At two separate points in Europe, two people were thinking of each other, but with different intents in mind. At 4 Pivot Drive in Surry, a certain green-eyed teen was wallowing in grief and anger caused by a certain snake-like man. At a manor in a unspecified place in northern Europe, a certain snake-like man was reading a prophecy concerning him and a certain green-eyed teen. Both were negative thoughts, one on revenge, one on possible murder, but these thoughts would bring them to each other in the foreseeable future.
Harry, at the time, was actually quite mad. He had just left Hogwarts for the summer and was stuck at the Dursley's. He had gotten no information from the supposed Order that had assembled, because of the Headmaster. His friends kept in touch, but they remained just as ignorant as Harry. He had just seen Voldemort rise and kill Cedric, he of all people should know what's happening, considering he was at the top of Voldemort's list people he wanted to kill.
At the same time, Voldemort was planning. One off his followers had managed to gain the information of the prophecy and had relayed the contents to him. One line bothered him "And either must die at the hand of the other" He was pondering the meaning when suddenly, inspiration struck him. He couldn't die if Potter was around, for only he could kill him! Yes, it was brilliant! He started to scheme, and called some of followers to him. Yes, this would work very well. For the first time in a while, Lord Voldemort smiled.
A few weeks later, Harry was walking to the store to buy groceries for the Dursley's. Even after all these years, he did all the work in the house. But, Harry was somewhat grateful for this, it allowed him to do something to get his mind off past events. It was a dangerous thing if Harry got bored, because it dragged him deeper and deeper in his ever growing depression. As he was pondering the reasons why Dumbledore would keep him in the dark for so long, he didn't notice a hooded figure in the shadows of the building he was passing. But he didn't miss the voice that yelled Stupefy! There wasn't enough time to react and the stream of red light hit him squarely in the back. The last thing he noticed was the hooded figure standing in triumph over him before darkness overtook him.
When he awoke, he was in a cell, shackled to the wall. "Awake?" a voice sounded in front of him. He bleary opened his eyes to find Voldemort himself standing there. "Ah, yes. I bet you're wondering why your here," He started before pausing. "I would tell you my plans, but that would be no fun. For now, we'll have a little fun as old aquantices." His liked curled in a mockery of a smile and Harry realized he was fucked. "Crucio!" Harry's nerves lit on fire, it was so much worse than in the graveyard. It was agony. His body felt like he was being dunked in basilisk venom then set on fire. His screams sounded far away, he was so lost in pain. It seemed to last forever before the pain stopped.
"Having fun?" Voldemort had a smirk on his face.
"Fuck you" Harry managed to say before his vision started to darken.
"Oh no, we can't have that, we're just getting started." A potion found it's way into his throat, instantly waking him up, before the pain struck again. His screams were mixed with laughing as they echoed through the halls.
Harry had no idea how much time passed. It was just a constant cycle of pain, eating and sleeping. Voldemort especially liked to watch him scream, Bellatrix was a close second. Various Death Eaters would come and 'have fun' with him. The only saving grace was that it was rarely physical, most preferred to use magic to inflict pain upon him. Then, one day, something changed. An unfamiliar Death Eater came into his tiny cell, unlocked his chains and dragged him down the hall. Everything was blurry without his glasses, they had broken recently, but he could make out the trail of blood he left behind as he was dragged down the hallway. This was his chance to escape, he knew, but there was no energy or fight in him. He was just so, so tired and hurting. He was ashamed to wish everything wold be over soon. He could hardly bare it. But as soon as that thought came into mind, he thought of Hermione, of Ron and the Weasly's, and Sirius. They would be distraught if he died, they would miss him. He didn't want to die, he wanted to live, for them. But as soon as that thought came, and the strength it carried, he was thrown into the middle of what appeared to be a circle with an incomplete star in the center. His ribs ached as they made contact with the floor and he curled into a ball, all thoughts of escape or fight left him. He could see, through his hands, the blurry outlines of both runes and Death Eaters surrounding him.
"Harry Potter, so nice of you to grace us with your presence" Voldemort smiled down at him, a cruel smile devoid of anything but dark amusement. Harry tried to lift his body up with what little strength he had, but failed and collapsed down onto the ground. All the Death Eaters laughed at the display, but one Severus Snape looked on in masked horror. The boy had been missing for three weeks and the Order did not know what had happened to him. They had searched and searched, but they couldn't find a trace of him. It seems as if he was here all along. And by the looks of it, wasn't treated nicely. He looked like a skeleton and was covered in blood and bruises. When Severus glimpsed his eyes, they looked glazed over in pain. The usual fire behind his eyes was gone, leaving nothing behind. As much as he hated the boy, Severus could not help but feel pity. Pity and great sadness that a boy of fifteen had been a prisoner of war that he had no right to be in. Severus did not now what he would do if it was his godson in that position, and for the first time, he felt pity for Sirius.
As a spy mourned for the boy on the ground, Voldemort continued his monologue. "I have decided to send you somewhere, somewhere you will never be able to return from. With you gone, no will be able to kill me ad I'll live for ever!" He gave a cruel laugh that his followers reflected. Harry once again pushed himself up, this time succeeding. "You will never win." He weakly stated. "I am not the only one who goes against you. The Order will defeat you and you will rot in Hell like you deserve." Harry spat out then collapsed, using the last of his energy. As Voldemort and his followers just laughed at his statement, a line had been made in the ritual circle. The previous incomplete star had been completed with a shaky line of blood that Harry had accidentally made. Unfortunately for everyone there, that made the ritual much, much more dangerous.
"The only regret I have is the be unable to see your face when I kill your precious order and conquer Britain. Alas, some things have to be sacrificed in the long run." He shook his head in mock sadness."Go to Hell!" Harry tried to say, but it came out as a weak whisper, he was just too exhausted and defeated to do anything else. Voldemort just smiled and ordered his followers to start the ritual. Five low ranking Death Eaters stood at all five points of the previously incomplete star. They started chanting in Latin, the words unknown to Harry's ears. Soon, his body started to heat up. At first it was mildly uncomfortable, but as the ritual sped up in sped, the heat rose in temperature. It rose and rose until Harry couldn't take it any more and he let lose a scream. It felt like he was drowning in molten lava. He felt like he was melting, then turning into ash. He screamed and screamed as the pain got worse and worse. There was no end it seemed to Harry, only pain. The heat in his body didn't stop rising. It was so much worse then the Cruciatus Curse. That had a limit, this torture did not.
Unbeknownst to Harry, the ritual circle had started to glow. As the Death Eaters chanted, Voldemort watched on in satisfaction. He could tell something was wrong the moment Harry started to scream. Then Potter's body started to steam, and chaos reined. The previous unfinished star had started to shine to almost an unbearable light. His Death Eaters chanting started to scream in tune with Potter. Then, before his eyes, the men slowly dried out. Their blood flowed out of their bodies, through their ears, eyes mouth, leaving behind a shriveled husk. It flowed to the ritual circle and followed the lines of the star to the center, where Potter was still screaming. When the first drop of blood reached Potter, his screams got louder, to the point where the noise was inhuman. It disturbed everyone there, even Voldemort, not that he would ever admit it. The blood from his Death Eaters started to cover Potter's body, moving up to his face. It started to pour into his body, cutting off his screams when it entered his mouth. The teen grabbed his throat and writhed on he ground, unable to breathe. The people present watched in morbid fascination and horror as the blood from the Death Eaters formed a dome around Potter and he dissapered from view. It was absolutely silent as they watched the dome of blood shift and swirl, presumable with Potter struggling underneath. Suddenly, the dome of blood dispersed and flowed out, seemingly melting into the ground, but to everyone's surprise, there was nothing underneath. Absolutely nothing. The silence was broken up by the sound of several people retching. Voldemort scowled in annoyance, he would have to punish them later for their weakness. But now, now they would celebrate. "Harry Potter is finally gone!" He announced. "He had been banished from this world and will never be seen again! He can no longer stand in my way!" His loyal followers cheered and Voldemort smiled. Finally, things were going his way.
Snape discretely made his way out of the manor. He had to tell Dumbledore and the Order of what happened here. They deserved to here from him rather than a low-life Death Eater. He himself was trying not to be sick at the way Potter had screamed or the way the blood had forced itself out of the Death Eater's bodies. But he was not some weak-willed coward. He would inform the Order then have a drink, or two, or get black-out drunk as he avoided thinking about his failures to Lily's son. Yes that was a good plan. Maybe he could knock himself out for a few days? Snape wondered if he had a potion for that. But first, he had news to deliver.
When Harry awoke, he was aching all over. The last thing he remembered was drowning. He had tasted something metallic enter his mouth as he was screaming, then suddenly it was blocking his throat and he couldn't scream, let alone breathe. He finally went unconscious as soon as the liquid started to form a dome around him, not the he knew that fact. Next thing he knew, he was here. Where ever 'here' was.
He opened his eyes and regret it immediately. It looked like the manor, but at the same time, it did not. There were some similarities, like the structure, the summoning circle and the decor, but that was where they ended. His head hurt as he looked around the room he was in. The walls were covered in a black substance that shifted from liquid to solid to gas in a cycle all in a moment. There was a creature in the corner hidden in the shadows that looked to be shining and suck in light all at once and when he met its eyes, he saw the death of a star reflected in its eyes. Harry felt something slide down his face the longer he looked at the creature with stars in its eyes. He blinked and it was gone, and Harry discovered the liquid on his face was blood. He blinked again and all he could see was red from the blood pouring out of his eyes. He blinked and found himself lying on the floor with something screaming in pain as music in the background. He blinked and realized it was himself. He grabbed his head as the agony of the world rushed in. His body felt like it was being crushed underneath an oppressive force and he soon lost the ability to breathe. He could hear singing in the distance, the song sounding of lifedeathrebirthcreationpainpain pain Pain Pain PAin PAIN, the sounded tearing his mind apart after every note, and Harry closed his eyes for the last time, his silent screams blending into the song sounding him.