With a burst of hurried footsteps, a figure rushed into the vast circular chamber of the Department of Mysteries.
The intruder was missing a leg, replaced with a wooden prosthetic. Beneath his thick, dark-gray hair, his face was scarred and worn, like old, splintered wood, and a large portion of his nose was gone...
Alastor Moody leaned on his cane as he advanced step by step toward the standoff between Dumbledore and Voldemort—his wand hidden inside the cane.
"Alastor..." Dumbledore lifted his head, momentarily distracted.
"It's not over yet, Dumbledore!" Voldemort roared. His blood-soaked hand trembled as he released a blast of vivid green light, throwing his full strength into the attack.
Voldemort's face twisted grotesquely; it was clear he had poured every last bit of power into this strike.
Dumbledore cracked his Elder Wand like a whip, a long, thin stream of flame shooting from its tip to meet the green light. The two forces clashed in a blistering deadlock across barely ten yards.
"Kill him, Barty!" Voldemort growled, his voice raw.
He called to his most loyal Death Eater—to the servant who had dragged him back from the abyss—to the follower he trusted above all...
Mad-Eye Moody slammed his cane against the floor—
A surge of force shattered the entire cane into splinters, revealing the wand hidden inside. Mad-Eye ignored the wood cutting into his palm and tightened his grip...
A powerful red light burst from the wand's tip, shooting straight toward the two figures locked in combat.
...
The smile on Voldemort's face froze instantly.
He knew he had been struck with a fatal blow from behind.
He turned in disbelief, staring in shock at young Barty Crouch Jr., who had taken Polyjuice Potion to assume Mad-Eye Moody's appearance.
Impossible. Unthinkable. His most loyal servant had chosen this moment—this moment—to betray him.
The powerful red spell had drained nearly all of Moody's strength. His face turned pale as he dropped to one knee, barely holding himself upright with his wand.
"I'm not Barty, Dark Lord..." Alastor Moody said weakly but firmly. "I'm Mad-Eye Moody."
Voldemort's arms dangled helplessly. His scarlet eyes rolled back, pupils blown wide. As if all the life had been sucked out of him, his skin crumbled away like dry earth, flaking into nothing...
A black, ragged shadow ripped itself free from the collapsing body and fled in panic...
Dumbledore, expression solemn, raised his wand toward the shadow—but after a moment, slowly lowered it again.
...
"Master!" Bellatrix Lestrange shrieked.
But it was unmistakable—the battle was over. Voldemort's body had turned to ash, and his soul was fleeing in terror.
The Death Eaters' defeat was sealed.
Bellatrix realized it too. Before Dumbledore and Moody could turn their attention on her, she flicked her wand. Flames roared to life inside a wall-mounted fireplace, emerald fire sweeping across the floor.
Bellatrix sprinted toward the flames at full speed...
Then something rather embarrassing happened!
Instead of vanishing into the fire, she slammed straight into the back wall of the fireplace, leaving her dazed... and the flames licking at her robes scorched her badly enough to make her scream.
Nymphadora Tonks had just stepped out of the chamber filled with crystal balls. It took her several seconds to recognize that the woman flailing in the flames was her Death Eater aunt.
"Stupefy!" Tonks shouted, drawing her wand.
Bellatrix Lestrange dropped to the floor like a kite with its string cut.
...
"Mad-Eye!" Tonks screamed as she turned, rushing to support Moody.
"I'm fine. Not dead yet, Nymphadora..." Moody's voice trembled.
"Don't call me Nymph—fine... Whatever. As long as you're okay..." Tonks muttered, propping him up so he could lie safely on the ground.
Kingsley Shacklebolt and Remus Lupin approached Dumbledore, looking up at the path the dark shadow had taken.
"Is he dead?" Kingsley asked quietly, his deep voice steady.
"In a way, he is," Dumbledore said calmly. "But in truth, no... Just as Harry couldn't kill him fourteen years ago in Godric's Hollow, and I couldn't finish him at Hogwarts four years back. Tom fears death. When death comes for him, he always keeps a few tricks hidden."
"But at least he'll be weakened for a good while—and those fools at the Ministry finally understand what they're facing, right?" Lupin asked.
"Of course," Dumbledore nodded. "Everything today unfolded exactly as planned."
Noise swelled behind them as the Aurors and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix emerged from the crystal-filled chamber—some carrying fallen comrades, others escorting captured Death Eaters.
With the Order's reinforcements, their numbers were overwhelming. Not a single Death Eater escaped.
Harry, with the help of Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge, and Hestia Jones, carried his injured friends out of the chamber as well.
"How did you do it, Professor Dumbledore?" Mad-Eye seemed to have dozed off on the floor, and Tonks looked up curiously. "Voldemort suddenly got so weak..."
"To be honest, I don't know myself!" Dumbledore shrugged. "Perhaps I'll need to ask that friend of mine later."
"Who is he?" Tonks looked even more curious.
"I'm afraid I can't say—not yet. I'm not sure he wishes to be known..." Dumbledore paused. "Not until I tell him a very long story tonight."
...