Chapter 19
Harry groaned, landing against a tombstone. His instincts were screaming at him, telling him to move and fight.
“Grab the boy.” A voice rasped and Harry stayed still, coming up with a plan as he was grabbed by Pettigrew.
“Oh, you’re still alive? Would’ve thought a sniveling rat like you would have died without a family to hide with.” Harry shot at him, earning a glare from the rat-looking man as he was dragged over to a cauldron.
Slender was going to kill him if he made it out of this alive.
_Back at Hogwarts_
“Somethings wrong Hoodz,” Tim muttered, making Hoodie nod as they slipped out of the crowd, quickly finding a place they wouldn’t be interrupted, summoning their master.
Slender appeared, seeming unsettled. “What has happened? Harry is not in that maze that they sent him into.” He demanded his proxies, making them look at each other frowning.
“We didn’t know he wasn’t in the maze anymore. Something is wrong though. The other champions are starting to appear but no one wants to seem worried about the youngest, even though he’s the most capable, hasn’t shown up and it’s been an hour. Do you sense where he is sir? He went in with the pendant you gave him.” Masky told him, making Slender seem more unsettled.
“I… Cannot. Something is blocking me from figuring out where he is.” Slender told them. “Search for clues. I will continue to search for him. Hopefully, he does not get himself into too much trouble.”
The proxies nodded, slipping off to go and find a way to get in the maze as Slender went off to find out where his newest ward went.
_Back with Harry_
Harry hissed in pain, eyes flashing red as he shut them to keep Pettigrew from seeing, the nasty little deformed thing called Voldemort already in the cauldron.
He could feel the rage building. The burning feeling creeping up as his hand flex for a knife. The blood seeped from his wrist as Pettigrew collected it for the ritual.
‘Where is Slender?’ Harry wondered, his pendant a cool feeling on his chest. He would think that Masky and Hoodie would have already let Slender know something was wrong right? He would have noticed his location suddenly changing right?
Harry’s fears were building, not understanding why they weren’t there. They wouldn’t have abandoned him, would they? He didn’t register the shimmer of old magics surrounding the courtyard, keeping them out of sight and indirectly blocking eldritch horrors.
Harry barely registered that Voldemort had risen from the cauldron and was clothed until he was given his wand and untied, making him look at the dark lord.
Harry gritted his teeth, going to his place. He slipped a hand into his robes, feeling his knife and securing a grip on his. He struggled to hold back his anger, keeping his eyes from bleeding red.
Voldemort however, paid no mind as he addressed his followers, unknown of the inner turmoils of the teen before him. “You know of course, that they have called this boy my downfall? You all know that on the night I lost my powers and my body, I tried to kill him. His mother died in the attempt to save him — and unwittingly provided him with a protection I admit I had not foreseen... I could not touch the boy. His mother left upon him the traces of her sacrifice... This is old magic, I should have remembered it, I was foolish to overlook it... but no matter. I can touch him now.” Voldemort spoke, grabbing Harry roughly, causing the boy to hiss in pain, shutting his eyes as the snake-faced man lean in close.
Harry barely registered anything. He could feel the bloodlust reaching a peak. His brain was in a panic for answers from Slender. Why hadn’t he come? Did he not care anymore? Was this a test?
He breathed out, settling his eyes to their normal killer curse green for a moment, going to stand and turn to Voldemort.
“Now Potter. I am a fair man at times and will at least allow you a duel before you die.” Voldemort spoke, Harry barely shrugging before closing his eyes.
“You know Tom? You aren’t the only one that makes the common folk shiver in fear. The only difference?” Harry said, opening his eyes as they showed blood red. A few followers gasped as Voldemort’s eyes narrowed. “Mine, are earned by how much suffering I end,” Harry ended with a cold-blooded smirked.
Voldemort growled, aiming his wand and shooting the killing curse. Harry was quick to whip his knife out, letting the spell hit it, bouncing it over into the crowd.
The boy-who-lived dashed forward, dodging and blocking spells, using his wand to summon things to block or deflect the killing curse as he dashed up to the dark lord, slashing the robes and drawing blood before he could move back and shooting another curse. Harry laughed.
“That all you can use old man? Would think for a man that wants to be immortal would know how to do more than the killing curse.” Harry taunted, moving back quickly as Voldemort hissed and before shooting another spell at him, this one a dark purple, causing Harry to dodge. “Ohh so you can! Good! Wouldn’t want to be a boring dark lord.”
Voldemort growled. “Shut up you insolent brat!” He hissed, shooting a barrage of spells that Harry didn’t recognize, causing the teen to quickly dodge or block. He even used a few death eaters to take the spells instead of him, wincing as one spell caused a death eater to fall with a scream in pain as his skin sizzle from an acid spell. Harry knew he wouldn’t win this. He needed to get to the cup. He was dizzy from blood loss and could only run on blood lust and adrenaline for so long and Voldemort was getting more erratic and therefore more deadly.
“Kill the boy! Do not let him live or neither will you!” Tom Riddle hissed as Harry slipped through the crowd, causing the death eaters to scramble to try and kill the boy.
Harry dashed to the cup, dodging and ducking behind tombstones as spells were shot his way. Harry’s pendant came loose, slipping off his neck as he dodged, making his eyes widen as he swiped it up, pulling it close as a killing curse hit it, making him fall back on the cup from the large blast that happened, clutching the cord tightly to his chest.
_Hogwarts_
Harry gasped in pain as he landed on the grass of the quidditch pitch, kicking the cup away before it could activate again. The charred pendant laid on his chest, the spell having caused the protections on it to lash out.
Harry was surrounded in a second by Masky and Hoodie, both helping him up gently. “You okay there Harry?” Tim asked, Brian already scanning his body for anything missing. His eyes instantly narrowing on the cut on his arm.
“No. Tired, drained, bastard used my blood to come back,” Harry muttered to them as Dumbledore and the other officials came up to him, Madam Promphrey was with them, with Jack being there as well which made Harry very confused, wondering if he was seeing things.
Though he knew he wasn’t when the eyeless man, currently disguised, kneeled beside him and felt his pulse quickly. “What happened?” He asked, making Harry give him a small shake as if to tell them later.
“Long story short. Voldemort is back and I want to sleep for the next month.” Harry mutters, earning a gasp from several people surrounding them, minster Fudge coming up at this point and going pale.
“T-that’s impossible! Someone can’t come back from the dead!” He stuttered, glaring at Harry for even saying it. Making Harry glare back, too tired to deal with the man.
“Then explain to me why I got fucking portkeyed to a cemetery, tied to a gravestone, got cut opened by fucking Peter Pettigrew, my blood used with a fucking ritual and the man comes out of a cauldron butt naked, sprouting out how it’s time for him to get his revenge and rule the wizarding world. I will even submit the damned memory for view. You guys can keep it as far as I’m concerned.” Harry threatened at the end, hoping that Slender could edit the memory so no one would see him as he had acted. That was information he didn’t need getting out and while he doubted that Fudge would take the bait, it would be better safe than sorry.
Brian wordlessly picked up Harry, making the teen yelp in surprise as the silent killer carried him towards the castle, Tim and Jack following, the medical wizard explaining to those that tried to follow that he was carrying Harry to the infirmary and that he would not be having any visitors except those of his guardian and those his guardian permitted, that including the headmaster.
Harry couldn’t help the snort that slipped out, a tired ache seeping into him as he leaned against Hoodie, blushing faintly as the silent man carried him. “I’m allowed to sleep right..?” Harry mumbled, his eyes getting harder and harder to keep open.
“Yes, we’ll make sure no one gets near you. Sleep, you need it.” Jack told him, that all Harry needed before drifting away into the world of sleep.