Upside Down

Okay...we're going to try this again. THe first part of the chapter is pretty much the same as it was posted originally, but you'll find the ending is COMPLETELY different. Now to repost the reactions to my other reviews..

pickles87 - the Dark Mark burned as a punishment for anyone foolish enough to fight against his brothers without orders. We know that other Death Eaters would kill each other, but that was only under orders, or within the 'laws' of the Death Eaters. Rodolphus, Snape, and Draco were completely betraying their brethren and killing them off as adversaries, which is why the Mark burned. I don't think the Death Eaters could call each other...only Voldie can do that...

bLondpierogi - Thak you for the kudos. I really did shudder when I saw some of those pictures.

nitesfool - Severus Snape never forgets when somebody pisses him off. It's like....his personal law or something.

laur - yay! I'm glad you liked Lupin's fierce side....I thought it was quite sexy.

distinctlyME - hee hee. I'm glad you liked Remus opening up a can of whoop-ass on Greyback. I'm looking forward to seeing Greyback in the sixth movie. I am PISSED that they pushed it back...stupid bastards....but anyway, you are welcome for the violence fill, and probably right about Ruby's meltdown. I plan on doing quite a few falling action chappies. You shoul get your fill of this story when I'm done!

baybeetricia - this was the worst one I found. I caution you, that this was not just an 'accident burn.' This was an acid throwing burn, and quite graphic: http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Acids/images/Shanti.jpg and Bellatrix is quite stupid at the moment....but there's going to be some MAJOR action going on with them in the last battle chapter.

FlowersBecomeScreens - yeah...he got barfed on and then killed. I thought it was fitting justice. And I have a feeling Remus is going to be getting that reward....eventually...

RyGirl824 - rat-bastard....I haven't heard that term in quite a while....but I like it....look for it in an upcoming chapter... And I planned everything this way....Draco and Mione are in this chapter, and then we finish off with Harry and Voldemort. It will be worth it...just wait...

XxSilentEyesxX - I'm totally putting that on a T-shirt.....I love you....

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Hermione and Draco, like most couples present, dueled close to each other. Hermione was fascinated by the ferocity in Draco’s face. She’d seen a taste of it at school, when he would look at her with disdain. She’d seen a bit of it when he had defended her against his father that day in the kitchen. But she’d never seen such….hate in someone’s eyes. He was losing himself to the battle, and it was scaring Hermione.

Hermione was cutting down Death Eaters as quickly as she could, but only using the Killing Curse when she had to. Every time she had used it, she felt a little bit of herself die. It was a horrible feeling, and she hoped that Harry could get to Voldemort soon, because if he could, then the battle would be over, and everything would be all right.

Hermione wanted everything to be okay. She wanted to be able to be with Draco so badly it hurt. She had never felt this strongly about Ron. And speaking of Ron, she hoped that he and Ruby were okay. They were an odd couple to be sure, but they seemed to like each other a lot. And although Hermione was Ruby’s guardian, she was not her parent, and had no right to judge who she wanted to be with. She knew her own parents would be a bit surprised to know that she was now shagging Draco Malfoy, the boy who had caused her great grief through her school years.

Everything was riding on this battle. If they lost, the Order would be at the nonexistent mercy of Voldemort. She shuddered.

A Dementor swooped down nearby, and grabbed an Order member in its rotted claws, bringing the young woman’s face to its own quickly, latching to her mouth. She gave only a short scream before her soul was sucked from her body. Hermione felt a horrible shudder go through her. Those beasts were terrible.

There was a centaur fighting nearby. They were a formidable force, using their hooves to knock over Death Eaters and crush them, and using their bows to take them out like target practice. Of the six centaurs that Dumbledore had brought, only one had been injured. The creature had been able to make it to the medic’s corner on its own.
Hermione gasped as a purple jet of magic shot by her face, singeing a few stray hairs. She turned and blasted the grubby Death Eater to his arse, and then stunned him immediately.

Draco was feeling freer than he had in years. There was pain beyond imagination shooting up his left arm every time he killed one of those sorry Death Eaters, but afterwards he felt so….light. Holding someone’s life in his hands was intoxicating to him, and he was getting drunk on power. He could almost understand why Voldemort killed….

And then he stopped abruptly.

He looked around at the mayhem he’d caused, and one phrase flew across his mind.

“What profit a man to gain the world, if he loses his own soul?”

What Ruby had said to him that day seemed insignificant, but now as he gazed down into the lifeless eyes of a Death Eater, they were put into perspective. By defeating these fools, he would be able to gain Hermione as a wife, if she agreed of course….but he was losing his soul. Even while he had been under Voldemort’s orders he hadn’t killed anyone. But now…

He screamed in agony as a fiery jolt of pain lanced through his shoulder. He looked down to see the end of an arrow protruding from the skin. He whipped himself around, and came face to face with one of his old schoolmates: Vincent Crabbe. Vincent grinned nastily, his mask long gone.

“Well…if it ain’t ickle Draco Malfoy. Fightin’ for the other side like the traitor everyone knew ‘e was.” He snapped. Draco’s left arm hung uselessly, and his right came up to point his wand at Crabbe.

“You useless bastard.” Draco hissed, pain clouding his vision. “You can’t even use a wand to take me down. You had to come up behind me with a discarded centaur arrow.”

Vincent only smiled, but Draco saw his eyes flicker for a moment, and he turned in time to see Gregory Goyle drive another arrow into his chest. He reached up to grab the arrow, and saw stars burst in his sight as Crabbe knocked him in the back of the head. He went to his knees, gasping for breath, and then fell forward. He gave a gurgled groan as the arrow in his chest was shoved deeper.

He could see Hermione not too far away, her wand flashing with a myriad of colors. Shite… he thought. I’m going to fucking die….those fat bastards have killed me. I won’t get to marry Hermione. I won’t get to have kids….I have the worst fucking luck ever…

He drew in a painful breath, and tried to push himself up on his hands. His left arm wouldn’t work right, the arrow in his shoulder sending wave after wave of nauseating agony through him. He put his weight on his right arm, trying again to lift up. He didn’t have the strength to do it… But he managed to roll himself to his side, relieving the pressure of the arrow in his chest. He looked down, and winced when he saw it. It wasn’t a headed arrow, merely a sharpened stick, but it was very sharp, and painful, too.

His vision was starting to go fuzzy from loss of blood, and he could see black blooming at the very edge of his vision. But he felt someone kneel beside him, and hands pat his cheek in an effort to keep him awake. He lifted his head slightly, and looked up into the face of his father.

“Da….” Draco groaned. His father shushed him gingerly, and began to tug him to his feet.

“Shush, my son. I know now really isn’t the time, but I’d like to apologize for being such a horrible father. It’s my fault you’re here. And I won’t let you die here. If you’ll just help me get you to your feet, I’ll take you to the medic’s corner. Besides…your mother would kill me if I came home without you…” he said. Draco’s lips tugged upwards slightly, a weak smirk on his pale face. His father wrapped Draco’s limp arms around his neck, Draco protesting when he moved his left arm.

They moved through the crowds slowly, but steadily, Lucius dodging and ducking to keep him son safe.

Hermione blocked a spell, and her eyes were drawn to two blurs of pale yellow. She gasped when she recognized Draco and Lucius. And then she cursed when she saw the arrow sticking out of the back of Draco’s shoulder. Red blood was staining his white robes, and he was hanging a bit limply behind his father. She took off at a run towards them, hopping over bodies at dodging spells.

As she approached the two, she heard a great exclamation.

“Good gods! Harry Potter and You-Know-Who are about to fight!”

She froze in her place, her heart pounding. She turned, and saw the crowd parting, black and white pulling away form each other to leave only Voldemort and Harry.

Voldemort looked untouched save for a dark smudge of blood at the corner of his lipless mouth. Harry, on the other hand, looked like death warmed over. His black hair was a mess, and his glasses were skewed. His robes were covered in burn marks and blood, and the tip of the pinky finger on his left hand was missing. But he sneered at Voldemort.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come out and play, Potter. I’ve been so lonely…” Voldemort said coldly. Harry spat on the ground.

“Why don’t you play with yourself, Tom?” He snapped. There was a great noise behind the Dark Lord as the Death Eaters objected to Harry’s use of Voldemort’s name. Voldemort held up a skeletal white hand, and the Death Eaters were silent.

“You should learn to watch your mouth, little Potter. No matter, you’ll be joining your parents soon in hell. Maybe Lucifer himself can teach you some manners…” he said, bringing his wand to a dueling stance.

Harry did the same, spreading his feet apart slightly

“Scared, Potter?” Voldemort hissed.

“You wish.”

Hermione stood at her spot, watching Harry’s face. She turned back in time to see Lucius take Draco into the medic’s corner. Where to go? She wanted to see if Draco was okay…she wanted to make sure he wasn’t gravely injured. But Harry was about to fulfill his life’s purpose. He was about to duel the Darkest Wizard…..ever…..

Her head whipped back and forth between the two places. She loved Draco with all of her heart, but Harry had another type of love. He was like a brother to her, and he had been her friend for years. Draco had been a prat for years, and only recently stolen her heart. There were many kinds of love in the world. The love of friends, the love of family, and the love of a lover. Harry had her love as a friend, and as family. Draco had her love as a friend and a lover, and if she were lucky, the love of family as her husband.

But Harry had been fighting for this for years. His childhood had been stolen from him due to the cruel murder of his parents by this despotic tyrant. His school years had been plagued by attacks and plots against him. And his early adult years were tainted with training to defeat him. This was it. This was what he had been waiting on for years.

She felt tears sting her eyes as she came up with her decision. With a final look towards the entrance of the medic’s corner, she walked slowly to the front of the crowd, watching as Voldemort and Harry squared off.

She felt someone take her hand, and she looked to her side to see Ruby standing there, her green eyes wide with nervousness. Ron stood on the other side of Ruby, his eyes on Harry. She looked to her other side and saw the faces on the Order members on the front row. She saw Bella and Rodolphus, and Sirius, and Fred and George.

All eyes were on the two in the center. All attention was to them. This was the deciding factor.

And they began to duel.
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Okay! This is a brand-spanking new chapter as far as I'm concerned. I hope those of you who responded to the old chapter 39 will respond to the new one.

Tell me how this one makes you feel, and I promise a great juicy battle scene between VoldieShorts and Harry Pooter...