Chapter 34: Love and Death
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Harry felt cold fear grip him; they all had walked straight into Voldemort's trap, like lambs to the slaughter. Trying to ignore the pain in his scar, Harry's eyes darted around the room looking for some possible means of escape, but all of the openings in the walls had disappeared. A relatively small number of Death Eaters surrounded them, about fifteen in all including Snape and Blunt, but even with that, they were hopelessly outnumbered.

Having noticed Harry's desperate scan of his surroundings Voldemort said, "There will be no escape this time. I will not lose the opportunity of seeing my plan through nor will I fail to destroy you and prove that your success at eluding me thus far has been nothing but pure chance."

Harry felt Ginny take his hand firmly into hers and Ron and Hermione press even closer to him. He knew they were as frightened as he was but they each seemed determined to stand their ground beside him.

Harry lightly squeezed Ginny's hand in response, and then he released it, and stepped from between Ron and Hermione. Feeling his frustration and anger rise, Harry refused to look away from the red eyes boring into him.

"Funny," Harry replied, putting as much mockery in his voice as his stretched nerves would allow, "I recall hearing something similar in a graveyard a few years ago; yet here I am."

He heard shocked gasps behind him come from both Ginny and Hermione.

Undaunted, Voldemort replied, "Your bravado is admirable, but it won't last. You have much more to lose this time. I do plan to take great pleasure in breaking you, Harry. Before I am through with you, the only thing I will hear from your lips will be pleas for death."

Voldemort's gaze went past Harry's shoulder to rest on Ginny, "You have inherited your father's tastes, I see. Your girlfriend is as beautiful and as spirited as your mother was. It would be a shame if she met the same end because of you."

Harry's anger flared at Voldemort's threat against Ginny. He felt her try to take his hand into hers again but he moved away from her, positioning himself so that his body blocked her from Voldemort's direct line of fire.

He said, "Let the three of them go! If you expect to get what you need from me, I have to know they're safe."

From behind him, Harry heard Ginny's voice, "Harry, no!" and then Ron's, "We won't leave you here!"

"Your friends do not seem to agree with you," Voldemort replied as if Ginny and Ron's words had just settled a friendly dispute.

Without warning, a yellow light shot from the end of the dark wizard's wand directly toward Harry. It split to form two glowing strands of rope, which immediately slithered around each of Harry's wrists and began to haul him violently toward the middle of the room.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny tried to grab on to him to hold him back, but Voldemort casually flicked his wand and all three of them were flung backwards into the hands of the Death Eaters behind them. The Death Eaters forced them to their knees where they could do nothing but watch helplessly while the golden ropes dragged Harry toward the middle of the bloody dark mark painted on the floor.

Harry struggled against the ropes but the harder he resisted, the stronger the pull of the ropes became. Once he was directly in the middle of the dark mark, wooden poles appeared on each side if him. The ropes secured Harry's wrists to the poles, pulling his arms so wide that it made his shoulders ache. He was now positioned directly in front of where Ginny, Ron and Hermione were being forced to kneel on the floor.

Voldemort walked slowly forward and for the first time, Harry noticed Nagini was in the room as well; the snake slithered past her master's feet and halted several feet in front of where Harry's friends were sitting. Her tongue flicked out at Hermione who was staring at the huge snake with wide, frightened eyes.

"I want one, master," Harry heard Nagini hiss. "I am hungry."

Voldemort replied, "Patience, my pet. You will get your fill soon. But which morsel you are offered will depend upon Harry Potter."

At the mention of Harry's name, Nagini turned toward him and said, "Master, tell him I want the brown female."

Harry stared back into the slit eyes of the snake and hissed back, "Don't count on it."

Nagini raised her head higher and flicked her tongue toward him. If snakes could show emotion, Harry assumed Nagini would be looking back at him in complete surprise from hearing a human other than her master speak in a language she understood.

She continued to look at him for a few moments and with another flick of her tongue, she circled around him once before slithering back toward her master.

As Nagini traveled around him, Harry noticed she wore a silver collar adorned with a large green stone. He had only gotten a brief look at it before she moved away from him, but he suddenly remembered Wormtail's final words; Voldemort had moved the Horcrux into "the jewel."

Could the jewel on the collar be the one to which Wormtail had referred? Then he recalled what Snape said earlier and Harry became more certain that it was. Voldemort had taken to keeping Nagini very close to him lately. Harry would bet just about anything that it was not only so he could possess Nagini if the worst happened and he needed to escape, but so he could also ensure that he took his last Horcrux with him.

Despite his precarious situation, he felt a rush of excitement. At last he knew what the last Horcrux was; however, this knowledge would do him little good unless he survived long enough to find a way to destroy it.

The dark wizard spoke again, regaining his attention, "I am granting my inner circle of Death Eaters the privilege of watching the destruction of the one who many foolishly believed had the power to destroy me. They will bear witness to your ultimate failure; through them, the Wizarding world will learn how their hero failed and, instead of destroying me, provided me with renewed powers and immortality.

"The tablet's spells require that your mind as well as your magical energy be intact; I feared my Death Eaters might become overzealous in their attempts to capture you and so I restricted their use of magic against you. I wished to preserve that pleasure for myself, and although I must be judicious…," Voldemort raised his wand, "I believe you are strong enough to withstand a taste of my retribution…retribution for what you cost me many years ago as well as more recently. Crucio!"

Harry's tortured screams filled the chamber and all thoughts of the Horcrux fled his mind. The pain of thousands upon thousands of sharp white-hot knives tore through his entire body and the excruciating pain seemed to go on for so long Harry could no longer imagine a time when he was not in agonizing pain.

Upon hearing Harry's first scream, the Death Eaters' cheers quickly drowned out the horror-filled cries from Ginny, Ron and Hermione. Like sharks sensing the blood of their prey in the water, the Death Eater's fervor built.

But there was one Death Eater who was not cheering. Even though his animosity towards Harry ran deep, Severus Snape maintained a well-practiced emotionless mask that did not reveal his deep feeling of disgust and revulsion.

With great satisfaction, Voldemort watched Harry writhe and scream in agony as he continued to hold him under the curse. He and his Death Eaters were thoroughly enjoying Harry's torture and their reaction made Ginny feel sick. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks and with each passing moment, she was certain Harry could not possibly bear more. She desperately wanted to run to him; to do anything to stop his pain, but she was powerless to help him. She felt like she had fallen back into her horrific nightmare of only a few nights past, but this time she knew there was no waking from it.

Voldemort finally ended the curse and Harry slumped between the poles, hanging limply by his wrists. Sweat plastered his shirt to his body and his breathing remained labored as the effects of the curse continued to course through him.

"Retribution is sweet …" Voldemort said quietly.

With a wave of his wand, the ropes, poles, and the collar that had been around Harry's neck disappeared and he fell hard to the floor. The cold tile felt good against his feverish cheek and he lay still, trying to catch his breath.

"Now get to your feet!" Voldemort commanded.

Harry slowly tried to push himself up, but he felt weak and the shaking in his body was making it difficult.

Voldemort grew impatient and demanded, "You will obey immediately! Bring his companions before me!"

Alarmed by the dark wizard's order, Harry unsteadily forced himself up to his hands and knees. When he looked up, he saw Snape roughly pull Hermione to her feet and push her toward Voldemort. Blunt followed, giving Ginny's arm a hard yank while two other Death Eaters shoved Ron forward. With a great amount of effort, Harry stood up and took several shaky steps forward.

His throat was raw and sore but he called out hoarsely, "Leave them alone!"

Harry took another step forward and Voldemort trained his wand on Ginny, "You will remain where you are!"

Harry immediately froze; the pendant he had given her could not deflect any of the unforgivable curses.

"You are so much like Dumbledore and your parents," Voldemort said with a sneer. "Your love and caring for this girl and your friends make you weak! You could never possess the power to destroy me. After tonight everyone will come to understand their foolishness in believing you stood such a chance. You will assist me tonight because you are weak! You will assist me tonight because your friends are at my mercy and you understand that mercy is something I do not have! Crucio!"

Harry fell to the floor as the torturous curse ripped through him again; and again the only thing he knew was terrible agony and unbearable pain. Death truly would be nothing compared to this suffering and he found himself wishing Voldemort would finally get it over with and kill him now.

Ginny closed her eyes to block out the horrible image of Harry thrashing in pain, but there was nothing she could do to block his tormented screams from reaching her ears. She feared the pain would surely kill him and when his screams suddenly stopped, she forced herself to open her eyes fearing the worst; it was almost with relief that she saw he was shaking badly, but he was still alive.

Overwhelmed with a desperate need to help him, Ginny fought Blunt's grip and she broke free. He grabbed for her arm, but Voldemort held up his hand, indicating to Blunt to let her go.

Harry felt a presence drop to the floor beside him and then the touch of gentle hands helping him to sit up.

Ginny stroked his cheek with a trembling hand and whispered, "Oh, Harry! I wish there was something I could do to stop this…"

She assisted him to his feet and he leaned on her to steady himself.

"How touching," they heard Voldemort say mockingly, causing many sniggers from the Death Eaters.

Harry and Ginny turned together to face Voldemort who said coldly, "Move away from him, girl. He should be quite ready to assist me now, especially to ensure you and your friends do not suffer the same pain."

Ginny refused to release her hold on Harry and Voldemort's words only caused her to cling to him even tighter.

"No," she said.

"Ginny, please," Harry whispered, trying to push her away from him.

He was still shaking, but it was hard to tell whether it was from the effects of the curse or from his fear of what Voldemort would do to her.

"Don't give him a reason to make me watch him do that to you..." he looked agonizingly into her eyes, "…please… I can't…"

Ginny was trembling and Harry clearly saw fear in her eyes, but he also saw resolve and love; and he understood. Even though she had just witnessed what Voldemort would do to her if Harry refused him, she was urging him not to give in. She wanted the one responsible for the death of her father and her brother destroyed as much as Ron did; and she wanted him to fight, no matter the cost to herself.

Their eyes locked in mutual understanding and he prayed he would have the strength to follow through with what she and Ron asked of him.

He had no time to dwell further on this thought for a loud, thunderous sound reverberated through the room. Unsure of what was happening, Ginny grabbed on to Harry tightly again and when he looked down at her, he saw a thick, dark red mist was forming around their feet.

"What's happening? What's he doing?" Ginny whispered looking fearfully at the strange mist. It was gathering so quickly that it was already up to their knees.

The mist rose rapidly and swirled around everyone in the room, including Voldemort who seemed as surprised as everyone else by what was happening.

Harry responded just as mystified, "I don't know but I don't think Voldemort is doing it."

Harry glanced toward Ron and Hermione who were still being held firmly by Snape, and two very nervous-looking Death Eaters. From the expression he saw on Hermione's face, he was certain she had never heard of or read about this kind of mist. Beyond her shoulder, Snape was watching him intently and when Harry met his gaze, he realized this was what Snape had meant by, 'be ready.'

Fear and confusion erupted throughout the room and Harry leaned down so Ginny could hear him above the melee, "We're going to need to move fast."

She looked up at him questioningly but nodded.

Many of the Death Eaters were now in a full panic and they slammed into each other as they ran toward the exits in an attempt to escape the mysterious mist. Others called out to Voldemort, seeking his instructions, to which their master replied, "Remain where you are! Do nothing!"

The higher the mist rose, the faster it began to swirl until it completely filled the room, obscuring everyone's vision and producing a feeling of disorientation. It was like someone had turned out the lights, but instead of complete darkness, there was nothing but murky red. Then there was the sound of a deafening explosion quickly coupled with many cries of fear and alarm.

In their panic, the Death Eaters who had been guarding Ron gave up their charge to join their comrades' frantic search for an exit. Ron called out to Hermione but if she responded, he had not heard her above the noise surrounding them.

More desperately, he called "Hermione! Where are you?"

Immediate relief washed over him when he heard her respond, "Over here!"

Hermione felt Snape release his hold on her and she immediately moved in the direction of Ron's voice. She had only taken a few steps before someone grabbed her by the hair and she was pulled backward against a hard body. Panic that had nothing to do with the mist enveloped her when she felt an arm firmly encircle her neck. Instinctively, she began to struggle but her assailant quickly released her neck and then she felt a hand run down her left arm.

Who ever it was behind her seized her wrist and she felt three long, slender objects thrust into her hand just before an urgent voice whispered in her ear, "The far wall is open— the wands will show you. Grab Potter and get him out to the courtyard!"

In her surprise, Hermione hesitated but the whisperer commanded urgently, "Go now!"

Hermione did not have to be told again. She held the wands out in front of her and immediately, the disorienting feeling vanished. She started forward only to gasp in alarm when another body crashed into her.

Overwhelming relief flooded through her when she heard Ron's voice, "Hermione? That you?"

"Oh, Ron!" she responded and grabbed him. "We have to get to Harry and Ginny!"

Ron felt for her hand and he took it firmly into his. "We can't see anything through this fog! How are we going to—"

"Use this!" she responded and he felt her place a wand in his hand.

Surprised, he started, "How did you—"

"Never mind! Just hold it out in front of you!"

Not understanding how that could possibly help without knowing what charm or spell to use, Ron raised the wand anyway. To his amazement, whichever direction he pointed the wand, the mist thinned-out for several yards in front of him. He pointed it toward Hermione and he could then see her hazy form directly beside him.

Hermione took his hand again and urged, "Come on!"

They made their way toward the center of the room and every so often, they had to stop or sidestep a Death Eater who stumbled blindly across their path. They continued in the direction toward the last place they had seen Harry and Ginny, all the while silently praying they would not run across Voldemort.

Finally, not far ahead, their wands thinned the mist enough for them to see two figures moving slowly toward them. Each held an outstretched arm in front of them as they attempted to make their way through the blinding mist.

"Harry! Ginny!" Hermione whispered loudly and she and Ron ran up to them.

Harry replied, "Hermione! We have to find Ron—"

"I'm right here."

Relieved, Harry said, "Okay, then grab on to each other and let's try to feel our way out of here."

"Wait—" Hermione said and placed the last wand in his hand. "Just point it in front of you. I think this is the way out."

Hermione brushed past him, then just like Ron, Harry followed her instructions and was amazed by the results.

"Brilliant!" He said. He was still leaning on Ginny for support but he turned to follow quickly after Ron and Hermione.

Ginny asked, "Where are we going? I can't see anything!" Then as if proving the point, she stumbled and they both almost fell.

Harry realized that the wand only enabled the person holding it to see through the mist, which also meant the Death Eaters, and hopefully Voldemort, could not see them making their way across the room.

Harry responded to her, tightening his grip on her hand, "We're following Hermione and Ron. It's okay; I can see where they are."

They made their way quickly to the far side of the room, carefully avoiding several frightened Death Eaters who were still stumbling around looking for an exit. Hermione, Ron and Harry finally found a small, jagged hole in the wall ahead of them that they assumed had been created by the explosion they had heard. They crawled through it and found themselves in a large, mist-free room. Directly across from them was a door set in-between high, grime-covered windows through which only a minimal amount of light could shine through.

"We have to get to the courtyard," Hermione urged and took off at a jog followed by the others.

Ginny asked, "How did you find the way out?"

Hermione answered quickly as they ran, "The wands must have been charmed to enable us to see through the mist. I got away from Snape just after the explosion but then someone grabbed me and put the wands in my hand. He said—"

Hermione halted suddenly and her eyes widened in shock. She looked at Harry who barely stopped in time to keep from running into her, "—he said to find you and get you to the courtyard... it was Snape! At first I didn't realize whose voice it was but—"

"What? Snape wanted you to help Harry?" Ron asked incredulously. "No way!"

Hermione now looked worried and said, "Who else could it have been? He was right behind me; he had the wands— the three wands— they took from us! But that means taking you to the courtyard could actually be…"

"Could actually be another trap," Ginny finished also looking worried now.

There was no time for Harry to explain what had transpired between himself and Snape and he started across the room again saying, "And maybe it isn't."

Hermione argued, "You of all people know that after everything Snape has done, we can't possibly go along with something he'd tell us to do!"

Harry kept moving and said, "You aren't certain it was Snape, right? Voldemort was as surprised as the Death Eaters by what happened back there, so someone else created that mist and the opening in the wall for us to get out."

They had made it to the other side of the room and Harry and Ron peered through the dirt covering the windows in order to see what might be on the other side of the door.

Hermione tried again, "But what if—"

Harry turned on her and came close to shouting, "We have no idea if Voldemort knows where we went or where he is at this moment! We can't just stay here and wait around hoping he doesn't find us just because you don't know who gave you the wands!"

"Harry's right," Ron agreed. "We have to try to get out of here while they are still trying to figure out what happened in there."

"So then," Ginny said settling the point, "let's get moving."

She tried the latch of the handle and even though it was rusted with disuse, it opened. Harry stepped up beside her to push the door open slightly and he looked cautiously through the crack. Seeing nothing of concern, he opened the door wider and they stepped out onto a rickety covered porch that overlooked a courtyard different from the one he had seen when he Re-Apparated with the Death Eaters.

The yard was dotted with many old marble statues and fountains that were almost completely covered by ivy and other vines. A large hedge of overgrown evergreens lined the perimeter of the courtyard and off to the far left, set into the hedge, was a very large wrought iron gate.

Staying behind the statues and fountains as much as they could so they would not easily be seen from one of the mansion's windows, they quickly, but cautiously made their way toward the gate. An old dirt road led away from the gate into a thick forest of large pine trees.

As Harry approached the gate, a slight movement near one of the larger trees at the edge of the forest caught his eye.

"Get back behind the hedge!" He said, grabbing Ginny's arm to pull her away from the gate.

Hermione and Ron quickly ducked back near the hedge and Hermione whispered, "What is it?"

"Someone's out there," Harry whispered back, carefully edging forward to look through the gate again.

"Do you think it's Death Eaters?" Ron asked.

"I dunno…" Harry replied wondering how they were going to escape if the only way out was heavily guarded by Death Eaters.

They continued to watch for so long that Harry began to think the movement had been in his imagination until they all saw something move again. Several people cautiously stepped out from behind the trees and Harry felt near overwhelming relief wash over him when he recognized Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shackelbolt and Bill Weasley not more than thirty yards beyond the gate. Snape must have discovered a way to provide the Order with a means to find them.

When Ginny saw her brother, she immediately darted to the gate calling with relief and joy, "Bill!"

She reached out to grab the gate with both hands as she continued to call to her brother, but the moment she touched the bars, she was thrown backward with a great amount of force.

She cried out in surprise and Harry was just barely able to catch her and stop what would have been a very painful fall.

"Ginny!" Ron called, "Are you alright?"

She held onto Harry's arms to steady herself and she said wincing, "I'm okay. There must be a curse on the gate that won't let anyone touch it."

Harry was looking past her shoulder and he saw more people coming out of the forest including Charlie Weasley, the Weasley twins, Tonks and several others he did not know. However there was something odd in the way they were approaching the gate and it took a few moments for Harry to comprehend what it was; they were scanning their surroundings in all directions, as if they were looking for something they could not see or find.

Harry called loudly, "Remus? Bill?"

"They can neither hear nor see you."

Harry spun around quickly and shot a stunning curse in the direction of the chilling voice.

Voldemort stepped from behind a large statue, with Nagini close on his heels. He easily deflected the curse and sent Harry's wand flying out of his hand. A dozen armed Death Eaters flanked the dark wizard wearing cruel and expectant grins. Hermione saw Ron start to bring his wand up but she quickly grabbed his wrist to keep it hidden behind Harry who was standing slightly in front of them.

"Nor will they be able to help you," Voldemort continued, inclining his head toward the gate.

An army of Death Eaters had Apparated outside the gate and almost instantaneously, a full-blown battle broke out. Shouts, hexes and curses flew everywhere and Ginny cried out in alarm at the sight of her other brothers engaged heavily in the deadly combat.

Voldemort said almost pleasantly, "I believe circumstances are working out much better than I could have hoped. It won't be long until my Death Eaters have captured or killed your friends in the Order and there will be no one left to help you… not even your latest benefactor."

Two Death Eaters broke through the line of their comrades, dragging a bound Severus Snape between them. They threw him unceremoniously at their master's feet and then moved away to take their place in line.

Snape managed to get to his knees and although Harry saw a flicker of fear in his dark eyes, he did not beg for mercy. Instead, he remained still, as if prepared for his inevitable fate. Harry instinctively took a step forward before he stopped himself for he knew he was powerless to help Snape now. While he could not overcome his hatred of the man who had murdered Dumbledore, Snape had tried to help them and that attempt was going to cost him his life. Harry's familiar feeling of animosity for his old potions professor was becoming very much overshadowed by feelings of apprehension.

"I had suspected for some time there was a spy in our midst," Voldemort said. "Too many times the Order coincidently arrived on the scene to battle my Death Eaters. Now they have discovered how to break through many of the protections we have only recently learned to circumvent and here they are now on our doorstep. Then only a few moments ago, Jacob finds you trying to bring down the protections I myself placed on the gate. I must say that you played your part impressively well, Severus, for you were not the first one I suspected. Killing Dumbledore was a stroke of genius, which I assume, means that was his inspiration. Although I never suspected even he would go so far to protect the boy."

Voldemort moved to stand directly in front of Snape and continued, "You must count your blessings that I do not have the time to punish you as befits your treachery. Your blind and misguided loyalty to Dumbledore has been your undoing. You have failed and soon the old fool's young champion here will follow you into death, while I will remain very much alive."

Looking directly back into Voldemort's red gaze, Snape said in a steady voice, "You may yet discover that you are the one who is very much blind, for what you do not know will be your undoing."

Anger flashed in Voldemort's eyes and he said, "Goodbye, Severus. Give my regards to Dumbledore. Avada Kedavra!"

Ginny clutched Harry's arm painfully and he heard Hermione scream from behind him when the green light struck Snape in the chest.

Harry stared numbly into Snape's dead eyes, all the while hearing the battle between the Order and Death Eaters rage on outside the gate. Voldemort had spoken true; there was no one who could help him now. Even with all of their training, research and preparation, he and his friends were no match for Voldemort. Throughout his life, so many people had tried to help him, and one by one, the evil standing before him had, either personally or indirectly, murdered each of them. He had stupidly and naively allowed Ginny, Ron and Hermione to become embroiled in his fight and so they were going to be next. Whether he willingly allowed Voldemort to use him or not, Harry was certain Voldemort never intended to allow them to live, especially given their involvement with him.

Stepping around Snape's dead form, Voldemort commanded, "You and your friends will come back into the mansion quietly."

He gestured Blunt and several other Death Eaters forward to take hold of Harry and his friends.

"No."

Harry said it in such a deliberately calm voice, that the Death Eaters stopped in mid-stride.

Voldemort turned toward him with his eyes narrowed dangerously, "That was not a request. You are not in a position to refuse."

Barely suppressing the fury that was rapidly building inside him, Harry countered, "I think I am. I am not afraid to die; but the thought of death terrifies you, doesn't it? You have obsessed over obtaining immortality your entire damned life and you are desperate to force me to help you to finally get it. But the way I see it, you will murder the people I care about whether I cooperate with you or not. You will never allow anyone who has helped me to live. So I'm telling you to free them now so that I know they are safe and call off your Death Eaters out there; otherwise you guarantee that your scheming has been for nothing because I swear I will fight you to my last breath if you don't let them go!"

Harry heard Ginny's adamant whisper, "Harry, what are you doing? I'm not going anywhere without you!"

And Ron's voice from behind him, "We've told you we are not leaving you to face him alone no matter what he does!"

Harry ignored them and he kept his focus on Voldemort who was watching him closely. He looked straight into the dark wizard's hated red eyes and he allowed his mind to open. He wanted to ensure Voldemort understood just how much he meant what he had said.

The red fury that burned in Voldemort's eyes would have withered any other standing before him, but Harry remained defiant.

"It seems I underestimated you," Voldemort said at last. "You truly are willing to sacrifice yourself and your friends to deny me what I need from you. Very well."

He said to Blunt, "Bring Potter and his friends back into the mansion. I recall I promised him that he would beg for death. However," he turned back to Harry, "my purposes may be well served if I allow at least one of your friends to live. After they have witnessed your fate, one of them can corroborate the stories of your failure and demise."

The Death Eaters moved forward, but Ron stepped in front of Harry with his wand raised. "You aren't taking him anywhere without a fight."

Harry exclaimed, "Ron! What are you doing?"

Hermione moved in front of Harry as well. Her wand and voice shook slightly when she said, "W-we promised we'd help you no matter what happened."

Desperate to talk sense into them Harry said, "At least you might have a chance! Go!"

Ginny stepped up beside him and said, "We won't leave you."

"Enough!" Voldemort raised his wand toward Harry's small group, "I believe it is time for a lesson in the consequences of such foolishness and loyalty! Crucio!"

Ginny, Ron and Hermione's screams filled the courtyard and Harry watched helplessly as they fell to the ground in agony. The Death Eaters standing beside Voldemort laughed and cheered, but Harry did not hear them. The horror of his friends' suffering was all that filled his mind and ears while Voldemort watched them with a pitiless, sadistic smile on his snake-like face.

Guilt, fear and a blinding fury threatened to burst from within Harry all at once; he was the reason this was happening to his friends. He had allowed them to be placed in the danger they were in and it was nearly more than he could bear.

Without even thinking, he threw his hand out toward Voldemort and bellowed, "NO MORE!"

The wandless disarming spell took Voldemort completely off guard and his wand flew out of his long, skeletal fingers, releasing Ginny, Ron and Hermione from the tortuous curse. Fueled by his rage, the force of Harry's spell threw Voldemort backward into the Death Eaters standing behind him.

The Death Eaters were no longer laughing. Instead, many started backing away nervously in stunned disbelief after witnessing what Harry had done to their master.

One Death Eater retrieved Voldemort's wand and nervously held it out to his master who snatched it furiously it from his hand.

Rolling shakily to his knees, Ron grabbed the wand he had dropped when the torturous curse hit him and aimed it at Voldemort but the dark wizard had seen him.

Voldemort shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

"RON!" Harry screamed as the green light from Voldemort's wand shot directly toward his best friend.

Ginny had already retrieved the wand that Hermione had dropped and she shouted "Accio Statue!" from her position on the ground.

One of the marble statues shot forward just in time to take the full impact of the killing curse. Harry was forced to turn away while Ginny, Ron and Hermione remained on the ground, covering their heads with their arms to protect themselves from the large of chunks of marble that rained down over everyone.

Ron quickly scrambled to his feet, pulling Hermione up as he went and Ginny shakily stood up, grabbing onto Harry's arm to steady herself. Ron and Ginny were still clutching wands in their hands but before they could attempt a defense, several Death Eaters shot out disarming curses and the wands flew out of their hands.

Voldemort spat at Harry, "You may have learned a few tricks but you are still no match for me or the ancient dark magic!"

Voldemort utter words in a strange ancient language and a blood red light shot toward Harry. He tried to jump out of the way, pushing Ginny away from him as he went, but he was not able to move fast enough. Voldemort had anticipated his reaction and the curse slammed into Harry's shoulder, causing him to stumble backward.

Hermione and Ginny screamed Harry's name and they reached out to try to help him as the light pulsed from the tip of Voldemort's wand into Harry's body. His legs suddenly would no longer support his weight and Harry dropped to his knees while Ron desperately tried unsuccessfully to pull him away from the curse.

Waves of pain shot through Harry's chest; he was sure someone had just reached inside of him to squeeze his heart in a vice-like grip and try to rip it out of his body.

Voldemort said in a cold, triumphant voice, "Without your cooperation, I cannot use you as I had planned for so long. You say you do not fear death and so, I will not kill you immediately; but I can still wield the tablet's ancient spells to destroy you… I can shred your soul. The result is said to be even worse than a Dementor's kiss."

The relentless pain and constriction in his chest intensified and Harry felt his strength drain out of him. This was how it was all finally going to end and the prophecy would be fulfilled. Voldemort would be the victor and he would be worse than dead.

As if from a distance, he heard Voldemort hiss coldly, madly…triumphantly, "Say goodbye to your soul, Potter."

"NO!" Harry yelled, desperately trying to focus what little power he had left.

Suddenly, he felt bolts of energy run up his arms and across his back. A familiar force of energy was beginning to flow into him, feeling as good as he remembered. It filled him with warmth and strength and the hope that he could fight back against the threat that attacked him.

It happened so suddenly that when Ginny, Ron and Hermione felt the familiar connection with Harry begin, they all gasped in surprise. A feeling of dawning and hope washed over Hermione and she urged, "Harry! That's it! Take what you need from us! Ginny! Ron! Concentrate! Push it towards him!"

As their energy flowed into him, Harry felt and sensed something different. There was no need for him to pull their energy into himself, for this time it was being offered to him freely.

Voldemort continued to force the ancient curse upon him but Harry was able to use the strength from the energy flowing within him to shove the curse away. The pain in his chest lessened until it disappeared completely and he propelled the curser back at its creator.

In his surprise, Voldemort was just barely quick enough to erect a shimmering shield as his curse rebounded back at him. The curse struck the Dark Wizard's shield with a deafening noise and the impact splintered the bolt of light into several smaller red beams of light. Two of the beams soared over the heads of Harry and his friends and into the shrubs behind them. However, the others struck three Death Eaters nearest to Voldemort, including Jacob Blunt. The ill-fated men screamed and clutched at their chests before they fell to the ground where they remained still.

The unexpected display of power Harry exhibited was too much for the remaining Death Eaters who were used to preying upon the defenseless and those weaker than themselves. A few backed away, keeping their eyes fearfully upon Harry, but they soon joined their comrades and took off at a run to what they hoped would be the safety of the mansion.

"Stay where you are!" Voldemort commanded but their panic and cowardice, along with the fresh memory of the fate of their colleagues, drove them on.

Normally insubordination of such magnitude would have been a death sentence at the hands of their master, but Voldemort kept his attention fixed on Harry, a mixture of alarm and astonishment beginning to show on his face,

Afraid to do anything that might break the connection they had forged with him, Harry's friends refused to relinquish their physical contact with him. Ginny gripped his left hand while Ron had a firm hold on his shoulder. Hermione stood on his right with her hand holding onto his upper arm.

The three stood quietly giving the outward appearance of calm, however, they were concentrating on feeding their magical energy to Harry. They were prepared to offer up to him whatever he needed.

Nagini sensed her master's irritation and she continued to slither back and forth agitatedly behind him.

Voldemort's fiery red eyes blazed into Harry's emerald green and he said, "How—?"

Harry replied in a calm, chilling voice, "Because you came to kill me that night only knowing part of the prophecy. All you knew was that a boy had been born on the last day of July who had the power to vanquish you. As you know, there was more… it was the most important part…"

Voldemort's wand was trained on the center of Harry's chest but the dark wizard stood transfixed as Harry spoke. He had failed to learn the remaining information contained within the prophecy years ago and he could not hide his anticipation when he was on the threshold of finally learning its contents now.

Harry quoted, "'And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal…'"

Hermione maintained her hold on his arm as Harry raised his right hand to his forehead. He pushed his hair away from his scar and said, "You set the prophecy in motion that night. You not only selected the one who would be a threat to you but you created him. You created me."

Harry's hand dropped back down to his side while Voldemort had not moved. He was listening carefully to Harry's words.

"Snape was right. There is so much you don't know… 'he will have a power that the Dark Lord knows not'—"

"No!" Voldemort countered furiously. "I have amassed more knowledge of magic and the means to obtain more power than you or any other can dream of, boy! You are greatly mistaken if you believe you have any form of power that can defeat me!"

When Harry replied, a tone of pity in his voice, "I'd never expect you to understand because it refers to the power that saved me as a baby and the power that enables us to stand against you tonight. It's something that you can never understand and that is why you are completely alone. You have no one willing to stand by you and to help you at all costs. But I do."

Voldemort spat impatiently, "You are pathetically like Dumbledore to maintain the foolish belief that love is more powerful than magic! …more powerful than my kind of magic!"

Harry replied calmly, "It's the power that gives me the means to destroy you. '…either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives.' "

Voldemort had heard enough and he shouted, "Then let us pit your ridiculous power of love against the powers of Lord Voldemort! It will be you who dies by my hand tonight!"

With lightening speed, Voldemort attacked. It could have been Voldemort's fear that there was truth in Harry's explanation of the prophecy or that he was not willing to take the chance that Harry might again be able to deflect the deadly curse as he had as a baby; and so it was the red curse and not the killing curse that flew at Harry again.

The four of them shouted "Protego!" but the charm was not effective against the ancient dark curse and it slammed into Harry once again. The force of the curse knocked them backward into the hedge but Ginny, Ron and Hermione fought to maintain their hold on Harry.

Harry gasped from the pain that once again centered in his chest as the red curse pulsed relentlessly into him. With eyes closed, the others concentrated harder than they had in their lives to push their magical energy into him. They were already starting to feel drained from the effects of the energy transfer, but they continued provide Harry everything they had.

Harry felt the curse relax its hold on him and, although he still was not sure how he was able to do it, he began to force the curse out of him.

Voldemort must have sensed Harry's success because Harry heard him hiss, "Nagini! Kill them! Kill all but Harry Potter!"

His command broke Harry's concentration and the curse slipped backward into his chest again.

Gasping through the pain, Harry called out, "Move! He's told the snake to attack! You have to let go!"

Ginny, Ron and Hermione opened their eyes and they immediately saw the large snake coming at them with fangs bared, but they still refused to release their hold on Harry. If anything, they gripped him all he tighter.

As a group, they stepped backward and Ron's foot came down on one of the wands they had lost when the Death Eaters disarmed them.

Maintaining his contact with Harry's back, he reached down to grab the wand. In one fluid motion borne out of desperation, he brought it up and screamed, "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

The curse hit its mark seconds before the snake struck Hermione, severing it in two just behind the silver collar.

Voldemort howled in anger but he was still not able to push the curse any more successfully at Harry.

The snake's head rolled to a stop at Hermione's feet and Harry yelled to Ron, "The jewel! In the collar! It's the Horcrux!"

"NO!" Voldemort screamed but Ron did not hesitate and he aimed at the green jewel.

"REDUCTO!"

All at once, they heard another howl of pure rage and there was a flash of blinding light as the last Horcrux gave up its hold on the piece of soul it contained.

Harry felt a blinding pain sear in his scar and Voldemort's curse began to take hold of him again.

Voldemort screamed, "NOW YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS WILL DIE, POTTER!"

Harry shouted back, "But now you're mortal, too!"

Ginny was clutching his hand and arm with both hands and he knew Ron and Hermione were refusing to let go of him; he could tell they quickly weakening from the continual feeding of their magical energy into him.

With everything he had, Harry willed whatever it was inside him to latch onto the connection between himself and Ginny, Ron and Hermione. He pulled their energy into himself and like a slingshot, he let it go, sending the curse straight toward Voldemort.

Harry was just barely conscious of the severing of the magical connection between him and his friends when a pain unlike any he had felt before exploded within his scar. He screamed and clutched his head with both hands as the pain shot through his head and mind. Then it was gone as quickly as it came, leaving only numbness in its wake. Cold darkness overcame him and Harry was never aware of his body hitting the ground.

There were voices yelling, calling, shouting… and it was very cold.

Something or someone was shaking him roughly and there was a horrible aching in his head. He just wanted to sink back into the blissful oblivion so he could leave the pain behind.

Instead, the pain in his head was getting worse and the voices were becoming clearer.

"Come on, Harry! You have to come out of it!"

The painful jostling continued and he heard himself moan.

There was relief in the voice that said, "That's it, Harry. Thank God!"

Harry reluctantly opened his eyes a crack to see Remus Lupin's worried and bloody face staring anxiously down at him.

Alastor Moody was next to him and when Harry attempted to sit up, Moody said, "Take it easy, boy. Not too fast or you'll black out again."

He croaked, "W-what happened…?"

For a moment, he had no idea where he was or why he was lying on the ground feeling as if he would never be warm again.

Then everything came back to him like a horrifying nightmare.

"Voldemort! He's here! We have to—"

Lupin replied, "He's gone. Don't worry about—"

Harry's eyes widened in fear. If Voldemort had gotten away, what might he have done to Ginny, Ron and Hermione before he fled?

"Where are they? What happened to them?" He tried to sit up again and called, "Ginny! Ron! Hermione!"

"Take it easy, Harry," Lupin urged and gently pushed on his shoulder to get him to lie back down. "They're alive."

"Where are they?" Harry demanded again. As if in answer, he heard a moan somewhere to his left, behind Remus.

He immediately sat up and looked over to see both Hermione and Ron on the ground not far away from him. Both were getting assistance to sit up by Tonks and Charlie Weasley but he saw no sign of Ginny.

He grabbed Remus anxiously by the wrist and asked more urgently, "Where's Ginny?"

Lupin said reassuringly,"Healer Endlemire is with her now just over there."

Ignoring Remus's attempt to get him to lie back down, Harry rolled to a sitting position and looked around worriedly to see Ginny laying the ground not more than twenty feet away. The Healer was bending over her while a very concerned and blood-streaked Bill Weasley looked on.

Ignoring Remus and Moody's directive to remain where he was, Harry shakily stood up and started to walk towards Ginny; but the sudden movement caused a dizzy feeling to wash over him and his vision started to darken again. He swayed and began to lose his balance, but strong hands caught him before he fell back down on the ground.

Remus said resignedly, "Come, on, then. Let me help you."

"Is she going to be okay?" Harry asked, fearing what the answer might be as Remus eased him to the ground beside Ginny. Her face was too pale and when he took her hand into his, it felt too cold.

Healer Endlemire was moving his wand over her and he looked up quickly at Harry, "Once we can stabilize her energy levels, she should recover completely. However, Mr. Potter, you need to lie back down until I have the chance to see about you again."

Harry did not move and he kept his worried gaze on Ginny.

"She's not as bad off as you were last year," Bill said seemingly as much to comfort Harry as himself, "so I'm sure she's going to be fine."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"What happened?" Moody asked gruffly. "By the looks of things you took out Voldemort along with a few other Death Eaters while you were at it."

Harry searched Moody's eyes, both the normal one and the magical one, hoping he had heard correctly.

"Voldemort's dead?" Harry asked in shock and surprise. "You mean we…? You're sure?"

"We're sure," Moody replied with a great amount of satisfaction. "Saw the body myself."

Bill looked closely at Harry and said, "We all saw what happened. We don't know exactly how you did it, but I'd say the legend of Harry Potter will grow even bigger after this."

Again, Harry was surprised and he asked, "You saw what happened? But he had wards protecting this place. We called to you before the Death Eaters attacked you, but you couldn't hear us or see the mansion."

Lupin replied, "A few hours after they took you from the cemetery, we assembled the Order at headquarters. We were desperately hoping to figure out some way to find out where they had taken you. As you can imagine, we weren't having much luck. Then I received an anonymous package via floo—"

"Caused quite an uproar, that!" Moody interrupted. "No one but Order members should be able to send anything to Headquarters since it's an unplottable location."

Bill continued the story, "The package contained information and counter-spells on ways to bypass both known and unknown protective wards. While there were not any spells that could tell us how to find exactly where you or Voldemort was, it outlined the means to narrow-down our search."

Moody added, "'Course, we assumed it could be a trap—"

"Snape," Harry said quietly.

Lupin questioned, "What? What about him?"

Moody said sounding extremely proud, "You managed to do him in too, we see."

"No," Harry shook his head regretfully. "Voldemort killed him. Snape's the one who sent you the package. He's been on our side the whole time… he tried to help us escape and Voldemort found out."

Bill said incredulously, "But he murdered Dumbledore."

Harry looked away from him. He was feeling too tired to go into the long explanation, plus he hated the feeling of guilt that now hit him when he thought about Snape sacrificing himself to help them.

Sensing Harry's reluctance to talk more in-depth on the subject, Lupin cut in, "The information in the package was the only lead we had so there was no choice but to follow it. It led us to the forest out there but we thought it could be either a trap or a diversion. Especially when the Death Eaters attacked."

"We were prepared for such a situation, though," Moody said. "The moment they attacked, we summoned the rest of the Order as well as trusted Aurors."

Remus said, "It was pretty tough going at first and we were taking quite a few casualties…" A sad look came into his eyes and he added, "We lost Kingsley, along with several others…"

Harry quickly looked around and it hit him that two other people were conspicuously missing, "Fred and George! They didn't…?"

Bill shook his head, "Thankfully, they survived. George was badly hurt. Fred went with him to Saint Mungos once we realized it was over, but I've already gotten word that he will make a full recovery."

Relieved to hear the twins were going to be okay, Harry listened as Remus continued, "Like I said it wasn't going well for our side. There were too many Death Eaters. But then the mansion suddenly appeared out of nowhere and we could clearly see the four of you standing against Voldemort."

Moody said, "Apparently his duel with you took so much from him that he could no longer maintain the wards he had placed around the grounds."

"Some of the fighting stopped on both sides when people realized you were locked in a fight with Voldemort himself," Remus said.

"But once you hit him with the curse, and wandlessly, I should add," Bill said, looking clearly impressed, "the Death Eaters gave up and ran. They knew with Voldemort gone, there was no chance for them."

While Harry listened to their description of what had happened, his eyes remained fixed on Ginny. No matter what Bill and Healer Endlemire said, he was growing very concerned that she had not yet awakened.

He only looked away from her when Charlie and Tonks assisted Ron and Hermione over to sit next to him.

"Do you mind telling us how you were able to do it?" Moody asked. "And especially without a wand. Whatever you hit him with lifted him a fair ways off the ground and then knocked him into one of the statues that was over thirty feet away."

Before Harry could answer, Hermione said quietly, "It was the magic from the amulet that we used to wake Harry before."

Bill said, "Fred and George once mentioned something to me about an amulet you had borrowed from the Pavenics."

"What happened today was just like the story of Mandora and Lenkai." Hermione said more to Harry and Ron than to the others. "Their legend says they defeated the powerful Dark Wizard that was threatening their world; and we've known since our last trip to Romania that some kind of connection has remained between the four of us. Obviously, the connection was so much stronger this time because we wanted to give Harry everything that we could to help him. That enabled him to use our combined magical power in whatever way he needed to fight Voldemort."

She paused and placed her hand on Harry's arm.

When he looked at her, she continued quietly, "The interpretation of the prophecy was right. Love saved us and enabled you to destroy Voldemort. The amulet would not have worked without it and I'm sure the connection would not have happened if we all had not been willing to sacrifice everything to help you. Voldemort and his kind could never understand that form of power."

Harry looked down at Ginny and whispered, "'I'd bet on loyalty based on love over loyalty based on fear any day of the week.'"

Ron frowned and asked, "What?"

A very slight smile crossed Harry's face and he replied, "Nothing. Just something someone very wise once said to me."

Before Harry could explain further, his heart skipped a beat when he felt Ginny's hand move and he heard her moan slightly.

"Gin?" He asked anxiously.

"Harry?" She whispered. Her eyes opened and she tried to focus on him.

A feeling of relief nearly overwhelmed him when he heard his name coming from her lips. He closed his eyes to give a silent prayer of thanks as he brought her hand up and gently placed a soft, loving kiss upon it.

Harry then stroked her cheek gently and said, "Hey, love. Welcome back."

Ron asked worriedly, "How you feeling, sis?"

Ginny put a hand to her head and said, "Like I just fell off my broom in after being hit by several bludgers."

They all laughed in relief but Ginny looked at Harry fearfully, "Voldemort…?"

Harry smiled reassuringly and said, "We don't have to worry about him anymore."

Ginny looked into his eyes with a mixture of relief and astonishment, "You did it! You destroyed him!"

Harry shook his head and corrected, "No, we destroyed him. If it wasn't for the three of you, I never could have done it."

Harry grinned at her and continued, "I guess I really was quite a… what did you call me? A thickheaded, stubborn, idiotic prat to ever think I could do it alone."

Love shining in her eyes, she smiled back at him, "Well, it certainly took you long enough, Potter."

- End -

A/N- So finally- the last chapter. Hopefully most of you enjoyed reading my version of book 7 and my ending to the Harry Potter series. Originally, I planned to write an epilogue, but I never got around to it because the creative part of my mind started begging me to write "Let No One Put Asunder." I'm still playing with the idea of adding an epilogue and there are so many ways I could write it… one version in particular is fairly well formed in my mind, but we'll see.

Thank you so much to everyone who has read this story and stuck with it to the end- even so long after DH has been out – and as always, thanks go out especially to those of you who have taken the time to leave a review- those are appreciated more than you know. - Deedee