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Title: Harry Potter and The Seven Soldiers, chapters 14 & 15 of 17
Author: kanedax
Fandom: Harry Potterverse
Spoilers: Harry Potter 1-6; previous chapters (see above)
Rating: R for violence
Summary: The sixth Horcrux is discovered, and the final battle with Voldemort begins
Notes: I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling, or anyone within these pages. As usual, if anyone knows of a Harry Potter fanfic site that this story would fit within, please let me know.
Chapter 14
The Sixth Soul
Ron and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter ran down the hallway from which they had entered, towards the Room of Requirement.
“Out of all the rooms in the castle,” Harry said, “This is the one that cannot move. We’ll be able to find it relatively quickly.”
As they turned the corner, the nearly ran headlong into Bill Weasley. He was carrying the bloodstained Sword of Gryffindor, and his face was…
“The scars!” Ginny exclaimed. “They’re gone!”
Bill nodded. “Fenrir Greyback’s dead. When a werewolf dies, his curse dies with him. I’m not a werewolf anymore.”
“Where are the others?” Harry asked. “Tonks and Neville?”
Bill looked at the friends sadly. “They’re not coming.”
“No…” Hermione moaned.
“They fought Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch,” he continued. “And fought well. I found the sword in Bellatrix’s midsection, and Barty’s head about ten feet away from the rest of his body. But I guess the damage was too much for both of them.”
“Neville…” Ginny whispered, remembering the Yule Ball.
Ron looked sick to his stomach.
“We’ll have to deal with that later,” Harry said. “There are too many people dying outside because Voldemort’s still alive. I don’t know how much time we have before he gets impatient, but let’s get to the Room of Requirement and deal with Dobby.”
They made it to the room without any incident. As a group, they walked by the statue three times, then opened the door as it appeared.
Dobby the House Elf stood in the middle of the otherwise empty room.
“Harry Potter!” he squeaked.
“Be careful,” Harry said to the others, “He still might be under the Imperius Curse.”
“Incarcerous,” Bill said, throwing ropes from his wand around Dobby.
“What are you doing?” Dobby squealed, struggling against the ropes.
“Let me go,” as slithering voice said from Dobby’s mouth.
Dobby’s face froze in shock. “What did Dobby just say?”
“Damn,” Harry said, quickly turning to Hermione. “Get that book out and try to find a way to break the Horcrux. It’s not an Imperius curse, but it’s controlling him.”
“That means Voldemort knows we have him,” Hermione said nervously, as she whipped the bag off of her back, pulling out the Book. “He shares part of a soul with him, so he can see us.”
“Soul Displacement,” she started, pointing her wand at the empty book.
“Bill, you stay here and watch her back,” Harry ordered. “Ron, Ginny, we’re going back to the tower. If we can keep Voldemort occupied, it’ll keep his control away from Dobby long enough for Hermione to break the curse.”
“Alright, go already,” Hermione said impatiently, flipping furiously through the pages.
Ron kissed her before he left.
“Right, right, I know, go,” she muttered offhandedly, her mind entering full research mode. The three ran out of the room, leaving Bill and Hermione with a squirming house elf.
“What is Hermione Granger looking for?” Dobby asked.
“You don’t know what’s going on, do you, Dobby?” Hermione asked, trying to get any information she could.
“No, Miss. Dobby only knows that he was at the Weasleys, and then he was here. Dobby doesn’t know how he got from one place to another.”
Bill looked down at Hermione. “He doesn’t recognize that he’s possessed.”
“Well, I can look up some information on exorcisms,” Hermione thought aloud, closing the book and reopening it, “but I don’t know if that would work to dispossess a living soul.”
“Dobby is possessed?” he whimpered.
“Yes,” Bill replied. “Dobby is under the control of Voldemort.”
Dobby recoiled in horror. “Not You-Know-Who!”
“We’re trying to figure out a way to get part of his soul out of you. If we can’t do that, then we can’t destroy him.”
Dobby nodded vigorously. “Yes, please find out, Hermione Granger! Dobby doesn’t like having You-Know-Who in him!”
Minutes ticked by. The room was silent, all noise from the battle outside muffled by the room’s displacement in space.
“Argh!” Hermione cried in frustration, slamming the book and reopening it again. “I can’t find anything in the Hogwarts library!”
“Nothing at all?” Bill asked.
“Well, nothing that won’t kill him in the process,” Hermione said, looking at Dobby, “and we’re not going to let that happen.”
“That’s right,” the voice returned, “You’re never going to kill me!”
Dobby jerked and looked around the room. “What was that?”
“Is there anything I can do to make this go faster, Hermione?”
“No,” Hermione sighed. “It’s just me and a book, sorry.”
After another minute of silence, Dobby quietly spoke up.
“Miss Granger?” he asked.
“What is it, Dobby?” Hermione asked, her eyes never leaving the book.
“So, if Dobby dies, then the soul will be destroyed?”
“Yes,” Hermione said, “but we’re trying to find another way…”
“And if that happens, Harry Potter will be able to destroy You-Know-Who?”
Hermione paused, tearing her eyes away from the page.
“Yes,” she repeated, “but…”
“Thank you, Hermione Granger,” Dobby said. “That’s all Dobby needed to hear.”
Dobby closed his eyes, and the ropes evaporated. Hermione stood up and tried to move to him, but before she could, Dobby pointed one finger at each of them, and they flew backwards.
“If it helps Harry Potter,” Dobby squeaked, and brought his finger to his chin, “Dobby will do it.”
“Dobby, no!” Hermione yelled, but too late.
Light emanated from Dobby’s finger, and he dropped to the floor.
Hermione ran to him, and slapped the side of his face.
“Dobby, wake up!” she yelled.
“He’s gone,” Bill said quietly. “The sixth Horcrux is destroyed. Let’s go tell the others.”
Chapter 15
The Snake
The door was already flapping in the wind when Harry, Ron, and Ginny reached the top of the Astronomy Tower. Harry felt dread wash over him. The last time he was here, he saw Dumbledore die.
Now…
Voldemort turned away from viewing the battle below, and faced them. He wasn’t the same Voldemort that Harry remembered, though. His face was more human. The hair had returned to his scalp. His hands had regained their normal form. All that remained of the previous Voldemort were the glowing red eyes.
“Ahhh,” Voldemort said happily, his voice even more human now than before. “You have come to face me, Potter. Do you like my new look? That’s what happens when pieces of my soul return to me, you see. Pieces that you so horribly defecated.”
He looked at the Weasleys. “And I see you brought friends. No matter, I can face three just as easily as I can face one.”
“We’re here to destroy you, Voldemort,” Harry said nobly.
“No, my boy,” Voldemort said, drawing his wand, “You’re only here to try.”
Three hexes flew from the Soldiers’ wands. Voldemort waved his hand, simply brushing the spells away. The three dove out of the way as Voldemort returned the volley, the spell smashing into closed door, splintering it into dust.
“Spread out!” Harry yelled to the two of them, “Keep him contained!”
“Harry, Harry, Harry,” Voldemort said comfortably. “You sound so confident, so in charge!” He hurled a spell at Harry.
“But do you think that this has any effect on me? That I’m frightened of you?”
He pointed the wand to his back and blindly threw a hex at Ron, who had circled around behind him. Ron barely had time to deflect it.
“I’m invincible, Potter!” Voldemort yelled. “Don’t you get that? You’ve been all around the world, bringing my soul back to me, but you still haven’t completed the task!” Three quick spells, blindingly fast, were cast on all three of them. Harry dove out of the way, but the other two hit Ginny and Ron square in the chest. They fell backwards, alive but dazed.
“I’m going to kill you, Potter!” Voldemort hissed, slowly walking forward. As he did, Harry saw Voldemort’s eyes darken, the light extinguished. Only human eyes remained.
Harry smiled. “We got you now, Voldemort,” he said. “Your soul is complete now. You’re mortal.”
He threw up his wand. Expelliarmus!
Voldemort deflected the spell. “I may be mortal,” he snickered, “But I’m still the most powerful wizard alive!”
“Even powerful wizards can die,” Harry said, and jumped at him.
Harry and Voldemort moved back and forth, trading spell after spell. Ron and Ginny slowly got to their feet.
“Harry!”
Harry and Voldemort both looked towards the staircase. Hermione ran through, with Bill close behind.
“The sixth Horcrux, it’s…”
Voldemort swung his wand. Bill was knocked back down the stairs, the Sword of Gryffindor clanging on the ground.
Hermione became airborne, disappearing over the edge of the tower.
“Hermione!” Harry yelled, sprinting to the try to save her. He hit the battlement, his wand pointed down, trying to throw a Wingardium.
Hermione wasn’t there. Harry looked to the side to find Viktor Krum flying by on his broomstick, Hermione lying in his arms.
“Finish the job, Harry,” Viktor yelled.
As Hermione quickly scrambled down from Viktor, straddling the broomstick, she gave thumbs up to Harry. He saluted back.
Then her expression changed. She started screaming.
Harry began to turn. Then his world went green.
Harry, a voice said. Harry looked up to see Professor Dumbledore.
What are you doing here, Professor?
Well done, Harry, Dumbledore said. The Horcruxes have been destroyed.
He felt a hand on his back. I knew you had it in you, Sirius Black said proudly.
Now watch, Cedric Diggory said. It’s almost over.
The black veil pulled aside, and Harry Potter entered his parents’ arms.
Chapters 16 & 17