A thunderstorm the likes of which hadn't been seen in a century wrought havoc on the world. Lightning tore apart the sky and thunder shook the very foundations of the great buildings of Rome that had stood for nigh a millennium - and in the center of it all a monster laughed. Voldemort had found the key to Dumbledore's destruction. The wards of his precious school would be proven useless against him. His domination of the wizarding world was all but assured. After a month long exile searching the catacombs of the ancient city he had finally found the last piece of the puzzle left behind by Salazar. He would return to England and with Dumbledore's death he would be the most powerful wizard ever to walk the earth.
Half a world away a pair of eyelids snapped open revealing a set of brilliant emerald eyes. A battered boy struggled to pull himself to his feet using the chair he had been sitting on before he had found himself pulled into oblivion. He staggered to the tiny bathroom attached to his room using the wall for support as he went, and glared at his reflection in the mirror. What he saw was less than encouraging. The lightning bolt scar that had been forced on him in his infancy had torn open and a trail of blood ran from it down his face. He studied his visage with a grim interest. It had been years since he had felt the effects of his connection with the monster. True from time to time he still felt a twinge whenever Voldemort performed unusually high amounts of magic or experienced strong emotions, but it had been almost 4 years since his scar had opened and burned to this extent. Not to mention the headache he could already feel building. He silently berated himself for allowing his mental defenses to collapse, even though he knew there was little that could have been done to prevent it. He had almost died, using every ounce of power and bit of skill he possessed had left him barely alive and clinging to the side of a chasm. If it hadn't been for Faydon he would most likely be dead. He would just have to hope that he had remained unnoticed by the creature on the other end of his cursed link. One thing was for certain, it was going to be a very long day. But even given the situation he couldn't help but smile to himself. His cracked lips parted slightly and a whisper barely louder than a sigh escaped; "England here I come." The time for hiding had come to an end. First though he needed to rest. He stumbled back to the bedroom and pulled a vial of a deep purple concoction from the weathered satchel in the corner and without a further thought drained the contents. Within moments he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Eighteen hours later Harry awoke once again, but this time to bright rays of sunshine filtering through the lone window, and a clear pain free head. It had been a long time since he had truly been able to sleep and he had needed it, but now he would have to move twice as quick. Hogwarts was almost on the other side of the world and he had to make it in time to prevent Voldemort from razing it to the ground. True having Dumbledore removed from the equation would simplify things, but for the moment the manipulative bastard was necessary, and besides he was bound by blood and oath to protect the school if possible. If he played his cards right this could be the opportunity to exact his revenge he had been waiting for for so long. He allowed himself another small smile. If nothing else, it would be interesting to see the old fool's reaction to his return. That would come later though. Now he needed to go. Luckily years on the move meant he was used to hasty changes of scenery. By habit his gear was packed and ready to go. He debated with himself about his weapons and armor, but he was still exhausted and he had several international wards to move through undetected. If something went wrong and he was detained it would be that much harder to explain the situation if he were wearing his normal kit. No he would have to stick with just his wands. Everything else he would leave behind and hide to return for later, assuming there would be a later of course. If what he had sensed from Voldemort last night was correct he had about 8 hours to reach the gates of his old school. Given the distance and obstacles in his path that was going to require a lot of power and he was still going to need to fight when he reached his destination. "Yeah, this is going to hurt." he laughed to himself, and then with a sharp crack he was gone.