Chapter 32: Not the Worst, but not Great Either
June 24th, 1995
As Harry was pulled away by the Portkey he started thinking fast. Where was it taking them? Harry hadn't really felt Voldemort in his mind except as a vague presence for some time. He had felt Voldemort a little more strongly back at the Weasleys', so Harry had to assume that Voldemort was somewhere in England. That wasn't good at all. First, it would mean that Harry would be far enough away that any possible means of tracking him wouldn't work. Second, it would mean that the Portkey would be moving them further. There was a magical cooldown period on Portkey activation that was directly proportional to the distance the portkey traveled (Harry thanked Hermione for this little fact). Which meant that this Portkey would take at least 10 minutes to become active again. Probably more.
But Fleur could apparate. Maybe Voldemort wouldn't anticipate someone else coming out with him and wouldn't have anti-apparition wards up. In that case Fleur could simply pull them away, but Harry wasn't willing to bet Fleur's life on it - and he would be.
Harry and Fleur both managed to land on their feet as they suddenly came to a stop. They were in some sort of graveyard. Harry immediately began to look around while he opened his Occlumency to try and find Voldemort's thoughts.
He started to get a headache. Two separate thoughts intruded on his mind. He saw one perspective, low to the ground and somehow different. The other was thinking about some ritual.
Bone of the father, unknowingly given…
Flesh of the servant, willing given…
Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken…
Those words pounded through Harry's skull. He remembered Ginny's advice from earlier, but knew that Fleur's presence made that far more complicated. Of course he could do it. He could tell Fleur, they could offer their blood to Voldemort willingly. They'd both die, but what of it? They'd stop the Dark Lord's return, at least for a while.
But Harry shook his head. Voldemort could use almost any wizard with that ritual and he would be restored. And if Harry didn't fight, there was no way Voldemort would let him leave here alive. Harry was willing to sacrifice himself to slow down Voldemort's return. But no, he couldn't let Fleur die here.
He felt the other presence again. It was some sort of snake, he realized. Against just Pettigrew and a snake, Harry thought he and Fleur might triumph. But why could he see in the mind of a snake? Unless…
The snake was a horcrux, and it wasn't contained like the horcrux in his scar. Which meant that it was likely impervious to anything Harry and Fleur could do to it.
Harry closed his mind immediately. He looked around desperately.
"What is going on?" asked Fleur.
"We've been abducted," said Harry, "Can you apparate us back to just outside Hogwarts?"
Fleur nodded, taking Harry's hand. But when she narrowed her eyes, nothing happened.
"There are wards up!" she said, now sounding frightened.
Harry continued looking around desperately. His eyes stopped on a grave with a statue of the angel of Death, scythe and all. On it were the names, Thomas Riddle, Mary Riddle, and Tom Riddle.
Tom Riddle. Voldemort's father. Merlin, Voldemort meant to do it here. Now. All thoughts of just letting Riddle use his blood vanished. Voldemort would see through that. And he would kill Fleur in any case. Unless Harry had something to bargain with. Which he did.
"Fleur listen to me very carefully," said Harry, "Your life depends on following my every instruction. If you don't do as I say, Voldemort will kill you. Lay down on the ground, and no matter what I do or say, no matter what it seems I am saying, no matter what you think will happen to me, do not get up, and do not fight Voldemort. Do not not resist him or his minions in any way. You will know when the time to act is. The other thing you must do is allow the full power of your Veela allure out. Trust me, it is essential."
Fleur nodded and laid herself down on the ground. Harry could hear the snake coming. He could hear the footsteps of Peter Pettigrew getting nearer. He felt Fleur's allure pounding at his Occlumency. It was easy to dismiss it now.
"I'm here!" shouted Harry, "I'm not going to fight you!"
Pettigrew walked up to Harry. He was holding some sort of bundle in one hand, a wand in the other.
"Very wise Harry," said a voice, that same horrible voice Harry remembered from Quirrell's head, and his vision, "There is no use fighting it. Peter, kill the girl."
"If you kill Fleur, I will continue to not fight you!" said Harry immediately, "I will give you my blood willingly, without force!"
"Wait!" said Voldemort suddenly, "Surely, you would want to kill me for that?" Harry grinned. Voldemort had figured out that Harry knew his game.
"Please," said Harry, "as you said, there is no use fighting."
"You don't think you could take poor Peter?" asked Voldemort.
"I might take him," said Harry, before switching to Parseltongue, "But I doubt I could I could take him and you my serpentine friend. I hear you out there."
Voldemort laughed, a horrible sound. "Oh Harry, I'd almost forgotten how clever you are! You did your homework. Moody told me you suspected him. If not for Dumbledore's distrust of you, you'd have escaped this fate."
"You mean Crouch? Crouch Jr.?" said Harry.
Voldemort didn't laugh at that. "Now that is very good Harry. You deduce my servant's true identity, and my goal. But what do you think you are going to accomplish here? I can't very well let the girl go free."
"I didn't suggest that," said Harry, "but Peter might have a use for her."
"Let me have the girl!" said Pettigrew, "She is stunning. Beautiful." He stared at Fleur with a longing in his eyes."
"Part Veela," said Harry, "though the wizard blood is 'pure'. Better a magical creature than a muggle, am I right?"
"Quite," said Voldemort, "Very well, what assurance do I have that you will not change your mind before the ritual begins?"
"The fact that you'll still have Fleur and if the ritual fails you will kill her?" offered Harry.
Voldemort laughed again. "Very well, Peter, use the Imperius curse on the part-veela girl."
"No!" said Fleur angrily.
"Fleur!" said Harry sharply, "Trust me. Please. This is for the best." Harry wished he could tell her his plan. Please Fleur...
Fleur looked as if she was going to retort, then her face softened. She nodded and stood.
"Imperio," said Peter.
Fleur smiled at Pettigrew. "Hello master," she said.
Harry immediately leapt forward running towards the nearest gravestone. But suddenly the snake was there, wrapping itself around Harry. He tried to fire a cutting charm at it, but it just bounced off. Harry soon found himself trapped by the snake.
"Stupefy!" shouted Pettigrew, and then Harry's world went black.
XXXXX
When Harry woke, he was tied to the headstone of the Riddle Grave. He was gagged. There was a huge bubbling cauldron in front of him. Fleur was putting a little more wood on the fire lit beneath it, while Pettigrew was stirring something in the pot.
"He is awake," said the voice of Voldemort, "It is time."
Pettigrew pulled open the bundle spilling it's contents into the bubbling cauldron. What fell out looked like a misshapen infant, as if it had been born only half formed. Harry recognized the homunculus, but he didn't dare open his mind again to find out more. He couldn't give away his one advantage.
Peter levitated a bone out of the now open grave in front of Harry.
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son," chanted Pettigrew as he dropped in the bone.
"Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master," said Pettigrew as he sliced off his hand with a knife, which fell into the cauldron.
Fleur looked at Harry, her eyes asking him what to do. She might try to interrupt the ceremony Harry supposed. But that would just get her killed. Even if she could break the Imperius. Harry shook his head slightly.
Pettigrew approached Harry next. Harry struggled, trying to keep his exposed arm from Pettigrew's knife. But tied to a headstone he couldn't do much, and Pettigrew cut a deep gash in Harry's arm.
"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe!" shouted Pettigrew as he flicked the blood into the cauldron.
The caudron began to bubble, and suddenly a form came out of it, at first surrounded in haze, but more and more distinct. A form in the shape of a man, but a man who's face had been horribly mutilated, his nose flattened and reduced to slits, his eyes catlike, his skin pale. A man who had thoroughly mutilated his soul.
"Robe me," said Voldemort.
Peter put the arm of a robe over one of Voldemort's arms, while at his signal Fleur draped the other side of the robe over the other. Both stepped back immediately before Voldemort demanded his wand. Wormtail handed it over with a bow.
Voldemort seemed to exult in the return of his body for a moment, but then turned to Pettigrew. "Hold out your arm," he said.
"Thank you!" said Pettigrew, holding out his bloody stump. Harry couldn't help but laugh from his throat, which could be heard even through the gag in his mouth.
"What is so funny?" demanded Pettigrew.
"Your naivete," said Voldemort with a grin, "Your other arm Wormtail."
Peter put forth his other arm reluctantly. Voldemort dug his wand into the Dark Mark embedded there, then pulled it away, with a wave of his wand.
"Our Lord has removed the anti-apparition wards, but you will not try to flee," said Pettigrew to Fleur. Fleur seemed miffed that he'd remembered that.
Suddenly masked figures began appearing. The Death Eaters, thought Harry.
They appeared in a ring around Voldemort, but there were empty spots. Harry assumed one was Crouch, one was probably Karkaroff, and the last one was almost certainly Snape. Harry wasn't all that interested in watching Voldemort talk to his servants. Watching Voldemort torture Lucius Malfoy might have been amusing for some, but Harry couldn't even wish the Cruciatus curse on him. Voldemort was just pontificating. It was all a show to help re-establish his power.
What Harry needed to concentrate on was what he could control. Sure as the sun would rise in the east tomorrow, Voldemort was going to duel him. He had to. It was the only way to prove to his followers that he wasn't so weak that a baby had destroyed him. So Harry was going to have to duel Voldemort. Harry suspected that there would be side effects to Voldemort using his blood to resurrect himself. It was possible that the blood tie between them would anchor Harry to this world like a Horcrux. It was also possible that the Horcrux in Harry's skull would get the brunt of any killing curse that hit Harry. Possible ways out, but as the only way to test them was to get hit by a killing curse, Harry wasn't exactly keen to try.
Harry watched as Voldemort gave Pettigrew a new hand, made of some sort of silver. No, it was very likely Harry was going to die here. But he was going to free Fleur. Peter had made a very large mistake when he'd Imperiused her, as it both simplified Harry's task and put Peter's life in peril. The moron was so certain Fleur was under his control he hadn't even taken her wand. If she could get free of him for a second, she could apparate away. Simply put, the only way to ensure she was freed from an Imperius was to shatter Pettigrews will. Knocking him unconscious wouldn't do it. No, Pettigrew had to die.
The very idea repulsed Harry, but he made the choice to kill Peter with no hesitation. Fleur was Harry's friend, and he would save her. But he'd have to create an opportunity to do it. Harry guessed he'd only get one shot at this. He'd have to be quick.
Now with his hand restored, Pettigrew walked over to Fleur. He put his arm around her, leering at her figure. Part of Harry went insane at that, wanted to tear free and just gut Pettigrew for daring to touch his friend like that. But he held his peace.
He was dragged from his anger when Voldemort touched his forehead. He could feel the pain as Voldemort touched him, the pain coming from his mother's protection. The fool! He hadn't destroyed it at all! Oh, Voldemort could probably harm Harry now, but what was left of the protection would be there forever. Or at least until Voldemort died.
"Now Harry, we will duel. We can't have all these gentlemen thinking that you are able to defeat me now can we?" asked Voldemort, who untied and ungagged Harry with a wave of his wand.
Harry managed to catch himself as he pitched forward off of the headstone. Pushing himself up, he stood tall. Might as well. Voldemort levitated Harry's wand to him.
"Thank you," said Harry.
"Are you not afraid of me?" asked Voldemort.
"I'm terrified," admitted Harry, "But panicking isn't going to help me, now is it?"
"No," agreed Voldemort, "You know the proper etiquette for a duel, yes?"
"I do," said Harry, giving a slight bow to his opponent.
"Not good enough, you will kneel to me! Imperio!" shouted Voldemort.
That was a mistake. This Imperius curse was stronger than Crouch's had been, but Harry was ready for it.
"No thank you," said Harry, "I'll stand."
The Death Eaters began to murmur, but stopped quickly as Voldemort glared at them.
"Now, now, insolence will be punished! Crucio!" screamed Voldemort.
Harry was suddenly wracked by the worst pain he had ever known. It nearly drove him to his knees, but somehow, through sheer force of will, Harry managed to stay standing. Suddenly, the pain was gone.
"Very impressive Harry, but what have you accomplished, other than to show you are stubborn. Do you think you are the first to defy me?" asked Voldemort with a grim smile.
"Of course not," said Harry, "I was just waiting for my turn."
And with that Harry threw his entire mind at Voldemort, straight through the link created by Voldemort's horcrux. It wasn't just Harry's thoughts though. He threw in the one thing that had defeated Voldemort before. He thought of his friends. He thought of Fleur, who was counting on him now. He thought of Ron, Justin, Neville and Seamus. He thought of Sirius and Lupin. He thought of Blaise and Tracey, Daphne and Luna. He thought of Ginny. And he thought of Hermione, and even her parents. He pulled up all of his love for all his friends, for his family, and hurled it into Voldemort's unprotected mind.
Voldemort screamed in pain as he fell to his knees for a moment. It was the one thing that Voldemort couldn't stand. And in the moment that Harry was afforded, he struck. Not in anger, or in vengeance, but out of sheer necessity. "Diffindo!" he cast, right at Peter Pettigrew's neck.
Peter's head fell to the ground as blood shot from the stump of his neck, covering Fleur. Harry leapt away from Fleur hoping to draw the other Death Eaters away. Indeed it worked, the Death Eaters followed Harry, leaving Fleur behind them. She just needed to get away now! Harry jumped behind a large gravestone and knelt down.
"Do not interfere!" screamed Voldemort. The Death Eaters all looked surprised, as Voldemort took to his feet again. But then, he broke out in a smile.
"Oh well done Harry," said the dark wizard, "I was arrogant once again. I left my mind undefended, and so you punished me for it and got vengeance on the betrayer of your parents. How did that feel?"
"Great," lied Harry. It didn't. He felt nauseous. No matter what Pettigrew had done to him or his parents, Harry hadn't really wanted to kill him.
"I am sorry that I have to kill you boy," said Voldemort, "You would have made an excellent second-in-command. But I am glad you got your measure of revenge. Now, come out and face me!"
And Harry stood. He hadn't heard Fleur apparate, so she had to still be there. She was probably waiting for him. So she wouldn't leave until she knew she couldn't save him. Harry was touched, but he had to get her to leave.
"We're very alike," said Harry, "Both half-bloods, both raised by muggles who hated us, both naturally gifted wizards." He held out his wand a dueling pose as he faced Voldemort. He looked at Fleur, behind the Death Eaters. She stood up, with some package wrapped in Pettigrew's cloak strapped to her robes.
"Pleading for your life?" mocked Voldemort.
Harry's mouth turned one side up in a grin. "No," he said playfully, "I just want you to know, that for all your power, all your knowledge, the one thing I have that you lack is love. It was enough to defeat you once. Will it again? Let's roll the dice, Tom."
Voldemort roared in rage at the sound of his true name. "Avada Kedavra!" roared the Dark Lord.
"Expelliarmus!" shouted Harry at the same time, using the spell he was most skilled with.
And their spells collided in mid air, and suddenly their wands were connected by a thread of golden light. The two began to float in the air as a strange energy began to surround them.
"DON'T INTERFERE!" screamed Voldemort to his followers.
Harry was shocked for a moment, but then the threads of energy formed a web around them and he heard it. Phoenix song. And at that moment he knew. His and Voldemort's wands shared a core from the same phoenix! And now their minds and wills were connected, Harry could feel it. He saw beads of power in the golden thread between them. And he knew what to do. After all, he had seen Ginny Weasley do something very similar once before, in the throes of a very different magic.
He threw every ounce of his will into his spell. Slowly but surely, the beads of power moved towards Voldemort. Voldemort had figured out what was happening, but it was too late. Harry had control and he pushed that power until it moved back into Voldemort's wand.
Out of the wand came a cloud, as if it was an outline of a person falling down. Then came another cloud, which looked like Fleur in chains. The cloud took form next, as an old man Harry had never seen before.
"So the man was a wizard," said the old man, "You must be the boy he was talking about."
Another cloud now appeared. This was an unknown woman, but Harry guessed it was Bertha Jorkins. "Potter!" she said, "You have to stop him!"
"I will," said Harry. He braced himself, knowing what was coming next.
Another woman emerged, this one someone he had only seen in photographs, followed by a man, whom he had also only seen in photographs, and the Mirror of Erised.
"Mum, Dad," said Harry.
"Harry, we are so proud of you," said Lily Potter.
"You've done so well in Slytherin," said James Potter, "And made so many good friends."
"I wish you could meet them," said Harry, his eyes watering. I wish you could meet her, he thought.
They seemed to understand his mind. "When you let go we will stay behind for a short while," said James.
"You will only have moments," said Lily.
Harry looked down at Fleur and gave her nod. "Thank you," he said to his parents, "And I love you!"
"We love you too honey!" said his mother as he cut the connection.
The web vanished and all the apparitions surged towards Voldemort, blocking his view. The Death Eaters charged forward.
"Accio 'Arry!" cried Fleur, her wand pointing right at him.
Harry flew forward, past Voldemort, past all the Death Eaters. He extended his arm and spun around as he wrapped it around Fleur's waist and she wrapped an arm around his. Along with Voldemort, the Death Eaters spun around.
Fleur swept her wand down, and suddenly Harry felt as if his entire body was being squeezed through a straw. He then found himself, with his arm still around Fleur's waist, on the road between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts.
For a moment he stood still, unable to comprehend what had just happened. But then it hit him. He was alive!
Suddenly he threw his other arm around Fleur as the two of them hugged each other, barely able to process the relief that they had escaped from that trap. Harry wasn't quite sobbing, but his eyes were definitely tearing up a bit as Fleur held him.
"'Arry," she said after a moment, "You were amazing back there. You saved my life."
Harry smiled. "Lucky we're already friends," he said, "Don't need to owe you a life debt."
"It is not luck," said Fleur, "I am just that good a judge of character."
Harry laughed at that. "Well you did make friends with Hermione…"
Fleur laughed as well.
"You did pretty well yourself," said Harry.
"Thank you," said Fleur, "I was not about to abandon you."
"I'm glad you didn't," said Harry honestly, "I feel really good right now."
"'Ow much of that do you think has to do with the fact that you are resting your 'ead on my chest?" asked Fleur playfully.
And of course he did have his head on her chest. How he hadn't noticed that he had no idea, but he pulled away immediately.
"Sorry," he said as he reluctantly let her go.
"Do not apologize," said Fleur, "If you 'ad offended me, trust me, I would 'ave let you know. In fact if you want to rest there again, it might be arranged."
"Thanks for the offer," said Harry, "I think you aren't the only person who might be making it though. One person in particular…, well, you understand I'm sure."
Fleur nodded, "It is about time you recognized that."
"We should get back to Hogwarts," said Harry awkwardly after a moment, "They might decide to come searching this road. It is the most logical place for us to apparate to. They probably won't, but they might."
"A good idea," said Fleur, who extended her hand to Harry. He took it without hesitation. And that was the moment he realized he no longer felt Fleur's allure - at all.
After walking for a few minutes they came up to the gates of Hogwarts. The gates were closed.
"Damn," said Harry, "IS ANYONE THERE?"
"Is that Harry?" shouted the booming voice of Hagrid who came running up to the gates. With one push he opened them up and came running out to Harry and Fleur.
"And Miss Fleur too? Where've you been?" asked Hagrid, "Yer both lookin' like you've been through the inside of a butcher's shop."
"We will explain once we reach the Headmaster," said Harry wearily.
"Well, yer friend Ginny she managed to free the real Moody and capture Crouch Jr., " said Hagrid, "He kept sayin' You-Know-Who had you, so we feared the worst."
"Voldemort did have us," said Harry, "It isn't quite the worst, but it isn't exactly great either."
Hagrid nodded at that. He'd lived long enough to get his share of bad news Harry supposed.
The crowd was still gathered at the Quidditch pitch. That was good. Harry wanted this information to get to as many people as possible. Fudge wouldn't want to admit it of course. Admitting it would be disastrous for his support among the purebloods.
As they approached the pitch, they heard a full scale argument raging between Hermione and Dumbledore.
"Miss Granger," said Dumbledore in that oh so patient tone of his, "We are doing everything we can to locate Mr. Potter and Miss Delacour. I know you are frustrated, but this is not helping."
"They wouldn't need rescuing if you had listened to Harry in the first place," shouted Hermione angrily.
"I must say, that if the boy did warn you Albus…" Fudge started to say.
"Harry had no proof," said Dumbledore lamely.
"You should have checked anyway!" said Moody, "What have I always said? Anyone can be an imposter, or Imperiused. Anyone! Myself included!"
"Hear, hear!" shouted Harry as he marched out onto the pitch, still holding Fleur's hand.
The crowd gasped at their appearance. Hermione rushed Harry, throwing her arms around his neck. He let go of Fleur's hand and embraced her.
"I was so scared," said Hermione, "I thought for sure you were… that they'd…"
"It was a close one, that was for sure, but between Fleur and myself, we managed to just barely get away," admitted Harry.
"Fleur!" shouted the voice of Fleur's father. Both of her parents, as well as Gabi, ran down to embrace their daughter.
Harry noted that Amelia Bones had arrived. Harry guessed that Daphne had insisted on her involvement, or maybe Susan. She had brought a whole cadre of aurors, and had Crouch, now un-polymorphed, under guard.
"What happened Harry?" asked Fudge.
"Has Crouch told you what he did?" asked Harry.
"He told us that he turned the cup into a Portkey, or rather he changed the destination of the Portkey," said Madam Bones.
"It took me to a graveyard. It was somewhere in England I think. Anyway, Peter Pettigrew was there…"
"Pettigrew is dead," shouted Fudge angrily.
"Yes, he is," admitted Harry, "As of tonight." Harry's heart sank. How would he prove Sirius's innocence now?
"And we have proof!" said Fleur. She picked up the package she had wrapped in Pettigrew's cloak. She had tied it to her robes and it had been hanging down by her legs this whole time. Surely she hadn't…
Amelia took the package and opened it. When she saw what was inside she gasped. "This is the head of Peter Pettigrew!" she said.
"What? What is Peter Pettigrew's head doing here?" demanded Fudge.
"He put me under the Imperius Curse," said Fleur.
Harry closed his eyes. "There really was no choice. I can't believe you took his head though, Fleur."
Fleur smiled, "Well you may recall I did say something about that."
Hermione laughed, her head still buried in Harry's chest. "She did you know," reminded Hermione.
"This means nothing!" said Fudge, desperately.
"It means Sirius Black did not murder Peter Pettigrew," said Amelia, "Which is enough to reopen his trial."
"Oh wait, Sirius didn't get a trial!" shouted Daphne who had managed to fight her way to the front of the crowd.
"That was Millicent Bagnold's decision!" shouted Fudge, glaring daggers at Daphne.
"Yes," said Harry, "It was. And you are going to make sure Black is properly questioned under Veritaserum, aren't you Minister?"
Fudge smiled. This was the sort of thing he was good at. "Of course! I would be delighted to see justice finally done."
"You killed Pettigrew?" asked Dumbledore softly, his voice disturbed.
Harry looked at the Headmaster and nodded grimly. "I… well I certainly didn't enjoy the experience, let me leave it at that."
Dumbledore nodded, looking somewhat relieved.
"So why did Pettigrew abduct you?" asked Madam Bones.
Harry raised his arm, showing the bloody cut from Pettigrew's knife. "He used my blood in a ritual that resurrected Voldemort."
And with that, the crowd went absolutely nuts. Teachers and aurors tried to restore order. Fudge looked shell-shocked.
"No," said the Minister for Magic, "it can't be."
"It is!" shouted Fleur, "I saw it!"
"Are you calling my daughter a liar?" demanded Mr. Delacour, "The French Ministry of Magic will be conducting a full investigation into these claims!"
Fudge immediately seemed to realize that he was in a bad situation. Fleur wasn't just anyone, she was the daughter of the Senior Undersecretary to the French Minister. This wasn't going to get swept under the rug easily.
"Amelia," said Fudge, "we must begin a full and thorough investigation of these claims. While I am not yet ready to admit that they are true, we must take no chances with the safety of the magical world." Harry suspected that full and thorough meant long and inconclusive in Fudge speak, but he kept quiet. This was about the best outcome he could have hoped for at the moment.
"If you will allow me, I wish to take Harry and Fleur to the hospital wing," said Dumbledore as he nodded at McGonagall and Snape.
"I'm coming too!" demanded Hermione.
"So am I!" said Ginny.
"Of course," said Dumbledore, "I'm sure you will be a great comfort to Harry."
XXXXX
Voldemort was about as angry as he could be. Not only had Potter escaped, which was bad enough, but the boy had been so sure of himself! His followers tried to hide it, but that performance had put Voldemort's superiority over Potter into doubt. Voldemort didn't know what that golden web had been, but he had to find out before he fought Potter again!
He and the rest of the Death Eaters had fled the graveyard at Little Hangleton. It was too dangerous, especially once Lucius had explained who the girl was. If Voldemort had known she was the daughter of such an important person he'd have insisted Pettigrew kill her, even if it meant having to deal creatively with Potter. That had been part of Potter's plan no doubt. What wasn't part of the boy's plan was that damned golden thread. Potter had clearly been shocked when it first appeared, but he had seemed to figure it out quickly. Too quickly. Potter hadn't expected it, but he had known or figured out what it was.
There was a knock at the door. "Severus Snape to see you, my Lord," said Lucius Malfoy, peeking his head into the room Voldemort had been given at Malfoy Manor. Voldemort couldn't stay here long, of course. Not until he was sure Fudge would take no notice of him.
"Let me see what Severus has to say for himself,' said Voldemort.
Snape swept into the room, confident as always. Voldemort had always liked that about Snape.
"I apologize for my tardiness, my lord," said Snape, "I had to maintain my cover with Dumbledore."
"Your cover?" asked Voldemort.
Snape smiled, "You did instruct me to spy on Dumbledore, to get into his trust, did you not?"
"So I did," said Voldemort, pretending he hadn't remembered, "So what you are saying is that all you have done, all the aid you've given Dumbledore, all the Death Eaters you turned in, all the plans you revealed, all of it was done to maintain your cover?"
"Yes," said Snape crisply, "If I have done wrong, I am of course willing to accept any punishment.
Voldemort peeked inside Snape's mind. Snape was a natural Occlumens, but Voldemort was one of the most talented Legilimens in history. But Snape's barriers weren't up, at least as far as Voldemort could tell. And everything in Snape's mind confirmed what the man was saying. Could Snape be fooling him somehow? No, Voldemort figured he might not be able to penetrate Snape's defense, but surely he would detect that he was being blocked.
"I see that you are telling the truth," said Voldemort, "In which case, well done Severus. You have executed my orders not only faithfully, but well beyond what I anticipated."
Snape's grin grew smug. "Thank you, my lord," he said.
"What is Dumbledore's plan?" said Voldemort.
"He intends to reform the Order of the Phoenix," said Snape, "He is not yet openly at odds with the Ministry, but Fudge is starting to act paranoid, so it is possible that Fudge will turn on him. For the moment, he does not have Ministry support."
"Good," said Voldemort, "The Delacour girl's survival has placed our plan in serious jeopardy already. Is Slytherin House ready to provide recruits for my new army?"
Snape hung his head. "In this, I have failed you. Next year, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger will be prefects. Once that happens they will use their power to suppress the pureblood faction as effectively as they can. Most of the house is at least moderately pro-muggleborn already, largely due to Potter's influence. I tried to issue corrective action, but…"
"I remember the incident with the troll," said Voldemort, "I believe that suppressing Potter may have been too great a task even for you."
"He has unified the houses including Slytherin to the task of cleaning up anti-muggleborn bias in Slytherin," apologized Snape, "He has even used the Deputy Headmistress to accomplish his goals."
"This is disappointing, but not unexpected." admitted Voldemort, "Potter has even given me trouble. Did Potter tell you what happened in the graveyard?"
"You mean the golden light?" asked Snape. Voldemort nodded.
"Dumbledore thinks it is because of your wands," said Snape, "You see, apparently, Harry's wand has a phoenix feather as its core. A feather from the same phoenix that gave the feather in your wand."
"Interesting," said Voldemort, "There are too many coincidences involving Harry Potter. Why is this boy so special?"
Snape hesitated, then sighed. "I mean no disrespect, but trying to kill Potter in the first place is probably what caused this. Prophecy is a complicated area of study. Some prophecies always come true, while others only come true if you try to prevent them. Apparently when you tried to cast the killing curse on Potter, some of your abilities transferred to him."
Voldemort considered that. It was potentially devastating, if true. "My guess," continued Snape, "was that the rest of the prophecy mentions this danger."
"Which means the recovery of the prophecy should be a top priority," said Voldemort.
"Also, has Lucius told you about what he did with the Diary you left him for safekeeping?" asked Snape.
"No," said Voldemort, his voice suddenly dangerous, "What happened to it?" The fact that Snape knew about about his horcrux, even just its existence, was disturbing.
"He gave it to a girl named Ginny Weasley. It possessed her and unleashed a basilisk upon Hogwarts."
Voldemort's jaw set, but he shook his head at that, "Lucius should not have done that. I assume it fell into the wrong hands?"
"Dumbledore has it," admitted Snape, who shifted rather uncomfortably, "but it is no good to him."
"Good," said Voldemort, "I had hoped he wouldn't be able to identify it."
Snape shook his head. "No my Lord, not good," he said, "Dumbledore does not, in fact, know what it is. But whatever it is, the reason it is of no use to Dumbledore is because Harry Potter stabbed it with a basilisk fang."
Voldemort looked at Snape incredulously. He took a moment to collect himself then roared, "Lucius, get in here NOW!"
XXXXX
June 25th, 1995
Harry woke the next morning, rested, but sore. He'd slept well, courtesy of the sleeping potion that Madam Pomfrey had given him. Harry and Fleur had recounted their entire ordeal to Dumbledore after Madam Pomfrey had looked them over. He'd gone over everything in excruciating detail. The only thing Harry had omitted was Ginny's advice before the task. No need to get Dumbledore suspicious about that.
Ginny had seemed rather upset when Harry mentioned the form Voldemort had taken. Harry remembered what she had said about homunculi. What Voldemort had done still sickened her, as it sickened Harry.
When Dumbledore had finished questioning them, Madam Pomfrey had brought sleeping potions, designed to bring a deep dreamless sleep. Harry had heard Dumbledore tell Snape something. Maybe that he was to resume spying on Voldemort. Maybe that would work. It probably depended on how good Snape's cover was. Harry was interested in knowing more, but Dumbledore had pretty clearly not wanted Harry to know more.
Harry turned his head to see Fleur lying in the next bed over. She too was awake, but seemed to be lost in thought. Harry decided to leave her to her thoughts. For now.
Hermione walked in about five minutes later, carrying some of Harry's clothes. She was followed by the rest of Harry's Slytherin friends. Ginny and Daphne looked grim.
"I take it the news isn't good?" asked Harry.
"Not at all," said Daphne, "For all his promises of an investigation, Fudge is holding everything up at every opportunity. He's already got the Wizengamot building an 'exploratory committee.' He also seems to be consolidating power in the Ministry. He made a whole slew of late night department transfers and promotions after he left here last night."
"Percy was made a junior assistant. I don't know what Mum is going to say," said Ginny.
"Good for Percy," said Harry, "Fudge obviously knows the Weasleys support Dumbledore. He wants Percy's insights as to what they are doing, and wants to show that not all members of your family support Dumbledore. I think my rapport with Percy is good enough that this could be a serious mistake on Fudge's part."
"You think Percy would be a spy for you?" said Ginny incredulously.
Harry smiled mysteriously, but didn't reply otherwise.
"In any case, at least the French Ministry doesn't have it's head up it's own arse," said Tracey, "They already sent a team to Little Hangleton to investigate, pretty much against Fudge's request too."
"But the ICW is not going to back Fudge on this," said Daphne, "Technically, Triwizard champions are ambassadors of the countries of their respective schools. As such, they have a limited form of diplomatic immunity - which means ICW rules require Fudge to cooperate fully in this investigation, as an ambassador with diplomatic immunity was abducted on his watch."
"Which is why Fudge suspects Dumbledore set this all up, of course," said Blaise.
"Everyone knows it's Fudge who is setting things up, but only to bring Magical Britain into alignment with the Rotfang conspiracy," said Luna.
"In any case, Sirius Black turned himself in last night," said Hermione, "He was questioned under Veritaserum. Amelia Bones released him an hour later and declined to press any charges. The Wizengamot will have to meet before he can formally be cleared, but at this point it is just a formality."
"Fudge refused to hold an emergency session though," said Daphne, "Sirius could be holding a seat on the Wizengamot, and that should be restored to him once the Wizengamot meets. But Fudge does not want another progressive voting against him right now. I think Fudge will be able to keep Sirius out of the Wizengamot, at least for a while. Especially since my father…, well, my father had a conversation with Fudge last night. It didn't go well."
"Oh?" asked Harry.
"My father basically said that he believes You-Know-Who is back, and that we needed to take decisive action," said Daphne, "It didn't go over well. My father basically stormed out saying that he would use his influence to force Fudge to see reason."
"Can Fudge do anything to your father?" asked Harry.
"In theory, Fudge can ask any non-elected member of the Wizengamot to step down," said Daphne, "But doing this to anyone, especially a member of one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families, will spark a reaction that Fudge wouldn't survive politically. He might be able to ask a few of the older members who support Dumbledore like Griselda Marchbanks to step down because of age, but certainly not my father."
"Fudge is going to be an enemy from here on out," said Ginny, "Which means the Ministry will be watching us like hawks. Fudge has already made it clear he will be heavily enforcing the Reasonable Restriction on Underage Sorcery."
"Well I don't have the Trace on me anymore, so if I have to do magic, I can." said Harry.
"All well and good for you," said Ginny, "but I'd like to be able to defend myself without risking expulsion. Luckily, I can remove the Trace, if you'll help me. This means that we'll need to remove it before we leave school - for everyone on the war council."
"That is very illegal," said Daphne.
"And?" asked an unimpressed Ginny
"Just letting you know," said Daphne, "I'm down with it."
"How can you remove the Trace?" demanded Blaise.
"Drop it Blaise," said Ginny, "As I recall, you aren't on the war council anymore, so if you don't mind your own business I won't untrace you."
"I suppose it doesn't matter that much does it?" admitted Blaise casually.
"Good," said Harry, "That's a good precaution. We also need to develop security plans, especially for the muggleborns and their families."
"Right," said Hermione, "I'm not looking forward to telling my parents about this."
"Speaking of things that you don't want to talk to your parents about Hermione," started Harry "when you have a moment I'd like to talk. Privately."
Hermione grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."
XXXXX
"Harry!" shouted a voice as Harry walked towards the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry turned to see Cedric and Cho walking up to him. Cedric had his arm around Cho's waist.
"I'm sorry about what happened during the third task," said Cedric.
"It wasn't your fault," said Harry, "You were Imperiused."
"And I've been Imperiused ever since we ran into Barty Sr. in the woods!" said Cedric.
"Yeah," said Harry, "I knew. I tried to convince Dumbledore…"
"I know you did," said Cedric, "I could see you trying to, and he even apologized to me for not listening to you."
"Thanks for trying though," said Cho, "We all know that Dumbledore has been acting weird about you for a while now."
"Is it getting that obvious?" asked Harry.
"Well maybe not for people not on the war council," admitted Cedric, "But those of us who are? We can read between the lines."
After a few more pleasantries, Harry made his way to the Slytherin table. Draco seemed rather puffed up today.
"Something troubling you Potter?" he said with a malicious grin.
"I just utterly embarrassed Voldemort in a duel, so no, I'm good," said Harry, "Have you heard from your father yet? Cause when he finds out some of the stuff ol' Lucius has been up to, I think your father is going to be in a very uncomfortable position."
Draco recoiled a bit when he was reminded how Harry had stood up to Voldemort and survived. Harry took the opportunity to escape this conversation.
XXXXX
After breakfast, the students began to say goodbye to the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Krum took Tracey aside for a moment. The two of them had a long conversation, then Krum kissed Tracey tenderly before walking away. Tracey walked back to the rest of the Slytherins with her eyes alight.
"So?" asked Daphne.
"I'm going to visit him this summer," said Tracey, "Probably for the best to get out of the country for a while I think. I don't think anything is going to come of it honestly, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to give it a try!"
"Good for you Tracey!" said Harry. He was really glad that she seemed to be having some luck with Krum. Harry agreed with her that little was likely to come of it, but he knew she needed this to get her mind off Ron. And hey, maybe Krum knew that as well.
Fleur had been talking to Hermione apart from the others. From the look on Hermione's face whatever Fleur was telling her was rather salacious, as Hermione had started blushing as they talked. When they finished, Fleur walked over to the rest of the group.
"'Arry," she said, "I will keep in touch with you. You saved my life and my sister's life. If there is ever anything I can do for you, just ask." And with that she leaned in for one last hug, which Harry happily provided.
"It's been good having you here at Hogwarts this year," replied Harry as they let go, "I have to admit, I'm going to miss you."
"Oh, we will meet again 'Arry," said Fleur, "Count on it."
Soon the Durmstrang ship was sinking into the lake, and the Beauxbatons carriage was flying away into the sky. The Slytherins decided to head back to their common room.
Harry saw the Headmaster watching the other schools depart. Harry motioned for Hermione to head back to their room. He, on the other hand, had to speak to Dumbledore. Harry walked over to the Headmaster.
"Why did you stop believing me?" said Harry, "I did everything right. I pushed for unity with the other schools, helped my competitors. I did all the things that you would have wanted me to do, and you still turned on me."
"I trusted Moody, or rather the man I thought was Moody," said Dumbledore.
"There is more to it Headmaster," said Harry, "what went wrong?"
"I found your arguments unconvincing," said Dumbledore, his eyes furrowed with concern.
"Obviously," said Harry, who was not convinced.
"You don't understand Harry," Dumbeldore continued, "Every word of every sentence you spoke made me believe you less. I don't know what came over me."
"Could Barty Jr. have cast some spell on you?" asked Harry.
"One advantage of being Headmaster of Hogwarts, I know most of the strengths of every student who passes through here," said Dumbledore, "Crouch did not have the skill to affect me to that degree."
Was it arrogance? Or was Dumbledore certain? Harry couldn't tell.
"One thing I am certain of is that this year I failed you Harry," said Dumbledore, "I should have listened to you about the Age line, and I should have listened to you about Crouch. I let you down."
There was an offer there, between Dumbledore's words. An offer of explanation. Perhaps of mending the rift between them.
But all Harry could think of was that damned marriage contract. How could Dumbledore ever explain that? How could he fix that?
"Well, what else is new?" said Harry. And he turned and walked away.
XXXXX
When Harry got back to the common room. Hermione dragged him into their room.
"So, what did you want to talk about Harry?" asked Hermione.
"What makes you think I want to talk?" said Harry coyly. The truth was, this was why he had been unable to forgive Dumbledore. How much better would this be without the marriage contract being held over Harry's head?
"Harry," chided Hermione.
"Fine!" said Harry as he took Hermione's hand.
"So, I've given this a lot of thought," said Harry, "And I wanted to tell you that I don't want to date other people. I know we're young, and I know we're not really ready yet, but I can't help it. I… I've fallen for you, and hard. And I want to be with you. Like, as boyfriend and girlfriend."
Hermione nodded, "I… I feel the same way," she admitted.
Harry grinned, "I thought you did, but I wasn't sure. I…," and then he just started laughing out of the sheer joy of it. Harry grabbed her face and pulled her close, kissing her deeply.
When he finally let her go he looked at her in the eyes, deep in those eyes. For the first time it didn't feel weird, didn't feel uncomfortable. He knew what he was feeling now.
"Listen, things are going to get weird now. The war's going to start up again," started Harry.
"And I am going to be by your side through it all," finished Hermione, her voice deadly serious.
"If you want," said Harry, "But I did promise your father that if things got dangerous I would give you the chance to stand down. He wanted me to try to tell you what you could and couldn't do."
"Oh, that's a nonstarter," said Hermione, "you're mine now, Harry Potter, and I'm going to make sure no one hurts what's mine!"
Harry smiled. That sounded fine to him.
Author's Note: And that's fourth year everyone! One of my biggest pet peeves has always been that Fleur comes off as looking weak in canon, but she is supposed to be the Beauxbatons champion! So having her take part in her own rescue was really fun for me.
As for Moody/Crouch, Harry absolutely could have dealt with him, if he hadn't been so laser focused on convincing Dumbeldore. For example, if he had given all his evidence to McGonagall. She would have noted something was fishy and used her authority as deputy headmistress to inspect Moody's office. But Harry's focus on Dumbledore, along with Harry's reluctance to let other people in on his various schemes, meant that this didn't happen.
One of Harry's traits in canon is a tendency to get tunnel vision. He makes up his mind and ignores all the evidence that he is wrong. This is why he thinks Snape is trying to get the Philosopher's Stone instead of Quirrel, why he thinks Draco might be the Heir of Slytherin, why he misses all the signs that Sirius isn't trying to kill him. It's why he doesn't realise that the goal is for him to win the tournament, and why he gets tricked into going to the Ministry. Most importantly it is why Hermione doesn't believe Harry when he insists that Draco is a Death Eater. Harry enthusiastically and catastrophically misinterpreting pretty much everything that happens to him is one of his most important character traits up until Sirius dies in canon. Harry is perceptive in the earlier books, but he lacks the maturity to really take advantage of that perception.
My Harry follows the same model, though he has sharpened his perception significantly. One element of my story is that I very much want it to have the same themes and morality that the original Harry Potter books had, but spun differently.
That being said, uh, yeah things are going to go bonkers again really soon. Fifth year is about Harry getting fed up and deciding to take control of his life. And all the consequences that this decision brings. Fifth year is going to go darker than previous years. A lot darker.
I posted a question on my forum. You can find the link in my profile. I'm just looking for input as to which direction to take a scene in the epilogue.
Also I want to thank pixiepuff13 for betaing this! They really went above and beyond.
