CHAPTER 24: THE GHOST OF VOLDEMORT

"Oh…" Hermione's eyes glazed as she stared blankly at the fire. "Oh, my."

"Kill?" Ron's voice said. Harry knew he'd taken the Glumeba Ring off. Next, Ron's head appeared out of nowhere. "Kill who? I liked Professor Garney. Who's she going to kill?"

But neither Harry nor Hermione had time to answer. A voice was out in the hall.

"Ssh!" Hermione hissed.

Hermione, Ron, and Harry strained to listen.

"They must be around here somewhere, Nagini…"

Nagini?!

Harry had heard the name Nagini before. It was Voldemort's snake.

"Hey! It's… It's…" Ron whispered.

"It's V-Voldemort, Harry!" Hermione was more urgent. "B-but… he's d-d-dead… it c-can't be!" She shook with terror.

"Here!" Ron tossed Harry the Invisibility Cloak and Glumeba Ring. "Put them on!"

Harry did so, but just in time. The commons doors burst open, and Hermione gasped in fear. Ron fainted. Harry went weak at the knees as his scar burned so fiercely that he was glad he was silent. He knew he was screaming louder than he'd ever screamed before.

"Where… Is… He?!"

Harry knew there was no mistaking the tall ghost in the doorway… the slits for nostrils, pointed face… glowing red eyes. It most certainly was Voldemort. Of course, he was dead, which only made him more invincible. One can not kill someone who is already dead.

"W-where is who?" Hermione stood just beside Harry, leaning on a table for support.

"Potter," Voldemort spat, his voice trembling with hatred. "Wait a minute… it's you… you're the Mudblood who helped kill my body! Tell your friend Potter to come out from under the Invisibility Cloak." He turned directly to where Harry stood. Harry felt the red eyes penetrating his Cloak. "I can see right through you, Potter!" Voldemort shook with evil, echoing laughter.

"Harry's not here." Hermione's quaking voice squeaked.

"Don't lie to me, girl!" Voldemort turned on Hermione. "I can see him! Do you not think that the all-powerful Lord Voldemort can see all?! Soon I shall return to power! And my first deed as a living man? To kill Harry Potter!"

Hermione screamed as Harry whipped off his Invisibility Cloak and Glumeba Ring. His ears red with anger and his scar crimson with pain, Harry stared spitefully at Voldemort. "Go ahead then!" He shouted, "Kill me now!"

Voldemort's malicious smirk faded. "You know I can't, boy! I'm - I'm a ghost!"

"Oh, really?" Harry demanded sarcastically. "I hadn't noticed."

"You're not as smart as you think you are," Voldemort sneered. "You think when you killed my mortal body, my presence would be eradicated?! How naïve you are. When you killed my body, you left my ghost behind! I used the little bit of power left in me and my faithful servant Wormtail's wand to revive him from your clever little Petrificus curse. How very, very stunned I was to see your stupidity. How, I asked myself, How? How could such an unintelligent little… beast… defeat me?! The most powerful of all sorcerers? So I told myself that I would find you, and kill you, once and for all. You want the truth, Harry Potter?" he looked at Hermione. "Mudblood?" he sneered at the fallen Ron. "Revivus." Ron yawned and stretched as he woke up. Then, with a small, but piercing scream. He buried his face in his hands. His voice was muffled as he said,

"I had hoped it was just a nightmare."

"Oh, no," said Voldemort silkily. "It's real." His laughter echoed again. "Oh, stupid Potter? Do you really think you, your Muggle friend, and your squib tagalong could defeat me? I AM INVINCIBLE!"

Harry summoned what little courage he had left. "Fine then. Why did you kill the Death Eaters, if you can't kill me? How?"

Voldemort's red eyes flashed. "Kill them?"

"What, you don't read the Daily Prophet?" Hermione had her hands on her hips.

"I have no access." Voldemort's lip curled. "Anyway, I didn't kill them. I took them. You're even more stupid than I thought, Potter. Why would I kill my army?"

"Your - your army?!" Hermione shuddered.

"That's right, Mudblood." Voldemort grinned nastily. "My army. I took them! Found dead, the Ministry said, did they? They didn't want people to think they'd come back to me! I took each and every adult witch and wizard who'd ever been loyal to me. The American Ministry of Magic was truthful, at least. Told the students that they're parents had disappeared. The children all knew where they'd gone, and I'm sure the Hogwart's children were just putting on a façade of sadness. They knew! I've found every last Death Eater except for two."

"What two are those?" Harry asked hatefully.

"Oliver and Malicia Redenblue. Their daughter is here. But I am unable to make a Truth Potion to make her tell me where they are."

"They're at Welsnurth!" Ron blurted.

Voldemort sneered. "Thank you."

"What about Snape?" Harry said, changing the subject.

"Your Potions teacher? Severus Snape?"

"Where is he?" Hermione demanded.

"They are all in the Road to Nowhere, which I have removed from Hogwart's, by the way. Your precious Dumbledore isn't at Hogwart's, he's in London, and my most loyal Death Eaters are moving in, including Snape."

"He's not loyal to you!" Hermione shouted defiantly. "He's with Dumbledore now!"

"He is not with Dumbledore!" Voldemort shrieked back. "He is with me! Snape has always been with the winning team!"

"He's not - he can't be! He's with Dumbledore!"

Pop.

"Speaking of…" Ron's tiny voice piped up.

"Lord Voldemort!" Dumbledore stood behind Harry.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione breathed in reverence. "How did you get here?!"

"I'll explain it all later, Miss Granger." Dumbledore pointed his wand at Voldemort's ghost, his usually steady hand shaking with anger, and said, "Reducius!"

Voldemort's ghost began to shrink. Using his wand, Dumbledore conjured up a jar and Voldemort's ghost was sucked into it.

Voldemort, with his now-squeaky, tiny voice, pounded his little fists against the glass sides of the Mason jar. "Nooo! You can't take me!" He screamed.

"I most certainly can, and I will." Dumbledore said firmly. "Please, sit down." he said to the stunned Hermione, Ron, and Harry, gesturing to the chairs beside the fire. He tucked the jar into his robes.

"Please, Professor, how did you get here, and how did you know to come?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, Professor Snape warned me."

"Professor Snape?" Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Yes. You see, he'd been captured by Voldemort. When Voldemort said that he was coming to Micksmeyer to kill Harry Potter, Severus -- I mean, Professor Snape… escaped the Road to Nowhere, which is no longer at our school, thank goodness, and came immediately to me in Diagon Alley in London. I apparated immediately, straight to Micksmeyer."

"So… Professor Snape isn't a Death Eater?" Ron asked.

"No!" Dumbledore insisted. "Professor Snape told me where the Death Eaters are, and the Ministry is working on it. I've brought a portkey with me," he pulled out a dirty leather shoe. "Come on, let's go back home."

"Professor, we've only been here one day!" Rob objected.

"Let's go back home." Professor Dumbledore said firmly.

"Professor, our trunks and things!" Harry chimed in.

"The Ministry will take care of them." Dumbledore rose to leave. The students began to follow.

"Professor --"

Dumbledore turned on the three Hogwart's pupils. "We are not staying here. It is not safe. We are going back home."

Hermione bowed her head. Ron and Harry followed silently, and the four gathered around the shoe.

As the time counted down, Ron leaned over and whispered to Harry, "Think we should tell him about what Ruby said? About Garney?"

"Later." Harry responded. Suddenly, he was pulled into the shoe, whirling through the vortex and back into London. The four travelers wound up in the Leaky Cauldron.

Before them stood Professor Emma Garney. With a fierce twinkle in her eye, she stared at the trekkers.

"Welcome back." She sneered sarcastically.