A/N: Harry Potter and his world belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers and anyone that has received licensing rights. I am grateful she gives us the privilege of playing in her world.

A/N: All my readers are awesome to wait for this next installment.

I have been toying around with establishing a discord server. I can't promise I would be on every day, maybe only the weekends, but I like suggestions and talk about mine or others ideas. I would plan to release some content early and am changing some of the way I write to either have a story almost completed or completed before I publish.

Would there be interest? I won't say I will, but it is an idea.

My only reticent in this idea the last couple of months is how busy my life is, but I think it would be fun to connect with my readers. 05 March 2022

-oOo-

Chapter 32

-oOo-

March 20, 1995

London, England

"How is Nott going to take what happened with his House today," Ernie asked towards Blaise as they sat.

"Not really sure. He hates his father but was hoping to maybe move the family towards the Neutral side. Of course, his older brother would have to step aside to do that," Blaise replied.

Daphne got the implication but doubted the others did. Theodore would have to 'make' his brother step aside.

"Unfortunately, that is not an option anymore," her father said towards them. "I see you were all paying attention this morning?"

"Yes, father," she replied for them.

"I found it rather interesting," Hermione spoke up. "Is it always required to read out a bill or decree before voting on it? Madam Bulstrode didn't really say either way."

"That was just Lady Carrow being obstinate. She is not a supporter of the bill and probably hoped to bore everyone enough to just vote it off the docket for tomorrow," her father answered.

"I see," Hermione said, a clearly thoughtful look on her face.

Susan looked about ready to say something when the building suddenly shook. Except for the creak of the wood around them, there was no other indication something had just happened. It was like a small earthquake. While most in the room looked confused for a second, Madam Bones was knocking her chair over as she shot up.

Daphne was just starting to realize something was going wrong when three Aurors burst into the room. "Emergency! Blue one!" Madam Bones ordered as she fled the room.

"What is going on?" Lady Abbott demanded.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we must ask you all to take a bit of these ropes. You will be transported to a safe house," one of the Aurors demanded.

Daphne was up, as where most of the others. "Harry! He's in the bathroom," she cried out.

"Scion Potter will be along shortly. Now, please take the ropes," the man pressed.

Hermione was moving towards the door. They all were after a second. They would not abandon her intended.

"Daphne, stop!" her father barked out.

"I'm getting Harry," she said with a determination she never would have used against her father before. There was another violent shake to the building. It was enough she stumbled and had to steady herself against the wall.

"You must leave, now," the Auror ordered.

She was about to protest when a length of rope wrapped around her wrist. It did that to Hermione and Ernie before the Auror snapped out, "Safety!"

"Har..." The pull of a portkey behind her navel was all she got out before they were pulled out of the restaurant.

-oOo-

Downstairs...

"Get me into the room," Amelia snapped at the two Aurors outside the bathroom door. The building shook for a third time. Whatever was going on in there was violent. There were screams and the sound of people leaving the restaurant behind them. She had to trust that the other three Aurors would protect their backs.

"We can't," Auror Reece said, her wand coming up and trying a different unlock charm.

She growled. Her Hit Wizards would have already been through this ward. She was going to have to seriously look at the way Scrimgeour was training them. In the last few months, just about every major incident had occurred while they were on duty.

"Just blast the bleeding wall," she told them, her wand flicking at the wall. Her blasting hex smashed through, making a hole large enough for them to walk through. She didn't wait, charging through the hole. With another flick of her wand, all the plaster and dust in the air was blown away.

The bathroom was destroyed. There were two large holes in the floor. The sink was smashed. Two of the stalls were in splinters. What made her heart sink was that there was no sign of Harry.

The two Aurors followed her in, their wands up and looking for trouble. Her nostrils flared in her anger and worry. "Find him," she snapped at them. She lifted her wand and cast a homeo revelio. It was only her and the two idiots with her.

"There is no one here," Auror Williams said after a moment.

"I found a wand," Reece replied.

She turned to see the Auror picking it up.

"What the bloody hell are you doing picking that up," she snapped at the young Auror.

"I just thought..." the young woman started.

"It is evidence at a crime scene that you just potentially contaminated. Get the bloody fuck out of here and send in a Senior Auror," she admonished the woman. Reece dropped the wand and scurried out through the wall.

Amelia stormed over to the wand, the pit that was forming in her stomach hardened and she felt like it was rocketing to her toes. She recognized Harry's holly wand.

"Boss, there is a knife over here," Williams said, pointing to a dagger on the floor. It was one Harry had picked out from the Bones armoury at the end of last summer.

"I need a magical reversal squad here immediately," she yelled out through the door. "Williams, what the hell happened! You and Reece were supposed to be watching my nephew."

"We did, boss. I even checked the bathroom before he came in," the man said, looking at her with concern.

She had to take in a deep breath so that she didn't snap at the man again. She focused on her occlumency to calm herself. She had to be able to think clearly. Given the fact that Harry had not exited through the door and the rest of the walls were intact, she could only assume that he had been portkeyed away. Unless someone had figured out how to get through the apparition wards around Diagon Alley?

"Boss," a shaken Reece said from the hole in the wall.

She turned to the woman, her eyes hard and unforgiving at the moment. They had managed to eliminate most of the core of the die hard Blood Purists, but there were still more around. Harry could have been kidnapped by any of a dozen people that would love to get back at her right now.

"The others were taken to Safehouse three. The a Magical Reversal squad should be here in about two minutes," the woman informed her.

She just stood in the middle of the broken room, turning around to look for any clues she could. The only thing that caught her eye was a mound of cloth under the sink. It looked to have been protected under the half that had not been damaged.

She walked over, curious about this. It was out of place. Crouching down, it took her a moment to realize it was a partially unraveled turban. She couldn't understand why it would worry her so much, besides the fact it was so out of place...

-oOo-

Sometime...

Somewhere along the Irish Sea...

Harry woke with a headache. The back of his head kept throbbing with his pulse. It took a few minutes to realize there was soft talking coming from nearby. Harry tried to focus on it and soon found he wished he hadn't.

"Run the scan again," a voice hissed in obvious anger.

"I have. Three times. I am telling you there is no trace of dark magic in his scar or anywhere else on his body," Dumbledore replied.

"Without the boy being a horcrux, I need to get one," the higher pitch voice of Voldemort hissed in anger.

"Tom, I think we need to rethink our plan," Dumbledore countered.

"That is clear, and don't call me Tom!"

Harry was able to open his eyes some. He was in a bedroom that was half the size of the one he had at Grace Hall, but bigger than the one he had at Privet Drive. The bed he was in was relatively comfortable. Except when he tried to move, he found he was bound to the bed with ropes. As he moved, he felt the hilt of the sword that was inside his robes. He was sure that he didn't have his wand or knife.

Dumbledore sighed and continued his conversation as Harry tried to look around the room. "Do we have to go over this again? I refuse to call you by some childish moniker. Why would you call yourself literally 'flight from death'?"

Voldemort hissed in annoyance. "I am immortal."

"No one is immortal. The whole reason we are working together is to reunite your soul."

"An impossibility if the one you suspected to be in the boy gone," Voldemort retorted.

Harry was surprised they were so engrossed in each other that they hadn't noticed him moving yet. He pulled at the ropes, hoping he could find a loose spot, but hadn't been able to yet.

"Yes, that was rather unexpected. Neither of us knew that a soul fragment could be removed without destroying the container it was in," Dumbledore commented as though it was a rather interesting academic problem.

There was a snarl. "I hated your musings when you were my transfiguration professor, and they are most annoying now."

Dumbledore chuckled. "You never could understand why the theory and speculation was so important. You only sought the knowledge and how to use it."

"What other use is knowledge for? Power is the only thing others respect," Voldemort countered.

"Yes, I do not disagree, but there is a difference in power and fear. You gained power through fear and missed how it destroyed you and all those around you," Dumbledore instructed.

Harry's head was starting to feel clearer. He wasn't sure that neither of them had gone round the twist and Harry didn't want to find out. The sword hilt was above his waist, but his hands were bound at his sides. He tried to struggle more.

"Enough of this inane prattle. What are we to do to get me a body again?" Voldemort demanded.

They both fell silent. Harry took this as a sign to stop struggling for the moment. He didn't want them to notice him yet. Not until Harry could free himself.

It was a few minutes before Dumbledore said in a very thoughtful voice, "I am unsure. I am inclined to believe that the prophesy truly has been fulfilled and the marking you gave him is gone."

"But he still burned you when you touched him," Voldemort reminded Dumbledore.

Harry saw the old man lift his hand and it looked like two fingers were missing. The revulsion Harry had felt when Quirrell had turned to ash because of him churned his stomach.

"Yes. That was surprising. I had assumed that once he was removed from the Dursley's and they were removed from Privet Drive that his mother's protection would have faded," Dumbledore commented.

"It hasn't, and I will not be some wraith again. Uphold your end of the bargain and unite my soul with a body," Voldemort hissed.

"In due course. First, we need to figure out what to do with Mr. Potter. It has already been a day and I have great faith that Amelia Bones will not give up until she finds him," Dumbledore remarked.

"Kill him," Voldemort hissed.

"As part of our deal, Harry is to remain unharmed unless strictly necessary to sacrifice him," Dumbledore said, more steel to his voice.

"Well, then we must move," Voldemort told him.

Dumbledore sighed. "I have no other safe houses and no allies. Last I saw in the papers, none of your most trusted associates are available. There is also the fact that you and I are probably the most wanted people in Britain, possibly Europe. Where would you have us go?"

There was an aggravated sound.

Harry tried loosening the ropes as they argued about where to go.

A creaking of the chair alerted Harry that he might have been seen.

Harry turned his head, looking towards the thing in the corner chair. Harry swallowed, not liking the look in the man's electric blue eyes.

"Nice to see you up. I was concerned you may have hit your head a little hard," Dumbledore said, getting up. "I have been hoping to talk to you," Dumbledore said conversationally.

"Let me go," Harry told him.

There was a chuckle from the back of Dumbledore's head. "We meet again, Harry Potter." This voice was menacing.

"Will you please refrain from scaring the boy, Tom? It really isn't necessary," Dumbledore chided.

"I want him dead, Dumbledore."

A rather annoyed look came over the older man's face. "That is how this whole mess began. Can you not think of a different way? Harry has proven he can better you. Would you give him a fourth chance to do so?"

"He is just a boy," Voldemort hissed.

It was like watching an old married couple on the tellie, only this one wasn't funny at all.

"You are right. He is just a boy," Dumbledore said.

"A boy that is going to kick your arse again," Harry yelled as he struggled against the ropes. He wasn't going to be killed by these insane wankers. He wanted to get back to Hogwarts. He wanted to get back to his family: Auntie Amelia, Sirius and Susan. He wanted to get back to his friends: Neville, Tracey and Hermione being top of that list. Most of all he wanted to get back to Daphne. He feared more what would happen to her if he was not able to escape.

"You will not get out of those ropes. I admit my spells are not as powerful without my old wand, but I am still a powerful wizard," Dumbledore told him.

"You are not as powerful as you think, squib," Voldemort hissed in parseltongue.

"I really don't like it when you do that. Please speak so I can understand what you say," Dumbledore requested.

"He called you a squib," Harry retorted before using his own parselmouth. "Who is the squib if you have to live off this old bastard!"

Voldemort's return hiss promised a painful death to Harry.

Dumbledore looked at Harry very disappointedly. "I had thought once the taint of Tom had left you, you would lose these dark powers."

Harry snorted. "Dark powers? You do realize that Voldemort and I descend from the same family? I am Scion Peverell, but the Gaunts also came from the Peverells," Harry replied.

Voldemort just about growled. "You steal my birthright!"

A wand came to Dumbledore's hand, and the old man yanked his body as the thing on the back of his head yelled out "Avada Kedavra!"

The green spell left the wand and it hit a post of the bed. There was an explosion and Harry was tilted, the bed cocked and crooked. Harry felt the ropes loosen some.

"I said we will not kill the boy," Dumbledore said angrily. Harry looked to them. Dumbledore was breathing heavily. Harry could see the face in the back of Dumbledore's head for the first time. It was just as disgusting and malformed as it had been on Quirrell.

"The boy must die!"

"No," Dumbledore said determinately.

"Are you two old people done?" Harry goaded them. Perhaps he could get them to hit the bed again. The ropes weren't loose enough for him to free his hands yet, but he could move his arms some.

"There is no need to be so crude, Harry. I know you are much better cultured boy now," Dumbledore sounded disappointed in him.

Voldemort's red eyes landed on him. A shiver ran through Harry. They were cold and calculating. "He shares my blood?"

"Harry is not wrong. As far as I know, the Potters are descendants of Ignotius Peverell, while the Gaunts were descendants of Cadmus Peverell. There are old documents that many of the Peverell family were parselmouths," Dumbledore informed them as though teaching children.

Harry didn't like the look from the red eyes and started to struggle more.

He felt his right hand suddenly come loose. He went to reach for the button on his robes to try to get his sword when Dumbledore's wand suddenly shot up. "NO!" Dumbledore shouted as Voldemort screamed, "Legilimens!"

Harry was caught off guard, not expecting it and suddenly his mind crashed into his dream scape...

-oOo-

Inside Harry's mind...

Voldemort found himself surprised to be standing at the edge of a field of yellowing grass. Before him was a range of mountains, the height and sheer size of which he had never imagined before. the grass ran maybe a thousand feet up the sides before they became craggy, and snow covered. The shadow cast by them spanned miles behind him.

Voldemort looked side to side. It was apparent they slowly curved.

"I must say, I have never seen such a sight," Dumbledore said from besides him.

"What are you doing here? I didn't think you could join me," Voldemort accused venomously.

"It would appear that Harry is more powerful than I expected. I was pulled in and find I lack the power to exit at the moment," Dumbledore admitted.

"Squib," Voldemort snarked. "How were you ever named the most powerful wizard of our time?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I was very powerful. Since I lost the Elder Wand and spent time in Azkaban, I find my power and life waning. As my time approaches, I am starting to wonder what pain and destruction I wrought in the name of protecting those that I hurt. Many of them to protect them from you and Gellert."

"I am not some old, simpering nanny looking at the end of his life. Once I get what I want, I will be in my prime, and will forever stay that way," Voldemort assured the elderly man.

Dumbledore sighed again. It was getting rather annoying how much he seemed to do that over the last few weeks. "We all must face our mortality."

"Not me," Voldemort stated. "Now, how do we get over this. I can't seem to fly here."

Dumbledore concentrated for a moment. "How odd. I cannot either."

Voldemort pursed his lips. He had been able to leach some magic off his old nemesis. It wasn't enough though. It was like the man's magical stores were failing. Perhaps Dumbledore really was close to the end of his life. Now, Harry Potter, that was a much different story. Voldemort could feel the power pulsing through the mind scape they found themselves in. Between the boys magic and a rather unexpected iron will, he found it impossible to affect the surrounding environment. In his prime, Voldemort would have been able to bash through this. Once he had the power the boy possessed, he would again.

That was it though. He needed the boys power. That would be the only way for him to find his other horcruxes and bring himself back to power.

"Are you ready to leave? There are other ways to rejoin your soul," Dumbledore queried.

Voldemort understood the old man wanted his soul whole again so that he could banish Voldemort to the next world. That was not what was going to happen. Voldemort would regain his soul, then his body, and then the world.

"I shall get over this."

Dumbledore frowned. "The boy has been well trained. This is not common for someone with only a years' experience to construct," the old fool warned him.

"Stay here. I am going on."

Scaling the mountains before him was going to be an impossibility without being able to climb or use his magic. Voldemort also felt a little unnerved. It felt like thousands of eyes were watching them, but he couldn't see or sense anything. The boy was far more accomplished than he would expect for his age. "There must be another way."

After searching around and finding nothing, Voldemort took off towards the base of the mountain, then turned right to walk around them. The annoying old man followed. "I must say, I have not seen a defense quiet like this. How do you think he is suppressing our magic?"

Voldemort snarled. "I will rip that from him once we find him."

They walked for a long time. It was the sound of water that pulled them to a cave. Dumbledore looked at it curiously while Voldemort looked at it critically. The cave was big. A waterfall was falling from the ceiling about a hundred feet in. Glowing mushrooms could be seen here and there.

"Shall we go through?"

"Are you fool?" Voldemort snapped. "There is magic here. The mountains don't feel it, but there is no mistaking it once we cross that threshold."

"Ah, yes. I did sense that, but there is no malicious feel to it. You yourself should know how a trap feels," Dumbledore said as though instructing him.

Voldemort's patience was wearing rather thin. He needed this boy's magic. Without the horcrux, he needed to leach it off. He couldn't do that without controlling the boy.

When they walked into the cave, Voldemort could feel the little power he had been able to steal from Dumbledore return to him. "Very interesting," the fool said, looking around in wonder.

He didn't have the time to figure this out. Using his magic to just check for traps, he lifted himself off the ground when he felt confident there was none. Taking off, Voldemort flew through the water. The chill of the water soon sank to be a bone-deep chill. Dumbledore followed at a more sedate pace.

As he shook the water off, Voldemort noticed that his magic reserves seemed less. He was getting impatient enough that he didn't think that a trap. He had the thought if the boy had gotten the idea from the goblins before heading into the semi darkness of the cave.

Eight more waterfalls met them in the long tunnel. He used a mind shield to prevent the sapping of his strength those times. If this had been real life, the mountains overhead would have been miles thick. Even at his prime, Voldemort was doubting he would have been able to just break through a mind barrier with such power. The mere thought of how strong this boy might be had him salivating. To capture this much magic would see him returned to his full form.

When he finally made it through, he was surprised. Voldemort had expected a castle or a fortress. He was expecting defenses that would shoot arrows, or ballistae or even modern muggle guns. What he did not expect was miles of rolling hills with flowers, grass, birds and he thought he caught a glimpse of a snake. Voldemort smiled at that. Even in another's dreamscape he should be able to control serpents.

"My, this is not what I expected," Dumbledore said from besides him as he regarded the surrounding area. "The boy is rather skilled, but still learning."

"Once I have his power, we will finish our deal."

Dumbledore frowned. "Tom, I think you are getting in over your head here. I wanted your soul to be combined. Without the fragment in Harry, I do not wish for his death anymore."

"You made a deal, Dumbledore. You sealed it with an oath. Shall I name you oath breaker?" Voldemort hissed. He hated his father's name.

"My oath was to see you whole again, and if that meant the death of this boy, then that was the price. I did not promise that would be the only price," Dumbledore said a little harshly.

Voldemort snarled. In his haste to get back to power, he had not listened to the oily man's words. The man should have been a Slytherin.

Another snake went across the path. Stop, he demanded of the creature. It did stop, and once it saw them, it started to move away as fast as it could towards the center of the meadows. You will stop! You will tell me where Harry Potter is!

The snake hissed back as it made its escape. Master is waiting in the middle.

When it didn't stop, a small worry went through him. Voldemort had never been denied by any snake. Never. Not even in his enemies heads.

Feeling more concerned, he imagined a snake and his magic flowed from his hand. A black mamba came out, hissing angrily and rolling over like it was in mortal pain. HURT! Master... the call of the other master... hurt!

This shook him. He had never seen such a reaction.

"Having issues, Tom?" Dumbledore asked rather serenely.

"Nothing that will not be solved once I get Potter," he said confidently. He had to banish the snake.

With a set determination, Voldemort lifted his feet again, and flew through the air. All around him he could feel memories. He wasn't sure where they were though. Most would keep such precious things in safely guarded area. He thought he saw a bubble float out into the field and when it landed on the grass, a flower took shape.

"Rather ingenious," Dumbledore muttered.

"What is?" he found himself asking.

"Harry's memories. They are all around us, but I can't tell you how to exactly see them. They appear to be in the flowers, and some of the birds, but if you touch them, it is just a flower," Dumbledore said, touching a flower. "A dissociation of the central memory system is a rather advanced technique. I wouldn't even know where to start to find what I am looking for."

Voldemort stopped. Dumbledore was looking around. Why hadn't he seen that? Next to him was a set of flowers that where such a dark purple they looked almost black. "Impossible. He is only thirteen. It takes years to get to a point like this."

"Harry is fourteen, getting closer to fifteen. I agree. This is rather advanced for one so young," Dumbledore said, leaning down to study the flower he was looking at.

Out of frustration, Voldemort grabbed one of the flowers, tore it off the stem and as he went to crush it, the memory assaulted him. It was so strong that his own mind barriers were stripped away as the scene unfolded...

A boy, perhaps seven or so, was standing in the middle of a very clean muggle kitchen. He was shivering as a walrus of a man stood over him. As he did, the man was unbuckling his belt.

"I didn't say anything, Uncle Vernon. I just went to school and came home, just like you told me," the boy said.

The man's belt came off. "I got a call from a bobby saying a teacher thought you might be a little small and skittish around adults. They just wanted to check in on you."

"I didn't do anything," the boy said, fear clearly in his eyes before his screams came after every clap of the belt on his back...

Voldemort didn't think he could really feel anymore, but the pure fear the boy felt as he begged that he didn't do it, and then the sting of the belt across the boys back had him stagger out of the path and fall onto the grass.

As the memory faded, he found himself retching. Even as an abandoned orphan living in an orphanage, he had never felt such despair and fear. He was the one that was feared.

When he looked up, a black-tinted bubble, about three inches wide, was floating over him. Dumbledore was looking at him curiously. "I take it that was not a pleasant memory?"

Voldemort looked up at him, his lip curling into a snarl. "I may enjoy torturing and killing, but I have rarely felt what my victims felt. Who is that man? He could be one of my greatest followers."

Dumbledore stepped over to the bubble and looked into its surface. "That is Vernon Dursley. Harry's uncle. He is a muggle..." The man watched the scene and after a moment his lips pursed. "I didn't believe Amelia that the boy had been treated this way."

Voldemort sneered. "A muggle can instill that type of fear? You must be wrong. A magical child would never allow that to happen to him. The man must be at least a squib."

"I am afraid not," the aged wizard said, his face looking longer the longer he watched the memory. "Not all wizards are like you, Tom. As much as you may not have like the orphanage, you were fed, you were clothed, the matron and the staff tried to make your life bearable and give you all the love they could. Surely, this must be one of the worst memories that Harry has?"

Voldemort looked around. He needed this boy, but if his spirit was already damaged, then he might not be able to get as much magic out of him as he would like. "If all the black flowers are indications, I would think there is a fair number. What did you do with the boy?"

Dumbledore stood up and followed his gaze. There were patches of all types of flowers, but there were more of the black ones than should be for someone so young. Dumbledore didn't say anything.

After a moment, Voldemort turned and floated to the top of the hill. When he got there, he saw a small town in the distance that was reminiscent of Hogsmeade. It was dominated by a Quidditch stadium in the center. In the town were a few houses and a cobbled path linking them all together. Beyond it, miles away, he could just make out a large forest on the far side.

After snakes not listening to him and seeing that memory, Voldemort felt cautious when there was no apparent defences around the town. He made his way down, looking around. As he got closer, there were more birds, and caught sight of a runespore and a few simple grass snakes, who all took off towards the town, no matter what he commanded of them.

When they got to the town, there were bubbles of all sorts of colours. They floated in the air. Some just aimlessly moving about. Others were coming of going from the stadium. As he looked around, trying to determine where the boy could be, a voice echoed through the town.

"I haven't finished coming to terms or cataloging everything yet, so it's still a bit messy around here," the voice of Harry Potter came to them.

Voldemort watched as a large pink bubble came by. He hissed in pain as it felt like a spike was jamming into his head. In it, he could see a rather randy session of Potter snogging a girl. Luckily, they had clothes on, but their hands were wondering. The rather strong emotional feelings the boy was feeling towards her seemed to be causing the pain. He lashed his hand out, his hand burning at the touch before the bubble floated away. When it was twenty feet or more, the pain lessened.

"Interesting," Potter commented.

"Yes, it has been my long belief that love is a powerful magic. I take it you and Ms. Greengrass are rather close?" Dumbledore enquired.

"I don't see that as your business," Harry replied. "I don't see anything in my head as your business."

"Yet, you display it so easily," Voldemort replied.

"I let you in, that doesn't mean it was easy," Potter replied.

Voldemort looked around, trying to figure out where Potter was. He could feel the consciousness of the boy, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

"Here, if you really want more memories, take a look," Potter offered.

Voldemort felt the pain, his face contorting with it as dozens of pink bubbles raced towards him. Dumbledore stepped back, looking on in mild curiosity.

The pain started as a feeling in his gut. Then it spread across his skin. As the bubbles came closer, it started to creep into his bones. They were mostly filled with the girl Dumbledore called Greengrass.

Imagining a shield around him, it did nothing to shield him from this boy. The feelings he had for Greengrass were strong and deep. They felt like they were roots of his true self. The feelings of caring, adoration, wonder... love... ripped through his magic. Voldemort thought he would be strong enough to take on this boy after how easily had been able to get a foothold in Dumbledore.

The pain in his body had him scream as he fell to the ground.

"Harry, I think that enough," Dumbledore said.

The boy snorted. "Why? You two kidnap me, invade my mind and casually talk about taking over my magic or kill me and I should just give up? I was told that this man was the greatest Legilimancer in the world, and all it takes is some of my lesser memories of Daphne to make him a slobbering idiot on the ground?"

Voldemort could feel the boys anger at him, but he wasn't wrong. The pain of the memories had dropped him to the floor, and he was drooling as the memories were backed off. How had the boy become so strong? They needed to get out of here, but he wasn't sure how to do that without incapacitating the boy.

"You don't understand what I am trying to achieve, Harry. I need Tom's soul whole to redeem him. If you keep causing him such pain, then I fear you may break his magic," Dumbledore said.

"Ha," Potter let out.

Voldemort rolled over and got to his feet, his joints popping as he did so.

"You don't know, do you?" Potter asked.

"That you are no longer a horcrux or a child of prophecy? I admit I did not realize that when I took you from Diagon Alley. Now that you are not, we need not do this, and you need not kill Tom."

"Will you stop calling me that," Voldemort spat at the man. "Enough. Where are you Potter! Come out and face me before I start tearing your mind up. It would be better if I don't, but I can use you either way."

"Dumbledore, you still think I don't need to kill him?" Potter's voice was hard.

Voldemort looked up to see a large black bubble floating down towards them.

"You would sunder your soul like that?" Dumbledore asked, looking up. Voldemort looked past the bubble and finally saw the boy on the top of one of the quidditch towers. A swarm of golden birds around him. Dumbledore went on, "Your mother didn't sacrifice herself for you to become a killer, Harry. If you just let us out, I can convince Tom to let you go and we will never need to see each other again."

"How do I know what my mother wanted for me? I don't want to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life. I won't let you hurt my friends or family. I see what is in that things head. He will never have Daphne! Do you realize that this thing is the last piece of Tom Riddle?" Potter yelled at them.

Voldemort's eyes widened. He had just been thinking that once he had Potter's body, he would use the girl to give him a child. A child of his own blood would be the best way to be reborn.

Dumbledore frowned. "Harry, that will not happen."

"Enough. You are mine," Voldemort yelled out, black strands streaking out of his fingertips.

They streaked towards the boy, who blinked. A dozen of the golden birds shot out, intercepting his strike. Where they hit, he had a jolt of pain shoot through him, and then snakes rained down from the sky. Ashwinders, cobras and runespore fell not far from him.

Attack the boy! he ordered, putting all the power he could into his parselmouth.

The snakes hissed at him, promising death before advancing. It was only then that he noticed the dozens of snakes around him. He tried to order them to attack Potter again, but soon was forced to attack the snakes. There was a feel to them that they meant to kill him. He had never felt that from a snake, not even when he had met Nagini or Ssssahassa in the Chamber of Secrets.

As his black strands of magic lashed out and cut them to pieces, more snakes came in.

"Harry, that is enough! You do not need to do this," Dumbledore demanded.

The boy sounded frightening as he said, "The two men that just about ruined my life are in my head. I think I rather do. Do you not remember why you sent me to my relatives?"

Voldemort had just enough to see the large black bubble suddenly charge Dumbledore. The old man tried to get a mind shield up but was forced to raise his arm as the entire upper half of his body was consumed by the bubble.

The distraction allowed an ashwinder to get through his defences and suddenly he felt the pain of the bite in his leg.

Voldemort stumbled back, his magic wildly flinging out. There was the sound of shattering glass and the screams of snakes before he felt another bite. "NO!" he screamed, sending out a ball of black magic. Every snake within twenty feet was suddenly vaporized.

He fell to this knees, panting at the magic exertion.

STOP, the boy hissed out. The remaining snakes stopped and backed away.

Voldemort looked up the tower. "How? How have you done this? I am the greatest Legilimencer in the world."

In a blink of an eye, Potter was suddenly standing a few meters away. "I actually have you to thank for some of this. Andi found that my core is more mature and stronger because of the years I had to fight off your little present. She showed me how to channel that into this," the boy told him, indicating his mind scape. "I know I am not an expert yet, but you are a lot weaker than I expected, and with no real imagination."

He snarled at the boy. His body was feeling beat up and in more pain than any other time except that night he had been defeated the first time by this boy. "Listen, boy. Once I get my powers back, I will be coming for you."

Potter shook his head. "I am afraid you won't. I really never wanted to kill anyone, that was until I realized the only people, I ever really killed were you or those you possessed, Tom."

"DON'T USE THAT NAME," he bellowed.

"Tom. Tom. Tom," the boy repeated as though he was a child. "Have I told you how I hate being called 'boy', Tom?"

"STOP!" Voldemort screamed in anger.

He tried to lash out at the boy with his magic. It shot out and then dissipated a few feet from him. His eyes widened to realize that his magic was failing. It refused to obey him. "What have you done!"

For the first time in many years, he had the sudden fear that he might actually die...

"I have been determined that my mind is my own. I have been demeaned, abused, violated..." the boy looked to the prone form of Dumbledore, still stuck in the bubble, "...tortured, threatened and feared for my life enough. I have people that I do not want to see hurt. People that I love..." The boy snorted. "I never thought I would really say that. No thanks to you and Dumbledork over there."

"What did you do?" he demanded. He felt like parts of him were starting to go missing. Looking down, he could see small bits, like ash in the wind, starting to peel off his robes.

"Andi taught me how to use my magic to attack others. To use my magic to eat away at theirs. It's a Black family secret, apparently. One Andi taught me since I do have Black blood in me. Usually, it will just weaken a person, but they can recover, with time. Since you have no body and no real soul, Andi wondered what might happen. I think it is eating up your magic. If I was to guess, you are dying Tom," Harry told him. The boy looked a little disturbed by what he was saying but was resolute in his actions.

"This can not be! I am immortal!"

Potter shrugged. "Maybe, but wouldn't you need a horcrux for that? Last I was told, they are all destroyed."

Voldemort's eyes went as wide as they could. Flakes of soot were now falling from his hands. It was like when Quirrell burned up and turned to ash. The difference this time was that Voldemort could feel it. He could feel his magic failing and the void of the beyond starting to take him. "No. No. No. No. This isn't possible."

Potter shrugged again. "Doesn't seem impossible."

"NO!"

-oOo-

Harry's Mind

Harry watched the man turn to dust and float away. He didn't want any part of that in his mind, so he imagined it to be carried beyond the mountains and dropped into a pit that would throw it out of his mind.

His stomach churned to see the man dissolve, but he wouldn't let Voldemort hurt him or anyone he cared for again. If the prophesy hadn't been fulfilled before, it was now.

When the last of the man floated away, Harry couldn't keep his roiling stomach down anymore and he threw up. He wasn't sure if that was only in his mind or not, but the smell was unmistakable.

After taking a few to recover, he turned to Dumbledore. The man was still stuck in the worst memory Harry had. The flash of green light every few minutes was indicative of that. After seeing the flash for a second time, he willed the memory to return to its spot in the tower of the Quidditch Stadium. He still hadn't come to terms with that memory or what it had led to.

Once the old man was totally out of the memory, he fell to his knees, only catching himself on his hands before falling face first into the grass. The man looked very pale and his arms shaky.

Harry walked near him and sat on the grass next to the cobbled street. It was a few moments before Dumbledore looked up. Harry felt no compassion for the man. "Do you understand now why had to get rid of Tom?"

"What do you mean, get rid of Tom? Harry, my boy, how do you remember something so far back?" Dumbledore asked with a quivering voice.

"Tom will not be bothering me again. As for remembering, I have no idea. My next closest memory I can find was when I was about three. A slap to the face for crying because you are hungry is not what I bet most three-year-olds remember."

Harry took a grim satisfaction to see the man wince.

Dumbledore swallowed. "You really don't remember the love of your parents? I never believed that your relatives did that to you."

Harry snorted. "The only love I can ever remember before this past year is that memory you just saw. My mother gave her life for me. Andi says it was an act of love in its purest form. An act that activated the wards Lily Potter had put up to protect me. We are pretty sure the magic of her love is what gave the wards enough power to save me."

Dumbledore breathed out and moved to sitting in the grass. He looked to still be breathing a little hard. "How did you not turn out like Tom then? You have suffered far worse and seem a better man than I."

"No clue."

Dumbledore just looked at him for a long moment. "I have been such a fool for such a long time."

"No argument here," Harry replied cheekily.

"No, you don't understand, Harry."

"I think I do, sir. I heard you and Tom as you came in. You thought I would have to die. I think I may get it now and why I haven't been able to accept this memory. Amelia hasn't told me everything yet, but I have overheard a few things between her and Sirius. You set my family up to satisfy a prophesy that wasn't even active yet. I survived, marked by Voldemort. Everyone thought I was the boy who lived," Harry explained.

Dumbledore frown, his hand starting to rub his chest.

"Because I survived, the prophesy wasn't resolved, meaning one of us had to die. The fact the way I was marked, but a part of Voldemort's soul was in me, meant neither of us could live while the other survives. I was really scared when Andi and Auntie Amelia explained that the soul bit was slowly killing me. When they were able to get it out of me, the prophesy was satisfied."

Dumbledore closed his eyes, as though in pain. "I always thought that meant you would destroy Tom fully, not that it just meant the small piece that was in you."

"Prophesy is fickle and only really known in hindsight, from what Sirius told me."

"I am afraid you are right my boy. If you will let me out, I will release you. I think it time for me to fully retire," Dumbledore said, rubbing his chest harder.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied, forcibly throwing Dumbledork out of his mind...

-oOo-

Somewhere along the Irish sea...

Harry woke with a groan. When he realized that Dumbledore was laying on the floor, the face of Voldemort gone from the back of his head, he let out a sigh. His magic felt strained, and he was tired. As weak as Voldemort and Dumbledore were, holding onto their magic like that and weakening them had drained him. He would have to buy Andi something special for teaching him some of the special Black magics.

It took some minutes for Harry to work a hand loose and then pull his sword. When he cut himself loose, he stumbled over to Dumbledore. The man was laying down face to the floor. A large patch of the man's hair was burned off around a blackened patch of skin on the back of his head where Voldemort had been. He was afraid he had killed him until he found a week pulse on Dumbledore's neck.

Looking around, Harry wasn't sure where they were, and he didn't have a wand. Looking at the one Dumbledore had been using, he cringed. He really didn't like the man and was not looking forward to using his wand. Picking it up, he felt the wrongness of it. It was not his holly wand, and his magic did not like it.

"Expecto Patronum," Harry commanded of the wand. It resisted him for a moment before his magic overpowered it and suddenly it hummed in his hand, like the wand had a new master. Prongs came out, but not as bright or as solid as normal.

"Find Sirius or Auntie Amelia. Whoever can get here first. Lead them here if you can," he told Prongs.

With a nod, Prongs ran through the side of the house. Harry fell to the floor and leaned against a wall. His magic really felt drained...

-oOo-

A/N: I hope you all enjoy this final major downfall of the story. I have had this in my head for months and hope I built up to it properly. Next... the last Death Eater... what is the fate of Severus Snape?