Got One Hundred Steps to Go (Tonight I'll Make it Ninety Nine)

19

As soon as Harry turned to the Dark Lord, Voldemort casually blasted aside the trio of women he had been fighting, catching them by surprise. All three were sent flying back several feet, and took a few seconds to stand.

Harry was relieved that they were able to do so, as it indicated no serious injuries.

He had no more time for errant thoughts though, as the Dark Lord immediately engaged him in combat, and it required all of his hard-earned fighting skills to keep him at bay.

Bellatrix seemed to take a page out of her master's book, and used a wide-sweeping hex to send her adversaries back.

She then turned to face Amelia, who was currently trying to quickly bandage up the broken arm she had received when Voldemort had blasted her away.

The witch was only a few feet away, and the Minister knew she couldn't hope to stave off the woman as she was, when help arrived.

Bellatrix grinned maniacally at the trio of Longbottoms, who were all looking at her with contempt and anger.

She threw out a few taunts, but none of the Longbottoms rose to the bait, and simply started firing. They would not let her hurt their family any more. She had taken away so many years of their lives; she had hurt so many people. They were not going to let the woman walk away from this fight.

Harry was concentrating hard on his opponent, but he was not unaware of the battle raging around him.

He felt his heart clench painfully in fear for the Longbottoms. Nearby, Molly and Arthur were bringing down Dolohov, and Sirius had just felled Avery. Fighting back to back with his oldest friend, Remus worked to defeat Fenrir Greyback. A short distance away from her fiancé, Tonks was busy battling two Death Eaters at once, and clearly giving them a run for their money. Like her fiancé and cousin, her face showed nothing but grim determination.

Neither Harry nor Voldemort was able to make much headway. Still, Harry knew he couldn't hold this up forever.

That's what I'm here for, Ginny commented, materializing at his side and throwing her weight behind a Reducto, which Voldemort managed to block with a shield, but only just.

Harry smiled slightly, and turned his attention back to the fight with renewed purpose.

It was pretty easy for them to see that Voldemort was growing more worried as the fight dragged on. He had been able to hold off Harry, but the two of them together were just... better. More powerful. Not that he would ever admit it.

Around the hall, people were stopping to watch the main battle, having taken care of most of the Death Eaters and finding less opposition than before.

Amelia and Susan brought Mulciber down together, getting revenge for Susan's parents and sister. Hagrid, who had arrived in the middle of the fight from the direction of the Forbidden Forest, defeated Macnair by throwing him bodily into the far wall of the Hall. The man who had almost executed Buckbeak did not rise.

Kingsley was the one who managed to land a hit to drop Malfoy Sr, while Blaise and Daphne working together put Malfoy Jr. down.

A part of Harry noticed all of this, but it was only when Draco fell, unconscious, that he really paid attention. His eyes were drawn back to the wand in Voldemort's hand. He had never really made it a mission to study other people's wands, but he could recognize the one Dumbledore had carried. If their theories were correct, that wand was the Elder Wand, which Voldemort had taken from Dumbledore after defeating him.

However, Harry was remembering a different incident, nearly a year ago.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a shrill cry from across the Hall. Even Voldemort was distracted, and looked over just in time to see his right-hand woman fall at the hands of all three Longbottoms.