Harry moved to keep Voldemort's attention away from the lift area. This was the riskiest part. Before Dumbledore had sent the statues to get the Minister and Auror support, Harry needed Tonks or Shacklebolt to do it. A quick glance showed Hermione arguing with the Aurors but finally saw them moving silently toward the floos.
"I had to insist it was better for them to go for help," Hermione explained.
Harry didn't bother replying as he continued to focus on Voldemort. "So Tom," He said calmly. "Maybe you should ask Malfoy where the rest of your Death Eaters are. Your best against four teenagers and you lost all but one."
"They will be free soon enough," Riddle said. "No prison can hold them from me."
"Ah…you misunderstood. Most of them are dead," Harry said coldly and felt a bit of relief as he heard the flames of a floo erupt. "Avery, Macnair, Mulciber, Bellatrix, her husband and his brother... Not all dreams are to be believed they told me," Harry gave his own sneer to the Dark Lord. "I knew you didn't have Sirius, so I came prepared. I didn't walk into a trap, THEY DID!"
Voldemort's red eyes widened in surprise but quickly returned to normal. "You have been an irritant Potter," He said finally. "And it's time for that to end. AVADA KEDAVRA!"
"Expelleramus," Harry yelled at the same time and once again the two wands connected. As the cage of golden light once again surrounded them, Harry felt the electric surge that had occurred then as well. The phoenix song once again emerged from the glowing threads of the cage. Harry remembered the hope the song had given him last time.
As he looked on in fear as his Master and Potter duplicated what he'd seen happen the previous year, Malfoy never heard the body bind hex that hit him. As he hit the floor, he could feel hands rolling him over. A face came into view and he found himself looking into the eyes of a girl, a girl with bushy hair. "How's it feel Lucius, to be taken down by a mudblood?" Hermione asked.
Malfoy could only stare back at her with pure hatred.
"Soon the Aurors will be here and you'll have a nice cell in Azkaban, but until they do, let me give you something to think about," Hermione pointed her wand at the blond haired man and muttered a word.
Lucius tried to flinch away from the spell but could not move. When nothing seemed to have happened, his eyes tried to convey the sneer he felt. Then he realized what spell she'd cast as the sensations started. First it was the bottom of his left foot, then his right forearm; he itched. As the itching continued to spread his first thought had been "This is the best she could do?" But as the effects of the spell continued to spread to his whole body, every second started to feel like hours of torture. He couldn't hold the sneer in his eyes as they watered but by then Hermione had turned her attention back to the fight between Harry and Voldemort.
Harry could feel his wand start to vibrate as the lights began to move in the connecting beam. This time he knew what to expect and what to do. He concentrated on the lights, forcing them back along the golden path between the wands. He knew he didn't have to win; in fact he didn't want to win, not right away anyway. He needed to delay, delay until Fudge showed up.
The battle of wills stretched on for seconds that turned into a minute then another minute. Sweat beaded on Harry's brow as he continued to focus on the lights. Suddenly the floos started erupting throughout the hall as people in Auror robes and pajamas alike poured out. Each of them stopped and stared at the golden cage with the Dark Lord and Harry Potter engaged in some kind of battle they had never seen. A couple of them tried to send spells at Voldemort only to have it bounce off the cage.
Harry's eyes lifted up to meet those of Tom Riddle. "You lose," He said as he concentrated even harder. The lights moved further and further toward Voldemort's wand. Right before they got there, the Dark Lord lifted his wand and broke the connection. As the cage around them dropped, he glared at Harry for a split second before he summoned Lucius to him. Holding aloft the blue orb, he said. "Lord Voldemort never loses," and apparated away.
Harry slumped to the ground as the fatigue of the night caught up to him. Soon Hermione was at his side, followed closely by Neville and Luna.
"You did it Harry," Neville said as he put his hand on his friend's shoulder.
Harry looked up at his friend with eyes that were deep in fatigue and smiled. "No. We did it Neville," His eyes then moved to find his wife's looking back at him with concern and love. "Have I mentioned how beautiful you are?"
"Sir," Harry heard a voice of one of the Aurors say as he was climbing back onto his feet. "That...that was him. It was You-Know-Who."
"There are several Death Eaters downstairs," Tonks said.
"But...but..." A voice Harry recognized as Minister Fudge sputtered.
Harry climbed slowly to his feet and he and his friends walked over to the Minister.
"Potter, what's...who... what in the blazes is going on here?" The Minster asked.
"I'd like to know the same thing," said another voice that reminded Harry of a discussion at King's Cross station. Harry turned and saw a very much alive Albus Dumbledore striding toward them with a very concerned look on his face. Harry ignored the Headmaster and turned back to the Minister.
"I was tricked sir," He started. "Voldemort..." The Minister and many of the people around him flinched as he said the name. "He made me believe he had captured someone I care about and was holding him here."
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