Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Harry Potter universe. I only claim my original characters, and I suppose the plot, too… None of the lyric bits are mine, either.
A/N: Well, well, well! I suppose I've found the secret to getting reviews! Just add in a few explicit and criminally disgusting lines, and voila! ^_^ In this chapter, we have the conversation with the ghosts, Harry goes after Ravenclaw's wand, and we get a peek at what's happening with good ol' Tommy Boy. We also have a bit more of Luna's 'oddity' here… just a taste for you fans of perversion! (I do have an odd sense of humor, don't I?) I'm sorry this took so long to post… it's taking quite a bit for me to find the time to write, and I've had a slight bit of a block as well. I think it's going to be worse in the next chapter, as I'm sure you can guess… Harry's meeting with the goblins is going to take a LOT of thought, so I'll apologize beforehand about next chapter. ^_^; I hope you enjoy this one, though! Cheers! (Word Count: 6523)
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Chapter 49: The Return of the Lost Soul
You're taking the fun out of everything.
You're making it clear when I don't want to think.
You're taking me up when I don't want to go up anymore…
I'm just watching it all.
There's no other way,
there's no other way.
All that you can do is watch them play.
Excerpt from the song, 'There's No Other Way,' by the band, Blur.
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Harry stared incredulously at Nearly-Headless Nick as Ron stood beside him mimicking a goldfish out of water. They had both clearly heard the ghost's request, but neither seemed to immediately grasp the implication of the appeal. After a few anxious moments, Harry turned to see Hermione facing away from the host of spirits with her face in her hands. He turned back to the group of ghosts to see them staring back at the trio expectantly.
"What do you mean, 'you want to pass on?'" Harry looked at Nick specifically and said, "I remember you saying that you might have made a mistake staying here after you died, but you said it yourself, it was too late… you can't move on!"
"That was before we knew about her," said Nearly Headless Nick as he pointed at Hermione, "Since I died, there have been three Necromancers who lived in Britain at different times, and none of those three would have been sympathetic to our plight… but Miss Granger… well, most of us Hogwarts ghosts know of her abundant, but sometimes misplaced, compassion, and…"
"How did you know?" came a weak, cracking voice from inside Hagrid's hut, causing the focus of attention to shift from Harry to Hermione's back, as she was still facing into the room and away from the multitude of spirits.
"I'm afraid that would be because of me," said an eerily jolly voice from within the crowd. A few moments later, the Fat Friar, the house ghost of Hufflepuff, stepped out from the throng, "Pomona Sprout asked if I could check to see if the Sabregrass in Greenhouse Three was ready to be harvested… it has to be picked in early morning, and apparently Madam Pomfrey was in need of some for a potion. On my way to the greenhouse, I heard a bell toll, and I saw you by the Headmaster's tomb…"
"But… how could you know what I was doing?" asked Hermione in a choked whisper.
"Before I died, I was a 'man of the cloth' during the Middle Ages, you see… I know an exorcism ritual when I see one, Miss Granger… it was quite obvious to me what you were doing."
"Then you must know why I can't do it for you," said Hermione forcefully as she spun around to face the crowd for the first time, "How can you ask me to do… that! Do you even realize what you're asking me to do… what the consequences are? I know Sir Nicholas's story… beheaded because of a mishap with a spell, but you… you are another story."
"I've been wandering these halls since the year 1232," said the Fat Friar solemnly, "I will admit it, I was afraid of death at the time… but I believe I've wandered this world long enough! I miss my family and friends… I made a mistake staying here, and many of us here feel the same way as I do, as you can tell."
"You don't get it, do you?" said Hermione angrily, "I've seen what awaits all of you on the other side, and not all of it is sunshine and daisies!" Hermione stepped forward and pointed at the Fat Friar, "You had good reason to be afraid of death! I know of you, Abbot of Fountain Abbey, or should I call you Friar Tuck? Yes, I do know of your life. How many murders had you been a party to? I believe you have never directly murdered, you let the band of thieves handle that, but only you can answer that. Don't just assume you'll be reunited with your loved ones… you just might be in for a very rude surprise."
Hermione then turned to the gathered members of the Headless Hunt and said, "You there, how virtuous were your lives? By the dress of you, I'd say most of you were Norman raiders or Saxon brigands, beheaded for crimes against the Lords and the Crown. A few of you even look to be Norse invaders, but believe me, it doesn't matter if you had your weapon in your hand when you died… there's no huge banquet hall in Valhalla for you! You have no idea what awaits you on the other side!"
Hermione suddenly spun on her heel and pointed at the Bloody Baron of Slytherin and continued her rant, clearly becoming even angrier. Her eyes traveled over the large, dripping bloodstains on his pearly, ethereal garments as she practically yelled, "And you, Baron Henry Crittenden… Do you honestly believe that I want to be responsible for sending you to your 'just rewards' after what you did during your life? You were responsible for the Massacre of Ravenshall Glen! You single handedly wiped out an entire wizarding village because you were attacked by the father of a young witch that you had brutally raped and tortured! I can tell you right now that your half-life here as a ghost is a far cry better than what awaits you in the afterlife, that is, if karma has anything to do with it at all!"
"How do you know all that stuff about them?" asked Ron in disbelief.
Hermione spun around and snarled at Ron, "Are you ever going to read Hogwarts: A History, or are you resplendent in your continued ignorance?"
Not waiting for an answer to her rhetorical question, she turned back to the ghosts and firmly said, "Are you so sure of what is actually waiting for you on the other side? You're all asking me to be the judge of your souls, but I refuse to do it! I can't do it! Don't you understand?" Tears came to her eyes as she looked down to her feet, "I'm terribly sorry, but I can't give you what you're asking for. I know that there are some among you who would end up at peace, but I just don't have a way to tell, we don't have the time, and truthfully, I don't have the desire to 'play God' today. Harry, Ron… let's go."
With that, trio gave a solemn wave to Hagrid and began walking towards the main gates, gliding through the ghosts and ignoring the terrible, chilling sensations caused by passing through their ghostly bodies. Most of the ghosts just stared somberly as Hermione passed, and others had their heads hung low as they considered the lives that they had once led. It was obvious that none of the ghosts had considered beforehand what the afterlife might be like for them.
As they approached the gates that led to the road beyond the Hogwarts grounds, a lone, shadowed figure stood ominously in the early morning gloom. The trio paused only a moment before approaching the figure, only to discover that it was none other than Luna Lovegood barring their way. Harry and Hermione walked confidently towards the gate, but surprisingly, Ron fell back a few steps behind them.
"Hello, Luna," said Harry as he approached, "It's a bit early in the morning for you to be up and about, isn't it?"
Luna, wearing her customary detached demeanor, looked past Harry and Hermione and said to Ron, "Good Morning, Harry… hello Ronald… I see you're about to go off on another adventure with Harry, here."
Both Harry and Hermione noticed that Luna had purposefully ignored the presence of Hermione entirely, not even sparing her a glance. Ron, however, looked as though he had swallowed a flobberworm as he nervously replied, "H-hi Luna… yeah… well… Harry needs me to… well… we're going somewhere important, and…"
"and you didn't even think to let me know that you were leaving the castle?"
"Sorry, Luna… I thought you were sleeping, and I really didn't have time to leave a note for you… I was going to owl you as soon as Pig got back, 'though I have no idea where the bloody bird is at the moment…" Ron hung his head and said, "Sorry, hon… forgive me?"
Luna's eyes drifted distractedly towards the Black Lake as she answered in a matter-of-fact tone, "Of course I don't forgive you, Ronald…" Ron's face fell from the hopeful, optimistic smile to a pained grimace until she continued in a voice that held absolutely no mirth, but only promise, "it will be much more fun punishing you once you come back."
Harry wore a puzzled expression as he watched Ron's face fall into a worried frown for just an instant, before it morphed into an obviously dreamy and distant smile, followed with a terrified, wide-eyed look of realization that she had actually said that aloud in front of Harry and Hermione.
Luna handed Ron a small sack and said, "Your brothers told me you were going off with Harry. They wanted me to make sure you got that before leaving." She turned and began walking back towards the castle, but stopped after a few steps and dreamily said over her shoulder, "Just make sure you bring back enough of yourself for me to punish."
Ron was snapped out of his glassy-eyed stare when Hermione abruptly grabbed his arm and roughly pulled him towards the gate. An instant later, her eyes widened in realization and she let go of his arm as if it were on fire, then looked abashedly at Harry, who was looking at the scene with abject confusion clearly etched in his eyes.
"Let's just get out of here…" said Hermione as she stepped through the gates and grabbed hold of Harry's arm, "to The Cauldron, then?"
"Diagon Alley?" asked Ron, "We're going after the wand right now?"
"Voldemort already knows that I'm after his horcruxes," answered Harry as he held his other arm out to Ron, "We have to do this now before he decides to move them… If he were to move the wand and bury it under a rock in the middle of some forest somewhere, we'd have no hope of finding it… and don't worry, all you'll be doing is taking care of Hermione's body while I get the wand."
Ron, being already 'stimulated' by Luna's overtly suggestive behavior just a few scant moments before, just stared disbelievingly at Harry, wondering why he was even suggesting such a thing, while Hermione turned an interesting shade of crimson and began stammering incoherently, trying and failing to explain to Ron what Harry actually meant.
"No! You see I'm going with Harry, but I'm leaving my body with you… No! I… I mean, you're going to watch me while I'm with him… oh dear…"
As Hermione rambled, Ron was just looking between Harry and Hermione with a shocked, yet somewhat intrigued expression.
"Just come on!" said Harry exasperatedly, clearly missing what was so wrong about what was being said. He grabbed hold of Ron's wrist and an instant later, they were standing in the alley between The Leaky Cauldron and the entrance to Diagon Alley, which, much to their surprise, had been mysteriously left open. They glanced through the arched portal and looked down along the darkened Alley, finding it completely deserted.
Harry carefully opened the door to the tavern, lit Kotone's wand and looked inside. Broken chairs and tables were scattered around the room, half of the bar was torn away from the wall and lay on its front while the other half was pushed across the room and was wedged in front of the hall that led to the back rooms and also blocked the stairway leading up to the inn rooms. Fragments of glass from shattered bottles littered the floor, along with dark brown stains that could have been either spilled firewhiskey or blood… in the dim wandlight, they really couldn't tell.
It was obvious, however, that there was nobody there. As silently as they could, the trio made their way across the room. They scurried over the bar and climbed the stairs to the inn rooms. After a quick search to ensure they were truly alone, they picked an empty room that seemed most defensible in case any Death Eaters decided to investigate the building. They slung a heavy blanket over the window and then lit the lamps that lined the walls.
"Alright, once I'm out, barricade the door and seal it up the best you can. I'll go down to the entrance to the Alley and wait for Hermione." Harry looked directly at Ron and said seriously, "All you have to do is protect this room. When Hermione's with me, her body is completely defenseless, so we're counting on you to keep her safe… I'm counting on you…"
"Wait a sec…" said Ron while shaking his head, "If she's going with you, how is she staying here?"
"My soul is going to leave my body and will follow Harry," explained Hermione, "If something goes wrong, I'll come back here and we can go help him. That's why we're hiding in here and not miles away… we have to stay close to Ollivander's, and yet remain hidden and protected. We almost considered the Twins' shop, but didn't want to deal with whatever protections they have there. We couldn't very well ask them to let us in without telling them why, and you heard them yourself… imagine me dancing a jig down Diagon Alley while completely starkers!"
Hermione said it before she realized exactly what she was saying. She only realized her mistake when she saw the look of mild disgust cross Ron's face.
Hermione roughly slapped his arm and said angrily, "Honestly, it wouldn't be that disturbing… at least I don't have to worry about being molested while I leave my body with you."
Harry, too, noticed the look that Ron gave, but only smiled inwardly as the vision of a naked, dancing Hermione jiggled her way through his mind's eye. He was broken out of his stupor when Hermione roughly shoved the bag she was carrying into his arms and then forcefully pushed him out through the doorway. An instant later, the door briefly lit up with a sealing charm, and then the sounds of furniture being piled against the closed door met his ears.
Harry slung the bag over his shoulder and silently made his way down the stairs, over the broken bar, across the tavern and out into the alleyway behind The Leaky Cauldron. He leaned back into a shadowed corner and entered his state, feeling the sensation of time slowing around him. Even though it was less than half of a minute in 'real' time, it felt to him like hours had passed before he saw the ethereal image of a glorious, golden eagle float through the closed doorway to the inn.
Harry still couldn't help but to stare at the magnificent visage before him. The simple elegance of her movements, her graceful stance, and the energy that seemed to surround her soul's form enthralled him. He stood there staring at her until he clearly heard her voice echoing through his mind, 'We don't have all night, Harry. Let's go.'
Once again, Harry had to bring his mind back into focus. He stepped towards the entrance to Diagon Alley, but stopped when he heard Hermione say, 'What are you doing? You need to go there yourself, not just your soul!'
Harry looked to Hermione perplexedly, then noticed from the corner of his eye that his body was still standing there, slumped in the corner of the alleyway and staring blankly at where Hermione's soul was standing. He moved back, and with only a thought, re-entered his body. He had to adjust how deeply he was into his state to be able to control and move his body without actually leaving it. He found that in order to move properly, he had to be rooted to the point where he couldn't see the souls around him, but could also tell that time was still somewhat shifted. Even though he was moving in a slightly accelerated state, it still felt like he was moving underwater, with resistance greeting each of his limbs as he tried to move.
After a few more adjustments, he was able to move normally, but felt that he wasn't using his state to its full capacity. He still didn't have the sensation of being able to 'feel' everything around him as he did during the failed enhancement ritual. Although he wasn't able to truly 'see' his surroundings, he could still tell that Hermione was there with him.
As he walked down the alley towards Ollivander's shop, he was constantly adjusting how deep he was in his state. He soon discovered that there was a fine line to what he could and couldn't actually do with his body while in his state. He somehow knew that he 'should' be able to move freely while fully in his state, but whenever he got to the point where he could sense his surroundings and the souls around him, it felt like his body was moving through custard. He would have to talk to Hermione about that at a later time.
Harry found himself standing in front of the boarded-up door of Ollivander's shop. As he carefully ran his hand along the edges of the door, he discovered that the boards were placed with a sticking charm only on the door itself, not on the surrounding threshold. He grasped the handle to the door, and sure enough, it opened easily, emitting an ominous creak from the long unused hinges. He glanced around the abandoned alley, and when he was sure nobody was there watching, he slipped through the doorway into the shop.
The instant he entered the building, one thought came clearly to his mind… there wasn't an anti-apparition jinx on the building. Although he already knew that fact, he was reassured that the twins had given him good information. He couldn't physically tell if there was a Displacement ward in effect, but Hermione had mentioned that it would be virtually undetectable to anyone entering. He forced the thought to the front of his mind… 'Do not Apparate!'
Harry looked to his right and saw the access door to the front window display case just a few feet beside him. He took one step from the doorway and jumped when the door slammed loudly shut, and then disappeared altogether, leaving a solid blank wall in its place.
Harry quickly glanced around, but saw nothing else out of place. The bare shelves that had once held a multitude of boxes leant a dreary, abandoned atmosphere to the room. He instantly began feeling restless, as if he were being watched by scrutinizing, unfriendly eyes. The walls seemed to radiate a powerful magic, making him feel quite small and inadequate. He tried to keep in mind the warnings that the twins had given him about the wards and protections that were in place, but it seemed that the more he tried to assure himself that what he was feeling was the effects of multiple security wards, the more anxious he became as his subconscious tried to convince him that what he was feeling was real. Still, he was able to concentrate on the one thought, his one purpose… to get the wand in the window.
Harry took another step towards the access door and reached his hand out to the latch. He froze when he heard a pleading voice, gravelly, familiar and terrifying at the same time, "What are you do? Prease! Do not hurt!"
'Kotone!' thought Harry as his eyes snapped to the doorway to the back room beside the main counter.
Another, different voice rang out… an all too familiar voice began pleading, "No! Don't hurt her!"
'Hermione?'
At that point, Harry heard a high, cruel laugh that sent a shiver along his already heightened nerves. A third voice spoke… a voice that he was totally unprepared to hear, "Imperio!"
Harry leapt into action. He ran towards the open doorway to the back room. Between the high walls holding up the rows of empty shelves, he saw Lord Voldemort, looking as menacing and snake-like as ever, holding his wand on a blankly staring Hermione, who was in turn holding her wand on the cowering figure of Kotone, crouched in a fetal position on the floor in a corner of the room.
Hermione briefly glanced at Harry before she displayed a wicked grin and turned to Kotone.
"It's me he loves, not you… You have him fooled, but not me! It's time to eliminate the competition!" Hermione thrust her wand at cowering young half-witch and before Harry could react, she yelled, "Avada Kedavra!"
Kotone's violet eyes locked pleadingly to his and she called out to him, "SHII-"
The rush of wind and the flash of green was the entirety of Harry's consciousness. He watched numbly as Kotone's lifeless body relaxed onto the floor, but the now empty, violet eyes remained locked with his, staring back at him… still pleading with him… but absent of the life and love he had been so used to seeing in them.
Harry felt dizzy. He felt angry. He felt as though his world was collapsing around him. He could almost hear his heart breaking inside of his chest. He could feel a pressure all over his body, as if he were deep underwater. He just kept staring at those empty eyes that were staring unseeingly back at him, almost expecting her to create that odd connection of hers… even though he knew it wasn't going to happen.
Harry didn't even realize that he had stopped breathing. Only when he heard Hermione's voice did he gasp in a painful breath as he looked away from his dead daughter, "Oh, but look at what I've done… I don't suppose you'll ever forgive me for that…" Hermione placed her wand against her own throat and continued, "I'm sorry, Harry, but you must realize by now that I could never share you with anyone else… but now I suppose it's much too late… I'd rather die than to live without…"
Hermione suddenly froze. She was standing motionlessly in the center of the room with Voldemort standing along the opposite wall directly behind her.
"What will you do now, Harry?" said Voldemort in a calm, questioning voice, "Your abomination of a 'daughter' is gone, the mudblood Necromancer is under my thumb… unable to erase any more of my essence from this world… what will you do now? What will you choose? You had better decide quickly…"
Hermione suddenly began speaking again, "Ah, but what good would it do to kill myself without taking you with me… I've seen the other side… I control the other side… Yes, I think I'll take you with me! Avada Kedavra!"
Throughout the shock, turmoil and outrage that was torturing Harry's soul, he had enough presence of mind to dive out through the doorway back into the main lobby and out of the path of the rushing green beam that only missed him by a hair's breadth. He only barely got to his feet as he turned back to the doorway just in time to see Hermione skid into view with her wand pointed threateningly at him. She began laughing at him, and in that time Harry took the chance to discreetly raise a finger of his gloved hand in her direction.
Harry didn't know if he could do it. He didn't know if he'd be able to stop the woman he loved from trying to kill him. He knew that she was under the Imperious Curse, but he was never told how to break the curse. Would a simple stunner stop her? His tortured mind snapped into focus as he saw her appearance begin to shift. Her hair was darkening and growing longer… her complexion whitened… her lips turned cherry red and her eyes deepened into blackened pools. He watched in awe as her clothes began morphing into the sheer, flowing black dress and as the dark gray fog began rolling along the floor surrounding her.
He immediately willed himself into his state and cast the most powerful stunner he could muster. He knew he couldn't move his body, but the glove was already lined up with her, and he was sure she would be taken by surprise by the spell. The flash of red left the fingertip of his glove and struck Hermione squarely in the chest. He almost breathed a sigh of relief, but then he saw that the stunner he had sent her way had absolutely no effect.
Her chilling laugh became louder, and the first instinct that came into his head was to Apparate away, but that thought lead him to another… 'there was something about the shop that would force a person to Apparate… the Displacement effect would cause certain death…'
It was then that Harry noticed that, while he was fully in his state and unable to move, he was still looking directly at Hermione and only saw Hermione… not the eagle form of her soul. Despite all of the confusing wards on the premises that were adversely affecting his judgment, the realization still came to him… that was not Hermione… it could only be…
'A Boggart… and more than one of them…each working together… each picking apart my deepest, darkest fears!'
Harry immediately remembered the spell to be used against the Boggart, the 'Riddikukus' spell, but in his state of mind, he honestly couldn't think of a damn thing that would make the situation funny… laughter was the last thing on his mind.
Harry knew that Boggarts were dangerous… while in snake form, they were still venomous… while in dementor form, they had the ability to drain both happiness and souls… and in the form of a person, they could use any spell or ability that the victim associates with the source of the image… in other words, all the abilities that he knew Hermione possessed in her altered form. Still, he knew that this wasn't Hermione, and it wasn't Kotone lying dead in the other room, or Voldemort lording over them, either… or so he had hoped.
Being in his accelerated state gave him time to think, but not as much time as he would have liked as the Boggart Hermione had also fully assumed her state. Clarity of purpose came to the forefront of his mind… he had to get Ravenclaw's wand and leave that place as quickly as he could. Harry reverted out of his state just enough to move and dodged just in time as a powerful bludgeoning hex flared by in the exact spot he was standing in a moment before. He cast a hasty shielding charm behind himself as he lunged towards the access panel to the front display window.
A quick succession of spells rang off his shield. After the shield had failed, a series of coloured flashes crackled and hissed through the air around him. An evil looking orange spark just grazed his right cheek, and he felt the right side of his face relax into a numb, nerveless droop.
With only a thought, he sent a Reducto at the wooden panel and watched it splinter. His ungloved hand followed the explosion through and he grasped the wand lying on the dusty, faded pillow. The moment he touched the wand, he felt the familiar tug of portkey travel wrench at his belly. He knew that the wand might have been turned into a portkey, but he was prepared for that possibility. At the same time he had reached for the wand on the pillow, his gloved hand was already inside of the bag that he had strung over his shoulder.
He felt himself land roughly on a hard stone floor. For just an instant, he saw the glowing red, serpentine eyes boring through him and an evil, triumphant grin. At the exact moment he felt himself hit the floor, Harry held tightly to the cylinder in his bag and whispered, 'Gringotts.' A heartbeat after that, he felt another pull behind his navel and he disappeared from the room in another fall of colour, leaving behind an enraged Dark Lord.
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Less than an hour after the Dark Lord had caught the glimpse of the 'Boy Who Lived' before him, he had his inner circle of Death Eaters gathered around him.
"What did you say?" hissed Voldemort's voice icily.
Amycus Carrow, while on his knees and stooped in a low bow, cocked his head slightly to the side and saw his sister, Alecto, similarly stooped and looking back at him with fear in her eyes. His eyes dropped nervously to the floor in sad resignation as he replied to his master with his own voice clearly betraying his reluctance to speak at all.
"He is gone, Master. Nobody seems to know where he is. He apparently left the chamber sometime early yesterday evening and hasn't been seen since. Nobody there saw him leave… we suspect he used his rat form to leave undetected."
Amycus braced himself for the curse that he was sure would soon follow, but after several tense moments of silence, he turned his head and chanced another look at his sister kneeling beside him. She was looking up towards the Dark Lord with a shocked expression. He hadn't dared lifted his gaze since entering the room, just as none of the others in the room, but his curiosity overrode his fear and he, too, looked up. He then knew what his sister's shaken expression was about.
To say that Voldemort's face looked skeletal would have been a grave understatement. His scaly flesh, what there was left of it, was just barely hanging from his skull, making it appear as if it were melting. His thin, emaciated lips were so shriveled that they didn't even slightly cover his blackened, crooked teeth. The slits of his pupils, which could barely be seen under his loosely drooping brows, were staring at some distant point above their heads. He was so appalled, so mortified by his master's appearance that he actually jumped when Voldemort suddenly spoke.
"Come here."
It was only when Amycus felt his jaw snap shut that he realized that his mouth had been hanging open. He rose from his knees and walked the few paces towards his master.
"Your arm," hissed Voldemort tiredly.
Amycus drew up the sleeve of his robe and presented his arm. He didn't even have time to react when Voldemort's wand moved with lightning speed and was jabbed painfully into his Dark Mark. He then discovered exactly how furious Voldemort actually was at that moment. The smell of his own burning flesh reached his nostrils at about the same time he was able to draw a deep breath through the extreme pain before letting out a howl of agony. He couldn't hear his sister's similar screech above his own yell.
Within five minutes, the entire chamber was filled with over four score black-robed and skull-masked Death Eaters, all of whom were fervently clutching at their left forearms, obviously in intense pain. The Death Eaters who were assigned with the giants, the ones overseeing the werewolves, the ones searching for Potter's Necromancer, every one was summoned to the chamber. Only when the large doors slammed shut did Voldemort remove his wand from Amycus' arm, leaving a smoking, bleeding hole in the center of the Mark.
Voldemort rose unsteadily from his seat and pointed his wand at the long meeting table that was along the side wall. With a wave, the table slid along the floor and stopped right in front of him. He then tapped the tip of his wand on the tabletop, causing the entire table to flash with a blue glow.
"Donohoe, Beasley… go back to your werewolves and get them to the pre-arranged grove in the north of Devon."
The two Death Eaters bowed and strode to the door. Apparently, they weren't moving fast enough for Voldemort's liking, because they had only gone a few steps when a powerful exploding hex struck the floor directly behind the pair, sending shards of stone from the floor tearing into the backs of their legs. The two Death Eaters seemed to get the message, as they sprinted the rest of the way from the room.
"Simms, Cromwell… how long would it take to get the giants from Scotland to Devon?"
Two Death Eaters stepped forward. They looked at each other nervously, then the shorter of the pair, a rotund woman who appeared to have a permanent scowl of displeasure etched on her face, addressed her Lord, "The big oafs don' like t' bein' ordered aroun'. We's been 'avin' nuthin' but problems getting' them t' move at all. We's behin' schedule getting' the lot o' them t' 'Ogwarts, so getting' them alla way down t' Devon any time soon don' seem likely, m'lord."
Voldemort let out a tired sigh, and said, "Simms, go back there and keep them moving to Hogwarts. It doen't matter now when they get there… it's not really a priority now. Cromwell, you stay here."
The male Death Eater stepped back in line with the rest of the group while the pudgy woman bowed the best she could and then hurried at a comically quickened pace for the door, obviously taking to heart the incentive that was given to the first two Death Eaters, and didn't want the same motivational tactic applied to her.
"Yaxley, go with the Carrows and collect your 'pets.' Get them to the forest northwest of Cheriton, and keep them concealed… we don't want to spoil the surprise, now do we?"
Yaxley and the Carrow siblings hurriedly left the room. As the door closed, Voldemort addressed the remainder of his forces.
"I have something hidden in Devon… something that the Potter whelp wants to take from me very badly. None of you will be able to see what you're guarding, but believe me when I say that you will give your lives to protect it. Once we get to the destination, set up a perimeter and assign teams to collect supplies. We may be there for an hour…"
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Unseen by anyone in the room, a dark, ethereal serpent drifted through the southern wall of the room. It's journey began at a painfully slow pace, hindered by the repeated bindings placed upon it when it resided in its previous host. As it traveled over the vast ocean and closer to its destination, it felt its agility and power slowly returning. The last leg of its long journey was made quite swiftly. Now, at long last, it was about to be reunited with its only active counterpart. In the blink of an eye, the shattered remnant of Tom Riddle's original soul swooped across the room and entered the body of Lord Voldemort.
-----~-----
"…or we may be there for months, so be prepared to…"
Voldemort's monologue was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a wand clattering onto the floor. A moment later, a shrieking, blood-curdling scream echoed around the walls of the vast chamber. The startled Death Eaters lifted their collective gazes from the floor and began looking around at each other, wondering who had angered their lord enough to be cursed by him in the middle of his instructions.
Eventually, every eye in the room was focused on Voldemort as he stood between his chair and the portkey table, screaming as though he were on fire. A few of his followers actually thought he was on fire, because he was surrounded by a red glow that almost looked like flames. None of the Death Eaters moved, they just stood there watching as Voldemort's visible features seemed to fill out and fill in. The loose, emaciated skin on his scaly face tightened, smoothed, and shifted back into place. His gaunt, cracked hands, while still unusually long and thin, seemed to lose their skeletal appearance.
Suddenly, the screaming stopped and Voldemort sucked in a huge, shuddering breath. His red, snake-like eyes rolled up into his head as he fell face first onto the tabletop and then rolled limply to the floor.
Most of the Death Eaters either stared dumbly at the body of their master or anxiously glanced around at each other, wondering what the bloody hell just happened. Goyle Sr. seemed to pluck up the courage to approach Voldemort. As he neared, he softly said, "My Lord? What happened?"
A deafening silence reigned in the chamber until a short, high-pitched, "Heh," drifted to Goyle's ears. That was followed by another, "Heh, heh," and then a true laugh.
The laughter became louder and more crazed as Voldemort's body shook in sync with the sounds. Goyle took a step back as Voldemort reached up and placed his hand on the table. With a surprising display of dexterity, the Dark Lord quickly lifted himself from the floor, still laughing maniacally.
'It's back!' Voldemort thought giddily to himself, 'My source has returned to me!'
At first, he thought that Potter had somehow died, but he had the strange feeling that he wasn't. He had personally seen the brat just an hour before. He suddenly realized that he had access to certain memories, knowledge of certain truths that didn't originate from him. Visions entered his consciousness about some of the circumstances of the Potter brat. They were vague and detached, but one image that entered his mind was that of a small white-haired witch who wore a mask. The image shifted, revealing the demonic countenance that was hidden beneath the mask…
'I do believe I've found Potter's Necromancer… it has to be!' he thought to himself triumphantly as his laughter increased in volume and intensity, 'Eliminate the witch, and there's nothing Potter can do to thwart my immortality!'
Nott walked forward and stood beside Goyle to get a better look at their master. He had seen the way the Dark Lord looked just minutes before, but now he appeared just as he did when he summoned his Faithful to the graveyard all those years before.
Voldemort suddenly stopped laughing. His red eyes seemed to glow even brighter than before as he yelled out to his followers, "This changes nothing! Gather 'round and touch the table! What I have hidden must still be protected! I do not know when he will come, or who will be with him, but come he will… and when he does…"
Voldemort looked around at all of his followers as they crowded around the table. When he was sure that all of them were touching it, he placed his wand tip onto the table. An instant later, the chamber was empty.
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