Chapter IV: A Race Against Time

It had been three days now and Tom was beginning to fade away and disintegrate. His magic was rising from him and was ever-slowly being drawn back to the earth's ley lines that granted the magic unto its users. Harry was keenly aware that one of his soul-containers would then dissolve and his spirit would be reborn and thus force the reverse flow of magic back to him; but they did not have time for him to utilize resources to gain a corporeal form for a second time in less than a decade.

Harry gaze was hard as he sat beside the man's prone body, "I swear to you Tom; I will not allow whomever did this to you go unpunished and I refuse to allow you to die and need to use another horcrux to live again. By the blood of the Peverells in me; I swear I find a way to heal this and to find who is capable of such actions. I will learn how this is possible and if it could be learned enough to be utilized more effectively for our own goals."

Mipsy had remained by her master as he had mixed potions, elixirs, salves. He had used alchemy to a degree and researched old magic; darker than many would dare to delve. All for the life of the one who had caused him so much misery before the betrayal.

As a house-elf to a noble line and dedicated in her life to serve it; it was not her place to question her master nor the orders he had given to her. Her life and her magic was tied to House Potter, and thus, she relied on Harry for her livelihood. However, Mipsy feared what would become of her master's mind if the dark one died and was unable to rise again quickly. Their souls were interlocked together; no longer in painful manners, but still very much connected.

Not exactly what one would term as soul-mates or life-mates; but, close enough that it could be considered as such by those outside the knowledge of the true nature of the bond.

Harry's eyes were sunken in and tired. His body was exhausted and he barely had eaten in two of the last three days. As he ghosted over a tome written in ancient elven from the elves that lived-in area known as the Shadowharbor; a realm of a parallel existence to theirs, his eyes a lit with new hope and then muttered in parseltongue as he summoned parchment, quill, and ink.

He outlined the ritual described and made several minor but more safe and effective adjustments. He then gathered many ingredients, but frowned when he noticed had all of them but one and that the incantation was not written down either. He turned to the elf as he placed a strong stasis over Tom's body.

"I need to go and collect one more thing for this ritual. I will return in no less than one hour. Please stay and watch over the stasis. After he is restored and his body merely sleeps for rest; run a pool of warm water in the ritual room and then gather several branches of willow and lay them around the pool. After that, gather the dried leaves of Anemone, Blessed Thistle and Anise. Grind them into a very fine powder and sprinkle it into the pool without touching the water."

"This will be ritual that will ward his body and protect him from such magic again for some time. It should also purify whatever dared to try and take him. It may provide other benefits to him as much as it will me in the days to come, but he will need time to adjust. Once he understands what happened to him."

Mipsy nodded as her Master popped out

Harry knew what he was about to do was very risky; but there was no way to secure his safety now…he would risk it. He had apparated into the woods of his estate and took out a piece of chalk and drew a pentagram summoning space before he then drew a silver dagger and sliced his palm and let the blood of his wound fall unto the middle.

He hissed in pain as a faint blue ripple appeared and he stood and entered it without hesitation. He walked slowly to where the spirit within lay waiting and it watched him hesitantly. Harry's eyes were full of determination and his confident gait has garnered the ire of the demoness who lived there.

She sneered, "You dare open a gateway to my halls so blatantly, mortal?"

Harry green gaze then flared with raw magic to it as his eyes glowed with power and he sneered while he waved a palm without uttering a word to her and the demoness was chained down easily, "Silence demoness! I am no mere mortal, and you will obey me if you value your life."

She glared hatefully, "Why do come here?"

Harry's watched as she thrashed against his magic before he continued to stare at her in disgust, "For all your demonic power, you are weak compared to me. I am the newest Master of Death and I come seeking a way to break a curse from one who is dear to me. Cooperate and I will allow you your freedom again. Deny my questions and perhaps requests, and I will see you never to return into the reincarnation cycle."

The demoness then stilled her rattling of the bindings and looked at him with wariness, "And what curse do you wish to break? There is few that would require one of your blood to need our assistance?"

His eyes then turned solemn and the demoness knew whatever curse it was; it had already taken a toll to who the young man declared as dear.

"It is ancient as far as I can tell. It no longer has a proper name and modern society would not have recorded it. I know it is elven and comes from the time of Shadowharbor; a world of parallel existence to my own. It is dark and my friend is dying. He is fading away into the raw energy of magic herself and his body looks to be disintegrating. As if to ashes from burns and inflammation of the skin."

"He arrived to my care three days' past and is now very close to the end if I do not help him."

The demoness then looked saddened now and she considered her options before speaking to him of this dilemma he was in, "This curse will not be easy to break from him, nor will he be strong as soon as it ends. The Elves of Shadowharbor were the foremost experts on dark magic in their time and the curse you spoke of is old and very powerful, young master. The druids used that curse as a territory marker and as punishment for heinous criminals who had been given the rite of execution. They are a parallel world because they moved through dimensions to keep out of war and conflict to others."

"I do not know if the one you claim as dear came across a Shadowen elf, but if he did; he has suffered greatly for trespassing on what that elf considered his grounds. Shadowen elves do not need a normal place to live; they can cross time and space if needed. Your line was one gifted enough to learn of how to do so from them when it was but a newborn line to wizards. As I said, it would not be easy to lift and would require a witch or wizard of great power in order to even attempt the ritual. But, you are unlike the last several generations of your ancestors. I can sense that you have magic so strong that even demons such as I cower under its weight and presence. And while to you I am weak; there are many alike to me and considered as akin to me who fear me for my power here in this world."

Harry eyed her with respect and nodded his acknowledgement to her words. His face did not express anything in particular though he seemed to be impatient for her to continue on about the curse and how to lift it.

She then looked to him a moment, "Beyond my freedom from these binds you have used on me; there must be an exchange between us if you desire to save him. I will give you the three strands of my hair needed for the rite, but you must also offer me something in return for the gift I bestow. My hair is like my life-line; were I to lose all of it...I would die. In giving you three strands; I shave-off three hundred years of my demonic life, so your gift must equal what I am granting you. I also sense you need something beyond the strands of my hair?"

Harry nodded, "So I noted to myself before coming and you're correct that I need something other than your hair, but I will get to that later. Name your price, demoness. There is little back in my world that I cannot obtain."

She raised a brow, "No hesitation or fear to your voice in what I could ask of you? Curious. I could have asked to have you spend eternity here as my slave while he tries desperately to find you once healed?"

Harry's gaze darkened and he rose his palms as crackling green lightening sprung from his hands and he smirked, "Try it and see who wins."

The demoness gnashed her teeth to the sight of the magic and knew she was outmatched. She was chained down and her powers suppressed. The young lord was very wise in knowing to do this before stepping into the realm of her kind.

"In exchange for my help, you will bring to me three vials of unicorn and basilisk blood; undiluted. Do this and I will show you the incantation needed to break the darkness over who you wish to bring back from near-death as well as gift to you my hair strand for the ritual to restore his body. The blood must be relatively fresh for it to be of use. In terms of the basilisk if it is dead already; it cannot have been dead longer than ten years. The blood will preserve well depending on environs."

Harry considered before smiling, "I can easily do this. Do you need these items by a certain time?"

The demoness rose a brow; he was certainly sharp.

"Yes. I must have them before the new moon." She agreed

Harry nodded, "I can easily retrieve them. However, I request you help me break the curse first. Once broken and I ensure my friend lives, I will see my elf to care for him while I retrieve the items bargained for."

The demoness considered and scowled slightly but nonetheless agreed to the terms. He seemed honest enough in his desire to save his friend to know that betraying her would not be wise.

"The incantation you need is simple, but not at all easy to cast. It drains you of magic quickly and will consume your core if not mindful of your reactions in the body. The elves of Shadowharbor were masters of the arcane in its finest with dark magic once. The words you seek are sluden t'larryo; kul'gobuss d'l'shar sut, or chains broken; prisoner of the mind, release."

She then allowed her hands to tenderly break off three threads of her hair and Harry took them delicately as he released her bindings and she sat down slowly.

Harry nodded, "I will return soon with what I have promised to you."

He then vanished from sight and the demoness growled in irritation. Wizards of his clan always were a nuisance. They could be so very deliciously devious and evil; yet dark magic would never cling to them. Not enough to free her or others here anyhow.

Harry then appeared back into the room and took the book he had researched and left again as Mipsy watched him in an intrigued manner. Her master seemed…happy. That was a good thing because if he was happy; he must have found how to break the curse.

She observed as Harry brewed some sort of concoction with the strands of hair he had obtained. She winced as she saw the residual magic around them. Demons and Demonesses were not creatures she would wish to negotiate with, but Mipsy knew her master now would be relatively safe from them. His power rivaled most of them as it was. Not to mention that Death would never allow Harry to be killed by them.

Once the liquid was done and put into a vial; he walked with her behind to Tom's room. His eyes were soft now as he gently placed the liquid on several areas of his body. Ignoring the burning sensation to himself, before forcing Tom to ingest the rest.

He then raised a palm and focused his mind and magic on the incantation. He felt the extreme draw on his core and the tiredness of his limbs set in. The words becoming more powerful as they drew energy from him and was siphoned into Tom to break the curse. Finally, after several repeated applications of the incantation, a purple spark flared and Harry sank to the floor in exhaustion as Tom groaned and merely slept.

That was a positive sign.

Harry managed to pull himself up and over to the bed to observe his friend. He caressed the skin of his cheek and no longer felt the sizzling burn. His magic was coming back and regathering. He smiled triumphantly only for a moment and then laid beside him. Too tired to do anything else.

Mipsy smiled wanly; her master was a most powerful wizard. Hopefully the other master would appreciate what he had done for him as she popped out to do as he had bid of her. They would not sleep long. Her assumptions proved true when Tom woke first and groaned softly as he opened his eyes and they widened that he was alive. He noticed that he felt tired still, but his wounds were gone and the curse had somehow been lifted. He did not know how; seeing as he remembered only fleeing by apparition and it knocking him out.

He then froze as he felt another body beside his and cautiously turned slightly to see who it was. The red gaze widened and then softened some as he saw the sleeping boy next to him. He was paler than he last recalled seeing him. His eyes sunken in and tired; as if he had not slept well in a few days.

Mipsy then softly popped in and bowed, "Good, you have woken. Master Harry will be most pleased. Considering he spent the last three days fixing whatever damage was done and at all the risk to himself."

Tom eyed her, "What exactly happened? The last things I remember is going to retrieve something of mine and noticing an intruder to where it was kept. Then, a fight broke out between us and I was injured heavily before being cursed, and knowing the curse should have killed me. I managed somehow to apparate in a panic and the magic rendered me unconscious whenever I happened to reappear?"

Mipsy bowed in apology, "I would tell you if I is knowing the details, but Master…he was very upset with whatever happened to you and he did not see fit to tell me in case of the danger he went into to try and help you. You will need to wait for him to wake up to ask."

She then beckoned him to try and stand and Tom slowly did so. Mipsy grimaced at the wobbly state he was in as she then used her magic to help him maintain balance. Tom noted he was bare of his clothes and smirked a moment before sobering at why he had been left in such a way. It obviously had not been pleasing for Harry.

"Master asked me to prepare a special cleansing bath in the ritual room. It will provide you protection from such magic again should you ever encounter it. It will also purify the remaining remnants of the dark magic left by the curse. You are not to try and do any magic for the next couple of days, as yours is still being brought back to you. You were fading and Master was determined for you not to need to use another of your Horcruxes to be reborn."

"He claimed that while you had the resources to; you and he did not have the time."

Tom was silent as the elf told him this. He had not been aware of exactly how close he was to really dying, but this made the picture much more permanent. Harry had risked his life and his magic to save his. There was no way he could repay the gesture for now.

The elf allowed him his thoughts as she brought him to the ritual room. She gave him a moment to settle into the water and then told him to remain submerged for the next half-hour. He nodded and she left to tend to other duties.

Tom sighed when left alone. He did not know what to make of all this.

His alliance with the young man who had healed him was tentative at best, though proving to be quite useful and beneficial given recent events. They had much bad blood between them. Yet, Tom's red gaze darkened and gleamed with possessiveness of him. He was going to ensure Harry became his. There was no one else who could understand his power and not be a feared by it.

Just thinking about him set his blood to a boil and his mind did not like the idea of anyone else touching him. He growled low in his throat, 'No. If I have my way; Harry will never ever be touched by another other than myself.' He thought

Tom was then startled out of his thoughts as a loud boom and crash was heard and Mipsy appeared and looked stricken.

"You must stay here. No matter what you feel or hear upstairs, you must stay here." She said

Tom glared, "Why? What has happened?"

Mipsy then sighed as she cowed to the feel of the rising magic from the dark lord, "Master has unwanted guests again. He warned them not to return or they would pay for it with their lives. But they believe him to still be their friend…even after the despicable acts they did against him; that he would not be capable of harming them. He is exhausted from healing you and ridding you of the curse that has beheld you in the last few days and now they dare to come back."

"His temperament is…not good and Mipsy knows well enough to be out of sight when Master is like that. Blood flows when he is enraged as he is now, and his former friends will not stand a chance."

Mipsy eyed him as Tom trembled in rage, "You must stay here. They do not know Master has decided to aid you. Merely that he will now not help either side. Besides, you will endanger your magic if you try to help him. I do not think you would like it if you lost your ability to cast magic."

Tom watched the elf warily, "For some elf who has not been told much; you sure do know an awfully large amount?"

Mipsy smiled now, "I have served the Potters since Master's great-grandparents time and have knowledge of his clan's past. While Master Harry may not tell me much; I can read into what he tells me by utilizing my own magic. It has been an invaluable skill to the Masters and Mistresses of the Potter household."

"When will Harry return?" Tom asked subdued

Mipsy eyed him, "That would depend on a number of things. First, he would have to either kill or capture his unwanted guests without harming himself and exhausting his magic again more than necessary. He was really drained from whatever magic was cast on you and having to be rid of it."

"Second, if he does not manage to do the first; the likelihood they take him prisoner is high. They want to make him see reason and to do as they bid, but Master has no desire to. If he is taken, I have no doubt that when he sees his opportunity to escape, he will."

Tom grit his teeth and tried vainly to calm down as his anger rose to the surface. They dared to force Harry to do as they wanted again? Had they not learned from the first time? His rage was becoming visible as magic energy was rising before him. Mipsy stood back now in fear and wondered what to do.

"Easy there Tom, my unwanted guests are no longer a problem and I fear I may have gone overboard. Alastor and the Order will no doubt search for them, but he will not find them." Harry said calmly as he stepped in the room, "For there is nothing left of those three to find."

Tom's gaze relaxed at seeing him, "You managed to undo the curse I suffered?"

Harry smiled and then scowled, "Yes, but not without dangers to myself. The curse originated from a time lost to the past and found nowhere within modern written records. I had to…bargain the answers I sought."

Harry sat beside the edge of the water and eyed it momentarily, "I see the purification agents I added to this are working. I had hoped so, but honestly; the magic was so dark and old, I feared it would not. It will not change your darker magic inclination nor your nature, but it will rid the harmful effects of the magic used on you that have been left-over from the curse and will ward and protect you from similar magic for up to at least a year."

Tom was quiet, "What exactly was I cursed with?"

Harry sneered, "Magic that should forever remain forgotten. It has no name and is no longer really known but to whomever used it on you and now us. It hails from the time of Shadowharbor and the Shadowen elves when they stewarded the earth's lands; or, they stewarded lands that dealt with the punishment of the accused. It was meant to kill you for trespassing normally, but I do not think whoever used it on you did it for that reason."

Harry eyed him, "How did you end up like that? I nearly had a heart attack when you landed in my living room. You had wounds everywhere, blood pouring out and magic that made me shudder to even feel on you. You were unconscious, barely breathing and who knows what would have happened if you had landed in the home of one of your other followers."

Tom seemed to guess he had created quite a panic in the younger wizard; though he had handled the situation well.

"I don't really remember much of what occurred oddly." He said in quiet tone, "I remember going to search for something of mine to recollect. It had been hidden to protect it and I wanted to reclaim it. I believe it was one of my Horcruxes, but I honestly do not know."

Harry nodded, "It seems that the curse may have erased what memories you had of the events preceding it. You did almost die, after all, and I was getting desperate to figure out how to save you."

Tom eyed him, "You said you had to bargain for how you saved me. What did you mean by that?"

Harry fidgeted now as red eyes narrowed on him.

"Being the Master of Death is more than being able to simply control the flow of life and death. Time is no obstacle to me now and I will not age as normal humans do. Magic of all kinds are easily learned and dark magic will never taint or corrupt me; even though I could easily become as villainous as you have been. If I wanted to travel to the past or the future; I could do so with little consequences. It would not matter by how many years forward or backwards I went. I can also walk between worlds and their parallels. I need no items to do this with nor potions to help me get where I need to go."

"Death granted the Shadowen Elves that gift. To be able to move through time and space without much effort; and, the Peverells learned the gift from them when it was barely a newly formed Noble House after the first founding of the Ministry. I may be called friend to Death and he may come if I ask; he may decide to aid me if he feels he can, but Death himself does not teach his secrets to just anyone. Master of Death or no."

Harry eyed the water absently, "Sometimes having so much knowledge and power frightens me. Most of time, I am grateful for it, and more often than not; I find it has been beneficial to me in more ways than I knew, but there is disadvantages to such large amounts of power."

"Most people live their lives trying to make their ends meet. It is the same here as it would be to muggles. They do not care for the war nor do they understand the reasons for it; they simply know that there is one going on and want an end to it so normality can come back to restore the prosperity again."

"They fear dark magic because they do not understand it nor its purposes; similarly, to how the muggles fear us because they cannot understand how we control our power. Or how we fear the muggles because a lot of us do not understand the full brutality their technology could bring about."

"My powers go beyond the muggle level of comprehension and they also supersede the knowledge of most witches and wizards. To gain what I needed to cure you; I summoned and opened a portal to another dimension whose permanency was then amplified by the blood I used from me to give it solidity in this world until I no longer needed it. It led me to a parallel world and I spoke to the residing demoness within.

In exchange for three of her hairs and the incantation to the spell that I needed to heal you; I will need to bring her three vials of undiluted unicorn and basilisk blood before the new moon."

Harry shifted uncomfortably, "Space is no obstacle to me either, as I mentioned. I can walk between places as normally as I walk the halls of my own home. The demoness was easily over-powered by me and to most; that is a clear indication that one should fear me."

"Demons do not die in a normal manner. When a demon is killed; they die, and are placed into a new cycle of reincarnation. It could take hundreds upon hundreds of years, but they would be and are reborn from the fires of their realms when their reincarnation cycle ends. Or from whatever element rules the realm they reside in. I can make sure that any demon or demoness who crosses me is never to be re-entered in that cycle; meaning if I was forced to kill her to get what I needed...she would die and then not ever return to her realm ever again in corporeal flesh. Her help was willing; if only because I threatened to do just that and she knew I could."

Tom was silent and his gaze seemed to hollow out some, "Once a long time ago…I desired to obtain the Hallows and become the Master of Death for myself. I tried for years and years until I finally found the resurrection stone of Cadmus Peverell. I then learned of Albus looking for them as well. He had done so too when Gellert Grindelwald was alive, but after his death; he stopped and until he likely learned of my interest in them…he paid them no mind."

His gaze then met Harry's and the younger man knew Tom was very serious.

"Now that I know what sort of effects it has on the body and the mind; I am glad for once that I did not succeed in my endeavors. I will return the ring to you, as you should have it. You are the last of the Peverells in direct descent. However, my horcrux will remain with it and I entrust you with it to keep safe."

Harry nodded slowly as Tom delicately brought one hand from the water and placed it beside Harry, "Much as I intend to protect you now from those who hurt you. It is thanks to you that I live and is by far the least I can do to try and repay what you did for me."

Harry scowled, "I did not ask you to do this, nor is there a need to repay me for my aid. I did it as much for you as I did for myself. If one of your Inner Circle found you as I did; hopefully they would wish to help you."

Tom snorted, "It is more likely they would have allowed me to die because of their inadequate knowledge. Or because they desired to see me end to rise in my place. Not that it would work exactly."

Harry was quiet; knowing how likely that scenario seemed.

Tom then hesitated, "What is this feeling that is lingering between you and I? I know some of what it is, but I…I do not understand it."

Harry eyed him, "What feelings are you trying to understand exactly?"

Tom seemed frustrated, "I do not know. I feel all content and peaceful whenever I am near you and I like to be in your company versus my Inner Circle. I like it when your attention is on me, but I…do not like it when it is on others for longer than seems to be necessary. In fact, I would say I often would be nearly jealous of the fact it was on another if I had known it was."

"Then, I feel…possessive of you." He said slowly as Harry then scooted backwards and out of Tom's direct grabbing range.

He seemed sad by that but did not really acknowledge it, "I want to be able to protect you. I want for you to come to trust me, but how I will do that; I don't know. I do not like the thought of you with another person."

Harry's eyes narrowed, "How do you mean?"

Tom grimaced, "Exactly as it sounded. I don't like thinking of you being intimate at all with another whom I think is not worth your time. The possessiveness in me screams out to curse anyone that dares to approach you in such a way. Yet, at the same time I know I cannot force you not to want companionship." He said quietly, "It just feels like I am torn when I try to think of you walking away from me for whatever reason. The urge to grab you and hide you away is almost too much."

Harry was silent; he did not know how to respond to this.

Tom growled in frustration, "I am also aware that simply trying to grab you and hide you away won't work. For one, you have knowledge that would let you escape wherever I put you regardless of wards and traps. But, for some reason beyond my comprehension; I simply want you safe and out of danger. I want you to trust me and to know that you can rely on my help if you need it."

His sanguine gaze then lifted to the verdant one that watched him with pensiveness, "I want to be the one you come to when you are troubled. I want to be the one who holds onto to you and cradles you when you are endangered. "

His gaze dropped back to the water, "It sounds so…ridiculous and foolish. We spent nearly your whole life fighting the other and now after a few weeks together; I feel almost close you in a way I do not with any of my Inner Circle. A closeness I never wanted to have with them, but cannot deny that I want when I think of you."

Harry's eyes softened as he smiled slightly, "I think you know what you are feeling, but you simply do wish to admit it."

Tom gazed to him and then sucked in his breath to the radiant smile Harry wore. It was as if the sun had appeared in the dark basement and lit it up so the whole world could see. He shook his head and refused to want to accept it.

Harry's smile dimmed some, "I cannot force you to accept your feelings, Tom. They're yours to have and to keep. However, if you truly desire me as you are saying you do; then you will need to come to accept them. I will not simply give of myself to you. I will not be used and hurt that way."

Harry then sat back down beside him outside of the water, "I agree that I too feel a semblance of closeness to you that I never felt with anyone else. I probably understand you and your antics better than your Inner Circle. Just as you probably understand me on a level my former friends never did or ever would."

Tom watched him hesitantly now and Harry gazed to the far wall.

"You and I are so very similar and yet so ideally different. I think this is why magic pulls us to the other. We both see this world as something with the potential to be more than it is, but we both have different ideas of how it should come together. If we work together and merge our ideas; this world of magic could withstand anything in time."

Harry then looked to him with a soft look, "But I will not stand beside you as you wish if you simply use me. I have been used too much before to want this. You need time to consider what you think is most important to your goals and how much letting me stand by you could change this."

Harry then eyed the wall again as Tom continually stared at him unrelentingly. Tom knew he wanted to make the wizard world a place for magic to be safe from persecution. From muggles and their technology as much as internal corruption like what was rampant now. He had tried for so long to get there with the methods he had, but those only had given him so much room to maneuver.

Harry was unlike any other wizard he knew. Powerful beyond his years as he was, and intellectually wiser than many three times his age due to experiences no one should need to endure. He was strong, in body and in mind, and Tom knew his thoughts were becoming less than ideal.

His lower regions were beginning to react to his thoughts and Harry was mere feet away. The water was also not murky enough to hide the fact his body was pleased. Tom growled low in throat again and Harry watched him with a pensive expression before he stood and the red gaze turned to him.

"I will leave you to consider what I told you. Once you come to a decision, you will find me. I do not intend to leave the mansion for the next several days, but I do have some…projects that need checking on." Harry told him

The eyes of the dark lord narrowed on Harry's retreating back as he walked from the room. The words did not comfort him; no, in fact they made him more suspicious of Harry and whomever he left in charge of his project.

Mipsy then popped in and had clothes laid for him before turning to the guest, "These are for you when you exit the bath. You have a few minutes left, but please take care to not fall. Your limbs and joints have only just coalesced back into their previous form."

Tom nodded and watched as she disappeared before he let out a frustrated sound and tried to decide what he wanted.