A/N: Well, it's crunch time. We're down to the wire. I said I would finish
this story this weekend, and finish it I shall! If not tonight, then tomorrow.
Tonight it is my goal to complete at least chapter six and part of
seven! Seven won't be very long, even compared to my other chapters. It's just
kind of like an epilogue of sorts.
Now, I'd like to address a few comments I've been getting. Yeah, I know
my chapters are short! And if you had seen my other stories (not posted on this
site) you would know this is not like me at all! I am currently planning
a very lengthy fic that I probably won't get to start in the summer, as I'm
going to Holland for three weeks in July. (Yay!) June is going to be a very
busy month for me! I have exams, projects and ISPs galore, not ending until the
25th. As you can see I'm gonna have a hectic summer. I will write as
much as possible! I'm buying plenty of notebooks to bring with me so I can do
as much writing as possible without hurting my poor hand too much. Anyway, what
was I saying? Oh yes! My extremely long fic. Well, the plot is bubbling and
churning in my head, and I'm making notes here and there. I have a horrible
feeling this fic will take me a year or more to write, with the way my life is
going…but it leaves you with something to look forward to from me!
Well, I think this author's note has been long enough. Now that my
fingers are good and warmed up, I think I better start writing the actual
story…
One last thing, I promise! I mentioned a few chapters ago that I was writing
a story about certain characters in leather…that's coming, I promise *grin*.
***
The Orb of Umbra
Chapter Six: The Dark Lord
He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He was choking on his own fear,
drowning in his own hatred. Hatred of himself, the Orb, the Sorting Hat, and
especially Voldemort. Harry couldn't seem to move, he just remained curled up
on the floor. His lips couldn't form the words. It isn't real. None of it's
real. Ginny's back at Hogwarts. Sirius is safe in hiding. Dumbledore's alive…
None of the words sounded true. Harry's mind swam. He was losing his grip on
reality. He had no idea what was real and what was a product of the Orb. There
were voices, all whispering and shouting together. Whether they were real or
not, Harry couldn't tell.
Stand aside, girl.
Better be…SLYTHERIN!
No, not Harry!
I can give you powers you cannot imagine…
…you remind me of a young man I met 50 years back…
You cannot be strong forever…eventually you will break and give in to
me.
I'm sorry, Harry…
"STOP! Stop it!" Harry bellowed into nothingness. The only answer was his own voice echoing back to him, bouncing off – the trees in a forest, Harry realized, opening his eyes to the new world. And new it was. Harry was standing in the edge of a forest overlooking Hogsmeade, and the village was alight with an orange glow – fire. The village was burning. People were running in all directions, screaming with voices so terrified it made Harry shivered. Witches and wizards everywhere were attempting to put out the fires with magic to no avail. Some were even throwing buckets of water on their houses. But the fires still burned. Burning with dark magic, Harry realized. He dared not think whose dark magic it was causing this destruction.
Harry ran down the hill through the trees until he reached the village. He could almost feel the white-hot flames licking at his face as they danced and taunted him. In the distance, somewhere on the other side of the village, someone let out a piercing scream. "Ron! RON! Get up, he's coming!" Hermione. Harry broke into a run, leaping over bodies lying in the street, dodging the falling timbers and people scrambling aimlessly, until he reached the edge of Hogsmeade. It was the cave where Sirius had hidden during his third year – or had he – and at the mouth of the cave stood a perfect replica of himself and Voldemort, and on the ground in front of them were Ron and Hermione. Harry felt himself barely able to walk as he approached the cave. He crept closer, listening intently as the sounds of their voices drifted into his ears.
"…now, Harry. You've already destroyed an entire village. Kill the mudblood. Let her be your first victim. Show the world you're not prepared to show mercy. Show them you're not weak. SHOW THEM THE DARK LORD HAS RISEN AGAIN!" Voldemort was breathing heavily, his face set in a triumphant smile. Young Harry, who was not so young anymore, raised his wand, his face expressionless but his green eyes flashing dangerously with a look to kill. Voldemort's grin widened. "Yes boy, that's it –" But he never finished. Young Harry turned his wand on Voldemort and screamed, "Avada Kedavra!" The flash of green light shattered Harry's vision momentarily; when the world came back into focus, he was staring at a grim scene. Voldemort was indeed dead. Young Harry scooped up Voldemort's wand, joining it with his own. He grinned a grin that was so unlike his own Harry thought he was still looking at Voldemort's face. "Yes…the Dark Lord has risen." Young Harry pointed both wands directly at where Ron and Hermione were clinging to each other in terror. They barely had time to scream before, "Avada Kedavra!"
For a moment there was silence. Not even the chaos from the village could penetrate the deadness in Harry's mind. This was not real. He was not seeing this. Young Harry turned, his cold green eyes now staring, fixated into Harry's own warm emerald green ones. "Look what you have become, boy!" His voice was nothing but a low hiss. A pause, and then – bone-chilling, manic laughter. The very same laughter that had haunted Harry's dreams and his memory of the night his parents had died. The ceaseless, unwavering laughter that could have driven men insane. "Stop it! No! IT'S NOT REAL! Take me back…take me back…take me back…"
And Harry was falling, lost in the swirling, purple fog once more.
***
Mad thanks go to all my new reviewers, and to my old ones who reviewed again! You guys rock. Please keep reviewing! Only one chapter left…
