Chapter 25

It had been almost two years since Jude last saw Lazarus. Two years since he was stabbed and had to burn the side of Lazarus' face to get free and to save Lily. He knew he wasn't dead after what happened last year with Sherlock, but seeing him in the flesh after all this time sent chills down his spine. The burns on one side of his face only helped his evil image.

Lazarus smirked as he stepped out of the shadows, "I see you finally figured out some of your past." He touched one of the blackened walls with reverence. "Some of my best work, I'd say."

The admission stopped Jude's heart. He shouldn't have been surprised. "You…" He licked his dry lips. "You started the fire?" A familiar roar, one he hadn't felt in almost a year, filled his chest.

"Of course," Lazarus smiled nonchalantly. "I tried to get your father's blood, but he was a clever wizard, I'll give him that. He hid you very well. It's why I didn't know about you until you started your first year at Hogwarts."

"But why?" Jude asked, an intense shiver trembling through his body. "Why are you after us? Why me? Why my father?"

An ugly sneer crept onto Lazarus' face, stretching the burnt side as well, "I need your blood. It holds magic this world hasn't seen in centuries. Give yourself over to me. With your blood, I'll fuse my soul with Voldemort's, and I will be stronger than any wizard alive. I will wipe out those who oppose me."

Jude shook his head stiffly, "I won't let you."

"Then you leave me no choice. Diffindo!"

The familiar spell shot out. Jude stumbled out of the way and whipped out his wand, shouting, "Stupefy!"

Lazarus slammed himself against the wall, dodging the spell. His eyes moved around frantically when he realized he couldn't find Jude. He snarled, lifting his wand, "Reducto!"

The wall Jude hid behind exploded. He placed his hands over his head, protecting himself from the debris. He quickly crawled out of the way of another spell and countered, "Alarte Ascendare!"

"You child!" Lazarus screamed as he suddenly flew into the air. "Bombarda!"

The explosion threw Jude into another wall. He gasped for breath after the air left his lungs from hitting the wall abruptly. He coughed, the pain in his back creeping into his nerves causing him a pinching headache.

Lazarus aimed his next spell directly at Jude's face. He growled, "Crucio!"

No pain could compare to this. Jude had suffered through many injuries since he first met Lazarus, but it was all nothing. His blood was boiling. His muscles were twisting in agony. His insides were being crushed.

He writhed on the floor, trying desperately to ignore the pain. All he needed was one more spell to break Lazarus' concentration. However, his convulsions weren't helping his brain which felt like it was slowly turning into mush. He had to do something. He needed to stop Lazarus before he passed out.

Let it go, Jude.

Jude's eyes snapped open, blazing blue. Thick flames erupted on his arms. Using every brain cell he had, he threw a ball of fire at Lazarus, successfully breaking his concentration, and, with it, the spell.

He took a moment to inhale greedily before he rolled out of the way of another curse. He moved to punch and watched as a line of fire flew at Lazarus.

Lazarus tripped as he tried to dodge the flame. He righted himself and held his wand tightly in his hands as he bellowed, "Incendio!"

The harsh flame that burst from Lazarus' wand had frightened him when he was a first year, but now, knowing that any fire wouldn't hurt him, simply gave him more confidence. He put his hands out, absorbing the flames into his own. Too much fire around the house was harmful and he had to make sure none of it damaged the house.

Knowing the other male wouldn't touch him now that the fire was protecting him, he charged at Lazarus, ducking under yet another spell, and catching him around the waist.

Lazarus was scrawny. That much he noticed as he ran both of them through one of the windows.

Jude scrambled to get on top of Lazarus. He pressed one hand to the blond's throat and raised his flaming fist. He glared down at him, "You're not gonna get my blood."

The first punch had Lazarus spitting blood onto the ground.

"You're not gonna touch my friends."

Another caused blisters on his face.

"You're not gonna kill anyone like you killed my parents."

The startled shift in Lazarus' dull blue eyes made him pause. Lazarus blinked slowly as realization set in. He chuckled, blood bubbling out of his mouth, "I didn't kill your parents. I killed your father. Your mother, on the other hand…"

Jude grasped tighter at his collar, snarling, "What did you do to her?" His flame filled fist shook intensely.

"I didn't kill your mother!" Lazarus laughed maniacally. He softened his tone to a mocking coo, "Oh, poor little Jude, even your mother didn't love you enough to save you."

"Shut up!" Jude shouted hoarsely. Tears made their way down his cheeks involuntarily only to evaporate away after a moment on his heated skin.

Lazarus shook his head the best he could on the ground, "I can't believe you didn't know she was here this whole time. She's not dead. She just didn't want to see you." A shrill giggle left his bloody lips, "And they say I'm heartless."

There weren't many things Jude hated in his life. Piers, Lazarus, his followers, Leon's actions towards Emma, Harry and Albus' ugly attitudes; those were things he hated. The pity that came into Lazarus' when he realized Jude hadn't known that his mother had been alive this whole time was just something he added to the list.

Slowly, the fire died around his arms and hands. His roaring anger replaced with a quiet sorrow.

"All done are we? Good. Diffindo!"

Jude was roughly brought back to the present when the pain in his chest finally registered in his mind. Before he could take any kind of action, Lazarus latched his mouth on the deep gash and began greedily sucking the blood in his mouth.

The flames came back with a vengeance, burning Lazarus' mouth and face as well as closing Jude's wound. The dark wizard screamed as yet another part of his face was burnt severely. He threw Jude off and Disapparated on the spot.

Lying on the ground as the flames on his body disappeared, Jude briefly wondered where his mother was before he passed out from his wounds.