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Chapter Forty Three: The Ultimate Showdown Part One:

Time ticked by, as Harry stood, looking out of the window, just looking out towards the city, deep in thought. By now, Voldemort would have received Harry’s message, providing that everything went right. Something told Harry that Voldemort had gotten the message. Right now, he spent some time just mindlessly staring forward, the seconds of time ticking by. Harry had always suspected this moment, the final battle with Voldemort would come, but now as it approached, anxiety welled up from within Harry. Tapping his fingers on the chair, Harry turned to the clock, it was only an hour away from when he had challenged Voldemort to meet him at Hogwarts. Turning slightly, Harry rose to his feet and stepped forward, a few last minute preparations were being made before Harry walked forward, to face Voldemort.

Harry walked forward towards the kitchen, where a group was sitting, awaiting for Harry to come in. Most were still recovering from the battle with the Death Eaters and still feeling the after effects of Draxxor’s army. They would have plenty of time to recover from everything, Harry needed to forge on, go up against Voldemort. They looked up, seeing Harry, nodding to acknowledge his presence. It was a situation where they wanted to say something, but knowing what to say was a barrier.

“All the Horcruxes are ready Harry, they should not give you any problems until you do the spell to reunite them with Voldemort’s soul,” said Lily quietly and Harry nodded, as he moved forward to the duffel bag, that had been charmed to be able to contain Voldemort’s Horcruxes. “Now, are you sure you are ready to do this Harry?”

“I’m as sure as I’ll ever be,” said Harry weakly, as he moved over, to collect the duffel bag containing the Horcruxes, as he looked to the others. “The ritual, to reunite these soul fragments, to make Voldemort mortal, so I have a chance to end it all, it will be tough, but it’s what I have to do, what I must do.”

Harry took a deep breath, as he looked at the clock, watching every precious second tick by. Time continued to crawl by, he wondered if it was counting down to his victory or Voldemort’s. The desirable outcome was obvious to Harry, but he would be a fool to think that he was assured victory.

“It’s got to be done, the world has been ravaged so much by Voldemort’s reign of terror, even if he lives and all of his Death Eaters would be captured or even killed, I don’t know if we’ll ever be safe,” said Harry somberly. “He won’t be the last one to try something like this, but…he needs to put down today. It won’t be easy and if anything happens to me…”

“It won’t,” said Sirius in a confident voice. “I can see it Harry, you won’t let this beat you easily, Voldemort’s done, you’ve come too far to not win.”

The others nodded, they had confident in his abilities, which made some lingering doubts resurfaced, he was truly the last hope against Voldemort. Failure was not an option. Harry reflected on the hours of training, studying, preparation, and quite frankly, he wished he had more time than he did, but he would have to make do with what time he did have.

“I know, I will but there is always a chance that this might be the end with me, but if somehow I don’t walk out of this alive, I’m dragging Voldemort down with me,” said Harry in a confident tone of voice, attempting to assure himself that he was prepared for anything and Voldemort would be finished no matter what. Everyone looked at Harry, but Harry felt that he did not want to give them a chance to speak, so they would not inadvertently manifest any doubts that Harry had been thinking about. “Still despite all of that…everyone will have to do fine without me….should something happen, so if I never see you all again, I wish you all the best of luck with the rest of your lives, I know each and every one of you will survive.”

“Harry, I think it would be a good idea if we were the one’s who wish you luck,” said Luna calmly as she looked at Harry. “And believe me, you’ll be just fine…”

“Even if you’re thinking that yeah right, I don’t feel fine,” said Hermione, as she gave Harry an encouraging look. “You’ve survived before, you’re survive this time Harry, Voldemort doesn’t have a chance to beat you, not this time, you’ll be fine.”

“Besides Harry, just like you told me, visualize it happening, and it will come,” added Hailey with a smile. “You have the Horcruxes, the knowledge to put them back together, what could go wrong?”

“A lot,” muttered Harry before he straightened himself up, seeing the encouraging looks at everyone. The fact that his family and friends had so much faith in him to defeat Voldemort actually gave Harry some weird twisted combination of confidence and nervousness. He took a deep breath, this time, neither him nor Voldemort was going to be done until it was completely settled. “I’m going to be going soon, everything’s ready, there’s no time to linger around here.”

“Harry,” said Lily as she got to her feet, facing her son, before she slowly pulled out her wand, the one that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin, before she reached forward, to hand it to Harry. “You don’t have a wand anymore, it might make the difference in victory and defeat. I know you didn’t exactly like the way it handled, but at the same time…it might help, so please take it.”

Harry took the wand from his mother, he did not have the heart to tell her no, but he slowly slid the wand down his sleeve. He resolved to only use the wand as a last ditch measure, if all else had failed.

“Harry, can I see you in the other room?” asked Ginny suddenly and Harry looked at her with a start, before he nodded, she looked really worried. Harry shouldered the duffel bag of Horcruxes, before he followed her out of the room. Ginny shut the door behind her, making sure there was no one who could listen in to them, as she turned to face Harry.

“What is it Ginny?” asked Harry, as she took a deep breath.

“You think you’re going to die, don’t you?” questioned Ginny quietly.

“There is always a chance that I’ll die doing anything,” countered Harry as he looked at Ginny, who nodded, grudgingly accepting Harry’s words. “Look Ginny, if I could, I would stand here and reassure you that everything is going to be okay, but…look, I’m going to do everything that I can to make sure that…I survive. I’m not saying anything’s for sure, there is a chance that anything could happen, but…these are thoughts that I don’t really need….”

“I’m sorry Harry,” said Ginny, but Harry just looked at her, wondering what she had to be sorry about, none of this was her fault. Ginny stood, wanting to tell Harry that he didn’t have go, just because some prophecy said that the fate of the world hinged on the outcome of the battle between Harry and Voldemort, but she could not bring herself to. No matter how she wanted Harry to be safe, it would be selfish to the rest of the world and despite all of her objections that it should be someone else, it had to be Harry. Ginny paused, before she rushed forward, and flung her arms around Harry’s neck, before she kissed him, putting everything she had into it, with Harry returning it equally. Both Harry and Ginny felt magic flow in between them, that would have warmed their body even in the coldest night. It was unlike anything that she had ever experienced and Ginny never wanted this moment to end, but as they slowly pulled apart, it was with great regret.

Harry looked at Ginny, staring right into her eyes, briefly forgetting of the existence of Voldemort and everything else that had happened over the past day. It was just him and Ginny, nothing else in the world and now Harry was alarmed, the fact that he might never see Ginny again was giving him serious second doubts. Harry leaned against the wall.

“I can’t die,” said Harry defiantly as he looked at Ginny, appreciating the beauty of the only girl that he could ever love, bond or not. Harry felt a rush of hatred for Voldemort, the thing that was tearing Harry around from her and from everyone else for that matter. At this point, Harry wanted now more than ever to kill Voldemort, not out of some duty, but to end it once and for all, to secure his future, a future without the specter of Voldemort hovering over him.

“You won’t,” said Ginny firmly, the kiss having inspired a great deal of hope, erasing some of the doubts, but still some worry, as she grabbed Harry’s hand in a comforting matter, before she gazed into his eyes, struggling to keep from getting lost in them. “You’re too stubborn, Harry.”

Both exchanged a laugh, something desperately needed, before Harry turned the bag over his shoulder and looked at the clock. Time seemed to speed up.

“It’s time, Ginny, I love you always, no matter what happens,” said Harry, as he pulled Ginny forward into another kiss, both feeling the magic flowing between them. As they broke apart, a content look was on Harry’s face, as he brushed Ginny’s hair out of her face, so he could stare into her face. She kept on a strong demeanor for Harry, but Harry could see tears trying to force their way out. “It’s okay Ginny, I know how you feel, I feel the same way, but I will see you again, love.”

“Harry, beat him and come back, I love you,” said Ginny as Harry turned, walking off, as he moved outside, leaving Ginny behind. He fought the desire to turn around and rush back towards Ginny, to spend a few more minutes with her, but it was with a heavy heart that Harry had to leave. He had his hands on the door and paused only a few seconds, before he pushed it open, walking out, before he closed the door behind him. Harry kept walking, wondering if he had made the biggest mistake of his life by deciding to go back when Voldemort thought he was dead.

Ginny sank into the chair, contemplating doing something really stupid. She agreed with Harry that anyone that Voldemort seen would be used against Harry if they were in a duel. Ginny had no doubt in her mind that she was on the top of that list. She looked towards the door, Harry’s footsteps fading from what happened, possibilities going through her mind. The fact that Harry could beat Voldemort but be severely injured and unable to get out to get help in time was a very scary possibility. A possibility that left Ginny only one possibility that Harry would never ever want her to do. Quickly, Ginny walked to the door, before she quickened her steps up the stairs, before going to the room that her and Harry shared. Pushing the door open, Ginny moved around, before she rummaged through the trunk, pulling out a silvery cloak and a piece of parchment, a quill, and some ink. Gently placing the cloak on the bed, Ginny took the quill and ink, before hastily scribbling a note, that read:

Everyone,

Harry doesn’t know, but I’m following him, keeping an eye on him. I won’t get in Harry’s way, I won’t be seen, so none of you try and come as well. Everything will work well and if Harry needs me, I’ll be there for him, I have to be.

All the Best,

Ginny

Ginny instantly folded the note neatly in half, before she placed it underneath a paperweight on Harry’s desk. She quickly moved from the room, before anyone could see her. Sneaking off through the shadows, Ginny listened intently for anyone approaching, but when she saw that no one was coming, she quickly moved towards the front door, pushing it open, before she slipped out. As quickly as she threw the Invisibility Cloak over her and concentrated on Hogsmeade. With a silent pop, Ginny disapparated, preparing to watch Harry defeat Voldemort from afar, even he did not know she was there.

Harry walked out on the Quidditch Field, gazing up towards the sky. It was the sight of some of his greatest triumphs. No matter how many evil forces he played a role in putting down, Harry would be more proud of the victories he achieved as a seeker of the Slytherin Quidditch Team. It allowed him to have fun, without the fate of having the entire world hang in the balance. Harry walked forward, the duffel bag of Horcruxes draped over his shoulder, as he looked around. The demon magic had finally faded from around the air, but Hogwarts was silent, under than the thunder claps in the distance. A storm was brewing, as Harry placed the duffel bag underneath the bleachers, as he waited for Voldemort to show his face. The message had been sent and Harry knew that Voldemort would not let such a mockery of his power slide. Voldemort had an ego the size of a small country and Harry planned to do his best to exploit that to his fullest extent.

Voldemort arrived on the other side of the field. He was angered by Potter’s deliberate attempt to bait him. It was a shame, Potter could have lived the rest of his life in peace, but he chose to play the hero by directly challenging the Dark Lord’s power. This just confirmed the point that the boy was way too idealistic for his own good, thinking he could protect the weak in the world through his actions. It was a misconception that would allow Lord Voldemort’s supreme victory. He leaned forward, seeing Potter waiting for him on the other end of the Quidditch field.

Harry heard another thunder clap echo, as he leaned forward, hoping that the storm would die out. He did not want any distractions. He saw Voldemort’s snake like face in the distance, the slit like red eyes staring a hole through him. Quickly, Harry adjusted his footing, before he looked at Voldemort, who walked forward, before he stopped when he was several feet away from Harry. As his enemy approached, the Boy-Who-Lived realized the time for waiting was over, it was now time for battle and Harry fixed his face into a confident expression, as he faced Voldemort. He would have been a bit more confident, if his battle armor had not been damaged severely in the battle with Draxxor and his demons, but still, when it was time to fight, Harry always managed to shove all doubts to deepest part of his mind.

“Potter,” said Voldemort calmly as he looked at Harry with utter loathing.

“Riddle,” responded Harry with equal calmness. “Decided to finally fight me like a wizard, straight up.”

“Potter, I may show mercy if you return my Horcruxes,” said Voldemort coldly, intending to take the Horcruxes and kill Potter. “Just hand them over and all will be forgiven.”

“I’m not going to fall for that old trick, Riddle,” said Harry as he rolled his eyes. “I see you standing before me I can see it in your eyes, no matter what, you can’t beat me Riddle. I keep coming back, because I have powers that you never have dreamed of.”

“A bluff Potter, you are nothing but a scared little boy underneath all your boasts and I will crack open that shell, exposing what you truthfully are to the world,” countered Voldemort with malice, as he gazed at his adversary with utter contempt and pure venom. “So, Potter, you have challenge me, and I, Lord Voldemort, accept your challenge.”

“That’s nice, Tom, now I believe we bow,” responded Harry as he did so, with Voldemort returning, both wizards straightened up, beginning to circle each, not keeping taking one eye off of each other, as they prepared to move for their first attacks.

Voldemort made the first move, firing a jet of orange light off at Harry. Harry quickly rolled out of the way, causing the light to bounce off the ground and harmlessly up into the air. Voldemort swung forward, jabbing his wand at Harry, but Harry put up a shield, before he swerved around to the side. Harry ended up behind Voldemort but in an instant, the Dark Lord turned around. Both wizards faced each other and fired spell as at the same time. Both spells collided with each other in mid air, cancelling the other out, neither opponent budging an inch, not allowing anything to give in this titanic struggle.

Harry and Voldemort locked eyes, as they held their arms out, ready to move in the second the guard was dropped. Both refused to be the one to make the mistake, as they had the spell that they wanted to fire in their minds, just not the moment in time which it would be ideal to use it to do some real damage. Finally, Voldemort aimed his spell at Harry, but it was too soon as Harry only took a half of a step to the side. The spell ended its journey, hitting the ground, and Harry flicked his wrist, sending a twisting white light towards Voldemort. Voldemort blocked the brunt of the spell, feeling a mild electric shock that disoriented him, before Harry propelled himself into the air. Tucking his head, Harry gracefully somersaulted, dodging a barrage of spells, before he landed right off to the side of Voldemort. A grey jagged blast caught Voldemort directly in the right leg. A crack was music to Harry’s ears, as Voldemort’s leg buckled. Harry sprung right up and managed to fire a kick right to Voldemort’s chest. Voldemort caught a second kick and flung Harry off to the side. A black cloud erupted from Voldemort’s wand but Harry placed up a shield charm. The cloud ate completely through Harry’s shield, but Harry was protected, as he circled Voldemort.

“Stand still, Potter,” said Voldemort in an irritated voce, moving in to attempt to set Potter up for the kill, as he healed the injury that Potter had caused his leg, but his slippery opponent had rolled underneath another attempt to subdue him with an organ explosion hex right to the heart. Harry aimed to his feet and both wizards fired powerful spells at the same time. Both spells connected in mid air, a small shockwave echoing throughout the grounds of Hogwarts, but mostly being cancelled out. Another attack of magic clashed together, obscuring the field of vision for both wizards by creating a fog. Pushing the fog away, Voldemort sought out his opponent, seeing him standing off in the distance. Raising his wand, Voldemort sliced it, a black light moving through the air.

Voldemort watched in glee as he saw Potter ripped in half but that was short lived as a kick caught him right in the back. It should have been obvious, the boy had used the holographic image charm to maneuver in easily for another attack. Voldemort raised his wand. A slicing charm to the throat was blocked and a chain shot from mid air, snaking around the Dark Lord.

As he struggled, the chain did its job, keeping the occupant in place. So far, everything was going to plan, but the particles of the chain began to rattle, with Voldemort pulling them apart. The chain snapped apart and Harry quickly removed a dagger, before he tossed it right towards his opponent. Voldemort expertly caught the dagger and transfigured it into a black fireball, before he flung it back towards Harry. The air heated up as the fireball whizzed in the air, but a blast of blue light struck the fireball, freezing it in mid air. It dropped to the ground, shattering into pieces as it hit.

Harry felt slightly exhausted from pulling off that mystic spell to stop Voldemort’s dark magic fueled fireball. Rest was not an option, as Voldemort conjured a flaming hot pair of daggers and magically flung them towards Harry. The daggers spun in the air and Harry quickly put up a shield. The daggers pushed against its resistance, Harry could feel the white hot metal pushing towards his face, but he managed to fling them back towards Voldemort. Voldemort cancelled the spells, the daggers vanishing and then he shot black ropes right towards Harry. Harry deflected the ropes right back towards Voldemort, which forced the Dark Lord to slice them before they wrapped around him and eventually contracted to strangle him.

“Potter, you might have kept up with me so far, but you can even see that it is hopeless,” said Voldemort, as he rushed forward, aiming the palm of his hand right towards Harry’s ear, magically amplifying the attack but Harry blocked the hand, before he twisted Voldemort’s wrist and attempted to heave him to the ground. Voldemort landed on his feet and both wizards faced each other. Eyes locked, they both attempted magical attacks. Both clashed in mid air, with Harry taking advantage of the back lash to fling a shuriken at Voldemort. Voldemort blasted it to dust and once again, two spells were fired at each other. They connected, propelling off of each other, as both adversaries circled each other, before they bent at the knees. Springing up into the air, two more spells fired at each other and once again, they collided with each other, cancelling the other out as they hit each other.

From underneath the invisibility cloak, Ginny watched from as close as she could get without getting in the crossfire. Despite the fact she was a long way back, she could still feel the power coming off both Harry and Voldemort, as they attempted to take each other out with a spell, but the spells hit each other in mid air. Once again, the spells continued to cancel each other out when they had hit, as Harry sprung into the air, above Voldemort, intensity in his eyes. Ginny clapped her hand over her mouth when she saw a flesh tearing curse flying towards Harry, but Harry pivoted in mid air, before he attempted to drive both of his feet into Voldemort’s head. The dangerous wizard had magically blocked it and sent Harry back with a propulsion charm. Rushing his adversary, Voldemort slashed his wand forward, but the shield Harry put up blocked the spell, even if it had pushed him back a few inches. The shield broke and the second it did, Harry threw a coma curse at Voldemort. This deadly curse only served to keep Voldemort off balance, as he blocked it, before moving around to attempt to keep his sights on his opponent.

“That one almost it, didn’t it, Tom?” taunted Harry, as he deflected another curse that Voldemort fired at him harmlessly up into the heavens. A second one was deflected right by at Voldemort, forcing him to cancel his spell just seconds before it hit. “Come on, Riddle, surely you can do better than that.”

“CRUCIO!” responded Voldemort and Harry was hit with the full pain curse. No matter how many times he was under this spell, it always was hell, feeling like white hot knives stabbing into his back, but Harry conjured a bright light, shining it in Voldemort’s eyes, breaking his opponent’s concentration. The next thing the Dark Lord felt was the kick right to the chest by Harry. Harry moved around Voldemort and shackles flew right towards Voldemort. Voldemort managed to melt the shackles before he had shot them in mid air, before he whipped his wand. A loud bang and Harry found himself losing his sense of balance for a few seconds, as he was hit with a mild vertigo curse. Blocking out the dizziness, the loss of his equilibrium, the Boy-Who-Lived worked through the counter spell, managing to fight out, as his deadly adversary stood right across from him.

Voldemort held his wand up, black fire swirled around the Dark Lord. Harry looked up, seeing Voldemort propel it at him but quickly, Harry created a large breeze. Thus, the fire was blown right back in Voldemort’s face. The Dark Lord shrieked, as his flesh had been burnt by Potter, much like the encounter of the graveyard and began throwing a series of quick spells at Potter, to throw him off, so he could heal his rotting flesh. Harry gazed over his shoulder, towards the Lake. Water rose up in the air and Harry diverted it right towards Voldemort, the man made tidal wave crashing right at Voldemort. Voldemort was threw back into the bleachers on the Quidditch field, them cracking from the impact of his head going right through them. The impact would have killed a normal person. Given it was Voldemort, Harry felt a minor concussion would be about right.

Sure enough, seconds later, Voldemort burst right up from the wreckage, a murderous look in his red eyes. He whipped his wand right towards Harry, who dodged the attack. Another attack was mostly blocked by Harry, only earning a small cut on his cheek. Leaping around, Voldemort pulled himself up, but quickly, Harry threw all of his power into a blasting spell, cracking what remained of the bleachers, causing Voldemort to be disoriented. Another spell flew flashed right towards Voldemort, who was driven down deeper into the bleachers, the wood splintering into his arms and body, before he pushed off, blasting them forward. Harry quickly vanished the debris and slid underneath. Voldemort spun around, throwing another curse towards Harry. Rocks burst from the ground and Voldemort dodged out of the way, being taken off of balance. Both turned around, circling each other.

“CRUCIO!” yelled Voldemort once again but Harry just dodge out of the way, causing the spell to smash against the goal post. Harry swung around the goal post, which gave him the momentum. Ducking and dodging, Voldemort became more frustrated with his inability to beat Harry. Harry conjured a sword. Grasping it firmly in his hand, Harry rushed Voldemort, swinging the weapon. Voldemort attempted to blast Harry’s weapon from his hand, but this was avoided. Just seconds before it would have connected, Voldemort conjured a sword of his own, blocking Harry’s assault. The metal pushed against each other, but Harry managed to break Voldemort’s created sword. Before another sword could be conjured, the Boy-Who-Lived raised his and stabbed Voldemort right in the wand arm. The metal impaled into the arm, forcing Voldemort to drop his wand to the ground. Blood dripped as Voldemort pulled the sword out of his arm and shoved Harry away from him with a banishing spell.

Harry landed on his feet and thrown daggers spun in the air, right towards Voldemort, preventing him from being able to pick his wand. The daggers crumbled to dust from the counter attack, replaced by fire flying from all directions at Voldemort. Water doused a few of the flames but others yet sizzled against Voldemort’s skin. Quickly, Harry back flipped over Voldemort, landing on his feet, and with the next movement, thick metal cables propelled right towards the Dark Lord. The cables cocooned around Voldemort. Angrily, he struggled against the binding, but a wave of magically created synthetic electricity flew from the ground, right towards the Voldemort. This caused Voldemort discomfort, as Harry rushed over and reached forward, he hoisted up the duffel bag containing the six Horcruxes.

Harry unzipped the bag, before the ring, the diary, the pensieve, the locket, the cup, and the snake all were on the ground. He could feel the dark magic calling to him, attempting to tempt him into touching them. It was almost as if they could sense that Harry was going to return them to their original location and attempted to save themselves in one last ditch attempt. Still, Harry focused on the task at hand, as he pulled out the piece of parchment detailing the spell on the ritual, as he saw Voldemort try to break himself free from his containment. Quickly, Harry looked at the paper, giving the ritual one final look, before he began to say the spell.

From within the cables, Voldemort just managed to tear himself free. It took a lot of magic and Voldemort leaned forward, exhausted from the effort, as he looked up to see his Horcruxes on the ground. Eyes widened when he realized what Potter was doing, he moved forward in an attempt to stop it, picking up his wand, but it was much too late. The containers of the Horcruxes burst open, several black shadows revealing the image of Voldemort at several stages of his life, before they turned and soared in the air, straight towards the original soul. Voldemort desperately attempted to blast the soul fragments back, but without the containers to hold them, the shadows propelled themselves right at Voldemort, to latch onto his soul. Without seconds, the soul fragments absorbed into Voldemort’s skin, as he screamed, feeling the pain of his soul being magically fused back together, dropping to the ground for a few seconds.

Harry watched, but he suddenly felt a throbbing pain in the area of his head around the scar. A thumping sound echoed in his head, as Harry staggered around, becoming very dizzy. A loud thump and Harry staggered around, if he did not know any better, it was almost like something was trying to break free. Harry placed his hand on his scar, but he withdrew it in an instant, he felt the pain burning into his hand from just placing it on his forehead. Through the haze of his vision this new pain was causing, he saw Voldemort struggle to his feet. Harry prepared to attack, but one step forward and he was slumped over. It suddenly made perfect sense what had happened, the full ramifications of his mother’s ritual to see Voldemort’s end and allow Harry’s survival. Even through the pain, Harry could see everything clearly, and Voldemort had looked more human, but not quite completely reverted back. This sealed it in Harry’s mind. The worst case scenario that he had pushed away had been in fact true.

“Potter, you should not have meddled in this magic, look at what it has done to you,” taunted Voldemort softly, as he watched Harry’s discomfort through his slit like eyes. “Can barely stand up even, pathetic, on your feet and look me in the eye when I kill you. In fact, perhaps I should put you out of your misery, I still hold a small deal of mercy despite what you’ve done.”

“Give me your best shot, you gutless bastard,” rasped Harry through the throbbing pain through his scar, as his head felt like he was on fire, knowing the only way to free him of this burden, even if the chances of bringing his own end were high but perhaps when Voldemort…no that was too much to hope for.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!” cried Voldemort and green light flew right at Harry. It cut through the air, in slow motion, but Harry could not have made any movement to block it in his state. The spell struck Harry directly in the chest and he fell to the ground, the world around him fading to black.

Yes, I went with my original plans, despite nearly changing them because of how similar they were to what happened in the actual seventh book. At least up until removing the Horcrux from Harry that is. Two more chapters to go and then the Heart of the Warrior Series will be completed.