Chapter 21 – The Graveyard

Harry painfully collided with the ground again temporarily stunting his senses. Once he realized that both the Imperiused Cedric and Krum weren't trying to kill him but herd towards the cup, he tried to stop Fleur from grabbing it. He was too late and they both were sucked away from the maze.

Getting his wits about him, he inhaled the scent of where they landed which only confirmed his suspicions that this wasn't Hogwarts. Mixed in with the scent of his surroundings, he picked up on two other scents. Though he didn't immediately recognize them it was obvious that they weren't friendly.

Hearing Fleur stirring next to him, Harry willed himself to his feet and found himself standing inside a graveyard. The surrounding tombstones did nothing to settle his already heightened nerves.

"Are you alright Fleur?"

"Oui." Her eyes were still closed, one hand rubbing the back of her head where she had made contact with the ground. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it's safe to say that this isn't part of the task." Looking at the many tombstones that surrounded them, Harry didn't find any names that would pinpoint them to where they were.

"I 'ave a very bad feeling about zis."

Harry couldn't agree more. He continued his search of the tombstones until his eyes fell upon a large tombstone that read

HERE LIES

TOM RIDDLE

"Fleur we need to get back to the cup!"

"What's wrong?" She looked at the tombstone that caused Harry's outburst but it didn't help her confusion at all.

"Because think Voldemort is here!"

The sound of footsteps alerted Harry to another presence among them. Looking to the direction it had come from, he saw the silhouette of Wormtail approaching with a small bundle of robe in his arms.

"Now!"

"Kill the spare!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry immediately tackled Fleur out of the way, the jet of green just barely missing them as thy tumbled to the ground.

"Go get help, I'll try to hold him off!"

"Non! I won't leave you!"

She stood her ground, refusing to abandon him in this fight. Sensing that she wouldn't go willingly decide that it was futile. They both began to return fire, firing every spell and hex they knew back at their attacker. Though he wasn't able to retaliate from their dual assault, they were unable to penetrate any of the shields he threw up to block them.

Motion on the ground to his left caught Harry's attention just in time to see a large snake coil up and strike at Fleur. Thinking quickly he shoved Fleur out of the way, and towards the cup. This had only bought them a second as the snake began to recover.

"Fleur there's no time. You have to go get Dumbledore! Tell him we're in a graveyard where-AHHH!"

The snake had struck again this time latching onto Harry's arm and constricting itself around his torso. Finally seeing that they were outnumbered, Fleur Reluctantly grabbed onto the cup and was whisked away from the graveyard. Harry managed a brief smile before there was a flash of red and everything went dark.

-HP-

The smell of smoke brought Harry back to consciousness. As his brain tried to right itself, Harry noticed that he couldn't move his arms. Opening his eyes, he realized that he was upright, the ropes were not only keeping him from escaping but also holding him up against what he assumed was a gravestone.

His confusion dissipated as the moments before he blacked out came back to him and it was only then that he noticed that Wormtail was tending to a simmering cauldron in front him.

"Traitor!"

Startled, Wormtail whipped his wand around, causing a gash to magically appear across Harry's chest. Harry kept the scream inside, not wanting to give the man responsible for ratting out his parents the satisfaction.

"Wormtail you fool! He must be kept alive!"

The voice was shrill, one that Harry had only heard in his first year and in his nightmares. Searching for Voldemort, the only place Harry would determine the voice came from was the bundle lying on the ground.

"Now Wormtail!"

Picking up the bundle, he unwrapped it to reveal the most grotesque creature Harry had ever seen. It was then dropped into the cauldron and Harry was filled with the desire for the thing to drown.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you shall resurrect your son." A bone from the grave which Harry stood on flew u out of the ground and into the cauldron. This only caused to boil even more. To his horror, Wormtail then brandished a knife.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed, you shall resurrect your master!" With a howl of pain, he sliced of his hand, falling into the cauldron causing more of a disturbance. He then turned to Harry. He approached with the knife brandished. At first he seemed to ponder on taking blood from either his arm or chest, but not before an evil grin crossed his face.

"Blood of the enemy, forcefully take, you shall resurrect your foe." The knife cut through his forearm but Harry had little time to pay attention to the injury as Wormtail dropped the blood into the cauldron.

At first nothing happened, making Harry hope that Pettigrew had somehow messed up. He was proven wrong when the content of the cauldron suddenly burst forth and shrouding it in a cloud of smoke.

A few seconds later a figure was evident through the smoke. As it cleared Harry finally saw the pair of eyes that had haunted his dreams for many years.

Lord Voldemort had returned.

-HP-

~Earlier~

The crowd outside the maze waited patiently for the winner of the task to be revealed. Hermione had watched a both Cedric and Krum were removed from the maze but there was still no sign of Harry and Fleur. A flash of light moments ago signaled that someone had made it to the cup, making Hermione nervous as to who made it out okay. The crows waited with bated breath but the last two champions had yet to arrive.

Adding to Hermione's anxiety was the conditions which both Cedric and Krum exited the maze. Cedric was definitely worse for wear, if the distant look in his eyes was any indication, his clothes and exposed skin were torn to near shambles.

Though Krum wasn't nearly as bad, he still had sustained some level of injury. What was truly unnerving was the self-accomplished grin on his face which set her even more on edge.

Time seemed to drag on ever slowly as it became apparent that the absence of Harry and Fleur was not a part of the task. Seeking answers, Professor Dumbledore strode towards Cedric and Krum shortly after they both were released from the medical tent.

"What happened inside the maze?" Neither chose to answer though it was evident that while Cedric's silence was due to confusion, Krum did know something about what happened inside the maze. Dumbledore turned his gaze towards the Bulgarian student. "The staff patrolling the maze said that they saw Fiendfyre inside of it. Why would you consider conjured it Mr. Krum? Have you no concern for the lives of the other Champions"

Hermione gasped at the mention of Fiendfyre. She had rea about it before and knew that it was an extremely difficult and equally as deadly spell that few dared to use. Why would either Cedric or Krum us it?

Krum seemed to have little concern for the questions directed at him. His only response was to look Dumbledore straight in the eye and say, "I vanted to vin."

Though he wasn't exactly thrilled by this answer, Dumbledore sensed that prying further would accomplish little. He instead decided to turn his attention to the other champion.

"What about you Mr. Diggory?"

"I'm not sure Professor. I remember making my way to the Quidditch Pitch and," he closed his eyes, as if trying to pull out a distant memory before his face relaxed a little, "The next thing I know, I'm waking up in the medical tent."

"That is fine Mr. Diggory. It seems that sometime before you made it to the maze, you were placed under the Imperius Curse. Understand that you had no control of your actions."

A flash of light in front of the maze caught everyone's attention as Fleur Delacour landed with the Triwizard cup in hand. The crowd immediately began cheering, the loudest of which came from the Beauxbaton section, but Hermione immediately sensed that something was wrong.

She made her way from the stands towards the French girl, Ron following her in her wake. As she got closer, she noticed that the girl was covered in what appeared to be someone else's blood. The words that she heard come out of her mouth startled her and everyone else in attendance.

"Voldemort 'as 'Arry!"

"What do you mean Miss Delacour?"

"Ze cup was a portkey that took 'Arry and I into a trap. Someone he called Wormtail was zere and he zought Voldemort was zere two."

Upon hearing this, many of the nearby teachers along with Remus and Padfoot came to offer aid as Dumbledore tried to get a handle on the situation. Fleur appeared jittery, every movement around her caused her to trace her wand on it in her adrenaline fueled state.

"Fleur?"

She turned towards Hermione's voice and instinctively lowered her wand. Hermione could see the worry in her eyes and had no doubt that Fleur could see the same look in her eyes, but she had to ask…

"Is Harry going to be alright?"

Fleur seemed lost by the questions. Hermione saw a dozen different responses cross her face but she could tell that Fleur was as helpless as she was.

"I'm not sure."

Hermione instantly ran towards the girl and enveloped her in a hug. She knew that Fleur was the only person who was anywhere near as close to Harry as she was, and the doubt in Fleur's voice nearly broke her.

Seeing the fear in the two girls' eyes, Ron stepped forward. "Of Course Harry will be alright. He always get himself into and outta things like this."

Ron's optimism caused Hermione to chuckle. She was grateful that he was trying to remain optimistic but it was hard for her to do the same. She had always feared for when Harry's luck would run out.

Fleur suddenly released herself from Hermione's grip, brandishing her wand at Cedric who was attempting to console her.

"You attacked us. I should 'ex you for trying to injure me and Harry."

Hermione sensing that with Fleur in her current state of mind, she might follow through with her threat. "Fleur it's okay. Cedric was Imperiused. He didn't know what he was doing."

She lowered her wand, albeit very hesitantly, before exhaling.

"I'm sorry for what I might've done to you in the maze Fleur. I can't express how sorry I am."

"I forgive you Cedric." Looking around the crowd she noticed that Krum was noticeably absent. "Krum on the other hand, I won't hesitate to hurt for almost burning us alive. Where is he?"

"I had Alastor take me aside to further question him on his actions."

Dumbledore approached with both Remus and Padfoot in tow. "Now Miss Delacour, I must ask you if you have any knowledge of where you and Mr. Potter were taken."

"I'm not sure sir. We were transported to a graveyard were it seemed like a ritual was being prepared." She tried to remember any detail that might prove useful but her mind was a mess from her nerves. "The only thing I remember is that one of the tombstones had the name Tom Riddle on it."

"Tom Riddle? Are you sure?" At her nod a relieved look crossed the Headmaster's face as he waved his wand in the direction of the castle. It was a few moments before a bird cry drew everyone's attention to the approach of Fawkes the Phoenix.

"I believe I have an idea on how to rescue Harry."

-HP-

"Harry! I almost forgot you were here."

Voldemort's attention was now away from his followers and now was focused in on his nemesis. Harry tried to struggle further, hoping that even if he was seen getting loose that the surprise would give him enough of an advantage to try and flee. No matter how hard he tried the ropes refused to budge, but would burn his scald his skin from the friction. Even worse was the fact that he couldn't cut through the ropes as he couldn't will his claws to extend.

"Trying to escape Harry? Escape is folly, especially since your bindings are laced with Wolfsbane." He smiled at the shocked look on Harry's face, "Yes, I know your secret Harry Potter. My loyal servant at Hogwarts did more than bring you here. He also informed me of your condition."

The circle of Death Eaters laughed at Harry's condition, just another reason for them to hate the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Pity that there is now no room for you in our new world order. Even if you were a half-blood you could've been a nice addition to my ranks."

With a swish of the wand, the ropes all fell from Harry's sides causing him to crash to the ground unexpectedly.

"We cannot allow such filth to join us, so I'm sorry to say that you won't be leaving the home of my father Harry."

Another swish and Harry crashed back into the tombstone he was just tied to causing his head to swim. Voldemort seemed to be enjoying himself with his slow onslaught. The thought that Voldemort had used his blood in the ritual brought a tiny glimmer of hope to Harry.

"Well it looks like you're one too Tom. Since you used my blood to come back." The answering cackle from the Dark Lord was not the answer that Harry was expecting, making him nervous that he wasn't wrong.

"You think that I would use such a ritual if it tainted my blood? Why don't you use your senses and see for yourself."

Inhaling the air around him, the truth hit Harry like an oncoming hippogriff. Voldemort didn't smell like Remus or himself did, which could only mean that he wasn't a werewolf.

"Using your blood did have one benefit however." Launching forward so that he was right in front of Harry, "I can touch you now!" He then prodded Harry right on top of his scar, causing a wave of absolute pain to shoot through Harry's head, making it seem like his head would split in two. After several moments, Voldemort released Harry causing him to crumble into a heap on the ground.

"Give him his wand Wormtail! I wish to prove to all that Harry Potter is not the savior the world believes him to be."

With his wand lying a foot in front of him, Harry pushed the pain to the back of his mind and stood to face his long-time enemy.

"I presume you've been taught how to duel. First we bow." When Harry refused, Voldemort's anger seemed to get the best of him. ""I. Said. Bow!"

A voice in his head told him to bow and his body began to follow the foreign instruction. Realizing that it the Imperius Curse, Harry focused his mind on disobeying the command and was eventually able to throw it off.

"Crucio!"

Before Harry could acknowledge his victory, pin once again wracked his entire body. It felt like a hundred knives were prodding him all at the same time, yet he refused to cry out in pain.

After applying the curse for nearly a minute, Voldemort released it giving Harry the opportunity to dive behind a few tombstones and hide from his adversary.

"Come back out here Harry Potter. I want to look you in the eyes as I kill you!"

He tried to come up with some sort of strategy that would help him survive. He thought about charging at Voldemort and hoping that his abilities would allow him to overpower the dark wizard but he quickly realized the folly in that situation.

Resigning himself to his fate, he decided that if he was going to die, he wasn't going to go down hiding. Readying himself, he stepped back out into the fight. With a smirk Voldemort then raised his wand to deliver the killing blow.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

The spells collided in mid-air, an orb forming in the center which crackled like electricity. The orb also gave of a gold radiant dome, almost like a cage allowing none to leave it or enter.

Harry's wand grew hot in his hand and despite not understanding what was happening, he knew that he had to hold the connection or die. Both wizards struggled to win this battle as the orb began to slowly move towards Harry. Sensing its importance, Harry willed power into his wand and slowly but surely, the orb began to move back towards Voldemort.

Try as he might, Voldemort couldn't prevent the orb from reaching his wand causing more light to erupt from its tip. From it came out four spectral figures, one of an elderly man, the other of a relatively young women. It was the apparitions of his mother and father that caught his attention.

"Harry! When we say so you must break the connection but only when we say so."

Harry desperately wanted to say something to his father but he couldn't find his voice, so instead he simply nodded at his command.

"Sweetheart," his mother began, "We couldn't be any more proud of you. It's almost time."

A familiar screeching sound came from overhead, causing Harry to look up and see Fawkes flying towards him. He immediately understood that this was his way out and returned his focus back to Voldemort.

"Now!"

Sharply pulling his wand upwards, Harry broke the connection before reaching up to grab onto Fawkes' tail feathers while the apparitions distracted Voldemort as they returned to his wand. The instant his hand grasped the feathers, he disappeared in a ball of fire.

-HP-

Harry landed back in front of the maze and was almost instantaneously met by Ron, Hermione, and Fleur.

"Harry, thanks heavens you're alright."

Hermione wrapped him in a massive hug causing Harry to groan out from the pressure.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Harry."

Despite his discomfort, he managed a reassuring smile as Ron lightly patted him on the back.

"Blimey mate, it's good to see you made it back."

The two helped him up to his feet allowing Harry the opportunity to glance around at the people around him. He scanned the crowd until his eyes fell upon the figures of Krum and Professor Moody, each with a neutral expression on their faces.

"It's wonderful to see you back in one piece Mr. Potter, but I must ask you if you can tell me what happened."

"Voldemort's back."

The crowd around them gasped in shock, some in complete disbelief and others from the implications of his words. Though instantly believed that Harry was telling the truth, there were those among them who refused to believe that such a thing was even possible.

Cedric couldn't believe what he was hearing. Though he found it hard to believe that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, he never considered Harry a liar and determined that he wouldn't be lying about this.

"Are you sure Harry?"

"Yes sir. He also said that he has servants working for him from inside Hogwarts."

Almost as if on cue, a struggle gasp came from the direction of Mad-Eye Moody. As the mobs attention shifted to the Professor's discomfort, they all watched before their very eyes as his feature began to contort and change until Harry recognized the man from one of his dreams.

"Barty Crouch Jr."

Dumbledore instantly strode forward with wand in hand to apprehend the Azkaban escapee. A dozen or so other wands were also trained on the man but Crouch didn't seem to notice. He grinned evilly as if all was still going according to plan.

While all eyes were on the man who was Professor Moody, Cedric caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking away from the group, he saw Krum moving forward, his wand trained on Harry.

"Harry look out!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry felt someone shove himself, Ron, and Hermione over as a green light passed nearby them. His impact on the ground caused his eyes to swim, but he was able to hear the sound of various shouts from all the witnesses. Once his vision cleared up, the scene Harry saw in front of him was one that would haunt him for a long time.

Cedric Diggory was lying dead a few feet away, with no sign of Crouch or Krum anywhere nearby.

Author's Note:

Ha! I bet some of you thought I wouldn't kill off Cedric. Though I thought about keeping him around, I realized that his death had had a great impact on Harry in the canon. The way that I do it here makes it a little more personal for Harry.

The hardest thing about this chapter was trying to do the graveyard scene enough justice, without bogging it down with a lot of stuff that we already know about. With both Krum and Crouch both working for Voldemort and both on the run, their characters will become important again later.

There's about one chapter left in this part of the story and I hope to get it done in about a week or so.

As always, thanks for Reading.