Chapter 144:
Harry blinked, groggy all over, his limbs feeling heavy.
Abruptly, he summoned his magic to the surface, only to thrash into full alertness as a sharp pain flashed through his whole body.
"Don't struggle," came Tom's familiar voice, from a chair near to him.
Harry blinked again, trying to clear his head. Hands…above his head…handcuffs, suspending him an uncomfortable inch off the ground, enough for his toes to scrape, but not enough to be able to support himself.
"You have got to be bloody kidding me," he growled lowly. "You actually chained me up?"
He looked around himself, angrily. Room of requirement; had to be. He cast his eyes to the Slytherin Heir again, to note the other was concentrating on his notebook…his time spell.
He tried to use a charm to free himself, only for that sudden pain to consume him again., dragging a pained hiss from his clenched teeth
"What the-"
"I told you not to struggle," Tom said quietly, glancing at him. "You'll get a burst of pain from the chains every time you try and use magic."
"You're sick," he spat.
Tom merely raised a brow at that, before frowning lightly at the twice-damned paper, scratching something else, rewriting it. He tried to slip his hands free, but the metal was too tight, almost cutting into his skin.
"Seriously?" he demanded furiously. "You're just going to sit there while-"
"-You don't like hanging out with me?" the other returned lightly .
Hanging. Ha freaking ha. He nearly snarled, struggling to take a calming breath, trying to ignore how not good this situation was, and how very vulnerable he was.
"Let me go." No response. "Tom, let me down, this isn't funny!"
"Oh I don't know, golden boy, it's actually quite amusing watching you squirm so helplessly."
"I am not helpless!" he snapped. Right. Not the tangent he wanted to go down. He bit his lip, wishing he could try and rub away his throbbing headache. "Look," he began tightly. "I get that you don't agree with my plan, but this is ridiculous-"
"Indeed," Tom murmured. "I shouldn't have to chain you up, as entertaining as the sight is, to stop you from tearing your mind apart. It is ridiculous, most would have more self-preservation. Now, hush, I need to finish this spell."
Harry fumed.
His neck felt empty - Tom had the locket around his own neck, but, thankfully, all the other's but Nagini were in the moleskin upon his person. The young Dark Lord couldn't take those, however much he wanted to. He thought frantically, utterly unwilling to let it end like this.
His letters burned in his inside pocket. He'd had everything planned.
He couldn't fail now, not when he was so close!
"If you keep me here I'm dead," he stated bluntly, before Tom could attempt to silence him.
The other stilled, that dangerous gaze cutting up again. He was in a room that gave him everything he wanted, on demand, he just needed to have time to wish it…
"Bluff."
"I took an death vow, Tom, that deal with Voldemort…did I tell you it was death vow? If I don't go to him to let him kill me, I will drop dead anyway."
More or less, he'd agreed to let Voldemort kill him, which was more passive than actively seeking the Dark Lord out. Tom didn't know that though.
"You're lying."
Harry laughed, wildly.
"You want to wait and find out?" he challenged, not wavering his stare. "Makes this whole thing a bit pointless, but, I suppose the end result is more or less the same, you just still have the problem of an imploding timeline to deal with and increased likelihood of getting obliviated."
Tom set his quill aside, momentarily distracted. Good.
"You're lying," Tom repeated, softer.
But the other had approached him, yew wand pointing in his direction. He was wavering. Tom cared too much to allow him to die, to not be certain. Perfect. He could use this.
"What does having a Horcrux and a death vow simultaneously mean?" he asked in response.
The next second, hands were fisted chokingly on his collar, their faces level without needing for any contortion for once due to the fact he was slightly raised. The wand rested against the side of his face, pressing into his temple.
"Legilimens."
He slammed his Occlumency shields up, refusing to buckle. They didn't give. He nearly smiled, victorious.
"You wouldn't need to Occlude if you weren't lying," Tom said finally, a dark, deadly glint in his eyes.
"Not like you to risk it on such matters, but I suppose it's all the same to me. Losing my mind would no doubt be kinder, but…sadistic tendencies, right?"
The Slytherin Heir looked angrier than he'd ever seen him.
"He can't kill you if he never existed in the first place," Tom hissed.
"Do you-" the next second, a cold voice seemed to sink into every corner of the room, in a whispering echo.
"Time's up, Harry…come and play, or I'll come and find you, and kill anyone who stands in my way."
Harry swallowed.
He didn't really give a damn about the rest of the school, but his friends would be the one to pay the price of interference. Time to start faking his death.
He let himself slump in the chains, not needing to pretend his nausea because it was there for real. Tom's eyes widened at the sight of him.
"You actually took a death vow. Swear on it, swear you did," the Slytherin Heir shook him harshly, knuckles pressing against his throat. Warm.
"I swear I made a death vow with Lord Voldemort ensuring my death."
He felt a flicker of magic to seal the genuineness of his words, and Tom drew in a sharp breath, looking pained.
"Damn you," he whispered.
Then Tom was striding towards the door…leaving him tied up.
"What are you doing?" Harry called after the other, infuriated.
"Killing him and thus breaking the vow."
Crap. That scuppered things up.
"Tom-"
The door slammed shut.
He needed to get out. Good thing he had a high pain tolerance.
Keeping his Occlumency carefully in place, he drew his magic and screamed.
Hermione had never felt so scared, Voldemort's words drummed relentlessly into her head.
The whole school was in panic at the Dark Army assembling outside their wards, the teachers frantically scraping together shields and defences against the massive force upon their doorstep.
She felt almost sick with the knowledge that Harry was nowhere to seen, and probably had full plans to go and meet the Dark Lord. Alone.
Where were they?
She had her answer, partially, a second later, when Riddle appeared striding down into the entrance hall, his wand clasped tightly, a grimly determined expression on his face. She ran over to him, followed by Ron.
"Where's Harry?" she demanded.
"Indisposed," he said curtly. "Get out of my way."
She stepped in his path, not entirely sure why, but knowing she had to stun him, stall him. It was of absolute importance.
He began to move around her, only for Ron to step in the way too, wand pointed at the Slytherin Heir.
"Move!" Riddle ordered, his voice dripping with danger, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She was extremely surprised he hadn't cursed them yet
."Or what?" Ron demanded. "Where's Harry? What have you done to him?"
"I'm trying to save his life," Tom snapped. "Move."
"He's not going to die, he told us so," she said confidently.
She felt Harry would be fine with an absolute confidence too, though she wasn't sure of the origins of her conviction either.
"He lies. Frequently. Especially in regards to his own health! His fate stands at something worse than death - for pities sake, Granger, if you don't move-"
"How come you haven't cursed us already then?" Ron challenged, an ugly expression on his face. "Aren't you supposed to be a hotshot with a wand? Where are you rushing too anyway, eager to join the side of your future self?"
Ron never had agreed with her about Tom's indisputable partiality to Harry. He'd always thought he was secretly just infiltrating their side, ready to hand their best friend over to Voldemort when the time was right. At first, she'd agreed, but now…"
I don't have time for this!" Riddle growled, features dark, jaw clenched, white faced. Feral.
"Stupefy."
Tom dodged faster than she could imagine, eyes flashing, and yet, he still didn't curse them.
She was starting to wonder about that. Before, he'd been vicious in his insults to them both, and not unlikely to threaten them from what she'd observed.
Yet, since a while back, she'd noted that he'd completely stopped. She wondered if Harry had anything to do with it, like, a deal or something.
They seemed to have a lot of deals, from the very bare bones of information her best friend had shared with her, reluctantly.
"You're supposed to be intelligent-" he began.
The urge to stun him was rising, and she was starting to feel fearful, not sure if she was fully in control of herself.
None of his Slytherin lackeys were in sight, desperately scouring the dungeons and castle for their leader.
A beam of red light shot from her wand, and it was nothing short of impressive that he managed to evade it from such close range, his wand instantly summoning a shield, his form switching to a duelling stance.
The next second, curses were flying at them; but they were neutral, not the dark he favoured. They would incapacitate, but not harm.
She was amazed by the power behind his spells, they were far more than normal, and followed each other in a quick, fluent succession, nothing like most duellers she'd faced. In school, she realised, people tended to take turns casting in a 'battle,' Riddle was following no such obligation.
Where was Harry?
She found her answer a moment later.
It had been difficult, but with the help of the room of requirement, Harry had managed to free himself. His body still shuddered with the pain, and he was pretty sure he'd pushed the chain to crucio like proportions.
He dropped, crumpling on the floor, nearly moaning in pain. It had been a risk, if he was a true prisoner, that chain most like would have killed him, but he'd suspected Tom had stopped it from being able to go to that extent with him.
It was hard concentrating enough to use magic to free himself, as well as figuring out how, but…he'd been in pain a lot. He'd been in agony the whole time Voldemort had him, pretty much. In comparison, this wasn't so bad.
His muscles ached, his head pounded, and he staggered a few steps, almost falling over. Pins and needles. How inconvenient.
He didn't have time for this, he pushed himself up, despite his buckling knees, only to freeze as something else appeared in the room.
Red.
The Remembrall!
He'd almost completely forgotten about it.
He seized it, stuffing it into his moleskin for later perusal. Besides, he needed something to put Voldemort's memories in, and the remembrall he'd ordered hadn't arrived yet.
Now, he needed to get the locket and the ring from Tom.
Please don't let it be too late!
He sprinted out the room, down the stairs, almost tripping in his haste, ignoring the yelps and calls of the students he shoved past.
For the first time since the Horcrux, he struggled to compose his shattered mind enough to follow his link to Tom. Entrance hall.
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed in relief. He almost cursed in annoyance, as Tom whipped round, disarming both his friends in their split second of distraction.
Rule 1 of Tom: you can't afford to not focus on him in his vicinity. Ron and Hermione both dropped, stunned, a moment later, and Tom's full attention shifted to him, menacingly.
"You always were slippery, darling," the other murmured, not sounding too surprised, only annoyed.
"I'm good with pain," Harry returned. They circled each other slowly. He memorised the other's features, desperately.
"Time's up, Tom," he continued quietly. "You're not ready, your spell is incomplete."
"It will be ready in half an hour," Tom replied. "If you could just refrain from doing yourself an injury before then."
"I'm sorry," he stated instead.
Violet eyes were piercing, searing through every inch of him. He couldn't help but wonder if this was the last time he'd see them.
He could see Zevi and Abraxas - compelled - coming up behind Tom.
"Please don't do this."
It was the please that got stuck on him, because though the other's voice was calm and neutral, that please jarred to drag out true meanings and intentions. Pleading.
Harry swallowed, thickly, wanting to scream and sob. He settled for a sad smile.
"Thank you, for everything."
"Ha-"
"Stupefy!"
Zevi stared at his wand in absolute horror, not sure why he'd just done that.
Oh Salazar, he'd just stunned Tom. His Lord was going to kill him!
Harry lunged forwards as the other fell, catching hold of him, taking the weight, wand dropping from his hand with a clatter as he cradled the Slytherin Heir's head, lowering him gently to the floor.
He stayed on his knees next to the young Dark Lord for a moment, staring down, a painful expression upon his face. Zevi felt uncomfortable to look at it, it seemed too vulnerable and open and grieving for human eyes.
Harry looked like his world was being ripped apart, heartbroken.
Anguished green eyes closed for a second, and when they opened once more, the expression was gone, replaced by a mask of emotionless nothing.
Hard ice, everything else pushed back. Maybe it hurt too much to feel.
"You compelled me to stun him," he accused quietly.
Harry glanced up at them for the first time.
"I did," the other agreed. "I can't let him stop me, and he'd expect it from me."
"You had no right."
Harry merely made an odd noise at that, something like a smile fleeting across his lips.
Then, he pulled out some letters, tossing him two (one had Alphard's name on) and one to Abraxas. He then twisted, dropping a letter for both his Gryffindors, Granger and Weasley.
After that, he turned again, looking down at the form of the unconscious Dark Lord again, still on his knees beside him.
He pulled the ring off his finger, and the locket from around his neck, carefully lifting the other's head to be able to remove it.
He left the final letter on top, as if in exchange, hissing something in Parseltongue, obviously only for Tom's ears, even if he'd never hear the words in his unconsciousness.
Finally, Harry rose, his expression steeled.
"Stun him if he wakes up, he's dead if he comes after me. I'd read the letters sooner rather than later…goodbye.
"Oh no. Zevi's blood felt curdled, his mouth dry.
"You can't just leave him!" he hissed, pointed furiously at Tom. Harry didn't look back, but his voice was more choked than his unreadable expression.
"I have to...look after him for me, please."
Harry stared at the swell of the Dark Lord's army, before focussing solely on the man himself. Scarlet eyes bore into his skin, filled with hatred and ice and something else entirely.
"Good boy Harry!" Bellatrix screeched, from behind him. They both ignored her.
"Where's Tom?" Voldemort asked, almost softly, studying him. Harry's stomach clenched at the thought of the other boy. Sorry Tom, I'm so sorry it has to be this way.
"Let's just get this over with."
He dropped the Horcruxes on the ground in front of him.
It was time to finish this.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews :) Much, much love.
Oh, I really hope the ending lives up to your hopes of epicness!