Chapter 16
Harry awoke slowly. He tried to move, but his arms and legs were strapped down. The heavy straps wrapped tightly around him keeping him from moving so much as a finger.
"Sorry for the reception," a man said stepping in front of him. "My master wanted you unharmed."
"Your master?" Harry asked. "What are you talking about?"
The man pointed to a large stone statue leaning against the wall. Harry stared at the statue.
It appeared to be carved from white marble. It was carved to look like a tall middle-aged man. Streaks of silver could be seen in his black hair. His eyes were two sapphires, but they appeared to glow a slight red. As Harry watched, the statue's eyes blazed with light. The sapphires turned the color of rubies.
"Harry," a voice whispered. "How good it is to see you again my boy."
Harry shuddered at the inhuman hiss of that voice. He swallowed. "Who are you?" he asked.
"Have we forgotten so quickly?" the voice whispered. "You reduced me to this shell. My spirit was forced to take up residents here to maintain my link to this plain of existence after you sucked the life out of me."
"Voldemort," Harry whispered.
"Yes," the statue hissed. "You do remember me. How touching. "Lucius."
The man stumbled forward. "Master," he murmured. "What is it you wish of me?"
The statue stared at him. "It is time. Do it."
The man nodded; his grey eyes wide. Grunting, he lifted the statue, and carried it over to a steaming cauldron. He gently lowered the statue into the bubbling liquid.
As soon as the statue touched the liquid, the potion, for that is what it had to be, turned the blue of a robin's egg.
Lucius raised his wand and spoke in a loud commanding voice.
"Bone of the Father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son."
A human skeleton flew through the air and fell into the potion. The blue liquid turned blood red.
"Flesh of the servant," Lucius continued, willingly given, "You will restore your master."
Lucius drew a long dagger from his cloak and cut a long strip of skin off his arm. He tossed it into the potion and watched it turn a poisonous green.
He approached Harry; the knife held out. "Blood of the slayer," he whispered. "forcibly taken, you will revive your victim." He cut Harry's arm, and summoning a vial, allowed some of Harry's blood to drip into it.
Pouring the blood into the cauldron, Lucius stirred the liquid three times. The potion turned black.
"Magic of the innocent, taken by murder, you will restore a murderer. Pulling a crystal from his pocket, Lucius tossed it into the potion. Fire shot high into the air.
Lucius drew a serpent's fang from his pocket and threw it in. "Fang of the serpent, you will restore your master."
He drew a wand and a bag of ashes from his cloak. Picking up a knife, Lucius slit the wand down the middle. Carefully, he removed the blackened feather from the wood.
"Feather of the phoenix, terribly corrupted, you will strengthen the darkness." Tossing the feather into the potion, Lucius smiled as the potion turned the purple of a day-old bruise.
Holding up the ashes, Lucius smiled at Harry. "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been able to collect this."
"Ash of the dementor, unknowingly taken, you will transform a wizard." As the ash struck the liquid, the potion turned the color of rotting meat.
Finally, Lucius drew out a small glass vial. Inside was a single hair. "Hair of the unicorn, forcibly taken, you will resurrect the thief." Lucius shook the hair into the potion.
The potion turned a bright glowing gold. The liquid in the cauldron bubbled violently. Slowly, the liquid evaporated, leaving a shroud of steam that obscured all the surroundings.
A figure slowly stepped from the steam. Lucius knelt before him, bowing his head.
"Master," he murmured.
Voldemort smiled. "Lucius," he said his voice low and calm. "You have been my most faithful servant and for that, I thank you."
He turned to Harry, and for the first time, Harry got a good look at him.
Voldemort was tall. His hair was jet black and his piercing blue eyes gazed at Harry with curiosity. "This ritual," he said to Harry. "It didn't go how it should."
"It didn't?" Harry asked curiously.
"No," Voldemort said. "I should've gained the strengths of a dementor, a serpent and phoenix. Something has purified my ritual made it something different."
"Eight is the number of new beginnings," Harry observed. Perhaps that has something to do with it?"
"Perhaps," Voldemort said, "but perhaps it has something to do with your blood."
"Or perhaps it's…" Voldemort stopped speaking. His face twisted in agony. "Lucius," he called.
Lucius was at his side in an instant. "Master," he said. "What's wrong?"
Voldemort collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. His skin bubbled, large clumps of hair fell like raven's feathers, drifting lazily to the floor.
"What's happening to me?" Voldemort screamed.
With a titanic effort of will," Harry broke through the wards that bound him. The burned remains of the straps fell away as he rose to his feet. His eyes blazed orange as he glared at Voldemort. "Bad move, Tom," he said gravely."
"What are you babbling about?" Voldemort groaned. His body was shaking violently now. His arms and legs were beginning to shrink.
"You screwed up."
"What?" Voldemort said. How? My potion was full proof. It would make me far greater than before."
"Yes," Harry said. "It would've if not for three things."
First the number of ingredients you used. There is a reason eight is not used in any magical incantations. As you know, numbers are significant."
"Get on with it," Voldemort grunted.
"Eight represents new beginnings. With the right ingredients, it could be used in a potion of rebirth.
Second, the phoenix feather. The phoenix is a creature of rebirth. When it dies, it is reborn from the ashes with no injury or illness. Corrupted as the core of your wand was, it is still a phoenix feather.
Third, you used my blood. It has a unique quality. It purges all toxins from the body accept what can be used to strengthen the purpose it is used for. In this case, you wanted to be reborn and so you shall."
Voldemort's entire body had shrunk now. He was now the size of a toddler. "No," he whimpered. "SO, I'll die?"
"No," Harry said. "You wanted a new life and so you shall have it. You will be returned to a state before the darkness could corrupt you."
"You mean?" Voldemort whispered, his voice shaking, an expression of horror was spreading across his face.
"That's right," Harry said. "You will be turned into an infant."
Voldemort let out a howl of despair that slowly morphed into the cry of a newborn baby.
"No," Lucius said. "This can't be."
Harry clicked his fingers. Chains of black iron appeared out of nowhere, binding Lucius's arms and legs. He turned to Daphne.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Fine," Daphne said. "What do we do with him?" She gestured at the infant Voldemort.
Harry summoned the crying Baby. "We'll take him to Mum. I'm sure she'll know what to do." He offered a hand to Daphne. "Coming?"
Daphne took his hand. "Let's go." Air rushed in to fill the place where they'd stood as they vanished.
**HPS**
Dumbledore stared at Lilith in shock. "How could Lucius have placed a spell on me?"
"I don't know," Lilith said. "You will be happy to know that it has been removed."
Dumbledore sighed in relief. "So, what will you do now?"
Lilith shook her head. "It is clear the magical community cannot be trusted to govern themselves. The mortal world either, come to that. They need a firm guiding hand on the wheel."
"You can't," Dumbledore said leaping to his feet.
"We can," Harry said coldly. The process has already begun. You can help us or stand aside."
"I won't let you do this," Dumbledore said drawing the staff from his robes.
"Very well," Lilith said. She clicked her fingers. Dumbledore froze in place. Lilith strode over to her and touched his face gently.
"It won't hurt?"
"What?" Dumbledore whispered.
"You will live," she said. "You will be mine." Leaning close, she sank her teeth into Dumbledore's neck.
Drawing back, Lilith licked blood from her mouth. Dumbledore's eyes were wide with fear.
Lilith laid her hand on Dumbledore's forehead. Light flowed from her palm into Dumbledore's body. His white hair and beard faded to auburn. The wrinkles faded from his skin as if a sculptor was smoothing lines out of a ball of clay.
Dumbledore's eyes closed and he slumped to the floor. "What have you done?" Dumbledore said.
"You will be my agent in the Wizarding world,' Lilith said. "Welcome to the family."
Dumbledore went still. Lilith clicked her fingers. Dumbledore vanished.
"Where'd you send him?" Daphne asked.
"Our quarters," Lilith said. "He'll awaken in a few hours."
"What if he tries to kill you?" Daphne asked.
"He won't," Lilith said. "He's mine now.'
Harry glanced at the baby sleeping contently in Lilith's lap. "What do we do with him?"
"My first impulse was to kill him for all the damage he's caused, but I can't bring myself to do that. Like it or not, he's a baby now and I'm not that big of a monster."
"So, what then?"
Lilith stared at the infant Voldemort. "His memories are still intact. She touched his forehead, her finger glowed briefly. "And now they're gone. He has the chance for a normal life now. Your blood has repaired any magical or physical damage that may have existed to cause his actions."
"Will you raise him?" Sirius asked.
"I don't know that I could treat him fairly," she said.
"What do we do with him then?"
Lilith looked thoughtful. "Every child deserves a Mother."
Handing the Baby to Daphne, she vanished.
**HPS**
Merope could feel herself slipping away. She looked down at the baby in her arms. "His name is Tom," she whispered, "After his Father. His name is Tom Riddle."
Time seemed to stop at those words. The world was silent around her. Merope looked up to see a woman with long red hair standing beside her. "Hello Merope," she said.
"Who-who are you?" Merope said.
"My name is Lilith," the woman said. "I'm here to speak to you about your son."
"My son?" Merope said. "He's just been born."
"Not from where I come from. "Without love in his life, he grew up to be a monster."
"He what?" Merope said.
Lilith nodded. "I don't want to hurt you, but it happens. Moreover, it has to happen."
"Why?" Merope spluttered.
"I'm from the future," Lilith said. "If I allow you to raise your son in the past, then the entire timeline will be altered. I can't risk that."
"You say you're from the future," Merope said. "Prove it."
Sighing, Lilith touched her forehead. Merope gasped as her son's life flashed before her eyes.
When she came to her senses again, she was sobbing into Lilith's chest. "How could he?" she whimpered.
"He grew up without a family. He grew up without love. That combined with the potions you gave his Father gave him serious psychological issues. However, in the future, he has been purged from any ill effects. He is free from any taint. If you come with me, you will be able to raise him with the love I know you have for him."
"His Father abandoned me," Merope said.
"His Father was not worthy of you."
Merope gaped at Lilith, "But I potioned him."
"Yes," Lilith said. "And that was a despicable act, but now you have a chance to redeem yourself by raising your son."
"Alright," Merope said. "What do I have to do?"
Lilith took her hand. "Just hold on tight," she told her. They vanished, leaving the baby Voldemort behind. No sooner had they vanished, Merope's body appeared on the bed, looking quite dead.
Lilith had been forced to hurry creating this homunculus, but it would serve its purpose. To the world, Merope would be dead.
**HPS**
Lilith appeared back in the office. Taking the baby from Daphne's arms, she vanished again before reappearing, her hands empty. "I'll give her some time to settle in," Lilith said. "I've healed her wounds and removed any self-loathing and depression from her mind, but it won't hurt to go check on her."
"So, what do we do now?" Harry asked.
"Well," Lilith said. "First, we report Voldemort's death to the magical community."
"And then?" Harry asked.
"We take over the world," Lilith said with a grim smile.
"How?" Sirius said as he entered the office.
"The pieces are already in place. All I have to do is give the command."
"But will they feed on humanity?"
"No more than necessary to survive."
Daphne looked around. "What about me?"
"What do you want to happen to you?" Lilith said.
"Can I be part of your family?"
"Of course," Lilith said. "If your relationship with my son lasts, I will change you on your wedding day."
Lilith stood. "Come on, we have plenty of work to do."
Harry took Daphne's hand. "No rest for the weary," he muttered.
"Daphne grinned. "Or the wicked."
Harry stared off into the distance. He didn't know what world they would create, but it had to be better than the one they were living in now.
A/N I hope someone enjoys this.
I'm disappointed in this story.
