Chapter 43 – Learning from the past

AN:

Part 3 of 3.

Sorry trey. Again, not beta'd before release.

-o-o-o-o-o-

December 23rd

While Harry went with Hermione to join the other Champions, Ron strode down the stairs to join the others waiting in the entrance hall. There was a surety and confidence in his movements that got him double takes from a number of his year mates present. Ron was known as a follower, a sidekick, standing beside the boy-who-lived or acting as a guard against others from talking to Potter.

Here, he strode through the crowds with a small smile as if he owned the place. An energy and confidence that was so strange for many to see that they couldn't look away.

Then he walked straight up to Zabini and Parkinson and smiled at them.

Everyone waited with bated breath, expecting an explosion or argument, they weren't expecting what happened next.

Ron nodded to Zabini, "Thank you for escorting my date until I could arrive Blaise." He offered Parkinson his arm and smiled at her, "Shall we?"

Parkinson blushed bright red and curtsied before taking Rons arm and they moved into the Great Hall to take their seats.

Blaise was left gaping in confusion at what had just occurred. Had he just been dumped? At a public ball? In front of everyone? For a Weasley!? Before he embarrassed himself further or was seen and thought to be going stag to the event, he sharply turned and marched back to the Slytherin common room. "Crabbe, Goyle, come!"

Malfoy chuckled behind his hand and watched the rumours ripple away in the whispers of the witnesses. It looked like he was going to recover some influence in his house shortly. It was one thing for his mother to leave his father and issues to pop up, it was something entirely different when you were publicly embarrassed by a Weasley.

He tapped the hand resting on his arm gently, "Shall we take our seats?"

Flora Carrow smiled up at him, "we shall, do you think there will be more entertainment?"

Draco chuckled, "I doubt anything will be as delectable as that." He glanced down at her, "Except perhaps yourself."

Flora laughed openly at that, "Nicely said Draco, keep it up and you may have more than our interest."

-o-o-o-o-o-

The Ball had gone smoothly so far, the opening dance had no issues, no toes stepped on even if he was distracted and in awe of Hermione in her floaty periwinkle blue robes. Their practice had been truly enjoyable and useful, he would need to get McGonagall a nice gift to say thank you. He'd have to send Dobby tomorrow to get something to replace the catnip toys and scratching post he had acquired as a joke for her.

Harry still preferred her hair to be its usual wild state but could admire how she had managed to wrangle it into the intricate braid. Hermione hadn't stopped smiling the entire time they were dancing and while it was strange to see her with her teeth still longer than they had been last time, she was still beautiful in both lives. If she chose to shorten them, then he would support her in her choices, but he wouldn't speak of the option unless she brought it up first.

The meal had been excellent, Hermione had been pleased to discuss politics with Cornelius, who was listening to her with interest. He gave Harry a smile of approval as she paused to take a drink and Harry nodded to him with pride.

Then the night was given to the students and guests. Every dance Hermione wished to do, he danced; every time she wished for a drink or a break, he made sure she was comfortable and quickly acquired her drinks that he made sure were safe and unspiked by any shenanigans the twins thought to try.

It was a magical night and unlike last time, he truly enjoyed it.

Ernest and Padma were sat at their table, discussing their studies between their dances. Lavender and Theo were drifting through dance after dance, Harry was actually impressed at her endurance, the only breaks they took were when Theo began to flag and then they mingled and drifting between conversations. Lavender had asked Theo when he was going to ask her to go with him the moment they saw each other after McGonagall's notification.

Luna and Neville seemed to be in a world of their own as they span in slow circles in a corner of the dance floor, he smiled at how she seemed to shine at his attention. He still remembered Luna taking inspiration from Lavender and informing Neville that he would be taking her and what colours she would be wearing so he could match her. The look of mixed confusion and pleasure had been endearing on his face. That boy was still too innocent for his own good.

Dumbledores glare at seeing Neville with Luna was something to be concerned about, but he'd let Neville and Luna handle it until they asked for his help.

Millicent and Ginevra were a pair he had honestly not been expecting, but they seemed happy as they drifted across the dancefloor. Millicent was looking the most feminine he had ever seen her, and he was pleased to see her come out of her shell more. The muscles rippling along her arms as she led Ginevra likely a good reason that they hadn't been disturbed. It was odd to feel Ginevra's presence in the Force at peace for once, he hadn't realised that there was a wary edge to her whenever she was around a boy, even Harry. With Millicent, that was gone.

Cedric was with Cho, as had occurred previously, but his looks were still marred by the slowly healing scars from the dragonfire. But they were improving slowly but surely. Cho had stayed with him even with the injuries, so that was a good mark in her favour. He had honestly expected Cho to break up with Cedric at the first problem that occurred. He was pleasantly surprised at her.

Krum turned out to not be the greatest dancer, his artistry in the air much greater than on foot, but his date, one of the Durmstrang girls at a guess, was much more skilled and avoided any accidents between them. He was an attentive partner to her at least and didn't let his eyes drift as others did.

Fleur had come with Nymphadora, Tonks taking on more masculine features in her dress robes that looked more like Harry's than a ladies set. He blinked and realised what was bugging him about Tonks. She had dropped all her alterations; this was almost her natural appearance, and he could see the resemblance to her mother. It was impressive at how open she was being with Fleur who was practically glowing as they drifted across the dancefloor.

Harry smiled as he realised something else, every dance, Tonks began to lose the masculine touches and became more and more of herself. It wasn't surprising that the girl who everyone hungered for due to her looks alone and her ancestry found a commonality with the girl who could be anyone but was never asked to just be herself. Outsiders both that were always watched and talked about, never free to just be themselves.

But the biggest change was Ron and his partner, Parkinson, as they aggressively moved through the other dancers. Ron's awareness of his surroundings good enough that there were no collisions, but that energy as they moved while still focusing only on themselves was an intensity that made others uncomfortable. The new velvet collar at her throat was an interesting statement that nearly everyone here would miss, but Harry had skimmed through some of the books he had acquired for Ron. Truly, Ron was not going for a subtle declaration of his interests.

Harry looked into Hermione's eyes as they drifted across the dance floor, his eyes sparkling at how happy she looked. He heard the closing notes and glanced around at the dancers around him, he nodded towards the exit, "Walk with me?" Hermione smiled and nodded with a wide smile.

Together, they drifted through the small garden that had been placed on the walkways around the great hall. A number of other pairs gently drifted or sat on benches and looked over the waning half-moon shining on the lake below. The area had been enchanted to maintain a cool temperature and block the cold Scottish winds. Jane followed at a polite distance, ensuring their safety while also giving them some privacy.

As they sat and cuddled together to share their warmth, Harry looked down at her in awe, the words leaving his lips before he was aware that he said them. "What would happen if we kissed?"

Hermione blinked in shock but looked up at him, honestly considering the idea rather than running away, "I don't know, its a scary idea really. I'm... not sure if its a good idea. what..."

Harry gathered his courage, "Gryffindors charge, Hermione. If we are too afraid, then we will never find out. I don't think either of us would allow it to effect our friendship, no matter what happens."

At her nervous smile, he leant down a little and closed the distance between them. The floral scent of her filled him as he hovered just apart from her lips, letting her take that final step or pull away.

She licked her lips in nervous anxiety, before the temptation grew too great and she leant forward that little touch and they kissed.

The world didn't stop, there wasn't an explosion behind his eyes, he didn't feel like he was on fire or any other poetic ramblings he had read in passing.

What that simple chaste kiss was, was perfect.

It felt like he belonged there with her in that moment.

He felt like he was home.

And that was worth more to him than anything else.

They separated and he rested his forehead against hers, "So? What do y…"

Hermione stopped him speaking by grabbing his cheeks and hungrily kissing him again, this time she was not chaste or innocent. She didn't know what she was doing, she had no experience, but she wanted more and had heard stories.

Smiling into the kiss, Harry guided her and turned the messy hunger into a languid and sensual kiss.

Pulling back, he smiled as he watched her eyes blink and struggle to focus on him, "See," he chuckled, "its wasn't a bad idea at all."

Hermione chuckled as she licked her lips, savouring the tingle on them, "It was absolutely terrifying."

He smiled and ran a fingertip over her lips, "Would you like to do that again?"

"Yes," she breathed out in awe of the concept that it was an option available to them.

He brushed her cheek and leant back in, "As you wish."

-o-o-o-o-o-

February 24th

The second challenge loomed large as Harry awoke from a dream of showing Hermione the stars. Reaching out with the Force, he felt Hermione shine at the edge of the lake towards lower Hogsfield. He couldn't see from here, but he imagined that the site had been properly prepared, now he just had to hold in his urge to recover her already.

At least this time, the hostages would be aware of what was happening and had been asked to sign a document stating that they were aware and willing to be part of the Task. He did not want to be involved with a massive set of legal cases because someone, cough Dumbledore cough, forgot to ask permission before using them as bait. Or putting the young child of foreign guests with a non-human heritage aligned to flying and fire, underwater in a lake in Scotland in February in a merfolk village.

The last organisers had been idiots and he was still not bitter about that, nope, not at all.

Valentines' day had been a pleasure, the hooks in Rita kept her playing nice and he hadn't had to threaten her once about her animagus status. Yet. The lack of attacks on Hermione's character was also much better than he had expected, although the trapped letters and the like that had been sent to her once Rita had announced that Hermione and he were dating were annoying. Thankfully, this time, Hermione's guards got to them first and his legal team were having fun hunting the culprits down with the Aurors.

Being friends with the Minister, having a skilled and ruthless law firm at hand and the Patronage of a secretive and influential patron, were really making this time through much more enjoyable.

Calmly, he got cleaned up and dressed for the task, then went to have a good breakfast. Ron struggling to hurry up behind him as Neville made fun of his laziness. Harry frowned as he walked, he really needed to start pushing at Neville, opening his eyes as to Dumbledores faults and machinations. It was getting a little worrying with how quiet Dumbledore was being in all this. He kept losing influence on events but rather than take it back as Harry had expected, he was simply letting it go. Then again, if something went wrong, then all the blame would fall on others and not him.

He was definitely up to something, but likely allowing Barty to pretend to be Moody to get the results he desired.

Taking his usual sport at the table, he looked over the guests and students slowly moving through the hall, a group of Ravenclaws rushed in and descended upon the toast like locusts before returning to their preferred habitat of the library. The Creeveys were at the end of the table by the door and looked like they were making sure all their equipment was in good order. That reminded him, "Jane, can you make a note to mention the Creeveys to the Quidditch team next year. I think they may have potential."

Jane chuckled politely and nodded towards the Gryffindor Chasers who were nearby and now looking at the Creeveys like hawks watching a rather succulent looking rabbit. "Think that's already covered sir."

Harry chuckled and returned to his gazing over the hall. Krum was frowning more than normal as he searched the Slytherin table for his hostage, his confusion rising until realisation set in and fear surged from him. Cedric was asking some of Cho's friends where she was, his attempt to not panic was amusing. Fleur sat at the Ravenclaw table staring at him, her presence in the Force a roiling storm of anger and fear. Luckily, Tonks was already at the site of the task keeping an eye on two of the hostages.

It was such a relief knowing the plans and checks involved in the better tasks. If they had gone with the original task, Bagman would have been found floating face down in the lake before he would allow harm to come to a single hair on Hermione's head.

Harry straightened and nodded politely to Fleur as he ate his breakfast, waving a bacon sandwich at her to signify that she would eat. Thankfully she did and Harry simply sat and drank some tea while he waited for her to finish.

McGonagall walked down the aisle and stood on the opposite side of the table from Harry, "Its time Mr Potter." She paused and twitched slightly, "Are you prepared?"

Harry smiled and stood up, Fleur leaping to her feet drew the attention of the other Champions and they looked to see Harry talking with the Deputy headmistress.

"I'm perfectly ready Professor," answered with a calm smile, "thank you for asking though."

McGonagall looked him up and down and nodded, "By that I must presume you have a plan?"

Harry, to the shock of many Gryffindors, walked around the end of the table to pat her on the arm, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to Hermione. There's no need for you to feel guilty, you just did your job and they had to sign their agreement."

McGonagall sighed and nodded at him, "It was meant to be me that calmed you, not the other way around." She took a deep breath and stepped back to keep her distance, "Keep safe and Ill see you shortly." Turning, she spotted the others approaching, "Excellent, this is much easier. Please be aware that the task is set to begin at half past nine. I would not be late if I were you."

Taking his time, Harry walked through the castle and across the bridge, past the standing stones to follow the path along the lake side towards the small hamlet to the south. The other Champions following him and they in turn by the students. On the lakes southern edge, a set of stands stood in the water, to allow the audience to witness the Champions trials.

Four paths led out into the water, a series of platforms along them, each with an individual challenge, hidden behind illusions to not give any clues. The far end anchored over a much deeper section of the lake. Deep enough that the lake took on its name properly.

At the end of each path stood one of the Headteachers, with Cornelius at the fourth.

Harry gave the others a smile and moved towards Cornelius, giving the others a clue as to who they should approach. Once everyone was in position, Ludo Bagman checked his pocket watch and nodded, pleased at the punctuality.

Touching his wand tip to his throat, he began, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to invite you all to witness the second of three tasks for the Triwizard Tournament. Here, each Champion will pit themselves against a truly strenuous labor." He waved towards the paths. "Here, each Champion will face tests based upon the Asatru noble virtues. Nine ideals to live a good life by."

He smiled and turned slowly to make sure everyone could see him as he continued, "The Champions are only able to bring themselves and their wands. They have an hour once the task begins, every test will eat into that time, but moving past will provide ten points. They may yield to the test and acknowledge failure, for which they will be penalised ten points. The first Champion to reach their prize, will receive a bonus of twenty points. Failure for a Champion to recover their prize in time will result in a twenty point penalty. Judges may provide a total of ten bonus points between them for impressive problem solving or spellcraft in completing the task." He raised a hand to prevent any booing at Karkaroff after the previous task, "That is ten points total amongst them all, not ten each."

He pulled a gold key from within his robes and held it up for all to see, "Now, each Champion will have found a golden key such as this within their egg acquired in the first Task. Each test on their path will provide an additional key to them if they beat the test. They will use these to recover their prize at the end, the more keys, the faster it will be to open the final step."

He checked his pocket watch and nodded, "We are almost ready to start, so prepare yourselves. Each Champion will have a snitch keyed to them with the same enchantments as Omnioculars. Once the run is complete, copies of the runs will be provided to the Champions and will be for sale to the public."

Harry glanced at the golden snitch hovering behind him and ignored it, returning his focus on the tests ahead.

"I do not recommend losing the key, so keep a tight hold of it." He turned to face the crowd again, "Now, the prizes. Each competitor had a golden egg from the first task. Within the eggs were two things. A golden key, and a riddle that required translating. These riddles brought the Champions here today and prepared them for the task. Each gave a time limit of an hour to compete the task or whatever was taken from them would be lost to the black depths below. But it was not a what, but a who that was taken."

Ludo gestured towards the end of the paths, and the illusion faded to display four large metal cages hanging over the lake, each containing a hostage for each champion. "Every minute, the cages will lower into the icy waters of the lake. At the hour mark, the chains will release to drop the cage into the depths."

Looks of horror shone on the Champions faces at what was being threatened here other than in Harrys were a cold resolve burned in his stony features. Betrayed eyes turned on their headteachers in turn while Harry just rolled his eyes and looked at Cornelius who merely tapped his temple while looking at Harry to remind him to think.

Ludo turned to face the Champions and nodded, "Good, you all realise what's at stake here. At the mark, your hour begins. Do not forget that the cage will take time to open, so do not delay. When you have five minutes remaining, another gong will sound to let you know that you are almost out of time."

With that, he checked his watch and waved his wand at a large gong that had been hidden to one side, as the metal crashed at the impact, the ringing echoed across the waters of the lake and the Champions rushed forward.

Harry rushed onto his floating path and soon faced the first challenge.

The platform shimmered to reveal a man wearing the plum robes of the Wizengamot before him, a single word spoken was the only clue, "Hospitality."

Rather than waste time, Harry just called "Yield" and the man moved to one side and waved Harry on.

On the next platform appeared a judge and a man in chains, "Honour" the judge spoke.

Harry frowned and shook his head with a sight, "Apologies, I don't have time to judge the crime in full. I yield."

Both men nodded and stepped aside once more to allow Harry to pass.

Hurrying forward, he staggered to a stop at the sight of Hermione and Xora both laying dead, both bisected and their wounds cauterised in the blow. An armoured figure with a burning red lightsaber stood over them both, slowly turning to look at him with glowing green eyes with a circle of sickly yellow around them. Before the hooded figure could open his mouth to say anything, Harry screamed "Riddikulus!" at the figure who twisted and collapsed into Darth Sidious frothing in rage as emblems of the Republic fell through his hands. Harry managed a bark of laughter for which the Boggart fled into a waiting box, left on the floor was a gold key with Courage engraved upon it.

Taking a deep series of breathes, Harry recovered his equilibrium before opening his eyes and moving forward, the key leaping into his waiting palm as he passed. He had planned to bypass that one but hadn't expected them to simply hit him with the boggart with no warning.

He shook his head as he jogged over the next bridge to the fourth platform, hoping that the boggart was the worst for him. He had expected a Dementor as before, but his patronus should have warned him that people change, as do their fears.

A robed figure stood waiting with a vial of clear liquid in their open hand. "Truth" they said and offered the vial.

Harry snorted, "Veritaserum?"

The figure nodded and offered it again, "Drink from the vial and answer three questions, then you may pass freely."

Harry shook his head, "Sorry, I like my secrets and privacy, thank you. I yield."

The figure nodded and stepped aside, leaving Harry to rush to the fifth platform. Here he found a robed figure waiting, "Fidelity." He said and offered a muddy potion in a vial and a hair.

Harry shook his head, "Sorry, I don't fancy being someone else right now, I yield."

The figure nodded and stepped aside, motioning him on.

Harry nodded as he passed on the way to the sixth platform, the water below getting choppier in the wind across the open lake and was as black as night beneath him. Playing twenty questions and then having to handle being in someone elses body for a while was not something he planned on wasting time with.

The platform was larger than he had expected and there was a small section where he stepped onto it and a large gap with a very thin section on the other where a robed figure waited with a scythe in one hand. "Discipline." The figure called and waited.

A quick look told him the distance was too far to jump without magic and even then, it would be a very close thing if he made it across, and that was if he used the Force to help as well. A quick glance back at the path gave him a good run up, but still not enough. Freezing the water wouldn't help as it would take too long to get it thick enough to hurry across. He didn't know how to conjure a stable bridge, either.

He could do it, but he was more likely to end up in the water than not. He could have conjured a boat or the like, but again, he wasn't that great at that. He really should have prepped more if he wanted to show off. "I yield" he called and the figure tapped the butt of the scythe on the platform and a pathway unfurled to provide him a way across.

Rushing across, he was thankful as that would have taken him too long, even with making it so far with so few delays. The seventh platform had a set of tools and parts scattered on a table, opposite was a box with seven slots to be filled. The box was carved with the word 'Industriousness' on its lid. Harry shook his head and hurried past, calling out as he did so, "Yield."

He would be very impressed if anyone could manage all the tests in the time allotted while still rescuing their hostage. He shook the thoughts aside, he was near the end, two more to go.

The eighth platform had a chest with a metal bar attached to the lid to open it, a hooded figure stood to the side and looked at him, "Perseverance." It said and motioned towards the bar.

Harry knew that this was one that he expected the other Champions to fail at, and it was a minor loss of time. The key acquired more than made up the time lost to the test itself at least it would if done in one go. Harry stepped forward and grabbed the metal bar, shuddering as the bar heated and his nerves screamed as he felt the lightning run discharge into his flesh.

As the pain flooded through him, he shuddered, holding strong as the lock within the chest clicked along, the smell of cooked meat filled his nose and he could taste it on his tongue as he quickly lost sensation in his palm and fingers, the metal cooking the flesh and damaging the nerves. He screamed, falling to a knee as the lightning flickered and rushed through his body, an agony he only had to endure for a few more seconds.

As the thirteenth second passed, the lock clicked and fell open. The metal cooled rapidly, pulling at the skin melted to its surface and the rune finished discharging as it cracked as the metal cooled too fast for it to maintain its structure.

With a grunt, Harry peeled his hand back and stifled another cry of pain as he did so. Struggling not to vomit, he got to his feet and kicked open the chest, his untouched hand collecting the gold key that waited before staggering away to the final test.

He was so thankful that the random selection for the test had not placed that test as the first or last to endure.

He gathered his will and used the Force to push aside the pain with each step. He knew to use the pain could fuel him, but that would lead to him developing a taste for inflicting injury on himself to feel a rush of the dark side. Not a path he had any intention of following, no matter how useful it could be to the right individual. He rather enjoyed feeling pleasure and sensation thank you very much.

The final platform had a table with a puzzle box on its surface, 'Self-reliance' carved into the surface of the table.

Taking a moment, he glanced back at the other Champions, and saw that he had a distinctive lead. He had lost track of time with what he had gone through, but he thought that he had enough time to open the puzzle box and then the cage to free Hermione.

He stepped forward, his left hand cradled to his chest and reached for the puzzle when he heard her call for him.

Looking up, she was only a few metres away and he could see the tears running down her cheeks as she reached for him, "No more Harry. No more. Just come and let me out and we'll get to a healer."

For a moment, his pride demanded that he finish this after the pain he suffered, but then her voice calling to him broke the enchantment on the puzzle box, freeing him from its siren call, his defences weakened by the pain still searing through him.

Stepping away from the puzzle, he closed his eyes and fought off another surge of his guts churning and the need to vomit. Perhaps bacon sandwiches were not the brightest idea this morning.

Recovering his focus for a moment, he made it to the slowly lowering cage, the icy water just starting to pour in through the grating of the floor.

Hermione reached for him and stroked his cheek, wiping away some of the tears, "Give me some of the keys."

He passed her two and moved to open one himself, she quickly inserted two into the locks around the entrance and stepped back as they slowly started to turn, the mechanism going faster with each key inserted.

Harry rested his head against the cold bars as he took long breaths to focus through the pain as the cage slowly opened.

After much too long, the cage broke open and Hermione stepped out and pulled him into a hug before they began to walk back along the path to the shore.

Healer Wood waited for him and began to cast a series of spells over Harry's injury before nodding and offering him a vial of potion, "Pain reliever. I need to use a poultice and soaked bandages on this. There won't be any scaring or nerve damage by the time I remove them." At Harrys chuckle, the healer smirked, "You'll be pleased to know this won't require an overnight stay in the Hospital Wing."

After two more gongs sounded and screams from the audience at the second sounding of the gong, Harry stood with the other Champions as the results of the challenge were announced. Each had their hostages beside them safe and sound, but some were wetter than others. Gabrielle was rambling to her older sister about how awesome it had been to watch her come to her rescue, jokingly calling her Joan'D'Arc reborn.

Only Cedric and Cho didn't chuckle along with the comment, but Harry leant to the side and informed Cedric as to Fleurs new title.

Ludo Bagman's voice echoed out across the lake, "Guests and students of Hogwarts, please give your Champions a huge hand of applause and cheer for their successes."

He let that continue for a bit before raising his hands for silence, once he had it, he continued. "Now, we are not going to provide a total score at this time to add an element of mystery for the final task, however, due to the nature of this task, it would be simple to work out how each of the champions did."

He waved towards Harry, "As the first to complete the challenge, Mr Potter passed all nine virtues, however, he only completed two of them. This provides him twenty points. Although, he chose to sacrifice points to rescue his hostage the fastest, taking a total of twenty minutes to complete the task, gaining the one-off bonus of twenty points for that. For the little magic used, his skills and abilities displayed as well as the spectacular drive to complete the Perseverance Virtue, the judges have tallied together a further five points. This provides a total of forty-five points to be added to those from the first task to take him into the third task."

He began clapping, "Let us hear it for Mr Potter!"

Harry waved at his fan's celebrations for a moment before Bagman continued.

"Now, second to finish was Miss Fleur Delacour. She also passed all nine virtues, however, she only completed five of them, deciding that time was against her and yielded to those between her and her sister, completing the task with a good fifteen minutes spare. The judges have tallied a further seven bonus points due to her skills and spells used to progress. This provides a total of fifty-seven points to be added to those earned in the first task.

"Third to finish was a close call between Mr Krum and Mr Diggory. Both remained neck and neck for much of the task. However," Bagman gestured towards Krum and the rather wet girl beside him. Harry mused that he should really learn her name at some point. "Mr Viktor Krum reached his hostage even though the time ran out before she was released. So, nine virtues passed and completed for ninety points. In addition, the judges have tallied a further six for your skills and magic used. But as you failed to release your hostage, you receive the twenty point penalty. This provides a still very respectable seventy-six points."

Finally," Ludo called and motioned towards Cedric and the soaked Cho, "Mr Cedric Diggory here, failed to rescue his hostage in the provided time and only passed eight of the virtues for eighty points. Unfortunately, the time ran out while he was completing the Perseverance virtue. The bonus points tallied for Mr Diggory total eight mainly on his excellent use of charms and conjurations on the Discipline virtue. I foresee a possible future in architecture Mr Diggory. So, after the penalty, that provides Mr Diggory a total of sixty-eight points."

Ludo bowed as best he could and swept a hand towards the Champions, "These points earned will be added to those of the first task and the Champions informed of their total and what they can apply it to for the third and final task. And I promise a spectacular display for all who witness it."

-o-o-o-o-o-

March 17th

Lucius was frowning as he led Nott into the main hall of his manor, where the Dark Lord was resting in his chair by the fire, the old man walked with one hand resting on a floating ornate box the size of a childs torso, the clack of his cane, sharp against the hard woods of the floor.

"My Lord…" Lucius began.

Nott interrupted, "Leave us boy."

Lucius puffed up, his face twisting in rage at the clear dismissal from the dying old fool, his mouth opened to snarl insults back.

"Lucius," Voldemort's quiet voice stole the breath from his lungs, "Do as you are told."

With a glare at Nott, Lucius bowed and left the room as instructed.

Nott chuckled slightly as he guided the box to the table, "Apologies on the delay, but I needed to have a team digging through old records to find her." He caught the frown on Toms constructed face, "Muggle interns for an ally's firm. They believed its regarding an inheritance case that's getting incredibly messy. No-one will follow the thread to us."

Tom nodded and his gaze fell on the ornate box, "How much?"

Nott ran a finger over the boxes lock, "She was difficult to find, if I didn't know better, I would say someone tried to hide her. The paperwork was partially damaged from fire and smoke damage, the blitz almost took the key clues from us. Would have been recorded as a Jane Riddle with an estimated age of mid-twenties. Would have been dumped in a pauper's grave with a bunch of others and forgotten if it wasn't for the fact that the orphanage was being visited by a priest that evening."

Nott moved to the fireplace and sat in the second chair, warming his old bones from the freezing chill of the howling wind outside. "From the orphanage's records, he spent a while talking with the woman while the doctor was on his way. The doctor didn't turn up in time and the orphanages nurse had to deliver the child. The Priest gave her the last rites and sat with her as she died with her son in her arms."

He looked at the homunculus in the chair as he focused on the fire as it leapt in the fireplace. "Interestingly, we found his name on the paperwork as a next of kin." He raised an eyebrow as the little figure containing the spirit of his childhood friend glared at him, "Called in a few favours, got hold of his journals. They led me to her. Apparently, there had been a family scandal, his sister had run off with a married man abroad, taking her son with her. Her husband died shortly after, no comment as to why. The recent events and a young widow begging for him to save her son shook him. As a priest, he could not take the child himself, but he kept an eye on the boy as best he could until he died when the boy was four. Recorded as a heart attack."

Tom refocused on the fire, "Where was she buried?"

Nott nodded and looked back at the box, "Beside him on his family plot, lovely place in the countryside, nice view. Willows run by the riverside down the hill, there's a Great Yew tree that shaded her grave. Quiet. Peaceful."

Tom stared at the fire for a few minutes in silence, Nott let him do so as he looked to the windows as they rattled slightly as the wind grew stronger.

"How much of her did you bring to me?" Tom asked in a quiet voice.

Nott looked at him, "Everything that was there, including the dust and fragments. I did it by hand personally. Nothing was left behind and no magic touched her. Most of its not suitable for ritual use. But there are a few fragments large enough for your needs." He paused for a moment, "The skull is partially intact and her wedding ring is in there."

Tom was silent again for another few minutes, "Thank you, old friend." He glanced at the man beside him, "How much longer?"

Nott sighed, "Healers say another few weeks and I'll be bed bound. It won't be long after that."

Tom looked at him, "Thank you for your help my old friend, I shall not call on you again. But try to hold on as long as you can, I would see you once the ritual is complete."

Nott chuckled as he straightened from the chair to leave, "I'll see what I can do."

-o-o-o-o-o-

May 21st

Lucius placed the replica snitch in the bowl designed for it and the events of the second Task appeared above the snitch in a similar manner to a penseive.

"And this is the uncut footage?" Voldemort asked as he watched the alignment tests complete around the Potter brat.

Lucius nodded in the darkness before answering, "Almost my Lord, it is a copy of the original recording. My… your agents managed to acquire the copy for your review. The original was copied and then the copy was censored by skilled obliviators who then used that as the source for any future copies. It would prevent anyone from repairing the damage to uncensor the recording."

Voldemort leant back and watched the run through in full in silence.

Once complete, Lucius remained silent in the dark room while his Master ruminated on what he had seen.

"Interesting," Voldemort finally muttered, "Very interesting." He motioned Lucius forward, "Again. I wish to review this again, I hope you have no plans Lucius as we'll be here for some time."

"As you command, my Lord," Lucius answered, "I shall act."

Voldemort paused for a moment and seemed to be examining his soul, "Yes Lucius… yes you will."

-o-o-o-o-o-

June 24th

Harry smiled and waved to Hermione and the others of his Coven with the nervous addition of Pansy on the end. Rons decision that if he was going to have a relationship with her, that he was going to do it properly was both rather nauseating and sweet of him. But the best part was the look on his face following a rather long and detailed discussion he had had with Jane about Pansy's tastes and his part in them.

His smile faded slightly at the sight of the girl. He would need to do something to protect her and that was annoying. Then again, it shouldn't be up to him, Ron should be the one who deals with all that. Happier, he resolved to have Ron talk to Titus about using one of the safe houses for her. Better there than in his home, she was trying to be better for Rons sake, but she was still a stuck-up pureblood snob with an attitude problem. A very bratty attitude that for some strange reason, Ron found endearing.

Harry sighed and wondered why his friends did this to him. Shaking his head, he turned slightly to watch Fleur ready herself to enter the Quidditch pitch. Tonks stood beside her, talking through things and calming her girlfriend? It looked like they were in a relationship, but he wasn't the best person to work that out. Xora had been the one to inform him that they were more than just friends with benefits after the Empire was declared.

Mentally, he shrugged as he continued his stretches, readying himself for the fight to come.

Dobby had the Sword of Gryffindor ready and waiting for him, just a call of his name and he'd be suitably armed. Tom seniors' bones had been polluted with a noxious mix of potions in an alchemical slurry that had been finally balanced by the vindictive and experienced knowledge of his favourite mentor, Perenelle Flamel. The mix would weaken and destabilise the new body, the more magic Voldemort used, the faster the degradation until the flesh simply sloshed off the bones.

He had a strike team ready and waiting in Little Hangleton, the moment he arrived, the werewolves would work on the defences to breach them, especially the muggle repelling wards that were in place. Then Marion and his men would use their very illegally acquired rifles to kill as many Deatheaters as they could while Harry tried to kill Voldemort again.

But first, he had to get to the cup first and alone. He refused to have a repeat of last time.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Ludo Bagmans voice echoed around the pitch. "Lets hear it for the Champions of the Triwizard Tournament!"

He let the audience from the quidditch stands roar their approval before continuing, "Thank you all for attending the third and final task. Here, we have taken the skilled Champions and placed them in an arena to display their true abilities to one and all. As you can all see, at the centre of the pitch is a tower that is currently opaque, at the top of this tower is the Triwizard Trophy. All the Champions have to do is be the first one to take it."

He laughed then, "But we wont make it that easy. We will have a birdseye view of the Champions as they traverse the pitch which, as you can see has been sculpted into a form of maze. Each corner of the pitch is a different terrain, separated by an enchanted hedge with a number of gateways to allow access. The Tower itself has a hedge of its own with only one entrance that moves between these quarters randomly."

"Each Champion has randomly selected one of these four terrains to start within. They have also been provided a banner to carry. To gain access to the Tower, they must have a banner. If they dont, then the Towers enchantments will not let you pass. If they collect a rivals banner and that rival takes theirs in return, then both banners will disappear and will reappear at the starting locations of the respective Champion. Multiple banners with you when entering the tower will only remove the chance for another Champion to enter the Tower. Please note that the tower is heavily enchanted, it would require a siege weapon to breach its walls."

"Then there is the final layer of defence. The tower has a guardian. This guardian is a dangerous threat on its own, so take that into account when entering. When the first Champion enters the tower, the walls will turn transparent, revealing the guardians nature and the Champion within for all to see. The hedge around the tower will also fall. If the tower goes translucent, you had best be inside or close behind to make it in time."

"Now, this would all be over rather quickly and the points gathered so far would mean nothing. However, the Champions points are actually a pool of resources that they may draw upon before the Task begins. Each of the Champions has been provided a list of items or actions that could be acquired for a number of points. They have made their choices and those will be provided to them in the arena, some have already been provided to the Champions before hand in order to allow proper use of them in their plans."

Ludo pointed towards Krums quarter, "In the swamp. Viktor Krum has acquired some defences for a base and thirty animated training mannequins to act as soldiers in the fight. He has also acquired a map of the swamp and a spy. Spies can be used three times for a series of tasks and can be used against another spy if found. Mr Krum used his well."

"In the Woods. Cedric Diggory has chosen to spend a large amount on defences and twenty mannequins. Looks like he's planning on digging in and exhausting his rivals."

"In the moors. Fleur Delacour has chosen to spend hers on some personal defences, a mount, a weapon, a potion and the rest as thirty-five mannequins. It appears that the French Beauty is going on a crusade."

"Finally, last but not least in the coastline. Harry Potter has spent his points on some personal defences, a weapon, some potions, some engraving tools and the rest on a few mounts and mannequins."

"Each Champion will be placed in their starting positions and be given thirty minutes for preparations. On the cannon blast, they will be allowed to leave their starting locations and begin the task. Remember, grab the trophy and win."

Harry raised a hand to the cheers of his fans and got to work, he had thirty minutes to get everything in place while the others did the same. Silence fell on the area as enchantments cut the outside sound off from him, leaving him on his own with no outside help from others. That was fine, he was used to war in a way the others would be unprepared for.

He began engraving runes on the blade of the sword he had selected, it was a simple task, but the potions would be required to make them work without exploding the metal under the strain. Replicating a lightsaber in a sword without expensive and rare materials on a base structure that could handle the magics involved was nightmarish. If it wasn't for his lessons with Perenelle, he wouldn't have had a chance. Even now, the blade had a limited lifespan once he triggered it, maybe ten minutes. Ten minutes was a long time in a fight, but he had to be careful as there was no turning it off once he began the reaction.

He let him mind run over the others while he worked. Diggory was too cautious, planning on exhausting the others on his walls before making his push. Krum sounded like he was playing smart and going for a mix, some defence for his banner while he went for the others with a small force. Fleur was perhaps taking her sisters nickname for her too far, but hopefully, she'll be distracted by the others for his own plan to work.

With a few minutes spare, he sighed and loosened his muscles, before he replaced his robes with the dragonhide robes he had requested. Then he tore his banner from the pole and wrapped it around him like a sash before transfiguring his old robes into a replica of his banner and passing it to one of the mannequins to hold. He checked his pocket for the final potion to set his sword going and stood before his animated troops.

He was so thankful for his time with the B1's, without that, he may have gone too complex in his orders and caused confusion. "Mount up. You are to evade combat at all times, if you see an enemy combatant, you are to flee. Sacrifice any of you to refuse any enemies control of the banner. You will begin riding north. I will go alone."

As he waited, dropping into a light meditation as he waited the last few minutes, he realised that this was the most relaxed he had been in ages, "Damn, I need some better hobbies." He muttered.

With a roar, the canon signalled the beginning. "Go! Ride!" he yelled at the mannequins who began to ride towards the north, while he began the trek to the tower. This was the thing the others who were still teens and didn't have the mind of a combat veteran. They will have focused on the conflict to get the other banners, not the fact that the objective was the Trophy.

Nothing else mattered than that. He could have ran across the pitch, naked except for the banner, opened the tower, ran past its guardian and as long as he got the Trophy first, he was home and safe.

Well, he would have been if not for the fact he had a Dark Lord trying to capture him and use him in a ritual to restore his physical form.

A quick Disillusionment Charm allowed him to progress without notice, quickly crossing the sands and pebbles, the noise of the waves covering his own. In a few minutes, he reached the wall of cliff face that was the enchanted hedge on this side and moved towards the tower. Soon enough he was at its base, now he just had to wait for the others to get into a fight to buy him some extra time.

The moment the doorway in the hedge appeared he jumped through and hurried to the towers door, keeping a little distance to prevent any reaction to the banner from happening.

A few minutes later he heard a horn sound and the crash of hooves thundering past on the other side of the hedge, Fleur was on her way somewhere and she was doing it as a large group. The moment he heard a crash of weapons and spellfire, he rushed to the door and tried to open it.

Unsurprisingly, it was locked, but a quick alohomora fixed that.

The moment it clicked open, he kicked the door open and lunged in, quickly grabbing a nearby table and barricading himself in. The moment he took a step back, he knew he was in trouble.

The walls turned translucent and only highlighted the stands of white that covered the inside of the tower.

"Fuck." He groaned, realising he was in an enclosed space with a Class XXXXX threat. There was no time for subtlety, so he poured the final potion over the blade and flicked at it, using his magic to windlessly ignite it with a spark.

With a small whump of noise, the blade burst into flame and then the flame turned inwards, the metal glowing with heat as the runes were triggered. The change to the tower would drive the others to hurry and a major threat like an Acromantula may slow him down enough for them to catch up.

Carefully, he maneuvered around the strands flung around like trip wires, silently moving up the stairs to the first floor. Where he cursed. There were no floors, the entire thing was hollow, the damned spider had faked floors using its webs and what looked like ground up rocks from the tower's walls. He was in an open space on a thin set of stairs the wound around the side of the tower to reach a small doorway at the top where the Trophy was likely protected.

He just had to get there.

He waved the sword around as he progressed, growing more and more concerned as he did so, why had the damned thing not attacked him, then he remembered Admiral Trenches reaction to him. The damn thing was scared, but it wasn't stupid, it would attack him the moment it got the chance.

Carefully, Harry began speaking in Parseltongue, reciting the Founding speech of the Phoenix Imperium. A section of the webbing around the tower shuddered and moved, Harry glanced through the wall and saw the fighting withdrawal Fleur was doing towards the tower. Apparently, the three forces had clashed in the middle of trying to outmanoeuvre each other.

Cedric had taken his entire force and marched on the tower, slowed by the number of them able to move through a gateway at a single time. Krum had split his force and slammed into Cedric's flank, trying to spear their way to Cedric to remove him and his banner. Into this mess, Fleur had driven a charge of her own forces, but she was at the speartip on a wooden horse and swinging a horseman's pick around, smashing the heads of the mannequins from both the boys, her mannequins pushing a wedge into the fight.

Fleur was unluckily too deep to easily pull out of the fight, but on the other hand had seen the tower go translucent from her mounted position and was trying to break in the tower's direction. She knew Harry was inside as she could see the others outside. He was on a time limit.

The moment his gaze turned outside and he reviewed the fight, the Acromantula attacked. It screamed out of the dark and leapt at him, trying to knock him down the stairs or into its webs. If it wasn't for the Force, Harry would have been in serious danger of dying.

Luckily, his training and practice saved his life, the burning blade flashed up and carved a scorching gouge in the Acromantula's face, an eye popping under the heat and metal. A large leg lashed out and smashed into Harry, sending him bouncing back against the stone wall. He grunted as the air was driven from his lungs and swiped out to gain space, the blades tip scoring a line on the Acromantula's leg as it tried to smash him back again.

Harry took the moment to roll down the stairs before stopping himself with a pulse of the Force and a leap over the lunge from the giant spider. He rolled to his feet and slashed, removing a few thick hairs as the Acromantula moved much too fast for something of its size should be able to and hissed at him before lunging forward.

Carefully, Harry began moving backwards, using one hand to guide himself along the towers wall in an attempt to not fall back on his arse, the other held the glowing blade, warding the spider back.

He could tell he was about halfway up as the Acromantula moved around him, trying to find a gap in his attention.

With a loud bang, the door below was smashed into and the table squealed as it was pushed back against the stone floor.

The Acromantula was dangerous, but it was still ruled by its instincts. That moment of distraction, Harry used and ran up the stairs.

Screaming in anger, the Acromantula went after the easier prey only to discover that Fleurs heritage held a certain aspect to it that did not mix well with spider webs. Harry watched as she gestured and launched fireballs from her hands at the Acromantula. It squealed in fear as it was hit and its hairs ignited. In its additional distraction, Fleur rushed forward and slammed the horseman's pick straight into its head, crushing it in a splash of gore.

Harry would give the quick and efficient slaughter a solid seven out of ten when Fleurs head snapped up to look straight at him and she screeched in rage, rushing up the stairs after him, taking multiple stairs at a time.

He felt her rage boiling in her flesh like a roaring storm of fire that wished to devour all before it. She began to run towards him up several flights of stairs. In full plate. After a series of fights. After kicking in a thick wooden door that had a table behind it to slow anyone down. And she wasn't breathing hard.

Harry did the smart thing.

He turned and ran for the Trophy.

There was no way he was going to fight a well-equipped Veela on combat drugs that appeared to also enhance her strength. He would probably win, but he wasn't going to risk that before facing Voldemort. The Acromantula had slowed him down enough as it was, the tiredness could be washed away with the Force, but that was a resource he could use later should he need it.

Kicking open the door, he slammed it shut and saw a large bolt which he slammed home. Turning, the blue glow of the Trophy filled the room and he hurried over to stand before it.

Harry took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come after he triggered the trap. He had a disguised and extended pouch on his belt with all the equipment he needed, his robes were enchanted and prepared as best he could get for the task which was better than he could do himself in the short prep time he had. A quick glance at the blade showed the metal reaching the limits of the runes carved into its surface, it would last at most another minute, maybe two before it turned to molten slag.

Fleur slammed into the door and it shuddered at the hinges, a moment later the pick punched through the wooden door and she began to hammer at it at a terrifying rate of damage.

He raised his wand to try and repair or reinforce the door before discarding the idea as not worth the time or effort. He looked at her as his hand reached for the trophy and he saw her face and bloodshot eye glaring at him through the shattered hole in the door.

She was definitely scary like this, and he wouldn't wish to be the others when she left the tower. If he survived this, he would need to send the two boys some flowers as an apology when he visited them in the Hospital Wing after she got to them.

He grabbed the handle and with a flash of colour and twisting reality, he left the tower and popped back into being with his melting sword ready to deflect any spells, his senses ranging out and seeking the expected threat, only to wince at the blaring noise of the band playing a victory tune at his arrival. A scream of rage echoed from within the maze behind him. The flashes of the bulbs blinded him for a moment, leaving spots in his vision as he realised exactly where he was.

Cornelius stepped forward towards the victorious and shocked Harry and grinned as he took his hand and raised it high, "Everyone. May I present the Winner of the Triwizard Tournament! Harry Potter!"

Far to the South a surge of power echoed through the Force and Harry knew in that moment, Voldemort had somehow done the impossible and succeeded in his resurrection.

At the same time, in Hogwarts itself, a team of Aurors kicked down a door.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Neville blinked as he regained consciousness in darkness. A blindfold covered his eyes, and he was bound to something cold and hard. A sharp burn ran along the length of his forearm where a cool breeze touched his skin.

As the fog faded from his mind, the last thing he remembered was a red… he had been stupefied and taken somewhere. The cold air suggested outside, but nothing more.

"Apologies young Mr Longbottom, but we are on a bit of a time limit," A cultured voice spoke from before him, and the blindfold was suddenly removed to let the light of burning torches push back the darkness. "Please, allow me to introduce myself, I am Lord Voldemort."

Neville barely managed to not wet himself in terror at the tall man who stood before him, carefully examining a ritual knife, stained with blood. He was tall and thin, his skin so pale it was almost see-through. His bald head looked almost scaled in the light. His eyes though, the burning red cut through him to dissect his soul.

Behind him, tall towers of glass and steel shone with their own lights from within nearby, but the sounds of the muggle city were absent in the graveyard.

Voldemort's hand snapped forward and seized Neville by the chin, carefully he turned the boys head to either side, examining it in curiosity. "It's all rather interesting. Did you know that once, long ago. I was in your shoes?"

He chuckled slightly and let go before stepping back from the bound teen, "Well, ignoring tonight's events of course. Once, when I was your age, a powerful and cunning man opened my eyes to the truths of the world as he began to train me to be his Apprentice."

He nodded to the frozen teen, "Indeed, Albus Dumbledore whispered honied words and secrets into my ear, teaching me secrets of the world and forbidden knowledge while he trained me to fight the things in the Darkness." He shuddered slightly in memory, "The Things behind the Curtain."

Voldemort passed the knife to a figure swathed in shadows, who placed it in an ornate box engraved with sigils and markings that hurt the eye to look upon. Drawing his wand, he gestured at Neville and the teen floated away from whatever had bound him, but still unable to move.

"I would love to discuss matters and compare our lessons. Perhaps give you a few pointers. A helping hand as it were." He chuckled as he lowered Neville onto a chair and stuck him in place. A faint roaring noise echoed around the graveyard as some muggle contraption flew overhead, breaking through the magical silence around them.

Another flick of the bone-coloured wand created another, much more comfortable chair opposite Neville and Voldemort took a seat. "It doesn't really matter after all, I'm going to lock this all away, so deep in your mind that Albus won't even detect its presence, never mind actually find the memory. But I'm not going to wipe this away either because one day, I am going to release the locks on this moment, and it will all come flooding back."

Voldemort sighed as he leant back and looked at the teen before him, sneering slightly in disappointment. "No, I'm going to gift you with… three, yes three is a good number for this. Three truths. And I will release them from the mental locks at a future moment, one you won't be able to predict, one you will not be able to avoid. So don't even waste your time and effort trying. Not that you will remember to do so."

"The first. That Albus seeks immortality and will sacrifice anything to acquire it. Or at least a form that has none of the usual flaws. If he ever dies, presume he is faking it, he will return to stab you in the back and claim your glory."

"The second. If you think yourself unique or special, don't. After all, I was his Apprentice before you, and do you think I was his first? No, that belonged to a man he would call his peer in their youth. To think that Gellert Grindelwald became what he was through Dumbledores teachings." Voldemort shook his head mockingly with false despair at that, even while fighting a small smile. "The scandal!"

He took a deep breath and leant back in his chair, his fingers tracing the pattern in the wood of the arms in curiosity before blinking and focusing on Neville in full once more, "Apologies, it's amazing what one can miss while unable to feel simple things."

"Now, where was I? Ah yes." The waved a long-fingered hand at his bound audience, "The third. Dumbledore will one day reveal that there is a prophesy about you and me. Or perhaps you and Potter. It is a lie. I only know part of this supposed prophesy, 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies.' Sounds pretty simple really doesn't it?" He waved his hand at Neville who felt the bonds holding him frozen fade, but his flesh and clothes remained stuck to the chair.

"Old Albus will claim that it refers to you being the One in question. The Dark Lord will most likely be me but could be another. However, they will definitely be someone who is a rival to Albus' power." He leant forward, "But here's the thing that I've pondered all these years of my exile. It doesn't say who the Dark Lord is either. Just that there is one. Personally, from what my followers have provided me, I believe that it refers to Albus as the Dark Lord and Harry Potter as the One with the Power."

He paused for a moment to let that sink in, "I apologise my friend, but you are just the spare."

Leaning back, he began to weave a spell that settled over Neville like a thin mist, "Don't worry, you won't remember the pain and it won't leave a trace until I release you. Until then, the memory will bubble away in the background, your mind churning over it without awareness." Voldemort pause for a second in thought, "I pre-emptively apologise for any weird dreams you may have."

He stood and gestured to Neville who floated upright as the chairs faded away. "Until next we meet, Mr Longbottom. I would say it's been a pleasure, but I imagine it's something much different to your perception."

The bone wand touched Neville in the centre of his forehead and agony surged through his veins as Voldemort began to chant. The scent of cooking meat filled his nose and mouth as the wand tip seared against his flesh.

"Munimentum memoriae obsignandum hora ultima intra aegida. Clavis erit portis tuis Gaunt blood is the purest. Per quattuor ventos incantatio haec alligetur et abscondita."

And the words burned into Neville's mind until it all faded in a pale light.

Voldemort looked at the drooling teen floating before him, the young eyes glazed as the spell settled into place. He glanced at Lucius, "Return him to the school, ensure that he attends the event without problems, then return the device."

"Your will be done, my Lord." Lucius intoned before grabbing hold of the drooling boys' robes and apparating away.

Voldemort looked up and sneered at the London sky above, the orange glow of the reflection on the low cloud's, offensive to his sensibilities, as he waited for Nagini to wrap around him. The moment she was secure he apparated away to the Malfoy estate to begin his research.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Report!" Amelia Bones shouted at Shacklebolt who snapped to attention as she entered the observation room.

Shacklebolt turned and gestured to the wall separating the rooms, "Thicknesse is leading the interrogation of Bartemius Crouch Junior. Three drops of Veritaserum have been administered and confirmed by a healer as active. Questioning is still ongoing."

Shacklebolt turned to face her as he continued his report, "The Investigators finally broke the enchantments on Potters signature from the Goblet. It was torn from the signing out book used in his first year from the school library. The only one who would have easy access to that book was Madame Irma Pince. Thicknesse and I agreed that time was of the essence. We expected the suspect to escape in the distraction of the Tournament's final event. Hogwarts would be empty, and she could just leave without alerting anyone. So, we sent two full teams for the arrest during the final event. Full breach of the Librarians Quarters, no injuries or casualties."

"Dumbledore?" Amelia asked him as she observed the interrogation in the other room.

"Wasn't involved at all," Shacklebolt answered, "but I presume he is aware of events now. Professors Moody and McGonagall got us through the gates with no issues. The warrant was presented to McGonagall as the highest-ranking member of the faculty present when we arrived. They both went to perform their duties at the Quidditch Pitch."

"So, you went for Irma Prince and found Barty Junior." She gave a short chuckle of dark amusement, "Not what I was expecting."

"No Ma'am, we didn't either." He motioned to a pile of items on a nearby desk, "None of the affects taken in the arrest are of interest other than a flask with Polyjuice contained in it. Already prepared for use. He was masquerading as Madame Pince."

Amelia blinked at that, "How in Merlins name did he pull off Irma Pince?"

"From what we can tell, rather well ma'am," Shacklebolt shrugged, "From what we can get through the ramblings of Crouch, he's been pretending to be her for the entire school year."

Shacklebolt checked his notepad before continuing, "We have the real Madame Pince at St Mungos now. Full range of checks to make sure we caught everything, but no update as yet. Looks like he dosed her up with Draught of Living Death and stored her in a warded and expanded chest to keep the House Elves from investigating. We still don't know how he got around the polyjuice poisoning he should have for using it that much."

"How did Dumbledore not realise?" She paused as a flicker of disgust rippled across her face, "Isn't Filch in a relationship with her?"

Shacklebolt looked at her, "Junior was apparently very good at holding up the ruse."

Amelia winced as she marched over to the wall and watched as Barty Crouch Junior ranted at Thicknesse as he tried to find any clues in the mad declarations. "Get Filch a mind healer or offer to have the Obliviators wipe the last year from both their memories. Get what we can from them first though, apologise but leave nothing untouched." She gestured towards the frothing lunatic who could apparently pretend to be someone's partner for a year and get away with it. "Anything of use yet?"

"Some fragments, we're pretty sure he killed his father and house elf. We think an Imperius was used on an older student to get the parchment added to the Goblet. No idea how it chose Mr Potter after already making its three choices. But nothing otherwise useful right now."

He moved across to the scroll and flickering quill as it recorded what was said in the next room, "We suspect he had an accomplice, never mind a skilled and experienced potioneer to produce the quality and volume of Polyjuice required."

"Snape?" Amelia asked as she rubbed her new scars around her blind eye.

Shacklebolt shook his head, "No. Not unless he has a warehouse hidden somewhere in the school and a lot of potions ingredients. One of the school suppliers would have noticed the sheer quantity of the required ingredients and let us know of their concerns." He glanced at her, "Want us to bring him in anyway?"

Amelia gestured to one of the Aurors in the room, "Find the Judge on duty for today, get a warrant for Snapes arrest." She turned to Shacklebolt, "We'll ask politely, but if he refuses, arrest him on suspicion of illegal potion brewing or as an accomplice, either would work."

"He's playing us." She waved towards the wall where they could see Thicknesse getting frustrated. "I don't trust the frothing fanatic image when he was Irma Pince for a year. We'll repeat the questions in a few days and see if we can shake something useful loose amongst all the fragments he's giving us. Might need to request the Unspeakables send us a Legilimancer to dig in that mind of his." She sighed and shook her head, "Finish this up and then we need to lock him somewhere secure. We don't want a repeat of Pettigrew."

Shacklebolt frowned, "We can use his own trick, Draught him and then lock him in his chest in a secure location?"

Amelia let the idea progress for a moment, "No, we won't drop to his level." She turned to the other Auror with them, "Find me Savage, I have a job for her."

Waiting for the Auror to leave, she turned back to Shacklebolt, "Do it. Lock him down somewhere secure until I call on you. I'm going to assign Savage to witness protection and a safe house. Use her to draw their eyes while you keep him out of sight. I think it's time for you to take some of your accrued leave."

Amelia paused as she began to turn towards the door, "Once Savage is here, you are going to dose Crouch to the maximum safe levels and a drop more. Wring him dry for anything you can get out of him." She glared at the man as he screamed at Thicknesse, "Grind his bones to dust dry. No stone unturned. The bastard is playing us, I can feel it."

"That could kill him," Shacklebolt gulped as he looked at his boss in concern, "Ma'am, I'm not sure I can…"

Amelia turned and glared at him, "Kingsley, that Monster is not working alone, he was in the school with our children for a year and Dumbledore supposedly knew nothing?! Bullshit!" She took a deep breath, "I don't care if you break him or turn his mind into a plant as long as you get the information, we need to stop this getting worse." She shook her head, "I'll have signed orders stored in my office and with Gringotts taking responsibility for whatever happens to him in case I'm not able to defend you."

Shacklebolt sighed and saluted his boss, "Yes Ma'am."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Neville frowned as he watched Harry head up to his dorm with Ron and Jane in tow. It should have been Tonks on duty tonight, but she was with Fleur commiserating over her loss. Harry had sent her with his apologies and laughter, but they could all tell that the weird static pressure from the south had thrown Harry, never mind the rest of them. Hermione was practically chomping at the bit to start research on it.

Seamus and Dean had already retired, exhausted by the night's celebrations. Neville swirled his bottle of butterbeer as he thought over what had happened. Harry had seemed almost numb in his confusion, their preparations and practice these last months for the expected battle tonight had been wasted.

No. Not wasted, never wasted. They were all stronger for the training, it was just the lack of action that was distracting.

Neville shook his head, fighting the urge to just sit and think in his favourite spot by the fire. The foggy mist in his mind grew stronger and he knew something was wrong, he blinked and shook his head, struggling to rise as a shimmer of light in the corner across the room moved. The shimmer flowed around a figure and a wand appeared with a pale hand holding it before a pulse of red light slammed into him and the world snapped to black.

Draco quietly, dropped to the floor behind the chair, quickly running his wand tip along the runes of the enchantment carved into the base of the seat, burning the evidence away. Silently, he climbed back to his feet and leviosa'd his victims' robes, draping his invisibility cloak over the floating boy as he carefully moved to the exit before disillusioning himself and opened the exit, guiding his victim through the empty corridors to Professor Snapes rooms.

He carefully slowly knocked seven times and waited for the door to open.

Snape opened the door and stepped out into the hall, blatantly looking the other direction from Draco and slowly turning his head to look in the opposite direction, allowing Draco to enter unseen with his cargo. Quickly Draco hurried across the room to wait by the fireplace as Snape returned to the room and crossed it with his eyes closed to enter his bedroom. Now, Snape could honestly say that he saw nothing after he went into his rooms for the night.

Once the bedroom door was closed, Draco pulled a packet of Floo powder from his pocket and spilled it into the fire, a touch of his wand tip on his throat and a silent spell, changed his voice to that of a young girl, "Three Broomsticks." Dragging his victim with him, they flew through Floo network to the nearby exit before his world juddered and his connection was shunted to another location.

Exiting the Floo, Draco and his cargo found themselves in the Floo room of Malfoy Manor. His father grabbed the cloak and threw it at his son before grabbing hold of the unconscious teen's wrist and in a swirl of colour he apparated them away.

Thirty seconds later, his father re-entered the room with Longbottom floating behind him. He snatched the cloak from Draco's hands and threw it over the boy again. "Same Location, the connection is still viable."

Draco nodded invisibly and dragged his victim back through the Floo network with another throw of green sand into the flames and a call of "Three Broomsticks."

This journey was smoother, but the moment he left the Floo with his victim, there was a sharp snap noise and the flames imploded. Apparently, the detour had been disconnected abruptly at the Ministry.

Carefully, Draco returned to the Gryffindor common room, bypassing the guardian painting while Snape stood discussing the Weasley twins, apparently lucky having caught McGonagall just as she was entering the room during her rounds to check on her Lions. Quickly but silently, he returned his victim to the same chair he had been taken from, carefully positioning him to appear as if he had fallen asleep in the chair.

McGonagall would find Longbottom asleep and while she awakened him to get him back to his bed, he could use the distraction to escape. A good night's work and no-one who shouldn't, would know anything had occurred.

-o-o-o-o-o-

June 25th

Lucius stood in the shadows of cargo containers in the London Docks at a too damned early hour of the morning, waiting for his contact to arrive. Seeing the cloaked figure swirl into existence, Lucius stepped forward from the shadows and offered the robed figure the golden device on its extending chain.

"All good?" the figure asked with a voice which sounded both masculine and feminine overlaying each other in strange echoes.

Lucius nodded, "As promised. The Dark Lord requests that there is no way to trace its activities."

The figure took the device in a gloved hand and drew it into the folds of the cloak, "It will be dismantled and cleaned this morning as my first job in the Department. The moment I open the device, any way to trace it will be ruined."

"Could Dumbledore still track it?" Lucius asked in concern.

The figure snorted at that, "He has no direct access to the Department. He would need to request a manifest of what we have stored, then fill paperwork for each individual item, one at a time, in order to investigate them. Even if, by some miracle, he chooses this one as the first on his list, I will have cleaned the device and returned it to its storage by the time the paperwork is completed to even know it exists."

Lucius nodded at that but frowned at the thought of how often Dumbledore seemed to already know what was happening and have laid traps to catch his target. "And if he has the paperwork done faster than you expect?"

The figure grunted in amusement at that, "If the Almightly Oz has the paperwork in place and ready to investigate this item before I arrive at the Ministry, then we are already compromised, and he is aware of everything that's happened."

Lucius frowned at the odd name used to reference Dumbledore before mentally shrugging and casting the thought aside, "Good. I will delay you no longer."

-o-o-o-o-o-

The robed figure reverently settled the golden device on the velvet cushion waiting for it on the desk of their true Master, "Everything went to plan."

Hightower smiled at the sight of the ancient device on the desk. The faint red sheen to the golden sands would be easy to miss for many, but he knew what to look for. Gently and with great reverence, he carefully picked up the cushion and passed it to another of his followers, making sure to not touch the device at all, "Excellent. The contamination?"

"I detected it in Malfoy's blood when I observed him before openly apparating to meet him. He was unaware of my previous observation or spellwork. Anyone else that used 'Merlins Bane' will also be affected." The figure pulled back her hood and knelt, "I am ready for the memories to be sequestered or removed."

Hightower smiled and nodded at her, "You did well my child, the Ancients look proudly upon your duties and when our Lord rises to his rightful dominion, you will be rewarded for your sacrifices."

The woman smiled and looked up at the branches overhead, "In his name."

"In his name." Hightower echoed as he placed his wand tip on his spy's forehead, his magic surging up to reset the enchantments woven deep within her mind.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Tom glanced at the Prophet waiting beside his food, amused once more by the resounding lack of anything that looked like it was related to his restoration. The most important piece was the coming end of the school year and questions as to what the Triwizard Champion, Harry Potter, would be doing in his summer. Ignoring the stupidity of the propaganda paper, he took another mouthful of the delicious soup, savouring the sensations and tastes he had been torn from for the last 13 years.

Oh, how he had taken such experiences for granted, well no more. He would savour them all, carefully and with relish, he was no glutton, to lose control of himself. He was a man of Will and Focus.

"Lucius," he began, noting that the kneeling man was waiting for his next words, "Recover Barty immediately. While you are at it, use my agents in the ministry to acquire the schematics for the Ministry of Magic. I would also desire the details of Azkaban's security."

"As you command my Lord," Lucius nodded, "If Barty has already been disposed of?"

Tom paused at that, "Then you will find out who stole from me. I will see to their punishment personally." Then he took another sip of his soup and held back a pleased sigh, "Oh, and send Parkinson in to see me. I must discuss some issues with him."

"His daughter's treachery my Lord?" Lucius queried as he began to stand.

"Lucius." Tom sighed as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood to walk around the table, "Did I perhaps forget something?"

"My Lord?" Lucius asked in confusion, "I don't understand."

Tom looked at the man, peering into his soul, examining it for falsehood, "No, you don't understand do you." He sighed, and waved a hand at Lucius, "Give me your hand."

Lucius immediately did as ordered, offering his left hand and Tom took hold of it by the fingers, turning it palm down. With a slow and calm motion, Tom drew his wand, placing the tip of the wand over the back of the hand, with a sigh, a dull grey flicker of magic poured over the hand and the bones crunched under the spells power. Lucius immediately bit his lip to stop himself screaming in pain as he felt his bones shatter.

Tom looked at his servant with disappointment, "Look what you made me do to you Lucius." He turned the hand over, so the palm faced up, calmly watching the man shudder as the bones ground against each other having lost their structure, "Do you think inflicting punishments for such petty matters pleases me?"

"No, my Lord." Lucius grunted as Tom twisted the broken hand back to palm down.

"Lucius," Tom continued as if nothing was wrong, "When I give you orders, I expect only relevant questions to aid you in your duty. Are you Parkinson?"

"No, my Lord." Lucius gasped, "Forgive my presumption."

Tom smiled, but his red eyes remained cold and calculating, "Of course you are forgiven Lucius. Of course." The wand tip tapped the hand and a pale green glow seeped into the flesh. Lucius managed to only whine slightly in agony as he felt the bones jump to their correct places and reform back to their pre-broken shape.

"There you go Lucius, good as new." Tom said as he returned to his cooled soup and sighed in annoyance at the loss of such an experience. Reheating it would ruin the experience; the flavour would have changed. His gaze returned to Lucius who was trying to subtly test his hand, "Well, go on then, you have work to do."

As Lucius reached the door, Tom called out again, "Oh, and Lucius, do you think your son would appreciate serving as my cupbearer?"

Lucius paused in fear at the calm comment, "I believe he would be honoured by such a position my Lord."

Tom smirked at that, "I'm sure he would, send him to me the moment he returns. No delays."

Lucius bowed and closed the door behind him, Tom sat in his chair and called out to the room, "I believe I would like to try a bacon sandwich now. And I'll have Veal for supper, oh, and a roast peacock as well. Lucius has plenty of them running around, I'm sure he can spare one for me to experiment with. Match the meals with a suitable wine from the cellars while you are at it."

Lolly, quickly removed the soup and returned to the kitchen to pass on the Dark Lords desire, shuddering at the casual brutality of the spirit bound in stolen flesh.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Dumbledore stood tall and proud, smiling at the students waiting for the results of the additional contests. "I am pleased to announce the winners of each of the three side events of the Triwizard Tournament." He glanced towards Madame Maxime, Karkaroff having disappeared after Potter had won and survived the Tournament. "I also hope that such side events occur at any future Triwizard Tournaments my peers may host in the future."

Turning back to the students, he continued, "When I call your names, please come up and receive a small medal and scroll describing your victory. In addition," He gestured to Minister Fudge who stood beside the table, ready to give out the prizes and congratulate the winners, "Minister Fudge will also be giving out the prizes."

At the excited muttering, Dumbledore smiled, hiding his frustration and anger at Fudges sudden addition to the side tournament last night. "Minister Fudge has received a generous donation that is to be split amongst the winners of the side events." He gritted his teeth for a moment before sighing in annoyance, "Let's all give a round of applause to the Lord Black who provided this donation to the, and I quote, best and brightest of our future. Treasures that have earned a small gift as I look forward to their successful futures."

Well played Pater Black, Dumbledore thought as he clapped along with the students, well played indeed.

Raising his hands to regain silence and their attention, he waved towards Fudge and the pouches with the coins within. "So, for the winning team of the Quidditch League, each member of the team will receive one hundred galleons each." At the shocked gasps, he raised a hand and continued, "For the winner of the duelling contest, the winner will receive five hundred galleons and the second place will receive three hundred in turn. The best of each year will receive a further fifty galleons as will the best of the two guest schools."

He carried on as at least one of the younger winners fainted at the shock, "Finally, each of the winners of the Curriculum contests will each receive one hundred galleons."

He smiled again and lifted a list of names from the podium, "So as I call your names, please come up and the good Minister shall shake your hand and give you your scrolls, badges and prize money." He looked over the top of his glasses at the students, "I believe I can say that the Lord Black would appreciate you spending such funds on your education if possible," he paused for a moment and put an contemplative look on his face, "Although I do wonder what fifty galleons of sherbet lemons would look like."

McGonagall coughed behind him and gave him a glare which made him smile and nod, "Ah yes, my ramblings aside," He looked at the list, "The winning team of the Triwizard Quidditch Tournament is…"

Harry blocked out the rest of the awards, clapping along with the others when a name was called and cheering when a Gryffindor won anything. Hermione had done well, but not won anything. Her knowledge, while impressive and advanced, couldn't match the additional three years of education for the winners. Her duellign skills were also advanced, but she still thought too much, although that issue was rapidly fading through his training of her. Give it a year and she would make a formidable opponent. The winner for his year bracket of the duelling Tournament was Millicent Bulstrode who was rather formidable when focused on an opponent.

He may have to start advancing her lessons in the Force alongside how to cast while fighting with weapons. A difficult skill to explore, but very worth it.

-o-o-o-o-o-

June 30th

Albus Dumbledore stood at the window of his office, watching as the column of steam rose from the now moving express as it began its journey back to London. Another year gone by and an eventful one at that.

His Apprentice was entrenched in the ranks of one enemy faction. His Oathbound Spy in the other. His agents had already begun to act and counter not only Voldemort's agents, but the Lord Blacks as well. He frowned as he pondered the newest player to the game. He supposed he would have to mentally change the imagery from chess to perhaps… poker.

He grimaced at the much less noble and civilised game, but it would have to do.

Returning to his desk, he sat and rested for but a moment. He had a lot of work to do to get everything in place and the recent shifts in the Ministry did not assist in that. The loss of Nymphadora Tonks from the Aurors to bodyguarding Potter was a cut he had not expected, the girl had shown her loyalties again and again in these halls, for her to throw her lot behind the Lord Black was a frustrating loss.

He would need to send out messages to those he could trust for the war to come. He had expected Voldemort to try some grand and dramatic plot to acquire Harry, but the complete lack of an attack on the boy was frustrating. Albus had watched the events of the year progress, everything was working smoothly, and it looked like young Bartemius had been performing his role rather well. It was a pity for Irma to suffer as she did, but a necessary sacrifice for the plan to progress.

Albus had been waiting patiently for the boy to take the trophy and be taken from the grounds to whatever ritual Voldemort had planned, but instead, nothing had happened. What was Voldemort's plan? What ritual had he used? He had nudged things to the correct place, why had they gone off track at the very end?

It was incredibly frustrating.

No matter, the damage was done. Severus had informed him of Voldemort's summons, so he at least knew that that plan was going as planned. It also explained Karkaroff's sudden disappearance.

Unfortunately, without the Potter brat proclaiming Voldemort's return as had been planned, his old Apprentice would be able to work in the shadows. The chance to break the bonds between Potter and Fudge was gone, it would cost too many resources to push such an agenda now. The Ministers support of Potter would also hamper the need for them to call upon his aid and support, while allowing him to quietly improve funding the aurors. Bones would be insufferable over this.

He paused for a moment as he realised, he would need to contact Alastor now, before Bones offered the opportunity to return to the ranks. Perhaps this was how the curse had removed the current tutor, Alastor being too tough and crochety to be twisted too far by it.

Quickly, he jotted down a note and sent it with an elf to Alastor immediately and allowed himself a smile as he took a lemon drop and began to suck on it.

There was nothing his rivals could do to stop his plans. Disrupt them perhaps, delay them, indeed, but stop them? No. It would take some minor adjustments, but everything was still on schedule.

He had already won; they just didn't know it yet.

It was good to be him.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Harry looked up at the Castle as it towered over the Black Lake and surroundings of the Hogwarts Valley. He could almost feel the Old Mans gaze upon him from here.

Everyone had been surprised at the lack of action on Toms part, although he and the others of his Coven had all felt the ripples in the Force as Voldemort was restored to power.

Unlike last time, Tom wouldn't be able to move without some opposition, even if all sides wished to keep things silent and to not draw the publics attention. Fudge would likely be a target very soon; one Harry was willing to sacrifice now his uses had run out. Harry would simply twist things into making the man a martyr for the cause when he was killed. Bones was too valuable a factor in the conflict to come, to not protect.

He nodded to himself as the others settled and he turned to join them for the journey back to London. His summer would be busy with the preparations he could make with the broad sweeps of knowledge that remained to him with how events had altered the timeline.

Less than a year from now in his previous timeline, he would be sent to his other home.

This time, he would not allow events to pass as they had, too much had changed, and he had too much to lose to run into such an obvious trap. A flicker of pain rippled through his heart at the memory of watching Hermione be cut down and almost die due to his own stupidity.

Not again.

He would not allow it.

Harry let out a deep sigh and smiled at the others but stopped as Jane opened the door and passed him an ornate and engraved invitation. A few quick hand signals from her told him she was without influence on her, and the item was safe.

Carefully, he opened it at the worried look she gave him and blinked in surprise.

Apparently, the Court of Avalon had invited the Lord Black to attend a meeting to discuss recent events.

Well… that was unexpected.

Harry nodded to her as he passed the invitation back, what in the name of the Force did the Vampires want with Lord Black?

-o-o-o-o-o-

Tom had timed his arrival perfectly. The daughter was on her way to wait and collect her son from Kings Cross. They had a ritual of eating at a restaurant together before returning home. That gave him plenty of time to finish up and say goodbye to his last friend.

He gestured to the Malfoy Elves that had followed him, "You have your instructions, do not disturb us as you perform them. Once complete, one of you is to tug the leg of my robes to draw my attention, then you will all leave and speak nothing of this night."

The elves all bowed and began their work while Tom followed old memories and entered the master bedroom of the estate.

There, Thaddeus Nott, once a tall and proud man who had been the first friend Tom had gained at Hogwarts, rotted as a thin and pale husk of a man. Slow, tortured breaths rasped around the room and his hands shook as they clutched the covers of the bed closer to his cold frame. A fire burned as the only source of light in the dark room, the heat stifling with the thick curtains shutting out the warm sunlight of the evening.

"Hello, old friend." Tom called as he moved to sit on the side of the bed, taking a freezing hand in his own.

Thaddeus awoke and flinched in surprise before relaxing, "Tom. You look terrible. What went wrong?"

Tom chuckled at that, "Nothing went wrong, the years had done their damage, and this was the best my new flesh could be shaped. I was worried that I'd lose something like my nose or ears, but it was just my hair."

Thaddeus frowned, "I liked your hair." He seemed to drift off a second before his attention snapped back to his guest, "Tom! What happened to you, you look terrible."

Tom paused for a moment, gently probing into his friend's mind and found everything rotten and collapsing. Masking his horror and flinch, he pulled back too fast causing Thaddeus pain. Carefully, he held his friends' thin limbs as he spasmed and gasped in agony, before relaxing and drifting again.

"Tom? Is that you? What happened to your lovely hair?" Thaddeus asked, "Helena will be horrified, she was so jealous of how nice it was."

Tom closed his eyes and sighed, playing along with the echoes of his friend, "She always did want to know my secrets."

Thaddeus smiled at that, "She does, where is my wife by the way? Oh, my little Teresa will be so happy to see you. She has such a crush on you, I love embarrassing her about it."

Tom smiled and chuckled at the memory of the little girl who followed him around her family estate, fascinated by his stories of her fathers' misadventures as a boy. At least she would be free of this torment soon.

A slight tug on his leg told him it was time.

Pulling a silk pouch from his pocket, he gently opened it up and smiled at the contents before turning to Thaddeus, "Can you do me a favour old friend? I need you to hold this safe for me."

"What is it?" Thaddeus queried as he took the item that was offered, "Oh, are you getting married?"

Tom smiled as he carefully drew his wand, slowly he pointed it at his friend, "No Thaddeus, I'm saving us. Somnus."

The moment Nott fell into the enchanted sleep, Tom sighed and stood, straightening himself up and pushing back the pain of seeing his friend in such a state. A flick of his finger doused the fire in the fireplace, leaving them in a stygian darkness. He began the chant, weaving the ritual around them both until the climax where he pointed the tip of his wand at Thaddeus' heart. "Avada Kedavra!"

With a flash of green, the spell struck its victim and the ritual circle, that the elves had silently laid out, ignited in abyssal black flames, icily burning away their own existence as entropy stuttered in the room.

Once again, Tom felt his very being pause between ticks of the clock. Agony burned through his veins, and he felt his bones shatter and twist as his flesh was flayed from him. He felt his eyes boil in their sockets as iron spikes were hammered into his brain and under his nails. Ice flooded his lungs and he felt something intrinsic and vital deep within twist and pull and tear away, screaming as it was sucked into the tarnished band of gold that rested in the relaxed hand of the ritual's victim.

The eternal moment ended, and he was whole once more.

Voldemort sighed as he ran his hands over his face and robes, smoothing out any wrinkles as he looked down at the empty sack of rot and ruin in the bed. He sneered at the weakness of mortality and snatched the precious gold ring from the cold grasping fingers of the corpse.

Quickly, he pulled a golden chain from his pocket and ran it through the loop of the ring. Gently, he pulled it over his head and the moment the cold gold rested against his chest, he felt much calmer, more settled.

Tom looked down at Thaddeus and sighed, "Goodbye Thaddeus Nott, my first friend, I will miss our conversations."

-o-o-o-o-o-