Unraveled
Chapter Forty-Two: End of the Line
Harry could see the vampire's fangs inching closer to his jugular. Her fangs retracted to their normal size. "Welcome to the castle. King of the Wizards," she said.
"You know who I am?" demanded Harry, regaining his composure as she released him from her grip.
"I know who you are Harry Potter. You have been in the way of Lord Voldemort for years," said the vampire. "My name is Vivian. Come with me."
"Where am I going?" he demanded.
"You will meet the Dark Lord later. He is meeting with the Young Mistress right now. He gave orders not to be disturbed," said Vivian.
"You mean he has Fiona?" asked Harry as he felt his blood go cold. "Where is she? Take me to her!"
"Come with me, Milord. You must be tired. You cannot meet them this way," said Vivian. He looked at her suspiciously. "I will not sink my teeth into you. The Young Mistress and the Master want you in one piece for one reason or another."
Harry didn't know what to say, but he wanted to say something. He said, "I have the sword with me. I could kill you. So, I suggest you don't try anything like that again."
"The question is if you are capable of something like that. I doubt it," said Vivian as she looked at him with her hypnotic eyes. "You are too weak. Too pure for this."
Harry broke off her trance. She seemed startled by it. The boy had a stronger will than she could have possibly imagined. She thought about how perfect he was for the young mistress. They seemed to match each other flawlessly.
Harry decided to follow the vampire. She knew where Fiona was. He could just kill her later. She guided him until they reached another section of the castle. He realized that they were in the private, family quarters.
She led him to a room and closed the door behind him. He ran to the door and pulled on the knob. It was locked. Harry looked around him and realized that he was in a normal bedroom. Harry took of his pack and cloak. He didn't make a move to take off his sword. He still had his wand with him. Harry thought of trying it on the door, but he had a feeling it wasn't a good idea.
Harry always followed his instincts when magic wasn't going to do him any good. He pulled out his bottle of water and took a sip. He didn't want to eat any food that was offered to him. Harry sat on the floor rather than any of the furniture. He looked straight at the door wondering when it would open again.
*
Fiona knew she was really in trouble now. She decided to test Voldemort's temper even further. "You're just bitter because of what happened to you when you were a child. That's pathetic!" she shouted at him. She pulled back away from him to avoid getting hit again.
"Do not tell me, Fiona, that you have not experienced the same thing. The same rejection. Your father did the same thing your great-grandfather did long ago. He abandoned you before you were even born," said Voldemort quietly, sensing her weakness.
"Did you ever think that maybe your father knew how bad you'd turn out anyway? Maybe, that's why he didn't want you? Your daughter and wife didn't want you either. And I don't want you in my life. I hate you!" she fired back. "You're a murderer. I can't stand the thought of having your blood in my veins!"
I can't stand the thought of having your blood in my veins. Those words seemed to echo in Voldemort's head. He remembered saying that about his father long ago. He hated the Muggle blood in his veins. He hated that he had to rely on his father's bones to make a new body for himself.
"You don't even make any sense. You're committing so many hate crimes and they're against yourself!" shouted Fiona, not caring anymore if she was going to get smacked or not. "You're half Muggle! You're only attacking that part of yourself that you hate and you're attacking everything else in the process. You changed yourself so that you're not even human."
Suddenly, Voldemort's hand clamped around her throat, silencing her. "You are just a child. You could never understand. The Muggles are creatures that should be eliminated. They are nothing more, but vermin. Alas, there is no one to blame for your ignorance than your mother. She never taught you to be proud of your heritage. However, you are still a child. With time and proper training you will be ready to assume your place in this world," he told her coldly.
Fiona could feel his claw like hand gripping her neck, restricting her airway. She struggled futilely. The crystal began to glow. It was the only thing that got Voldemort to release her.
"You will be educated," he said.
The door swung open. Vivian walked in. She immediately smelled the blood in the air. She looked at Fiona, knowing that it was hers. There were bruises forming on Fiona's throat. "The King is awaiting an audience with you, Milord. He is currently in one of the chambers in the living quarters," said Vivian.
"Harry's here? He's alive?" asked Fiona in a whisper. She didn't dare look at Voldemort's face. Instead, she looked at Vivian who gave her a nod.
"We must not keep him waiting. We do have other guests arriving, but the Death Eaters will take care of them," said Voldemort. "I will meet with him now, but only after my granddaughter is returned to her chambers."
Fiona shook her head. "No. I won't go back," she declared, half afraid of what he was going to do to her next.
Voldemort grabbed her by her chin. She looked up at him with a look of utter defiance. She was so delicate. She looked just like her mother. "You will do as you are told. You will do it because it is what is best for you. I am only looking out for what is best for you," he said. His tone sounded almost tender.
"Take her back to her chambers. Now," he ordered as he released her. "Then bring the boy to me."
Vivian nodded and curtseyed. She took Fiona's arm firmly and guided her out of the library. The doors automatically slammed shut behind them. Vivian led Fiona down the hall and back to her chambers. It seemed that the corridors adjusted themselves according to the coming and goings of its occupants because Fiona was back at her chambers before she knew it.
Vivian didn't leave right away to go and fetch Harry and bring him to Voldemort. Instead she took out some cotton and a potion bottle. "Hold still. We do not want your lip to swell," she instructed Fiona as she dabbed the cotton ball with the potion.
"How many times have you had to do this for my mother?" asked Fiona.
"I cannot remember. More times than I wish to remember," replied Vivian. It was the first time Fiona had ever seen any trace of emotion on the vampire's face. Perhaps, she wasn't as soulless as Fiona thought. "You tried his temper, didn't you?"
Fiona didn't reply. "I wonder what it would have been like to watch you grow up in this castle. Your grandfather would have welcomed you and your mother back in this castle, even after the way she left him," continued Vivian.
The potion healed the cut on Fiona's lip instantly. She looked out the window passively. Her insides felt cold and empty. Harry was somewhere nearby she could feel it. She decided to tell Vivian what she really thought of Voldemort. "He has abandonment issues," whispered Fiona. "He's also paranoid about his family members betraying him. I don't think he is capable of loving anyone. He's really just a sad, old man that no one wants."
Vivian pressed her lips together. Her expression was unreadable at first, but then she gave Fiona a sad smile. "Your grandfather loved your mother very much, even though he did not know how to show it. How could he know how? He was never shown any love before."
"I don't really care. I hate him. And you're wrong. One doesn't murder someone they love, especially a parent. You wouldn't understand that. You're not even human," said Fiona coldly.
"You are more like him than you think you are," whispered Vivian, frightening Fiona.
"I am not!" shouted Fiona, knocking over the potion bottle. Vivian said nothing as she cleaned up the spilled potion and put everything else away. She went to the door, but before she could open it, Fiona interrupted her, "You don't know anything about me. You don't know because you don't have a soul."
Vivian looked at her blankly before opening the door and closing it with a soft snap.
*
Vivian went to the room where Harry was and opened the door. Harry had been pacing up and down the room, waiting for her. "What do you want?" he demanded.
"It is time for you to meet Lord Voldemort," replied Vivian, surprising Harry. She actually spoke Voldemort's name out loud. "You may leave whatever you wish in your room."
Harry left his pack and cloaks behind. He kept his sword and wand with him as he followed Vivian to another section of the castle. Voldemort had ordered their meeting to take place at the throne room. It was where he was monitoring everything from.
Harry looked at the tapestries on the walls and noticed how everything was so cold and sterile. He could feel a chill going down his spine. His scar started to hurt, but he ignored it. He took it as a sign that he was getting closer to Voldemort. Vivian paused at the door, but they swung open automatically.
"The King of the Wizards has arrived," said Vivian.
Voldemort sat on a cold, black marble throne. He had his hood up as he gazed at Harry with his eyes, which were so much like Fiona's. However, they lacked the friendly warmth that Fiona's had. Harry envisioned Voldemort's eyes as the gateway into Hell.
"Leave us," ordered Voldemort. Vivian gave a curtsey before leaving the room. The doors slammed shut behind her. "I have been waiting to meet with you again, boy."
"I am the King. I demand that you address me by my proper title," said Harry stiffly. He wouldn't do it with anyone else. Harry didn't want to give Voldemort an inch, even over something as small as a title.
"Very well, your Majesty," drawled Voldemort in an almost mocking tone. He stood up. Harry stepped forward because there was no way he was going to pull back. "This is the first time you have ever sought me out. What brings you to my lands?"
"You know what brings me here. I am here to stop you once and for all," said Harry.
"And how do you intend to do that? You can only stop me temporarily. You have never been able to completely defeat me. I made the offer to you before to join my side. I make that offer to you again, your Majesty," said Voldemort.
Harry thought for a brief moment that he had heard Voldemort wrong. Harry couldn't believe it. After all the things Voldemort had done to him, he was making another offer to Harry join his side. Harry couldn't just think of himself or Fiona. He had to think about everyone else like a good king always did. He saw straight through Voldemort's plan and responded, "You only want me to join your side because it would be easier to make the masses comply to your world order. It's the only way you'd be able to get most of the wizards to join you. Or at the very least, the world wizarding leaders. There is no way in Hell I would allow you to use my name that way or to use Excalibur for such a purpose."
To Harry's surprise, Voldemort started to cackle. His laughter echoed off the walls. "You are a fool. Just like the last wielder of that sword. King Arthur destroyed all of Camelot. And for what? A woman. You played predictably into my hands because of my granddaughter," said Voldemort. "You claim that you care about the masses. You really don't. You only care about yourself. You only think you care about her."
Harry's fury boiled up. "I LOVE HER!" he roared.
Voldemort stood up. Harry was over come with pain. His scar was burning again. He clutched his forehead as he sank to the ground. "Love?" spat Voldmort as if the word was dirty. "Love is a weakness. Look what 'love' has brought all of you. Pain and suffering. Your parents died because of it. My daughter threw her life away and her husband will, too. There is no such thing as love, Potter."
Voldemort walked up to him. He yanked Harry's head by his hair, so that Harry would look directly at him. "You are wrong. Love does exist. You experienced it before, but you can't remember it," whispered Harry as he looked at Voldemort. He was on his knees. An uncomfortable position in more ways than one.
Voldemort sneered at him. "It is because your mother loved your father that you exist. The name that your mother gave you was your father's. That was proof of her love. You are proof that love exists in this world. You are also proof of hate, vengeance, and malice. You took out your vengeance upon this world against the people who could have loved you the most. I am not here to avenge my parents' deaths because I would be like you. I would become you."
*
Fiona was alone in her room. She started to pace around the room looking and hoping for an escape route. The doors were shut and they refused to give. She had to find a way out of her room. Harry was alive, but she didn't know for how long. She also knew that Vivian was lurking about the castle.
She didn't have her wand with her, but she didn't need it. She was an Avalonian more than she was a Merlinian. She had the ability to access her Avalonian magic better because she didn't need to know incantations, potions, and wand movements to access it. Fiona tried to think of the lessons that Sensei Ran had attempted to teach her.
"I'm so stupid," she whispered. She was the granddaughter of the most powerful Avalonian in the world. Surely, she could do even the smallest of spells. Fiona remembered something. The spell she and Draco used to follow Remus earlier. They used a form of air magic to create the illusion that confused Remus into thinking he had hit a dead end.
Fiona's mind kicked into high gear at that moment. She had inherited her father's ability to think quickly. The main question was could she possibly come up with a spell to fool a vampire? It had to be a flawless illusion. She held her hands in front of her and concentrated. She had to practice and focus. This was the only way she was going to get out of her chambers. There was no telling how long Fiona was going to be alone in the room. Or even if anyone was watching her. She had to take advantage of Voldemort's distraction at the moment.
A couple of minutes dwindled by before Vivian returned to check on Fiona. She opened the door with permission as she normally did. To her surprise the room was empty. Vivian looked around the room. "I can still smell you in here, young mistress. There is no way out except through me," said Vivian.
There was no response. Instead, a fireball came out of thin air and hit the vampire in the middle of her perfect breasts. She looked with shock as vines came out of the marble and wrapped around her arms. She struggled against the vines using her superhuman strength, but she couldn't get loose.
A wooden stake came from the same direction as the fireball. Vivian's eyes could only widen as the stake drove into her heart. She let out a scream as she turned into dust. The room cleared again. Fiona stood in front of a broken chair. The fireball and the vines were an illusion. She had broken off the leg of the chair to use as a stake to drive into Vivian's heart.
Fiona stood still for a moment, trying to rationalize her actions. She had just murdered someone. She was breathing hard. Vivian was already dead. Fiona had done nothing wrong. Vivian would have murdered Muggles if Voldemort won. Fiona's thoughts transferred over to Voldemort at that moment. Harry.
Fiona walked out of the open door. She looked around, thinking about where the Death Eaters were. She realized that she had not seen a single Death Eater in the part of the castle she was in. She had studied castles when she was in middle school. The highest parts of a castle were usually labeled as private, family quarters. Fiona could tell that they were in the highest towers in the entire compound.
She had two choices: stay in her room or look for Harry. Fiona didn't want to stay in the room and wait for Voldemort to come. She figured he would be missing Vivian soon enough, so this left her very little time. Fiona felt her heart being pulled towards Harry. She had to find him. No matter where he was, she was sure she could find him.
Their hearts were bound together as one. Together they were meant to be. It was a bond that was strong than any magic in the world. Fiona had to have faith in herself and Harry. She continued walking down the hallway, trying to get her bearings. Suddenly, she heard a huge crash outside.
There came a flurry of voices. They were shouting spells that Fiona couldn't identify. There was a flash at the window. A fire had broken out. The flash was no where near as bright as the one from earlier. Fiona raced to the window. There were only windows with glass at the higher towers.
The fire was coming from the end of the labyrinth. She watched in horror as both sides hurled spells at each other. One of the knights was withering with pain on the ground. Fiona felt sick to her stomach. She didn't know if Severus Snape and the knights with him even had a chance of breaking into the castle.
Fiona thought about her father's team. Where were they? They might have gotten caught. Either way, Fiona could tell which side had a better chance: Voldemort's. Fiona strengthened her resolve. If there was anyway to win, it was up to her and Harry.
She traced her finger over her crystal. They still had a chance. As long as Harry had Excalibur, they had a chance. Fiona closed her eyes and opened them again. She walked in the opposite direction she had been walking in. She walked towards where her heart told her Harry was.
*
"You love her," stated Voldemort as he gripped Harry's hair tighter. "But, does she love you?"
"I don't know," whispered Harry. "I don't care either way if she does or doesn't. The best love is supposed to be unconditional. I don't care if she never loves me. I will always love her."
Voldemort's face twisted into an evil smile as he released Harry. "She is my granddaughter. She was promised to Draco Malfoy. However, I doubt that young Malfoy would have ever bravely came to my castle and face me as you have. I will give you your heart's desire."
Harry stood up. "You can't decide that for her. It has to be her choice. As I have said, it doesn't matter to me if she loves me or not."
"Does it matter to you if she is alive or not?"
"What does that mean?"
Voldemort walked around him. "If you do not give me Excalibur and renounce your position as king, then I shall kill her."
Harry felt his insides turn into ice. He looked into Voldemort's eyes. It felt like something was crushing his heart. Was he willing to trade the lives of countless people for the life of the only person who made him feel whole? Voldemort had already killed his own daughter without any regret or remorse. He would kill Fiona without a single thought. Harry remembered the first time Fiona had ever kissed him without him doing anything. He could hear her words:
"I can't decide that for you, Harry. It's your decision."
"I will stay by your side. I already told you that. I have faith in you, but it's not enough if you don't have faith in yourself," she continued.
Harry closed his eyes. She had faith in him. He remembered the look on her face. He remembered her eyes. He realized at that moment how clear and resolute they were. He felt his throat constrict. He now realized the reason why he couldn't recognize that look on her face. It was her eyes. They spoke to him. She loved him. She had told him at that moment without saying it. She had told him in a way that required neither reason nor explanation.
Harry remembered that night they star gazed at that tower at Hogwarts. Fiona explained for the first time why she had avoided him. She had sought forgiveness for actions that were beyond her control.
"I should be the last person to cause you any trouble. Especially because…" she trailed off. She lifted her hand up and pulled back for moment. Finally, she moved the hair that covered his forehead. Her fingers felt cool as she touched the fourteen-year-old scar on his head. "I am sorry. I know that's weak. I don't blame you, if you hate me. I'm not asking for your forgiveness because what happened to you is unforgivable." Her hand dropped to her side.
Her eyes held his steadily. All he could do was look at her. She bit her lip. Her eyes were sad. She didn't want him to hate her. She couldn't bear it if he did. "I know that we can't really be friends. At least, we can be civil to each other for my father's sake. I'll stay out of your way," she whispered. She turned to leave.
"Please stay," said Harry, "I don't want to be alone."
"No," whispered Harry as his vision blurred. "I will not forsake everyone else for one person, even if it destroys me. I won't do it. And she would rather die than have to live with that guilt for the rest of her life. I would never do that to her. If you want to kill someone, then kill me. Because I would rather die than live without her."
Voldemort had had enough. He could no longer stand to hear such weakness. He raised his wand. Harry made no move to defend himself. If this was the way he was going to die, then he could accept it. Harry had spent the last five years living with the guilt that his parents, especially his mother, had died defending him. He opened his eyes and planted his feet. There was no way he was going to die on his knees and with his eyes closed.
Voldemort pulled his wand back and said, "Avada Kedavra."
Something happened that no one had expected. Fiona had burst through the door at that moment. Before Voldemort could finish even saying it, she had gotten between him and Harry. Fiona used her body as a shield to block the spell. It had happened so fast that Harry didn't know what was going on until it was too late. The spell sent the walls tumbling down around them, exposing everything. The ground shook underneath them.
Harry ran forward to catch Fiona before she hit the marble floor. He clutched her tightly in his arms and rocked her back and forth. His scar burned worse than it had ever had. His heart felt like it had already given out. The floor had given under them. They were tumbling, falling down. The whole world was gone. All was silent.
AN: Really short chapter, but it's as long as it's supposed to be. What a difficult decision for Harry to make? I inserted some of the things from previous chapters to make the last scene more meaningful. Is this really over? Or is this the beginning?
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but I own this story and any original characters created for this story.