Ch. 151

Then, suddenly, he crashed back into the real world as his body hit the floor. The barrage of the spells was over. Nature had sealed up the damage that had been caused, dissipating the energy the two had summoned from the higher planes by diverting it somewhere else. The tear in space was gone. So was the barrier around the Rod of Dominion, and the staff clattered to the torn ground, resting amidst the crumbled and crushed marble.

"I… I'm impressed," Voldemort managed as the dark wizard lay slumped against the opposite wall, unable to get up. "I never… never expected you to master the highest levels of runic magic."

Harry couldn't find the breath to respond as he heaved for air, scrambling to rise. His arms wobbled, unable to support his weight, and he crashed back down to the ground. He absently realized that his wand was gone. That same part of his mind registered that he was still alive, which came as quite a surprise to him, considering that the final spells he and Voldemort had unleashed were quite capable of wiping entire islands from reality.

Both of them struggled for breath, unable to rise, and they both noticed the Rod of Dominion sitting on the ground in front of them, unguarded by the wards that had held them at bay. Voldemort smirked, realizing that his ploy had worked; shifting an object from a higher plane to theirs required immense amounts of energy, something that could only be found in warlock spells that were capable of tearing asunder the natural order of things. Even he would not be able to generate the necessary power by himself. Goading his opponent into casting the required spells and matching them with a spell of equal power had caused the Rod to shift back into three-dimensional space from where it had been, when reality had been warped by their colliding spells. Voldemort had no intention of destroying reality - after all, if everything was gone, what was there to rule over?

Harry realized what Voldemort was thinking, and forced his sore muscles to move. They spasmed erratically, and he could only drag himself along the broken floor at a snail's pace. The only consolation was that he knew Voldemort was in a similar condition. The only reason either of them were still alive was because neither had the required knowledge or control over the spell to bring them to completion, something Harry was glad for. A Voldemort with complete control over spells that could create black holes and tears in reality capable of swallowing up entire islands was not a pleasant thought.

Almost there….almost…. Harry thought as he reached a shaking hand towards the Rod that was now only a few inches away from his fingertips. He could touch it… tried to wrap his fingers around it, but the Rod slipped away and towards Voldemort. No! he thought as the dark wizard reached for the staff that was now within arm's reach. No, please, not after all we've been through, not like this!

A foot came down on the staff before either of them could get their hands on it. Their eyes travelled up a booted foot, up the tattered robes, and to the head. Voldemort smirked as he extended his hand towards the woman. She reached down and picked up the Rod, looking at it closely, her quizzical gaze wandering from the artifact to Voldemort and back.

Harry wanted to scream in frustration. He'd forgotten about Ginny and Tonks. Now that Ginny was holding the Rod…

Voldemort smirked as Ginny turned to hand him the Rod of Dominion. It was over, he had won. Harry didn't have the energy to stand, much less cast any spells. Suddenly, the redheaded girl collapsed to the ground, the staff rolling from her limp hands to the side where neither Harry nor Voldemort could get to it.

"About damn time she went down," Tonks muttered as she lowered the broken piece of wood she'd used to knock out Ginny.

"What are you doing to my sister!" a male voice shouted from the entrance, causing everyone who was left conscious to look over. A cadre of wizards stood in the archway, led by Kingsley Shacklebolt and Severus Snape. Behind them were a few members of the Legion, and, to Harry's utter disgust, Ron Weasley and his parents. Before anyone else could react, Ron had his wand up and blasted Tonks with a bludgeoning hex that sent the auror crashing to the ground and coughing up blood.

"Weasley!" Shacklebolt yelled, only to have the redhead run ahead and kick the downed Harry in the side.

Harry rolled with the blow, grunting at the pain as the older wizards caught up with Ron and pulled him away before he could do anything more than sneer at him in contempt. "Voldemort, Bella," Harry managed to mumble, and Snape immediately understood.

The potions master sent several of the wizards to round on the dark wizard, casting binding and immobilizing spells on him, while Snape himself left to tend to Bella. Harry caught his breath and looked around for the Rod, but one of the witches in the group had gotten a hold of it before he'd even spotted the black staff. The woman glanced at the staff for a moment, before looking over at Harry and grinning maliciously. The young lord of Polairix swore under his breath when he recognized her as Madame Arretha, the witch who'd confronted him two days ago when they were planning for the siege and had discovered there was a traitor among them.

"So this is the weapon you talked about, eh, Potter?" she mused with thinly veiled amusement, catching everyone's attention. "A weapon capable of destroying the most powerful dark wizard in centuries. It doesn't look like much." She shrugged, then levelled the staff at him.

"We ought to test it," she said with a grin full of malice. Ron stood behind her, nodding in agreement.

"Right, now that we have it, we can get rid of both of them," the redhead agreed.

Harry snorted. "You're kidding me, right?" It took some effort, but he managed to get to his feet, albeit shakily. "First of all, you have no idea how it works, so it's not like you can use it right now, so just give it to me and let me kill ole Tom there, and be done with it."

"Who said anything about using it right now?" Madame Arretha sneered. "We're taking you into custody, Harry Potter. You will be held in prison until such a time that the manner of your execution has been determined."

"On whose authority?" Harry sneered back.

"Mine, and the Order of the Phoenix," she replied confidently.