The tall, robed figure with glowing red eyes seemingly emerged from the mist, wand pointed threateningly at the pair. He had a twisted grin upon his face, and his eyes had a greedy glint. "At last…"

Hermione gasped, clutching Harry's sleeve. "You! Leave Harry alone!"

Voldemort chuckled, shaking his head. "Remember the last mudblood who tried to save you, Potter?" Harry stared defiantly back at him, though his scar was stinging so badly he could barely stand. "Don't call her that!"

He ignored him. "The pretty thing…I would have let her go…if she hadn't gotten in my way. Oh! Take me please! Spare Harry!" Voldemort sang in a high, mocking voice.

Harry's whole body stiffened and his green eyes shone with rage. "You- you are filth! You hide away while you let your Death Eaters do the work! At least my mother was brave enough to die for me!"

Voldemort's smile had disappeared. "Brave, brave words for someone who is about to die. However, I won't kill you yet. That would be much too unsatisfying. I like to have a little fun first with my victims." His voice dripped with hatred, and he raised his wand, eyes gleaming madly, and before Harry had a chance to react, he shouted, "Crucio!"

The waves of pain that followed made Harry want to scream out, but he bit his lip and squeezed his eyes tightly. He would not give Voldemort the joy of seeing him shriek out in pain and beg. His whole inside felt like it was on fire, being torn apart, stabbed by razor sharp knives. Heat so intense it turned to icy bitterness filled his head. The boy slowly sank to the ground, vaguely hearing Hermione's high-pitched scream of his name, as she stood frozen to the ground. Opening his eyes slightly, he noticed something strange. Voldemort, even as he was casting the curse, seemed to be doubling over in agony.

"What is happening?" Voldemort yelled, finally lifting the curse, panting heavily himself, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. "CRUCIO!" he tried again viciously, jabbing his wand toward the fallen boy.

Vomiting, but still not uttering a sound, Harry bore the torture silently. It was lifted rather quickly, however, as Voldemort was shaking so badly he had dropped his wand, before swooping down to retrieve it. A trickle of blood dripped down the Dark Lord's pale chin, which he wiped away systematically.

Hermione rushed to Harry, as Voldemort confusedly paced back and forth, apparently deep in thought. "I don't understand this…" the Dark Lord muttered. "How is this possible?" He cursed to himself, hands gripping his wand so tightly that his bloodless hands seemed to turn even whiter, if possible.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione hugged him protectively, shooting furtive glances at the muttering figure.

Helped by Hermione, Harry staggered upwards. "What happened?" Harry asked, bewildered, dizzily leaning upon his friend.

"It doesn't matter!" Hermione whispered hastily, preparing to run and drag Harry with her.. "Let's get out of here-"

"Not so fast," Voldemort had turned his attention back onto them. "You both are coming with me!" His spindly fingers grabbed onto Harry's shoulder vindictively, causing his scar to sear with pain again.

Suddenly, a powerful jet of light hit Voldemort from the side. It was Sirius, standing at the top of a building, like a hero in an action movie. "Get your hands off my godson, you monster!"

The spell caused Voldemort to twist in anguish, as blood splattered from his face onto his robes. "ARRGHHHH!" He screamed.

"STOP! STOP!" Hermione cried, waving at Sirius with one hand and gesturing to Harry with the other. For some reason, Harry was back on the ground, blood spilling from his mouth, writhing in pain in the same manner as Voldemort. His hands clutched his face, trying to stop the flow of scarlet.

Confused, Sirius stopped, his mouth open in surprise. Members of the Order came running, wands out, and Voldemort glared at the Sirius.

"You chose the weak side," he laughed harshly. "Ah, Black…what you could have become…don't worry, you will get what you deserve one day." With a swipe of his wand, Voldemort removed all the blood and stains from his robe. Then he disapparated, spells bouncing off the brick wall behind where he was standing.

Sirius clambered down from the building, tripping in his haste before kneeling down next to Harry. "What did I do?" He cried, horrified, wiping some blood from the boy's mouth.

"You didn't do anything wrong…you saved us," Harry's vision was clouding. He saw the wispy white that might have been Dumbledore's beard over him before he blacked out completely.