Future Shock

Chapter Four: At Voldemort's Hideout.

The moment Wesley stepped out of the Port Key, he grabbed his wand, gave it a shake, and transformed it into his staff.

"Here I am," he muttered beneath his breath. "What now?"

"Now you are my prisoner," echoed a voice around him. "Petrificus Partialus Bodium!"

Wesley's arms jerked to his side. His staff clattered to the floor. He fell hard on his back, his legs rigid. He could look up, however, and he strained his neck to look around, but could see nobody.

Then the voice said "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Wesley rose into the air and floated forward, feet first down the corridor. He turned two corners before settling down in the middle of a gigantic chamber. Seated at the end was Voldemort.

Voldemort gave a low laugh. "Well, if it isn't Future Boy!"

Wesley could do nothing but glare. He could move his head and his mouth (which he kept clenched shut) but every part of him below his neck was as rigid as though it were in a Full Body Bind.

"Amazing," said Voldemort. "A Full Body Bind that leaves the prisoner free to talk. Most useful for interrogation. It was the only spell Wormtail remembered during my future self's trip to this time. A shame that, but I understand. The spell was quite hard to learn, and I'm afraid I made a few mistakes along the way."

Voldemort snapped his fingers. "Wormtail, I believe this young man may be thirsty after his long trip here. Give him some water, will you?"

A shape loomed into Wesley's vision and pulled the boy into a sitting position. A cup was pressed to Wesley's lips. He drank, and as he did so, he looked up at Wormtail. He choked and sputtered, and sprayed Wormtail from head to toe.

Wormtail glared, but said nothing. He couldn't. Where his mouth should have been, the skin of his face below his nose was completely smooth and unblemished.

"The surgeon will cut him a new mouth in the morning," said Voldemort. "Unless you want to save him the trouble. Perhaps you know the mistake I made, and have a counter curse to cure it. I'd be most interested in finding out, although the silence is appreciated."

"What do you want?"

"You know what I want," said Voldemort. "If you have an ounce of intelligence, you will have figured out what happened since you last left Wormtail. I had just woken up. I found his battered body lying unconscious. I revived him, and extracted a most fantastic tale from him. One that was a little hard to follow, even for me, and harder still to believe."

"Then why am I here?"

"Because I believe it," said Voldemort. "Time travel spells may be beyond my comprehension, at the moment, but the implications are certainly not beyond my imagination. I've looked into your background. You haven't any. Beyond what cover Dumbledore has constructed for you at the Wizardry Census Bureau, you don't exist. Or, rather, you don't exist, yet. Coupled with Wormtail's memories of the events during my most unnatural sleep, I can only conclude that you are a visitor from the future, sent back in time to prevent your present from going awry. Therefore, you know the future."

"I don't know the future," said Wesley quickly. "I've already prevented it. Everything from this moment forward is a blank slate."

"I know," said Voldemort. "Such a pity. However, you are still a product of your history. You remember things from your past, what could have been my future. You know some very powerful spells that no one else does. I want you to share that knowledge."

"This won't do you any good," said Wesley, forcing a laugh. "I've already told Dumbledore everything I know. Whatever curse I give you, he knows how to counter."

"Ah, maybe he does, but what about the rest of the Wizarding world?" asked Voldemort. "Has he told them?"

Wesley said nothing. Voldemort chuckled.

"I know Dumbledore too well. I'd wager he told you that the world isn't ready for these advanced spells. I know he's taking flak for his stance at the Ministry of Magic, or so my contacts tell me."

Wesley stared in astonishment.

Voldemort continued. "If I knew a fraction of what Dumbledore must know now, I'd wreak havoc on the Wizarding world no matter what Dumbledore did to interfere. The ironic thing is, I can just see him refusing to use his newly learned spells as a matter of principle. His principles will be the death of him; someday soon, I hope."

Wesley glared.

***

Harry and Ron walked carefully through the cave-like corridors, keeping to the shadows.

"No guards," Harry muttered. "I would have expected this place to be crawling with Voldemort's men."

"Gift horse, mouth," Ron muttered. But he nodded. "This is a completely different place from Voldemort's last hideout. Perhaps he's still keeping a low profile, moving from place to place. Too many guards would attract attention."

"So, tomorrow, Voldemort could be somewhere else," said Harry. "No wonder they can't catch him. It would be so much easier if he had a dark tower."

Ron perked up. "What's that?" Before Harry could say anything, he rushed out of the shadows and grabbed something off of the middle of the floor. "Wesley's staff! He's here, all right, but he's been taken."

"Ron, be careful," Harry hissed.

Then Wormtail strode around the corner.

The two boys stared in horror, first at being discovered, and then at Wormtail's lipless face. Wormtail stared back in utter astonishment, and tried to shout for help, but all he could do was hum.

Without thinking, Ron rushed forward, swinging up Wesley's staff. It caught the man cleanly under the chin, sending him sprawling to the floor.

Ron dashed after him, and laid a solid blow across Wormtail's temple.

Harry caught up with him. Ron swung again. Whap!

"I think he's unconscious, Ron," said Harry.

Whap! Whap!

Harry winced. "Now I'm sure."

Whap! Whap! Whap!

"Ron, you're starting to scare me."

Whap!

"Just making extra sure," said Ron, hoisting Wesley's staff and glaring down at Wormtail. Then he nodded, satisfied. "Come on," he said, treading on Wormtail's stomach as he walked down the corridor. Harry jumped over the limp body and followed.

They moved back into the shadows in the next corridor, and their pace slowed. They heard voices up ahead, and a light was shining beyond the next bend.

***

Using only his eyes, Wesley looked around at the part of the chamber he could see. It echoed with emptiness. "Why aren't your Death Eater minions here for this?" asked Wesley.

"I like to be alone," said Voldemort. "Besides, I want to be quite sure of these spells before I entrust them to my lackies."

"Very wise," said Wesley brightly. "People should never handle advanced spells without proper training. We're talking months, maybe years. Perhaps you should consider taking a few safety courses yourself. Indeed, why take the risk at all? Just carry on as before with the huge collection you already have. You seem to be doing enough damage as it is."

"I disagree," said Voldemort. "I'm a firm believer in embracing new things. It would be such a shame to let these new spells exist in obscurity. What Wormtail was able to remember suggests to me that we have a fine few years of Wizarding advances ahead of us. Some of the things he told me my future self was able to do is just remarkable. For instance, the trick of binding the redheaded brat and putting the Cruciatus curse on her intrigued me greatly. The Cruciatus curse and the Full Body Bind interfere with each other too much; you put on one, you end up taking off the other. And you can't walk away from the current Cruciatus spell without relinquishing it. These new versions have potential. You may not think it of me, but after a while, one gets tired of hearing 'oh god, oh god, it hurts, it hurts, the pain, please stop, please stop' and all the other screams. It grates on the ears, especially those who have high-pitched voices. Now I can have my prisoners suffer in silence."

Wesley shook his head. "I'm not going to help you."

"Oh, well. If I can't charm my prisoners into suffering in silence, I'll have to use other methods."

He snapped his fingers. Lights came up and shone into the corner beside Voldemort's chair. Wesley stared in horror.

Hermione was chained to the wall, her mouth sealed shut with tape.

"I may not have that special Cruciatus curse, but I can make do," said Voldemort.

He raised his wand at Hermione. The girl's eyes went wide.

Voldemort paused, and looked at Wesley. "You know the price for stopping me."

Wesley's mouth went dry. "Voldemort, if I told you what I know, I'd be betraying a lot of people. I'd be betraying people who aren't even born."

"If these people aren't born yet, what do they care?"

"To me, they'd care."

"Well, I don't. So tell me, or your mother will be in excruciating pain for the rest of the night. I can stay up for that."

"Voldemort, please, just let her go."

Voldemort shook his head. "Crucio!"

A blue light shot Hermione straight in the chest. The girl strained against her chains and screamed through the tape. Then, all at once, Voldemort released the spell. Hermione had been under for less than five seconds, but she still leaned against her chains, her eyes wide, breathing heavily.

Wesley was white as a sheet. "Voldemort, please-"

"Your choice, Future Boy. Think of it as long term pain for short term gain."

Behind Voldemort, Harry stepped silently out of cover. He nodded at Wesley and gave a quick wave before ducking back behind the rock. Wesley watched this, moving only his eyes. He refocused on Voldemort.

Voldemort was still staring, his wand trained on Hermione. "If you're still having trouble deciding, let me say that the tape over her mouth is optional. I could make the same 'mistake' on her as I did on Wormtail."

Wesley winced. He looked up. "All right. I'll tell you what you want to know."

Hermione shook her head and yelled against her gag, but Voldemort ignored her. "Excellent! What do you have?"

"Well..." Wesley thought hard. "I have a spell that causes debilitating anger."

"Perfect! How does it go?"

"Well, it's more of a ritual than an incantation," said Wesley slowly. "You start by drawing a circle in the sand."

"Really? Like this?" Voldemort drew a circle with his wand.

Behind him, Harry and Ron slipped from cover and, keeping close to the wall, tiptoed towards Hermione.

Wesley looked back at the circle Voldemort had drawn. "Larger," he said. "About three feet across."

"Like this?"

"Exactly."

"Then what?"

"Put crosses at the four points of the compass around the circle."

Wesley grimaced the moment the words left his mouth. Humming in thought, Voldemort looked around the cave. Harry and Ron dove for cover just in time.

Voldemort clucked. "There are disadvantages to living underground." He concentrated a moment, and finally drew the four crosses in place.

Harry and Ron snuck out from behind their rock, crossed another open area and dove for cover again, closer to Hermione.

"Like that?" Voldemort looked at Wesley, pointing to the four crosses.

Wesley nodded. "Now, circle each of your crosses with a tight spiral opening out to about a foot away from the northern end of each cross."

Voldemort drew in the sand.

Harry and Ron tiptoed out of cover and crossed the last open area to hide behind a protruding rock close to where Hermione was chained up. The girl stared at them in astonishment, but didn't make a noise.

"Done," said Voldemort.

"Now, this is the most important part," said Wesley. "You stand at on the cross furthest from me - yes, that one - and you face into the circle."

"Like this?"

Harry and Ron chanced a glance over the cover of the rock. Wesley caught sight of them, and nodded. "Not quite," he said to Voldemort. "A little to your left, and face more towards me."

"Like this?"

Voldemort's back was to them. Harry and Ron stepped out of cover. Hermione didn't squeal when Ron pulled the tape from her lips. Harry whispered Alohomora and caught the chains as they fell limp, so they wouldn't make a sound.

Behind them, Wesley continued. "Now, this is the ritual. Follow it exactly... you put your right foot in."

"Like this?"

"Yes. Now, you put your right foot out."

"Okay..."

Harry picked up Hermione's wand, which had been at her feet, as Ron hauled her behind the cover of the rock. He ducked down beside them.

"Then you put your right foot in," Wesley continued.

"I see..."

"And you shake it all about."

"Like this?"

Watching from behind the cover of the rock, the colour drained from Hermione's cheeks. "Oh, no!" she whispered.

"What?" whispered Ron. "What's he doing?"

"He's going to get himself killed!" gasped Harry.

Wesley smiled at Voldemort. "And you do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself about."

"You're making fun of me, aren't you?" said Voldemort.

"Yes," said Wesley brightly. "And most people would have figured that out before I mentioned 'hokey-pokey'. You're awfully slow."

"Why you, little...!" Voldemort spluttered in rage.

"We have to do something now," said Ron.

"Wesley's not leaving us much time," said Hermione.

"Patronus," said Harry. "All three of us."

"Will that work against you-know-who?" said Ron.

"We have to try!"

They watched as Voldemort stood before Wesley, seething, choking, and then slowly raising his wand. "Crucio!"

The binding spell vanished, replaced by the Cruciatus Curse. Wesley curled up on the floor, clawing at the air and screaming at the top of his lungs.

Harry, Ron and Hermione jumped up, their wands raised. "Patronus!"

Voldemort was thrown across the room.

As soon as the Cruciatus spell broke, Wesley rolled up, grabbed his staff from Ron's hands, and swung it at Voldemort. "Petrificus Partialus Bodium!"

A look of shock crossed Voldemort's face as his arms and legs went rigid and he flopped onto his back.

Wesley breathed a sigh of relief, and then crumpled. Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed forward to catch him.

"Are you okay?" asked Ron.

Wesley shook the cobwebs out of his head. "That really hurts."

"Wormtail!" Voldemort yelled. "Get in here, now!"

"Wormtail won't be helping you for a while, yet," said Ron. "He's probably still unconscious where we left him."

Voldemort started to spit out a curse, but stopped when Wesley hoisted his staff. "I wouldn't," said the boy.

Voldemort chuckled. "You can't kill me. I know you've tried, but you're not powerful enough."

Wesley glared at him. "I can still hurt you."

"Oh, yes, you can. Just remember, though, that I'll have my ear open for every single new curse you try, and unlike Wormtail, I have good hearing and an excellent memory. I'll be adding each one to my collection."

Wesley hissed in frustration.

"What do we do?" whispered Ron.

"We've got to get out of here," said Hermione. She still hadn't caught her breath. "His followers can't be far away."

"Back to the Port Key," muttered Wesley. "I kept it from self-destructing. Then, when we get back, I know a few extra shielding charms that might be useful for the Burrow."

"Let's go," said Harry. Grabbing Ron and Hermione by the hands, he darted into the corridor. Wesley stood as rearguard until they were safely away, and then he ran after them.

Voldemort struggled against his bonds.

In the corridor, Wormtail was just starting to move when Hermione tripped over him. She stared at his dazed, lipless form and shuddered. "Who knocked him unconscious?"

"I did!" said Ron.

Hermione smiled. So did Ron. Harry tugged at their hands. "Come on."

"No, wait," said Wesley. "This is the Port Key."

Motioning for the others to stand back, Wesley raised his staff and muttered a spell under his breath. Harry couldn't quite catch it, but he was sure he'd never heard it before.

The Port Key flared into life. A breeze tugged at their robes.

Wesley motioned the others forward. "You three, in. I'll follow. Once I'm through, then it will self destruct."

Harry, Ron and Hermione wasted no time. They vanished into the Port Key.

Wesley made to step through, but then he hesitated. Turning, he bent close and put his hand over where Wormtail's mouth used to be. "Condrolzee!" he muttered.

Wormtail gasped when he realized that he could. He flexed his jaw and licked his reformed lips. He stared at Wesley in astonishment as the boy stepped back and vanished. The Port Key exploded in a brilliant flash of light.

"Wormtail!" Voldemort's voice echoed through the corridors. "Get somebody to get me out of this body bind!"

Wormtail stared towards the voice.

"Wormtail, get back here!"

Wormtail turned away, lay back and closed his eyes.

"Wormtail!"