Title: Inamabilis
Author: Iskjif
Beta: Masked Deception
Pairings: If you squint…
Warnings: In this chapter, just a little gory stuff… Later on the might be a bit more gore, possibly some slashy bits…
Summary: Post HBP:Possible future HPLV:Harry has a choice. Is he to watch as his ultimate tormentor who has been the focus of his hate, of his obsession, of his life, fades? Can he be satisfied with a victory that tastes of ashes and feels utterly empty?
A/N: sighs I know, I know… The last thing I need to be doing is posting another story, but this wouldn't leave me alone. Light-siders beware there's gonna be some dark-sided fangirl angst…
Please bear with this version. I've made some changes since my beta last looked at this sucker forever and a half ago. I originally wanted this to be a one-shot, but it's been taking its sweet time in coming to me and I've run up against my self-imposed deadline of the last book.
But yes! Enough of that! Story!
OoToO
Pathetic.
Harry had been trying to find words to describe the sight of Him. That emaciated, snake-like figure, brought so low, prone and humiliated. He had been alternately stealing glances and looking away for nearly an hour and he had finally come up with that single word.
The young man had at first told himself that he should be thinking something along he lines of 'triumph' or 'beauty' or 'justice'…Or maybe even 'this is the best day of my life'
But no, it was nothing but pathetic.
He glanced at his nemesis with a sad and puzzled frown, but quickly looked away, feeling almost embarrassed. It seemed wrong to just sit and watch as the man was slowly drained of his life force.
The Ministry just didn't understand.
They had discovered a new execution method, powerful enough to take down a Dark Lord the likes of which the world had never seen.
It had been almost a simple thing, to catch the Dark Lord unawares. A young Auror, just barely out of Hogwarts, had been given the device and given orders to throw it at the Dark Lord's back.
It had been a risky move and had Harry known about it, he would have insisted that he do it himself. It was true that his enemy never bothered with such children, that he trusted his personal protections to take care of any threat that one such boy could pose, but suppose the Dark Lord had caught wind of the plan…
Harry shuddered to think of it…
But it had worked, and perfectly.
There had been such a wash of magical energy on the battlefield, that even with his super-human senses, the Dark Lord had suspected nothing until he had felt the thing twining coldly around his waist and ripping into his back to wrap around his spine.
It made Harry feel strangely despondent and frustrated all at once.
What could have possibly made the Minister think that the young Auror would want to watch Him die in such a way… What kind of people filled the Ministry, that they felt satisfied with this end…?
Suddenly, his enemy let out a loud shuddery breath, almost like a sigh. The noise made Harry jerk in surprise. He turned back the man without truly wanting to.
His painfully thin frame was drawn in on itself, cringing, almost fetal. Up until this point He had suffered in disturbing silence and Harry had assumed the man unconscious. But now His eyes were open and focused on Harry with a shocking intensity.
"…Harry…" the snake-like man rasped, a slight rattle in His breathing.
The young man found himself gazing steadily at the Dark Lord for the first time.
The man met that gaze, His bloody eyes strangely expressive of pain.
"Harry…" the man rasped again, sounding almost a bit stronger.
The reputed 'savior of the wizarding world' held in a strange trembling that threatened to overtake him. Hearing his given name from the Dark Lord's lips was almost… intimate. But then they had tried to kill each other on several occasions, and what was more intimate than that?
The look on the once powerful man's face was too pitiful for Harry not to answer Him again.
"What is it…" the young man sighed gustily, "…Voldemort?"
"It can't end this way."
Harry was surprised at the desperation in the man's voice, despite his obvious weakness.
The young Auror closed his eyes and sighed again.
"I know…" He couldn't keep a strange despair from filling his voice and pain flashed in Harry's chest.
He hated this. He should have been overjoyed for the Dark Lord to die; he should have laughed in the creature's face as he lost his grip on life.
But no.
This felt wrong.
He couldn't let a man who had caused so much suffering and evil, left such a stain on the world, die weak and fading.
All the Ministry cared about was being rid of the Dark Lord; they didn't care to see that he ended in the way that he had earned, that respected all that He could have been, his power, and his reign of terror.
But Harry almost felt obligated. He knew that if their situations had been reversed, his nemesis would have made Harry's death long and painful, true, but the young man would have died with at least some semblance of dignity.
Harry paused in his thoughts as the snake-like man took a sharp, hissing intake of breath.
"…not like this." The man gave a pleading look.
The young Auror looked straight back into the Dark Lord's eyes and made his decision
He had been willing to die to make sure that this man met that same empty fate. He now knew that he was also prepared to die to make sure that the Dark Lord died properly and fully got what he deserved.
Harry walked over to the man and crouched where he was chained so he could look directly in his eyes.
"Voldemort… I won't let it happen this way."
He took his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at the Dark Lord, who looked rather resigned.
"Expedio."
The man gave a small cry as the draining device began to disentangle itself from him, too close to death to have any of his normal reserve.
Harry winced as the thing pulled out of the man's back with a wet sound.
The Dark Lord sagged in his shackles, passing out.
Harry could sense that the man was still alive as he undid the shackles, and the young Auror was careful not to let the snake-like man fall to the ground. He knew that even such a little fall could kill him in this state.
The young man lifted his enemy and was careful not to jostle him.
Now all he needed was the Dark Lord's wand-
He shook his head. Really there was no time for that. What he needed to do was get out of there.
He would worry about the Dark Lord's wand later…
OoToO
A/N: So how was that my lovelies? Worth your time? Waste of time? It was short, I know, but I have a few chapters (short ones too sadly) waiting for beta-ing, so tell me if it's worth updating!