Silence.
Darkness.
A single candle burst into life.
Another wave of his wand, and a single piece of paper floated before him.
It was crumpled, and some of the text obscure by blood stains. Some human, some not. Some ancient, some fresh. His followers had gone to great lengths to acquire it.
Centuries old, it was the description of an apparition spell of devastating power, more powerful than any ordinary wizard could hope to achieve.
As luck would have it, Lord Voldemort was no mere ordinary wizard.
With this spell, he could pierce even the strongest of shields and protections. Some said it could potentially go even further than that. The wizard who had invented it, almost legendary amongst those who practised the Dark Arts, had used it to hunt his enemies wherever they tried to hide. His disappearance was part of the legend. Some said he had finally met an enemy who was his equal, some said he had been ambushed in revenge... but some said he had travelled too far, beyond where even his considerable powers could recover him.
With this spell, not even the lauded defences of Hogwarts could stand in his way. Every shield and charm that those who followed the memory of that fool Dumbledore would be as insubstantial as a cloud.
With this spell, he would finally have Harry Potter in his grasp, and settle matters once and for all.
He read the description on the page for a final time, then it floated back to the table it had come from.
Voldemort stepped into the centre of the room, and waved his wand in the complicated pattern that began the spell. As it took hold, he felt space curl in on itself around him, and the world went dark.
Darkness.
Silence.
After a long time, far longer than a normal apparition spell, the Dark Lord emerged from the darkness. He stumbled, but raised his wand, ready to confront his enemy.
Something was wrong, though. He was in the wrong place. As his eyes adjusted from the darkness of the apparition spell to the light of the corridor, he didn't see the close, stone walls of Hogwarts, but strange metal walls, and harsh Muggle lighting. In the distance, he thought he could see the floor of the strange wide corridor sloping upwards, in both directions.
Had the spell failed?
He had followed every detail of the spell's description, perfectly to the letter. The spell had worked, he had clearly apparated to somewhere. Perhaps the defenders of Hogwarts had known of this spell, and somehow found a way to, if not block it, then at least divert it. That would be just like the meddling Dumbledore.
Behind him, there came the sound of footsteps on the hard metal floor. He turned, wand raised, to face the figure approaching him down the length of the corridor.
She looked human, or at least mostly human, as her dark brown hair was interrupted by a pale grey crest of bone that covered the back of her head. She wore robes though, at least somewhat similar to what he would expect of a witch, even if the style was somewhat odd.
Voldemort raised his wand to aim at her, and he gave her a somewhat snake-like grin. "You! What manner of creature are you?"
The woman stopped approaching, and seemed to consider his question for a moment. "I am Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari."
"Minbari?" He sneered at her. "I have heard of no such creature, but if you are at least intelligent enough to have sent an ambassador to the Ministry of Magic, then you will be of some use."
Her smile froze, "I am afraid I've yet to hear of any Ministry of Magic, I suppose my studies of the Earth government may be incomplete. I am the ambassador to Babylon Five."
Stepping closer to her, the Dark Lord kept his wand aimed towards her chest. "I'm afraid I don't care." He began to circle around her, though she didn't seem to care, or even keep watching him. "You will take me to the leader of this place, immediately."
Delenn wasn't smiling any more, but otherwise hadn't moved. "Are you attempting to indimidate me? I have been threatened by much greater forces than a man with a stick."
"You are a fool if you think there is a greater force than me in this world. But I am a gracious Lord, I will give you one last chance. Take me to the leader of this place."
"I will not."
Voldemort smiled slightly, stepping slightly away and aiming his wand at her back.
"IMPERIO!"
As she stumbled backwards a step, Delenn's eyes seemed to unfocus for a moment. Voldemort grinned triumphantly. "Now as I said, you will take me to the leader of this place."
A pause.
"I..."
The Minbari was resisting, seeming to almost be considering his order.
A pause.
"I will not." Her eyes locked onto his as she took a step towards him. "Telepaths are nothing new to me, nor are orders. I suggest you leave. Now." The last word carried inside it an edge of steel.
Voldemort hissed, moving forward and raising his wand to her face. "You will take me t—..."
Her hand lashed out, slapping him very hard across the cheek. "No." She looked up at him, standing her ground, seemingly totally unafraid. "Leave."
He stood, frozen.
She had struck him.
Nobody had dared to strike him, like some sort of filthy Muggle, in a long time.
He stepped back and raised his wand again, preparing to eliminate this disrespectful wretch, when he heard a voice behind him calling out, "Delenn!"
Turning, but keeping his wand trained on Delenn, he saw a woman with bright red hair approaching him briskly from the other end of the corridor. She was dressed in more Muggle fashions, and she seemed angry.
Delenn, for her part, was still standing perfectly still, perfectly unafraid. She smiled at the newcomer, and gave her a slight bow. "Lyta, how good to see you. I believe that this person may be in need of your talents."
Voldemort glared at each of them in turn, then turned his wand towards this Lyta. "I am afraid your friend has been most... uncooperative. Perhaps if you are more useful, I might spare both of you."
This did not seem to have the effect he was hoping for. Lyta stepped towards him, with a somewhat worrying smile. "I'm afraid neither of us respond well to threats."
"My dear woman, do you think I care?" He snarled at her, tightening his grip on his wand. "I tire of this. You have one chance, or I will show you such pain as you can barely imagine. You will take me to whoever passes for a leader in this wretched place."
She must surely have misheard him, or perhaps she was simply insane, since her response to this ultimatum was simply to burst out laughing. "I somehow doubt that you have that ability."
He raised his wand to her throat, and finally she stopped moving forward.
"CRUCIO!"
Lyta's eyes went wide, and her head snapped back as though a great hand had grabbed it. Her scream was immensely satisfying, one morsel of pleasure in this frustrating complication.
She blinked.
Her scream stopped.
She blinked again, and when her eyes opened they were no longer eyes, but pure black orbs, somehow containing the whole infinity of space.
Voldemort's wand was pushed aside, as though an invisible wall had slammed into place in front of her.
"Is that it?"
A step towards him.
"You cannot harm me."
She calmly removed one of her black leather gloves.
"Do you have any idea what I can imagine?"
Her hand reached out, bare skin touching his throat.
"Do you want to know what I can imagine?"
A pause.
A whisper.
"Pain."
Voldemort stumbled backwards, every nerve feeling like it had caught fire, every muscle tensing past reason. As he fell out of the range of her touch, the pain lessened, and he managed to raise his wand, summoning as best a shield charm as he could manage.
The pain stopped.
Lyta stood, hand still outstretched. Glaring at him, her eyes still pure black.
One of the doors on the side of the corridor opened, and a young woman in a black and grey uniform stepped out. She was flanked by two people who looked like simple guards, in all black, carrying what looked like Muggle weapons. The woman herself carried what must also be a weapon, though much smaller, barely larger than her hand.
She looked at Delenn and Lyta, "We read a huge energy surge through the grid around here, what the hell's going on?"
Blinking, her eyes returning to their normal human appearance, Lyta nodded at her, "Commander Ivanova, I believe we have an intruder."
Voldemort took a breath, and drew himself back up to his full height. His wand was, for the moment, by his side. "Ahh, Commander. Military rank. I do believe you are the one I wish to see." He bowed, in a manner not unlike he'd use before a wizard's duel. "I am Lord Voldemort, and I claim this place by right of conquest. You will assist me, or you will all die."
Ivanova seemed almost surprised at his demands, but not in fear. "Uhh, no?" The guards that accompanied her moved to flanking positions in the corridor, in case his threats turned out to be genuine.
Stepping closer to Ivanova, Delenn said quietly, "I believe he's capable of what he's threatening, he seems to a telepath. The stick seems to be some weapon connected to his abilities."
"Is that so?" Ivanova smirked at him, and the weapon in her hand made an odd noise as she activated it and disengaged the safety. "In that case, I demand you drop the weapon and surrender at once, or you will die. I'm afraid that if you're trying to be intimidating, then you will be rather disappointed, my noseless friend."
"ENOUGH! Do you have any idea how many Muggles like you I've killed? I think I've lost count, myself, since you just don't matter. What's three more?" With a snarl, the Dark Lord raised his wand, aiming it straight for Ivanova's heart. "If you're of no use to me, then I will simply have to find someone who will be."
"AVADA KE—..."
There was a flash of red light.
Voldemort collapsed backwards, a universe and several light-years away from his horcruxes.
For all the power of magic, a trigger is much faster than an incantation.