Chapter Twenty-Five
The moment the portkey dropped them on the other side, Harry, Dobby, and Scylla found themselves in a graveyard, surrounded by tombstones. Harry drew his wand, and Dobby pulled out a dagger while Scylla uncoiled herself from around the elf's waist.
"Scylla, go," Harry ordered, and the basilisk slithered through the paths between the tombstones in hunt of Nagini. Harry and Dobby quietly crept through the graveyard, eventually coming to translucent barrier that flashed blue where Scylla bumped up against it.
"I can't pass through the barrier," Scylla hissed, slithering back to them. Dobby grabbed his master's arm and Scylla and tried to pop to the other side, but he was unfortunately unable to do so.
"What the hell?" Harry growled, pointing his wand at the barrier. "The more time we waste…"
He didn't bother finishing his thought, he just started channelling his magic into the barrier and softly chanting in an ancient tongue. He could feel the magic of the barrier, which was a low powered spell weaved between several more traditional wards, including anti-apparition and alarm types. Interestingly, there was also a set of wards he was completely unfamiliar with. He found that odd, but he was too focused on getting to Daphne to give it much thought.
With a tremendous surge of power, he interwove his own magic between the ward lines and caused the physical barrier to crumble in less than a minute. In the interest of saving time, he left the rest intact.
"Now!" he growled, and the three of them passed through the ward line. They sped down the path, weapons drawn and prepared for attack, eventually coming to the edge of a small, grassy clearing set among the tombstones.
Harry's eyes bulged at what he saw.
Standing in formation were five people dressed in full Death Eater regalia, the flames from a nearby fire reflecting off their white masks.
Directly in front of them with his wand in his hand and look of surprise on his face was the Dark Lord Voldemort himself. He looked exactly as Harry had remembered him from all those years ago. He was tall and thin, his skin ghostly pale and totally hairless. His red eyes gleamed at Harry from either side of his snakelike nose, while a ghost of a smirk teased at his lipless mouth.
Harry's eyes were drawn to the girl standing in front of Voldemort. Daphne had clearly been roughed up. She was covered in dirt and bleeding from a busted lip, and her posture was listless. A closer look would reveal that her eyes were slightly glazed over, indicating she had been cursed.
Daphne's necklace was glowing, bathing the immediate area in a soft, green light. Lying motionless in the grass a short distance from her was the headless body of Kael, its exterior showing signs of significant damage. The unmoving, black-cloaked man lying beside it showed that Kael had at least taken out one of the Death Eaters first.
"Daph!" Harry called to her, but Daphne didn't move.
"Harry Potter," Voldemort spoke at last. "I have been expecting this moment for quite some time."
"Voldemort..." Harry spat, his gaze snapping to the Dark Lord. "I'm going to kill you for hurting Daphne."
Voldemort and his Death Eaters laughed.
"Oh, I'm quite terrified, Harry," Voldemort taunted, caressing Daphne's cheek with the backs of his spindly fingers.
"She did put up quite a fight, mind you. Enough to gain my interest. Outnumbered though she was, your girlfriend was still able to avoid my servants' curses and summon that snake of hers. It even killed one of my Death Eaters before we could destroy it. It was all for naught, however. It seems she doesn't have the same resistance to the Imperius Curse that you are rumoured to have."
"This is between you and me, Voldemort," Harry responded coldly. "Let her go, and we can settle this once and for all."
"And why would I do that, Harry?" Voldemort asked curiously. "She is clearly powerful, and she could become even more so with the proper guidance. I look forward to training her to serve me properly, once she's been properly broken, of course. It's a shame that Bellatrix is dead; she would have been perfect for the job."
"Fight it, Daphne!" Harry pleaded, but she remained unresponsive. "Dobby?" he whispered, but the elf shook his head in frustration.
"As I was saying, I have been most looking forward to meeting you again, Harry. Or should I call you Lord Slytherin, cousin?"
Voldemort's eyes glowed a dangerous red as he acknowledged their relation. All traces of amusement disappeared from his face, replaced by a cold fury.
"How is it that a mere boy was able to uncover the secrets of Salazar Slytherin when greater, more worthy wizards failed?"
Harry glared back at him but didn't respond. He wasn't interested in playing games, not when Daphne was in danger.
"I will say though, Harry, you have proven to be more interesting than I initially thought. I admit that even I was impressed after reading about your task against the dragon in the newspaper. By all accounts, it was quite an extraordinary performance."
Harry's attention was entirely on Daphne, so by this point he was barely listening. His instincts were telling him that the time for violence was drawing closer, and his fingers tightened around his wand in anticipation of cursing his enemies. He could feel his magic coursing through him, practically begging to be unleashed.
"I was very interested to hear that you claimed to be hiding your true power, and right under Dumbledore's nose. And then to be re-sorted into Slytherin, fascinating indeed! And let us not forget your antics at the Yule Ball..."
"You'll pay for what you did, Potter!" one of the Death Eaters shouted, interrupting his master. Surprisingly, the Dark Lord didn't immediately curse him for his impertinence. Instead, he simply waved his wand towards the man and made his skull mask vanish in a puff of smoke.
"Bill Fucking Weasley..." Harry spat as he recognised the man. "Am I doomed to be hounded by you redheaded scum forever? Why can't you Weasleys just fucking DIE?!"
Suddenly, Harry's eyes widened in recognition.
"The owl...the Hogwarts owl... Your sister was responsible for this, wasn't she? She was the one who sent Daphne the portkey!"
The Death Eaters chuckled, as did the Dark Lord.
"Go on, William," Voldemort said, encouraging his servant with a malicious grin.
"Yes, you little shit," Bill confessed as he stepped forward. "I sent a message to my brothers and sister instructing them to send the letter I gave them to your whore. I had to include a minor Compulsion Charm to ensure their secrecy and their loyalty, but it was a fair price to pay to get to you."
Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously, but it seemed Weasley wasn't done with his speech yet.
"I know it was you. I know you're the one responsible for what happened to my family, as much as you're responsible for what happened to my sister. Did you really think we would just let it go? That we wouldn't have our vengeance? I'll make you pay for every single one of their lives, you son of a bitch!"
"Piss off, Weasley, I wasn't the one who put the hit out on your family. That was all Augusta Longbottom, but you know what? It's a shame they failed to kill you all, just like it's a shame Kael didn't kill your slut of a sister at the Yule Ball."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Bill roared, raising his wand at Harry.
"Crucio!"
The spell never got close to Harry, because both he and Dobby had already split up and dashed out of the line of fire. Harry countered with an Entrail-Expelling Curse while he was still moving. Bill was able to barely deflect it with a hastily conjured shield, but the power behind the spell nearly knocked him off his feet. The eldest Weasley child's eyes widened momentarily. A cautious expression appeared on his face as he came to the realisation that he may be in over his head.
Harry thought back to his duel with the Weasley brothers, so many years ago (from his perspective). There had been four of them trying to kill him back then. Bill was easily the best of the bunch, but this was not the same Bill Weasley. This version had not been hardened by multiple wars, nor had he experienced what it was like to fight for his life on an almost daily basis.
Even if he was occupying his teenage self's body, Harry was still a seasoned warrior. He had more experience in battle than probably any wizard alive at this point in time, and his knowledge of combat magic was unparalleled. William Weasley stood absolutely no chance.
Harry's favoured duelling strategy was to overwhelm his opponents with powerful and deadly magic right from the beginning, finishing the fight before it even started. Today would be no different.
In a flash, Harry flicked his wand and silently cast Sectumsempra, the dark cutting curse of Snape's own invention, then immediately followed it up with a Piercing Curse. His first spell tore through Bill's shield like it was wet paper, leaving a gash across his left shoulder. The second blew a hole right through his chest and out his back, killing him almost instantly.
By the time Weasley's body had collapsed to the ground, Harry had already rounded on Voldemort and the remaining Death Eaters. As he readied himself for the next attack, he noticed that Dobby was no longer in sight. The clever elf must have disillusioned himself, and none of the Death Eaters had even noted his absence. It was ridiculous how much wizards underestimated elves, but since it was to his benefit at the moment, Harry certainly wasn't going to complain.
"Impressive, Potter," Voldemort said, ignoring his fallen servant to compliment his enemy. "Your form is excellent, and you clearly have no shortage of power. It's a shame about poor William, though. He was a respectable curse breaker and an intelligent young man."
"And yet, he joined you all the same," Harry responded. His words may have constituted a taunt, but there was no shred of humour in his voice. Voldemort looked back at him curiously, unused to facing off against someone so defiant and without fear.
"This is only between us," he told Voldemort again. "You wanted me here for a reason, didn't you? Let her go, and we can finally finish this."
"Oh, we shall, Harry, we shall. But first, I want answers, and you're going to give them to me. Let's start with the secret of becoming the Lord Slytherin. You will reveal the truth to me, or else your lovely girlfriend will be forced to experience unimaginable pain. You don't want that, do you, boy?"
Before Harry could even respond, a twisted smile crept onto Voldemort's face as he aimed his wand at Daphne. There was a flash of red and Daphne collapsed to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain. Clearly, being under the thrall of the Imperius Curse did nothing to lessen the impact of its fellow Unforgiveable.
"NO!"
Knowing any further negotiation would be useless, Harry went on the offensive. With a furious slash of his wand, a blue wave of magical energy hurled towards Voldemort, who in his surprise, was forced to drop his Cruciatus in order to block Harry's spell.
A moment after that happened, the Death Eater nearest to Daphne screamed in pain and fell to his knees, clutching at his back. Dobby shimmered back into existence as he dropped the Disillusionment Charm, holding a bloody dagger in each hand. He sheathed his weapons and stood protectively in front of Daphne, touching his hand to her forehead and attempting to break the curse.
Harry used the distraction as an opportunity to call for reinforcements. He jabbed his wand into the air and summoned Zael, and the gigantic black snake materialised and immediately struck at the closest Death Eater. The black cloaked figure shrieked in terror as the massive jaws descended on him, and then he knew no more.
"POTTER!"
An enraged Lord Voldemort unleashed a storm of curses towards Harry, who deftly dodged the first few spells and deflected the others with a flick of his wand. Harry responded with an obscure disintegrating curse he'd learned from the Meharjhai, forcing Voldemort to conjure a golden shield to block the unfamiliar spell.
A look of fury crossed the Dark Lord's face, who had apparently decided to change tactics and start launching Killing Curses at his nemesis. Harry had long since stopped being intimidated by the spell, and he calmly conjured slabs of granite to intercept the curses. He ducked the last spell in the barrage and summoned one of the tombstones behind Voldemort towards him, forcing the Dark Lord to drop to the ground to avoid it.
Before Harry's follow-up spell could make impact, a translucent silver dome appeared around the Dark Lord and intercepted the curse. Voldemort stood and glared at Harry, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Harry tightened his grip on his wand.
Off to the side, the two remaining Death Eaters were doing their best to fend off Zael's attack. The shorter of the two was preparing a curse when he was struck by a searing pain. Two fangs had plunged into his thigh from behind him, making his leg feel as if it was burning from the inside as the deadly basilisk venom entered his veins.
Scylla hissed in triumph as her victim dropped to the ground and soon stopped moving. She looked across the clearing and saw the elf standing guard over her pet's mate, protecting her with some kind of shield. Seeing that she was safe, Scylla slithered off between the tombstones, intent on finding and killing the enemy snake.
While this was happening, the final remaining Death Eater had miraculously managed to get the upper hand on Zael. Spotting the action out of the corner of his eye, Harry decided to take advantage of the lull in his own duel.
"KAEL!" he shouted, and a second serpentine form took shape on the battlefield, this one smaller than the first but still massive. The Death Eater frantically backed away as the two snakes converged on him. In his desperation, the man in the white mask cast a Killing Curse at Zael, but he was too slow. As Zael tossed its body to the right to avoid the curse, Kael struck at the man and captured his arm in its jaws.
There was a loud shriek of pain as Kael snapped its head back and ripped the man's arm from his torso, which was soon muffled as Zael set upon him from his other side. The last thing the Death Eater ever saw was the glowing green eyes of the snake disappearing behind its opening jaws.
~BREAK~
Daphne blinked rapidly, the fog finally lifting as Dobby succeeded in breaking the Imperius Curse. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she tried to pull herself up from the ground, still shaking from the aftereffects of Voldemort's Cruciatus.
"D-Dobby?"
"How do you feel, Mistress?" Dobby asked in concern.
"It hurts," she replied, rising to one knee and taking in her surroundings. Her eyes shot open when she saw the two snake golems, not to mention the bodies of several fallen Death Eaters. She gasped and brought her hand to her mouth when she looked just beyond them and saw Harry duelling Voldemort.
She tried to stand fully, but Dobby placed his hand on her shoulder and shook his head.
"Dobby! Harry needs our help!" Daphne pleaded.
"No, he doesn't," Dobby replied emphatically, again shaking his head. "Harry can take care of Voldemort by himself. Trust him."
"But..." Daphne started to insist, only to fall quiet when Dobby placed his other hand on her other shoulder and appeared to be examining her.
"Mistress, what did they do to you?" he asked. Her eyes flitted back to Dobby, though most of her concentration was still on Harry.
"They tried to curse me," she said distractedly. "Spells started flying at me as soon as the portkey dropped me off. I was able to dodge at first, but there were too many of them. Kael came out and attacked the Death Eaters, but one of them must've hit me with a Stunner. The next thing I remember was being Rennervated, already under their power."
"You were under the Imperius Curse, Mistress, but you're free now. Also, I suggest you cancel the summoning," Dobby said, pointing at the still-glowing necklace. "You're wasting the magic of the necklace needlessly."
"But..." Daphne responded, touching her necklace and looking over at the snakes. "You mean, that Kael isn't mine?"
"No Mistress, yours was destroyed. Those two are Harry's."
She nodded and did as he suggested, then returned her attention to her boyfriend, who was weaving between the tombstones and fiercely duelling the Dark Lord.
"Harry..." she thought, watching through her tears as he sent a volley of bright blue Piercing Curses Voldemort's way.
"Please be careful."
~BREAK~
"The boy is fairly talented," a man said from the shadows, dressed in elaborate purple and black robes and flanked by his six similarly clad companions.
"With your permission, Hierophant, I believe the boy is the superior wizard," a woman observed, and the older man looked back at her questioningly.
"Voldemort is arrogant and too sure of his own superiority. He underestimates the boy at every turn and does not learn from his mistakes. He is powerful, true, but any one of us could likely duel him to a standstill. Forgive me, but I do not understand the man's usefulness."
"Mysterious are the Lord's designs," the hierophant replied enigmatically, and his companions solemnly bowed their heads. "And ours is the duty to make them true."
"My life for the Great One's return," the six spoke as one.
"My life for the Great One's return," the hierophant replied in a whisper, quietly caressing the cover of the ancient leather tome attached to the golden chain around his waist. He gripped the dark metal shaft of his staff, then moved his other hand to pat the dagger hidden within his robes, the metal cold against his skin.
"Today our failures shall be redeemed. Tonight, a god shall walk the earth once more."
The hierophant was filled with delight at the feeling of power rippling from the book and the dagger. There was no greater pleasure than serving the Great One, their Lord Rhassel'Thoth.
~BREAK~
It took little effort for Scylla to find Nagini in the graveyard. She wasted no time and immediately rushed to attack the older, larger snake. Nagini was almost caught off guard, but she reflexively avoided the basilisk's strikes and defended herself against Scylla's attempts to bite her. Not one to be discouraged, Scylla reared back and attacked again, aiming for spot just below the python's head. Nagini swiftly dodged out of the way before striking back at Scylla with her own jaws, but she came away empty as the young basilisk darted away in the nick of time.
"Who are you, serpent?" Nagini demanded. "Are you with the Potter man-ling?"
"Yes, he's my pet and you are with the enemy to our nest," Scylla responded. "I know what he did, and how you need to die before my pet can kill our enemy."
"Don't be silly, serpent," Nagini replied. "My companion is powerful, and he's a Speaker. Join us. Join him, and you will have enough food for a lifetime."
Scylla scoffed.
"My pet is also a Speaker, and more powerful and greater than yours. He already provides me with enough food, so I don't need yours for anything, you stupid snake," Scylla hissed. "Your Voldemort will die today, and our nest will be protected."
"To kill my companion, you must first kill me, snake-ling." Nagini taunted. "I am older and bigger than you, strengthened by my companion's magic. Why do you think you can kill me?"
"Because I am your king!" Scylla fiercely replied, throwing her entire body against Nagini's.
The two snakes entangled themselves around one another and rolled across on the ground, each of them trying to bite the other. Unfortunately for Scylla, Nagini had the advantages of both size and experience. It didn't take long for Nagini to use her considerable length to entrap the young basilisk and sink her fangs into the flesh just behind her head. Scylla hissed in anger and pain and tried to shake herself free, but the python's grip was too powerful, and she only succeeded in worsening her wounds and allowing more blood to spill. Blood that Nagini ingested without a second thought.
Scylla threw herself against a nearby tombstone in desperation, and luckily the impact was enough to force Nagini to release her. She knew she wouldn't get another chance at this, but Scylla was in too much pain to turn the opportunity into an attack. Nagini readied herself to strike, but then hesitated as she felt a strange, burning sensation spreading throughout her body from where she had taken in the basilisk's toxic blood.
Seeing her chance, Scylla launched herself at Nagini with her fangs bared. As she was hurtling towards her target, Scylla felt an unusual surge of power behind her eyes, and Nagini's body stiffened and fell limp to the ground. There was a piercing shriek as the enormous snake's body exploded in a shower of black mist, Scylla taking on a mouthful as her jaws clamped down on the spot where her enemy had been only a second before.
She was confused for a short moment, but then she noticed a small rat scampering between the tombstones. The moment it turned and met her gaze, Scylla felt the same surge of energy and the rodent dropped to its side, dead.
"I did it, my pet," Scylla mumbled happily, coiling up as the pain and exhaustion from her battle started to overwhelm her. "I killed the enemy snake, and I finally have my gaze."
Scylla closed both lids of her now-mature, deadly, yellow eyes, and rested her head on top of her body, blood slowly oozing from the wounds left by Nagini's fangs.
~BREAK~
Confident that the Death Eaters were handled and Daphne was safe with Dobby, Harry turned his full attention to Voldemort. His magic was singing as he took advantage of his youth and immeasurable power to launch a relentless assault on the Dark Lord, firing spell after spell with no respite. He used familiar spells such as the Blood Boiling Curse, Sectumsempra, and various other dark spells designed to pierce or cleave their victim, but despite the furious onslaught, Harry had yet to land a clean blow.
Deciding to get creative, Harry used a spell that hurled a flaming spear from the tip of his wand while his opponent was busy dodging and deflecting. Instead of dissipating when it impacted Voldemort's shield, the spear shattered into pieces, which immediately re-formed into a dozen flaming arrows. The arrows spread out and assaulted the wide-eyed Dark Lord from every direction, and he only just managed to defend himself by using the same silver dome shield he had conjured earlier.
Voldemort was starting to breathe heavily, being unused to prolonged combat such as this. In all his years, not even Dumbledore had been able to push him to this degree. How was this possible? How could the boy be this good?
"Did they make a mistake with the ritual to return me to my body?" he wondered, before dismissing the thought. He had tested himself thoroughly since returning, and his magic was as potent as it had ever been. No, the boy had clearly improved beyond imagination.
The Dark Lord cursed as his rage boiled over. The brat shouldn't have even had a chance to attack him in the first place, but his Death Eaters had proven useless once again. Where were the others? Why had the rest of his inner circle not responded to his summons? Had they betrayed him?
His thoughts turned to his new allies, who he knew were watching from behind a powerful barrier. Perhaps they could be of assistance? He was fully aware that they had their own ambitions, but they did share one common goal - Harry Potter.
Their arrangement had been simple. Voldemort would deliver Harry Potter to the cult, alive, in exchange for a new, more powerful body. They had also agreed to impart him with knowledge of powerful magics thought lost to the aeons of time. Voldemort had initially scoffed at their offer, but a demonstration from their leader had him convinced. With this new power at his command, he would conquer Britain in no time at all.
Naturally, he had refused to join them or submit to their cause. The Dark Lord Voldemort bowed before no one. He remained wary of them, of course, but they had at least upheld their end of the agreement. While he thought their worship of a long-dead wizard as a god was quite pathetic, part of him wondered if he shouldn't take some inspiration from them. He was already an immortal Dark Lord and had proven to inspire great devotion in his followers. Perhaps he should encourage them to worship him as a god as well?
His followers... He had unfortunately been unable to make contact with his most faithful Death Eaters in Azkaban, and it was too early in his plans to break them out anyway. He had expected those who were still free to respond to his summons that night, yet none had come. Perhaps he should have contacted them directly in the preceding months, but he had been too busy increasing his own power and knowledge with help from the hierophant.
Of course, Voldemort couldn't have known that the Death Eaters within Azkaban had been killed, as that information had been tightly suppressed by the Ministry. He should have, however, predicted treachery on the part of his new allies. The wards around the graveyard had been created by the hierophant himself, so it had been positively easy to ensure that the Dark Lord's servants would be unable to reach them. It would not do for the boy to lose, after all. He was critical to their master's plans; Lord Voldemort was not.
Lord Voldemort had many expectations for this night, but finding himself on the defensive in a one-on-one duel against Harry Potter was not one of them. Fuelled by his anger at the situation, he retaliated with several of the high-powered curses he had recently learned.
Harry's eyes widened slightly as he recognised the spells, having learned of them through his studies with the Meharjhai. Fortunately, his knowledge allowed him to easily counter the spells without any risk to himself. There was a flicker of concern as he wondered where Voldemort had learned such obscure magic, but he quickly dismissed it. Tom Riddle had spent decades delving into the darkest of arts, so it wasn't inconceivable that he would come across such knowledge in his journeys.
Voldemort could no longer ignore his fatigue. His wand arm was aching, his chest heaving, and there was perspiration beading on his hairless brow. He had been foolish and allowed his anger to cloud his judgment. Using those ancient curses had drained him, and worse yet, the boy was able to avoid them with seemingly no effort. He had expected a weakling, a child with no power or experience. Instead, to his great annoyance, Harry Potter had stood before him without fear and duelled him as an equal.
He was broken out of his contemplation by searing agony, as he failed to defend himself against the fiery slashing curse Harry had sent his way. His chest erupted in a spray of blood as a deep gash opened up diagonally across his torso. Harry wasted no time and used the same curse to relieve Voldemort of his wand arm, then followed up with a Reductor Curse that blew his left leg off at the knee.
The Dark Lord crumbled to the ground, and Harry summoned his wand from his hand and bound the man in heavy ropes.
"You lose, Tom Riddle," Harry declared as he approached the broken man on the ground. With a single flick, a blazing blue spell shot from his wand and Voldemort's body was engulfed by blue flames, making him scream out in anguish.
"I'm probably supposed to make a speech, talk about our similarities and how we're both half-blood orphans. I could go on about how great you could have been had you chosen a different path..."
Harry's eyes flashed, the emerald flames within burning in anger.
"But you dared to kidnap and hurt the woman I love," he snarled. "So instead, I'm just going to make sure your last minutes are filled with suffering."
At Harry's command, the blue flames burned brighter, and Voldemort's screams intensified.
~BREAK~
"Oh my..." the white-haired man muttered under his breath. "I guess there's some truth in the stories about this Harry Potter kid after all."
"Looks like I owe you five galleons, Master," another man replied, this one much younger than the first. "We could probably use his help..."
"Indeed we could, but regardless of how powerful he is, he's still just a kid. This is our fight."
"If our suspicions are correct, our fight may soon be his," a woman mumbled from the back. Neither of them responded, both recognising the truth of her words.
"I sincerely hope we are wrong," the first man replied, his mind filling with dread at the thought. "Keep the communication orbs at hand. If Varrard'Thoth is indeed here as we suspect, we may need reinforcements."
"We will have the upper hand, Master," the second man stated, gesturing to the nearly fifteen people standing behind them.
"We may have the advantage of numbers, but if we're right, they won't be mere cultists or necros," the master replied ominously. "They will be the elite, and each of them is a fearsome foe."
They nodded their understanding and directed their attention back to Harry Potter and the screaming Lord Voldemort.
~BREAK~
"Voldemort has been defeated, Hierophant," the woman said, and the man nodded.
"What should we do?" another man asked.
The hierophant couldn't help but wonder the same. He had his doubts, but their Lord had insisted that the Potter boy would emerge victorious.
"Do nothing yet!" the voice of his master answered him in his mind, and he quickly forwarded the reply to his companions.
"All is proceeding according to my design. The blood of innocents has been spilled in my name, I can feel it. All that is needed is the sacrifice of kinslaying and the flesh of the vessel. Be ready to act soon."
"Your will be done, my master," Varrard'Thoth replied in his thoughts. He would not fail his master.
~BREAK~
"Harry!"
He heard Daphne calling to him, so he ended his spell and turned slightly back to her, taking care not to lose sight of Voldemort. She was trembling slightly, but she had her wand in her hand and seemed to be alert. Dobby, Zael, and Kael were following behind her, acting as a protection detail.
"Daphne, are you alright?" he asked concernedly.
Daphne nodded, but her eyes were locked on Voldemort. She felt no fear at the sight of the smouldering Dark Lord, only anger and disgust. She gritted her teeth as she tried to fight back a post-Cruciatus tremor, only to relax slightly as Harry wrapped her in his arms and gave her a short, but tender kiss.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Just a bit shaken."
"Dobby?"
"I'm fine," the elf replied, and Harry sighed in relief and rubbed Daphne's back.
"Come, it's time to end this," he told them, and the three of them turned to face their fallen enemy.
"Scylla!" Harry shouted in Parseltongue, and for several moments there was no reply.
"Scylla!"
"I'm here my pet," the injured basilisk hissed back, slowly emerging from behind a tombstone.
"Are you alright, Scylla?" Harry asked, reacting to the wounds he saw on body.
"I'm fine, my pet. The snake is dead, and I finally have my gaze," she replied, sounding quite pleased with herself despite her injuries. Harry smiled in relief as Scylla approached the group, but then she paused as she caught sight of Zael and Kael.
"Who are these two big ones, my pet?" she asked reverently, with traces of envy in her voice.
"Those are Zael and Kael, Scylla."
"Hi, I'm Scylla," she hissed, introducing herself. Much to her irritation, neither of them even acknowledged her presence, let alone responded to her.
"Oi! I said hello!"
"They aren't real snakes, Scylla. They are constructs. Golems," Harry informed her, and the annoyed basilisk looked from Harry to the two golems.
"Fake snakes?" Scylla asked, and Harry nodded in confirmation. "You don't need these fake things anymore, my pet. You have me," she replied snobbishly, slithering between Harry and Daphne.
"What was that all about?" Daphne enquired.
"Scylla was just a little jealous of Kael and Zael," Harry replied with a slight grin. Daphne chuckled softly, still in pain but relieved that everyone seemed to be okay. She saw that Scylla was hissing at her as she approached, so she looked at Harry inquisitively.
"She says she's glad you're safe."
Daphne smiled and stroked Scylla's head fondly while Dobby and Harry chuckled.
Their brief moment of levity now over, they all turned to face Voldemort. The Dark Lord was missing most of one arm, half of one leg, and was badly burned from Harry's blue fire. Even through his pain, his red eyes were defiantly staring at Harry with a look of utmost loathing.
"Dobby, can you pop away?" Harry asked.
"No, Master," he replied, shaking his head.
"A pity," Harry grunted.
"Why?" Daphne asked.
"I wanted to show him how beaten he truly is," Harry replied.
"You...cannot...defeat...me...Pot-Potter..."
Harry's lip curled into a sneer as he looked down at the man in disgust, but then he snorted in amusement. Voldemort was about to be in for a big surprise.
"Maybe I can't show you your defeat, but..." he started, only to be interrupted by Dobby.
"Actually, I thought you might need this," he said, taking a small box from one of his pockets.
With a snap of his fingers, the box was enlarged and opened. Harry laughed heartily at what was inside, and Daphne just looked back at Dobby in surprise. Piled haphazardly inside the box were Voldemort's Horcruxes, or more accurately, the items that until recently had been his Horcruxes.
"The Horcruxes were destroyed the moment they were dipped in the venom," Dobby informed them. "I simply cleaned them off and tossed them in this box when it was done, just in case."
"You're a cheeky bastard, did you know that?" Harry laughed, patting the elf on the back.
"You may have mentioned it once or twice," Dobby joked back, and even Daphne had to shake her head and chuckle at the pair.
"So, Tom, do you remember your first Horcrux? Your old diary?"
Voldemort's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I destroyed it two years ago. You can thank Lucius Malfoy for that, since he's the one who gave it to Ginny Weasley so she'd open the Chamber of Secrets."
Harry levitated the ring from the chest.
"Your grandfather's ring, the one you left in the Gaunt shack. Remember this one?"
Voldemort looked like he had something to say, but the pain was preventing him from speaking. Harry dropped the ring back into the trunk and took out the locket.
"Slytherin's locket. Just so you know, Regulus Black found out your secret and tried to destroy it. He paid with his life for his failure, but his house-elf kept the Horcrux and gave it to me. Speaking of which, Dobby, we need to compensate Kreacher somehow. I did promise he could be there when we destroyed the Horcrux."
"I'm sure Kreacher will forgive you, Master," Dobby replied with half a smirk. "I shall go to him after this."
"Kreacher?" asked Daphne.
"The Black family elf," Harry replied, and Daphne nodded in understanding.
"Right, I forgot about that," she responded.
"Moving on..." Harry continued, going back into the box. "The Diadem of Ravenclaw you left in Hogwarts, another priceless heirloom you corrupted. Hufflepuff's cup. This one was tricky to get to, but Bellatrix proved to be quite useful in the end."
The tossed them both back into the box and looked down at his serpentine friend.
"Scylla here killed Nagini, isn't that right, Scylla?"
"That's right, my pet. I gazed at the snake and she exploded with a scream. She was also stupid. She bit me and swallowed my blood. Stupid snake, she didn't realise that I'm a basilisk and my blood is deadly too."
Harry laughed and translated Scylla's words for Dobby and Daphne, which the basilisk appreciated.
"Then, the last one..."
Harry levitated a dirty sock from the trunk. A look of confusion crossed Voldemort's face, as he was obviously unfamiliar with the item.
"To be fair, this is just one of Dobby's old socks," Harry explained. "It's a shame we had to befoul such a nice sock with a piece of your filthy soul, but after living with it stuck in my scar for all those years, I wanted to get rid of it as soon as I could. It just so happened that Dobby had a sock handy when I was ready to make the transfer."
Harry dropped the sock back into the box, and his expression shifted to one of pure hate. He was no longer interested in mocking his foe; it was time to end this. He raised his wand, and crackling bolt of lightning leapt from the tip and connected with Voldemort's chest.
"I don't care about the prophecy you and Dumbledore obsess over," Harry roared over Voldemort's anguished screams. "You killed my parents that night. My mother's sacrifice protected me, but because of your stupidity, a sliver of your soul attached itself to me!"
Harry poured more magic the curse, causing Voldemort to scream loudly enough to shred his vocal cords. Daphne was disgusted. She was tempted to look away, but she wanted to be strong, so she remained focused and tried to ignore the smell of burning flesh. A few seconds later, Harry dropped the curse and glared menacingly at Voldemort.
"That was for my parents!" he growled, before briefly turning to Daphne and giving her a soft smile.
"But THIS ONE, is for kidnapping and torturing my WIFE!"
Harry twisted his wand upwards, and Voldemort's body was lifted from the ground. With a flick, every one of the Dark Lord's bones snapped under the pressure of an unseen force, blood pouring from the countless wounds left by his bones puncturing the skin.
It took every ounce of Daphne's willpower not to throw up or turn away. It was truly a gruesome sight, and it was a testament to the quality of Voldemort's rebuilt body that he somehow still managed to cling to life.
"Farewell, Tom Marvolo Riddle," Harry said in a muted tone. "May you rot in whatever hell waits you."
He jabbed his wand, and Voldemort's body was engulfed by Fiendfyre and reduced to ashes in seconds.
"Don't you think that was a bit much?" Dobby asked, nodding towards Daphne. Harry cringed slightly and went to check on her.
"Daphne, are you alright?" he asked, and Daphne nodded and tried to smile.
"That was...disgusting," she replied, still somewhat nauseated. "Is he gone?"
"Yes, and for good this time."
"Good," she said, reaching up to pull Harry in for a victory kiss.
All of a sudden, bones erupted out of the ground. The bones rapidly formed themselves into spiny chains and bound each of Harry's wrists and forced him to his knees.
"What the...!?"
Harry shouted in surprise and strained against his bindings, but they were too strong. Daphne froze in shock, and two more bone chains wrapped around her wrists and pulled her away from Harry.
"Harry!" Daphne screamed.
A third chain trapped Scylla on the ground, and two more wrapped themselves around Dobby.
"Master!" Dobby shouted in horror.
"What...is…happening?" Harry growled, trying unsuccessfully to use his own magic to fight back against the chains.
Suddenly, and an ominous red glow filled the air as fiery runes appeared on the ground surrounding them. Then, much to Daphne and Dobby's horror, Harry started screaming in pain as his eyes started darkening.
"IT IS TIME, BROTHERS AND SISTERS!" Varrard'Thoth exclaimed in glee. The barrier hiding him and his six acolytes fell. "TONIGHT, A GOD WILL WALK THE EARTH AGAIN! TONIGHT, RHASSEL'THOTH SHALL REJOIN THE WORLD OF THE LIVING!"
"My life for the Great One's return!" they all chanted in unison. The hierophant drew the dagger from his robes and started walking towards Harry, while the rest of them took their positions and started chanting the opening verses of the ritual.