Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all other characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this version of the Mask belongs to New Line Cinemas; I'm just using them for this story. Oh, and 'Song 4 Lovers' was released recently by Liberty X, so that's not mine either
Feedback: I'd appreciate it, believe me
Harry Potter and the Mask of Loki
Later that night- so late, in fact, that it was now the morning, with the sun already showing over the horizon- Harry dozed lightly in the former office of Albus Dumbledore, the Mask lying on his chest. Fawkes was also dozing on his perch, although one eye remained slightly open as though looking out for danger.
Up on the wall of his office, Dumbledore's portrait stared down at the sleeping form of the young man who held the fate of the world itself in his hands, and smiled slightly, a smile that almost resembled a parent showing approval at the work done by a child.
He would have to admit, he was highly impressed at Harry's performance in targeting and destroying the three horcruxes over the last couple of weeks. It had not yet even reached the second week after Harry had come to this office, seeking somewhere to hide out while he searched for the items in question, and already Voldemort had lost three of his four remaining horcruxes, as well as one of his most dangerous still-active followers.
Snape…The portrait of Dumbledore sighed.
He still couldn't believe he'd been so foolish as to trust that man. As Harry had pointed out to him on one occasion, while they were talking during Harry's 'break' in searching for the horcruxes, why would Snape be sorry about handing the man he hated over to Voldemort?
Of course, there might have been something about Lily Potter that prompted Snape to tell Dumbledore what he had done, but Dumbledore personally doubted it. After all, Snape had never shown much interest in love, so he doubted his former Potions master had ever entertained any stronger feelings towards Lily…
But Dumbledore couldn't keep beating himself up over the past; what had happened, had happened.
All he could do now was try to guide Harry into a position where he could finally vanquish Voldemort once and for all, no matter how little help he was in his current condition…
A loud explosion of some kind suddenly resounded from outside the castle, and Harry's eyes popped open.
"W-what?" he said, getting to his feet as rapidly as he could, staring up at the portrait in confusion as he did so. "What was that?"
"I don't know…" Dumbledore mused, glancing over at the office window, wishing he was in a better position on the wall than this; he could only see the sky out of the window from where his portrait currently hung on the wall.
The Mask in one hand- despite it being daylight and the Mask thus being useless, it seemed to reassure Harry to have it close to him- and his wand in the other, Harry ran towards the window and leaned out to look at what had caused the sound. After a moment, he leaned back into the room, his face pale as he turned to look at the portrait.
"It's the Death Eaters!" he said, staring at the portrait in panic. "They're attacking Hogwarts!"
Dumbledore sighed as he looked at his student. "I should have expected this…" he groaned, clasping his head in one hand as he leaned forward in his chair. "With Hogwarts deserted following my death, it would probably make the perfect fortress for Riddle and his troops; an easily defended location with nobody presently here to defend it from invaders. If nothing else, it would prove to be a significant moral victory; Hogwarts has long been regarded as one of the few places Voldemort could not penetrate. If he can get a foothold here, he will doubtless feel as though he has proven that nothing can stop him following my death."
Looking back at Harry, his eyes flicked towards the Mask Harry clutched in his hand, and a small smile crossed his face. "Of course, he does not know about our latest trick, but since that particular avenue is not open to us until sunset, we shall not discuss it further."
"Well, what can we do about this now?" Harry said, indicating Fawkes' currently deserted perch; the phoenix had gone off flying shortly after Harry returned, so using him to flame out of the castle wasn't a valid option at the moment. "I can't get out of here without Fawkes, and there's no way I can fight that many people without the Mask; it'd be hard enough holding them off with it!"
"No," Dumbledore nodded, as he studied his office. "And, of course, my fire is out and there is no material to relight it, so simply flooing away from here is not an option. You could possibly call for Fawkes to flame you away from here- you and he have always possessed a certain bond that could enable communication between the two of you- but I would not recommend such a means of escape even if he was present; powerful magical artefacts such as the Mask are not easy to transport by means such as phoenix flame, as their own powers can interfere with the transport and divert the user to some other location…"
Then he smiled slightly as he looked back at Harry. "Of course, there is still the Room of Requirement to provide you with a more secure potential escape route."
"What?" Harry said, looking up at Dumbledore in surprise. "You mean… I could use it to create a link to the floo network?"
"Or a portkey to somewhere safe, if you so wish- indeed, that would probably be safer, as a floo connection might be traced to its destination," Dumbledore explained. "The portkey would, of course, have to be set for a destination you knew well and could be sure nobody would see you arrive at, but I feel sure that you would prove yourself equal to the challenge of choosing such a location."
"Yeah… maybe…" Harry said, possibilities already flying through his head as he grabbed the Mask and his wand before glancing back at Dumbledore. "Will Fawkes be able to find me if I leave?" Then another thought occurred to him, and he looked anxiously at the portrait. "And will you be all right up here?
Dumbledore nodded reassuringly.
"There is no magic capable of transporting someone up to this office if Hogwarts itself does not wish them to be here; I, and the other portraits, shall be fine, I assure you," he assured Harry, a slight smile on his face. "When Fawkes comes, I shall send him to you; even if he cannot transport you with the Mask, he could still prove a valuable source of assistance when the time for battle comes."
"Right," Harry said, as he swallowed slightly, grateful that he hadn't decided to leave his trunk large after arriving here; it was still the size of a box of matches and sitting in his pocket. The only times it had been restored to its normal size since arriving had been when he'd pulled out his invisibility cloak, and fortunately he'd kept the item in question out; it would probably help him right now.
As he headed for the door to the office, Harry was already going over the fastest way to the Room of Requirement; if he just reversed the path Umbridge had forced him to take when she'd tried to catch out the DA and taken him to Dumbledore's office, and actually ran this time rather than the walking pace he'd taken last time, he should be at the Room of Requirement in a few minutes. Of course, he'd then have to hope nobody showed up while he was pacing in front of the Room of Requirement to activate it, but if he was fast enough, and remained focused on what he was doing, it could work…
He was just about to pull the cloak over himself and exit the office when a thought occurred to him, and he glanced back at Dumbledore.
"Uh… apart from Moody's eye, is there any other way to see through invisibility cloaks?" he asked anxiously; he'd like to know whether there were any other precautions he should be taking while he headed for the Room of Requirement. If the cloak was pretty much foolproof, that was him pretty much there already so long as he stayed quiet, but he'd appreciate knowing if there was anything he should be worried about…
"No; Moody's eye is a rarity in that regard, fortunately for us," Dumbledore said, a small smile visible on his face. "Someone might be able to spot you if they used a subtle level of legilimency- rather like a telepath in muggle fiction detecting a person's mind when they are hiding close by- but it is unlikely that anyone would be ale to detect you in that manner if they have no reason to believe there is someone close to them."
Nodding once, Harry shrugged the cloak over his head, clutching his wand in one hand and the Mask in the other as he headed for the door to the office. As he walked down the steps that led to the gargoyle-concealed entrance, he was already going over his options for a quick, effective means of taking out any Death Eaters he may come across who seemed like they were about to find him, and had already decided on stunners if they weren't close enough and a swift kick if they were when he finally reached the ground level.
Taking a brief glance at his surroundings, he was relieved to see that nobody seemed to have reached here yet. Seeing the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office just decide to jump to one side for no apparent reason might have attracted too much attention.
Swallowing resolutely, Harry began to hurry through the corridors of Hogwarts, pausing at every corner to peer around it and make sure that there weren't any Death Eaters there already. He had no idea what kind of numbers he should be expecting to face, but he didn't want to risk running around a corner and hitting a Death Eater coming from the other direction…
He was about halfway to the Room of Requirement when he heard another loud explosion, and nearly froze before realising that it was taking place further down the corridor, in one of the main stairways. For a moment, Harry thought about leaving, but his curiosity quickly got the better of him and he dashed over to take a look for himself; if nothing else, the more he knew about the situation here for his later attack on Voldemort, the better his chances of survival.
What he saw did not look encouraging; it looked like, for some reason, fighting had broken out among the Death Eaters; six of them were firing their wands at what looked like two others, the two having been backed into a corner and…
Wait a minute… Harry thought to himself, squinting slightly as he stared at the two cornered people. That's Shacklebolt, isn't it?
He swore slightly under his breath; if Shacklebolt was here, it seemed like a good bet that the man with him was an auror as well. The attack had only taken place a few minutes ago, so they must have had some kind of information that the attack was either taking place or about to take place; whether it was another spy in the Death Eater ranks, or they'd just had alarms around Hogwarts to alert them to a more obvious attempt to breach the castle's defences than Malfoy's earlier use of the vanishing cabinet, Harry didn't know.
All that mattered was that, right now, a battle had just started in Hogwarts, and he had no idea what to do. One extra wand couldn't make that much difference for however many aurors were there, the Mask was still useless, and he had to get to the Room of Requirement…
Then a spell struck Shacklebolt in the shoulder, leaving a bloody wound that did not look like it would be beneficial for his long-term health, and Harry made up his mind.
Screw staying undetected; if nothing else, it couldn't hurt to let them know he was still alive.
Plus, if this was where the final battle would take place, the possibility to acquire a bit of extra back-up for when the time came couldn't hurt his chances, and he might as well guarantee that Voldemort would remain here for hi to strike back later…
Standing up, Harry threw the cloak off to one side, aimed his wand at the nearest Death Eater, yelled out "Stupefy!" and smiled as the Death Eater in question collapsed to the ground, unable even to gasp out in shock as he fell.
As the other Death Eaters turned to look in his direction, Harry dived forward, knocking various Death Eaters backwards to crash into each other, sending them off-balance for a brief moment, and then glanced back at Shacklebolt.
"GO!" he yelled at the dark-skinned auror. "You have to get out of here; I've got a plan, but you guys can't stick around if this is going to work."
"But-" Shacklebolt began, staring at Harry in confusion.
"GO!" Harry yelled, as he jerked one hand towards the nearby corridor, fairly sure it would lead them back to the main entrance. "You can't win this right now; give me twenty-four hours to do something about it myself, then you can try something different if nothing's changed! It'll give you a chance to think, at least!"
Shacklebolt briefly seemed about to protest, but, seeing the conviction and determination in Harry's eyes, he changed his mind.
Walking over, he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, looking directly into his eyes for a moment before he finally spoke.
"You've got twenty-four hours, Potter," he said, as he looked at the young wizard. "You make a fair point; I might be able to come up with something better given a bit more time."
The slight smile on his face vanished as he looked back at Harry. "However, you'll only have twenty-four hours; anything after that, if I see you, I'll be bringing you in for obstructing my attempts to resolve this situation."
With that, he turned around, and began to run down the corridor that Harry had just indicated, followed closely by the other auror, who, Harry noted, seemed content to follow Shacklebolt's lead in this matter for the moment. Pausing for a moment to make sure they'd gone all the way down the corridor- he didn't want the younger auror to try and knock him out and take him back to Scrimgeour to win some proverbial brownie points with the Minister of Magic- he turned around, grabbed his cloak, shrugged it back on, and began to run back along the corridor towards the Room of Requirement.
As he ran, he vaguely noticed a couple of figures clad in dark robes in some of the interconnecting corridors, but he was moving too fast for anyone to get a decent glimpse of any part of him that might be visible under the cloak. Spinning around a corner, he finally saw the infamous tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy's efforts to teach ballet to a bunch of trolls, and skidded to a halt.
After checking to make sure there was nobody around him at the immediate moment, he rapidly began to pace up and down the corridor in front of the tapestry, his mind repeating the same thought over and over again; I need a portkey to the woods outside the Burrow… I need a portkey to the woods outside the Burrow… I need a portkey to the woods outside the Burrow…
And then, as his ears started to detect the faint sound of footsteps approaching him, a door appeared in front of the tapestry.
Grabbing the door handle and yanking it open, Harry dived into the Room of Requirement. He smiled slightly as he saw what the room had created for him for the current necessity; a small stone room, about five metres long and just as wide, but of average height for a Hogwarts classroom, with a seemingly discarded road sign, apparently once used to point to 'the Burrow', lying in the middle of the room.
True, the destination indicated on the sign wasn't quite accurate- he was just aiming for the woods outside the Burrow, rather than the Burrow itself- but it would get the job done, and, right now, that was all that really mattered.
Harry began to move towards the sign…
"STOP!" a voice yelled from behind him.
Harry's eyes widened in shock at the sound.
Oh boy… he thought, as he turned around, slowly and careful, taking care to keep the Mask out of sight, to see Voldemort standing before him, wand pointing at his chest, a smug smile on his face as he stared at his 'prisoner'.
"Well well…" he said, grinning broadly as he stared at his opponent. "Harry Potter, still in Hogwarts at this time? What an unexpected… bonus."
"Yeah, life's full of surprises, isn't it?" Harry retorted, glaring back at Voldemort, tense and ready to dive towards the sign behind him. He knew he should probably get moving now, but he couldn't resist the chance to get in a little dig or two at his opponent…
"So, how're the horcruxes?" he asked, smiling slightly at the momentary expression of fear that crossed Voldemort's face. "Notice anything… off about them lately?"
As Voldemort glared at him, a hint of fear evident on his face at his foe's words, Harry chuckled; it was excellent to have Voldemort be the one on edge for once.
"What; you thought you'd stopped that problem with Dumbledore's death?" he asked, a broad grin on his face as he glared at the… thing… that had killed his parents, enjoying the chance to see him squirm for once. "You see, that is why you'll never be truly great; you always think everyone is just like you, only interested in claiming the glory for themselves and only revealing what's going on to someone else when they're acquired so much power that they feel that literally nothing can stop them."
Shifting his stance slightly, the better to dodge an attack, Harry stepped forward slightly to glare at Voldemort. "But I don't need to be more powerful than you; I just need to be powerful enough."
Voldemort smiled slightly at that, one corner of his mouth turning upwards in amusement.
"You really are ridiculously naïve, Harry," he said, chuckling as he stared at the boy who had marked his downfall years ago. "You honestly think that you can stop me with a philosophy like that? Just stop me once, and that's it; you'll remain unopposed for the rest of your life? If you genuinely believe that, you will never be powerful enough to replace me…"
"Who said I wanted to replace you?" Harry retorted, glaring at Voldemort. "I may have been 'marked as your equal', but I don't want to be anything more than I am right now; just Harry Potter, your relatively average Gryffindor. Even if I do have to put up with that 'Boy Who Lived' crap thanks to you, I'd be perfectly OK with finishing you off and taking up a job playing Quidditch or something like that, where I don't have to worry about anything more serious than earning enough cash to live in relative comfort."
Voldemort sighed critically as he started back at Harry.
"You'll never understand what I taught Quirrell, will you?" he said, an almost dejected expression on his face as he stared at Harry. "You're too content with what you have to ever be powerful enough to defeat me-"
"And you're just scared about the fact that you're this far away from death, aren't you?" Harry retorted, grinning once again at Voldemort's discomfort. "You feel it yet? That little nagging doubt in the back of your skull… that little fear of the unknown… the agony that you'd feel as everything comes apart…"
He chuckled slightly, hoping it sounded as sinister as he wanted it to; he wasn't intending to break out into a fit of maniacal laughter, but he did want Voldemort to feel on-edge.
"Basically, you feel all that… you're screwed," he said as a conclusion.
"You would dare-" Voldemort began, eyes narrowed in rage.
"What, to speak to you like that?" Harry said, grinning slightly at the expression on Voldemort's face; it was always a pleasure to see the Dark Tosser get flustered, in his opinion. "Well, unfortunately for you, you don't have any kind of control over me, so I can say whatever I want to you… Tommy."
As an expression of rage flashed across Voldemort's face, he raised his wand sharply once again. Instantly, Harry dived to the ground, vaguely noticing a burst of green energy hurtle over his head, spun around so he was looking at his target, grabbed the sign lying in front of him…
And, after the brief feeling that he was stuck in a whirlwind, he landed in the depths of the woods, the Mask and his wand in one hand and the portkey clutched in the other.
Standing up, Harry glanced around at his surroundings, and smiled in approval.
"Did it," he said, as he glanced down at the Mask, mentally running over the fine details of his latest plan in his head.
Now, all he needed to do was wait until it was night, and then, after one last bit of business…
He sighed as he stared up at the sky.
That would be it.
The moment of truth.
When their next fight came, either he killed Voldemort, or Voldemort would kill him.
No middle ground could be allowed; it was one or the other, not both.
He just hoped that the Mask would have what it took to pull that victory out of itself…