The moment we landed I hit the ground so solidly that it forced the air out of my lungs, causing me to choke and wheeze until with alarm, I leaped back onto my feet with an unsteady stagger. This wasn't Hogwarts. We were far away from any help, any protection the security of our school offered, and no Dumbledore around to save us. "Harry get up. Have your wand ready." I hissed at him, seizing him at the shoulder to drag him to his feet as I looked around quickly in order to try and get my bearings. We were standing in a graveyard, and with a sudden chill I thought to myself it was almost ironic. No doubt whoever brought us here had intended for this to be the final stop in our lives.
Or at least Harry's. I was most likely a mere inconvenience, an extra. All the same, I was both relieved that we were both alive for the moment and infuriated with myself that I hadn't anticipated something like this. "Where are we?" Harry asked quietly, having drawn his wand and the two of us were now back to back as we started to turn around slowly, watching our surroundings carefully. "I'm guessing the fact that the Cup was a portkey was no accident."
"No. We should try and get back, I wonder if…" But before I could speculate as to whether the Cup would take us back if we touched it again, Harry and I both sensed something coming towards us and turned, focusing our wands on the figure that was now approaching us. At first it was just an indistinctive shape, but then gradually the hunched shoulders and shuffling step revealed it to be a man who was carrying something. They stopped beside a great marble headstone and I was about to demand who this person was and what he wanted with us when Harry suddenly screamed with pain. Literally screamed.
He dropped to the ground so suddenly and with such force that I immediately became distracted, crying out his name and tried to catch him but he fell too quickly, his wand rolling away from him as he clutched his scar and cried out from the agony that he was enduring. Making to reach for him, I was about to try and drag him away when I heard a dry, rasping voice whisper which caused my body to lose all warmth it had thus far retained. "Kill the spare." I reacted upon instinct, pulling back from Harry and slashing my wand with an outburst of magic which dragged one of the towering headstones up from where it was situated and used it as a shield as a bright flash of green light exploded from behind it.
The stone shattered and with the rocks exploding backwards, slammed against me with a backlash that sent me flying through the air and before I knew it, I'd been knocked out cold, unmoving upon a grave. I could have been killed right then as I lay there helplessly, but thanks to some miracle, I was either completely forgotten about or other things took precedence over a single unconscious girl and I was allowed to continue living, meaning that eventually I was able to wake up once more. Either way, I couldn't have been out of it for too long, as when I groaned and managed to roll over, I lifted my head to see Harry trapped against a tombstone, the man who had attacked now revealed to be Wormtail, the miserable wretch, and as I watched, my vision still blurring slightly, I saw him drip what looked to be blood into a cauldron which bubbled and frothed before he then collapsed and sobbed, cradling his arm.
All at once the cauldron started to give off bright sparks, blinding me as I began to move and crawl towards another tombstone in order to hide myself from view, looking towards Harry who was still trapped. As my vision cleared a white fog slipped out from the cauldron's mouth, forming a smoking white cloud until suddenly, a tall figure rose up from within the smog, and for the first time in a very long while, I felt genuine fear as I began to realise what was happening. I don't know how – in fact I was desperate to believe that it couldn't possibly be true – but it seemed, like Lord Voldemort had returned. He was back.
Even from where I was hiding, I could feel every instinct and fibre in my body twitch, pulsing with the sense of danger as I stared at the figure whilst Wormtail got up and robed him at his direction, and when he turned, the flat, snake-like face caused me to press my hand over my mouth to silence any unbidden moan or gasp, staring with alarmed eyes. All strength seemingly drained out of me as a cold feeling of dread overcame me, unable to think clearly or even do anything other than cower and shiver in the moment of the darkest wizard of our time's return. Voldemort was back. Long, pale fingers reached into the black robes to withdraw a wand, his ruby eyes focusing on Harry even as Wormtail whimpered upon the floor, begging him weakly. "My Lord…my lord…you promised…you did promise…"
"Hold out your arm." Hearing his voice caused me to shake all over, and I remained frozen in place. I wanted my parents here, my dad, I wanted to be far away from here somewhere safe and hidden.
"Oh, master…thank you, master…" Lifting what appeared to be a bleeding stump where his hand had been, Wormtail crooned softly but Voldemort merely sneered and ordered for the other hand instead. Whimpering still, Voldemort grasped hold of Wormtail's other arm in order to pull it towards him, ripping back the sleeve in order to look at something upon the inside of his arm, but from where I was hiding, I couldn't see.
"It is back, they will all have noticed it…and now, we shall see…now we shall know…how many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?" Voldemort murmured quietly as he pressed a finger against Wormtail's skin. "And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?" Beginning to pace, I took several deep and low breaths, turning whilst remaining hidden to keep on watching. I couldn't move towards Harry yet, Wormtail was facing this direction and would see me if I moved. My first and foremost priority was getting him to safety, because there was no doubt in my mind that Voldemort would want to kill him.
They had probably forgotten all about me, so as long as I maintain the element of surprise, I might even be able to hold off Voldemort long enough to get Harry back to the portkey. Maybe I could even try apparating us both out of here, though I wouldn't be able to return us to Hogwarts since no one can apparate into the grounds. Still, anywhere would be better than here. Turning my attention back to Voldemort, I could hear his cruel voice as he now talked to Harry, making my skin crawl. "You stand, Harry Potter, upon the remains of my late father. A muggle and a fool…very like your dear mother. But they both had their uses, did they not? Your mother died to defend you as a child…and I killed my father, and see how useful he has proved himself in death…"
Then he gave what could only be described as a villainous laugh, one that delighted in the suffering of others as Voldemort then gestured lazily as I saw something slithering by his feet. The snake. The snake from Harry's dreams, Nagini. "You see that house upon the hillside, Potter? My father lived there. My mother, a witch who lived here in this village, fell in love with him, but he abandoned her when she told him what she was…he didn't like magic, my father…he left her and returned to his muggle parents before I was even born, Potter, and she died giving birth to me, leaving me to be raised in a muggle orphanage…but I vowed to find him…I revenged myself upon him, that fool who gave me his name…Tom Riddle…"
Sweet Circe, this guy was just as bad as the Tom Riddle we met in the Chamber of Secrets. He really was a total psycho, driven to all this because his father didn't love him. What I wouldn't give to be able to go out there and smack him in the face, but I stayed put. "Listen to me, reliving family history…why, I am growing quite sentimental…but look Harry! My true family returns." Curious to know what he meant, I peeked out over the headstone to see smoky black apparitions beginning to appear, rushing towards the ground before revealing hooded and masked people. Death Eaters. I quickly hid myself once again.
They stood in a circle around Voldemort, and as I listened I heard them begin to murmur reverently and with the quick glances I sneaked, I saw one of them dropping to his knees in order to kiss at Voldemort's robes. Ugh, these people really have no sense of dignity. To think people believed my dad was one of these guys, he would never stoop to point of kissing another man's feet, he was far too proud for that. As was I. They each bowed and kissed in turn, forming a ring around Voldemort and Harry who was still tied to the tombstone.
"Welcome, Death Eaters." Voldemort began as he faced his followers. "Thirteen years…thirteen years since last we met. Yet you answer my call as though it was yesterday. We are still united under the Dark Mark then. Or are we?" The deadly hissed caused a resounding shiver as Voldemort lifted his head and inhaled deeply, the slit-like nostrils contracting before flaring. "I smell guilt. There is a stench of guilt upon the air. I see you all, whole and healthy, with your powers intact – such prompt appearances – and I ask myself, why did this band of wizards never come to the aid of their master, to whom they swore eternal loyalty?" He really was demented. No wonder so many people were frightened into his service, I almost felt a pang of pity for these miserable souls.
Voldemort had continued to pace around the circle, ruby eyes glinting as he had spoken in a quiet and terrible voice which caused more than one Death Eater to shiver, sometimes repeatedly, whenever he walked past them. "And I answer myself, they must have believed me broken, they thought I was gone. They slipped back among my enemies, and they pleaded innocence, and ignorance, and bewitchment…and then I ask myself, but how could they have believed I would not rise again? They, who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against mortal death? They, who had seen proofs of the immensity of my power, in the times when I was mightier than any wizard living?"
What did he mean 'steps I took to guard myself against mortal death'? Did this really mean that he couldn't die? No, that was impossible. All living things die, it was just…unnatural for something mortal to exist forever. "And I answer myself, perhaps they believed a still greater power could exist, one that could vanquish even Lord Voldemort. Perhaps they now pay allegiance to another. Perhaps that champion of commoners, of mudbloods and muggles, Albus Dumbledore?" Shaking his head with a titter of his tongue, Voldemort confessed himself disappointed, at which point one of his followers threw himself onto the ground to beg forgiveness only to be tortured under the Cruciatus Curse.
Once satisfied that his follower had suffered enough pain, Voldemort then raised his wand back to leave the Death Eater twitching and convulsing on the floor. "Get up, Avery. Stand up. You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive. I do not forget. Thirteen long years, I want thirteen years' repayment before I forgive you. Wormtail here has paid some of his debt already, have you not, Wormtail?" Hissing silently through my teeth at the mention of the traitor, I watched as Voldemort looked down on the sobbing form of Wormtail still clutching his bloodied handless stump. What on earth happened? "You returned to me, not out of loyalty, but out of fear of your old friends. You deserve this pain, Wormtail. You know that, don't you?"
"Yes, master." Wormtail whispered before pleading with him, making Voldemort tilt his head to the side in consideration.
"Yet you helped return me to my body. Worthless and traitorous as you are, you helped me, and Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers." The Voldemort began to use magic I had never seen or heard of before, creating what looked like liquid metal in the air which then flowed to Wormtail's arm to mould itself into the shape of a hand which moved and flexed as if it were made out of flesh and bone. Despite myself, I couldn't help but be intrigued. The sobbing now stopped and instead, Wormtail gazed almost lovingly at his new hand, breathing sharply every time his fingers moved as his hand brightly reflected the moonlight.
"My Lord, master, it is beautiful…thank you, thank you."
"May your loyalty never waver again, Wormtail." Voldemort said coldly before leaving Wormtail in order to turn to the rest of his followers, focusing now on the person who stood next to Wormtail. "Lucius, my slippery friend. I am told that you have not renounced the old ways, though to the world you present a respectable face. You are still ready to take the lead in a spot of muggle torture, I believe? Yet you never tried to find me, Lucius, your exploits at the Quidditch World Cup were fun, I daresay, but might not your energies have been better directed towards finding and aiding your master?"
"My Lord, I was constantly on the alert." Lucius immediately answered and I clearly recognised the voice. So it had been him at the World Cup. Ron was right. He'd always said that Lucius was still a Death Eater through and through. "Had there been any sign from you, any whisper of your whereabouts, I would have been at your side immediately. Nothing could have prevented me…"
"And yet you ran from my Mark, when a faithful Death Eater sent it into the sky last summer?" Faltering, I could sense that there was a lot more unease amongst the followers, even more than before as Voldemort sneered. "Yes, I know all about that, Lucius, you have disappointed me. I expect more faithful service in the future."
"Of course, my Lord, of course…you are merciful…thank you." Look at these guys. All snivelling, bowing and cowering before Voldemort just because they were afraid of him. They were all clearly cowards, as I would never have allowed myself to bow to the whims of another, whether voluntarily or cursed otherwise. I'd rather die my own free person than live as nothing more than a slave.
"The Lestranges should be here." Voldemort was now saying, looking at two empty spaces in the circle. "But they are entombed in Azkaban. They were faithful. They went to Azkaban rather than renounce me. When Azkaban is broken open, the Lestranges will be honoured beyond their dreams. The dementors will join us, they are our natural allies. We will recall the banished giants, I shall have all my devoted servants returned to me, and an army of creatures whom all fear." Even as I listened, I was making sure to memorise every word because the moment we get out of here, I was going to take this information to Dumbledore as with the way Voldemort was talking, it sounded like he was going to start another war. We needed to be ready for it, and this time, I'm going to join the fight. I won't let what happened before happen again. Not whilst there's something I can do about it. Continuing to listen, I also memorised every name that Voldemort spoke as he began to glide around the circle.
Avery, Macnair, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Malfoy, but then he stopped before what seemed to be a gap that would fit six more people within. "And here we have six missing Death Eaters. Three are dead in my service. One, too cowardly to return, he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever…he will be killed, of course, and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already re-entered my service." The blood in my veins chilled slightly as I also took down these notes in my head. I had to get as much information as I could, I had to. "He is at Hogwarts, that faithful servant, and it was through his efforts that our young friend arrived tonight." Now all attention turned on Harry.
A general murmur of surprise rippled through the followers, few having noticed Harry at all since he'd been so silent all this while, but now Voldemort turned to him with a vicious grin. "Yes. Harry Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party. One might go so far as to call him my guest of honour." No, no don't you dare. Leave Harry alone! If any of you dare try and touch him, I'll curse you to live the rest of your lives as cockroaches!
"Master, we crave to know, we beg you to tell us…how you have achieved this, this miracle…how you managed to return to us." Mr Malfoy whispered fearfully, but clearly braver than all the rest since he'd been the only one to ask as Voldemort lifted a finger to touch Harry's face, almost out of curiosity it seemed, and I could see an expression of pain cripple Harry's face yet being too exhausted to even whimper. With a short laugh, Voldemort then pulled away.
"I miscalculated, my friends, I admit it. My curse was deflected by the woman's foolish sacrifice, and it rebounded upon me. Aah…pain beyond pain, my friends. Nothing could have prepared me for it. I was ripped from my body, I was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost, but still I was alive." Voldemort lamented before throwing himself into a fully detailed description of what happened, how he didn't know what he'd become, how he'd forced himself to continue existing whilst waiting fruitlessly to be rescued by one of his faithful followers. After another shiver amongst the Death Eaters, Voldemort progressed further with the story.
He possessed animals in order to survive, but they never lasted long with him inside them, until a solitary wizard happened upon him by accident, who Voldemort persuaded to help him upon learning that he was a teacher at Dumbledore's school. He took possession of the wizard, and had him seek out a means to return to power. The Philosopher's Stone. Quirrell. Voldemort was talking about Quirrell. After being defeated, Voldemort went back into hiding until Wormtail returned to him, having been driven out of hiding and was forced to go on the run in order to stay alive. It was because of rats that Wormtail had been able to find his master, but on his way back, Wormtail encountered someone.
Bertha Jorkins. Wormtail had been spotted by Bertha Jorkins, who overpowered her and brought her to Voldemort, who possessed exactly the information he needed in order to plan his return. She had told them everything. She told them about the Triwizard Tournament and of a Death Eater still at large who would be willing to help, but in order to access the information Voldemort had had to break a powerful memory charm that had been placed on her. Of course listening now, it all made a great deal more sense, but when some questions were answered, more seemed to take their place as things remained still unclear.
"Wormtail's body, of course, was ill-adapted for possession, as all assumed him dead, and would attract far too much attention if seen. However, he was the able-bodied servant I needed, and, poor wizard though he is, Wormtail was able to follow the instructions I gave him, which would return me to a rudimentary, weak body of my own, a body I would be able to inhabit whilst awaiting the essential ingredients for true rebirth…a spell or two of my own inventions…a little help from my dear Nagini…" His eyes dropped to the ground where the snake continued to circle, and I heard the only small degree of affection Voldemort possibly possessed in his entire body as he looked upon his pet. "A potion concocted from unicorn blood, and the snake venom Nagini provided, I was soon returned to an almost human form, and strong enough to travel."
The story continued as Voldemort lorded over everyone. He was so fully invested in his story and everyone focused upon him, I took this as my opportunity to move. Once his back was turned I rolled backwards in order to move further away from the circle, wanting the cover of more darkness before I started to gradually move towards Harry, one headstone at a time whilst Voldemort's voice continued to carry, explaining the process of the potion that was used to return him to full strength. "I knew to achieve this – it is an old piece of Dark Magic, the potion that revived me tonight – I would need three powerful ingredients. Well, one of them was already at hand, was it not, Wormtail? Flesh given by a servant."
Ah. That explains the bleeding stump and a missing hand. "My father's bone, naturally, meant that we would have to come here, where he was buried, but the blood of a foe…Wormtail would have had me use any wizard, would you not, Wormtail? Any wizard who had hated me, as so many of them still do, but I knew the one I must use, if I was to rise again, more powerful than I had been when I had fallen. I wanted Harry Potter's blood. I wanted the blood of the one who had stripped me of power thirteen years ago, for the lingering protection his mother once gave him, would then reside in my veins too…"
It made much more sense now. The faithful servant at Hogwarts…Harry's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire…seeing him through to the third and final task…taking out the opposition, it was all to get him here. This had been planned from the very beginning. I knew I should have argued more strongly to get Harry out of the competition. I swear, when we get out of this, I'm going to let whoever's responsible for this feel the lash of my tongue! "But how to get Harry Potter?" Voldemort now paraded, clearly enjoying the fruits of his labours and feeling himself to be quite the genius. "For he has been better protected than I think even he knows, protected in ways devised by Dumbledore long ago, when it fell to him to arrange the boy's future. Dumbledore invoked an ancient magic, to ensure the boy's protection as long as he is in his relation's care. Not even I can touch him there."
Ancient magic…I'll remember that too. This was exceedingly interesting. If it weren't for the fact that Harry was in severe danger, I might have actually enjoyed listening to all this whilst sneaking around like a thief. "Then of course, there was the Quidditch World Cup, I thought his protection might be weaker there, away from his relations and Dumbledore, but I was not yet strong enough to attempt kidnap in the midst of a horde of ministry wizards, and then the boy would return to Hogwarts, where he is under the crooked nose of that muggle-loving fool from morning until night. So how could I take him?"
Come on Voldemort, you're giving everything to me on a silver platter. Tell me how you did it, so I can figure out who the traitor is and string him up by his toes and maybe let Filch flay him like he so often threatens to do to us students. "Why, by using Bertha Jorkins's information, of course. Use my one faithful Death Eater, stationed at Hogwarts, to ensure that the boy's name was entered into the Goblet of Fire. Use my Death Eater to ensure that the boy won the tournament, that he touched the Triwizard Cup first, the Cup which my Death Eater had turned into a portkey, which would bring him here, beyond the reach of Dumbledore's help and protection, and into my waiting arms." Voldemort recounted before then turning to Harry. "And here he is, the boy you all believed had been my downfall." Before I even realised what was happening, Voldemort used the Cruciatus Curse on Harry, making my eyes widen and hurriedly lift my wand from where I was hiding, struggling to get the angle right before whispering under my breath with a desperate plea for this to work.
"Pax Vobis!" With my mind concentrating fully on Harry, his screams died down and he writhed a great deal less as I willed with all my might for this spell to work. I had been practicing it all year, it was part of my magical theory paper hoping to prove that every spell had an equal and an opposite, and this spell was the opposite of the Cruciatus Curse. It granted peace to the object it was cast upon, and as I battled against the strong inflictions of pain, my arm trembled under the strain whilst Voldemort remained utterly oblivious.
Having fulfilled his satisfaction torturing Harry, he then ordered Wormtail to cut him down and give him his wand, announcing that he was going to prove to everyone that Harry was nothing more than an ordinary boy who got lucky, and to do that, he was going to kill Harry Potter in front of everyone so that they could bear witness, once and for all.