The Trio Who Returned, Chapter 07

by Technomad

When Voldemort came back to consciousness, it was to feel bursts of horrible, racking pain through his entire body, again and again. A young woman, standing a little way away, pointed a wand, screaming "Crucio" over and over. He shrieked, not understanding why this was happening to him.

A tall, redheaded young man came up. "Had enough, Hermione? Want me to have a go at him?"

The woman…Hermione…stood back. "I think I've softened him up enough. Get Harry down here, and we can find out where those damned Horcruxes are."

"Oh, come on, Hermione, let me have a hack at him…" the man pleaded. "I owe this bastard for my uncles!"

"Very well, but no spells." Hermione smiled voluptuously and handed the redheaded man a knife. "He won't need all those dangly extremities, now will he, darling?" She turned to go, calling "Have fun and play safe, boys!" over her shoulder.

By now, Voldemort had realized that he was tied up, standing, with his hands tied to a cross-beam. "Who are you? Why are you doing these things to me?" he whimpered.

"My name is Ron," the redheaded man purred. He smiled, showing long, razor-sharp canine teeth, and Voldemort shuddered. He came up close, whispering, and Voldemort nearly gagged at the graveyard stink of his breath. "As for why we're doing it…cast your mind back! We Obliviated you of all knowledge of how to do magic, even…especially…wandless magic, so you can't escape or fight back, but we left your other memories intact! Why do you think we're doing these things?"

Reminded, Voldemort thought back. He saw himself, the leader of a group of powerful wizards, spreading terror across Britain, reaching for power…only to be foiled when a spell went dreadfully wrong. He saw what he had done, before that setback and afterward, and knew why he was where he was. "Oh, Merlin! Have mercy on me! At least call the Aurors! Don't I have a right to a trial?"

"A trial?" Ron stood back slightly, cocking his eyebrow and tilting his head to one side, studying Voldemort as though the prisoner was some new sort of bug he had caught. "What sort of 'trials' did you ever give your prisoners? What happened to Charity Burbage?"

Voldemort remembered…and shuddered. Ron leaned close again, the charnel stink of his breath making Voldemort nearly retch, empty stomach or no. "Charity Burbage was my father's cousin, scum. Dad took the news about her really badly. So-o-o, I think a little payback is in order here!" With strength far beyond what Voldemort would have believed him to have, he bent down and yanked one of Voldemort's bare feet up to waist height, looking at it thoughtfully. "You seem to have the same number of toes as other people. Let's play a game, shall we?" Giving the terrified Voldemort a big, happy smile, his fangs flashing, Ron produced a big pair of bolt cutters, fastening them around Voldemort's littlest toe. "This little piggy went to market…"

Voldemort's screams should have torn his throat flesh loose.

OOO

After an unguessable time, Voldemort found himself fully conscious. In front of him, Harry Potter was standing. "Thanks, Hermione. That Ennervate spell was just what the Healer ordered to bring our friend, here, back to the world of the waking." Pain lanced through every inch of Voldemort's body, and he couldn't believe that he was even as functional as he was.

"Why…why don't you just kill me, Potter?" he mumbled. "Go on! Get it over with!"

Harry Potter smiled cruelly. "Oh, but we can't! You made that impossible, yourself, with those damned Horcruxes! We have to destroy those first!"

"And besides," purred Hermione, running her hand up and down Voldemort's chest with mocking sensuality, "we wouldn't miss this for the salvation of mankind!" She ran her tongue over her lips. Voldemort shuddered at the look in her eyes. She reminded him of his dear Bella, when she was about to unleash her favorite curse on someone who had displeased her. "I haven't had this much fun since ever!"

"Playtime after, Hermione," Harry said sternly. "Business first." Harry leaned forward, the open-grave smell of his breath overwhelming. "Look into my eyes!" Voldemort locked gazes with Harry, noting in passing that the Boy-who-Lived's green eyes were now red-rimmed…and found his will being sucked out of him, almost like an Imperius Curse. "Tell me what the Horcruxes are, and where they are! I know you know!"

Without volition on his part, Voldemort mumbled: "The first one I made was from my old school diary…I powered it with the death of that girl who my basilisk killed…"

"Yes, we know about that one. It's been destroyed. What next?"

"The second one was the ring I took from my uncle before I murdered him…"

"We know about that one, too. Get on with it!" Harry's fingers suddenly extruded wickedly sharp claws, and he raked the helpless Voldemort's chest deeply. As the blood started spilling out, Harry's eyes gleamed with predatory hunger, and his friends leaned closer, licking their lips.

OOO

When they had extracted everything Voldemort knew about his Horcruxes, Harry commanded Voldemort to sleep until summoned. It was getting close to day.

"Very well. Three of them, the ring, the diary, and me, are dealt with. I haven't felt any connection with that bastard since we changed. That leaves three. The cup, the diadem, and that stupid locket. Doesn't that sound like that one locket we found here when we were cleaning this place up, back in fifth year?" Harry looked thoughtful. "Come to it, I think Kreacher took that one! Kreacher!"

The house-elf appeared, bowing low. "What does mighty master want of poor Kreacher?"

"Do you remember an ornate silver locket? We found it while cleaning, and we thought to throw it out, but it disappeared. Do you have it, by any chance?"

Kreacher crumpled, sobbing. "Oh, master, forgive poor Kreacher!" He wailed, with tears dripping down his face, "Kreacher was here when the bad wizard Mundungus came! Kreacher tried to stop him, but he took so many things that belong to the House of Black! He took the locket, Master, despite all poor Kreacher could do!"

Ron smiled. "Kreacher! Can you find Mundungus Fletcher, and drag him back here?" Kreacher's answering smile looked as predatory as Ron's.

"Kreacher can go and do that!" He looked as though he was ready to leave, when Harry held up a hand.

"You know that we aren't able to operate during the day, Kreacher. If you bring him back here by day, make very, very sure that he can't get away, but that he's in a shape to answer all our questions. There's many things we need to know." Kreacher nodded eagerly, and disappeared.

"Dawn is almost on us," Hermione commented. "It's been a long, enjoyable night, boys, and I, for one, am absolutely knackered. What say we head for some rest?"

"Sounds like a winner, Hermione," Harry said. Then he grinned, and for a second, the "old" Harry Potter showed through. "I must say, though, I never thought to hear you inviting two boys to bed!"

All three friends shared a good, long laugh. Hermione laughed the loudest. "Oh, if my old roomies could see me! They always thought I was miles behind them on the 'boys' front!"

They headed for the basements. Passing the unconscious Voldemort, they approached three ornate coffins. Ron remarked: "What do you think it says about the Blacks, that we found a whole bunch of coffins down here, all ready to go?"

"Nothing good, of course," Harry answered. "But they're comfy and serve our purpose. See you after sunset!" Harry lay down in the fanciest coffin, shutting the lid over himself, and Ron and Hermione did likewise; Hermione's coffin had many "feminine" accoutrements, and had clearly been originally meant for a woman.

When the sun rose over Britain, the three friends fell into their usual comas, to awaken only when night returned.

END Chapter 07

(Author's note: This is not the way the "old" Harry, Ron and Hermione would have behaved, even when dealing with Voldemort. However, there have been some significant changes in them. Vampires. Are. Evil. They're on the "right side" more through circumstance than anything else, now; Voldemort would give them no peace if they just went off and did their thing. They also have various things they want to pay him back for, and now they have no inhibitions about how it's to be done. However, make no mistake: They are as evil as any Death Eater, and find fighting evil with evil fatally easy and seductive.)