126
A high-pitched ringing was all Harry heard, along with a pounding headache. The pressure felt like someone grabbed his head and clamped it in a vice. Even though it hurt, Harry had to open his eyes to see what was happening and confirm everyone was okay.
Light pierced through his retinas, causing a sharp pain to run through his head. Harry did his best to ignore it. He looked around and saw the evening sky and smoke clearing. The building that was once his guild was now nothing more than rubble.
Someone's voice asked if he was okay, but Harry couldn't be sure; the voice sounded far away. He looked beside him when he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Ron. The redhead looked at him with concern, so he must have heard right.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Harry said, but his voice sounded rough and faint. He wondered if Ron even heard him.
Ron sighed in relief. "That's good, mate. I already checked on Hermione and Castor, and the others are coming around, too," he said, looking at their surroundings.
Harry noticed that Ron's voice was sharper. His hearing had returned. He could hear the groans from his friends as they stood up and rubbed their heads.
"What happened?" asked Lucy, who looked confused, but horror replaced it as she took in their surroundings.
No one answered, but Harry had a feeling they all knew. He looked up at the sky, remembering Zeref's warning. He looked around and saw a small shape in the distance. The form was moving, becoming more distinct. It was floating water in the shape of a cube with spots of land all around it. It was like a small planet, but life couldn't live on with its lack of plant life.
Harry's eyes narrowed as he recognized the danger. "Tartaros…"
"How did they survive that?!" a blond, dog-like demon demanded, grinding sharp canines.
"It shouldn't be possible," said a female demon with black hair and golden horns. "My bomb should have wiped out everyone but our master. Look, their guild is a pile of stone!"
"Hey, what's that?" a man with black hair and a scar running down his forehead questioned, pointing at a black barrier with a line in a circle within a triangle.
Red, snake-like eyes narrowed at the sight. Voldemort knew what that symbol meant and hissed at his mistake of losing such an opportunity. He could have been Master of Death, but he lost the elder wand to Potter, who now had all three items!*
"Alright, does anyone know how we can get up there?" asked Gray.
Hermione hummed, "I would say we could apparate, but there are too many people for Harry, Ron, and I to carry."
Harry sighed, agreeing with Hermione. He tried to think of a way to get to Tartaros. Fawkes could teleport, but he's limited to carrying one person.
"Hey, what's that smell?" Harry turned toward the voice, seeing Happy looking down at the rubble. Everyone, Harry included, looked down, too. The Master of Death felt an itch, but not the kind he could scratch. He wanted to pick up a stone but couldn't understand why.
The muscles in his body tensed. Harry knew what was happening. He spun, mouth open and eyes glowing with determination; he had to warn them. The green-eyed wizard froze when he saw everyone holding a stone - some holding the same one as their neighbor. He was too late. Harry watched as his guildmates vanished in a blink of an eye.
"Where did everyone go!" Harry snapped his head around at hearing Natsu's voice, earning a squawk from Fawkes. The dragon slayer looked everywhere before locking eyes with Harry.
"I don't know," Harry answered. "They were compelled to pick up Porkeys, but who knows where they ended up."
"What the heck is a Portkey?" Natsu demanded, fire spitting out of his mouth.
Before Harry could answer, a snake-like voice spoke. "A Portkey is an old transportation used by Witches and Wizards 500 years ago." Harry and Natsu turned to face the owner of the voice.
{Oh, great,} said Fawkes. {It's snake-face…}
Voldemort stood at the edge of what remained of their guild. His red eyes glared at Harry. "I see the boy Wonder is still here. That's annoying," Voldemort hissed, sharp, fang-like teeth showing. "You always have to ruin my plans, don't you, Potter?"
{Wait, he's not after you this time? Who is he, and what has he done to Voldy?} Fawkes questioned with a mocking tilt of his head.
{That means he's after Natsu since he's the only other person here,} said Harry, who glared at his nemesis. "What do you want with Natsu?" he demanded.
Voldemort's jaw clenched in anger. "I want to kill him," he said simply. "He grew to become an even greater threat to my plans than you, Potter."
Harry growled and stepped forward, but Natsu's arm shot out, causing the wizard to pause.
"He's after me, so I will fight him," Natsu said, keeping his eyes on Voldemort. Harry wanted to protest and warn his friend about how dangerous the Dark Lord was, but the dragon slayer spoke again, "Trust me, Harry." Natsu turned to face him with a shark-like grin. "I got this."
Harry reluctantly backed down. He still wanted to warn Natsu but knew he wouldn't listen. So with a sigh of defeat, the Master of Death took several steps back.
Natsu returned his attention to Voldemort, who had his yew wand already in hand. "You two children down talking? Good. I can kill you now," Voldemort said, lifting his wand and lowering his body into a fighting stance.
{If you wanted to kill him, you could have done it while none of us were paying attention,} Fawkes snarked, earning a snort from Harry.
{Like you weren't paying attention,} Harry said with as much sarcasm as he could muster.
A green flash snapped Harry's eyes to the fight. He jumped out of the way of the killing curse at the same time Natsu did. The wizard thought he needed to find cover so Natsu wouldn't have to worry about him. He found a broken wall still standing, so he dove behind it and peeked around the corner.
With a flaming fist, Natsu punched Voldemort in the face, sending him sliding on the cobblestones. A fire dragon's claw slammed into his gut before Voldemort could get up from his lying position.
Harry saw Natsu jump out of the dust cloud and waited. The dragon slayer's arms were raised, and fists balled tightly. Harry nodded in approval. Despite many witches and wizards lowering their guards when fighting Voldemort, Natsu knew better than anyone to make such a mistake since he had fought for so many years.
A crater could be seen as the dust cleared, but Voldemort wasn't in it. Harry wondered where the evil wizard had gone but felt Voldemort's tiny life force above him. Green eyes snapped up and saw the Dark Lord hovering, casting a powerful blasting curse.
The curse hit Natsu, causing fire, smoke, and debris to kick up. Harry rolled his eyes when he faintly heard Voldemort laugh. The laughter stopped when the fire got sucked into Natsu's mouth.
"What!? How?!" Voldemort demanded in fury.
Instead of answering, Natsu deeply inhaled. "Fire Dragon's ROAR!"
The flame clipped Voldemort's barefoot as he tried to move out of the way. A cry of pain and anger escaped the Dark Lord, who whipped his thin arm toward Natsu. He fired another killing curse at the dragon slayer, but Natsu dodged and rocketed into the sky.
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" The attack landed on Voldemort's abdomen, causing the snake-like man to cough blood. Natsu followed the attack with Fire Dragon's Claw and Wing Attack.
Voldemort landed with a loud crash. Harry couldn't believe how easy Natsu was making this fight look. Was Voldemort always this weak, or was Natsu just that powerful? He didn't know nor care because it looked like someone would finally finish the Dark Lord off for good.
Natsu landed, and Voldemort slowly got back onto his feet. Red, blazing eyes met Natsu's dark green. "How dare you think you can defeat me… I am the most powerful Dark Lord the world has ever seen, and you dare to mock me!?"
{Is he for real?} asked Fawkes. {He may have been the strongest 500 years ago but in this day and age…? Yeah…} Harry agreed with his familiar. The mages in this era have proven to be stronger magically. Harry had to get creative to gain an edge in most of his battles. But Voldemort had shown time and time again that his creativity was lacking something fierce.
"What is going on here?" A man appeared as suddenly as a blink of an eye between Natsu and Voldemort. He was tall and lean with a young appearance. His hair was black with long waves, tied in a high ponytail. His messy bangs almost covered his dark, slanted eyes, but it wasn't enough to stop Harry from seeing the cold malice within them.
Voldemort dusted himself off as he relaxed his expression, but his jaw was still tight and his eyes sharp. "I was just testing Dragneel's strength," he answered.
Natsu exploded, "Testing?! You were trying to kill me!"
{And failing spectacularly!} Fawkes cried in joy, falling off Harry's shoulder laughing.
The young man wore an amused smirk. His eyes told Harry he knew Voldemort would fail. It confused the wizard. How could that man know how powerful Natsu was?
'This guy knows Natsu, and Voldemort lied about his goal. He wants something from Natsu,' Harry thought and voiced the question of what the man wanted from his friend.
The man smirked wider. "You'll have to wait and see," he said before grabbing Voldemort and disappearing.
TBC
*Voldemort knows that Harry has all three deathly hollows because he would know about the Potters owning the invisibility cloak from Peter. He would remember seeing the deathly hollow symbol on the stone since that was a Horcrux, and he had the wand before and saw that Harry had it while on Tenrou Island.
I also decided to have Natsu wipe the floor with Voldemort because I thought it would be fun! ;)
Voldy: I shouldn't have lost that horribly!
Enj/Dark: Yes, you would, and I explained why already.
Harry: This chapter makes me so happy! :D
Zeref: Is it because Voldy got his butt handed to him on a golden platter? :)
Harry: YES! XD
Natsu: Glad to be of service! ^-^
Enj/Dark: Then you wouldn't mind doing the honors?
Harry: Please review! ;P
