The Ones for The Boy Who Lived-Chp22

CHAPTER 22 – THE FIGHT TO THE DEATH

Jude closed her eyes as she waited for the blow. But it didn’t come. She opened her eyes and saw Becka and Rach pouncing on him, trying to pry him away from the wand. They had quite a struggle. Jude looked everywhere to see where did Becka leave her baby—she wasn’t holding it—and noticed that Cedric has it. How he managed to get it in such short time, she was yet to figure it out.

“Fools! Get off me!” Voldemort growled and aimed the wand at himself. “Expelliarmus!!”

As expected, the duo got flung off by Voldemort, including the evil wizard himself. The duo was sent flying in the air 3 feet away from Voldemort. Voldemort growled as he chanted a spell and shot it at the duo, but was countered by Jude’s own spell from behind. He was infuriated.

“I am going to kill you once and for all! Even if you are my flesh and blood!”

“Bring it on, Voldemort,” Jude replied, gesturing challengingly at the Dark Lord, who was nowhere near happiness.

The battle began. Though cornered and being zapped at and even being lifted high up in the air and being flung at, Voldemort was still standing strong. He returned Harry and the Witches’ blows twice the power they gave him. Cedric didn’t join the fight—he had to protect Henrietta—but once a while, he zapped at the incoming Death Eaters and Pettigrew. Jude was lifted almost near to the sky and dropped with a loud smack on the grassy earth below. Becka was pinned to the ground with the Body-Bind curse and she could almost feel her bones cracking with the invisible weight pinned on her. Harry was flung over and over again across the tombstones until he coughed blood. Rach’s body was slashed from head to toe with only one swipe of Voldemort’s wand.

“Ha ha ha ha~~!! You can’t defeat me! I’ve lived through the years even when Harry has turned me into spirit form! What can he and his puny little sidekicks do to me now that I have a full body? Ha ha ha~~!!”

With a wave of his wand, he lifted the Witches high in the air and pinned them onto a huge oak tree really hard. So hard that the trio almost choked. Sparks crackled dangerously as Voldemort raised his wand with his spidery fingers and smirked evilly. He chanted out a charm and sent the blow flying towards the trio who were closing their eyes shut.

The blow didn’t reach them. They opened their eyes and saw Sirius Black on the grassy floor, red with his own blood. Sirius was gasping for breath, his arms close to his chest as if holding back the intense pain. It seemed like Voldemort has broken off every possible bone he had on his body.

“Sirius!” the trio yelled and went to him as soon as they felt the pressing impact on their body eased.

“Don’t mind me!” Sirius gasped, wincing as he spoke. “Your safety’s what most important.”

“How touching!” Voldemort said sarcastically. “Too bad it has all gone to waste now, isn’t it, Sirius?”

Voldemort didn’t wait for a reply. The trio charged at him full speed ahead, yelling as they brandished their wands. With one swipe, Voldemort sent them flying again through the air. They were caught before they fell to the ground: Becka was caught by both Harry and Cedric, both of them using either hand, Prof. Lupin caught Rach and Prof. Snape (surprisingly) caught Jude.

“Stop this insanity, Voldemort!” Prof. Snape hissed. “You’ve done enough damage to the Witches now!”

“Who are you to order me, traitor? I should’ve known you would betray me for that old man Dumbledore! Playing spies for both sides! You call yourself a Death Eater? Pah!” Voldemort spat as he raised his wand threateningly above his head. “Out of my way, Severus, if you want to live!”

“I saved her twice from your bad seed implanted in her mind,” Prof. Snape said coldly, not moving an inch, “and I’ll save her again for all eternity. This is my destiny in The Ones’ prophecy.”

Voldemort laughed a long, cold laugh before glaring at Prof. Snape’s face with his red serpentine eyes and hissed, “Then I shall have to change that.”

Prof. SNape didn’t see that one coming. Voldemort jerked his head a bit and sent him skidding across the grass far enough away from Jude, making him hit a tombstone. Then he returned his gaze at Jude and made her freeze on the spot. She couldn’t move.

“How did you like the power I have given you in inheritance? That was a wonderful gift for you. You have the potential to be my heir, to be the greatest witch feared by all others just like they feared me. But the stupid prophecy has ruined everything I had to offer you! My legacy is ruined because of this! I never should’ve had you in the first place! You turned out to be a disgrace! Now let me finish what I should’ve done 14 years ago!”

A flash came from his wand, shaped like a spear. It was so fast that neither Jude had the time to counter it with her wandless magic nor Prof. Snape had the reflex to get up and rush forward to her. Jude stayed rooted on the spot, waiting for the flash to stab her cold…

Slowly she realized someone was in front of her, blocking her view. Blood trickled from his back, staining his robes. Jude gasped. She recognized that golden long hair, that fair skin, everything.

“Tony!!”

Slowly Tony fell. Jude caught him. His sparkling green eyes met her own glowing green eyes weakly. Tony coughed, blood coming out of his mouth.

“Looks like…I got here on…time…”

“Tony! You’re not supposed to be here! You’re on that tower! You…”

“I escaped…knocked down…the elf…and flew out off Hogwarts…and apparated... here…” His chuckle was cut short by more bloody coughs.

“Hang on, Tony!! Don’t die!”

“I forgave you…a long time ago… I love you…Judith…Always…”

Silence. Tony was gone. Jude could feel his spirit slipping away like sand in her palms. He had a contented smile, as if having fulfilled his destiny for her. Jude suddenly felt cold.

“All my lessons left to waste,” Voldemort sighed, as if he was throwing away a piece of useless garbage. “Emotions are always man’s weakness.”

“How could you…!” Sirius gasped. “You talk as if he’s nothing but a broken toy! You…You tried to kill Harry when he’s only a year old…You even want to kill your own daughter!! What kind of wizard are you?!” At that point, manhood tears trickled out of Sirius’ eyes. He could be emotional at times.

“An ultimate wizard,” Voldemort replied coldly, uncaring. “A wizard who knows that there is no good or evil, only power. I am that power!”

Anger began to burn in Jude’s soul. It was searing hot, an anger she had never felt before. It wasn’t that kind of hate she felt when her friend Hannah betrayed her; it was something more than that. Her eyes glowed greener as she laid Tony’s head slowly down onto the grass and stood up to face Voldemort. Voldemort looked up. He was quite shocked to feel such sudden aura on Jude. Jude clenched her fists, cracking them.

“You’ll pay, Voldemort. You’ll pay!!”

So saying, she sent out a greenish aura on Voldemort, flinging him backwards. Voldemort almost choked when his body hit the same oak tree the trio hit upon in the first place. He surged back upright, only to freeze on the spot by Rach’s bluish aura, ice climbing up to his waist. He struggled to move, but in vain.

“You…That’s impossible…! I’m indestructible…!”

Jude turned to Becka and Rach. Their eyes met each other, creating an understanding, a bond that only The Ones can form between themselves. They nodded in acknowledgement. Then, as if they have been doing it all their lives, Rach and Becka closed their eyes and laid their hands on each other’s shoulder: Becka on Rach’s and Rach on Jude’s. They concentrated their powers they have been trained for all this while, bringing them up to their hearts and centralizing them onto their palms. Harry saw what they were doing and took out his wand, sticking the tip onto Becka’s back and concentrated with all his might, channeling the power he had from his lightning-bolt scar to the trio. Soon, their powers came in line.

“Chant with me, NOW!!”

They followed Jude’s order. Automatically, they knew the words and chanted a long verse of spells they never thought they knew.

“Omne nomen eraserit magos et maleficos striis magicae entia socia mortis hunc Daemonem (By the name of all the wizards, witches, warlocks and magical beings unite, send this demon to his death)!!”

“Voldemort, begone!!!” Jude yelled, releasing the power she had received from The Ones and The Boy Who Lived.

There was a huge blinding flash and a bloodcurdling yell. Sounds of tearing, slashing and cracking were throughout the whole graveyard. Death Eaters were also yelling, including Pettigrew, and began to scamper about for cover, screaming bloody murder. Becka, Rach and Harry fell backwards by the impact. Jude was thrown up and hung in the mid-air. A streak of her hair, starting from the middle, became silvery white. Her robes tore. Everything went into slow motion.

First her robes tore into a thousand shreds, revealing her naked body. Then her back burst, fragments of her spine and blood flew out at all directions in crimson red. Her spine actually shattered like a glass smashed onto the ground. Her blood—large amounts of it—splattered aimlessly, staining her whole body. She choked, more blood gurgled out of her throat and mouth, not to mention her nose as well. She fell back slowly.

Her nightmare has come true, in a way. She was falling, falling fast like nobody cared where she would land…

Strong arms caught her. Cold, tunnel-dark eyes gazed at her, filled with emotion. Those familiar eyes filled with worry and fear for her life. She saw herself—bloody, naked, and cold— in the arms of Prof. Snape, her saviour, her teacher, her love. Just like the first time she met him at the playground.
“Light! Be strong, Light! Don’t let go of yourself!”

“Voldemort…?” Jude breathed, blood oozing out of the corner of her lips.

“He’s not dead yet, but you have broken his body. He is in the spirit form once more, just like the first time he encountered Potter,” Prof. Lupin explained triumphantly. “He won’t be bothering us for a long, long time. You crushed his body so bad, even his spirit is unrecognizable.”

“Yeah! You did it! You all did it! Yayy for The Ones and Harry Potter!” Obviously Sirius hadn’t lost his spirits despite being badly hurt.

Jude smiled. She clutched as tightly as she could onto Prof. Snape’s robe, not wanting to let go.

“Don’t worry, Light. Madame Pomfrey will cure you in an instant. Be strong, Light!” This was the first time anyone had ever heard him giving encouragement like this.

“Severus…” Jude whispered weakly. Slowly she closed her eyes. Her clutch gradually loosened and fell to her side, dangling lifelessly. Everyone gasped. Prof. Snape’s heart sank.

“No! No, Jude! Don’t die!” Becka began to burst into tears before flinging herself onto Cedric’s arms and cried. So far, Cedric managed to stop himself from running away like the rest of the Death Eaters. Cedric held her close.

“Oh, Jude! You dimwit, don’t fail on us now!” Rach couldn’t help crying as well as she shook Jude’s shoulder in vain.

“Jude! You’ve gone this far! It’s not fair! Prof. Lupin, Prof. Snape, Sirius! Please do something!” Harry begged from one grown-up to another but none of them made a move. They just stood there, unable to get over the shock and disbelief.

Prof. Snape sank to the grass. Arms and hands trembling, he brought Jude close to his chest. The blood on her back reddened his hands and stained his sleeves but he paid no heed. Her heartbeat was untraceable. It’s gone, stopped, nowhere to be found. Her whole body was cold, as cold as ice. His whole body trembled as he held her closer.

Finally he let out a scream so loud that not even anyone in Hogwarts had ever heard him did before.