It seems that every Harry Potter book leads up to a final battle. SS lead to the Quirrell fight, GOF lead to the graveyard battle and so on and so on, a climactic battle to end the arc. What would you guys say is the coolest final battle?

Personally I've always really enjoyed the Basilisk fight, it reminded me of an old fashioned fairy tale, like St. George and the Dragon. Harry goes headfirst into danger to rescue the damsel in distress. In a desperate battle he slays the beast with a final gambit, as he lies dying, he strikes the final blow against his true enemy. He is finally saved by a miracle. There just seems to be something incredibly powerful about this ancient formula.

 

I really liked the one in Ministry. It really should how strong Dumbledore and Voldemort were.

 

Yeah. Dumbledore and Voldemort dueling took things to a whole new level and the books never even got close to that high point again.

 

Harry Potter didn't have many epic battles. The main reason probably is because we never really saw the more powerful characters like Snape or even Mad-eye really cut loose. Dumbledore got one great battle and Harry got a few, but other than that the fights were sorta...meh.

 

Deviating from the books, because let's face it, they didn't have many, Shezza wrote a great one in Denarian Knight in which Harry and Dumbledore face off against Voldemort and Vesper. That is one fucking great climactic battle. Probably the best one I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Minerva vs Snape was fairly short, and doesn't really count as a final battle, but it was pretty awesome nonetheless. Thought even more short-lived, there was something awesome about Bellatrix wtfpwning the Snatchers in Malfoy Manor. And needless to say, Dumbledore duking it out with Voldemort in the Ministry Atrium.

If you're looking for out of canon examples, Shezza probably does the best duels, though it's close, with guys like WaterMage (Lea vs Margaret Dresden, Harry and Aurora vs the Killing Crows in Awaken Sleeper jumps to mind), DarkSyaoran (nearly all of Harry's fights as a Servant in Fictional), Joe and Swimdraconian coming in hot on his tails. If you're looking for duels that follow the vein of how Rowling wrote her duels, I'd probably go with Taure (Harry vs Voldemort in Fawkes' Gift).

 

Harry vs Teen Angst was pretty epic.

 

Joe had some great duels as well, though they weren't wizards dueling so much as living gods duking it out.

 

Well if fanfiction counts than it's hard to beat "Demon's Feign, Merlin's Pain". Harry vs. Soothsayer, Harry vs. Drakon, Harry vs. Merlin.

If we only look at canon than I have to say: The final battle between Harry and Voldemort I imagined before DH was released.

 

In terms of canon, it's got to be Dumbledore vs Voldemort in OotP. Badass and imaginative in equal measure. It's also my favourite from the films.

Fanfic-wise, Portus wrote some great duels in Gemino, and the Unforgiving Minute. While I didn't, on reflection, care that much for the fic as a whole, Renegade Cause has some incredible duels in - Kingsley vs Voldemort and Dumbledore enchanting bowling balls as offensive weapons being the highlights. The Sacrifices Arc has some great duels too.

 

Yeah I went way overboard, but it taught me a lot about plot vs. character.

I personally enjoyed the fight scenes in Defiance of the Hero - and Wastelands.


As for canon, Harry vs. Basilisk always felt awesome to me. Magic was next to useless, so HP just stabbed a motherfucker, then used the corpse of his fallen foe to vanquish a piece of the Dark Lord's scattered soul.

 

For canon I'd say definitely the fight between Harry and Voldemort in the graveyard at the end of book four.

I mean, holy shit, what a great setup and setting for an epic battle. He's chained to a gravestone, the murderer of his parents is standing a few feet in front of him, that guy's army is surrounding them. It's dark. It's gloomy. Harry is totally outgunned and outclassed.

He still refuses to give up. That scene alone speaks volumes about Harry's character.

For fanfiction it's more difficult for me. Probably the fight between Harry and Bella on one side versus Dumbledore and the order on the other side in "Only Enemies". So many original ideas in that fight alone it's refreshing to read it even nowadays.

 

I agree with Trig, although I was a little let down when the magical bead shit started happening.

"Kill the spare" is still the most memorable Harry Potter line for me because it was so callous and nothing like that had ever happened before.

 

Fanon wise Harry vs Dumbledore in Catharsis by nuhuh was one of the best. Demon's Feign had an awesome fight with Voldemort and Merlin.

 

MALFOY VS BUCKBEAK

 

Fred vs Explosion!!!!

:awesome

.......

I hate myself.

 

Barty (as Moody) v. Draco Malfoy.

That still makes me laugh out loud after all these years. But then, it's also great because it's not Moody, really, and you get this impression of Barty as someone who was made a DE at a very young age, who witnessed and fell in love with the charisma and bravado of the first-gen DEs who trained him (Bellatrix, Dolohov, etc.), went to jail, and came out utterly disgusted with the tripe that was left over after the first defeat.

 

Harry vs. Voldemort in the Graveyard
This really was the first time that Harry actually fought face to face with his enemy, and it just showed us exactly how hard an enemy Voldemort was to defeat.

 

YASSSS definitely