“Avada Kedavra!”

The words came out of Voldemort’s mouth quickly and without emotion, but to Harry everything was happening so slowly and there was only one thing on his mind: Hermione.

Harry saw the green lightening explode from the end of Voldemort’s wand, he saw Drowry’s eyes widen with shock, but he took none of it in- he was concerned only with getting to Hermione.

Harry jumped towards her as soon as the words escaped Voldemort’s lips, by the time the curse reached her, Harry was there. He covered her completely with his own body, blocking her completely from the curse.

“Harry, no!” he heard Hermione scream in the most distant parts of his mind.

His eyes saw the green coming towards him, he closed his eyes and braced himself for what he knew was coming.

“Lumos!” McGonagall muttered once she entered the tunnel, but she immediately became upset that she had, for there lying only a few yards in front of her was a girl’s body.

“Interesting,” Snape muttered from behind her. “It would seem that we have found the right tunnel.”

“Perhaps it would be best Minerva,” Dumbledore said quietly and slowly, “if you take Miss Chang’s body back to the school and contact any members of the Order that you can. Tell them that they can find us at the Shrieking Shack.”

McGonagall nodded her head and quickly went to retrieve the body. As much as she cared about Albus and Severus, and as much as she was worried for their safety- McGonagall was scared, she had never been in a direct conflict situation like this. McGonagall was happy to be able to go back to the school and contact the Order. It was precise work, that is what McGonagall liked, that is what would keep her from losing her mind.

“No!” Lupin screamed as Harry dove in front of Hermione to protect her from the curse. Voldemort himself even seemed shocked by the act.

The green bolt of energy flew towards Harry and Lupin watched as he cringed for the impact. An impact that never happened.

The curse redirected itself when it was less than an inch away from Harry’s body, almost as if it had bounced off of an invisible shield. The curse flew back towards Voldemort. Voldemort, who was determined not to be humiliated in the same way twice, quickly disapparated from the spot with a sharp crack. Penelope was not so quick with her reflexes.

In reality, everything had happened so quick that from the time that Voldemort uttered the killing curse to the time when it finally hit a target was only the blink of an eye. In that short time period, Penelope Clearwater lay dead on the floor from her father’s own killing curse.

Harry had felt the force of the curse hit him, but not the direct spell. The force was so great however that it knocked him on top of Hermione. As they both lay on the floor, the same thought kept coursing through Harry’s mind: I must get my wand!

Penelope’s body fell into the cauldron, knocking it and the table over. Both Harry’s and Hermione’s wands clattered to the floor. Without thinking, Harry just said the first thing that came into his mind.

“Accio wand!” Harry’s wand came zooming across the floor towards him. At the same time the first of the curses began to fly as the startled Death Eaters all moved towards Harry and Hermione. But Drowry was quicker.

“Protego!” she screamed pointing her wand at Harry and Hermione. “Avada Kedavra!” she screamed at the nearest Death Eater.

Drowry flung herself down behind the cauldron and flicked her wand towards where Lupin hung on the wall. He dropped easily onto the floor and reached up to catch his wand which Drowry threw towards him.

“Stupefy!” Lupin began to yell as several Death Eaters ran towards him. He glanced in the direction of Harry and Hermione.

Hermione stood against the wall after just retrieving her wand. She was quickly pointing it at several Death Eater’s in turn, disarming and stunning them with great ease and finesse, while at the same time blocking all attacking spells. Harry was also keeping the Death Eater’s away from him with the stunning charm and Impediment Jinx.

But not all of the Death Eaters were fighting. Many, including Draco Malfoy, had quickly fled up the staircase when they noticed that Harry had his wand and Drowry was not in the least bit interested in assisting them.

The door flung wide as many Death Eaters came running back down the stairs. With two loud cracks, Lupin realized why.

“Incarcerous!” Dumbledore yelled as he apparated into the room, binding a fleeing Death Eater in ropes from his wand.

Snape apparated into the room almost instantaneously after Dumbledore and also began flinging curses at the Death Eaters.

Green energy flew everywhere as the Death Eaters tried to get the situation under control. There weren’t any places to hide from the deadly blasts. Harry jumped behind the stiff figure of a stunned Death Eater to narrowly avoid the killing curse, which hit the stunned Death Eater instead.

“Avada Kedavra!” The words were everywhere throughout the room. It was impossible to know from what direction they came from. Everyone was confused. It was hard to protect yourself when you had curses and jinxes flying at you from both directions. It was everything they could do simply to keep away from the deadly bolts.

But it was hard to dodge them. Dumbledore moved swiftly about the room and Snape hid behind his attackers. Lupin continued to run and dodge the bolts as he was attacked. But Lupin wasn’t fast enough. He jumped out of the way of an Impediment! Jinx, only to be struck in the arm by a deadly green bolt.

“No!” Harry yelled as he watched Lupin’s body fall. Harry turned and ran towards the Death Eater that had fired the curse and jumped onto his back before he managed to flee up the staircase. Harry’s weight quickly brought the Death Eater to the ground. The Death Eater rolled over and moved so as to point his wand at Harry, but Harry was way ahead of him.

“Avada Kedavra!” Harry screamed in his anger, his wand pressed directly against where the Death Eater’s heart would be if he had one.

Everything stopped at the sound of Harry’s words. The fighting, the curses. Everything stopped and everyone looked at the Boy Who Lived. It was at this point that Harry Potter became not a legend, but the person who would save the world. The hope and the fact was finally realized that this boy of 16 was their savior. And he had taken his first step in entering the war- he had killed.

Everyone lowered their wands and stared at Harry as he violently ripped the mask off of the dead Death Eater. It was Lucius Malfoy.

Harry threw the mask on top of Malfoy’s body and stood up. He ran towards Lupin’s body, which was lying on the ground.

“Professor Lupin?” Harry cried as he gently shook the teacher.

“It’s okay Harry,” Dumbledore said. “Everything will be all right.”

“How can you say that?” Harry cried. “Why does someone always have to die whenever Voldemort wants to kill me? First it’s Cedric Diggory, then Sirius, now Lupin, and almost Hermione! When does it stop? When will it stop?”

“It will only stop after you have defeated Voldemort,” Snape said from the corner of the room as he continued to eye the Death Eaters suspiciously.

“What do I do until then?” Harry cried. “Watch as everyone I’ve ever known or cared for dies?”

“He’s not dead Harry,” Dumbledore said.

“What are you saying?” Harry sobbed.

“For the killing curse to be one hundred percent affective, the attacker must have a direct hit. The spell hit Remus in the arm, he is not dead. He is merely wounded.”

Harry sighed and closed his eyes tightly, it was over. Everyone was safe, especially Hermione, and Voldemort was gone. Now he could relax.

But instead of relaxing, his body tensed when he heard another loud crack. Turning away from Lupin’s body he saw Voldemort standing directly in front of Drowry. Both of their wands were pointed directly at each other’s foreheads.

Nobody moved. All eyes were on the two of them.

“How could you betray me?” Voldemort said. “I raised you, I taught you!”

“Just shut up and do it, just kill me,” Drowry said. “Oh, wait, that’s right you can’t! You can’t kill me!”

“I will!” Voldemort shouted.

“You can’t,” Drowry said very calmly and simply. “I’m your heir.”

Voldemort’s eyes narrowed and with a sharp crack he disappeared once again.

“How the bloody fuck could you not have killed him!” Mad-Eye Moody screamed at Drowry as they walked her up the stairs. “I mean yeah, you’re in trouble for using the killing curse and all, but still! He was right bloody there!”

“You of all people should know Moody,” she said calmly. “There’s only one person who can kill Voldemort, and it isn’t me.”

“Still,” Moody grumbled.

Nymphadora Tonks surveyed the carnage in the room. She and Kingsley Shacklebolt were preparing for all of the captured Death Eaters to go to Azkaban.

“Here’s another dead one!” Tonks cried out to Snape.

“Well,” he said snidely, “Drowry certainly did go on a spree didn’t she? I always told you she was bad,” he said pointing at Dumbledore.

“She saved our lives,” Hermione said.

“Looks like she got Lucius!” Tonk’s yelled happily. “At least she did something right!”

“That was me.”

The room got eerily silent as everyone glanced into the dark corner where Harry sat alone.

“I killed Lucius,” he said.

Tonks looked at Shacklebolt, she wasn’t sure what to do. Do they take him off to Azkaban too for using an Unforgivable? That was surely madness, him being Harry Potter and all. She thought.

“I think for the time being,” Dumbledore said, “that we will just forget Harry said that.”

Everyone nodded silently and continued about their work. Dumbledore looked at Harry and Hermione. They were both soaked in blood, dirt and tears; and they were exhausted from their ordeal.

“I imagine that you too have a lot of questions to ask me,” Dumbledore said. “Perhaps it is time to return to the school and let the Auror’s finish the job here, hm? Portus!” Dumbledore said pointing his wand at a nearby candelabrum without waiting for a reply. “Come on.”

And with a touch, they were all rushed back to Hogwarts.

Okay people, one more chapter, than the sequal. The last Chapter will explain absolutely everything!!!! I promise. The sequal will be up soon after the last two here. I want you to realize though, the sequal deals with the war, endless battles, and more importantly, the final battle!! There will be deaths I regret to say, but it's a war! I'm sorry, I don't want to kill these people, I love them too!! But I have to. Anyways, drop me a review and keep your eyes open for Chap 16 and the sequal Love Fulfilled, which I have decided will definately be a Dark/Angst!