"Come now Riddle. Surely your going to bow?" Harry said, his teeth clenched tightly.
"Potter?" Voldemort said slowly, his voice low. "Is that really you?"
"In the flesh, Tom." Harry rattled off, his fingers tightening around his staff imperceptibly. "It had been a while since the last time we met.. What say we start our reunion with a BANG!" The raven haired man roared as he slammed his staff forward, a white bolt of light exploding from the gnarled wood of his staff.
Voldemort's eyes narrowed as he quickly twirled his wand, the white bolt freezing in mid-air, slowly spinning its self into a slowly pulsing orb. With a flick of his wand the orb soared through the air, exploding feet in front of Harry. Voldemort sat silently, his wand stretched forward as he waited for the smoke to clear.
The smoke dispersed quickly, revealing Harry standing in the same place, his staff glowing as a transparent shield blocked off the entire width of the hallway. With a twist of his staff the shield raced down the hallway, wrapping around the evil wizard like a cocoon. Harry raised his fist and clenched it into a tight fist, smiling grimly as the cocoon constricted tightly.
His grin fell as the cocoon shrunk until it dispersed with a small pop. Harry expanded his magic, watching silently as he waited for Voldemort to drop back into the action. He dropped to the floor as an emerald curse flew over his head, missing by inches. The Boy-who-lived almost swore he could smell the rotting stench of death as it soared over his hair, setting a section of wall alight with magical flames.
Harry swung his staff in a low arc, his mind racing to figure out how Voldemort Apparated without showing up on his magic sense like a spotlight. A wave of magic roared down the hallway, catching his foe by surprise at the quick return fire, sending Voldemort to the floor as the blast overtook him. Harry cheered silently as he blasted the roof above Riddle's prone form, sending rocks crashing down on him. Harry paused, slowly approaching the pile of rock, his staff held loosely forward, the tip glowing an eerie red.
The blind man gritted his teeth as the pile exploded, sending shrapnel flying his way. He quickly put up a large shield of magic, vaporizing the rocks as they passed through. The man quickly dodged a rain of curses, his staff working furiously as he simultaneously cast, redirected, and blocked spells, a constant rainbow of magic flying back and forth through the hallway of the mansion. Within minutes the previously prestige manor was reduced to a shell of its former glory, the walls alight with flames and pock marked with spell damage.
Harry stood defiantly, blocking a vividly purple curse back at Voldemort with a thrust of his wand. As the curse soared down the hall, Harry wordlessly poured magic into the curse, turning the mild curse into a powerful destroyer curse. Voldemort slashed his wand, attempting to deflect the curse, only for it to keep coming his way, before slamming into his chest.
Riddle's body was slammed backwards, his back cracking the wall slightly under the pressure of his impact. Black blood leaked from the corner of his mouth as he dragged himself to his feet, the front of his cloak tore and smoking slightly. He gingerly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a shocked look on his magically twisted features.
"Oh no... Poor little Tommy hurt himself!" Harry taunted, his staff never leaving his foe's form.
"Harry! Don't taunt him! Focus on getting out of there, you're not going to defeat him!" With the mental equivalent to a shove, Harry closed his mind, tuning Hermies's panicked voice out.
"Dodge this Potter!" Voldemort's roared, his eyes flashing red.
With a flourish of his wand, Voldemort unleashed a crackling black shadow curse. The curse roared toward Harry, destroying the hallway as it passed. Harry knelt slightly, his staff drawn to the side. As the curse filled his vision, Harry twirled, his staff slamming into the very center of the curse, before he spun the staff, redirecting the tip of the staff at Voldemort. The curse rocketed off his staff, screaming down the hallway.
"Who said I had to dodge!" Harry retorted, firing off several curses in its wake.
Voldemort's wand worked furiously dispersing his own curse, only beating it seconds before impact. As the curse vanished, he swept his wand sideways, a thin blue shield appearing, taking three of Harry's added curses, before buckling under the last curse, shattering the shield like glass. The curse slammed into his wrist, breaking the bone with a vicious crack, leaving the dark lord gasping in pain.
Harry pressed his advantage, throwing spell after spell at his foe, grinning savagely as he broke Voldemort's shields. The blind man flicked his staff, dropping Voldemort to the ground with a vivid flash of light. He stepped forward, peppering Voldemort with cutting curses, cutting his wand in half in the process. Harry tightened his grip on his staff as he looked down upon the man who had caused him so much pain in the past. He lifted his staff, pouring energy into a single final spell.
His focus slipped as he saw a deadly grin spread across Voldemort's skeletal face, a second wand gripped tightly between his bony fingers. With a roar Voldemort blasted Harry backwards, sending him rolling down the hallway, his staff flying out of his hand. The dark lord pulled himself to his feet, his hand a blur as he healed himself, his wrist healing with a vicious crack.
He fingered his wand, an insane smile on his twisted reptilian face as he eyed Harry getting to his feet.
"So Potter.. Play time is over I see?" Voldemort said, his voice low and dripping with venom. Harry's heart sank as the dark lords words reached his ears, but he didn't let his guard down.
"He's been playing with me!" Harry realized, his eyes widening frantically. He stepped backwards uncertainly as Voldemort's aura tripled in size, from a injured flicker of a flame, to a raging black inferno.
Harry tensed, waiting for his chance to lunge for his staff. Voldemort suddenly jabbed his wand forward, large silver spikes shooting out of his wand. Harry dodged back and forth, screaming in agony as a spike nailed him in the shoulder and leg, effectively nailing him to the ground. Harry looked up at Voldemort's laughing form, his vision fading as the spikes began glowing red hot as they dissolved.
"Are you ready to beg me to kill you, Potter?" Voldemort sneered, pacing silently.
"Not in your life, Riddle." Harry whispered, swaying slightly.
"Crucio!" Voldemort roared, his wand flashing red.
Harry screamed in agony, a million knives stabbing him non-stop. His nerves were ripped from his body, his flesh was pulled from his bones, and his blood was boiling inside his veins. Decades passed in seconds, and he could hardly remember a time without pain. Just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, leaving Harry gasping for air with a deep throbbing pain in his joints.
"Don't you see Potter? Oh of course you don't. Let me explain it to you. You. Will. Not. Win!" Voldemort roared. With each word, he slashed his wand down cutting deep into Harry's body, staining his shirt with blood. The metallic scent of blood filled the air as Harry slowly reached for his staff, his fingers just barely brushing the gnarled wood.
The staff zoomed into his hand, unleashing a brilliant white light, blinding Voldemort long enough for Harry to throw him backwards and cast a strong numbing charm on his body, dulling the pain. Harry panted slightly, drawing upon every last inch of strength he possessed.
The blind sorcerer stood silently, his staff never wavering from Voldemort. The pair stared at each other, their eyes narrowed. The pair attacked simultaneously, raw magic flooding the air.
"Crasidas!"
"Kimtan!"
The two curses collided in mid air, combining and twisting in the middle of the hallway. Silence rang through out the hallway, the only exception being the ragged breathing of the two awed combatants. A deep rumbling grew from the space between the two, and before the pair could raise shields, the world shattered.
Intense heat rolled off the pulsing orb, scorching the hallway and peeling pain off the walls. The orb exploded, throwing the two combatants out of the crumbling house, crashing through windows and walls, until Harry collapsed in a bloody heap outside the manor. He stood, leaning heavily on his cane for support, watching as the manor burned to the ground.
He swayed uncertainly, his body beginning to throb as his numbing spell wore off, leaving a deep pain behind. He looked up sharply, the sound of beating wings filling his ears. As Hermies landed on his out stretched arm, the falcon turned his nose up away from Harry. Harry just gave his familiar a sly grin, before scowling at the bird as it shrieked at him.
"Oh hush you!" Harry whispered quietly. He turned, his eyes widening as he saw Voldemort standing in front of him, wand pointed in his direction, a liquid black ball already speeding toward Harry. As he Apparated away, the spell slamming into his back was the last thing Harry felt before blacking out.
Remus paced incessantly, his usual light smile gone, replaced with an angry scowl. Hermione sat near by, her eyes still swimming with tears. She sat numbly, her eyes lowered to the floors, regret weighing her down. As the clock struck midnight, Hermione jerked her head up to look over Remus's still pacing form.
It had taken the upwards of four hours to explain everything to Remus, between his moments of anger, and her own habit of fighting her emotions. She had finally lost that battle when she finished, her shoulders shaking as she broke down. Remus had simply shaken his head and started pacing, his eyes glazed over, deep in thought. The pair had remained like that for the better part of an hour, only stopping when a group rescued by Harry had port keyed into the headquarters. The headmaster had taken the prisoners to Hogwarts, where Madam Pomfrey had quickly healed the group.
The Order had slowly dispersed after that, leaving Hermione an Remus alone. Remus looked up at the crying girl before him, his anger cooling slightly. He could still see the silent tears running down her cheeks, and he felt a slight tugging at his heart. He refused to forgive her fully though, at least until Harry returned... and if he didn't so help him Hermione Granger and Albus Dumbledore would regret it.
"Look Hermione.. I shouldn't-" Remus began, his voice tinged with regret.
"Don't Remus. I deserved that. I should have told you..." She trailed off slightly, her voice hoarse. "I should have told everyone. But you know I didn't mean to blame him right! It was just the heat of the moment and I instantly regretted it!" She finished, a wild pleading look in her eyes, her gaze never wavering.
The old werewolf sighed, leaning quietly against the counter top. "I know Hermione. It was hard on everyone back than. But..." He hesitated, before closing his mouth and breaking his gaze. He started pacing again, the sound of his boots shuffling echoing eerily through the quiet kitchen. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Harry angry dulled eyes...
Remus's head snapped up, his eyes wide as he tilted his head to the entrance hallway. He sat motionless, bringing a single finger to his lips as Hermione opened her mouth. He slid his wand into his hand, sliding his fingers over the smooth wood, as he silently moved into the hallway. Remus glanced back to Hermione, nodding her head as she drew her wand.
Remus ripped the door open, his wand glowing a fierce blue as he jabbed it forward. The wand tip stopped inches from Harry's still bleeding face.
"Well," Harry croaked, swaying uncertainly, exhaustion etched into every line of his face. "Isn't that a hell of a greeting?" He laughed quietly, before suddenly collapsing into Remus's arms. Harry distantly heard Remus screaming for Hermione, and the screech of a panicked bird before darkness claimed him.
Harry's eyes widened slightly as he took in a very familiar tapestry, which he had last seen hanging on the seventh floor corridor of Hogwarts. He stepped closer to the tapestry, his hand tingling as he touched the threads of the hanging. He turned, starting slightly as a body vanished into the Room of Requirements, the door slowly swinging shut. He stepped forward, his heart beating wildly inside his chest, as he gripped the ivory handle. He hesitated for a moment, willing his heart to slow down, before he ripped the door open. He sucked in a deep breath, his eyes widening briefly, before darkness fell over his eyes once again.
Harry felt like his head was being split open, and the loud voices from several feet away were not helping. Each word was like a blow to his skull, leaving his head reeling. He opened his mouth, attempting to draw attention to his splitting headache, but his mouth was painfully dry. A stifled cry of surprise sent him reeling, before a cold glass of water, and a headache relief potion were presented to him. He eagerly took a long cool drink, relief flooding him, as he held the potion bottle tightly in his grip. He drained the potion in a single swallow, the pounding in his head vanishing instantly.
He opened his eyes, panicking for a moment as darkness was all the boy-who-lived could see. He focused, digging deep into his magical core and twisting and pulling it over his eyes to give him his magical sight back. Slowly the world was illuminated in a rainbow of colors, revealing Madam Pomfrey's cool blue silhouette and Hermione's raging green silhouette at the foot of his bed. Madam Pomfrey waved her wand, checking Harry's vitals in a multitude of colors.
Hermione was quiet, but Harry could tell she was bursting to say something only holding her tongue until Pomfrey was finished checking Harry. He chuckled slightly, drawing a strange look from Hermione and Pomfrey. He focused on Pomfrey as she straightened up, a slight smile on her face.
"So mister Potter. You're not even back a full day and you've already gone and got yourself injured." She said seriously, but with a hint of a laugh in her voice.
"Well you know me," The blind man said, smiling at her tone. "I never could resist a good scrap."
"Yes well.. Perhaps you could tell me what happened to you?" Pomfrey asked, a curious look on her face, much like the one on Hermione's.
"Voldemort was there." He said, his tone darkening immediately.
A/n: I'm so sorry my update took so long. My laptop had a boot order malfunction that made me have to send it out for repairs and I just got it back less than 2 weeks ago and I had to re-write my plot points and everything. This chapter was frustrating to write due to me already having it almost complete but i think it came out better so R&R and let me know what you think of this chapter! :) thanks everyone :)