Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I know what's happening a couple chapters from now. You see, I know where I'm going, I just don't know how to get there. I haven't abandoned this fic (or anyone still reading!) I've just been on a total brain drain. I know where I'm going but the map is missing so, so please please forgive me!
It starts.
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CHAPTER 33: The Start of
the Battle
Harry wondered where Dumbledore was. The whistle was supposed to fetch him to his side, wasn't it? Oh well. It couldn't be helped.
Harry and his tiny army marched on. They kept marching for the better part of an hour, unable to stop. They made a skeleton of a plan before going silent to conserve their energy; either they'd survive or they wouldn't.
"Where are they?" whispered Neville, panting. It was hot under the cloak and they'd been going for an awfully long time now.
Harry replied quietly, "He wants me to be tired. Not to have any energy left to fight with. I wish I'd brought my broom."
Within ten minutes they saw them. Nearly 3 dozen figures, robed in black and wearing masks. One man stood center, with no mask, just blood red eyes, gazing at him.
"Nice to see you again, Potter," he said, every inch the gracious host, but his voice tinged with venom.
"I'm not afraid of you."
Even as Harry spoke those five simple words, he saw the Death Eaters formed a circle around him as they'd done 3 years ago.
The Dark Lord mocked, "Of course not. Why should you be? I just invited you over for a cup of tea."
One of the Death Eaters twitched a wand at a sign from Voldemort and a cup of tea zoomed into Harry's hands. Harry sniffed it. It smelled like sage. He blinked in surprise as an identical cup appeared in Voldemort's hand. "Drink up." Voldemort drank.
Harry smirked and poured the steaming cup of tea on the ground and tossed the cup at Voldemort's feet. "Sorry. I prefer coffee."
Voldemort twitched his wand and said a spell that Harry was surprised he recognized. It was one for putting people in a cone of silence. What was going on? Harry wondered if Voldemort knew his friends were there. Harry had heard his friends moving a little bit when the Death Eaters had moved.
Harry worked hard to keep his face calm. It wasn't as hard as he thought. He wasn't going to die yet. It wasn't going to happen. Voldemort liked to make a big show of things and trapping himself and Harry in a cone of silence would probably take some of the fun out of it for him.
"So what do you want?" Harry asked amiably. His legs were killing him.
"You could have joined me. You could have been great, you know. You have the ambition of a Slytherin, and a sharp mind. You could have been my second in command. But your Gryffindor heart had to make things difficult. Are you willing to reconsider? You're outnumbered."
"No. Not really. The fact that you've gone to so much trouble to get rid of me and to get me on your side plainly tells me one thing. It means that you are afraid of me. Otherwise I wouldn't be such an issue, now would I?" He could see Voldemort's pale face starting to go red. Harry kept talking, knowing that he had to. He shrugged. "Yes, I'm quite controversial, aren't I? Don't bother answering. I already know the answer. I'm more powerful than you are. That's obvious, isn't it? Don't bother answering. That was a rhetorical question. What? You don't know what rhetorical means? Tsk, tsk. You really should have paid more attention in school. Did you learn anything from Professor Dumbledore? Yeah, he's a swell guy, isn't he?" Harry was thinking, Yeah, a swell guy who said he was going to be here! Where is he? "Yeah. Hogwarts has been good to me for the last 7 years. Better than that mess of a family I was left with. But you know all about that, right? After all, you are the cause of my being an orphan. And your little rat, wherever he's hiding, he's the reason my godfather was delayed his reunion with me. And of course you know all about being an orphan don't you?" Harry recalled his memories from second year as best he could. "Yeah, you're a half-blood too. Do all your buddies here know that? I bet they don't. After all, you're the big-shot promoting pureblooded wizards. That would just make everything collapse around your ears if they found out. Ooh, you'd better hope I don't slip up and say something on accident. Your mother, she was a pureblood. The last witch in the line of Slytherin. Oh wait, my mistake you're the last witch." Harry grinned cheekily before continuing hastily, making sure his friends had enough time, if Voldemort said anything now, all their work would be ruined. "So I was thinking to myself why oh why would the man who claims to be the greatest wizard of all time, be begging for my help? He wouldn't. Unless he knew he couldn't beat me. Unless he knew that I was stronger than he was. Unless he knew that I was going to destroy him one day. I've got news for you old buddy. You can't beat me. I am stronger than you. And today is going to be the day I destroy you." Harry had never been very religious, but he prayed to whatever God, gods, or goddesses were out there for all the protection he could get. He knew he'd need it, and so would his friends.
Voldemort tried to scream and found himself muted. No sound came out. He lunged at Harry and found he couldn't pick his feet up off the ground.
Nice job, Ron, Herms, Harry congratulated his friend silently. Renata, please wait for your opening! He started talking again before Voldemort could further react. "Yes, that's a neat trick isn't it? I rather thought so. And the best part is. Nobody out there knows what's happening. Rather ingenious of me, isn't it? I can multi-task. While talking to you I also managed to remove your voice, remove your ability to move, and by gosh I put up a barrier. All your buddies out there have no idea what's going on. They can't see us. They think you did this. All they see is the swirling mist around us. I don't know exactly what this mist would actually do to us of course. I'm not worried. I don't care if I die. After all, we'll all do it someday. Even you. Today may or may not be my day, but I happen to know for a certain fact that today is yours. You don't think I can do it, do you? You don't think I can just snap my fingers, say those two words, and make you dead. Well, you're right. I can't. Even after all the bloody stuff you've put me through I don't have that raw hate. But I do know how to send you into outer space without your wand. How would you like that? No oxygen. Dead as soon as you tried to breathe. Or I could lock you up inside a glacier for all eternity. How does that sound? Don't worry, I'll leave you a blanket. Maybe I could toss you in a volcano and see what happens, hmm? That'd be interesting. I could always tie you up on top of the astronomy tower and have hippogriffs come and peck out your eyes and your organs. Tempting, no?" Harry watched the livid look on Voldemort's face. NOW, RENATA! he thought for all he was worth and kept talking. "Yes, isn't it just delightful, old chap?" He did his best to grin broadly, he hoped it passed. "See, the thing is, you are now powerless to stop me. You have no wand, no voice, and no ability to move from where you stand. After weeks of painstaking research I have found a spell to switch my body with yours. I'll do it and order them to kill you. Then, I'll get each and every one of them, before returning to my normal bright and happy self, with my revenge complete. You had to know this is really what I've wanted all these years? Not to get my parents back. They're parents, what use are they? What I wanted was revenge. You may have been right when you said I'd do well in Slytherin, but I'm nobody's puppy. I don't follow you or anybody else. Not you. Not Dumbledore. Heck, my friends don't know I'm here. I'm only in this for one person. Me."
When Harry had said "Yes, isn't it just delightful, old chap?" Renata had taken her cue and murmured, "Accio wand!" By this point, Voldemort was so distracted that he wasn't aware of what had happened until Harry got to his closing lines. Then he fumed with rage.
Harry willed with all his might for his friends to keep the force field around them strong. The five of them might be able to stand up against a wand-less Voldemort who couldn't move closer to them and was just out of strangling distance. But there'd be no way for the 5 of them to stand up against all those Death Eaters. If the force field were shattered, they would be too.
Just then, the earth under their feet started to heave.
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Thanks. I hope you review and keep reading! Sorry Harry rants for so long, it's integral to the plot.
