The Ultimate Sacrifice

It took Harry's eyes a while to adjust to the lack of lighting, but once they had, being able to see his surroundings didn't improve his opinion of them. They were lying in what seemed to be a stone dungeon, and the only window in the room was barred. Slowly, Harry got to his feet.

"Sal, are you alright?"

Sally, still on the ground, moved her arm experimentally. "No broken bones," she replied. "Possibly some internal bleeding." She sat up and crossed her legs. "Right," she said, matter of factly. "First things first. How did we get here?"

"I don't know. That's the problem."

"When we were in the air you said something about a key."

"A portkey. It's normally programmed to go from one place to another at a certain time, but it couldn't have been – that would be too much of a coincidence."

Sally thought for a moment. "Was that the first time that anyone touched the knife since you packed it?"

"I think so; it ended up at the bottom of the trunk so I forgot about it."

"Could it be programmed to go from place to place regardless of what time it is?"

Harry thought back to his last Charms lesson. "It is possible, but why would someone…Voldemort?"

"That's what I'm thinking."

"So" Harry said, sighing, "what do we do now?"

"We go and find him."

Sally got to her feet.

"That's a good idea," said Harry, with a sarcastic note. "Maybe he'll be so flattered that we came to see him, he'll invite us for tea and fairy cakes and then send us off on our merry way waving a checked handkerchief!"

Sally moved to the door and pushed it. It swung open.

"Or alternatively, we might catch him by surprise," she said.

The door opened onto a dark tunnel. Harry stepped into the gloominess cautiously, with Sally (at Harry's insistence) following behind. Harry muttered 'Lumos', but even the light at the end of his wand didn't help much.

"It's all a bit Gothic, isn't it?" said Sally, breaking the silence. "You almost

expect a raven to fly down and say 'Nevermore'."

Harry sighed exasperatedly and they carried on in silence.

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, tiddly dee…"

"Sally!"

"Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood."

They stumbled on, through the darkness, with no idea where they were going. Then suddenly Harry stopped, causing Sally to walk straight into him.

"What? Why did you stop?"

"It's getting lighter."

Sally shook her head, confused.

"He's there," continued Harry, a slight tremor in his voice. "He's waiting for us. We haven't got a chance."

Sally turned to look at him. "No, that's not true. We wouldn't have a chance if we stayed here and waited for him to come and get us. We are going to go out and face him and show him that we are not afraid of him."

There was a determination in Sally's voice that Harry had never heard before. Although every fibre of his being was telling him to stay exactly where he was, he nodded imperceptibly and took her hand.

They walked on, side by side.

At the end of the tunnel was a wooden door, standing slightly ajar. Harry dropped Sally's hand and slowly made his way up to the door, until he was standing directly in front of it.

"Stay here," he said. "I'll have a look around."

Sally opened her mouth to protest, but Harry silenced her with a look.

"I'll be back in a minute," he said.

Taking a deep breath, Harry pushed the door open and stepped through the doorway.

The door lead to a richly furnished hall that, to Harry's great relief, was empty. Moving around the room, Harry began to look for any clues as to where they were or how they could get out. Spotting another door on the far side of the hall, he hurried towards it, and then backed away in alarm as the doorknob began to turn of its own accord. As the door opened slowly, Harry tried to run, but it was already too late.

He was standing face to face with Lord Voldemort.

"Harry Potter," drawled Voldemort, closing the door behind him. "I've been expecting you."

He sat down in a chair and gestured to the one opposite him. "Come. Sit."

Harry looked around frantically for a means of escape, trying to keep Voldemort's attention away from the door behind which Sally was standing, just out of view.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you," said Voldemort. "You wouldn't make it past me to that door," he pointed to the door via which he had just entered, "and you don't want to leave through that one," he pointed to the door on the other side of the room, "in case I find out that my niece is hiding behind it."

Harry stared at Voldemort. "Your what?"

Sally slowly entered the room, looking horror-struck. "Your what?"

Voldemort turned to Sally and gave a harsh laugh. "I think I should start at the beginning."

"After the fiasco at the Department of Mysteries, I decided to have Harry followed. It was impossible for me to fully plan my return to power unless I was certain that this time I would not be thwarted. I was told that he made a habit of walking alone at night. I could have killed him then and there – but it would never have worked. The protection on him was simply too strong while he was living at his aunt and uncle's house. So I waited.

And then he met you.

Oh, the possibilities were endless. A friend, not under the eye of Dumbledore, non-magical, someone that would be overlooked until it was much too late. At the very least, you would have been a useful bargaining tool.

But it turned out that you were so much more. Even I could not have possibly imagined it. I had my Seers find out about you; your character, your hopes and fears…and your lineage. What they discovered was, remarkable, to say the least.

In my final year at Hogwarts, I decided to learn as much as I could about my father – the man who left my mother to give birth in sin and die in squalor. It turned out that he was having another relationship with a woman from his village, and that she was expecting a child. He supported her, he stayed with her, and when the child was born he was there. He was there while I was left to rot in a Muggle orphanage.

I killed him, of course. It was the first thing I did after leaving school. But that girl, the child who was wanted and loved in my place, she was a thorn in my side. Her mere existence grated upon me like nothing else. So I tried to kill her as well. Twice I tried, and twice I was thwarted. And then, I had my opportunity.

She was about two years old, and she was in the park with her mother. I watched from a distance. Suddenly, the ball that she was playing with rolled over to where I was standing. Without thinking, I picked it up. She ran towards me, and stood in front of me; her hands outstretched, her face expectant. That was my chance. I could have killed her there and then. But I didn't.

I couldn't kill a child.

I left the country after that. I trained for years, became darker, more powerful. But I never forgot that one moment of weakness, that instant of compassion. Then came a chance for me to turn back the clock. Another child, one that had to be disposed of. Harry Potter. This time, I was damaged not only emotionally, but physically.

Yet, it seems that everything has a purpose. The first child that I was unable to kill grew up. She grew up and had a daughter of her own. A daughter that would eventually help me become greater than anyone could have possibly imagined.

You. "

Harry turned to Sally. She was shaking visibly.

"You're lying," she spat.

"Am I?" said Voldemort, chuckling derisively. He muttered some spell words in guttural tones. To Harry's horror, runes began to glow white on Sally's hands and face, as identical runes appeared on the face and hands of Voldemort.

"We're bound, my dear. Blood relatives. Soul to soul."

Voldemort turned to Harry.

"There is always a weakness in those who choose the path of good. Just as I knew that your Gryffindor chivalry would attract you to that portkey I had planted, I know that your compassion will not allow you to murder her in cold blood. Just as your Mudblood mother died through the weakness of love, so shall you."

Sally began to scream frantically.

"JUST DO IT HARRY! FORGET ABOUT ME, JUST KILL HIM!"

Voldemort turned to Sally and pointed his wand at her. "Imperio."

She stopped shouting, and her eyes glazed over.

"Now sit down and be quiet," said Voldemort, as Sally flopped to the floor.

Voldemort turned back to Harry. "As it was always meant to be," he said. "To the victor, the spoils."

Harry raised his wand, and sent a jet of light at Voldemort that was easily deflected.

"Don't play with me, Potter," said Voldemort. "I have already won. Or maybe I am wrong. Maybe you have no problem killing those you love. How is your godfather, by the way?"

"DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT HIM!" shouted Harry, sending another jet of light towards the dark wizard. Again it was easily deflected.

"Potter, you should just accept death," said Voldemort lazily.

Harry looked into Voldemort's eyes. "Never," he said, quietly.

"Never? Well, let us see if we can change your mind. Crucio."

As Harry fell to the floor, screaming, Voldemort laughed. "Beg me for death. Beg me to let you die."

There was stirring from the other side of the room. Distracted, Voldemort took the Cruciatus curse off Harry. Still lying on the floor, Harry could see that Sally was trying to break free.

Slowly, painfully, she stood up.

"Sit down, girl," said Voldemort, annoyed.

Sally grimaced as she struggled to stay standing. Harry, remembering how hard it was to fight the Imperius curse, began to urge her on.

"Come on Sal," he whispered "come on, fight it, you can do it."

Voldemort became more and more agitated. "Imperio, Imperio, IMPERIO!"

Sally's arm began to rise. In her hand, she was still holding the knife.

As if in slow motion, with a downwards movement, she stabbed the blade into her own abdomen.

Simultaneously, both the Muggle girl and the one of the greatest wizards of all time crumpled to the floor.

It took Harry a few seconds to realise that the wrenched screaming sounds were coming from his own mouth.

Crawling over to Sally's body, he crouched next to her, and sobbed.

A/N: It's not the end of the fic! Just so you know. Thanks to everyone who reviewed:

Rubber-duckiesofdoom: And the problems are just getting worse! I'm glad you found it again, hope you still like it.

benwa: Thank you! Please keep reading.

Musings-of-Apathy: Ah well, that happens a lot with romance. Annoying things happening at inopportune moments. By the way, I was convinced that there were no male HP fanfic people, so thank you for dispelling that myth!

IamSiriusgrl: I'm sorry, I'm terrible at updating. You'll just have to get a big stick to poke me with every so often.

Juno Malabre: No beta this week! I miss you! sob

Kelly: I hope you got at least a bit of sleep! Maybe you should borrow IamSiriusgrl's stick…

Jamie Prongs: Good, good. Glad to know that you're still enjoying it!

BlueMoonChild89: Well it was followed by a chapter…eventually…thanks for bearing with me!