The Dark Lord's Return

Within minutes, black cloaked figures wearing white masks began Aparating into the graveyard, responding to their master's call. They began arranging themselves in a semi circle around their Lord, kneeling, while awaiting his acknowledgement.

Voldemort stood in the center of his followers, slowly turning to regard each one as he counted their number. There were three at Hogwarts and one of those was a dead man walking, one was a hero, and the other was in a grey area that would be defined later.

He could sense fear, apprehension, and guilt coming from the group in front of him. In a voice full of menace, Voldemort hissed, "How is it that my lowliest servant managed to find me when the rest of you couldn't?"

It was a question that had been bothering him for a while now. The answer that he came up with was that they didn't try very hard as the years went by.

Crabbe, Sr. couldn't take the silence anymore and he nervously spoke, "My Lord, we tried to find you but we couldn't."

Voldemort's wand lashed out, quick as a striking snake, and he snarled, "Crucio!"

Crabbe immediately fell to the ground screaming in anguish. Thirteen years as a wraith had not dulled the Dark Lord's power or wrath.

The screams woke Harry from unconsciousness. When he opened his eyes he was greeted with the sight of Voldemort torturing someone.

He realized that no one was watching him. They were all caught up in the spectacle in front of them. Quickly, Harry transformed into his Animagus form and slipped his bonds. He moved as quietly, and slowly, as he could. Once he was behind a gravestone, he transformed back.

It was the longest that he had been able to stay in his animal form yet and he was exhausted. Something felt different about his Animagus form since the first task. He also noticed that his connection to Voldemort was gone. Harry figured that he would ponder those things if he got out of this mess alive.

Realizing that Wormtail still had his wand, Harry drew the dragon tooth dagger from its sheath. Cautiously, he peered around the gravestone to look for the traitor.

Peter looked up from his spot on the ground. He had been completely forgotten by his Lord in all of the commotion. His stump was still bleeding and he was in terrible pain. His gaze drifted over to where Harry had been tied up, only the ropes remained to his shock and dismay. Quickly, he stammered out, "M-My Lord! The Potter boy is missing!"

Voldemort ended the curse on the screaming man at his feet. He was furious, through clenched teeth, he snapped, "Find him, NOW!" His eyes fell upon the area where the boy had been, he couldn't have gotten far.

"Wormtail, come here." When the rat of a man stumbled over to him, Voldemort said in a deadly whisper, "Find the boy. I want him alive. Do not return without him." With a quick wave of his wand, he stopped the bleeding and created a silver hand to replace the one that had been sacrificed to give him a body.

The Death Eaters began to spread out to find the Boy-Who-Lived. Unfortunately, two of them were heading towards Harry's position. One of them was Wormtail and the other was the man that was being tortured moments ago.

Coming up with a quick plan, Harry transformed again and coiled himself up in a shadow. When both men had passed him by, he began to slowly move after Wormtail. He needed his wand back if he were going to get out of this nightmare.

Peter was franticly searching behind the larger gravestones searching for Harry. The implied threat from the Dark Lord could only mean pain in his future if he failed. Lost in his thoughts, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings or he might have noticed the large snake coming up behind him.

Harry struck quickly, his fangs sinking deep into Wormtail's calf. The bite caused the tiny man to scream in pain and fall down. Before he could turn around, Harry had reverted to his human form.

Screaming in pain, Wormtail dropped his wand and clutched at his leg as he fell. Suddenly, Harry Potter was standing right over him, holding a knife poised to strike again.

Harry took a quick step forward and kicked Wormtail as hard as he could in the face, knocking him unconscious. He could hear the shouts from the other Death Eaters as they tried to locate their fallen comrade. He plucked his wand from Wormtail's robes and pocketed the traitor's.

He had only gone a few more steps when he heard a voice that made his blood run cold.

Voldemort had seen Wormtail go down, clutching his leg, while screaming in pain. In the next instant, Harry Potter was standing over him with a knife in hand. 'Where had the boy come from?' he thought curiously as he began making his way towards his fallen servant.

He watched as Harry Potter lashed out with his boot, knocking Wormtail unconscious, before he spoke in his low sibilant tone, "Leaving so soon, Harry? We still have much to discuss."

Turning around slowly so he didn't startle Voldemort, Harry was shocked to see an older version of the Tom Riddle that he had met in the Chamber of Secrets. Putting two and two together, he realized that Voldemort was hiding his true form beneath a glamour. He would try to figure out why later.

Trying to sound as relaxed as he could, Harry's voice was an even tone as he spoke, "Yes, I think that my part in this ritual is over don't you?"

Before Voldemort could reply, Wormtail started to convulse on the ground. White foam was spewing from his mouth as his body was wracked with spasms. With a last gasp, Peter Pettigrew died.

Amused, Voldemort's low voice rang out, "I'm impressed, Harry. May I call you Harry?" Not bothering to wait for a reply, he continued speaking, "I didn't think that you would resort to a poisoned dagger to kill Wormtail. Didn't Dumbledore teach you better than that?"

He was trying to provoke the boy's anger to get a better measure of his powers. Crouch's reports had been very insightful, but there was no substitute for first hand experience.

Harry was shocked; he didn't realize that his Animagus form was poisonous. Belatedly, he realized that with Wormtail dead, he would have to bring the body back with him if he escaped to clear Sirius.

Voldemort knew that Harry needed Wormtail's body to clear Sirius Black so he decided to prevent it from ever happening. Quick as lightning, he incinerated Wormtail's body. When the magical fire burned out, there was nothing but ash left of Peter Pettigrew.

"No!" Harry shouted when Voldemort lit Wormtail's body on fire. He realized that Voldemort had just removed any chance of ever clearing Sirius. Angrily, he shouted, "You bastard!" With a flick of his wrist, Harry sent a silent Blasting Hex at Voldemort with as much power as he could muster.

Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise as the spell impacted upon his hastily conjured shield, sending him flying backwards. The force of the spell was immense. Crouch had been unable to give him an exact idea of Harry Potter's full power, plus it had been cast silently. All of this went through Voldemort's mind in a fraction of a second before he Disapparated in mid-air. He reappeared in almost the exact spot that he had been standing moments before.

The only problem was that Harry Potter was no longer standing where he had been.

As soon as his spell hit Voldemort, Harry sprinted in the opposite direction trying to put as much distance between them as he could. The familiar sound of Apparition told him that Voldemort was not injured. Suddenly, a thought hit him; he had Apparated before as a child when Dudley and his gang were chasing him at school.

Concentrating as hard as he could, Harry thought of the first place that came to mind. With a thunderous clap, Harry Apparated away from the graveyard to the only place where he felt safe.

Voldemort's howl of rage echoed through the graveyard and sent shivers down the spines of his followers as they approached their master.

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