Author's Note: Hey readers! Hope you've all had a good week. This chapter consists of a combination of the book's version, the movie's version, and my version. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters and rights belong to J.K Rowling. I am simply having fun with my imagination. Thanks

...Soon, he felt the young presence disappear and knew that he had done his job right. He opened his eyes to reveal the lonesome garden again, and finally allowed himself to smile. Harry Potter was now well on his way to the Ministry of Magic...

CHAPTER 37: DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES

It was a rather cool night as Tom slowly walked along the rainy streets of London, his head bent over the hood of his cloak. He could see a few muggles talking amongst themselves about unimportant things. Street cars honked as they passed by. Any minute now, Lucius and Bellatrix would confront Harry Potter and finally obtain that prophecy. Only a little patience needed now.

It had to be Lucius. He had been so good to Tom this last year. Of course, Tom knew that it was all just to make up for his negligence all those years. But that didn't matter. Lucius had redeemed himself. He had been most adept in helping Avery smuggle and curse Untouchables. His exclusive interviews for the prophet fueled Cornelius Fudge's desire to eliminate Dumbledore from Hogwarts and the wizarding world completely. This was his moment to show his true loyalty to Tom.

But Tom did not stay completely away. He slowly made his way for the street where he knew was the entrance to the Ministry of Magic. He knew that right about now, Lucius was speaking to Harry Potter—notifying him of the falsity in the vision of Sirius Black being tortured. And knowing that Dumbledore was gone now was a great relief to Tom. Still, he had a shrewd feeling that something was bound to go wrong. He had so little faith in his Death Eaters. They didn't have a very good track record, after all. And Dumbledore always somehow managed to mess things up. It was in his nature to do this.

Smiling slightly, Tom disappeared and appeared somewhere in one of the darkened halls of the ministry, invisible to all that were there. He saw what looked like a battle at work. Lucius and Bellatrix had been joined by several of the others… Dolohov, Avery. They were all masked and had furious looks on their faces as they shot jets of red and green light at anyone they could. Down below, Tom watched Harry Potter shout out instructions at his pathetic little friends who were attempting to duel the Death Eaters. How very brave of them to come all this way, undefended, thought Tom. But then he caught sight of a silvery shiny object in the boy's hands. The prophecy.

Tom's red eyes glinted with lust. He had to get his hands on that prophecy. It was the key. The answer to everything. But before he could do anything to try and join the battle, several Order members appeared in the hall and began dueling the Death Eaters. The children that the Potter boy had brought along with him were all injured in one way or another, but Potter was still dueling. Tom could make out a few familiar faces…the auror Alastor Moody, the Lupin wolf that Greyback always bragged about biting, and Sirius Black. Oh yes, Sirius Black was up and about, firing jets of lights at every dark-hooded figure.

Suddenly, Bellatrix jumped in to duel Sirius. A wicked smile crossed Tom's pale face as he watched. She was having the time of her life. Her technique was very good too. She dodged each and every one of her cousin's spells. He on the other hand, was laughing at her. Enjoying himself just as much. This was making Bella very angry and her technique began to suffer because of it. Just when Tom thought that she was done for, she shot out a jet of red light and it hit her cousin square in the chest, causing him to topple right through the arch veil in the middle of the room. He disappeared behind it. Moments later, Bella's victorious shriek was drowned by Harry Potter's yells. Tom's smile widened. The boy was shrieking in agony and began to run after Bella. Startled, she disappeared from the hall, and Tom and the boy followed.

Tom watched them running, flashes of spells flying past them. Bella aimed a few curses over her shoulder but missed them by inches and the boy was still shouting after her as he ran.

"I killed Sirius Black!" she shrieked in a sing-song voice. "Did you love him, little baby Potter? Are you coming to get me?"

The boy bellowed "CRUCIO!" and Bella screamed as the spell knocked her off her feet, landing her next to the fountain where there stood many statues. But she did not writhe and shriek in the pain that Tom associated the spell with. Instead, she merely gasped and turned on the floor to face the boy, who was standing over her, his wand shaking pointedly in his hand. He was gasping angrily as he stood, watching her, apparently deciding what to do.

Tom found his cue and stepped in.

"You've got to mean it, Harry," he told him. "She killed him. She deserves it."

The boy stood frozen, looking as though he were unsure of what he was hearing. Tom suppressed the urge to laugh. He knew that if he kept probing him, the boy would eventually give up and do as he was being encouraged. To see the boy commit a crime would be absolutely glorious for Tom…and doubly as surprising for Dumbledore, he was sure.

"You know the spell, Harry."

Bella finally spotted Tom and began to laugh. Potter spun around and aimed a curse at Tom, which Tom deflected right away. The boy's wand flew out of his hand and landed some feet away. He was standing alone, weak, and defenseless. Just like Tom had always pictured it.

For a while, Tom did nothing. He merely watched the boy curiously, wondering what it was that made him such a danger. He was obviously nothing.

"So weak," he said, speaking through the boy's own lips. The boy shuddered as he realised what was going on, and Bella's laugh grew louder.

She stumbled up to her feet and stood at Tom's side, smiling hungrily.

"The prophecy, boy," she said. "Give us the prophecy…and we might spare your life!"

Tom smiled slightly at this.

"Well you're going to have to kill me then," said the boy suddenly, "Because it's gone!"

Tom's smile faded instantly.

"It smashed!" Potter shouted. "Nobody heard what it said! It's gone forever!"

Beside him, Tom heard Bellatrix gasp in terror.

"No, you're lying!" she shouted back at the boy. "You're lying!"

Tom simply stared at the boy with pitiless eyes.

"No, Bella," he said softly, still watching the boy, "He is not lying. I see the truth looking at me through his worthless mind." He paused. "Months of preparation…months of effort…and my Death Eaters have let Harry Potter thwart me again."

"Master!" screamed Bellatrix and she threw herself at his feet. "I'm sorry! I knew not! I was fighting the animagus Black!"

She was sobbing now, quite uncontrollably. But Tom's eyes were still on the boy who was standing in front of him, still frozen and defenseless.

"Be quiet, Bella," said Tom suddenly, in a dangerous voice. "I shall deal with you later."

Bellatrix obliged and crawled away from him.

"I have nothing more to say to you, Harry Potter," said Tom, simply. "You have irked me too often for too long." He lifted his wand and pointed it at the boy, who remained frozen. "Avada Kedavra!"

At that precise moment, the headless golden statue of the wizard in the fountain had sprung alive, leaping to land with a crash on the floor, its arms flinging to protect the boy.

"What?" said Tom, alarmed. And then it came to him. "Dumbledore."

Sure enough, Dumbledore was standing in front of the golden gates, wand in hand.

"It was foolish of you to come here tonight, Tom," he said in a quiet voice. "The aurors are on their way."

"By which time I shall be gone," announced Tom, "And you, Dumbledore, shall be dead."

"Neither of us shall be dead tonight, Tom," said Dumbledore, simply.

This surprised Tom a great deal and he stared at Dumbledore's clear eyes behind those half-moon spectacles.

"You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?" he called, his scarlet eyes narrowed. "Above such brutality, are you?"

"We both know there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom," Dumbledore said calmly, continuing to walk towards Tom. "Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit."

Tom stared, unbelieving of these words. How could this be? There was no possible way for Dumbledore to know anything about his horcruxes. Yet here he was, hinting at that very thing.

"There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!" snarled Tom. "Nothing!"

"You are quite wrong," said Dumbledore, still closing in upon Tom and speaking as lightly as though they were discussing the matter over drinks. "Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness—"

Tom waved his wand and Dumbledore did the same. Their spells clashed into each other—green on red—and Tom spotted Bellatrix from the corner of his eye, crawling over to one of the pillars and settling herself there to watch. Another one of the statues from the fountain had grabbed the boy and moved him to the other side as well. The boy sat there, shielded from the fight. As Tom continued to duel Dumbledore, he tried to send the strength of his spell towards the boy. The most it did was break off a few bricks from the shiny walls, procuring rubble in the long corridor.

Growing tired of this useless duel, Tom withdrew his spell and let out another. Fire sprung from his wand and grew in size, forming itself into the shape a large, glowing snake. Laughing, Tom forced the snake on Dumbledore who reacted quickly, forming a shield around himself and the statue holding the boy. Behind him, Tom heard Bellatrix scream. Next second, water was everywhere. Tom was drowning in it. He could feel himself being lifted from the ground and slipping and sliding in a large ball of water which Dumbledore seemed to be rolling around the great dark hall. Unable to speak, Tom flicked his wand and he was freed from the bubble. He stood completely soaked and stared at Dumbledore across from him. Dumbledore was waiting for him to act.

Alright then, thought Tom. You want a game? I'll give you one.

And with that, he disappeared. He enjoyed the look on Dumbledore's face as he spun around, trying to find him. Tom moved slowly and eerily. The boy moved away from the statue of the wizard and towards Dumbledore.

"W-where is he?" Tom heard him ask.

But Tom did not give Dumbledore a chance to answer for he plunged himself right into the boy. The boy shrieked in pain and fell to the floor, his knees buckling. His wand flew out of his hand and his glasses came off too. Tom locked the boy in the coils of his red eyes. The two were fused together, bound by an invisible force that was causing the boy unbearable pain. There was no escape, Tom knew it. Feeling pleased with himself, he spoke using the boy's mouth.

"Kill me now, Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore stared, unable to move. Tom laughed.

"If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy!"

But Dumbledore did not move. He could not move. Tom had the boy wrapped around so tightly that the boy was screaming soundlessly.

Laughing, Tom decided to give him a little slideshow. He searched the boy's mind and selected his favourite memories. His mudblood mother shrieking as Tom's killing curse hit her. Cedric Diggory toppling over to the ground at the graveyard. Sirius Black falling through the veil, never to rise again. The mudblood shrieking again. Diggory falling yet again. And Black. Again and again.

The boy gasped for air as the pain overtook him. Tom knew his mind was swimming as he viewed these images on repeat. And Dumbledore stood, fixed to the ground, unable to free the boy. Laughing wildly, Tom spoke to the boy's mind.

"So weak…so vulnerable."

He began to orchestrate his own images now. A dark corridor along which the boy walked. He stopped before a mirror and stared back at his reflection which was none other than Tom.

"Look at me," said Tom, deviously.

The boy shouted again.

Dumbledore was speaking to him but Tom could not hear what he was saying. Tom was so wrapped up in the boy's mind. It was the furthest he had ever let himself in and he could now feel everything that the boy felt. Pleased with how much pain he was causing, he continued, making the boy shriek and writhe with pain. And then a sudden idea washed over him. He was going to expose himself to the boy's most treasured secrets. Fighting the urge not to laugh and break concentration, Tom dived for another set of memories.

He watched the boy's mudblood friend running across the Great Hall at Hogwarts to hug him. He watched his other friend, the youngest Weasley boy, helping the boy out of a window and into a flying car. He watched the three laughing in the snow of Hogsmeade village. He watched the boy standing before the great Mirror of Erised, and seeing his parents smiling back at him. He watched Sirius Black give the boy a hug in what looked to be the infamous House of Black. He watched the boy laugh with his friends in the Gryffindor Common Room. And then, something happened. The boy began to speak back to Tom.

"You're the weak one," he was saying. "And you'll never know love…or friendship."

Tom glared at him.

"And I feel sorry for you."

Those words had finished him off. Tom found himself forced out of the boy's mind like cannonball. He slipped out and fell backwards, though still invisible to Dumbledore and the boy. But before Tom could react to the boy's defenses, he heard voices echoing through the hall. The boy was lying face down on the floor, glasses gone, shivering and trembling. The urge to attack was too great, but now that the others had seen Tom, there was no way he'd escape if he didn't leave now.

Snarling with anger, he leapt to his feet, snatched Bellatrix from behind the pillar, and disapparated, leaving Harry Potter to weep in Dumbledore's arms.