Closing the door of the Shack, I proceed towards the forest once more. The clouds are closing in and the sky grey. I enter the forest and take a short detour towards a massive rock in the clearing. I used to sneak out here when I was at Hogwarts all those years ago. This school meant a lot to me, and it's a pity we will have to destroy it but I will take every measure to defeat Harry Potter. Although, for the others, this battle will shed more blood then necessary. Every drop of magical blood, even if it isn't pure, is precious. I look around me. I know the pressure will rise up on the Hogwarts community. Harry Potter will be too scared about his own life. Everyone else will probably turn against him. I decide to make myself clear.
I pick up my wand and whisper Sonorus, the charm to make your voice louder. Of course, with The Elder Wand, its powers will increase tremendously.
"You have fought," I speak loudly, "valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood is a lost and a waste."
I clear my throat. I need to make myself sound more convincing. "Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."
I grimace. I have given my message to the rest of Hogwarts but I decide I must speak to the boy who started it all. "I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, and then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman and child who have tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
I can hear my voice ringing throughout the clearing. In the distance I see Hogwarts, lit up by its lights and the flashing of wands and curses. Suddenly everything stops. There is dead silence. I hear a wolf howl followed by many others. I know Harry Potter will come to me. He must. He will. This time he will not escape. Not like he did that night, sixteen years before.
One hour has passed. My Death Eaters crowd around me. Some of their faces were masked and hooded. Two giants sat at the edge of the group. Many looked defeated and tired, some apprehensive. A fire burned in the middle of the clearing, flickering against the water and trees. Every eye was fixed on me. My head was bowed and my hands folded and wrapped around The Elder Wand.
Harry Potter did not come. As for the reason why, I'm not sure. Nagini slithers across the forest floor as I stand up. Two of my Death Eaters rejoin the circle.
"No sign of him, My Lord," one of them said.
I drew The Elder Wand between my fingers. My eyes were concentrating on the fire in front of me.
"My Lord -" Bellatrix began, her disheveled bloody face, close to me.
I raised my hand to silence her and she did not speak another word. She eyed me in worshipful fascination.
"I thought he would come," I speak quietly. "I expected him to come."
Nobody spoke. They seemed scared. For a moment the only sound was the crackle of the fire.
"I was, it seems… mistaken," I finish, playing with the words on my lips. I have never been mistaken. I have never spoke those words before.
"You weren't," A loud voice behind the bushes said.
In a joint movement, everyone's head turned towards the speaker. Harry Potter emerged from the darkness. He took a step forward. Another silence. Suddenly, there was roaring, cries, gasps and even laughter. Only I remained frozen, the only object in-between us, was the fire.
Another voice that silenced the rest yelled, "HARRY! NO!"
Hagrid, The Hogwarts Gamekeeper, a half-giant whom we bound to the tree, was slashing his hands tying to break free.
"NO! NO! HARRY, WHAT'RE YEH -?"
"QUIET!" a Death Eater shouted and with one flick of his wand, Hagrid was silenced.
Bellatrix leaped to her feat and surveyed hungrily the scene around her. She looked eagerly between me and Potter. Now, the only thing moving was Nagini and the flames of the fire. I could feel the texture of the wand against my skin. Harry Potter neither moved nor looked frightened. This was the perfect opportunity to end it all.
Both of us looked at each other. My head tilted, smiling a mirthless smile on my lipless mouth. "Harry Potter," I said very softly. "The Boy Who Lived."
No one moved, no one spoke. I raised my wand, my head still tilted like a curious child, wondering what would happen if I proceeded. I whispered, "Avada Kedavra." The most deadly curse of all, unblock able. Instant Death. In one flash of green, everything went black.