Upside Down

THis chapter is LONG!!!! I couldn't break it into pieces because it wouldn't read right. This was about seven pages on MS Word.....so be grateful.

A little about the style of this chapter....it's written in a sort of 'episodic' layout. The '~~' s are the seperation, just like they have been throughout the story, but there are alot of them. So just know that I meant to make the chapter a little choppy. It's an effect...just read it.

distinctlyME - I'm not mad. I was a bit frustrated when I read your first review because I could see where you were coming from. Unfortunately, the reason the chapter seemed to die was because I hadn't put that much effort to it, and it showed. So the second half, the one you liked, was the one that I really worked on. See? Effort does make a difference....

jessyloves - I'm glad you like the story enough to read it so quickly. ANd....don't forget the books. I haven't. They come back in a little later...

Amaya - I took down the chapter rather quickly. I don't think many people read the original one. But the second one was much better, so I hope you liked that one.

Jessie - *smile* You might want to have some anti-blood pressure medicine near by when you read this chappie...

Baybeetricia - You are magnificently strong. And as for the arrow...the centaurs were there. And when they used the arrow, they were sort of making a statement that magic was too good to kill Draco, so they tried it the old fashioned way. And I totally agree about Lucius finally manning up to everything...

ssh, it'sasecret - Umm...well I'll try....but I don't really have that written in my mental notes....

AND NOW......THE BATTLE WINDS DOWN

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The duel started rather slowly, both seeming to put on a show. The curses flashed between the two, in all sorts of speeds and colors. It was like a game to Voldemort, toying with the minds of the Order and with Potter, letting him become confident in his abilities so that he would mess up when he switched to serious dueling.

But Harry wasn’t stupid. He decided to throw a wrench into Voldemort’s plan by frustrating him. And then best way to frustrate someone was by teasing. Incessant teasing.

“So how does it feel to be ‘The Man-Who-Let-The-Boy-Live?’” Harry asked suddenly, blocking one of the curses Vodemort had sent. Voldemort sneered at Harry, but didn’t answer. “If it makes you feel any better…” Harry started, blocking another curse. “You look particularly menacing today, Tom. That black really brings out the red in your eyes.” Harry said sweetly.

Voldemort was utterly confused. What was the little swot trying to prove? Was he trying to distract him? Well it wouldn’t work! He wouldn’t allow himself to be insulted by a child!

“You are an insolent little bastard, Potter. You don’t understand anything. Just bow down now, and I’ll make your death…..relatively painless. You can’t win. Your cause is worthless. I have fought for my cause all my life. Since the first day I realized I was different in that miserable orphanage, I fought to make what I was superior to the filthy vermin I grew up with. The muggles aren’t worthy to live….they fear and patronize what is different…” he said, his eyes glittering. Harry snorted.

“You’re breakin’ my little heart here, o Dark one….” He said. Voldemort sent a particularly nasty curse at Harry, but was annoyed when the Boy Blunder shot it down.

Harry could see the frustration in Voldemort’s face. When the snake-bastard was upset, he had a tic in his left eye. He was practically twitching now….

“Did you have a girlfriend? Like…..ever?” Harry asked. Voldemort’s red eyes widened at the audacity of the question.

“I had no time for silly things like women….I had more important business to attend to…” he said.

“Ohh…..so you bat for the other team? That explains so much to me…” Harry said. It took Voldemort a few moments to realize what had been said. But when he did….he charged Harry, taking a swipe at him with his wand. Harry held up his wand, and the two magical instruments struck together like swords, sending sparks flying out beside them. He may have looked like death warmed over, but adrenaline was kicking in and giving him strength he didn’t know he had.

Harry was nearly face-to-face with Voldemort, and he shuddered.

“You looked better under that turban…” Harry said. Voldemort thrust forward, pushing Harry back. Harry stumbled a bit, but recovered his ground. “Aw now….don’t get mad because you’re ugly….blame your mum….” He said, and laughed hysterically as Voldemort began to shoot off curse after curse.

The crowds were utterly confused. Had Potter gone mad? Had someone hit him with a confundus?

“I’ll kill you, Harry Potter. And when I’m done with you I’ll have my Death Eaters finish off Albus and his bloody chicken group!” he snapped.

Harry paused, and tapped his wand against his chin. “I still don’t understand how you can be afraid of dear old Dumbles….I mean….he’s just so damned adorable with his bright robes and twinkly eyes!” Harry said brightly, taking the time to salute Dumbledore in the crowd. Voldemort was furious.

“How dare you, you insolent brat!” Voldemort seethed. “I will rip you apart limb by limb! I will burn the pieces and piss on the ashes. I will-”

“Who loves you, Volders?” Harry asked suddenly.

“What the hell has gotten into you, Potter?” Voldemort asked. It wouldn’t by any fun at all to kill an insane Harry Potter…..

“I love you, you bald, slightly depressed little control-freak. I think you just need a hug…” Harry said, and stretched out his arms. Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at Harry, aiming for the boy’s chest. Harry tucked his arms across his chest, and suddenly disappeared into a dark spot on the floor that Voldemort hadn’t noticed. The little fucker had probably cast some sort of spell while he was pissing off Voldemort.

In the crowd, Rodolphus grinned. He had taught Harry this spell. It would be quite interesting to see how he used it.

Harry suddenly came up through the floor behind Voldemort, and kicked him in the arse, sending him sprawling across the floor. The Death Eaters were livid, but they had been ordered before hand that when the battle between Harry and himself started, that they weren’t to interfere. No one wanted to piss off Voldemort.

Harry laughed like rabid hyena, and then disappeared again through the floor as Voldemort got to his feet. He whirled around, and Harry reappeared, casting a spell that turned Voldemort’s robes hot pink. Voldemort let out a shriek of fury, and whirled again to try and catch Harry, but the boy had already disappeared through the floor again.

He did this several more times, turning his robes several colors before Voldemort finally caught up to him, using a well-aimed Flippendo to knock him on his arse. Harry tried to get to his feet, but he was knocked back down again. Each time he tried to stand, he was knocked back down again, until Voldemort had him backed against one of the far walls. Harry had his back against the wall, staring at the business end of Voldemort’s wand. Harry swallowed hard, clutching his wand tightly in his hand.

“It ends now, Potter…” Voldemort all but growled the words. Harry suddenly grinned.

“Lookit! Voldie’s got a twiggle!” he giggled. Voldemort paused just long enough for Harry to sink into a hole in the floor. Voldemort blasted the place several times, shrieking a myriad of curses the entire time. Harry appeared behind him again, and kicked out, sending Voldemort slapping into the wall. Harry then raised his wand to the air.

“Magnus Conglaciari!”

For a few moments after the words were spoken, it didn’t seem that anything was happening. Then, a strange white/blue coating began to form on the walls and ceiling, covering the entire room and spreading beneath the feet of the Order and the Death Eaters, and then beneath the feet of Voldemort and Harry.

Harry used a silent spell to make ice blades form on the bottom of his boots, and waited for Voldemort to make his move.

Voldemort looked around, and reached out to touch the coating on the wall. Ice! He cursed, and watched his breath form a white puff before him. He could feel his body temperature dropping already. He didn’t have long to kill Harry Potter before his body would go into energy saving mode, and he would be utterly useless.

He took a step towards Harry, but his boots slipped on the ice, and he had to awkwardly pinwheel his arms to keep from falling. There was a small rumble of laughter through the Order’s ranks. Harry had a grin on his face, but kept his feet planted. He didn’t want Voldemort knowing he could skate on the ice until the despot tried to attack.

Snape watched Harry, his black eyes narrowed at the young man. If he had planned this, it was a brilliant strategy, really. The Dark Lord was easily annoyed, and when done by someone who could also protect themselves magically, it would work quite nicely. But….if his instincts were right….Harry wouldn’t be able to finish off the Dark Lord. He would battle him, and could probably win in a fair duel, but Voldemort had more than dueling skills on Harry.

He reached into his robes, and pulled out a small vial of clear liquid. If he could have just gotten this to Harry…it would have taken care of the Dark Lord within minutes. Bellatrix stood near him, and saw the vial in his hands.

“What is that?” she asked softly. Snape looked at her. A few months ago he would have never told her, but after seeing her gradually change, and accepting it for himself, he sighed.

“A modified cobra venom. If we could get it in contact with the Dark Lord’s skin, it would completely break down the potion that was used to recreate the body. It would….melt him.” He said. He saw Bellatrix lower her eyes a bit, and they darted back and forth as if she were thinking.

“Why don’t you put it on the tip of one of the centaur’s arrows?” she asked. Snape looked at her, and then at the vial.

“The others would see the centaur aiming the arrow, and warn the Dark Lord.” He said. She frowned. Ruby, who would openly admit to having been listening in, let go of Hermione’s hand and appeared between the two.

“You need someone small to fire an arrow? Can I volunteer?” she asked. Snape’s dark eyes pierced hers.

“Can you aim well?” he asked. She nodded.

“I saved a young centaur from a herd that lived near the farm. Daddy was so shocked when he found out….Anyway….He got caught in one of daddy’s traps, and the others couldn’t figure out how to free him. When I let him go, they repaid me by teaching me their particular brand of archery. It was sweet.” She said, and grinned.

So then they set about getting one of the centaurs to hand over their bow and an arrow.

~~

Voldemort decided against moving from his spot. His boots had no tread on the slippery surface, and if he went down, Potter would have an advantage. He fired the killing curse at the dark-haired annoyance, and was pissed when the boy skated out of the way, the silver blades glinting in the light of the room.

He fired more killing curses at Harry, becoming more and more agitated as the young man dodged each one, jumping and gliding on the ice skates as if he were flying. Apparently the Potter boy had learned a new skill before the battle started…

~~

The Centaur stared at Ruby.

“Why is it that a centaur cannot fire the arrow?” he asked.

“You’re so big and powerful. The Death Eaters would see you aim. I’m smaller than you, and they won’t see me in the crowd.” She said. The centaur was flattered by the kind words of the little human. He could sense good things from her. “Can you fire a bow?” he asked, reaching behind to pluck a single arrow from his quiver.

“Yes sir! I was taught by the very best!” she said, and explained the story that she had told Snape. The large centaur was impressed. A human that would save a Centaur was a good human. He would allow this tiny human to fire his bow. Besides…she called him sir! He was very pleased with that. He handed over the large bow, and the arrow. Snape took the arrow from Ruby, and dipped it into the modified venom. Then he handed it back. Ruby used the centaur as cover, and aimed for Voldemort, who was standing still in an effort not to fall. She notched the arrow, and pulled the bowstring taut.

~~

Voldemort could see Harry’s pace slowing. The effort of the battle and the energy spent with such speed on the skates was wearing him down. And a good thing, too. He could feel his own body beginning to shut down. The cold was absolute and biting, and he was shivering violently.

As Harry jumped over a Killing curse, his skates came down wrong, and he hit the ice hard. There were loud gasps from the Order, and cheers from the Death Eaters.

He was too close to Voldemort! The Dark Lord would surely hit him with a curse before he could stand.

Voldemort grinned, and took aim at Harry. Harry raised his head, locking his eyes with Voldemort’s.

Voldemort’s face screwed up in fury. He’d kill the bastard all right, but it wouldn’t be fast.

“Sectumsempra!” he hissed.

Harry had made it to his knees when the curse hit him. The front of his white robes was torn open, and blood began to gush from the wound. Blood poured from his nose, and he fell back on the ice.

~~

Ruby let the arrow fly as soon as Voldemort started the curse. She watched with satisfaction as it struck him in the stomach.

“That’s from America!” she hissed. But she turned in horror when she realized that Voldemort’s spell had hit Harry.

“Harry Potter’s been hit!” someone screamed.

“You-Know-Who’s been hit!” another cried, a few seconds apart.

~~

Voldemort’s cold-numbed body didn’t register the shock from the impact of the arrow immediately, but when several Death Eaters began to point and cry at him, he looked down to see the arrow protruding from his abdomen. The pain hit him as soon as he spotted the arrow, and he went to his knees, screeching inhumanly as a burning pain hit him.

~~

Harry looked up at the ice-covered ceiling, his vision going dark from loss of blood. His breathing was labored, coming in short gasps, and he could feel the blood pouring from his nose.

Someone skidded to a stop on their knees next to him, and he turned his head to see none other than Professor Snape kneeling next to him. The older man picked him up, and used a modified version of his locomordres spell to create a way to skate over the ice without the blades that Harry used.

He needed a peaceful spot to sing the counter-curse for the spell Harry had been hit with. Being his own creation gave him that knowledge.

~~

Voldemort grabbed the arrow, and pulled it from his stomach. He felt a bolt of fear grab hold as a chunk of flesh came with the arrow. He looked down and saw a horrible mixture of blood and melting flesh drip down from beneath his robes.

He fell forward on his skeletal hands and gagged, vomiting blood. Several Death Eaters had made it to him over the ice, and were kneeling at his side, trying to coax him to his feet.

~~

The Death Eaters and the Order members met again, clashing in a final attempt to win. No one knew what was truly going on. Harry was hurt badly, but Snape was headed for the Medic’s corner with him.

Voldemort was kneeling and vomiting blood, apparently out of the picture after the strange arrow had hit him. But the Death Eaters backed away from him as he began to….well…the only way to describe it would be to say he was melting! Starting from underneath his robes, his flesh melted off of his bones, finishing at his face, the glowing red eyes finally going out as they dissolved in the sockets. When the gooey skeleton remained, even the bones began to disintegrate, leaving a bloody, gooey mess on the ice.

~~

The Death Eaters all stopped, grabbing their arms and screaming as their Dark Marks began to burn. The noise was almost unbearable.

The unfortunate Death Eaters clawed at the flesh on their arms as the Mark melted off, leaving reddened flesh in its wake.

~~

In the medic’s corner, Snape had just put finished the counter-curse when it happened. He fell to his knees, his hand over his arm, screaming as the Mark dissolved.

Draco, lying medicated on a cot, began to convulse and scream, thrashing about as Lucius and a mediwitch tried to calm him.

~~

Bellatrix knelt by Rodolphus, holding his face as he screamed.

The pain was over after a few moments, and the Death Eaters that still had their wits after the excruciating pain began to try and fend off the Order members that had closed in. They couldn’t Apparate away due to the wards of the room. They were trapped to either surrender or fight to the death.

Bellatrix helped her husband to his feet, a triumphant look on her face.

“He’s dead! It’s over, Roddy! We’re free!” she cried. He smiled weakly at her. His eyes were drawn to an approaching figure. His eyes widened as he recognized his own brother, Rabastan, the man’s face streaked with blood and tears of agony. Rabastan pulled a dagger from his sleeve, and went right for Bellatrix. Rodolphus acted before he could think. His entire body still vibrated from pain, and he grabbed Bellatrix by the arms and pushed her aside as Rabastan collided with him, driving the dagger into his brother’s chest. The two fell back, and Rabastan was immediately pulled off of Rodolphus by several Order members, and killed with the Killing curse.

He could vaguely hear Bellatrix’s howls as dark overtook him. He looked around as people scrambled. He looked up at Bellatrix’s face and watched helplessly as tears poured down her face.

Then….he supposed he died.
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Oh! Oh! Oh! Don't kill me yet! This is not the end of the story. I had to stop here, though, for effect. Just leave nice reviews, and my kind side will be inspired. No reviews....well....I can be a bit sadistic....

So in other words.....REVIEW!!!