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Harry forced his eyes open and was instantly met with the sight of Voldemort's crimson eyes and the black snake wrapped around his throat,
"Let Bella go please…"
He felt no shame in begging. He would fall at Voldemort's feet and kiss them if that ensured Bella's wellbeing. Voldemort's wand dug deeper into his throat and he snarled,
"Tell me that I am a monster, Harry."
Harry struggled to keep his eyes open and shook his head,
"You're not."
He cried out as Voldemort yanked his hair back more forcefully and hissed,
"Liar."
Harry held Voldemort's gaze despite how much his eyes were watering with the pain,
"I'm not lying."
He bit his tongue when Voldemort tugged at his hair again,
"That revulsion in your eyes says it all, Harry."
Harry buried his nails in the damp soil and a wave of pain rushed up his spine. He knew Voldemort was causing it, punishing him for something he had no control over. He wasn't revolted by Voldemort, he was revolted by the snake around his neck and the darkness that continued to cling to him despite his best efforts to banish it. He had thought he had succeeded when he had seen the distinctive brown colour of Tom's eyes return but maybe he had celebrated his victory a little too early. It broke his heart to see those eyes with that inhuman shade of crimson and he didn't know how to explain that to Voldemort. He screamed out amidst the jeers and wolf whistles. Voldemort finally released his hold on his hair and Harry slumped to the ground on his side.
Bella's feet and the blood-soaked soil around them were directly in his line of sight and his heart lurched in his chest,
"Please let her go. She hasn't done anything."
Voldemort chuckled darkly and came to stand in front of him. The sight of his bare feet blocked his view of Bella's and he pleaded again,
"Please…"
Voldemort tsked and spoke,
"No, Harry. I think Bella deserves to die today."
Harry gasped and reached forward to hold Voldemort's feet,
"No…No…She doesn't."
Voldemort stepped closer to him and Harry was willingly to kiss his feet just to make him free Bella,
"Kill me instead. Just let her go."
Voldemort laughed again, and the sound chilled him to the bone. It was so difficult to think that Tom was trapped in that body,
"Death is not punishment enough for you."
Harry closed his eyes and spoke as bravely as possible,
"Then punish me. Why are you punishing Bella?"
Voldemort tsked,
"As brave as ever, Harry, but you are a master manipulator. I cannot believe I fell for your false innocence."
Harry laughed hoarsely into the soil and inhaled it in deeply,
"I manipulated you? What did I gain from it? Did I ask you to release me?"
Voldemort growled but said nothing. Giving himself up to reckless abandon, he forced himself to his knees and spoke,
"I'll do anything you want. Just let her go."
Voldemort crimson eyes flashed with undisguised lust and he spoke,
"Anything?"
Harry nodded his head silently and spoke,
"Anything."
The chains clinked, and Bella collapsed on the ground. Harry didn't know where he got the strength from but he lurched forward and in the blink of an eye, he was holding her close to his chest. She was unbearably cold and nearly translucent. Her eyes were closed, and Harry couldn't stop the fear that tore at his heart. He bit into his wrist until he felt the metallic taste of blood fill his mouth. He held his wrist to Bella's cold, colourless lips, willing her to drink,
"Please, Bella…wake up...I need you…"
For a moment, Bella didn't move and Harry couldn't hold back his tears,
"Bella, wake up…"
A soft moan escaped Bella's lips and Harry held his wrist firmly to her lips as she began to drink from him greedily. He watched utterly mesmerized as the colour returned to Bella's cheeks and her familiar warmth returned. Her lips were painted with his blood and she looked more alive as she continued to suck on his wrist,
"Open your eyes, Bella. Please…"
Bella's eyelids fluttered open just as Harry's vision swam. For a moment, confusion clouded them, then realization dawned in them and finally her eyes widened with horror,
"Harry!"
She healed his wrist instantly and cradled him close to her chest just as his eyes closed and he felt utterly relieved to see her well again,
"Such sentimental moments."
The jeers and wolf whistles grew ear piercing. Harry couldn't force his eyes to open up or his body to move, no matter how much he tried. He felt Voldemort's oppressive presence draw closer to them and he wanted to shield Bella from him, but he couldn't move and Bella's hold on him was relentless,
"You are fortunate that Harry offered himself up to protect you."
Bella's grip on him turned slack and she sounded aghast when she spoke,
"You did what?"
Harry fisted her dress and murmured against her neck soft enough that no one could hear him,
"He hates me, Bella. He would have done it anyway."
Bella moved her fingers through his hair and kissed his head,
"Harry, take it back."
Harry shook his head and pulled away from her, but she refused to let him go,
"No, Harry. Take it back, now!"
Harry stopped trying to move away as darkness consumed his vision for a moment and he slumped against her. She was crying and Harry wanted to reassure her that he couldn't open his mouth let alone form words. He felt Voldemort's darkness loom over his head,
"Get up, Harry."
Such a simple order but Harry felt incapable of following it. He didn't have an ounce of strength left in his body.
Are you getting up or must I carry you?"
Being carried seemed like an appealing idea even if Voldemort was going to carry him to his doom. Harry closed his eyes and groaned,
"Can't get up."
Bella's tears kept falling on his cheek and he spoke,
"Please, stop crying, Bella."
Voldemort grabbed Harry's wrist and picked him up into his arms. Harry fisted his robes and shivered uncontrollably as the darkness wrapped around him and suffocated him. It weighed heavy on him and he found it incredibly difficult to breathe. He certainly was doomed because if this was how it was going to be, he was going to be dead by the end of the night. Well, at least, he wasn't dying in vain. Bella was alive. That was more than enough for him.