The Day Lord Voldemort Prevailed
The March twilight behind the magnificent stone castle of Hogwarts shone through its windows, gaps, towers, and turrets. It all seemed quiet, calm, and peaceful. But disaster was about to strike. The Death Eaters had captured the Boy who Lived.
Harry Potter was chained up with enchanted metal shackles that resisted Alohomora charms, and the Boy Who Lived was surrounded by thirty leering Death Eaters. Their gaunt faces were concealed by hard metal masks. A rectangular window faced Harry, and with horror, Harry looked downward from the window at the enormous Hogwarts square. "No," he murmured.
One thousand and fifty more Death Eaters filled the mammoth square, their faces alive with malice. They had left a small opening in the crowd which fit a small wooden platform in it. Kindling, in a large pile, was piled hastily onto the platform, and by magic, Antonin Dolohov conjured a long wooden pole out of thin air with his wand. The pole soared across the Death Eaters' heads, and landed vertically into the center of the flammable heap of kindling. When that was finished, the Death Eaters silently waited for their Lord, Voldemort.
Suddenly, the massive crowd of the Dark wizards had parted, for Lord Voldemort, also known as Tom Riddle, had apparated into the crowd. Voldemort glared at his followers, and they cowered in fear. Without a word, the Dark Lord swept elegantly through the Death Eaters to the platform. Death Eaters were frantically pulling each other out of his way. One foolish Death Eater didn't move away from Voldemort's path fast enough, and Voldemort wandlessly and nonverbally jinxed him. A second later, angry red boils erupted across the poor Death Eater's face. When Lord Voldemort reached the wooden platform, he hoisted up his silk, effeminate-looking, floor length black robes studded with diamonds to avoid tripping as he walked up the platform stairs. Voldemort dropped his robes, drew his long, white, yew wand with the phoenix-feather core, and raised a white hand into the air for silence. The Death Eaters ceased their talking at once. Voldemort then signaled his four largest Death Eaters to bring Hermione in.
Thorfinn Rowle, Fenrir Greyback, Walden MacNair, and Rodulpus Lestrange roughly shoved Hermione through the crowd. The Death Eaters jeered at Hermione, and there were many shouts of "Mudblood." The four Death Eaters had forced her into a dirty and torn white dress, there were purple bruises on her
body, her hair was torn and tangled, and she had a black eye. The Death Eaters dragged Hermione onto the platform, where the Dark Lord was waiting.
High in the North Tower, Harry watched the terrible procession through the minuscule window. Bellatrix Lestrange held his wand with a leer, and Harry was helpless. He could only watch.
MacNair tied up Hermione with enchanted rope, which had tiny barbs sewn into it. The ropes were tied around Hermione so tightly that she could hardly breathe. She bit back her screams. Hatred, loathing, and anger shone through her eyes as she looked at Voldemort, who was watching her silently from a few feet away. He was holding his delicate-looking wand in his long-nailed white fingers. "You bastard," she whispered under her breath.
Harry sat helpless in the North Tower. The sky was darkening. He watched with horror as Voldemort calmly walked up to Hermione. He whispered softly, "Hermione, my dear, you are truly a beautiful young woman. It is quite a shame that you will die tonight. But I shall grant you a choice. Be my mistress, and I shall release you, and you will be unharmed. Refuse, and the fire it shall be." Voldemort touched Hermione's soft cheek with a frigid white finger. She winced. But Hermione cried, "Never! I would rather die!"
And with the courage of a true Gryffindor, she spat in his face. Lord Voldemort wiped off the saliva with his hand, faced Hermione, and he swiftly backhanded her across the face drawing blood from her nose. Sparks flew from Hermione's eyes as she glared at Voldemort, and fire raged in Voldemort's pupils as he glared back at her. The Dark Lord spoke.
"Very well. If that is your choice Mudblood, it shall be." He finally spoke to the Death Eaters with his voice magically magnified, so it boomed out over the square. "The disgusting Mudblood had refused to recant! This evil blood traitor has put all purebloods in awful jeopardy . . . . . . . . ."
Up in the high tower, Harry overheard Voldemort's high cold booming, voice. He was too depressed to do anything. Harry knew that Hermione was going to die, and there was nothing he could think of to rescue her. Voldemort's malicious speech echoed from below.
" . . . . for purebloods, for Death Eaters, and for her own salvation, it is my solemn duty, to send this heinous blood traitor, back where she belongs!"
Voldemort had lit his yew wand with enchanted fire, lowered it with his long-nailed hand hand that wore Marvolo Gaunt's black ring, and he ignited the kindling. He hastily stowed the wand back into a deep pocket. The Death Eaters and the Dark Lord mercilessly watched as the enchanted fire slowly burned its way through the kindling, exhaling billowing grey clouds, and toward Hermione.
"HERMIONE!" bellowed Harry, and his scream of horror echoed down below. "Accio Wand!" cried the Boy Who Lived. With a little luck and wandless magic, Harry's brown holly and phoenix-feather wand flew from Bellatrix's hand and into Harry's outstretched fingers. "Relashio!" With the incantation, Harry's wand fired jets of golden light and they shattered the metal chains. At once, the thirty Death Eaters leapt at him, and Bellatrix Lestrange screamed, "GET HIM!" Harry pointed his wand upward and screamed, "CONFRINGO!" The spell blasted from Harry's wand and blew the top of the North Tower off. The Death Eaters scattered, and Harry Summoned his Firebolt. As soon as it zoomed to Harry's side, Harry jumped on it and flew away from the dilapidated tower. The Death Eaters fired jinxes and curses at him, but Harry's eyes were fixed on Hermione below.
Hermione was coughing and she was forced to keep her eyes shut through the suffocating smoke. Lord Voldemort simply watched as the Flame-Freezing Charm proof inferno started to lick at Hermione's pale feet. She couldn't hold it in anymore.
"AHHHHH!"
"HERMIONE!" roared Harry.
He sped up his Firebolt as he dodged countless curses from the Death Eaters who had seen him in the square below. Harry flew towards the middle of the square, where the unconscious Hermione was the victim of the flames. Half of the kindling had been scorched away. Harry landed on the platform, dodged wandless curses from the furious Lord Voldemort, and he whipped out Sirius's short silver knife from his robes. He slashed the ropes apart, and Harry hoisted Hermione out of the burning kindling onto his broom. He was straightaway surrounded by fifty Death Eaters who had clambered onto the platform with their wands drawn. Harry kicked off his broom with Hermione as he blocked off the Death Eaters' curses. He whipped out his wand and pointed it at the Death Eaters below him.
"CONFRINGO!" Potter shouted, and the Death Eaters were violently blasted apart from each other in all directions. The enraged Voldemort whipped out his wand. "HARRY POTTER! CRUCIO!" screamed the Dark Lord. Voldemort's curse soared from his wand, through the smoky air, and it hit Harry in the shoulder, who yelled in pain. Weakened by the excruciating pain that was rapidly spreading throughout his body, Harry lost control of his broom. He barely held onto Hermione as the broom started to fall.
"Come on, Firebolt, fly!" Harry pleaded desperately to his broom. The Firebolt seemed to miraculously understand the awful situation they were in, and it started to fly upwards.
"Stay here, my Death Eaters! I shall kill them myself!" cried Voldemort. "Aim curses at them to throw them off, but do not hit me or kill Potter!" And with that, Voldemort leapt from the platform with the gracefulness of a flying fish, and in a second, he was over three hundred feet into the air. He was now feet from Harry. Harry flew the Firebolt away from him as fast as he could.
"POTTER!" Voldemort was speeding toward Harry without a broom.
"OH MY GOD FIREBOLT, GO FASTER!" The Firebolt sped up to three hundred mph.
Harry, in agony, barely managed to hold onto Hermione as Voldemort was on their tails, screaming Killing Curse after Killing curse at them. Jets of green light flew past them, and one blasted part of Hermione's brown hair off. Another Killing curse hit the Firebolt's tail and it burst into neon green flames. "Aguamenti!" cried Harry, and his wand shot a jet of water at the Firebolt's tail, which extinguished the flames. But as Harry put out the fire, Voldemort soared past them, his black robes billowing in the wind. Next thing he knew, Hermione was gone.
"HERMIONE!"
Then Harry spied her. Voldemort was already hundreds of feet above him. Harry saw Hermione under Voldemort's right arm. With his other white hand wearing two black rings, Voldemort clapped it over her screaming mouth. He had his wand pressed hard into her throat. "YOU FUCKING MOTHERFUCKER OF A BASTARD! LET GO OF HER!" screamed Harry. Voldemort smiled a malicious smile and shook his head. "Language, Potter," he sneered, and he flew off with his hostage to the highest tower of Hogwarts.
Voldemort landed on the topmost tower and waited smugly for Harry. Hermione felt his frigid fingers on her neck. Her blue eyes were wide open with fear. Harry sped over to them on his broom. He dismounted, drew his wand, and cried, "You take your damn hands off her!" But Voldemort only laughed softly. He told Harry his choices. "If you move or cast a curse Potter, I shall take her life. If you stand still, she will be killed. Choose wisely."
Harry realized that there was no way out. Voldemort still had his hand clapped over the struggling Hermione's mouth, muffling her screams. Harry decided to cast a curse, hoping it would weaken Voldemort. He raised his wand. "STUPEFY!" screamed Harry. A jet of red light flew towards Voldemort's head.
"PROTEGO!" shouted Voldemort, and he stopped the curse from hitting him by a millesecond.
Voldemort jumped about ten feet into the smoky air. He stowed away his wand into his silk black robes, slipped out a long, sharp, silver dagger with a golden handle that was elaborately decorated with emeralds, and held this weapon to Hermione's throat. Beads of scarlet blood appeared there. Hermione was petrified with fear. Voldemort spoke. "Poor dear. It hurts to lose a friend, doesn't it?"
Harry chose to fire a curse from his wand in a last attempt to free Hermione from Voldemort's treachery. He shot the Cruciatus Curse at his worst enemy, pouring all of his vicious rage into it. Voldemort simply blocked the curse with a wave of his white hand. He replied, "Very well then, Potter. If you wanted Hermione to die, then so be it!" Voldemort dug his knife deeper into the screaming Hermione's neck, and Harry screamed, "NOOOOOOOO!" But it was too late. Voldemort had killed Hermione, and she would never move again. He then put the dagger away. Harry hovered over Voldemort for a second, frozen with shock. Voldemort flew a little farther away carrying the dead Hermione. He taunted Harry with a sneer on his hideous snakelike face. "Oh, isn't it a pity that she's dead, dear Harry. I see that you loved her. Awwww, was she your lifelong know-it-all sweetheart? She-'' But before Voldemort could finish the cruel sentence, Harry lunged at Tom Riddle with a roar escaping his mouth. Voldemort was caught by surprise, and he dropped the dead Hermione. Harry slammed the Dark Lord into a castle wall. He held on to the cold, frail white arms and snarled like a lion into the old wizard's face. Voldemort smiled slyly. "Don't push it Potter. You're trying to fight the Dark Lord with your bare hands. I shall always win." Harry spat into his face. "What do you mean? You're pinned, you motherfucker. You can't- "ARRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!" As Harry had spoken, Voldemort had wrested one of his arms out of Harry's slackened grip, drew his gleaming silver dagger from his concealing black robes, and plunged it into Harry's leg. Scarlet blood was spreading from the deep wound and onto his robes. As quick as lightning, Voldemort yanked the bloodstained knife out of Harry's bloody leg and Harry screamed again. Voldemort's knife was centimeters from stabbing Harry again when Harry grabbed Voldemort's arm with the knife, and they wrestled. Harry's leg was preventing him from fighting properly, and this time, Voldemort leapt upon Harry, and he struck him in the shoulder. "AHHHHHHHH!" screamed the Boy Who Lived.
Harry slapped the deathly white face as hard as he could, drawing the Dark Lord's blood. Voldemort responded by kicking Harry hard in the stomach with his sharp, high-heeled black boot. Harry could have sworn that his stomach had ripped open causing internal bleeding. Both wizards screamed in pain, and Hermione's dead body fell off the tower edge. "NO! HERMIONE!" roared Harry. He glanced away from Lord Voldemort for a second into the square, but the next thing he knew, Harry felt another sharp kick to his stomach, causing him to fall off the tower. Harry grabbed onto the edge at the last second, and Lord Voldemort towered over him, with his black robes flowing elegantly in the wind.
Harry looked up at Voldemort, but Voldemort had bent down and dug his long white fingernails into Harry's pale hands, drawing more blood. Harry screamed louder than ever before. The Dark Lord smirked. Harry, with strenuous effort, barely managed to hold on. Harry's Firebolt couldn't be summoned. Voldemort whispered, "Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived, shall live no more." With those words, Voldemort shoved Harry Potter over the tower edge. There was a scream.
Lord Voldemort peered down into the square far below him. He quietly drew his wand, waved it over his bloody robes, and at once they were cleaned and he was healed. Voldemort stowed the long knife into a pocket. "So much for Potter," he murmured softly to himself. Voldemort jumped off of the tower and swooped down into the square like a raptor. He gracefully landed on the cold stone floor. The Death Eaters bowed down to him. Fenrir Greyback showed Voldemort Harry and Hermiones' dead bodies. "Good. Let us depart, " said Voldemort. Greyback threw the bodies carelessly on the ground. Voldemort pointed his wand at the square doors and the doors burst open. He swept from the square with his nose in the air. The Death Eaters followed him silently, and Antonin Dolohov shot the Dark Mark into the air. They had finally gone from the enormous square and Voldemort's euphoric laughter could be heard for miles around. Harry and Hermione's dead bodies lay in the square and their spirits soared away from them into the heavens forever. Lord Voldemort had prevailed.
Harry Potter story Commentary
One of our writing assignments was a short story. Since Harry Potter was my FAVORITE book series at the time, I had written a short story about it. It was about Lord Voldemort (yes, I have the guts to write the name) triumphing over the main characters. He had Hermione burned at the stake, and Harry rescued her. It didn't have the usual triumph over Voldemort. It was meant to be devastatingly sad, because I grew sick of constant happy endings. But the story was meant to be more than just sad. It was meant to symbolize teenage insecurity and thinking that you would never be happy again if something atrocious occurred affecting you during the teen years. Sometimes when bad things happened to me when I was a teenager, I felt so depressed that I sometimes thought of suicide. But I never committed it.
