Priori Incantatem
Wormtail approached Arthur, who scrambled to find his feet, to support his weight before the ropes were untied.
Wormtail raised his new silver hand and pulled out the wad of material that gagged Arthur and then, with one swipe, cut through the bonds that tied him to the gravestone.
Arthur knew he couldn't run for it, Voldemort would just chase him down and he had his Death Eaters and Nagini to help him.
Wormtail walked out of the circle of Death Eaters to where Cedric's body lay and returned with Arthur's wand, thrusting it into Arthur's hand without looking at him. Wormtail then resumed his place in the circle of Death Eaters.
"You have been taught how to duel, Arthur Pendergast?" Voldemort asked softly, his red eyes glinting through the darkness.
Arthur remembered the Duelling Club he briefly attended over two years ago. The little experience he had made him be like nothing compared to Voldemort, who he knew took down extremely skilled duellists in the past. He had to think this through.
Voldemort clearly has a big ego, Arthur could use that to his advantage.
"We bow to each other, Arthur." Voldemort said, bending a little, but still keeping his snake-like face focused on Arthur. "Come, the niceties must be observed… Dumbledore would like you to show manners… bow to death, Arthur…."
The Death Eaters all laughed again and Voldemort's lipless mouth was smiling.
"You don't deserve any manners, you snake!" Arthur spat at him, he was never going to give him that satisfaction.
"I said, bow." Voldemort said, raising his wand, and as though an invisible hand pressed against his back, he bent forwards, making the Death Eaters laugh harder than ever.
"Very good." Voldemort said softly, raising his wand and the pressure on Arthur's back lifted off. "And now you face me, like a man… straight back and proud, the way your father died…. And now… we duel."
Voldemort raised his wand and before Arthur could dodge, he was hit again with the Cruciatus Curse. The pain was just too intense and all consuming that he ended up forgetting where he was. White hot needles pierced him everywhere and he screamed the loudest he ever screamed in his life.
And then the pain stopped. Arthur rolled over and struggled back to his feet, breathing heavily as he glared back at Voldemort for using the cheapest tactic possible.
"A little break…" Voldemort said, his slit-like nostrils dilating with excitement. "...a little pause… that hurt, didn't it, Arthur? You don't want me to do that again, do you?"
"Sure, just use a cheap move before I could do a thing. YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Arthur roared at him, echoing through the graveyard. He wasn't going to beg and obey Voldemort.
"I asked you whether you want me to do that again?" Voldemort said softly, ignoring him. "Answer me! Imperio!"
Arthur grinned satisfactorily as the Imperius Curse didn't affect him.
"Sorry… it doesn't work on me." Arthur told him. "And I won't obey you."
Voldemort and the Death Eaters all looked shocked.
"Arthur, obedience is a virtue I need to teach you before you die… perhaps another little dose of pain?"
Voldemort raised his wand again, but Arthur was ready as his Quidditch reflexes kicked in. He flung himself sideways onto the ground and rolled behind the marble headstone of Voldemort's father and he heard it crack as the curse missed him.
"We are not playing hide and seek, Arthur." Voldemort's cold, soft voice said, drawing nearer as the Death Eaters continued laughing. "You cannot hide from me. Does that mean you are tired of our duel? Does this mean that you would prefer me to finish it now, Arthur? Come out, Arthur… come out and play, then… it will be quick… it might even be painless… I would not know… I have never died."
Arthur remained behind the headstone, knowing that he really had no chance. There was no one to help him this time.
As he heard Voldemort draw nearer, he decided that he would not die like this, crouching behind something like a scared little child. He'd rather die facing Voldemort head on, like Godric Gryffindor would against Salazar Slytherin, if that story was ever true.
Before Voldemort could stick his snake-like face around the headstone, Arthur stood up and gripped his wand so tightly that his knuckles whitened. He then thrust it out in front of him as he threw himself around the headstone to face his enemy.
Voldemort was ready. As Arthur shouted "Expelliarmus!", Voldemort cried out "Avada Kedavra!"
A jet of green light came from Voldemort's wand as a jet of red light blasted out of Arthur's. They met in mid air and Arthur felt his wand vibrate like an electrical charge surged through it; his hands were seized up around it; he couldn't even release it if he wanted to.
A narrow beam of light now connected the two wands, neither red or green, but instead a bright, deep gold. Arthur followed the beam with his gaze and saw that Voldemort's long white fingers were all gripping a shaking and vibrating wand.
Then, without ever preparing for this, Arthur felt his feet lift off from the ground. Both he and Voldemort were now raised in the air, their wands still connected by the thread of shimmering golden light. They were gliding away from the tombstone of Voldemort's father and then rested on a patch of ground that was clear and lacked any graves.
The Death Eaters were all shouting, asking Voldemort for instructions; they were also closing in, reforming the circle around Arthur and their master, Nagini slithering at their heels, some of them even drew their wands.
The golden thread that connected Arthur and Voldemort now splintered: while the wands were still connected, a thousand more offshoots arced over them, criss crossing all around the pair, until they were now enclosed in a golden, dome shaped web, a cage of light, beyond it the Death Eaters circled like they were jackals, their cries now strangely muffled….
"Do nothing!" Voldemort shrieked to his Death Eaters, and Arthur saw that his red eyes were wide with astonishment over what was happening as he fought to break the thread of light that still connected their wand. Arthur still held onto his wand tightly with both hands, the golden thread still unbroken.
"Do nothing unless I command you!" Voldemort shouted to his Death Eaters.
And then an unearthly yet beautiful sound filled the air… it came from every thread of the golden web around Arthur and Voldemort Arthur recognised it, having heard it once before… phoenix song….
It was nothing but a song of hope for Arthur.. .the most beautiful and welcoming thing he had ever heard in his life. He felt like the song came from within him instead of around him. It was also a sound he connected with Dumbledore, like a friend speaking into his ear….
Don't break the connection.
If he was able to, Arthur would've replied with 'I know'.
But the wand now started vibrating more powerfully than ever… and now the beam between him and Voldemort changed as well… it was like large beads of light slid up and down the thread connecting their wands.
Arthur felt his wand give a shudder under his hands as the light beads slowly and steadily slid his way… the direction of the beam's movement now towards him from Voldemort, and he felt his wand shudder angrily….
As the nearest bead of light moved nearer to Arthur's wand tip, the wood beneath his fingers became so hot that he feared it would burst into flame. The closer the bead moved, the harder his wand vibrated, there was no way it would survive contact.
He concentrated every fibre of his mind to force the bead back to Voldemort, his ears full of phoenix song, his eyes fixated as the bead very slowly quivered to a halt and just as slowly moved the other way… and Voldemort's wand now vibrated extra hard. He looked both astonished and downright fearful.
One of the beads of light was quivering, inches from the tip of Voldemort's wand. Arthur may not know why he was doing it, or what it would achieve, but he just concentrated with all his might to force the bead of light back into Voldemort's wand… and very slowly… it moved along the golden thread and trembled for a moment before connecting….
At once, Voldemort's wand started emitting echoing screams of pain until - then Voldemort's eyes widened with shock - a dense, smoky hand flew from the tip of it and vanished… the ghost of the hand that he made for Wormtail. Then there was more shouts of pain and then something much bigger blossomed out of Voldemort's wand tip, a great, greyish something that looked like it was made from the most dense smoke in the world… it was a head… now a chest and arms… it was the torso of Cedric Diggory.
Arthur saw all of this with shock, realising that whatever's happening, it's causing Voldemort's wand to display the last spells he used. He still didn't let go of his wand as he still concentrated on the thread of the golden light to remain unbroken with with what had to be Cedric's spirit emerged entirely from Voldemort's wand and like it was squeezing out of a narrow tunnel… and this it stood up, looking up and down the golden thread, and then it spoke.
"Hold on, Arthur."
His voice sounded distant and echoing. Arthur looked back at Voldemort and saw his wide red eyes full of shock… clearly not expecting this just as much as Arthur… and very dimly, Arthur heard the frightened yells of the Death Eaters, who all prowled around the edges of the golden dome….
There were more screams from the wand until something else emerged from the tip… the dense form of another head, that was quickly followed by arms and a torse. It was Frank, the old man that Arthur saw getting killed by Voldemort in his dream in the summer. He was pushing himself out of the end of the wand like Cedric had done and now his spirit, or whatever it was, fell next to Cedric's. He was surveying what was going on and at the golden web and the connected wands, a look of mild surprise on its face as it leaned on a walking stick….
"He was a real wizard, then?" Frank said, his eyes on Voldemort. "Killed me, that one did… you fight him, boy…."
Another head now emerged… as grey as a smoky statue, the head belonged to a woman. Arthur, both arms now shaking and now on one knee to keep his wand still, watched the woman drop to the ground and straighten up as the others did, staring.
The shadow of Bertha Jorkins surveyed the duel before her with wide eyes.
"Don't let go now! She cried out, her voice echoing like Cedric's, like it was very far away. "Don't let him get you, Arthur, don't let go!"
She and the other two figures began pacing around the inner walls of the golden web as the Death Eaters flitted around the outside of it… and Voldemort's victims all whispered when circling the duellers, they whispered words of encouragement to Arthur and hissed words that Arthur couldn't hear to Voldemort.
Then another head emerged from the tip of Voldemort's wand… and Arthur immediately knew who it was… he expected it when Cedric emerged from he wand… because the woman appearing was the one he thought of more than any tonight….
The smoky shadow of a young woman with long hair fell to the ground like Bertha had done before straightening up and looking right at Arthur… and Arthur, his arms now shaking madly, looked right back into the ghostly face of his mother, Rose Pendergast.
"Your father's coming…." She said quietly. "He wants to see you… it will be alright… hold on…."
And he did indeed come… first was his head and then his body… tall with untidy hair, just like Arthur, the smoky and shadowy form of John Pendergast blossomed from Voldemort's wand, falling to the ground and straightening like his wife.
He walked right up to Arthur, looking down at him and spoke in the same distant, echoing voice like the others, but now so quietly that Voldemort, whose face was now livid with fear upon seeing his victims prowling around him, couldn't hear….
"Once the connection is broken, all of us will linger for moments… it will give you time to get to the Portkey. It will take you back to Hogwarts. Do you understand, son?"
"Yes." Arthur gritted through his teeth as he fought to keep hold of his wand, which was now slipping and sliding beneath his fingers.
"Arthur…" Cedric's figure whispered. "...take my body back, will you? Take my body back to my parents…."
"I promise." Arthur said, his face screwed up with the effort of holding his wand.
"Do it now." His father whispered. "Be ready to run… do it now…."
Arthur took a moment to prepare himself… and then….
"NOW!" He yelled as he pulled his wand upwards with all his strength and the golden thread broke; the cage of light was now gone and the phoenix song died out. But the shadowy figures of Voldemort's victims didn't disappear, they instead closed in on Voldemort, shielding Arthur from his gaze.
Arthur launched himself to a sprint, a sprint that was the fastest Arthur had ever ran, knocking over two stunned Death Eaters aside as he passed, zigzagging behind headstones and feeling curses follow after him, alon with hearing them hit various headstones.
He was able to dodge curses and graves, pelting right towards Cedric's body, his mind and body focused on one goal.
"Stun him!" Voldemort screamed.
He was now ten feet from Cedric's body and he dived behind a marble angel to avoid the many jets of red light, seeing the tip of its wing shatter as the spells hit it.
Gripping his wand the tightest he ever had, he dashed out from behind the angel.
"Impedimenta! Expelliarmus!" He bellowed out, pointing his wand wildly over his shoulder at the Death Eaters after him.
He heard a muffled yell and a wand whooshing through the air, meaning he took care of two of them, but he couldn't look back.
Arthur jumped over the Cup and dived upon hearing more wand blasts behind him, more jets of light flew over him as he fell, stretching out his hand to grab Cedric's arm.
"Stand aside! I will kill him! He is mine!" Voldemort shrieked.
Arthur's hand closed on Cedric's wrist; there was only one tombstone that stood between him and Voldemort, but Cedric was just too heavy to carry. He knew how to get the Cup to him.
Voldemort's red eyes flamed in the darkness. Arthur saw his mouth curl into a smile and his wand raised.
"Accio!" He shouted, pointing his wand at the Triwizard Cup, which flew right at Arthur, who caught it by the handle.
He then heard Voldemort scream in fury as he felt that jerk behind his navel, meaning that the Portkey worked, it was speeding him away in a whirl of wind and colour, Cedric along with him… they were heading back to Hogwarts….
When the new show comes around, I hope it accurately depicts this duel. Especially when Priori Incantatem happened, with the golden threads and the phoenix song.
