Chapter Twenty-Six: The Third Task
June 24th, 1985
Eleven had yet to wake from her five-day slumber. Harry had long forgotten his worry and summed it up to her body adapting to its new Aiúa and vise-versa. So on the night of the Third Task, Harry focused solely on Voldemort. The Dark Lord was going to die tonight. It was a fact that Harry was willing to live by. He would split the man's skull open and watch the light leave his eyes. Harry would take immense joy from it and would remember this night for the rest of his night. The night he killed the man who murdered his parents and hundreds of other innocent witches and wizards. Harry would make Wizarding Britain a safer place tonight, even if it was the last thing he ever did in this body. He could make more, and his single Horcrux protected him from death. He wasn't worried.
So Harry stood in the circle of four Champions, tapping his leg as he waited for Bagman to get on with the introduction. He caught Hermione's eyes and he smiled. She blushed slightly but looked away before Harry could get any other reaction. He watched her for a moment but was pulled away from his thoughts when Bagman began. "Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! In first place with ninety points - Mr. Harry Potter!" Cheers and applause echoed throughout the stands, but Harry ignored them. He wasn't here for the fangirls. He was here to save lives. "In second-place with eight-five points - Mr. Cedric Diggory, of Hogwarts School!" More applause and cheer.
"In third place with eighty points - Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" Louder cheering and applause than before. "And in fourth place with seventy-five points - Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!" There were a lot fewer cheers and applause for Fleur, but she took it in stride and put on a confident smile for the crowd. "So...on my whistle, Harry Potter will enter the maze first," said Bagman. "Three...two...one," Harry sprinted forward into the maze, tapping the small device he wore on his sleeve. It was a camera, which recorded with a lens that captured videos in a 3D environment. The feed was going directly to his friends in Hawkins and Dumbledore back in the stands. If anything happened that wasn't according to plan, Dumbledore would be able to act from there.
Harry didn't bother with the obstacles. He displaced himself to the center of the maze directly in front of the Triwizard Cup. But he didn't take it. Harry decided to displace it into a dormant volcano, letting it burn to cinders. Instead, Harry displaced himself to the outskirts of the cemetery. Once he reached the graveyard, Harry started his plan. He pulled out his staff, pulling the Elder Wand out from within. He replaced it with his holly wand and waved the staff a single time. His clothes disintegrated and were replaced by his old grey, red, and gold cloak that he had worn in Raccoon City. But he wasn't done. Harry displaced the Cloak of Invisibility from his room up at Hogwarts, and placed it, the Gaunt Ring, and the Elder Wand on the ground.
He had done a lot of research and was prepared for this moment. Harry was going to reunite the three Deathly Hallows. He started with the Cloak of Invisibility, wrapping it around his neck. Then he placed the Gaunt Ring on his right middle finger. And he finished it by grabbing hold of the Elder Wand. Nothing happened. So with that done, Harry stepped into the cemetery, his footsteps not heard due to silencing charms on his boots. He carefully stepped up to the statue, moving towards the cauldron set up in the center of the graveyard. Harry passed it, stepping forward into the underground alcove that Wormtail had emerged from before. The alcove was dark, and in the corner, Harry spotted them.
Wormtail was seated in an old chair, holding the baby Voldemort in his arms. Nagini was down on the floor below, unaware of Harry's presence. He took his chance and reached down to plunge a Basilisk fang into the snake's head. It screamed an ungodly scream, with black mist pouring from every surface of the snake. Wormtail was quick, springing to his feet. Harry wasn't prepared for the man's reflexes and was sent flying backward into the cemetery. He flew into the cauldron and landed in front of the statue. "Tie him!" Wormtail waved his wand, and Harry found himself being pulled to his feet by tendrils around his wrists and neck. Once he was positioned on top of the statue, Wormtail carried Voldemort out of the alcove.
The rat did everything the same way. He prepared the cauldron and ingredients and started. "Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!" A long bone was levitated out of Tom Riddle's grave and was quickly dropped into the boiling cauldron. Wormtail began to whimper again, removing a small silver dagger from his robes. He held it up to his wrist. "Flesh - of the servant - w-willingly given - you will - revive - your master," With the stroke of his wrist, Wormtail cut his hand clean off, letting out a scream as the lump of flesh and bone splashed into the cauldron. After a few moments, Wormtail stumbled his way up to Harry. "B-blood of the enemy . . . forcibly taken...you will...resurrect your foe,"
The rat cut into Harry's arm, delighted in the way blood trickled down into Wormtail's waiting glass vial. The man then turned back to the cauldron, dumping the vial of blood into the potion. And when that was done, Wormtail dumped Voldemort in. It was time. Harry yanked himself free of his restraints, the wound in his arm healing instantly as he rushed forward. He cast a stunner and restraints around Wormtail, binding the man in ropes before displacing him directly into Dumbledore's office. The cauldron shattered, with grey and black mist rising into the air. Harry was straining to see, so he closed his eyes. He spotted Voldemort easily. His Aiúa and philotic structure were very prominent in the empty field around them.
Voldemort's Aiúa was a pitch-black color and was multiple sizes too small for a normal Aiúa. Most likely because he had torn seven junks out of it. But there were no connections. No tethers. No Horcruxes. Harry grinned. "Harry Potter. You seem to have prepared for this," Voldemort whispered. He had reached down to grab Wormtails fallen wand and had conjured robes for himself. The mist was beginning to clear, and Harry spotted Tom for the first time in almost five years. He was exactly as Harry remembered. A bald white head. Snake-like eyelids. Red eyes. And no nose. "But you were unprepared for my backup plan, Harry Potter. You will surely be dead by sunrise,"
"I'm counting on it," Harry replied. Voldemort let out a hiss and conjured his own wand from the alcove. He then began to fire curses at him with both wands, with Harry easily dodging and ducking out of the way. He fired his own curses, dodging and weaving until Voldemort stopped. "You are more powerful than I would have thought, Harry Potter. Dumbledore has taught you well,"
"Dumbledore taught me nothing. Only how to kill you and your Horcruxes. All of them," Harry spoke. Voldemort's eyes widened in shock, and Harry smiled. "That's right, Tom. Your anchors are gone. You're mortal now. And I will kill you. Easily," Harry waved his staff, watching as the two wands in Voldemort's hands suddenly flew into the air. Both landed directly into Harry's waiting hand. "You can't apparate away. You can't flee. And now you can't fight," Harry gripped the wands, smiling in satisfaction as they snapped in his hand.
Voldemort growled in anger. "I may die tonight, Harry Potter. But my legacy will live on forever in the heart of my Death Eaters and all who once feared me. And when I die, they will begin to question if I will once again return. Because they will not believe you. They will begin to ask questions. 'Seven Horcruxes?', 'Impossible!'. My name will live on forever,"
"I don't think so, Tom. See this thing on my sleeve?" He tapped the camera on his sleeve. "It's a camera. Much more powerful than the ones used by the Daily Prophet. It records videos. All of this is being recorded. And when I drag your lifeless corpse into the Ministry and show them what I've recorded, no one will question your death. No one will fear you, because you died. Your corpse will be proof that you can do them no harm. And when I dump all of your Horcruxes onto the Ministry floor, they won't question that either. Your name will live on with joy. Because the wizarding world beat you. I beat you," Harry explained. Voldemort was sneering in anger now, his fists clenched so tightly that Harry questioned whether or not he was bleeding from his palms. "Any last words, Tom Riddle?"
"I will return one day, Harry Potter. And when I do, I will kill you. You and everyone you ever loved," Voldemort replied. Harry didn't hesitate. He extended his staff and sent a blinding green light out, hitting Tom square in the chest. The monster fell immediately. Dead. It was done. He had done it. Harry stepped forward, dispelling his staff back to his room at Hogwarts. He knelt beside Tom's body and smiled. The son of a bitch was dead. Good riddance. Reaching down, Harry grabbed Tom's corpse by the neck, dragging it away from the cauldron before disappearing in a swirl of black mist.
Harry's feet slammed into the grass that stood on the Quidditch Pitch. There was a sudden storm of applause and cheer as he faced the crowd. Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor were standing by Bagman and Dumbledore, all three wearing worried expressions on their face. The applause and cheer soon died completely though, when the crowd spotted what Harry was holding. A corpse. The corpse of Voldemort. Dumbledore rushed forward at once, smiling brightly as he grabbed Harry's shoulder. "That was truly brilliant, Harry. You have done the world a great favor this evening,"
Dumbledore stepped away as Daphne ran forward, slamming into Harry as she pulled him into a fierce hug. He returned it, the hand he wasn't using to hold Voldemort's neck slithering around her waist to pull her closer. "You're stupid. Absolutely stupid," She whispered, but there was no anger in her voice, only worry, and relief. Harry smiled, nodding in agreement. He had been stupid not to tell her his plan, but he had known she would want to come along to help. He couldn't risk that. Harry couldn't risk another Eleven. "You could have died," Daphne pointed out.
"But I didn't. Did I?" Harry asked with a grin.
"No...you didn't. This time," Daphne replied. Harry's eyes lit up, and he reached down to kiss her, something that she didn't hesitate to return. They separated, and Harry marched towards Minister Scrimgeour and his Aurors. When he reached them, he dropped Voldemort's corpse at their feet and motioned to it. "The Dark Lord returned tonight. I put an end to him once and for all. He won't be coming back," He then pulled out his Portable HoloTank and pulled out a small data chip. "This holds all of the footage I recorded at the cemetery," Harry plugged the chip back into the device and handed it to the Minister, who was still looking down at Voldemort's body in disbelief. "Do me a favor while you're at it. Follow Dumbledore up to his office. He has something very important to show you. Something regarding Sirius Black,"
The Minister had questions, but there was no time for that. Dumbledore led the man away from the Quidditch Pitch and up to the castle, where Scrimgeour would be shown the very much alive Peter Pettigrew. Sirius would be set free soon. And he would be out of Azkaban in no time. Harry reminded himself once more that this was not his Sirius. He didn't need to be worried. So he turned to the murmuring crowd and addressed them directly. His voice was loud despite no 'Sonorus' charm. "I'm sure you have questions. I will answer them for you in a short explanation. The Triwizard Cup was tampered with before the death of Barty Crouch Jr in the First Task. It led me to a cemetery outside of Riddle Manor. As some of you do not know, Voldemort's -" Some people gasped, while others cringed at the name. "-name is Tom Marvolo Riddle,"
"Once within the cemetery, I was able to take Voldemort and his loyal servant Wormtail off guard. I killed his familiar, the snake Nagini, but was blindsided and used in a ritual that brought the Dark Lord back to life. During the ritual, I broke free from my restraints and was able to subdue Wormtail, who is the long-thought dead Peter Pettigrew. With him out of the way, I dueled and successfully disarmed Tom. And then I killed him. He's dead. And there will be no future ritual to revive him. His anchors to the world of the living have been destroyed. His death now marks the end of his reign," Harry explained.
There were a lot of questions, but Harry ignored them. He took Daphne's arm and led her out of the pitch, enjoying the silence that was gained when they entered the castle. But it didn't last long. There were footsteps behind them. Someone was running to catch up to them. Harry and Daphne turned, it was Hermione. Harry turned to Daphne, who smiled and gave him a nod before leaving him. She made her way up the steps, not bothering to turn back to him as she continued up to Harry's room. Hermione watched her go, frowning slightly. She turned to Harry, and her eyes fell on his outfit. The dark grey dress pants. Dark grey high-collared shirt with gold lining on the color. And a grey cloak that wrapped around him with gold lining and a red interior. The collar of the cloak was popped out, adding to the high-collared shirt.
Hermione smiled. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. I got a nasty cut, but it's already healed," He showed her the hole in his right sleeve, which revealed portions of his forearm. Hermione raised an eyebrow, so Harry laughed. "I heal quickly. A cool trick of mine,"
"So...he's dead?" Hermione asked, hesitating slightly.
"He's dead," Harry answered, nodding. Hermione seemed relieved. But Harry was watching her closely. She seemed to be contemplating something. Harry smiled. "You want to ask me something,"
"How did you -"
"I'm intuitive. Ask away," Harry spoke.
"I...I was looking through the Ministry archives earlier. It says you're married to Narcissa Malfoy. Have you told Daphne?" Hermione asked.
"Of course. I told her immediately after it happened. Though in all honesty, I'm not planning on making that marriage permanent,"
"And...she was fine with it? Why?"
"To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure why she was fine with it. But then she confessed that she wanted an open relationship. It makes sense. After all, I'm leaving Hogwarts soon, and I have a lot on my plate. I have two apprentices I'm in the process of training, and I have Maurader Enterprises to watch over. And she's still in school, and her OWLS are coming up. It's easier that we are not tied together by the hip," Harry explained.
"I suppose that makes sense," Hermione agreed. Harry nodded. She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled warmly up at him. Harry smiled. "So..." She spoke, the silence proving too stressful on them both. And before Harry could react, her arms had wrapped around his neck and then he was kissing her. Hermione. He was kissing Hermione. It was an odd thought. And despite juggling the possibility of having feelings for her in the past, he had to admit that he quite enjoyed the feeling. So Harry returned it with equal passion and fiery as Hermione, and the two stumbled their way into an empty classroom. Though they didn't go far, it was a very enjoyable night all things given. Voldemort was dead, and he had Hermione in his arms. A good day.
August 1st, 1985
When Eleven finally woke up a week after the incident, she had been met by a very apologetic and worried Harry Potter. But his worry had only lasted a few days. Eventually, things returned to normal between them, and he began to push her once more when it came to training with her powers. It was easier this time. Eleven felt a stronger connection to the Upside Down within her. And Will's presence during their training sessions made things more enjoyable. The boy was studying magic now and even had his own wand. Harry was starting Will off on basic first-year material, and the boy seemed to be taking it all in quite well all things considered. But Will had yet to start learning how to manipulate his shadowmancy. He had outright refused one evening, fearful due to The Shadow's shadowmancy. But Harry reassured him through another discussion about intent, but Will wouldn't budge.
Sirius Black had been released from Azkaban Prison on July 1st, marking the first time in history that a supposed Death Eater was released and all charges were dropped. But he was innocent, and so people allowed him free reign. He was a citizen again, though that didn't make it easier for him to walk around freely in Diagon Alley. Harry had helped Sirius clean out Grimmauld Place, removing the screaming painting as well as several dark artifacts that were too dangerous for even Dumbledore himself to be around. And then Sirius moved in, and he was accompanied by Remus Lupin, who was still looking for a job. The aging werewolf found one at Hogwarts. The Defense Against the Dark Arts position needed to be filled, and because the outlook on werewolves had changed in the past year, Remus was granted the position.
Harry and Narcissa Malfoy divorced in early July, though the two still seemed very friendly around each other. Harry admitted that it wouldn't have worked, given their pasts and the fact that Draco was her son. Instead, Harry focused on his two current relationships. Daphne and Hermione. Daphne had taken her OWLs early and was working on getting her NEWTs so she and Harry could get married. But he wasn't too worried. He knew he had a year or two left before that happened. And Hermione - despite still being in school - had taken an internship with the Ministry's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She was petitioning for elvish rights, something that seemed to bring back arguments for werewolf and goblin rights as well.
Harry and Hermione had formed their own lover's bond, this time on purpose. But thankfully for Harry, she wasn't planning on using it as evidence to get married. Not only did she say her parents would kill both her and Harry if she got married as a teenager, but she was waiting until she graduated Hogwarts. Harry was thankful. Despite Daphne's persistence, Harry didn't have time for marriage. The Planetary Defense Ring had launched its development and was being built in mass warehouses in South America. Dr. Maria Graves - the new Director of Hawkins Lab's Division of Magical Sciences - had completed her new enlarged 'Firebolts' which were now ready for advanced space travel. Graves believed that the Firebolts would be capable of reaching Mercury, but it would be safer to test them on the Moon, then Mars and Venus.
And Dr. Talia Holman of the Magical Sciences Engineering Division had begun construction of her own. She was developing Mass Drivers and Skyhooks that would make spaceflight that much easier for Graves and her Firebolts. But these Drivers and Skyhooks would also make the transportation of materials for the Planetary Defense Ring and Dyson Sphere so much easier. They could now fling materials through the solar system using skyhook and could fire materials out of the atmosphere using Mass Drivers. These new developments brought the three decades it would take to construct the Planetary Defense Ring down to fifteen years. The new century would start with the largest achievement in human history.
Harry and Marauder Enterprises were still working on their holographic technology, trying to make upgrades that would better the quality of their products. And their Quickwares were being upgraded weekly due to the high demand from both the magical and no-maj communities. But Marauder Enterprises' main focus was their third line of products, which would be released in a few years. All of the products created would be solely for military use, which meant that Harry and his team had to spend a lot of time ironing out all of the kinks in their material. It would be very interesting to see how the British and American governments responded to receiving these new products. It was unfortunate, seeing as Marauder Enterprises was connected to only those two countries' military powers. So until they could spread out more, the British and American armies would have a shared monopoly over the company's military products.
In the aftermath of his fifteenth birthday, Harry Potter reported to the International Confederation of Wizards Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. He was wearing an emerald green suit that matched his eyes according to Hermione. He was accompanied by Dumbledore, who was wearing his brightly colored robes, which were bright red with bits of gold and silver. Dumbledore took his seat at the center of the courtroom, while Harry was seated in a small chair on the courtroom floor. Dumbledore spoke. "Lord Potter. You've called this session in regards to the Statute of Secrecy, and your insistence in its repeal," No one made a sound. They were all aware of the repeal.
"That is correct," Harry answered.
"Make your case,"
"Very well. Thank you, your honor," Harry got to his feet. He addressed the entire courtroom and started. "Ladies and gentlemen of the International Confederation of Wizards. I...have a vision,"
