Courage and Faith

The Death Eaters watching the fight wore expressions of derision, and Harry's attempt to ward off the Killing Curse with the Disarming Charm was nothing short of madness.

But the accident happened in front of everyone!

The red light collided with the green light, but was not defeated. Instead, they were evenly matched.

Harry felt his wand vibrate as if it had been electrified. He did not cast any spell, but a golden beam of light shot out of the tip of his wand.

In a flash of golden light, Harry saw an identical beam of light erupt from Voldemort's wand, and the two "golden threads" intertwined in midair.

The golden sphere of magic gradually converged at the centre of the beam, trembling erratically as it burst open, sending countless arcs of light out in all directions. Eventually, it formed a dome-shaped golden net, a cage of pure light that enclosed the pair in the centre.

There was a burst of heavenly music in the air, as if it were being played by vibrating arcs of light, which Harry recognised as the singing of a phoenix.

He half-expected Dumbledore to come to his rescue, but the reassuring figure did not.

The surrounding Death Eaters were in a panic, none of them expecting this, and everyone took a few steps back to avoid being hit by the violent arc of light.

Some shouted frantically for instructions from Voldemort, while others drew their wands and prepared to attack.

"Nobody moves without my say-so!" Voldemort shouted, his red eyes angry, uncomprehending, and slightly frightened.

The situation was also beyond Voldemort's expectations. The young wizard before him was so weak that crushing him would be as easy as crushing a bedbug. Yet, just as he was about to deliver the fatal blow, something unexpected happened…it reminded him of the fear of being dominated by prophecy.

No, that's impossible!

Voldemort's face grew even more ferocious. He refused to believe that Harry Potter was his nemesis, and he was determined to destroy the nightmare that haunted him!

"Death to you, Potter!" Voldemort roared, increasing the force of his magic, and the luminous ball between the two golden lines began to move rapidly towards Harry.

Harry felt an inexpressible pressure on his heart, and as the orb approached, he could feel his wand vibrating so violently that he thought it might explode.

Harry tried to fight back, but his magic was pathetic compared to his opponent's.

Just as Harry was about to give in to the pressure, he heard a faint voice inside him…

Don't disconnect… It's will that matters, not magic!

The voice seemed to be coming from fairy music, and Harry wondered if he was hallucinating, but he had to do as he was told…

Think about it. The Dark Lord killed my parents and planned to kill me!

Harry kept replaying the night of his parents' deaths in his mind, and tried to put his left hand on his wand as well. His anger turned into strength, and the golden orb in front of him slowly changed direction, pressing down on the opposite side.

"This can't be happening!" Lord Voldemort exclaimed, his fear rising as he saw what was happening. He could feel the imp taking advantage of the magic he had unleashed.

Feeling the pressure on him lessen, Harry increased the pressure, the golden thread on the right devouring the golden thread on the left, and the golden orb moved faster and faster, soon touching the tip of Voldemort's wand.

The next moment, to Voldemort's horror, a shriek of pain erupted from the wand, and a human hand made of thick smoke flew off the tip and vanished.

It was the severed hand he created for Wormtail.

Then, ethereal figures flew out of the wand.

Harry stared at the amazing scene, and the first to fly out was an old Muggle man whom he had seen in a dream.

Soon a second figure made of smoke came into view, this one a witch Harry did not recognise, presumably Bertha Jorkins, whom Mr Crouch claimed to have killed himself.

The ghosts gathered around Harry to cheer him on.

Harry was beginning to understand the spell's effects, and his eyes were fixed on Voldemort's wand in anticipation.

As expected, the ghost of a long-haired young woman slowly emerged from the tip of Voldemort's wand and floated over to Harry.

"Mom…" Harry said, his voice shaking.

"Hold on, Harry, it's going to be okay…" Lily Potter whispered as she gazed at him fondly. "Your dad's here too…he wants to see you."

Harry looked over his shoulder again as the spirit of his father, James Potter, rose from the tip of Voldemort's wand and floated over.

James and Lily were exactly as he had seen them in the Mirror of Eris, and Harry could not hide his excitement, even thinking that he would not care if he died there.

"Don't think like that, Harry! You're going to get out of this…" James said gently. "We'll try and buy you some time once the connection is broken!"

"But what should I do? I can't Disapparate, and I can't get out of here!" Harry said anxiously, regretting that he hadn't had time to learn the spell this year.

Peter was the one who teleported him here. He could not go back like this.

The ghosts were troubled as well, with Bertha Jorkins circling Harry and interfering with the Death Eaters' vision, and Frank Bryce, the old Muggle, cursing Voldemort with foul words.

As time passed, Harry's forehead broke out in a cold sweat, and he thought he was going to die.

James seemed to sense something and turned to look into the distance. His eyes seemed to be able to see through the dark fog, and he looked pleased.

"You're lucky someone's here, they're here to save you!" Lily exclaimed happily.

What? Bewildered, Harry opened his mouth to ask, but the golden links to the wands had snapped.

"Anyway, we'll buy you some time! Harry!" James said urgently as the elusive figure charged straight at Voldemort.

"Be quick! Harry … run to the right!" Lily whispered, and soon she too was floating away.

The right? Harry looked around frantically, but the Death Eaters had blocked the way.