Hi everyone! I'm back after my horrible final exams (shivers). I'm so glad they're over! Thank god! More writing! Summer! Woohoo!

IMPORTANT NOTE: I will be gone camping from June 30th-July 4th and will be unable to post or reply to reviews or emails. However, when I come back I will see to them promptly!

Parseltongue Disclaimer: Ssssssssorry, but I do not own Hhhharry Pooootter... JK Roooowling and Warner Brotherssssssss doooooo! Tee heeeeeeeee!

It Ends Now

Part 18: "Riddle House"

Harry opened his eyes, only dimly aware of his surroundings. It was cold. Very cold. Harry could feel his skinny body shivering and his teeth chattering, arms wrapped around himself to try and ward off the chill. It wasn't this cold in the dorm! He tried to squint through the clammy darkness but only a thin ray of light came into the room, and Harry couldn't tell from where. He sat up, realizing only then that he was shirtless (part of the reason why it was so cold- it was winter for God's sakes!) and his neck, head, and hands all felt painful and were throbbing unpleasantly...

Then it all came back.

Wormtail! That rat! Harry cautiously stood, making no noise as he inched nearer to the thin ray of light.

Were those...bars?

"No," Harry breathed, running up to them and frantically yanking at the obstacles to his freedom. Of course, they refused to budge."NO!" He was trapped; trapped in who knows where by Wormtail. And Harry knew that wherever 'here' was, Voldemort was too, if the prickling in his scar was any inclination.

Giving a sort of forlorn whimper, Harry felt around his prison, trying to discern where he was, all the while cradling his injured hand. No windows. Bars. Cold, grimy walls. Stone floor. It was a cell; a cell that very much reminded Harry of being kept in a sealed coffin.

The boy backed up and suddenly his foot sunk into something warm and furry. He jumped in alarm with a horrified cry. The thing squeaked and scampered away, and Harry heard more telltale scuffling noises in the corner. There were rats in here!

With a terrified moan, Harry sank to the groud amd curled himself into a tight, protective shivering ball. His stomach growled, protesting it's hunger and alerting the teen to how much time had passed. It must be around dinnertime, Harry thought. I wonder if anyone realizes I'm missing yet? Hermione and Ron, surely. I told them I'd be right back. Please, let the Order find me before they hurt me!

There was a creak from somewhere above and footsteps clanking down the stairs. Harry scurried over to the far wall and pushed himself into it, trying to be inconspicious as the footsteps halted just outside his cell.

"Hawwy... Hawwy... are you in there? Come out and play, baby Hawwy!" Bellatrix Lestrange's sickening, teasing, baby-like voice crooned. "My Master wishes to see you..."

Harry choked on his own breath, blinded by unrestrained rage. He shook violently as the fury overtook fear and his senses, coursing through his body like electricity. This bitch... this Death Eater... how dare she show her face... stood in front of him... the murderer of Sirius...

With an unintelligible roar, Harry rushed in the direction of the sound of her voice, just as Bellatrix cast Lumos. As Harry raced at her, her face was not that of fear. It shone with perverted delight at seeing Harry so angry... she was smiling.

"Crucio!" she nearly-sang, lustful for more pain from the boy; coal black eyes glittering with malicious pleasure. Unable to dodge it, the curse hit Harry head-on and he dropped to the floor, writhing in agony. The pain went on and on, accompanied by Bellatrix's laughing. Finally, it stopped.

Bellatrix licked her lips. "That was absolutely delicious, Harry."

"Pervert," Harry ground out from his spot on the floor. The boy didn't have enough strength to pull himself up as he lay on the stone floor panting. But he didn't need to anyways.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry's limbs froze up and he instantly became immobile.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Bellatrix cooed sweetly, and Harry felt himself lift off the ground, completely and utterly unable to do anything about it. "Come on, Potter. To the Dark Lord's lair we go!"

The insane witch floated the boy up, not taking care to avoid the bumps that Harry banged intoalong the way. In fact, it seemed she was purposely making him jar into walls or sharp corners of things.

They stopped in a pitch-black room and Bellatrix released the spells. With a thud, Harry fell to the ground. He scurried up, scar dispelling blinding pain. It was as though someone had brought a sudden axe down on Harry's head. Voldemort was in this house. The boy tried to make a run for it, but suddenly two strong, muscular arms lifted Harry off the ground. Apparently, Bellatrix and Harry weren't alone in the abyss-like room. Harry struggled feriously; biting, kicking, and scratching like a trapped wild animal giving in to its primal instincts when danger beckoned.

"Stop that now or I'll REALLY give you a reason to panic," a male voice hissed venomously into Harry's ear, tightening the already painful grip he had on Harry's upper arms. The boy stopped his futile fight and curled in on himself as the fire building in his scar suddenly erupted, magnifying tenfold.

"Hello, Harry."

The torches flared up, dancing light that gleamed eerily off the walls and showcasing the hidden peoplethe roomcontained.

Harry was being held captive by the Death Eater MacNair, and they were surrounded in a circle by what looked like forty or so Death Eaters. And in the middle of it all sat Lord Voldemort, perched on his throne like the King of Darkness that he was.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Harry Potter," he greeted, adding false cordial into his words. MacNair threw Harry sprawling to the floor. Almost immediately, the boy jumped up, getting into a cautious, ready stance. However, he felt quite vulnerable without his wand. The most he could do was dodge spells and attacks, but even then, luck would not hold forever.

Almost lazily, Voldemort flicked his wand. "Crucio." Sidestepping the curse, Harry gave Voldemort a dark look. He would not succumb that easily. The Dark Lord smirked.

"Been practicing for your big day, Potter?"

"You wish," Harry snarled, dodging another Crucio sent his way.

"Hmm, perhaps my way is ineffective? If you tell me the prophecy, Potter, I may refrain from using some of my more painful, unpleasant Dark Curses on you. Or better yet, if you do, I will kill you instantly, rather than the hard way! What do you say?"

"I say you're a desperate wanna-be with a bad nose job," Harry returned sarcastically, jumping to the side of a Bone-Breaking Spell. "You know my answer from before, Tom. I refuse to give up."

Voldemort's face twisted in fury.

"No one calls me by my filthy muggle father's name," he hissed, saying it so quietly it almost sounded like Parseltongue. "CRUCIENDIO!"

Harry was caught off guard by the sudden Dark Curse- a Cruciatus pain spell and Incendio burning spell combined into one; very Dark Magic and only accomplished by those whose souls were so shadowed by darkness that there was no return from it. Few were able to manage the spell, but Voldemort did so with ease.

The pain was so excruciating that the feeling almost cannot be put into words. Harry's very insides burned with a white-hot fire, escalating until the boy thought they must have ruptured with the pain. He rolled and screamed in total torment as blood steadily streamed from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

I want to die; please just kill me now, Voldemort!

The Dark Lord released the spell and cackled as Harry tried to gasp for breath, gurgling; drowning in his own blood. His chest heaved and his heart pace quickened with pure panic. A cough brought up copper-tasting blood that alleviated some of the blockage. With slow, purposeful steps, Voldemort went to stand over Harry while fingering his wand, as if he had triumped at last. Then he spoke in a deadly whisper.

"Ah, now this is how I like it. Me, standing over a hopeless, forlorn enemy, and watching them cry out in torture..."

"You're a sick bastard," Harry ground out at the derisive mocking, struggling to stand. His luck had just run out.

"And you're a weak, pathetic little boy who will soon be begging for my mercy, just like that mudblood mother of yours," the Dark Lord smoothly replied in a very mordant manner, pushing Harry back to the ground."The world is not made up of good and evil, only power, and those who seek it and those who are too weak to. Now, what is the prophecy now that you have experienced true agony?"

"I-I d-don't know!" Harry choked desperately. He recieved a back-handed slap and Harry cradled his tender, red cheek.

"LIAR! YOU DECIEVE! I SEE IT IN YOUR INFURIATING EYES! WHAT IS THE DAMN PROPHECY!"

Harry pursed his lips together in defiance. Voldemort's face contorted and he sneered.

"On your own damn life be it," he spoke in a dead-quiet whisper that made all the Death Eaters in the throne room shiver. His foot came out to kick the still-spasming Harry hard in the chest, and the boy was sure he felt at least one rib break. The seeker was then thrown forcefully into two masked Death Eaters, who grabbed his arms in vice-like grips. Were it not for this, Harry probably would have collapsed back onto the floor from the sudden shooting pain in his chest. Yes, he was very sure at least one rib had snapped. Instead, he opted to hang almost limp in the devotees' grasp.

"Bring him back to his cell. Have all the fun you want with him; just don't kill the boy. I want him alive but broken. The worse he feels, the more inclined he'll feel to share the iformation he is disclosing. Oh, and bring in the dementor when you're done." The Dark Lord turned to Harry and gave a malicious grin, showing yellow teeth. "Bye, bye, Harry. Enjoy yourself."

And with those last satirical words, Harry was dragged back to his cell, drowning in his own fear and pain.

oOo

Harry was flung back onto the grimy stone floor of his prison. He scurried over the to far wall and again and tried to cower from sight, but the act was futile. Casting Lumos, the Death Eaters spotted him immediately and advanced on Harry threateningly. The boy let out a frightened sound like a wounded animal knowing it was going to die. One Death Eater snapped his fingers and suddenly shackles bound Harry to the wall. The other transfigured his wand into a red-hot poker, coals burning at the end as if it had just come out of a fireplace. The Boy-Who-Lived panicked, pulling at the binding metal but unable to free himself.

"You know, Potter," the first Death Eater purred, stroking Harry's cheek. The boy bit back bile rising in his throat from the contact and sardonic words. "This would be a lot easier on you if you were to just tell us the prophecy. Why is it so important to keep it secret anyway? Is your life really less valued than a few words? Just tell us." In response, Harry gritted together his teeth and tensed his muscles, preparing himself for the torture that lay ahead. Manipulative words would not fool him. He would never tell, and the Death Eaters knew it too.

The poker found the bare skin and the screaming began.

Harry lay sprawled on the floor, barely recognizable due to so many injuries marring his battered body. Whip marks and jagged cuts defaced his body, and some of his flesh had been completely burned away. Internally, the boy had many broken ribs and bones, not to mention he was coughing up blood again. But even through getting all of the wounds, Harry had remained firm and not revealled the prophecy.

Now, Harry was suffering mentally with the prescence of the dementor outside his cell, guarding the boy. He lay breathing heavily on the floor, breathing coming in searing gasps and bordering on unconcious. He was fading in and out, going from awareness to unawareness. Occasionally a hacking fit of blood overcame the teen, rousing him from the blackness within. But Harry was past caring what was happening to him or what would happen next. Rotting in his own body, Harry's will to live was deteriorating, just as he was. He had lost all hope of rescue. Hearing everyone he had ever seen or heard die was not helping matters either. Harry was trapped in Hell.

There was a creak as of a door opening above, and Harry closed his eyes tightly shut as if to block out reality. Another Death Eater was on their way down to beat Harry to a pulp; he could hear the slow footsteps falling down the stairs. The boy knew the torture was not just to leak the prophecy from him. Oh no, those Death Eaters did it for their own pleasure too. The two days Harry had been there now had shown that.

Voldemort himself had come down numerous times, various weapons of pain clutched tightly in his skeletal thin white fingers, a sick, perverted grin on his lips. Crucio and other pain curses had been used on the boy more times than he could count.

Bellatrix Lestrange was another who came a lot, but her favorite tactic besides Cruciatus was taunting- like how his 'Mummy' wasn't there to save him now, or Sirius like in the Department of Mysteries. Sirius was used a lot in her verbal abuse, because it was obvious to the insane witch that the mutt's death was a very sore spot.

It was a miracle Harry was still sane.

"Expecto Patronum!" a silky, nasal, very-familar voice hissed. Harry's eyes flew back open in disbelief as he saw the Death Eater's wand emit a pearly white smoke that formed into a large raven. The bird squawked, pushing the dementor away as the tall cloaked figure swept in, removing his mask and lowering the hood as he did so.

It was Professor Snape.

"It's me, Potter."

Harry could have kissed him.

Well, that was going a bit too far.

"P'fessor Snape?" Harry mumbled in a slur, trying to sit up. But his weak, starving body just would not obey. He hadn't been given any type of liquid or solid the whole time. "Why di'nt you come soon'r?" He hadn't meant to say it, but the question he'd been thinking over and over just slipped out.

A brief flash of pained regret went through Professor Snape's obsidian orbs; something Harry had never seen before. The man's hate just seemed to melt into something very un-Snapelike when he saw Harry in this state. Compassion. Sorrow. Pity. Regret. Things the uptight, emotionless man had never felt before.

"I couldn't. No one knew where you were and I was not called immediately when the other Death Eaters were. I only just arrived at the Dark Lord's beckon. I believe someone may have tipped me off about the spying duty and I am suspected of traitory," the greasy Potions Master explained in a low voice. He fumbled around in his robes, pulling out a dark bottle full of some light blue liquid.

"Drink this all. It's a numbing potion, laced with pain-killing solution and rejeuvination brew. This will work for one hour and one hour only. Escape. Find the exit as stealthily as possible. I am unaware of its location, but it's on the floor above, as that is the first floor. We're in the basement. You must hurry." Snape pushed the bottle into Harry's hands and the boy downed it with trembling fingers in one gulp. Instantly, his vision cleared and the boy's injuries hurt less. It was numbing them.

"What now?" Harry asked in a less-strained voice.

"I need you to scream for me."

"W-what? Why?"

"Idiot!" Snape hissed in a growl, eyes flashing and warning dripping from his voice. The old Snape returns. "I am supposed to be torturing you at the moment! Now, if you do not start screaming I will GIVE you a reason to, boy!"

Without ado, Harry obliged immediately, yelling his throat raw.

"Alright, stop."

Harry took in deep breaths, letting the breath whoosh out in a calming way. He knew it was going to be hard getting out. He pushed himself into a standing position. The Boy-Who-Lived could feel with his bare feet the puddle of blood he'd been laying in, and the seeker dared not look down at his red stained bare chest full of horrible obscenities... he might just throw up if he did so. The teen knew he must look like a complete mess.

"Come on, Potter," Snape whispered urgently, grasping Harry's wrist and forcefully pulling the teen out of the cell quickly and quietly.

He let go at the edge of the stairs.

"I'm going back up. Be quiet until someone sees you, which they undoubtedly will, then make a run for it," Snape instructed. "I'm not giving too much hope that you will indeed find the exit, but you must try and get out. They are going to kill you soon; Voldemort has grown tired of your unresponsiveness to the torture."

And then he left Harry, up the stairs and disappearing from sight, black robes billowing in a classically Snape way. Harry waited a moment so it would not look suspicious. Then he too started up the stairs. He exitted through a large door and came out into a deserted dark hallway, and with feet slapping hard against the cold, gleaming black floor, Harry reached the end of the hall where another door stood, tall and firm. Other doors were along the sides as well, but something in Harry's intuition told him the door was somewhere beyond that one... or at least, that it was closest going through that door. He wrenched it open and came into another long hallway.

But this one wasn't deserted.

One lone Death Eater was striding purposefully towards the door Harry had just opened. When he saw the battered teen, he stopped dead. "HE'S ESCAPED! HE'S GOT OUT! POTTER ESCAPED!"

The sound of running feet thundered to the door that lay behind the masked minion of Voldemort. With an unintelligable roar, the Death Eater lunged at Harry, who in turned acted fast and threw closed the door separating the two. With a dive, the Boy-Who-Lived flung himself through the next closest door on the left wall and pulled it shut just as he heard the door he had previously been at explode. The sound of wood chunks hitting the wall coursed through the room, but Harry didn't stop for contemplation. The Death Eater must have blasted it open to save time and any second, Death Eaters could come plowing into the room, armed with their wands while Harry had nothing.

Running as fast as he could through the dark room that appeared to be a very large living room, as well as dodging various pieces of old, rickety furniture, Harry threw himself at another door and entered into the next room that also appeared the be a slightly smaller sitting room. Not stopping even when he banged his kneecap on the edge of a coffee table, Harry kept going. His life depended on it.

The mansion was like a maze, with no end. It reminded Harry too much of the Third Task, except this time he was the one running rather than searching.

A door on the right was the next route Harry took, and he came out into yet another hallway. But this one was lit by torches that flickered with warmth, making it hard to imagine Death Eaters and Voldemort ramaged through this house. This hall seemed the only inviting one. At the end was a very intricately carved door, decorated richly in solid oak. Harry's intuition suddenly turned on and told him this was it. The exit. Freedom.

A side door imploded from behind the boy, the pieces flying everywhere. Harry swerved at the noise, then shielded his face, the shards embedding themselves into his arms and chest. Oddly, he didn't feel them. The numbing potion was still in effect. But time was running out.

A horde of Death Eaters stumbled through and Harry's eyes widened. He was found.

"WE'VE GOT HIM IN THE ENTRANCE HALL!"

Curses flew at him like crazy and Harry expertly dodged the spells, launching himself into a breckneck sprint for the beautiful door. He threw it open and lunged out, ducking down to let more curses fly harmlessly over his head.

Cold air hit Harry like a thousand knives. The snow whirled around in the evening air, and it littered the ground in piles. Harry tore off down the hill that the house he'd been kept captive in stood on, not daring to look back as the cries of "STOP HIM!" echoed throughout the air.

Harry shivered, the snowflakes flying into his eyes and clinging to his long lashes. He was past freezing. No, he was turning blue with cold, and the feeling was numbing, just like the potion that was slowly wearing off. All the adrenaline from before was disappearing, leaving a weariness in his very bones. Soon the pain would come back. There wasn't much time to get to safety, and his condition was slowing the boy down. He couldn't even feelhis feet now, even though they were scratching from the rough terrain. Wearing nothing but pants in this blizzard was NOT helping either.

He plowed through thickets and ignored the spindely branches and thorns pulling and ripping at him as they caught onto him in his mad dash down the incline.

Harry stumbled on a stray root, falling foward. He rolled uncontrolled the rest of the way, coming to a stop on his butt at the bottom on the hill. He had landed in a graveyard, knarled and knotted trees stooping low over the markers as if old and weighed down. The place had a creepy, haunted, nostalgic feel to it, and fresh death smelled in the air.

Wasting no time to look around, Harry shot up and raced through it, dodging tons of gravestones. But one in prticular caught his eye and made the boy stop dead in his tracks. A very familar one that he still saw in nightmares. Nightmares of that horrible night almost two years ago. The name read:

Tom Riddle

"No..." Harry whimpered, backing away from it with fear, trying to block out the cold that had settled inside him by wrapping his arms around his skinny body. He'd been tied to that headstone. Had his blood forcibly taken there. Been cursed and slapped. He'd seen the enemy he was running from now rise resurrected from a cauldron at that gravestone.

He was back in Little Hangleton Graveyard.

He was back where Cedric Diggory had been murdered right before his eyes.

Back to the place where many of his nightmares still centered.

Back where all his current troubles began.

How ironic.

But Harry found nothing funny about the situation he was in right now. Nothing at all. The terrified boy kept backing away from that gravemarker, but his eyes never left it. It was as if they were locked onto it. He couldn't see anything else. He couldn't feel at all.

That is, until he backed into a body. Arms encircled themselves around Harry's chest and pulled the boy close.

Arms that were white and skeletal thin.

Harry stiffened and let out a horrified scream as his scar burned with so much ferocity he couldn't see through his streaming eyes.

"Harry, Harry, Harry," a soft, silky, playful voice from above whispered as the fingers caressed Harry's throbbing chest, where inside his heart beat wildly with unrestrained fear. "Still haven't learned yet? You always run, but you can never hide from Lord Voldemort."

A/N: Yes, another cliffie. I must've sold my soul to the devil, I'm so evil, eh? LOL! I will try and update ASAP; now that summer has finally come, I have more writing time! Yay! Chapter 19 is "Traitor Revealed". Let the speculation begin!

Thank you for all the reviews! I was in Heaven; I've never gotten so many reviewers for a chapter ever! Awards and cookies galore to all my wonderful, wonderful reviewers! THANK YOU!

REPLIES TO REVIEWS:

Haunted: Thank you! Glad you love this story and hopefully you liked this chapter too! I also love getting PMs from you too ;-)

NazgulGirl: Wow, thank you for all those reviews! I love it when people review for many chapters! I'm very glad you like this story so much and I shall have to pull a Dobby and punish myself greatly for doing such an evil cliffy LOL...

LoSt61389: Here it is! Glad you like my story and how was this chapter? Hope to hear from you more!

Ellen: Thanks for the review! No, there won't be any slash. I HATE slash too! Same gender pairings is really gross, unless I'm in a really weird mood and feel like reading it. It'll be Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione hintings, but this isn't really a romance story so they won't be getting together. People will have to use their imagination for what will happen between the couples later on in their lives. For now, they're just fighting Voldy and going through their school year with little bits of fluff and embarassment when love comes up. :-)

darkmarkgirl: Well thank you! It was a bit short, but hopefully this chapter made up for it! Yes, finally Voldy has succeeded in his plans. :-) MUHAHAHA! Yah, I kinda have Wormtail split in half as to where his loyalties lie, cause in the 3rd book we see Wormtail saying he felt like he had no choice because Voldemort was so manipulative, and I just sorta built on that. Glad you liked the chapter and hope you review for this one too! (huggles!)

BiggestDumbledoreFan: Well thank you! Yes, a little dark point of view with Wormtail there- a change in P.O.V. for a bit, eh? I hate 'um too; I like stories where Snape is AU and good (although you never know, JKR could pull a fastball on us and end up having Snape good or something). Hope you liked this chapter as much as last!

Potter-Blood: Yes, ANOTHER cliffie. :-P Thank you very much, and hope you love this chappy too (Despite the cliffie! I am as evil as evil can get).

twilightscalling: Thank you soooo much for your review and for constantly reviewing! LOL I love to rant too! That review was so funny! Made me laugh! It's OK about that stray email, too! Look what it's led too:-) It's great having you as an "E-mail buddy" LOL! Love hearing from ya and thanks for those Harry Potter movie clips! They were awesome! Keep writing; YOU ROCK:-D And your story does too! And (sniff sniff) hope you don't have a heart attack waiting for the next chappy! LOL.

Iniysa: Thank you! Hope this chapter whetted your appetite for more :-D Glad you liked last chappy!

Nibble-Ett: Sorry 'bout that cliffy! I'm so evil; I've gone and done another! But hey, keeps people interested and wanting more! Thank you so much for the review and hope to hear from ya more!

hyper-swain: Ah, those are some of my mistakes from earlier chapters, back before I checked things over with a fine-tooth comb. Sorry about that! I had forgotten Harry and the others were at Grimmauld in chapter 8 and mistakenly thought they were at the Burrow (sheepish look). Sorry! Harry became Quidditch Captain by McGonagall, who sent him a letter with the badge in it. Except, Mrs.Weasley opened it for him cause he was in bed and just brought up the badge. So there had been a letter explaining it, but I decided she'd surprise him with the badge. :-) Thanks for the review; means so much to me!

Gabwr: That's OK! I'm glad you liked it! Hope you settle in nicely! I like theWormtail part too; gives a reprieve from always Harry's point of view. We're gonna have a Snape POV very soon, so it'll be another shift. Keep reviewing and thanks again :-)

Werewolf777: Yes, quite evil. MUHAHAHAHAcoughcoughhack -ahem-. Sorry it took a bit long to update but here's the chapter (finally!) and hope you like it! Thank you for the comments about the story- I always try and be descriptive, so you can imagine in your head what Harry is seeing and feeling. Yah, I hate it when authors rush into things; I -try- and take it slow, although once in a while I feel myself doing the same thing ;-) I also love having things be to canon and I'm glad you do too! Thanks!

Kakashi-sensai-lover: Well thank you! Your review rocked too cause that was such a sweet compliment :-) Hope you review more and hope you like this chappy!

Well, that's all folks! Until next chapter!

XOXO AngelMoon Girl XOXO