The Price of a World
Chapter Eighteen
Harry managed to speak through clenched teeth.
"Voldemort is here." Ron's eyes widened.
"Here? In Hogwarts? In this very room?" Ron whimpered. An evil cackle echoed sinisterly throughout the hall.
"Very good Mister Potter, very good." The rasping voice sounded nearer now. Harry stood and stared steadfast in front of him. "So we meet again." A red light shot out from a wand only 10 metres in front of Harry. And there, bathed in the light from his own 'Lumos' spell was Lord Voldemort.
"What is your business here?" Harry demanded subtly slipping his wand out from his inside jacket pocket. Voldemort chuckled.
"Do you seriously think I'd be stupid enough to make my entire plan on how to kill you, public?" Voldemort spat.
"I was hoping. You have been alive for, how many years? Your brain should've started rotting away by now." Harry smirked at the Dark Lord. Voldemort considered Harry for a moment.
"You have changed since our last encounter." Voldemort paused for a while, thinking something over. "You have indeed, gained a lot more power and knowledge. Confidence and arrogance is definitely a lot more present. However; there is something… else." Harry watched Voldemort closely.
"Something… personal perhaps?" Harry began to grind his teeth.
Although surrounded by darkness, everyone else in the hall could see the faint light from Voldemort's wand and could clearly hear their conversation. A movement off to the right caught Hermione's eye. It was the Death Eaters; they were forming a large circle around the students who were now being ushered onto the dance floor area.
"Something… personal perhaps?" Hermione's head snapped towards where Harry and Voldemort stood. Hermione caught Harry's eye and she stared back at him, utterly frightened. Harry shook his head and glared back at Voldemort.
"I have a pet owl. That's personal. Are you going to hold her ransom?" Voldemort hissed, frustrated by Harry's narky attitude.
"Let's stop toying with each other now, shall we?"
"As you wish. Lets get down to business." Harry drew his wand. A murmur, a muffled cry and a few screams erupted from the student body. The Professors now among them tried to subdue them.
"Tom Riddle." Voldemort spun to watch Dumbledore walk slowly over to stand beside Harry. "Voldemort, which you have now labelled yourself. Must you and your Death Eaters interrupt my school?" Voldemort sneered.
"Albus Dumbledore, still alive I see. Tell me, did they even consider chucking you in Azkaban for letting me escape those two years ago?" Dumbledore simply adjusted his half-moon spectacles on his nose.
"I thought we were through with toying around?" Harry interrupted. Voldemort turned his attention back to the young Potter.
"I have come to challenge you to a duel."
"A duel…" Harry thought for a moment. "And what are your conditions?"
"It will not be a duel to the death. But merely, testing unstable ground."
"You want to suss out how powerful I really am before fighting for the death? How valiant of you."
"I do not wish to waste any more of my time listening to your pathetic insults, Harry Potter."
"And what happens to the loser at the end of this trial?"
"Both shall walk away. A truce being called once one surrenders." Voldemort reached into his robes, Harry watched Voldemort's every move.
"Wait one second. I want to state my conditions. This is a two way street."
"Very well."
"You will leave Hogwarts, my friends, fellow students and Professors out of this. They're not to be harmed in anyway. This fight is between you, and me. No one else." Voldemort seemed to consider this. He clicked his fingers and a Death Eater was by his side. They had a quick, whispered conversation and then the Death Eater went back to his post.
"Okay then. My Death Eaters shall be leaving shortly. Not even a fly in this room will be harmed." Harry nodded. Voldemort then continued to remove something from his robes. He drew a ceramic tile from his pocket. Voldemort placed it on the floor and slid it across to Harry. "This is a portkey. It will activate at noon in 3 days…"
"Where does it go?"
"That, I cannot tell you. For even I do not know." Not believing a word that passed Voldemort's lips Harry nodded in agreement.
"Very well then." Voldemort turned to his Death Eaters. "Move out." With one combined bang all the Death Eaters and Voldemort disappeared. With a wave ofDumbledore's hand all the candles lit back up, illuminating the room. The students were huddled together in frightened and crying bunches. The only people standing were Harry, Dumbledore, Hermione and a group of Slytherins at the back of the dance floor. Ron was huddled in a ball under the table in which Harry and he were seated at. Hermione ran over to Harry, wrapped her arms around him and burst into tears.
Dumbledore waved his hand once more and the Great Hall returned to its normal layout but instead of the four house tables there were sleeping bags.
"Students. You will be spending the night in here. Professors," Dumbledore looked around checking that everyone was okay. "Professors stand guard. I have some business to attend to." Dumbledore hurried over to the fireplace, threw down some floo powder and disappeared.
Harry gripped the distressed Hermione as tightly as possible. Her sobs were now uncontrollable.
"Harry. I was so frightened."
"It's okay. I'm here now. You're safe… Come on. We'll go back to your dorm and get you your pyjamas." From the far side of the hall Draco's heart bled. He longed to be the one comforting Hermione, he wished he didn't have to leave her alone on the dance floor and go discuss matters with his father and a few other Slytherin parents whom were part of the Death Eater clan. He wanted her to understand that he did it to protect her. But what worried him the most; was that Voldemort now knew about Hermione. He knew, that Hermione brought out a potential weakness in Harry; the boy-who-lived. An emotion that could be manipulated and used against Harry as a weakness. And that emotion was love.
AN: Okay so I lie… I've put this chapter up less then an hour after Chapter Seventeen. I was considering making this chapter longer but I've exhausted my burst of inspiration and motivation that I received a few days ago. So now the next chapter definitely won't be until at least Thursday. Heh, sorry all.
Oh yeah and Erin; not just the next chapter but the next TWO chapters! Wo0t! Lol, hope you enjoyed reading them and I'm looking forward to another review on what you think. - -Peta