The Punch Line ~George Weasley~

T W E N T Y - F O U R

Watching Harry, following the back of his head, his pitch coloured hair shifting with the force of his run. Running down the steps, leading out to the Golden Fountain and the Telephone lift.

I watch from the steps, Bellatrix almost making it to the lift.

"You can't stop me, Potter!" She calls back, laughing.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" He howls, brandinshing his wand "Stupify!"

Running down the stairs I reach the bottom, watching from behind the fountain. Bellatrix turns and deflects it, she fires back at him. Harry runs for the fountain.

Fuck!

Moving quickly he is shocked to see me there, I put my finger to my lips, hoping that Bellatrix didn't notice that I'd run after Harry.

Silence falls over the usually busy room, then the slow footfalls of Bellatrix echo and bounce off the walls.

"Well, well, have you come to avenge your dear Godfather?" She taunts, I look to Harry eyes wide shaking my head furisouly.

He leaps from behind the fountian. Face palming I peak from behind the fountain, trying to catch my breath from running after Harry.

"Crucio!" He bellows.

Harry what are you thinking you idiot?

Hitting her in the chest, she shrieks, her cries worse than a Banshee, falling onto the ground but she rolls away from him to her feet almost immediatly.

"Crucio!" She squawks.

Harry leaps behind the statue of the Centaur, quicky looking behind to see if I'm okay, I quickly nod to him to reasure him.

Bellatrix blasts the statue causing the Centaur's head to come off, I cover my head with my hand to avoid the rubble that started to cascade around me.

"Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, Potter? You have to mean it, you have to want to cause the pain in your very soul..." She states, trying to outflank him. I've got to move or she's going to find me. Harry grabs my wrist, moving us behind another statue.

"Give me the prophesy!" She seethes, her words erupting from her mouth.

"Can't. It got smashed by accident!" Harry retorts jokingly, hoping to bide us some time. Looking into his eyes I can see a plan whirling in his mind.

"You lie!" She affirms, Harry laughs in response.

"How's Voldemort going to like that? You've failed him, and he's not very forgiving, is he?" Harry questions. Bellatrix lets out a shriek of horror.

"Forgive me, Master! I tried, I-" She squeaks, her voice fading with each words.

"He can't hear from here you know!" Harry laughs, emerging from behind the statue and freezes.

"Can't I potter?" A voice spoke, sending my whole body into a state of terror.

It was him.

The Dark Lord.

Voldemort.

My head told me not to look, told me that if I did, I would regret it. I had to, for Harry's sake I told Lupin I'd go after him. I'm a woman of my word.

"So you smashed my prophesy..." He sighs, Harry doesn't move his feet frozen in place, along with my gaze on Lord Voldemort. His skin pale and smooth like white marble, his nails long and sharp, each finger adorned with it's own blade and his voice, soft like velvet and yet eerie "I grow tired of you continually thwarting my plans, Harry Potter!" He implys, raising his wand.

"Avada Kadavra!"

Green light erupts from his wand, Harry flinches, but the statue of the Golden Wizard leaps down from the fountain, taking the full blast in the chest. Exploding into a shower of embers and golden flakes.

Voldemort turns, this is my chance, from behind the statue I try to move but I've been stopped by the statue of the Golden Centaur, using one of his legs to stop me from moving forward. My eyes landing onto Dumbledore in the doorway, his ocean blue eyes burning in rage, while his face remaind calm.

"You should not have come here tonight, Tom" Dumbledore spoke, adressing him calmly.

"It is you who made that mistake, Dumbledore!" Voldemort asserts, slashing his wand "Avada Kedavra!"

Dumbledore repsonds quickly, vanishing with a one swirl of his cloak and reappearing between Voldemort and Bellatrix.

She tries to run, but Dumbledore knocks her to the ground with a stunning spell, vanishing as he did before, just as Voldemort strikes again. The spell hitting the wall, exploding it and shaking the whole hall.

Dumbledore reappears close to Voldemort, raising his wand and striking. A blinding light issues forth from it, the power he emitted staggering. Voldemort conjures a glowing, translucent shield around himself, Dumbledore's spell colliding with it, filling the room with blinding light. Covering my eyes from the blaze of the two spells mixing together.

Squinting my eyes, I watch as Harry staggers to the ground, flakes of dust and rock falling from the walls around us. The light begins to fade, my eyes adjust to see that Voldemort is unharmed.

"You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?" Voldemort questions.

"There are other ways to destroy a man, Tom" Dumbledore spoke.

Not sure about you professor but that's no man, it's a monster.

"There is nothing worse than death!" Voldemort vocalizes.

"You are quite wrong, Tom, as you have always been" Dumbledore reassures in usual calm demeanor.

Voldemort fires another killing curse at Dumbledore. A squawk fills the room, glancing upwards Fawkes swoopes down from and swallows the jet of green light, exploding into flames falling to the tiled floor.

Dumbledore spins, sending a constand blinding light blasting from his wand, the sheer power of his spell shaking the hall. Voldemort raises his own wand, the light separating around him. Dumbledore and Voldemort encompased with a flow of burning light.

Dumbledore grits his teeth, high winds billowing his silk cloak around him. Voldemort glares at him, eyes burning with hatred, as he is slowly forced back, his wand trembling in his hand, by the power of the stream of light emitting from Dumbledore's wand.