Tracking
"Loddie!" called Severus over the noisy battle ground. She had to be around there some where. He had not seen her in what seemed to him like hours. Angered and worried, Snape fought through many duals as he made his way across the battle field in search of his beloved. Oh, how he hated himself for allowing her to participate in this battle! His heart pounded with painful aggression as he realized that she was no where in sight.
"Loddie!" he called again. But there was no answer. It was no use. Melodia had either kept her word to him and apparated to safety, or she had slipped off quietly to look for Harry Potter. Snape hoped that she had kept her promise to him, but a nagging voice from within himselftold him that she had most likely done the latter.
"Damn it all!" He swore.
~O~
Still completely unaware of each other's location, both Harry and Melodia planned their timing to follow the Dark Lord, and stall his attempt at any sort of "come back".
"That's right 'old evil one', Melodia mumbled. You just keep crawling around in vein. She mused that Voldemort was behaving just as she had seen wild animals do when wounded only serious enough to slow them down a bit, and anger them. She had to hand it to him, though. Old Tom had plenty of "grit". The shame of it for him was…he just didn't have enough of it to re-direct his path and avoid his own demise.
Just then, movement caught Melodia's attention through peripheral vision. It was Harry. He was resting on a nearby tree limb, poising himself as if he intended to fly directly into the back of Voldi's old crumpled looking skull.
"Oh no, Harry!" she mumbled softly. All she could keep thinking was that she could allow this to happen. As wonderful as it would be to witness an attack on this half helpless evil being, she knew that Harry should stay safely out of Voldemort's eyeshot until the time for their impending face off arrived. It was not at all clear just how weak the Dark Lord had become. Her actions would have to be swift, indeed to prevent disaster.
"Defer omens ut mens, Harry Potter" Melodia muttered.
She allowed her orb-like form to float towards Harry, and positioned herself above his head.
"Don't do it, Harry." She insisted thoughtfully. "As much as you'd like to follow Voldi… please… stay put."
Harry's phoenix wings did flutter a bit at the sound of his own name: but was it a sound? It was almost as if this voice was in his mind. It was not as if someone were sitting near him while speaking. The gentle feminine voice was very familiar to him, and it took only an instant for him to recognize it.
"Melodia?" He thought as his phoenix form squawked and looked around to find her.
"Yes Harry. It's me." She said easily. "You mustn't make any sound. I am communicating with you by telepathy, because we cannot chance being spotted by anyone."
Harry found himself in awe of Snape's lady friend once again. "But ...how? And, where are you?" he wondered.
Not certain if she was quite ready to divulge either her trick or her location to him just now, Melodia answered him the only way that she felt was appropriate. "Just trust me, Harry. I am very nearby and I must tell you to stay where you are, dear. I have been watching you, and I know that you too have been watching Voldemort."
"Yeah, I am waiting until I see him try to make a move, then I plan to end this nightmare."
"No, Harry! Just wait! The time to move will present itself, but believe me, it's not now."
"I don't have time to argue about this with you, Melodia!" Harry stormed. "I just can't lose sight of him. There's no telling what he will do if he is able to get where he is trying to go."
"Harry!" Melodia stormed right back at him. "I am here to help you, and to make sure that you do not put yourself at risk too soon! You have the advantage just now…don't blow it by performing some kind of half-cocked heroics!"
Harry'sAnger began to overtake him. It was clear to him that he was being "handled or protected" once again, and he absolutely hated that.
"Damn!" Harry swore. "I'm not a baby! I don't need you to tell me how I should be careful! I know what I need to do! Look! He's still on the move towards the house, and I'm going after him!" Harry's wings fluttered and his feet danced about the tree branch anxiously.
"Stop it, Harry!" Melodia stormed. "Calm down! Just you stay put! We can't afford to make any hasty moves until we have a better idea of just what 'Voldi thing is up to!' " she continued. "I mean it, Harry! I am here with you, and together we can time this precisely right." She tried to reason. "If we don't, all of this will be for nothing, and Tom Riddle will win!"
Just then they noticed that Voldemort's perseverance had paid off. He was now very near to the largest hole in west wall of the Riddle house.
"Harry," Melodia began. "Let's move…vigilantly"
Voldemort's body was racked with pain as he crawled and pulled himself though the gaping hole in the wall. He paused momentarily to gather his now ragged breath.
In the not so far distance, Voldemort spied the still securely bound Lucius Malfoy, who, after regaining conscientiousness, was now struggling against his bonds in an effort to break free.
"What a waste of human flesh!" Voldemort declared as he watched Malfoy's pitiful attempt to rebound.
Lucius became aware of a presence, that was, to him, unmistakably familiar. He turned just in time to see the approach of the crawling Dark Lord.
"My Lord! You are alive!" he managed to some what exclaim through very tattered breath.
Voldemort stopped his progression just as he reached Malfoy's side.
"Yes, Lucius, I am alive. It takes more than a simple spell to take out Lord Voldemort."
Despite the Dark Lord's boastful proclamation, it was obvious that he was far from 'okay'. His resolve was to be commended, but it was clear that he was in no shape to do battle with anyone just now. This revelation was very unnerving for Malfoy.
He trembled as he noticed that although alive, his master was very weak and seemed rather vulnerable. He knew full well that because of Melodia, and her band of blood traitors, he was powerless, and completely unable to help the Dark Lord. This, however, would be no acceptable excuse to his master. Certain that he was about to meet his untimely end, Lucius began to tremble and sob openly.
Voldemort reached his bony quivering hand out and took hold of Lucius' wrist. His grip was astonishingly strong considering his current physical condition. Voldemort's already serpent like eyes narrowed dangerously before verbally thrashing him. Those cold, black eyes seemed to bore right to Malfoy's core.
"Stop your sniveling, Malfoy! You have disgraced yourself and disappointed me yet again!"
"My Lord," Lucius managed barely audibly," Please…I have no wand or any magical powers at all!" he whined. Voldemort tightened his grip on Malfoy's wrist, and contemptuously surveyed his fallen Death Eater, as he allowed him to continue speaking.
"I beg of you, please…help me regain my powers and obtain a wand, and together, you and I can finish Harry Potter and his bunch of interfering muggle lovers and mud-bloods once and for all!"
Pondering this, not so unlikely alliance's capabilities, Voldemort's lips curled into an evil smile.
"Yes. Perhaps," Voldemort began studying Malfoy carefully. "There may indeed be a way that you can prove useful to me."
