Bad Wolf: Part Four
`The Bad Wolf has arrived…' the man hissed again taking another step closer, his eyes focused on Harry as he twitched slightly.
`Lord Voldemort has arisen'
Harry spun round, his wand raised straight into the air and even before his feet were properly grounded a gushing of wind that toppled Hermione filled the room.
`Impressive…' Lord Voldemort said as Hermione got herself to her feet.
She saw that Harry was now standing, one hand on his wand and the other clutching at his scar like it was a stitch or something. Ron stood to his right and the other Hermione stood to his left, both with their wands raised and pointed at Voldemort `an anti-magic field in just one command? Most impressive…'
`Thanks' Harry said brightly as he let go of his forehead and shook his head, the blood was still draining down, but now it was just a slow trickling `and I have to commend you on breaking all the security measures on this place…I admit I thought it impossible'
`I would love to say it was all my own work' Voldemort said stepping closer to Harry `but our connection was once again fully established'
`And you just followed the line of power' Harry said laughing `any squib could do that!'
`Could any squib…' Voldemort spat the last word which let Hermione know that it must be an insult `kill your parents, orchestrate the death of your Godfather and Albus? Return from death not once, but twice now?'
Harry's whole body tensed at these words and it looked momentarily as if he wanted to take a step away, but as soon as Hermione saw it Harry had shrugged it off and took a step closer to Voldemort.
`Have you just come to trade insults with me?' Harry said laughing `or are you here for some other reason?'
`Straight down to work, Potter?' Voldemort said laughing `I think you should take Albus' lead on how to deal with such things…you are trying to fill his position as self-righteous, self-proclaimed saviour of the earth, aren't you?'
`I don't know about that' Harry said as he started to pace slightly back and forth in front of his enemy, a sight Hermione greeted with hope `saviour of the Earth? Some have called me that…I think of myself as just a man who happens to be in the right place at the right time'
`You do always seem to appear in my way' Voldemort said, his hiss like voice had an almost musical quality to it, but of a song that brought despair in place of hope.
Voldemort suddenly clapped his hands, the echo of the band filled the room slightly as Voldemort filled his face with a smile.
`Once again Harry, we started on the wrong foot' Voldemort said `men of power such as ourselves can often be too guarded, too ready to expect the worse of others…and that's where we find ourselves already'
`Mainly because you're a murderer' Harry said as he looked at the man confused.
`Everyone kills for a reason' Voldemort said with a sad little smile that made him look more human than his face seemed to allow `I suggest that we talk as equals, because that's what we have become…equals is what we are now'
`Equals?' Harry said disbelievingly.
`Yes…' Voldemort hissed with a smile `you are not some fool who I can trick or threaten into submission, and I am not a man who you can outsmart and walk away unscathed and whole…we are equals, strong in different way, both with weaknesses that the other knows all too well'
`The most powerful, and least modest I might add, wizard in the world calls me his equal?' Harry said laughing disbelievingly `what's the trick here?'
`No trick' Voldemort said simply `you know how strong you have become, it would be foolish of me to not recognize that'
`So you want to talk as equals?' Harry said in shock once again, before he shook his head and smiled at Voldemort `The tell me how this has happened, you coming back here?'
`Surely you know the answer to that one?' Voldemort said with a small smile `the great Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the man who conquered, surely he knows?'
`I have most of it' Harry admitted `thanks to this connection we have I have a splitting headache and can't think so perfectly'
`Then…' Voldemort said looking at Harry interestedly `in the business of equality, I shall explain…'
`What are you doing?' the other Hermione growled angrily `he's just going to try and manipulate you!'
`Oh, shut up!' Hermione barked at her counterpart `Harry isn't some idiot, he can believe what he wants to believe!'
`Thank you' Voldemort said with a little sneer before he turned back to Harry `When you banished me into hell I lost all hope, it was over and I had lost. No one can escape the void by themselves, no matter how powerful they may be…so I did all I could do…I waited. Waited for nothing…and then I saw you'
`When?' Harry asked quickly.
`When your friend Charles was murdered and you sent the actor ghost to the void' Voldemort answered `our connection was momentarily awakened, incredibly weak, but very much real…I find it a great irony that up until that point our connection, the leftover of my failure to kill you, held the greatest amount of anger inside me. And then , as I waited in the darkness of the void, it was the only thing that brought me light, kept me alive!'
`Over time that connection became stronger…' Voldemort carried on `I can not tell you how long it took as time does not exist in the void…but it felt like an eternity'
`Our connection brought you into the other world' Harry said quietly as he looked at the man before him.
`Not in any real sense of the word…' Voldemort answered `but eventually I could leak forth, the amount of energy and effort involved was incredible, and it was so painful that I began to wonder if death existed in the void…but at that point even death would have been preferable to what my life had become'
`I assume that the connection was so weak that I couldn't feel it, but…' Harry said, his eyes shot up to Voldemort and a smile formed on his face `with nothing, and I mean absolute void, to distract you, you could feel it…'
`while you…' Voldemort said, his eyes shooting momentarily onto Hermione before snapping back to Harry `had more than enough distractions'
`So with this connection what did you do?' Harry asked curiously.
`I first tried, unsuccessfully, to break through by force' Voldemort admitted `I snapped into your machine and brought you to 1605, trying to use Fawkes against you…remind you of all you lost and it nearly worked…you felt the connection momentarily, but you didn't realize it was me, and you almost brought down the world, and brought me back to life'
`But Fawkes stopped me' Harry said simply `that must have pissed you off something rotten!'
`I do have a rather detest for that bird that seems unreasonable' Voldemort said smiling `that didn't work, my second plan came into action, and that one was a lot more successful…I leaked out a memory of you to ensnare the Slytherins, who I knew would be foolish and greedy enough to seek you out…break the protections over your name and face…'
`You needed someone to do your dirty work because you didn't have a body…' Harry said with a smile `impressive'
`But that was not all…' Voldemort carried on `I wished more than anything to get back, it was my only thought as I spent thousands, perhaps millions, of years in Hell…I needed you to get closer to me, to enter the void even for the briefest of moments so our connection could become more tangible…I needed you to walk through the Archway so I could follow you through'
`Why the Slytherins?' Harry asked.
`If you had found the Archway in any other time and went through I could have followed, but I would have ended up in the same time as you' he explained `unlike you I do not have a time machine, so I hid the Archway throughout the years, buried it under lost cities and forgotten civilizations…'
`So that's why I could never find it' Harry said nodding `and why I was led to Dubont'
`I wished for Hermione Granger to die' Voldemort said simply as if this was of no consequence `She was distracting you, had made you happy enough to give up on returning home'
Hermione blushed slightly as the other one stared angrily and confused at her. Had she really made Harry that happy?
`But it didn't work, so I used her relationships against you, primarily Albus and Ron' Voldemort smiled `I used Albus' need for knowledge and understanding, and a certain protectiveness of Hermione, to find it for you…I used him to lead you to it'
`And I blundered in and stepped through, and now here we are, face to face once again' Harry said with a smile before he added `So why are the words Bad Wolf sprayed out through time and space?'
`I was pushing myself through each time' he answered `leaking my power, my soul, through each time…I knew you would have found out, and that you would have stopped me before my plan came to fruition…so I became the Bad Wolf, putting as much power into leaking that through as anything else…'
`To throw me of the truth' Harry said, a bitter smile on his lips `which I fell for'
`Thankfully' Voldemort added.
`So…' Harry said slowly `you managed to beat me once again'
`No' Voldemort said shaking his head `all I did was recover a body that you took away…I believe us to be evens'
`So now you have your body back…' Harry said as he started to pace again `what are your plans for it?'
`You already know' Voldemort said dismissively `I wish to control the world'
`And you expect me to let you?' Harry said, his face tightening.
`In a manner of words, yes' he replied straight face.
`Living in hell has made you delusional!' Harry said laughing hard as he threw back his head.
`I wish to reach a compromise' Voldemort said, his voice now sounding sharper at Harry's reaction.
`And how could we do that?' Harry said shaking his head.
`There are infinite worlds out there' Voldemort said pointing behind him at the Archway `enough for us to never see each other again'
`So I'm supposed to pass you of onto others?' Harry said shaking his head.
`This world is lost to you now, you spent to long away from it…and even if that's not the case I have a stronghold here…as I followed you through I arrived nearly a year before you'
`And you created a charity group!' Harry said laughing `good on you!'
`We have outposts throughout England, throughout Europe…' Voldemort said laughing a high shrill laugh `we have men situated on all the continents of this tiny little insignificant world…no one suspects a charity and so I infiltrated every organization in this world!'
`And what if I refuse?' Harry said looking straight in his eyes determinedly.
`Then we once again take our stances as enemies…but be warned' Voldemort said, his voice getting lower and more threatening `I care nothing for this world, if I must I will turn it into a barren wasteland which only holds death…I will kill all humanity in fire and salt the earth…and then I will move on through the void, conquering world after world…'
`And what if I want this world?' Harry said interestedly.
`Then I would leave' Voldemort said shaking his head `as I said this world means nothing to me'
`So everyone I care about would live?' Harry said, his voice dropping lower in thought.
`I don't seek a war with you' Voldemort `or those you love'
Harry ran a hand through his hair as he looked of in deep thought.
`We would all win…' he said quietly under his breathe.
`Harry you can't!' Ron said making Voldemort and Harry look at him.
`He would kill billions of people if we let him go!' the other Hermione said desperately.
`But we would live!' Harry pleaded.
Hermione could see Voldemort smiling as he watched in on this which angered Hermione through her whole body.
`You've changed…' the other Hermione said taking a small step away from him.
`Oh shut up!' Hermione said at her counterpart `Harry isn't seriously thinking of agreeing to this!'
`Hermione…' Harry said warningly.
`This is what he always does!' Hermione said unable to stop herself `pretend to go along with it so it buys him a few moments to think of a plan…when did I get so damn stupid!'
`Hermione…' Harry said under his breathe `that was a few seconds I really needed!'
As Harry said this Voldemort sprung forward and Hermione felt his long cold fingers snap around her neck, as tough and cold as metal.
`And instead I was the one who took them moments!' Voldemort laughed.
`Let her go' Harry said, his eyes flashing in fury as he stepped forward, but as he did the fingers wrapped around tighter and Hermione couldn't breathe.
`It looks like I may just have won, Harry Potter' Voldemort sneered next to Hermione's ear and the next thing she knew she felt the hard squeezing feel of apparition steal over her.
As her lungs filled with air she opened her eyes and saw she was no longer in Grimmauld. Voldemort flung her onto the cold hard stoned floor, and Hermione took a second to look around.
The room was full with perhaps twenty or thirty people dressed completely in black long robes, their faces hidden by a dark bone like mask.
`We have a guest' Voldemort sneered not looking at her `treat her well'
Voldemort lifted his wand and pointed it at the wall. Hermione gasped as she looked at it and realized that the silvery air like substance seemed to fill the whole wall, as if it was one large, gravity defying, pensieve.
With a flick of his wand the silver gas swirled around and an image appeared on it.
It was Grimmauld Place, where she had just been, and Harry had his wand out and was flying around the room staring in that way he does.
`Harry!' Voldemort called which made the image of home spin around and stare out. Hermione realized that this wall pensieve must be like a TV phone, and that Harry would be able to hear and see where she was.
`Let her go!' Harry yelled at Voldemort from the wall.
`I will…' Voldemort said softly `as soon as I watch you walk through that Archway'
`What?' Harry said, his teeth clenched in anger.
`You walk through that Archway right now and I will send her after you' Voldemort sneered `you can even take your sidekicks with you'
`And you will let her go?' Ron called, genuine worry was in his voice.
`Of course' Voldemort said shaking his head `what do I want with a muggle? And besides that if I kept her here then Harry just might find a way back to save her, and that would ruin all my plans for this world!'
Harry stood staring at the screen for several long moments. He was still, staring straight into Voldemorts eyes in concentration.
`What do you say?' Voldemort said finally.
`No' Harry said firmly.
Ron and Hermione snapped their heads round and stared at him in shock, even Voldemort seemed bewildered.
`What do you mean?' he said sounding confused.
`I mean no' Harry said forcefully.
`You have no choice!' Voldemort said angrily.
`No!' Harry shouted angrily at him.
`I will kill her' Voldemort said just as forcefully as Harry
`No' Harry shouted again, his eyes full with deepest loathing `because this is what I'm going to do…I'm gonna rescue her. I'm gonna save Hermione Granger from the middle of the Death Eater Command. Then I'm gonna save the Earth. And then, just to finish off, I'm gonna wipe every single stinking Death Eater of the face of the earth!'
`But you are outnumbered and have no plan!' Voldemort hissed angrily.
`Yeah…' Harry said smiling at the screen `and doesn't that scare the life out of you?'
Hermione put a hand to her heart, she would be safe. Harry would save her, Harry must save her. Harry turned and faced her, a smile spreading out on his lips.
`Hang on, Hermione' he said raising his wand at the screen and it instantly went dark, just Harry's soft words now filling the room.
`I'm coming to save you'
*
Ok, so that's this story set up nicely, and a lot (nearly all) of the hints and things I've left throughout the earlier chapters spelled out for you…what do you think? Have I made it too obvious or not obvious enough? Feedback would be appreciated on this!
Now, Harry is in trouble…can he save Hermione? The world? Himself? Dark times lay ahead, and remember this is the finale…
Till next time…
Jms Granger…
-->