The moment the killing curse erupted from Voldemort’s lips Harry moved for cover behind the fountain. Intense green light filled the Atrium for a moment and then it was gone.

“He wasn’t hit. He wasn’t hit, he wasn’t hit,” Lily chanted in whispers afraid that if she said it out loud it would turn out to be false. Seeming to want to give reassurance as well as get some James nodded.

“No he wasn’t.”

 Knowing that he would need to act quickly, Harry jumped to his feet and fired a Disarming Spell followed by a Confundus Charm and a Stunning Spell at Voldemort who easily deflected the three spells. He knew he couldn’t compete with Voldemort when it came to knowledge of spells but he did have a rather extensive knowledge of Muggle fighting that Voldemort most likely wouldn’t approve of. I’ll need to use every advantage I can get.

“Yes! That’s my boy! Voldemort would never try Muggle fighting. He’d think it beneath him!” Sirius encouraged Harry.

Voldemort instantly started to attack the fountain with a large variety of different colored spells to remove Harry’s hiding place. When the fountain started to break apart Harry had to dive out of the way to avoid being hit by large pieces of the golden fixture. Rolling on the ground, Harry turned his body to face Voldemort and quickly shouted: “IMPEDIMENTA, INCENDIO, LOCOMOTOR MORTIS!”

The spells never hit their target. Voldemort vanished forcing Harry to move quickly. Hurrying to his feet, Harry turned just in time for Voldemort to appear. His reflexes took over. Harry jumped up and kicked Voldemort in the chest, taking the Dark Lord by surprise. Continuing his attack, Harry took a step forward and flipped backwards in a laid out position, his feet catching Voldemort in the chin. Harry landed firmly on his feet and instantly sent Jelly-Legs Jinx Voldemort’s way.

“That’s very bold Harry,” Remus nodded tightly biting his lips. “Now, WHERE THE HELL IS DUMBLEDORE?”

Voldemort blocked the Jinx easily and vanished once again. Harry remained alert as he made a quarter-turn, ready to face Voldemort from whatever direction he appeared. However, Voldemort appeared across the room, out of distance for any physical fight. The Dark Lord looked absolutely livid as he wordlessly summoned a piece of the broken fountain. “If you want a filthy muggle fight, you shall have one,” Voldemort spat as the fountain piece changed shape into an elegant silver sword.

“Like you would know how to,” Sirius scoffed.

Lily looked uncertain and scolded Sirius, “Don’t underestimate him.”

 “Prepare to die.”

“No,” James choked a sob.

Harry instantly muttered the incantation as he transfigured Crouch’s wand into a sword similar to Voldemort’s. He then switched hands so that the sword was in his right and his wand was in his left. He had practiced sword fighting with Sirius and accepted that he was right-hand dominant. Harry also trusted his own wand and knew that since he already had bonded with it, the holly wood with a phoenix core would most likely obey better than a foreign wand like Crouch’s.

Voldemort and Harry each took cautious steps forward, neither wanting to be foolish and rush the other. Harry was aware that Voldemort had the advantage since he could Apparate silently and kept himself prepared for anything. All of his senses were on alert. He could feel the mist of the fountain against his face. He could hear Voldemort’s angry breathing. He could almost sense Voldemort’s anger and…eagerness? It wasn’t an eagerness to destroy but an eagerness to learn. Harry quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. That was ridiculous.

After a long silence, Voldemort made the first move. “Crucio!” he shouted.

“HEY! You said Muggle fighting!” James bellowed.

“You really expected him to fight fairly James?” Remus asked without taking his eyes off the book.

Harry easily avoided the curse and fired a Severing Charm at Voldemort’s sword. Once again Voldemort vanished only to appear a moment later to Harry’s left already in mid-swing. Harry quickly brought his sword around to meet Voldemort’s strike, the force of the blow causing Harry lower his right shoulder reflexively. Without a thought Harry pointed his wand at Voldemort and shouted, “Expelliarmus!”

Voldemort’s wand went flying as Harry turned out of the close contact with both weapons ready. The yew wand with a phoenix core landed on the floor as Voldemort gripped his sword with both hands before attacking. Voldemort moved to strike Harry’s chest but Harry was already moving. He blocked the blow as he turned his body away to avoid the sharp object. Forcing Voldemort’s sword towards the floor, Harry quickly jabbed his elbow into Voldemort’s chin. It was a cheap blow but as Sirius had said: there was a difference between fighting dirty and fighting to win.

“Yes, there is!” Sirius nodded. “And it’s not like Voldemort would pass the opportunity.”

Harry finally understood what Sirius was talking about. There was no such thing as fighting dirty when your life was on the line.

The furious Dark Lord pulled his sword free and took a step back before silently summoning his wand. Harry quickly sent another Disarming Spell but this one was easily blocked. This time Voldemort made a quick strike at Harry’s head forcing Harry to duck out of the way and send a Reductor Curse at his opponent. That was also blocked as Voldemort struck in a downward movement, ready to slice Harry in two.

Lily’s nails were digging so hard on James arms that blood was starting to come out but James seemed to be oblivious to the pain.

Caught be surprise, Harry didn’t have time to think. All he knew was that one moment Voldemort’s sword was coming at him and the next he was across the room. Harry quickly stood and noticed that Voldemort was staring at him in surprise.

“Wow, he Apparated,” Sirius said in awe.

That wasn’t nearly have as surprised as Harry was at the moment. He had just Apparated! Fight now, think about later. Taking advantage of the distraction, Harry quickly sent a Stunning Spell, a Stinging Hex and a full body bind at Voldemort who quickly snapped out of his stunned state and vanished only to appear a moment later in front of Harry.

“Impressive, Harry,” Voldemort said as he moved to strike at Harry’s right side which Harry blocked. “You clearly have just begun to tap into your potential.” With his sword still clashing with Voldemort’s, Harry threw all of his strength into the action of pushing Voldemort backwards. It worked. Voldemort staggered back a few steps allowing Harry to quickly move and put a comfortable distance between them. “I underestimated you, again.”

“Excuse me? Is he trying to strike a conversation?” Remus asked disbelievingly.

Voldemort sent a Cruciatus Curse at Harry forcing the teenager to jump out of the way. “Now I see why Dumbledore fears you.”

 “Impedimenta!” Harry shouted and saw Voldemort easily block the spell before wordlessly sending a purple colored spell at Harry who deflected the spell with his sword. “Dumbledore doesn’t fear me! There’s nothing to fear! You’re just trying to mess with my head! I won’t fall for it!”

“Yeah, he won’t, stupid snake face!” James cried. The other gaped at him. “I’m nervous, I can’t think of a better insult!”

Voldemort lowered his sword slightly but kept his wand pointed at Harry. “Then why is he still suppressing your magic?” he asked simply as he took a step towards Harry who in turn took a step backwards. “I know you wear another necklace, Harry.” A beam of light shot out of Voldemort’s wand which Harry dodged. “I also know it has a tracking charm on it. The old fool doesn’t trust you. Why do you think that is?”

“That’s for Harry’s safety you moron! Stop trying to get Harry to distrust Dumbledore!” Sirius bellowed.

Harry sent a Bat-Bogey Hex at Voldemort but it was blocked easily. “Maybe because there’s an insane serial killer trying to kill me,” he said sarcastically and shifted to the right to avoid a quickly approaching red colored spell. He hadn’t known about the tracking charm but it made sense, especially considering how fast the Order arrived tonight.

“Your naiveté is amazing,” Voldemort said dryly

“Your psychotic behavior too,” Remus grunted.

as he fired a white spell at Harry who quickly transfigured his sword into a mirror and sent the spell back the way it came. With a wave of the wand, Voldemort banished the spell as Harry changed his mirror back into a sword. “I was like you once…so confident that my elders knew what was best.” He fired another red colored spell which Harry blocked. “Then I woke up. I realized that it was all an illusion.”

“Does he realize that he is Harry’s elder and by his definition what he is saying is a load of bull?” Lily asked.

Harry cast a Disarming Spell but Voldemort quickly averted it. “They wanted to control me just like they are controlling you. They tried to stop me from the power that was granted to me through my blood. Crucio!”

Harry dived for cover once again behind the fountain. He couldn’t believe that Voldemort was rationalizing his actions. There was no justification for killing innocent people. Hurrying to his feet, Harry cautiously moved around the half destroyed fountain so that it was between him and Voldemort. It was a good thing too because that was the only thing separating them. Voldemort had taken advantage of the distraction to close what distance there had been between them beforehand.

“We are the same, Harry,” Voldemort continued as started to walk around the fountain with Harry echoing his steps in the opposite direction. “We’re both too powerful for them. They will always fear us. They will turn against you just like they turned against me. I can protect you from that.”

“First of all,” Sirius hissed through gritted teeth. “Never say you and Harry are the same because he is your OPPOSITE! Secondly, I’d never turn on him nor would Moony!”

This is getting ridiculous. Why was Voldemort so confident that a few words would change Harry’s mind? I’m nothing like Voldemort and I never will be. “Are you deaf as well as cracked?” asked Harry. “I won’t join you, Tom!”

“Oh, good one Harry!” Remus cheered.

Voldemort stopped walking around the fountain with Harry following suit. From the narrowed gaze and the heavy breathing, Harry figured that probably hadn’t been the smartest thing to say. “No one says no to me!” Voldemort shouted angrily as he raised his wand.

“Uh, I think he just did,” James pointed out.

Did the Dark Lord just have a temper tantrum?

“Yep,” Lily nodded.

That’s certainly something you don’t see everyday. “I believe I just did…repeatedly,” Harry said dryly.

“That’s a pity,” Voldemort spat then pointed his wand directly at Harry’s forehead. “AVADA KEDRVRA!”

Green light once again filled the Atrium as Harry dove out of the path of the killing curse.

“That’s the second close call Harry had,” Remus said thumping his chest as if to make his heart continue beating. “I can’t take another one.”

He landed on the floor hard and slid into the wall, his left shoulder making contact first. Pain shot through his shoulder and his back as Harry forced himself to stand and turn only to quickly bring his sword up and block Voldemort’s angry blow. Harry quickly moved to the right to avoid a strike at his left side before blocking a quick strike at his midsection. Voldemort’s attacks were too quick for Harry to do anything but react. He didn’t have the time to think of a spell to cast with his wand but he refused to drop it to hold his sword with two hands.

Voldemort continued on his vigorous attack. He struck low, forcing Harry to jump backwards before striking high which Harry blocked. The strikes quickened as Harry desperately fought to hold his own. Voldemort was pushing him backwards and Harry’s exhaustion from this battle and the one in the Department of Mysteries was beginning to show. Sweat was falling off his brow and stinging his eyes but Harry refused to give in. He continued to block every blow Voldemort made.

The clashing of swords echoed repeatedly through the Atrium. Voldemort’s anger clashed with Harry’s desperation. Harry continuously dodged the strikes he couldn’t block in an attempt to keep himself from being pushed to the wall. Voldemort soon lost whatever patience he had left and shot a purple colored spell at Harry that hit him in the left arm, cutting through his personal shield, clothes and into his arm.

“NOOOOOOO!”

Harry let out a cry of pain as he dropped his wand and staggered backwards. Glancing down at his arm, Harry could see blood already soaking through his robes. He quickly returned his attention to Voldemort just in time to dive out of the way and avoid being hit by an orange colored spell. Dropping his sword, Harry silently called for his wand and was relieved when his fingers wrapped around it. His left arm was useless. Any sort of movement was extremely painful and from the looks of it Voldemort had decided to rely on magic once again. Pointing his wand at Voldemort, Harry gathered as much strength as he could and sent a Reductor Curse.

The spell shot through the air at a startling speed, striking Voldemort in the chest before the Dark Lord had time to react. Voldemort stumbled slightly and grabbed his chest, giving Harry time to rise to his feet.

“Excuse me, a Reductor Curse should have killed him not made him stumble,” James said in a mixture of anger, disbelief and worry.

With his wand at the ready, Harry knew he couldn’t cast many more spells like that. He was beyond exhausted and his entire body was aching. Inhaling deeply, Harry concentrated on whatever strength, magic and sheer force of will he had left as he shouted: “Protego Maximus” a moment before Voldemort sent a white colored spell at Harry.

Voldemort’s spell hit Harry’s shield and seemed to stop for a moment before it started to push against the shield. Harry forced himself to hold the shield in place as his entire right arm started to shake from the strain. Slowly, Harry felt his body being pushed backwards as his feet slid against the floor. He felt the shield breaking a split second before it actually did. The forceful wave of Voldemort’s spell hit him hard and sent him flying backwards into the wall. His back screamed in pain as he fell to the floor, dropping his wand in the process.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Lily mumbled shaking her head in a trance.

Laying on his right side, Harry couldn’t bring himself to think let alone move. The pain was too excruciating. He could only watch as Voldemort approached with a cruel smile on his face knowing that this was it. He had failed. Harry could only hope that Sirius and Remus were safe and that they would forgive him someday.

“There’s nothing to forgive Harry,” Sirius choked back a sob. “Don’t give up! Please!”

“So this is how you shall die,” Voldemort said as he pointed his wand at Harry. “Alone and defenseless. I’ll be certain to pass on the news to your precious guardians as well as your mentor.”

“He’s not alone, Tom,” a familiar voice said firmly causing Voldemort to quickly turn around. “Harry will never be alone. Their are too many who care about him for that to happen.”

“YES! HELP! FINALLY! WHERE THE HELL WHERE YOU?” James cried.

“Dumbledore!” Voldemort cried in rage as he wordlessly banished his sword and pointed his wand at the elder wizard before regaining his composure. “So you finally come to rescue your protégé? I must admit I was surprised that no one noticed he was missing until now. He fought well, Dumbledore, but in the end it wasn’t enough.” Without another word Voldemort raised his wand a shot a jet of green light at Dumbledore who turned and vanished only to reappear behind Voldemort.

Dumbledore flicked his wand, sending a forceful white spell at Voldemort. The Dark Lord quickly conjured a shining silver shield out of thin air and deflected it. A deep gong-like sound echoed throughout the room. “The Aurors are on their way, Tom,” Dumbledore said calmly. “You never should have come here tonight.”

“Now you’re done Voldy! Hah!” Sirius said confidently.

“By the time they arrive you will be dead and I shall be gone with Potter,” Voldemort spat as he sent another killing curse at Dumbledore but missed.

“Harry will never turn, Tom,” Dumbledore said firmly as he sent a greenish-white spell at Voldemort but it was blocked by the shield. “Your obsession with him will grant you nothing.” Dumbledore pulled back his wand and waved it as if it were a whip. A long and thin flame flew from the tip before wrapping itself around Voldemort, shield and all.

But the fire-like whip didn’t stay that way. A moment later the whip had transformed into a serpent and released its hold on Voldemort before turning to Dumbledore, hissing furiously. Voldemort vanished as the snake rose from the floor ready to strike. Dumbledore quickly banished the snake with a flick of his wand then turned around just as Voldemort reappeared right in front of what remained of the fountain.

Another jet of green light erupted from Voldemort’s wand but Dumbledore was all ready moving his own wand. Pieces of the half destroyed fountain rose quickly in the air and seemed to melt together into a shield in front of Dumbledore just as the killing curse struck, shattering the shield. The pieces fell to the ground with an echoing clang. That was the only sound heard for quite some time.

The two wizards stared at each other for a long moment before Voldemort stepped to the right and pointed his wand at Harry. “It is clear that we are at a stalemate, Dumbledore,” he said firmly. “However I do have the upper hand. You care for the boy, there’s no denying that and he cares for you. He would most likely die for you if you asked him. Quite a useful little tool you’ve made him.” Voldemort took another step towards Harry. “You’re not untouchable anymore. By killing the boy, I destroy you.”

“Hey! Don’t bring Harry back into the fight! Go back to Dumbledore!” Remus ordered.

Dumbledore glanced over at Harry who was having a hard time keeping his eyes open before returning his attention to Voldemort. The sound of hurried footsteps filled the Atrium alerting the three wizards that people were coming. “They have come for you, Tom,” Dumbledore said calmly.

“They will be too late,” Voldemort hissed and fired green light at Harry.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. For a second Harry saw green light and then a moment later he felt something grip his robes by his injured shoulder followed by a flash of warmth and red. Tiredly blinking away the color, Harry noticed that he was now on the floor behind Professor Dumbledore and the wall behind where he had been just a moment ago now had additional structural damage. There was a slight weight resting on Harry’s arm but Harry was too exhausted to acknowledge whether the weight caused him any additional pain or not.

“Breathe Moony, breathe,” Sirius instructed as James grabbed a paper bag for a hyperventilating Remus to breathe in.

Pushing the paper bag away from his face Remus gasped, “I said I couldn’t take another close call! I warned him! Why didn’t he heed my warning?”

“He was a tad busy Moony,” Sirius flinched. “Er, he’s okay now. See, he escaped.”

“Yeah, Lily, he escaped, please stop crying,” James said in a hoarse voice going back to rub Lily’s back.

Voldemort let out a frustrated cry before he vanished once again…and didn’t reappear. The Dark Lord had fled.

After a long silence, Professor Dumbledore turned around and knelt down so he could take a closer look at Harry. He noticed Harry’s injured arm as well as Harry’s sweat soaked clothes. The hurried footsteps grew louder as Dumbledore shifted his gaze to just above of Harry. “Thank you, my friend,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “Your timing is always impeccable.”

A familiar trill filled Harry’s ears. Fawkes had been the one to save him and was the weight he currently felt. Harry wanted to thank him but could only blink tiredly as people filled in the Atrium with their wands at the ready. “Dumbledore!” exclaimed Madam Bones. “Shacklebolt sent word that You-Know-Who was here. Is that Mr. Potter? What is he doing here?”

Dumbledore rested a hand on Harry’s head. “Voldemort was here, Amelia,” he said gravely, “and yes, this is Harry. I must admit that Harry had been taken from Hogwarts earlier this evening by some of Voldemort’s followers. From what I understand there are quite a few Death Eaters down in the Department of Mysteries bound by an Anti-Disapparation Jinx and currently being detained by a few of my people who came to Harry’s rescue.”

“You heard him,” Madam Bones said authoritatively. “Send two units to the Department of Mysteries and the rest of you fan out check all floors. If you find anyone who shouldn’t be there, arrest them. We’ll sort it out later.” The sound of hurried footsteps leaving echoed throughout the Atrium. “I can’t believe this. You-Know-Who here of all places. What in the world would possess You-Know-Who to come here?”

“His obviously Psychotic behavior,” James mumbled and then yelled, “NOW STOP CHATTING AND GET HARRY AND MOONY MEDICAL HELP!”

“I’m sure Remus is already with Madam Pomfrey,” Lily said quietly. “They will both be fine,” she nodded to reassure herself and Sirius looked worriedly at Remus. He pulled him close and hugged Remus’ head to his chest as he kept reading ignoring Remus’ pleas to be released.

“Amelia, I believe you know what is in the Department of Mysteries,” Dumbledore said in the same grave tone. “Voldemort was after a Prophecy that had been made concerning Harry and himself. I promise I will explain everything but first I need to take Harry back to Hogwarts for medical attention.”

“Of course, Dumbledore,” Madam Bones said quickly. “I understand. Do you need any help? A Portkey, perhaps?”

Dumbledore nodded as he carefully repositioned Harry and pulled him into his arms. “That would be most appreciated,” he said gratefully. Harry let out a moan as Dumbledore touched his injured arm sending a flare of pain through his shoulder and down his spine. “Just hang on Harry. Everything will be all right.”

Harry’s head rested against Dumbledore’s chest. For some reason he seriously doubted everything would be all right. “P—P’fessor,” he said weakly as he slowly looked up to see Dumbledore’s concerned gaze. “I—I’m sorry…I tried…I couldn’t…”

“I know, Harry,” Dumbledore said soothingly. “I know. I understand why you felt you had to face him.” He carefully placed an arm under Harry’s knees, muttered something Harry couldn’t make out and slowly stood with Harry firmly in his arms. “We can talk about it later. Right now you need to rest. I have no doubt you pushed yourself past your limit again.”

“Yes Mister. We are going to have one serious talk when you are all better!” Remus said firmly as he managed to extricate himself from Sirius’ hold.

Harry lowered his gaze and let out a sigh. That was probably the biggest understatement he had ever heard. Harry could slowly feel himself passing out when he suddenly realized that his wand was still in the Atrium somewhere. “Wand,” he muttered as his eyes closed and a moment later felt something land gently on his chest but was gone a second later.

“Fawkes has your wand, Harry,” Dumbledore said softly. “Rest.”

Harry vaguely heard Madam Bones picking up a piece of the broken fountain and saying “Portus” before she handed the piece over to Professor Dumbledore. “I trust you’ll contact me when you have a moment?” she asked.

“Of course, Ameila,” Dumbledore said as he repositioned himself so that he and Harry were touching the Portkey. “Until then.”

With the familiar sensation of a hook being jerked behind his navel, Harry kept his eyes closed as they disappeared from the Atrium only to reappear a moment later in the Hogwarts hospital wing. That was the last thing Harry knew before darkness consumed him.

“See, they are all getting medical aid and will be fine,” Lily said firmly.

“But Lily, Harry and Moony-“

“THEY WILL BE FINE JAMES!” she yelled angry and James nodded vigorously quite scared at her.