AN: Yet again, this is the unbeta'ed version. I am going to be out of town for the next two days, so I thought I would treat you to this early rather than wait till Wednesday for Seel'vor to get back to me. Once I get the beta'd version I'll replace this with that. Only one more chapter and perhaps an epilogue to go! Enjoy.
(((o)))
It hadn't taken Harry long to set up the trap for the Death Eaters. He had a few things to do beforehand, like cluing Dumbledore in on the real identity of his DADA teacher and explaining to Rose just why she needed to get the cup instead of flaming directly to Harry (if she flamed there, it might spook Voldemort. As far as Harry knew, Voldemort was unaware of, or underestimating Rose's power), but soon he was on his way. After scouting the graveyard for any sign of Wormtail or Voldemort, he set about casting his spells. He had set a series of wards in concentric circles around where the cauldron was set up. The wards were programmed, so to speak, to cast a powerful if somewhat dark stasis charm on anyone and everyone within the ward when he spoke the activation word. He wanted it to be something along the lines of, 'Riddle Sucks,' but figured that enraging Voldemort wouldn't be very good for his pending health. So instead he settled for the dull, boring, 'Wards Activate'. Sirius was greatly disappointed in him.
He was sure, however, that Voldemort would be able to throw the stasis off, if he was affected at all. He was hoping beyond hope that the Dark Lord would be frozen. He didn't fancy another long and grueling fight with Voldemort, but he was prepared for it none the less.
"Is the ritual site prepared, Wormtail?"
Glad that he had hidden himself under his invisibility cloak, Harry couldn't suppress the shudder that Voldemort's unnaturally high voice elicited from him, nor Wormtail's close proximity. They brought back so many painful memories. He ruthlessly smothered them behind his Occlumency shields.
"Yes, my lord," Pettigrew simpered.
"And you are sure that you performed every spell to secure the site as well?" There was a hint of venom in Voldemort's voice that made Harry pause. Certainly he wouldn't be able to sense any of Harry's wards…
"Yes, my lord," Pettigrew simpered. He sounded like a broken record.
"Then why, pray tell, do I sense ambient magic?"
Harry's breath hitched in his throat. He knows! Harry thought in a panic. He started backing out of the graveyard quickly. He needed to make it to a safe enough place to flame away and warn Rose, but Voldemort continued.
"But, no matter," he hissed. "It is not like I have a choice in the matter, do I?" Voldemort's voice sounded very bitter, Harry thought, but Harry's heart stopped hammering in his chest. He crept back toward the ritual site all the while berating himself for panicking. He ignored Wormtail's sniveling attempts to gain favor with his master and resumed his hiding spot amongst the grave markers.
Harry!
Harry nearly fell over in shock as Rose's voice sounded deafeningly in his head. But I don't have my ring on. He thought in confusion. He had taken it off before flaming to the graveyard because he didn't want to take any chances that Voldemort would be able to detect any magic in the area. Voldemort had been, but that was beyond the point. Right now, Harry was worried about why and how Rose was mindspeaking with him. He patted the pockets of his pants silently then checked the pockets of his dragon hide battle robes. No ring. Just to be sure, he checked his fingers, feeling each one. No ring. Then how…?
He shook his head. It didn't matter. Somehow, Rose had found a way to contact him and she sounded very close to panic. He concentrated hard on her and thought, Rose? Can you hear me?
Thank Merlin it worked! Rose exclaimed back. Harry was about to ask what was wrong when Rose plowed on. Harry, the cup isn't here!
Harry's heart started hammering again. All his plans hinged on Rose getting the cup before Cedric did. Hundreds of 'what if's' whirled through his mind, the first and foremost being, 'did someone know?' He shook himself mentally. He needed to focus. Okay, Rose. I'm almost positive that the cup is at the far end of the maze. He tried his damnedest to remember which direction the maze ran and came up with a blank. But an idea did take form. Rose, look up. Can you see the sky?
Yes, came Rose's answer.
I want you to change and flame up as high as you can. When you get there look down and tell me what you see. He waited a moment before Rose replied.
It looks like one huge hedge. I can't see any of the maze.
Harry cursed colorfully, thankfully all in his head. He could feel Rose's indignation at his language but she remained silent. If he was correct, there was and obscuration and befuddlement charm cast over the top of the maze. Dumbledore was craftier than Harry gave him credit for. Which end is the far end from where you started?
Rose was silent for a few seconds. Uh…the…north end I think.
Okay. Flame back and work your way north. You know the point me spell? Harry felt Rose's confirmation. Hurry Rose. I love you.
I love you too, Harry.
Now all Harry had to do was wait.
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Rose reappeared in the leafy room she had just left in a burst of golden fire. It had been a spur of the moment decision to contact Harry, but she was glad he had kept his on instead of removing it. She didn't know what she would have done if he hadn't been there. Most likely she would have gotten lost and wandered about the maze fruitlessly. Cedric would have gotten the cup and gotten killed again and Harry would be disappointed with her.
"Point me north," she said. Her wand spun on the palm of her hand finally coming to rest pointing at the far hedge of the room. She frowned in frustration.
"Of course," she groused. A quick idea struck her. She leveled her wand at the hedge and said, "Reducto!"
She poured everything she had into the blasting spell. Harry had told her that Dumbledore himself had raised the hedge maze and the walls were sure to be resistant to magic. The blast of white light struck the foliage with a huge explosion…and did absolutely nothing.
"Dammit!" Rose growled. Now she would have to backtrack.
She exited the room and took every side passage the led north. More often than not the passage led to a dead end, but one paid off. She took that one and immediately wished she hadn't. She walked a few paces down making sure she kept her bearings but then she was hit with a horrid case of vertigo. The hedges began to spin and she stopped to regain her balance. The moment her feet stopped moving, the roots of the hedges erupted from the ground and began to wrap around her legs.
She shrieked and began to cut them off of herself with cutting curses and as soon as she was able to, she took off at a sprint. The roots followed her at a quick pace and eventually over took her. This time they enveloped her faster than she could cut them off. She began to panic. The roots started dragging her into the soft soil at her feet. Well…I tried. She thought forlornly.
She was then struck with a sudden inspiration. One she was immediately grateful that Harry would never know about. She violently flamed two feet to her right and the roots vaporized. After that, the hedges were hesitant to get near her. She thought they even arched away from her.
"Point me north."
Rose uneventfully continued in the direction her wand indicated until she came to another large, round room in hedges. This one had a sandstone pedestal set in the middle. Resting on that pedestal was a human headed lion. A sphinx.
The creature had her eyes closed and looked to be sleeping. Rose didn't want to wake her so she crept around toward the exit at the far end of the room. She was startled when the sphinx spoke.
"You may not pass until you have answered my riddles," she said in lilting tones.
Rose paused. She debated just running past the sphinx but she didn't know if that would disqualify her. She technically already cheated by flaming to the center of the maze. "Um…how many have been by?" she asked.
"You are the first."
Rose couldn't help but feel a little pride at that statement, despite her cheating. She figured that she was still well ahead of the other competitors and a few riddles wouldn't hurt. Besides, she had Harry to help. "Okay then. Riddle away."
"It's said we all have one
those who believe never doubt
that everyone's included
no one is left out.
We also say it to mean there's only one
and spelled quite differently
we use it to run.
But wait; don't be confused
I'll give you some pity.
When spoken out loud
it's the name of a city."
Rose's mind immediately went blank. Bloody hell, she was terrible at riddles. It was Hermione's expertise. After all, the bushy haired girl had solved Snape's logic puzzle their first year. Harry?
Yeah?
Rose retold the riddle to Harry.
Harry groaned. Oh hell, you're at the sphinx. I hated that part… He was silent for a moment before he answered. A soul.
Are you sure? Rose asked. Harry growled at her. Fine, fine!
"A soul," she answered out loud.
The sphinx smiled at her, and she knew Harry had been right.
"I turn everything around, yet I do not move," the sphinx then drawled.
Immediately, the Mirror of Erised popped into her mind. "A mirror," she said with certainty, though she didn't like the direction the riddles were taking.
"Very good. Now for the last riddle.
"A nightmare for some. For others, as a savior I come.My hands, cold and bleak, it's the warm hearts they seek."
A cold chill ran down Rose's spine. She knew the answer. It was 'death'. What chilled her though, was her memory of how Harry's sphinx's riddles told a kind of prophecy. His three riddles spelled out spyder, and Harry later ran into an acromantula in the maze. One of the riddles, the one about the spy even foretold Snape's role in the war. Well, perhaps if you stretched it a bit.
Her riddles were incredibly bleak looking.
"Death."
"You may pass."
Rose hurried away from the creepy sphinx and resumed taking every north passage. She realized that it was a very inefficient way of finding the end, but she didn't know any other way. Finally she found the home stretch. She could see the Tri-wizard Cup glimmering at the far end of the final corridor. Her chest tightened as she remembered what lay ahead.
Voldemort.
She took a moment to steel herself before jogging down the passage. She didn't get very far.
"Stop right there, Potter." Someone said from behind her. She instinctively knew that the person had their wand leveled at her back.
It was Cedric. She turned around slowly. Cedric looked worse for wear. His robes were tattered and he had dirt smudges all over his face. His left arm sported a long gash down it. "Hello, Diggory," she said. Her voice was so neutral it had no inflection in it.
"I can't let you have that cup, Potter. You weren't even supposed to be a champion. I won't let you steal the glory from Hufflepuff." Cedric said. "Let me pass and I won't hurt you."
Rose couldn't help herself and chuckled softly. "I'm sure," she said. "I can't let you touch that cup, Cedric. You'll die."
"You're threatening me?" Cedric asked incredulously.
"No…" Rose started to explain, but Cedric fired a stunner at her with a nasty look on his face. Rose threw up a wandless shield and drew her wand.
What followed was one of the most intense duels Rose had ever experienced. Technically, it was her first duel, but Harry had trained her well. Cedric was much better than she ever gave him credit for. In the narrow corridor they were fighting in, she was unable to use her agility to dodge, but Cedric was casting to incapacitate her. Thus, her shields worked fine. She was also more powerful than Cedric by far, and it only took one overpowered bludgeoning hex to drop his shield, followed by a stunner to take him out of the game.
Rose bound him in ropes for good measure before taking his wand. "Periculum," she cast with his wand. She dropped it back on his chest before trotting down the corridor to the cup. She heard the maze remove Cedric behind her but she was singularly focused on her goal. Her lips were dry as she stared at the glowing crystal cup and she licked them shakily. As she reached out for it, she hoped Harry knew what she was doing.
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Harry looked up with a start as Rose appeared in the graveyard and collapsed to the ground heavily. The cup, with the return portkey they thankfully didn't need, clattered a good distance away. He watched as Rose pulled her self to her feet and staggered slightly. He was proud of her ability to play it weak. At least he hoped she was playing.
Any minute now, he thought.
Sure enough, Wormtail swooped from the shadows with Voldemort the homunculus in his arms. "Bind her!" Voldemort shrieked.
Pettigrew cast a spell that shot black cords from Voldemort's wand and tied Rose rather tightly against Riddle Sr.'s tombstone. Rose grunted with the impact and Harry was sure the fear reflected in her eyes was no act. He sent waves of comfort through the link that Rose had somehow reestablished without the rings and Rose calmed imperceptibly. Good, good. Just like we planned, Rose. It'll be over soon.
Pettigrew jumped right into the ritual, dumping Voldemort's fetus like body in to the roiling cauldron. He turned to Rose with a sneer that the girl returned defiantly. It shook Pettigrew slightly as he levitated a bone from the open grave that Rose was standing on. She kicked at him.
"Let me go so I can kick your traitorous arse!" she growled.
Pettigrew scampered back to the cauldron. "Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!" he chanted, dropping the femur in.
Harry had often had flashbacks and dreams about this moment. He was sure at this point, despite his solid Occlumency that he would have horrible nightmares tonight.
Pettigrew then shakily withdrew a gleaming silver dagger from the folds of his robes. "Flesh—of the servant—w-willingly given—you will—revive—your master."
Both Harry and Rose couldn't help but wince as Pettigrew willingly and brutally removed his hand, letting it drop into the mixture. Harry was sure that at his Voldemort's rebirth, Peter had screamed, but this Peter didn't. I hope you bleed to death, you wanker. He knew he couldn't let Pettigrew die, though. He was needed alive to prove Sirius' innocence.
"B-blood of the enemy . . . forcibly taken . . . you will ... resurrect your foe." Pettigrew shakily used the knife to slice into Rose's arm. To her credit she didn't as much as wince.
Pettigrew shook the blood into the cauldron with immediately started to boil and froth, sickly violet and red light shooting forth from the mixture. Harry lowered the invisibility cloak from his head and locked eyes with Rose. Safe distance. He sent. Rose nodded and flamed away silently. Harry saw her reappear and hide behind a mausoleum about 100 feet away. Satisfied, he raised the hood back over his head and took his place where Rose was.
Voldemort rose slowly and dramatically from the cauldron, naked as the day he was born. His hands roamed his new body, seemingly delighting in the fact that the ritual had worked.
Harry observed silently from Riddle's grave. Rose's blood had a different effect on this Voldemort than Harry's had on his. This Voldemort's body was defiantly more feminine. Where as Harry's dark lord had been skeletally thin, this one was curvy, almost androgynous and had a full head of short white hair. He still had the slits for a nose, and the same red, angry eyes as before.
"Robe me, Wormtail," Voldemort said, his voice barely above a whisper. A rather feminine whisper, Harry noticed with some amusement. As Pettigrew scuttled forward with Voldemort's black robes, Harry slowly and silently removed his invisibility cloak and wandlessly banished it back to his cloak. It was almost time to make his appearance.
"Give me your arm, Wormtail." Wormtail simpered and raised his stump. "Your other arm."
Harry noted with some satisfaction that so far everything was proceeding as it had before, other than androgynous Voldemort. He watched impassively as Voldemort used Peter's dark mark to summon the rest of his inner circle. As soon as they all had apparated in, Harry whispered, "Wards activate."
They worked perfectly, freezing all the death eaters in place, but not the dark lord unfortunately. Voldemort was oblivious as he swooped around calling each of them by name. He even with through the spiel about one being dead and one lost forever. Harry chuckled lightly, and Voldemort heard it.
"I almost forgot to introduce our guest of honor," he sneered. "Rose…" He whirled around and froze, almost as if the wards had affected him late.
Harry wiggled his fingers in a mock wave. "Now I know I'm pretty," he drawled. "But I'm nowhere near as pretty as her."
"Kill him!" Voldemort shrieked to his death eaters. His eyes flashed red and his white hair nearly stood on end. Nothing happened. "You dare ignore me?"
"Oh they're not ignoring you," Harry said as he stepped away from the tombstone. He silently drew his wand and called the Sword of Gryffindor to him. He willed the sword into a smaller blade that he could dual-wield with his wand. He was sure he was overreacting, but with the physical changes to this Voldemort he didn't want to take any chances. "They can't act. You see, I set a trap for you and your merry band of morons."
"Bah!" Voldemort sneered, leveling his wand at Harry. "I'll do it myself! It will be a good test of my new body."
"Now that's what I like to hear!" Harry cheered. Inwardly, he was unsure if he should be relieved or scared that Voldemort, knowing nothing about him, perceived him to be a threat. "Light or dark meat?" he asked suddenly and seriously.
Voldemort, taken completely by surprise by the question lowered his wand slightly. "What?"
That was the only cue Harry needed. He slashed his wand from left to right and a wave of black and violet energy raced toward the dark lord. Voldemort's eyes widened marginally and he raised a glimmering white shield that the energy slammed against. The resulting explosion threw up a cloud of dirt and debris that Harry used to get closer to Voldemort. He came out of the cloud sword first. Voldemort twisted out of the way but was slightly slow, and Harry's sword clipped his shoulder drawing first blood. Harry said as much.
"First blood to me," he snarled.
Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "You are better than I first gave you credit for, boy."
"You said that the last time I killed you too."
Voldemort, always one for formalities, sank into a shallow bow that Harry returned. As soon as Harry had straightened, Voldemort attacked. He sent a flurry of lightning fast spells at Harry that Harry had a difficult time dodging. The ones that he was unable to dodge he managed to parry with his wand, physically moving the spell away from him. When he recovered, he noticed a flurry of dull metal darts flying at him. Unable to dodge the spread and unable to parry the spell with his wand, Harry conjured a huge, half ton slab of granite in the way and banished it at Voldemort. The darts impacted into the stone and Harry noticed with some satisfaction that Voldemort was unable to stop the granite's flight and he was forced to dive out of the way. Harry simply redirected the slab in the direction that Voldemort had dived. Voldemort was forced to destroy the rock with a blasting curse. Harry smiled viciously.
The granite, instead of completely blasting to powder, exploded into small, golf ball to baseball sized chunks that Harry joyously flung at Voldemort. Voldemort retaliated by casting a spell that made him slightly incorporeal, allowing the rocks to pass harmlessly through him. Harry frowned. So much for that idea…
As soon as the barrage of stones ended, Voldemort waved his wand, canceling the spell on him and launched into the offensive. Harry easily managed to deflect and redirect all the spells with his wand or the sword as he spun and maneuvered his way closer to the dark lord. As soon as he was close enough, he lunged with another stab. This time thought, Voldemort was ready. He conjured the same silver, snake emblemed shield that Harry saw in the atrium and blocked Harry's strike. Harry wasn't ready for that and his blade skittered wide across the shield, staggering him and leaving him wide open. Voldemort threw his arms wide, and with a shout, blasted Harry away 50 feet into the side of a mausoleum.
One all… Harry thought dazedly as he shook his head. He staggered to his feet and looked around the graveyard for his opponent, but he couldn't see Voldemort anywhere. He knew the dark lord was still here, though, because he could feel him. "Come out, come out, wherever you are…" he sing-songed.
Suddenly, he sensed Voldemort to his left, near the rubble of the slab. With a wide sweep of his wand, he transfigured all the rocks into muggle cherry bombs with a very short fuse. He knew that it wouldn't hurt Voldemort much if at all, but it might just distract him enough to get in a stronger spell to finish the fight.
The fire crackers went off with staccato bangs all around Voldemort. Unfortunately, Harry forgot about the gunpowder smoke. Voldemort used the concealment to fire his first Avada Kedavra of the fight at Harry. Harry thought was ready. He quickly enlarged the Sword of Gryffindor into a great sword and gripped it with two hands. He swung it like a baseball bat and hit the killing curse directly back at the dark lord. The sword unfortunately disintegrated in his hands, but Harry knew he could call it back. It was only temporarily gone.
Voldemort was completely taken by surprise and was forced to drop bodily to the ground. Harry flicked his wand up and tossed Voldemort bodily into the air, then with a downward flick, sent him rocketing toward the ground. Voldemort pushed all his magic into stopping himself and did so successfully, but it winded him. Harry knew that the fight was nearly over. Still, Riddle was a crafty and powerful wizard and still had a trick up his sleeve.
"It ends now, boy!" He whipped his wand in a ring above his head conjuring a goodly amount of Fiendfyre that he transfigured into a massive, flaming basilisk. It was the same spell he used in the atrium against Dumbledore. Harry assumed that Voldemort was pulling out his big guns now. Harry was also without a clue as to how to combat Fiendfyre. It was one of his few weaknesses.
During his war, Voldemort discovered that Harry was unable to do anything against the demonic fire and instructed his entire inner circle to use it against Harry. It was nearly Harry's undoing until he decided to stop stunning and start killing. But he wasn't a phoenix animagus at that point either.
Struck with a sudden inspiration as the flaming serpent bore down on him. He didn't know what phoenix fire would do when pitted against fiendfyre and decided to find out. He rapidly phoenix flashed in the same spot over and over, building up as much flame as possible before molding it into his own serpent that he sent at Voldemort's massive basilisk. Harry's smaller snake coiled around Voldemort's and as the magical power began to build exponentially; Harry realized that he made yet another grievous mistake. He was glad that his phoenix form hadn't had a burning day in a while…
The magical build up suddenly released with the power of a muggle air-fuel bomb, leveling most of the graveyard. Harry quickly changed into a phoenix as the explosion washed over him, and he was subject to the unique feeling of dying for the first time. Then, he combusted and was reborn. It was an interesting experience; one that he never wanted to relive again. He transformed back and brushed the ash and dirt off his body. He was feeling rather noxious and dizzy, most likely from the rebirth, but he managed to look past that. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Rose was unharmed. The mausoleum was far enough away that it escaped the blast with a few scorch marks. Good…
He then set out to look for Voldemort…or what was left of him. Harry was sure that he couldn't kill the dark lord, but he was also sure that the explosion would have left Voldemort a mangled mess. Unfortunately, it had also vaporized the death eaters.
He was proved correct. Not far from the sooty smears that were what was left of his inner circle, Voldemort lay twitching, his neck at an odd angle. His limbs had been burned off leaving only cauterized stumps, but his eyes still held the spark of life. Harry felt little pity for the mangled body that was the dark lord. He knew that it would be a simple task for Rose to off the pathetic creature on the ground before him, and he couldn't resist rubbing a bit of salt into the wounds, so to speak.
"By the way," Harry growled. His jaw ached, like it hadn't been used in a while. Technically it hadn't, Harry figured, as it was pretty much brand new. "You're mortal, now. I destroyed all of your horcruxes."
Harry didn't see Voldemort's eyes widen in a panic as Harry went to fetch Rose. His entire body ached but he ignored it. He wasn't happy, but he was relieved that it was over. Now he could find a way for him and Rose to stay together and start a family. Speaking of… "Rose?" he called as he neared her hiding spot. What he saw there froze the blood in his veins.
There were signs of a magical fight, and he could sense Rose's magic in the air. She had been in the fight and from the looks of things, she had lost. And whoever had won, had taken her.
She was gone, but Harry knew who had her.
The Illuminatus.