Harry landed on his feet with a thud. He was in the same graveyard where he had come more than a month earlier to swap Riddle's bone. He pulled out Hermione's old wand and held it in his hand. If he was going to get Disarmed, he would rather lose hers rather than his own, far more powerful wand.
The seconds of silence felt like an eternity. Harry's heart was thumping in his chest. He knew what was going to happen any minute now…
And then, a short man appeared. It was Wormtail. He was carrying a pile of robes in his arms. Harry knew it was Voldemort.
His scar did not burn, though. He was fully conscious and fully aware of his surroundings. Never had Harry been more thankful that the piece of Riddle's soul in his scar was gone.
Wormtail raised his wand. 'Expelliarmus!' he shouted. Harry did not resist. He needed this to happen. The wand flew out of his hand and landed a short distance away.
'Incarcerous!' Harry was bound in a bundle of conjured ropes. Wormtail put the bundle of robes that contained Voldemort's homunculus form and walked over to Harry. He began dragging him towards a marble headstone. From the feeble light of Wormtail's wand, Harry saw that it was indeed Tom Riddle's.
Wormtail cut away the cords binding Harry and conjured new ones to tie him tightly to the tombstone from shoulders to ankles. The cords were so tight that they were restricting his blood flow, but Wormtail pulled them yet tighter. Finally, satisfied with his handiwork, he withdrew a bundle of cloth from inside his robes and stuffed it in Harry's mouth. He hurried away back where he had come.
Harry heard a hissing sound at his feet. Nagini was slithering through the tall grass, circling the tombstone as if surveying his prey. One of us will die tonight, Harry thought savagely, And it will be you.
By his wheezy breathing, Harry knew that the rat had returned. He was pushing the cauldron that contained the base of the Regeneration Potion. Wormtail pointed his wand at the base of the cauldron and lit a roaring fire.
The Voldemort in the robes stirred and the snake at Harry's feet hissed excitedly, slithering towards the cauldron to join his master.
'Hurry,' Voldemort demanded, 'Is it ready?'
'Y-Yes, m-master,' Wormtail stammered as the potion began sparkling.
'Do it now, Wormtail.'
Wormtail picked up the immature form of his master from the ground. He unravelled the robes wrapped around him. Voldemort was hairless and scaly. His skin was somewhere between deep crimson and black, and looked as if it had been flayed. The face, however, was flat, pale, and snakelike with red eyes whose pupils were shaped like slits. Wormtail looked at it with a look of disgust and revulsion before lowering it into the cauldron. The body hit the bottom with a soft thud.
Wormtail was speaking now in a shaking, frightened voice. He raised his wand and pointed it at the tombstone.
'Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son.'
The ground at Harry's feet opened and the decayed coffin cracked lengthwise. Harry was relieved to see that the fake skeleton that he and Hermione had transfigured weeks before was still there, untouched. A fine trickle of dust rose up out of the grave and into the cauldron. Instead of the bright, venomous blue that Harry remembered, however, the surface of the cauldron shifted to a dull grey and the sparks died out.
Wormtail removed a silver dagger from inside his robes, whimpering in fright. 'Flesh…of the servant…willingly sacrificed…' he sobbed, 'You will…revive your…master.'
Wormtail stretched his right hand over the cauldron and swung the dagger upwards. His severed right hand dropped into the cauldron as he began to scream in agony. The potion had turned a toxic orange instead of the red that Harry remembered at this stage.
Finally, Wormtail walked up to Harry, still gasping and clutching at his stump in agony.
'Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken…you will…resurrect your foe…'
Wormtail shakily lifted his silver dagger aloft and brought it down limply upon Harry's left forearm. Harry did nothing to resist. The dagger punctured his robes and the bag, but Harry did not feel it even contact his skin. Barty Crouch Junior's blood trickled down his robes and Wormtail collected it in a glass vial.
He returned to the cauldron with the vial containing the false blood and added its contents into the potion. The moment the vial emptied, Wormtail fell to the ground, writhing and moaning in pain.
The potion in the cauldron now turned a pale green instead of blinding white. A surge of steam of the same colour as the potion rose off the surface. It rose into the air and began turning black, obscuring Harry's vision of anything more than a step in front of him. He did not know what was happening. He did not know if the Regeneration Potion had been botched like he had planned. He could only wait now, helpless and tied to the tombstone as Voldemort – in some form – rose once more.
Hermione opened her eyes and came to her senses. She was in the woods near the graveyard. Thankfully, she was far enough away for her arrival to not be heard. Without another second's delay, she threw the invisibility cloak over herself, drew her wand, and proceeded carefully forward.
Suddenly, she heard a terrible scream coming from the general direction of the graveyard. Hermione could tell that it was not Harry's voice. She let out a breath of relief. It had to be Wormtail, then. The ritual had begun.
She edged closer to the graveyard, moving slowly to avoid rustling any branches or tripping. That would make sound and alert the enemy to her presence.
More importantly, it would alert Harry to her presence.
She could not afford to do that. It was not so much that she worried that Harry would be upset – he would be, but that was far from her primary concern. She was more worried about Harry, seeing her, then getting distracted from the fight and putting himself in danger.
She was within view of the graveyard, now. She silently squeezed through the gate and ducked behind one of the headstones. There were no protective or defensive enchantments, no wards. A part of her felt surprised at the lack of defences, but now was not the time to contemplate the issue.
A distance in front of her, she could see a cloud of black steam, several metres wide, obscuring everything it covered.
That must be where the ritual was. That must be where Harry was.
Hermione gripped her wand tightly, readying it as she watched Voldemort rise again.
The steam began to clear. Through it, Harry saw a tall, terribly thin man rising out of the cauldron. The ritual had not gone as it was supposed to, however. Voldemort's skin was a dark grey and he seemed to stand hunched.
'Robe me,' he ordered. The weakness he felt was evident in his voice. Wormtail, still moaning, picked up the black robes from the ground and pulled them over Voldemort's head.
Voldemort looked at Harry. His eyes were dull and crimson, not scarlet. His face seemed oddly deformed, even for him. His nostrils barely existed and there were odd tufts of hair sticking out of his scalp.
He examined his own body with a wary eye. He touched his forearm and winced. He tried to hide his pain, but it showed through. He flexed his fingers and Harry heard knuckles cracking loudly. Voldemort winced again. Voldemort removed his wand from a pocket of his robes and pointed it at Wormtail, a lethal expression on his face. He flicked it. The rat-like man rose unevenly from the ground and was thrown roughly away from his master, landing on his back a short distance away. Voldemort eyed the wand with distaste. It seemed like his magic, too, was clumsy and weakened.
'Hold out your arm, Wormtail,' Voldemort ordered in a raspy voice.
Wormtail lifted his bleeding stump. 'My Lord…thank you…master…'
Voldemort laughed. 'You fool. Your other arm.'
Wormtail gingerly retracted his right arm and extended his left. Voldemort rolled up the rat's sleeve with obvious effort and examined his Dark Mark. It burned an angry red.
'It is back,' Voldemort noted quietly, 'They will all have noticed it…will they return to their master?'
He pressed his finger to Wormtail's Dark Mark. Wormtail screamed in pain as Voldemort grunted in exertion. The Mark now burned jet black.
'How many will be brave enough to join me?' Voldemort mused, 'And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?'
Voldemort began pacing, grunting and wincing every few steps. Finally, he turned his eyes on Harry. Harry returned the gaze with a flat, emotionless expression that gave nothing away. Voldemort seemed slightly unnerved. No doubt he had expected Harry to be grovelling for mercy at his feet. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it immediately, a sharp stab of pain coming across his face.
Harry thought that he might actually be doing Wormtail a favour by taking him away from the graveyard tonight. If he left him with Voldemort, he would be condemning the traitor to a fate far worse than anything the Ministry could offer.
Suddenly, pops of apparition rent the air. All around the circle, wizards were appearing. All were wearing long, black cloaks completed with hoods and masks. They moved slowly and cautiously forward. Some seemed to sense that not all was well with their master. Then, one of the shorter Death Eaters moved forward and kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes.
'Master, you have returned!' came the voice of Draco No-Name. 'I live to serve.'
'Stand, Malfoy,' Voldemort snapped, 'You and Goyle returned with Nott tonight out of cowardice. I can see it in your eyes. You feared the wrath and vengeance of your enemies after seeing the death of your…friend. But indeed, you have come forth to join me when others would not consider… Hold out your left arm.'
So Crabbe was dead, Harry thought, as Malfoy gladly stuck out his left arm. Voldemort rolled up his sleeve and waved his wand. Instantly, the Dark Mark appeared, burning itself into No-Name's skin.
'Thank you, master,' Draco said gratefully, 'I will serve you most faithfully.'
Voldemort drew himself up to his full height with effort and Draco returned to the circle of Death Eaters.
'Welcome, Death Eaters,' Voldemort rasped. 'Thirteen years, and you have returned to stand by my side as if it were yesterday. Still faithful, then! Or are you?'
He sniffed the air. 'I sense guilt in the air.' Nearly every member of the circle shivered. 'All of you, whole and healthy, powers intact, while mine foundered for thirteen long years. Why have none of you come in search of your master, if you so profess yourself faithful?'
'Master, if we had any inkling that you were growing stronger…' one of the Death Eaters croaked.
'Your Dark Marks were growing stronger by the day, MacNair, do not use that excuse on me. I struggled while you melted back into the ranks of our enemies, to plead bewitchment, coercion, betraying my name in the process. I do not forgive for your crimes, nor will I forget.'
Voldemort pointed his wand at one of the Death Eaters. 'Crucio!'
The Death Eater fell to the ground, screaming and twitching. The rest of the Death Eaters uniformly took two steps back in fright.
'Let that serve as a warning,' Voldemort drawled, lifting the curse. 'To all those foolish and idiotic enough to turn their backs on me. Get up, Nott.'
'I returned,' Wormtail whimpered. Voldemort turned around and cast him a look of disdain.
'You, like Malfoy, came to me out of cowardice. However, you have proven…useful,' he said, 'And Lord Voldemort rewards his servants.'
He raised his wand and twirled it. A dull grey streak hung in the air, not quite silver in colour or lustre. It formed itself into a hand and fixed itself upon Wormtail's stump.
Wormtail flexed his new fingers. Harry saw that the movements were unlubricated and twitchy.
'It's beautiful, master,' Wormtail whimpered, 'Thank you…'
'May your loyalty never waver again, Wormtail.'
'No, not ever…'
Voldemort turned back to the Death Eaters. 'I see that many were foolish enough not to return… Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery…where are they?'
'Malfoy received the Kiss, master,' MacNair replied shakily. 'Crabbe, Goyle, and Avery are in Azkaban.'
'No less a fate than they deserved for renouncing me,' Voldemort sneered.
MacNair nodded nervously. 'Yes, my Lord.'
'The Lestranges are missing,' Voldemort said wistfully. 'They chose Azkaban rather than betray me…when Azkaban is burst open, they will be rewarded beyond their wildest dreams. Then, there is, of course, my most faithful servant…he has already re-entered my service…he is at Hogwarts right now. It was through his efforts that our…young friend…arrived here tonight.'
Voldemort turned to Harry and attempted an evil, relishing grin, but it was distorted by a flash of pain. 'Ah, yes,' he continued as if nothing of note had happened, 'Harry Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party. One might go so far as to call him my…guest of honour. Draco, you must know all about dear Harry.'
'I would never associate myself with someone like him,' Draco spat, 'Friend of Mudbloods and blood-traitors. I would not touch him with even the tip of my wand, unlike those slags that he associates with.'
Harry felt a flash of rage inside him. He wanted to draw his concealed second wand and curse Draco in the face, but he controlled his temper. They will all pay eventually, but not yet.
'I did have higher hopes of you than of your father, Draco,' Voldemort was saying approvingly. 'When we have taken the wizarding world, Draco, they will all be yours…no better way to reward a young man like you, of course…'
'I will be honoured, my Lord,' Draco said with a bow that had bile force its way up to Harry's throat.
Voldemort leered at Harry. He was right in his element now, taunting Harry. 'What do you have to say, Potter?' he said with a sneer, 'Concerned about your little harem of filth?'
Harry made a snap decision to goad Voldemort. The sooner he lost his temper and challenged Harry to a duel, as he knew he would, the better.
'It takes filth to know filth, Riddle,' Harry spat, 'And only filth are near-sighted enough to see others only as filth.'
Voldemort's dull eyes flashed. 'You dare call me by that name?' he hissed.
'I know of no other,' Harry replied simply.
Hermione was inching closer to the circle of gathered Death Eaters now. She evaluated the scene carefully, actively categorizing the enemies into 'more dangerous' and 'less dangerous' groups.
Draco No-Name was more dangerous, she knew. He had no honour, and was desperate for revenge against Harry.
Goyle was less dangerous. He had only one hand and was a pitifully poor duellist either way.
'It takes filth to know filth, Riddle,' Harry was saying. Hermione's blood froze in her veins. Goading and insults were useful for throwing off the opponent…but to be openly baiting Voldemort while he was tied to a tombstone?
'And only filth are near-sighted enough to see others only as filth,' Harry continued, his sneer reflected in his voice.
Voldemort was taking the bait. 'You dare call me by that name?'
Hermione stepped closer yet. Voldemort was taking Harry's bait. The situation was like a bomb, a second away from exploding. Through a gap between two Death Eaters, she finally had a clear shot at Voldemort.
'I know of no other,' she heard Harry say.
Hermione raised her wand and aimed at Voldemort's chest, ready for the coming fight.
'I killed my father!' Voldemort roared. 'A filthy muggle, just like your mother!'
'That doesn't make you not your father's son, Riddle,' Harry baited. 'Tell your Death Eaters, Tom. Tom Riddle, son of a muggle and a near squib. Your mother drugged your father with a love potion and raped him.' Harry sneered. 'Tom Riddle, the bastard son of rape.'
'Lies!' chorused Death Eaters from around the circle. Riddle, however, looked unnerved.
'No, no. He is not lying,' Riddle said quietly, 'My father, weak until the very end. I killed the stupid muggle, like I should have since the day I was born. Even with his filth in my veins, I have become the greatest sorcerer in the world!'
The Death Eaters jeered and cheered. Harry was not done, however.
'Greatest sorcerer in the world, Riddle?' he taunted, 'Are you? What do you fear, Riddle? You fear death. You know that you can be killed. You can be defeated.'
'I was banished thirteen years ago by a mere coincidence!' Voldemort hissed, 'And I came back, Potter. I returned, as you've just seen. What other wizard has returned from the dead?'
'You will be defeated again, Riddle. You're weak. You can talk all you want, but can you really back up your arrogance with a wand?'
'You challenge my greatness?' Riddle screamed.
'I challenge you, but your greatness is non-existent!' Harry shot back.
Harry could feel Voldemort's rage rolling off him in waves now. 'Malfoy!' he bellowed.
Draco stepped up. 'My Lord?'
'Give Potter his wand and untie him,' Voldemort ordered, 'We will duel. By the end of tonight, none of you will doubt my greatness.'
No-Name picked up the wand from the ground and thrust it into Harry's hand. He waved his wand and severed the bindings holding Harry to the tombstone. Harry landed on his feet and shook his legs and arms out. He surreptitiously concealed Hermione's old wand up his left sleeve and drew his own into his primary hand.
'You have been taught how to duel, Potter?' Voldemort asked. Harry said nothing.
'We bow to each other, Harry,' he continued, inclining his head a little, 'The niceties must be observed…Dumbledore wouldn't like you to forget your manners…'
'I never bow to my inferiors,' Harry sneered. His wand shot into his hand. 'Confringo!'
Voldemort was taken off his guard and jumped aside as Harry's spell exploded at his feet. He raised his wand and fired off a Killing Curse, which flew wide.
'Come on, Riddle, that's pathetic,' Harry taunted. 'Greatest sorcerer in the world, my arse!'
Riddle bellowed in rage. Harry shot another Blasting Curse his way. Voldemort jumped to the side. Harry's spell slammed into the circle of Death Eaters and one of the robed men exploded in a shower of flesh and blood.
The Death Eaters were yelling in fury now, but Voldemort ordered them back. 'No! He is mine! Do not help! I do not need it!'
'Still have some respect, do you, Riddle?' Harry asked. 'Crucio!'
Voldemort jumped aside again, startled, and the Cruciatus Curse hit another Death Eater. He fell to the ground screaming. Harry did not keep the curse on him for long, however. He had Riddle to deal with.
'Surprised, Tom? Let's see you try, why not?'
Riddle fired another Killing Curse at Harry, which missed. He responded with two more Blasting Curses, both of which missed.
Inexplicably, a Death Eater to Harry's right gave a shriek of pain. He averted his eyes for a second to see the man lying face down on the grass, dead, a hole blasted through his chest.
Harry was confused. That had not been one of his spells, nor one of Voldemort's. What had happened? He had no time to think about this, however, as Voldemort fired another Killing Curse in his direction, one which he easily sidestepped.
Harry laughed derisively and continued to dance around Voldemort, who was focusing all his energy and concentration on duelling him. He shot a Killing Curse at Voldemort, which missed but hit one of the Death Eaters behind him. The man who was hit fell to the ground, dead.
'Come on, Tom. I've just killed two of yours. What're you going to do about it?'
'Crucio!' Riddle roared his response. Harry easily avoided the curse.
'Pathetic,' Harry spat. 'Liquefacite!'
Voldemort was surprised to hear a curse that he must not have known. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before jumping aside, just barely keeping out of the way of the Organ-Liquefaction Curse. The curse hit a Death Eater who was standing right behind him and he screamed in terrible agony. Harry knew that his organs were melting down and boiling inside his torso.
And suddenly, Harry heard a hissing sound from off to his left. Without needing to think, Hermione's old wand had shot into his free hand. He turned his head for a split-second to his left and saw Nagini rearing at him to attack. He pointed Hermione's wand directly at the snake's head.
'Avada Kedavra!' he shouted. The Killing Curse struck the great snake right between the eyes and she fell to the ground with a dull thud, dead, rendering Riddle a mortal man.
Riddle roared in rage. 'You filth! This ends now! Fiend-!'
'Sectumsempra!' he shouted, slashing his wand in a wide arc and interrupting Voldemort's curse. There were multiple screams of pain. The Death Eater standing behind Riddle to his left collapsed, clutching his chest and bleeding out, while two standing to his right flopped forward, their legs amputated below the knee. Riddle tried to sidestep, but did not manage to do so completely. He now had a great diagonal gash on his torso that stretched all the way from his right shoulder to his left elbow.
'Forward!' he shouted to his Death Eaters, 'Kill him!'
The Death Eaters surged forward. The coward was going to make a run for it. Indeed, he was already turning on the spot to disapparate. Harry shot one last Blasting Curse in Riddle's direction, hoping that it would catch him before he fled, but it barely missed, soaring over his head. There was a loud crack and Riddle disappeared. Harry knew it was too late. He cursed himself. He had failed at his mission.
Voldemort was gone, but the Death Eaters were now closing in. Harry had no choice. He had to retreat.
He sought Peter Pettigrew and spotted him through a gap within the Death Eaters' ranks. The rat was standing mere feet from the Portkey. That would make his job so much easier. He fired a silent Stunning Spell at him. The subpar wizard barely had time to react before he was knocked unconscious.
Harry turned to face the Death Eaters, who were now charging him down. He shot two Organ-Liquefaction Curses into their midst. One connected while the other flew wide. Five were down, but fifteen more were still up. He chanced a look behind him. Two were advancing on him from behind, closing in and blocking his retreat. He cast a Shield Charm behind him with his second wand, barely blocking two curses as the two Death Eaters continued their advance.
'Forward! Kill him!' Voldemort bellowed.
The coward was running away. Hermione sought an opening over the Death Eaters' heads to stop him, but she could not find a gap to attack. The Death Eaters were closing in around Harry. He was trapped.
'Liquefacite,' she whispered, aiming her wand at the back of the Death Eater standing right in front of him. The curse, perhaps not as powerful as a powerfully shouted incantation, still brought the Death Eater to his knees. He howled in pain as his organs melted down within his body.
She could see through the gap that the dying Death Eater had created in their lines that Voldemort was gone. They had lost their chance to kill him. Hermione swore to herself in frustration, but she could not afford to be distracted. She could see Harry retreating, but there were two Death Eaters right behind him, blocking his path back towards the Portkey. She sprinted around the still-shrinking circle of Death Eaters to behind Harry's back.
She needed to kill them without light or sound. She could not afford to let Harry, nor the Death Eaters, know that she was there. She snuck up as close as she could behind one of them and levelled her wand at him.
'Avada Kedavra,' she whispered, pushing as much of her magic into the curse as possible. For a split-second, she thought that her curse had not worked, but the next moment, a green jet of light issued from her wand, and after travelling for less than a second, struck the Death Eater in the small of his back. He did not even realize what had happened when he fell to the ground and laid still.
Hermione had lost track of the other Death Eater, and searched for him with her sight. She gasped at what she saw. The Death Eater had Harry in a headlock, and he was struggling to raise his wand to attack back. Hermione raised her own, intending to attack, but it was a matter of millimetres' difference between friend and foe. There was nothing she could do. Not without putting Harry in danger.
Harry fired spells in front of him with his primary wand, continuing to shield behind him with Hermione's old wand. He could hold them off, but he could see no way forward or backward. He could not apparate away, either. That would rouse suspicion and possibly give away to the Death Eaters too much potentially dangerous knowledge.
He risked a look behind him. On the ground was a face-down body wearing Death Eater robes. The man's wand had flown out of his hand, and he was obviously dead.
But how? Harry did not remember casting any lethal curses behind him – he was too busy Shielding and fighting the Death Eaters in front. Had one of his fellows killed him by accident?
Before Harry could contemplate that question, arms roughly gripped him around the neck from the back. The second Death Eater that was behind him must have snuck up on him. Harry's arms were pinned behind him and unmovable. He struggled against the grip, but it was fruitless. The Death Eater was far too strong.
Without another option, Harry raised his right foot and kicked the man in the shin. The Death Eater's grip slackened for just a second, but it was enough. Harry managed to free his left arm from the man's grip in the moment of hesitation. Without a second's wait, Harry raised his arm, stuck his wand in the Death Eater's face, and mouthed, 'Avada Kedavra'.
The Death Eater let go, and fell dead to the ground. At that moment, a Death Eater in front broke ranks from his fellows and charged Harry. He levelled his wand at his opponent.
'Oleoarde!'
The Death Eater was hit by Hermione's most ghastly invention. Instantly, his body was covered in conjured petrol, which was lit on fire a second later. The Death Eater roared in agony as he was roasted alive. Harry knew by that voice and the stump that was his left arm who it was.
It was Goyle.
For a split-second, Harry thought to extinguish the fire that was consuming him. He was but a boy. But that was impossible. The other Death Eaters were still coming at him, firing spells as they went. There was nothing he could do to save Goyle. His screams rent the air, providing a gruesome backdrop to the ongoing battle.
Harry was only two rows of tombstones away from the Portkey now. He cast another Blasting Curse that hit a tombstone right in front of two Death Eaters. He watched as one man's left leg was ripped clean from his body by the blast while the other got a face full of shrapnel.
One row away. A green jet of light flew from behind him. Harry whipped around, continuing to cast curses behind him with Hermione's wand. Draco No-Name was standing there, his hood and mask lost and displaying a prominent sneer on his face.
Hermione gasped, at the same time feeling hatred flood over her as she watched Draco No-Name try to curse Harry in the back. Harry turned. Hermione saw him hesitate.
The Death Eaters behind him were levelling their wands at Harry's back, no doubt aiming to kill. Harry's back was still turned as he stared at Draco No-Name. He did not see the danger coming.
Hermione jumped between Harry and the Death Eaters, casting Shield Charms and conjuring various objects to block their curses. She had one goal in her mind – to keep Harry safe – and it powered her. She felt magic and energy course through her veins as she fought to protect Harry. She felt as if she could hold them off forever…
Harry hesitated. Could he really kill a boy his own age? Whatever Draco No-Name was, he was only fourteen. Goyle had been foolish to charge him, and Harry did not know his identity. But to kill a boy his own age while he was staring right at him…
But Draco No-Name had been all-too-happy to try to murder him. He had been all-too-happy to attempt sexual assault – twice – on another student, someone who was slowly becoming his friend. And in the future, he had tortured, raped, and murdered…including, almost, Hermione.
Harry made his decision. Draco No-Name was not an innocent fourteen-year-old boy. He was a murderer in training. How could he let him live, knowing that he would perpetrate even greater crimes thanks to his mercy?
'Sectumsempra!' Harry shouted, slashing his wand. Draco No-Name dodged to the right, but he was not fast enough. Harry watched as the curse connected with his groin and made a deep incision. Bits of flesh fell off onto the ground and No-Name clutched at his non-existent organs in vain. He had just been castrated for life, Harry knew. Body parts cursed off could not be regrown.
Harry raised his wand to curse Draco again, but the Death Eaters were closing in. He could not stay and finish the job, as much as he wanted to. He turned away from Draco's whimpering form and dashed the rest of the way to the Triwizard Cup. With one hand, he grasped the collar of the unconscious Pettigrew's robes, and with the other, the handle of the Triwizard Cup. Harry felt the familiar jerk behind his navel, and he was gone.
Hermione heard a swoosh behind her. She stepped to the side, out of the way of the stream of curses, and turned around. Harry was not there. She searched for the Triwizard Cup with her vision. It was not there, either.
Harry had made it out.
Hermione breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was time for her to go, too. She blindly fired one last Blasting Curse in the Death Eaters' direction. Not waiting to see if it had hit, she turned on the spot and disapparated from the graveyard.
'You don't think Hermione went after Harry, do you?' Ginny asked Neville nervously.
'She said she wasn't going to…but…'
Neville did not complete that sentence, but Ginny knew what he had wanted to say. Even without knowing about Hermione's and Harry's past, she was certain that Hermione would never let Harry be in danger. Not without her by his side.
The two of them sat in silence for what seemed like hours, darkly pondering where Harry and Hermione were now. Then, suddenly, Neville nudged her on the shoulder.
'What?' Ginny asked, rather snappily.
'Look at Crouch.'
Ginny turned her gaze in the direction Neville was pointing. There, Crouch, disguised as Moody, was staggering out of the Quidditch stadium.
'Hermione told us to follow him…' she breathed.
'I'll go with you,' Neville said.
Ginny shook her head. 'Someone needs to alert Madam Bones to get an Auror to capture him.'
'I'll go get Susan, then I'll come join you,' Neville said. 'Don't get too far without me.'
Ginny nodded before rising and descending from the Quidditch stands. She moved slowly, following Crouch from a distance, being sure to always stay in the shadows to avoid detection.
Crouch was about fifty metres in front of her, still making his way back towards the castle when Neville joined her.
'Susan's going to go get her aunt,' Neville reported quietly.
Ginny nodded. 'We need to get closer,' she breathed. 'The first shot needs to hit.'
'Kill?' Neville asked hopefully.
'No, Stun,' Ginny replied. 'Remember what Hermione said before she…left? We need him alive so that Madam Bones can interrogate him.'
Neville nodded but still looked somewhat unhappy. They continued creeping their way up to Crouch, closing the distance and staying in the shadows.
Suddenly, Crouch whipped around, wand in hand. Ginny realized that he must have seen them with Moody's magical eye.
'Stupefy!' Ginny and Neville shouted in unison and without hesitation. Crouch cast a Shield Charm that blocked both spells.
'I knew you were too bright for your own good!' he snarled. 'Avada Kedavra!'
Neville pulled Ginny out of the way of the Killing Curse. 'This is for my parents!' he shouted. 'Crucio!'
Crouch's Shield Charm could do nothing to stop the Unforgivable. He shrieked in pain, but Ginny Silenced him before he could draw attention to them. Neville kept the Cruciatus Curse on Crouch as the two of them strode forward. When they reached him, Ginny pointed her wand between the Death Eater's eyes and muttered, 'Stupefy.'
The Death Eater fell unconscious at once. Ginny and Neville conjured ropes and bound him, making sure they were extra-tight so that when Crouch transformed, he would be unable to escape.
Susan and her aunt came rushing up the path minutes later, followed closely by the dark-skinned Auror that Hermione had said was called Shacklebolt.
'What's going on?' Madam Bones demanded. 'My niece just told me that you, Mister Longbottom, seemed to have captured a Death Eater.'
Ginny pointed at the bound body, which was beginning to transform. 'That's Barty Crouch Junior. He was Polyjuiced as Mad-Eye Moody.'
'Crouch Junior?' Shacklebolt gasped, sounding incredulous. 'He died years ago in Azkaban, did he not? And how do you know?'
'Harry has a map,' Ginny gave the prepared story. 'It shows the real names of everyone in the castle, Polyjuiced or not. We found out last night that he was impersonating Moody. A few minutes ago, we saw him trying to leave the Quidditch pitch…and we thought we should follow him.'
'Miss Weasley, as grateful as I am to you for what you did just now, in the future, do not follow suspected Death Eaters on your own,' Madam Bones scolded sternly before walking up to the body with Shacklebolt. Their eyes widened in recognition.
'Yeah, that's Crouch all right,' Shacklebolt said, awed. 'But how?'
'No idea…we'll interrogate him under Veritaserum, though. His father was killed about a month ago,' Madam Bones muttered to herself pensively. Ginny could see that she was connecting the dots in her mind. She turned to Kingsley. 'We know Crouch Junior was a Death Eater…and he would've been here a month ago if he was impersonating Mad-Eye…'
'You think that Crouch Junior killed his own father? It's possible. But why?'
'I don't know. It's just a guess,' Madam Bones admitted. 'Crouch…Senior…must've gotten in the way of his son's plans, whatever they were…'
The two adults bent down and drew their wands. They muttered spells for what seemed like a half hour. Finally, Madam Bones stood up.
'He's got nothing on him,' she concluded, sounding rather sad.
'Do we take him to the Ministry?' Shacklebolt asked.
Madam Bones nodded. 'Take him straight to the DMLE's holding cells,' she ordered. 'Portkey him in. Don't speak to anyone, especially not anyone in Fudge's office.'
Shacklebolt held out an old key and muttered, 'Portus.' He grabbed Crouch by the collar and activated the Portkey. Auror and prisoner disappeared together in a whirl of colours.
'We'll need to find Mad-Eye,' Madam Bones said authoritatively when they had gone. 'If Crouch has been Polyjuicing into Mad-Eye, he must be alive and hidden somewhere, most likely in the castle.'
'The Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's office,' Ginny replied immediately. 'He's being locked in his own trunk. We saw that on the map, too.'
Madam Bones furrowed her brow. 'Lead the way, Miss Weasley.'
Ginny and Neville were about to depart when Daphne came running up to them, red in the face and looking like she had just fought her way out of an ambush.
'It's Harry!' she shouted. 'He's back!'
A/N: No Priori Incantatem? There are two possible explanations for this that I came up with. You can take either or both.
One: Harry and Voldemort never directly cast at each other at the same time, so the wands did not 'fight each other', like they did in Goblet of Fire. They were exchanging casting, dodging, and casting again. The timing did not line up, which I assume, given the depictions in canon, are a requirement for Priori Incantatem to occur.
Two: Harry's wand core (the original phoenix feather plus Hermione's hair) was different enough from Voldemort's core that made Priori Incantatem impossible to trigger.
