Love is the fire of life; It either consumes or purifies.
There was silence but for the shuffling of feet as slowly but surely the Wizengamot filed into court room 10. Not a whisper was heard. No joy dared to permeate the formless mass as they passed through the heavy-set oak doors. The procession was led by a tall silent figure wrapped in a simple black travelling cloak. Harry Potter had been here once in a memory in his fourth year, and once in person during his Fifth year but even he had to admit that it never looked as intimidating as it did right now. climbing to the top row of the stony steps he took his place in the highest chair reserved for the person in charge of passing judgement.
Harry was almost unrecognizable from his younger self. Gone was the untameable mop of black hair, replaced by a short yet admittedly no tidier mass of black fuzz, his face was weathered, his right eye sporting a fresh gash stretching from his eyebrow to lower cheek. More than anything his demeanour showed his age, gone was the appearance of the young and hopeful child who had once stepped through Hogwarts door and now stood a man of twice his age and none of his younger counterpart's innocence.
To his right sat Neville Longbottom, a man unrecognisable, he now sat strong, proud and tall, the only thing that perhaps could give his identity away was Neville's kind and caring nature, although today even he could not have brought himself to smile. Usually he would've read out the crimes of the accused and then helped ascertain guilt, however due to a staggering amount of charges that would have taken a decade to go through and no doubt of guilt his presence was more than anything else a formality.
To Harry's left sat his oldest living friend Hermione Granger. She sat as nearly always, with her head firmly buried in a book, as if she was curled up at Grimauld place in her favourite chair by the fire, where she could often be found dozed off half way through some old spell manual or Transfiguration script. The only thing that had really changed in terms to Hermione's appearance was her hair which was now tied up in a ponytail.
As the last of the Wizengamot sat down, Harry nodded to the Auror at the entrance to the spectator seating and with an almost thunderous noise, half of the remaining wizarding world, Journalist and various delegations bustled into take their seating. It was turning out as Harry had expected to be turning out to be the trial of a century, the man who had struck more fear into the wizarding world than any other; since the rise and fall of the dark sorcerer Mordred nearly a millennium ago. The main argument there would not be the guilt or severity of the punishment but whether it was even fair to consider lord Voldemort human after all that level of evil would certainly surpass any other in leaps and bounds.
The Representatives from the ICCW were guided through the main door to sit beside the members of the judging Wizengamot. As the crowd took their seats and the chatter started to abate, Harry pulled a very unusual looking wand out from beneath his robes and pressing the wand to his throat Harry whispered "sonorous", his voice now amplified Harry began.
"MEMBERS OF THE WIZENGAMOT WE ARE HERE FOR ONE PURPOSE AND ONE PURPOSE ONLY TO DECIDE A FITTING PUNISHMENT FOR THE MONSTER WHO CALLS HIMSELF LORD VOLDEMORT", A shudder ran through the entire room reaching all but four people, the three judging and A bushy brown-haired witch sat on the benches just below the judges. "THIS MONSTER HAS PLAGUED OUR WORLD FOR TOO LONG AND TAKEN TOO MUCH FROM US, TODAY IS NOT A DAY FOR JUSTICE, FOR NO AMOUNT OF JUSTICE CAN BRING OUR LOVED ONES BACK. TODAY, IS A DAY FOR REVENGE. BRING FORTH THE PRISONER."
At this point the heavy set oaken doors swung open as the previous dark lord was levitated into the room covered in chains and imprisoned in a cage of raw magical energy. The four guards that flanked him took Voldemort to the centre of the room, lowered him to the floor and stood guard as the pale slits opened and Voldemort surveyed the Wizengamot. It was then that Red met Green and Voldemort's face seemingly cracked as he smiled superciliously. "Harry Potter, pretending to be so high and mighty and yet" Voldemort gestured to the cage around him "You still hide behind other braver men and women while you cower in your throne, like the miserable half-breed you are"
Everyone looked from Voldemort to Harry and noticed that for the first time Since he had walked in the room harry was smiling "That's not what you were saying the last time I faced you although admittedly It must have been pretty hard for you to talk with my hands wrapped around your throat Riddle" Voldemort's eyes bulged madly as he stared at Harry with pure hatred at this and he spat "YOU DARE-"Harry pointed his wand at Voldemort and whispered "SILENCIO". Voldemort was in full rant mode but not a word was coming out of his mouth.
"FINISHED YET, RIDDLE? BECAUSE BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THAT WE'RE ALL MORE THAN HAPPY TO WAIT HERE JUST FOR YOU, AFTER ALL NONE OF US WANT TO MISS WHAT COMES NEXT." Voldemort looked confused, so Harry continued "YOU SEE RIDDLE I WAS WONDERING HOW A PERSON LIKE YOU COULD EXIST? SOMEONE SO UNASHAMEDLY HEARTLESS? SOMEONE SO UNASHAMEDLY WITHOUT REMORSE FOR THE LIVES THEY DESTROY, AND SO WITHOUT COMPASSION AS TO BE INHUMAN."
Harry Gestured to Hermione who continued "we did the research. You were born as result of a love potion, as a result there was no mutual love or attraction that caused you to be conceived. This we believe led to you being born without any love in your soul and the emotions that come with it, Empathy, jealousy, and most importantly grief." Voldemort started cackling looking especially disturbing as he soundlessly shrieked with mirth. Surprisingly Harry cancelled his muting charm.
Voldemort looked at him with disgust as he shrieked "PITIFUL EVEN WITH YOUR MUDBLOOD PET THE BEST YOU CAN COME UP WITH IS A PLAN THAT WOULD MAKE DUMBLEDORE VOMIT, THAT'S YOU'RE BEST PUNISHMENT. YOU'RE GOING TO EMPATHIZE WITH ME?"
Harry then looked uncharacteristically cruel, saying "What on earth gave you that idea Tom? I'm not going to Empathise with you. No, I'm going to force you to, the amount of horrible stuff you've done to others would scar anyone but not you, at least not until now. You'll feel every emotion you've been denied all that pain, all that shame, all of the guilt."
Harry nodded to Hermione who started chanting in Aramaic, the Cage started to slowly but surely shrink, for the first time Harry saw terror in Voldemorts eyes, he began struggling but all for naught, He shrieked just as the cage came into contact with his skin and…nothing happened. The cage covered skin and then as suddenly as it had come it disappeared.
Voldemort laughed in triumph sneering up at Harry whose face had hardened "IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO BOY? I'M ALMOST DISAP-"Voldemort froze, his eye catching something gleaming out of the corner of his eye.
He reached up to his cheek and wiped it, not even aware that his chains had come away. It couldn't be, but it was unmistakable. He; Lord Voldemort had cried in joy. He looked up at potter again, but this time when behind him half a dozen people, it was the red-headed, green-eyed woman standing just behind Harry's right side that caught his notice "What trickery is this?!" He demanded, Hermione just Shrugged "No Trickery, I guess you're seeing things Riddle"
"YOU WILL NEVER ADDRESS ME AGAIN MUDBLOOD!" Voldemort yelled raising his finger intending to punish his enemy and kill his favourite pet. Harry, seeing this threw himself in front potter raised her finger at Voldemort and what felt like a knife of burning ice stabbed through his shoulder. Riddle cried out in pain, bucking away from the pain. The other figures raised their fingers each blow connecting, Tom was doubling over in pain as he searched the court room for a means of escape more and more figures were appearing getting close and closer, Frantically Tom ran to the door. The Auror's were about to intercede when Harry waved at them to stand down.
Tom Opened the door with and too people were standing on the other side, a man and a woman. He looked at both of them, terrified as they started slowly walking towards him. Neither looked angry, on the contrary they both looked at him with that look. The looked he'd seen Lucius give Draco, the look he'd seen in the potter's eyes as they'd played with baby Harry that night, the look on Lily's face when she stepped in between her son and him. The look of a parent's love.
"No…...NOT POSSIBLE…. BOTH…. DEAD" Riddle muttered as he backed away from them, his feet caught on the hem of his robes and he fell backwards, he shuffled backwards along the floor until his back hit the stone of the wall at the other side of the court room.
The woman walked forward a woman barely older than Potter's mud blood friend, he'd seen her before in the picture at the Gaunt shack. She knelt down right in front of him, her eyes a wash with tears "I'm so sorry my little Tommy I'm sorry I wasn't there for you all these years but I'm here now" she reached forward and although he tried he couldn't back away, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and from her touch burned a fire hotter than a million suns, the burning of a mother's love. Instead of warming Tom, he felt his skin blister and boil under the touch, he tried to shake her off but the more he shook the tighter she held.
"I never knew you my son and for that I am truly sorry, I never should have abandoned you to this world and discard you simply because of your mother." His father's arms joined his mother's around Tom's shoulders and then for Tom Riddle a pain stronger than anything he'd ever encountered burned through him, ten times stronger than being ripped from his original body, a thousand more than trying to kill the boy in Quirrell's body. Suddenly images started flashing through his mind. People, emotion's, a child's Laughter, screaming, begging, pleading and he felt all of it….
The courtroom watched as Voldemort writhed in pain in the corner of the room, his skin blistering, blackening and then healing, slowly but surely, his eyes boiling, dripping out of his sockets and reforming. A few people ran from the room about to be sick. After two to three hours the fully healed body of Tom Marvolo Riddle stopped twitching.
Harry's eyes looked down without an ounce of pity on the body of Tom who now looked so like himself, messy black hair, reasonably handsome, he thought about all of the lives Voldemort had ruined, all of the people he had killed, the lives he had torn apart. Maybe it would've all been different if only Tom Riddle had ever been shown an ounce of love.
He turned to Hermione who had clearly been crying her face stained with tears and blood shot eyes, his features softened. Even with a man that evil she could still take pity on him and weep for his suffering. "I LOVE YOU HERMIONE AND I PROMISE YOU THAT WHATEVER HAPPENS OUR CHILD WILL NEVER GROW UP WITHOUT LOVE" Hermione beamed at him, her eyes still swimming in tears and passionately she kissed suddenly became aware of a raised volume of whispers and turned to the court room nearly every occupant looking at himself and Hermione.
Realising he had left his sonorous charm active he cleared his throat "(AHEM) The punishment is concluded. You are all dismissed." Harry said clearly then, Hermione grabbing hold of his wrist they disapparated with a loud pop. Slowly but surely the Attendance of the court filed out, all of them avoiding the body as they did until only the auror's remained. As per Lord Potter's instructions they took Riddle's body and had it sent through the veil.
Epilogue
No one ever talked about what happened that day, no articles were published on the events of the trial. Not that it mattered the papers were so busy writing up not just the details of lord potters announced soon to be born child as well as the proposal that had occurred shortly after. The only thing that was ever mentioned about Voldemorts death was the Obituary of one Thomas Marvolo Riddle, under cause of death they had simply put fire.
Soon enough people forgot what they saw. All except two who remembered, not because it haunted them or because they had some way somehow grown fond of the man that had made their lives hell for so long. It was because They knew that they must always remember how valuable love is and the price of letting someone go without it for so long.