Breaking Free

14

School had been mostly uneventful for the most part over the last two months. The lessons were beyond easy due to the training they received from the founders, Merlin and Morgana so they spend a lot of time practicing what they were taught over the holidays to make sure they don't become rusty in any of spells that could be useful in a battle.

However there was one interesting development two weeks into school.

/FLASHBACK/

They had just finished their last lesson for the day. Potions. As they were leaving Snape called out.

"Potter! Stay behind!"

After the class had filed out Snape began "Potter.. Harry, this isn't easy for me to say but.. I'm sorry about taking money from your vaults, even if I didn't know that it was yours I still feel.. bad" Snape almost choked that last out.

"Well sir, I do have an idea that could get you out of my debt. Meaning both the life debt you owe to me that was passed from my father as well as to convince the Wizengamot that you don't have to pay me back for the money stolen."

"What do you have in mind Potter?"

"Before I tell you, I'm going to need an oath saying that you don't work for the dark lord and that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you." Harry stated firmly.

"Very well Potter" Snape said as he pulled out his wand "I, SEVERUS TOBIAS SNAPE SWEAR ON MY LIFE AND MAGIC THAT I DO NOT WORK FOR THE DARK LORD VOLDEMORT AND WON'T TELL ANYONE OF THE CONVERSATION I HAVE WITH HARRY JAMES POTTER IN THE NEXT HOUR, SO MOTE IT BE!"

"Right, do you think you could get into Malfoy manor without tripping the wards?"

"Probably. Why?" Snape asked suspiciously.

"We need to kill Nagini" Harry boldly stated.

"WHAT! WHY?"

"I can't tell you Professor, at least not until Voldemort is dead, but I promise you this is important for the war effort."

Snape sighed "very well Potter, I shall see what I can do."

Harry took that as a dismissal and left the classroom.

/END FLASHBACK/

So now they were in the great hall for the Halloween feast. Snape hadn't been seen for a few days and Harry was beginning to get worried. He knew Snape had planned to break in and kill the snake this past weekend.

Suddenly the castle wards flared.

"STUDENTS TO YOUR DORMITORIES! QUICKLY!" shouted the stern Scottish headmistress.

A hissing sound filled the air, indecipherable to all except one in the great hall.

$Bravo Harry. Sssending Sssnape to kill Nagini wasss very clever. However your time isss at an end. Come outssside and letsss finisssh thisss!$

Grabbing Neville's, Luna's, Hermione's and Susan's attention Harry told them his plan. After wards they all parted their separate ways.

-Oo0oO-

Hermione was heading through one of the secret passages that led to the grounds with Luna in their animagus forms of a leopard and lioness.

Susan and Neville was flying the long way around the castle to avoid being seen by the death eaters in their animagi forms of a raven and griffin.

While harry took the more direct approach and used Hedwig to flame him 50 metres in front of Voldemort; 5 metres behind him was the doors to the castle.

Quickly counting out the death eaters he figured there couldn't be more than 40 death eaters.

'How he managed to wage a war against an entire country with only 40 death eaters I'll never know' Harry thought to himself.

The flames of Harry's phoenix startled one of the lower ranked death eaters who immediately sent a cutting curse at the young lord.

Harry went to side step the curse but he needn't have bothered as Voldemort deflected the curse himself.

"NO! NO ONE IS TO ATTACK POTTER BUT ME!" the maniacal dark lord screeched. The dark lord then began to taunt Harry.

"All alone I see Harry. What is it? No mudblood to save you from me this time" Voldemort said with a smirk, but his voice was definitely higher than the last time; a result of their last fight at the Bones manor.

"Come Tom, let us duel here and now. None of my people will interfere. Will yours?" Harry asked.

"No they won't!" Voldemort shouted with a glance towards is death eaters to make sure they were properly cowed.

"Very well Tom, I assume you know how to duel Tom? First we bow to each other. Come on Tom, the niceties must be observed" Harry said mocking Tom's own words from the graveyard two years ago.

Being mocked by the sixteen year old sent Voldemort into a frenzy and he began to send a series of silent spells at the young man.

For the first five minutes it was all Harry could do to block, deflect and dodge. But this was perfect for his plan as Voldemort was solely focused on him and hadn't notice neville's animagus form trample through the death eater ranks while the girls fired a barrage of curses at the death eaters that weren't in Neville's immediate area so that they would avoid hitting him by accident. After another 10 minutes the death eaters had been decimated.

"HEY TOM!"

"WHAT POTTER!" not letting up on his barrage of silent and spells that left the earth around harry charred with several new craters.

"IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR ALL ALONE!"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT POTTER! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S ALONE! I'VE GOT ALL MY DEA…" Voldemort trailed off after catching a glance of the carnage surrounding him.

Neville, Luna, Hermione and Susan were about 30 metres away in a defensive formation. Ready to defend themselves if need be, but they wouldn't attack. This was Harry's fight and Harry's alone. No matter much it tore at them to watch their the person most of them considered an older search brother get attacked by the most feared dark lord in two centuries.

Voldemort suddenly caught out a shout of "Bombarda Maxima" and immediately set up a shield.

This worked exactly to Harry's plan as that shield would block the spell but now physical objects. Which was good as Harry was aiming at the ground 10 feet in front of Riddle.

The moment the spell made contact with the ground it sent up a blast of dirt, rock and grass into the dark lords face.

As Riddle was spitting out grass and wiping dirt out of his eyes he never saw Harry extending the sword of Gryffindor and swinging it horizontally in a complete 180 degree swing.

There was complete silence for a minute until Harry collapsed. He didn't realise that one of the dark lords cutting curse had hit his shoulder, but now that the adrenaline had left him that pain was all he could feel.

As Harry was slipping into unconsciousness the last thing he heard was Susan's cry of "HARRY!"