Another duel at midnight.
Harry had been laying on top of sheets for about half an hour. It wasn't very comfortable as his invisibility cloak was hidden underneath those sheets, creating an uncomfortable bump in Harry's back.
Ron had fallen asleep. Just as Dean, Lee and Neville who had gone up earlier. A chorus of snores kept Harry awake. Despite the noise Harry had already felt urge to fall asleep. His eyes had almost shut twice already and he still had to wait for another half hour before he could leave.
Harry wondered whether Hermione had given up already and had gone to bed as well. He lifted his head slightly to look at the door, the crack under the door still let light through.
So someone is still awake then.
His money was on Hermione, she would stay awake for this just to prove a point. Harry shifted so that his cloak wasn't under his back any more. The bed felt even better now.
Hmm. It would be so good to fall asleep. Why don't I? Draco challenged me. That's why.
Harry checked his watch. Five minutes had passed. The wizarding part said. "Time to reconsider?"
Harry chuckled softly. His godfather had made a good choice with this watch. Sirius… Harry wondered if he should write Sirius about this.
Nah… I'd probably just make him worry more about me.
Ron snored loudly as he turned on his other side. Harry gazed at his friend for a minute. He would love to have him by his side for this. For a moment Harry felt like agreeing with what Leo had said to him.
Why do I listen to Draco? I never pay any heed to what he is saying anyway. So why now? It's not too late, I could still wake Ron up. No… as much as would want him there with me I have to prove I can do this without him. After all Draco is coming alone, isn't he?
That shook Harry to the core. What if it was a setup? A trap? What then? Harry pushed his doubt aside, there would be time for that later. Ten minutes had passed.
Harry got up and walked to the window. There where some clouds in the sky but the waning moon was still clearly visible. The water of the lake was completely still and even Hagrid's hut was completely darkened. The forbidden forest looked dark and vast from where Harry was watching. No movement out there as well. An owl hooted somewhere in the distance.
Harry walked back to his bed. As he slumped back he bumped into mice jar almost knocking it over.
Phew… I only need one problem this night.
He took out the invisibility cloak from under the sheets and unfolded it. Harry was still fascinated with the knowledge that his father had had this cloak. Harry picked up the cloak and put it on making his body disappear.
Where did dad get this? Perhaps I can give it my children someday. Whoa… Am I really thinking about having kids? Must be hormones acting up.
Harry walked quietly over to the door and opened it softly. The light outside was still on. Harry saw Hermione settled behind her books.
That's odd… she didn't look up.
Harry quickly ran down the stairs and ran towards the table to see why she hadn't looked up. And that's when he saw why. She was asleep. It looked like she intended to stay awake to stop Harry but lost the fight with sleep in the process. She was still holding a quill in her hand, her wand lay ready to be used on the table. In a sense Harry was glad she had fallen asleep. He didn't want to fight with her to get to Draco. In fact he doubted he would have had a chance to fight her, with a well placed "petrificus totalis" or "stupefy" he would have been incapacitated. Harry looked at her for a while.
She sure is beautiful if she sleeps… Wait… I don't think of her that way. She is a friend… nothing more. He gave her one more good look. Or is she? I'll wonder about that later for now I'll let her sleep. She can yell at me later.
Harry made his way to the portrait-hole. He threw a glance at Leo's door. It was closed, this of course didn't mean anything. Leo could have left already. Harry hesitated, perhaps he should check if Leo is in his room and ask him to come along. No, the noise could wake Hermione and even if it did not he didn't want to see Leo… ever again.
Bastard! How can you kill 17 p… beings by accident? And who knows who else he hurt.
That wasn't really fair. Harry didn't know whether does werewolves were innocent. He didn't know anything about the matter. Except what Leo had told him and that he felt guilty about it. Harry pulled the cloak's hood over his head and made his way the portrait-hole. Outside he looked left and right. All clear.
Harry set out for the entrance hall, stopping at every corner to check for ghosts, teachers, Filch or Peeves. He had gotten about half-way when he spotted Filch investigating a scene off destruction. It looked like Peeves had gotten a bang out off breaking as many vases as he could before Filch would show up to stop him. Many shards were scattered across the floor. Harry could sneak past Filch but in the process he would have stepped on those shards and give away his position. There was also the added danger of Mrs. Norris who was standing guard on one of the pillars that used to have a vase on it.
Harry considered his options. I could get past him but I would have to be careful that I don't step on those shards. That would take to much time. I'm going to have to take the alternative route.
The alternative route would be across passages that were frequently patrolled by teachers, followed by some of the more tricky and loud staircases and then eventually passing Professor McGonagall's office. The entire route should take about fifteen minutes if Harry didn't run into any further delays.
Filch turned his back to the corridor Harry was standing in. Even though Harry was invisible he figured that this was the best time get across the divide without being noticed, as Filch was not paying attention to what was happening behind him.
Harry quickly tiptoed to the other side, trying to keep the noise down to a minimum. However Harry didn't notice that the hem of his cloak got stuck on the pillar in the corner which still had a vase on it that was already standing on the edge. I'm sure you can guess what happened next.
~CRACK~
'WHO IS THERE?!' Filch yelled turning his lantern towards the noise. Harry quickly backed up against the wall. 'PEEVES! If that is you, come out NOW!' Filch continued as walked closer and to Harry's position.
Harry grabbed his nerves back together and wanted to go on when he noticed several pieces of the vase on his cloak. If he moved Filch would notice. Mrs. Norris had rounded the corner and seemed to be looking straight at Harry.
Harry tried to think of an escape plan, then he noticed that there was another vase on the pillar across the corridor where he was a minute ago.
If I could somehow break that Filch would be distracted. And I could get away. Harry took out his wand but just as he wanted to whisper the incantation Filch stepped in front of it. Damn. Maybe if I get angry enough I can break it. Hmmm what is the most infuriating memory I have? Harry thought. He didn't have to think long though as the vase exploded for no apparent reason.
Filch and Mrs. Norris immediately turned their attention to this with plenty of noise to allow Harry to slip away into the corridor, towards the "teacher's strip" as the Weasley twins sometimes called it. Too bad. If had stayed a little longer he might have seen the rogue shadow fleeing away from the bright light of Filch's lantern.
But he didn't, in fact he was wondering if his good plan wasn't filled with too many pitfalls. Harry neared the teacher's strip, clearly visible ahead of him. That was because twice as many torches and windows were positioned there. On a regular day, during a class change, that passageway was more crowded than the great hall during a feast.
Through hearsay Harry had heard that you were more likely to find the teacher you were looking for opposed to finding them in their offices. Nightly patrols were no exception to this rule. Harry didn't know which teachers were on duty this evening but he hoped they were in another part of the school right now.
He stopped short of stepping into the hall, making sure he didn't hear anyone. Then he carefully peeked around the corner. No one there, the torches were dimmed somewhat and only faint moon- and starlight poured out of the windows. Harry wasn't out of the woods yet, he had to reach an old door, third on the right, and get through it before he could return to a relatively safe passageway. To make matters worth there was no cover whatsoever, any suits of armour or other hall decorations that were there at one time had been long removed to increase the flow through of the hall. The inhabitants of the few paintings that hung there were already asleep.
Now is as good a time as any. Harry thought.
He walked into the hallway, trying not to make any noise, as well as making sure that he didn't hear anyone else. First door on the right.
~THUMP, THUMP~
Just relax. Nothing is going to happen. Second door on the right.
~THUMP, THUMP~
Please don't let anyone else hear that noise. A wall pretending to be a door.
~THUMP, THUMP~
Almost there please quiet down. Third door on the right. Phew. Home free!
Harry pushed the handle hard. Then he almost walked into the door before he realized it hadn't opened.
WHAT THE?! Is it locked? Harry pushed again. It didn't budge. 'Alohomora' Harry whispered. Nothing happened.
No lock. Then it must be jammed shut. Harry pushed with all his weight. He lost his footing and fell to the floor with a thud before he could recover. Harry listened closely for footsteps or noises as he got back up to his feet. Nothing. Dammit, I wish Ron were here. Harry tried again. This time the door gave a loud grunt in protest as it moved, a little bit.
As Harry was about to give another push when he thought he heard footsteps, he listened more closely. Nothing. I must have imagined it. He pushed again. This time the door opened to a crack so Harry could see the other side but still could not get through.
'WHO IS THERE?!' Snape's voice reverberated through the hall.
Of all the teachers in the entire school that could be doing patrols, Snape is the one doing it today. Harry thought after he recovered from the shock. He listened closely to the sound of Snape's footsteps. He was two maybe three corridors away. Don't you just hate acoustics sometimes? If Harry was correct Snape would be there in less than a minute.
He braced himself against the door… One, two, three. PUSH! The door didn't budge. Come on move. Around the corner a beam of light was wobbling towards the hallway, Snape was close.
Please open! Suddenly the door flung open, Harry shot into the staircase. He grabbed hold of the handle on the door before he tumbled down the stairs. Harry then swiftly turned around and pushed the door shut. This went surprisingly easy considering the effort he had to put into opening it. On the other side of the door Harry could hear someone run past.
Harry sighed. 'That's one less danger.' He thought out loud. Onto the next.
The staircase was unlit, no torch holders were in place and the only light that would come in through the windows was blocked by the dirt on them. This part of the school had been ignored for decades.
Harry pulled out his wand and said. 'Lumos.' The staircase looked even more decrepit with light. The way up was blocked because all the steps were missing. The way down was possible, but it was impossible to see how far down it went. Harry picked up something which looked like a small stone, it wasn't actually, it was a piece of the handrail that had come off. He dropped it into the deep. He never heard it land.
These stairs must be going all the way to the deeper dungeons.
The whole room was damp and fairly cold. A sickening smell filled Harry's nose, he pinched it shut immediately. He stepped carefully onto the first step it creaked loudly. Something was on the step that made it slippery like a moist fungus or something. The handrail wasn't any better, as soon as Harry grabbed hold on it to stay upright he pulled a piece off. Luckily he only needed to go down one floor.
As quickly as he could, Harry walked down the stairs. Each step creaked louder than the one before and the smell became stronger as he went further down, it became so strong that Harry could taste it. A sinking suspicion began to grow in his mind, that he was being watched. He didn't see anyone but that didn't mean that no one was there. After all Harry was invisible, why wouldn't someone else be as well.
Harry took a peek down the hallway he was about to enter. No one there.
The journey to the entrance hall was starting to feel to be more trouble than it's worth. One of the few things Harry had learned in divination is that everything around you says that you shouldn't do something, than why bother at all? Why tempt fate? The answer was clear but not too obvious. Because it's human nature to attempt the impossible.
Not that Harry truly considered this duel with Draco a major turning point in his life, in fact he figured he would have the pleasure of beating him several more times in the future.
Harry extinguished his wand and stepped into the corridor. It was reasonable well lit considering that the torches were dimmed. Somehow the feeling that he was being followed became stronger.
I must be seeing ghosts. No wait ghosts can't see me either.
Harry focussed on getting to the entrance hall again. Only one serious obstacle left, McGonagall's office. He didn't think it would be a problem though as McGonagall was probably asleep by now.
Again his rotten luck acted up. The door to the office was half-open and a lot of light was coming out of it.
Can't anything go as planned? Oh well, at least she can't see me as I walk by.
Harry slowed down to make sure he didn't make any noise.
Please let her be consumed in her work. Don't let her notice an invisible prefect who is out after hours.
She wasn't working however. From what Harry could hear she was having an argument through the fireplace.
'… serious Albus! I implore you to reconsider. He must be expelled!' McGonagall practically shouted.
Expelled? I know I should ignore this but I have to know who they are talking about. Harry thought. He quickly took a listening position on the other side of the door.
'Minerva, I can't send him away. I owe his family too much.' Dumbledore countered.
'We don't need him to protect Harry. He is more likely to be a danger to him than a source of protection.' McGonagall said.
Harry heard her pace back and forth.
'Mr. Panther is not that big a threat… Minerva will you please sit down. This pacing of yours is giving me a neck cramp.' Dumbledore said a bit impatiently. There appeared to be a limit to it after all. A chair creaked.
'Albus. You don't know what he is like. He is rude, disobedient. He questions my abilities and isn't intimidated by point deduction or detention.' McGonagall continued.
Dumbledore cleared his throat. 'Yes… I've heard similar complaints from Severus and others.' He said.
No doubt Snape exaggerated. Harry thought.
'And you would put such an old debt over our recommendation?' McGonagall said somewhat surprised.
'The age of the debt doesn't matter. He will remain here.' Dumbledore said firmly.
'Albus, you know I would never question you're decision but this is beyond belief. The debt you refer to was made so long ago. Not to mention that the person you owe it to is dead.' McGonagall said.
'If Marinus hadn't shown up when he did, the entire expedition would have been wiped out. We wouldn't be here to have this discussion.' Dumbledore said angrily.
Marinus?! Who is that?
'There has to be more than that. Even that wouldn't be enough to tolerate this.' McGonogall said.
Dumbledore sighed. 'I made a promise Minerva. Before he died I promised Marinus that I would look after his family. And I intend to keep that promise.' Dumbledore replied.
'Isn't Mr. Panther too old for such care? Surely he can survive on his own by now?' McGonagall asked. There was a brief silence, like hearing someone adjust their glasses while they are thinking.
'Minerva. What I am about to tell you, I'll be telling you in complete confidence.' Dumbledore said in a slightly hushed voice. Harry moved a bit closer to the door so he could hear what was said.
'Very well. I promise that it will not leave this room.' McGonagall answered, almost in a whisper.
'Before Marinus broke all connections with us we had a long conversation about the erm… condition of his family. From what he had learned at that point he knew it made them more susceptible to "stray" from their path.' Dumbledore said.
McGonagall remained silent for a moment to process what Dumbledore had said.
'Also…' Dumbledore continued. 'Marinus expressed concern that his grandson may not be able to maintain his balance without proper guiding. Something that his father could never give.'
'Perhaps Albus, but his father did give us instructions as how to handle Mr. Panther.' McGonagall replied.
'Did he now? Really? How strange that I was not informed of this.' Dumbledore said with genuine surprise.
'He didn't send you a letter then? Wait a minute.' McGonagall stood up and began sifting through some papers on her desk. Or at least that is what Harry thought he heard anyway. 'Ah… Here it is. Here you read it.' There was a crackle as McGonagall passed the letter through the fireplace to Dumbledore. 'As you can see Gerard gave me strict instructions how to handle Mr. Panther.' She added.
Dumbledore thoughtfully read the entire letter twice and then sighed. 'I should have expected this. Minerva, these aren't instructions to keep Mr. Panther manageable. These things describe actions one needs to take to get his bad side out.' He said.
'But why would he do that?' McGonagall said a bit shocked.
'Spite perhaps.' Dumbledore answered. 'The exact relations in the Panther family are unknown to me but we both know that Gerard Panther would have been sorted into Slytherin instead of Hufflepuf if he didn't work so hard to get where he is.' He added.
'I still think we don't need him here. Him or his Order.' McGonagall said resolutely after thinking over what Dumbledore had told her. 'If this proves anything it is that he and his family cannot be trusted.'
'Minerva… Have I ever been wrong with my trust in people? Besides, we need all the allies we can get in the struggle ahead. What is it about Leo Panther that makes it so hard for you to trust him?' Dumbledore argued in return.
'His method of control for instance, his method of operation. Have you seen the havoc he has caused? Haven't you sensed the evil in him?' McGonagall asked.
'Yes I have Minerva. I actually find it quite an achievement that he hasn't lost control yet and as to his way of preventing him from losing control. The fact that he found a way is already astounding. Poisoning himself to subdue the beast. That I didn't think of that.' Dumbledore said on a lighter note.
'Poisoning? You mean intoxication. Some method…' McGonagall said. But she stopped before finishing that sentence. Harry too could have sworn he heard someone groan in protest. He looked into the dimly lit hallway. Something about it looked off. Like making a "what's wrong with this picture" puzzle and having found all the mistakes except for one and you just can't find it.
McGonagall closed the door abruptly and Harry could no longer make out what they were talking about.
Just as well. I have… He checked his watch. …five minutes left to get to the entrance hall.
Harry quickly walked into the direction of the entrance hall. Behind him a shadow stirred in the twilight. As Harry got closer to his destination doubt began to set in again. The light of the torches seemed to be getting dimmer and dimmer every time he turned a corner. The sound of his heart beating grew louder than the sound of his footsteps.
Something wasn't right about this, he could feel it. Time was growing short. Harry felt like breaking into a run because of the growing tension in his muscles. The feeling that he was being watched grew stronger as well.
Then finally, the last hallway. Harry saw that one half of the double door at the end was opened. The torches in this hallway had gone out, the only light coming in came for the door and from behind Harry but this was very dim.
Alright. This is it. Harry thought. He resumed his pace and walked over to the door. It seemed to Harry like he was walking an eternity in that hallway. His heart was racing. A feeling of foreboding came over him. He knew this was wrong, a part of him wished Hermione or Ron had stopped him from going out. He got to the door.
One to midnight. It's not too late to walk away. So what if my reputation get dented? But it was too late. He was so far past the point of no return that he couldn't even remember what it looked like when he had past it. Harry peeked around the corner to make sure Draco was there.
True to his word Draco was there, rapping his foot rapidly. Waiting impatiently, as if he had been waiting there for a day for his date to show up and still had hopes that she would come. Harry pulled himself back behind the door. He took a deep breath and gathered all his courage. He then took off his invisibility cloak and tucked it into the corner of the door and the adjacent wall. As he didn't want it exposed to any of Draco's tricks. He then straightened his pose took out his wand and stepped into the entrance hall.
Draco seemed almost relieved that Harry had shown up. 'Well, well, Potter. It seems you're not such a coward after all.' He sneered.
Harry walked into the entrance hall stopping about 10 feet away from Draco.
'Let's get this over with.' Harry bit at Draco and pointed his wand at him. Draco returned the favour.
For a minute the two of them just stared at each other. Both of them waiting for the other to make a move. Regular duelling rules state that the challenger should make the first move, so it was Draco's obligation to start the duel properly. Of course being a Slytherin he would cheat to win but he had the advantage to begin with.
'Make a move!' Harry said getting tired of waiting.
In response Draco lowered his arm.
Harry stared incredulously at Draco. 'What is the idea Draco?' He asked.
Draco twisted his mouth into a grimace. 'Someone else wants to duel with you.' He said.
'Hey! I agreed to a duel with you, no seconds.' Harry said.
'Haven't you figured it out yet. I never intended to fight you, I'm the second in this duel.' Draco said. He then turned around and walked a few feet away from Harry.
'Who wants to fight me then?' Harry asked as he too lowered his arm. Somewhere in the back of his mind Harry heard a voice that told him to run like hell. He ignored it.
'You'll find out soon enough.' Draco replied. He turned to face Harry again. Draco closed his eyes and grabbed his left wrist, his face contorted in pain as though he had been stung by a wasp. 'He is ready for you Master.' Draco said as if under a trance.
Harry instantly knew who Draco was talking to. The how and why escaped him but he knew which Master controlled Draco. There was a popping noise near Draco, followed by the familiar stinging pain that came with being in close proximity with this person.
VOLDEMORT HAD APPARATED INTO HOGWARTS.
It was impossible but it had happened. Harry tried to ignore the pain and raised his wand.
Voldemort chuckled softly. 'So Potter. I knew you would be tempted by this bait.' He said as he put his hand on Draco's shoulder.
Okay, now I run. Harry thought.
Voldemort appeared to have read his mind though and snapped his fingers, all the doors closed and the upper level hallways were blocked with magical barriers.
'There isss no escape for you this time Potter.' Voldemort hissed. His eyes glowed a bit brighter in anger. 'Time to end your existence.' Voldemort raised his wand. 'Or perhaps I'll prolong it a bit. Some things require time.'
Maybe if I stall long enough one of the teachers will notice this and get me out.
'Very brave of you to do this personally, Voldemort. What chance do you think you've got of getting out of here?' Harry said. He was determined not to show fear.
'Hmmm, you underestimate me Potter. I've had this planned for a long time. Still, it was my original plan to have one of my minions take care of you. Yet somehow you no longer seem to be tagged anymore like young Malfoy here.' Voldemort said. Draco pulled his sleeve back and showed the mark on his arm.
The Dark mark?! No wait, that must be one of those Fake Marks that Leo told me about. Harry remembered the pain it had taken to get it off.
'How did you get it off anyway?' Voldemort asked.
'Like I'd tell you.' Harry said defiantly.
'You enjoy pain then?' Voldemort asked menacingly. He took a step closer to Harry who then took a step back. 'I thought you would. Cru-.' But Voldemort was interrupted by a voice that came from everywhere.
'Ha, there is no need for that. I removed your Mark.' Leo's voice said, Voldemort looked around furiously, trying to find the source of the voice.
'WHO ISSS THAT?!' Voldemort shouted in absolute fury.
My guardian angel. Harry thought.
'You made quite a good entrance, but I think I can top that.' Leo's voice said still coming from everywhere.
The lights went out but before it went dark Harry saw the rogue shadow he had seen in the leaky cauldron in front of him. In the darkness a ring of fire appeared in front of Harry. The ring rapidly grew into a pillar of flame that reached up to the ceiling. There the pillar split into separate streams of fire which re-ignited the torches and as quickly as the fire had appeared it dissipated. Leo was now standing in front off Harry with his wand pointing at Voldemort's face.
'Another child.' Voldemort said in a severely bored tone of voice.
'Heh, a child with teeth, snake-face.' Leo replied.
'I don't care who you are. You're just a speck to me.' Voldemort said. 'Get out off the way.' He added a little angrier than before.
'No.' Leo said flatly. Volemort's eyes flared up a bit.
'I haven't the time for this. Malfoy dispose off him.' Voldmort said to Draco. Draco stepped in front off Voldemort, pointed his wand at Leo and began to mutter a curse. Before he could finish it though, Leo intervened.
'Eat floor Malfoy.' Leo switched his wand to other hand and gave Malfoy a hard backhand slap with his right hand. "So what?" You might think. But keep in mind that Draco and Leo were about 10 feet apart from each other.
Even though Leo never physically touched Draco he made him soar through the air, before Draco landed 20 feet off to the right face down. Completely out cold. Voldemort had been watching this spectacle with mild interest, while Harry couldn't comprehend how Leo had done that and noticed that his mouth was open in amazement.
'Hmmm, you have impressive knowledge of battle magicks child. But you should have used them on me while you had the chance.' Voldemort said unconcerned for his well-being.
'If I hadn't known that it wouldn't work on someone with your power, I might have, Riddle.' Leo said while switching his wand back to his right hand.
'MY NAME ISSS VOLDEMORT!!' Voldemort roared.
'Sure.' Leo said. 'And my name is Arthur Pendragon. No matter how much you want to believe that your assumed name has replaced the one that was given to you at birth. You will never be rid of it. Just like all the other things given to you at birth, I should know.' He added.
What on earth did he mean by that? Harry thought.
'Tom Riddle is dead. I killed him and his past. Now there is only me. The Dark Lord Voldemort.' Voldmort countered.
'As long as there are people who know of him and his past he will not be dead and you will never be rid of him.' Leo said.
'ENOUGH!!' Voldemort bellowed. He had enough of this battle of wits. 'Get out of the way, "Arthur". If that is even your real name.'
Leo chuckled. 'I thought it was clear for a genius such as you that I wasn't telling you my real name.' He said while trying to keep his face straight.
'I don't care what you're called. Get out of the way.' Voldemort said.
'No. I will protect Harry, with my life if necessary.' Leo said theatrically. 'But I doubt you will risk killing me here.' Leo said.
Voldemort ground his teeth in anger. Leo had been spot on in his assumption.
Although Harry was relieved to hear that Voldemort wouldn't kill Leo if he could avoid it. He was puzzled as to why he though.
'Erm… Leo. Not that I'm not grateful that he wont kill you but why wont he try?' Harry asked cautiously.
'That's because "high and mighty" here knows that if someone uses a killing curse inside the school it will set off an alarm in Dumbledore's office.' Leo replied without looking behind him.
'Hmmm, everyone has a price. Let's see what yours is.' Voldemort said slyly. He began to slowly pace from left to right, making it look like he was thinking of a possible price. More likely he was trying to figure out Leo's weaknesses.
'Would it be money?' Voldemort mused. 'No, you're a Gryffindor. Not very susceptible to bribes. Perhaps power?' He continued. Leo made sure he kept his wand pointed at Voldemort and his body between him and Harry.
'There are several things I would want from you.' Leo said. 'But you will never learn what those are.' Leo said.
Voldemort gave Leo a good stare. 'Ahh, can't we be friends about this, Mr…?' He was baiting for more information.
'I'm a dragon slayer, a destroyer of cities and a vanquisher of fallen gods.' Leo said. 'Want to hear the rest of my résumé or will you leave of your own volition.'
Voldemort stopped pacing. 'What is your name friend? Let us talk.' Voldemort said in soothingly persuasive voice that for moment made Harry consider to tell Voldemort Leo's name.
'Heh, your tricks wont work on me Voldemort. Besides I'm almost insulted that you don't recognize me. After all, you made me what I am today.' Leo said growing as he grew angrier with Voldemorts attempts to get past him.
'Recognize you? We've never even met before this!' Voldemort said full of contempt.
'Does the name Panther mean anything to you?' Leo bit at him.
Voldemort's eyes grew big. 'Panther?! Panther! Impossible. He is dead. No wait, the resemblance. You must be his kin.' Voldemort said.
Leo put a nasty smile on his face when he noticed that Voldemort still had not forgotten that name. 'I am Lionar Marinus Panther. Grandson of Marinus Panther. I am Guardian of the Order. The same Order which you thought you had destroyed.' Leo said full of pride.
Now it was Voldemort's turn to smile. 'Pitiful child, you have no idea what my plans for your precious order were, do you?' Voldemort leered at Leo for a moment, perhaps waiting for a reply and then continued. 'You may have his name but you do not have his resources or his power. Pity he died, your grandfather would have made fine slave to my cause.' Voldemort chuckled briefly.
Harry felt the pain in his scar increase. It wasn't coming from Voldemort though but from Leo. Apparently Voldemort had struck a nerve.
'Now step out of the way.' Voldemort said to Leo in a demanding tone, almost like he was giving Leo an order.
'No.' Leo simply replied.
'Then I'll just have to convince you to do so. IMPERIO!' Voldemort casted the curse so quickly that Leo didn't have a chance to either block or duck.
Harry saw how Leo lowered his wand and almost stepped out of the way. But then in a flash Leo resumed his defensive stance and pointed his wand at Voldemort again.
'I CANNOT be controlled!' He shouted.
'Then perhaps you require a different persuasion. CRUCIO!' Again Leo couldn't block the curse and he cringed in pain but remained standing, he didn't scream or even moan. A few moments later he resumed his stance in front of an astonished Voldemort.
'Is that the best you can do? Hah! I've been conditioned to resist pain since before I could spell the word.' Leo said triumphantly.
'It appears you have more strength than I anticipated.' Voldemort mused. 'You may be able to resist control and pain but you cannot resist death.' Voldemort sneered.
'So you're finally gonna put your balls to the wall then?' Leo replied.
'Tonight you will sleep in hell. AVADA KEDAVRA!' Voldemort shouted.
'PROTECTAM PRISMAS!' Leo yelled.
A triangular transparent barrier appeared in front of Leo. When the beam hit it, it refracted it's light away from Harry and Leo. As impressive as this defence may sound, it quickly became painfully clear that Leo's barrier was incapable of refracting that much negative energy. It was shrinking rapidly.
Leo braced himself and forced more energy into the barrier, it now shrank a little slower. Voldemort in return tried to force more energy into his beam. Like that's possible, I mean how much deader than dead can someone become? This exchange lasted for a half minute before both of them stopped at the same time. Both were breathing heavily and were staring just staring at one another.
Leo was the first one to recover. He chuckled briefly, straightened himself and wiped a trickle of blood out of the corner of his mouth. 'Not bad old man. I am sure that attracted more than enough attention. Ready for round two?' He asked to a seriously angry Voldemort, who by now also had recovered for their clash.
'Don't be so smug with yourself. I can kill you and Potter a dozen times over before anyone can disturb me.' Voldemort said.
'Maybe, but that attack drained you severely. I doubt you have enough strength left for another kill beam or at least one that will work as advertised.' Leo said.
Voldemort grimaced. 'There are many ways to die. Avada Kedavra is the least painful.' He said and he readied his wand for another curse.
Leo prepared himself, even though he had no clue as to what to expect. 'Reducto Maximus.' Voldemort said almost leisurely, a foot in front of Leo the floor exploded into small and sharp projectiles. Leo took the brunt of them but a few scraped Harry as well. 'The next one will be aimed at your chest. Care to reconsider dieing for Potter?' Voldemort sneered.
'If I am going to die anyway I might as well do it for someone I care for.' He drew a dagger Harry recognized as the Bright blade he had used to remove the fake Mark from his arm. Harry was a bit stumped by the exclamation Leo made. But it reassured him that Leo didn't hate him.
Leo looked over his shoulder. 'Harry!' He said.
'What?' Harry said curiously.
'When I tell you, run like hell.' Leo answered.
'Where? The place is sealed shut.' Harry protested.
'I'll take care of that. You just get ready to run. Okay?' Leo asked.
Harry took a educated guess as to what Leo was planning. 'No! We can fight him together.' Harry said. Leo shook his head.
'This isn't a discussion. You run when I tell you to or die here with me. Because I can't fight him properly if I can't move.' Leo argued.
'I can help.' Harry said.
'No. You have nowhere near enough experience with curses or combat to handle an opponent like him. A simple expeliarmus or rictusempra isn't going to cut it.' Leo said getting angrier with every word.
'I have beaten him several times already these past years.' Harry countered.
Leo groaned but Harry knew what he meant. Those times were different. Voldemort was stronger than before and, although Harry didn't like to admit it, Leo was right. Harry hadn't studied magic to fight.
'Are two you done talking already?' Voldemort said with mock annoyance.
'Yes I AM!' Leo said. 'Time to finish this.' He added while twirling his dagger.
'Good!' Voldemort too readied himself for what was coming next.
The two duellers were poised for the fight but neither wanted to make the first move. The atmosphere was charged, literally. Harry could feel some of his hairs standing on end as the magical energy emanating from the two fighters was already clashing with each other. The two of them appeared to be waiting for the other to make a move. It was Voldemort who lost his nerve first though, but instead of attacking he tried to coax Leo into attacking him first.
'Come on. Make a move, or is there no real force behind your threat?' Voldemort spat at Leo.
'Just hang on there, or are you really that eager to join your predecessors?' Leo asked in return, Voldemort didn't move but made a nervous noise.
'I'll not be that easy to beat, I have learned from their mistakes.' Voldemort answered.
'Maybe. Aside from the first Dark Lord the others all claimed that they had learned from their predecessor's mistakes. Or have you never wondered why there are only previous Dark Lords and no current ones? And you were defeated before by Harry, what has been done before can be done again.' Leo said calmly, although the sweat that was trickling down the side of his head suggested otherwise.
'ENOUGH! THIS ENDS NOW!!' Voldemort yelled. He made a swish and began muttering a curse.
Leo was faster though. 'LUMOS SOLARIS!' Leo shouted. A bright concentrated beam of sunlight struck Voldemort straight in the face. It blinded him and his robe began to burn as well, wafts of black smoke were coming of it.
'MY EYES!!MY EYES!!! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!' Voldemort yelled. Leo however didn't really notice this.
He made a fast 180 degrees turn and punched an inch away from Harry's head into the air, in the direction of the double doors behind them. Harry felt a gust of wind and a moment later the doors blew open, almost completely blowing them of their hinges.
'Run Harry. RUN! Get help! I don't care who!' Leo said and turned around again to face Voldemort. Who was regaining his vision.
Harry didn't have to hear it twice and made a break for the door. He had just entered the hallway when he heard the angry voice of Voldemort behind him.
'NOOOOO! POTTER WILL NOT ESCAPE DEATH!!' He shouted. Voldemort then shouted something in Latin that Harry couldn't quite catch.
Behind him Harry heard an explosion and he could feel a wave of heat and light closing in on him. The dark walls of the unlit hallway turned red with the light of fire that was chasing Harry to consume him. Harry didn't have any time to register this as he forced his tired muscles to go beyond regular exertion and avoid getting himself burned to a crisp. Harry reached the end of the hallway and made a turn to the left, the fire didn't and died when it hit the wall. But Harry didn't stop, he wanted to be as far away from the battle as he could. He couldn't stop if he wanted to anyway, he body was saturated with adrenaline and he couldn't regain control for a long time. Finally he collapsed as his muscles refused to go on. For a minute or so Harry just lay there catching his breath. Then he felt a tremor… And then another. He surmised it was coming from the battle between Leo and Voldemort.
Then Harry remembered what Leo had asked him. "Run Harry. RUN! Get help! I don't care who!"
Where am I? Harry asked himself. He hadn't really been paying attention in which direction he was running but he saw that he was, in fact, close to Professor McGonagall's office.
He was considering his options, Harry could go further all the way to Professor Dumbledore's office or to McGonagall's. He quickly made up his mind, as the he felt a strong tremor and the pain in his muscles started to overpower him again. Harry would make his way to McGonagall's office. He walked slowly at first but every time he felt a shake his step quickened.
The idea that Leo was being tortured or slaughtered came to mind, not necessarily in that order. Despite the fact that the tremors were discomforting because Harry knew that each one of them could be the one that killed Leo, as long as they continued he knew that he wasn't dead.
However the shakes were becoming more frequent and heavier, leading up to the point that Harry was nearly running when he reached McGonagall's office.
Finally!
Harry didn't bother to knock, he just burst into the office. Right into the middle of a fierce conversation between McGonagall and Dumbledore. They were still talking trough the fire place.
'Minerva! He is here! We have to comb the entire school immediately!' Dumbledore said loudly.
'Albus that would take too long. If he really is here than we… Mr. Potter!!! What are you doing out of bed? You are in serious trouble young man!' McGonagall almost yelled. She was just using Harry's entrance as a cover for the fact that she didn't want to continue her conversation with Dumbledore. Harry hadn't heard what she said anyway as the noise of his rushing blood was drowning all the sound, that and the fact that he was panting.
'Volde… mort… Leo… fighting… entrance… hall… Need… help…' He stammered before collapsing again.
McGonagall quickly walked over to him and pulled him in a sitting position. 'Could you repeat that Mr. Potter?' She asked in a panicking voice.
Harry regained his senses and took a deep breath. 'Leo Panther is duelling with Voldemort in the entrance hall.' He paused for a moment. Professor Dumbledore had stepped out of the fireplace. 'Professors. He needs help.' Harry said in final exertion effort. He was exhausted.
'Harry!' Dumbledore said in a kind voice but with a hint of urgency in it. 'Can you tell us what happened exactly?'
'No, Leo needs help. Quickly! Go!' Harry said and he tried to get up but his body refused flat out. Then there was a tremor again.
'What was that?' Professor McGonagall asked. Dumbledore had guessed already.
'Can you walk Harry?' He asked.
'No. I can't move. You go help Leo, please.' Harry pleaded.
Dumbledore pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry. 'Enervate.' Harry felt the weariness leave his body but he knew it wouldn't last long.
'Now let us go.' Professor Dumbledore said.
The three of them fast-walked to the entrance hall. In no time at all they reached the hallway where Harry had narrowly escaped with his live. It didn't look good, the walls, the floor, the ceiling all scorched black, any paintings that were there had been reduced to cinders. Harry hoped any inhabitants had time to flee before the paintings had been destroyed. On a brighter note all the torches were brightly lit now. The floor was still warm. Then panic struck briefly, this was the hallway where Harry had left his father's invisibility cloak. He wanted to check if it was alright but that wasn't important right now.
But all of this was nothing compared to the state of the entrance hall.
The floor was even warmer than the hall Harry had just walked through. The description battle-zone barely did it justice, it looked like the lunar surface after an American strike on an Al-Qaida base suspected to be there. There were craters everywhere, on the floor on the walls…
On the ceiling?! Harry thought as he looked around.
The suits of armour that were stationed there had been blown apart, the pieces were scattered all over the place. The paintings were in even worse condition than the ones in the hall-way. Also anything that could burn, had been burned. In fact the only thing that was untouched by the fire was the carpet that lay in the centre of the room. Except for the holes that had been blown into it, it was still in one piece. Harry suspected that an extinguishing charm had been cast on it.
Voldemort was gone, leaving no trace of his presence. In the centre of the room was Leo's dagger covered in a dark red ichor.
Blood… But whose is it?
Then Harry heard a voice. It was Leo, he was sitting on the stairs, still holding his wand. Leo was muttering something like. 'Close… I was so close… I was so f****** close…'. It was clear he had been in a fight, his robes were shredded, his right sleeve had been either torn or blown off and any part of his skin that was visible had a cut, bruise or scrape on it. Or on occasion all three of those things.
Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall surveyed the devastation for a moment before turning to Leo, who was, as it appeared, miles away with his mind.
'What happened here, Mr. Panther?' McGonagall asked.
Leo didn't respond. He didn't even look up to meet her stare. When McGonagall wanted to ask again, he looked up with an expression that read. "Can't you guess?" or "Didn't Harry tell you?". Then he sighed deeply, stood up and walked towards his dagger. While walking he answered her question. 'I had a duel with Lord Voldemort.' He said like he did that everyday and this was always the end result.
He picked up his dagger, pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket and cleaned off the blood.
'You did… You fought…' McGonagall was at a loss for words.
'I did. And may I note that if you had come sooner you might have seen it.' Leo said in utter defiance of protocol.
'How well did you fare?' Dumbledore asked. Probably to sooth the situation rather than actually needing to hear it.
'I survived. And so did he. When he sensed you lot coming, he called it a draw and left via Port-key.' Leo answered without looking at Dumbledore. He was looking at something else, a body that lay undisturbed off to the side.
McGonagall didn't see that though, she was looking at Leo's dagger. 'A weapon? I thought we had made ourselves clear when we allowed you to stay. No weapons allowed. Hand it over.' She held out her hand expecting Leo to obey.
'No, this is mine. Get your own dagger.' He said having only heard half of what she had said.
'Hand over the dagger, Now!' She said firmly.
Leo shook his head, now that he understood why she wanted it. 'This is a family heirloom, I can't give it to just anyone. Besides, how am I supposed to do my job if I'm not allowed to carry this tool.' Leo said.
'Tool?! What possible other function can that thing have then drawing blood?' McGonagall asked. She was still holding out her hand although by now she realized that Leo would never give the dagger to her.
'I use it to detect, locate and remove dark magic. The ability to kill people is just a bonus. I stuck Voldemort real good with it, too bad I missed whatever remains of his hart.' Leo answered with a smile on his face.
So that was Voldemort's blood on it. Heh, he is better than I thought.
'Minerva, I'll allow Mr. Panther here to carry that dagger if he promises to only use it in an emergency.' Dumbledore interrupted.
'Albus. You can't be serious.' McGonagall said.
'Very well Professor. I promise only to use this in an emergency.' Leo said to Dumbledore. Then he walked up to Draco's unconscious body and pulled him up by his collar. Somehow Draco had been missed by all the curses and hexes that had flying around. Not a bad feat for someone who was out cold.
'What is Mr. Malfoy doing here?' McGonagall asked, clearly unaware of the duel arrangement that had been made earlier today.
Leo sighed. 'Can we focus on what's important here? Or aren't you curious how Voldemort had been able to apparate into Hogwarts.' Leo asked. 'Don't answer that, it's a rhetorical question.' He added.
Leo dragged Draco's sorry carcass to the stairs and flung him onto them. Then he pulled Draco's left sleeve back (almost tearing it off in the process), revealing the black skull and snake that had been hidden until now. McGonagall clapped her hand in front of her mouth. Dumbledore turned from curious to concerned and Harry who already knew the mark was there remained relatively calm. Leo didn't see this as he had his back turned to them. He was preparing to remove the mark like he had done with Harry.
Naturally Professor McGonagall misinterpreted the use of the dagger. She pulled out her wand and fired a disarm spell at Leo. Harry had seen what such a spell can do and he expected Leo to be smacked against the stairs. He didn't even flinch.
'My patience with you is running thin, Professor…' Leo said. Harry could feel Leo's anger growing. 'Let me do what I must do. Then you can berate me all you want.' Leo continued.
'Just because Mr. Malfoy made a bad decision, doesn't mean you can just kill him.' McGonagall countered.
'Kill him?!' Leo shouted. The following sound was something between an attempt at a laugh and a deep sigh. 'Poor woman, you have no idea what is going on here, do you?' Leo asked.
McGonagall seemed to be embarrassed by what Leo had said. Whatever the reason she couldn't think of anything to say in return. Dumbledore however did know something to say.
'That's enough, Mr. Panther. My colleague here may not have the knowledge you possess but she deserves your respect. Why don't you explain what you're about to do?' Dumbledore said calmly but with authority.
Leo strained not to go out of bounds. 'Very… well… sir. It'll waste precious time…'
'Leo!' Dumbledore warned.
'Okay, okay. This here mark isn't a genuine Dark Mark, but a copy, a fake mark or Dark Tag as Voldemort calls it.' He looked at professor McGonagall to make sure he didn't have to explain it again. 'But I'm sure your traitor Snape can fill you in on the details.' Dumbledore was about to tell Leo off again when Snape came in on the upper level.
'Headmaster. I found you at last. When I heard this commotion I came looking for you in your office and when… What on earth happened here?' Then Snape saw Harry and Leo. 'Oh, they happened.' He added in his familiar tone.
'Severus. Voldemort made an attempt at Harry's life.' Dumbledore explained. 'And we believe that young Malfoy made it possible for him to apparate into Hogwarts.'
'He- he- he did? How can you be sure?' Snape asked Dumbledore with a bewildered look on his face.
'Severus, are you familiar with something called the Dark Tag?' Dumbledore asked.
Snape seemed reluctant to answer directly, maybe because Harry and Leo were there.
'Severus?' Dumbledore asked again.
'Erm… The Dark Tag is used on prime targets or possible spies within the Death Eater circles. The being where it is placed on then acts as a an amplified apparating target and the person who put it there can apparate next to the target despite of any wards or magical interference.' Snape cautiously explained.
'So you see Minerva, it is imperative it gets removed as soon as possible.' Dumbledore said to McGonagall who nodded in agreement.
'Excuse me headmaster, but the Tag cannot be removed. Voldemort made sure of that. Besides Voldemort doesn't have a Dark Mark on his arm like me.' Snape interjected.
'You really think that would prevent him from being able to put a Tag on someone?' Leo snapped. 'And it can be removed. I already carved one out off Harry's arm.'
Snape looked at Harry with disbelief. 'How?' He asked Leo.
'Just watch.' Leo replied.
Leo firmly grabbed his dagger in his left hand, positioned it above the tag on Draco's arm and then jabbed it into the tag. Harry got a flashback of when Leo had done that to him and he envied Draco for being unconscious.
The Dark Tag was resisting being removed and changed into a variety of different and violent colours. Harry couldn't avert his eyes from the scene, even though every action Leo took reminded him of when this had happened to him. Leo occasionally pushed the dagger a fraction of an inch deeper into the tag or twisted it. The tag started to boil on Draco's arm, still resisting being removed, but by now was gradually shrinking. Leo's dagger pulsated with white light which pulsed faster as the tag became smaller.
Then when the tag had disappeared completely Leo quickly pulled the dagger back. Harry expected to see a gaping wound, instead there was no trace of the tag whatsoever.
'That… Is how one removes a Dark Tag.' Leo said as if waiting for applause upon finishing his magic act.
'Impressive, it appears you have some use after all.' Snape said in a demeaning tone of voice.
Leo ground his teeth, he clearly didn't want to give Snape a reply. 'Professor Dumbledore. I suggest Malfoy is taken to the infirmary, his head injury should be looked at.' Leo said without compassion.
'Head injury?' Snape asked with concern. Harry thought he was acting though.
'Yes. I had to knock him out before I could get to Voldemort.' Leo replied.
'Then it will be done. Severus, if you will.' Dumbledore stated.
'As you wish Headmaster.' Snape pulled his wand out. 'Mobilocorpus.' He said and Draco's body floated into an upright position. Snape left immediately with Draco's body hovering behind him.
Leo sat down on the stairs again and groaned softly as he did, hiding his pain as much as he could.
'Perhaps you should visit Madame Pomfrey as well Mr. Panther.' Dumbledore said with genuine concern.
'I'll be alright. It's just a scratch.' Leo said jokingly, wincing slightly in pain as tried to laugh.
'I don't suppose I could change your mind?…' Dumbledore asked.
Leo shook his head. 'I appreciate the concern, it's been a while since someone showed me some but I prefer to handle my injuries myself.' He said. Dumbledore nodded.
'Very well. Harry will you take him back to your dormitory?' He asked Harry.
'Yes professor.' Harry answered and he stuck his hand out to Leo so he could pull himself up. Leo ignored it and got up by himself.
A thought struck Harry that moment. Would all of this be enough proof that Voldemort had returned? The Ministry would not be able to ignore this would they? He decided to ask Professor Dumbledore.
'Erm… Professor Dumbledore?' Harry stammered a bit.
'Yes Harry?' Dumbledore asked in return.
'Do you think that the Ministry will acknowledge the return of Voldemort after this?' Harry asked full of hope.
'No Harry.' Leo answered.
'How would you know? I didn't ask you anyway.' Harry snapped at Leo.
'I figured that if the answer came from me it wouldn't be so hard.' Leo said not the least bit apologetic.
Harry's eyes widened and he turned to face Dumbledore and look him straight into his eyes, hoping full heartedly that he would prove Leo was wrong. His hart sank when he saw the look on Dumbledore's face.
'I am sorry Harry but Leo is right. The Ministry will never hear of this event.' Dumbledore said apologetically.
'Why?' Harry said, he could feel tears of anger pressing behind his eyes.
'Because we have no proof.' Leo said.
'But- but- but… I saw him! You, saw him. Heck even Draco saw him.' Harry cried out.
'The eyewitness reports of a criminal and a boy who is known to have illusions are not even going to be looked at.' Leo said.
'That is a lie. Made up by a gossiping hag… I mean a lousy reporter.' Harry rebuked.
'Regardless of that, the current administration would prefer to damn you with a lie then face the fear of the truth. And If you're wondering about that Malfoy. He would lie about what he has seen to protect his family, whether he was under the Imperius curse or not.' Leo said.
'How would you know if Mr. Malfoy was under the Imperius curse?' Professor McGonagall asked inquisitively.
'I could sense it.' Leo said curtly. A tingle went through Harry's brain, he felt that what Leo said wasn't true.
'Did you really?' McGonagall asked, a sly smile on her face. She too thought that Leo lied.
'Yes!' Leo turned to Harry again. 'This whole thing will be covered up and you must forget it happened. Do not even say anything to your closest friends about Voldermort. Just say you won the duel and that Malfoy is in the Hospital wing because of it.' Leo said sternly.
Harry hesitated for a moment but then nodded in agreement. Another day, another place.
'Speaking of a cover-up. Albus how are we going to explain this mess?' McGonagall asked with a hint of desperation in her voice.
'We have the night to think about it, Minerva. It'll come to us.' Dumbledore replied.
'How about this?' Leo said half-way up the stairs. 'The shipment of fireworks for the angel's flight had arrived early and Peeves ignited a firecracker when he stumbled upon it which caused what you see here.' He added.
'How do you know about the fireworks? They are not due for two months.' McGonagall sighed. 'Never mind, I do not want to know.' She said.
Dumbledore nodded. 'Thank you Mr. Panther. Get some rest.' He said.
'I'll try, but I fear neither of us will get much sleep tonight.' Leo replied.
Leo quickly climbed to the top of the stairs and waited for Harry to follow suit. Then the both of them began the trip back to the dormitories.
However around the corner just out of sight of Dumbledore, Snape was waiting for them to appear.
'Not a bad lie Panther. You must have been taught well.' Snape drawled.
'A better education than you have had, traitor.' Leo replied coldly.
'Watch your step Panther. You might come across more opposition than you can see.' Snape said.
'Anyone who crosses me will perish. Even if they claim to have converted.' Leo said slyly.
'Hah, I suppose it's in the nature of the beast to threaten allies.' Snape countered. Harry didn't know what they were talking about and he also couldn't decide whose side to be on.
Leo grabbed Snape's left arm and spoke a language that sounded like gibberish to Harry. The smell of burning flesh filled Harry's nostrils.
'Cross me Snape and you'll find out how close to the truth that statement is.' Leo said. His voice sounded different though, somewhat deeper and more menacing than usual.
Snape wrenched his arm free from Leo's grip and paced quickly away with Draco' body still hovering after him.
Harry couldn't help but wonder what Leo meant by that statement, or what bothered him about Snape so much. Beside the obvious reasons that is.
Leo turned to Harry again and for a moment he seemed to be an inch taller than usual but what was more disturbing was that his eyes were glowing red and Harry hadn't felt anything. After blinking a couple of times Leo eyes faded back to normal again.
'Not that it is any of my business but why do you hate Snape so much?' Harry asked, thinking it wiser not to ask about the height change or the eyes.
'You're right Harry. It is none of your business… Let's just say that I bear him great ill will.' Leo replied with a shifting voice. 'But that's a vice for a reason.'
'Which is?' Harry asked.
'None of your business, Mr. Potter.' Leo said.
'Fair enough. Let's go.' Harry said somewhat put down by Leo's answer and the fatigue that was returning to his muscles.
They set out via the shortest path to the dormitories which would still take at least half an hour because Leo occasionally staggered or stopped to lean against the wall. And Harry didn't really want to object to these unscheduled stops as his body began to feel heavier after every step.
The way back may have been easier but no less eerie because over half the torches had gone out and Harry could barely lift his arm, let alone cast lumos.
During another break in the trip Harry started to recall some of the things that happened during the duel. The reason he didn't recall it earlier was because his thoughts were flying through his head at random before now there simply wasn't enough time to think.
'Leo?' Harry asked cautiously.
'Yes?' Leo asked relatively neutral.
'When you were boasting about your abilities… Were you boasting?' Harry asked, his mind not quite working at full speed.
'Well… Yes.' Harry looked down. 'And no.' Harry looked up again.
'So what is it? Yes or no?' Harry asked now rapidly losing his patience with Leo's confusing answers.
'Yes I did participate with the events I told about but no I didn't do them alone. So it's not my place to claim credit for those things.' Leo said.
'So you did defeat a fallen god?' Harry asked Leo.
'I'm not sure he ever was a god but that is what he called himself.' Leo replied.
'When did this happen?' Harry asked.
'Before you were made aware.' Leo said.
'Aware of what?' Harry asked.
'Aware of magic and the wizarding world.' Leo answered. He was getting annoyed by the barrage of questions and resumed the trip to the Griffindor tower. Harry quickly came after him. Then Harry almost collided with Leo because Leo's strength failed him and he fell to the floor.
'Are you alright?' Harry asked as he helped Leo up.
'I'm fine. It's just been a while since I fought an opponent that was that mu… Who was as strong as he was.' Leo said. He then tried to stand up but collapsed again and he sat down against the wall.
'Since we're not going anywhere soon you might as well tell me about that fallen god.' Harry suggested.
Leo tried to laugh. 'As much as I want to I can't. It's been classified.' He explained.
'So? Tell me what you can say.' Harry opted. He wouldn't take no for an answer this time.
'I'll try but as soon as I start talking gibberish, please stop me.' Leo said.
'Gibberish? How come?' Harry asked taking a seat opposite to Leo.
'That's standard procedure when you still have further use of operatives and you can't mind wipe them. You cast a curse over them so that as soon as they want to tell someone they start talking gibberish. The problem is that the person in question doesn't know it and if he or she keeps on talking for a preset amount of time…' Breath pause. 'It becomes permanent and incurable.' Leo said.
'Then why did you submit to it?' Harry asked. He didn't figure Leo was someone who would allow that to happen.
'When you're stunned, under a full body bind and strapped to a chair with magically reinforced shackles… Well I guess that explains it.' Leo said with a twisted smile on his face.
'O-kay.' Harry said. 'No cure whatsoever?' He asked.
'I know a loophole but unless you can speak Dutch I can't use it.' Leo said.
'No I don't. Now tell me about the god, because I think you're stalling.' Harry said impatiently.
'It was the first real assignment for me and the others.' Leo began.
'You mean those people with whom you slain that dragon, right?' Harry interrupted.
'Yes. You know, we were like the four mousketeers.' Leo said getting a dreamy look on his face.
'You mean Musketeers.' Harry corrected.
'I suppose. What is a musket anyway?' Leo asked.
'You're digressing again. I think you know what a musket is. Get on with the story.' Harry cut in.
'Okay, okay. We had just arrived in Egypt when we received our orders to check for magical disturbances all across Cairo. So we split up and we followed the traces all the way to the pyramids. There we continued the search and we found the secret entrance to flower shop. Accumulating doors walked across the forest crossroad. Ten sphinxes tore their smile off and fell through the ceiling…'
'LEO! STOP! You're not making any sense.' Harry shouted.
'Just in time I might add.' Leo said calmly.
'I thought you said you couldn't tell when you were talking gibberish?' Harry asked.
'I couldn't, but the look on your face spoke loud enough.' Leo replied.
Leo tried to get up again. Harry got up too and gave Leo a hand.
'I just thought of something.' Harry said.
Leo gave him a weird look. 'What would that be?'
'You fought with Voldemort and lived. You're the man who lived.' Harry said with a smile. 'You're gonna be famous.'
'No one is going to know of this, remember? And if it does come out, I will not be mentioned. I'd be lucky if they get my name right. All credit will go to you.' Leo said, with a hint of sadness and anger in his voice.
'But I know the truth. I could explain it.' Harry protested.
'Harry, I don't want to be famous. I'd prefer to be anonymous or infamous. Being a hero is just too much work.' Leo said.
'You're right… I suppose.' Harry thought on that for a moment. How his life would be different if nobody knew his name. If nobody had such great expectations of him. He shrugged it off, nothing could be done about it anymore.
They continued towards the Gryffindor tower. On the way there, they came through the hall where Peeves had been shattering vases earlier. They had almost cleared it when Filch jumped around the corner.
'What are two students doing out off bed? The Head of your house will know of this. Get to my office. NOW!' Filch yelled, fully convinced he was dealing with regular students.
'She already knows. Filch! Get lost.' Leo said standing upright and flexing his muscles.
'You're coming to my office NOW. You'll both be expelled.' Filch continued.
'You know, I really don't like squibs who stand in my way. I just fought Voldemort and pushed him back. You are no match for me.' Leo threatened.
'NO EXUSES. You're coming with me.' Filch said not even listening to what Leo had said.
Just when Harry thought Leo was going to attack, McGonagall's voice came over the magical PA system.
'Mr. Argus Filch please report immediately to the entrance hall. This is an emergency.'
'Consider yourself lucky this time.' Filch said before running into the dark hallway he had just come out off.
Leo leaned against the wall again. He had overexerted his aching body with this burst of rage.
'You should stop doing that. One day you will just collapse and never get up.' Harry said.
'As long as I can stand there is nothing wrong with me. And I've seen how you were injured after skirmishes with Voldemort and his minions. I think I did rather well.' Leo countered.
'Leo. If you had given it your all? If you had fought till you could fight no more? Would you have been able to kill Voldemort?' Harry asked.
Leo took a few steps forward into the darkness and then turned to look at Harry. His eyes had a faint glow like the last embers of a dieing fire. Since Harry didn't feel pain in his scar it meant that this was the natural state of his eyes when looked at from a dark area.
Leo didn't answer the question, in fact he remained silent all the way to the common room. Just before he entered his room he answered.
'No Harry. Even if I had gone full out I wou- could not have killed Voldemort.' With that he entered his room making it impossible for Harry to ask why not.
Hermione was still sleeping at the table, just where Harry had left her.
She deserves to sleep in a bed.
Harry walked over to her and looked at her.
She does look beautiful when asleep.
'Hermione.' He said and he gave her a nudge. 'Hermione!' She blinked a few times. 'Come on Hermione wake up. It's time to go to bed.' Harry said.
'Wha-? Harry!' Hermione grabbed her wand and before Harry could tell her not to… 'Stupefy!'
That night Harry slept peacefully and uninterrupted by nightmares.