V.

Jamie had only a second to absorb the fact that this Potter kid was an orphan; his mother died for him and his father died fighting Voldemort. What chance did Potter have if fully-grown men lost their lives to him? Erin seemed to be thinking along the same lines; her eyes showed both fear and loathing.

But before he could do anything else, "Crucio!" and the horrible screams filled the air once again; twice as loud as before, as he no longer had a gag…Jamie half-hoped that someone would hear the screams and come to see what was going on…but they were in no immediate danger…Potter was; curled up on the ground, screaming like his life depended on it…

And then it stopped, and – from what they could see – Potter quickly staggered to his feet and stumbled sideways towards their bush and the Death Eaters. Jamie was closer to Potter than he had ever been before, but before he could get a good look at him they pushed him away.

"A little break, a little pause…that hurt, didn't it, Harry? You don't want me to do that again, do you?"

What astonished Jamie was how Potter was not completely freaking out because of Voldemort. What Jamie would have done would have been to cower in fear…he would not stand there as if he didn't have a care in the world like Potter was…

"I asked you if you wanted me to do that again! Answer me! Imperio!" Potter's face went oddly blank, as if his brain had been temporarily removed. Voldemort was saying, "Answer no, just say no…" repeatedly, and Potter looked like he was having an internal struggle. Finally his face went back to normal – he was still very pale but he didn't look so blank anymore – and said, "I won't!"

The Death Eaters looked mildly surprised at this; maybe this "Imperio" is supposed to force you to do something? Jamie thought absently. Erin gasped in admiration, but he was not sure why. He, surely, would be able to do that too…

"You won't? Harry, obedience is a virtue I need to teach you before you die…perhaps another little dose of pain?" said Voldemort, smirking. "Crucio!"

Jamie squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating the screeches, but they never came. Jamie opened his eyes and looked out. He could no longer see Potter, but the Riddle tombstone – what he could see of it – was cracked. Jamie supposed that Potter had dodged Crucio and it had hit the headstone behind him.

"We are not playing hide-and-seek, Harry," said Voldemort as his Death Eaters laughed manically. "You cannot hide from me. Does this mean you are tired of our duel? Does this mean that you would prefer me to finish it now, Harry? Come out, Harry…come out and play then…it will be quick…it might even be painless…I would not know…I have never died…"

Erin moaned beside Jamie, her face deathly pale. "He can't kill him…he just can't…."

"Oh yes he can," said Brett sadly, "And he will."

Erin burst into silent tears, while the three boys watched sadly as Voldemort walked nearer and nearer to the tombstone that Potter hid behind.

Suddenly, Potter appeared from behind the gravestone, pointed his stick at Voldemort, and yelled, "Expelliarmus!" just as Voldemort raised his and screeched, "Avada Kedavra!" Erin let out a sob that was unheard by all but Jamie, and Jamie and Brett both covered their eyes. He didn't know why, but Jamie was kind of attached to this Potter kid.

Jamie heard a gasp from somewhere on his left; no scream of triumph from Voldemort; no shout of pain from Potter; but as Jamie looked at Patrick, he saw that he was grinning from ear to ear. "Look!" he whispered excitedly. "Erin, stop crying! He's not dead!"

"He's not?" sobbed Erin. "How? Avada Kedavra is supposed to kill you…that's what Ernie said over break…"

"Just look!" said Patrick, his eyes never leaving the clearing. "It's amazing!"

Jamie looked up, and Brett and Erin's heads shot up beside his. Erin's eyes grew wide; the two figures' sticks were now connected with a string of golden-yellow light, which illuminated the cemetery. Jamie worried for a moment that the Death Eaters would catch sight of them, but all of their attention was focused on Potter, Voldemort, and the beam of light connecting them.

Then the two duelers were lifted off of the ground and carried farther away from them. Eager to see more clearly, Jamie started to get up, but Erin pulled him back down.

"Oh, come on! Let's go!" said Jamie urgently.

"I dunno…" said Erin, releasing him.

But as soon as she had let go of the sleeve of his sweatshirt, he started running after Brett and Patrick, whom Erin had not been able to hold down. "Boys…" he heard Erin mutter as she hurried along after them, all of them going as quietly as possible.

"Look, let's stop behind Riddle's tombstone," said Erin angrily. "I don't want to get any closer than I need to to You-Know-Who."

"Oh, fine," said Brett, rolling his eyes. "I suppose we'll still be able to hear…"

They resumed their original position, where although their vision was half-obscured by the tombstone, the duelers were now twenty feet from them, and they could hear and see everything.

"Do nothing! Do nothing unless I command you!" Voldemort screeched to the Death Eaters, now walking around the dome of light closing off Potter and Voldemort.

But just as Voldemort finished his order, beautiful music Jamie had never heard the like of in his life filled he entire graveyard. Potter seemed heartened by it, but Voldemort seemed to fear the music.

Beads were sliding down the thread towards Potter, and even though the sticks were shaking before, Potter's began to vibrate even more…and then the beads stopped, and then started gliding towards Voldemort's stick; Jamie saw relief on Potter's face and fear on Voldemort's. The beads moved ever so slowly towards Voldemort's trembling stick, and Jamie suddenly felt a thrill of foreboding. What would happen if the beads connected with it?

He soon found out – as soon as they connected, a gray hand floated out of Voldemort's stick. Then a head, and body, and legs…Cedric Diggory, the boy who had been murdered an hour before. He spoke to Potter, but Jamie could not catch what he said…Jamie moved to his right a couple of feet so Potter was directly in front of him. Diggory's…ghost? was walking around the dome, and another man was pulling himself out of Voldemort's stick. Jamie was shocked; Frank Bryce, the old caretaker for the Riddle house, was now standing next to Potter.

"He was a real wizard then? Killed me, that one did…you fight him, boy…" said Frank in an echoing voice. Yet another figure was coming out of Voldemort's stick – a woman-Jamie had never seen her before.

"Don't let go, Harry!" she said. Frank and the woman began to pace around like Diggory. Now yet another woman's head was emerging – Jamie moved a few more feet to his right so he could see Potter better – and Potter's face was completely transformed. He looked at the woman in a different way than he had looked at the others – could this possibly be Potter's mother? She whispered something in Potter's ear, and a fifth figure was now pulling itself free of Voldemort's stick. Jamie was surprised; for a moment he thought Potter was coming out, but then he realized that this must be his father.

Voldemort looked terrified as his victims circled him and Potter. Potter's father was whispering to him; Diggory then asked him, "Take my body back, will you? Take my body back to my parents…"

"I will," said Potter in a strained voice. It looked like it was a chore for him to hold onto his stick; it seemed like it might have been Jell-O in his hands.

Potter's father was whispering again. Suddenly, Potter yelled, "NOW!" he pulled his stick away from the strand of light, the music went away and the dome disappeared, but the ghosts of the murder victims dog-piled Voldemort, obscuring his vision so that Potter could run…

And run he did. Jamie was astonished that he could go anywhere at all; his leg had not yet stopped bleeding. The Death Eaters were sending green light after him, hoping to stop him…

"Stun him!" Voldemort screamed. The ghostly figures had vanished and he was hurrying along after his Death Eaters, a furious glint in his crimson eyes.

"Impedimenta!" Potter roared, pointing his stick over his shoulder. One of the Death Eaters was blasted off his feet; his comrades jumped over him, still chasing Potter...

"I will kill him! He is MINE!" screeched Voldemort. Jamie, Erin, Brett, and Patrick ran behind the bushes, desperate to keep up with them, to see what would happen…

Potter had run back to where Diggory's body lay. There was a silver cup gleaming in the moonlight, which Jamie had missed before. Potter leapt to Diggory's body and closed his hand over his wrist; the silver cup was ten feet away and Diggory was much too big for Potter to carry…Jamie's stomach sank down into his sneakers…Voldemort was mere feet from Potter now…his race was run…

Suddenly, as Voldemort pointed his stick at Potter, Potter yelled, "Accio!" The Cup was lifted off of the ground; it soared through the air and into Potter's hand. Jamie blinked; he was gone. "Where is he?" he asked, perplexed.

Erin was doing a kind of jig where she stood. "He's safe! Yay! He made it! He's alive!" Jamie shushed her, but there really wasn't any need…Voldemort, now furious, was storming about, and shoving Death Eaters aside.

"HOW DID HE ESCAPE?" roared Voldemort. "HOW?!" None of the Death Eaters were stupid enough to answer. Voldemort raged on like this for several minutes. "Why didn't you stun him? I told you to! You don't do anything I tell you to! Honestly…"

After five minutes of this, Voldemort took it in turns to use Crucio on each of the Death Eaters. This, surely, will attract the town's attention, thought Jamie. Potter was safe, but they were in more danger than ever before…

"Dumbledore'll know! The Order will know! Because of YOU!" said Voldemort over the screams of his Death Eater victim. Finally he raised his stick. "The Ministry…" he suddenly stopped. Erin, Jamie, and Brett were staring at Patrick, horrified.

"Bless you," said Voldemort evilly, walking towards the bush where the four friends crouched, paralyzed with fear.