The Joining of Two Souls
Rather than waste time with flying, Albus and Severus decided it would be quicker, in the long run, to apparate right outside the school grounds and walk the rest of the way in. So it was that they found themselves walking through the Forbidden Forest near 9:00 that evening. Severus was so bent on getting back to the school and Deidra, that he was oblivious to everything else. Dumbledore however, was very alert to their surroundings. He could sense something was wrong. He felt something almost like a pulse that seemed to be generating from the school.
Now Dumbledore, like every other headmaster of Hogwarts, had a spell that bound him to the school, so that he could see and hear all that went on. But right now the pulse was rather small, and he too was preoccupied, so the pulse soon slipped to the back of his sub conscience registration. He was more concerned at the moment, with how Voldemort had managed to return to Hogsmead without anyone, or anything noticing.
********************************^****************************
Had either man not been so engrossed in his own thoughts, they would have seen the two figures to their far left traveling in the opposite direction. But because it was so dark, and both men were very preoccupied, neither noticed Voldemort or Deidra. However, due to the same reasons, Voldemort didn't notice them either. So, just as two ships in the night, the two pair past each other without any recognition.
When Voldemort and Deidra had cleared the trees, he turned and looked around. They had reached the ends of the grounds, so it was possible to apparate from here. Taking a few steps closer, his cheek was barely inches from Deidra's. He hissed in her ear, "I'm going to apparate us now, if you try any tricks, or draw any attention, I kill you on the spot, is that clear?" Deidra nodded meekly.
Grabbing the sleeve of Deidra's robe, he waved his wand and muttered some incomprehensible words. A blaze of white light flashed in front of Deidra's eyes and then it was done. She looked around to find herself surrounded by tombstones and flowers. She swallowed hard, her eyes scanning the numerous markers to find the one she needed.
Within a few moments of searching she spied it. A massive square slab of marble residing under the leaves of a gigantic oak. When Voldemort shoved her from behind, she didn't fight it, but rather, concentrated on directing her fall so that she landed on top of the actual grave.
This was the moment of truth, if she was going to do it, she would have to do it now. Keeping her back to Voldemort, she braced her hands on the ground where, six feet under, the body would be laying. This was going to be very difficult, for she didn't have her wand. Though it was entirely possible to do magic without a wand, and she had learned how many years ago, it was always much more difficult. The purpose of a wand was to channel the power within; it gave the magic structure and direction. To call magic up on it's own, without any sort of conductor, took a great deal more strength and concentration. Deidra wasn't even sure she'd be able to do it. She hadn't practiced none wand magic in many years, and she was tired as it was, but it was her only chance. So, bowing her head, she began whispering the words that she had memorized earlier that day. "Alymorha, revivium, deceases, bindestra, alymorha, mea, se tu."
Suddenly a pillar of golden light burst from the ground where Deidra knelt, shooting straight up, infinitely heaven wards. Deidra stood in the center of beam, screaming from the pain that she was experiencing. It felt as though every last nerve and cell in her body were being split in two, the pain grew so intense that she feared she might pass out.
Voldemort, who hadn't seen what Deidra was doing, was knocked off balance by the sudden burst of light. Shading his eyes, he looked at Deidra, her whole body seemed to be changing, and yet it wasn't. All at once, she reminded him of someone he hadn't seen in years, and as this realization dawned on him, he could no longer bare to look at the woman standing in front of him.
###############################^#############################
By the time Severus and Albus reached the front steps of Hogwarts, it was near 11:00 at night. They were both quite surprised to find the front entrance open. "What would make Deidra leave the front entrance wide open if she knew Voldemort was coming, even if she knew we were coming?" Severus asked as he looked around the front hall.
There was an eerie silence to the castle that neither man liked, the absense of life was profound. There were no children to be heard anywhere, no teachers scolding, no feet pounding on stone, no peeves' taunts. One would think that the castle had been empty for years. "Perhaps, it was not Deidra who left the door open. Wands out Severus, I think I hear someone coming." Both men drew their wands from the folds of their robes and backed into the shadows cast by the tourch light.
Sure enough, within a few moments a man could be heard staggering through the halls, he was swearing and talking to himself. It only took a few moments for Severus to place the man's voice, and when he did he grew enraged. Catching Dumbledore's eye he mouthed the word "Lucious!" Dumbledore only nodded and returned to watching the staircase where he predicted Lucious would come from.
As he drew nearer, his words became clearer. "Where the hell are they, she couldn't had time to evacuate all of them and get them out of range, impossible. Damn!" He was decendig the stair case now, and Severus took up a crouch position like a tiger about to spring.
Lucious decended the stairs and came around the corner. When he did Severus jumped at him and nocked him to the ground. He wanted ever so badly to choke the man right then and there. But Dumbledore's steady hand pulled him back. Using his wand, Albus pinned Lucious to the wall. Though his movements were calm, his eyes were filled with a cold, violent anger.
"What are you doing here, Lucious?" Dumbledore stood before Lucious in a relaxed position with his wand casually pointed at Lucious's heart. Lucious struggled to get free, but Dumbledore's bonds held him tight.
"Where did you hide them all Dumbledore, I've been unable to find a single person other than your daughter in this entire god forsaken school!" At the mention of his daughter, Dumbledore's jaw tightened, and Severus came of the wall where he'd been lounging with a start.
"Where did you see my daughter Lucious?"Dumbledore had stepped closer now, so that his wand actually was on Lucious's heart.
Lucious sneered evilly. "Oh her, she let us in, that is, thanks to you my dear Severus."
Severus lunged at Lucious again, knocking Dumbledore's wand out of the way. Clutching his robe collar, Severus snarled, "what are you talking about, you cringing worm!"
Sniggering, Lucious looked Severus directly in the eye, "I mean that little love token you gave your darling before you left. She went for a walk this morning, and she dropped it by accident. Well, I too happened to be out for a little stroll and happened to come across it. So I brought it back to my master, being the FAITHFUL one and all. Well, you know how simple a Polyjuice Potion is to brew if you have the right ingredients. That dauft little hussy, she actually thought my master was you, let us right in!"
Severus yelled in anger an raised his hand to wound Lucious just as hard as he'd just wounded him. But before he could deliever his blow Albus stopped him, "Severus, no! That will do us no good right now."
Severus began to lower his fist, murder was in his eyes. "That's right, you be a good boy and do what daddy says, or isn't he daddy yet?" Lucious mocked harshly.
Again Severus's temper got the better of him and his fist flew out to land barely an inch away from Lucious's face. He stepped back to the shadows and eyed Lucious like the shopkeeper who's just caught the man who's been stealing from him, but he said nothing more.
Dumbledore came back to stand in front of Lucious, he wasn't quite finished with him yet. "What did you do to her?" Dumbledore's eyes looked even more venemous than Severus's at that moment.
Lucious raised his shoulders as much as he could to indicate that he didn't know. "When we had her, the master sent me off to find where everyone else was hiding, he said he would take care of her. I thought I heard them say something about the place where his first victims were buried, or something like that, but I didn't hear anything else."
Albus and Severus exchanged a look, they both knew what Lucious was talking about. The place where his first victims were buried, the graveyard where Voldemort's parents were buried.
"Why do you think he took her there?" Severus asked, his raged replaced by apprehension.
"I don't know Severus, but I don't think there's much we can do about it." Albus looked away from the other men, a sorrow filled his voice that was surprising to both men.
********************************^****************************
Voldemort crouched on the ground hiding his face, not daring to look. "What have you done!" He roared, trying to mask his uneasiness at what had just happened.
"Tom, Tom why are you speaking to me like that, you know I don't like that." The voice that responded to Voldemorts anger was not Deidra's but another woman's, one who Voldemort had thought long dead.
Standing again, Voldemort tried to back away, but Deidra turned around and followed him. "Tom, how can you behave this way, you act like you don't even know me. You don't even know your own mother."
Voldemort stopped dead in his tracks and spun around to face Deidra. "You are not my mother and don't ever say you are."
In a far back corner of her mind Deidra was still Deidra and she knew what she had to do, she had to get Voldemort to use all of his hate raw force on her so that she could counteract it with Jenifer Riddle's love for her son, that would destroy him, if she could just maintain control of her body long enough to do it.
"Tom, Tom please don't make me have to punish you, I don't want to, but you leave my no alternative." She stood facing Voldemort now, he was seithing, just barely able to control himself.
Throwing his arms up in a wild geture he shouted, "YOU"RE NOT MY MOTHER! My mother is dead I KILLED HER!" He yanked out his wand, "fine, fine you're my mother, that just means I'll have to kill you again!" He held his wand in both hands, concentrating very hard, drawing on all the power of his hate to end the life of his mother.
But before he could call up enough power to do anything, Deidra had nocked the wand out of his hand, "Thomas, what do you think you're doing?! That's it, I've had enough!"
This was it, in that far corner of the mind where Deidra still existed, she called up all her strength to order her body to grasp Voldemort by the right forearm.
"Fine! I don't need a wand to finish you off!" Using his right hand, he grasped Deidra by the forearm of the hand that held his. Calling on the power of his hate once more. Once he felt he had enough gathered together, he sent his power out, in what he visualized as something like acid rain, towards Deidra. But when his power reached the part where their arms were joined, it was as though his power had hit a brick wall.
The massive energy of Jenifer Riddle's love for her only child was enough to hault Voldemort's dark magic dead in it's tracks. What's more, now her power began to advance on him, preparing to suffocate him.
Deidra was sreaming again, the pain she had felt when she joined her soul with Jenifer Riddle's was nothing compared to the agony she was experiencing now. Deep inside of her a fierce battle raged. The Deidra half of the body was desperately trying to harvest and channel the love of the Jenifer half to destroy Voldemort. All the while, the Jenifer half raged to stop the flow and save her son.
But in the end Deidra used every ounce of control she still had over her body and used it to bend the Jenifer half into submission. Power exploded from her hand that held Voldemort's arm. Son's resentment of mother was no match for mother's love of son. The raw force of Jenifer's love cascaded over Voldemort, suffocating him, eating away at his very soul until there was nothing left.
Spent, Deidra/Jenifer collapsed on the ground. Next to her was a large chared spot where Voldemort's body would have been. Deidra had used all her control and strenght to force Jenifer to destroy her son. Now she had no control, and as her body slowly began to lose conscienceness, the part that was Deidra slipped deep, deep down into the depts of her mind, so that she could not find her way back. She was trapped in the prison of her own mind. Jenifer Riddle had control of Deidra's body and mind now, and she had no way of fighting it.
###############################^#############################
Both Dumbledore and Severus had tried questioning Lucious several times, but neither was able to get any more information out of him. Severus sat, his back supported by the wall, his head on his knees. Dumbledore sat on the steps of the staircase, his head resting on his hands. Lucious was still held up against the wall and no one had spoken for almost an hour.
Suddenly Severus stood up and began stalking towards the door. Albus moved and stood in his path, "Severus, where are you going?"
Severus tried to maneuver his way around the older man, but Dumbledore held up his wand to Severus's breast. Sighing in defeat Severus confessed his thought, "This is foolish, we know where Deidra is, it's been over two, maybe three hours since he took her away, who knows what could have happened by now! I can't just sit here any longer, I'm going after them, who knows, maybe I can be of some help to the right side for a change!"
Dumbledore sighed, considering what they should do. At last, after several minutes of silence, he spoke, "you're right Severus, we have waited here idle for too long, someone needs to go after Deidra."
"Right," said Severus as he tried to push past Dumbledore again, but still Dumbledore held him back.
"However, I do not think that you are the best person to go Severus," Albus finished, looking down.
Severus's face dropped, "What?!"
Albus held up his hand for silence, "Severus, we have no idea what you'll meet if you go to find them, further more, you are somewhat at a disadvantage where Deidra is concerned, you love her, and at times I think that my cloud your judgement."
Now Severus was angry again, "And she isn't a weakness for you too Albus, we both love her more than anything else, you're at as much of a disadvantage as I am."
Dumbledore sighed again, he had not wanted to get into an argument with Severus, but he didn't think he should be the one to go. "Yes, I will not deny that if I have any weakness whatsoever, it is Deidra. But I also think that of the two of us, I would be more likely to be able to deal with whatever we may might find along with Deidra and Voldemort, than you. And lastly, I need you to stay here and look for everyone else, I can't sense them anywhere, but for once Lucious was right, there's no way Deidra would have had time to evacuate everyone one the students and staff. My guess is that they're hidden somewhere inside the castle, and Deidra used her magic to shield them."
Severus drew back then. He knew Albus was right, about everything, but that didn't mean he liked it. "Very well," he mumbled.
"Good," said Dumbledore, patting him on the back, then you get started, and I'll be on my way." Severus nodded sullenly and trudged off into the depths of the castle.
Dumbledore turned and went out the front entrance, making his way as quickly as possible to the edge of the grounds. He wanted to be able to apparate to the graveyard as soon as possible.
********************************^****************************
Meanwhile, Severus was busy trying to think of all the possible places in the castle that could hide roughly five hundred people and eight ghosts. At first he'd looked in all the obvious places, the great hall, the dungeons, etc. He had decided to try the library and was in the process of searching through the shelves when he came across a very old, fraying book laying open in the middle of the row. Stooping over, he picked up the book and began leafing through it. From its content, he could tell it was a highly restricted book. But when he read the title he just dropped the book, MELDINGS, COMBINATIONS, AND BINDINGS, this was a very dangerous book, especially in certain hands. Tucking the book under his arm he left the library to have another little chat with Lucious.
################################^############################
Albus had apparated almost before he'd reach the clearing outside the forest, which was the end of the Hogwarts grounds. He hadn't indicated anything to Severus, or anyone else. But he was utterly petrified right now. His only child, his baby, in the hands of the Dark Lord. For the past few hours' visions of Deidra's mother just before she died had been filling Dumbledore's head. Just before she'd died, Albus's wife had made him swear to always protect their child and see that she did not meet her end like her mother had. For thirty-one years, Albus had kept that promise. He'd protected Deidra, sheltered her, taught her, cared for her, loved her. Now, as found himself among the tombstones of this all too familiar grave yard, he dared to ask himself the question that had been haunting him since they had received Deidra's letter back in London; were these thirty-one years all for nothing? Shall I fail a second time in protecting the ones I love?
He walked among the rows of stone, his eyes scanning the area for any possible sign of what had happened. He approached a gigantic oak, and on the other side, he could hear faint sobbing. Albus's heart began to race as he rounded the corner. At first he couldn't see anything, but once he'd past a row of stones he saw first a large chard black spot and next to it was the huddled weeping form of Deidra. He breathed deep with relief and made his way over to her. Kneeling down beside her, he gently touched her shoulder, "Deidra, Deidra darling, it's daddy, are you alright?"
Deidra turned her tear-streaked face to him and brought her hands up to her mouth in horror. She looked from Dumbledore to the spot beside her, then back to Dumbledore again. "What have I done, what have I done to my baby, my Tom, what have I done to my Tom?!"
Dumbledore drew back in shock and fright, this may be his daughter's body, but this was not his daughter. He didn't know how or why this had happened, but he knew as sure as he loved her, that this was not his Deidra.