Elemental Alchemy

Chapter Thirteen

4:00 am - The Open Field - Unknown Location

Lord Voldemort. He was the most horrible, most feared wizard of all time. From the first time Robert heard about this man, he had trouble picturing what he would look like. At first, Robert thought he would look not much unlike Dumbledore - aged, bearded, and powerful - but dark where Dumbledore was light.

This person now walking toward them looked nothing like he had pictured. In fact, his appearance was so frightening, so incredibly disfigured, that Robert, even at his most creative, could not have imagined anything like him. Voldemort did not even look human - he wasn't human, couldn't be. He looked, Robert thought, like something out of a science fiction movie - something horrific, something purely evil.

Voldemort walked, no, floated forward toward the group. As he came closer, Robert could see the face within the hood. The skin on his face was devoid of color, just like the hands. It was stretched taut and thin over a broad, wide skull, the cheekbones protruding at a sharp, eerie angle. The nose was prominent in its absence - there were only two tiny slits where the nose should have been. Voldemort was the very image of death - a fleshless skull. Robert remembered then that yes, Voldemort was death - he essentially died in his attempt to kill Harry Potter sixteen years ago. This particular Voldemort, this body, was resurrected, reconstructed, recreated.

Robert gasped. The most prominent feature of the face was the eyes - the bright, glowing red eyes. As the man, or whatever it was, came even closer, Robert saw his pupils. There were dark, vertical slits - like the eyes of a snake, a serpent - Slytherin.

Robert wasn't sure if he was horrified by this man's presence or infuriated by it. He wasn't sure if he should turn tail and run or, despite his horror, rush at him, wrap his hands around his throat, and throttle Voldemort. However, he knew that to do so would be pure suicide, and it would do nothing to help the situation. Voldemort was not going to be killed by the bare hands of a mere Muggle.

Robert could not dispel his hatred, however. Because of this thing - this Voldemort - Robert's friend, and two other Hogwarts professors were dead. Not just dead, brutally and violently murdered. Not only that, he was nearly killed himself. Leaving this day aside, Robert knew that Voldemort had caused a great deal of strife, grief, and pain. He hoped someday, that Voldemort would pay dearly for it - hopefully at the hands of Harry Potter. For now, there was little Robert could do.

No one spoke for a long moment. No one moved. Not Remus, not Blaise, not Tonks, not Harry. Snape and Kingsley still lay on the ground, unconscious from the stunning spells. Voldemort laughed -- just laughed - a purely evil, tinny, high-pitched, resonant laugh. Then his face turned grave, the stare intense. "Potter," he bellowed. "You have denied me long enough. I want that prophecy - I demand your life, just like I claimed what was mine years ago - the lives of your father and mother!"

Harry stepped forward. He was visibly shaking, and angry, but stood his ground firmly. "You really are desperate, aren't you, Voldemort? Do you really fear me that much?"

"Ah, the boy uses my name - uses it to mock me. Not even my loyal Death Eaters would dare use my name for the fear of me. Such bravery, Potter, such unmitigated nerve. Your parents would have been proud!"

"Leave my parents out of this, Voldemort!" Voldemort's comment obviously hit a nerve.

The skin around Voldemort's mouth stretched in a mockery of a grin. "Ah, now I see - you are not so valiant after all, are you? This show, this attitude - it is pure stupidity, Potter! You still do not realize who you are trifling with, do you?" Harry scowled, his anger and ire increasing exponentially. "I will have that prophecy, Potter! Now!" He laughed, and aimed his wand at Harry. "Legilimens!"

For the fourth time that night, Harry bent over double with searing pain. He clawed and scratched desperately at the scar on his forehead. The scar burned red, and Robert saw small drips of blood ooze from the site. Harry screamed - a high-pitched, plaintive scream of combined terror, defiance, and pain. "NO! You will NOT have it! You will not have me!" He shouted through the pain, raising his wand skyward with a trembling hand. "PROTEGO!"

Harry straightened up immediately under the power of his own protection spell. The pain had disappeared, replaced by a steely resolve, a renewed bravery, and fierce, piercing stare. Like Voldemort's red eyes, Robert saw that Harry's eyes were now themselves glowing - a bright, intense green. Robert could not escape the significance. Fire - red - Voldemort's eyes. Water - green - Harry's eyes. Opposites - places switched. Harry's crimson fire glowed in Voldemort. Voldemort's verdant water glowed within Harry. It was as if each left part of the other that fateful night sixteen years ago.

A very unexpected sound reached Robert's ears, interrupting his thoughts. It was Blaise, and he was nearly growling with revulsion and loathing. "Leave him alone!" Blaise shouted. Robert couldn't believe Blaise's bravery. "Leave Harry the bloody hell alone! Haven't you tortured him, the rest of us, enough? My father died trying to get that prophecy you wanted! He taught me all my life to follow you, to be loyal to you - but in the end he saw you for what you really are! I hated him for it! I thought he was wrong! I thought he was betraying you, betraying our family! But now I see I was wrong!"

Robert grabbed Blaise by the arm and tried pulling him back, away from Voldemort, away from danger. Robert saw the smile on Voldemort's face stretch tauter - become broader. This reaction - this ire, this hatred - was just the reaction Voldemort was seeking. Blaise wrenched out of Robert's grasp and strode closer - dangerously closer - to the Dark Lord. "My father committed murder for you! He nearly killed his best friend to serve you. And this is how you repay him? This is how you treat those who are loyal to you?"

Silence once again dominated the atmosphere. The only sound was Blaise's deep, rapid breathing. Everyone, including Harry, stood transfixed, wide-eyed at Blaise. Robert was unsure if they admired his bravery, or fretted over the possible consequences of his sheer stupidity.

Those consequences came rapidly and without warning. Voldemort raised his wand in one swift move. "Crucio!"

The spell came flying out of Voldemort's wand. This, Robert thought, is a powerful one. Harry tried in vain to push Blaise out of the spell's path, but it made contact - hitting Blaise squarely in the face.

Blaise's skin glowed orange momentarily, and he crumpled to the ground. His face contorted in a horrifying mask of pain. For a long while Blaise produced no sound. He was unable to. The pain would not allow his body to function. Every muscle in Blaise's body seemed to contract and relax rapid-fire. His eyes lolled back into his head. Before Blaise passed out, he found his voice. That voice, however, did not belong to a normal human being. The scream rising from Blaise's throat was animalistic, basic, feral - the pain bringing out the very basic part of his subconscious.

Robert felt helpless. "What is that?"

Tonks knelt next to Blaise and caught him up in her arms. Voldemort released Blaise from the curse, but he was still in the violent throes of pain. The primal screams were still being pushed out from Blaise's very being.

"It's the Cruciatus Curse!" Remus yelled. "It is an unforgivable curse - like the Killing Curse. It causes horrible pain!" Blaise's screams finally ceased, and he lay nearly lifeless in Tonks' arms, breathing shallowly and rapidly.

Harry had enough. "Speaking of the Killing Curse..." He aimed his wand at Voldemort, who was now cackling with hateful mirth over Blaise's agony.

"Harry, no!" Tonks screamed. "Don't do it!"

Harry didn't hear her. He didn't care. He aimed his wand at Voldemort, took in a deep, great breath and bellowed, "Avada Kedavra!!" Harry's voice was, for lack of a better description, otherworldly. When the Killing Curse emanated from his wand, his preternaturally green eyes burned brighter, more intense.

An emerald-green streak of light shot from the end of Harry's wand, and combined with the glow from his eyes. The salvo headed directly towards Voldemort's heart. Voldemort did not flinch. He did not move. When the curse was mere inches from his chest, Voldemort raised his hand, and moved it to the side, deflecting the curse behind him. The green flash struck the broken farm wall and exploded it, sending shards of rock and mortar flying.

Harry swore loudly, his verdant eyes still alight.

"What did my dear Bella tell you about using the unforgivable curses, Potter? You have to mean to kill. I still don't think you have it in you, Potter. But it is encouraging to see that you are still resisting me. That you are becoming stronger. I see more and more of you in me each time we meet."

Harry bristled at the comparison. "I will never be anything like you, Voldemort."

"Tut, tut, dear boy. You cannot ignore it any longer, can you? Look at you. You have become quite the Occlumens, keeping me out of your mind and at bay, haven't you, Potter?" Voldemort lowered his wand. His red eyes flashed.

Voldemort stepped forward toward Snape, looking down his flattened nose at Snape's crumpled body. "Getting back to business, now, before Mr. Zabini so rudely interrupted us. I do see Snivellus here has taught you well - he taught you this Occlumency, didn't he, Potter."

Voldemort pulled back his leg and gave Severus a vicious kick in the stomach. Harry jumped. Robert heard the breath leave Severus' lungs. "Pathetic traitor."

Voldemort raised his wand again, aiming it directly at Snape's head. Voldemort began intoning the Killing Curse, "Avada..." But he was interrupted by Remus' quick reaction. Remus flicked his wand at Snape and bellowed, "Accio, Snape!"

Snape's limp body flew up off the ground and pelted toward Lupin, landing with a sickening thud at Lupin's feet. Voldemort's face contorted into a livid sneer.

"Ah, yes, I know you." He pointed. "You are the werewolf, Remus J. Lupin." Voldemort's red eyes moved, away from Remus, now traveling over Robert. "My faithful servant, Wormtail, has told me oh so much about you." Lupin's eyes twitched slightly.

Voldemort sneered. "Ah yes, the sufferance of betrayal is quite a demon to bear, isn't it, Lupin - or should I say, Moony? Yes. I see the hatred for Wormtail in your eyes. Most unbecoming of your - character. What would dear, dear Padfoot and Prongs say? Rest their souls."

Lupin remained resolute. He was not about to let Voldemort provoke him. He was not about to give up any more of his grief, anger, hatred, or any other emotions to Voldemort.

"Oh well," Voldemort continued, "I do see that your Muggle meal for this evening had quite easily evaded your capture. I provided you with a free dinner - such easy prey, Lupin, you should have accepted my...gift. Too bad."

Voldemort suddenly turned again toward Harry, apparently no longer finding Lupin amusing. "Potter! I am disappointed. I can see that you are as stubborn and obstinate as I always knew you were. I will not get that prophecy from you. I see that I will need to find other means of obtaining what I want."

Voldemort paused, looking from person to person, as if scanning each one - Remus, Harry, Tonks, Blaise - landing again upon Robert. Voldemort's face broke out into another vicious grin. "Well, I do believe I know where to obtain my prize!" He raised his wand, aimed, but said nothing.

It took a moment for Robert to realize what Voldemort was doing. Those same images that flashed through Robert's mind during the dementor attack returned in full force. All of the fear, all of the panic, all of the pain, all of the death - every horrible experience - everything, down to when he was turned down for a prom date in high school - they all came racing back. Voldemort was probing Robert's memories now. He was using the same spell he used on Harry only a few hours earlier. Legilimency.

Except Robert didn't know how to prevent it. He, unlike Harry, did not have magical abilities. He did not have the knowledge of Occlumency. He couldn't block the drilling, the invasion into his mind. Robert felt helpless - powerless to keep the truth of the prophecy away from Voldemort.

Robert clutched at the sides of his head, trying in vain to keep Voldemort out. "Get...out... of ... my... head!" Robert screamed. But the torture only increased. The memories became more real, flashed brighter and longer.

Robert could now smell the burning flesh of the camerlengo, could smell the dampness of the abandoned well, could feel the rush of cold air and the impact of cold water when he fell from the helicopter. He could feel the burn on his flesh and in his hair when the anti-matter bomb exploded over his head. Robert, like Harry before, collapsed on the ground, writhing. "I...won't...let...you...have...it!" Robert hissed through gritted teeth.

The torture continued for what seemed hours. Tonks, Remus, and Harry gathered around Robert, trying in vain to hold him, to ease his pain. Robert opened his eyes and looked plaintively at Tonks. "Stop this, please. Stop this."

Harry and Remus exchanged glances. "Could he take a double spell?" Harry asked. Remus knew exactly what he was talking about. Remus nodded. The idea was perfect, and Remus knew it would work.

"Robert! Robert! Can you hear me?" Remus patted Robert's face. "Listen, Robert, on the count of three, can you think of the prophecy? Say it out loud in your head?" Remus asked.

Robert, the pain and his memories still flashing through his mind, gained enough control to nod his head.

Harry whispered. "Remus is going to perform the protection charm for you. At the same time Tonks is going to modify your memory. She's going to take the memory of the prophecy out of your mind. If that memory's gone, Voldemort will know, and he'll stop looking for it."

All Robert could do is nod his head. Tonks bent over, grasped Robert's hand, and whispered furtively in his ear. "I'm here, Robert. Just hang on. Please. Hang on."

Robert could no longer hear them. He tried, he wanted to more than anything, but he just couldn't. All he heard were screams -- horrific, bloodcurdling screams. All he felt was panic. All he smelled was burning flesh. All he tasted was blood. Robert saw Voldemort's face in his mind's eye. It was taunting him, demanding to know where the memory of the prophecy was. Robert's resolve under this pressure was quickly failing.

"Do it now! He can't hold on much longer!" Tonks screamed.

Remus raised his wand above Robert and said, "Protego!"

At the same time, Tonks aimed her wand at Robert's head. "Robert...are you ready? Do you have it in your mind?" Robert nodded weakly, barely able to focus. He thought quickly of the prophecy. Tonks whispered gently, "One, two, three...obliviate!"

Robert felt a searing heat in his head, quickly replaced by a comforting, soothing coolness. It was a sweet, sugary, thoughtless oblivion. Voldemort had been driven out. He was gone. Thankfully, and finally, gone, as was the memory of the prophecy.

Robert began to sit up, aided by Tonks. "Robert! Look out!"

One of the Death Eaters, who was previously unconscious, stirred, aimed his wand at Robert, and said weakly, "stupefy!" A shimmering red burst of light and sparks emanated from the Death Eater's wand - headed directly for Robert's chest. Tonks pushed Robert back onto the ground just in time, covering him with her body. The spell hit the ground behind Robert, leaving a charred scar in the earth.

The Death Eater scrambled up from the ground, and ran towards Voldemort. Tonks pushed up on her hands with the agility of a gymnast. She dashed after the Death Eater, throwing numerous hexes and curses, but he was gone.

"Damn and blast!" Tonks walked with long, annoyed strides back towards Robert. Before she reached Robert, however, something stopped her in her tracks, and she smiled broadly.

Robert still felt weak, still somewhat dazed by the memory modification. While he couldn't be sure, he could have sworn that he heard another loud crack, and saw the flowing-white robes and beard that could only belong to one wizard.

"Dumbledore." Robert breathed.

Harry wheeled around. His eyes made instant contact with Dumbledore's. Robert's head was still spinning, but he could tell - there was an unspoken communication between the two wizards. Each knew what the other was going to do, and they were going to do it - now. Both wizards nodded and started walking with determination toward Voldemort - they were on the attack! Dumbledore reached in his pocket and withdrew his wand, his eyes fixed upon Voldemort.

From the corner of his eye, Robert saw yet another hooded figure. He couldn't tell if it was another Auror, a Death Eater, or someone else. Before he could stand up to run or call for help, or whatever he would have to do to save his own skin, he heard the incantation again. "Stupefy!" Again, the red streaks shot from the hooded figure's wand directly at Robert.

Before the spell hit, however, Robert heard yet another voice. It was that same cold, evil, hollow voice that resonated in his own head for the past five minutes. Voldemort's voice. "Dumbledore!" he bellowed. "You have caused another death tonight! Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light mixed with the red. Both spells now streamed towards Robert. Robert's eyes widened in horror. There was nothing he could do to stop the spell from hitting him.

Robert felt a percussive impact - a rib-splitting kick to the chest. Robert heard Tonks scream, "My God, no! Robert!" The force of the spell threw Robert backwards and upwards. Like a rag-doll, Robert's body was literally thrown about ten feet into the air, and landed with a sickening thud, face down in the rotting muck.

Then, Robert lost it all. Sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. Everything around him and within him went completely and utterly black.

P.S. Find Robert Langdon...