Chapter 37 -
People all around the wizarding world were watching with horror as the saw the boy-who-live get kidnapped by Libra. The only reason anyone managed to stay silent was the fact that mirrors followed after him as they could go from place to place the same way a wizard would apparate and they were soon going to see him again. Eventually the screen showed a rather horrifying image, one that would be on people's minds for a long time.
Harry Potter was tied to a gravestone, there was a Libra assassin standing on his left side and one on his right. In front of them was Peter Pettigrew and several masked death eaters along with a boiling cauldron. Eventually the death eaters deemed the cauldron ready and tipped it out, smoke filled the air, everyone watched out of a morbid fascination.
Eventually something rose just as the smoke disappeared, it was a man...or at least the shape of a man. It had pale, milk coloured skin, boney fingers. It had no hair, no nose but did have nostrils and it had red eyes. In short, it looked like an abomination.
"Wormtail" It said "robe me" it ordered. Wormtail quickly got out a pair of robes and began robing the creature just as the death eaters fell to their knees.
"Master!" They all said as they kneeled down. Everyone quickly realised that if death eaters were bowing and calling it master then that meant that this abomination was in fact Voldemort, the worst dark lord of all time. Any emotions related to shock, disbelief and fear immediately sky rocketed.
Voldemort took in a deep breath as he looked at his new body, he could feel his toes, shoulders, arms, hands and everything. This new body was brilliant, perfect, designed to be perfect. Skin that was better than a regular humans, much like the rest of his body it was much stronger and durable. He could easily take hits that would knock out or even kill the average man. He opened his palm and his wand flew into his hand, causing a smile to appear on his snake like face. Very few things caused Voldemort enjoyment like the feeling of magic coursing through his veins.
He saw his death eaters, he then saw Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail on his knees and clutching the stump where his hand used to be before he cut it off for the ritual. Voldemort waved his wand over the stump and soon it was replaced with a silver hand.
"Oh! T...thank you my lord!" Peter exclaimed upon seeing it "it is better than I deserve"
"That much we agree on" Voldemort sneered at him "but Voldemort rewards his followers." Voldemort then turned to the other death eaters. "arise" He ordered. The death eaters nodded and slowly stood up.
Silence.
Everyone was silent for several moments, the death eaters had begun to get nervous, had they somehow angered their lord? Eventually the silence was broken by none other than Voldemort himself.
"How nice to see you all" He said silkily "After thirteen years I can finally stand and address you all properly, though I do wonder why it's taken me thirteen years to do so. It seems to me that it could have easily happened a lot sooner, if not for the fact that you all seemed happy enough to just sit back and hide in the shadows. It's such a shame that Wormtail here is more loyal to me than most of you. He not only escaped Azkaban itself, but also managed to track me down and restore me to my rightful power."
"Th...thank you my lord" Wormtail spoke "I am really..." He was cut off when Voldemort flicked his wand and sent him flying against a gravestone.
"Do not interrupt" Voldemort said in a voice that one could use if they were discussing the weather, he then turned to the others "I can only assume you thought I was gone, defeated by a mere infant."
"My Lord, we are sorry!" One death eater, Avery, rushed down and kneeled before Voldemort.
"Crucio" Voldemort said lazily, striking him with the torture curse, amazing everyone with the ease at which he used it. "Get up, I do not care for your excuses. As far as I'm concerned you all have years to make up for. But today, I shall be merciful, after all I have more important fish to fry." Voldemort turned and looked at Harry. "Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived" He said softly before he walked forward and stopped right in front of him. "Brough here today because he couldn't help but play hero..." Voldemort was interrupted by a snort from Harry "...is something amusing to you?"
"Yes, the fact that you think I came here to protect one boy that I barely knew and to protect another who hates me" Harry said with a small smile "I didn't come for them, I came because I know how Libra works. If I didn't come and take the smaller bait then they would've come at me with bigger bait, if I had to guess I'd say they have someone close by people I care for. Not my girlfriend, not my friends and not my family, they won't start too big" Harry turned to the Libra assassin on his right "let me guess, you have someone sat near the Delacour's, don't you?"
At that moment the crowd looked towards the Delacour's and saw a person nearby portkey away, leaving them all wide eyed with shock as they realised that they had an assassin in their mist.
"So you are not interested in playing the hero Harry?" Voldemort asked with amusement.
"Do I look like a hero to you?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No" Voldemort said softly "no, I suppose you don't. From the stories I've heard, you don't act like one either. It seems you may be the only one with the same amount of hatred against Dumbledore as me, I mean really, tricking you into magically binding contracts."
"I know right!" Harry said in agreement "He's a manipulative old bastard, I really don't see why everyone treats him like he's perfect. Plus he has horrible fashion sense, I mean have you seen his robes, they're so bloody bright. It makes me want to rip my eyes out."
"Indeed" Voldemort nodded "they've always been horrible."
"Plus there's that stupid twinkle thing he does with his eyes" Harry added with a roll of his eyes
People across the country found themselves in an odd state as they watched the boy-who-lived banter with the dark lord as the two mutually began discussing what they hated about Albus Dumbledore, they weren't really sure if they should be terrified or laugh at the comments the two made.
Dumbledore was not very happy at the moment. Firstly the smallest of his problems was the fact that none of the two Hogwarts students won the tri-wizard tournament, the biggest was the fact that Voldemort had returned. Luckily it was on screen so he didn't need to waste time convincing people of his return. Now he just had to work out how the situation ended up with both Voldemort and Harry insulting him in front of the whole world.
"Oh and that beard" Harry said.
"The beard" Voldemort scowled "I imagine it's only gotten longer"
"It's so long!" Harry rolled his eyes "I mean what use is a beard that long? I mean does he not know how to shave? Also it is way to long for fights and duels, it's a total "
"Yes" Voldemort nodded in agreement before suddenly turning to Harry with an odd expression "hmm...this is not how I imagined our first meeting"
"Us stopping to insult Dumbledore?" Harry asked
"Yes"
"Funny, it's exactly how I imagined it. Seriously, ever since Dumbledore told me you were still alive I have been imagining our meeting."
"Ah yes, the old fool knew I was alive for quite some time. If he had been a bit more active than he might have been able to actually harm me. In fact I am surprised he hasn't already told people I am alive."
"I think this is the one case where I have to defend the moron" Harry sighed "I mean if he went around saying you were back without proof then people would think he's even crazier than they already do."
"True" Voldemort conceded "now Harry, as I was saying, I have heard some rather interesting things about you. Your humorous public rants against Dumbledore included. I must say, a member of Libra, that was a big surprise."
"Speaking of..." Harry turned to the Libra members "I'm surprised you revealed yourselves, you know that the whole wizarding world is watching. After all, you lot were the ones who supplied the mirrors, weren't you?"
"It has been decided that secrecy is no longer a priority" The one on the left replied.
"Interesting" Harry said with a thoughtful look, he then turned to Voldemort "as for you, you also realise that everyone is watching, don't you?"
"Of course" Voldemort replied "everyone knows now. They know I am back, and now they will cower in fear, those who celebrated my demise will run and scream as I bring this world into a new age, a better age."
"Brilliant" Harry said dryly "so how does this work?" Harry asked as he mentally analysed the situation while Voldemort began talking.
Currently he was tied to a gravestone, he could probably burn through the ropes but he knows that the second he does the others will try and attack him. He'd rather not have multiple deadly spells flying at him.
There were at least seven death eaters plus Pettigrew, if he managed to escape then he'd hopefully be able to burn them all with one high powered fire blast, though he didn't know how likely that was. On the one hand they're just minions, on the other hand they're likely to be at least somewhat trained. Best chance was to catch them off guard, they were dangerous but the Libra assassins were more dangerous. In hand to hand combat they would be challenge at best, he wasn't sure how skilled or powerful they were. If he knew they were deltas or betas, if he did then he could get a basic judgement on how dangerous they were.
The only thing he was sure about was the fact that they weren't omegas, this is way above an omegas level. Harry also wasn't sure what weapons they might be possessing along with their wands. Then there was Voldemort, the dark lord, scariest wizard of all time.
He had no doubt that the man had earned his reputation, it was idiotic to not view the man as a danger, though Harry didn't know the full extent of his powers. There were many rumors about Voldemort and his capabilities, Harry didn't know for sure which ones were true and which weren't, so for now Voldemort was the highest threat. Harry hoped that the man was just an overrated and above average wizard but he knew that was unlikely.
Currently he was in a grave yard, he had gravestones all around him which could be used offensively and defensively, there was earth under his feet which he could manipulate, if he could get his wand back then that would also be a valuable tool, he had his fire and air elemental powers, he couldn't manipulate water unless he made some with his wand which he needed to get. The only other weapons he could think of were his body, mind and the knife hidden in his boot. There was also the darkness which was good if he needed to hide.
Shadow was an option but after last time he had no doubt that Libra had prepared for that, it was possible to have wards that prevent travel through Shadow so for now he instructed Shadow to stay away unless he's called upon, it was better to fight alone then fight and be worried about Shadow.
The biggest problem at the moment was the fact that he was outnumbered, if he took any of them on one on one he had a much better chance of winning or at least surviving. It was then that he realised something...he wasn't dead.
If this was a typical assassination mission then Libra would have tried to kill him already, know they were hired to capture, unusual but something that they did do. As for Voldemort, he and his death eaters should have killed him by now. If the roles were reversed then Harry would have killed him as soon as he could, that meant that Voldemort wanted him alive for some reason. If Harry had to guess then he would say that Voldemort was a lot like Lockhart, they were both showmen.
Voldemort was a feared name, so it made sense that the man behind the name made people fear him. Harry was also the one who 'defeated' Voldemort, he was a constant reminder of Voldemort's failure. He suspected that Voldemort intended to remind people why he was so feared, this was good, it meant that Harry would be able to stall.
"Tell me something" Harry said after ignoring whatever it was that Voldemort said "have you ever wanted something but at the same time you don't want it because you're scared it won't live up to expectations?"
"What are you talking about?" Voldemort asked, he would have raised an eyebrow if he had one.
"You see, whenever I hear about you I hear about a powerful and feared wizard. You see, when I die I want it to either be at the age of a hundred as I peacefully pass away in my sleep or dying a warriors death. The students at Hogwarts are paper lions and fangless snakes, you...you're different. You're Voldemort, most feared dark lord of all time. You've been made aware of my actions at the world cup, you've been told how many people I kill. Personally I think this is an opportunity, boy-who-lived vs the dark lord. Voldemort vs Harry Potter. What do you say? Up for a duel?"
"Hmm" Voldemort looked at Harry with an amused expression "do you truly believe you will beat me?"
"I truly believe that I have a better chance than most, if I can beat you or not is to be determined. I have heard stories about you but I don't know if you're underrated or overrated. Besides, I'll take some pride knowing it took Lord Voldemort himself to end me."
"You are stalling" Voldemort hissed, he leaned down and stared Harry in the face "I know you are stalling...but I never back down from a challenge. You shall have your duel" Voldemort stepped back and waved his wand, causing the ropes to disappear. He took a few more steps back and spoke, keeping his eyes on Harry as he did. "Wormtail, give him his wand." Voldemort ordered.
Harry slowly stood up and pushed himself off of the gravestone, he glanced between the Libra assassins and the death eaters, neither seemed to be doing anything at the moment. They were either going to stick as guards or waiting for a signal to attack, either way Harry would be on guard. Harry walked a little bit away from Voldemort and the gravestone, creating distance between himself, the death eaters, Voldemort and the Libra assassins. Wormtail walked up to Harry, Harry looked at the balding, fat man with big teeth. Wormtail clearly feared him, Harry was a well known assassin and had caused Wormtail more than a lot of pain the last time we met.
Wormtail handed Harry his wand with shaking hands, Harry smiled as he took his wand, he then made a slashing motion and Wormtail fell to his knees, clutching his bleeding neck. This single action caused everyone in the graveyard, except for Voldemort to aim their wands at Harry while disturbing plenty of viewers.
"Well, it works" Harry said as he examined his wand, ignoring Wormtail's hand on his legs as the traitor placed his other hand on his bleeding neck while choking. "Relax" Harry said to the others "I don't intend to harm you, just Voldemort and this little traitor. Honestly, I'm doing you a favour."
"H...Harry..." Wormtail choked.
"Ah, right" Harry aimed his wand at Wormtail and shot a piercing curse directly through his chest, right where his heart is supposed to be. Wormtail fell to the floor and Harry hit him with two more piercing curses "one spell for me, one for Sirius and two for my mum and dad. Rest in peace Wormtail...or don't...I don't really care." Harry turned to Voldemort "Shall we?" He asked.
"If you're ready" Voldemort said as the two raised their wands, the audience watching from the screens could easily feel the tension. This wasn't just a duel between a young boy and an experienced wizard. This was Voldemort, dark lord vs Harry Potter, boy-who-lived and ex-assassin. Those in the actual graveyard could feel the tension, they also felt some danger by being nearby. The dark lord was known for power and destruction and Harry Potter was known for the same, his fight in the forest proved that.
Voldemort stared at Harry with narrowed eyes, he had no doubt that he would win, he was Lord Voldemort after all. However he had no doubt that the boy would be a challenge, he certainly had a lot of magical power if the stories he heard were true. He also had no doubt that the boy had the correct mindset needed to win, the boy would easily kill if he got the chance. He had heard how the boy threw piercing and cutting curses without a care in the world, he had also heard how he ripped out a girls throat with his bare hands. Yes, Voldemort would win but this wouldn't be as easy as dealing with a usual wizard.
Harry stared right back at Voldemort, he wasn't going to kid himself, he knew he'd likely end up getting hurt. The goal here was to survive, it was just like any other fight, hurt the other guy more than they hurt you. If Harry beat Voldemort then he wasn't sure what would happen, perhaps the death eaters would attack him or perhaps they would run. As for the Libra members, it depended on who had the contract. If it was Voldemort then they would no longer be obligated to fight for him and as soon as the contract ended they would have to leave him alone as part of the cease fire, but if it was for another death eater then they would likely still be a problem.
Harry was also tempted to just shoot as much flames as possible, but he had to control himself. Going all out with flames would waste his energy and if Voldemort somehow managed to survive it then he would be tired and dealing with Voldemort, death eaters and Libras. No, he knew that if he got into a fight with Libra then they would likely engage him in an elemental battle, he should stick to his wand and try to save energy.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence continued for a little while longer, the anxiety and fear of those watching had increased and kept increasing until one of them made thee first move. Eventually one of them did.
Harry flicked his wand, throwing Peter's body straight at Voldemort. Voldemort easily flicked his own wand, sending the body flying away and having it land behind the death eaters. Voldemort then quickly tilted his head to one side to avoid a piercing curse, before he put up a shield spell to block two cutters.
"Impressive" Voldemort said "but not good enough" Voldemort quickly fired a torture curse at Harry, Harry ducked the torture curse then side stepped the cutting curse that followed it. He then blocked the second cutting curse and ducked under the piercing curse that followed up. "Come on Potter, surely you can do better than that"
"A man only interested in the climax" Harry tutted his teeth before sending three cutting curses at Voldemort "you must have been a real hit with the ladies" he said right before Voldemort blocked all three "though I saw your body when it came out, I'm surprised that you decided to remove Voldemort junior."
"I have no need for pathetic things such as physical urges" Voldemort replied just as he sent three blue spells at Harry who dodged all three "this body is designed to be perfect, to get rid of anything unnecessary."
"I would've thought that a dick would have been one of the more necessary things to have" Harry commented right before sending a disarming spell followed by a body bind and a stunner.
"Come now Potter" Voldemort laughed, having easily blocked the combination "such a basic trick, disarm then body bind and stun, surely you can do better than that."
"Of course I can, but I finally get to have a good fight, I want to make it last." Harry replied after dodging a yellow acidic spell and returning fire with the same spell.
"Understandable" Voldemort blocked the spell and fired a killing curse at Harry who conjured marble to block it, the curse hit the marble, Harry then banished the marble at Voldemort who easily destroyed it. "I also struggle finding a challenge, most are too scared to face me and those few that are brave enough lack the strength and skill. I do hope you don't disappoint me Harry"
"Likewise" Harry grinned, he shot a bone breaker at Voldemort the same time Voldemort shot a coma curse, the two spells crashed against each other in mid-air, Harry followed through with a cutting curse. He then stomped his foot on the ground, causing a ball made of the Earth beneath him to rise up into the air, Harry then slammed the ball with his free hand and it shot towards Voldemort.
Voldemort dodged the cutting curse, his red eyes widened when he saw the ball flying towards him. He quickly destroyed it when he saw a fire ball coming towards him, he cast a shield that blocked the fireball. He then shot chains out of his wands that flew towards Harry, Harry quickly destroyed the chains then went on the offensive. He shot two stunners at Voldemort, if they hit then great but if they didn't then they would serve their purpose as a distraction.
Harry started by sending a flock of birds at Voldemort, they would annoy him a little and distract him. A rope shot out of Harry's wand while Voldemort was dealing with the stunners and birds, the rope grabbed onto a gravestone behind Voldemort, Harry pulled the rope hard and the gravestone flew towards Voldemort. Harry then released the rope and cast a banishing spell followed by a cutting spell.
Voldemort had just managed to get rid of the birds when he instinctively felt something was wrong, the feeling was increased when he saw rope coming out from Harry Potter's wand, he turned back just in time to see a gravestone flying towards him. He ducked under the gravestone but when he stood back up the gravestone was hit with a banishing curse that caused it to quickly change directions and slam into him.
Voldemort flew backwards with the gravestone on his chest, he saw a spell coming, he thought it was a cutting curse bit decided that he didn't want to get hit even if it wasn't. He managed to turn his head just in time to avoid the cutting curse hitting him directly in the face, though it did manage to graze the right side of his face. Leaving a very small cut on his cheek.
Voldemort landed on his back, the gravestone on him. Many people were left in absolute shock, not only was Harry Potter duelling Voldemort but he had also managed to get the first hit and first blood.
Voldemort quickly waved his wand and sent the gravestone flying towards Harry. Harry destroyed the gravestone midair and caused a ton of dust to appear, Voldemort rolled out of the way just as several spells shot through the dust cloud and towards him. He got to his knees just as the cut healed itself, he blocked a spell but allowed the force of the spell to push him backwards and used the momentum to push himself back on to his feet. Unnecessary but it helped save energy.
"Impressive" Voldemort said just as he blocked a flame blast and shot four spells at Harry, one aimed at his feet and one at either side plus one above should he jump.
"Thanks" Harry said just as he did a corkscrew flip to avoid the spells and it worked as the worst he got was a cutting curse that only managed to make a small cut on the lower back of his shirt. Harry replied by jabbing his wand at Voldemort and sending a knife right at him, he did this several more times. Voldemort vanished the first knife then blocked the rest, he spun them around and sent them back at Harry. Harry ducked down and avoided them all while managing to catch one by the handle with his spare hand, he shot of a bone breaker at Voldemort followed by a bright light from his wand.
Voldemort blocked the bone breaker and was about to respond with his own spells when a bright light blinded him, he heard the sound of something coming towards him and put up a shield, unfortunately it managed to get past his shield and pierce through his left shoulder. Voldemort roared and fired a high powered explosive curse that struck the ground under Harry's feet, Harry tried to roll out of the way but the ground exploding sent him backwards and he landed on his back.
He had just managed to cough when he saw a green spell fly towards him, realising that this was the killing curse he quickly kipped up and the spell flew under him as he did so. Another killing curse flew towards him, Harry rolled under it then jumped to his feet as he dodged a third before he ducked a fourth. A fifth was coming when Harry aimed his wand and shot a bird out, the bird flew right into the killing curse and died instantly, Harry quickly banished the body at Voldemort's face before shooting a steel spike at him.
Voldemort got rid of the body easily before blocking the steel spike, he took that moment to remove the knife from his shoulder, that would take longer to heal than the small cut. Voldemort sent three cutting curses followed up with a torture curse. Harry jumped in the air then landed with his feet stomping the ground, a wall made of earth shot out of the ground and took the spells. Harry then pushed the wall and it charged towards Voldemort.
Voldemort quickly destroyed the wall then sent the rubble at Harry, Harry made a shield that blocked the rubble, he then fired a piercing curse at Voldemort. Voldemort blocked the curse then sent his own piercing curse at Harry, followed with a blood boiling curse. Harry rolled backwards to avoid the spells and shot several stunners until he was able to get back to his feet, once he was standing again he fired a blood boiling and coma curse.
Voldemort dodged the first one and blocked the second, he was about to send his own spell when he saw a familiar green spell charging towards him. He quickly conjured some marble that blocked the spell, he then banished the marvel at Harry. Harry extended his free hand and a blast of wind shot out and slowed down the marble long enough for Harry to banish it back to its creator.
Voldemort got rid of the marble and immediately fired a torture curse followed up by an imperius curse and then a killing curse. Harry conjured some marble, the first spell damaged it, the second spell damaged it some more and the third spell destroyed it. Harry instantly responded with an organ liquifying curse followed by a piercing curse and a killing curse.
"My, my" Voldemort said after blocking the first two and dodging the third "you certainly know how to play" he finished by firing a spell designed to choke the victim.
"I play to win" Harry said as he ducked under the spell "admit it, you're enjoying this" Harry said just as he fired off an eye gouging curse at Voldemort followed with a knockback jink and a stunner, not effective against the dark lord but do their job in stalling and distracting and if they managed to hit then physical damage would be on the list.
"I must confess, I am enjoying this" Voldemort admitted, easily blocking Harry's spells. "You and me share quite a few things in common."
"Oh, do tell" Harry said in an intrigued voice just as he dodged a knife that would have pierced through his eyes.
"Where to begin" Voldemort mused as he blocked another of Harry's spells "we're both talented, if it wasn't for the scars in your face then I would've pointed out we were both handsome young men"
"Actually I am good looking" Harry interrupted just before blocking a blue spell "I didn't believe it but I asked a few girls and apparently I am, they say scars add characters and that I have a 'bad boy' thing going on. Which I suppose I do."
"Hmm" Voldemort sent a bone breaker at Harry who dodged it "as I was saying, we're also powerful. Far above our fellow students, we're also both speak parsletounge. A truly rare gift."
"True" Harry conceded as he returned fire.
"Why fight Harry?" Voldemort said as he blocked the spell "We both know that Dumbledore is not the right person to lead the magical world"
"And I suppose you are" Harry said as he blocked a purple spell from Voldemort.
"Who else?" Voldemort smiled and sent a skin shredding curse that clashed against Harry's heart rupturing curse. "So join me Harry? We are both wizards of great power, at my side you wouldn't be just an average school student, you can be my second in charge."
"That's tempting" Harry said honestly.
"Join me Harry" Voldemort continued speaking just as he batted away another spell "together we could be great, at my side you can do whatever it you want."
"That is honestly tempting" Harry admitted just as a cutting curse grazed his left shoulder, but he ignored the pain as it was only a small cut "however I can't, partly because Libra will likely kill me after the school year ends, partly because I won't admit to joining you in front of all of wizarding Britain, partly because the old goat won't leave me alone and mostly because you killed my parents." Harry added the last bit with a hint of anger in his voice.
"I do apologise Harry but it had to be done, I do wish I never had to kill your father, such a shame to waste such pureblood."
"What about my mother?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes just as a blood boiling curse nearly hit him.
"What about her?" Voldemort said in an uncaring voice just before blocking a piercing curse and a stunner "You expect me to care for a mudblood?"
"What did you say?" Harry stopped moving just after dodging a killing curse "What...did...you say?" he asked in a slow voice.
"I called your mother a mudblood" Voldemort sneered at him "I'm sorry if that bothers you but that's what she is, nothing more than a filthy mudblood who didn't belong in this world unless she was willing to kneel and kiss the feet of those with pureblood. The only sensible thing she did was marry into a good family, shame it was the most insensible thing your father did. Ruining his family's name by marrying a mudblood"
"You...you shouldn't say that word." Harry said with a short and quick laugh just as he casually blocked a yellow spell from Voldemort.
"What mudblood?" Voldemort asked casually, he was then forced back when he had to block a powerful and black spell from Harry.
"Say mudblood...one more time" Harry said in a slow yet dangerous voice with a touch of warning "I dare you...say it...one more time"
"Your mother was a mudblood..." Voldemort didn't get to say much more as Harry roared and aimed his wand at Voldemort.
Fiendfyre shot out of Harry's wand and charged toward Voldemort who widened his eyes as the flames from hell took the form of a bird and flew towards him. Voldemort quickly built up some power then slashed his wand, getting rid of the fiendfyre, something that took him more effort than with usual fiendfyre. Just as the flames disappeared he heard another roar. He looked up just in time to see Harry Potter in the air, his right fist pulled back and a look of pure anger on his face.
Voldemort jumped back in time to dodge the first punch when Harry hit him with a left body shot followed by a right hook to the face, Harry then followed through with a jab-jab, right hook combination to Voldemort's body before he repeated the same thing with his face. Voldemort powered through the pain and tried to shoot a spell at Harry, Harry pushed his arm away, causing the spell to fly off and hit a gravestone. Harry kneed Voldemort in the ribs that had been exposed by pushing his arm away, he then spun around and elbowed Voldemort in the face and followed up with a jumping knee to the jaw.
Voldemort staggered backwards and tried to fire off a spell at Harry, Harry ducked under Voldemort's arm and elbowed him on the inside of one leg before using his other elbow to hit him on the inside of the other leg. He then pushed up to his feet, Harry used his left hand to grab Voldemort's wrist and point his wand away from him and used his right arm to hit Voldemort with multiple forearm strikes to the face and neck, Voldemort tried to use his free hand to push Harry away but Harry countered by grabbing it with his own free hand and then started kneeing Voldemort repeatedly in the ribs.
Voldemort was unpleasantly surprised to realise that Harry punched harder than the average person his age, it was even more unpleasant when Harry punched him in the shoulder that hadn't yet completely healed from the knife. Voldemort made a quick decision and fired a spell which hit the nearby ground, causing it to explode, the explosion knocked both Harry and Voldemort to the ground.
Both suffered from being suddenly thrown onto the ground, Voldemort was able to create some distance and stand to his feet before he aimed his wand at Harry, Harry kipped up to his feet and kicked Voldemort's arm so his wand moved and he was fortunately able to do it in time to avoid a killing curse. Harry hit him with a palm strike under the chin then grabbed Voldemort by the waist before he kicked his leg to lower the man, he then intentionally fell backwards and pulled Voldemort with him, causing Voldemort to land on the upper half of his back.
Voldemort tried to aim his wand at Harry while on the floor but found his attack countered by Harry redirecting his arm away and elbowing him in the face. Voldemort rolled away and stood to his feet at the same time as Harry, Harry rushed towards him, ducking under the killing curse that Voldemort fired. He then redirected Voldemort's arm once again before jumping up and kneeing Voldemort under the chin, he grabbed Voldemort in mid-air and pulled the both of them down to the floor.
The two ended up with Harry putting Voldemort's wand arm in an arm bar, Voldemort tried to fire a few spells at Harry even in this lock but Harry did his best to make sure that the wand was pointed away from him. Voldemort began struggling just as his wand lit up green, he was stronger than Harry and began moving his hand so his wand would aim at Harry. Harry quickly slapped the wand out of Voldemort's arm and increased the pressure on the lock, yet Voldemort's arm wouldn't break.
Voldemort growled and pushed himself to his feet, he stood up, Harry still wrapped around his arm. Harry didn't allow himself to stay surprised at Voldemort's strength for longer than a second, he kicked Voldemort in the face and back flipped off of him and onto the floor. He then hit him with a left round house kick to the right ribs, instantly he spun around in the opposite direction and used the same leg to kick Voldemort in the left leg, he span again and jumped in the air before hitting him with a right round house kick to the head.
Voldemort was pushed backwards by the kick, he knew that he needed to create distance as Potter was clearly the better hand to hand combatant. If it wasn't for Voldemort's new body then he likely would have lost by now and become an unconscious body waiting to be killed or taken to the authorities. Probably the former with Potter, he was lucky that he had his horcruxes.
Harry continued to attack Voldemort using his hands, feet, elbows, forearms and knees. The death eaters were watching with worried expressions that were hidden behind their masks, they couldn't believe that their lord was losing, especially to muggle hand to hand combat. There was also a worry about what would happen if Harry Potter managed to defeat Voldemort, would he then go after them?
The Libra assassins watched with thoughtful expressions that were hidden by their masks. Potter was an enigma for them, he was officially at a delta level, apparently he was the youngest delta in recent history. Yet he managed to not only beat several deltas, multiple omegas and a beta in one night. And now he was single-handedly fighting Voldemort who, if he was an enemy of Libra, would have gotten at least two betas sent to deal with him. Plus his skill and powers were far too advanced for someone who had only spent such a limited time training with Libra.
Harry hit Voldemort in the stomach with a left punch before striking him in the side with a right hook, he then hit him in the face with a left jab and once again in the body with a right punch. Voldemort, who was by no means a combat expert, tried to push Harry away, Harry side stepped and grabbed Voldemort's right arm and bit down on his forearm, the dark lord let out a gasp of pain just as Harry removed his mouth and spat in Voldemort's eye. Harry then let go of Voldemort's arm and hit him with a spinning kick to the chest that sent him backward, Voldemort landed on his back but quickly rolled on his feet, however he wasn't quick enough to stop Harry who caught up to him and continued his physical assault.
Voldemort pulled his arms together, making it look like he was trying to cover up, he then let out a shout as he pushed his arms out, sending a wave of magic that pushed the Libra assassins back a few feet at the same time as it knocked the death eaters down. As for Harry it sent him flying backwards, he landed on his back but the momentum kept him going so he rolled several times before stopping right in front of a gravestone. Voldemort wanted so much to take a few seconds to rest but instead he quickly went for his wand, and fired a cruciatus curse just as Harry stood up.
The curse hit him dead centre in the chest, shoving him backwards and causing him to smash through the gravestone and land heavily on his back with his whole body feeling like it was in pain. He coughed, partly because of the pain and partly because of all the dust that went up in the air.
Voldemort took the opportunity to take a few deep breaths, he wowed to keep Potter a distance away from now on, he would not let him close enough to engage in hand to hand combat. Voldemort was feeling tired and knew he had to end this quickly, while he had increased strength and durability, his new body did not have increased stamina. Everyone was watching him, if he didn't beat Potter by himself then he would not only lose respect amongst his men but he would also lose some of the fear he had spent so long trying to install in the pathetic sheep of the wizarding world. If Potter beat him then they would have hope, and he couldn't allow that. He needed to make an example out of Potter, show the people what happened when someone stood up to him.
Harry couched heavily, he got to his knees and was about to stand up when the ground under him exploded and he was went flying backwards and landed behind another gravestone, he coughed again and powered through the pain, he used the gravestone to help himself get up. The gravestone exploded, sending Harry flying backwards and crashing into another gravestone. He couldn't hold back the groan that came out of his mouth while his body protested against him moving at all.
A killing curse was sent his way, he barely ducked in time when he saw a spell go behind him and hit the ground, it exploded and Harry was sent flying in the direction of Voldemort, he landed face first, he tried to stand up but didn't manage it in time as Voldemort fired a cruciatus curse that hit him. Harry couldn't stop the scream of pain that erupted out of his mouth as he felt like every part of his body was on fire, Voldemort held the curse up for several seconds before he stopped.
Voldemort stood, a short distance away, panting and breathing heavier than he usually did. Harry was on this back on the floor, panting and sweating as his body kept twitching. The people of magical Britain were amazed by the fight put up by both of them, they were now also fearing the outcome of the duel.
"Such a shame" Voldemort said once he composed himself "such a shame you wouldn't join me Potter, you would have been my best death eater. I will give you one last chance, pledge your allegiance to me and you shall live."
"Go..." Harry coughed "...to hell...nobody...controls me!"
"It seems you still need to learn some respect." Voldemort said before he struck Harry with the torture curse again, Harry screamed in pain and agony.
"Come on" Five year old Harry Potter struggled to escape the man's wrist lock, the man held it on him effortlessly with one arm.
Harry was on his knees with his right arm stretched behind his back and his wrist bent in a wrist lock by a single hand. Harry supposed that it made sense, he was an adult while Harry was just five. But that didn't mean that Harry was going to give up. Harry continued struggling, he tried to move his body in a way where it wouldn't hurt so much but he couldn't. He tried pulling his arm away, he tried moving his wrist but it still didn't work.
"Come on" The man said again "if pain stops you then you're going to be better off hiding in a ditch all your life. Pain is just your body telling you it doesn't like what it's receiving, you need to know when to listen to it and when to ignore it. You are the master of your body, not the other way around. You can't overpower me, you need to think of something else."
An idea came into Harry's mind, it would hurt but he had seen others get healed from worse. Harry took a deep breath then moved.
The man blinked when he heard an audible snap and a shout of pain, the boy had broke his wrist, he never intended to break the boy's wrist. He let go of Harry's wrist, Harry right arm fell to his side while his left hand reached for a rock on the floor.
"Kid" The man said as he grabbed Harry by the shoulder, he turned him slightly when Harry span around and struck the man with the rock right on the head. The man stumbled back before landing on his butt, his vison became foggy just as blood began pouring from above his left eye.
Harry braced himself, expecting punishment, what he got instead was laughter. The man laughed as the blood poured off of his forehead.
"Kid...you...you are something else!"
Harry managed to move his arm and aim it at Voldemort's feet, Voldemort didn't notice, he was too busy enjoying himself as he saw Harry Potter screaming and shaking in pain, a burst of fire shot out of his hands and burnt Voldemort's exposed feet. Voldemort let out a shout of pain as he jumped back and waved his and to stop the burning, he roared in fury at being burnt and aimed his wand at Harry.
"FIENDFYRE!" Voldemort bellowed, wanting to give Potter a taste of his own medicine, causing a massive snake made of fire to engulf Harry Potter.
The death eaters laughed as their master's won, the Libra's looked towards each other, they both knew that fiendfyre summoned hellfire flames. Potter may have been able to survive dragon flames but it was impossible for him to survive the flames of fiendfyre.
The people of great Britain were horrified to see their saviour placed under the cruciatus curse then fall victim to fiendfyre, a truly painful death. Fear overcame them, they realised that if Harry Potter couldn't stop them then that meant that they were doomed. Albus Dumbledore surely couldn't stop him, if he could then he would've done it by now.
Voldemort continued to throw more power into his spell, the death eaters began getting worried. The Libra assassins decided to intervene before Voldemort ended up losing control and burning them all.
"Stop" The one on the right said "he's dead, we are the masters of elements but even Libra cannot survive fiendfyre."
Voldemort still continued for several seconds before he stopped, the flames were still there and growing, he would vanish them in a second. He just needed to take a break, his body as powerful as it is was not used to casting so much magic. Even so he was still able to get rid of it, something that showed how brilliant he was as regular wizards were unable to control or get rid of fiendfyre. Voldemort turned to the Libra assassins.
"Potter is dead, you're contract is over" He said, the Libra assassins nodded. They had received their money and the contract was deemed to be complete, they no longer had any reason to be here. "Now, I shall..." Voldemort found himself cut off by a sound he did not expect to hear.
Laughter.
Everyone turned to the flames, the hellfire flames where the laughter originated from when they heard something.
More laughter, not regular laughter, maniacal laughter.
"That's impossible!" The Libra man who stood on the left exclaimed. "
"You said he died!" Voldemort snapped at him, a furious expression on his face.
"He should have died!" The assassin replied defensively "They're are limits, he should be dead!" Voldemort screamed and vanished the fire, everyone saw Harry Potter sitting up and laughing uncontrollably as he looked at Voldemort.
"Please sir, may I have some more?" Harry asked in a small voice between his laughter.
Voldemort let out a primal scream of rage and pulled his wand back, a killing curse on the tip, ready to fire. Harry pulled his arms in, then shot them out and sent a wave of fire out of his body. Voldemort abandoned his spell in favour of shielding, but was still pushed over by the force of the flames, the Libras used a wind shield but the flames broke through it and they were knocked on to their backs. The death eaters were able to remain standing and unharmed only through their combined shielding.
"Impossible" The left Libra said just as he, the other Libra and Voldemort stood up. Voldemort heard him and in a moment where he wasn't thinking clearly, he aimed his wand at him and fired a killing curse that took the assassin by surprise. The assassin slumped and fell to the ground, his fellow assassin became enraged and charged at Voldemort, firing spells as he did so while Voldemort went on the defensive.
Harry laughed again, now that Voldemort had ended the contract the assassins weren't obligated to help him, if he had left them alone then they would've just left but now Voldemort in his rage had made a massive mistake and a huge enemy. Harry then made a mental note of his options, he could help the Libra assassin, he could wait for him to finish and then fight Voldemort or he can run. Yeah...he was going to run.
Harry got to his feet and began running away, unfortunately two of the death eaters heard him, the first death eater rushed towards him and grabbed him, Harry stomped on his foot, then elbowed him in the neck before sending him flying with a wind blast that shot out of his palm. The next death eater tried to hit him with what Harry recognised to be a castration curse, Harry quickly ducked, his hand went into his boot and pulled the knife out and shoved it up between the man's legs, piercing what Harry believed to be the man's private parts. The man screamed in complete and total pain when Harry pulled the knife out and then slammed it into the man's body.
Harry pushed him away and began running further into the graveyard when a cutting curse hit him on his upper back and Harry let out a yelp of pain as he fell to the floor, Harry managed to turn his fall into a roll and get to his knees. He placed his hands on the ground, the Earth below him began rising from the ground and up Harry's arms before it formed an armour around all of his body, apart from his face. Harry began running, he felt a few more spells hit his back and thanked whoever was listening for the fact that he put up the Earth armour to take the hits. Judging by the green light he saw in his peripheral vision he could tell that a few of the spells were killing curses.
Harry kept running but the problem was he didn't know how far the wards extended and he had to run while being chased by death eaters, and the armour was slowing him down. Harry took a deep breath and made a decision to try out something, he had been experimenting with it a little bit but never actually fully used. A blasting curse hit the lower back of Harry's armour and he was pushed forwards and to the ground where he rolled back up to his feet, Harry chose to abandon the armour and instead of mantaining it he let it fall, he waved his arm and the broken bits of the armour were sent right at the death eaters.
Harry snapped his arm to his side and snapped his feet together, making it look like he had just been hit by a body bind. Harry concentrated and suddenly a high burst of flames shot out of his hands and feet, the flames pushed Harry up into the air like a rocket. Harry kept climbing and climbing up the air, building speed and gaining height at the same time as he increased the fire power. At the same time he also manipulated the air around him to help guide him.
Harry was hundreds of feet in the air when he decided now would be a good time to apparate away, wards could be as long as possible but they were never higher than at least five meters above the tallest thing in the wards. Harry apparated away, the mirrors began flying away, going to find Harry.
People all around the country watched as the mirrors followed him and soon showed Harry falling from the air, as Harry neared the ground he aimed his hands at the ground and shot a jet made of flames from each hand which managed to keep him in the air, but he was tired so he gradually decreased the power just as he gradually kept going lower and lower, people soon saw he was outside of Hogwarts. It made sense seeing as he couldn't apparate into Hogwarts, the only reason the portkeys worked was because the headmaster had altered the ward to allow portkeys for the tournament.
Harry kept going down until he was eventually just above the stadium, people screamed and cheered when they saw him. Harry eventually got to the ground when the flames ceased and he fell face first on the floor. Blood spat out of his mouth and he glared at the cheering crowd, yes he was happy that they were happy that he was alive but he had just escaped Voldemort and didn't need his ears to burst.
"Arry!" A voice called, Fleur rushed towards him and turned him on to his back "Are you okay?!" She asked, tears dripping down her face.
"I'm fine Fleur" Harry said, Fleur cried and pulled him into a hug. Seconds later Harry felt another body hug him, judging by the hair he guessed it was Delphi.
"Harry!" Two voices called out. Sirius and Bellatrix, who had rushed to Hogwarts as soon as they heard Harry was in danger, rushed up to Harry and also joined the hug.
"Wait!" Bellatrix said suddenly and pulled everyone off of Harry, apart from Fleur who was still holding him up
"But Bell..." Sirius started only to be interrupted.
"No! He just survived Voldemort!" Bellatrix said in a firm voice "He will be taken to the hospital wing first and once we're sure he's fine then we will hug the life out of him, if we do it now then we'll just hurt him more!" Bellatrix's voice was one that said there would be hell to pay for anyone who dares to challenge her.
"You're right" Sirius wasn't happy about his hug being ended sooner than he liked, but he knew Bellatrix was right. "I'll carry him"
"We should levitate him" Delphi said
"No" Sirius shook his head "that could cause more damage, this is the better option" Sirius said before slipping one hand under Harry's legs and another under his back and gently picking him up, Fleur grabbed on to his hand that dangled in the air. The group started walking towards the hospital wing, when Dumbledore began walking alongside him.
"Harry! Are you alright?!" he asked.
"I'd be better if you morons stopped shouting, I am right here" Harry complained.
"What do you want Dumbledore?!" Bellatrix scowled, not in the mood to listen to the old man.
"I have just spoken with the minister" Dumbledore either didn't notice the way Bellatrix had chosen to speak to him or decided to ignore it "he was tempted to claim everything was fake, but I pointed out to him that nearly the whole country has seen it and the fact that the mirrors have been tested repeatedly. I do not know what he will do now, perhaps he will try to prepare for Voldemort or merely do something to make it look like he is. Cornelius isn't exactly the sort of person suited to lead in a war."
"Idiot" Sirius muttered, Dumbledore heard him but pretended he didn't.
"Harry, I need to speak to you about..."
"It can wait" Delphi interrupted "my brother over here is going to go to the hospital wing and rest"
"Now I understand but this is important and..."
"Dumbledore!" Sirius growled "We are not in the mood"
"Sirius, please, I understand but like I said, this is important and..." Dumbledore was interrupted by being blast off his feet and landing on his back.
"Nothing is more important to us than Arry's health!" Fleur glared at Dumbledore, wand still in her hand. "My next spell won't be so light! You will stay away until he is healed!" The group continued walking, leaving Dumbledore.
"Fleur" Harry said in a small voice.
"Yes Arry?" She turned to him, she wondered if he needed help, at this moment she would give him anything he possibly needed.
"You look fucking hot when you're angry" Harry said with a small grin.
"Glad to know you're alright if you can flirt" Sirius rolled his eyes.
"You're just jealous because my girlfriends a hot veela and you're a virgin"
"I am not a virgin!"
"Could have fooled me"
"What is stopping me from just dropping you right now?"
"The fact that the girls would see it as a challenge to kill you before the others" Harry replied, Sirius gulped and looked at the girls who were all glaring at him.
"Fine, but I'm still not a virgin" Sirius mumbled. Eventually they reached the hospital wing, Sirius walked over to the nearest available bed and put Harry in it.
"Hey" Harry said suddenly "I did good...right?" He asked in a quiet voice.
"You did brilliantly Harry" Bellatrix said with a soft smile as she ruffled his hair, he smiled and leaned his head into her hand.
"You really were brilliant Harry" Delphi said just as Tracy, Daphne and Fay arrived. Though the three stayed silently in the back so they didn't interrupt the family moment. "Now people have seen you fight Voldemort, they all know how strong you are. I mean Voldemort himself!"
"Didn't win though, did I?" Harry sighed.
"Harry, many people older than you have fought Voldemort and not even managed to survive." Sirius said seriously "Heck, most people shit their pants just hearing his name. The fact that you managed to handle him and escape him plus two assassins and death eaters means that..."
"No, I'm not upset over that" Harry interrupted "that's just more work for me now. Merlin, I've got to deal with Libra and then Voldemort. Why can't life be simple?"
"It just isn't" Bellatrix shrugged "sometimes we get cards we don't want, but we just have to deal with them."
"Bellatrix, you've never played cards in your life" Sirius couldn't help but point out "pick a better example"
"I get it" Harry said while Bellatrix glared at Sirius. He then looked at Fleur who was still holding his hand. "Hey...I said I would survive...didn't I?"
"Yes, you did" She said, using her free hand to wipe her tears.
"I'm still here" He smiled at her.
"Arry" She shook her head and leaned down before planting a soft kiss on his lips. "Arry, would you like some water to heal you up?"
"Not yet" Harry shook his had "it tires me out, I need to either rest or have a potion to give me more energy before I manage to heal myself."
"I think rest will be much better" Sirius suggested.
"Yes" Bellatrix agreed. "Go and rest now Harry, we will be here when you wake up."
"Fine" Harry nodded "but first I think I should say goodbye to the others"
"Others?" Fleur asked and the girls walked up to the group.
"Um...some introductions please" Sirius said
"Well that's Delphi's girlfriend Daphne" Harry pointed at Daphne, he then pointed at Tracy "that's Daphne's lover Tracy and the other one is Fay who is Delphi's lover."
"We're not lesbians" Delphi rolled her eyes.
"Shush" Harry said "I am hurt, allow me my moments to irritate you."
"We are Harry and Delphi's friends" Daphne said, emphasising the last part and giving Harry a short glare. "We were really worried about you" She added, her face softening.
"Thanks" Harry smiled at them "so you guys all saw the whole thing?"
"Yeah!" Fay nodded "The whole country did, you were awesome!"
"Awesome?" Tracy scoffed "That's an understatement, he just went wand to wand with you-know-who himself!"
"Pick a better phrase then 'wand to wand'." Harry rolled his eyes before letting out a small yawn.
"It's time to go to sleep Harry" Bellatrix said softly as she ruffled his hair once more.
"Fine, good nig..."
"Mr Potter!" Harry was interrupted by Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, who had just arrived. "Stay down! I will check you immediately!"
"Goddamn it" Harry groaned.
A.N: Whoa, this took me so long to write. I checked it and it was 10,452 words before I began writing this message. This is probably my longest chapter for the story so far. I have to admit, I was honestly tempted to just write part of it and then send that off and have you all wait until later for the second part, but I decided that you deserve better than that. This message is now going to take a brief break so we can stop at the apparition point and apparate to review street
Review street:
Damien NightFall - good chapter; but with the character you have created it makes no sense that he is willing to enter a situation highly likely to kill him for two people he really doesnt care about.
Response - You're right, that's a good point. To be honest I was just a bit tired when I wrote that last chapter I was a bit tired and a bit lazy and I didn't really think about it. I tried to correct that in this chapter of the story. Thanks for reading.
Thundramon - In this line "They took Shadow and Delphi for the fucking task!"" I think you mean Gabrielle
Response - Thanks for pointing that mistake out, I've corrected it now.
Hank1967 - Excellent chapter! Glad to see Harry got rid of the Death Stick. Something that powerful shouldn't be in Dumbledore's hands. Loved the start of the second task! Too funny that Harry got zero points. Come on, anyone that powerful that he can do so much damage at least deserves style points alone! Also enjoyed seeing him allow Fleur to take the cup. I was rather surprised that it was not a portkey to the graveyard, but on further thought, I would guess that either Malfoy or Voldemort took out the contract on him. I really feel sorry for those guys... Nah! Great job! Thanks for the quick updates. They make this story so much more enjoyable!
Response - Yes, you see I had to cut the 'master of death' thing in the bud because I just know if it was still an option then I'd make Harry become master of death and easily overpower everyone. As for the bit about points, I agree with you completely man. As for Fleur taking the cup, I was tempted to just have it be a portkey to the graveyard like in cannon but I just figured you guys might like the little twist I put in. Thanks for reading.
magitech - Well if Dumbles doesn't wise up he may have to say goodbye ot his balls, not that he ever used them, the gutless bastard.
If it's common knowledge about the special relationship between familiar and human, then it shows just how callous and arrogant Dumbles is if he thinks he can get away with it. Except for his mosst unthinking minions, everyone's opinion of him should nose dive.
Like how there will re repercussions from kidnapping Gabby. Tricking her into agreeing (which probably happened in canon) still isn't legal as she's a minor and Maxime is NOT acting in loco parentis as her family was right there.
I can believe Granger volunteering because she worships Dumbles and wouldn't want to bother her parents. In canon she lied to them about what she got up to at Hogwarts. If she really did tell them the truth any decent parent would pull her out instantly and look for alternate schooling.
Hmm so Libra is stupid. They must know about the mirrors so they've been publicly caught breaking their word about the time Harry was given.
Not a smart business move for a buncn of for hire assassins.
Unless it was DE's in Libra masks? Now that's suicide for the DE's using Libra as a front, they wont like that at all. But DE's are really stupid after all.
Response - Yep, the reason I put Shadow as the hostage was partly because most people thought it was Delphi and I thought it'd be a nice surprise. I was considering Delphi but having Dumbledore forcefully put her in the lake is a bit far on the stupid scale and he knew that Bellatrix, Harry and Sirius could screw him over. As for Shadow, WE love shadow but as far as Dumbledore is concerned he is just a 'dark' creature.
As for Gabby, I had just thought about it for a bit and I began wondering what would convince an eight year old Veela to put herself under the lake for an hour. I think it had to either be against her will or she simply didn't understand how dangerous it was, I mean if her older sister could get injured/hurt in there then what chance would she have? I think it's like asking a child to work in a science lab and not properly explaining the dangers.
As for Libra, they now no longer care about secrecy. I'll reveal more about that later on but a brief explanation is the fact that Harry already pulled them into the spotlight and everyone knows about them, but there is also another reason which will be revealed later on.
zero fullbuster - Love it.
Response - Love you.
Okay, continuing with the rest of the message.
Now I know some people may think Harry shouldn't have done so good against Voldemort but I argue the following:
* Harry trained with Libra, master assassins and can go head to head with some of their best warriors.
* Harry trained in the chamber (full of Slytherin's books) where Voldemort probably got a lot of his knowledge from, plus the room of requirement which Voldemort hadn't really used apart from to hide his horcrux.
* Harry has already been shown to be more advanced than the others.
* Harry is very motivated.
* He's magically powerful, smart and creative.
* Harry, just like every Libra assassin, has gone through rituals designed to increase strength.
* Both weren't going all out at the start
*Voldemort doesn't know hand to hand combat, why would he when it's a 'muggle' thing? Harry closing the distance is something that makes sense seeing as he's a great hand to hand fighter.
*Voldemort has just got a new body after spending his years as a floating spirit and inhabiting animals before spending a year inhabiting Quirrell then probably some more animals before settling on a baby. It's not like the dude is at his best.
*Harry didn't really beat Voldemort, hurt him yeah but he didn't knock him out or kill him. In fact he actually ran away and tried to escape.
There are probably more reasons but these are just the ones I thought up off the top of my head, I'll probably remember like two more about an hour after I post this.
I didn't spend too long on everyone's reaction to Harry and Voldemort's fight but I will be adding to it in the next chapter. I think I will either have Harry's meeting with Libra in the next chapter or I will add a filler chapter next which will be focused on the end of the year, I haven't decided yet. There are probably more things to say but that should be enough for now, so I am going to end this here because I really want to go and play on my PlayStation now before my brother starts playing on it and I have to wait for him to 'finish in a minute'.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and feel free to leave a review (I mean I have written nearly 12,00 words here, a review would be appreciated, I need them to live after all).