling of Luna's protective presence as he shut the operating system of the Huneco down.

Hermione had always forbidden him to apparate up to Zeus. The side-effects of using magic in space were still mostly unknown and thus unpredictable, especially with a dangerous thing as apparating. Your body could be scattered across the solar system if things took a turn for the worst!

'Too bad you're not around anymore to scold me,' thought Harry with a fond yet sad smirk. A sob overtook him but he clamped it down.

Without a sound he disappeared from the Huneco's cockpit to reappear on the bridge of Zeus. Deserted because of the festivities, the bridge equipment ran its pre-programmed checks. Through the panoramic view of the bridge he could see the attached colonies. One was almost completely green from all the different kinds of plants being grown in it, from corn to potatoes. All that was needed to sustain a small country. The other was beginning to show the signs of becoming the same while the third and fourth, the residential and industrial colonies respectively, were still dark and devoid of life. That would never change now. Hermione had been running it all, bringing it to life. She was gone, swept away in the inferno of a nuclear blast. His hands clenched into fists. Magic burned in them demanding to be unleashed. He fought back the desire. Unleashing his power here on Zeus would accomplish nothing but the destruction of what his friends had worked hard for. Their dreams would be swept away. It would give their death no meaning, their souls no solace. They demanded more than that. And he would grant it. Sweeping off the bridge and through the winding corridors of the space fortress he encountered no one until he got to the most heavily secured and warded parts of the structure but even then he did not slow down. The wards and other protections meant nothing to him. He had helped create them. They were part of him. They let him pass without trouble. Even the AIDS forces stationed to guard it did not dare bother him. AIDS forces were programmed machines mostly but their magic imbued existence sometimes appeared to give them something more. They were not sentient but their protocols were not absolute. Whether they sensed his mood or simply feared his being they scurried out of sight when he appeared. He knew his destination and nothing and no one would withhold him from reaching it. They would not even slow him down if they gave their all. He arrived in front of a blank stretch of wall. There was nothing to see in this particular corridor. But he could sense the arachnid robots close by. They were watching him yet they did not dare act against him. They knew their master. Which was Luna. But they knew him as well. They would toy all they want with him but when the alpha male demanded to be obeyed you did as you were told. Facing that blank stretch of wall his gaze was a furnace. The wall melted as if it was made of butter on the stove. One of the most heavily secured places anywhere was unveiled. Pitch black walls being shone on by the faint light of dancing runes floating in midair. Three spheres of pale blue light, one inside the other. The centre of the room held his attention. Suspended in some of the most intricate wards and spells ever cast by Insania's members were three phials that shone with a light of their own. A man could be wiped from existence simply by coming even near to some of these wards. A Core chamber was peanuts to crack in comparison to this. But Harry did not even blink. Magic flooded his body. He could feel it crackling inside him. At the merest thought it would lash out in torrents of arcane destruction. One hand held out to the three phials. He took a step forward. His fingertips touched the first sphere. It felt like ice, only colder and sharper. He pushed on. The runes zipped through him. The sensation was unpleasant but didn't hurt per se. His fingers touched the second sphere. Fire, all-consuming and hungry. He pushed on. They were mere feelings to scare of those that were not vaporised by merely seeing this vault or coming close to one of those runes. The third one did nothing he could feel or sense. It reacted only to those not connected to Insania. All swore an oath when setting foot on the island. All were marked as a citizen of Insania. Those whom were not would never get past the ward even after they were lucky enough to survive all the other defences. Voldemort might have survived and gotten through but not unscathed. Dumbledore may have more chance since his heart wasn't as blackened but even he would be placing his life on the line here. Grasping two of the three phials he turned around without a pause. He had helped create this room. He knew not to tempt fate either.

Within minutes he stepped into the room with the X1's loading chamber. Behind him the door hissed shut. The two giant mechanical arachnids outside disappeared from sight. He breathed deeply through his nostrils. There were measures against a situation such as this, when one individual decided to use Zeus' most powerful weapon on his or her own. After the initial firing test you couldn't enter this room alone. The AIDS were supposed to stop you if you tried. By any means necessary. The same for firing the weapon. At least two people of a certain rank had to give clearance for firing. That even counted for him. And yet for whatever reason the rules had changed. The AIDS took him as the second highest in command. Disobedience was not allowed. But the reinforced door to the room had opened at his command without a hitch. He shrugged. He did not know why but for the moment it suited his needs just fine. Looking at the heart of Insania's weapon of mass destruction he chuckled darkly. People would mourn the day Insania was nuked to the ground. They would see what they had unleashed. They would see the power of revenge. The room was circular. In the centre stood the metallic cylinder that was the heart of the X1-MIEB; the Magical Ion Energy Beam. The metal pillar came through the ceiling and disappeared into the floor. The breech faced the doorway and opened with a thought. Without a second thought he put both phials inside. Soon as his hand was out the breech closed with a snap. Inside the firing chamber the weapon itself would take care of opening the phials and bringing the fluid into place. That was all out of his hands now. An alarm went off. A female computerised voice spoke up: 'Warning. Too much matter detected in the loading chamber.'

The voice reminded him of Hermione's. Fresh tears sprang to his eyes but he blinked them away. Next to the door of the room was a wall monitor. Its screen flashing a warning he stepped up to it. With a touch of his finger against the wall right beneath the screen a concealed keyboard appeared. The keyboard flipped to horizontal. Harry knew he was no genius when it came to the more intricate stuff that Luna and Hermione were so good at. But he had had to spend hours hearing them babbling on and on looking at things they really wanted to show him and giving him no choice in the matter. Typing a few commands with windows popping up and disappearing a moment later the window with the firing parameters opened. His eyes scanning the page he quickly found what he was looking for. One line of programming that set the maximum allowed mass in the firing chamber. Putting his cursor at the end of the number he pressed backspace only for a small window to pop up asking for a password. He growled in frustration. He should've figured Hermione would put some more security on these things than simple things like requiring two persons to be present to enter the room. He could not bring himself to be angry with her. By god, he missed her already. Her smile, her laugh. Her help when you needed it. Severus, his once hated professor. Never truly friendly towards you, especially not in public, but a great man. Someone you could trust with your life if he believed in the same cause you did. All of them gone. Gone! His magic crackled around him. The screen showed traces of static. The windows became blurry. His eyes snapping to the number he tried to edit his gaze burned. A moment later the number changed to the symbol of infinite. The password window disappeared. The other window followed suit. He calmed himself down. He could rage and let loose all he wanted later. It wouldn't be too long. Soon the world would tremble under his rage. The screen stopped its shenanigans. A blank blue desktop was the only thing on it. Not bothering with putting the keyboard away he turned away from it. His work was done here. He stopped dead in his tracks. A flicker on the screen seen from the corner of his eye had him face it again. Hit mouth fell open in surprise. It was Hermione. Her eyes were hard yet concerned.

'This is a recorded message,' her voice said from all around. 'I feel kind of silly sitting here and saying all this but this video will only start playing if there was an alteration in the most crucial of programming by irregular means or the X1 is about to be fired by a single person. And I know of only one person that could do such a thing. Harry, I hope you can hear this. I don't know what is happening when you see this but there are some things I have to tell you. I know you insisted on every single piece of security we placed to secure the misuse of this weapon. And we completely agreed. However, Luna and I have written a true worst-case scenario. I don't know if she has told you already but if anything should happen where no one can help you Zeus is yours to command in every way. Luna and I have a small device on us. If both our vital signs are lost Zeus will try to contact us. If we do not respond within a given time you become its all commanding officer. I hope nothing of the kind ever happens. I shudder at the thought of you preparing to fire the X1 and the both of us...well, let's not think about that shall we,' she smiled a crooked smile. 'The transponders we carry are nearly foolproof after all. I designed them myself. Well Harry, if you ever see this just know that I care about you and I know you'll do the right thing. Don't give up. Everything will be all right.'

His fist shattered the screen. A look of utter misery on his face with tears falling to the floor. They had all been so carefree the past two months. Luna had made her last resort plans before Voldemort was down but hadn't bothered to update them. Hermione was more thorough in that regard. Yet the way she had spoken. The way she had looked. She had prepared for the biggest disaster but never could she have believed it would ever happen. Neither had Luna believed it possible. They had won. They had bloody won! Why? Why? Why now after all that fighting? Why after so many had died for it? Why?

His other fist slammed against the wall. His knees would not hold him up. Sinking to them he yelled an inarticulate cry of grief. All that he had fought so hard for, all the he had seen happen over the past year. All the good things they had worked for. All that they had built from the ground up... Gone. They had all believed in a happy end. So had he! How could he not have seen this coming? His life had never been about happiness. Every time he had been happy it had never lasted long. The Dursleys that made him miserable every day... Losing Sirius, fighting Voldemort, Cedric getting killed... And now losing everything he cared about down to the last scrap. Hands clenched so tight his fingernails drew blood. He shook in anger. He would see those responsible pay. He would make them regret ever touching Insania. With a fire raging in his eyes he apparated back to the bridge of the space station. It was deserted of course. Yet there was something here he needed. Luna had given him the information, Hermione the ability. Going to one of the workstations he did a quick search through the ship's many systems. It did not take long to find what he was looking for. The data logger of Insania's airspace surveillance. One of many projects Hermione had been working on. Going back several hours a crude map of the world showed on screen with dozens of lines going from one place to another seemingly at random yet in large aspects they formed a crude pattern. The world's major flight paths could be seen clear as day. Insania was the centre of the map. For an island lying in between four continents Insania airspace saw surprisingly little air traffic. As such it was easy to spot the projectiles heading towards the centre of the Atlantic ocean even when playing the recordings at thirty two times regular speed. Eight in total had been sent to Insania. Rewinding fast he traced them back to America. All of them came from America. His anger boiled. He had been sure if he did not find any proof a visit to Azkaban Island would point him in the right direction, but this! Those bastards! They would burn!

Zeus' engines roared to life. The feel of acceleration was minor but Harry felt it clear as day. Before he had even realised it he had connected with Zeus. He could see the destination. Whether they would see it or not the sword of Damocles would be hanging above their head while he had a pair of scissors ready to cut the thread. Setting the course and commands for Zeus to follow, he apparated down to the Eklitptica's bridge.

The bridge was dead and silent. He could feel the magic running through the ship though. Most of the bridge's instruments might be dead but the Ekliptica was combat ready. Looking to both sides through the shattered windows the Sirius Black and Tailspike bobbed on the water on starboard and portside respectively. Abandoned by their crew just like he had ordered. On the shore he could see people sifting through the debris in small groups. Where the shipyard had been a tent had been raised with the universal red cross on a white background painted on the side. He wished them all luck. He truly hoped they would still see a better day. The castle still stood and the fires were dying out. There were dozens of storerooms with potions and emergency supplies inside. If they could reach them, and they were still somewhat intact, supplies wouldn't be a concern. Looking around one last time at his ruined and burning homeland tears ran down his cheeks anew. He could not stand it any longer. He could not bear to see it. He turned away to the inside of the bridge. Without a sound he was gone.

The inside of the secondary bridge greeted him. A few workstations less but a lot smaller it was a cramped space meant for emergencies only. But it was safer down here. The American fleet might have been in tatters after their last attempted assault on Insania but who knew how much they had managed to rebuild their forces or what other weapons they possessed now. He would like nothing more than to stand on top of the Ekliptica's bridge as he attacked. Let them see his face as he reaped destruction amongst them. But sooner or later they would get the shields down and he did not intend to go down easily. The main bridge would attract their fire giving him more time. Sitting down in the captain's chair he closed his eyes. This time he did not snap a connection to the Ekliptica's Core like before. He did not need a rudimentary control. He needed to be in complete control of the ship and the two others. He let his magic reach out slowly. It flowed through the armrests into chair and down into the floor. Further and further it reached, faster and faster. One part after another, of the ship he could feel, sense, taste, and smell. He touched the Core. It was warm, cold, pain, pleasure...never before had he connected with a Core so strongly. Luna had described something of the same when immersing herself in his magic while using LUNA. He felt vibrant and alive. Too bad the anger, hatred, sadness, grief and thirst for revenge were a drain so powerful the other feelings did not even stand a chance. His awareness of it all continued to expand. The Ekliptica's powerful Core sent out two tendrils of magic, one to each of the cruisers' lesser Cores. The three linked together with a pulse. Harry breathed in sharply from the sensation before exhaling slowly. A sensation unlike any other indeed. In another minute or two he could every nook and cranny of all three ships. He was the ships in a way. With only the faintest thought, the Tailspike's gun swivelled to starboard, aiming over the Eklitpica's bow. With another thought the Sirius Black's Gatling guns burst to life, tracer fire shooting into the air. Harry was satisfied. He had complete control over all three vessels. The magic was all around him and it felt good. It felt angry. It felt ready for a fight.

A quick check of the transportation drive came back with a number of errors. One of the crystals was not responding and another did not have the required values. Neither the Sirius Black nor the Tailspike possessed one. But all that didn't matter. He was Harry Potter and he would show the world what it cost to trifle with him and nothing would stand in his way. He focused. In his mind he could see the intricate webs the transportation drives formed to lift a ship out of the water and use something like apparition to go from one place to another. The transportation drive spun to life. The energy cylinders in the bowels of the ship were charged to their maximum capacity, which meant they could transport the Ekliptica roughly one and a half times. The half was overcompensation of the cylinders in case one failed or got damaged. Still, the extra capacity was not nearly enough to carry all three ships. Nor could the crystals handle the pressure with one out and another almost gone. But whatever the crystals could do he could as well. Diverting the flows of magic to the crystals into himself, he became the focus. Expanding the transportation web outwards fine purple lines spun a sphere around all three vessels. It was a strain, he had to admit, but he would be damned if he would give them a week to enjoy their victory.

On shore, Lieutenant Larson saw his ship and the other two slowly being wrapped in the telltale sphere of a transportation drive at work. But he had never seen it like this. His own ship never had the capability. He had not liked having to abandon his ship but seeing what the commander was pulling off he understood. This kind of atrocity was not to go unpunished. And if the Sirius Black was to be part of a campaign for revenge he was glad to let it go. Things would get messy. The people knew how Harry Potter handled. He would let them fight for what they believed in but he never wanted a sacrifice when it wasn't needed. If blood started to flow it would be his or the enemy's. Larson wished him the best of luck. As the three ships, their outlines vaguely visible through the magic encompassing them, lifted out of the water he saluted like a true soldier. Others saw it, and followed his example.

'Good luck, Harry Potter,' said Larson in a harsh voice. 'Let them feel the pain and sorrow of Insania thrice over.'

The purple sphere disappeared, a rush of air coming after its departure. The last of what remained of their fleet was gone and all that remained was ash and ruins with a couple hundred survivors. They were on their own now. He was Muggle-born. He knew of nuclear missiles. In the beginning he had not wanted to believe what had happened but seeing the destruction it was unmistakable. Insania had been nuked repeatedly. He felt sick simply thinking of the radiation sickness nuclear detonations brought afterwards. They had to find medication and rations fast. The commander would take care of the rest for now.

03:12 A.M. November 1st 1997, Azkaban Island

It was still pitch dark. The stars twinkled overhead. There was a stiff breeze of bitter cold from the sea carrying the sound of the waves crashing against the rock below. The wrecks of the Death Eaters' ships lay half sunken and destroyed. The sea was harsh and the waters treacherous. The ships had been left to rot. Nobody saw it necessary to clean up the mess. Some saw it as a symbol of how impervious Azkaban Fortress was to intruders. Albus snorted at the thought. This place was infested with scum no better than the worst the Death Eaters ever had to offer. Recently he had truly regretted his actions towards Harry. He had regretted them somewhat before, and said so as well. But now he finally understood how wrong he had truly been. Harry was right. There was no use trying to guide these people in the right direction. They would not acknowledge reality if it punched them on the nose. Voldemort was dead. The world was advancing to better days and yet the idiots that called themselves a government refused to acknowledge it. They would rather see it all burn in flames and declare open war against Insania again after all that the country had accomplished. Harry and Insania as a whole had made mistakes. The war against both the British and American magical governments was a big error in his opinion. But they had been beaten. If Harry wanted to he could crush them like ants facing an elephant. And he was even offering them peace with a few gifts of goodwill! Fools! All of them! Why did they still see Insania as a threat? Was it pure anger for being beaten so soundly? Albus snorted again. Of course it was. Fudge was a petty man after all. He should have removed the fool from power when he had the chance. But when at war, the only way to get a new Minister for Magic in place was for the old one to die. He had entertained the notion. He was honest about it. But however he thought about it things would only turn out worse. A mysterious death in times of war? It would only fuel the fear and anger towards Harry and his infant nation. He had tried over the past two months to make that fool Cornelius see the truth but to no avail. Cornelius Oswald Fudge was dead set against anything that was even remotely related to 'Harry Potter's Kindergarten of Traitors and Fools' as Cornelius liked to refer to them. Jonathan on the other hand seemed to be slowly coming around. The wart had cost America a lot. Maybe even more than their allies. Jonathan seemed to be more and more interested in ending the war peacefully. A new term wouldn't come around for him if he lost any more battles. Still, the president of Magical America wouldn't change his mind in one day.

Albus' breath came out as white clouds in the frigid air. What was he to do now? He couldn't just ally himself with Harry. The boy may not even accept but even if he did Albus would lose even the small amount of support he had within the Ministry and he would have to let Ginny go free. Oh sweet Merlin he wanted to be free of her. His conscience had caught up with him. He had held the girl captive for over half a year now within her own mind. But his power was fading. The departure of the Founders had been a heavy blow. He had thought himself equal, or at least in the neighbourhood, to Harry not long ago but now...He was getting old. His magic was slowly leaving him. He could feel it a little more every day. Therefore he needed Ginny. If things took a turn for the worst he could still make a difference and a big one. If he continued to weaken like this within a year or two he would be no more than just an above average wizard like he used to be. He could not let that happen. Not just yet. There was still too much to be done. The magical community wasn't ready yet to embrace the time for peace yet with the new nation of Insania as one of the leading countries. Not many wanted to simply accept the changes they brought. Not to mention a lot of people had lost family and friends in the war against it. Or had people living there. All those people that joined Harry were labelled traitors. Seeking them out now or being visited by them could have you labelled a traitor faster than you could say Quidditch. People were simply still too uneasy. The fact that they were all still holed up on this island didn't help. Harry and his army had put them here after all ... All for the sake of freeing one person. He had asked himself if he would have done the same if it had been someone from the Order. He had been sad to admit that he would not have done the same. He would have tried to free the person that he was sure of. But not by taking such risks. And at a more convenient time. He admired Harry for that. If the boy thought he was doing the right thing he would do it. And come out victorious no matter the effort it took.

It could not have been easy. Harry may have changed but in many ways he was still the same young boy that had once entered Hogwarts. He didn't take deaths lightly. The burden of people dying for his cause must have been harsh. Oh the things he could only see now that it didn't matter as much anymore. A few different decisions here and there and this entire war could have turned out completely different. But sadly enough the past is written in stone. Voldemort was gone, and gone forever. That was one thing he was grateful for. He still didn't know the exact circumstances but he didn't have to. He could still the young Tom before him; a boy with great potential. If only...if only, indeed...

He was drawn from his musings but the unmistakable thump of Moody's wooden leg.

Moody's rough voice cut through the sounds of the ocean like a knife: 'They're back Albus. The American is unconscious but Fudge seems almost giddy.'

Dumbledore nodded, not taking his eyes of the horizon: 'So they've been up to something.'

'Looks like it. Merlin only knows what. Let's hope they haven't done something foolish. The last thing we need right now is another bludger in the game.

'Indeed,' said Dumbledore gravely.

Moody's good eye was looking at the back of Albus' head but the other one showed only white. The eye was looking through his own skull at the fortress: 'He's awake, Albus and looking confused. Fudge looks like Christmas came early.'

'I'll try and find out soon as I can Alastor. I can't force things right now. So far they've tolerated us. If I let it show openly we've been spying on them so avidly, the setback will cost us more than we can afford.'

I know,' grumbled Moody, not liking it one bit. 'But something has me wary. I can't put my finger on it but I feel uneasy. Like a storm is coming this way that will make me hide under the bed.'

Dumbledore knew what he was talking about. There was a reason he was out here in the cold. Something had drawn him out here. Something far off and to the south, a tinkling at the back of his mind.

'Be at ease Alastor,' he said, not letting it show he shared the other man's thoughts. 'I'm sure that we'll know more by the time the sun comes up.'

'I doubt it will be anything good,' grumbled Moody.

Albus' eyebrows frowned as he looked up at the stars.

'Do you see anything weird with that one star Alastor?' asked Albus.

Moody's magical eye swivelled forward and up: 'Which one?'

'The one with the red tinge to it. I might be imagining things but it looks to be moving the wrong way.'

Moody growled: 'That's no star. From the descriptions I've heard that's the thing Insania launched when the Americans attacked them. I see blue light from the back of it. It's coming towards us.

Albus' eyes widened. Insania was sending one of their biggest constructs in their direction? Nothing good could come of that unless they wanted to force a peace treaty but why after two months?

Dumbledore whirled around. The look on his face made Moody's feature turn grim.

'It's that bad?' asked the grizzled veteran.

'Worse probably,' said Albus without hesitation.

'I'll try to reach our members. We should assemble quickly,' said Moody and Albus nodded gravely.

'Tell them it is of the utmost importance. They should be prepared for a fight. I...' Albus stopped mid-sentence. His head snapped to the east. Periwinkle blue eyes chips of ice as he narrowed his eyes at the horizon.

'Something else?' asked Moody in a cautious but hard tone.

'I'm afraid so, and something familiar as well,' said Albus. 'Harry is over there and he just used a lot of magic for something. There is no room for doubt now. Insania is coming to attack us. Why now, we will most likely know soon enough. I can only hope they were not provoked. I doubt we can hold them off if they decide to get serious. We must all work together on this. You won't like it Alastor, but we need to talk with Cornelius and Jonathan. If we all stand apart they will tear into this island and leave not a shred whole.'

'I don't like it but you're right,' growled Moody. 'Should we still assemble the Order? This could get really ugly.'

Albus was conflicted. He very much wanted the people he trusted here but if Harry attacked with the full power of his army and navy a couple dozen people wouldn't make a difference. It was better if they stayed ready to jump in if they were needed. If this was a provoked attack he would rather not see them die for someone else's mistake. He had enough deaths like that on his conscience already.

'Tell them to stay on their toes and wait for a signal,' said Albus and Moody nodded without protest.

Something was coming this way from the east and fast. Albus could feel it. In the darkness he did not see anything unusual until a sea of flame burst to life in the sky above the island. In the midst of it flew a black phoenix a hundred times bigger than normal. Much like the one floating over what remained of the slowly being reconstructed Diagon Alley.

Harry's voice, lashing like a whip and booming like thunder while being colder than the Antarctic pole, spoke loud enough to hurt: 'To all those that can hear this, my name is Harry Potter. I am a citizen of the ravaged nation of Insania, my home. Which was brutally attacked by America! I know the president is here. And I know that his accomplice is as well. You two have just killed thousands and ruined all that those souls loved. For that you will pay. You will feel the wrath of the deceased. You will feel my anger and you will regret it in the end. That, I swear on all that I ever loved. Prepare yourself, even though it will be futile. I attack at dawn. Do not delude yourself: this is not war. This is not a fight to win. There will be no surrender. Those that value their lives can flee. However, the Minister for Magic and the President of Magical America, you two need not flee or it will be in vain. I will not rest until I see your corpses lying at my feet. You two are damned by me and will be released by death. Soon you will feel what you have caused. You will feel the power of my revenge!'

The sea of flame flared a thousand times more intense. The black phoenix let out a shriek the felt like a fist of ice clenching Albus' heart. Moody too grabbed for his chest.

In an even brighter flare than the flames the phoenix burst apart. The flames were snuffed out in a blink of the eye and the darkness of the night was all the deeper for the sudden loss of light.

'I think the kid just beat you to announcing trouble Albus,' said Moody with some effort. It had felt like his heart was about to stop then and there!

'So it seems,' said Albus with pain in his voice. 'At least his intentions are clear now and so is the cause. However much I dislike it, he must be put a stop to. If we don't he will destroy us all and Britain and America will be thrown into turmoil.'

Moody looked contrite: 'If what the boy says is true then they may have deserved it.'

Anger rose in Albus' voice: 'Perhaps they have, if they are responsible. But even if they are this is not the way.'

It was Moody's turn to look at the Eastern horizon: 'Try telling him that. You and I have both suffered loss. You know how it feels. We all did things we don't like to remember in those times. But I don't regret them. Not anymore.' Moody looked Albus straight in the eye: 'There are some people that deserve it Albus. Voldemort did.'

'Are you saying you won't fight anymore Alastor?' asked Albus with a dangerous tone.

Moody's eyes were hard: 'I'll stand and fight. I like to see people die just as much as you do but I'll tell you this: if I think the battle is lost, I'm gone.'

Albus sighed wearily: 'I guess I cannot blame you old friend. There has been too much death already.'

Behind Albus, in a flash of golden flame, appeared Fawkes the majestic phoenix landing on Albus' shoulder with a trill that lightened the heart of both men.

Albus looked fondly at the bird as he spoke: 'Perhaps all is not lost yet. Phoenixes are magnificent creatures after all. Go Fawkes and find Hedwig. Perhaps her song can calm Harry down. Phoenixes do not die easily after all.'

With another thrill Fawkes hopped off Albus' shoulder and flew up in the air, disappearing in another flash of golden flame.

'Come, Alastor,' said Albus. 'There is work to be done. Perhaps we can find another way than fighting to the bitter end. And if not, we must get as many people of the island as we can.'

Moody nodded grimly and followed Albus into the fortress. Moody flicked his wand and out leapt a silvery wolf.

'That'll tell Minerva what to do, she'll tell the others,' said Moody. Albus nodded sharply.

Harry's showy announcement didn't miss its effect. Inside the fortress was chaos. Men and woman were running all ways, shouting and yelling. Albus and Moody ignored them. They had a certain pair of people to talk to.

It didn't take long before they faced the door to the Minister's apartments.

Moody spoke from the corner of his mouth: 'The president's been awake for a while now and he seems confused. The Minister looks like he's about to piss himself.'

Albus rapped on the door, it was time to get some answers. And hopefully see the end of this day.

A very nervous looking Cornelius Fudge opened the door clutching his bowler hat in a fist.

'Ah thank Merlin,' said Fudge, hope springing to life in his eyes. 'Albus, just the one I needed. Please come in.'

'Why thank you Cornelius,' said Dumbledore politely as he stepped inside. Fudge nearly closed the door before Alastor could get inside but for the wooden leg that was in the way. Fudge opened the door again to give Moody the gimlet eye. Fudge's gimlet eye however was made of butter and Moody's good eye a melting laser while his other spun sickeningly in its socket. With a nearly inaudible grumble Fudge gestured for Moody to enter as well. Moody did not even grant the British Minister for Magic a nod.

Sticking his head out in the corridor to see if there were any more unwelcome visitors and finding the hallway empty, he slammed the door shut. Turning around to face his visitors he swallowed. Moody was standing close to Albus looking at him with a look that spelled danger. Albus was looking thoughtfully at Jonathan who in turn looked up at Albus with a dazed look.

'Jonathan?' asked Albus in a worried tone.

Focus returned to Jonathan's eyes: 'Albus? Thank god you're here. I…we…he…I allowed something terrible to happen.'

'So it appears,' said Dumbledore gravely. 'And now we have a grave situation on our hands. Tell me what happened so that we can get a better grasp on the situation. Depending on the gravity of the situation we might still be able to avert unnecessary fighting.'

Jonathan shook his head: 'I don't think it will be a matter of convincing Harry not to attack. He won't be swayed. Hell, I wouldn't be swayed if I was in his shoes. It's horrible Albus... Too horrible. I've seen what happens when you unleash what we did. What we did has only been done twice before. Only two nukes were ever dropped on cities to end a war. That was around fifty years ago and the consequences are still felt up until this day. What we did is nothing short of dastardly.' Tears of shame sprang to Jonathan's eyes. 'I should've stopped it. I should have!'

'You're not acting like yourself Jonathan,' said Dumbledore sternly, trying to get through to the nearly hysterical man.

Jonathan calmed down, regaining his normal composure. He stared at Albus slightly confused for a couple of counts before his eyes hardened and swivelled to Fudge.

'It's his fault,' spat Jonathan. 'He tried to Obliviate me. Thank god his casting is far below average. My memories are merely jumbled. But my emotions are slightly out of control. I feel sick to the bone. But it's fading. I should be alright soon.'

'I'm glad you're okay Jonathan,' said Albus, his eyes turning to the suddenly extremely nervous Minister for Magic.

'So Cornelius,' said Albus, seeming to loom over everyone. The room darkened, the temperature dropping to near freezing. 'It is you we have to thank for our current predicament.'

Fudge's upper limb trembled. Drops of sweat formed on his brow: 'I swear Albus, I never thought…'

'You never thought there would be consequences like this? You thought you could commit genocide and get away with it because there would be no one left to tell the tale? You have always been a fool Cornelius. You have underestimated the boy over and over. So have I. That is not your sin alone to bear. But the murder of hundreds, even thousands just to prove you weren't beaten by a young boy? You will see all circles of hell for this Cornelius. I would not even mind seeing it done myself.'

Fudge's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish but no sound came out.

Electricity crackled in the air. Dumbledore's eyes seethed loathing and disgust: 'Give me one good reason why I should not end your pathetic life here and now!'

Fudge squeaked but managed to find his voice, however pitiful it was: 'It's not you Albus. You don't kill people like this.'

The expression on Albus' face would have convinced anyone of the opposite. Nevertheless the crackles stopped.

'Sadly enough you are right,' said Albus with a sigh. 'However,' he said, his voice a whip of steel 'do not think your deeds will go unpunished. If we see it through you will suffer punishment. And rest assured, the lightest punishment in my mind is the Kiss.' Fudge whimpered at the mere thought. 'You are confined to your office for now Cornelius, under supervision.' Albus looked at Moody. 'See that it is done. Find whomever you can to keep him under a tight watch. If he tries anything you're free to stun, tie or simply lock him up in the deepest darkest dungeon you can find.'

Moody nodded, wand in hand in the blink of an eye, aimed straight at his target.

'You should rejoice Cornelius,' said Albus, looking down his nose. 'We could just put you on a boat and send you ahead to your execution. I'm pretty sure Harry won't hesitate where I do.'

The comment made the Minister's knees wobble. He swayed on his feet. A prod from Moody's wand made him look up frightfully at the grizzled veteran.

'Move,' said Moody in a tone that demanded obedience or face dire consequences.

Without further protest and looking like a man that had just gotten his death sentence signed Fudge's shoulders slumped in defeat as he walked out the door with a wand between his shoulders.

'Come back when all is arranged Alastor, there's things we need to discuss,' said Albus.

Moody nodded as he closed the door behind him.

Albus and Jonathan were alone now. Jonathan looked somewhat relieved but Albus did not let go of that dangerous aura still surrounding him. He looked somewhat regretful as he turned to the President: 'Jonathan, you realise there will be consequences for you as well. No matter who is held responsible, in the end, I know Cornelius could have never done this on his own. Muggle technology was involved. You and I both know that the British Ministry of Magic is blatantly ignorant about these matters. You'll share the blame whether you want it or not.'

Jonathan sighed regretfully but somewhat relieved: 'I realise that. I will freely admit I supported the idea in the beginning. You don't want to know the things I ordered to make the attack possible. I regret it all now.'

'I once had high hopes for you Jonathan,' said Albus with a teacher's disappointed look.

'I'm ashamed I have disappointed you Albus. I disappointed myself. I'll plead guilty at a trial.'

Dumbledore nodded pleased. 'Good. But for now we still have an incoming attack by a powerful enemy. I suggest we get everyone off the island as soon as possible.'

'That won't be easy,' said Jonathan, his air of President returning in force now. 'Since the war Azkaban has undergone some serious changes. Along with the permanent anti-apparition wards a full lockdown happens when the first signs of a threat appear. I'm pretty sure that incredible display in the sky was more than enough for the soldiers to activate it. That means no Floo, no Portkeys. Brooms tend to go haywire as well from the wards. The only way out is by sea.'

'That's indeed a hindrance at the moment. Any chance of lifting the lockdown?'

Jonathan shook his head: 'For security reasons a minimum activation time of four hours is set. In case of a hostile takeover it would allow us to confine or hinder intruders for a while.'

'Then I hope your fleet has recovered somewhat. We'll need them to get the people out of here and to delay Harry if we aren't done in time.'

'I suppose simply getting the hell out of here with everyone isn't an option?' asked Jonathan with a small amount of hope. He knew what the answer was but one could always hope.

Dumbledore chuckled morosely: 'If it were an option I'd be the first one to support it but alas, we both know the boy by now. He won't give up once he makes a promise to himself. Otherwise he would never have taken Voldemort down while walking his own path. No Jonathan, we stand and fight. Perhaps we can make him see reason. I suggest you try and contact him. No matter how grief-stricken he might be, if you offer an explanation, an apology and an unconditional surrender, he might accept.'

'And if not?' asked Jonathan, afraid of the answer.

Albus looked like he didn't even want to think of it: 'He has a giant object hanging in the sky straight above us. I have no doubt it is a powerful weapon. He, himself, is a fearsome weapon. We don't know how many he has with him but looking at the past we can assume our losses will be severe if not complete, with us included.'

'So our only hope is to put up a good enough fight?' asked Jonathan sadly. Albus nodded.

'Very well,' said Jonathan. 'An unconditional surrender it is or a battle with all our lives at stake. I'll give three ships orders to take everyone unnecessary of the island. All the others will prepare for combat. I hope they're still willing to go against that fleet. Some people still talk of the Ekliptica and the Potter haunting their nightmares. Damn it! Why did Abraham have to go on a training mission with the Angelfury now of all times? It's probably the only thing that stands a chance against Insania's ships.'

'Commander Skipper isn't around?' asked Albus with wide eyes.

Jonathan shook his head: 'He left at sunset. I'll tell him to get back as fast as he can but if my memory serves me right he's around sixty miles to the west of here. It'll take him several hours to get the Angelfury back here.'

Albus looked at his pocket watch: 'We've got a little more than three hours before sunrise.'

'I'll get right on it Albus, I'll do what I can,' said Jonathan as he rushed out of the room.

'Make sure that you do,' said Albus, letting his shoulder's slump. The dangerous aura went and what was left was an old and weary man with a deep sadness in his eyes. Looking out into the night sky through the window he could not help but reminiscence about all the mistakes that had been made. All the pain that had been inflicted. All the lives that were lost.

'Three hours to regret,' he half mumbled. He was glad Jonathan had not asked him why he was not the one contacting Harry. He was pretty sure Harry would not be pleased if it were him trying to stop this fight. He had done too many wrongs. One of those was sitting in her room right now with a heart that cried all day, all night, and all the time. He should have let her go. He really should have. If Harry was truly so hell bent on destruction and murder he would use her. If all else failed she could stop him. She was powerful and Harry would tear his own heart out before harming her. He was disgusted with himself. Even after all this he still wouldn't give up. But he couldn't. He could not let this catastrophe unfold. It just wasn't right. Nothing was right. And Harry Potter was about to prove it. One way or the other.

Moody's wooden leg thumped on the stone. His wand never left his prisoner. He had waited years for this day. To see Fudge go down was Christmas come early. This fool was one of the reasons he had gone into retirement. Seeing the once capable Auror department decay after Voldemort had been defeated the first time was a thorn piercing his heart. The war had cost the Auror department a lot. A lot of good men. And how had they been honoured? By a department stripped of half its people and no budget to replenish their forces. "The fight was over," was the verdict. If they had acted then and rounded up all that remained of Voldemort's forces, then things might have never gotten this bad. Millicent Bagnold had been a weary Minister at the end. Fudge should've replaced her and made it all right, yet things hadn't turned out like that. Now that man would pay. Too bad he would most likely not be the only one. Perhaps after today, things would change. He was shaken out of his thoughts by a figure up the corridor.

'Stop,' said Moody and Fudge did as he was told. The Minister was a broken man. He didn't even look up at the new figure nor did he argue. With his head hung low Moody dismissed him as a threat. None the less Moody's wand never left the man's back.

His magic eye locked onto the person. It was Tonks.

'What are you doing here Auror Tonks?' asked Moody. His good eye remained on Fudge. 'You're supposed to be down with the others preparing to defend the fortress.'

'Cut the crap Alastor,' said Tonks in a no nonsense voice. 'I won't stand amongst those other fools against Harry. We've crossed the line and you know it.'

'You plan to run then?' asked Moody, softening up. There was no point in acting like her superior now. 'I don't blame you. Albus isn't sure to bring in the Order so you're free to go. Your duty as an Auror isn't to fight this battle.'

'I'm not here as a member of the Order nor an Auror. I'm here as Sirius' niece and Harry's friend. I don't plan to run.'

'You plan to confront him?' asked Moody, his grizzled face showing a disturbing smile.

'Sirius and I talked a lot. Family was really important to him you know. He never had any love from his own. The Potters were all he had at times. Despite how he sometimes sees Harry as James' reincarnation he truly loved Harry like a son of his own. Sirius was one of the few links I had to the family on my Mother's side. He had a wish and I promised to make it happen to the best of my ability: To see Harry happy. So far he was doing pretty well on his own. Now I'm afraid he's on a path of self destruction. I can't allow that to happen. I would disgrace my vow if I did.'

'You plan to throw it all away for the boy Nymphadora,' asked Moody surprised. 'The Order? Being an Auror? You'll have a price on your head no matter what changes.'

Tonks snorted: 'I've seen enough of those sides. I think Severus was the smart one in taking his leave. Merlin knows how he's faring now but he might be happier than we'd ever seen him.'

Moody grunted: 'That surprised me, Snape. Who would've ever thought it? Him siding with Potter. It still sounds like a bad joke.'

'People can surprise you even after many years,' said Tonks. 'We all underestimated Severus. Just like we underestimated Albus, in a way. '

Moody grunted again: 'Tonks, I can't say I agree with him on all accounts. He made mistakes but he does it for the greater good.'

Tonks clenched her teeth: 'He used Harry too many times. He used others the same way. It was him that let it come this far. We've had plenty of opportunities to prevent this from happening yet we didn't act when we should have. Now it's too late. I won't let it all slide. I've made my choice.'

'Very well then;' said Moody. 'I admire your courage Tonks and your sense of righteousness. We all need to make up our own mind. We need to choose our own path to follow. Take this slime ball with you then and guard him up in the tower.' Moody shoved Fudge with magic towards Tonks. 'If you wish to encounter Harry, sticking close to this one is a sure way. He's the thing Harry is after most.'

Tonks wand whipped out, aimed at the Minister in the blink of an eye.

Moody pocketed his own wand. It was rare to see a true smile on Moody's grizzled face. And still as disconcerting as ever. 'Do your best Tonks. And thanks. I was looking for someone trustworthy to guard this one. Take care. I've got some business of my own to take care off.'

'Take care Alastor. Thanks for all that you've taught me. It was invaluable.'

'Same to you.' With that Moody turned around, walking back the way he had come.

November 1st 1997, ten miles east of Azkaban Island, close to sunrise

There was a buzzing in his mind. He opened his eyes. The auxiliary bridge was completely dark. He didn't need light to find his way around. He could see the very magic in every piece of the ship. All the screens, monitors and holographic displays were turned off yet one small yellow light flickered. An incoming call. He frowned. Who would try to contact him?

With a thought the channel opened. The surprise he got was enough to make his blood boil.

'…calling out to Harry Potter... This is the president of Magical America calling out to Harry Potter. Please respond. I repeat: we do not wish to fight and are willing to surrender unconditionally. Respond Harry Potter, please. This is the President…'

'Shut the bloody hell up,' growled Harry, breaking the voice of mid-sentence.

'Oh thank god I got through to you…'

With teeth gnashing harry ground out: 'I said, shut the bloody hell up.' His voice turned mocking: 'So mister President, you think you can save your sorry hide by surrendering unconditionally? You think that will make up for what you did?'

'Harry please…'

'Don't call me Harry! You don't know me!' snapped Harry. His voice turned malicious and sadistic: 'You wish to surrender unconditionally? Fine! Nuke yourself then. Show that you feel remorse for what you did. It'll be a better death than what I'll grant you.'

'Please,' the voice pleaded once more 'This wasn't meant to happen. I personally made some mistakes. I admit that. I can't atone for this sin but this doesn't have to end in bloodshed. There are other ways…'

Harry laughed mockingly: 'Other ways? Like what? Put you on trial? Don't make me laugh! It hurts to laugh. My grief and my laughter don't go well together. I've been on trial. I know how it goes. You'll be free before the end of the day. No mister President, you die today. I will be your judge, jury and executioner. I suggest you stop wasting your time and either commit suicide or prepare to fight me for your very life!'

Before another word could be uttered by the other side he flicked the channel off, refusing all incoming connections from now on.

He breathed deeply a few times to calm down. The day had yet to begin. It wouldn't do to exert himself too early. He looked sideways at one of the monitors. It sprang to life showing an image of a still dark ocean with a sky slowly growing brighter. It was near dawn. I was almost time to begin. He rolled his shoulders in the captain's chair. He felt rested despite only a couple of hours of sleep. They were enough. He could feel his magic at its peak but at rest for now. Like a super volcano not ready to erupt just yet. He gave a silent thank you to Luna for working him so hard. He would most likely need all he could give. The screen split into two showing the silhouettes of the Tailspike and Sirius Black on either side of the Ekliptica. The ocean was calm, almost completely flat. The bows of the three ships disturbed that almost mirror like surface with their bow waves. Their propellers churned the water into white froth leaving an uneasy wake behind as they sailed straight to the west, towards Azkaban Island. The screen flickered to a new image; the horizon. The sky was still darker in the west. The image zoomed and sure enough there it was. Azkaban Island loomed on the horizon. Navigation lights from ships drifted in front of the island. The American fleet was waiting for him. Good. The last time, Insania had been kind enough to let them go once they were surely beaten. Today, things were going to be different.

He closed his eyes. It was time. He immersed himself back into the ship; its Core, its systems. His conscience spread out to the other two vessels. Oh yes, such a great feeling. It felt like burning. They would all burn!

Behind him the sun broke the horizon.

On board the MFAS Retribution

'I'm sorry mister President. We're pushing the Fury to her limits but she's not built for speed,' said the voice of Commander Abraham Skipper. His voice contained all kinds of emotions. Shame, anger, eagerness, impatience were but a few.

'Damn it all,' cursed Jonathan, hitting the armrest hard enough to hurt his fist. Everyone on the bridge was looking at him but he didn't care. Right now he was allowed to curse where others heard it!

'Sir,' called an observation officer 'we've got a visual. Three ships sailing in the sun heading straight towards us. Judging from the centre one's superstructure it's the Ekliptica. The other two are Insania's mainstream type vessel. They are picking up speed judging from their bow waves.'

'The boy wasn't lying when he said at sunrise,' commented Skipper in a grim tone.

'Sadly he wasn't,' said Jonathan 'Hurry as fast as you can. Evacuation is almost complete. The ships will be heading out any moment. We'll hold him off as long as we can. We cannot let him get to the island. I'm pretty sure we can't win if it comes to fighting him in person. He has three ships. It should be doable.'

'I wish you the best of luck sir. I shall be there soon,' said Skipper.

His fleet commander knew when to cut a conversation short. He had no time for talk now. The enemy was coming.

'All ships to level one combat stations. Take defensive formation. Prepare for a volley. All ships, turn to heading zero, zero, zero on my mark. Three, two…' counted Jonathan.

'The Ekliptica is turning north sir! She's taking aim!' reported CIC or Command in Combat.

'All ships, evasive actions on the double!' yelled Jonathan. But it was too late.

Without being able to do a single thing against it two guns on each of the Ekliptica's frontal turrets had their barrels glow cherry red on the inside. A split second later four beams rushed across the surface of the ocean. The salty water flash-heated as the compressed magic passed, creating a following trail of steam.

Each pair of beams struck home. Two cruisers took the attack head-on. The beams blew through the sides of their superstructures gouging out anything in their path. Metal melted like cheese in the oven, in some cases, spontaneously igniting from the intense heat. The loaded front turrets of the American vessels exploded. The beams lost their charge.

Fires blazed from the now exposed interior of the ships' upper structures. The crewmen ran from the way too hot surroundings in terror and pain. Some had caught fire and had become living torches that flailed their arms to drive away the flames. Some managed to jump over the side while others merely collapsed, screaming in agony. But even the water of the ocean could not save them. The shock of being completely immersed in cold water, from scorching heat in a matter of moments made hearts cramp up and fail. Those that survived that far could only drown. The pain was too much to bear for the brain to work properly. Up and down became indiscernible, the surface unreachable. Their limbs refused to work and so they sank to the bottom of the cold black depths of the sea as their ship burned above them.

Heated metal loses its strength. With the full weight of the higher parts of the ship still above the damaged burning structure, the bulkheads and walls buckled. The bridge and all crashed down onto the deck. On one of the two ships it didn't fall straight down. It tilted sideways and slid off the ship, nearly capsizing it. Metal groaned and snapped with the sound of steel cables snapping in rapid succession. It broke free of the ship itself, making it jump up aggressively and bounce left and right. Water sprayed from the impact of the several thousand ton heavy section hitting the water on its side. It sank in moments.

Jonathan watched it all, eyes wide with shock. The battle had just begun and already two ships were reduced to floating wrecked hulls, burning and dying. The damage was tremendous. Even if any of the crew still lived they would never get the fires under control in time.

The other ships panicked. They could not be blamed. Taking wild turns in the vain hope of avoiding a hit Jonathan could only watch helplessly as the other two cannons of the Ekliptica's bow turrets opened fire. Through the fog of steam the four beams rushed, thickening the clouds of vapour with their heated death.

The hit was not head on this time. The Ekliptica had enough time to turn so that its beams cleaved two holes cleanly through two vessels. One just above the waterline, the other through the bridge area.

The first one was the lucky vessel, guessed Jonathan. The hit was close enough to the central ammunition bunker for it to ignite everything inside. In one tremendous explosion the ship was ripped apart in a fireball several hundred meters high. The second ship saw the same gruesome scenes as the ones in the first attack. Plastic, metal, flesh and fabric set aflame. Through the bridge windows, flames sprang to life that turned the inside to an inferno. Shapes could be seen in those flames, moving frantically. A blackened body smacked against one of those windows before it sank out of view. The flames turned the windows slowly black with soot, taking the horrible sight away for a moment the windows burst out of their casings from the overwhelming heat. Flames licked out hungrily, scorching the grey paint of the ship. Sailors ran on the deck in a frantic effort of damage control. They might be able to save their vessel. But the situation was dire. Two minutes into combat and four ships down. Twenty two remained and Jonathan suddenly doubted very much it would be enough now. The entire bridge crew was shocked into silence. All of them were staring in horror at the scene of their ships being turned to scrap and their fellow sailors to ash.

Jonathan was the first to gather his wits: 'Focus everyone. The fight has begun. Let's give him what he came for. All ships focus their fire on the Ekliptica. All weapons are cleared to be used. Set a countdown for thirty seconds on my mark. Tell them to hurry. Ready? Now!'

It was a tense wait. The seconds ticked inside Jonathan's mind. From the corner of his eye he could see ships manoeuvring to get the Ekliptica into their sights in time. The enemy ship continued to turn. The other two enemy ships took their own firing positions, turning along with the Ekliptica. The one behind the Ekliptica sailed just before the bow of the bigger ship. The one before the Ekliptica stayed near the stern. The Ekliptica's aft turrets could now open fire as well.

His own ships opened fire before the enemy. In several dozen consecutive booms, all ships that were ready opened fire. Those equipped with APFeR, Armour Piercing Fragmentation Rounds, missile torpedoes did not hesitate to use them. Jonathan snatched up a pair of binoculars and looked at the trio of ships on the starboard side of his ship now. Damaging them from this range with their shields would be a gift from God but if the volley foiled their aim, Jonathan would be grateful already. Through the slowly dissipating steam it was all a bit hazy but he could see well enough.

The Gatling guns on deck spun to meet the incoming projectiles. In constant streams the bullets met the attack head on. Explosions filled the sky from the interception rounds. Yet enough struck home. Shells smashed into the shields without much effect. The APFeR missiles followed shortly after. Shooting them down did not help when they were heading to their target. They popped their loads anyway. Thousands of accelerated shrapnel fragments rained down on the Insania fleet. Last time these weapons had dealt the shields a blow powerful enough to make them collapse. Sadly enough they held now.

A feeling of dread settled in the pit of Jonathan's stomach. Moments later the return strike came. He shrank back in his chair, binoculars held in one hand. Both smaller ships and the Ekliptica's aft turrets unleashed their rays of destruction.

The aft turrets of the enemy behemoth lacked the power of the main guns, so they fired all their three cannons at once. Six beams rushed forward.

Two more beams chased after those six as the two other vessels opened fire with their single gun.

Jonathan didn't know if it was their own attack, the enemy toying with him or a stroke of luck but one of the Ekliptica's aft turrets had been aiming at his vessel. One beam missed the ship completely, and the other two hit the aft deck high enough to merely scorch everything on it.

He quickly looked around. One ship that had been too slow to get the enemy into their sights in time had aborted its turn and chosen to aim its bow back at the enemy to present as little a target as possible. It had paid off. A scorched streak from bow to stern showed on the ships side but otherwise it was unharmed. That had been a present from one of Insania's smaller vessels. Further away a battleship had taken the three blasts from the other turret in the side. Its thicker armour and the distance had saved its life. Three craters in its steel hull with one even showing a small hole to the interior was all it had suffered. The beam from the second smaller ship had missed its target apparently.

'I can read the names of the vessels sir. The INIS Tailspike and Sirius Black.'

'Good, pass them onto the fleet. Prepare for another volley. The fleet is to set a general course of zero three five and close in on the enemy. We need to keep them as far away from Azkaban as possible. Set speed to fifteen knots. We don't want to sail too fast.'

'Yes sir!'

Jonathan sank back in his chair. In the distance the Insania task force commenced a turn to head in the other direction. The three ships turned completely in synch, speeding up and slowing down as necessary to keep their formation. The one that had been sailing behind the Ekliptica near the bow, the Tailspike, now slinked back to tail the bigger ship's stern while the Sirius Black took the lead and sailed behind the Ekliptica at the end of their one-eighty turn. The guns on all the ships moved perfectly together, keeping a new target in sight.

They way they moved, synchronised so it was almost an art. It was too perfect. The guns on two different ships moving so perfectly together. It was impossible. The ships taking their position so accurately without missing a single beat. Not even the most veteran crews of the American fleet could do it. Jonathan couldn't fathom any two crews coordinating like that. It was simply impossible.

Thinking about it he decided on the next course of action: 'CIC, relay to all ships: new strategy. We will split up into groups Alpha, Beta and Charlie. Group Alpha is to continue heading north. Group Beta will follow a zigzag pattern that takes them slowly to the enemy. Attack group Charlie will turn around and head south. All ships are allowed to fire on the enemy but sporadically. Keep at least seventy percent of all main guns loaded at all time. APFER missiles should be kept on standby. The enemy will be in range soon of our new guns. All ships should prepare their beam cannons.'

'Alright sir.'

All ships did as they were told. Cannons fired every few seconds but the shots were few. The Retribution was a part of group Charlie and turned sharply while keeping their guns aimed at the enemy. Jonathan hoped they could get in position in time. If the Ekliptica fired her main guns again he had no illusions they would be down even more ships. There was only a moment's notice: The red glow inside the barrel of the massive guns before they unleashed their devastating power. Jonathan squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't think he could bear seeing another vessel get destroyed like those others.

'He missed!' yelled the CIC officer in wonder.

'What?' asked Jonathan perplexed, his eyes snapping open and looking around wildly to look for a burning ship and seeing none.

'He missed completely sir,' said the officer, still not quite believing it.

Jonathan gnashed his teeth: 'He's toying with us. First he's shown us how easy it is to take us down and now he's mocking us with our own fear.'

'He truly thinks they're that good?' asked the officer.

'Make no illusions,' said Jonathan hard as granite. 'He is simply that powerful. There's no sense denying your enemy's strength.' In the back of his mind Jonathan could hear Dumbledore's voice telling him of the object in the sky. The thing they had attacked off the shores of Insania. The massive, several kilometres tall and wide, thing going straight up in the sky. Maybe what they were doing here was futile. No matter if they defeated him or not, whatever that thing was it could probably get rid of everyone and everything even close to Azkaban. If he merely dropped it on top of Azkaban the damage would be enormous.

'All ships are headed in their respective directions sir. They report weapons are hot as ordered. The enemy is making a turn towards us.'

'Very good,' said Jonathan, getting into the spirit of things. Doomed anyway they may be but going down without a fight? Never!

'Group Beta will fire all they have at the Ekliptica except for the beam cannons. Group Alpha and Charlie will take aim at the Tailspike and fire with absolutely everything. Group Beta will join in with their beam cannons. Synchronise fire please. Group Beta is meant to blind him so they will fire a little sooner.'

The CIC officer nodded and quickly passed along the orders. In under a minute, all ships reported they were ready to go.

The distance between the two fleets had shrunk to six kilometres now. Ideal engaging distance in Jonathan's opinion.

'Group Beta, prepare to open fire… Fire!'

The six ships that made up group Beta, four cruisers and two battleships, opened fire with all they had. Sixteen cannons fired their deadly payloads. Twenty two APFeR missiles took to the sky. The shells struck the shields of the Ekliptica like droplets of water hitting stone amidst a storm of interception fire.

'Group Charlie, concentrate fire on the portside of the Tailspike. Groups Alpha, Beta and Charlie: open fire!'

The guns of his own ship boomed. The ship was pushed slightly to starboard from the force. Green beams from all the vessels aft turrets rushed forth. Thirty eight more missiles shot into the sky as the first of Beta's volley erupted in the sky, raining down metal fragments going two times faster than the speed of sound.

A moment later the shells and beams aimed at the Tailspike landed. The Gatling guns had still been occupied mostly with the APFeR so the attack was met with minimum resistance. It proved too much for the shield this time. It collapsed. At least half a dozen rounds struck the vessel along with a dozen beams. The crew whooped in victory but Jonathan reserved himself. Striking a target meant nothing.

The sun was higher up now. Sunlight glinted off the two smaller enemy vessels but not the Ekliptica. He looked through his binoculars.

The Tailspike showed a dent or a pockmark here and there on its hull. No serious damage he was sad to admit. The second volley of APFeR detonated in the sky. A steel and tungsten hail struck. The windows of the Tailkspike's bridge were shattered. Some pieces of equipment on top of the bridge got destroyed. Pellets sparked against armour as they hit. But otherwise there was little effect. Jonathan cursed under his breath. He focused on the bridge. He could see inside now but there was nothing to see. It was deserted. It confirmed his suspicions. Looking at the Ekliptica now he sucked in a surprised breath. It was the first good look he got of the ship and what he saw made him very uneasy. While they hadn't landed a single blow on the ship its bridge sported no windows either. The inside was black. In the beginning he had thought they had repainted the ship to black but now he could see the paint was actually scorched. Remnants of what appeared to be black tattered cloth hung from all parts of the ship. The sight sickened him. He figured the ship must've been caught in the blast of a nuclear explosion and pretty much up close. That it had survived something of such magnitude with such minimal damage!

The Insania fleet was now heading north again but still coming ever closer. Jonathan didn't like that. If the two fleets got too close his own ships would have to watch out for friendly fire. It would only be advantageous for the enemy.

'Group Beta, begin a slow retreat. Alpha and Charlie will spread out a little more and engage the enemy from the sides,' said Jonathan.

But Harry Potter seemed to be done playing with their minds. Maybe doing damage to one of his ships hadn't been such a great idea.

As before, the Ekliptica's main guns opened fire two by two. Group Beta's two battleships were the targets. One was blown cleanly in half, the other saw its stern disappear in torrents of destructive magic followed by secondary explosions.

Men jumped overboard, aflame or not. The one blown in two had its middle sections sink fast. Those sailors that even managed to reach the ocean unscathed were simply dragged underneath the surface to drown.

'Sir,' called the communications officer 'I'm getting a transmission from the enemy. Shall I patch it…?'

The voice of Harry Potter rang through the bridge: 'Is this more of Dumbledore's tricks? Has he lied to me once more, siding with you, mister President? That magic. Those guns on your ships, the feel of them, it is unmistakable. It is my own and that of Ginny. You dare use it against me?'

'…through,' finished the officer belatedly.

Jonathan mocked him: 'Do we wish to talk now Harry Potter? I remember clearly that you told me to shut up.'

Harry made angry noises. Two pairs of beams shot forth. Group Beta, the target. Three cruisers felt Harry's rage. The first ship was hit halfway up the waterline. Steam billowed where the beams punched into the sea. It dampened the power of the attack but the damage was done. The ship was spared the fate of its fellow vessels but with two holes the size of train tunnels in its side the ocean rushed in. Listing heavily to the side in mere seconds it would most likely be a complete write-off. The second and third ship fared worse. Sharing the fate of those before them they got hit in the front and side of the superstructure. The beams blew straight through. The carnage inside was the same.

The voice of Harry Potter was strained. He seemed to be struggling. Was it a struggle for control?

'I would not anger me further, mister President if I were you. That little jest just cost you dearly. Must I ask again, or would you rather see some more good men die? You still hold a few vessels. One, or two, less won't make that much a difference, will it?'

It was Jonathan's turn to grow angry. His ships had been destroyed just because of a retort? What kind of monster had Harry Potter turned into?

'You won't get away with this Potter,' yelled Jonathan.

'I won't get away with this?' asked Harry dangerously. 'You dare say such a thing to me after what you have inflicted upon my country? All those people…the sacrifices I make here today will not even come close to accounting for that!'

'I tried telling you before,' said Jonathan coldly 'I did not wish to attack your country like that. But I am at fault in allowing it to happen. However, that is no reason for you to commit the same crime. What good will it do to spill blood for blood? It will not bring them back! It will bring no one back. It will only blacken your soul.'

Jonathan decided to play devil's advocate: 'I concede this cannot go unpunished. If it is your wish, I will hand over the British Minister for Magic. His crimes are too severe to be dealt with in court in my opinion. You can enact punishment on the man that has the final responsibility as you wish. I myself will surrender too. My crimes are no less in some ways.'

There was silence, then a chuckle and soon full out laughter hinting on insanity. It stopped abruptly. Jonathan swallowed hard.

'You conceited bastard,' said Harry. 'Blood for blood will not bring them back? Yet you would drop Fudge into my lap hoping it'll cut you some mercy? I should rip your heart out of your chest to see if it is truly as black as it sounds. Blacken my soul? My soul is blackened! Those explosions blackened it a thousand times over. My heart is ashes along with those I loved and cared about. Along with the innocent that fought for a just cause. No mister President, you could give me Fudge a thousand times over and you along with it but it just won't do. I carry a lot of sins myself. Those that died weigh on my conscience. If it weren't for me they might still be alive. I will have you feel that same burden.'

The channel closed. The damaged Tailspike opened fire on the last ship of group Beta. The single beam transformed the bridge into molten slag. The damage to the ship was minimal but it was still out of the fight.

Jonathan gritted his teeth. It was like an icy hand was gripping his heart and keeping it from beating. Six ships gone: An entire group that stood between Azkaban and Harry Potter. They were down to sixteen ships now. The battle was lost in Jonathan's mind. Over a third of the fleet was lost already and more would most likely follow.

'The Sirius Black is aiming at us sir,' said CIC. 'Incoming!'

While everyone dived for cover he just sat there, looking helplessly as the red light of doom sped towards his ship.

It slammed into the frontal turrets. A ball of flame that blinded him erupted on deck. He could feel the heat throughout the bridge. One window cracked from debris hitting it. The noise was tremendous. He was thrown out of his chair and onto the floor. When he got back to his feet black smoke billowed up from the front of his vessel. Running to the windows he looked down on the devastated deck. A great rent ran from portside to starboard. Both turrets were gone and the deck was a sea of flame. It was hell up close.

Someone grabbed him by the shoulder. He whirled around furious to find his CIC officer. The man was saying something but the blast had nearly deafened him. His ears were ringing. It was like the man spoke from a hundred meters away.

'Sir, we need to get you out of here. The Angelfury is close.'

Jonathan shook his head. He felt dazed. He could not leave his men.

His CIC officer grimaced and addressed two men close by: 'You two, take the president below deck to the aft on the starboard. A boat will pick him up there.'

Jonathan shook his head: 'I can't...'

'You're injured mister President,' said his officer and touched the side of Jonathan's head. Drawing his hand back Jonathan saw blood on the man's fingertips. Jonathan nodded. The men each grabbed him under the armpit and nearly dragged him out of the bridge. Behind him he could hear the CIC officer yelling orders.

'Get the fire boats to put up cover for the President's transportation. All ships are to regroup while retreating back to Azkaban. They are allowed to fire at will.'

Jonathan hung his head. The fleet had lost. Harry Potter had beaten them swiftly and thoroughly.

INIS Ekliptica

Harry nearly couldn't contain his glee. He was crying and laughing at the same time. Blasted bastards! He checked the shield surrounding his little fleet. Interconnecting the three ships shields hadn't been that hard but it required some concentration to maintain. Coupled with steering the ships, managing power flows, operating the guns and interception fire. Controlling three ships at the same time was a bit of a strain on his mind. But it was nothing his Drone-mode couldn't handle. It was easier to let the ships move in the same way and link the weapons together. It took less concentration that way. But the Americans had surprised him with their attack on the Tailspike. The sudden different situation from the Ekliptica and Sirius Black with the Tailspike had made him lose concentration for a moment. Damn that insufferable president! But he would make the man swallow his words. His fleet was as good as done. The enemy ships were on the run and he was tagging behind them. A wall of flame blocked his view of most ships. The damned little boats had been hiding until now. They had appeared from behind the ships and put up their hampering flames. Harry fired sporadically at those he could see. Merely inflicting damage and not finishing them off. He barked a short laugh. The enemy ships were so fragile. They were like folded paper boats being hosed with a flamethrower with his finger on the trigger.

They were regrouping. He was going to let them. Once they were all bunched up it would be easier to take them all out fast. They returned fire with those turrets that fired green beams. Seeing those made him want to go out there personally and kill some people with his bare hands. The bastard Dumbledore had given them a technology that had been Insania's alone thus far. But it didn't matter. Those beams carried not even a tenth of the power they were supposed to. They were pebbles thrown at a tank.

At this rate the Huneco wouldn't even be needed. He did not really mind. He missed Luna's comforting embrace already. He craved to be inside the machine and feel it again. But on the other hand if he went out in that machine it would be to sow death and destruction. He did not like killing while he could feel her presence. It simply wouldn't feel right.

He took his attention away from the enemy fleet for a moment. Ahead, loomed Azkaban. A part of him wanted to be there already. Just so he could rip the head of that bastard, Fudge's shoulders. He would revel in that moment. He would pierce that pathetic piece of human with Soulcleaver, split it into its two different swords and slice of his limbs. He would make that pig squeal and bleed. But there was something in there that he dreaded as well. Dumbledore and what he would bring along.

He shook his head. Those were concerns for when he got there. He would deal with them then and there.

Quickly doing a check of all systems, he was pleased. The Sirius Black had suffered no damage whatsoever and was in prime fighting condition. The Tailspike wasn't as lucky but the damage was cosmetic. No vital systems had been hit nor was it weakened in any mentionable way. The Ekliptica was actually in the worst condition of the three but it had nothing to do with this battle. It was all inflicted by the nuclear blasts. But the damage did not hamper anything. The Ekliptica was as unbeatable as ever. No matter what the enemy threw at her she would persevere. So far the Cores had done all the work for him. He had not tapped into his own reserves even once. He could only marvel at the geniuses that had developed and improved these vessels. Three versus twenty six at the start and now it was three against sixteen. Sixteen of which some were damaged so badly they could hardly contribute anything to the fight.

He had them over a barrel and they knew it.

They were getting close to Azkaban now. Soon his revenge would be complete.

A warning beeped in his mind. Before he could even check what it was it turned into a full alert.

He did not know how or why but the Ekliptica slowed down aggressively while the Sirius Black sped up. Switching his view to an outside monitor he was just in time to see two crackling white beams slam into the smaller ship's shields. He could feel them through his connection. They were...powerful. The combined shield collapsed around the Sirius Black. The two beams slammed into the ship's side. Harry could feel them melting away the near indestructible armour. Deeper and deeper they went, penetrating into the ship proper. They reached the energy cylinder chamber and in a fantastic explosion of pure white the Sirius Black detonated like a warehouse filled to the brim with fireworks and rocket fuel. The backlash of all that volatile magic combined hit Harry like a sledgehammer to the gut. He doubled over in his chair even, just as the Ekliptica swerved. His head smacked against the armrest. Holding his palm against the sore spot he felt wetness. His connection to the ships was wavering. Quickly calling up an image of the portside he saw what he feared. It was raining while the sky was blue. Water shot into the air by the explosion. Only the tip of the bow from the ship named after his godfather still showed and even that was quickly disappearing beneath the waves. As the man himself had given his life for him so had its namesake. All monitors flickered to life showing images of the horizon. There, he saw it. A dot to the side of Azkaban Island. Switching to a camera that could zoom in over long distances the image flickered to something Harry had never seen before. A mountain floated on the horizon next to the fortress. But that was no natural mountain, but one of metal painted in the same grey as a warship. Extensions with turrets on them stood everywhere on the slope. And at the very peak stood the biggest turret Harry had ever seen. Calling up a roster on screen to measure the size he was astounded. The barrel was three times the calibre of the Ekliptica's main guns!

There was an incoming call. He grimaced. He could guess whom it was from. He didn't feel like chitchatting but he needed a little time now. If he could buy some...

The channel opened: 'Commander Potter,' said a voice Harry didn't recognize 'what a pleasure to see your vessels on this fine day. I am Abraham Skipper, captain of the Angelfury. Yes, that giant thing on the horizon that just blew your little boat to the bottom of the sea.'

Harry really struggled to control himself but he had to be as he immersed himself back into the ships' systems: 'What a pleasure captain Skipper. I'm surprised it's not mister President calling me.'

'He got injured by you. But don't worry, he's fine. He will be up here with me shortly. Surrender, Harry Potter, or be destroyed here and now.'

'Surrender for what?' asked Harry challengingly. Just a little more... 'For another one of Dumbledore's machinations to defeat me? We took down the Warhammer, defeated your fleet more than once and I will do so again.'

'Dumbledore?' asked Skipper half-surprised 'No boy, this is our own creation. I will admit he helped in creating the Warhammer but the technology for cannons firing purely on magic we've possessed for a long time now. We merely lacked the power source. Dumbledore was of assistance in that regard for our fleet but the 'fury is all ours. You were just lucky she wasn't finished when this war started or you'd have been ground to dust a lot sooner.'

That did surprise Harry. Maybe Dumbledore hadn't lied that much to him. But that didn't matter! The old man had lied enough to deserve any and all punishment.

He was fully aware of everything again but it wasn't that much of a comfort. He could feel the remnants of the Sirius Black and the lingering remains of the attack that had destroyed it. He didn't recognize the strange feeling of the magic. But he did know it was a class above his own ships' capabilities.

'So your answer is no?' asked Skipper eagerly.

Harry gritted his teeth. The Angelfury was sixteen kilometres away. Far out of range of anything he could throw at them save Zeus.

A revelation hit him. There was one thing he could do besides turning everything into a giant crater with the X1. He had only used it once before since it was tricky and required precision. Two of the reasons they hadn't used it during the conflict with the Warhammer. But using it meant he had to hold off another shot. The engines of both vessels roared to their maximum, the ship vibrating from it.

The Ekliptica far outclassed the Tailspike in engine power. The bigger ship quickly sailed faster. Just a bit further and…

Skipper cursed: 'You could've at least given an answer first. Fire!'

Harry heard another voice in the background: 'The weapon charge is only at fifty seven percent, sir.'

'Fire it anyway!' yelled Skipper.

'Azkaban Fortress is too close to our line of fire!'

Skipper growled audibly. There was a grunt and more yelling: 'Just pull the frickin trigger! And cut the line!' With a crackle the communication fell silent.

Whether it was the dispute on board the Angelfury, the sudden increased speed or sheer luck Harry did not know but he was grateful for the miss of the powerful weapon. Striking the water not twenty meters behind the stern of the Tailspike the water hissed and boiled as the two ships disappeared out of sight. Azkaban Island was now used for defence. It made Harry laugh bitterly. The one place he wanted to destroy more than anything. But he was seething on the inside. The American fleet was still fleeing away from him, out into open waters. He could not hunt them or he would be in sight of the Angelfury nor could he waste cannon charges on them. He would need those to battle the American behemoth. And thus he was in a pickle. No doubt the fleet would report his every move and he had to pop out from his hiding place to take a shot at the enemy. The officer had said fifty seven percent charge. Checking the time between the firing and the comment in the logs of the ship's computer he calculated the recharge time was over two minutes. A wicked smile crossed his lips. It was time to take a little gamble and use every resource he had. Opening the water tanks and turning the bow planes down the Ekliptica performed a rapid dive leaving the Tailspike on the surface to hide behind Azkaban.

Below the surface of the ocean the Ekliptica turned sharply the way she came. Harry didn't know if the Americans had any subs left or if they could track him underwater, but it wouldn't matter. They were in for a surprise if they took the bait. Making sure all weapons were charged on both his vessels Harry had the Tailspike turn around. It would be in sight of the Fury's massive guns in only a minute.

Tapping into the holographic projector system, only used once so long ago on the Missouri's very first mission, Harry projected an image of the Ekliptica. Sending all available power to the upper shields he began to surface. The image breached the surface first just at the same time the Tailspike appeared from behind her cover.

The moment of doubt from the enemy with the final decision being to target the Ekliptica's holographic image was all Harry needed. It was too bad only one beam sliced through the image as it flickered out of existence. The enemy was fast to catch on though, immediately going with the second charged gun for the Tailspike. Seeing another Ekliptica breach the surface there was another hesitation but this time the target remained the smaller vessel. But the damage had been done. All turrets on the Ekliptica opened fire at the same time along with the Tailspike's sole gun. Fifteen beams raced across the water and collided two kilometres from both vessels. The beams merged, forming a pulsing red sphere with a darker core. The Angelfury's single beam rushed towards the Tailspike. Out of that red sphere formed by the converging beams a fatter, denser beam rushed forward towards the 'fury. The beams crossed paths, hurtling towards their respective targets. The red beam of the Insania forces struck first, slamming against shields that sparked and crackled before giving way. Armour melted and paint burned. The white beam struck the Tailspike. The shields held for only a second. Striking the armour of the battleship the massive energy charge ate through everything in mere moments. Circuits overloaded, power lines got damaged or severed as the firing of the main gun continued to suck power from the core. In another flash explosion that was blinding to see the Tailspike disappeared.

The red beam had gotten through the 'fury's thick armour and was about to unleash devastation on the inside. However, the sudden drop in power from losing the Tailspike caused an instability in the aim of the guns' combined firepower. The beam slashed sideways and up, leaving a red gash quickly fading to black in its trail on the 'fury's flank before it touched air and shot further into the sky, dying out as it went.

Harry cursed, swore and gnashed his teeth. Nearly there. He had almost dealt a good blow to the enemy's trump card but they had been too fast in taking out a crucial part of the attack. He had needed the Tailspike to guide the beam in the proper direction. One ship alone couldn't do it. The American fleet, bolstered by the trashing Insania was receiving, rejoined the fight. Showering the now lonely Ekliptica with their cannons and APFeR. Harry laughed at them. What little part remained of them couldn't even put a dent in his shields. The timer was running. He had over one and a half minute before the enemy could open fire again. The recharge time of his guns was a lot shorter and since the Angelfury was too far away the others would have to pay for his loss. The Ekliptica's engines roared at maximum. In no time at all the ship was close to its maximum speed. The bow lifted out of the water slightly, turning towards the vessels that thought victory was at hand.

'Fools,' scoffed Harry and with a sharp turn that nearly capsized the Ekliptica all her guns took aim at the bold vessels. It was too late that horror dawned. No matter the Angelfury's punching power. It could not defend them against the fury of Harry Potter.

Eight vessels were lost, damaged or set aflame in that single broadside. So these little bastards thought he had been beaten? He had yet to begin inflicting his grief upon them!

The Angelfury fired before her main guns were fully charged. Harry was slightly surprised but he did not hesitate. Tapping into his own magic he boosted the shields above their maximum. The blast hit him in the side. The world was crackling white with the stench of ozone. But the shields held and Harry's grin was simply beastly. They had lost another two minutes in which he could lay waste to their fleet. The shield devices glowed red in his mind. He had pushed them beyond their limits but the enemy didn't know that. They would wait for a full charge next time. The guns recharged fast but it was still too slow to his liking. They should burn. They should pay. They should all die!

In another display of what Insania's flagship could do, most likely the most powerful ship on the seven seas, the guns cut loose once more.

Not a single vessel remained unharmed. There was not a single ship that was not taking on water, listing to a side, had smoke billowing up into the sky or was simply blown to pieces. The ocean burned with oil, fuel, wreckage and people. The American fleet was only wreckage now and Harry Potter laughed at it. Laughter that crossed the water to reach the enemy through the speakers that still worked. The few survivors shivered when they heard it. That was not a laugh any sane man could produce.

The enemy risked it once more. The counter said it was only at seventy percent but it was enough. The already stressed shields could not even hold the blast with him boosting them directly.

'Nice gamble,' grunted Harry as his shields collapsed and the foreign magic washed over the ship and his mind. It was so overwhelming he was simply thrown out of his trance-like state, doubling over in his chair and retching. The Ekliptica lurched to portside from the blast slamming into her starboard. Alarms blared, sirens wailed. Emergency lights flickered on and off. The holographic status display flickered to life, an image of the Ekliptica floating in the centre of the auxiliary bridge. Harry looked at it with a grimace. All that was near the centre starboard side was red or black. The starboard bridge pylon flashed a warning to evacuate. Power conduits were down or leaking. The core flashed an instability warning but it was still in the green zone. He sat upright in his chair. He didn't have much time. Closing his eyes he slid back into the Ekliptica's systems. The damage was more severe and extensive than the hologram could ever show. Diving to avoid the next blow was out of the question. The ship showed numerous breaches. She would fill up fast and become too heavy to surface. He smiled sadly, withdrawing his link to the ship after giving his last commands. He stood up, stepping off the footstep of the captain's chair. Looking around at all the flashing lights he heaved a regretful sigh. Touching the holographic table's surface tenderly he said: 'You have served me well girl. May you find peace on the bottom of the ocean. You were the finest vessel I ever saw, a true icon of our determination and strength. It saddens me to feel you go down. But hold on a little longer. Show those fools what a nuisance our nation can be. Show them our defiance and pride.'

With a last glance around he made his way out of the bridge heading toward the bow determinedly. Around him he could feel the ship coming to a life of its own. All systems powered up beyond their normal levels. He could feel the shields going up stronger than ever. The engines howled and shook the ship. Metal groaned like a hungry beast out for a nuisance of a prey. He smiled in the glow of the red emergency lights the way a wolf smiles when it sees its cubs make their first kill.

Water sloshed in the hallway as he made his way to the Huneco's hangar. The Ekliptica was sinking but wounded beasts tended to be dangerous. They could rip you to shreds just to take you with them in death.

Arriving in the biggest open space of the ship he saw the Huneco below him. The robotic arms had all withdrawn. The machine was prepped and ready to fight. Only the docking clamps held the thirty meter tall robot in place, still in its fighter form. Water was coming through the hull in various places, slowly filling up the space. Harry did not waste any time. Jumping over the railing with a magic boosted jump he managed to drop down into the open hatch of the Huneco. The internal GMD slowed his fall in a moment but still gently enough to not make it feel like hitting concrete. It felt more like striking water too fast. Falling down into the pilot's chair the machine came to life around him. In a moment he felt Luna's presence; soothing to the mind, comforting to the soul. His thoughts cleared yet his rage did not abate. The presence rather supported his thirst for destruction. He grabbed the joysticks. The screens flickered to life, showing the leaking inside of the hangar. In a last act of loss he connected one last time with the Ekliptica. It was only a skin deep connection. He did not want to be surprised again by the backlash of getting hit. The ship was sailing even past its previous top speed, almost tearing itself apart with the effort. But she held on. The timer blinked only zeros. Through the few cameras that still worked he saw the beam approaching his beloved ship. Dreading the worst he closed his mental eyes to it. But the Ekliptica did what had been asked of her. Her last stand of defiance. Firing all the guns at the same time and aimed at one point in the path of the enemy attack red met white in a furnace of magic that would devour anything caught in it. The Angelfury's double beam was deflected just enough to miss the Ekliptica completely, slamming harmlessly into the ocean behind the ship. The engines simply stopped. The guns didn't recharge and the shield flickered out of existence. The bow planes turned down as the ship opened her water tanks. Above the Huneco, the triangular hatch opened to allow the machine to exit the ship through the deck rather than the hull.

Harry chuckled fondly: 'So you'd rather piss them off one last time and sink yourself than let them have the pleasure of seeing you destroyed and burning while sinking to the cold black depths? Good girl. That's the spirit of Insania.'

The ship simply died after giving him a pulse of magic. Something like a thank you he guessed. The bow sank rapidly, water quickly rushing over the rim of the hatch and spilling down into the hangar. With a push of his magic the docking clamps holding the Huneco released. The sky had disappeared. The bow was already submerged. Gliding the Huneco up through the turbulent waters and out of the belly of the beast he switched back to humanoid form. Looking back he could feel tears forming but he pushed them back. The Ekliptica was disappearing into the depths. Bubbles escaped her hull everywhere. The ruined bridge dipped beneath the surface. He stared emotionally at the empty windowless space as water forced the air out along with everything that wasn't bolted down securely. A single tear made its way down his cheek. The first true symbol of Insania's power, the icon of its fleet. It had withstood the worst and had still kept going. But now its time was up. Harry swore it would be the last thing Insania lost to an enemy. Wiping away that single tear he grasped the joysticks tightly. His eyes hardened. Diamond was soft cheese in comparison. A killer light shone in those emeralds. It was time to show them all just how useless their struggle had been.

It was time to show them the true Power of Revenge.

MFAS Angelfury

The crew on the bridge cheered and hugged. They were all ecstatic. The enemy was dead. Beaten and sunk. The enemy ship's stern was the only thing still above water and that was disappearing beneath the waves as well. But two men weren't dancing, hugging or cheering. Jonathan, President of Magical America and Abraham Skipper, once commander of the now non-existent fleet and captain of the Angelfury merely looked at the sinking Ekliptica grimly. Jonathan's head was wrapped in a bandage but the white cotton did not lessen the serious aura around him.

'Would you headless chickens all shut the fuck up and get back to your stations,' yelled Skipper. 'We just lost a couple thousand good sailors out there just to sink three ships.'

The silence fell like a hammer striking an anvil. All bridge crewmembers stared at him in shock before murmuring apologies and returning swiftly to their stations. All seemed sobered up quite nicely in Skipper's opinion. The captain nodded not quite satisfied but close enough.

'It's over then,' said Jonathan.

'Let us damn well hope so,' said Skipper roughly. 'Despite our superior numbers in the beginning and longer range at the end that brat still managed to score a hit on the 'fury. I very much hate Harry Potter to the core but he did deserve some respect as a worthy foe. It's a shame the vessel could not be captured. I would've liked nothing more than to strip it apart piece by piece and take some of that technology for ourselves.'

'Perhaps it is better this way,' said Jonathan.

'Perhaps,' said Skipper, not really agreeing. 'But as a captain it's still a shame to see such a ship disappear below the seas for good.'

Jonathan hesitated a moment: 'So how can we be sure Potter is truly dead?'

'His vessel wouldn't have sunk if he was still alive. He would've stopped it,' said Skipper with certainty. 'That last ditch effort had been a good one but we damaged him too badly. He could be fooling us but risking his stern like it is exposed now? If that thing isn't gone by the time we're recharged I'll blow it out of the water. It it's gone he's sunk along with it. If not we blow him to pieces if he dares show his face. But rest assured Jonathan. We stay on level one battle stations until I've sent a few boats out there to investigate. I will not take any chances this time. We'll see if it actually sinks with our equipment. No Jonathan, even if he still breathes he won't escape or pull off another stunt. It's over.'

Turning towards his officers Skipper yelled: 'Get as many boats as you can in the water to look for survivors.'

'And that hatch on the bow opening just before it went down?' asked Jonathan.

Skipper shrugged: 'No idea but nothing came out thus far. Maybe he could not bear his defeat and sank the ship on purpose.'

'Sir!' yelled one of the observation officers 'Something just popped out of the water near the sinking enemy vessel.'

'What?' yelled Jonathan and Skipper at the same time, both dreading what this meant.

'I have no idea what it is sir. It looks humanoid but it's definitely a machine.'

Both grabbed a pair of binoculars and quickly looked in the direction of the sinking Ekliptica. Indeed, there was something hovering above the water not far from the still visible stern.

Water frothed, spewing from scupper holes, the last part of the ship disappearing. In a very humanlike fashion the robot saluted with an arm that held a long rectangular weapon at the churning waters. And then it turned towards them, its emerald green eyes glinting, visible even from this far off.

'Oh my god,' said a crewmember, gazing through a pair of binoculars. 'I've seen something like it before! In a show my kid watches. What's it called again? Gun…Gun…something. I can't remember.'

Skipper lowered his binoculars and looked displeased at all the gawking crew.

'Who cares what it is,' he said with suppressed anger 'it's an enemy. Back to your stations and that's the last time I will say it today! Get ready to intercept the new threat!'

'Yes sir!'

'Is it possible it's still him?' asked Jonathan from the corner of his mouth.

'Whom else could it be?' asked Skipper angrily. 'Damn that boy for not knowing when to lie down and die.'

Harry simply hovered in place, glaring at the Angelfury. Things had been fun so far. The Americans had put up a good fight. He would grant them that much. But playtime was over. Now it was time to truly show just how futile their resistance had been. He had restarted the timer and it was getting close to zero. He dared them to fire those big guns at him.

He was not disappointed. Mere moments after the countdown finished those two devastating white beams rushed towards him. He laughed at them. He mocked them. He even activated speakers and opened the communication channel to convey his mockery.

Before the beam was halfway the pods on the back split in half, opening some way to reveal the thrusters nozzles. In a flash of blue flame they ignited. He felt the push of acceleration, dampened by the GMD. Without the gravity dampening he would have been squished to pulp inside the cockpit as the machine accelerated faster than any rocket could.

In a mere couple of seconds the Huneco hovered two hundred meters higher, the enemy attack passing under him harmlessly.

The enemy did not respond to his laughter. He grinned dangerously as he simply continued to hover in plain sight. An easy target you'd think. The 'fury was closing the distance but the thing was a snail compared to even the slowest of warships. Another two minutes passed. Another piece of time given to the enemy to try their best.

The turret on top of the Fury still had both guns aimed firmly at him. One barrel flared to life. White death rushed towards him. He did not even blink. The Huneco flashed upwards, out of the way. The second barrel of the 'fury's main weapon opened fire at his new position before he even got there. Harry laughed once more. Captain Skipper wasn't a dumb one. Taking a gamble and thinking Harry would jump the same distance up he had aimed his second charge at the spot and had the Huneco been any lesser creation but Luna Lovegood's, the American would most likely have scored a nice hit on Harry or even killed him. Sadly enough for the man, the Huneco was a class above everything else. Manoeuvring to the side at such speeds would have been impossible but with a GMD, it was child's play. Swerving out of the way of the deadly ray of energy with G-forces of over forty times normal gravity should kill anyone. Harry barely felt a tenth of it.

'Is that all you've got?' asked Harry challengingly. 'Was that the best you could do? I gave you four shots at me for free and still you could not even touch me. Now it's my turn.'

Transforming back into a fighter the Huneco sped towards the burning remains of the American fleet.

The President got his intention pretty quickly. His voice crackled over the channel: 'Potter, don't do this! Those people can't fight anymore...'

It was cruel. It was beastly. He didn't give a rat's ass. The MAGROV spun to life. Once at speed muzzle flashes erupted out of the barrels. The entire machine vibrated around Harry. A series of geysers caused by impacting MAG shells drew a straight line towards a heavily listing ship. The fires seemed to be under control on this one. Crew were pulling survivors from the water. They never knew what hit them.

The explosive payload of a standard MAG shell was quite devastating but the ten times larger shells of the MAGROV were earth shattering.

Over thirty of the projectiles hit the ship from the bow to the stern. Her deck was ripped open, crew tossed overboard or simply blown to pieces.

Transforming once more he hovered in the midst of the ravaged fleet.

Harry spoke: 'Do you see how unfair it is mister President? My people did not even have the chance to fight yet they suffered the same fate. They were killed mercilessly. Blown away indiscriminately, burnt to ash. I saw the girl I love die in my arms, her injuries too severe for me to save her. Her legs crushed, her heart slowing down and not a thing I could do to stop it. Until the very last breath she took she stayed brave before me, telling me how much she loved me. Do you know how that feels? Do you know what it's like?'

A troubled President spoke to him: 'I too have seen things that I cannot forgive Harry Potter. But simply taking revenge the same way is not going to change anything. You will simply be guilty of the same crimes.'

'And who is going to judge me?' asked Harry with suppressed rage. The MAGROV began to spin. 'The people that survived? Those that died? I hardly believe they'll be too harsh on me. You, on the other hand, won't have to worry about being judged. I have already judged you and I'll enact your punishment today. But first you will feel regret for what has been done. You will see blood spill and lives being lost and while it is me that is pulling the trigger you are the one responsible for it. Along with that fool of a Minister. Had you two been better men you would have simply accepted peace. This tragedy would never have occurred if it were not for your idiocy.'

A burst of the rotating barrels saw a capsized ship blown to bits

The President sounded angry too now: 'Don't preach to me about this war! It was a mistake, I know that. Our pride had us interfere and that same pride would not let us back down. The theft of the Missouri was not something that could be overlooked but it was a mistake to simply attack like we did. On the other hand, if Insania had never taken the ship none of us would be here today.'

Some of Harry's anger leaked through: 'We needed a ship and you had a perfect one for our needs. We would have returned it afterwards. Just a shame you yourselves were responsible for its destruction.'

'I don't have the intention of discussing blame with you all day Harry Potter. There's no point to it unless me taking all the blame will stop your decrepit actions.'

Harry laughed at him. Swinging the MAGROV around, he fired another burst. A ship that was in reasonable shape compared to others saw its stern go up in fiery explosions that rocked the ship, setting it aflame once more.

Still laughing Harry said: 'You could throw yourself off your ship and hope you die a swift and painless death. Otherwise your life will be snuffed out by my hands.'

Truly angry now Jonathan said: 'You've been spouting those threats for a while now. I'm starting to think it's just talk. Why don't you get it over and done with?'

Harry grinned like a maniac. Chuckling he said: 'I thought you'd never ask mister President.'

Bringing the BALROC up to aim at one ship and the MAGROV spinning at another he said: 'Let me just finish up here.'

The President yelled at him but Harry couldn't hear over his laughter. Mad yet deeply sad at the same time.

The MAGROV spewed its deadly projectiles while the MBALROC came to life for the first time. Both aimed to the side Harry rotated the machine around.

The bright blue beam with its purplish centre and Core tipped bullets tore a path of carnage through the dying remains of the American fleet.

Whatever still floated was blown apart or eaten up by the powerful destructive magic of the BALROC. More oil and fuel spilled out of the sinking wrecks. The sea was set aflame with black acrid smoke filling the air. He turned the machine to face the Angelfury, both his weapons stopping their continuous stream of destruction.

'All done here mister President,' said Harry. There was even more sadness in his voice.

Harry could hear the president was simply near tears. 'You complete monster,' said the President 'How can you be this cruel after you have felt the same kind of pain? How can you inflict it upon others knowing how it much it hurts?'

'Because there is no one left to hold me back. There is no one I have to face when I'm done here. There is no friend that will look at me with accusing eyes, nor a lover that will hate me,' said Harry with emptiness in his voice.

The President sighed: 'I guess I can understand what you're saying after all. Where it me in your stead I may have done the same. That simply makes this all the more sad. Now I know for sure there is also no other option. Either you defeat us or we kill you. There will be no mercy for you Harry Potter.'

'That's fine with me,' said Harry. 'I won't be needing your mercy anyway.'

The machine leant forward, the pods splitting open. Blue flame fired out of the nozzles. The Huneco became a blur that sped towards the floating metal mountain that was the enemy's stronghold. His charge was met with a blast of white. He corkscrewed out of the path of the attack. The second beam followed a moment after, straight at him. Swerving wildly to the side it missed him by over a hundred meters. He was closing the distance fast. The remains of the fleet had been sixteen kilometres off. The first blast had torn past him at thirteen kilometres, the second at eleven. With the most powerful weapon the Americans had at the moment expended for two minutes they had nothing to stop him.

'If that's all you have, two powerful but laughably slow attacks that take an age to recharge, you're dead already,' mocked Harry.

When he closed to six kilometres the smaller turrets on the jutted parts of the slope opened fire on him. Fifteen turrets spewed dual beams at him. He could simply sense them coming. The presence in the machine nearly told him what to do. Dashing from side to side, up and down, they all missed him by a wide margin.

He was only three kilometres away now. Bringing the BALROC up to fire he squeezed the trigger.

Bridge of the Angelfury

The bridge of the 'fury was near the top of the structure. A magnificent view all around on a calm day. Of course there were no real windows but merely spelled walls. The Angelfury was a technological marvel, combining Muggle technology with magic on a level never seen before in the American navy. Needless to say it looked more coming out of a seventies science fiction movie. While their regular ships were Muggle vessels enhanced with magic with the electronics shielded, the Angelfury was the first vessel that ran purely on magic. With an Elvin power stone from days long gone as its source of energy, it was a step in the direction which Insania had mastered. All the systems were still crude but what they lacked in sophistication they made up for in raw power. Built with the idea that everything should be ten times more powerful than required, it was magnificent. For a design built in peaceful times it had been something extreme. But the Angelfury had been more of an experiment than anything else. The start of the war with Insania nearly a year ago had changed that. Abraham Skipper was grateful for the vessel now. Back when the design was put on the table he had scoffed at it saying that America needed nothing more. Their fleet had been the most powerful. How far they had fallen since then. And now that experimental project was his last line of defence against an enemy that was unbeatable thus far. And said enemy was speeding towards him right at this moment in a machine unlike any Skipper had ever seen. A machine of war made to look like a human. A machine that had turned whatever had been left of his fleet to wrecks sinking to the bottom taking most of the crew along. It had done it with ease too. But there was nothing hard about taking down an already crippled enemy. He looked with sadness at the remains of his burning fleet in the distance. The enemy machine was flying straight towards them from the slaughter. His face hardened as the turrets all missed. He was gnashing his teeth when the enemy aimed its weapon at them.

Blue with a core of purple splashed open like bright paint against the shield of the Fury. The glare of the attack made people look away. Warning signals beeped.

'Shield has its integrity diminished by seventeen percent sir.' The glare diminished.

'Make us revolve slowly,' ordered Skipper. 'Use turrets together in bursts. Don't aim them all straight at him but around him as well. Keep a fair distance from the island. When the Nova guns are recharged hold your fire for a joint firing.'

'Yes sir!'

In the sky the Huneco hovered in place defiantly. Skipper glared at his foe.

Jonathan asked him a question: 'Do you think we can beat him?'

'We should. His most powerful weapon hasn't breached our shield. I doubt he has a power source like their ships in that thing. If neither can finish the other it will be a fight 'till one of us gives up. In that case we have the upper hand.'

Laughter filled the bridge. 'You really think you are safe from me?' asked Harry's voice.

Skipper glared at the comm. officer: 'You left the channel open?'

'How about it? Is that attack coming or not? I'm waiting for your futile struggle to get away with your skin intact.'

'Guns are charged sir!' reported CIC, taking Skippers ire away from the comm. officer. 'All gunners report ready to fire at their respective positions.

'Alright!' said Skipper 'Let him have it. I hope you're ready to have a taste of your own medicine.'

The Huneco squared off: 'Try to hit me with your worst.'

'All stations capable, open fire!'

The Nova cannon fired. Eighteen more beams joined it, filling the air with deadly energy.

Harry didn't move the Huneco. Even before those beams had gotten halfway all their paths were determined. The Nova blasts would pass well above and below him. Probably in the hope he would dodge like he had before. The other beams formed a pattern to make them cover as large and area as possible yet make the space between small enough to make a miss unlikely. Fools. If he even used half of the Huneco's full potential he would've been a mile away in a flash. One beam was going straight for him though. Raising the left arm brought the MAGROV's attached shield in the path of the attack. The green beam splashed against it. The air turned hazy from all the heat. A warning beeped in his mind. The shield temperature was ten percent of allowed maximum. Harry smiled a chilling smile.

'We've hit the target sir!'

'Is he damaged?'

''Indiscernible so far sir but it was a straight hit.'

Hearing the chatter on the bridge brought forth a chilling laugh. 'I'm quite alright. Thanks for worrying. However, you've had your fun, now it's my turn.'

Aiming both the BALROC and the MAGROV at the Angelfury Harry cut loose. A hail of supersized MAG shells followed by the BALROC's beam smashed into the shield. Harry could feel the drain on his magic strongly. The whole machine vibrated with the MAGROV's firing, expending ammo at an astounding rate. Yet it was worth it as he heard the Americans panicking.

'Shield is down twenty five percent. Twenty nine. Thirty four! His beam attack isn't stopping. He's firing continuously. Forty five!'

However gratifying it was, even he couldn't keep up firing the BALROC continuously like this. Releasing the trigger for the weapon he took steady breaths as he counted: 'One...'

'Shield has stabilized. Integrity down fifty two percent and recovering slowly.'

'Two...'

'The enemy's fire is slowing it down but we are recovering.'

'Three...'

'Good. That weapon is bound to run out of bullets too. Prepare another volley.'

'Four...'

'Another twenty seconds sir.'

'Five.'

He squeezed the trigger again. The drain felt like the very life was being sucked out of him. He slumped forward but never did that chilling smile leave him.

'Enemy is firing again!'

'Shit, too soon!'

'Shield is dropping rapidly. Sixty. Sixty eight. Seventy nine. Ninety two. Shield breach incoming!'

'Fire!'

The shield of the Angelfury collapsed inward. The purple-blue beam of the BALROC rushed in. Armour plating six feet thick had its paint scorched before the beam even came close it. Metal glowed orange in the blink of an eye all the while being pounded by shells with the power to level a city block a piece. Craters were chewed out of the metal by the volatile magic. The beam melted through the armour turning the inside into a solar furnace. Unfortunately for Harry he had to break off his attack to avoid being hit by at least eight beams. The BALROC stopped firing. He kept the MAGROV spewing though. Accelerating briefly to mach two whilst keeping a large weapon with one hell of a lot of recoil trained on a target some distance away was no easy feat. Despite a few complete misses it didn't miss its effect. The shield stayed down. He could hear them yelling, shouting and panicking on the enemy bridge.

'Sections F7 through G12 have been hit. Fire reports are coming in. Damage is severe.'

'Shield won't regenerate!'

'Stay calm. Get crews down there. Where is the enemy? And close that goddamn channel!'

The sound of the bridge in chaos died out. It was time for the finishing blow. The MAGROV was still firing. One third of its ammo remained: More than enough. Diving down to the smoking hole he had made with the MAGROV extended in front of him he prepped his next attack. Holding the BALROC sideways he switched operation mode from beam fire to a twelve meter long lance of contained magic.

'Die you bastards!' he yelled, letting the external speakers carry his battle cry.

The explosive shells from the still spinning and firing MAGROV wreaked havoc inside the enemy ship as Harry sliced wildly around with the lance, cutting glowing gashes that crisscrossed. Chunks of armour were cut free, falling down, toppling inwards.

Parts of the armour around him flipped like a revolving door. Small turrets with what looked like dents in them were all around him and all those 'dents' were looking at him. It was only thanks to Luna's presence he got away in time as dozens of pale red beams sliced through the air he had occupied moments before. Those small turrets swivelled fast, tracking him.

'A last type of defence measure?' asked Harry mockingly. 'Even that won't save you.'

Diving in again he hugged the Angelfury's flanks, the lance cutting a line wherever he passed. Using all the manoeuvrability the Huneco had, he avoided each and every one of those beams while still cutting a path through all the small turrets, taking them out at an incredibly fast pace. The three foot wide gash snaking its way along a goodly length of the structure made its presence known. Harry could hear the structure groan even inside the Huneco. He pushed on, getting over to the other side of the Fury, Azkaban disappearing out of sight. More parts of the armour flipped around, more turrets appearing to stop him. They did not even slow him. He sped up, flying up and down, as one turret after another fell in front of his fury. Glee overwhelmed him. The enemy was powerless against him! They would be panicking now. They would feel helpless. Just as he had felt helpless. Their death was approaching. They would realize it any minute now and they could only await its sweet embrace while he took his time giving it to them.

He was so enthralled by the thought he nearly missed the sudden lack of resistance from the lance. Looking sideways at the lance almost languidly for his speed his eyes widened. In the flank of the 'fury was a gap. A circle wide enough to fit the Huneco that ran into the structure in a conical shape. The red glow inside nearly blinded him. That light burst to life around him. The world was red. Sirens blared in his mind. The only thing on his mind was getting away. This time the force of acceleration was clearly felt. The red went away. He was breathing hard. He was getting various warnings from armour overheating and minor damage. But the Huneco was a formidable machine. The sky was filled with the blast of red still, an attack that turned the sky brown by its glow. He was far enough away now. Another warning bleeped. Harry growled. The enemy's main guns fired at him. The twin white beams shot past him, missing him by a good hundred meters. He scoffed at the Americans. Even now they didn't give up; using such a powerful weapon simply to get him to take some distance so they could take another shot at him. But it had cost them dearly. The damage he had inflicted on the Angelfury was extensive. A gout of flame a hundred foot long belched out of the scar he had cut. The weapon they had used to get him away rumbled and exploded outward dispelling the red with bright yellow flame the nearly engulfed the upper part of the floating fortress. The structure groaned even louder. Audible even over the kilometre away he was. Harry knew the sound all too well. The noise of metal bending and shearing. He had heard enough of it over the past year. With a thunderous sound, the heavy outer shell of the Fury warped, closing that weakness. The upper part stood crooked on its base. If he left them as they were, there was little chance his prey would escape alive but that would not give him any satisfaction. Even the smallest chance was too large. He had to know for sure. Bursting forward, lance outstretched, he hugged the side once more but higher up this time. A couple dozen feet below the top, he cut a three foot wide gash all the way around. Finishing that, he switched mode for the BALROC back to beam fire and took a distance of half a kilometre. Facing the dying floating fortress he aimed the BALROC just above the line he had cut. With a sadistic smile he powered the weapon to its maximum and squeezed the trigger. The beam that rushed out was wider than normal. Denser too. The Huneco was pushed backward slightly until the machine compensated. Blue-white hit the upper part of the Fury. At this stage there was no more shield to stop the attack. Armour burst aflame blinding white. Metal burnt if heated high enough and it was a nasty kind of fire that was near impossible to put out. The beam emerged the other side. Whatever system powered the upper turret went haywire with the intrusion of foreign magic. A last burst of two beams with mingled colours from the turret preceded an explosion that blew the top of the 'fury up. The turret catapulted in the air. Chunks of metal rained down on the ocean. Harry lowered the BALROC. The floating fortress was finished. Now he just had to dig out the rats he was looking for. With another burst of the Huneco's propulsion he was hovering not twenty metres above the ruined top. He could see the inside of the enemy vessel. What he saw couldn't have pleased him more. It was the bridge of the Fury. It couldn't be anything else. The layout of a command centre was unmistakable. He spotted a face he'd seen before: The man that had acknowledged a surrender in the battle of Zeus' launching. Abraham Skipper lay staring up at the sky with glazed eyes, a bar of metal sticking through his chest, dripping red with blood. Not the suffering death Harry had promised. Another figure lay next to it. A steel girder a foot wide and ten feet long crushed his belly but those eyes glared at him like two chips of icy blue. That face he'd seen before too, at the siege of Potter Mansion atop a wooden tower. If only he had known back then... He shook his head to clear those kinds of thoughts. There would be time for regret but it was not now. Now was time for blood to be spilled.

Men and women lay bleeding and wailing or simply dead around the man. He himself wouldn't last long with such an injury yet that gaze didn't waver.

'The president of Magical America I presume?' asked Harry with expectation.

'So I am,' spat Jonathan, a trickle of blood dribbling down his cheek from the corner of his mouth. 'Here at your mercy, oh great and mighty Harry Potter, avenger of the fallen. You can go ahead and kill me now along with the thousands of men and women you did your best in slaughtering today. I hope they will soothe your thirst for revenge. If you don't hurry, I'll simply die as I am. I hope you won't let the opportunity slip away and do the honours yourself.'

Harry laughed: 'Are you so eager for death now? Not minutes ago you were struggling for life. Have your sins caught up with you?'

Jonathan flashed a grim grin: 'Not at all but now that our defeat is undeniable I see no reason to keep looking at your presence any longer. Be done with your vengeance. Kill me out of anger and rage. See if tomorrow the world will agree with your actions or look at you the way you look at me now. Death does not bring the dead back to life, it does not offer peace of mind or soul. Now you don't feel it but later you will. When you look at your hands, they will be dripping with blood. Blood of people less guilty than you are. Blood of men and women that only performed their duty. How many innocents have you slain today just to get at me? How many more will you kill before you reach Oswald?'

Harry fought to control his rage. He was of half a mind to bring his lance down on the man right now and scorch his body to ash. But that wouldn't do. The words of this man stung. Not because he was right. Because he was a bastard: That was why.

'You say I murdered thousands just to get at you. You killed tens of thousands just to get at me. We are guilty of the same sins now. I gave you no option to surrender, true. However I did warn you. If you had only a shred of a conscience you should have put a gun to your head and pulled the trigger. If you had done just that I would've been disappointed. If simply for having taken away the joy of the fight and killing you personally but it might have spared your sailors. You offered a complete surrender and I refused it so you immediately hid behind that wall of ships and your blasphemous monstrosity here, hoping you'd escape with your skin intact somehow. I'm pretty sure if your bestial attack on my country had been a complete success and nobody was left to tell the tale, this entire affair would have been wrapped up pretty neatly and none would be the wiser as to what had happened.'

'You'd be wrong,' said Jonathan. His gaze was glazing, his voice growing weaker. 'I know the gravity of what we did. Oswald was arrested the moment it became clear what had occurred and I admitted my guilt. If you hadn't been blinded by rage and accepted that surrender all would have been settled in the proper ways. Probably with a dementor's kiss for Oswald and lifetime imprisonment for me.'

Harry slammed the lance into the deck at the edge of the bridge. Far enough away from Jonathan to not hurt him but he could still feel the incredible heat as metal melted like butter on the stove, only a hundred times faster.

'And you think such a meaningless punishment could amend even a fraction of your crime?' Harry laughed bitterly. 'It would not even come close to a fraction.'

Jonathan opened his mouth to respond but Harry yelled a 'silence' loud enough to make Jonathan's ears ring.

'I've had enough of your sorry excuses,' said Harry coldly 'The world can blame and curse me all they want. I don't care one bit. None of them can make me care. They don't matter. I've lost all there is to lose. All those that did matter... Now die.'

And with those words he pulled the lance free from the gash of bubbling metal and pointed it tip down to just below Jonathan's limp legs. 'Let's see if you are too injured to feel some pain before you draw your last breath.'

The tip of that brightly glowing lance advanced ever so slowly to Jonathan, coming closer and closer to his legs. He couldn't feel them nor see them thanks to the lump of metal crossing his body but he could see wisps of smoke curling up over the rim of the girder. Most likely his shoes. The intense heat of the contained magic had sweat popping out of his pores already.

As the tip of that lance appeared out of sight behind the metal laying across him there was a voice, loud and commanding. A familiar voice.

'Stop this Harry. The man has been defeated. If you still wish for something to let out your rage against then fight me instead,' boomed the voice of Albus Dumbledore across the water. The lance pulled back, the Huneco twisting around to look back at Azkaban. With maximum zoom Harry could make out the old man standing on the rocky shore of the island. Harry resisted the urge to aim the BALROC at him and open fire. He would deal with Dumbledore once this was finished. He turned back to the President. Bringing that unimaginably hot lance up again with the tip aimed at the same spot Dumbledore yelled once more: 'Did you not hear me my boy? Come here and face someone still standing.'

'I heard you,' said Harry, speakers loud enough they had Jonathan's ears ringing. 'Do not worry Dumbledore. I will be with you soon. Right after I take care of this worm.'

The tone of Dumbledore's voice took on a very dangerous edge: 'Harry, don't do it.'

Still that lance went down, the tip touching the floor of the ravaged bridge. Metal turned orange to white as it bubbled and melted.

An alert sounded in his mind. To the side a bolt of lightning crackled towards him. It hit him square on the shoulder. The Huneco twitched violently, lance cutting a gash downward, away from Jonathan's legs. The crash of thunder accompanied Dumbledore's harsh voice: 'I told you to stop it Harry.'

The uncontrolled twitching of the machine stopped and Harry's reply was a laughing one: 'Did you really think that would work twice Dumbledore? Did you forget whom you're facing? Your lightning took down the Potter once and that was enough.'

Whirling the machine around the MAGROV came up, aimed at Dumbledore. But Harry didn't open fire with the massive weapon. Instead a lid popped open on the front of the shield attached to the Gatling cannon. Electricity crackled near the tip of a revealed muzzle. In a flash of lightning a bolt rushed back to Azkaban. Harry saw Dumbledore put up a shield to block the returned attack. He did not wait to see the outcome. Taking no chances Harry plunged the lance into Jonathan's legs. The man cringed from the heat on his face and upper body but did not cry out. That was until the heat began to melt the steel beam lying on top of him. A scream of pure terror and pain was torn from the throat of the writhing thrashing man.. It was a scream that chilled you to the bone. Not even the worst injury Harry had seen had made anyone cry out so loud and hard. Utter agony filled Jonathan as his blood boiled, and his fat was set alight along with skin. He used the Huneco to amplify that sound through its speakers. Loud enough for Dumbledore to hear.

'Do you hear that Albus? The sound of justice... The sound of pain ... Maybe close to what I experienced when everyone I cared about was burnt to ash around me.'

The screaming dwindled as the flames licked their way up his body. He still thrashed like an animal in the throes of death. Harry moved the lance upward. The heat had Jonathan's eyes boil, popping them. Hair burst into flame. Soon the flesh on his face followed. The thrashing stopped. His heart was probably turning to a charred lump of meat. Skin flaked away. Jonathan's skull became visible.

'Such a gruesome sight,' muttered Harry. He felt moistness in the corner of his eyes. Tears for the dead, tears of joy. So he hoped. They could not be tears of regret or sadness over his actions. This man had deserved it too much for that. Hadn't he?

With an angry upward swipe of the lance Harry wiped even the skeleton from the face of the earth. The lance winked out. Taking the Huneco up a couple of hundred metres he aimed the BALROC straight down. The blue-white beam struck the deck of the bridge, punching through the plating with ease, and entering the belly of the structure. No more than a second or two, and the beam dissipated. Water sprayed out of the newly made hole. Harry had punched a hole all the way through the hull of the ship. Water was rushing in with great force. The end of the Magical Fleet of America was a fact. Harry doubted they had enough ships left to be called a fleet anywhere. Now there was only Azkaban left. Turning away the Huneco from the sinking Angelfury he looked at his final destination. Shouldn't he feel different? Shouldn't he feel less pain? Less rage? One of those responsible was dead. Executed for his part in the atrocity. Seared to ash by his hand. Yet he didn't feel any better. Maybe he felt even worse.

Warmth and comfort enveloped him. A loving touch. Tender and bittersweet. Even if she was not with him anymore in the flesh she still supported him.

'Luna,' he said, tears leaking out 'I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry for all of this.'

There was a pulse in that feeling. He closed his eyes, revelling in the feeling. He could almost truly feel her arms around him, holding him in comfort. It made him cry freely. The tears were of happiness. Happiness that there was at least still someone supporting him. Yet they were of anger and sadness at the same time. At the unfairness of it all.

The sensation that was Luna faded slowly. He shivered as it left him, wishing it would stay forever. But it was not the same as her in the flesh. It was her essence, the core of what she was that lingered in the machine. She had bonded her very soul to the mortal realm. For him. He chuckled sadly, wiping the tears away. In the distance was Azkaban. He had stepped on the path of carnage and revenge. He could not stop now. The world be damned but he would see those responsible burn in the pits of hell.

Pushing the Huneco forward he flew towards Azkaban Island. Not bursting forward, simply flying towards it. On the cliff Dumbledore stood waiting for him. Harry swallowed. He had no fear of the man himself. No matter what powers Dumbledore wielded it wouldn't be enough against him. He had bested Voldemort, wielded magic beyond what should be possible. Entire armies and some of the most skilled people to have ever lived had tried to stop him and they had all failed. He would not be stopped by his former headmaster. Yet Dumbledore held a trump card. One that even Harry feared. He could merely hope it did not come to that, that the man had retained some sense of honour. Harry's mouth twisted in a grimace. 'Highly unlikely.' Coming up on the island he could see the old man clearly. White beard trailing in the wind those periwinkle blue eyes were cold. Ice cold. Like the middle of the night in a blizzard on the arctic pole. They were stormy like one too. And tinged with sadness. Dumbledore had his wand out, hand at his side holding it loosely. A defiant posture. It grated on Harry fiercely. How dare that man! Dumbledore should hide his face in shame. He would know what his 'allies' had done. Harry wouldn't believe anything else. The old man was too meddlesome to be out of the loop. Time after time Dumbledore had stood against him or helped his enemies and now it had accumulated up to a near genocide. The old man had helped him too. The defeat of Voldemort would have been impossible without him. Yet that was no doubt only done to further Dumbledore's own goals. Choosing the lesser of two evils was just like him. After all that had been done, all the fights and all the lives lost Dumbledore still dared stand against him defending a weasel like Fudge!

The BALROC came up. Without a doubt he pulled the trigger. That deadly beam lanced forward. Dumbledore didn't move. He didn't even blink. A person blurred in the path of the beam. A person with fiery red hair. Harry hissed in displeasure but there was nothing he could do now. Even the Huneco was not fast enough to outpace an energy beam. He did jerk the BALROC to the side, cutting off the power to the weapon. But what was done was done.

The blueish white streak of energy splashed open against that person, dispersing harmlessly. The light of the attack faded. Between Dumbledore and the Huneco, stood the form of Ginny Weasley. He couldn't see her eyes, hidden by her hair. The way she was standing was a stance he knew all too well. A stance he himself used to withstand incoming spells and deal with them while holding your ground. When she did look up his heart felt like being pierced with a frigid needle. The warm brown full of life he was used to was gone. In its place was a void. A nothingness so vast, that no amount of life could fill it up. The eyes of someone that would rather be dead.

Dumbledore's amplified voice had his fingers twitching: 'Were you truly planning to just kill me like that Harry? Shoot me and be done with it? What has happened to you? The boy I knew was pure of heart, and kind. I never would have thought there was such cruelty in his heart. Do you really want to keep killing in cold blood Harry? Have the deaths of today soothed you any? Will killing more?'

'Quiet,' said Harry. Not loud, not quietly, but deadly. 'That boy's heart got ripped out overnight. What about you Dumbledore? You were supposed to be something of a role model yet you always failed in that regard. You were never there when it counted, save for last year, when Voldemort was in front of me. And then it was after an entire year of avoiding me. I don't care anymore what your reasons were. Here you stand, facing me, defending a piece of filth that deserves to die. And even worse you still hold Ginny. Have you even dared to look her in the eye lately, Dumbledore? Do you see what you have done to her? She is crying. She is weeping yet she sheds no tears because she's not allowed to. She's all I have left of those that started out on this venture with me and you dare use her against me? You should be huddling in a corner thinking of how to kill yourself out of shame. You're despicable. You do not openly choose a side except when it is in your best interest. You alone are responsible for hundreds of deaths because of your mongering. I'm pretty sure you could have prevented this too. I won't believe you didn't know anything about Fudge's plans.'

'I knew there were plans, Harry. That was all.'

'It was enough!' yelled Harry. 'Even that would have been enough to keep us on guard. Instead you wrote to me saying you were working things out. I trusted you that much. I should have known better. What is your motivation, Dumbledore? Why do you even stand here today? What do you fight for? What is left to fight for?'

'Harry, I have lived a long time. I have seen many things. I've lived through two world wars. I've lost family, friends and lovers. Over and over again. I've seen the best and the worst of people and even myself. All I can say is that I did what I saw as the best at that moment. And therefore, at this moment, I see you making a mistake and I cannot allow it. I will try not to injure you too grievously Harry. I'm sure after you've had time to grieve and calm down we can talk about what can be done and what can't. But right now you and I are enemies. I'm saddened to have young Ginevra here stand against you. I don't want to do this. Still, I know there is little chance of me beating you as I am now. So I will use every method I have to halt you.'

Harry regarded the old man through the cameras of the Huneco: 'Very well then.'

Setting the Huneco in shallow water so it came to knee height he disengaged himself from the system. Huneco kneeled. Luna's presence left him. His heart ached. He wanted to remain in here. He couldn't. He had to face this. The hatch opened with a hiss. He let himself drop out. Before he hit the water however he used magic to propel himself up on the edge of the cliff. Landing on the edge of the cliff his heart skipped a beat. Not a dozen feet away stood Ginny. Her eyes locked with his. What he saw when he looked into those once warm brown eyes brought on a wave of sadness and bitterness; no longer were they full of life. They were endless voids. Devoid of emotion, devoid of the will to live. Flecks of killing curse green floated in there. A harsh reminder to him why she was in this position in the first place. Because of him. Because of the closeness he had shared with her. He still didn't know if she ever truly loved him or if it had merely been Dumbledore using her. She had once had a major crush on him but in his fifth year that seemed to have abated. The beginning of sixth year had changed that again. She had been surprisingly straightforward then. Too bad he had been too preoccupied with Insania back then. His anger had blinded him. So had his need for someone that truly cared for him. His hands balled into fists in anger. Dumbledore had seen that. And he had used it. Harry grudgingly admitted it had been a masterful move. A move that had nearly crippled Harry's plans. Ginny had been used time and again in this war. To get behind enemy lines. To fight off enemies. To turn Insania's technology into new weapons for the enemy. And now the final transgression that crossed all borders. Used against him directly. How could he fight this girl? How could he hurt her? She was innocent in this entire matter. She had done nothing wrong. Yet here she was, in the middle of a deadly conflict standing between Harry and his target. Harry would bet his entire life on the fact that Dumbledore would not hesitate to use her to the fullest extent. His gaze flicked just to the side of Ginny. Fury filled eyes locked with cold periwinkle blue. There was a crackling in the air.

'You truly are despicable Dumbledore,' said Harry with murder in his voice. 'You know what has happened. You know the atrocity committed. Yet you defend the one responsible. And you dare use her to do it? Have you truly fallen so low? Have you even dared look her in the eye recently? Can't you sense the agony she is in?'

'Harry, no matter the wrong that has been done it is not a permission to do even more. What you are doing is wrong. You are killing in rage and grief. I cannot allow that. I have to stop you from committing further atrocities. Alas I must admit I am not up to the task alone. It pains me to do this. It truly does. But it cannot be helped.'

'You can just step aside,' said Harry coldly. 'You know it is what Fudge deserves.'

'Perhaps. But how many innocent lives will be lost in the process. The people on this island will defend the fortress. You will have to get through them and I doubt it will happen without casualties in your current state of mind.'

'They can step aside as well,' said Harry, his voice pure ice.

'Many haven't forgotten the day you destroyed the ministry. A lot have lost family, friends of colleagues in this war against you. You really think they would simply let you do as you wish?'

'It is either that or I will go through them.'

'And that is exactly why I cannot allow you to get past me Harry.'

'Fine then,' spat Harry. 'You truly wish for a final confrontation between us? You'll have it. But you know as well as I it is very unlikely both of us will walk away from it alive.'

'That is your choice Harry. I have no intention of killing you if I can help it. Deep down, you are still a good person. I know you are. I cannot kill someone like you unless you leave me no other option.'

Harry laughed mockingly: 'That's a really good one Dumbledore. How many innocents have died through your actions? One more won't matter.'

'Deaths are inevitable in a war Harry but if it does not have to be then it does not have to be. I ask you one last time Harry: surrender. I'll make sure you will be given a fair trial. Redeem yourself from this atrocity.'

Harry laughed again: 'A trial? It would be more merciful to just kill me here. They will make an example out of me. They will show me off to the public before they execute me or worse.'

Dumbledore sighed wearily: 'That may have been true in the past. But things are changing. Don't think Cornelius' crimes will go unpunished. Once this is over he will be put on trial as well. He won't even be Minister for Magic for another day. People won't forgive what he did. If you stop now, we might even be able to work together to make a better future.'

'I had a better future,' snapped Harry. 'Until it all went up in flames.'

Dumbledore's wand flicked into his hand: 'I will do what I must Harry,'

'I wouldn't expect anything less. If we're going to have our final battle, let it be a worthy one then!' Harry yelled the last part, a cruel smirk forming on his lips. Everything slowed to an absolute crawl for Harry. He delved deeper into his Drone-mode than he had ever gone before. Magic stormed into his body like a floodgate being opened. His veins pulsed and burned. His body thrived in exhilaration. He burst forward. He passed Ginny before she even showed a reaction, Dragonslayer forming in his hand. With a roar of triumph he jumped, swinging the sword overhead and down. A blow that would cleave Dumbledore cleanly in two. If it had hit. Metal clanged on metal in a thunderous sound reverberating of the rock and walls of the fortress. Harry couldn't believe his eyes. Meeting Dragonslayer was Soulcleaver. His eyes snapped to his left hand. The ring was gone. His eyes swivelled down and to the right. Soulcleaver held above her with two hands Ginny stood below him, one knee bent, the other leg outstretched. She had her head down, her hair obscuring her eyes as if in shame.

Dumbledore's wand whipped up, aimed straight at his abdomen. A point blank shot. With a push against Soulcleaver he managed to dodge it to the side by barely an inch. Swinging the platinum-golden sword around, he went for a blow to Dumbledore's back. Soulcleaver and Dragonslayer clashed again. Dumbledore's wand swung around. Another spell was cast from less than a foot away. Harry jumped up, Dragonslayer grinding free of Soulcleaver. Another swing that would have taken Dumbledore's head off was it not for the ringing sound of metal striking metal. Harry cursed as he dodged a third spell. Jumping backwards Harry's back was now facing the castle. Ginny stood defensively between him and Dumbledore. He could see her face now. Tiny pricks of tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes. In the three blow sequence Dumbledore hadn't moved an inch from his spot. He turned around deliberately slowly.

'It is quite remarkable,' said the old man. 'The gift Ginevra received from you combined with the sword and the knowledge Gryffindor left of the ways of the sword. A fearsome combination.'

'The sword!' thought Harry and tried to summon it to him. But to his disappointment it didn't appear in his hand.

'While Godric Gryffindor's sword was in my rooms I had some time to study it. Magical swords truly are…magical. They nearly have a spirit of their own. An ingrained part that can have many qualities. Gryffindor's original sword gave its wielder knowledge on how to use it. It also gave the person courage and some endurance. This sword is quite different. It is a sword meant to kill, to take lives whereas Gryffindor's sword was a protector. I can see now why you defeated Ronald so easily back then. The sword you hold is a different matter altogether. It is neither a sword to protect nor to attack. It is a sword that fights for those cared about. It is not meant to kill, or to keep you alive but to achieve victory over a just cause. Truly remarkable. Although neither of the two is the perfect one for this fight by its current wielder.' Dumbledore looked at the black sword in Ginny's hands. 'It does not like fighting you. I can sense it. But neither does it wish to betray Ginevra here. Swords such as these truly reflect their owners.'

'If that is so you know not half of what you think you do,' spat Harry. 'This was Amy's sword. She lent it to me with her final breath. Its power is mine to use as I see fit.'

'Certainly so,' said Dumbledore. 'Even more the shame when the spirit of such a remarkable young girl is used to spill my blood.'

A small part of Harry agreed with that. This sword was in a way the embodiment of Amy's spirit. Tainting it with the blood of a despicable person like Dumbledore was indeed a sin. This weapon deserved a worthier foe. Harry grinned maliciously. 'I think Amy will forgive me this one time. And if not I will make sure to make it up to her in the afterlife. Like so many people she loved me. And I loved her in turn. She was like a daughter to me. One that fought bravely in the face of truly one of the most terrifying enemies of all time. And you are protecting the murderer of all those she fought to save. Even a letter opener is too good for stabbing you. I think she would gladly take the burden upon her if given the choice.' He charged in again. Each of his attacks was met by Ginny's counters. All the while spells were flung at him. Dumbledore was getting closer and closer to scoring a hit and when it happened it was lights out most likely. He let his magic seep out of his body, creating an aura around him. He could feel a headache coming on. His already too long exposure to Drone-mode was making itself known. His muscles ached and throbbed from being pushed beyond what any normal human was capable of. Yet his body was light as a feather. His magic pulsed in him and around him. He was at the top of his game. And he would not let an old man using Ginny against him beat him. One spell got a little too close for comfort. His magic surrounding him lashed out at it. It veered off course and died a moment later. Harry grinned savagely. Sooner or later he would get through to Dumbledore. That or Dumbledore got him first. But unless the old man killed him, he would not give up! He would see Fudge bleed! Dumbledore did seem to be taking care not to hit Ginny. But this close in battle was not landing any hits. It was time to go in for another tactic. Creating a dozen meters space between him and Dumbledore, Harry charged forward. Ginny charged at him just as he had expected. She was agile and fast. He had to give her that. His Soulcleaver was the perfect weapon for speed and manoeuvrability. But brute strength was on his side and Dragonslayer was a good sword for that. A spark of metal on metal as one sword met another. He burst forward using magic. A sideways push with the power of a speeding lorry sent Ginny flying. It had not even slowed him. The path to Dumbledore was clear. Dragonslayer over his left shoulder he swung it to the right and down. Dumbledore got off a spell but his own magic lashed out so violently it was simply swiped away. The hit would cut Dumbledore in two from the right shoulder to the left hip and there was nothing that could stop him. There was a blur in front of his eyes. Dragonslayer came to an abrupt halt, the edge nicking Ginny's neck. A thin trickle of blood seeped out, making its way down Dragonslayer's cutting edge.

'You see Harry,' said Dumbledore quite calmly. 'Deep down inside you are still the same. Your subconscious is still faster than your thoughts. You can't harm her to get to me. She's like family to you. If you can't cut through her to achieve your goal then how can you cut through anyone else? You think they don't have people that care about them just the way you do about Ginny. Are you really that cold?'

'I will do what must be done.' Harry said it with effort. The sword stayed where it was, frozen in place while Harry himself quivered with anger and rage. 'But how can you fall so low Dumbledore.'

Ginny's lips were moving. Opening and snapping shut every few moments. Dumbledore was regarding her with a strange look.

Ever so weakly a sound emerged and Harry strained to hear it.

'I…I…I…'

Dumbledore sighed in resignation: 'Just as low as you can Harry.'

'…sorry.'

That one word was all the warning he needed from her but it was too late. He tried to jump back in time. He felt the cold metal of Soulcleaver kiss his belly. It didn't hurt like being cut. Only his soul itself screamed in agony. His entire being felt pulled towards that wound. He screamed out. A spell hit him squarely in the chest. His mind was screaming at him in alarm. Darkness appeared at the corners of his vision. He could feel himself falling ever so slowly. Ginny and Dumbledore fell out of his sight. The sky and tall tower of Azkaban was all he could see now. Up there was his enemy. The killer of his loved ones. He had to get to him. But a fatigue was settling over his mind. A sleep that he somehow longed for. Sleep that would set all things right. Just before his head collided with the ground the head of the Huneco came into view.

'Luna,' he moaned in agony. Unforgiving rock met unruly black hair and flesh underneath. It was like a church bell going off inside his head. His vision was blurry. The emerald green eyes of the Huneco stared at him accusingly. A tall form loomed over him. Dumbledore's silver beard was unmistakable. The former headmaster had his wand trained on his chest. 'It's over my boy,' he said in a kind voice.

Those accusing eyes were all he could think of. Defeat was unforgivable. At this point, failure was not an option. He would not betray Luna like that. He had killed using her spirit. He could not let that taint be for nothing. He would never be able to face her if he faltered now. The blow had knocked him out of his Drone-mode. His head was pounding. His body felt like lead. But he would not be stopped. Going back in was a bad idea most likely but there was no other option. Slipping back into Drone-mode he drew on his magic with everything he had. It seared his body. With a burst the air rippled, a ring of dust spreading out around him. Dumbledore was lifted off his feet. Sailing through the air he disappeared from Harry's vision. The darkness at the edges retreated. Pushing himself up with a groan his eyes snapped to the side. Dumbledore was picking himself up from the ground. When their eyes locked Harry's eyes burned with such hard intensity Dumbledore swallowed reflexively.

'It's not over as long as I breathe, Dumbledore,' said Harry as he got up on his feet.

Dumbledore gave a groan of his own as he righted himself to his full height. 'Your determination was always something of admiration until today, Harry.'

There was movement to his side. He reacted instinctively. Soulcleaver hammered against Dragonslayer. With a grin Harry spoke: 'I have to admit, I never feared my own blade before. Only that it would cut Amy during our practices. But otherwise, never. Now that I've felt its touch from the other end I need to change that opinion. I can understand it though. I would be angry at me too if I let myself be cut by my own blade. It's quite a good learning experience.'

Dumbledore's reply was his wand flicking and sending spells at him. Harry pushed forward, driving Ginny back. With a final shove she gave way, off-balance now. Whirling around Harry swiped his sword in Dumbledore's direction. A swath of magic flew from the tip of the blade. Rushing behind his own attack he saw spells colliding with it. Parts of it dissolved but it still kept going. Just before it would have reached Dumbledore the swath split in two, a counter force slicing through it effortlessly and he was rushing straight into it. Sword held vertically in front of him it swelled with magic. The energy split around it, curving sharply outward. It blinded him for a moment. He only saw the tip of Soulcleaver pierce the light just in time to prevent impaling himself on the pitch black blade. But it gave him an opening and left himself open at the same time. Ginny could not swing around to meet his attack but she could slash into his side now. On the other hand there was no way for the old man to avoid his attack now. He was wrong. Dragonslayer cut only air as it ground against two swords of black metal. He was in a pinch and he knew it. One sword held Dragonslayer at bay while the other slashed at him. The black tip made a gash in his clothes but failed to touch him. He cursed as he had to dodge spells a moment later. Holding his distance he kept moving with Ginny circling around Dumbledore, keeping herself between them. With two shorter, lighter swords she could defend even better. She might even get in a hit or two. Harry swallowed. He wasn't afraid of losing because of this minor change in the game but not hurting Ginny at some point became less and less of an option. Not taking some damage of his own followed. He had to find a way to take Ginny out of this fight. Alone, Dumbledore wouldn't stand a chance against him. He let go of Dragonslayer with his left hand, drawing his wand. Wielding Dragonslayer singlehanded wasn't optimal. Wandless magic on the other hand was too wild, requiring too much attention. A barrage of his own streaked towards Dumbledore and more importantly, Ginny. She went to the right, letting Dumbledore deal with the magic attack. But Harry's wand kept tracking her, spell after spell leaving its tip. He took a deep breath. A pattern formed in his mind. In the blink of an eye he drew it in the air with his wand. A circle with a sharp edged symbol in the middle formed out of floating purple lines following the tip of Harry's wand. With a sharp stab in the symbol's centre it turned deep red. Ginny saw a chance of reaching him while he was drawing. She was closing the distance fast as the magic of the symbol took hold. Dumbledore recognized the spell too late to counter it. From the symbol stormed a horizontal tornado that hit Ginny head on. She was blown back with incredible force. Over the cliff she went and then down out of sight. Dumbledore stared after her with wide eyes. A savage grin crossed Harry's lips for a mere moment as he turned towards Dumbledore and he disappeared.

Acting on instinct alone Dumbledore threw himself to the side, conjuring whatever shield came to mind. Dragonslayer swished by his temple by a fraction of an inch, cutting through whatever shield had come in its way. The sound of a dragon roaring filled his mind. Sharp golden teeth glinted. The sword was aglow with magic, a golden line slashing Dumbledore's vision. Rolling across the ground fast, hoping to get away long enough he heard Dragonslayer pass a second time. He shivered in fright as he imagined mighty jaws snapping at him. With a push of magic he propelled himself backwards off the ground. Dragonslayer passed third time. A golden swath blocked half his vision. There a sensation of flame crossing his body, like a dragon' breath. As it faded he saw the lower part of his beard flying away in the wind. In the corner of his vision, he saw a fountain of water erupt. Landing smoothly like a man a fifth his age, he made to move again in the hope of avoiding Harry just a little longer. It was too late. Harry materialized before him, emerald eyes aflame. He felt those golden teeth grabbing hold of his side, the cool metal of Dragonslayer entering his body. Dumbledore closed his eyes in preparation of the end. It was a strange sensation to feel a sword cutting through your body so smoothly. It wasn't even truly painful. In another moment it would sever his spine and…

CLANG!

Harry gasped and gritted his teeth at the feeling of his very essence being assaulted by one part of Soulcleaver penetrating his side. Dragonslayer trembled against the smaller part of the black sword. Dumbledore eyes snapped open at the sound of metal meeting metal. Even with a sword slicing a good part into his side and at the risk of dying any moment the aged wizard had a quick mind. Wand whipping up with surprising fastness, trained straight between Harry's eyes, Dumbledore cast a spell. With a roar of defiance Harry dodged sideways. Dragonslayer came with him. From his own side slid Soulceaver. Both men hissed in pain. Ginny, still kneeling from her surprise re-entrance into the fight, stood up slowly with eyes downcast. It was as if she was refusing to look at him.

His side felt slick with blood. He noticed he was panting. Dumbledore was clutching his side but despite the grievous wound in his sound he managed a dry chuckle: 'It appears young Ginevra here is not that pleased at being tossed away like that. I must say it works to my advantage. A woman's temper is a dangerous thing Harry.'

Harry growled at the old man. 'Release her. I might show you some mercy if you do.'

Dumbledore continued as if Harry hadn't spoken. 'I have to wonder Harry,' said Dumbledore as he made his way to his feet. He grabbed Ginny's shoulder to haul himself up. Ginny didn't move an inch under the pressure. She was stiff as a statue. 'You two have been separated for a long time. I know Ginevra's feelings for you. They are so sincere, so fierce. During the time she was with you, holding her under control was no effort at all. Afterwards she was like an animal held in a flimsy cage. Held at bay, but only barely. Even now she would like nothing more than to be by your side. She was truly happy with you. Do you still feel the same way about her Harry? If so you've made little effort to retrieve her.'

Harry's teeth gnashed: 'If I'd known where you were I would have come and taken her the moment I could.'

Dumbledore smirked at him: 'Yet these past few months you've known exactly where I was.'

'I asked you time and time again. I threatened and I even begged you!' yelled Harry with anger. 'You always had an excuse ready why she should remain a little longer. And I was foolish enough to listen.' He admitted that last part with a sense of shame towards Ginny.

Dumbledore sounded faintly smug to Harry: 'When Amy was captured you lead a full-on assault just to retrieve her not caring what the consequences were. Why did you care now? I know you, Harry. If you really wanted her back so badly nothing or no one would have stopped you. What changed I wonder?'

Harry's eyes swivelled to Ginny. She was staring at him now. Those brown eyes looked nearly accusing.

'The war was over Dumbledore. No more innocents needed to die. Amy we retrieved in wartime,' stammered Harry. His eyes snapped into focus and he glared at Dumbledore: 'This isn't about me. You promised you would give her freedom as soon as possible. Now it is possible. Release her Dumbledore! Fight me fair and square instead of hiding behind someone I care about. I might even show you a mercifully quick death if you do.'

Dumbledore clutched his side. His robes were slowly turning black with blood. 'Alas my boy, you know I cannot do that. To release her would mean a sure defeat on my side.'

Harry gritted his teeth and spat: 'If what I am doing here is truly wrong she will fight me and even stop me. If she truly believes in this she will win.' His strong exterior faltered. 'No matter what has passed I still cannot bring myself to hurt her even if she should turn against me. I truly did care for her Dumbledore. I loved her with all I used to be. And you abused that! You used the feelings of an innocent girl against her. Once under the Imperius she could never resist the temptation to confess to me. She wanted nothing more. You tore us apart for your own ends. Who knows, maybe you even wanted me to attack the Ministry just so you could worm your way into its insides again. In how many ways have you used Ginny for your own ends? Would we even be in this situation if you had not kidnapped her? Would Fudge have done such an atrocity if you had not kidnapped Amy and made me go and get her? I might never have attacked the Ministry even. Things might never have escalated this badly to begin with.'

A strained sound from Ginny made both men look at her. She was clutching her head with both swords still in hand. She looked like she was in pain, swinging her head from side to side in denial. Throwing her head back she let out a scream of anger and frustration. When the sound died out she seemed to calm down. Hands tightly balled around the hilts she let them drop to her side. Her eyes were something Harry did not like to look at right now. Tears were streaming down her cheeks but she did not look sad. Instead she looked mad but not as in angry. Dumbledore did not look at ease now.

'Is your control slipping Dumbledore?' asked Harry, bursting forward with Dragonslayer aimed at Dumbledore.

Whatever was happening Ginny burst forward as well. Slamming aside Dragonslayer with both blades she made a swipe with each blade at Harry. Narrowly avoiding them Harry sped by Ginny for his target. But still she overtook him. Knocking Dragonslayer aside with one sword she slashed at him in a wide arc that nearly hit Dumbledore as well. She missed by a somewhat wide margin but still too close for comfort. Harry grimaced at his next move. He did not like it in the least but it was time for this to be over. Ginny's movement were less controlled now, leaving an opening here and there. There was one right in front of him and he took it. Lashing out with his foot he caught her in the ribs. The wind whooshed out of her. The kick toppled her over sideways. Now was his chance to get past her. With a sinister but victorious expression Harry heaved the sword up to strike at his foe. But anew Ginny was still in the fight. She caught him by surprise with a kick of her own, hitting the earlier stab wound perfectly. The pain was so intense that it caused his hand to spasm, nearly making him drop Dragonslayer.

Now he was wide open for Dumbledore and Ginny. An opportunity neither would let pass either. Dumbledore's wand was already coming up, the tip glowing with grievous potential. Ginny was already recovering, one sword coming his way. He put pressure on his legs going for a backwards jump but there was no way he would get away unscathed. What happened next baffled both Harry and Dumbledore. Flipping backwards through the air Harry saw the spell heading his way. It was an almost sure hit. But instead of going for him a black blade cut of the spell's path. With a metallic ping the spell hit the blade, popping apart.

Both men looked at Ginny, panting with one sword holding fist pressed near her heart.

'E…e…enough…stop…this…'

'The strain is getting to her Dumbledore,' said Harry, standing solid on his feet now. 'The effort of fighting the Imperius and me at this level is too much for the body. I know the strain of what I'm doing. I've been warned about it. It takes years off your life. Release her. Now. If she dies from this there will be nothing to stop me from cutting you apart piece by piece.'

Dumbledore looked visibly weaker now. No doubt the blood loss was getting to him. Harry could feel the strain of it on his own body even while it was a lot less severe.

Dumbledore stood tall and proud if with a displeased expression as his eyes flicked to Ginny for a moment. She was frozen in her pose of blocking the spell. Tears left her chin, falling to the black rock.

'Harry, no matter what happens I cannot let this pass. I apologize in advance for this.'

Harry was confused. What was the old man up to now?

Ginny broke from her pose. Standing straight and facing him her face betrayed the battle inside her own mind but nevertheless she took a step towards him. One blade came up in front of her, the incredibly sharp edge facing Harry, the other was held slightly back for a good slash. Harry raised Dragonslayer with both hands. Ginny took another step and sped up. Harry moved as well. At the exact same time both blurred towards each other. Harry grew determined. He would counter whatever she threw at him and take one final swipe at the old bastard. This one would end the fight.

As the rest of the world blurred around them, speeding towards each other, Ginny did something that made Harry's eyes widen. She opened her arms wide as if running to him to fly into his arms. Only that Dragonslayer was between them. At this rate she would impale herself on the sword. Harry slowed down hard, swinging Dragonslayer to the side one handed, he too opening his arms to dampen the blow. She slammed against him, knocking him back. Falling backwards he nearly missed what she whispered: '…sorry…'

With a sob from her he felt both of Soulcleaver's blades enter his lower back on opposite sides of his spine. His vision blackened from the assault. Purely out of instinct and blind fury he knocked Ginny off of him. His back hit the hard rock. The swords twisted. He cried out in pain. With a wrench he managed to roll onto his feet. His back was on fire. His breathing was ragged and shallow. None the less there was a slight smile playing on his lips. Ginny lay on the cliff not too far away, tiny sobs the only movement she made.

Dumbledore had his wand trained on Harry: 'Last chance Harry. Surrender. Your wounds are too severe now.'

Harry laughed madly. Loud and slightly frightening: 'Really, Albus? You're still giving me a chance? Then allow me to do the same for you. Roll over and die now or I'll make you. I do thank you though for returning my sword to me.'

With a flick of his hand Soulcleaver's split parts stopped protruding from his back. The single black sword appeared in his hand. Harry stood up with visible effort but there was a sense of victory surrounding him. 'You really think you can win now? You're on the verge of blacking out. I can see it. And now your defence is essentially zero.'

Dumbledore chuckled: 'We're more alike than we like to admit in some ways Harry. You would not stand down if the roles were reversed.'

'Unlike you, I have something to fight for. Not just the fact that I wish to manipulate half the world to my whim only to come out on top.'

'Revenge is not something worth fighting for. It is only a way of damnation.'

'Damned I am Dumbledore. After today, a dozen times over.'

Both swords sliced the air. Dumbledore saw Harry taking a single step before his from blurred but the boy was definitely slower than before. Despite his faltering control, Ginny was still on his side. She stopped in front of him, feet apart and arms spread wide. If Harry wanted to get rid of him he had to slice through her first. Harry roared in anger and frustration, blades whistling through the air but no matter how hard he tried there was always a part of Ginny in the way. Dumbledore only saw the blurred movement of the two. He was in a bad state and he knew it. Blood was flowing down his side but he had to focus. There was still a chance. Harry had shown time and time again that the underdog could still win. It was time to do one of those things he wasn't fond of. Put all eggs in one basket. Opening himself up to his magic completely he could feel it rushing in. The pain in his side lifted. His vision became clearer. He could feel energy surging through his body. He was far from exhausted in terms of magic. The fight with Harry hadn't taken a lot out of him in that regard. There hadn't been a use for much magic. If he and Harry had simply pitted it all against one another at this point Dumbledore was sure he would be staring up at the sky with lifeless eyes by now. Even now all his magic wouldn't do for a final punch. Yet his magic was not all he had. Ginny's was still there. But the risk was there as well. Ever since she had been under his control he had never let her take hold of all that magic that somehow housed in her. Especially in her current mood allowing her to grasp that much power might just snap her out of his obedience. But what choice did he have. He had not lived this long to be defeated by a kid a tenth his age. Even if that kid was Harry Potter.

Eyes turning to frozen steel Dumbledore felt a rush he hadn't in a while. The rush of wielding magic at your absolute limit on the edge of defeat. Ginny's responded in kind. He could feel that bond that bound her to him waver. Yet it did not cease to exist. The golden sword past close to his crown but Ginny's shoulder made Harry alter his stab at the last moment. Harry sensed the gathering of a lot of power. Harry's movements became more guarded. Magic was gathering on both sides now. Could he overpower Harry by brute force? With him and Ginny letting it all loose at the same coupled with Harry's reluctance to retaliate against Ginny might just pull it off. Now came the tricky part. Coupling magic was no easy feat. The two people had to work together perfectly. Normally this was done by two people that trusted each other with their lives. But one person that was under the other's complete control worked just as well, maybe even better. The point of no return was approaching. Ginny's magic and his own were pulsing in synch. Coupling your magic with someone was a feat of unimaginable strength. There was not much a single person could do to stop it. On the other hand, once the magic was in motion, there was nothing that could stop it either. It was a one-shot cannon with a fuse that could not be extinguished. Afterwards you were quite literally drained of all you had. That was one of several reasons why it was a little known piece of magic and not liked even then. Failure to achieve victory in that single blast meant near certain defeat just afterwards. But what did he have to lose? Another couple of minutes and Harry would win anyway. Ginny had her limits and he had already gone over his. Time to go over them once more. Ethereal light spilled from his robes. With the tip of his wand, he touched Ginny's shoulder. Her eyes widened in surprise. There was a pulse of magic that made Harry stagger. Magic rushed from Dumbledore to Ginny. She would be the vessel of the attack. He himself did not have the strength left to pull it off. A storm of magic whipped up around the two of them. Harry tried to approach and cut his way through his body now that Ginny was frozen by the torrent of magic surging through her body. But the magic lashed out at him like snakes. Seeing no other way Harry gave up trying to get close. Instead he resolved himself to the defence. Dumbledore felt sorry for him. It was nearly ready. A vortex of gold surrounded Ginny. Dumbledore felt the magic reach its final stage. Harry stood a little away in a defensive stance, swords at the ready. He was expecting a spell. He could block that with the swords and enough power of his own. However, this magic was nothing like that. It was all consuming. The vortex froze, turning to silver streaks. It was done. One more flick and…

Something dark and huge swung in from the side. The barrels of the MAGROV collided with the frozen silver at the moment of release. One of the strongest metals in existence, manufactured on Insania meant to withstand the worst an enemy could muster versus a magic that near none dared touch. The magic flared to life. Everything around Ginny and Dumbledore turned to a furnace equalling the surface of the sun. Through the glare of a near solar flare doomed the shape of the six-barrelled gun. Two barrels half melted with rivulets of steel running down it burst into their protective bubble. It was too late to avoid it. No way to avoid it. The huge weapon slammed straight into Ginny continuing right on to take him with it. The impact shattered bones in his body like matchsticks under a tank thread. The blaze overtook him as they were knocked from their sanctuary. The pain overtook him. And even worse, the certainty of defeat. Perhaps he would be given one mercy. If the magic took his life in this instant he would not have to face his failure.

It was like being back on the island. The storm raged around him and he could not move. If he did he would be consumed. He could not throw away his life now. Not after coming this far. He had some things to wrap up first. Yet that didn't stop the tears from flowing. This moment was too similar. The pain still too raw. While there were no dragons around to protect him this time there was no denying the barrel of the BALROC hovering over him, slowly melting. It acted as a great shield to him, his own magic doing the rest, amplified by his two swords stuck into the ground on either side of him. He had no idea what was happening exactly. Only that the Huneco had started moving on its own and next thing he knew he was in this shitty scene again, feeling the loss of his loved ones all over again. He wanted to scream and he did. In rage, in heart-wrenching sorrow, and, in hatred. The moment this attack subsided Dumbledore would be finished. But there was something funny going on. This attack was nowhere near the ferocity he had expected. The build-up of magic had made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. This was a mere tingling of the skin. Had the Huneco somehow shielded him from the worst of it? The glare was dimming. He could no longer see through his eyelids.

When it all abated it was strangely quiet. Only the sea lapping against the rocks but even that sounded faint to him. The Huneco loomed over him emerald eyes aglow. The BALROC still hovering over his head looked like it had seen better days. Paint had peeled away. Small rivulets of molten metal ran down the sides forming stalagmites on the underside. The sharp corners were roughly rounded. The Huneco itself was off a bit better. Both arms had blackened paint now but otherwise it looked fine. It was the MAGROV that drew his attention. The barrels were no longer straight. They looked like they had sagged under their own weight near the end. Two of the barrels were completely molten through. The air was hazy from the heat coming of the black rock. The sky was a clear blue. Somehow that felt wrong to him. Not far behind the MAGROV there was a lump lying on the ground. Without hesitating he ran to it, Dragonslayer and Soulcleaver were left embedded in the rock. The rock between the two arms of the Huneco was scorching hot. He could feel the heat straight through his boots. Casting a charm on them to keep them cool enough he kept running. Diving under the MAGROV he cast a charm on the ground under the limp figure to cool it down. Sliding the last few yards on his knees on the uneven rock he hunched over the fallen person. His breath hitched. It was as he feared. It was Ginny. Her clothes were scorched, hair mostly burned away. What remained was burnt and brittle. She was lying on her back, head sideways. Her cheeks were charred, her eyebrows gone. Vacant eyes stared out at the ocean, mouth still open in a scream of agony now gone silent. Her arm and both legs were bent at impossible angles. She looked like a broken doll that had been tossed in a furnace. A tear fell on her cheek.

'Ginny,' moaned Harry pitifully. He pulled her against him. 'Ginny!' he yelled, shaking her gently. Her head lolled from side to side. Laying her back down gently he produced his wand. Magic rushed into him. Casting a reanimation spell on her had her twitch. 'Come on Ginny, don't do this to me!' He cast it again. And again. 'Wake up Ginny. For god's sake, don't do this to me. I don't care about anyone else but you can't die on me. You are the sole person that's not allowed to die here today.' Again. 'Come on Ginny, you're stronger than that! Wake up!' He cast the spell again with all he could muster. She twitched violently. There was a cry of pain followed by a coughing fit. Joy overwhelmed him.

'Ginny!' he yelled in joy, tears still flowing. He bent over her. She didn't turn her head to look at him.

'Harry?' she asked weakly.

'Ginny, thank god,' he said and leaned closer to her. Still she didn't turn her head to look at him. Her eyes remained motionless. 'Are you…free?'

'I am. Sweet Merlin how long has it been since my head felt so clear? It's like waking up from a dream.'

'It's alright now,' said Harry. 'It's over.'

'I'm glad,' she said with relief in her voice. 'It's strange, I should be crying in joy but for some reason I can't. I'm trying to open my eyes but it stays dark. Are we still on Azkaban Harry?'

Harry was taken aback in shock. Her eyes were wide open. 'I'm going to lift you gently Ginny. Tell me if it hurts, okay?'

'I hurt all over. It's like I'm on fire yet the pain is distant in some way.'

'I'll try to be careful,' he said and gingerly slipped one arm under her back holding the back of her neck with one hand to support her head. He turned her head gently so she was looking at him. When he looked into her eyes he bit his tongue. Her eyelids were stuck to her eyes from the heat. Her once brown retinas were black. Her eyelashes were scorched clean away.

'What is happening Harry?' she asked with some panic. 'I can feel my head moving but I can't move it myself. Why can't I open my eyes?'

'Shh, it'll be alright,' he said gently. 'I'll take care of you.'

Her voice relaxed somewhat: 'Alright Harry, I trust you. But I'm scared. I can't see anything. My body won't listen to me. It's like I'm slipping further and further away from it.'

Her voice still sounded clear if faint but Harry knew what was happening. It happened not half a day ago that he was in the same situation. A girl he cared about was dying right in front of his eyes and there was not much he could do about it. The realization struck him like a hammer. It was almost laughable how easy the truth struck home. He had brought her back to life but like Luna she was too far gone. She had burns everywhere and broken limbs. Maybe she had internal bleeding. Apparating her anywhere would only aggravate the injuries and even if he could where would he take her? He didn't know anyone that could take care of these wounds. Maybe St. Mungo's? They would be able to take care of her. He could…

'Harry? Please talk to me, I feel like I'm drifting and it's scary.'

'I'm here,' he said, shaken out of his thoughts. 'Don't be afraid. I'm right here. I won't leave you until everything's alright.'

'Thank you Harry,' she said in a voice filled with emotion. 'And I'm sorry.'

'Sorry for what?' he asked, crying silently to not let her notice.

'For everything. I can remember everything although some of it is hazy. I know the things I did. I should've been able to resist the curse. The things I did…I still can't believe it. I was selfish in the beginning. I let Dumbledore cast the curse on me. He told me it was for your protection. He said he would only help me to confess my feelings to you. To give me the strength and courage. So I didn't resist in the beginning when I should have. It was wrong of me.'

Harry's heart was ripped in two in that moment. So finally he knew the truth of what had happened over a year ago. That was how Ginny had suddenly come to him on that day, confessing to him out of the blue. But it hadn't been solely by Dumbledore's will. She had been in love with him. At least that had been genuine. And Dumbledore had abused her feelings. She had been violated in a manner that was truly despicable.

'It wasn't your fault,' he said. His voice quivered. Even he couldn't hold up the charade that everything was going to be fine. 'I don't blame you for any of it. I never have. I never truly believed you were capable of those things. I should apologize to you Ginny for dragging you into this. If I'd only turned you down back then…'

Her unbroken arm moved all of a sudden, her hand stroking his cheek. 'You wouldn't have Harry. Even then, when you were so angry, you were too kind, especially to me. I couldn't have wished for a better boyfriend. No-no ... no m-matter ... matter ... w-what ... what ... Harry I lov-lov...'

Her hand fell away, landing limply on the ground. He didn't silence his crying anymore but wept in earnest. The last of those that had been at the core of Insania's foundation was dead. A sadness that hit him like a sledgehammer.

He laid her down gently, took her hands and placed them over her heart. 'I truly am sorry Ginny that you got wrapped up in all of this. You weren't supposed to die like this. You should've have had a long and happy life just like everyone else deserved.' His head dropped, he clutched his heart. An especially loud sob escaped him. 'Why? We were so close. Happiness was only a hair away and yet it all slipped away in mere moments. We could have had it all. What the fuck did we fight for? Why did we make all those sacrifices? How could it have turned out this way after all we've been through? It's just not fair.' He raised his eyes to the heavens. He wanted to yell and scream but he couldn't find the energy for it. He could only talk as if lost in the darkness with no hope left. 'Why did I have to fail at the end?'

A weak cough from the side drew his attention. Dumbledore's hoarse voice broke his sadness: 'the consequences of your actions are hard to bear aren't they Harry. This didn't have to happen. It could all have turned out…' the old man cried out in pain. He could feel his very soul being carved up as Soulcleaver pierced him clean through the midriff. Harry was standing over him, one hand jamming Soulcleaver into him. The boy had been so fast he hadn't even seen him move. His look was cold as liquid nitrogen yet burning with unadulterated hatred at the same time. Those emerald eyes were glowing orbs of terror on his shaded features.

'Albus,' said Harry, in a tone that had Dumbledore shivering. 'I have heard enough of your bullshit. I am no longer in the mood to discuss anything. What has been done has been done. We must all pay for it and I will ensure we pay it. We will burn for it in hell. We will pay our debt to all those that we have wronged three times over. By tomorrow Azkaban Island will be the same as Insania. A husk of what it once was. A monument to the wrongness of the world. Not all on Insania died. The tale will spread and the people will know that it was all wrong. Maybe in a hundred years they will put up our names alongside Voldemort's. In the end we are no better. Maybe we are even worse. At least he was clear on the fact that he wanted to cause us grief and harm. He said he wanted us dead. We on the other hand are the true bastards. We have lied and backstabbed. We have killed people like us. At least we think they were the same. They aren't. We are monsters Albus. We deserve to die. Wait for me in the afterlife. I'm sure we will serve our sentence together.'

Dumbledore opened his mouth to protest but Harry viciously twisted his blade. Blood spurted up as he cut into Dumbledore's heart. Dumbledore could only gurgle something incomprehensible as the light of life disappeared from his eyes. With a final push he drove Soulcleaver into the black rock and let it go. He looked down disdainfully at the nearly hairless and burnt body of Albus Dumbledore. 'Such an unfitting end for the wizard I once admired. You should have gone down wand blazing, Albus. Instead you went down like the manipulative bastard you always were. I pity you. May your soul burn in the deepest pit.

As if a spell had been cast Soulcleaver glowed a frosty blue. There was a loud crack. The rock under Dumbledore's body showed a large crack now. Harry didn't know what had happened. Perhaps he had cast a spell without realizing it. Whatever it had been he doubted it was good for Dumbledore. He looked at his sword. The blue glow persisted. Harry decided to leave it there. Whatever he was going to encounter inside Azkaban prison wouldn't require a blade as capable as Soulcleaver. The big players were out of the field. Only he still stood. And Fudge.

'At least you get something like a tombstone Dumbledore,' said Harry as he turned away. 'Many weren't so lucky.'

Holding out his hand, Dragonslayer came flying. Grabbing it without even looking he stepped over to Ginny's body. Looking down at it with sad eyes he kneeled next to her, holding Dragonslayer horizontally over her body he said: 'This blade was Amy's, Ginny. I know she cared for you and you for her. It has never spilled blood of the innocent and I will not let it today. It will guard over you until we meet again.'

Dragonslayer glowed a soft but clear white with golden strands. He laid it down gently on Ginny's chest with the tip to her feet. Nestling the hilt between her hands he released the sword. The glow spread across Ginny's body and before his eyes Harry saw all the wounds and burns disappear. Her hair grew back in moments. When the light died down there was Ginny as she had been. Soft features with beautiful red hair. Her eyes were closed. She looked as if she was sleeping. He knew better. She might look like before, but the dead remained the dead. Nothing could change that.

Standing up he turned to the Huneco. The green eyes were still glowing but the machine remained frozen with its arms spread holding its weathered guns.

'I know why you did it Luna,' said Harry. 'I can't be angry at you for it. You were only trying to protect me. Who knows, if you hadn't it might have been me dead. I love you Luna. Don't forget it.'

The eyes dimmed. The machine shut down completely, waiting for the return of its driver.

Harry turned away from it. His final obstacle had arrived. Azkaban fortress. Punishment was about to be served.

With a whip of his wand the door and a good part of the fortress' wall in front of him exploded outward. With a flick of his other hand his custom made cloak produced him an assault rifle that fell neatly into his hand. He could take the short route up to the highest tower where Fudge was most likely to be and bust in there with the Huneco but he wanted to kill the bastard with his bare hands. Making a lot of ruckus while making his way up would see the room bathed in the sweat of a pig that knew it was to go to the slaughterhouse.

Debris rained down on the ground but there was no counterattack. Harry had half expected there to be a hundred men waiting on the other side ready to attack him if he got past Dumbledore. He was kind of disappointed. Some mindless slaughtering sounded like a good idea to him right now. Blood had to flow today. Several dozen gallons more or less wouldn't tip the scales at this point. He stepped forward with near arrogance. 'Let whoever wants it come forward and face death or hide and hope you will see another dawn.'

'I plan to do neither Harry Potter,' said a voice from within the darkness of the fortress. There was the sound of wood striking stone. Thunk, thunk, thunk. Into the daylight stepped Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody. The grizzled old Auror looked determined, both eyes fixed on Harry.

Harry brought up his assault rifle and fired of a volley of rounds. Moody wasn't one of the most veteran Aurors for nothing and easily deflected or sidestepped the barrage.

'Stop it Potter. I didn't come here to stand in your way. Merely to deliver a message,' said Moody, unfazed by the attack.

'I don't need to hear what you have to say. It doesn't matter anyway.'

'But it does,' said Moody. Harry snarled at him, opening a barrage of gunfire. Moody remained where he was, blocking it all. 'I won't be deterred Harry. I only want to stay that the way to the Minister is open. Many saw your fight and they know it is a lost cause. I managed to get through to them and they are leaving the island as we speak. I plan to do the same. There are only a few that cannot see past their anger or loyalty. They will try to get you. They are fools. Even a child can see what you've become Potter. You are a monster indeed. There is not a wizard I know of that could stand up to you right now. I cannot say it I approve of what you did here today but I do not agree with the atrocities committed either. If I had known some things sooner we would never have been on opposite sides.'

Harry lowered his weapon. 'I have respect for you, Mad Eye. Very well. Thanks for the information. People that see sense are no good to kill. Get out of here. If you stay, the next sunrise you will see will be in the afterlife.'

Moody smiled one of his horrific smiles: 'I didn't plan to stick around. You can have this godforsaken place to yourself. I think that after today Wizarding Britain will need a new symbol to look to. We are about to face hard times. Britain and America are in shambles after today. There is much to do. I think dedicating myself to see Britain rise again to its former glory will be a worthy cause for my old days.' He looked saddened at the corpse of Albus Dumbledore. 'It's a shame he turned out like this. At some point he was a great friend and a great wizard. He did a lot of good. I don't know where it all went wrong. I hope they won't judge him too harshly. He truly did want the best for everyone in the long run.'

'I have cast my judgement on him Mad Eye.'

'I know,' said Moody grimly. 'I heard most of what was said here today and I promise I will not conceal the truth. I'm afraid the name Albus Dumbledore will go into the history books as a once great man that strayed from his path.'

'It will be alongside my name he will be mentioned,' said Harry. 'Perhaps next to mine he will look like a saint. I have spread death and destruction on the enemy and they will be the ones telling the tale.'

'They will know the truth Potter. I swear on my magic they will. Let the world know the consequences. They can make up their own minds about all this. Fudge is in the central tower about three quarters up. His door should be the only one still guarded.'

Harry nodded. 'Get out of here Mad Eye. It's about to get nasty.'

Moody nodded in return and strode past Harry to the edge of the cliff. 'They will pick me up here shortly. Good luck to you Potter. Perhaps we'll meet again.'

'Perhaps,' said Harry and strode into the fortress, leaving behind him the Huneco and the body of a loved one. What he was about to do in here needed no witnesses.

Moody had been telling the truth. The castle was mostly deserted accept for a few here and there. Some rushed at him from a dark hidden corner but none of them stood a chance. His magic was vibrating around him. The first one to attack him took a spell to the chest with so much power his body was atomized along with a good portion of the hall he was in. The second one got a bullet between the eyes as he jumped down from the ceiling with a dagger. He had gotten closer than the first. Harry was surprised by such an attack expecting them to cast spells instead. He could sense an incoming killing curse faster than a sneak attack. Several more made their attempts at him with none having any better luck.

It wasn't until he reached the grand hall at the centre of the fortress that he met some resistance. The grand staircase that had been removed offered a wide open space with hundreds of balconies for ambushers to hide upon. The moment he was in the open over fifty spells were shot at him. With one sweep of his wand he negated them all.

A voice resounded through the vast space: 'This is the end Harry Potter. You won't get past. We've destroyed the elevator.' Around Harry all exits collapsed with the thunderous sound of falling rock. 'All the exits are blocked and we've destroyed the lift. You won't get away.'

Harry chuckled, then laughed, then roared with laughter. He cut off abruptly, his own voice reverberating menacingly against the bare black walls. 'I have taken down Voldemort, I have just killed Albus Dumbledore. I have ripped the Magical Fleet of America to shreds half a dozen times. I blew up the Ministry with a handful of men and you think you can stop me here?'

'We won't let you get through. For our families and friends that have gone down against you we will defend this place.'

'You should've chosen to live to honour the memory of the deceased. Your deaths will be meaningless,' said Harry. With a flick of his wrists the assault rifle and his wand were gone. From his cloak's shoulders appeared two MAGs. 'Run while you can.'

'We will never…'

Whatever the unknown man was trying to say was drowned out by the sound of the MAG cannons as they opened fire continuously, blowing up balcony per balcony. The recoil would've thrown any man to the ground but Harry stood rock solid. Stone and masonry fell down by the ton. Cries of dying were hardly heard over the awesome noise the weapons made. Both clicked empty. With a thought they disappeared replaced by two others that fell on Harry's shoulders. He grabbed the triggers and opened fire anew. The few shots of return fire went wide as the defenders panicked under the onslaught of noise and destruction. Harry calmly walked to the centre of the room while firing the two oversized weapons. They too clicked empty only to be replaced by the shoulder mounted versions. Reaching the platform that was once the lift, he stopped. His magic flowed out of him into the platform. Life flowed into the destroyed spells. With a flickering of runes on the smooth surface, of the stone it rose. Setting the shoulder MAGs to auto-reload two assault rifles appeared in his hands. Taking the ledges under fire as he rose with the rifles while the MAGs blew the upper parts to shreds none stood a chance against Harry's wrath. There was one near miss. A killing curse whipping past him a few feet away. The poor sod got the fury of all four weapons a second later.

The MAGs stopped firing. The entirety of the Azkaban Atrium was a wreck. The walls were pockmarked with craters and pieces of jutting stone. Only one balcony remained; the uppermost one. The Balcony that led to the highest parts of the former prison. The moment his head passed the edge of the platform green death sped towards him. He moved too fast to see and the spell passed him half a foot away. The man on top of the balcony was sitting against the door with his back looking terrified. His wand still pointed at Harry as he rose further. Harry was undeterred. The man tried to cast another spell but a quick shot vaporized his wand and two fingers. Crying out in pain the man tried to crawl away. But there was nowhere to go. The door was locked.

A shake of his hand cleared it of an assault rifle. The platform stopped. He stepped forward. The moment both his feet stood on the balcony the lift platform lost its power. The runes flickered out and it dropped out of sight.

'Weren't you the mouthy one?' Harry asked, looking down at the terrified figure.

The man tried to speak but words wouldn't form. The sound of the stone platform crashing down filled the room.

'Get out of the way,' said Harry. There was little light this high up. His eyes shone.

The man shook his head. He finally managed to speak. 'I won't.'

Harry recognized the voice immediately. 'So it was you.' Harry's hand whipped forward, grabbing the man by the collar. He hoisted him to his feet. The man was at least half a foot taller than him but that didn't really matter. His head was pounding from the Drone-mode but he didn't care. Nothing would stop him from reaching Fudge. His own body wouldn't give out on him before it was done.

Turning around, dragging the guy along the fellow suddenly felt his feet hit nothing. He screamed but Harry had an iron grip on his shirt. Dangling over a hundred meters in the air the man managed to calm himself.

'You cost me my two brothers,' said the man.

'This war cost me everything,' retorted Harry simply. 'But your effort was valiant. I hope your brothers died a worthy death.'

And with that Harry released him. He didn't even scream as he fell to his death, merely stared accusingly at Harry. Harry turned to the door just before the man hit the floor. The sound was truly nauseous. The cracking of bone, sickening. With a thought and a flick of his hand the weapons all disappeared. Putting his hand against the door it splintered inward. The corridor beyond was different than the rest of the castle. Instead of the all oppressive black these corridors looked more like Hogwarts corridors with their soft colours. It was brightly lit too. It all seemed abandoned too. He quickly found the winding stairway that led up into the higher parts. After a few levels he was in the tower proper. He could see it by the curves of the corridors leading away from the staircase... It was indeed about three quarters up that he found what he was looking for. A door guarded by a single person. It was too bad he recognized her.

'Nymphadora Tonks,' said Harry as he stepped towards her.

If she was afraid, she didn't show it. She faced him with a serious look. 'You know I don't like to be called by that name Harry.'

'Spare me the familiarity Tonks,' said Harry harshly. 'Get out of the way.'

'I can't Harry,' she said.

'Don't tell me you think that piece of slime in there is worth protecting,' he spat.

'Hell no,' she said without hesitation. 'But I made a promise.'

'A promise?' he asked perplexed.

'Sirius and I, we talked a lot. We were both Blacks after all. He cared a lot for you but he also knew life as a fugitive was dangerous. We were together on a mission and had a close run with some Death Eaters. He was hurt quite badly but nothing that couldn't be fixed. My wrist was broken so I couldn't use my wand and he was in no state. While we waited for someone to come and help us he made me promise that if anything ever happened to him I'd look out for you.'

Harry raised an eyebrow. 'And after all that's happened this is the time you approach me?' he asked with scepticism.

She looked at him, eyes filled with doubt. 'I know it seems kind of strange but don't get me wrong. I am still an Auror. I chose that path and while I remained in The Order I didn't think what you were doing was wrong and you were doing great so far in my opinion. It's only now that things have gone down the drain for you.'

'So what are you here for?' asked Harry harshly. 'If it isn't to stop me from killing Fudge then why stay.'

'To stop you from becoming a true monster,' she said. 'Sirius knew firsthand what it was like to be out for revenge and pay for it dearly. He paid for it with twelve years in this very building. But he remained true to himself. That's what I'm here for. In all honesty I have seen too much here. You can burn it all for all I care but afterwards you need to pick up your life again and not let yourself be consumed by grief and hatred.'

'I will decide what I do Tonks. I don't need anyone to tell me what to do anymore. I know what I'll do. I'll make the world shudder hearing the name of Harry Potter. I will make sure no one attempts anything like this ever again. For if they do, they will have me hunting them down.'

'So you'll scare everyone into being nice and civil?' asked Tonks with narrowed eyes. 'Sounds a lot like Voldemort's tactics to me.'

Harry smirked disturbingly. 'He and I were not so different in some ways.'

Tonks shuddered: 'Don't say such things. It's ruining the image of the boy I knew not so long ago. The one Sirius cared about.'

Harry growled: 'Don't push me Tonks. Be glad you're not a smear on the wall yet. You're lucky I know you a bit. I don't believe you're a bad person, keep it that way. I tossed one of your colleagues of a balcony not ten minutes ago for standing in my way.'

Tonks cursed under her breath: 'Idiots, I told them not to.'

'Now step aside Tonks. I have a task to finish,' said Harry with steel in his voice.

'On one condition,' said Tonks, holding out her hand to halt him from advancing. His eyes glowed and she swallowed reflexively.

'Say it quick,' snapped Harry.

'Let me stay to watch,' she said to Harry's surprise. 'When it's over I'd like to tag along with you if you'll allow it. I won't break my promise to Sirius. He was good to me and he loved you like a son. After all that's happened, the few that are left now, it would be a shame if you fell to the darkness Harry. You're too good for that. I won't let your injured heart damn yourself.'

Harry looked hard and long at her until she began to show signs of nervousness. He believed her. She wasn't lying. Tonks was a terrible liar. 'You can stay. I'll see what to do with you afterwards.'

She nodded gratefully, stepping aside to let him pass. Harry didn't waste a moment. Balling his fist he punched in the air at the door. With a satisfying splintering of wood the door was blown off its hinges into the room beyond. Spinning through the room the door sailed over a majestic desk on the other side and out a window. The sound of glass shattering, tinkling on the floor, was like music to Harry's ears. Murderous intent overtook him. A light entered his eyes that gave Tonks the worst of shivers. With a bestial grin Harry stepped inside, surveying the rather majestic office space. It was richly decorated with thick rugs. Circular in form the far side of the wall was all big lead windows with panes in different colours giving the room a comfy feeling with their colours. To one side was a hearth and before it stood a very frightened looking Cornelius Fudge. His pin striped suit was rumpled at the front as if he had been clenching it but now his hands twirled his bowler hat.

Harry couldn't hide his glee. With malicious emerald glowing eyes tinged red at the edges. With a snarl magic gathered at the tip of his fingers. The room turned hot like a furnace. The colours in the room faded, everything becoming a dull orange. Holding his palms close together magic become visible between them as Harry poured all he had left into one final attack. It was overkill, it was unnecessary but damn would it feel good.

Fudge still stood in place looking frightened but he didn't cower. He stood rather straight as if some pride still remained in him. He even looked Harry straight in the eye. Harry didn't like it. Behind him Tonks stepped into the room. Fudge's eyes flickered to her for only a moment before turning back to Harry with a sigh.

Harry frowned. This wasn't the Fudge he knew at all. Again the man looked straight into his eyes. The eyes of his executor. The man should be whimpering on the floor begging for his life the moment he had stepped into the room. Fudge even looked…resigned?

With an effort off willpower he clamped down on the magic, willing it away. The urge to simply let loose, to blast the scumbag before him into oblivion, was strong. The magic abated. The temperature dropped, the orange light faded yet there was still something not quite right about the colours in the room.

Fudge looked surprised somewhat: 'What's the matter Potter? Just get it over with.'

Harry's eyes narrowed as he straightened: 'that's what the matter is. I came here to kill the coward that destroyed my country and killed those I live. Not a man that looks like he's prepared to die.'

Fudge chuckled morosely: 'Even I'm surprised at that. But on the other hand, there's nothing to regret now. Even if I live there's nothing left to live for. The word has spread. The moment this is over I will no longer be Minister for Magic. Those loyal to me ran like frightened chickens. Those brave enough to stay are most likely dead.' A glance at Harry and that vindictive grin on his face told him all he needed to know. 'I'll be shunned or even worse, tried and found guilty. What's left of the Ministry will need a scapegoat and they'll use me, dead or alive. I don't plan to rot away in prison.'

'It would be a good sentence for the likes of you,' growled Harry. 'You've done it to others whom were innocent.'

'True enough,' said Fudge, gathering enough gall to smile. 'So you see, death is preferable to all the misery living will entail.'

Harry burst forward, slamming Fudge against the hearth with Magic. Fudge's eyes bulged. Fear entered his eyes.

The light in the room dimmed. Harry grew menacing like a monster rearing on its hind legs. 'You think I came here to grant you some mercy? To grant you an easy escape that you desire? I came here to snuff out your miserable little life you clung to for so long. You dare to mock me at this point by wanting to be killed by me?' asked Harry, increasing the pressure of his hold until it had to hurt. 'Beg for your life! Snivel like the coward you are! Be consumed by the fires of hell and regret all you've done!'

Fudge managed a strangled laugh. 'Never... You've beaten me time and again Harry Potter. This will be different. You will not defeat me in my final moments. I will die with a smile on my face for I will be rid of it all and you will remain to carry the burden of massacre. You will be consumed by your hatred as killing me as I am won't sate your thirst for blood. And I will be glad knowing I stood up to you personally in the bitter end. You have achieved many victories Potter but I will achieve the final one. I took away everything from you and I will not grant you the final victory.'

Harry reached a new point of rage. He couldn't even form words at this point. He was nearly frothing at the mouth. With a wild animalistic look at Fudge he screamed. A scream that would've made men wet their pants. With a wild gesture the magic holding Fudge twisted. With a sickening tear Fudge's left arm was torn of his body. Fudge screamed in agony. Blood spurted everywhere as the limb fell to the floor. With a flick of his hand Harry cast a spell that prevented blood from flowing out of the wound. Stepping closer to the screaming figure he punched Fudge hard in the mouth to make him stop. The former bravado Fudge had been showing was gone now.

'You think it'll be your win?' asked Harry with incredulously but still with the rage of a wounded tiger. Then he laughed. 'I have seen a lot of death Fudge. I have killed a lot. I've seen the cowardice and the bravery when the bell tolls the final stroke. And I know one thing. Before you finally pass on you will regret it all.'

Fudge stared at him, his eyes refocusing as the pain became bearable. 'I know I cannot win this Potter. I know it is lost anyway. I see now the foolishness of my actions. But I don't regret them. If I could do it all over I would do it all again, only better. I would make sure you died.'

Harry swiped his arm to the side. There was another gruesome tearing sound as tendons, muscles, veins, and skin were torn apart. Fudge's right arm slopped against the wall with a splat of blood. The Minister howled in agony. Harry stopped the blood from flowing and let the man scream his lungs out this time. It felt satisfying.

He looked back over his shoulder at Tonks. She was staring at Fudge with a slightly nauseous tinge. Noticing he was looking at her she focused on him.

'Not a pretty sight is it?' asked Harry with that deranged grin he had adopted.

'It's gruesome Harry. Is this what you wanted?' she asked cautiously.

He turned back to look at his foe. 'I wasn't exactly what I had in mind no. Perhaps the old man was right. I'm starting to believe killing him won't give me what I need or want.'

'You plan to let him live?' asked Tonks surprised.

'Not a chance in hell,' said Harry, that glint of madness in his eyes. 'First I'll have to get through to him. I'll see that he begs for his life. He'll at least get that chance. Hermione and Luna didn't. He pulled the trigger without any remorse. He didn't even give them the slightest of chances.'

The screaming subsided. Fudge was panting heavily. He lifted his head, eyes clouded from pain.

'Are we regretting things yet?' asked Harry.

Fudge's eyes refocused on him. With as much venom as he could master he spat: 'I regret granting you the honour of killing me. I should've done it myself. Too bad I thought you'd kill me nice and quickly. I guess I underestimated you again Potter. You truly are ruthless.'

With a flick of his hand a long iron branding rod appeared in Harry's hand. At the end was a plaque in the shape of a phoenix. Insania's symbol. Swinging the rod around Harry used his magic to heat up the iron till it glowed a dull red. 'Ruthlessness has nothing to do with this. I must say I think I'm actually quite compassionate.' He stared at Fudge with eyes that made steel look like soft butter. 'Do you know how many people I could have killed? Do you know how many times I could have killed you? I'm disappointed in myself in that regard. I should've ripped your innards out when I had the chance. But leaving you in power wasn't such a bad move. If I'd killed you, someone who was actually capable of being Minister might have stepped up. On the other hand, they might have had a shred of integrity and scrapped genocide from their mind.'

Fudge purpled in anger but refused to comment, eyeing the bar Harry was holding cautiously. Harry laughed mockingly. 'How amusing... At the very end he learns when to keep his mouth shut. If I get to do it all over, Fudge, it'll be one of the first things I'll teach you.'

Fudge opened his mouth to retort but the only sound that came out was a strangled cry of pain as Harry rammed the searing end of the rod in Fudge's belly. The stench of burned cloth and flesh wafted up into Harry's nose as he leaned in close. 'Some lessons are hard learned,' said Harry maliciously.

Through the pain Fudge fought and lifted his head, finding just enough courage to spit in Harry's face.

Harry staggered back surprised. He hefted the iron above his head to strike the man but a hand grabbed his arm. He looked back enraged. Tonks was standing there, on hand held to her nose to ward off the stench of burned flesh. She looked up at him with sad eyes. 'Enough, Harry. He won't give in. Just give him what he wants. The world will be a better place all the sooner.'

Harry turned away from her disgusted. He let the iron fall. It disappeared in mid air. 'He can never suffer enough for what he did before death grants him a mercy.'

'Perhaps not,' she said. 'But it's futile. He's made up his mind.'

She let him go and he threw a glare at Fudge that could've cut a hole clean through a battleship's hull. With a nod the bonds holding Fudge disappeared. The battered man fell to the ground. Blood began to flow at an astounding rate, spreading on the floor. Without arms Fudge could not lift himself up, only wriggle around. He turned enough to look at Harry. 'Have fun with what's left of the world Harry Potter. I doubt it'll be a walk in the park. I'll be laughing at you from the afterlife. Whatever you do things will never go back to your happy little paradise.'

With a final burst of fury Harry smirked at Fudge: 'Enjoy your final moments Fudge as life bleeds from you. Have fun on the way down.'

'Hell isn't that far from where I am right now,' managed Fudge in a last taunt.

'No,' said Harry, the smirk not leaving his face. 'But the ground is.'

With a sideways sweep of his hand from Fudge to the shattered window the Minister rocketed sideways, through the desk and through the wall with a scream of surprise, a trail of blood flying after him. His surprised scream was overtaken by the sound of the wall bursting outward. Harry stepped over to the newly created one way door of the office and was just in time to see Fudge fall the last fifty meters, striking the black rocky shores of Azkaban Island. All that remained was a gory mess.

'You don't deserve to leave a body behind,' whispered Harry. 'I'll send off your remains with a wand that deserves to dispose of something foul like you.' Voldemort's wand slid into his hand from the holster on his arm. With a decisive a dark orange beam shot forth. It struck the body dead on. In a blaze of fire and steam from the nearby ocean a miniature sun ravaged the coast of the island. The heat could be felt all the way up the tower.

Tonks stepped up next to him. Looking down at the thriving fireball she heaved a sigh of relief. She looked sideways at Harry. He seemed happy as he was; unleashing magic on the already consumed remains of the person he hated most. Even after a full minute passed he didn't let up. It was not until Tonks laid a hand on his arm the he seemed to come back to his surroundings and with a reluctant expression he stopped casting.

'It's over,' he said, nearly incredulously. 'It's over.' Harry didn't move, he simply kept staring down.

'Yes Harry,' said Tonks slightly worried. He was standing too close to the edge for her taste. The weird way he was staring down… 'It's all over now. Come, we shouldn't stick around here. There's nothing left to do here.' She took hold of his arm and tried to drag him back but he didn't budge. 'Come on Harry, at least step away from there.'

But he didn't seem to hear her. 'It's all over,' he whispered. 'They're all gone. Friend and foe. All have met their end. Save me.'

'Harry,' Tanks protested, still trying to drag him away from the edge. He sank to his knees. She stepped in front of him to reason but his expression stopped her. Gone was the madness and the rage from his eyes. Gone was the aura of the grim reaper that had surrounded him. His tears were clear and silent. He looked as if just woken up from the saddest nightmare yet it was reality.

'Harry?' she asked gently. 'Are you okay?'

He looked at her with a vacant, lost expression. 'Okay?' he asked. 'Am I okay?'

He laughed but not with the vindictiveness from before. There was not a shred of life to that laugh. Only emptiness. 'Of course I'm not okay. It's all over. God damn those wankers but they were right. They're gone, all are gone. I…I…I…' He couldn't go on. A wail of despair overtook him. Long, loud and heart wrenching.

Tonks could only watch in misery. She commiserated. Not five minutes ago Harry had still had a goal. Something to hold on to, something to keep focus away from the loss. Now it was most likely all rushing back to him. She had seen it happen before after some battles. People could die around you and some wouldn't bat an eye while others freaked then and there. It was always afterwards that it struck hardest, when the adrenalin stopped pumping and the world came crashing down around you.

Harry was crying now, well and truly. Rage was no longer in the equation. He cried like a man with nothing left. It was close enough to the truth.

'Come Harry, this isn't the place to let yourself fall apart,' said Tonks, prodding him to stand up but he made no move to.

'Then where is?' asked Harry. 'Insania? Hah! I don't think I could stand seeing it again. The husks of what once was. The smell of destruction. No, this is fine.'

'It's not fine,' said Tonks. A strong ocean breeze blew into the office, her cloak whipped in the wind. 'You plan to stay here forever?'

He looked up sharply. Not at her but at the horizon. 'Perhaps,' he said. 'There's nowhere else to go.'

'Those that left will come back, Harry. If not to fight then to see how it ended. I doubt in your current state you'll put up much a fight if some decide to take their chances when they find you.'

'Let them,' said Harry. 'I don't care. It's what I deserve. I killed Ginny in my rage. Intention or not, she's still dead. I tossed a grieving man just like me down a hundred meter drop.' Looking around he inspected the office and the blood everywhere. 'I ripped his arms off Tonks, without hesitation.'

He fell back into his slumped position, crying.

Tonks wanted to say something. Anything. Perhaps that it had been justified. That Fudge had at least deserved it. But she doubted it would help matters any. She couldn't even begin to imagine how he felt right now. Looking at how high the sun still was she figured it would still be some time before anyone dared coming back to take a look at the outcome. They probably already knew. There wasn't much left to change the outcome once everybody realised what exactly they were up against. But the fear of encountering Harry Potter would deter them for a while yet. So there she sat in front of a crying Harry as the day slowly crept along. There was not much she could except give him her silent support while he grieved in earnest.

It was hours later. The sun was going down rapidly now. She sat on the other side of the room on a chair watching the lonely figure of Harry Potter sitting in the glare of the sun facing the ocean. He had calmed. Only an occasional sniff told him he was still crying. He hadn't moved nor spoken a word and neither had she. What could she do? What could she say to him to get that spirit had had always had going again, if even a little. He truly had nothing left. He had put it all on the line and in the end lost it all. She doubted he would ever be able to recover from this. He would be scarred for life. She couldn't see him ever returning to the way he was. She didn't believe she would be able to muster the courage to go on. The world was probably a mess already, the news of Harry Potter assaulting Azkaban and tearing through anything and everyone spreading like wildfire. Magical America and Wizarding Britain were probably in upheaval already. It surprised her no one had shown up yet. The urge to come and see should be an itch that couldn't be ignored. On the other hand, those that had fled knew the danger of showing up too early. Seeing a single man shred a navy to pieces and fighting one of the most powerful wizard while at a severe disadvantage was probably a good incentive not to come out here.

Sunken in thought she hadn't noticed Harry had stood up and was standing not five feet from her. His eyes were less bright than she had ever seen them. They held an inconceivable sadness.

Yet when he spoke his voice was strong. 'Get out of here.'

She was so startled by what he said she thought she had misheard.

'Get out of here,' he repeated.

'What?' she asked unbelieving. 'Why? I thought…'

His eyes regained a shred of their harshness. It was enough to deter her. 'I said get out of here. I mean it. I know what I said before. I made up my mind. Go away.'

'No,' she refused strongly. 'I'm not leaving you here like this.'

He took a deep breath, exhaling loudly. 'Tonks, I'm not going to say it five more times. Go away. I'm going down to hell and I won't drag you along.'

'What are you talking about?' she asked.

'I can see it now Tonks. It's been too much. The burden is too heavy, the toll too great. I've committed a hundred sins too many, if not a thousand or even a million. I don't intend to go on anymore. I'm done with this world. Let them pass judgement on me in the hereafter. I can only hope someday I'll get to see everyone again. I'd like to apologize to them, let them know how sorry I am. If I'm granted any kind of mercy they'll let me disappear for good, erased from memory and existence.'

'You plan to commit suicide?' asked Tonks enraged, jumping of from her chair. Wood clattered on tile as the chair toppled over backward.

'I guess so,' said Harry with a shrug.

She slapped him, hard. 'How can you event think about it? After all this you're simply going to end it? Let it all go to waste? Take the coward's way out like Fudge only that he didn't have the guts to do it himself.'

His eyes woke up. Some of that anger returned. 'Don't tell me what to do! This is my choice. Now leave or I'll make you.'

'No!' she yelled outraged. 'I won't let you. And I certainly won't leave.'

He rose to his full length. A shred of that menacing aura returned and she gulped. Having it turned at you was something else when he meant it. 'You plan to stop me? Don't make me laugh. It'll hurt like hell if I even dare to smile right now. It hurts too much inside. You will go Tonks. You are the only one that will know what truly transpired here in the final moments. Tell the tale. Let people know the true depravity of war and of men. Show them the wrong path so they won't take it. I won't be able to.'

She couldn't go against him. Not right now. She was teetering on the edge of being shown the power of Harry Potter's fury first hand. 'What do you plan to do?' she asked calmly, quietly.

He turned away from her, striding back to the open side of the office. 'Insania is a monument to the depravity of war. This fortress was its polar opposite in the war. Now I will make it its twin. And I will go with it. I'm sick of this world. I've done what I had to do. Now I'm through. Let people make up their own minds from now on. The world is free from tyrants like Voldemort and schemers like Dumbledore and most importantly, from a fake hero like me. Let the people make of the world what they want. They're free to restart from scratch if they have the will. Let's hope the mistakes we all made shows the way to not repeating them.'

It was her time to cry now. She could see him in his mind the day they had first met. How that person was different from the Harry standing here now. How could it have come to this? Still, she couldn't just give up on him that easily. There had been enough death for one day.

'Please Harry, don't do this. I heard what you said to the guy you tossed of the balcony. I put up eavesdropping spells to know when you were coming. "Live to honour the dead," You said it yourself. So why don't you? All of Insania fought for a better world and now you'd abandon it?' Behind him she did something even she thought was near unforgivable but if it got him to change his mind…

Suddenly it was Luna's voice that spoke. 'Would you really just let it all go to waste? All that we worked for.'

He whirled around in a blur. The only thing she briefly glimpsed was the expression of absolute anger and rage. He stopped just centimetres shy of grabbing her by the throat. His face fell, his arm dropping to his side. Head bowed, eyes looking at the floor in defeat he said: 'Go back to Tonks, Tonks. You're very lucky I simply can't hurt her, not even her image. Else you'd be in the throes of death right now. If you even say another word in her voice however, or try anything similar, you're dead. It'll tear me up inside seeing her die again but I won't let you mock her memory.'

Tonks morphed back: 'I'm sor…'

'Save it,' he snapped. Turning away he grabbed the closest piece of loose junk.

'That energy you had is still inside you Harry,' said Tonks, ashamed at her own actions. 'Even if you're labelled a tragic hero or a villain, I still believe it better for you to live. With you around people wouldn't dare stray from the right path so easily.'

He whispered something inaudible to Tonks. Looking her straight in the eyes he said: 'I made my decision. Goodbye Tonks. Thanks for…for trying. It's nice to know there are still some people with a shred of decency. Catch.'

He threw something at her. She caught it on instinct. She looked confused at the piece of broken wood she held until she felt the tug behind her navel, the world spinning away.

Harry was left alone in the ruined office. Staring out at the scorched part where Fudge had landed. 'You know Albus, if you'd just let me kill the bastard I might've come around without killing all those people, without killing you and Ginny. Perhaps you were right in some ways. I guess we'll never know. I do regret what I did now. I truly am no better than them. We'll all be paying for our mistakes.'

With that he took out his own wand, tossing Voldemort's out the destroyed window. Aiming his wand straight up, a pencil thick white beam came out. It went through the roof without damaging it, out the castle and up into the sky.

High up in orbit the beam touched Zeus. Deep inside the fortress the firing mechanisms for the X1 spun to life. Power hummed. Warnings blared from the overloaded firing chamber but there was no one to stop the process. Due to Luna's nature for overkill and Hermione's perfectionist ways even with twice the amount of reagent Zeus held up. The beam it fired down at earth was not the short burst it had fired before but more a steady beam the slowly thickened as the gun pumped all the energy out its barrel.

Back on Earth Harry looked up at the sky as it turned from blue to white. He felt remarkably calm even knowing death was incoming. The end was near. All the fighting, all the pain and heartache. All the joy and laughter. He reflected on his life in those moments. He saw everyone's faces. From the early days at Hogwarts to the final year of Insania. All in all, life hadn't been so bad. There had been good times. Perhaps even to compensate the bad times. Except this final one. He laughed and cried at the same time. His wand clattered to the floor as the light outside intensified. There was a crack like thunder but a thousand times worse. Up in the air the light met pink. The wards of Azkaban still stood. The transportation wards seemed to be down as Tonks had been able to take the Portkey. But the main wards were still working. The pink tinged light grew near blinding. The wards crackled. The entire fortress groaned. Stone cracked around him but held. Windows splintered, their shard tinkling.

'I'll see you soon everyone,' he said just before the wards were overwhelmed. With an electric sizzle they died. The light encompassed him. It was hot, searing hot. It felt like his own magic only that it was against him. Extremely so. His body was on fire but not as when he wielded magic to the limit. This was a bad burning. And it hurt. He screamed. He couldn't help himself. But that was drowned out by the overwhelming roar of onrushing destruction. He only saw white. His eyes were boiling. He couldn't take it anymore. Death was beckoning, and he obeyed.

Tonks, standing at the crater that once held Hogwarts, could see the flash on the horizon even all the way to Scotland. She sank to her knees, knowing it was over.

Severus Snape sighed. He didn't know how long he'd been down here in this dark gap in the rubble but it had to be nearly a day. His arm lay at his side, useless. He had tried casting to get himself out of here but with his wand arm disabled he couldn't manage it. The only thing he held onto was that there would be a rescue incoming. His good hand held onto the gun Harry had given him. He had been confused as to how he had gotten here. The only thing he remembered was chaos erupting and a flash on a mountainside. Next thing he knew he was here, trapped in what he recognized as his potions laboratory. The cut of the stone was unmistakable. It was not until he had touched the gun which had been searing hot that he got an inkling of an idea. For whatever reasons, it had protected him. He didn't have a clue what had transpired on the surface but it had to have been something major for it to destroy his underground laboratory. But as long as the crystal on that gun still glowed Harry was alive and as long as Harry was alive there was hope. Whoever had done this would pay. And pay dearly. He didn't know the situation on the surface. It might be bad, but Insania had known a couple of bad days. They had always pulled through. This time would be no different. Months of his work were destroyed, buried under the building. This time he would participate in the retaliatory strike. People didn't get away with nullifying his work. He looked at the crystal again. Over the hours it had dimmed, shone like a torch and changed colour several times. It was glowing strongly now. The gun heated up but not too hot to hold. It was a sign of hope for him, a good sign. Harry was fighting whatever was happening. And then it was dark. Completely dark. He was alone in his small piece of forced shelter. All hope left him with that light. So it was as worse as he had feared.

'Hope for the best, expect the worst,' he muttered in the dark. 'There is nothing that could have prepared me for this. How could he have died now? After all this time? What did we fight for then?' He sighed loudly. 'It's a sad thing. At least I don't regret it. I did the right thing. My conscious is clear. Bless you, Harry, wherever you are. I hope we meet again.'

Putting the gun down, he felt for his wand. Finding the stick in the dark, he twirled it in his fingers. 'When it's done it's done. I've seen more years than I even thought I would. At least I got to enjoy the world after Tom Riddle for a while. I'm sorry Sarah. I wished we could've spent more time to get to know each other.' He looked at the gun in the dark, looking where he thought it was. The gun was still dead. 'If you're dead Harry I doubt anyone else is still breathing.' Lifting up his wand, he out it against his temple. Mustering up all the hate he knew was easy enough.

'Avada Ke…'

There was a thump. Not far from where he was. He could hear rubble shifting. He lowered his wand a fraction. Was his mind playing tricks on him? He had been in here for a long time. His air might be running out of paranoia might be setting in. the sound of rubble shifting continued. Perhaps the building was collapsing. That would at least take away the burden of taking his life.

But life had a different idea. Dust and small pieces of ceiling rained down on him as the sound grew a lot louder. On the other side of his rubble prison a light appeared. Faint, but it clearly showed the outline of a hole in the wall of debris. The light blinded him as it cleared the hole.

'Professor Snape?' asked a voice. 'Thank god. I was starting to believe we were misinterpreting our spells. It's a good thing we found you. We have a lot of injured and could use our skills.'

Severus held his hand before his eyes to shield the worst of the light. 'Larson, is that you? Thank Merlin. At least there's someone else alive.'

'There aren't many of us sir, and we're losing a couple more every hour. You're one of the few we found that knows something about potions.'

'I'm afraid I won't be of that much use. My arm's crippled and my offhand isn't so great,' said Severus, dropping his hand to push himself up using the wall he had been leaning against.

'Any help is better than none at all,' said Larson, extending a hand to help Severus through the gap. Severus walked over but stopped halfway. He looked back at the gun still lying on the ground. He knew it was a useless piece of metal now yet he couldn't just leave it behind. It had been on him for months now. It was a link back to the boy. Stowing his wand he picked it up and put it back in the holster with a last longing look at the crystal, willing it back to life. His wish was denied however.

Turning back to Larson he asked, 'What did happen? Do you have any idea?'

'We got nuked,' said Larson as he helped Severus up and into the cave he and three others had dug out. Seeing Severus' confused look he said: 'I'll explain later but it's bad. Very bad. Prepare yourself for what you're going to see. It isn't pretty. Not many are taking it well.'

His hand briefly touched the gun. 'I can imagine. Have you found anyone else from our…group?'

Larson looked saddened as he shook his head. 'No. I'm sorry sir. The last we saw was Commander Potter. He commandeered our ships and took them out with the Ekliptica. We haven't heard from him since. Some people saw a large flash not a couple of minutes ago to the north. Something a lot brighter than could be natural.'

The same time the crystal went out. 'It may very well have been him then. But I'm afraid he won't be coming back.'

'I had that suspicion when he left sir,' said Larson as he began making his way back up the tunnel. Severus and the others followed.

'Is there anything else in here worth salvaging you reckon?' asked Larson.

'I'm afraid there won't be,' said Severus with a sad look at the rough tunnel they were walking through. 'How is the castle?'

'As bad as this place above ground but below it's a lot better.'

'Good,' said Severus. A lot was lost. A lot of lives. Sarah most likely among them. Yet there was still hope. If people still lived, Insania wasn't dead. And he had a duty to help them.

Coming out into the open air he was shocked. The ravaged landscape was something that couldn't be Insania. It had to be somewhere else. How could a land that had been green and full of life yesterday be a burnt, scorched piece of dirt? Only husks of tree trunks remained. Behind him the small cottage that had once hidden the entrance to his headquarters was a stretch of clear dirt. The cottage itself seemed ripped cleanly of its foundations.

'This…is a nightmare,' said Severus, a look of disbelief on his face. He shook his head in denial.

'It's very real sir,' said Larson. 'Very real.'

'How?'

'There's just some things in this world sir that you can't explain. Some people are just not worthy to breathe.'

Severus nodded. Putting away the gravity of the situation for the moment he straightened up. There was work to be done. 'Explain things on the way, Larson. Let's drop by those people that need some attention and see what we can do. There's no sense hesitating right now. We can see what to do about all this later. We can't falter here. Harry gave us a dream, an ideal. We can't disappoint him by giving up. So I won't.'

'Yes sir,' said Larson.

Together they began trudging through the ash. The camp they had set up wasn't that far.

Severus looked around him. At all the destruction. After everything this was how it had turned out. What a sad place the world was. But Insania was like the Phoenix. It would rise from the ashes. Even if he had to do it himself, he would see to it that it wasn't that easy to kill what this island stood for. He owed that at least. To Harry, and all the others that were no longer here.

As they walked the gun in his holster sat unnoticed even as the crystal in it dimly glowed back to life.

In the aftermath the magical world was in an uproar. Magical America was in chaos over the loss of so many lives and their president along with the commander of their now nonexistent fleet. In Britain the Ministry was in shambles but people such as Alastor Moody, and Nymphadora Tonks popped up more and more often, as order was slowly restored. The rest of the magical world was shocked by the events. Aid came from all corners of the globe when it was requested. When the time came to return to Azkaban, those brave enough to dare it were shocked when all there was, was mostly open ocean with only a few jagged pieces of rock jutting from the sea. There was one bigger piece. When they reached the flat top all they found was a figure in stone as if it had been carved but far too lifelike, with a golden sword lying on top. Nobody ever dared touch it, as when anyone tried to go near it with such an intention, an inexplicable fear overtook them.

Peace was announced towards Insania. Nobody had heard from them so far and when ships were sent to the island they found they couldn't find it. No matter what they tried, it looked as if the island itself had disappeared off the face of the Earth. Wild speculations and stories circulated but in reality no one knew what had happened. Of those that had survived the Final War on Insania, as it was called not soon after, nothing was heard for a long time. But the world kept going. The future waited. May it be a better one.

The end

Author notes: well, here it is folks. Whether you like it or not, it's over. God damn, that feels good to say. Let me start by clearing up some things. This was how the story was always meant to end, more or less. I started writing this one with the idea of a short, fast-paced rampaging Harry story. Yet it grew well beyond that. What was supposed to have taken me a around a year and a half took me six and a half. And I don't regret it. I hope you all enjoyed it, even the ending. I began writing this in what now seems like another life when all was different. I had a lot more anger in me back then, and more free time. Not everything has a happy end and this story was never meant to have one. I did doubt for a while. I almost took a different path but someone told me to stick to my own vision and so I did. I thank all of you for your support over the course of this story. You all helped me to keep this story going and finish it the way I had intended. I must also say that there will be no sequel to this story. This is the end. I left some things open but on purpose. I have an idea for another story which will be loosely based on this one. Alas, I'm afraid it'll take me ten years to ever get that one done. I am however rewriting and improving some of the earlier chapters as they give me the shivers when I read them now. I was too new to it when I wrote those. It'll most likely take me a good while to finish reworking the worst of it. I'll be sure to post something to announce when its done. I might write some shorter stuff or a couple of one shots. I might even restart my first story but most likely I'll mostly retreat from the world of fanfiction and immerse myself in other projects. But I doubt you have heard the last of me. Once again, thank you all for sticking through to the end. I sincerely hope you all enjoyed it. 'Till next chapter. Whenever that may be. Take care.

Special thanks to my excellent beta reader Teufel. You're awesome.

Review responses:

Lansar1: Life ain't fair. That's what half this story is about. So far Insania's members were always spared the worst fate but it couldn't last. You can gain a lot in life and lose it just as easily. The only thing that matters is if it was worth it.

RinYun913: Go right ahead although I must admit I borrowed it from schnoogle. A great site for fanfiction that does everything just a bit more officially.

Nxkris: Thanks, I'm glad I made it interesting enough.

Traviswj: I'm sorry to disappoint in that regard. She is still alive in a way but if she hadn't died I can't see Harry going on such a rampage. It may have ended otherwise, even better, but it was not to be.

Shadow315: I love such reviews. It's kinda magical that people can get so hyped on a story.

tpx1: Not as soon as I had expected but still, better than chapter twenty eight ^^.

Skelo: As I said, it's not all happy endings.

J.A Jasper: I've had that discussion several times. I don't care about some details while I respect others. This is fanfiction. I do as I please. To a certain extent.

Thanks to everyone else:

Lordblink, fireboltfx, SailorMoon20114486, t, karthik9.