Thursday, June 24, 1995 – Evening
There was a fire. Harry became conscious, he realized that he had been stunned. His own lord’s rings could not prevent a wizard with the strength of a Death Eater from stunning him, but the spell was not holding him, he had only been half stunned, and he was now reviving. He was tied with more ropes than before. His back was against a stone pillar.
The ropes around him were tight. He could only just breathe.
He remembered; Sirius had been hit.
Pettigrew will get no mercy for this.
What was that fire? Harry managed to look up. A large cauldron was on the ground in front of him. It was ten paces away. A fire under it kept the cauldron boiling, the brew in the cauldron was sending out fiery sparks.
Harry’s head slumped down. Then he awoke with a start, he must have passed out again.
Pettigrew was holding something over the cauldron. It was a hideous little creature like a skinny, flat faced goblin. He dumped the thing into the brew. It sank to the bottom with a thud.
Pettigrew raised his wand and recited an incantation with a terrified, quavering voice.
‘Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!’
He dumped a packet of crumbling bones into the cauldron. The sparkling surface of the brew erupted with a shower of sparks. The brew turned a vile shade of blue.
The whimpering, quavering voice of Pettigrew sobbed as he pulled a long silver dagger from inside his robes. He gasped out the next line of the incantation.
‘Flesh – of the servant – w-willingly given – you will – revive – your master.’
Harry could not look away as Pettigrew cut his own hand off. It was the one that was missing a finger. The Death Eater screamed; his agony made Harry sick again. This was something Harry fervently wished to forget. The brew turned bright red, the power of the burst of light hurt Harry’s eyes.
‘B-blood of the enemy … forcibly taken … you will … resurrect your foe.’
Hot breath hit Harry in his face. Pettigrew had overcome the pain from his severed hand, had lurched to Harry and was now leaning on him, preparing to do something to Harry with the dagger.
The dagger pierced Harry’s arm. The blood flowed. Pettigrew took a phial from his cloak an collected a sample from the flow. Pettigrew stumbled to the cauldron and poured the blood in. The brew seethed and gave off a brilliant white light and shower of white-hot sparks. Pettigrew slumped to the ground.
Steam billowed from the cauldron and covered the area. A tall, skinny figure rose from the Cauldron.
“Robe me!” The command was given in a high clear voice. Pettigrew scrambled to pick up a black robe from the ground and get it over the head of the waiting man.
The face that Harry saw was well known to him. He had seen it in dreams many times before his scar had been removed. It was Tom Riddle. Also known by his own made-up name, Lord Voldemort.
The snake, Nagini, slithered into view. She kept on the move, constantly circling the ritual space.
Riddle had been admiring his wand and himself in his new mostly human form. He stared at Harry, then he turned to Pettigrew. A flick of the wand sent Pettigrew crashing against a stone wall.
Harry realized that they were outside somewhere in the ruins of some ancient buildings.
Pettigrew was holding the stump of his arm, wrapped in the blood-soaked folds of his robe. He begged Riddle for something.
Riddle spoke, “Hold out your arm.”
Pettigrew held out his ghastly stump. Riddle laughed, “Your other arm, Wormtail.”
Wormtail begged. Riddle pulled out Pettigrew’s other arm and examined the mark on the inside of the forearm. It was vivid red.
Riddle spoke softly, “It is back, they will all have felt it, and now, we shall see, now we shall know.”
He pressed his fingertip to the mark on Pettigrew’s arm. Pettigrew shrieked with the pain. The mark had turned jet black. Harry didn’t feel anything from his scar. The Unspeakables knew what they were doing.
“How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?” he whispered. “And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?”
Harry listened; he couldn’t get enough breath to shout out. The ropes were too tight. He couldn’t feel his hands, his arms were hurting from the pressure.
Why do they always have to start monologing?
Riddle began a long sickening speech about his family history and real name. He was waiting for something.
Death Eaters in robes and masks started apparating into the open space. Riddle continued his ‘evil overlord’ speech and started tormenting his followers as they bowed and worshipped him like he was some sort of God.
Eventually, Riddle paused during his ‘worship-me-while-I-torture-you’ session to give Pettigrew a new metallic hand to replace his sacrificed one. It was amazing magic, but a sickening sight.
When he had thoroughly terrified his followers, Riddle turned his attention to Harry. The snake was outside the circle of Death Eaters. Riddle explained how Lilley Potter’s protection had saved Harry from his first attack but that was all over now. Riddle could touch Harry as he had been revived with Harry’s own blood. Riddle pressed his finger to Harry’s forehead. It felt cold and gave Harry a fresh attack of the creeps but nothing else. Riddle did not seem to notice.
The monologue continued at great length. Harry was only half listening.
He had seen a new arrival.
Outside of the ring of Death Eaters a grey cloaked person was standing. This person kept their hood up and nearly closed over their face in the manner of an Unspeakable.
Harry summoned his remaining strength. He managed to croak out some defiance, hoping to keep Riddle’s and the Death Eater’s attention on him.
“You’re going to lose Riddle! You’re a loser!” It wasn’t much but it was enough to get Riddle angry.
Pettigrew jumped forward, “This is what you get for insulting the Dark Lord. Crucio!”
They were right about the Cruciatus curse. It was more pain than Harry had ever experienced and that was a lot. Every nerve felt like it was on fire, his skin felt like it was being torn off, his bones seemed to be cracking. Harry felt his voice break as he screamed.
All eyes were on Harry. The Unspeakable bent down and placed something on the snake’s tail. It immediately coiled up and began to transform.
Riddle laughed. His attention was fixed on Harry. “Now, now Wormtail, that was a nearly acceptable attempt. Let me show you how it is properly done.”
Harry glimpsed a young woman standing where the snake had been.
Riddle smiled, “Crucio!”
It seemed to go on forever. Harry was losing his mind. His mouth was wide open, but he couldn’t get a breath to let out a scream.
“Let me join you, my lord.” Pettigrew was quivering with excitement.
“Very well, Wormtail. Don’t expect treats like this all the time.” Riddle laughed.
Harry whispered what he thought would be his last words.
“I’m sorry Hermione, I wanted to explain it to you. I’m not going to make it.”
“Crucio!” “Crucio!”
Harry knew nothing more.
Nagini took off the Horcrux ring and gave it to the Unspeakable. The ring was thrown up in the air. From behind them a Li Army soldier conjured Fiendfyre which shot up and engulfed the Horcrux. It died in a cloud of misty smoke and a loud scream.
Nagini appeared in front of Harry, facing Riddle and Pettigrew. The Cruciatus curses wrapped around her without touching her and captured both wizards.
Riddle fell, screaming in the agony of his own curse. Pettigrew was thrashing on the ground, screaming for his life. Nagini held them both under their own curses until Abbott’s Commandos and the Li Army soldiers finished their work.
It was not noticed by any of them, little circles of red light had appeared on their robes. They were too fascinated by the torture that their master was inflicting on Harry. The cheers and whoops of laughter were replaced by heavy cough sounds and thumps as two rounds from assault rifles hit each of them in the middle of their chests.
Riddle was released from his own spell. He looked up at Nagini. “Nagini, I command you to obey me. You belong to me! You must obey me!”
“Not anymore, Riddle! I have been restored to my proper place.” Nagini looked down at Riddle with black, angry eyes.
Riddle was wild. “Potter will not escape me! He has stolen you from me! He will die for this!”
Riddle rolled to one side and pointed his wand at Harry.
“Avada Kedavra!”
There was no discernible passing of time. Nagini appeared in between Riddle and Harry. The killing curse curved around Nagini without touching her. It struck Riddle in his chest. He fell to the ground, dead.
--ooOOoo--
Tom awoke after what seemed like a long sleep. He was sitting on a stone quayside. There was a wide river.
A small flat boat approached. It was a ferry. The ferryman gestured to Tom to get in.
Tom realized where he was.
He shouted at the ferryman.
“This is the River Styx. The other side is the Underworld. You can’t take there!”
The ferryman gestured again. Tom floated over and landed in the ferry.
On the other side the ferryman gestured again. Tom was floated out of the ferry and dumped on the ground.
“Welcome Tom! I have been waiting for you.” A tall figure stood there.
“You can’t keep me here. I have soul anchors in the living realms. You must send me back!”
Hades smiled. “Now, now Tom. Is that any way to talk to you new owner? You belong to me now, forever!”
Hades moved around Tom.
“Tom, your soul anchors are all dead. Harry and his people did their job well.”
Hades gestured. Tom was suddenly naked.
“You hurt him a lot, Tom. You will pay for that. Harry’s reward is something that you will never get. He is loved, now and always.”
Imps moved in, Riddle was bound and gagged. “Put him with the others. I think I will start a new band with you and the Death Eaters. I know it has been used before, but I always liked this name, ‘The Threshold of Pain’. What do you think Tom?”
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