A/N: I wished I owned Harry Potter. Alas, I do not. Ms. Rowling, I'd be happy to take it off your hands

A/N: This used some direct text from J.K. Rowling's "Goblet of Fire" and Warner Bro's Pictures "Goblet of Fire" so I'd like to reiterate I do not own any of this, nor make any money from this work.

Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than normal. I came to a natural stopping point. Chapter 67 should make up for it.

Chapter 66: The Graveyard

June 24th, 1995

"Well, I really hate portkeys," Harry muttered as he slowly got to his feet. "Though I guess anywhere is better than in front of a Nundu. Would have been nice to see master take it down." Harry removed his glasses and wiped his sleeve over them. Despite the fact that his glasses had a remarkable amount of charms, including a de-fogging charm, the ambient magic of his new locale was overriding the enchantments. That was a minor worry.

"Ideally I'd wait to get my strength back, but I guess there is no avoiding it," Harry said as he stowed his glasses in his shirt. His wand tapped his forehead, and his remaining meager magic coiled in his eyes, temporarily correcting his vision. It would slow his regeneration and magical recovery, but Harry felt like sight might be necessary while he tried to figure out where he was.

Nothing stood out immediately as Harry felt himself stumble. After catching himself, Harry saw that it wasn't just his glasses that were affected by the fog. A deep bank of haze had indeed filled the air around him. The fog felt heavy, for some reason Harry couldn't quantify. But it was unnerving, and Harry felt some of the hairs on his arms raise. He didn't get spooked easily, but something about this situation just felt…unnatural and dangerous to him.

"Hello, Harry Potter." Harry whirled and almost fell with exhaustion. But the stumble sent the spell flying past him. Harry rolled and came to his feet, flipping his wand into his hand. He fired a few spells back and saw them splash against a shield. Harry ducked behind what seemed to be a tombstone as the figure returned fire. Something was horribly wrong. Harry glanced at the cup, and sent out a cursory spell to check the cup. Instantly the results came back. The cup was more than a portkey. It had an enchantment on it, one that Harry didn't recognize, but something that was wreaking havoc with his magic. He didn't even feel the spell that came from his right, smashing through his very limited body armor.

"Bone of the father, unwillingly given!" Harry shook his head as he came too. He couldn't believe what was in front of him. Wormtail was waving his wand, holding a bone that he sent into a cauldron, sending out a nasty hiss.

"Pettigrew!" Harry reached for his holster but found his arms bound to his side. He couldn't move an inch, and he was fully tapped out. Luckily, whatever had happened seemed to have undone the enchantment the cup had placed on him, and Harry felt his magic slowly begin to return.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed!" Harry looked on in horror as Wormtail withdrew a knife from his robes and sliced through his hand, sending it into the cauldron. Harry had seen Nambung torture someone for information, so the act didn't turn his stomach. But what in the world was going on?

"What are you-"

"Blood of the enemy," Wormtail ignored Harry, stalking towards him, "forcibly taken!" Harry held back a scream of pain as the rat Animagus stuck the blade into his arm. "You shall resurrect your foe!" Wormtail scampered away as the cauldron burst into flame. Harry heard a horrible screaming and realized with terror that there had been something, something alive inside the cauldron. The cauldron scattered and something misshaped appeared from within, growing and contorting. It took a few moments, but finally the form solidified into some kind of creature.

"Robe me," the creature commanded, and Wormtail brought for a robe, which the creature draped over himself. It was some kind of part-human, Harry realized. He had no idea what the ritual had done, or what had come out of the cauldron, but Wormtail kneeled in front of the creature. "My wand, Wormtail." Wormtail withdrew a wand and handed it to the figure in front of him. Well, apparently whatever it was had magic.

"Master!"

"Hold out your arm," the creature drawled.

"Thank you master," Wormtail cried as he extended his bloody stump.

"The other arm!" The creature snapped, and Wormtail looked up horrified, but did as he was commanded. He rolled up his sleeve, and Harry saw the figure place his wand on Wormtail's tattoo and shook himself as he saw the tattoo darken. There was a moment of silence, and then Harry heard a multitude of cracks as dark shadow's appeared around him.

"You dare summon us!" One of the figures roared. Harry couldn't make him out under the mask. It was a mask that had inspired terror in the populace of Britain 15 years ago. The bone masks of the death eaters. Suddenly, it all fell into place. The bone from the grave, marked Thomas Riddle mysterious hairless creature, the wand, the death eaters, the darkening of the mark.

"Welcome" Lord Voldemort said. "13 years have I waited for this moment. But you dare stand before me as if it was only yesterday." He stalked around the circle of death eaters. "I find myself quite…disappointed." The last was almost hissed. "None of you dared to try and find me, Crabbe!" The dark lord smashed his hand onto the face of one his servants, dissolving the mask. "Macnair! Goyle! Harry recognized the names. "Not even you," Voldemort strode over to the last masked figure "Lucius!" The last mask disappeared and the Malfoy patriarch fell to his knees.

"My lord, if I had detected the slightest sign, even a rumor of your presence."

"There were countless signs, my friend, and more than whispers. Enough that a useless wizard such as Wormtail could follow them." Voldemort scoffed.

"My lord, I would never renounce the old ways or your name," Lucius pleaded. Voldemort hauled the blonde-haired wizard to his feet. "The face I have been forced to present to the public, since your absence, that is my true mask. I have always been faithful to your cause."

"I returned to your side," Wormtail called.

"Out of fear!" Voldemort countered, spinning and approaching his servant. "Still you have proved yourself useful. "Your arm." Wormtail once again extended the bloody stump. With a wave of his wand, a glistening silver hand appeared, replacing the once grarnled hand.

Thank you master!" Wormtail bawled, falling to the feet of Voldemort. "Thank you."

"Your reward," Voldemort proclaimed. Harry paled at the sight. The conjuration was done without an incantation and barely a movement of the wand. His magic was returning at a more normal speed, but Voldemort was already near his full power. Still, if Voldemort felt like giving a nice old-fashioned monologue, Harry was more than content to give himself the time. "Such an impressive victory for Harry Potter."

"I have delivered on my end." Harry saw a woman stalk forward, facing down Voldemort. Harry's eyes widened as he saw the crest on the man's exposed chest. He had seen that many times in the past 6 months. Now it all made sense. The disorganized death eaters never could have somehow acquired a Nundu. But if the Vengeful Brotherhood was involved…their resources were incalculable, and if they threw their lot in with Voldemort… "Now, you will give me the answers I seek."

"You dare command me?" Voldemort snarled.

"Me, command you?" The woman scoffed. "I dare do whatever I want. If you turn against us"

"Then you will die," Voldemort said, and a green jet enveloped the woman. Apparently silent killing curses were indeed something Voldemort had taught Bellatrix. Harry sighed. The woman had been careless, and had not done her research. But he was done with this.

"Alright," Harry said, and with a powerful expansion of his arms, he broke Wormtail's spell and the tombstone he was tied to, easily landing on the ground. "If you don't mind, I think I'll get started."

"You will go nowhere," Voldemort cried. He waved his wand, and Harry felt the anti-apparition wards go up."

"Uh, I said started, not going," Harry pointed out. "Do you need to get your hearing checked?"

"You will go nowhere, start nowhere, or do anything other than die," Voldemort said, raising his wand ominously. I hope your master has taught you how to duel. First we bow," Voldemort told Harry with a snarky tone.

"Yeah fine," Harry said dismissively. "We can duel in a bit, but maybe let's talk a bit first."

"Talk," Voldemort said, and Harry could see the confusion ripple over the dark lord's face.

"Yeah, have a frank discussion, maybe some philosophy," Harry explained. "See, my master has been a big proponent of reading a more extensive curriculum Are you familiar with Friedrich Nietzsche? No, of course you aren't. He was a German philosopher back in the back in the 19th century. Brilliant guy, totally changed the way we look at the human condition."

"See, he had this idea about memories, the past, and moving forward. My master doesn't prescribe to the theory, per say, nor would he ever try to force the mythology he follows onto me. But he did insist I consider the words. Nietzsche claimed that you cannot move forward or attain a higher consciousness without obviation of memories, forgetting the past. Only then is progress possible. Now, how could I apply that to the current situation?"

"Our past is quite the checkered one," Harry continued. "You did of course, kill my parents. But should I truly begrudge you that? My father and mother were your enemies in a war, ideologically opposed. Sure, they were hiding and betrayed, but my father died with his wand in his hand, like the warrior he was. Tragic, to be sure, but a noble death. I can't say I know much about the fight, but it did seem to be quick. A shame, but he was young an inexperienced. Alone, I suspect he did not have a chance. Your fault, of course, as you wielded the wand that ended his life. But I suppose we could move on from that."

"Then it was my mother's turn, and that is a slightly trickier situation. She died not as a warrior, not with wand in hand, but as a crying mother. You did of course offer to spare her, an odd choice…" Harry trailed off. "Why exactly did you do that?" Voldemort drew himself up to respond, but Harry cut him off. "Eh, doesn't really matter, because of course she didn't stand aside and let you kill her son. So bang, she dies as well. Another tragedy, but she chose not to fight."

"Then her sacrifice protected me, power of love, etcetera, excetra," Harry finished. "That about sums it up. So Nietsche would encourage me to move on. They are dead and gone, and there is naught I can do about that. Make my decisions irrelevant of our past." Harry subtlety reached into his magic. He was above 50% now. Harry flicked his wand into his hand and lightning crackled around him. "Turns out I'm not a nihilist after all." He sent a bolt of lightning at Voldemort, who dodged to the side, and the bolt of magic demolished the tombstone behind him. "You killed my mother in cold blood. Now it's my turn to do the same, you stupid bald tosser."

"Do not touch him!" Voldemort cried. "He is mine!" He shot two blue bolts Harry's way, but the green-eyed wizard simply swayed, letting the bolts pass him by, firing a blasting curse at Voldemort, who simply waved it away. Harry accelerated the tempo firing a bevy of curses and hexes at Voldemort, who continued to bat them away. Harry fired two blasting hexes slower than the rest, and Voldemort evaded them with ease firing back. Harry dodged, and smiled as one of his hexes pulverized a death eater who had been behind her master, turning the masked woman into a bloody mist.

"You should take better care of your servants," Harry taunted as he dodged two more spells, taking cover behind a hefty tombstone. Voldemort destroyed the tombstone, which Harry had been counting on, as his disintegration shield vaporized the debris, but still gave him the cover to fire two purple bolts at Voldemort. One caught him in the shoulder, and Voldemort growled in anger. He fired back a few times, but Harry evaded easily.

"Is this really your level?" Harry asked, stopping his movement. "Bellatrix was tougher and smarter. Well, until the end."

"Bellatrix?" Voldemort angrily enquired.

"She was a good fight, I guess," Harry answered. "Right up until I stuck a dagger in her skull."

"You dare!" Voldemort cried angrily, firing curses wildly at Harry. Only a few of them were on target, but Harry couldn't dodge the killing curses aimed at him. Slightly problematic, but with a flash of lightning Harry disappeared, reappearing in a blast of light right in front of Voldemort. The dark lord threw up a metal shield, but Harry was already in a kicking motion, and his back kick sent the shield flying into Voldemort, sending him tumbling across the graveyard.

"This is legitimately not worth my time," Harry murmured. "My dad must have really not taken Hayashi's training seriously." He saw Voldemort rising, and felt the power from his enemy spike massively. "Ah, here we go."

"I apologize for not taking you seriously." Voldemort sneered at Harry. "But now you shall die!" A giant dark aura flickered around his opponent, and from the aura beams of darkness shot out towards Harry, curving around wildly. Harry threw up a disintegration shield, but the dark shadows shattered the shield, and Harry was forced to open up his physical magic, just barely avoiding the attack. "That was unpleasant." His sensory magic was screaming, and Harry leapt left, ducking right, avoiding the shadowy magic which was moving and morphing without an ounce of direction from Voldemort, who started to fire blue bolts at Harry.

"Anytime now," Harry said to himself as he got out of the way. I thought the letter was fairly clear, but I guess I made it too vague since I didn't exactly know what was here. I mean, I suspected this, but not really. That's on me I guess. Voldemort was now manipulating the mass of darkness, but Harry shot two spells through it, vaporizing the dark magic. "His specialty magic is certainly interesting."

A song filled the graveyard and Harry smiled. He went on a heavy offensive, firing spell after spell, only to see Voldemort's expanded aura devour them. In a burst of speed, Harry slid towards Voldemort, almost parallel to the ground, trying to force his way through the aura. Despite the magic wrapped around his body, the aura repelled him, sending him skidding back. Voldemort seemed more powerful than ever, but his offensive had done the trick.

Flames burst into view to the right of Harry, and Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Akira appeared in the flames. Fawkes sang a lilting song as the phoenix flew off. Apparently the letter had been fully deciphered, and now he had the necessary backup. Hopefully, Dumbledore had a better understanding of Voldemort's specialty magic, though Harry had a strong hunch. It fit what had happened during the last exchange, as well as why Voldemort might struggle so much against a transfiguration matter, despite the fact that his overall magical power had a much stronger presence than the headmaster, not to mention a near paralyzing killing intent to weaker minds.

"It was foolish of you to confront Harry here Tom," Dumbledore said as the staff spread out.

"Headmaster, I just want to confirm something," Harry put forward as Tom was almost frothing at the mouth. "Voldemort's specialty magic. It's a devour type magic?"

"Clever deduction, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore confirmed.

"If you could deal with him for a few minutes, perhaps the rest of the staff could take care of the rest of the crowd," Harry inquired. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "I'd like the chance to fully power up, if that's ok. We have a shot here."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said. He stepped in front of Harry. "Do what you need to do. I will handle Tom."

"I am Lord Voldemort!" Tom screamed.

"That is the anagram," Harry said with a smile. He crossed his leg and sat behind Dumbledore, placing his hands in open circles on his knees. It was a cliché meditation pose, but it was necessary for what he was planning to do. It had paid off that he hadn't been able to do it during the Bellatrix fight. It was time to undo the lock.

Harry's power started radiating from him, his aura expanding and the pressure of his magic became sweltering. Voldemort began to fire desperately trying to hit Harry while his eyes were closed, but Dumbledore maintained a stout defense. Deep breaths began to send the magic out, flaring with his breathing. The lake was now a frenzy, waves smashing against the far shores, giving Harry the necessary concentration to begin the process that he had learned the past summer.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O-

August, 1994

"So, new weights," Harry asked Nambung as they walked around the compound. "Aren't the ones I currently weigh enough?"

"Sure, for muscle growth," Nambung explained. "Besides, you'll take them off soon enough. It's just to build a little toning, but you don't want to be too bulky. You'll live and die by your fast twitch muscles, so I don't anticipate you wearing them past February or March." Harry nodded. "Besides, these weights are little more "special."

"How so?"

"Well, the weights you currently use are for your base strength and speed. But the ones I'm going to put on now are for your magic."

"Weights for my magic?"

"Yeah," Nambung explained. "And they can only be used once. It is called a life-lock. It is a carefully kept secret in Korea, and I believe some people in the Middle East use it, but it is dangerous, although the benefits are great. Let me explain, and then you can choose whether or not to do it."

"That's a nice new perk," Harry shot back, and Nambung flicked his ear. "Ow!"

"Sometimes you really test my patience," Nambung snapped at him, and Harry held up his hands in surrender. "Ok, so the weights are called a life-lock because you can only put them on once in your life."

"That seems extreme."

"Well, with the weights on, you will only be able to access around 80% of your magic. The most other spells could keep you at is 95%, so these are special. At first it will feel like a drain on your magic, but eventually you will adjust to the power. It will make you more aware of your power, and you'll have to ration it properly. You will also be able to produce more powerful spells and use more powerful physical magic with less effort. There are a lot of benefits."

"Ok, so it sounds like a no-brainer," Harry said.

"Well, you can only use it once," his master explained. "You will be weaker when you return to your school. It might erase all of the gains you have made with your magic this summer until you adjust. That might frustrate you, and you would remove the locks. The longer you keep the locks, the better the end result will be. So you might want to save it until a better time, where you have an uninterrupted long period of training." Harry nodded slowly in understanding.

"Is that it?"

"There is one more condition, to do it properly. A life-lock is a three part spell. Each part of the lock is linked to a password. Of course, you could choose random words, but that isn't the most effective way to use it. To get the most powerful result, you tie the lock to values, personality traits. Then you live your life according to those values. If you don't the life-lock can do permanent damage to your magical core. However, if you manage to act in accordance with your passwords, the lock will automatically make you more sensitive to your own magic."

"That sounds…extremely dangerous." Nambung nodded at Harry's comment.

"I expect you to take some time to think about it," Nambung said. "I wasn't planning on putting it on until your last week here anyways. Right now, the drain on your power would be a waste, since you need every ounce of power to get the most out of training with me right now."

"So I have some time to think about it," Harry responded.

"Yes," Nambung answered. "But I also want you to think about what values you might use. It's a good exercise even if you end up not putting the lock on. I'd meditate when you think about it. You definitely want a clear and unencumbered mind when you make the decision about all of this."

Harry took to the direction, and almost every day when he meditated he mulled the potential of the life-lock in his mind. Was it worth it to have that drain? Was he better served waiting until he was in a controlled environment, if he ever even had one? Was the benefit of doing it now that he would get a boost in power at a younger age. Sure, his life seemed to constantly be in danger, which made it more dangerous, but also made it tempting so he could grow in power quicker.

The day snuck up on him, as busy as he was with his other training. But the Hogwarts express was only a few days away, and Nambung didn't want him to leave without any experience with the locks on. He had gone through the blood brothers ceremony a day ago, and that had meant he would be a little weaker the next few days, the perfect time to put the locks on since his training would have to be scaled down anyways while he recovered.

"It goes without saying that if you do this, you cannot tell anyone," Nambung stated clearly as he closed the door. Harry nodded in understanding. "So, you have thought about it."

"I'll do it," Harry said, steel in his eyes. "And I'll tie the locks to values."

"What values?"

"Does it matter what order they are in?" Harry asked.

"Not at all," Nambung took out his wand. "I'll put on each lock, and you say the word." Harry took a deep breath. "Are you 100% sure?"

"Yes," Harry acknowledged. Nambung snapped his wand and Harry saw the first lock appear on his right hand. "Loyalty." Nambung nodded in agreement and then the second lock appeared on his left hand "Perseverance." The third lock then appeared, digging into his chest. Harry gritted his teeth until the pain faded. "Excellence." The locks faded.

"How do you feel?" Nambung asked. Harry gasped as he felt the drain on his power.

"Wow," Harry said, slowly catching his breath. "Right now I feel like I could barely cast a lumos."

"Yeah, it will get better every day, until you get used to them," Nambung told him.

"You did this too?" Harry asked.

"I did," Nambung confirmed.

"How long did you wear them for?" Harry wanted to know.

"11 months," Nambung answered. "Obviously I have done other things to augment my power, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't a big part of my improvement at a young age. When you take them off, you will want to be a little careful."

"Won't it just be awesome?"

"Yes, but you could easily kill your classmates without meaning to."

"Really?" Harry replied.

"Yes, there will be an instant power boost. I'd wait until you have at least day to experiment before taking them off. Obviously if you can wait until the summer, that would be ideal."

"Given my history, that seemed unlikely," Harry quipped. Nambung just shook his head. They had gone over all of the life-threatening experiences Harry had undergone in his three years so far. It had been a long conversation that talked Nambung off the ledge of killing Dumbledore and yanked Harry out of school. Eventually Hayashi-San had convinced Nambung that Harry should try his best to live a normal life for as long as possible, and Nambung was forced to concede that while his life had been part of what made him so formidable, he wouldn't want that for someone he was quite fond of.

"Remember, the longer you wear them, the more powerful you will be, especially the moment you release them. You'll know when it's time to take them off." Nambung wrapped the tape around his upper arm, and then with a wave of his wand the tape disappeared. "This tape is tied to the locks, so I'll know when you take it off."

"Ok," Harry said, still trying to stabilize his breathing. "Good to know."

"But you know I won't come fight your fight for you," Nambung repeated for the 100th time this summer.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O-

Akira was drawn out of his fight by the incredible surge of power coming from his brother. He took cover behind a crypt and stared at Harry, who was now standing behind Dumbledore, who was in the middle of a fierce with Voldemort. The magical aura flickering around Harry was remarkable, as was the fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort.

The headmaster of Hogwarts was holding his own against the dark lord of Britain. With the elder wand and his answer-talker ability in full flow, he was conjuring and transfiguring everything around him, stopping Voldemort's all-consuming magic. He had fought Voldemort multiple times in the past, and his ability and transfiguration skills were excellent at holding his opponent at bay. Voldemort's magic, which Harry had aptly called devour magic, could be countered by transfiguration with more ease than charms.

He felt a frankly unbelievable spike in power from behind him. Harry had not been joking when he said he needed to power up. Dumbledore had rarely felt power like the kind the 4th year Gryffindor was putting out now. The last time he had fought someone with that kind of power, he had been in Germany, fighting against his best friend. For someone under 15 to have this power was nigh unheard of.

Tom was getting more frantic, forcing Dumbledore to turn entirely to the defensive. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the three teachers who had accompanied him fighting frantically against 11 enemies. Dumbledore would help them turn the tide as soon as Harry was ready. Voldemort was not his to defeat.

Loyalty." Harry was talking behind him. "Perseverance." The power continued to spike. Harry gritted his teeth until the pain faded. "Excellence!" Harry yelled and the power vanished. The entire graveyard went still as Harry stepped in front of the headmaster. Curiously, there was almost no power coming from Harry now. "Would you like to help the staff?"

"You can do this, Harry."

"I know I can, Albus." Harry stared down Voldemort's whose aura was flaring to new heights. "Get going." Dumbledore saw Harry crouch and he exploded forward at a speed he couldn't even begin to track. There was an almighty crack and he saw Voldemort's aura fracture. The death eaters were back on the offensive, the teachers defensive as they waited for support. Now it was time to trust in Harry.

Harry saw that his flurry of attacks had caused Voldemort's aura to buckle. It was good to know that with enough force and power, he could get through the aura. It was a high risk or reward, because if he didn't break through, Voldemort would gain power every time an attack failed. He could stay primarily defensive and try and outlast the dark lord, but he wasn't a defensive fighter, even when he fought his master, and while Voldemort was perhaps his strongest deadly opponent, he was not anywhere close to the true masters Harry had faced. There was only so much power Voldemort's devour magic could absorb before breaking and Harry only needed the smallest hole to land a devastating blow. The hole hadn't opened yet, but his opponent was reeling.

Nambung had told him there would be an instant power surge, and he wasn't kidding. He didn't even have to think about where he was directing his physical magic, and Voldemort's devouring aura couldn't keep up with his improved speed. His magic was replenishing at the same speed that he was using it, and he felt better than he ever had. Yes, he was fighting for his life, but this was what he trained for. It was all coming to a head, and Harry had to laugh a little as he shattered another attempt to envelop him.

Tom was blowing through power at an alarming rate. He was fighting a fourth year! It wasn't supposed to be like this. Pettigrew had given him some news, occasionally getting an update from Hogwarts, but apparently Harry had hidden his true power from the look-alike Moody. His opponent was strong, his magic was flowing easily, but it was his speed that was so concerning. Even when his aura moved unconsciously, it couldn't keep up. Harry was simply a blur, and he was forced to try his best to push back the repeated physical attacks and absorb what limited power he could. But there was no doubt that Harry Potter had the power to vanquish him.

"This is getting nowhere." Harry jumped back from the fight, staring down Voldemort. "If it's ok with you Tom, I'm going to try something new. It wouldn't have been possible before, but I think now…" Harry began to vibrate, and then there was a brilliant flash of light. Voldemort shielded his eyes, but as the light faded he was faced with two opponents.

"Well, I didn't think it would work that well," Harry admitted.

"Indeed," the red eyed Ares said. "Now then," the warrior said, drawing his sword, "let us end this fight once and for all."