Chapter 18: The Kidnapping.
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It was three days before the Summer Solstice. Wormtail had found out about the warehouse via his spying on the people around the graveyard. He went there and started watching Harry and Tom fight. He was watching the mini Dark Lord and Harry Potter practice that night thinking this was a good night to kidnap them. It was a weekend and no one else was there. Hermione had begged off the practicing session in celebration for passing the finals, like she would have failed. Still, she didn't want to come, so it was just Harry and Tom.
Tom was still practicing his maiming shots because he hated being bad at anything. Though he felt better when he blew the head off the targets. Especially when they had the Dark Lords face on them, or what they thought the Dark Lord looked like.
"Well, I'm glad you finally got your pardon," Harry said, taking a killing shot at a target. He blew the torso off the left part of the body. "Now I don't have to worry that I signed off on the pardon Dumbledore has given me. I had Waters look it over and it's airtight. Even if he does come after me, I will not be going to prison for killing Voldemort." He had had it signed for days now. He and his were in the clear. Dumbles had not been happy about that. It had been an uphill battle to get it to where they were not going to prison if they had to take the kill shot. He even had the gun included in the contract. He didn't want it to become a loophole that Albus could exploit.
"I wish the one Fudge had given me was just as airtight, but it'll work for now," Tom said, seeing a bird fly by a window and sighting it. He didn't shoot it, it was too far away, but he liked to think he could. "I don't see how they'll be able to throw me in prison when I control the entire Darkside of the Wizengamot. Even if Dumbledore comes after me. I'll be able to get out. He may have veto power, but he can't throw people in prison who are found innocent."
"Are you sure about that?" his friend asked, worried about him. It had kept him up at nights the times he thought of Tom in Azkaban. Sirius had been thrown in prison without trial. What if they did that to Tom? What if his minions turned on him? What if? What if? What if?
"Oh yeah. I made sure of it," Tom said, with the pardon and the members of the Wizengamot on his side, he was in the clear. He really hoped that Dumbledore made an issue after the fact. Not at the graveyard, that would be too much of a hassle, but yeah afterwards, he was looking forward to it.
"OK, I'll take your word on it," Harry said, sighting a bug on the wall and following it up to the hole it crawled into with his shotgun. He then fired at a target and wished they moved. It was getting boring shooting stationary targets.
"Have you heard anything more about what's going on around the graveyard?" Tom inquired, noticing a rat in the corner that was missing a toe. He made a motion to Harry that they were being listened to, by pointing to his ear that was on the opposite side of his head from the rat. Then he pointed to the corner.
Harry glanced to the corner and noticed the rat and got a confused look on his face.
Tom just winked and nodded.
"No," the confused teen said, playing along. He wondered why the man wanted the listener to have classified information. "There's been no activity around the graveyard. However, there has been activity around the Manor. We've been keeping a low profile because we believe that Voldemort is there," he added, hoping he wasn't giving up too much information. He tilted his head and saw the mini Dark Lord nod his head in approval.
"Just Voldemort?" Tom asked encouragingly.
"Yes, just him and his snake," Harry said, looking at the rat, who hadn't moved. Which was weird for a rat. They didn't sit still often. He was getting the inkling that this was a man, and he was pretty sure he knew which one it was.
"I would think he would have some minions run about," Tom said, jerking his head in the rat's direction. Indicating that he thought the rat was one of Old Tom's minions.
"No, it's just him, but we don't want to interrupt any plans he has," Harry said, getting an understanding look in his eyes. Tom wanted to lay the trap tonight.
"Did you tell Dumbledore?" Tom wanted to know. He was working his way over to the middle of the room, letting the rat hear everything.
"Yeah, I thought you wanted me too," Harry said, moving closer to the rat.
"I did."
"Then why did you sound accusatory?"
"Did I? I apologize," Tom said, looking around the room for something else to say.
"Apology accepted," the other teen said with a smile. He was still moving to the corner where the rat he was sure was Wormtail was. He had heard many stories about this rat, and not many of them were good ones. Sure, the ones when he was a kid were funny, but as he got older… well, they weren't as complementary. The rat lived up to his animal form.
"Well, I think it's going to come to a head soon," Tom said, moving towards the cleaning table.
"Me too," Harry said, cocking his shotgun and shooting above where the rat was, making it scurry away.
"I'm done shooting for the night. I think it's time we go back to our respective places," the mini Dark Lord said, getting a satisfied look on his face. He had done what he wanted to do. The trap was laid, now all they had to do was wait.
"Is that one way for you to tell me to head back to school?" Harry said, a bit put out that he did indeed have to go back to school.
"I just hate to remind you that you're so young," Tom said, in a sarcastic voice.
"Fuck off, Tom," Harry said, as sweetly as possible.
"Such language, Harry," the other teen said, shoving Harry good naturedly. Very much not in a Dark Lord fashion. He could be a teenager with Harry. It was nice.
"So what made you realize that was Wormtail?" Harry asked, in an undertone.
"His aura," the other teen said, looking around to make sure the rat was not around. It was his minions that had told him about the rat. He knew the man was a coward, that he betrayed the Potters, framed Black, and that he had run as soon as the Dark Lord fell.
"You can see auras?" the younger boy asked, not knowing that.
"I have to be able too, I am a Dark Lord," Tom said, as if it was a given. "I must know if people are lying to me or not. I can tell by their auras, unless they are Legilimens. Then they can hide from me."
"I take it Peter is not a Legilimens?"
"Not even close," agreed Tom.
"Well, let's go set a trap," Harry said, putting his shotgun away and reaching for his backup gun.
With that, the two of them proceeded to clean their guns and had off into the night. They took their time meandering down the pathway. They were laughing and ribbing one another, waiting for the coward to make his move. It came. Slowly. But it did finally come. Wormtail snuck up on them and hit them both with a stunning spell.
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"Ah, Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. How welcome you are into my humble home," the Dark Lord Voldemort said when Harry rose.
"Fuck off, Voldemort," Harry said with absolutely no respect. He could care less what the old man thought of him. He had as much respect for the Dark Lord as he had for the headmaster, which was none.
"You have such colorful language for such a young child," Old Tom said with a chuckle as if pacifying a toddler. To him it was funny watching the child try to be brave in the face of danger. He had no clue just how powerful Harry was.
"I'm fourteen fucking years old. I'm a teenager. I'm supposed to have colorful language," the teenager stated, like it was the truth.
"And my younger self, I see you're awake too. Do you have colorful language?" the old Dark Lord asked, hoping the younger Dark Lord had some decorum.
"No, I'm more refined than that. But you can kindly go fuck yourself," Tom said, bowing his head some. He might not respect the man, but he had manners. Which Harry did not.
"I see," said the Dark Lord looking at the two taller males. Who were tied up in chairs in front of the basket he was currently resting in. Wormtail was in the other room with Nagini. He was milking her for a potion they would need on the Solstice.
"Well, you've got us here. What are you gonna do with us now?" Harry asked, already bored. He could leave at any time, but he wanted information on what Old Tom's plans were. That and he was going to let younger Tom make the call. It was his older self they were playing with.
"Well, I plan on keeping you here for the next three days until the Summer Solstice, and then you're going to be guests of honor at my resurrection," Voldemort said, gleefully, like he was ecstatic to have company besides Wormtail and Nagini. Which he probably was. Wormtail was a coward and a 'yes' man. He wasn't much of a conversationalist. Nagini was a snake. She probably only wanted to know when her next meal was.
"Oh, great Merlin, you're gonna keep us here for three days?" whinged Harry, lowering his head to his chest in mock morning. He hated to think he might have to put up with the posturing for three days.
"You have a problem with that boy?" the Dark Lord asked, anger in his tone.
"If you're like any other villain in the books and movies, you're just gonna sit and talk about yourself for the next three days and we're gonna have to listen to you being a blowhard," the teen whinged some more, his tone pitiful. Like he was going to cry any moment now. Big anime tears.
"I am unlike any other Dark Lord. I am greater than all of them," Voldemort declared, making Tom sneer and Harry scoff.
"Yep, it's gonna be a long three days," Harry said, looking to the ceiling for help.
"Don't worry about it, Harry, you've got me here," Tom said, trying to be consolatory.
"You're not much better. You're a Dark Lord too. You're just going to go bounce off him and see who's got the bigger dick," Harry whinged some more, looking at his friend with an accusatory face.
"That was a horrible thing to say. I thought we were friends," Tom said, completely affronted. He had the bigger dick. The Dark Lord probably sold his for more life.
"You played the same game with Hermione all the time. And she doesn't even have a dick," Harry said, giving him a look, which spoke volumes.
"Granted."
"If you two are done with the comedy routine," Voldemort said, getting tired of the byplay. This was his kidnapping, and he was in charge. Not these two comedians.
"I will never be finished with the comedy routine when you're around, it'll keep you from talking," Harry said, meaning every word. He didn't want to listen to the man brag about what he had done, what he was going to do, and what the rest of the world should think about him.
"Crucio," the Dark Lord intone, lifting his wand and sneering.
The pain curse hit Harry full force, and the sensation of a thousand knives cut through the teen's body. It was the worst thing he had ever felt, and he screamed and thrashed. He screamed loud and long. He was not ashamed to admit it. Then just as quickly as it started it stopped. It took a moment or two, but he pulled himself together. He had gained control of the pain. It didn't bother him anymore.
"Is that the best you've got?" said Harry, once he could feel his mouth again. He might have screamed, but he wasn't going to let the Dark Lord think that it was going to break him.
"Crucio."
Nothing. There was no pain. He could feel it try and work, but it wasn't there. It was like needles instead of knives. Only on numb skin.
"You really gonna keep this up?" he asked, looking at the man in confusion. "Because as you can see, it's not working." He wondered if the man's mind got left behind with all his Horcruxes. It was like those blokes on the telly that kept shooting something that kept walking towards them. Obviously, the bullets didn't work, so why keep shooting it?
"Crucio," the angry Dark Lord said one more time. Why wasn't this curse working? The boy should be a complete mess. Not sitting there smiling.
"OK, it's your magic you're wasting," Harry said. He did wonder why they weren't just killing the baby Dark Lord and be done with it, but Tom seemed to have a plan, so Harry was following along.
"You really are an idiot, aren't you, Tom?" said Tom, taking the attention off Harry. He did wonder how the boy wonder could take the curse without the pain. None of his minions could do that and they were twice the boy's age and had been taking the curse for years.
"Don't call me by that insipid name. You of all people should know better," the toddler like man stated, bitterly. He hated that name with a burning passion. To him it was the worst name in the world.
"I have come to like the name," Tom said, looking to Harry with a fond expression. It was because the boy insisted, he looked up his history that he knew the truth behind his father's desertion. He knew all about the love potion and the rape.
"How could you like the name of that muggle man who left our mother?" Old Tom asked, hate filled his tone. His eyes blazed with the light of the sun. He really hated that man.
"How could he not have left our mother when she potioned him to love her?" the mini Dark Lord asked, with a bit of hate towards the woman who bore him. It was her insecurity that brought him into this world and caused all the downfalls in his life. If she had not potioned the man, then he would not have been born without the ability to love.
"How do you know this?" the older Dark Lord asked, never really getting into his mother's story. He really wanted to know his father's story and only knew that the man had left him when he found out his mother was pregnant.
"I asked the townsfolk of Little Hangleton. They told me his story. About how he suddenly fell in love with her and ran off with her. He left behind a fiancé and a family. A rich family at that. That could only be potions," Tom reasoned, going over the facts as they had been presented to him. It was the only logical conclusion.
"Townsfolk lie," the disbelieving man said, though there was doubt in his tone. However, it was more like he believed but didn't care. He still hated his father.
"I don't think so."
"Nevertheless, he ran off as soon as he found out she was pregnant. He left us alone in the world. We were raised in that God awful orphanage just because he didn't want to have anything to do with her. He should have stood by her side when he found out she was pregnant. He should have raised us," the older Dark Lord said, standing firm in his convictions.
"You're a fool, Tom. Why would anybody want to raise the result of a rape?" the mini Dark Lord said, looking at the older baby lord with disgust.
"Rape? You can't rape a man," was the confused comeback.
"Yes, you can. He did not consent," Tom said, just as firmly.
"Are you two really having this discussion?" Harry asked, knowing that it would end in a draw. They were both too pigheaded.
"Yes," they both said.
"You're never going to agree on it," the Boy Who Lived pointed out in a calm tone.
"You're probably right, Harry. I refuse to have a discussion with somebody who won't open to other opinions. He's too set in his ways. He's corrupted his mind too much. His soul is completely obliterated with his Horcruxes. He's evil now," the younger Tom said, and he would have waved his hands if they weren't tied behind his back.
"What do you know of my Horcruxes?" the suddenly worried and angry Voldemort asked, raising his wand in a threatening manner. This was bad. If they knew…
"I'll never tell you what I know," Tom said with the conviction of a teenager.
"Crucio," the Dark Lord said, hoping to get the other Dark Lord to talk. He was relying on the boy's youth to break him.
"You'll have to do a lot worse than that to get me to talk," Tom said, once he could breathe. He now knew why his minions did everything he told them too. That was beyond unbearable. He was tougher than that though. He would not break for this man. He was a Dark Lord.
"Crucio."
"I am a Dark Lord, you old fool," Tom said, slumping in his bonds. "I am not some person you've taken off the streets to torture. You will have to do a lot worse than that to have me say a word about anything."
"You really are an idiot," said Harry, fed up with seeing his friend tortured. He was ready to get out of there. "Tom, just say the word and we're out of here," he said to his friend, letting him take the lead.
"Wormtail, bring me Nagini!" the Dark Lord yelled, getting tired of being mocked by two teenagers.
"Oh, you think your snake is gonna scare two parseltongues?" Harry mocked him with wide eyes and just made fun of the not so scary Dark Lord.
"You can speak to snakes?" Voldemort asked, surprised that the Boy Who Lived was a parselmouth.
"Since the day I was born," Harry gibed.
"I'm you," the mini Dark Lord pointed out, like the other Dark Lord had forgotten.
"Blasted," the baby Dark Lord said, as Wormtail and Nagini could be heard stirring in the other room.
"Why did you not know this?" Harry asked, tilting his head. He thought everyone knew he could speak to snakes. It was in all the papers.
"Obviously, somebody did not do their research," said Tom in a laughing manner. "Oh well, Harry, do you think you could get us out of here? I really don't feel like sticking around for the next three days." He was still a bit trembly from the torture and wanted to get home. He hoped they killed the snake on the way out. If it was the last Horcrux then they could let Voldy do his little ritual and then kill him then. It was a cruel thing to do, but he was a Dark Lord for a reason.
"Do you think he'll try and kidnap us again if I do?" Harry asked, looking at the baby Dark Lord who was glaring at them.
"Probably, he is an idiot," Tom said, glancing at his other self, hoping the man didn't Crucio him again. He could take it, but…
"Should we kill the snake on our way out?" Harry asked with sadistic glee. Like it would give him great pleasure to do so.
"Let's," Tom agreed, more than willing to do just that.
"OK." With a wave of his hand, Harry made their bonds disappear and the two casually walked away from the toddler Voldemort. As they walked by, Harry beheaded the snake, who was coming out of the other room. He would have shot it, but he was keeping that a secret for now. He tied up Wormtail, who was right behind the snake, and walked out of the room. When they got to the front door, Harry turned around and said, "Feel free to try again."
"Why did you say that?" Tom asked, laughing at him.
"Just to fuck with him."
"You're such an arse."
"I know, and now so does he. Why did you tell him about the Horcruxes?" Harry wanted to know.
"Now, he'll come after me," Tom said with a shrug of his shoulder.
"You want him to come after you? You know how stupidly powerful I am, and you want him to come after you?" was the confused question. He would have thought it would have been the opposite.
"Yes," was the firm answer.
"Why?"
"I have my reasons," was all the answer he got.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Harry said, letting Tom Apparate him back to the warehouse. It had been hours since they were kidnapped, and it was midnight. He was going to catch the Knight Bus to Hogwarts and fuck them if they didn't like him coming in this late.
"I do," the mini Dark Lord said.
"Alright, I trust you," Harry said, letting his arm go when they got to the warehouse.
"I'll mirror you tomorrow. Have your minions keep an eye on the graveyard. Wormtail will know they are there, so have them change locations," was the suggestion. "I doubt the Dark Lord will change his plans, but just in case."
"Will do," Harry said, already going over in his head on tactics.
"Until tomorrow," Tom said, and he disappeared.
"I really hope he knows what he's doing," Harry said, lifting his wand to catch the Knight Bus.