A/N: Dun Du-Du-Lum! Here it is-the FINAL CHAPTER!

Broomsticks on Fire

Chapter Eighteen

This is SO not happening, Jake thought as he looked into Rose's face.

"Master," Huntsgirl said, forcing herself to look away from Jake's shocked face, and trying her best to show no recognition.

"Did you bring me the Potter boy?" Huntsman asked, red eyes gleaming.

"Master, I-"

Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of yellow light, and as it faded, everyone gasped at the hideous sight of Lord Voldemort standing in front of them, his red eyes glistening and slit-like nostrils dilating in excitement. He eyed the Huntsman and Huntsgirl, then Jake, and then glanced over to the hallway just out of sight, and finally let out a shrill, bone-chilling chortle.

Harry grasped his scar and gasped in pain, falling to his knees. Ron and Hermione rushed to help, trying to remain as silent as possible, both nearly frozen with fear.

Voldemort took a step toward Jake, who stared at this horrible vision, terrified. The evil wizard knelt down beside Jake and touched his pale face with a long, bony finger. Jake shuddered at the touch and tried to squirm away. Voldemort stepped back and turned to his minions-the Huntsclan.

"As you can see," he hissed, "I have rejoined with my dragon side-my most powerful horcrux. I am in my human form now because despite my strength and power when I am a dragon, I am still more powerful in my true form-especially now that my horcrux has returned." He paused, then said, "Tell him, Rose."

Rose was horrified, too afraid to speak. "Huntsgirl!" Huntsman yelped.

This was bad, Rose thought. A major flaw in their plan. Voldemort/Dark Dragon wasn't supposed to come until later. There was no way they could defeat and ambush him.

"Master, about Harry Potter-"

"She brought him," came a low, sad voice from the corridor. Harry had stepped into view, followed by a very terrified Ron and Hermione. "I'm here."

Voldemort smiled evilly. "Let the games begin."

Harry and Voldemort faced each other with determined faces, and at once, Voldemort cast a curse. Harry jumped out of the way, and the Cruciatis Curse barely missed him.

"Hey, don't I get a say in this battle?" Jake yelled from his spot on the floor. He was tired of being tied up and eager to help Harry fight, and with Rose's help, he had secretly been able to get the gag off.

"I'll deal with you later," Voldemort growled. The Dark Lord turned back to Harry, but Jake had other ideas.

"C'mon, Dark Dragon, I know you're in there somewhere, and I know you're itching to let the Am-Drag join."

Voldemort's eyes flashed yellow, and for a moment, Jake was staring into the eyes of the Dark Dragon plastered onto Voldemort's face. "I will deal with you later," he growled once more and then turned his head back to Harry. Rose quickly ducked down and released Jake, whispering, "I'm sorry, I'll explain later."

Jake watched Harry and Voldemort circle each other, and then a strange thought occurred to him. Why hadn't Voldemort/Dark Dragon wanted to fight both Harry and Jake? "Yo, DD," he grinned, morphing into dragon form. "Next time, tie your knots a little tighter!" He did not in any way imply that Rose had freed him. "Not that there will be a next time!"

An angry growl came from deep within Voldemort's throat, and he morphed into dragon form and swatted Jake aside with a wave of a scaly black hand. He then turned back to human form to duel with Harry. That was when Jake realized something, and, looking into Harry's eyes, he had a feeling that his friend had discovered the same thing.

I am more powerful than his human side, Jake reasoned, and Harry is more powerful than his dragon side.

It only made sense. Dragons had power and strength, but no actual magic. They were not as quick and agile as humans in a confined space. So, while Dark Dragon and Jake were a perfect match in the volcanic shelter on Draco Island, Harry could move around faster, and could produce a spell that could kill or at least put him out of commission for a while without having to actually come in contact with the serpentine villain.

On the other hand, when he was Voldemort, Jake was a smaller dragon and could move about freely in the area that limited Dark Dragon's movements. He had more air space, and he could dodge the wizard's spells pretty well-just like avoiding the Huntsman's energy beams, he figured, and he had become a master at that. He was stronger in muscle than the human Voldemort, and could easily knock him out if could get close enough to him.

So this was why Voldemort/Dark Dragon hadn't wanted to fight both Jake and Harry at the same time. He knew that if they figured out that they could have access to his only weaknesses, they would destroy him.

"You," Voldemort growled, turning to Rose. "Recapture the dragon so that I can deal with this boy."

Huntsman scoffed and stepped forward. "Allow me, Milord."

"No!" Voldemort screamed, his red eyes flashing dangerously. "I want the girl to do it."

He knows, Jake thought with dread. He knows Rose freed me and tried to save me.

He got Harry's attention and mouthed, "Let's do this!"

Harry nodded, the ghost of a smile appearing on his pale face. As Voldemort was advancing on Rose, Jake took to the air and swatted at Voldemort, barely catching him in the side. With a roar of rage, the wizard spun around to face Jake, and morphed into dragon form. He smacked Jake in the jaw, sending him soaring across the cavern, almost knocking him out.

"Servant!" The dragon exclaimed. "Do something!"

But Rose had knocked Huntsman out with her Huntstick and was now sitting on top of his unconscious form, watching the show. Ron and Hermione rushed forward and took the Huntsman's Huntstick and aimed it at his head, ready if he woke up.

While Voldemort was in dragon form, Harry sent the Avada Kedavra spell, the killing curse, at the dragon's backside. Dark Dragon was thrown forward, but the spell hadn't killed him. Only weakened him. Barely.

The dragon morphed back to his human form and sent an agonizing wave of the Crutacious Curse Harry's way, making him fall to the ground, screaming and writhing. Jake took this opportunity to thump Voldemort with his tail, sending him flying across the room. As he was sailing along, Voldemort morphed back into dragon form and used his wings as a parachute. He missed hitting the cavern wall by a centimeter. He spun around to aim a blow at Jake, and once again, the killing curse hit his scaly backside. Roaring in anger, his yellow eyes darted around, trying to figure out a plan.

The Huntsman stirred beneath Rose, formally known as Huntsgirl, and Ron whacked him upside the head with his own Huntstick, while Hermione watched the battle with wide eyes. Huntsman was flung back into oblivion.

Suddenly Harry remembered something that he had learned earlier in Hagrid's DADA class. He could hear Hagrid now, his black eyes wild with excitement as he rumbled, Dragons are near indestructible, 'arry, he'd said, beaming over his favorite student in the school. Ter kill one'd take the strongest man alive-or a smart'en! Almost nobody knows a dragon's only weak spot's behind their left ear.

That was it! Harry realized. That's where he had to hit the Dark Dragon, AKA Voldemort. He got Jake's attention and casually scratched his left ear. Jake's face lit up! He understood! Harry stood ready for action, wand raised, and let the American Dragon do his thing.

"Fine, Big, Dark, and Ugly!" Jake yelled. "We all know that I can overpower you in your dragon form. Let's show Harry how much I can beat your butt on my own!"

The Dark Dragon chuckled. "Have at it, lizard," he hissed. The Dark Dragon turned his back on Harry, who waited until the back of his ear was in view. "Avada Kedavra!" he yelled, and the bolt of green light hit the dragon right on target.

His ugly face registering surprise, the dragon morphed into a human and flopped onto the floor, barely conscious. "You will pay for this," he hissed.

Jake and Harry both moved in for the kill, but in a flash of purple light, Voldemort was gone.

Three days later, Lao Shi, Harry, Jake, Ron, Hermione, Rose, Hagrid, and Albus Dumbledore had tea in Hagrid's hut.

"So he's still out there, huh?" Jake said, looking dejected, but otherwise okay. The bruise had pretty much faded on his cheek, and the soreness in his body was almost gone.

"Do not worry yourself, young one," Lao Shi beamed. "You and Harry did better than we could have hoped."

"I have reason to believe," Dumbledore interjected, "that you two will not have to worry about the Dark Dragon anymore."

Harry's eyes widened. "What do you mean, Professor?"

Smiling gently, Dumbledore explained, "When you hit him behind his left ear, you actually killed the Dark Dragon part of him. That horcrux is destroyed."

"So that means that Voldemort will have no grudge against you or your grandfather, Jake," Hermione beamed.

"Huh?" both Ron and Jake said at the same time.

"It makes sense," Rose supplied. "Technically speaking, the Dark Dragon and Voldemort were not the same person-er, creature. Each had his own agenda, personality, wants, and drive."

"Kind of like Multiple Personality Syndrome in the Muggle world," Hermione put in.

"Exactly. The Dark Dragon was all about killing Jake, but now that he's gone, Voldemort shouldn't have any recollection of Jake, or his hate for dragons. It's like Jake Long never existed in his world," Rose went on.

Hermione took up the explanation. "The Dark Dragon was killed when the curse hit him, Harry, and that takes a giant load off of everyone's chest. But still, Voldemort is out there, and he does know who you are."

"So I guess we're back to the way things were before Dark Dragon and Jake came into our lives, right?" Harry said sadly.

Jake grinned and flung an arm over Harry's shoulder. "Nah, man. I don't care if psycho-wizard remembers me or not-I'll help you beat him."

"Yeah," Harry smiled.

"And you know we will all stand beside you as well," Lao Shi said, and the others nodded. Hagrid jumped up in excitement.

"We'll git'em!"

Jake grinned. "From now on," he announced to the group that had grown to be like family in the past few months, "we're all in this together!"

THE END

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and being patient with me. Please review and let me know what you think of the conclusion to this story! Thanks for coming along for the ride, and I'll just say, what a ride it was! Look for my other stories in the future!

~Emachinescat ^..^