Standing Against the Tides

Last time I looked at my driver’s license, it did not say J. K. Rowling. Yep, it’s just me, an unpaid and unknown aspiring writer. The characters of the Potterverse do not belong to me and I am making no money from this endeavor.

A/N: Spoilers through OotP. As I am still in denial, I refuse to acknowledge the events of HBP or DH at this point.

A/N2: Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter, but we were out of town this past weekend and without Internet.

Unbeta’d as BabyGurl is busy with her own life.





Chapter 40 Destiny Awaits

Lord Voldemort stepped forward and confidently raised his wand. A powerful spell burst against the imposing gates of Hogwarts. The metal groaned and shuddered before buckling from the onslaught. The great winged boars crashed to the ground and lay among the twisted wreckage of the gates. A terrible grin spread across the serpentine visage as the Dark Lord surveyed the damage so easily wrought. Deciding that the ease with which he had breached the outer defenses of was a good sign, Voldemort boldly strode through the rubble of the ruined gates.


Bellatrix fairly skipped as she followed her beloved lord and master onto the grounds of Hogwarts. Tossing her wild hair over her shoulder, the witch laughed and crooked her finger at the Death Eaters who had been assigned to follow her into battle. Playtime was about to start.

Barely suppressing an undignified frown, Lucius gingerly stepped over the twisted metal of the destroyed gates. Really, he thought, his sister-in-law’s behavior was so common. Continuing behind the Dark Lord, the Malfoy patriarch made a swift motion with his cane, signaling those under his command to come to position. His senses finely tuned, Lucius heard Fenrir Greyback and the others move to the left behind him.

Walden Macnair’s toothless grin erupted as he watched the others get into position. The lumbering giants restlessly moved behind him. One of the brainless lugs pulled up a small tree and began swinging it around. Another giant took exception to being swatted with the sapling and pushed against the offender. Walden scowled before sending a warning hex at the pair. Hearing yelps of pain from the miscreants, Macnair smiled. Satisfied that his troops were once again in line, the wizard turned his attention back to the man he had pledged to follow.

Finally, half way up to the castle, Voldemort stopped and cast Sonorus on himself. “Harry Potter, sssurrender to your true massster,” he demanded. “If you come peacefully, I jussst might be merciful and make your death painlessss. You know that you will die thisss day, Harry. Why not make it easssier on yourssself?”


Inside the castle, members of the Order and young students alike shuddered at hearing the sibilant voice echoing throughout the grounds and castle. Green eyes narrowed as the young wizard who was destined to face this evil listened to the confident voice. Knowing that he would never give Snake-Face the satisfaction of simply surrendering, Harry motioned to the others that it was time.

The castle doors opened before the defenders of the Light. Gathering his courage, Harry strode out into the pale sunlit morning. Severus and Minerva flanked the young man while the others in their contingent silently filed out behind the three. Kingsley signaled those under his command and that group quickly moved off to the right. Ron and Hermione motioned to the DA members and the others in their group to veer to the left. Professor Flitwick and most of the Weasley clan took up position directly behind the Headmaster and his companions.

Slipping out a side door of the castle, Remus led his group along the shadows of the stone walls. Fred and George Weasley sniggered quietly as they thought of the surprises they had planned for ol’ Moldyshorts and his merry band of Dead Heads.

Harry stopped at the mental sign from his mate. Off to his left he could see Charlie Weasley, Hagrid and Grawp standing near the Forbidden Forest. For some reason, Charlie had insisted that he be allowed to floo to Hagrid’s hut and fight alongside the half-giant and his brother. Harry knew that the centaurs and Buckbeak were waiting in the shadows of the dark wood. Hagrid had also assured Harry that Aragog and his kin were ready to fight for Hogwarts, but the young Headmaster had his doubts on that score.


Hermione forced the nervous anticipation in her stomach to settle as she waited for the Death Eaters to approach. Her wand arm stiffened as the time to battle neared. Ron stood next to her, his stance clearly communicating his determination to see this through. Oddly comforted by the presence of her boyfriend in this most dangerous of places, Hermione felt the calm sink into her soul.


Draco stood, wand at the ready, just off to the side of Potter’s sidekicks. He had been paired with the youngest Weasley for the battle, but any concern he might have had about Ginny Weasley’s abilities had been put to rest earlier in the day when the girl had quickly and easily retaliated against the twins who had attempted to prank her. Impressed, Draco decided he would ask the Weaslette – er, Ginny – out. If they survived, that is. Pulling himself up to his full height, the Malfoy scion determined that failure was not an option. Despite everything, he was a Malfoy and Malfoys always came out on top. That was a lesson he would gladly help teach his wayward parents today.

Trusting that the others knew their roles and would fight valiantly, Harry looked across the green slope to his nemesis. Reminding himself once more that he had to win today, the young man waited for the egomaniac to strike.

Voldemort watched silently as the pathetic members of the Light filed dutifully out of the castle. Did they realize that they were walking to their doom, he wondered? No matter. Their insignificant thoughts were of no consequence to him. All that mattered was that he, Lord Voldemort, would finally take his rightful place as the supreme ruler of the Wizarding World. After today, all would know without a doubt who the most powerful wizard in the world was. All would bow down before his greatness and tremble in fear and devotion.

“I hope you have prepared yourssself to die today, Harry. You and your sssoul mate will take your lassst breathsss today,” Voldemort hissed, his voice carrying on the still air.

“I am ready, Tom,” Harry responded, “I am ready for this to end, though I doubt you’ll like the outcome.” With that, the young wizard moved into a defensive position and waited for the inevitable. He had decided that no matter the provocation, he would not strike the first blow. Harry was determined that the history books would clearly show that Voldemort was the aggressor here.

The Dark Lord did not disappoint, raising his wand and firing off a powerful severing hex towards the young whelp who had thwarted him for far too long. Harry responded by quickly throwing a strong shielding spell between them. The hex bounced harmlessly off the shield, dissolving into a shower of sparks.

The twin spells signaled the start of the battle and the others joined in the fray, firing off their own hexes and shielding spells. Minerva threw a spell at Lucius Malfoy, briefly transfiguring his treasured tresses to vicious snakes before the vain Death Eater could utter the counter-curse. With her former boss safely tucked into her robes, the wily witch gave as good as she got in her battle with the arrogant blond.

Lucius scowled as his hair began to attack him, but a quick flick of his wand restored the silky fall of hair to its original luster. He exchanged volley after volley of powerful hexes with the Transfigurations Professor. Briefly, Lucius marveled at the vigor and agility of his aged opponent, before returning his focus on the fight.

Severus easily dodged the curse from Bellatrix’s wand even as he volleyed his own hex at the witch. Ignoring the obscene taunts that the crazed witch flung at him, the former spy concentrated on protecting his lover’s flank while dueling with the woman.

Ah, now this was what Bella loved: the fight, the chaos, the smell of hexes, fear and blood fouling the air, and a worthy opponent. The pair dueled tirelessly, each pouring their hatred into the dangerous spells.


Remus Lupin sniffed the air as he neared the battle. The foul stench that he always associated with the beast that had turned him into a monster so many years ago hung heavily in the air. Amber eyes sparked at the thought of facing Fenrir Greyback again. Struggling to contain the beast within his own breast, Remus nodded to the Weasley twins. It was time for a bit of magical mayhem.

Fred pulled one of their patented Weasley Wizard Wheezes Fireworks out of his pocket. Lighting it, he tossed it into the air while his twin set off the first of his own supply. Refined since their spectacular departure from Hogwarts a couple of years prior, these particular fireworks were designed to seek those bearing the Dark Mark. A succession of the things was released in short order. Watching as their inventions honed in on old Hold-the-Fort and his Happy Henchmen, the twins turned and gave each other the high five. Phase One of Mission: Destroy Darkness was complete.

Shaking his head at the twins’ antics, Remus urged his group forward. Now that the fireworks were doing their job of distracting the Death Eaters, it was time to engage the enemy.

The ignition of the fireworks seemed to galvanize those fighting on the side of Light. The members of the DA, well acquainted with the Weasley twins’ inventions, knew what to expect and were ready to deal with their suddenly distracted opponents. Simple Stunning spells were enough to bring down the fierce Death Eaters. Some of the other students quickly moved in behind, binding the stricken opponents, thus removing the threat.

Kingsley and his group began throwing hexes and curses at the group of dark wizards and werewolves facing them. The Auror, recognizing that low level spells would be useless against the werewolves, switched to more powerful curses in an attempt to subdue the dark creatures.

The members of the DA easily fell into combat mode and began working as a group to repel the invading forces. The other students who had been paired with the more experienced DA members were getting a crash course in battle techniques. Battle-hardened Death Eaters fell to the simple spells that the students threw with determined accuracy.


Remus fought his way across the grounds until he stood face to face with his ‘creator’. Seeing the recognition flare in the werewolf’s eyes, the gentle Gryffindor knew that only one of them would be walking away from this encounter. Remus raised his wand and fired off stunning and stinging hexes in quick succession. Fenrir began to fight back, sending a vicious blood-boiling hex at the upstart werewolf. Remus spun to the left, just missing the curse. Wordlessly countering with a cutting hex, Remus watched as the wand hand of the elder werewolf dropped to the ground. Grimly accepting the necessity of his actions, Remus attacked again, before Greyback could recover. Gathering his power, he silently incanted a silver-transfiguration spell. Greyback’s screams of pain echoed across the battlefield as the werewolf suffered the agony of having his blood turning to liquid silver. A final gasp signaled the end of that most unfortunate beast.

Sparing one final glance at the creature who had been responsible for causing so much pain and destruction, Remus wiped his forehead with his sleeve before moving on to the next Death Eater and his next battle.


Hagrid admonished his brother to only attack those wearing masks on their faces once again before letting the young giant loose on the battlefield. As Grawp happily lumbered off to join in the fun, Hagrid nodded to Aragog that he and his brood should advance from the canopy of the forest. The arachnids crept forward, most remaining close to the comforting shelter of the trees. Nodding to himself, the half-giant gripped his old umbrella in one hand as he hoisted a stout tree limb over his shoulder. There was nothing like a good fight to clear the mind, Hagrid thought to himself as he followed his half-brother out on to the grounds.


Charlie whistled a signal to his charge and smiled as he felt the great beast beneath him lift off the ground. The dragon keeper had been training this particular dragon ever since word had come that You-Know-Who was back.

“Let’s show them what we can do, Norbert,” Charlie urged his stead through the air and over the battlefield. Soon dragon fire lit the landscape as the Norwegian Ridgeback flew over the Dark Lord’s forces. A few of the newer Death Eaters and the vampires who had been seduced by Voldemort’s promises of power and blood fled in terror at the sight of the huge beast spewing fire down upon them.


Buckbeak warily eyed the young human who stealthily approached him. The hippogriff could smell the fear rolling of the human, but underlying that was another scent. Raising his head and sniffing the air, Buckbeak recognized it as determination. A few feet away, the human stopped and bowed low in a sign of respect. Sensing no duplicity in the youngling, the hippogriff returned the bow.

Nervously approaching the proud hippogriff, Neville wondered again if this really was such a bright idea. Taking a shaky breath, the young Gryffindor decided that this was his best chance to avenge his parents. For as long as he could remember, Neville had promised himself and his parents that the Bellla-bitch Lestrange would pay for her crimes against his family. He couldn’t let his fear stop him now.

Finally within arm’s length of the feathered creature, Neville slowly bowed low and waited for the beast to return the gesture. Once the hippogriff signaled his approval, Neville carefully reached out a hand as he remembered Harry doing in their Third Year Care of Magical Creatures class. Seeing no objection from the proud beast, Neville tentatively touched the white feathered head.

“Will you let me ride you, Buckbeak?” the Gryffindor softly asked as he stroked the soft feathers.

Looking the human in the eye, Buckbeak bent his front legs, lowering his body to the ground. After a moment’s hesitation, the wizard took the movement for the permission that it was. Neville breathed a sigh of relief before climbing on his mount. As Buckbeak stood with him on board, the Gryffindor was thankful that he could at least see his ride this time.

Recalling Hagrid’s admonishment to ‘mind the feathers’, Neville did the best he could to hang on as the hippogriff took to the sky. Soon they were circling high above the battle and the young wizard looked down at the scene in wonder. He could see that the centaurs had joined with Hagrid and Grawp in fighting the giants at the edge of the forest. Meanwhile, large dark forms were scurrying nearby, and as Neville watched, an unlucky Death Eater was snatched up by the acramantulas and carried into the forest. Shuddering at the enemy’s likely fate, Neville returned his attention to the battle at large.

Down on the front lawn of the school, the wizard could make out the forms of his friend and the Dark Lord as they dueled on another. Nearby the teachers and members of the DA were battling against some of the Inner Circle. The flash of white-blond hair caught his eye and Neville took a moment to marvel at the ease with which his Head of House battled Lucius Malfoy.

A sea of red heads alerted Neville to the Weasleys’ location and the young wizard had to laugh as he watched the clan work as one to cut a swath though the Death Eater ranks. The members of the DA, along with their comrades in arms, were also making headway against their opponents. It would seem that Fred and George’s inventions were doing quite the job of distracting the enemy. The young wizard had to chuckle at the thought that the Weasley twins, once the bane of the teaching staff at Hogwarts, were now largely responsible for the defense of the venerable school.

Scanning the dueling forms below, the Gryffindor finally found what he had been looking for. The wild-haired witch whirled frantically as she fought against Professor Snape. Urging the hippogriff to circle the area, Neville briefly sat back as he watched the Potions Master face off against the vicious bitch who had destroyed his family.

Neville gripped his wand more tightly before nudging the great beast into a steep dive. Barely stopping to think of the consequences of interrupting a duel between two determined adversaries, the young wizard allowed his instincts to take over.

Buckbeak cried out as the human riding him guided him toward their prey; the hippogriff could feel the anger and hatred seep into his feathers and the proud creature soared downward, talons extended as he neared the cackling female below.

Severus felt rather than heard the rush of wind approach, and instinctively jumped aside just as a powerful wing brushed against his side. The former spy was astounded to see a hippogriff barreling into Bellatrix. Blinking, Severus was sure that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Surely that wasn’t Longbottom astride the dangerous beast?

Buckbeak sounded his triumph as he threw the female to the ground. Sniffing the air, the hippogriff could smell the madness that surrounded the witch who lay dazed under his feet. The human who had spurred him on now alit and cautiously approached the hapless female.

Training his wand on the witch who had ripped away his parents’ sanity, Neville forced his emotions to calm. The young wizard quickly cast Incarcerous before firmly announcing, “Bellatrix Lestrange, consider yourself a prisoner of war. Once this battle is over, you will be brought to trial for your crimes.”


Harry spun, just dodging the eviscerating curse that Snake-face sent his way. Heeding the lessons his lover had taught him, the young wizard fired off a rapid succession of spells. “Impedimenta”, “Expelliarmus”, “Sectumsempra”. Grimly noting that as hoped, the last curse found its mark, the Chosen One watched as Riddle reacted in genuine surprise to being hit. The blood-red eyes narrowed and the combatants renewed their onslaught.

Harry heard the Phoenix song fill his heart and reaching out his senses, felt the rapid approach of Buckbeak with a human rider. Thus warned, the young Headmaster was ready for the sudden appearance of the fierce hippogriff in the battle zone. His opponent was not so lucky as his entire attention had been focused on the young child who dared to stand in his way. Momentarily distracted by the intrusion, the Dark Lord paid no attention to the quiet chanting coming from the Boy-Who-Lived. Tom Marvollo Riddle certainly wasn’t prepared to feel the darkness that consumed his soul begin to shift and then tear itself out of his very being.

Riddle fought the pull of the spell, drawing additional strength through the Dark Mark that connected his followers to him. As the power of the spell intensified, Voldemort unwittingly hastened the battle’s end by draining the magical reserves from his Death Eaters.

When Lucius Malfoy stumbled, Minerva saw her chance and cast “Incarcerous” on the blond aristocrat. Wasting no time, the Transfigurations Professor pulled the tea cup and a potions vial out from her robes. Pouring the specialized potion into the cup, Minerva joined in chanting the spell. Nearby she could hear the rich baritone of her fellow Head of House as Severus sought to lend his strength to his lover’s spell.

Nearly drained, the Dark Lord struggled to retain what was left of his soul, even as his faithful followers unwilling fed him the last of their power. One by one, the Death Eaters fell to the ground, unconscious and magically drained. Yet their master still sought to fight off the threat to his very existence. Finally, the power of the spell was too great even for him and the being who called himself Lord Voldemort was no more. Crumbling to the ground, the Dark Lord’s body shifted as the evil was consumed by the ancient spell. He never knew as the former spy in his ranks stepped forward and poured the Malus Absumo)* potion over his body, preventing the darkness from seeking a new host. He never knew that he once more looked as he had before the evil had overtaken his mind and soul. Lord Voldemort was no more. In his place lay the remains of Tom Marvollo Riddle.

Severus stepped back from the Dark Lord’s body and turned to look at his young lover. The Potions Master frowned as he watched Harry crumble to the ground. Concerned that the wizard had suffered an injury in his fight against Riddle, Severus rushed over to the unconscious form of his lover. Just as he bent down to check on Harry, he heard a shout before feeling a spell burst against his back. Severus fell next to the young Headmaster, immobilized by the spell.