Hero

[A/N: I am VERY sorry for taking so long with this. I have no real excuse other than I had no motivation and no muse to write another chapter. This isn\'t the last. I\'m currently thinking out an epilogue of pure smut to end this off nicely with. Thanks to those who reviewed, and again, I\'m sorry for my extreme tardiness. Enjoy!]



 Under cover of the cloak, nobody saw who was casting the defensive spells left, right and center. But many felt the effects, or lack thereof, by being saved by a well placed Protego, or a hastily cast counter-curse.



  Harry let a quick smile flash across his lips as he made his way through the throng of bodies, helping as he could, defending those who needed it, and patiently waited until he was within reach of his nemesis. Dimly, Harry heard Hagrid yell for him, apparently being the first and only to notice his body was gone. But in the heat of the furious battle that raged on around him, not one of the Light side, or Dumbledore\'s Army remembered that he had a cloak, a rather handy one that rendered the wearer invisible.



* * *



 With no wand, Draco was as good as dead if he had to face off alone with one of the Death Eaters. But he wasn\'t completely useless. He yanked Neville out of the way of an stray  spell shot from inside, and they both fell to the ground. Momentarily forgetten by warring masses, they panted in the darkness, choking slightly as they both inhaled lungfuls of dust.



 "Thanks..." Neville managed to ground out, shaking himself off and standing up. They were a fair ways away from the giant, wooden double doors that lead into the castle proper. Through the gloom they could see the fight and Draco itched to do his part, to make Harry proud of him. And if he happened to lose his life in the process, he was certain the brunette Gryffindor would be waiting for him on the other side.



 "HARRY! HARRY--WHERE\'S HARRY?" came a bellow from behind them.



 Draco started violently and spun around, eyes trying to focus in the dark. There at Hagrid\'s feet was empty space. Harry\'s body was gone!



 "What? How can that be? Was it an illusion or glamour?" sputtered Neville, searching the trampled grass along side Hagrid. Draco was still and silent, then as if by discerning from the cold pre-dawn air itself, he spun and dashed inside, yelling over his shoulder as he went.



 "Harry and that thrice damned cloak! C\'mon!"



* * *



 They both made it into the hall in time to watch Bellatrix fall to Molly Weasley\'s red-tinged spell. The resulting outlash of magic from Voldemort temporarily stunned the paused warriors, barring the two latecomers. Numerous breaths were held as many pairs of eyes followed the wand of the Dark Lord, raised and pointed at the Weasley matron. Then, from off to the side roared a voice that brought tears to Draco\'s tired and bloodshot eyes.



 "PROTEGO MAXIMA!"



 Everyone gasped and Voldemort looked around for the source of the powerful defensive spell. A shimmer in the air caught his red eyes before they narrowed in fury at the boy who emerged, standing straight and proud and alive. Very, very alive.



 "Hello, Tom." Harry said almost pleasantly, then his voice was drowned out by the massive cheers his side gave. Fluidly, Voldemore sidled to the left, circling the brunette while Harry matched his steps. A few fellow DA members started forward to stand at Harry\'s side, but he stopped them with a shake of his head.



 "It\'s got to be like this. It\'s got to be me." he explained, continutally circling his long time enemy with slow, measured steps. In his hand he held Draco\'s wand loosely and at his side.



 "You don\'t mean that. That\'s not how it works, is it, Potter? Who shall you hide behind this time? Who shall die so you may live a little longer?"



 "Nobody. I\'ve finished in my mission. Your Horcruxes are destroyed." Harry replied blithely.



 "That you\'re even here is just a nasty accident, Potter! Nobody else here will die for you, because I will kill you once and for all!"



 "Accident? Was it an accident when my mother died to save me? Accident that tonight, I came to you and didn\'t defend myself, fully intent on dying to save those I love? But I survived, and returned to fight." Harry replied, voice still calm and collected. The only sound for a few heartbeats was their booted feet moving in a circle around the stones.



 A shock of dirty but still fiercely bright hair caught Harry\'s attention as Voldemort passed in front of two boys.



 Draco.



 Harry\'s heart lurched but he remained calm, even as he surruptitiously slid his eyes away from red to meet shimmering silver depths. He saw anguish and longing, and mentally chastised himself for forcing Draco to watch his death procession.



 "Accidents! Accident and chance, and the fact that you hid behind more powerful wizards and permitted me to kill them for you!"



 "You won\'t be killing anyone else tonight, Tom. You won\'t be able to kill anyone else ever again. Don\'t you understand? I was ready to die to stop you."



 "But you did not!"



 "No, but I meant to. And it was the intent that sealed their protection. I\'ve done what my mother did. They\'re protected from you, by my sacrifice. You don\'t learn from your mistakes, do you RIddle?"



 "You DARE..."



 "Yes, I dare." Harry stated quietly, but his voice carried across the expanse regardless.



 "I know things you don\'t. I know lots of important things you don\'t. Do you want to hear some of them before you make another mistake tonight?"



 Silence reigned but they continued their prowling, stalking, circular dance.



 "Is it love? Dumbledore\'s favorite solution to all life\'s little problems. LOVE. He claimed love conquered death, but love did not stop him from his own death. Love did not stop me from stamping out the life in that Mudblood mother of yours. And it seems that nobody here loves you enough to take my killing curse for you. What\'s to stop you from dying this time?"



 "Just one thing."



 Harry slowly came to a stop right in front of Neville and Draco. Without hesitation, the blonde stepped forward and stood, tall and resolute, next to the boy-hero. Glowing red eyes darted back and forth before he let out a dark chuckle.



 "Is this your champion, Potter? The Malfoy welp? I\'m afraid this will be easier than I imagined. You there, boy. Do you love this little half-blood enough to DIE for him?"



 Without missing a beat, Draco raised his chin defiantly and those across the room saw his quicksilver eyes flash dangerously.



 "I do."



 "It will not be love that will save you this time. Your LOVE can\'t save each other any more than it could save your precious friends. Do you believe that you have magic that I do not? A weapon more powerful than me?"



 "I believe both, actually." Harry replied with an air of dismissal. He felt Draco stiffen next to him but ignored it. If Voldemort gave him enough time to explain before he attacked, he would understand. They would all understand.



 "You think you know more MAGIC than I do? Me? I\'ve done magic that even Dumbledore never dreamed of!"



 "Oh he dreamed of it. But he wasn\'t as stupid as you to even attempt what you\'ve done."



 "You mean he was weak!"



 "No, he was more clever than you by half. A better wizard. A better man."



 "I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore! I killed the old fool!" Voldemort was met with a sad chuckle and a slow shake of shaggy black hair.



 "DUMBLEDORE IS DEAD, YOU INSOLENT WELP!" screeched the Dark Lord, as if his voice alone would shred the boy\'s tanned skin deep enough to pierce his heart.



 "Yes, he is. But you didn\'t cause it. He chose his own manner of death, long before he actually died. He arranged the whole thing with the man you THOUGHT was your most faithful servant." Again, Harry felt Draco stiffen next to him and heard the soft gasp. With a wince, he remembered that Draco and Snape were close. Tonight, the blonde lost his own godfather just as Harry did two years prior. He grit his teeth into a feral smile. He\'ll make Draco proud, Snape proud, DUMBLEDORE proud.



 "What childish dream is this?"



 "Severus Snape wasn\'t yours. He was Dumbledores from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realized it because you can\'t understand the concept of love. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you Riddle?"



 Voldemort didn\'t answer him, but stared coldly across the small expanse. The wand in his hand twitched and Harry knew that he was rapidly losing patience with this verbal dance.



 "Snape\'s Patronus was a doe. The same as my mother\'s because he loved her for nearly all his life. You should have realized why he asked you to spare her life. But the moment you refused, Snape went to Dumbledore and offered his services as a spy. He was working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!"



 "I crushed them both as I crushed your mother! Snape\' supposed great LOVE. Oh but it all makes sense now, Potter. But it matters not! Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me. He intended Snape to be the true master of the wand. But I got there a head of you. I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the ELder Wand is truely mine! Dumbledore\'s last plan went wrong, Potter!" To the side of Harry, Draco winced and wobbled, but reaffirmed his stance once Harry\'s free hand grasped his.



 "Yeah. It did. BUt before you try to kill me, I\'d advise you to think about what you\'ve done. Think and try for some remorse."



 "What?" Voldemort\'s pupils contracted to thin slits, the only hint that Harry\'s words shocked him.



 "It\'s your one last chance. it\'s all you\'ve got. I\'ve seen what you\';; be otherwise. C\'mon. Be a man. Try for some remorse."



 "You dare..."



 "Yes, I dare." Harry finally snapped, losing his patience with the thick headed monster. "I dare because Dumbledore\'s last plan hasn\'t backfired on me at all. It\'s backfired on you. That wand still isn\'t working properly for you because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore."



 "He killed--"



 "Aren\'t you LISTENING? Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dumbledore\'s death was planned between them! He indended to die unconquered, the wand\'s last true master. If it had gone as planned the wand\'s power would have died with him, because it was never WON from him."



 "I stole the wand from his tomb! I removed it against his wishes; its power is MINE!"



 "You still don\'t get it, you idiot. Possessing the wand isn\'t enough to win it. Didn\'t you listen to Ollivander? The wand chooses the wizard! The Elder Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who hasn\'t EVER laid a hand on it. He removed the wand against his will, not realizing exactly what he\'d done, or that the world\'s most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance..."



 The hall was unnaturally quiet. Voldemort was panting silently and Draco clenched his hand tightly into Harry\'s. He felt a tingle in his skin, like something momentus was about to happen and if he moved even a miniscule amount, the moment would pass by.



 "The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy. He disarmed Dumbledore the night he died. Right before he lowered his own in surrender." Harry said clearly, all the faces around him, including one snake-like visage, showed blank shock.



 "It does not matter. It makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have your phoenix wand. We duel on skill and skill alone. And after I have killed you, I can attend to your little lover there." Harry narrowed his eyes and stepped in front of Draco\'s slightly trembling form, partially shielding him from view.



 "You\'re too late. As usual. I got there first. I overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took this wand from him!" Harry said, twitching the Hawthorn wand slightly. As one, everyone in the Hall turned their eyes to the slender dark stick.



 "Does the wand in your hand know that its last true master was Disarmed? Because if it does, then I am the true master of the Elder Wand." He raised his chin in an eerie immitation of Draco\'s earlier defiance just as a bright flash through the windows caught his face, lighting it up with all the dawn\'s spleandor. It was a split second move as he stood full in front of Draco while Voldemort raised his wand.



 "Avada Kedavra!"



 "EXPELLIARMUS!"



 A mini explosion hearald a bright gout of golden flame as the two spells collided mid-way between them. Harry and Draco, and the rest of the Hall watched as the Expelliarmus met the green jet of the Avada Kedavra and rebound the latter. As it struck, a spinning pale wand flipped end over end through the empty space between them, towards a master it would not kill. A master who had come to claim it at last. A body moved around Harry and an equally pale hand reached out and snatched the wand from the air with the unerring reflexes of a Seeker, a small smile playing about his lips.



 "That catch was worth all the games you lost, Draco." Harry said.



 Draco stared at him silently for a few moments before holding the wand out to its master with a reverent bow from his waist.



 "Draco..." Harry whispered. The blonde looked up. Harry\'s hand hovered over his, shaking slightly.



 "Malfoys bow to no-one." Harry finished, grabbing his wrist and tugging him flush against his weary body. He looked over at the boy who, despite all the odds, played an integral part of the victory, before smiling and leaning close. Their lips met softly amidst the raucous cheering of the crowd.



[A/N The preceeding  has excerpts taken directly from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter Twenty Six: The Flaw In The Plan. I do not own them.]