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HP469- Can We Defeat Voldemort?
🕑 Added 2025-07-17 23:03:07 +0000 UTCHarry huffed as he stepped into the corridor. His jaw tightened, and his fingers curled slightly before he shoved them into his pockets. He hadn’t said half of what he intended, and that grated. “Still not good enough,” he muttered under his breath.
“Harry,” Nigel’s voice spoke faintly in his mind, “...that was methodical. You’ve completely split open Dumbledore’s schemes.”
Harry shook his head, lips pressing into a thin line. “I didn’t mention what I pulled from Voldemort’s memories. I could’ve pinned him harder. But I let myself get rattled.”
Nigel answered, voice calm, “You got rattled because you could see what would happen if he succeeded. He didn’t.”
Harry’s fingers curled tighter in his pockets. “Not sure that is comforting, Nigel.”
“You should find it so. He miscalculated. You didn’t.”
Harry said nothing for a moment, jaw tight. He still wasn’t certain if Ron, Hermione, and Neville had been tampered with by the old man. Dumbledore was capable of it. It would be a very Gryffindor move to justify meddling “for the greater good.” He couldn’t prove it yet. So he wouldn’t accuse them. Not yet.
Evidence suggested so, but Neville’s status showed a different result than Ron and Hermione’s. Long-term Confundus. Origin: Unknown. Harry had broken it eventually, but the question remained... why would Dumbledore cast something like that and leave it running for years?
He’d even brought up Neville’s parents on purpose during their meeting, waiting to see if it rattled the old man. But Dumbledore hadn’t flinched. Not a twitch, not the faintest tell. That either meant nothing, or that Dumbledore’s mask was far too polished to crack.
By the time Harry stepped into the Room of Requirement, the place was already alive with motion. The entire crew was there, paired off or circling animated training dummies, spells crackling and echoing faintly in the enchanted space.
Astoria darted past with a quick Expelliarmus aimed at Tracey, who countered with a lazy flick of her wand that sent the little Greengrass spinning. “Nice try, imp,” Tracey called as Astoria rolled to her feet, brushing her skirt off.
“Next time,” Astoria shot back, grinning like a fox.
Harry’s eyes swept the room. Draco was guiding Lavender through a series of blocking stances near the corner, correcting her grip with the calm patience of someone who’d done this a hundred times. Hermione was on the other side, duelling Megan with quick, precise movements that left no room for error. A faint snap of sparks burst as their spells collided midair.
Susan caught sight of him first. “About time you showed up,” she called, tossing her plait over her shoulder. “We thought you’d finally given up on us.”
Harry smirked, strolling in without haste. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Someone’s got to keep you lot from getting soft.”
“Soft?” Pansy turned from her own match with Ginny, arching an eyebrow. “We’ll see about that. Care to prove it?”
“Gladly,” Harry said. He tugged off his outer robe and tossed it onto an empty chair, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. “Who is first?”
The group exchanged glances like they all been waiting for someone to say it. Then Luna, ever unbothered by hesitation, skipped forward .
“We’ve been talking,” she said airily. “We want to fight you, Harry. All of us. See if we can manage to take down Voldemort together.”
Harry’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied them, waiting for someone to flinch or laugh it off. They didn’t. Even Astoria, standing off to the side, looked deadly serious.
“You’re all serious?” Harry asked, scanning the faces around him.
Daphne folded her arms, her voice cool but certain. “Dead serious. Consider it a test run.”
Tracey smirked faintly. “Call it… a bit of insurance in case we ever need to face him together. Better we find out now if we’ve got what it takes.”
Neville gave a curt nod.
Harry’s lips twitched into a small smile. “Alright then. Let’s see if you lot can actually take down Voldemort.”
That earned a ripple of grins across the group.
“Excellent,” Blaise drawled lazily from the corner. “Does this mean we get to say we’ve beaten the Dark Lord if we pull it off?”
“Only if you survive the first five minutes,” Harry said, rolling his sleeves a little higher. “Though I wouldn’t count on it.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Pansy replied with a light laugh. “There are quite a few of us. Numbers might count for something.”
“Numbers mean nothing if you don’t know how to use them,” Harry shot back, stepping into the open space. “Let’s make it interesting. You got five minutes to coordinate yourselves. After that, I am coming for you.”
Astoria bounced forward, her grin sharp. “Five minutes? That is all we need.”
Susan leaned toward Hannah and muttered loud enough for Harry to hear, “We should probably aim for a quick knockout. Otherwise, he will just pick us off one by one.”
“You are assuming he’s not going to do that anyway,” Hannah murmured back.
“Strategizing already?” Harry teased. “Good. You will need it.”
“Big talk,” Ginny said, flipping her wand between her fingers. “Hope you are ready to back it up.”
“I don’t need to hope,” Harry said smoothly. "I make my own hope."
“Alright, Potter,” Draco called out, smirking faintly. “But don’t cry when we flatten you.”
Harry chuckled as he took position in the centre of the room. “I will try to hold back the tears.”
The group huddled quickly, voices dropping as they started throwing out plans. Harry caught snippets... Hermione urging them to circle him, Susan suggesting paired stunners, Neville murmuring something about binding wards.
“Two minutes left,” Harry called, arms loosely crossed as he watched them scramble.
“You are enjoying this too much,” Daphne said dryly, glancing over her shoulder.
“I enjoy watching people think under pressure,” Harry replied. “It shows me where you will crack first.”
“Cocky,” Tracey murmured with a faint smirk.
“Confident,” Harry corrected lightly.
The five minutes ended, and Harry rolled his shoulders before stepping forward. “Time is up. Let’s see if you’ve got more bark than bite.”
Hermione was the first to act. A sharp “Protego Maxima!” snapped into place, a shimmering dome spreading out to cover their formation.
The rest raised their wands without hesitation, their magic flowing together as they reinforced Hermione’s Protego. The shield shimmered brighter, thicker than any individual effort, pulsing faintly as their combined power settled into place. They’d been training together since first year, and it showed. These weren’t green children fumbling over wand movements anymore.
Harry raised his wand and free hand, pointing at different directions. With a sharp swiping motion from air to down, a streak of lightning split the air and slammed into the dome. The protective shield trembled violently under the impact, runes flickering faintly before stabilising again.
A secondary shimmer rippled across their barrier as Susan and Daphne wove reinforcing charms into it.
He stepped forward, his wand tracing a complex arc. “Ventus Viperis.” A twisting cyclone of cutting wind shot from his wand, blades of air spiralling to shred at the shield’s edges.
“Glacius Fractura!” Neville countered, freezing the cyclone in place and shattering it with a sharp wand thrust. Shards of ice clattered harmlessly across the room.
Harry didn’t pause. His wand flicked left. “Ferio.” A jagged, pulsing crimson spell slammed into the floor beneath the dome, sending a shockwave of force upward. The protective barrier wavered as cracks spidered along its surface.
“Diffindo Tria!” Tracey snapped, three streaks of slicing magic intercepting Harry’s spell mid-air and dissipating its energy before it hit.
Ginny shot out from behind the barrier. “Incarcerous!” Ropes whipped toward Harry like striking vipers.
He twirled his wand. “Ignis Serpens.” A snake of fire erupted from the tip and burned through the ropes, hissing as it coiled in the air. With a casual flick, Harry sent it barreling toward Ginny.
“Protego!” Neville intercepted with a sturdy shield charm, the fiery serpent breaking apart in a shower of sparks.
Hannah shouted, “Petrificus Totalus!”
Harry spun aside, her spell missing him by inches, and jabbed his wand at the ceiling. “Lapides Pluvia!” Stones burst from the ceiling, raining down on the group.
“Wingardium Leviosa!” Hermione shouted, redirecting the stones mid-fall and flinging them back at Harry in one smooth motion.
Harry’s free hand snapped out, fingers curling. The stones froze midair, then crumbled into harmless dust. “Creative,” he said lightly.
Blaise and Nott darted around to Harry’s flanks. “Confringo!” they shouted in unison, twin blasts hurtling toward him.
Harry pivoted, wand flicking upward. “Vortice!” A swirling vortex of air erupted, swallowing their attacks and exploding outward, forcing them to stumble back as their hair whipped around their faces.
“Ardens Tela!” Pansy’s voice cut through the noise as a barrage of burning arrows rained down toward Harry.
“Deflecto.” He spun his wand in a tight circle, the arrows bouncing harmlessly off an invisible sphere of magic.
Astoria came at him from behind, small but fast. “Stupefy!”
Without looking, Harry jabbed his wand backward. “Aqua Draconis.” A serpentine stream of water surged from his wand, knocking her off her feet and sending her skidding across the floor.
Astoria laughed as she scrambled up. “Almost had you!”
“Almost isn’t good enough,” Harry replied, smirking.
“Now!” Hermione barked. “Converge on him!”
The group exploded into motion, magic lancing in from every angle. Stunners, bindings, fire, ice… a symphony of curses converged on Harry like a collapsing star.
“Expulso!”
“Arresto Momentum!”
“Flagrante!”
“Oppugno!”
Harry moved like water, his wand a blur. “Protego Totalis.” A full-body shield deflected the first wave of curses. He stomped his foot. “Terra Spina!” Jagged earthen spikes burst from the floor, forcing Susan and Megan to leap back.
“Expelliarmus!” Ginny shouted again, this time with a sharp thrust of her wand.
Harry countered with a lazy flick. “Finite.” Her disarming charm fizzled out halfway.
Luna called out softly, “Avis Maxima!” A cloud of massive blackbirds erupted from her wand and shot toward Harry, their wings cutting through the air like knives.
“Incendio Fluctus.” Flame roared from Harry’s wand in a curling wave, swallowing the flock midair. Feathers hissed and crumbled into ash. Smoke curled in the air as feathers sizzled away.
“Don’t let him breathe!” Hermione shouted. “Now!”
Daphne and Tracey circled him, wands raised high. “Serpensortia!” Twin vipers sprang from their wands, baring their fangs as they lunged.
“Glacius!” Harry’s wand flashed, freezing the serpents solid. With another flick, he shattered them into icy shards.
Neville, moving faster than expected, yelled, “Vine Tenebrae!” Dark vines whipped out from the floor, trying to bind Harry’s legs.
“Incisio.” A sharp slice of magic severed them before they reached him.
