A/N: This Chapter is Heavily Influenced by another fic called Intensity by MarauderLover7. If you've read that one, you'll know what parts I am talking about here.
A Song of Lightning and Fire
Arc I: Magic
Part V: The Triwizard Tournament
Voldemort led Harry and Ginny down a well lit hallway. The floor was covered by a red carpet, and the walls were dark brown in color. There were torches in brackets along the walls, placed between portraits, which were looking down at Harry and Ginny with a haughty expression.
Harry was confused by the last part, this was a Muggle house, wasn't it? Why were there Magical Portraits here?
"This Mansion has been through some renovations under my ownership." Voldemort said softly, backtracking his way towards them. "Those are the Portraits of my ancestors. The Magical ones, I mean. I found them in an old castle belonging to the Gaunt Family. Perhaps I can tell you more sometime. Come."
He turned around and started walking to a doorway to their right. Harry and Ginny shared a glance and frowned. The way he said it felt like… it felt like he expected them to stay. Not as prisoners, but of their own free will…
Harry shook his head to clear those thoughts. Now wasn't the time to think of that. They had to see what Voldemort wanted, what his intentions were… and most importantly, they needed to find a way out of this bloody place.
He and Ginny followed Voldemort into the doorway and saw that he'd led them into some sort of a living room. It was large, easily twice the size of that in Grimmauld Place, with a very large Fireplace at the back that burned with a bright fire.
There was a round table in front of the Fireplace, and Harry counted 25 seats, though something told him there could be more if Voldemort really wanted there to be. A posh and delicate looking chandelier hung down from above the table, and it gave off enough light to cast the entire room in a very bright glow.
There were three windows on their left side, letting in a lot of light of their own. The wall to their right held a large bookshelf with a ladder to get to the top ones. There was also a sort of lookout area behind them where one could look down on the living room from the level above them.
Voldemort took the seat directly in front of the Fireplace and gestured for Harry and Ginny to take a seat. They didn't.
"Welcome," Voldemort said, spreading his arms regardless. "I am honoured to… hold on just a moment. It has been… a long time since I've done this."
Voldemort closed his eyes in concentration, but after a few seconds of nothing happening, he stood up, and took a deep breath.
Suddenly, his body started morphing. Color came to his skin, turning it from a pale white to a shade of white more suited to a Human. Hair sprouted from the top of his head and above his eyes. He looked exactly like the Tom Riddle Harry and Ginny had seen in the Chamber of Secrets, but his eyes remained the same, as did the fangs he had in place of his teeth.
"This is the best I can do so that we can have a more… civilised conversation," Voldemort explained, sitting down as Harry and Ginny stared at him open mouthed. "Now, as I was saying, I am quite honoured to have you here with me. I apologise for the means by which I have brought you here, but I saw no other way."
"What do you want?" Harry asked.
"To talk, of course," Voldemort said, as though Harry should know of this already. "I haven't had the chance to do so in our previous meeting."
Harry kept his face blank, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ginny's face twitch imperceptibly, probably by trying to keep herself from snapping at the Dark Wizard.
"I confess myself… impressed," Voldemort said. "Very impressed."
Voldemort looked at them both, probably expecting some reply to that, but Harry didn't have one in him. "Your performance against the creatures was… very promising," Voldemort continued. "I especially enjoyed seeing how you used the Tempest Jinx, Harry. I would never have thought of that when I was 14," Voldemort turned to Ginny. "Your bravery as you faced the Leviathan was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Not to mention the sheer strength of both of your minds. You have my respect for it. And I do not give respect easily."
"Lucky us," Ginny muttered, unable to stop herself.
She received a glare from Voldemort. "You saw what happens to those who interrupt me," he said, standing up and moving out of his seat. "Do you really wish to go through that?"
Ginny didn't say anything, and Harry was worried that Voldemort would curse her regardless… Harry would destroy the little shit if he did that. Immortal or mortal.
A few more moments passed as Ginny stared at Voldemort defiantly. Harry could smell her fear, but he knew she wouldn't let it consume her.
"I admit to wanting to kill you both in the beginning," Voldemort said, breaking the tension in the room. "It would have been a rather easy way to be rid of you. A convenient one. But then… Barty told me of your recent tasks. As did Romulus. And I thought to myself… is it really worth it to kill two such promising young Warlocks? Not everyone can find the Chamber of Secrets after all. Even with Parseltongue."
"What's your point?" Harry asked.
"A war is coming," Voldemort said, his eyes darting between Harry and Ginny. "You both know this. I am not surprised, but you cannot stop it from coming. However, you can help to reduce the… casualties… of this war."
"How?" Ginny asked when no one else said anything.
Voldemort gave them a smile. "Join me."
Harry blinked. Turning to Ginny, he saw that she had a similar expression on her face. He couldn't help the surge of anger that went through his mind at that moment. This… man- if he could even be called that now- had killed his parents, he was the reason that Sirius had been in a coma for 12 years, he was the reason for Harry being sent to the Dursleys, and that was not to mention everything else he'd done to Magical Britain…
"In what world do you think I would join you!?" Harry snarled, unable to stop his emotions from taking over. "You killed my parents!"
"A regrettable event-" Voldemort said.
"REGRETTABLE!?" Harry roared, a spark of electricity flying between his fingers. "YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE YOU FEEL REMORSE!?"
"I do not," Voldemort said calmly, and Harry wanted to rip his head off for that. "Not anymore. But I know what it feels like. Not having your parents with you. And I am sorry, I am so terribly sorry that you had to live through that."
"You know nothing of what I've lived through," Harry hissed.
"No?" Voldemort asked. "I hadn't led a happy life before Hogwarts either, Harry. I, too, was dumped at a doorstep that did not want me. I, too, was bullied, humiliated, abused-"
"Stop. Talking," Harry but out.
"We are rather similar now that I think about it," Voldemort continued. "Both of us have been mistreated by Muggles, both of us are Slytherins, both of us saw Hogwarts as our First true Home, did we not? And we're both Warlocks. Very Powerful ones."
"He's nothing, nothing, like you," Ginny hissed, shifting closer to Harry.
"Perhaps," Voldemort said. "Then again, I see a little bit of myself in both of you, Ginevra-"
"Do not go there," Harry warned him, pointing his Wand at the Dark Wizard, who raised his hands.
"Forgive me," he said, looking down briefly. "I overstepped."
Harry just grunted.
"I do urge you to reconsider," Voldemort said. He then turned to Ginny. "You must have considered it someti-"
"Never," Ginny growled. "You've tried to have me killed how many times now? And that's not to mention the time Bellatrix succeeded."
"Ah, yes," Voldemort frowned as Harry lowered his hand, still not taking the Wand off of Voldemort. "Bella's plan of using a Djinn to resurrect me fully. A bit bold, but it would have been a worthy weapon. As for the attempts at your life… have your people not tried to do the same to me?"
Harry and Ginny shared a quick, bewildered glance. "That is vastly different," Ginny told him.
"Is it?" Voldemort asked, cocking his head. "Or is that a lie that Dumbledore and the Ministry have fed you? How much do you know of the last war?"
"We know enough," Harry said.
"Has anyone told you why I became Lord Voldemort?" Voldemort asked. "Why I chose to leave the life of Tom Riddle behind?"
Harry and Ginny did not have an answer to that, and Voldemort seemed to have expected that.
"Of course you don't know," he replied. He opened his mouth to speak again, but then his gaze snapped to something behind Harry and Ginny.
Harry turned his head, and saw a snake slither into the room. It was large in its width, unnaturally so, and it had a certain awareness to it, far more than a snake should.
"Tom," it hissed, and Harry turned to Voldemort in time to see that he had a smile on his face, as though greeting a close friend.
"Nagini," Voldemort responded as the snake climbed on top of Voldemort's shoulders, coiling itself there. "It has been far too long."
"Indeed," Nagini replied. "Who are these?"
"Harry Potter," Harry replied.
"Ginny Weasley," Ginny said.
Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "You've been busy I see," he said in Parseltongue.
Harry and Ginny didn't respond, but Harry did like the fact that Ginny could speak Parseltongue now. It would give the two of them a language to speak in if she was comfortable with it.
Voldemort started talking a bit more with Nagini, and from their interactions, Harry could tell that the Snake was his familiar, but Harry ignored their conversation, choosing instead to look around for a way out of the room besides the doorway.
The most obvious one to him were the windows. Just break them open with a spell and run away, preferably with the Cloak over them. But Harry didn't have the Cloak with him now. It was left behind near the angel statue, and going without it would be a suicide mission.
The next one were the bookshelves. Surely there had to be… something there, right? They couldn't possibly just be normal bookshelves. This was Voldemort's House for fuck's sake, anything was in the realm of possibility here.
Curiosity overtaking him, Harry walked forward towards the bookshelves, stopping a few feet away from it at a place where he could safely observe the titles. He saw Ginny had come beside him, looking at him with a question in her eyes.
His eyes flicked to Voldemort, who was still talking to his snake, but he knew there was a good chance that the Dark Wizard was still watching them. He shook his head at Ginny, turning back to the bookshelves.
She didn't pursue it any further.
The bookshelves contained books on Wizarding History, Prejudices, Prophecies, Magic, Dark Magic, Soul Magic, and even the Magic of the Elves for some reason. Try as he might, Harry couldn't find one that seemed out of place.
"I hadn't realised you had such an avid interest in these books," Voldemort said, causing Harry and Ginny to jump in surprise.
"We're just checking them out," Ginny lied, but it was apparently believable enough for Voldemort to nod in understanding.
"These are good reads," Voldemort said. "Quite famous, too, I must say."
Voldemort engaged himself in another conversation with Nagini, and Harry decided to check out the Fireplace, but just as he was about to turn to go, he saw Ginny slip her Wand out of her holster from the corner of his eye.
She was staring at Voldemort's back with an expression of determination, and not a little fear. But she wasn't about to stop, Harry knew, and he opened his mouth to tell her she should stop, that it wasn't worth it yet, but that would only make it worse for her…
The matter was taken out of his hands when she jabbed her Wand at Voldemort. Hard. A Translucent wave of Magic shot out of her Wand, headed towards Voldemort rapidly.
Nagini hissed something to the Dark Wizard, who turned back in time to see the Spell whizzing towards him. He just raised a hand in response, which caused the Spell to stop in mid air.
Harry wasn't able to stop his jaw from dropping open. He couldn't believe his eyes, he hadn't seen or heard anyone do anything remotely similar, not even Dumbledore. He also wasn't able to suppress a shiver at the sight of Voldemort's enraged face.
"You dare to strike against me?" Voldemort hissed coldly, his red eyes actually glowing in anger.
Voldemort slashed his hand in Harry's direction, and the Bludgeoning Hex slammed into his stomach, causing the area to erupt in pain (it really was a powerful Spell), sending him flying backwards into the table.
"Harry!" He heard Ginny scream as he groaned, and turned over as she reached him. "I'm so sorry."
"I should punish you with the Cruciatus Curse," Voldemort said to Ginny, causing Harry's stomach to turn over. "But I am a fair leader. And I feel that this is punishment enough. Do anything like this again, however, and I may not be so… forgiving."
His last words were hissed in such an ice cold tone, that he couldn't help but feel the fear. He felt goosebumps on Ginny's arm.
"ROMULUS," Voldemort yelled.
He then whispered something to Nagini, who climbed down from Voldemort's shoulders, slithering towards Harry and Ginny and encircling them with her body.
A few moments after Voldemort started pacing back and forth, and Nagini started hissing a few profanities and threats at them, Grayson arrived.
"You called, My Lord?" He asked, his eyes flicking towards Harry and Ginny.
"Take them to the Dungeons, please," Voldemort said. "The better ones."
Grayson frowned, but nodded anyway. Nagini slithered away from the two of them, and Harry and Ginny got up and followed Grayson out of the room, not seeing any other choice.
It was better being with Grayson than with Voldemort, but not by much. Harry let out a soft sigh as they headed down the hallway towards the back entrance. Had it really been such a short time ago that Moody had tricked them into thinking that he was on their side…?
They took a right turn before the door to the backyard, and Harry saw that there was a set of stairs between the divider separating the Hall from the Kitchens.
Grayson led them down these stairs, and soon, they reached another long hallway. This one was dark, and didn't have many torches, but Harry could still make out gray stone floors, and stone walls to the side.
Grayson led them down the Hallway in silence, and opened the door, pushing them both in, closing the door behind them.
He didn't say anything else, though, surprising both Harry and Ginny. Harry was expecting him to be a bit more of his overconfident asshole self, but he just seemed fucking tired.
The room Grayson had led them into seemed less of a prison, and more of a bedroom. It seemed Voldemort wasn't quite done convincing them yet, although Harry still couldn't fathom why he would want to do that instead of just outright killing them and being done with it.
It wasn't much, though. There was a bed to the corner that looked like it could be slept in. There weren't any wardrobes, or mirrors, or even a nightstand, but there was a door to the right of the room. Harry walked towards it, and saw that it led to a bathroom.
He heaved a sigh and turned back to see what Ginny was doing and he found her running her Wand all over the walls of the room, tracing a golden line behind her as she went.
"Huh," she said. "There aren't any privacy breachers."
"What were you thinking?" Harry asked heatedly. He knew he shouldn't be angry. He would have tried the same thing, but still, he couldn't help the burst of anger that went through his mind. "Casting a Bludgeoning Hex at Voldemort?"
She bit her lip and looked down, holstering her Wand again. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what came over me I just-"
He walked towards her and held her by her shoulders. "Sorry doesn't do me any good if you're dead," Harry hissed to her, knowing there were other things that he could do to her that would break both of them even further. "You told me that, remember?"
She nodded. "I'm scared," she said in a small voice, as though ashamed of admitting this.
Harry's anger practically melted away. "I am too," Harry said, hoping his voice sounded gentle. He let out a frustrated breath and cupped her face. Fighting amongst themselves would lead them nowhere. "I don't want to stay here. But he's… you know, him. We can't fight him. We're not there yet."
She nodded. "I'm sorry," she whispered again.
He hugged her close, and she hugged him back. There wasn't anything else that they could do here. They were trapped.
Harry and Ginny fell asleep in the same bed that night, partly owing to the fact that there was only one in the bloody room, but mostly, they just wanted to, and the lack of Privacy breaching Enchantments meant that they could talk about whatever they liked.
The first thing Harry had tried when he woke up was to destroy a wall with a Reductor Curse, which just ended up bouncing off the Wall and destroying the door to the bathroom.
They didn't see anyone, or hear anything else, that morning, but a tray of food was delivered to them by a House Elf at breakfast. Harry tried reasoning with the Elf to help them out of the room, but she didn't agree to their requests, citing that she merely served Master Yaxley.
The same House Elf brought them Lunch, and again, it refused their pleas for help. It did the same thing for Tea Time, and for Dinner.
Harry couldn't help but think that this was like being back at the Dursleys. Made to stay under the cupboard under the stairs. He had Ginny with him this time, though. And he couldn't be certain if that was a good thing or not. He loved her so much he couldn't imagine…
He loved her.
And he hadn't even told her that… for nearly 6 months, they'd been dating, and he hadn't told her once.
"Gin?" He asked softly.
She turned to him, eyebrows raised in a question. "There's something I want to say to you," he began, hoping she wouldn't be too angry at him. It was almost too much to hope for.
"Not now," she said, shaking her head. "Not… not here."
"But-"
"I can tell it's important," Ginny interrupted him. "Whatever it is, unless it's urgent… it can wait."
"What do you count as urgent?" He asked, holding her hand.
She smiled and gripped his hand tighter. "If you want to tell me what I think you want to tell me, then I'd rather not hear it first in a room like this, you know?" She asked, her eyes pleading with him to understand.
He did.
He opened his mouth to respond, to apologize for being a shit boyfriend, but his response was cut short by the sound of a lock clicking open. Grayson walked into their room. "Get up," he said. "Our Lord has sent a summons for you."
Harry's eyes narrowed when Grayson said 'Our Lord' but he and Ginny got up and followed the man anyways, closing the door behind them as they went.
"Were you always working for Voldemort?" Ginny asked Grayson, causing the other man to turn to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Why does it concern you?" Grayson asked.
She shrugged. "Just curious, I guess."
Grayson didn't say anything, he just led them to the staircase, where he stopped suddenly, causing Harry and Ginny to almost bump into the man.
"I wasn't," he admitted. "I was just a regular bloke… well, a regular Half Giant anyway, but still. Lucius Malfoy found me a few days before you found the Vault of Ice. Told me about everything. A few days before our trip to the Forest Vault, I accepted his offer."
"Why did you join?" Harry asked curiously.
There had to be a reason, he felt. No one could possibly just join the cause of an evil, racist megalomaniac just because they felt like doing so after waking up one morning…
"He promised a lot of stuff," Grayson said stiffly.
"Let me guess," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Money? Power?"
"Freedom," Grayson replied, glaring at Harry, who's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Freedom from what?" Ginny asked.
"You know what Half Giants are treated like in this world, Weasley, do you not?" Grayson asked. "What did your mother tell you about my kind when you were a child?"
A moment of silence passed between them before Ginny broke it. "That all Giants and Half Giants are monsters who rampage around towns with no regard for anyone's life," she whispered.
"Do you get it now?" Grayson asked. "Giants are like that. They are the monsters that your bedtime stories describe. But not us Half-Giants. But we are still looked down on because of our parentage."
"And you think Voldemort can help you with that?" Harry asked, not knowing how to feel about this.
"If you knew what he was fighting for, truly fighting for, then you would too," Grayson said with utmost confidence.
"If you didn't join him before then why did he praise you so much?" Ginny asked.
"I gave him the ritual for his body," Grayson said. "Both for the one that looked like a baby and this one. Now, come, we are getting late."
He led them both up the stairs and towards the living room, where Voldemort was standing in front of the Fireplace, staring into the embers of the fire, donning his more… human form.
Harry was lost in thoughts of his own and barely noticed Nagini slither out of the room just beside his foot. Grayson, too, walked out of the room after Voldemort nodded at him.
"We have gotten off on the wrong foot," Voldemort said. "Perhaps, that is because you don't know what it is that I fight for."
"Grayson said you would bring equal rights to the Half Giants," Harry told him. He knew it could be a lie, a set up so that he could just fall for it and dance to Voldemort's tune, just like he wanted Harry and Ginny to.
Voldemort's eyebrows raised, and he seemed and smelled genuinely surprised by this new piece of information.
"Did he now?" Voldemort asked. "It seems fate itself wishes for this…" he trailed off, stroking his chin. "Take a seat."
Harry and Ginny, again, did not move.
Voldemort's eyes flashed red again, and he bared his fangs at them. "I wasn't asking," he growled at them. "After that stunt you pulled yesterday… I think I am in my rights to demand this from you."
Harry didn't want to cause any problems yet, so he went and sat down, Ginny following his lead, neither of their eyes ever leaving Voldemort's. Harry was expecting chains, or something else, to come out and bond them to the seats, but nothing like that happened.
"You have read about me in books, I imagine?" Voldemort asked Harry. He turned to Ginny, not waiting for a response from him. "And your parents must have read to you about me as a… bedtime story, perhaps?"
He looked at Ginny, and both of them nodded in response to his questions.
Voldemort inclined his head. "Have you ever heard the phrase, 'history favours the victorious'?" Voldemort asked them.
Harry and Ginny nodded. It would be rather difficult to find someone who hadn't heard that, Harry thought.
"Their visions of myself are… flawed," Voldemort said. "They do not depict what I fight for."
"And what is that?" Harry asked.
"Power," Voldemort said. "And freedom, for everyone, everywhere. For everything that breathes."
"Freedom," Ginny scoffed. "Says the monster who massacred Muggles en masse," she said.
Voldemort seemed impressed with her language. "I have massacred people. It is true," he said. "But I have never hurt anyone who didn't stand in my way. I value Power, and I will do what I must to get it. My Death Eaters do get quite overzealous sometimes. They occasionally go 'Muggle Hunting' as they like to call it, I'm sure you can imagine what happens there. Quite a barbaric practice if I am honest."
"What are you saying?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow. "You suddenly don't care for Blood Purity, or hating Muggles?"
"I have never cared about Blood Purity," Voldemort said dismissively. "You both know my true heritage. You both know that I am no more a Pureblood than I am a House Elf. The topic of Muggles is… debatable."
"Then why do you fight?" Ginny pressed. "Why go to war?"
Voldemort just smiled at her in a way that said he pitied that line of thinking.
"You know the laws, Ginevra," Voldemort said, causing Ginny to twitch again. "What? You don't like that name?"
"No," she bit out.
"Ginny, then?" He asked. He continued when he received nothing but a blank stare. "You've known of the prejudice in our world, Ginny," he said. "You've been brought up amongst them. You know how horrid and untrue they are. Those need to change."
"There are other ways of doing that," Harry said. "Ever tried appealing to the Wizenagamot?" He asked, knowing it was utterly useless.
"I have tried," Voldemort said. "I dedicated five years of my life to it. All it gave me was pain, loss, and disappointment. Leaving me a broken man. A mere shell of who I once was."
"What are you fighting then?" Harry asked, trying to prevent him from getting angrier than he was.
"The Ministry," Voldemort said. "They certainly deserve to be taught a lesson. A swift and fast execution might do them some good."
"And then what?" Ginny asked. "Just… rule?"
Voldemort nodded. "There is a lot more than just that, but yes," he said. "Essentially, I would just… rule."
"And where do we fit into all of this?" Harry asked.
Voldemort seemed pleased at Harry's question, and gave him a smile. "There are always two or more sides to a war," he said. "There is mine… and then there is the side on which Dumbledore and the Ministry stand. As far as I know, you would choose the latter, am I correct?"
Harry and Ginny nodded.
Voldemort didn't seem like he expected anything else. "Well," he began. "As I said yesterday, you can help to reduce the casualties of this war by a great number."
"By joining you?" Harry and Ginny asked at the same time.
"Precisely," Voldemort said, bowing his head.
"You don't care about the people, though, do you?" Ginny said. "As long as you get what you want, you'll sleep without batting an eye."
"I would," Voldemort said nonchalantly. "I would kill all who stand in my way, but you happen to care for their lives, and I do want you two on my side, so if this is the price that I have to pay for that to happen, then… so be it."
Harry and Ginny shared a concerned glance over Voldemort's words, but the Dark Wizard wasn't done yet.
"Did you know that you give hope to the people everywhere?" He asked before Harry or Ginny could ask a question.
Harry frowned and looked at Ginny, who seemed just as confused by this as he felt.
"The First Task," Voldemort continued. "Shooting a Dragon out of the sky… preventing it from falling on top of the people, who, frankly, should have been long gone at that point… it gave them hope. As did watching both of you go head to head with a Leviathan… an alliance between a Mer and a Human where they fought a common enemy has been unheard of for over a century. You give people hope."
"What does that have to do with the war?" Ginny asked.
"It has everything to do with the war," Voldemort said. "Hope is the strongest thing the side of the 'Light' has," he drew quotation marks in the air with his fingers. "If you join me… many might follow you. Many might lay down their wands… others may flee… but they will live to do so."
"And how do you know that?" Ginny asked.
"Over 70 years of experience," Voldemort said. "Along with the fact that I have seen it happen before. When people refused to fight me when I first rose to Power. Then Dumbledore fought me once, and that was all it took for the others to pick up their Wands. I feel the same may happen if the situation is reversed."
"And if we don't want to?" Harry asked, fingering his Wand.
"Then I shall, grudgingly, respect your decision," Voldemort said. "I do not wish to spill any Magical Blood yet, either. And thus, I will offer you both an alternative. A third option to choose."
"What's that?" Ginny asked.
"Lay down your Wands," Voldemort said. "Both of you may flee, together or separately, whichever you choose, to… wherever it is that you want to flee to… just stay out of my way. And you will live to see a new world. I promise you, that if you do so, I will not come after you, or either of your children should you choose to have them in the future."
"You won't track us down and kill us?" Ginny asked sceptically.
"I surprise even myself, Ginny," Voldemort replied, bowing his head. "I am prepared to give you an Unbreakable Vow on it. Flee to whichever country you choose, and I shall spare it. You could even return to England after I have taken over. I would make sure you could find a good place in the new era. A good job even. Just make sure that you do not fight me after that happens, because I will destroy each and every single thing that you care for, right in front of your eyes."
Harry turned to Ginny, wanting to know how she was dealing with it. He hadn't been expecting this option. It was just too good, there had to be something wrong there. Harry didn't think everyone would just blatantly lie about his cruelty.
Besides, hadn't he used the Cruciatus Curse on Goyle just for interrupting him? And he'd almost Cursed Ginny with the same Curse. Harry would never take a way out from someone like that…
"If we say that we choose to fight you?" Ginny asked, sticking her chin up slightly.
"Then everyone you hold dear shall be a part of my list of targets," Voldemort said in a cold voice. "Your parents, your brothers, your friends… Harry."
Harry's blood had been boiling as Voldemort threatened her, but hearing his name was as good as the last straw being broken. Before Harry could do anything, however, he was interrupted by Voldemort.
"Think on that for tonight," Voldemort said, clapping his hands once. Grayson came along, and led the two livid, scared, and confused teenagers back to their Dungeon room silently.
"Gin?" Harry asked when Grayson left.
She looked up at him, and he walked over to her, grabbing her in a hug again. "We need to get the Fuck out of here," she said softly.
"I know," Harry replied. "I know."
But they had no way to do that. It was as good as a simple dream at this point. The only thing he could use was the Cloak, and Harry didn't think it was close by. It would be a miracle if it was.
Besides, even if it was in the building, it wasn't like it could be summoned with a Summoning Charm.
Maybe with Wandless Magic…?
Harry broke their hug, and took a few steps back, hoping to distance himself from Ginny if something went wrong. "What's wrong?" Ginny asked.
"Nothing," Harry said, holding up a hand to stop her from coming closer. He focused on the feeling of having the Cloak over him, the feeling of safety, and anonymity that no other Charm or Object could replicate…
Suddenly, with a pulsing, shimmering sound, the Cloak started forming around his shoulders, slowly fading in around Harry's shoulders as he felt the Magic in his body practically sing in harmony with that of the Cloak.
Ginny stood there gaping at the scene, and Harry let out a breath.
"We're getting out," he said.
Her answering grin was all the confirmation he needed.
About an hour after that thought passed through his head, Harry and Ginny were still struggling to open the door to their room/prison.
They'd tried using all the door unlocking Charms they knew, they'd tried Untransfiguration, Transfiguration, they'd tried blowing it apart, which had nearly ended in a disaster; they'd even tried doing all of that with their brother Wands, to no avail, and they'd almost given up after they'd exhausted their knowledge of Runic Magic, but they'd found a way, one that Harry didn't think would work.
A few minutes after that, Harry and Ginny finally managed to get the door open by using Wandless Magic together, with a lot of force.
"Finally," Ginny breathed. "Fuck me, I never thought that would open."
"Should have tried this first to be honest," Harry muttered.
Ginny grimaced. "Let's go," she said. "We're wasting time."
Harry nodded and pulled the door open fully, stepping out into the stone corridor. It was cold here, unnaturally so, and Harry knew that this was a result of the effects of Dementors… but there weren't any here… which probably meant Voldemort was recreating their effects using Magic, probably Runes and Charms.
Ginny took his hand, and he responded by threading their fingers together, somehow, he knew that she needed the contact just as much as he did.
He started feeling a little better, he thought as he took a breath and walked forward. He looked questioningly at Ginny, but she just smiled reassuringly and started walking forward herself.
He wondered if a Patronus would make them feel better… it probably would, seeing as it was in the nature of the Spell to repel anything Dark… but this Dementor Effect was a Charm, one that he did not know the nature of, and besides, he didn't want to alert Voldemort about them sneaking out… really, it was a minor miracle that there weren't Death Eaters swarming them already.
Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak over them as they climbed up the stairs. He peeked around the corner while Ginny checked the other side. Neither found anyone wandering the halls.
"I think we should check out the Living Room," he said.
He hadn't been able to get a good look at the place yesterday because of Ginny Hexing, or trying to Hex Voldemort. He still couldn't believe what the Dark Wizard was capable of, though… the image of him stopping the Spell in mid air flashed through his mind again, and Harry wondered if the side he was fighting for had anyone Powerful enough to do that…
But what mattered most now was Harry and Ginny getting out, followed by the two of them informing everyone that Voldemort had returned. Not doing so could be… dreadful. Voldemort's return couldn't stay covered up.
Ginny nodded at his suggestion, and the two of them turned to the left side, walking down the hallway to the Room in question. The torches were all put out now, and the portraits were sleeping. A perfect situation.
Harry and Ginny entered the room, finding it similarly devoid of too much lighting. The moonlight was still shining in through the window, though, giving them enough lighting to see what they were doing.
Harry went to check the Fireplace, hoping to find a Floo connection, but alas, luck wasn't on his side. Not that he was expecting there to be one here… it would be far too easy.
Harry's life didn't get easy.
He then made his way to the bookshelves with Ginny, pulling a few of the books, hoping that one of them would lead them towards the answers that they needed.
"This one seems interesting," Ginny said, holding a book on Elven Magic.
Truth be told, Harry was rather curious about it. Partly because he knew next to nothing about the Elves as a species (not counting House Elves), but mostly because he was very confused as to why this was here in Voldemort's House. Surely, he wouldn't keep a useless book in a bookcase right?
Harry opened the book to the index page and read the introduction, which gave them a basic introduction of the Elves, stating that they were Powerful, beautiful, and immortal creatures that were capable of channelling Magic in a way that healed people and nature itself, and that most of their offensive Magic was mind based.
The Elves had been Cursed, though. That Harry knew. They were turned into House Elves, short, ugly, decrepit looking creatures that served Humans, wanting to obey their every will and command. Not doing so would be considered blasphemy for them.
Ginny placed a hand on his arm, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We can find more of this stuff later on Diagon Alley, and Hogsmeade," she said. "We should look for a way out first."
Harry sighed and nodded, knowing she was right. He closed the book and kept it back in its place. They checked the rest of the room in a similar manner, finding nothing.
"Can I ask you something?" Ginny asked.
"Go ahead," Harry said.
"Have you thought of Voldemort's offer?" Ginny asked.
That was a loaded question. Yes, Harry had thought of it. He couldn't have stopped himself even if he wanted to. The prospect of being away from the fight, him and Ginny running away, living a life of their own making, probably as Curse Breakers… it was appealing. Far too much for Harry's comfort.
But he hadn't considered Ginny's feelings. It would be easy for Harry to move on if he had her to focus on, but everything else for her was here. Her family was here, as were her friends… and he knew how hard it was to leave behind family.
Harry turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"
She shook her head. "I've been thinking about it a lot," she said. "Would I be a bad person if I tell you that I'm thinking of just running away with you? Just you and me… travelling the world…?"
"It doesn't sound bad, does it?" Harry asked, smiling at the image. Then his smile dropped off his face when he remembered what they had to do for that dream to come true.
"But I'll never forgive myself," she whispered, looking down.
Harry didn't really think he would be able to either, nor could he say anything, but he could see that she was troubled by this, so he just gave her a hug, holding her tight, hoping she'd get the comfort she needed.
A long time passed there in silence as Harry held Ginny, and the silence was broken by Harry. "You would really choose me over your family?" He asked.
Ginny pulled back just enough to look at him. She was looking at him with a blazing look on her face, and Harry couldn't help but feel a bit aroused by it.
"Yes," she answered without hesitation. "In a heartbeat."
It took him a while to realize that they were talking about her choices and not her looks, but when he did, he felt a warm feeling in his chest. He never did know what a home felt like, but he hoped it was something like this.
He quite liked the idea of equating Ginny with home, too.
He and Ginny quickly resumed their quest for an exit, though. More than once, Harry felt like he should act on his instincts and just smash the window and escape, and he had to try very hard to not act on that instinct. It was probably not breakable physically, and any Spell would probably just rebound at him.
They didn't find anything. At least not anything useful. They searched the rest of the floor, which consisted of an empty ballroom, the kitchen, which only had some food supplies, and a few House Elves that weren't able to detect Harry and Ginny; and then they searched the Dining Room, which was also, similarly devoid of any escape routes.
He was dreadfully tired now, and Ginny was too, judging by the huge yawn she let out. He had half a mind to just turn around and head down to their prison to a good night's sleep, but he knew Voldemort would probably run out of patience if they didn't have an answer for him… and they would die if they didn't have an escape route that they could access either now, or sometime later, because Harry and Ginny would never join Voldemort.
So, they climbed up the stairs behind the doorway across the hall from the Living Room. They reached the Second Floor landing, and Harry peered around the corner, gesturing to Ginny with his fingers to come ahead.
She followed and the two of them walked out onto the Second Floor. There was a hallway in front of them that provided a lookout over the Living Room, and it connected to quite a few rooms to their right, turning left and right when it reached its end. To their left, Harry saw that there was a door there that led into a balcony.
They ignored that and went to their right, checking the rooms as they went. The first one was a bedroom, sparsely decorated. Harry thought that it was just a place to crash.
They found two more rooms like this, and one of them actually had a Death Eater in them. Harry considered using Legilimency on the sleeping man, but he couldn't afford to compromise his position, and a man screaming in pain as Harry tore into his mind would definitely do that, so he and Ginny quietly walked away, opening the door to another room that turned out to be just a broom closet.
It was the fifth door they opened that actually gave them some hope.
It was an office, one that looked like it was new, but still used by someone, probably Voldemort. The desk there was made of wood that was probably mahogany, and there were shelves to their left with several objects on them that looked like they may have been trophies from several of Voldemort's escapades.
There was also a painting of Salazar Slytherin, one that wasn't Magical. But the one piece of the office that stood out to Harry was the fireplace, specifically the Floo Powder on the mantle of the Fireplace.
Lighting his Wand, Harry made his way to the Fireplace, hoping that the wood would react with the light on his Wand. If there was an active Floo, the wood would turn slightly green.
And it did.
Harry felt like he could have screamed in joy, and next to him, Ginny clapped a hand over her mouth as she gasped. They'd done it!
Harry felt something call to him, though, something from Voldemort's desk drawer. Curiosity overcoming his common sense again, he walked forward, opening the drawer with Wandless Magic.
There was a small wooden box there, and Harry's mind instantly flashed back to his second year, when he'd found the very same box. It was labelled 'A Song of Lightning and Fire' and Harry had found and left it in a room in the corridor accessed through the Runespoor Portrait. Harry took it in his hand and closed the drawer, feeling that this was something he had to know about…
Just then, the door lock clicked open, and Harry threw the Cloak over him and Ginny, the box still in his hand. Thankfully, Harry and Ginny went unnoticed under the Cloak
There were two Death Eaters in the doorway. Harry, having seen their faces in the Daily Prophet, recognized them as Antonin Dolohov and Mulciber.
"You sure you heard the door close?" Mulciber asked.
"Positive," Dolohov said. "Homenum Revelio."
Nothing happened.
"Accio Invisibility Cloak!" Mulciber said, his Wand tip glowing.
Again, nothing happened.
"Well, they aren't here," Mulciber commented. "You're sure it's Potter and Weasley?"
"Certain," Dolohov said, scowling. "Those two little miscreants… trying to worm their way into our Lord's good graces…"
Harry frowned, and shared a glance with Ginny as Dolohov and Mulciber came in. They didn't close the door behind them in time, and Harry and Ginny were able to slip out without any trouble.
Harry put a hand on her arm, causing her to turn to him in surprise. He tapped his finger to his ear, and focused on the sounds inside the room.
"What does he want with them anyway?" He heard Dolohov ask.
"Probably to get them on his side," Mulciber said.
"Why?" Dolohov asked. "What don't the rest of us have that they do?"
"None of us have shot a Dragon with Lightning from the sky," Mulciber said, causing Harry's lips to twitch upwards.
Dolohov just made a frustrated sound. "Well, you can rest easy," Mulciber said. "If Potter and Weasley don't give him an answer by tomorrow, he will stop with his efforts and let us have them. Maybe we can have them sooner if we find them out of their rooms. Actually, I hope they do get out of the House. Nagini is sure to make quick work of them, while leaving enough for us."
"You sure she's patrolling?" Dolohov asked doubtfully.
"She always patrols when the Dark Lord sleeps," Mulciber said. "I'll tell the others what happened."
Harry grimaced. "We've got to head back now," Ginny hissed.
They needed to get out tomorrow. Doing so now would be… dreadful. The Death Eaters would close off the Floo, and he doubted Nagini would be easy to kill. Besides, Harry had one more question he wanted to ask… one that he wasn't sure Dumbledore could, or even would, answer.
Harry and Ginny had returned to their room, and, as it turned out, it was the right choice since the Death Eaters soon checked their room to see if they were there.
Harry had quickly placed the box in his trunk, which he did still have on him, surprisingly. Harry suspected Voldemort was trying to make them feel comfortable enough to choose without feeling like they were forced into it, which was odd for someone like him.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner passed just like yesterday. The elf came, Harry asked for its help (just to play the part of a scared prisoner) and the elf refused. But this time, Harry wasn't all that angry, or disappointed.
Again, Grayson came to lead them away from their room/cell, and up towards the Living Room. They didn't engage in conversation with him this time, but Harry was well aware that Grayson smelled a lot more suspicious of them than he usually was.
Voldemort, as Tom Riddle, was standing near the bookshelves this time, reading the Elven Magic book. The hair on the back of Harry's neck stood up, and he felt like a weight had settled in his stomach.
Voldemort turned to them and inclined his head in greeting. "Hello," he said. "I am glad you came again."
Harry and Ginny just nodded at him as Grayson left. They took a seat where they did yesterday, directly opposite Voldemort.
"Have you thought more about my offer?" Voldemort asked. "Either one still stands."
"We have," Ginny said.
"And?" Voldemort asked eagerly when they didn't say anything else.
"I have a question," Harry said, causing Voldemort to turn to him and nod at him to go ahead.
"Why did you come after me when I was a baby?" Harry asked.
Voldemort raised his eyebrows. "You don't know?" He asked, genuinely shocked.
"Know what?" Harry asked, frowning.
Voldemort sighed. "Dumbledore didn't tell you," he said. "Of course, he didn't."
"Tell me what?" Harry pressed.
Voldemort shot him an annoyed look. "There was a prophecy, Harry," he explained. "One that said that you would be the one who would 'vanquish' me."
"A prophecy," Harry repeated hollowly.
His parents died… because of a fucking prophecy? A few words out of the mouth of someone who had even an ounce of Seer blood in them could be counted as a Prophecy, but it didn't always come to pass…
"Who gave it?" Harry asked.
"What did it say?" Ginny asked at the same time.
"Curious, aren't we?" Voldemort seemed amused. "Well, the prophecy was given by Sybil Trelawney. If I am not mistaken she is the Divination professor?"
Harry and Ginny nodded, despite the sick feeling in Harry's stomach.
"The Prophecy stated that a boy born at the end of March would be the one with the Power to vanquish me," Voldemort said. "The exact wording escapes me at the moment… perhaps we can find it together at the Ministry sometime."
Harry couldn't think of anything else he'd like to do less, but he just nodded with the Dark Wizard regardless.
"There is another one, though," Voldemort said. "A rather Ancient one. It is called A Song of Lightning and Fire. It speaks of an ancient evil… and how this evil is destroyed forever. I am certain it speaks of me. A copy of it resided at Hogwarts. I found it, along with Barty, on whose shoulders I rested as a snake… but I think I shall keep it to myself for now."
"Now," he said, clapping his hands together, blissfully unaware that Harry and Ginny already had that Prophecy. "I am awaiting an answer."
Ginny sighed. "We need more time," she said, causing Voldemort's nostrils to flare.
Voldemort stood up. "I don't understand," he said finally. "What could there possibly be there to think about? You either fight with Dumbledore and I kill you where you stand, or you fight with me, and you shall receive the highest of honors in my ranks."
Harry opened his mouth to respond, but the Dark Lord just started pacing up and down again.
"Think," Voldemort said. "Imagine the Power you two would wield if I taught you my secrets… If I trained you in the ways of the Dark… it is liberating, having this much Power. Nothing else compares to it. Especially if you are a Warlock… which you are. All I ask, Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, is that you give me your allegiance, and I shall grant you so much more in return… things that you cannot even dream of… cannot even comprehend."
Voldemort turned to them suddenly. "What do you say to that?"
Harry turned to Ginny under the guise of having a silent conversation. Her face seemed conflicted, and Harry could understand. This choice was about to change their lives. Probably forever. Probably for the worse.
Harry and Ginny got up and made their way towards Voldemort, stopping at arm's length away from him. He seemed completely at ease, as though he didn't even consider them a threat.
"What will it be?" Voldemort asked softly. The silence of the room seemed deafening.
Harry and Ginny slowly bowed to the man, who grinned broadly at them. "Excellent choice, my friends. Excellent choice."
"There's just… one problem," Voldemort said suddenly, the grin vanishing from his face.
Harry gulped and took a step back.
"Did you really think I wouldn't know who enters and leaves my office?" Voldemort asked, his red eyes flashing as he started taking a few steps forward. "I took you into my house as guests, and this is how you repay me? I saved your lives from the Death Eaters who wished, and still wish, to see you dead… and this is the thanks I get?
Voldemort drew his Wand out, and Ginny slashed her hand towards the Fireplace, causing Voldemort to go flying into the roaring fire, his Wand dropping out of his hand.
Voldemort screamed in pain as the fire caught over his robes and started burning his skin. He tried to crawl out, but Harry slashed his arm in the same direction, focusing on the Round table, causing it to soar through the air, piercing through Voldemort's flesh right above his stomach.
"YOU'RE DEAD!" Voldemort screamed as blood poured out of his body, but Harry ignored him.
Harry focused on every ounce of Magic he had, drawing it up and allowing it to fill him up entirely. He saw Ginny drawing her broom out from the corner of his eye, and he thrust his hands forward, causing the Wall holding the window to blast outwards with a booming sound.
Voldemort screamed in outrage again, but Harry ignored in favor of running towards the broom and taking the back seat, allowing Ginny to steer.
She didn't waste a second in putting on a burst of speed, and they shot out of the open wall just before the other Death Eaters arrived on the floor. By the time they started casting Spells, Harry and Ginny were long out of range.
Even though he wasn't in control, Harry felt free, like he always did when he flew, or kissed Ginny. It was like nothing else mattered, and it was absolutely blissful.
But then, the broom lurched and stopped in its place, causing Harry and Ginny to almost go flying out of their seats. Harry's heart jumped to his throat.
Please no.
But when he turned back, he could make out Voldemort standing there in the distance, coming out of the blasted wall of the Riddle Manor, an arm outstretched towards them.
Ginny grunted from the effort of putting in more and more speed, not wanting to submit to Voldemort's pull, but it was no good, their broom was violently vibrating from the effort, and it would break if Harry didn't do anything.
Harry raised his Wand and waved it over his head like a lasso. Invoco fulgur inimicos meos perdere. Invoco fulgur inimicos meos perdere. Invoco fulgur inimicos meos perdere.
The clouds came together, and Thunder sparkled in them, even when Voldemort cast some sickly pink Spell up into the air, seemingly as a counter to the Tempest Jinx.
Voldemort was almost in striking range now, and Harry was about to Spell the lightning to fall around the Dark Wizard, but then, Voldemort yanked his arm down, causing the broom to soar towards the earth.
"Hold on!" Ginny said, trying to steer the broom up, but it was no use. It kept falling to the ground.
Harry cast a Cushioning Charm where it would land, hopefully succeeding in preventing it from breaking.
"JUMP USING WANDLESS MAGIC!" he yelled at Ginny, who complied.
He jumped down shortly after her, both of them landing with the grace of their Animagus forms.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort's shout rang out.
Harry and Ginny immediately ran in opposite directions, causing the Spell to vaporize a tree.
Harry held his Wand up. Fiat fulgur solvunt, he cast, aiming his Wand at Voldemort, who cast a purple colored Curse at him which Harry was barely able to dodge in time.
The Lightning crackled in the air, and a Bolt of it arced towards the ground, and it would have struck Voldemort where he stood, but the man simply erected a Shield over himself, and, much to Harry's surprise, the Shield actually seemed to absorb the Power of the Lightning.
Harry repeated the Spell before Voldemort could do anything, and Ginny cast a few of the high Powered Spells she knew, the Gubraithian Fire, the Cutting Curse, the Conjunctivitis Curse, and the Reductor Curse.
Voldemort avoided them by not bothering to come in contact with them at all, all the while he took the blasts of the Lightning as Harry kept sending them.
Eventually, Harry had enough of it. The Spell was tiring, and this was only the second time he'd used it in combat… he dropped to a knee as he called one last bolt, hoping it would take the Dark Wizard out.
It didn't.
Instead Voldemort just cackled, bringing the tip of his Wand near his palm, causing the Shield to shrink into a sphere just in front of him. Voldemort spun around another Reductor Ginny sent at him, and sent the sphere of, what could only be described as Dark Magic, at them.
"Patronus!" Harry and Ginny yelled at each other. He would have chuckled, but he tempered down his amusement in favor of pointing his Wand at the advancing sphere of Dark Magic. He thought of Ginny… the way she looked at him… her blazing look… his lips on hers…
Expecto Patronum, he cast.
He knew the combined Patronus had worked, judging by the way both their Wands vibrated and practically sang together as a huge amount of mist was released from them, soaring towards the sphere and turning into a Phoenix shortly after.
Voldemort, in the process of casting another Hex, paused, and looked at their Phoenix with a raised eyebrow.
The Phoenix wrapped its wings around the sphere of Dark Magic, and started turning back into mist, forming a sphere of its own around the Dark one.
The Darkness was trying to break out from the newly created sphere, but the Patronus wouldn't let it… it held, until, suddenly, a golden crack formed in the Patronus, which was followed by another, and another, and soon, the sphere was sucked into itself.
Harry felt his body get rapidly sucked through the air, and towards the orb. He stopped and fell onto the ground sometime after that. The whole experience felt a lot like an Uncomfortable Portkey journey.
Ginny and Voldemort had experienced the same experience as him, as they were all a lot closer to each other than they were before, but before Harry could think more on this, a wave of Magic exploded outwards from where the sphere had imploded, knocking all three of them off their feet.
They quickly got up, though, and Harry and Ginny glanced at each other quickly, Harry did so to check if she was okay, and he reckoned she did it for the same reason.
Voldemort looked beyond angry, his handsome face had twisted into an ugly sneer of disgust. The Dark Wizard locked eyes with Harry, then with Ginny, and then, as though they'd planned this conflict, all three of them raised their Wands, Harry and Ginny pointing theirs at Voldemort, and Voldemort pointing his at Harry
Neither of them said their Spells out loud, but Harry was certain that everyone in the Mansion felt their Power.
Voldemort cast a sickly green Spell that had to he the Killing Curse, Ginny chose a Reductor Curse, while Harry, surprisingly, went for an Explosion Curse.
Voldemort's Curse however, started swerving towards the centre, and Harry and Ginny's Curses swerved to meet it there. Harry practically felt all of their Wands move together- of their own accord- so that their Wand were pointing at the centre of the little triangle formation they were standing in.
The Curses met in the centre with a loud bang and a loud pushing sound. Their Spells were being tied together by golden beads, and a translucent, golden dome of Magic formed around them, and a beautiful musical sound was being heard, empowering Harry and Ginny from within. Harry recognized it as the Phoenix Song.
"You serve me!" Voldemort yelled to his Wand.
It was then that he remembered that Voldemort shared a Wand core with Harry and Ginny. He didn't know what that meant, but it felt like it was helping.
Somehow, Harry knew that he had to push and fight back with all that he had, and so he did. He felt better when Ginny did the same, because he knew he would need her help to push the beads all the way back.
Together, slowly but surely, they made the Golden beads reach Voldemort's Wand, and then, it was as though an earthquake had shaken the ground.
Harry and Ginny barely managed to keep their footing while Voldemort was driven to a knee, another tremor later, they heard several sounds, voices, ominous bubbling sounds, screams, pleas…
It was when he heard the sound of a large blast, that he realized that the sounds were the effects of Voldemort's Spells. His Wand was repeating its actions, and Harry knew in that moment, as though he always had, that this was called Priori Incantatem.
Priori Incantatem was an effect observed when two sides of a conflict used Brother Wands against each other. No matter how many the numbers, there had to be two sides to the conflict, and this effect would take place, causing the winning side to force the losing side to regurgitate an echo of its previous spells in reverse order, using something in those echoes as a weapon against them.
Suddenly, another tremor went through the earth, and blue wisps of light escaped Voldemort's Wand, heading upwards in the air, and shooting down in a semi circle around Harry and Ginny.
The wisps of light came to rest next to them, and started taking the shape of humans. Harry turned to his right, and saw that he didn't recognize any of them except for-
"Mum?" He asked.
"James!?" Ginny cried incredulously next to him. He turned to her and saw that they were both actually there.
"Hey/Hi," they both responded.
"We don't have much time," James said apologetically. "But we want you to let go of this connection when we go attack Voldemort."
"What?" Harry asked.
"Let go of the connection, love," Lily said, placing an ethereal hand on his shoulder. Even though she didn't actually touch him, Harry knew that didn't make her any less real. She was here. So was his Dad.
"Just a little more time," Lily told him, and it strengthened his resolve. He and Ginny both grunted from the effort of keeping up with the Spell.
"We're proud of you, son," James said, and it heartened him to hear those words again.
Another tremor went through the earth and more wisps came out, taking the form of more humans that Harry didn't recognize.
James and Lily gave him and Ginny a smile and then turned to their fellow ghosts- were they even ghosts?- and yelled, "NOW!"
The Spectral creatures flew straight at Voldemort, and Harry and Ginny pulled their Wands back with all the strength they had left. Voldemort couldn't do anything but raise a Shield that kept them at bay for a while.
Eventually, they tore through it, and Harry and Ginny bolted towards the broom that had, mercifully, landed safely. They turned back when they heard an inhuman scream, and saw that Voldemort's body was lifted in the air in a scarecrow pose, and his body was surrounded by an ethereal glow.
Harry saw Ginny whirl around to the broom and flick her hand at it, causing it to rise and head towards the forest. She allowed Harry to jump on the broom first, and then she sat down in front of him, their bodies pressing together as he wrapped his arms around her.
She accelerated hard and fast, and this time, there wasn't a lurch. Harry waited, and waited, but nothing happened. They were able to fly away as Voldemort's screams echoed into the night.
They were free.
A/N 2: Aaaannndd that's done! I considered splitting this one in two, but I thought there was no need for that.
Anyway, I hope you liked this Chapter. I know Harry and Ginny's captivity was unconvincingly short, but hey, I wanted to get them outta there quickly.
This is kind of Spoilers, but the Cloak forming around Harry is a Deathly Hallows thing, not a Wandless Magic thing.
This Chapter is long because I wanted to make Voldemort's intentions clear in the most complicated way I could. There will be a simplified explanation in the next Chapter, which will probably be of similar length as the last one.
Please, please, please, leave a review if you enjoyed this Chapter. I'm really nervous about it. I'll see you in the next one!
Byee!!
