Spells whizzed over Harry's head as he battled his way through the castle's courtyard, but he could hardly care. The last Harry had seen of Hermione was her fighting Bellatrix in the Great Hall, but he knew exactly where he had left Ron. Ron was dead, cut down by a dozen curses fighting a horde of Death Eaters alongside Harry, Neville, and Luna in the Great Hall. The image of the redhead's bloodied, broken body lying motionless on the cold floor of the Great Hall seared itself in Harry's mind. He had to find Voldemort; he had to end this.
As Harry numbly stumbled into the courtyard, he had a full view of the carnage before him. Bodies, both Death Eater and student alike, lay sprawled on the paving stones. Jagged columns and rubble clogged the pathway, forcing Harry to scamper over them as he pressed forward.
With a thunderous crack, a castle tower crumpled under a barrage of Death Eater exploding curses. It fell in slow motion, debris scattering across the battlefield as the structure imploded inwards on itself as it collapsed. The tower hit the ground with an earth-shaking thump, a plume of dust rising from the wreckage, sparkling in the morning sunrise. With a quick Protego charm, the hail of falling bricks shattered harmlessly against Harry's shield.
Nearby, Harry could see Professor Flitwick fighting off a monstrous giant. As Harry watched, the giant swept its spear towards Flitwick, who in turn cast an exploding charm at the oncoming weapon. The spear splintered in the giant's hands, leaving it holding only a small fragment of the shaft.
Ropes shot out of Flitwick's wand and wrapped around the giant's legs. It stumbled and fell, face-planting into a fallen pillar. With a severing charm, Flitwick cut the creature's head clean off. His adversary dispatched and hearing the exchange of more spells inside the castle, Flitwick rushed towards the main courtyard gate.
That was the last Harry saw of him. He pressed further into the courtyard, continuing his hunt for Voldemort.
As he clambered over a particularly large piece of rubble, Harry was met with a Death Eater standing over a defeated student he didn't recognize.
"Stupify!" Harry cast at the Death Eater, sending the man flying into a stone column with a sickening crunch. He hurried to the student's side, only to find that their body was covered in a series of deep lacerations. Sadly, Harry reached out to close the student's lifeless eyes.
"Harry Potter!" Voldemort's voice boomed across the devastated courtyard from behind Harry.
He whirled around, casting a non-verbal Expelliarmus just in time to see a bolt of green light arcing towards him. Their spells met in a brilliant cascade of red and green, connecting the two combatants.
Harry expected some gratuitous boast, a taunt, or victorious monolog, but the sneering Voldemort stayed silent, his cold, snakelike eyes boring into Harry's as their magic cracked against each other.
Suddenly, Voldemort swept his wand to the side, breaking the linked spells, which violently lashed out towards a nearby wall, sending stone shards flying across the courtyard.
Magic swirled around Voldemort, consolidating into a glowing icy-blue orb, which he released with a yell. Magic rippled across the courtyard in a devastating shockwave, throwing up dirt, broken stones, and bodies. Harry staggered as his shield bore the brunt of the spell, only to be encircled by the dust thrown up by Voldemort's shockwave.
Voldemort twirled his wand with a flick, and the dust turned to chains, which wrapped around Harry, squeezing him and lifting him up a few feet into the air. "Relashio," Harry cried. The chains snapped under his spell, freeing him as they fell away. He dropped to the ground gasping for breath, only to hear Voldemort's next spell.
YOU ARE READING
Seventh Time's the Charm
FantasyA lost battle, a meeting with Death, and the last chance provide the opportunity to finally defeat Voldemort. And perhaps the possibility for something more...
