A/n: Okay. Sorry, really long update period. But I have an excuse or two. I've had to read a lot for school and I have exams coming up. My other excuse is that my computer crashed for about three weeks. But now I'm finally updating.

Chapter 7

The house was silent. Hardly daring to breathe, Ron and Harry made their way across the long hall to where they knew the basement opened up. They flinched with every creak of the floorboards beneath their feet, though if they were found, there would be nothing suspicious about their appearance. Ron was invisible and Harry was Macnair.

Voldemort wasn't here at the moment, so they could breathe a little easier. As confident as they were in their plan, they knew that the moment he came back, they would have to run. Harry distantly remembered Snape telling him of Voldemort's skill in Occlumency. Harry still sucked at defending his mind. So the second Voldemort was back, he would see them for who they were.

Fortunately the Death Eaters weren't so clever. Harry and Ron were much more confident in the trusting, naïve minds of Voldemort's followers. They wouldn't dream of someone impersonating one of them. Who could possibly be that stupid?

Harry's scar was blissfully painless; they had all the time in the world. He took another swig of Polyjuice potion, just to be safe.

The house was dark and dreary. It looked more like a jail than someone's home. Harry turned the cold knob of the basement door and slowly made his way down into the darkness, ignoring his instincts to be silent. It would not be wise for him to be caught sneaking around, as it was supposed to be his own home.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he could see a few cloaked figures lounging casually. They looked up at his arrival, a few surprised.

"What're you doing back so soon, Macnair?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Harry looked stupidly at him, at a loss for what to say. Thankfully the Death Eater provided him with an answer. "Has He found Potter yet?" So Voldemort was out looking for him was he? Where was he searching?

Harry cleared his throat; the sound was gruffer than usual. "No, we didn't find him. But he told me to come back here to await our next orders."

"What kind of orders?" the man didn't sound suspicious, but Harry was still a little nervous. He hadn't planned out his lines well enough.

"I dunno, we'll find out when He comes back," he shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. Next to him he could feel Ron shifting impatiently. For the first time he examined the room that he had seen in his mind for the past week. It was a dungeon, guards and all.

"When do you think He'll come back?" the man sat down in an ornate chair. Harry copied him, still thinking of his next move.

"He said it would be awhile. A few days, maybe a week." Harry hoped he was doing a fair imitation of Macnair's manner. The guy had to be different around his companions than when he was when executing random animals.

The Death Eaters looked irritated at the thought of staking out here for another week. Apparently the dungeon scene was not the homiest surrounding they could imagine. They looked very tired, as if they hadn't slept in days. Harry was struck with a sudden inspiration.

"You don't have to stick around you know," he watched their expressions shift. A few of them looked eager and willing at the thought of leaving this gloomy building. The man who had been speaking to Harry suddenly looked suspicious. Harry backtracked.

"Look, we've run out of food here. And the moment He comes back he can just call you lot here again to give us further instruction. I can manage my own home. It's not like they," he jerked his head at the rotating Dursleys, "will give me any trouble." He looked nervously at the man. The key to this escape was speed.

The men looked ready to go at that instant. Unfortunately, the entire plan was ruined within the next second. Harry heard her before he saw her. The great snake Nagini slithered across the floor, headed straight towards him.

She'd seen straight through him in Godric's Hollow. There was no mistaking that she knew exactly who he was again. The Death Eaters watched the snake with puzzled eyes. Harry knew they would have to act now or run. The snake was advancing.

"I hate that bloody snake," the man recoiled slightly as it moved past him. "Macnair, what's it doing?" Harry pointed his wand at him. "Macnair?" the man realized a moment too late.

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled. The man fell immediately, but he'd given himself away. The slow-witted men had braced themselves. They were now all pointing their wands at Harry.

"Who are you?" the man who was now closest to Harry demanded. He ignored this man, instead focusing on the snake. The moment his eyes met with Nagini's, his invisible scar burned. Nagini had just alerted Voldemort of Harry's arrival. Harry searched his mind for a solution, but of course it was blank.

"Hey, I said who are you?" a red stream of light flew across the room. Harry didn't even bother looking; he knew it was Ron. This man fell beside his companion. Harry shot numerous spells at the remaining six Death Eaters, who blocked every single one of them. They still couldn't see Ron, who took out two more of them from behind.

Unfortunately, they did find Ron. Harry was blocking spells left and right but a powerful jinx hit him in the stomach and he was blasted backwards. As he fell, he watched as the cloak slipped off Ron, leaving him totally exposed. A stunning spell hit him squarely in the chest.

Harry could see the tip of the sword lying net to the place where Ron fell. Most of it was still hidden beneath the cloak. If he could just get over there…

Suddenly he felt agonizing pain in his left leg. He screamed as he turned to see Nagini sinking her long fangs into his calf. Blood gushed from the wound, but she wasn't aiming to kill him, just hold him for her master. A heavy sense of de ja vu surrounded him. This had gone just as dismally as Godric's Hollow. At least Hermione wasn't here this time.

Suddenly the room swam in front of him and he was in a completely unexpected scene. He was walking briskly away from Privet Drive. Glee filled his existence as he looked through Nagini's eyes to see the boy writhing in pain. It was only a few more steps until he could Apparate. Potter would not escape again. He couldn't Disapparate out of the dungeon as he had at Godric's Hollow. This was it. Today he would kill Harry Potter.

The foolish boy, dying for the Muggles. There was nothing more idiotic than that. All of these Muggle loving fools were too predictable. Dumbledore and his love! Well all the love in the world wasn't enough to save him or Potter.

Harry was trying to pull out of Voldemort's mind so that he could fight off the Death Eaters now standing around him, wands pointed directly at his chest. Ron was tied up in the corner, unconscious. If only Ron could wake up and cut himself free. Harry could see the tip of the sword peaking out from underneath the cloak.

But there was no way Harry would be able to kill the snake today. More likely it would be killing him. He could feel the venom spreading, poisoning. He gasped in pain, a fresh wave of sweat and nausea passing over him. His scar burned violently at the same time and again he was in Voldemort's body. He was now racing to the front steps of the door. Blasting it open and rushing to the basement.

"Is this Potter?" an incredulous Death Eater exclaimed. Harry felt a nudge in his side as if kicking him would confirm their idea. He bit his teeth as a groan escaped his lips. Dread swept over him as Nagini loosened her grip. He looked up to see a dark figure descending the stairs. Voldemort looked oddly clumsy as he sprinted and stooped down the low staircase.

Harry's scar burned white hot as Voldemort neared. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He glanced at Ron beginning to stir and only wished that he wouldn't die to. He thought of a terrified Hermione awaiting their return all alone in the tent. Hopefully the Death Eaters wouldn't find her. He looked over at the Dursleys still unconscious and rotating and wondered if it was worth it. Yes, saving his family, no matter how badly they had treated him was definitely worth death.

He then thought of Dumbledore and of how he was failing him by dying. Voldemort would never be killed now. The remaining Horcruxes would stay intact, and it was all his fault. He had failed and now everyone else he loved would surely die.

He had to try to fight. He couldn't give into death like this, not after everything he had gone through.

But he was so weak. He couldn't even summon the strength to stand up and face Voldemort. This was the moment when someone or something had always come to his aid. There had always been help. He had always gotten lucky. He glanced at the door; no one was coming to save him this time. It had been naïve of him to even hope for some miraculous escape. There had to be only so many miracles allotted to a person in one lifetime.

Voldemort was upon him now. He could see the malicious red eyes peering down at him, speculating. There was definitely joy in those eyes. His scar throbbed again and he suddenly saw his own face, though it was still Macnair's appearance. His hair was matted down on his sweaty face and his leg was horribly mutilated. Harry felt Voldemort's pleasure at the look of horror on his own face.

He saw Voldemort's lips moved and expected the Avada Kedavra curse, but instead of a green light, a red one flowed towards him. Heat flowed through his body; he could feel his features changing back to normal. Voldemort smiled.

Reflexively Harry's gaze darted to Ron, who was just beginning to wake up near the Dursleys. Voldemort followed Harry's gaze and his smile grew wider. Unbelievable pain seared through hi snow visible scar and he could see what Voldemort was planning before he spoke aloud. "How foolish it was for you to come here Potter," his eyes gleamed with malice, "and for these Muggles!" Harry was silent.

Despite Harry's many escapes, Voldemort wanted to draw this out for as long as possible. He knew just as well as Harry that no one was coming to rescue him this time.

"I'm going to kill you," he whispered. "But first you're going to watch them die." Voldemort looked at the Dursleys briefly. "Then I will kill your friend," Harry looked in horror at Ron, who was now awake and gazing back with equal horror in his eyes. The smile on Voldemort's face was so wide now that it looked maniacal. His expression was truly terrifying.

He pointed his wand at Harry again. The Cruciatus Curse swarmed through his body. Every inch of his being was on fire. Before he could even begin to writhe in agonizing pain, he gasped as consciousness faded. Every bone in his body screamed for him to drift away, to escape. Harry could see the slightly angry look in the bright red eyes as his own eyes unwillingly shut. Darkness surrounded him.