Twenty-five

Harry slammed face first into the ground. He lay motionless for several moments before rolling over and spitting out a mouthful of dirt. Spotting a movement out of the corner of his eye, he turned in that direction. The spider lay on its back a few feet away, legs jerking and twitching rapidly.

"Kill it," a hissing voice commanded. There was a blinding flash of green light and the spider stopped twitching.

Harry leapt to his feet and glared into the darkness. "Whose there," he shouted. "Show yourself. What do you want with me?"

Insane high pitched laughter answered him. "You will help my master."

"Peter," Harry called. "How did you bring me here?"

Wormtails high squeaking laugh came again. "Poor Moody isn't as perceptive as he used to be, is he? No, he's getting old and slow. The poor fool didn't even realize that I'd placed a Portkey spell on the triwizard cup. "

Harry scowled. "I'm not going to help you bring back Voldemort."

"You don't have a choice, dear boy," Wormtail said almost gently. "I will promise you that you will not suffer any more than necessary. My master has assured me of that."

Harry saw a glint of silver in the darkness. "Interesting thing about elven weapons," Wormtail said almost casually. "If we focus our magic through the weapon, it amplifies it a hundred fold. Now, reducto."

Harry dodged the blasting curse and ducked the stunning spell that followed. "My turn," he called. He flung out a hand, sending a high powered cutting spell at Wormtail. A grunt of pain let Harry know his spell had connected. The next second, Harry was screaming in agony. He writhed on the ground, blood pouring from his eyes and ears. He felt hot breath smelling of spoiled meat on his face. He blinked at the man standing above him, his small teeth barred in a cruel smile.

"Not so high and mighty now are you?" he hissed. Harry tried to get up, but his legs were shaking too much to support his weight. "Fulgur," he grunted. A bolt of lightning just missed Wormtails head.

More pain ran through his body. He coughed out more blood. 'He's going to kill me,' Harry thought.

Wormtail lifted the elven dagger he was holding, and the pain stopped. "I want you to know," he said, panting. "You brought this on yourself." Drawing back his foot; he kicked Harry viciously in the ribs. "This could have been a lot easier," he said, kicking Harry again, "but no, you just had to make things difficult, didn't you?" He stared up at the sky and screamed, "Why does everyone have to make things so difficult?"

Harry stared up at the little wizard. 'He's insane,' he realized. He saw Wormtail raising the elven knife. 'This is it, goodbye, Mum, Vivienne, Ginny.'

"Wormtail," a low hissing voice snapped. "Do not kill him. If he dies, his blood will be useless."

Harry lifted his head blearily. He watched as Wormtail lowered the knife.

"But master," he nearly whined.

"No buts," Voldemort growled. "Stun him and let's get on with it. We do not have all night and they have to realize he's missing by now."

Harry watched, unable to move, as Wormtail raised the knife. There was a flash of red light, and Harry's world went black.

HPC

Harry awoke. His entire body throbbed with pain. 'My tongue fills like sandpaper.' He tried to move, but some invisible force bound him. A hard surface pressed into his back. His arms and legs were pulled out to the side in a cruciform position.

"Ah, you're awake," Wormtail said. "I am so sorry for the accommodations, dear boy, but we wouldn't want you trying to escape, now would we?"

Ignoring Wormtail, Harry looked around the graveyard. He could see the dead spider several feet away. He frowned. Was it his imagination, or had the spiders legs just twitched? There was a rasping sound and heavy panting. Wormtail appeared dragging a stone cauldron to the foot of the stone where Harry was bound. He turned, and walked back to a bundle in the grass. Lifting the bundle, he cradled it in his arms, as if it were the most precious thing in the world. As he got closer, Harry got a glimpse of the creature wrapped in the blankets.

It looked mostly like a human infant, save for the scaly black skin, glowing red eyes, and pointed teeth. 'What the hell is that thing?' Harry thought. Gently, Wormtail lowered the thing into the cauldron. There was a hiss as the thing sank into the potion. The surface of the liquid turned a bright poisonous green.

"Now," Wormtail said, grinning. "We shall begin." Raising his wand, he spoke to the night. With each word, the graveyard seemed to grow darker. "Bone of the Father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son."

The surface of the stone Harry was tied to cracked, The ground shifted, and a skeleton rose out of the earth. It flew through the air and landed in the potion with a splash. The surface of the potion turned from green to a pale sapphire blue.

Wormtail put his wand away in his robes and took out a long silver dagger. He slowly stretched his right arm out before him. "Flesh of the servant," he said his voice rising with every word until he was screaming the words to the night, "willingly given, you will restore your master." He brought the dagger down, slicing through his right arm at the elbow. The severed arm fell into the cauldron with a wet splash. The potion turned the color of freshly spilled blood. Wormtail turned to Harry. Slowly, he began walking towards him. As he approached, Harry struggled against his bindings, but it was no use.

Wormtail brought the dagger across Harry's arm, slicing through his robes and the skin beneath. As the blood dripped into a vial, he spoke. "Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe."

He carried the blood back to the cauldron and poured it inside. There was a blinding flash and the potion turned a bright white. Blue flames shot skyward, obscuring the potion from view. When the flames died away, a curtain of steam obscured the cauldron. A silhouette could be seen in the steam. Voldemort had returned.

Stepping out of the cauldron, he dispersed the steam with a wave of his hand. Reaching down, he lifted a set of long black robes from beside the cauldron and slipped them on. After he was fully dressed, he knelt beside Wormtail. "You have done well my friend," he said. His voice was low and warm, like everyone's favorite uncle. "You will be rewarded for your service. He laid one hand on Wormtail's shoulder. There was a crunching sound, and Wormtail winced. A silver arm sprouted out of the stump where his arm had originally been. Taking the silver hand, Voldemort helped him to his feet.

"Thank you, master," Wormtail said gratefully.

"You have earned my gratitude," Voldemort said bowing. "If it weren't for you, I'd still be trapped in that Albanian forest. You came and freed me. For that, I will be eternally grateful.

He turned to Harry and smiled. His bright blue eyes twinkled as he did, reminding Harry unpleasantly of Dumbledore. "Harry," he said as if meeting an old friend. He stepped closer to the tombstone. "I want you to know that I do not hold anything against you. You were a baby after all and had no control over what happened. That being said, I would like to know how you destroyed my body. I didn't kill your Mother, so that particular protective charm wouldn't have activated. Do you know how you survived?"

Harry was silent. He watched the sorcerer walk closer. A cool hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Come on, Harry," Voldemort said coaxingly. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, just tell me what I want to know and no one need get hurt."

Harry remained silent.

"Nothing to say? Harry, this is pointless. I'll find out what I want to know, I always do, eventually. All you have to do is tell me how you survived my killing curse. I know about the Fae. Did your Mother have contact with them? Did they give you some kind of protection?"

Harry felt his stomach drop. How much did Voldemort know? How could he find out what he knew? He swallowed. "What do you know about the Fae?" he croaked.

Voldemort smiled. "Quite a bit, actually," he said, leaning against the tombstone next to Harry. "I know that one of them was near my hiding place a few months ago. I also know that I didn't put your name into the goblet, although I planned to, I won't deny that, but if I didn't do it, then who did? Do you know?"

Harry shook his head. No sooner had he completed the motion, his body exploded in pain. He screamed, but as soon as the pain had come, it was gone.

Voldemort tsked. "Harry, Harry, Harry, don't lie to me. I can tell when someone lies. Now, tell me everything you know and you can go free." When Harry did not answer, Voldemort sighed. "If that is the way you want it, then fine, but remember, I gave you a choice." Straightening up, he walked away, heading back towards Wormtail. "Hold out your arm," he said to the small man. Wormtail obediently held out his left arm. Voldemort rolled the sleeve up, revealing a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth branded into his flesh. He pressed one long finger to it and the tattoo turned jet black. Wormtail winced, but made no sound. Turning back to Harry, Voldemort smiled.

"Now my true family returns to me."

HPC

"It's time," the Erlking said.

Merlin, Vivienne, and Lily nodded. They prepared to teleport.

"Wait," Ginny called. "What about me? I'm not leaving Harry there."

"Fine," Merlin said. "We don't have time to argue." Gripping her shoulder, the Erlking vanished, the rest of the group following.

HPC

Harry watched as cloaked figures appeared all around the graveyard. They stared at Voldemort through their white masks. Then, one by one, they knelt before him. "Master," they murmured.

Voldemort smiled at them. "Welcome home, my family," he said. "We are all together once again. I see you have remained faithful, or have you!"

The masked figures shifted uneasily. "All those years I waited," he continued. "I hoped that at least one of you would come for me, but my hopes were in vain. None of you came for me. Only one remained faithful and true. Step forward, Peter."

Peter stepped out of the shadows and knelt before Voldemort. "Master?"

Voldemort extended a hand. "Rise," he commanded. "You have earned the right to stand at my side. You are my right hand, my second in command. No longer will you be called Wormtail. You will be known by your first name, Peter from this day forward."

Peter bowed low. "Thank you, Master," he nearly sobbed.

Lucius Malfoy stepped forward. "My Lord," he began, removing his mask. "Are you sure you want to trust," he paused, "Peter as your right hand? He has always been a mediocre wizard at best."

"Oh?" Voldemort asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who do you think should be my right hand then?"

"My Lord," Lucius said bowing. "I was your most faithful during your previous reign. I would be honored to rule at your side." Lucius stopped speaking as Voldemort threw back his head. His laughter echoed around the graveyard.

"You," he choked. "I wouldn't trust you to lead the lowest of my followers anywhere. You have proven that your loyalty means nothing. As soon as I fell, you vanished. You claimed I had bewitched you into following me. Do you deny it?"

"My Lord," Lucius protested, sweat running down his face. "I had to remain free to…"

"Enough!" Voldemort roared, his blue eyes glowing red. "I think it is time I showed you all what happens when you betray your master." Reaching forward, he gripped Lucius's face between his hands. Lucius tried to pull away, but Voldemort's grip was too strong.

The color began to leave Lucius's face. Wrinkles appeared on his skin, His blond hair turned grey, and his grey eyes became milky. Within a matter of moments, Lucius Malfoy crumbled into dust at Voldemort's feet.

Voldemort calmly brushed his hands off, then kicked Lucius's mask across the graveyard. "Let that be a lesson to all of you," he hissed. "I will not tolerate betrayal again. Do you understand?" There were frantic nods all around.

HPC

Harry watched as Voldemort drained the life out of one of his followers. How had he done that? No one had ever mentioned Voldemort possessing that ability before. Was it a product of his resurrection ritual? He jumped as Voldemort's voice came from right beside him.

"Here is the star of the show," Voldemort said grandly. "Here is the boy that defeated me all those years ago, Harry Potter." He began pacing back and forth like a caged animal. "You know they thought it was his brother that defeated me? Fools, there was something special about this boy," he said stroking Harry's cheek with one long finger.

Harry shuddered at Voldemort's touch. It felt as if his skin wanted to crawl off his bones to get away from that finger. He heard Voldemort's low chuckle as he removed his finger.

"Master," one of the masked figures called. "How did you survive?"

Voldemort smiled again. "What a story it is," he said, "but my secrets are my secrets. I will just tell you this. I have walked further down the path to eternal life than anyone before me, but enough of that. What are we going to do with Mr. Potter? Does anyone have any ideas?"

HPC

Vivienne and Merlin watched the group of Death Eaters around Harry. "What are we going to do?"

Merlin didn't answer. His eyes were unfocused. He seemed not to be looking at the people, but through them. 'There is something here,' he thought.

"Merlin," Vivienne whispered harshly. "How are we going to free Harry?"

"I'm thinking," Merlin hissed back. "There is some kind of connection the Death Eaters have to Voldemort, but I can't quite tell what it is."

"This is what keeps Voldemort alive?"

Merlin shook his head. "I don't know, but it serves some kind of benefit, that's for sure. We need to take care of this now. Can you stop everyone from leaving the graveyard? We can't allow any of these people to escape."

Vivienne nodded. "Yes, but it'll take time. Also, while I am maintaining the spell I will be unable to fight."

Merlin nodded. "I thought as much. The rest of us will keep them busy. Start working on the spell. Remember, be careful. We can't afford to alert the Death Eaters until the spell is cast."

"Right," Vivienne whispered. Kneeling, she drew a circle in the dirt. She stepped into the circle and with a drop of blood, activated it. A translucent blue barrier sprang up around her. She sat down cross-legged in the center of the circle and closed her eyes. Merlin could feel the power building around her. Crouching low, he hurried over to where Lily, the Erlking, and Ginny were gathered.

HPC

Morgana and Puck appeared on the opposite side of the graveyard. They hurried behind a tree before anyone saw them.

"Are you sure that you can help us?" Morgana asked. "This won't conflict with your new role as the king of the Unseelie court."

Puck clasped her shoulder reassuringly. "Voldemort poses a threat to all of us. He needs to be dealt with now."

Morgana nodded. "The others are here. Shall we join them?"

Puck grinned. "Let's."

HPC

"There has to be at least twenty people out there," Ginny whispered.

The Erlking nodded. "Yes, but they'll not be expecting an attack. Our problem is getting Harry loose."

"I have a plan," Puck said from right behind them.

They all jumped and spun around. They relaxed when they saw Puck. "Did you miss me?" the trickster said, bowing theatrically.

"Ignoring what you are doing here," the Erlking growled. "What is your plan? We don't have any more time for talking."

Puck's grin widened. "Watch and learn."

HPC

"Come now," Voldemort said silkily. "Don't any of you have any ideas at all? This boy is the one who took your master from you. Don't you want revenge?"

The Death Eaters were silent. Voldemort stepped back up to Harry. He leaned forward, stopping inches from Harry's nose. "What about you, Harry? What would you like," he whispered.

"I do have one," Harry said smirking at him.

"Oh? What is that?"

Shadows swirled around Harry and he dropped to the ground. He stretched, feeling the tension ease from his muscles. "Thanks for the rest, but I'm not in to bondage."

Peter shifted nervously. "I am sorry, master, I have failed you," he wailed, dropping to his knees.

"Get up," Voldemort said, annoyance clear in his voice. "You have not failed. This boy is far more than he appears to be."

Peter got up, sniffling. "Thank you, master. You are merciful."

Voldemort grinned. "Yes, I am," he patted Peter on the head before turning back to Harry. "So, Harry, what do we do now, hmm? Are we going to kick box?"

"No!" Harry snarled. Shadows shot from the tips of his fingers, wrapping around Voldemort's wrists and ankles. Voldemort flexed, breaking the shadowy bonds.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but I could hope."

Voldemort chuckled. "You shall be a worthy opponent."

Harry bowed. "Likewise."

Voldemort turned to his followers. "Do not interfere. It is time I proved to you, once and for all, who the most powerful sorcerer in the world is."

Turning back to Harry, he bowed. "Ready to begin?"

Harry nodded. "Let's go."

HPC

Arachne twitched. 'The humans,' she thought. 'They hurt me.' She stayed still. Her entire body felt numb. "Yes," she whispered. "They will all pay."

Slowly, she began spinning a web around one of the smaller figures standing a few feet away. She needed food to regain her strength.

HPC

Harry dodged a fire whip. The whip of flame missed his head and sliced through the top of a headstone, reducing it to rubble.

Harry sent a bolt of lightning at Voldemort, who vanished, reappearing behind Harry.

Harry dove to the ground, avoiding a cutting curse that would have severed his spine if it'd connected. He rolled back to his feet. The two combatants stared at each other, panting. "I'm not use to fighting," Voldemort said, wiping sweat from his brow. "I need to break in this new body."

Harry grinned. "My excuse is that I've been running through a maze all night, but I guess yours is better."

Voldemort waved a hand. Black flames rose out of the ground in front of him. The fire twisted into the shape of a serpent and flew at Harry, mouth wide open, ready to sink its fiery fangs into his flesh.

"Son of a," Harry shouted, leaping out of the way. He watched as the flames turned the ground where he'd stood to glass. "Hellfire," he whispered, horrified.

Voldemort grinned. "I see you know your obscure references. Yes, my boy, it is hellfire. If you surrender now, I'll let you live. What do you say?"

"You're damned," Harry said sadly. "You have blackened your soul beyond repair. What demon is riding you?"

Voldemort sneered, sending a killing curse at him. Harry gestured, and one of the stone angels leapt forward to intercept the curse.

The sickly green light struck the angel in the chest, cracking the stone. The angel brought its stone sword down, striking Voldemort in the arm. There was a wet snap as Voldemort's arm broke.

With a growl of irritation, Voldemort fired a blasting curse at the attacking angel. The angel exploded, sending stone chips in all directions.

"Add desecration of a grave to your list of sins," Harry said mildly.

Voldemort snapped his fingers. The angel reformed, and returned to its original place. "I am not the monster you think I am."

"You are responsible for the deaths of thousands of people."

"Death always occurs in war. It is unavoidable."

"Why do you want a war?" Harry asked. "A war between wizards is pointless. It will only result in the destruction of the wizarding world."

Voldemort sighed. "None of you understand. You all believe me to be a monster, but I am not. I want to save the magical world, not destroy it."

"You have damned your soul," Harry said again. "Is saving the magical world worth that?"

Voldemort raised a single eyebrow. "My soul is only damned if I die."

Harry laughed. "You are a fool. Not even the Fae believe they will live forever."

"I have gone further along the path to immortality. The Fae were not brave enough to do what needed to be done."

Before Harry could speak, a high pitched scream of pain rent the air. Both Harry and Voldemort turned to see spider webs as thick as cables wrapping around Peter.

"What the," Voldemort began. Before he could finish, long spider legs gripped Peter's shoulders, drawing him deeper into the web.

"MASTER," Peter shrieked. "HELP ME."

Voldemort stepped forward, sending a blade of hellfire at the webbing. Nothing happened. The spider looked up at Peter, her eight black eyes glowing. She hissed before turning back to Peter.

"HELP!" Peter howled. There was a crunch as his windpipe gave way. His screams became wheezing gurgles. The spider knelt over Peter's twitching body. Razor sharp pincers tore into his chest, ripping him wide open. Blood splattered everywhere as the spider buried it's maw in the hole it'd made. Peter exhaled his last breath in one last shriek.

"Maaaster." There was a wet crack as Peter's ribs splintered. Wet slurping sounds could be heard as the spider feasted on his internal organs.

Harry heard the other Death Eaters vomiting. Voldemort strode towards the spider. "You killed my servant."

The spider looked up and hissed again. "He hurt me," she hissed before going back to her meal. As it fed, it appeared to grow even larger.

Harry raised his hand; then paused. 'This is my chance.' He began inching towards the triwizard cup.

"Where do you think you're going," Voldemort said from right behind him.

"The seaside," Harry said without missing a beat. "I thought I'd get some sun."

Voldemort grinned. "Just because my servant is dead, it doesn't mean that our duel is over."

"What about the spider?"

Voldemort turned back towards the spider. He flung out a hand. A stream of black flames shot towards the spider, who was still feasting on Peter's corpse. It lifted its head just as the flames engulfed it. The spider screamed, sounding disturbingly like a human woman. There was a smell like burning wood as the spider burned. Voldemort turned back to Harry.

"Any more questions?"

"No."

"Wait," a familiar voice said from behind them.

Both turned to see Lucius Malfoy standing in front of them. Lucius smirked at Voldemort. "Did you really think you'd killed me?"

Voldemort gaped. "How," he choked. "How did you…"

"Survive," Lucius asked. "Wouldn't you like to know? Unfortunately for you, I don't live and tell." He winked at Voldemort.

Harry groaned inwardly. That was just tacky. He took a step forward, his eyes fixed on the two men avidly. 'What's he doing? Voldemort could end him.'

Lucius stepped closer to Voldemort. "The fact is," he whispered. "You are nothing. You failed to kill the boy," he jerked a thumb at Harry, "when he was a baby and now you failed to kill me. What's the matter? Are you losing your touch?"

Voldemort ground his teeth. "I will not be spoken to like that," he hissed. "I am Lord Voldemort…"

"The biggest arsehole in the world," Lucius finished.

"You dare," Voldemort roared. "Have you forgotten that you took my mark? Do you not remember that the mark on your arm binds you to me for all eternity? Through that mark, I can make you suffer like you cannot imagine."

"Really," Lucius said raising an eyebrow. "Why don't you try it?"

Voldemort paused. How had he failed to kill this man? He'd felt him die. He knew he was dead, so how was he standing in front of him now? More importantly, why was he so confident that he would be unable to harm him through the mark? Had Lucius found some way to sever Voldemort's connection to his servants, but that was impossible, wasn't it? "Very well," he said calmly. "I will show you what it means to cross me." He reached out with his magic, and found nothing. There was no mark on Lucius's arm. More puzzling, there was no trace that the mark had ever been there.

"Confused?" Lucius asked mockingly. "Allow me to clear things up for you. The reason you can't find a mark is because I never had one. I'm not Lucius Malfoy." Just like that, Lucius Malfoy was gone. In his place was a tall man with blond hair and piercing green eyes. Two tiny horns jutted from his forehead. "Puck at your service," he said bowing.

"Fae," Voldemort hissed. "I thought I killed you and why do you look so different from before?"

Puck shrugged. "I change forms like certain people change cars. No one knows what I really look like, even if I tell them they do. If I'm honest, not even I remember what my true form is."

"I will murder you," Voldemort said silkily. He raised one hand. I will peal the flesh from your bones, inch by inch and laugh as you scream."

"Sounds kinky," Puck chirped, "but you're not my type. I prefer women. What do you prefer? Men, women, barn yard animals? I don't judge."

With a roar of rage, Voldemort fired a killing curse at the grinning Fae. Puck ducked and the curse soared over his head. It flew on, hitting a Death Eater standing a few feet behind him. The Death Eater fell to the ground, dead.

"That's three Death Eaters down and I haven't even used a spell yet."

Puck broke off as a wall of fire rolled towards him. He dodged again, and then snapped his fingers. Voldemort tripped on the flowery pink dress he now wore, falling flat on his face. Voldemort staggered to his feet and promptly fell again as two inch high-heals appeared on his feet.

Puck tilted his head, examining his handy work before shivering. "That's just wrong."

"I agree," Harry said walking over to stand beside him. "I don't think I'll ever get the image of Voldemort in drag out of my head."

"Yeah," Puck choked, breathing heavily. "I gave him women's underwear to."

"I will murder you," Voldemort hissed as he rose to his feet. With a flick of his hand, his clothes returned to normal.

He gestured and iron chains appeared, flying through the air to encircle Puck.

Puck struggled, but couldn't break free. Voldemort withdrew the bone spike from his robes and walked towards the trickster.

"I was saving this for someone else, but you've humiliated me enough. Do you have any last words before you die?"

"Yeah," Puck got out. "Now Harry."

Harry, who had snuck around behind Voldemort, touched his elven blade to the sorcerers back. "GROW," he shouted. The blade grew, plunging through Voldemort's back and out his chest. Voldemort grunted, exhaling a spray of blood. He fell to his knees; a horrible gurgling sound coming from his throat.

Harry hurriedly withdrew his blade and moved back to face Voldemort. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Death Eaters staring at their master in shock. "Is it over?" he asked as he unchained Puck.

"Not by a long shot," Voldemort said, chuckling. Harry and Puck turned to see him rise to his feet. The wound in his chest had stopped bleeding. "Did you really think it'd be that easy?"

"No," Puck said, "but luckily for us, we brought help." At that moment, a surge of magic went through the graveyard. At the same time, all the Death Eaters fell to the ground, clutching their left arms, screaming in agony.

"What is happening," Voldemort said staring around, wide eyed. He glared at Puck. "What have you done?"

"Me?" Puck said innocently, "nothing. I've just distracted you while my friends did the rest." As he spoke, Ginny, Lily, Morgana, and the Erlking stepped out from behind a mausoleum. Without taking his eyes of Voldemort, Harry spoke.

"What did you guys do?" Harry asked.

Morgana answered. "Vivienne is currently maintaining an anti-apparation ward. It looks like Merlin has severed the Death Eaters connection to Voldemort. Since there was a failsafe built into the Dark Mark that would kill any Death Eater who tried that, well," she gestured at the Death Eaters who were beginning to crumble into dust.

Voldemort stared around at his followers, horrified. With each Death Eater that perished, he felt their magic building up inside of him. His eyes widened as the last of his followers in the graveyard dissolved into dust. "It's still happening."

"That's right," Lily said. "The spell Merlin cast affects all Death Eaters, not just those in this graveyard."

"NO," Voldemort shrieked. "You can't."

"We can," the Erlking growled. "You see, we don't know how you maintained your immortality, but now, it doesn't matter. You will have no followers to resurrect you. Enjoy your eternal life, Tom."

Voldemort was beginning to glow red. "You will pay," he snarled, glaring at Harry. "I may die, but I'm taking you with me."

"No, you are not," Ginny snapped. "It's time you died once and for all."

The small group joined hands, and released all their magic in one titanic blast. White light illuminated the graveyard. All the damage that had been caused by the recent battle was repaired. Voldemort didn't even have time to scream before his body was atomized.

As Voldemort disintegrated, something flew through the air, straight at Harry.

"No!" the Erlking roared, diving in front of Harry. There was a meaty thud, and he flew backwards, landing sprawled on his back.

"No!" Morgana shrieked. All her fear, pain, and loss contained in that one word. She dropped to her knees beside her husband and stared at the bone spike protruding from his chest.

The mighty leader of the Wild hunt lay on his back, his breath coming in short wheezing gasps. Black lines flowed up his arms and across his broad chest. "Did we get him?" he croaked.

"You saved my life," Harry said his voice shaking.

The Erlking coughed, blood trickling out of his mouth. "That's what families do."

"You can't die," Lily said, "not when I just found you."

The Erlking smiled. "We shall see each other again," he whispered. "I promise. Just remember, I will always love you."

Vivienne and Merlin hurried up. "What happened," Vivienne called before seeing the Erlking. "Oh no."

The Erlking beckoned them closer. "Thank you for everything," he said. "You raised my Grandson well. Take care of my daughter."

"I promise," Vivienne said solemnly.

"You can heal him," Morgana said frantically. "You are a healer. Surely, this isn't beyond your power to mend."

"I'm sorry," Vivienne said softly, tears running down her face. "That spike is poisoned and the poison has spread too far. There's nothing I can do."

"Do not blame Vivienne," the Erlking said before Morgana could speak again. He reached out, and she took his hand. "How am I supposed to go on without you?"

"One day at a time," the Erlking said. "Watch over Lily and Harry. They have a lot to learn."

"I promise," Morgana choked out.

"I love you," the Erlking whispered almost too softly for her to hear. As he breathed his last, a blinding white light incased his body from head to foot. When the light faded, the Erlking's body was gone. The only thing left was the bloody bone spike lying in the grass.

HPC

Voldemort leaned against the frame of his portrait. The image in the painting had changed. The scars and injuries the portrait had sustained had faded. Where a mangled invalid had once been, now stood a tall handsome sixteen year old boy. He brushed his dark hair off his forehead and his blue eyes scanned the room.

"I guess there are worse places to spend eternity," he said to himself. His portrait was protected from every kind of element, both mundane and magical. Even if the house burned down, his portrait would remain intact. He would be back. It may take decades, even centuries, but he had time. He could be patient. He jumped as a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared directly in front of the portrait.

"Did you really think you could stop me from claiming what is mine?" a rasping voice asked.

Voldemort sneered at the eyes. "You will never claim my soul. My portrait is protected from both normal and magical fire. That includes demonic fire."

The rasping voice laughed. "Have you tested hellfire on your portrait? I do not think you have. You see, that portrait is the only thing anchoring your soul to this plane now. You would not have risked destroying it. Nevertheless, let us assume that you are right and the portrait is fireproof. There are other ways of claiming what is mine."

Riddle manor shook violently. Black flames began to crawl across the walls and ceiling. "What are you doing?" Voldemort said nervously.

"You may or may not have protected your portrait from me, but you didn't protect the house from me. I will just drag this house down to hell and you with it, then we shall see if your portrait is immune to hellfire or not."

"No, you can't," Voldemort screamed in panic as the fire engulfed the room and the house sunk into the earth.

The demon laughed. "You promised me your soul, and I always collect what's mine."

Voldemort shrieked in fear and despair as the hellfire engulfed Riddle manor. When the flames died away, the manor was gone. Where it had stood, there was a pit going down into darkness.

A/N

I'm not sure how much I like this chapter, so feedback would be greatly appreciated. I think there's only one chapter left of this story, and maybe an epilogue. I'm not sure.