|
If The Fates Allow | ||||||
|
Category: Post-OotP Characters:Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny Genres: Drama Warnings: Sexual Situations, Extreme Language Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 596 Summary: Ginny has been forced to marry Draco Malfoy, but her heart still belongs to Harry. Will she ever be able to break free from this unwanted marriage? Will Harry help her? A story of passion, blackmail, Greek gods and a most surreal place for playing Quidditch! Join Harry and Ginny on their odyssey through despair and hope, faith and love, amidst Voldemort's machinations! Hitcount: Story Total: 114813; Chapter Total: 3435 |
Previous Next |
|
||||
|
"The fearless are merely fearless. People who act in spite of their fear are truly brave." (James A. Lafond-Lewis) “What… what are you doing to that child?” gasped Leto as Voldemort touched the tip of his wand to little Dora’s arm in Leto’s room. A gash opened on the baby’s rosy skin and she let out an ear-splitting wail. Had Phaedra been there, she surely would have lunged at Voldemort like a mother tiger, but the only Circle members around were Spiro and Leto and both of them were held firmly by Death Eaters. Leto’s motherly instincts kicked in and her heart wrenched at the sight of mistreating an innocent baby like that. How could she have known that Dora wasn’t the first baby whose arm the Dark Lord had sliced open? Amrita had had to suffer from the ‘ritual’ ever since she was born. Bellatrix conjured a vessel and tucked it under the baby’s arm until enough blood had escaped from her vein and then Voldemort closed the wound with a swish of his wand. “Now it doesn’t matter that Amrita’s lost,” said the Dark Lord with delight. “Perhaps this child’s blood won’t be as efficacious as hers, given that she has none of my blood, but she has some of Potters… and it’ll be enough to keep me going until we find my granddaughter. Right, Wormtail?” “Y… yes, My Lord,” stammered Pettigrew, half wishing that Voldemort would never find the little girl. According to the Book of Athena, Amrita knew where Harry Potter was, so perhaps they were together now… and something deep in Wormtail’s heart felt joyful for it. He knew that if the Dark Lord got to know that he liked the idea of Amrita very probably being in Potter’s hands, then he’d be severely punished… but he couldn’t help feeling happy. In her father’s hands Amrita would be safe, loved and cared for… if the Potter boy had let the Dark Lord blackmail him into letting Voldemort go in exchange for Amrita’s life, then it had to mean he loved his daughter. Also, if Peter thought back to the schoolboy Potter he’d known for three years, he had to admit that he’d known him as a generous, kind-hearted and caring person – surely he’d be a good father to Peter’s little angel? Peter heaved a sigh. Yes. He had always thought of Amrita as his little angel… and now this angel had finally sprouted wings and flown out of her nest. He hoped she’d be happy, wherever she was, whatever she was doing. Five minutes later the ritual was completed, and Voldemort grinned at his Death Eaters in a self-satisfied manner. “Now my powers are restored, and I can continue my search for the parchment. So… what did the book say? Ask Nausika Kondos… I take it she is going to return here sooner or later, if she’s the boss of this pathetic little organisation. What do you think, Papafotiu?” Both Spiro and Leto looked at him warily. “I meant the boy,” grunted Voldemort. “So, you expect she’s coming back any time soon, don’t you?” “I suppose she is,” growled Spiro, “but if there is an opportunity for me to warn her not to return, you can be sure I’ll use it!” “Yeah… I’m sure you would…” Voldemort smiled in an almost fatherly way. “Crucio!” “Noo oo!” Leto fought to get free from her captors’ vice like grip, while her brother convulsed on the floor, his screams tearing at the air. “Why not?” Bellatrix smirked. “Your brother was impertinent. The Dark Lord only punishes him for his cheek.” Suddenly Voldemort stopped torturing the Greek wizard and lowered his wand. “Are you all right, my Lord?” Bellatrix asked worriedly, seeing the weary expression on his face. “I… think I am, Bella…” replied Voldemort. “It just… it doesn’t feel all right.” “What? Torturing me?” wheezed Spiro. “Don’t say you’ve taken pity on me, Voldemort!” “Oh shut up, Spiro!” Leto said in a beseeching voice, tears welling up in her eyes. If her stupid brother continued on like this, he’d be tortured to death for sure! “No,” Voldemort said, but not to Spiro but to Bellatrix. “What doesn’t feel all right is… the way I’m feeling. I feel… strange. Perhaps because of this unaccustomed mixture of blood…” The Death Eaters around exchanged confused looks – they had never heard their master talk like that. Apart from those thirteen years spent powerless, Voldemort had always been an icon of strength and invincibility, their idol who could not be vanquished in any way. But now… “I’m sure your body only needs some time to adjust to it, My Lord. After all, this isn’t purely Potter’s blood, and it isn’t half his and half yours, either.” “Yes, that must be it, Bella.” Nodded Voldemort, inhaling and exhaling deeply. “I’m already feeling better.” “And what do we do now, My Lord?” interjected Macnair. “Sit back and wait for this Miss Kondos,” replied the Dark Lord. “Perhaps we should go back to the library…” “That doesn’t mean we have to read?” asked Goyle with a terrified expression. Voldemort rolled his eyes, and even ice queen Bellatrix had to fight with her facial muscles to keep the appearance of indifference. “What was that?” Ginny gasped and drew back from Harry’s passionate embrace. “Ehm… I think that was my…” he said, turning slightly pink. “Not that!” She shook her head. “That cry.” “Oh, that.” He waved. “I expect it was either Boreas – you know, Leto’s son -, or Dora.” For a second it flashed through Harry’s mind that his daughter would be awakened by the cries, but then he remembered that the child’s room in the Potter’s apartment had a silencing charm cast over it – a very special silencing charm that allowed the adults hear the child’s possible cries coming from the room, but kept all noises out of the room. “No… it wasn’t a baby’s cry,” said Ginny. “How do you know? How many babies have you heard crying?” “None.” She bit into her lower lip and looked away from him, pain once again clenching at her heart. What she would have given to hear her own baby cry at least once! But no… hers had been silent… silent as a grave. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them back. “Sorry…” he said and reached out to cup her chin. “I should have known better than to say that.” “I’m sure it wasn’t a baby-cry, Harry,” she replied seriously. “It was a scream… a scream of an adult.” “But who’d be screaming here? As far as I know, the only adult here besides us is Leto, but…” The scream was repeated. “…it isn’t a female scream. It sounds like the wail of someone – a male - being tortured.” Ginny paled. “Cruciatus?” “ Could be.” He nodded. “Come, let’s save him, whoever he is…” he said, although he already had a very good idea who it might be. Only Spiro was stupid enough to get himself into such troubles… Well, not that Harry hadn’t got himself into much worse trouble, but he’d always managed to get out of it. However, Spiro had a knack of getting into trouble and not being able to get out of it. Harry muttered a quick Deminuo with his wand pointed at his crotch and then crept to the door, followed by Ginny. After they exited the Potter apartment, he turned around and magically locked the door. If there were truly dark wizards around, they didn’t need to know his daughter was here. Especially a certain dark wizard shouldn’t know… “Done. No one will disturb my angel’s sleep,” Harry said and turned left. Ginny reached out and tapped his shoulder. “What?” he mouthed. “The screams came from the other direction,” she whispered. “I know,” he whispered back, “but first I want to get a clear view of everything. Trust me.” She shrugged and followed him towards the entrance. Suddenly he threw out his arm to stop her and pointed at something. Ginny strained her eyes to see properly, for the Entrance Hall was rather dark with only a couple of torches here and there. Now she understood what he’d meant by getting a clear view of the situation: there were two hooded figures standing near the entrance. Obviously their task was to alert those who were torturing Spiro if someone tried to come through the entrance. “They’re…&# 8221; she whispered, but he waved to silence her and gave her an ‘I know’ look. The two standing guard most definitely looked like Death Eaters. “Stun them?” she mouthed. He nodded and gave her the three-count. As he put his last finger down, both of them whispered Stupefy at the two guards, who fell onto the floor, clearly not expecting any sort of attack from behind, only from the direction of the entrance. “Well done.” Harry grinned at Ginny. “Now let’s tie them up, shall we?” She watched as he conjured ropes to bind the Death Eaters’ unconscious bodies. “Do you know what this means?” she whispered. “Yes.” He nodded solemnly. “Voldemort’s here.” “But… what does he want here?” “I expect the parchment.” “The one you burnt?” “Yeah.” Desp ite the seriousness of the situation, she couldn’t help but grin. Old Tom won’t be getting what he wants… “And now?” She turned back to Harry. “We’re going to save that unfortunate chap,” he replied. “But… how many Death Eaters do you think there are? I mean… I know you’re great and everything, but… if there are ten Death Eaters or even more, then we can’t win, that’s out of the question!” “Don’t worry about me. Stay here and wait for the Circle members. Tell them what’s up and that they should come to the library – at least I think the screams came from the library...” “Are you out of your mind?” she gasped. “You can’t take on a bunch of Death Eaters AND You-Know-Who alone! Not even you are invincible! You’ll be killed for sure!” “Bet I won’t,” he replied and started down the corridor, towards the source of the screams. “What do you mean by that?” She caught up with him. “Tell you later. Just stay here and make sure the Circle members find their way to the library.” Ginny was about to open her mouth to object, but he pressed his index finger upon it, to silence her. “Trust me.” There was something in his eyes that made her nod. Harry’s index finger left her lips to be replaced by his mouth, but it didn’t last more than a second. “Take care,” she whispered after him, but he was already out of earshot. It was only then that it struck her how stupid it had been of her to let him go alone. However, she’d agreed to help him by staying here and notifying the returning members of the Circle of Hermes. The mere thought of Harry going into the lion’s den alone gave her the creeps, but there had been something in his eyes that made her trust him. She hadn’t the vaguest idea what he had in mind, how he could have felt brave/strong/stupid enough to face a dozen Death Eaters on his own… Now she regretted having agreed to stay here, while he was going to meet the Dark Lord and his minions alone… but a promise was a promise. The screams were getting fainter and fainter, although they should have become louder as Harry was drawing closer. Clearly Spiro was at the end of his tether, too tired and too much in pain to even scream. If Harry didn’t do something soon he’d surely die or be admitted into a lunatic asylum, just like the Longbottoms had been. Harry swished his wand to Disillusion himself. Ten Death Eaters, as I’d expected, he thought as he peered into the library. Spiro was lying on the floor, panting, his eyes shut. He was in a bad state, Harry could tell from what he was seeing. “It hurt, didn’t it?” sneered Voldemort at the unfortunate young wizard, who didn’t have enough strength left to give him a defiant or cheeky look – actually he didn’t even budge. For a second, fear tore at Harry’s heart: if Spiro had died, then it’d be his fault. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time that other people’s suffering was his fault, but it still caused him such spiritual torment that it almost felt like physical pain. Leto was trembling in Goyle and Macnair’s grip, while Bellatrix was eyeing the unconscious Spiro with a pout. She seemed to be sorry that he’d blacked out, denying her the chance to listen to more of his screams. Harry’s hands clenched into fists as he examined the sadistic woman’s expression. However, he had to exercise control; the time to strike hadn’t come yet. In the background several Death Eaters stood with their arms folded, satisfied expressions spreading on their faces. The only one among them who seemed to be out of place was Wormtail; he kept casting nervous glances at the unconscious (or perhaps even dead?) Greek wizard sprawled by Voldemort’s feet. Besides worry, is it pity on his face? – Harry wondered. The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters seemed way too occupied with watching Spiro to notice Harry. Clearly each of them had thought that their two mates were well placed at the entrance and would warn them if someone of the Circle returned to cause trouble. Leto had, after all, told them that she was the only adult in the Headquarters, and Voldemort, the talented Legilimens had felt that she was telling the truth. Though somewhat unwillingly, Leto also informed him that Apparating and Disapparating was impossible into and out of the Circle, so the only way the other Circle members could have returned was through the front door. Thus, Voldemort was firm in the belief that his guards would alert him if anyone tried to enter – how could he or even Leto have known that Harry had returned even before they arrived here? Even though outnumbered ten to one, Harry still was holding the aces in this game: the Death Eaters weren’t aware of his presence. For a couple of seconds he examined the room he was peering into, analysing the chances of taking action. He knew that this had to be the final battle between him and Voldemort, and he had to win. He had to fulfil Sybill Trelawney’s prophecy by vanquishing the Dark Lord… by killing the Dark Lord… All that Trelawney hadn’t known was that there were many ways of killing someone… and Harry hoped he’d have a chance to do it the way he had planned in Elysium. However, for that he had to make sure Voldemort would run out of his magic-supplies provided by Amrita’s blood. He didn’t know how long it usually took the Dark Lord to use up his powers, but he surmised that heavy battling would quicken the process, as heavy exertion always drains one’s energies. For the average wizard, magical powers weren’t like normal energies: they never run out; but Voldemort had long been far from normal… Harry only had to do one last thing before entering the room. Linda? he thought. *Yes, Harry?* came the answer. I’d like you to remain with me now for a while. *Wow, is it time already?* her voice sounded excited inside of his head. Seems so. At least I hope so… It’s got to be now, Linda. If I don’t deal with it now, I don’t know when I’ll be able to try again. *Uh-huh… Do you know anything about Amrita?* she asked in a slightly worried voice. She escaped from Voldemort, he replied, and is peacefully sleeping in a room nearby. If I manage to close my mind to him, then he won’t get to know she’s here… until it’s too late for him. *I see. Actually, I see everything you see… this is weird!* How do you see things I see? Isn’t the link between us supposed to work only in an audible form? *I thought so too… but apparently I was wrong. It’s most definitely audiovisual. Great… Look at Father, I’d like to see him through your eyes.* Harry edged into the room and squinted at Voldemort, who seemed to be eyeing Spiro in a bored sort of way, as though he had been robbed of an entertaining toy. Harry’s heart sank at the thought that perhaps Spiro was dead already. If he were, then it’d be definitely Harry’s fault. *Don’t blame yourself* Linda told him gently. Uh… forgot you were here, he thought. He still had to get used to having someone talk inside his head. *I can imagine that, it’s creepy for me, too… but let’s hope it’ll end soon.* He didn’t have time to question what she meant by ‘it’ll end soon’, because Spiro suddenly stirred and a diabolic smile spread on both Voldemort and Bellatrix’s face. “May I carry on, My Lord?” asked the woman hopefully. Voldemort made a wide, sweeping gesture with his hand, indicating that the chance to continue torturing the unfortunate wizard was hers. “No! Please!” Leto burst out, struggling against Macnair and Goyle’s vice-like grip that held her in place. “He’s going to die if he gets one more blast!” “I know,” replied the Dark Lord coolly. “Bella, feel free to carry on.” Tears welled up in Leto’s eyes as Bellatrix raised her wand with an insane grin of satisfaction on her once-pretty face. The tears were blurring Leto’s vision so much that at first she didn’t even notice Bellatrix’s wand ripped out of her hand. The female Death Eater gasped and looked around, but didn’t spot Harry, for he blended with the granite wall perfectly. “My wand!” screamed Mrs Lestrange with frustration. All Death Eaters looked around, searching for the source of disturbance, but to no avail. Bellatrix’s wand was ballet dancing in the air, just out of her reach – Harry didn’t want to move it to himself, for Bellatrix’s wand wasn’t Disillusioned, and it would have revealed his position if he'd caught it. “Invisibility Cloak?” Rodolphus Lestrange wondered. I never thought that Disillusionment could be this effective, Harry thought, then suddenly felt something touch his feet: it was a rat, and when Harry looked down, it scurried away. When it had put enough distance between itself and Harry, changed back into Wormtail. *He’s scented you out* Linda voiced her opinion. I kn… he began and shifted nervously. It was a mistake to shift. “There!” shouted Rodolphus, pointing in Harry’s direction. Eight wands fired curses at the point Harry’s been standing on a second earlier. Had he had time to think, he would have blessed his Quidditch-honed reflexes and as well as thought really bad things about Peter Pettigrew. However, he didn’t even have time to let a single thought run through his mind, for the Death Eaters pelted the area around him with curses. Now that they were aware that Harry was there, it was easier for the Death Eaters to make him out against the grey wall – it was enough for Harry to budge a bit, and this little movement revealed his position. It was pretty much like being a chameleon: as long as a chameleon doesn’t move, it’s quite difficult to make out against the backdrop of lush green shrubbery, but as soon as it moves, it becomes easier to notice, especially for predators that hunt for moving prey. The Death Eaters proved to be talented predators and showered their prey with Stupefy’s, Expelliarmuses, Reductor Curses and even with a Killing Curse… only to have to duck out of the way of their rebound spells. Whew, I forgot that I was invulnerable! thought Harry, his heart hammering in his throat, his body full of adrenaline. Surely he wouldn’t otherwise have been able to defend himself against ten Death Eaters at once, would he? Had he not become invulnerable by falling through Styx, he’d be dead, or at least seriously injured now. *It seems it gave Daddy quite a shock* remarked Linda. Indeed, Voldemort was eyeing Harry with some sort of reverence and fear. He’d never in his life seen a Shield Charm powerful enough to send a whole torrent of curses back at their originators. “Stop, you idiots, and lower your wands,” he growled. “I want him alive… at least for a while.” Somewhat confused, the Death Eaters obeyed. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll curse them into next week if they lower their wands like that?” said Harry calmly, leaning against the wall, nonchalantly as though Voldemort were a barman whom he wanted to ask for a bit of Ogden’s Old Firewhisky. To enhance the effect that his casualness had on the Death Eaters, Harry focused on ending the Disillusionment charm. It wasn’t useful anymore, so why keep it? This way at least the Death Eaters – and most importantly Voldemort – could make out his expression, and, as Harry was expecting, cheeky grins and knowing looks were exactly what he needed to give the Dark Lord now. “Still cheeky, aren’t we, Potter?” Voldemort’s eyes narrowed. “You were this cheeky last time we met, too… but then I put my cards on the table, and you realised that all the aces were in my possession…” “But they aren’t this time,” said Harry, folding his arms. “I have the child!” rumbled Voldemort. Somewhere behind him, Bellatrix ducked for her wand that Harry had let fall when he was pelted by dozens of curses at once. For a second Harry felt like telling Voldemort ‘no, you don’t’, but he thought better of it, because such an assertion would lead to questions like ‘how do you know? Do you have her by any chance?’, and although Harry had learnt Occlumency quite well, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to completely close his mind against the Dark Lord’s assault. He had twice dreamed about Voldemort in the last ten months, after all, and it had to mean that Voldemort, although unintentionally, still could penetrate his mind. So, if Voldemort wanted to, then very likely he would still be able to hear Harry’s thoughts and Harry couldn’t risk giving Voldemort a reason to want to look into his mind. “Yeah, you have her.” He nodded at Voldemort. “And?” “And? And what?” Voldemort’s snake-like nostrils flared, showing how irritated he was. “You know that she dies if you even try to hurt me.” “You know, Voldemort, I think that life under your authority must be worse for her than death. So… by all means, kill her…” He gave the Dark Lord a meaningful look. “…if you feel you no longer need her blood-donations.” Harry could hear Bellatrix and someone else – perhaps Wormtail – gasp, and Voldemort’s pallid face got even whiter than usual. “How do you know about that?” “Dolores Umbridge told me.” Harry shrugged. “Umbridge?” Voldemort’s eyes widened. “But she’s dead!” “Now you tell me.” Harry rolled his eyes. “Right. I don’t care how you got to know it, whether you conjured up her spirit or what…” “…all that counts is that I know it,” Harry finished the Dark Lord’s sentence. “You won’t kill Amrita because you need her. Without her you’d be no one. Worse than a Mudblood, worse than a Squib, worse than a common Muggle…” By every word Harry uttered, Voldemort’s complexion grew paler and paler. “It hurts, doesn’t it? The truth can be so cruel sometimes…” “Enough of this, My Lord, let us kill him!” Bellatrix shouted. “Right. Kill me. Then you’ll lose the last resource of power, Voldemort,” said Harry. The Dark Lord regarded him curiously. “So the book was right, then. You know that Amrita isn’t with me, because she’s with you!” “With me?” Harry blinked. “Come on, Your Lordship, do you see a single Amrita with me?” he looked around theatrically, as though looking for something. “I can’t see any.” “You know where she is,” growled Voldemort, his wand pointed at Harry’s heart. “Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.” Harry gave his archenemy a cheeky, challenging grin. If it came to that, he’d fight for the security of his thoughts by all possible means … if he had to, he’d ask Linda to keep chattering inside his head so that Voldemort wouldn’t hear his thoughts about Amrita’s whereabouts… However, it didn’t come to that. “You know something else, too,” said Voldemort. “The parchment. Where – is – it?” “Parchment?” Harry looked contemplative. “You mean the one I burnt?” “Buuuurnt?” hissed the Dark Lord. “Yeah. It’s in a pretty pile of ashes somewhere in Atlantis. Was it the only means of gaining immortality? Too bad…” Voldemort’s pallid face suddenly turned red, as red as none of his minions had ever seen it. “You little…” began Bellatrix and whipped out her wand at him. “Little what?” Harry raised an eyebrow. “…halfblood scum? Your Lord is one too!” Now he changed his voice to a mock baby voice, “Or perhaps little…baby Potter? I’m no baby anymore, Bellatrix. The child in me was killed permanently when you killed Sirius. And you didn’t even manage to torture me… tsk, tsk, tsk…” “I will, now!” she screamed. “Crucio!” However, Harry just held out his palm and the curse rebounded off it, as though it were a polished mirror. Rebounded, it hit Bellatrix. The woman’s screams filled the library, and for a second Harry felt some sort of satisfaction, even though it wasn’t him torturing her, but her unintentionally torturing herself. “Finite.” Voldemort pointed his wand at his devoted servant’s writhing body, and Bellatrix heaved herself into a kneeling position, gasping for breath. “That hurt, didn’t it?” asked Harry. Bellatrix looked up at him with her lips pressed tightly together, but if her look could have killed, Harry would have dropped dead then and there. “How did you do that?” asked Voldemort, though he wasn’t expecting an answer – the young wizard surely wouldn’t give his secret out to him, would he? However, a smile spread on Harry’s face and he spoke up: “I’m invulnerable, Voldemort. No jinx can harm me, no curse can kill me, no spell whatsoever can hurt me.” “Impossible…R 21; Harry shrugged. “If you think so… but you could see it with your own eyes. All those curses rebounded off me. I take it that the one Avada Kedavra didn’t hit me, because if it had, then one of your Death Eaters would be dead now – it would have rebounded on them.” Voldemort’s mouth twitched and his eyes focused on Harry’s. Linda, start talking. Talk about anything you want, just make sure you out-shout my thoughts about Amrita’s whereabouts. *As you wish.* Indeed, as Harry had expected, Voldemort was trying Legilimency on him. Voldemort seemed to be such an advanced Legilimens, that he didn’t even need to utter the incantation - surely he hadn’t cast Legilimens on Harry in his fifth year when they were thousands of miles apart, he had just concentrated hard, and he was inside Harry’s head… Now he was inside it once again, and what he heard there took him by surprise. *And now, the weather forecast: tomorrow a warm front comes from the direction of the continent, but it won’t cause a radical temperature-rise, just about four or five degrees Celsius. However, the UV-radiation will be unusually high, so good advice to all those who want to go bathing at the seaside: be careful to use suntan lotion! Advertisement section! Here’s the Sorcerer Suntan Lotion with Gilderoy Lockhart’s recommendation: You too want to look divine? Want to have fair skin like mine? Skin for which everyone yearns? Then don’t allow bad sunburns! And now, back to the studio…* “What… what is this?” hissed Voldemort. “Er… Wizarding Wireless?” Harry smiled politely. “I know that voice…” Voldemort’s eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you did.” Shrugged Harry. Well done, Lindy! *My pleasure! I have more slogans in store if you need some.* Just no more Gilderoy Lockhart, please! thought the young wizard as he scrutinised Voldemort’s features. It radiated many different emotions, mostly anger, hatred and surprise. “My daughter…” Voldemort said finally. “It was my daughter. You’ve conspired with my daughter against me, Potter!” “Well spotted, your Lordship.” Nodded Harry. “See, not even Legilimency can help you now… you cannot harm me in any way. It is you who have to be afraid of me, not the other way around. And, as you might already know: you cannot Disapparate inside the walls of the Circle Headquarters. You’re trapped.” “Trapped?” Bellatrix snorted. “You might be invulnerable, baby Potter, but there’s only one of you while there’s a dozen of us here!” “Yeah… you’re terribly outnumbered,” replied Harry coolly. The Dark Lord took a deep breath, as though trying to calm himself, although Harry was sure that inside he was seething with rage, mad at Amrita for having escaped, mad at Umbridge for spilling the beans to Harry, mad at his own traitorous daughter for siding with his archenemy… and there was something else about him, too. Fatigue. Yes, that was it. Harry was sure that Voldemort was tired. For the first time he seemed old to Harry. He was running out of his powers… Good. He’s getting weaker and weaker… *You’ve got to force him to duel, Harry. The more he uses of his powers, the quicker he uses them all up.* I know, but… Harry couldn’t even finish his thought, for suddenly five people burst into the room, shooting Stunners at everyone they could reach. Three Death Eaters were hit and collapsed, unconscious. Good timing. Now your dad will be forced to fight, grinned Harry and joined Ginny, Draco, Nausika, Fred and George in showering the Death Eaters with hexes, jinxes and curses. “Daddy?” Amrita yawned and rubbed her eyes. Sitting up in Daphne’s onetime bed, she pulled the frilly pink covers back and slipped into her shoes. She needed to find the bathroom – as soon as possible. However, she had no idea where it was. She just had to ask her father. “Ginny? Daddy?” No one answered her calls. She pushed the door of her room open, and suddenly noises caught her ears. Noises that she hadn’t heard while in the child’s room. “Daddy? Is that you? Ginny, where are you? Are you playing hide and seek? Then you’re doing it really well. Wormie never manages to hide properly, I always found him! Oh come on, stop hiding! What’s going on? Are you out there?” After a while she drew the conclusion that her father and Ginny weren’t around. But where had they gone? Why had they left her alone? Having forgotten about her urge to visit the loo, she ran to the door of the Potter apartment and tried to open it, but it was locked, or charmed not to open. Her little heart clenched with fear. What if Daddy had left her for good? And why was she locked in this flat? Surely Daddy hadn’t locked her in so that she’d be held here until Grandpa Voldemort came for her to take her away with him again? Noooo! Daddy wouldn’t be evil enough to let Grandpa capture her again!?! Someone spoke up outside: “Stunned Death Eaters? Weird.” “Do you know what this means, Phaedra?” “Yeah, Jason, I’m not that slow on the uptake! The Dark Lord’s here.” As the two talkers’ footsteps died away Amrita felt she was trembling and some unusually warm feeling filled her lower parts… For the first time since she was three, she wet herself. For about a minute she just stood there, quivering in the small puddle, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Noooo… that can’t be…” She hiccoughed. “He can’t be here… he can’t find meeee! I’m not going back to him... Dadddyyyy, why have you leeeft?” Something shook the building, as though some curse had exploded inside it, and it shook the child out her hysterical state. With tears still welling up in her eyes, she knitted her eyebrows, pressed her lips tightly together and ran at the door. In the next second she found herself outside the door, on an empty, dimly-lit corridor. Wow. How did I do this? she thought. She didn’t even know how she could get the idea to ‘attack’ that poor door – it had been pretty much instinctual. Now all she had to do was find the way out of this place, to get as far from Grandpa Voldemort as possible. Smoke filled the air in the library, books lay everywhere, shelves shattered, the books’ leaves torn out. Spiro was still lying on the floor, though his sister had managed to haul him into a corner. Leto had got her wand back in the turmoil and was occasionally sending a curse at nearby Death Eaters, forming a live shield for her brother. By now four Death Eaters were knocked out, along with Jason and George. Macnair was duelling with Nausika, while Rodolphus Lestrange ducked a curse from Fred’s wand, tripped over Jason’s unconscious body and his wand flew out of his hand. Phaedra, who had been engaged in a fight with a young Death Eater called Jetson, caught Lestrange’s wand and while deflecting a hex of Jetson’s, she also diverted a curse that Bellatrix had directed at Draco. “Hey, thanks!” Draco yelped as he dodged another curse sent at him by Goyle Sr. “You’re welcome, blond prince!” she quipped. “Don’t call me…” began Draco, but he couldn’t finish, for Goyle aimed another curse at him, growling ‘you blood-traitor, how could I ever let you become friends with my little Greg?’ “Actually, without me little Greg wouldn’t have even passed his OWLs!” Draco snapped and flicked his wand, a bunch of snakes lunging at Goyle and turning into ropes as they wound around his body. Amidst all curses blurring the air in the library, Harry spotted a dark figure advance towards the door, holding something that looked pretty much like a heavy, old book. The Book of Athena. “No you don’t,” he breathed. “What?” asked Ginny, giving a nearby Death Eater a Bat-Bogey Hex. Harry just waved and hurried across the room, as quick as he could among zigzagging hexes. *Catch him, Harry! You can’t let him escape!* said Linda’s excited voice inside of his head. Don’t worry, I won’t let him escape, he replied and picked up his pace as soon as he was out of the library. No way would he let Voldemort out his hands, not now when victory was so close, when Voldemort was getting weaker by the second… He sent a Stupefy at the Dark Lord even though he expected it not to work, and he was right: the Dark Lord had put a Shield Charm on himself. The corridor bent and Harry lost sight of Voldemort. Had he tried to see through the wall, he surely would have been able to, but it would have required some seconds to concentrate, and he had no time to lose – he had to catch up with his archenemy before he could reach the exit from the Circle’s Headquarters. He turned the corner, and what caught his eyes made an icy hand clench at his heart. Voldemort was there, holding a little figure in front of himself, the Book of Athena lying on the floor behind his feet, his wand pointed at the figure’s temple. “One more move and she dies,” he rasped. “If she dies, then where will you get more blood-supplies from, eh? Don’t count on me, for I’m not going to give you a single droplet of my blood,” replied Harry, trying to sound as calm as possible, though inside he was trembling with fear. Amrita’s huge green eyes were widened with horror; she didn’t dare move and barely even dared breath. “I’ve found another source of blood-replenishment,” hissed Voldemort with a malicious grin on his face. “Actually I only accomplished the ritual an hour ago… on your younger daughter.” “On my… oh!” Harry’s eyes widened as he realised that his opponent was talking about Dora. For a second it flashed through his mind to thank Draco for knocking up his wife. Without Malfoy, Voldemort wouldn’t have been under the delusion that he’d gained powers for several more weeks. Harry had a good idea what Voldemort must have had in mind when he’d fled from the library: he must have been planning to leave the Circle Headquarters, then force people at random to question the Book of Athena about Amrita’s whereabouts, as he had already asked his question. Voldemort must have been firm in the belief that he’d be able to find his granddaughter eventually, and his energy-supplies would be enough until he found her… He seemed to think he still had time, still had weeks to find her… However, Harry knew that he didn’t. He knew it, and this feeling should have given him heart… yet it didn’t, for Voldemort was keeping the child - along with her father – in check. Why had Amrita left the Potter apartment? – Harry groaned inwardly. Had she remained there, then Voldemort wouldn’t have found out that she was around and… *No use crying over spilt milk,* Linda spoke up inside his head, and Harry took a deep breath, steeling himself. He knew that if he didn’t want his daughter to be harmed, then he’d have to let Voldemort escape with the child… at least that’s what he’d seen the evildoers do in action movies: just grab the girl, stick a gun to her temple and demand the police to let you free, or you’re going to kill your hostage. Even Voldemort, who hadn’t seen a single Muggle movie, hoped that Potter would be sensible enough to let them go. Harry, however, was of a different opinion. This was his chance to make sure Voldemort would lose his blood-supplies forever; this was his chance to vanquish the Dark Lord… But he was insecure. Now what? he thought. *Point your wand at her, Harry, and say…* Avada Kedavra? he asked in a crestfallen voice. *No. There’s another curse for the purpose… and it’s the most human of all. She won’t feel a thing.* Do you realise you’re egging me on to kill our daughter? *Just do it, Harry. Repeat the following words…* Harry raised his wand with a slightly trembling hand. His eyes locked with Amrita’s and he saw one single tear glint in her right eye. Linda’s voice inside his head continued: *…fair Helios, hear my cry, let this little sunshine die!* Harry opened his mouth, but he felt it had gone as dry as a parchment and he wasn’t able to produce any sort of voice. Something that Linda had told him long ago came to his mind: ‘My little angel would be much happier here with us than with my father.’ Yes… Amrita would definitely be happier in Elysium than here… and Voldemort would be vanquished… Harry looked into his daughter’s eyes for one more time and saw that the single tear had found its way down her cheek… “Afraid, aren’t you, Harry?” taunted Voldemort, firm in the belief that Harry was just threatening him by pointing his wand at the child. Harry didn’t reply, didn’t even look at him. “Fair Helios…” he muttered, his words indistinguishable for Voldemort, “…hear my cry…” Amrita bit into her lower lip and was shaking so madly that Voldemort had hard business holding her in place. “…let this little sunshine… die.” Voldemort, who had been gripping Amrita’s left shoulder, now felt it simply slip out of his hand, as the child collapsed. Next thing he knew, his granddaughter was lying in front of his feet without a single sign of life. Author’s note: curses are welcome *Agi has already cast a Protego spell on herself* Thanks to: arios, Ryoko Tenchi, delani, hermioneweasley, Rosebeth, Marissa, LoSeR BuGeR, ally, Lady G Kimmyfan: you’re clever :) Erin: no, the Amrita-Voldemort thing didn’t work like the Dragonheart thing. Amrita’s death doesn’t mean that Voldie dies too. AngieGS: yes, nice of you, but I’m as stubborn as a mule and don’t listen to people, I just write whatever I feel like ;) Well, Voldie didn’t shrivel up and die. It would have been too easy, don’t you think? Nemo1024: nice to see you here again, Stanlislav. Been missing you :) I’m glad I always managed to surprise you! Xtina: yeah, there are many kids to remember. I can’t even imagine what’d you say if you’d read my trilogy on ffnet. It has at least 20 different children, LOL (not all of them Harry’s, obviously;) |
| Reviews 596 |
Previous Next
|
