Chapter Twenty-Two – Tom
Harry and Albus only spent a few minutes making sure they both knew what they were doing for the day. Albus sent a message via patronus out to several people before they left as well to go to the Ministry. Minerva was put in charge of the school while he was out. They then took the floo directly to the office Albus used whenever he had to be at the Ministry and to prepare for Wizengamot business.
Making their way quickly to Arthur Weasley's office, Albus was able to get his help right away with a strong privacy spell to keep the information private. The DMLE was next door so they went there next. Albus and Harry headed to the office of Amelia Bones, who was the Director of the DMLE, while Arthur went to talk to Kingsley Shacklebolt and Tonks privately, since they weren't sure if all the aurors were on the up and up.
When Amelia met Harry, she had a lot of questions, but Albus had to step in and make her understand that they didn't have the time for all the questions since he had reliable intel that Voldemort had planted several workers in the Ministry. They would need to concentrate on that immediately since he also had information that Voldemort himself was going to attack the Ministry that very night to take it over.
Amelia was all business after that and showed them how good she was at her job.
Once they got the aurors on board, especially Amelia Bones, and quickly weeded out the three secret Death Eaters in their midst, they were then ready to go through the entire Ministry to find the others. Secrecy was of the upmost importance so they only identified some of them for capture later. Those that could be dealt with then and there without raising suspicion were dealt with immediately. If anyone asked, they were told that they had to leave early for the day, took an early or late lunch, or had just stepped out for a bit. Anything to prevent suspicion.
They were also on the lookout for people under the Imperious Curse. These were identified for reversing it later.
The hard part came when they had to go talk to the Minister, Cornelius Fudge. He was not known for being cooperative. They also saw Lucius Malfoy leaving the Minister's office when they arrived. Harry and he stopped and stared at each other for a good while.
"I believe I said what I would do if I caught you out of your cell the next time we met. Did I not make myself clear?" asked Harry.
"I was acquitted of all charges, Mr. Potter," he responded imperiously.
"And who would be stupid enough to acquit a man caught in the act of his crimes?"
"Harry, I don't think this is the best time for this," interjected Albus. "Lucius Malfoy was acquitted by the Wizengamot, so there is nothing legal we can do."
"I see. Well, until next time, Mr. Malfoy," Harry said with a tip of his head. "Let's hope you aren't committing any crimes at the time, as I'm certain you won't make your next court date if you are."
Lucius blanched after that statement, but no one saw it since Harry and Albus had moved on toward the Minister's office, ignoring any pleasantries with the wizard and walking away as if he was not worth their time.
Lucius picked up his pace a little as he left the Ministry. It worried him what the young man could do. He still had not figured out how he managed to do what he did in Diagon Alley. It should be impossible to accomplish. He also deduced since then that since the Potter boy was older than he was supposed to be then he must have used a Time Turner for training and had lots of it.
The meeting with Fudge proved to be difficult, especially when trying to get him to cooperate with their requests. That is until Amelia Bones entered his office and took charge. Fudge was relegated to the side-lines as they finalized their plans and had them carried out.
It took most of the day to prepare everything and put people in the right place. However, by the end of the workday, they felt they were as ready as they could be.
Somewhere around eleven o'clock in the evening the Ministry floos were flooded with Death Eaters in black robes and white masks. They came pouring out of the fireplaces with wands at the ready. In a matter of minutes, there were close to a hundred death eaters who had arrived and started going to their designated places in the Ministry to take over.
The only problem with their plan was the fact that the Ministry was not as empty as they thought it would be. As soon as they left the atrium, they were met with strong resistance. All kinds of spells were waiting on them as soon as the lift doors opened on a floor. The spells, which were mostly stunners, started raining down on them even before the doors were completely open.
If any Death Eater managed to fire off a spell in retaliation, there were designated people ready with shields to block them. If the Death Eater put up his own shield, then the pure number of spells hitting it brought it down.
The bodies were levitated out and the lifts were sent back into service quickly.
While that was happening throughout the Ministry at all the exits and entrances into or out of the Ministry or onto different floors, Harry was waiting in the atrium under his invisibility cloak. He saw all the Death Eaters arrive via the floo and hurry out of the atrium to their destination. He did not once see Voldemort or Malfoy for that matter.
But he was patient.
Several minutes passed as the atrium emptied of all people, save one lone Death Eater whose job was to secure the atrium. He wasn't doing his job very well since Harry stayed unnoticed under his cloak. It was nice of Albus to give it to him after holding onto it for so long. It was also nice to have something of his father's even though he had no recollection of the man.
After more time passed, Harry was starting to get bored until the floos activated again.
This time some of the ones he fought in Diagon Alley, including Lucius Malfoy, came out of the floos. They were followed by a pale looking bald man with just slits for a nose and red eyes. He came out and looked around warily.
The lone guard rose from his chair and prostrated himself in the presence of his lord, then sat on his knees to speak.
"My lord," he intoned. "All should be ready for you."
Harry slipped up behind the guard and took the opportunity to freeze the man in place by stopping time on just him.
"Rise and continue your duties," Voldemort said offhandedly then walked further toward the lifts.
When the man continued to stay on his knees and frozen in place Voldemort noticed, so he walked back to him and looked at his servant more closely. He waved his hand in front of his face but of course there was no reaction.
"What's wrong with him," asked Voldemort.
"I don't know my lord," answered Lucius as he poked him with his wand. The other members of the dark lord's inner circle just stared at the man who appeared to be frozen in place. Then it dawned on Lucius. "Potter!"
Voldemort immediately put up a full body shield and kept it up like it was nothing. He then started looking around. Lucius and the others went on alert. Harry moved away from them a bit then pulled off his cloak and stuffed it in a pocket that was bigger on the inside. They all turned to face him.
"Hello, Mr. Riddle. I'm Harry Potter. I realize you haven't seen me since I was one, and of course I'm older than I should be had I not went away. I just felt introductions were in order. I can't say it's a pleasure. No. It's not a pleasure at all, especially when you have to kill someone."
"I have waited for a long time Harry Potter. I will enjoy killing you and you will die this time."
"I thought you might say that so I brought along a little friend. Just for insurance you see."
Harry reached over in front of him with his right hand and pulled a metal cylinder shaped device into it from off his left hip. The object flew into his hand as he used wandless magic. They were a little shocked at the ease at which he did it.
"This, my friends, is what is called a lightsaber," he said holding it up so they could all see it. "You might call it a sword since this planet's technology has not reached the level to produce such a thing."
"It doesn't look like much of a sword to me," said Rodolphus Lestrange laughing. A few others joined in. "It's a little short and has no pointy end."
All of them, except Voldemort, found that amusing. Voldemort just watched the young man carefully.
"Pssshew Nnnnnnnnn…."
The Death Eaters and Voldemort all just stared at the orange light that was shaped like a round blade for the sword. The Death Eaters suddenly lost their smiles of amusement.
"As you can see, the blade is made out of light and it can cut through pretty much anything. The people who normally use these lightsabers are known as Jedi and they train for years and years to perfect their ability to use it. Now I don't have near their training or their aptitude for that matter, but I'm not bad, if I say so myself. I was taught by one of the best after all. He was a good friend of mine. His name was Revan."
"You do realize that with our wands, we can hit you from a distance?" responded Augustus Rookwood. "You'll have to get a lot closer to connect with that."
"Well, I do believe you're right," said Harry like that just dawned on him. "I suppose I will. I'm ready when you are," he assured them.
Harry twitched his fingers and suddenly his body was as light as a feather.
"Kill him," ordered Voldemort still keeping his shield up.
The Death Eaters all started firing some very bad curses but Harry just stepped out of the way quickly and they passed right by him. As they continued to cast spells at him, he started batting them back toward the casters and occasionally toward Voldemort, but his shield held.
Normally, the Death Eaters would put up a shield too, but some were hit with their own spells if they weren't quick enough. Harry would side-step the Killing Curse when it was cast unless it was convenient to bat it back to them using his lightsaber. They scrambled when that happened. Voldemort just conjured something to block it.
After Harry was done playing with them, he put on a burst of speed that they couldn't follow. When he stopped, the only one standing was Voldemort and he was looking worried. The Death Eaters around him were his entire inner circle and they were all in two pieces now, dead to the world.
"Now, where were we?" asked Harry to Voldemort when he arrived back at the spot a few meters in front of him. "Impressive shield you have there. I bet it would even stop my lightsaber. Well, at least slow it down."
Voldemort eyed his servants around him. Seeing what that sword could do was impressive. Not much mess either. It appears to cauterize most of it as it cuts, but being cleaved into is definitely bad for your health. It was the boy's speed that really troubled him.
"Harry, you will find that I am much harder to kill than my servants. I am also far more skilled at fighting than they are."
"I was hoping for a challenge," he responded excitedly.
"Since I can keep up this shield and fight at the same time, I believe you will get your wish," he said with an evil smile.
oOo
Albus was a floater, which means he was helping wherever it was needed. Instead of fighting, Cornelius Fudge decided to stay in his office where he felt more protected. The only problem with that theory was the fact that the Carrow twins managed to make it to his office unabated. They used invisibility cloaks to help with that.
When they suddenly appeared in front of the Minister from thin air he was very worried. He tried to use his wand but they killed him before he could get a single spell off. Job done, they headed out of the Minister's office to report back to their master.
Unfortunately for them, Albus Dumbledore was coming to check on Cornelius. They had put their invisibility cloaks back on but Albus could see through invisibility cloaks and he caught them coming out of the Minister's office. He feared the worst for Cornelius but did his job and took on the twins.
Of course, the Carrows were not up to the task against someone of Dumbledore's power and experience. After a very short fight, he transfigured the twins into statues, shrunk them, then put them in a pouch on his belt with others he had collected.
When he found Cornelius dead in his chair from the Killing Curse, he said "Sorry, old friend," closed the dead Minister's eyes for him, and then left to see where else he was needed before heading to the atrium.
oOo
Unlike Albus, Amelia Bones had killed before so she had no compunction to go easy on the Death Eaters invading her ministry. While she didn't use any unforgiveable curses, her spells were nonetheless extremely lethal. Basically, she had a take no prisoners approach to the situation. Several Death Eaters discovered this a second too late. She also instructed her aurors to do the same and to not hold back.
The Death Eaters were catching on that the whole night was a setup so they were starting to get a little more cautious and more vicious as well. Some were even more cunning. The dark lord would not accept failure so they did their best to take down the defenders.
A group of them came at Amelia and her team, taking out one of the Ministry workers who stayed to fight. His dying screams woke something in the Director that she had not felt in a long time. The memories of so many Bones family members being cut down by these sycophants flashed through her mind. Then she remembered her sweet niece, Susan, and that they were the only Bones left of their entire family.
Suddenly, Amelia's wand was spitting out powerful curses that were breaking shields and dismembering Death Eaters. Her team members were caught by surprise by it but quickly recovered and started backing her up as Death Eater after Death Eater fell to her powerful curses. Some fought well against her but they all fell in the end, leaving a bloody but very much alive and still ready for more, Amelia Bones.
The Ministry side did not escape without some serious injuries and even some deaths, but the Death Eaters were not expecting such fierce resistance and the amount of defenders they ran into, especially at that time of night in the Ministry. Consequently, they faired poorly since the Ministry appeared to be waiting for them like a trap that was set and triggered when they arrived.
Amelia Bones, Albus Dumbledore, and Harry Potter would be touted as heroes when the next day's papers were printed.
oOo
As Harry faced off against Voldemort, he decided that the lightsaber would be practically useless against that shield so he switched it off and placed it back on his belt all at the same time and in one smooth motion, just like he saw Revan do many times.
"Well, wands it is," Harry announced as his custom made wand dropped into his right hand from his wand holster.
It was a unique wand made out of Grave Thorn Wood with two cores made from heart strings of a Krayt Dragon and a Shadow Rancor. Harry's own blood was added to the mix. Voldemort noted the look of the wand with curiosity.
"Interesting looking wand. I don't recognize the wood," he said.
"You wouldn't," Harry responded in a matter of fact tone.
Voldemort raised his eyebrows at that answer.
"The tree isn't from around these parts," Harry explained. "Neither are the cores for that matter."
"I'm sure that's an interesting story but perhaps another time? …Oh, that's right. You're about to die so there won't be another time."
"If you think you can manage it, go ahead and give it your best shot," answered Harry. "I think you'll find that I'm not an easy man to kill. Many have tried and failed."
"Do you not understand, Harry, that you are facing Lord Voldemort?" he asked incredulously.
"Oh, I understand who you are. You're a sniveling coward who has been hiding from me ever since I returned. Your biggest mistake was coming after me the first time when you killed my parents. Your second biggest mistake is being made right now."
And that was all it took. Voldemort was furious and attacked with all he had while Harry just danced around all the spells being thrown at him. While Voldemort was unloading on Harry with all the nastiest spells he could churn out as fast as he could, Harry was simply flitting around dodging the dark curses, while at the same time throwing strong cutting curses at different parts of Voldemort's shield, trying to weaken it while the madman was more focused on killing.
Voldemort was very frustrated that he couldn't hit Harry so he came up with a different tactic. He stopped for a breather then sent out a large pulse of magic that broke all the glass in the atrium. He then raised his wand above his head and directed all the broken glass at Harry, covering a wide area so he couldn't dodge around it.
Harry just stopped and watched the wall of broken glass spinning end over end as it headed his way. He could see Voldemort had an evil gleam in his eye and a pleased but determined sneer on his lips.
However, just when the glass was only about a meter away from completely cutting Harry to ribbons, he simply twitched his fingers and the entire atrium came to a complete halt as time was stopped dead still. The only things not affected were Harry and Voldemort who was still successfully maintaining his shield all around him.
This surprised Voldemort, but the next thing that happened surprised him even more since all the glass suddenly reversed direction and hit his shield. He tried to strengthen it again quickly but with all the cuts Harry made to it, the glass overwhelmed it after a bit and shattered the shield into nothingness. Voldemort was lucky only three pieces of glass managed to get through and impale him in the arm, hip, and leg since he turned away quickly when his shield burst.
Voldemort was reaching for his special portkey so he could escape when he suddenly felt pain like he had never felt before. It was almost like his body was being squeezed into a smaller space than it needed. Nearly all of his bones were broken at the same time. The pain was incredible. His portkey and wand were destroyed as well as they shattered from the strange spell.
He was just laying there unable to move when he saw Harry Potter standing over him. Voldemort was gasping for breath and shuddering as pain ripped through his body in spasms. The boy just looked on with no emotion. Harry cancelled the spell and decided to educate the now broken dark lord.
"The prophecy said that we would be equal but I would have a power you know not. Guess what, Tom? I'm a Time Mage." Voldemort's eyes widened. "That means I have power over space and time. When I left at six years of age I went to another galaxy, another planet, and even another time. I've even travelled across dimensions. I've also fought dark lords and warriors more powerful than you. There are warriors out there with no magical ability whatsoever but they wear armor and shields that your spells will not even penetrate, not even your precious Killing Curse. I've beaten them all. You see, you never had a chance. Now, I know you're hurting but I thought you needed to know before I put you out of your misery."
Voldemort's eyes were still wide as he tried to comprehend what he was just told. He gasped and since death was what he feared the most, he even begged "please" in a raspy voice. However, Harry was having none of that.
"Goodbye, Tom."
Harry took his wand and sent a cutting curse to Voldemort's neck, severing his head completely from his body.
Voldemort was dead.
oOo
As Albus made his way through the Ministry checking once again on all the spots where fighting occurred, he found that all was in hand. All the Death Eaters were either dead or captured. He informed the Ministry workers, especially Amelia, about Cornelius. They were in shock that two Death Eaters got by them and made it to his office to kill him.
Albus suggested that Amelia consider running for Minister. She said she would think it over.
Albus finally made it to the atrium where he found Harry sitting in the security guard's chair. He looked around at all the dead Death Eaters who were in pieces, then his eyes fell on Tom Riddle's body, which was headless. The head was close by but no longer connected. Albus looked over at Harry.
"I see you were successful, Harry. Thank you for taking care of this. Finally, we can breathe and have a society in peace instead of turmoil. Tom had such potential but he always chose the wrong path."
"Well, he won't be a problem anymore. He was pretty good but not quite good enough."
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Me? Nah. They never touched me."
"You are a very powerful wizard, Harry."
"Oh, I don't think I'm anymore powerful than he was or you for that matter. The difference, I think, is my ability over space and time."
"Indeed. Tom and I were pretty close in power, although I think I had a slight edge over him. I'm pretty sure your regular magic is around our same level, power wise anyway."
"I suppose your right. The prophecy did indicate in a round about way that we were equal, except for the power he knows not. I told him about it just before I killed him. I'm not sure how much he understood. He was in quite a bit of pain at the time."
"Could you not have let him live after you defeated him and had him subdued? Arrested him, perhaps? I'm not sure the prophecy required you to actually physically kill him."
"No, he was too far gone in his thirst for power and insanity. He was also way too dangerous to let live, plus there was no redemption for him. Besides, he killed my parents and tried to kill me when I was only a baby. That bought him a one way ticket to Hell via the Harry Potter express."
Albus chuckled.
"What I don't understand completely is how he came back after that Killing Curse rebounded on him when I was a baby."
"He used very dark magic, Harry, that requires the murder of several innocents. It's a shame that type of spell was ever created in the first place."
"And you thought I should have let him live?" Harry asked incredulously.
"I suppose you're right. He went way too far down that dark path."
"How did everyone else fair, Albus?"
"Pretty well. We had several injuries and a few deaths as well, including the Minister, but the Death Eaters were thoroughly beaten."
"You mean that pain in the arse Minister got himself killed?"
"I'm afraid so. I got there a little too late but took care of the killers."
"What are they going to do now?"
"I suggested to Amelia that she run for Minister. She said she would think about it."
"She would make a good one. That lady knows her stuff and is all business. She'd be a far cry better than Fudge ever was."
"There's no doubt about that, Harry, but the Ministry has a lot of clean up to do so I suggest you go home and get some rest. It'll be a few days before much is sorted."
"That is an excellent idea, Albus. I do have a lot on my plate so you may not see me for a while."
"Don't be a stranger, Harry."
"I'll try, Albus."
With that Harry disappeared.
oOo
Harry slept soundly that night. He did have a lot to do the next day but the most important thing on his plate was speaking with Lisera. He decided it was time to put everything else aside and get that taken care of. There was no one on this planet, or any other planet for that matter, that he cared more for than Lisera. He now knew that she felt pretty much the same way toward him.
It was time they discussed that and made some plans for their future.
After hints throughout the day of how much they loved each other, a long talk over dinner settled any lingering questions they had about their relationship. They were definitely in love with one another.
Later that night, Todge had to place a Silencing Charm on the Master Suite to give his master and mistress some privacy. Apparently, Master Harry forgot.
They were quite loud, he noticed.