Killing Lord Voldemort
By Bex Drake
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling.
Pairing: Tom x Harry
How long it had been since he first sat down on the throne. Countless lives had passed and been forgotten since. Thousands of meaningless faces. He had ruled from thousands of places and in all of them discovered one thing.
Eternity was grand, just as long as you had someone to share it with.
He didn't. Not really. Only a ghost of someone long ago. Someone who haunted him still, whilst He had been forgotten by everyone else.
"You're feeling morose again, I see." He sighed; his hand drifting down from his face. Eyes the colour of unpolished rubies blinked blearily at the concerned face in front of his own. Cool fingers brushed his hair out of his eyes, and the familiar weight and presence of Him settled in his lap. "How goes things, My Lord?"
"No," he murmured. "I don't want to be 'My Lord', not to you." He added feeling His curious gaze on him. He sighed breathing in the familiar, comforting scent that was purely Him. He felt His cool arms wrap around him, and the pleasant comfort of familiarity within the cool touch. No one had touched him in so long. No one but Him.
"Are you happy Tom?" He asked; "Are you enjoying your eternity?"
"You know I'm not." He snapped waspishly. "You know I hate it!"
"Shh," He crooned and Lord Voldemort found himself relaxing, and accepting the comfort offered. "Living for eternity is hard, isn't it? It's boring as well. In each new century you find yourself-"
"Craving for something, any kind of spark." Lord Voldemort finished hopelessly. "Something to tie you to that life. But there's nothing. No one. No reason for me to immerse myself in a particular century anymore. None."
"When was the last time you slept Tom?" He asked, genuinely concerned. Lord Voldemort shrugged; he couldn't remember. He sighed exasperatedly; "Come to bed Tom, I'll stay and keep the nightmares away."
"Promise?" Lord Voldemort asked, hating himself for this moment of weakness. Bruised emerald eyes regarded him sorrowfully; Lord Voldemort found himself being dragged gently to the bed. He climbed with a boneless grace to the middle of the bed and lay watching.
"I promise. Now come to bed," He beckoned. Lord Voldemort found himself complying. Laying on the bed next to the cool presence of Him, he found himself relaxing and sleep approaching like a thief in the night.
"I wish you were really here." He mumbled sleepily.
"I am," He replied pulling Lord Voldemort to him. "For this moment I am as real as you." Lord Voldemort reached up and touched His cool face. Surprised he drew back, and sat up staring at Him. He smiled wryly. Lord Voldemort lent forward and kissed him as he wanted to do for countless days and endless nights. He tasted of something vaguely spicy, and pulling Him towards him Lord Voldemort realised that he smelt of freshly cut grass and spring rain. He drew back and cupped his face; "Tom, have you had enough of an eternity ruling yet?" He asked sombrely.
Lord Voldemort opened his mouth to reply, but seeing the serious look on His face he paused and thought about it. "Yes and no," he replied eventually. "I have had enough of eternity alone, but…" he trailed off unable to verbalise his thoughts. "Can you stay with me?" He pleaded. "Please. Stay with me Harry." He begged, uttering the name that had once upon a time a long, long time ago meant his doom but who now offered him sanctuary.
"Tom," Harry replied sadly shaking his head. "I died three thousand years ago. I couldn't come back, even if I wanted to." Lord Voldemort looked at him; his eyes revealing his pain. "For you Tom if I could I would go anywhere, but this isn't my time. I don't belong here. Neither do you."
Tom found himself crushed against Harry's chest in a hug, without thinking about he returned it equally as fiercely. Then Harry got up and stood facing him, around the edges Tom noticed that Harry was starting to fade. "I came to say goodbye to you and finally, and to offer you a final chance." Harry said.
"Don't go Harry," he begged uncaring of how weak he sounded. "Don't leave me."
"I have waited three thousand years for you Tom; even I grow tired of waiting eventually. Maybe if I'm gone you'll live again, properly. Maybe you won't cling onto the past."
"What do you mean?" He asked with a frown, "that you've waited three thousand years for me."
"Exactly what I said," Harry replied with a smile. "I've waited three thousand years for you to realise how I feel about you, and how you feel about me. I'm not going to wait for you any longer. I can't. I'm dead and you're not. The dead should leave the living alone. I should leave you alone."
"Don't!" Lord Voldemort hissed. Harry regarded him quizzically.
"The only way I could stay with you, is if you died. You don't want to die, though, do you Tom?" He shook his head sadly; "I won't ask you to, either."
"Is it the only way?" Harry just looked at him. "Of course it is," Lord Voldemort muttered bitterly; panic flittering briefly across his face. "What's it like to die Harry?" Harry tipped his head quizzically and for a moment Lord Voldemort feared he wouldn't answer.
"For me it was peaceful," he replied at last. "I could finally be me. I could forget all my responsibilities and all the pain. I could remember and I could think." His eyes darkened. "It's different for everyone, Tom. For some death is just an endless abyss, for others death is the home they left long ago. For others like me, it's a resting station whilst they wait."
"What will it be for me?" Lord Voldemort questioned sleepily, settling back down on the bed. Harry moved and lay next to him.
"I don't know," he replied honestly.
"Promise me you'll stay with me for eternity." Lord Voldemort asked; Harry chuckled.
"Eternity is a long time, you should know that Tom." He responded. "Just close your eyes and I will be waiting. I promise."
Tom Riddle opened his eyes and found himself looking into the concerned eyes of Harry Potter. Harry sighed in relief and took a step back, swaying slightly on his feet, allowing Tom the chance to stand up. Looking around Tom realised that they were still on the battlefield surrounded by the colourless dome Harry had created before their battle had begun. "None of that was real, was it?" He demanded, clutching his wand tightly.
Harry closed his eyes and sunk to his knees; taking a deep breath he looked up into the stunning sapphire eyes of Tom Riddle. "It depends what you mean," he murmured.
"Was any of it real?" Tom demanded taking a step forward. "Tell me." He demanded, "Tell me how much of that was real, and how much was in my head! Go on Potter; tell me how much of a fool I am." Harry hung his head in defeat, and sighed.
"I don't know," he replied honestly. "It was a possible future," he admitted with a shrug. "How true it is or not is anyone's guest." Harry gritted his teeth refusing to cry out. Tom stood above him, apparently unaware, a murderous look on his face.
"Why?" He snarled. "Why did you cast that damned spell on me?" When Harry didn't answer, he drew his wand and pointed it at him. "You will answer me." H poked Harry with his wand. Harry bit back a scream and looked up; bruised emerald locked with sapphire. Harry closed his eyes and tried desperately to cling onto the thin thread of consciousness that was slowly slipping between his fingers.
"What do you think of eternity Tom? Was it all you ever dreamed of?" He ground out, bracing his hands in front of him. Forcing himself to remain rigid, determined not to loose control. Not to give in, not to be defeated.
Slowly the pain receded and Harry found himself looking directly into Tom Riddle's face; they were kneeling in front of one another like statues, Tom's hands were holding his. "What's going on?" Tom asked softly, his anger forgotten momentarily.
"The spell showed you a possible future, but it gave me your power." Harry said evenly. "I cannot hold both your power and mine. So you have a choice Tom. Do you want your glorious eternity or are you content to remain Tom Riddle?"
"What will happen to you?" Tom asked after a moment's silence.
"It depends on what you choose," Harry responded honestly. "If you want to become Lord Voldemort then I will die, just like your future predicted. If you stay as Tom Riddle I don't know. I'll live, but…" He shrugged.
"If I stay as Tom Riddle will you stay with me forever?" Harry nodded, even with Tom's help the pain was slowly returning. "Would you make a blood vow to do that?"
"Yes. But you have to choose Tom and I mean really choose. It's one choice or the other, and I cannot hang on for much longer." He warned.
"Do you love me Harry Potter?"
Harry laughed bitterly; "And that's the irony." He murmured. "Yes Tom, I love you. Now choose damn it. Make your choice."
"Then I choose to be Tom Riddle."
"Kiss me Tom." Harry commanded, so he did. It started off as a gentle kiss, but Harry deepened it and soon Tom found himself gasping as his power was thrust back inside of him. They broke apart gasping. Harry stood up shakily and looked around, before his gaze settled back on Tom and he offered him a hand up, which Tom took.
"What-?" Tom began.
"I gave you your magic back." Harry explained. "Well, I gave you your magic not the magic that was Lord Voldemort's." He added.
"So what do we do?" Tom asked. Harry looked at him and smiled.
"Whatever we want. I was thinking that maybe Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort should die here tonight."
"What do you plan to do?" Tom asked curious.
Harry knelt down and placed his hand on the ground; frowning with concentration he pushed what remained of Lord Voldemort's power into the earth and added some of his own. Standing he moved to the edge of the dome. Tom stood watching him expectantly. "When they dismantle this shield, everyone within a hundred miles will be knocked unconscious and all they will find is an empty circle with scorched ground where nothing will grow for a couple of hundred years due to the magic we used. Who killed who, they will never know."
Tom chuckled; "You should have been a Slytherin."
"That would have been too obvious," Harry responded glibly. "Are you coming?"
"Where to?" Tom questioned moving next to him. Harry shrugged.
"Peru."
"Peru?"
"Why not? It's somewhere new. It's somewhere you can learn to be just Tom and I can learn to be just Harry."
"Harry, darling, I doubt either of us could be 'just' anybody." Tom responded dryly.
War Ended?
Yesterday, December 10th 2010, at 10pm a mysterious silence descended on the battlefield of Longshift, Wiltshire. The two opposing sides turned as one to the great dome under which Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and Lord Voldemort battled. It was almost as if an invisible voice whispered to all those present that the deciding moment had come.
Nothing happened for a couple of hours. Then a group of people lead by Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's best friend, and Lucius Malfoy, the Dark Lord's Second in command, approached the dome. They began to dismantle the dome to see who had won when a bright light lit the area. The next thing anyone on the battlefield was aware of was it was midday and the dome was gone. All that was left was a dark circular shape cut into the grass. Those who walked on it shuddered at the inherent evil.
There was no sign of either Harry Potter or Lord Voldemort. Is the War finally over? Turn to page 10 for more news on this momentous event, and for Daily Prophet predictions for the months ahead.