Harry Potter and the Soul's Struggle

Chapter 2

Acquiescing to Circumstance

Harry sat at the long table, along with Bill, Fleur, and their parents. Apparently, Fleur's mother had decided that Harry's celebrity required him to be treated as a guest of honour, he had had no choice but to accept the position. The ceremony had been beautiful, watching as both Bill and Fleur's magic combined to form a new line of stronger magic; bonding their very souls together - although Harry did find it slightly frightening that marriage in the Wizarding World was for life, divorce did not exist.

The guests were now presenting the newlyweds with gifts, speeches, and well-wishes. This was the moment Harry was dreading. As he waited for the speeches and gifts to wind down, he tried desperately to avoid locking eyes with his friends. Ron and Hermione were seated at a table directly opposite him, along with Grandma and Grandpa Weasley, and Ginny. They were glaring at him quite venomously, and they had every right to. Twenty-five letters, fifteen floo-calls, and not to mention a fair-few Howlers had been sent over the past week from his friends. Harry had yet to reply.

As the Master of Ceremonies was calling for the last speech, Harry stood and made his way to the podium, smiling weakly towards Ron and Hermione.

'I must admit, that sadly I do not know Bill as well as I should being such a close family friend. Fleur and I however have kept a fair amount of correspondence since competing together in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Never before have I met a couple who are so devoted to each other, except perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Weasley of course. I have had trouble deciding upon an appropriate gift, and I think I've come up with one that will help the entire Weasley family for ages to come.

Would Mr. and Mrs. Septimus Weasley please step forward?'

There were mutterings of confusion and indignation as Grandpa and Grandma Weasley stepped forward, to stand before Harry. Harry took in the faces of the two, Septimus' wrinkled face seemed to be the origin of the 'vacant expression' which seemed to characterise his descendants, whereas Cedrella's features seemed almost plain, and quite unlike the Black she was born as.

'I Harry James Potter, as Head of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, do hereby offer to Septimus Weasley, and Cedrella Black Weasley, and all of their descendants the heritage to which they have been denied, as members of House Black,'

Again, angry whispers rose and the crowd looked in slight outrage. Harry noticed that Arthur and Molly seemed to be holding back smiles, and that Ron's face had flushed in a familiar jealous outrage, until Hermione politely reminded him that he was included, Ron had the sense to look embarrassed after that.

Grandma Weasley looked slightly confused for a moment, ignoring the angry spluttering of her husband and said quietly,

'We accept,'

Harry nodded and raised his left palm to face the elderly couple. He felt the cool Black magic as it began to swirl around his hand like a crisp November breeze.

'Ego indicio cognatus, Septimus Weasley et Callidora Black, cognomen patrius familiaris Black'

The cool magic grew to engulf the couple, accepting them as members of the Black family, returning the magic they had been denied. Cedrella's features seemed to morph slightly, darkening her hair to a deep grey, rather than the stark white it had been previously, darkening her eyes from the bright blue they had been, to an icy lilac - eerily similar to her niece Bellatrix's. Her face, once plain and unassuming, took on the Black nose and proud haughtiness that was their characteristic.

The shocking breeze spread through the crowd, altering the many descendants with Black magic, auras became visible as they gained the magic's acceptance, the 'vacant expression' and freckles disappeared, replaced with a look of noble confidence. The most defining change however, was to their hair - nearly the entire Weasley family, with their fiery orange hair changed. The bright locks replaced with darker auburn hair, nearly brown.

The crisp Black magic, with a distinctly content feeling returned to Harry's ring with a snap, and as the guest's magic settled, they spoke solemnly as one,

'Toujours Pur.'

Harry sat again at the head table, in a decidedly one-sided conversation with Fleur's father on the advantages of using non-verbal spells with advanced transfigurations; he was instead concentrating on the Black ring which adorned his left hand. There was a distinct happiness about the magic that surrounded it now, and swirled around and in between the spiraling threads of silver, Harry could feel each member of the Weasley family and at this wedding that was quite a lot. As he focused more, he began to recognize each one, Charlie, Aunt Tillie, Arthur, they each felt slightly different.

'Harry, I wanted to thank you for what you did,' Bill's voice interrupted, his scarred face frowning painfully, 'The Weasley's have always been rash, judgemental, and too brave for their own good…I – I think you've given us the kick in the arse, we've needed for so long I don't think we can ever repay you.'

'Don't worry about it Bill, you're the only family I have, it was the least I could do.'

Harry sighed and returned to the conversation with Fleur's father, trying to understand what he was saying about 'Transmutational matricies in transfigurative charms', and when Ginny came to steal him into a dance, he heartily said yes – trying heavily to ignore the flowery scent that seemed to engulf her, causing that eerie snake within him to rear itself possessively. Shaking his head and clearing his mind, Harry smiled widely and began to dance; trying desperately to ignore what his mind was telling him about that scent.

Harry sat down nervously, this was the conversation he had been dreading; and before Hermione could begin berating him, Harry flicked his wand and muttered 'Muffliato'.

'Is that… is that Dumbledore's wand Harry?' Ron whispered almost angrily.

'It was willed to me, along with most of his library.' Harry put the wand away, not wanting to delve further into anything about his late mentor.

'Harry James Potter! Where have you been? How dare you do something like this to us, we've - '

'I visited Godric's Hollow. I needed to do it alone.' Harry noted that Ron and Ginny both looked slightly nervous.

'Oh that's wonderful Harry, I'm sorry… I was just worr - '

'No it wasn't Hermione,' Harry glared towards Ron, 'They defiled it, the place of my parents death. My ancestral home, MY HOME' Harry growled.

'Harry, mate – we were going to tell you - '

'Tell me what, that they turned my fucking house into a bloody tourist attraction?'

Hermione looked in slight disgust and horror at Ron,

'You knew?'

'I've uh… visited before' He mumbled very quietly, his ears darkening.

'Oh, Harry I'm so sorry, I just didn't know… what…what did you do to them?'

'I kicked them out; they can't do anything about it. Ancestral homes are sole property of the family, not even the Wizengamot can change their ownership. The wards were pretty degraded, so I've put it under the Fidelius Charm.'

Ron and Ginny looked slightly surprised, and Hermione gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. The possessive snake reared within Harry as Ginny shifted closer to him, another whiff of the flowery scent swirled around his head.

'But that's an incredibly complex piece of magic Harry, so many things could have gone wrong, are you sure it's been don - '

'Do you think Dumbledore and I sat around picking our bloody noses three nights a week last year?' Harry snapped, his anger breaking through the flowery chains pulling on the serpent within him.

'Harry, it's just that, you've always been a little…'

'What? Average? Stupid? Not good enough? Hermione you just don't understand do you. I trained under Albus Dumbledore! Merlin… he… Merlin doesn't even compare to Dumbledore, Hermione. Magic was more than a tool to him. It was his very reason for living,' Harry closed his eyes, breathing deeply in memory of the sage-like knowledge he now held.

Hermione's eyes seemed to glaze over as she realized the extent of Harry's abilities, her cravings for knowledge almost out-weighing the motherly instincts she held for her friend.

'But Harry, you couldn't even…' she looked away abashedly whispering, 'Snape.'

'Snape was right.' Harry said.

'Wha-'

'My mind is open and I let my emotions rule me. I had just watched Dumbledore die. Hermione… you just can't… none of you could understand it.'

The four teenagers sat in silence, disparaged at the memory of their Headmaster, and separated by the illusion of joy the wedding had brought.

'I have to go,' Harry jabbed his wand again, breaking the silencing charm.

'We're coming with you, Harry. We promised' Ron said, regaining some of his confidence.

'No Ron, you can't. You're at too much risk; I won't allow any of you to get hurt. We got lucky in the Department of Mysteries – none of the Death Eaters will let us get away that easily again.'

'But you need our help.' Ron bit back angrily.

'I said no.'

Crack! Ginny's right hand came into sharp contact with Harry's cheek, stinging angrily. Her left hand swung to slap him again, but Harry caught it, squeezing it painfully, and his rage again rose towards the girl.

'How DARE you try to pull that kind of-' Ginny started angrily, as Harry pulled her close, growling into her ear.

'Do not presume, Ginny, that I have, nor have I ever held any feelings for you,' Ginny tried to pull away, gasping shrilly, 'Oh yes, I do recognize the effects of Amortentia. I think it's time you've run along and found someone else to sink your disgusting hands into.'

He let her go, ignoring her as she stormed away angrily. Both Ron and Hermione looked shocked, but surprisingly said nothing against the rough treatment Ginny had received.

'Look, Harry – if I had known…' Ron trailed of slightly, gazing towards where his sister had left the garden.

'Forget it Ron. You had nothing to do with it. She can deal with her own messes now.'

'We're still coming with you, Harry.' Hermione said staunchly.

'Hermione, you can't. There are things I have to do… alone. I can't keep an eye over my shoulder all the time to look out for you,' Harry turned his face away, his eyes wandering across the happy guests. 'The two of you – you have so many resources here! Ron, you have so much to learn from your father. He has Ministry restricted spell-knowledge that you could use to help us – port-keys, and floo access... I… I do need you two, but not as you are now. Learn from your family, you too Hermione – you'll need to help Ron do this for me. Merlin, Bill is a bloody curse-breaker! The things he knows… I'll be back in a couple of months; January at the latest. Be ready.'

Harry walked quickly towards the edge of the anti-apparition wards, as he stepped beyond them a hand clasped his shoulder. He spun quickly, drawing his wand unobtrusively.

'Bill… I have to go, something's come up. I'm sorry.'

Bill looked thoughtful for a moment and pulled his wand out. He drew several glyphs in the air, muttering a lilting language. A dome of dull red light sprung around them.

'Old Kingdom Egyptian privacy ward. What was that all about with Ron and Hermione.'

Harry looked quizzically at the dome for a moment.

'There are things I need to do, some tasks Dumbledore left me,' Harry returned his wand to the inside of his cloak, 'How is your Occlumency?'

'I trained under a master in Istanbul for three years before I was accepted at Gringotts, why? Does this have something to do with Voldemort?'

Harry nodded. 'There are reasons he claims to be immortal… terrible things he's done.'

'I can't help you if you don't let me know Harry. I owe you a life debt for what you've done for my family.'

Harry looked Bill in the eye, past the rough scars that covered his face.

'Horcruxes.'

Bill's face turned white as a sheet.

'Horcruxes? As in more than one?' Harry nodded, 'Bloody hell. Do you know what they are?'

'Two have been destroyed. Dumbledore and I went to look for another, but… it was already gone. A golden locket belonging to Salazar Slytherin, and a cup of Helga Hufflepuff's are the only one we know about now, I suspect that Nagini, his snake is another.'

'The Locket and Chalice? The ones stolen from Hepzibah Smith? Those are legends! Every curse-breaker worth his runes has looked for them…'

'I need you to train Ron. You know things I don't. Wards, curses, enchantments… Voldemort will have layered his Horcruxes with them; I need to get past them.'

'I'll do what I can Harry,'

'That's all I've asked.'

Harry appeared with a swish in a dark alleyway. Sighing slightly at his location, he pulled his cloak around him and began to walk swiftly towards Grimmauld Place, ignoring the thick fog swirling around his heels.

As Harry made his way towards the park, which Black Manor faced directly opposite, Harry tried to ignore the thickening mist that lingered along the ground, and the frigid chill that accompanied it.

Quickening his pace, Harry noticed that the sky had darkened, its twinkling stars disappearing; velvety twilight replaced with an incredible blanket of darkness. The chill became more pronounced, and the mist was beginning to condense. Now running along the path, ignoring the hellish forms the mist was congealing into, Harry cleared his mind with Occlumency.

Dementors began to form all around him, their rattling breath creating a sharp frost to form across the slick path. He swished his wand nervously, Prongs' silvery form burst forth, charging the wraiths and repelling the dark cold that had surrounded him.

Still running through the park, his eyes raking over his surroundings, silently directing his weakening Patronus in circles around him; Harry spotted a ragged looking man lying face-down on the ground, surrounded by Dementors. Prongs charged the Dementors, causing them to scatter as Harry slowed down to check the man. 'I hope he hasn't been kissed'.

The man drew ragged, shallow breaths as Harry turned him over. Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise as he recognized the silvery hair and wrinkled face. 'Ollivander'. Dementors were closing in, still forming from the thinning mist. Harry's breath became visible as he knelt beside Ollivander, trying to ascertain if he'd been kissed or not.

The frigid cold began to wear away at Harry's mind, shattering through the glasslike walls surrounding his memories. 'Step aside, Girl,' 'Lily, take Harry and run!' 'Ah, Mr Potter. Our new celebrity,' 'Speak to me, Slytherin, Greatest of the Hogwarts four,' 'Kill the spare,' Harry cried out as Cedric's lifeless eyes flittered through his mind.

'Bow to death, Harry' 'Kill me now, Dumbledore' Harry gritted his teeth and tried to stand.

'Severus, please.' 'Avada Kedavra!'

Harry screamed as Dumbledore flew backwards off the tower, a horrified expression on his normally calm face. A cool sensation seemed to cut through the fervent cold that surrounded him, with an angry swish of his wand, Harry cried 'Aduro Funis!'

Thick ropes of intense fire spat from the tip of his wand circling around himself and Ollivander, igniting many of the Dementors where they hovered. The rattling breaths seemed to increase as a harsh, icy gust of wind smothered the flaming whips.

Harry scrambled to his feet, filling his mind with the love he had felt for his mentor. His Patronus flew forwards gleaming silver, a blinding phoenix of light; causing many of the Dementors to scatter. The cool sensation that had shocked him out of his memories was still rising around him, combating the Dementor's dark magic. The Black ring sang with the crisp magic as Harry focused his mind once more, feeling the Potter watch glow with an intense heat. With a complicated gesture, Harry barked out the most powerful incantation he knew, one of Dumbledore's own creation.

'Precor Patronum Effligo!' Harry's voice distorted with the power of the spell, echoing through the park.

A jet of white light screamed forward, rippling through the air with vehement hatred. It impacted on a Dementor, causing it to swell painfully for a moment before exploding in a cloud of noxious fumes. The spell continued, branching out like a spider's web destroying Dementors as they fled.

Harry slumped as they began to disappear, but without hesitating, picked up Ollivander in his arms, carrying the old man as if he weighed nothing. A thought had sent his phoenix-patronus with an urgent message to Madam Pomfrey. Harry wasted no time in running towards his home.

Harry burst through the door of Black Manor, he twisted the wand in his hand closing the door with a snap.

'Winky!' he cried. She appeared before him with a loud crack! Her eyes widened at the man Harry was carrying in his arms.

'Prepare a bedroom, quickly. I've summoned Madam Pomfrey, bring her directly to me when she arrives.'

'Yes Master Potter!' she squeaked loudly.

Harry bounded up the stairs two at a time towards the closest guest-room. When he arrived, a fire was crackling in the grate, and a tray with two steaming goblets of hot cocoa sat upon the side-table; Winky was pulling the bed-clothes back, and placing a bed warmer between the sheets. Harry placed Ollivander gently into the bed, and waved his wand in a complicated squiggle, removing the old man's robes and replacing them with pyjamas.

While Winky tucked the old man into the bed, Harry removed his hat and cloak, and sank into a chair close to the fire, sipping the spiced chocolate slowly. With a flick of his wand, he summoned a thick book from his study, The Healer's Book of Home Medi-Wizardry glided into his hands. Sighing, Harry flipped to the index, searching for anything of use.

'Well I can certainly understand the urgency, Mr Potter,' Madam Pomfrey spoke briskly as she waved her wand over Ollivander's still form. 'He hasn't been kissed, but has had prolonged exposure to a Dementor, probably an hour or two. He hasn't eaten in quite a while either. I'll never understand how lucky you are, Potter. He would have died had you not brought him here and called me.'

Harry simply nodded as she cast a few charms over Ollivander, and administered a couple phials of a thick potion.

'Have you had any chocolate?' Harry nodded, glancing towards the two empty goblets that sat on the desk.

'I would have given him some, but-'

'Not to worry, Potter. He's far past chocolate's healing effects at this point. I'll need to monitor him continuously, he is stable, but mind healing is a tricky art. He'll need proper supervision and nutrient potions.'

'I'll have Winky make a room up for you. You're welcome to stay for a while.'

'Thank you, Mr Potter. I'll need to return home in the morning for a few supplies but that should be adequate. And I daresay you could use a check-up, you're looking a little green around the ears.'

Harry smiled weakly, standing. 'I'll be going to bed, Winky will show you to your room, and to the Library if you should need any reference materials.'

Poppy watched as the boy slumped from the room, clucking disapprovingly, she turned back to her diagnostic spells.

'That boy's driving himself into the grave,' she spoke softly to herself. A sharp crack interrupted her thoughts as a house-elf appeared behind her.

'Winky is showing Madam Healer Pomfrey to her room.'

Poppy closed her carpet bag with a snap, turning to the small elf.

'Thank you, Winky'

'I only hope he doesn't turn out as lonely as Albus was,' she thought silently, noting that the house-elf was Harry's only companion.

'Well, I suppose I owe you my most sincere thanks, Mr Potter. Albus had told me that if anything were to happen to him, I could find refuge at Grimmauld Place. It was most unfortunate that the Dementors had found such a…grim place in which to reproduce.' Ollivander spoke from his bed.

It had been nearly two weeks since the incident with the Dementors, since then Harry had had the constant company of Poppy. Reluctantly, Harry admitted to himself it was refreshing to have some companionship, even though he would rather study in peace.

'We all owe our thanks to him.' Harry said, 'It was his spell that saved us both; his wand too.'

Poppy chose to ignore the depression in his voice, and continued to cast her charms.

'His wand you say?' Ollivander perked up, straightening himself in bed. 'May I see it?'

Harry hesitated for a moment, but pulled the wand out and handed it to the Wandmaker.

'Yes, yes, one of my greatest creations. It comes from the same branch of Holly as your own wand, though the connection is less than that of a brother,' Ollivander whispered, his keen eyes weighing the wand, 'but how does it compare to your own?' his eerie demeanor seemed to have returned.

'Erm… Better I suppose, my wand still works great, but this one seems easier to use.'

'Curious,' Ollivander said, 'It has chosen you then; a great compliment, Mr Potter. A wand is usually entombed with its Wizard you see. Yes, it says a great many things about the bond you shared, that his wand has accepted you. Yes, now that I look closer, it appears to have begun molding to your magic, it is very slight, but yes it is there.'

'Molding to my magic?'

'Of course, Mr Potter, just as your wand has,' Ollivander looked sharply up at him, 'It has begun to assume the shape of your current has it not?'

Harry shifted, feeling slightly agitated.

'I don't understand.'

'A wand Mr Potter, is a conduit for a Wizard's power. When a wand is made, it is completely cylindrical you understand, plain and straight. But a Wizard's magic is not, it is full of rapids, currents, eddies, and waves – much like a river. Over time, the wand will assume the shape of the magical current flowing through it, in a process similar to erosion, this allows for the Wizard's full magical potential to be exploited. Quickly, hand me your wand.'

Harry handed Ollivander the plain shaft of wood, and watched as the old man tapped it repeatedly with Dumbledore's wand, muttering under his breath. He looked it over closely, tapping it against the side of his bed, and casting a spell. With a startled intake of breath he looked up at Harry with astonishment in his eyes.

'Mr Potter, How in the name of Merlin and Mab did you manage to petrify your wand!'

'What?' both Harry and Poppy gasped at the same time.

'The wood, in your wand, is petrified Mr Potter. It might as well be stone. I haven't a clue how this could have happened. It certainly was not damaged any extent when I weighed it two years ago. Only an incredibly powerful and dangerous magical event could have caused this. I truly am baffled.'

'But, what does this mean?'

'Wand erosion is a constant process Mr Potter, it increases with age, and with it allows your power to grow. In essence, you have been casting with the power of a fourteen year old since your wand was petrified! There is no logical explanation for this occurance!' Ollivander exclaimed angrily.

'Excuse me, I have potions to brew,' Poppy spoke quietly, leaving the room.

'Priori Incantatem.' Harry whispered to himself.

'What's that?' Ollivander said gruffly.

'I said, the Priori Incantatem. It happened at the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, I dueled Voldemort.'

'The Brother Wand effect, yes it would have had a significant effect on your wand's malleability. I must admit this is a puzzling dilemma. I shall have to replace your wand-wood, I had a trunk inside my robes – may I have it please? I believe there is still another length of wood from your wand's tree.'

Harry nodded, retrieving the trunk and a wand from a pocket of Ollivander's robes – which had been hung inside the closet. Ollivander pointed his wand at the trunk and muttered something under his breath. At once it re-inflated itself, and opened into a workbench with many different drawers and slots. He rose shakily from the bed, and set Harry's wand on the table. Without warning, he pulled a large hammer from one of the slots and smashed Harry's wand to pieces, removing the pristinely golden phoenix feather.

'Now, let's get to work shall we?' He grinned widely at Harry's horrified face.

Harry sat at a small table in the Leaky Cauldron, nursing a large tumbler of Fire Whiskey.

'To Sirius,' said Tonks, her hair flashing from pink to black, and back again.

'And Dumbledore,' said Harry

'And Amelia,' Kingsley added.

'Don't forget Elphias!' Moody chimed in, 'Took out Crabbe and Nott he did, before they got him'

'Here, here!' the four spoke solemnly, drinking deeply from their glasses, Moody from his flask.

August had come and gone, as had September, Voldemort had yet to slow his attacks, and the Order of the Phoenix was still out of commission. Harry had taken to hanging around with the Aurors when they were off-duty, learning all he could from them about Voldemort's actions.

Harry still hadn't made much progress on finding the Horcruxes, the locket, he was now sure was hidden somewhere by Regulus. He had found another fake, hidden in the Drawing room at Grimmauld Place, with another taunting note to 'The Dark Lord'.

Hufflepuff's cup, Harry was sure Voldemort kept with him at all times, this was something he learned using Dumbledore's pensieve to analyze all of the visions and dreams he had had of Voldemort. But he was still no closer to finding out the last Horcrux, there was surprisingly little information about any artifacts belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw. To say Harry was discouraged was a vast understatement.

'Wotcher, what's bothering you Harry?' Tonks spoke, taking a sip of her Gillywater.

'Nothing, Tonks, I'm fine. Why?' Harry wiped the morose look from his face with a grin, draining the last of his drink.

'Just worried about you, little cousin,'

Moody grunted slightly at this. He had been very disapproving of Harry's reinheriting of the Weasleys and Tonkses to the Black magic.

'Dark as they come, those Blacks are' he'd said once, when he didn't think Harry could hear him.

Kingsley silenced him with a look. Moody just took another drink from his hip-flask, his eye spinning around in its socket.

Harry ignored the silent exchange, as did Tonks, though her hair flashed back to black for a moment.

'There' a concert I'm going to next month up in Portsmouth. You wanna go?'

Harry looked slightly green at this; he'd never been a big Wizarding Rock fan.

'I dunno, Tonks,'

'Come on, Stubby's playing!'

Harry snorted loudly, breaking into a laugh.

'What? How can you not like Stubby?'

'Oh it's not that… The Quibbler had an article once, something about Stubby Boardman being Sirius in disguise.'

Tonks' face fell slightly, her smile weakened.

'He would have liked that.' Harry just nodded.

A loud rumble coursed through the pub, and glasses rumbled. Dust and grit fell from the dirty ceiling.

'Head's up girlies, the backdoor's open and we've got a panic in the Alley,' Moody growled, drawing his wand and standing up.

Kingsley stood and cast a Sonorus Charm on himself.

'Ladies and Gentlemen this is Auror First Class Kingsley Shaklebolt, please evacuate from Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron, this is not a warning. Do not panic.' But they did. Torrents of haggard looking witches and wizards came into the pub from Diagon Alley, screams and curses could be heard. Many of the frightened patrons pushed to get into Muggle London.

Harry nodded at Tonks as she fired a Patronus off to McGonagall, who would summon the rest of the Order. He drew his wand and fired his own Patronus to the Ministry of Magic, informing them of the attack. Together, the four pushed their way into Diagon Alley, where they were met by panicking people, burning rubble, and far too many Death Eaters to handle.

Harry directed his attention to the closest group of three, firing Bludgeoning Charms into their midst, distracting them from torturing an old woman. He hit one of them in the back of the head, he dropped like a stone. The others turned to face him, and he heard a familiar voice sneer,

'Potter,'

'Malfoy,' Harry returned as Draco threw his mask to the ground.

He twirled his wand upwards, firing a powerful stunner towards Malfoy, dodging the Blood-letting Curse that had been fired his way.

'The Dark Arts will only lead to your undoing, Draco.' Harry spoke calmly, firing a spear of ice towards him.

'Shut up, Mudblood.' Draco hissed, engulfing the spear in fire and banishing it back towards Harry.

Harry summoned a Golden Shield that shattered painfully as the lance of burning ice smashed into it.

'Fulmenos Venite' Draco cried, as a heavy bolt of lightning sprung forth from his wand.

Harry flicked his wand, summoning one of the large marble slabs that paved the steps of Gringotts, into its path. The stone scorched, but didn't crack, and Harry charmed it to act as a shield for him. He waved his wand in an arc, firing a net of razor like cords to cage the second Death Eater, who had regained his senses after watching the heated duel between Harry and Draco and was preparing to cast a curse.

'Aduro Cuspis!'

Harry's wand recoiled with the strength of his Spear of Flame curse. He twirled and twisted his wand in a familiar motion and began to fire spell after spell towards Malfoy. Draco began to dodge and shield, unable to cast anything offensive under the onslaught of hexes raining down on him.

With another motion, Harry sent another incendiary spell towards his adversary, catching his robe on fire. While Draco attempted to banish the fire and Harry dodged another curse from a Death Eater somewhere behind him, a shrill scream pierced the air, and Harry felt the Black ring pulse angrily. Harry turned sharply and saw Tonks, her hair black as night, hands morphed into talons, and her eyes an angry scarlet deeply in a duel with Bellatrix Lestrange.

Harry grew cold as both the Black and Potter magics swirled around him, an icy wind and a sweltering heat powerful with rage. He turned back to Malfoy, his opponent looking upon his powerful stance in fear.

'I no longer have time to play with you Malfoy. Choose your side wisely, the Dark will not avail you.'

Harry drew his own phoenix-feather wand, and slashed downwards at him, binding him tightly with cords of rope and magic.

Loud cracks of apparition rang through Diagon Alley; figures garbed in robes of Crimson appeared. One of them fired a spell into the air, forming the figure of a giant Phoenix, posed to attack, it filled the alley with a ferocious screech of Phoenix-song as they began to battle the Death Eaters, and Harry grinned, the Order had arrived.

With a swish of his cloak, Harry disappeared and reappeared at Tonks side, she glanced at him and bared her pointed teeth in a dangerous grin.

Harry began to chant spells towards Bellatrix, firing bolts of destructive magic towards the witch.

'Oh look, its Wee-Baby-Potter come to play with Auntie Bella.' She fired the green jet of death towards both himself and Tonks, 'He thinks he can play with the Black magic, the filthy mudblood!' She shrieked in anger as the Black magic came to her aid, and she began sending dark curses at a faster pace, laughing all the while.

Harry growled as Tonks caught a Ripping Hex to her side, falling in a spray of blood and tissue. He focused on the cool magic that was bound to his blood, feeding it with his anger. He let loose a volley of violently coloured curses, none of them legal; each tore through the air as Bellatrix laughed gleefully.

She shielded and dodged each one, though she was wary at their power. Potter was like a Behemoth, using brute force over skill. That made her nervous. Bellatrix waved her wand, summoning a flock of crows and transfiguring a nearby slate of rock into three wolves. Her glee failing as he did something she didn't expect, and banished a dense cloud of air into the crows, crushing them with one fell swoop. He smiled chillingly as he decapitated each wolf with a single wave of his wand; he disappeared for a moment, before reappearing less than a metre from her. She cackled and began to incant the killing curse, Potter waved his wand and she found herself very wet, standing in a pool of cold water. The last words Bellatrix heard were,

'Ding-Dong, the Wicked Witch is dead.'

Harry released the bolt of lightning, mentally thanking Draco for screaming that spell out loud, and spitting on the charred carcass of his godfather's killer. He apparated again to Tonks' side, slipping in the slick pool of blood that was gushing from her side; Harry cast a blood clotting spell, stemming the flow, and smiling at her. She smiled weakly, her face pale, and reverted to her regular self.

'Did you get her?' Tonks whispered.

Harry nodded.

'Good,' she started to close her eyes, welcoming the fate that awaited her.

'Oh no, you don't Tonksie. You're not dying on me yet.' Harry said as he started to run his wand along the wound, healing the major damage, and passing a phial of potion to her.

'And why shouldn't I,' Tonks said, weakly swallowing the Blood Replenisher.

'Because Remus isn't back yet, and he would kill me if I let you die.' Tonks smiled painfully as Harry began to close the wound, 'That and we're going to see Stubby!'

She laughed slightly as Harry closed her hand around a Port-Key to the infirmary set-up at the Burrow.

'Good,' she said as the Port-Key whisked her away.

Harry stood to survey the battle, which had mostly finished; the Order was rounding up the remnants of the Death Eaters who hadn't disapparated.

'Well, well, well,' Came an oily voice from behind him, 'An how is our little, celebrity feeling this fine afternoon,'

Harry turned to see the depthless black eyes he had grown to hate, and his magic began to rise again, this time, the roaring Potter magic came to life – its leonine heat surrounding him.

'Very well, thank you. I've already killed Bellatrix, let's see if I can up the count to two shall we?'

Author's Note: Yes I took too long to get this chapter up considering it was half finished when I posted the first one. But to be honest my Computer actually exploded, smoke, fire, the whole deal. I couldn't retrieve it so i've been lazing around because I was depressed that I had to re-do the chapter. It's done now, I'll start the next one. Oh and I suppose I won't be winning this contest, considering I definately won't be done anytime soon. Anyways, Reviews are always appreciated.