Chapter Six
:Flashback:
Hedwig prided herself on her many outstanding attributes; she was a being of indescribable beauty, a supremely intelligent creature, and a devourer of bacon, but the one thing that Hedwig was above all other things was a protector to her master. That was why she had spent nearly every night searching Hogwarts since his disappearance.
Once it became known that her boy was missing, the entirety of Hogwarts began to search for him, yet no one could find a single trace of where he might have gone; even the stuffy old man with the long beard had been unable to locate her master, though he never stopped trying.
After several months with no clue as to where her boy had gone, most of those who should have protected him seemed to have given up. Only her master's friends, the bushy-haired girl and the red-headed boy, refused to stop searching. Hedwig had spent many an hour perched on the chairs in Gryffindor's common room, watching as her master's two friends poured over every book they could get their hands on in the hope that something, somewhere, would point them in the right direction to where Hedwig's master was.
When everyone else went to sleep, that's when Hedwig would begin her own search; her master needed her, he had no talons to fight his enemies with and was entirely too small from his years with the cruel people who raised him to be a threat, and that is why he needed Hedwig.
Despite listening ad nauseum to the staff of Hogwarts that Harry was not in the castle, something in Hedwig's being told her that her boy was still here, somewhere; so while everyone slept, the snowy owl would soar through the castle checking every nook and cranny in her search.
During one of these searches, Hedwig felt it; it was small, no more than a whisper, but she felt her boy's presence calling out to her, and with a hoot of happiness, Hedwig flew towards where the feeling was coming from.
Flying at top speed, it took Hedwig only a few minutes to close in on where her boy's presence was coming from, and she found herself in an empty classroom containing only a large mirror leaning against the far wall.
As Hedwig landed in front of the mirror, her head cocked in confusion; why would her master's presence be coming from a mirror? What was she supposed to do here?
If owls could scratch their head, Hedwig would most definitely have been doing so; instead, she issued a bark of challenge at the mirror as though demanding to know why it had brought her here.
A moment later, the mirror's surface seemed to ripple as though it were made of water, causing Hedwig's eyes to widen in shock; was she supposed to enter the mirror? Was that where her master was? Was that why no one could find him?
Pushing away the fear that bubbled in her tiny gut, Hedwig steeled her nerve and flew toward the mirror, fully expecting to crash into the glass; instead, to her surprise, she passed right through it, and immediately her world went dark.
When she had awoken, Hedwig found herself lying in the same classroom she had just left, yet there was no trace of the mirror to be found; before she had time to dwell on that, however, she felt it.
Her boy was close, closer than he had been in months, and Hedwig was determined to find him and give him a piece of her mind for disappearing on her and causing her such worry. So, following the trace, Hedwig soon left Hogwarts far behind and flew for what seemed like hours before coming to a heavily warded mansion.
Rather than be unable to enter, as she had expected, Hedwig found, to her shock, that she was able to pass through as though the wards weren't even there; a moment later, she was perched on a tree outside a window staring at her boy, she had found him at last.
:End Flashback:
As Hedwig sat perched on the knee of her master's sister, she listened with barely contained rage as the humans around her argued with one another about the disappearance of her boy.
Someone had taken him a few hours ago, just after she had managed to find him again, and that someone would pay for it dearly once Hedwig caught up to them; as her boy's sister began to gently stroke Hedwig's back, the snowy owl felt simmering anger boil in her tiny frame. Whoever was responsible for taking her boy would soon learn why Hedwig viewed herself as a protector above all other things.
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"We searched every inch of the station, but there was no sign of him," Kingsley Shacklebolt said as he stared sadly at the two distraught parents, one of whom was his boss.
"That's impossible!" James Potter retorted, "He can't have just disappeared!"
"When I did a sweep of the loo, I picked up traces that someone had disapparated," Shacklebolt replied, "The trace was weak, meaning it happened some time ago, but it was there."
"Can you follow it?" Sirius asked quickly, his hope dashed as Shacklebolt shook his head,
"Unfortunately not," Shacklebolt replied sadly, "It was too degraded by the time we arrived."
"So we have no idea who took my son, where they took him, or even if he's still alive!" James roared, causing the assembled Aurors to flinch from their boss' anger; only Lily's sudden sob saved them as James turned to her and wrapped his arms around her before pulling her into his embrace.
"James, please…" Lily begged, "I can't lose him again, please! You have to find him!"
"We will, Lily," James promised, "We'll find him and make the bastards that took him bleed for it! I swear it to you!"
"I don't understand why he was grabbed in the first place," Rufus Scrimgeour said suddenly, making the room turn to him, "The Dark Lord is gone. Most of his followers have turned their backs on him or are in Azkaban. There's no logic to the boy's abduction."
"His power was broken that night according to the few Death Eaters we interrogated," Frank Longbottom stated, "That's the main reason so many of his followers turned their backs on him. But we never found the old bastard's body."
"You think he's responsible for my son's abduction?" James asked as his eyes widened in horror,
"It fits," Frank replied, "Who else would want to harm Harry but the one who lost everything due to the boy."
"Oh god, please no…." Lily whispered before promptly collapsing into her husband's arms; James quickly carried his wife to a nearby chair and gently sat her down before turning back to his Aurors.
"I want my son found! I don't care how long it takes or what resources we need to use!"
The Aurors all nodded as one before turning and walking into the fireplace, leaving only a burst of green flames in their wake and leaving Sirius alone with the distraught Potters. James issued a shuddering breath as he made his way to the chair next to his wife before collapsing into it and putting his face into his hands.
A sudden cough made everyone turn to Rose, who had been sitting so quietly that everyone had forgotten she was there, and James winced as he took in his daughter's appearance. Rose's eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she looked far paler than usual, yet there was a determined look in her eye that filled James with sudden hope.
"I have an idea on how to find Harry…" Rose stated in a firm voice,
"What is it, honey?" James asked softly.
Rather than answer, Rose simply pointed at the snowy owl perched on her knee, causing the adults to stare at it for a moment before looking back at her with a confused expression.
"Hedwig is Harry's familiar," Rose stated as though it were obvious, "She literally crossed dimensions to find him again. If she can do that, I have no doubt she can find wherever he is now."
Lily's head shot up at the words, and the adults suddenly stared at the snow owl who was preening under the flattery that Rose had just given her; a moment later, Lily had shot across the room and was kneeling in front of the owl with a desperate look on her face.
"Can you do it, Hedwig?" Lily all but begged, "Can you find my baby?"
Hedwig fixed Lily with a stare that spoke of abnormal intelligence before issuing a bark that seemed to say, "Of course, I can, stupid human!"
Right then!" James said quickly, "Lily, you and Sirius follow Hedwig while I round up the Aurors. Once she's led you to where Harry is, send me a Patronus, and I'll be there in a flash. Do not try to go in by yourselves. Wait for me, got it!"
Sirius and Lily both nodded quickly, and a moment later, Lily summoned two brooms to her, one of which she handed to Sirius before extending her arm towards Hedwig, who quickly jumped to it from Rose's knee.
As the adults turned to leave, Rose jumped to her feet,
"What about me? Can I come?"
"Absolutely not!" Lily stated as she turned back to Rose,
"Harry is my brother! I deserve to come with!" Rose snapped as tears began to fill her eyes.
As Lily opened her mouth to argue, James knelt down on one knee and placed his hand on his daughter's shoulders, gripping them firmly but gently,
"Honey, I know you want to go and help your brother, but this could be very dangerous. And I can't risk your safety. I can't risk losing both of my children. So I'm going to take you to the Burrow, and I need you to promise me that you will stay there, okay?"
For a moment, Rose said nothing, simply stared at her father as tears ran down her cheeks, then she quickly lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing for all she was worth.
"Promise me that you'll come back with Harry," Rose whispered into her father's ear as he hugged her tight,
"I give you my word," James replied in a firm voice that promised he would do everything in his power to return with Rose's little brother.
Without another word, James stood up and walked with Rose to the fireplace before throwing a pinch of Floo powder and crying out,
"The Burrow!"
In a flash of green, they were both gone, leaving Lily and Sirius alone; with an almost terrifying intensity, Lily turned to Sirius and said coldly,
"Let's go get my son."
An instant later, Hedwig flew off following the same trail she had followed to find her boy the first time; behind her followed Lily and Sirius, both steeling themselves for the inevitable fight that would surely come.
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Harry sniffled in abject misery, his arms wrapped tight around his knees as he waited for the man who had kidnapped him to return; as soon as they had arrived at wherever they were, the man had dragged Harry to an empty room before throwing him inside and leaving, locking the door behind him.
At first, Harry tried to look for a way out, but the only window had bars on the outside, and there was no other way out, so Harry silently sat against the far wall and waited for whatever was going to happen to him.
After what felt like hours, Harry heard the door unlock and looked up to see the man who had abducted him enter,
"Let's go, boy," the man said simply, "My master is expecting you, and it's unwise to keep him waiting."
Without another word, the man roughly grabbed Harry's arm, making the boy cry, before dragging Harry from the room and into the drawing room. As they came closer to the only occupant in the room, Harry felt as though his blood had turned to ice as he gazed at the man seated in the center of the room and staring at him from over his steepled fingers. The man was tall, with pale (almost bone-white) skin, made even more prominent due to the pitch-black robes he was wearing; but the thing that made Harry most afraid was the man's eyes, which were blood red with feline-like slits in lieu of pupils.
"That will be all," the seated man said, dismissing Harry's abductor, who promptly bowed before turning and quickly leaving the room, closing the door softly behind him.
"So, you're the one everyone claims is Harry Potter…." The man said in a harsh whisper that shook Harry to his core, "Don't be shy; come closer, child."
Harry gulped in terror and tried to make his body move, but it seemed as though he had been frozen in place, and all he could do was stare,
"I said, come here! Now!" The man snarled, making Harry jump and slowly edge closer to the man staring at him with the same kind of hatred that his relatives used to use when they looked at Harry.
As Harry drew closer, he felt horror well up in him as he took in the man's visage; the man was completely bald and had no nose! Only a pair of snake-like slits where his nostrils should be, but the worse thing was, again, the man's eyes which seemed to peer straight into Harry's soul and made the poor boy feel like prey before a predator.
"You are not Harry Potter," the man hissed, "I watched that child die. I KILLED THAT CHILD!"
Harry flinched as the man's voice went from a sneering hiss to a hate-filled roar in seconds.
"So, who are you really? An imposter trying to fool the Potters in the hopes of stealing their fortune? Speak!"
"I…. I…." Harry said, desperately shaking the terror rolling through him as he tried to form words, "I'm Harry Potter!"
The man leapt to his feet and grabbed the front of Harry's shirt before lifting him into the air as Harry thrashed in terror,
"Lie to me again, brat, and I will remove your pathetic tongue from your mouth, understand!?"
"I'm not lying!" Harry cried as tears ran down his cheeks, "I really am Harry Potter!"
"THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE! I KILLED HIM!" The man snarled as he dropped the boy to the floor and retook his seat.
"Who are you?" Harry whispered in fear as he gazed up at the man from where he lay on the floor; the man smiled cruelly at Harry for a moment before answering in a voice as cold as ice,
"I am Lord Voldemort, boy. But the real question is, who are you?"
If any color was left on Harry's face, it promptly fled as he realized that he lay before the man who had murdered his parents in Harry's previous world and been responsible for the pain Harry had suffered at the hands of his relatives.
"I may be too weak to properly punish you for your lies, brat," Voldemort sneered, "But I still have enough strength to learn the truth of who you really are!"
Without another word, Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry and shouted out a single word,
"Legilimens!"
Instantly, Harry's head felt like it would explode, and he grabbed it in both hands as he began screaming in pain; it was too much, and all he could do was lay there and pray it would be over quickly.
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"You're sure this is the place, Hedwig?" Sirius asked as he stared at the dilapidated building in front of him; Hedwig ruffled her feathers in irritation as though offended at the question and immediately barked, as though to say,
"You dare doubt me, stupid human!"
Sirius held his hands up in peace, even as a laugh escaped his lips at the owl's antics,
"Okay! Okay! I believe you! No need to get so riled up!"
Hedwig glared at Sirius for another moment before flying to a nearby tree, where she perched to better look at the building where her boy was being held. It looked as though it had once been a grand manor, though now it was merely a shadow of its former glory, with broken windows and vines growing out of control along its walls.
"There are heavy wards here," Lily said softly as she waved her wand in intricate patterns and began muttering an incantation, "It will take me some time to dispel them."
"I'll let Prongs know where we are and to bring the cavalry!" Sirius replied, "You get to work taking the wards down!"
As Lily nodded and began to mutter again, Sirius drew his wand and stepped away so as to not disturb Lily's work.
"Expecto Patronum!" Sirius cried, making a sizeable silvery dog shoot out of his wand, which promptly turned and faced him,
"Prongs, I've found Harry, but some serious wards guard the place! Lily's trying to dispel them, but I don't know how long that'll take. Get here as fast as you can!"
Instantly, the silver dog transformed into a small ball of light before shooting away as Sirius watched nervously; as he turned back to watch Lily work, a single thought ran through his head,
"Please let us make it in time."
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Voldemort stared in shock at the unconscious boy before him; the child had been telling the truth! He was Harry Potter, though not the Harry Potter of this world, but rather one from another dimension, one in which he, Lord Voldemort, had been destroyed by an infant.
That alone had shocked Voldemort, but what else he found in the boy's mind had been the cherry on top; the boy held a piece of his world's Voldemort within him!
The moment that Voldemort had discovered that, hope rose within him; throughout his ten years in exile, Voldemort had read thousands of books of every variety, looking for some way to restore his powers, yet he had never been able to find anything that might help.
But now, Voldemort saw his chance to reclaim all that had been taken from him; if he could somehow retrieve the piece of soul that lay within the boy, and pull it into himself, then perhaps Voldemort really would regain all that he had lost, but how to do such a thing?
Steepling his fingers in thought, Voldemort's mind raced through all the books he had read, all the spells and potions he had studied until, at last, he remembered a ritual that he had learned while studying in Germany.
The ritual was crude and dangerous and had a meager chance of success. Still, at this point, Voldemort would take any chance at all to save himself from losing his powers entirely, and if it succeeded, then Lord Voldemort would once again rise, and the world would kneel at his feet as it should have ten years ago!
"Berks!" Voldemort shouted as he rose from his chair and began to pace, "Attend to me!"
The door to the chamber opened a moment later, and the man who had abducted Harry strode in before stopping and kneeling a respectful distance away.
"We have work to do!" Voldemort hissed, "This boy holds the key to return my powers to me!"
"Truly?" Berks replied in shock as he looked at the child who lay unconscious next to him,
"Yes! And I will not let this opportunity pass me by! Tonight, Lord Voldemort rises again!"
Casting one final glance at the child, Voldemort stepped past his servant and made to exit the chamber.
"I have to prepare the ritual," Voldemort hissed as he stopped at the doorway and turned back to his servant, "Your job is to protect that boy at all costs! If something happens to him, I promise you will die screaming. Is that clear?"
"Yes, my lord," Berks replied quickly, offering another head dip in submission.
Without another word, Voldemort turned and strode to his study to retrieve the book and ingredients he required; tonight, all that was taken from him would be returned, and all those who had betrayed him would be made to pay.
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"How's it coming?" Sirius asked as he gazed down at Lily in worry; sweat was pouring off of Lily as though she had spent the last few hours exercising, and though Sirius could tell that the wards were taking their toll on her, she seemed determined to pull them down.
"Slow," Lily snapped, "Because I have to keep answering your asinine questions every five minutes!"
Sirius opened his mouth to respond when a series of "POPS" interrupted him and caused him to quickly spin around, drawing his wand as he did so, only to drop it a moment later as James and several Aurors strode forward with determined looks on their faces.
"Well?" James said simply,
"Lily's still trying to bring the wards down," Sirius replied, "She's been at it for over an hour now."
"Dawlish! Longbottom! Scrimgeour! Take over for my wife! I want these wards brought down, now!"
Instantly, three of the Aurors with James strode forward, drawing their wands as they did so, before kneeling next to Lily and nodding at her to step away, which she did a moment later with an almost relieved sigh.
"Any idea what's in there?" James asked, frowning as Sirius shook his head,
"It could be anything, but at least we know that Harry is here. That's all that matters."
James nodded at his friends' words before wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulder and leading her away from the wards; as gently as he could, James forced Lily to sit against the nearby tree on which Hedwig was perched.
"Catch your breath, love," James said softly, "It's going to take a little while to get through the wards, and Harry will need you in top shape."
Lily slowly nodded, and a moment later, Hedwig flew down and landed on her shoulder before beginning to nuzzle Lily's cheek, making Lily laugh softly before raising a hand to gently stroke the snowy owl's head.
"Got it!" Frank Longbottom called out several minutes later as the three Aurors rose and wiped the sweat from their brow.
"Good, now let's get my son back!" James growled as he drew his wand and ran towards the manor; behind him ran the rest of his followers, each ready for a fight.
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Harry stared lifelessly at the ceiling, trying not to show how terrified he was; he didn't know how long he had been unconscious after Voldemort had used that spell on him that hurt Harry's head. All he knew was that when he came to, he found himself shirtless and strapped to a table as Voldemort poured a ring of what looked like blood in a circle around Harry.
A moment later, Voldemort approached Harry with the bowl he had been using to make the circle; without a word, Voldemort dipped his fingers into the bowl and began to draw symbols onto Harry's body as he muttered to himself in a strange language.
Harry was almost positive that he would die tonight, yet he refused to show Voldemort how afraid he was. Harry's parents had died for him, yet through some miracle, Harry had been granted the chance to see them again one last time, so if this was the price he had to pay for that gift, he was okay with it.
As Voldemort finished drawing the symbols on Harry's body and stepped back, a sudden 'BOOM' shook the building, causing Voldemort to turn to the man who had abducted Harry and brought him here, to begin with.
"I need more time to complete the ritual! Kill whoever you encounter!"
"Yes, my lord!" Berks cried before turning and running out of the room, leaving Harry and Voldemort alone.
"Now, boy," Voldemort hissed with a cruel smile, "You will return to me that which you have stolen!"
As Voldemort began speaking in a strange language, Harry felt as though his whole body was being set on fire. A moment later, the pain shrank until it centered exclusively around the scar on his head; unable to do anything else, Harry began to shriek in pain.
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The moment the Aurors entered the house, they were immediately under attack; an explosion rune had been placed on the door, and James had narrowly managed to shove Frank Longbottom out of the way before it went off, showering the attackers with bits of wood and plaster.
A moment later, as the Aurors made their way through the cloud of dust and smoke, they heard screams of anger as two Death Eaters began to fire every curse, hex, and spell in their arsenal. Lily narrowly missed being hit with a cutting curse as she dove behind a nearby couch. Unfortunately, the sofa burst into flames a moment later, and Lily was forced from her cover.
"Find Harry!" James shouted from where he, Sirius, and Frank were currently dueling a Death Eater, "We got this!"
"Don't let her stop the ritual!" The second Death Eater shouted from where he was dueling Dawlish, Shacklebolt, and Scrimgeour, "Stop her!"
Nodding, Lily sprinted down the hallway as she ran toward the sounds of screaming, the Death Eaters' words ringing in her head,
"Ritual?" Lily thought in terror, "What ritual? What is he doing to my baby!"
As Lily finally reached the door, she screamed in rage as she realized it wouldn't open,
"ALOHAMORA!" Still locked.
Snarling in righteous anger, Lily aimed her wand at the door as another scream rang out from the other side of it; pouring every ounce of hatred and rage she had, Lily screamed as loud as she could,
"BOMBARDA MAXIMA!"
The door exploded inward, and Lily immediately ran inside; but as the dust settled, she could not move as she stared in horror at what was happening.
Harry was tied to a table but seemed to be thrashing and screaming in agony as a black cloud of smoke issued from his forehead and appeared to be flowing into Voldemort. The Dark Lord was chanting in a language that Lily couldn't understand and seemed to be glowing as the cloud poured out of her son and into him.
As Harry issued another agonizing cry of pain, Lily snapped out of her daze and pointed her wand at Voldemort's back,
"LET MY SON GO, OR AS GOD AS MY WITNESS, I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
"You will not interfere with my rebirth, Lily Potter!" Voldemort hissed as he causally flicked his wrist in a dismissive gesture, sending Lily flying across the room.
"Yessss," Voldemort hissed in pleasure as the last of the smoke finally left Harry's body and entered Voldemort's. "It's been so long since I felt like this!"
"MUUUUUUUM!" Harry screamed in agony, "PLEASE MAKE HIM STOP! IT HURTS!"
"LET HIM GO, YOU SNAKE-FACED ASSHOLE!" Lily roared as she jumped to her feet and fired a blasting hex at Voldemort, which caught him in the side before he could protect himself and sent the Dark Lord crashing through the nearby wall.
A moment later, James and Sirius ran into the room, both bleeding from several cuts that they had sustained during their fight,
"James, it's Voldemort!" Lily cried, making her husband pale instantly.
"Where is he!" Sirius shouted before the wall behind them exploded outward,
"Lord Voldemort has returned!" Voldemort shouted in glee as he stepped through the dust that was once a solid wall.
As his eyes took in the defenders who stood before him, Voldemort issued a cruel laugh,
"James Potter, seeing as how it was you who robbed me of my powers last time, it seems only natural that you should be the first of my victims now that I have returned! Be thankful that you will not live to see what I will do to your son and Mudblood!"
"You will not touch them!" James snarled as he and Sirius began to fire curses in rapid succession, "This time, when I kill you, you'll stay dead!"
"My lord!" Berks cried as he ran into the room, bleeding heavily, "Johns is dead! More Aurors are on their way! We need to leave now!"
Voldemort snarled in rage, even as he dodged a bone-crushing curse sent from Lily,
"It seems luck is on your side, Potter!" Voldemort snarled, "But next time, that will not be the case!"
With a final snarl of hatred, Voldemort spun on the spot and vanished in a flurry of robes, leaving Berks behind without a second thought.
"My lord! Don't leave me!" Berks managed to cry before his head was severed from his body, courtesy of a cutting curse sent by Sirius; as Berks' body crumpled to the floor, James and Lily turned to their son, who lay unconscious on the table.
"We have to get him to St. Mungo's now!" Lily screamed in hysteria as she began to frantically untie Harry.
"I've got him!" James cried as he picked up his boy, grabbed his wife's hand, and spun on the spot, Apparating away.
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Author's Note:
That's one hell of a cliffhanger, ain't it? But don't worry; the next chapter won't take as long, and now that Harry is no longer a Horcrux, he might actually get to enjoy his life without the pain that comes every time he gets close to Lord Snakeface. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and as always, reviews are welcome as they help me craft a better story.
Until next time, stay golden, pony boy!
