More to Life

~+~

Chapter Eighteen - Surrender

The Dark Mark was glittering in all its glory over the grounds of Hogwarts. The emerald shadow of stars didn't really show up to well against the bright blue sky, but they still existed never the less. It still couldn't be mistaken for anything else.

Harry noticed that their Seeker, Higgs had completely disappeared. Everything seemed to fit now. The sneakiness the Slytherin Seeker had been showing all the way through the match; the way he kept looking at his watch as if he was wasting time.

The first year Slytherin wondered if any of the professors had noticed anything. Harry also wondered if Severus knew anything about it. He didn't know they were still contacting Severus or not after the fiasco at Halloween.

A curse flew through the air and skimmed pasted Harry's face, causing him to look in the direction it had come from. He saw something he should have suspected all along.

Death Eaters.

There were no more than twenty of them, but most of them were throwing curses like there was no tomorrow. Another curse shot past Harry before he decided it would be a good idea to move.

Harry hadn't seen where Draco had gone. He had simple no longer been next to him just after the Dark Mark had gone into the air. He knew Draco could look after himself so didn't worry too much.

He began pushing his way through the crowd of people towards the Teachers' stand to see if there was anyone hanging around. He could see from around a hundred yards from it that they had all left. He was just about to turn around and go back the other way when someone grabbed him from behind. One hand held him around the mouth while the other was around his chest, leaving his arms stuck by his sides. He felt his wand come loose from its holster and fall to the floor.

A Death Eater stood in front of him, shouted a curse that Harry didn't listen to then everything went black.

He woke what felt like only a few minutes later with one of the Death Eaters hanging over him, their mask still firmly in place on their face, but the hood of the cloak was down. The man (he assumed so since the person had extremely closely cut dark brown hair) was stood so still that Harry jumped when he spoke.

"So Potter, enjoying your last hours alive?" the man asked.

Harry felt a mixture of anger, resentment and maybe a little fear, though he wouldn't admit it. He hated to admit that he was scared. Being scared was something he thought he had programmed out of his system when he was living at the Dursley's.

"Not talking eh?" the man spoke again.

"Don't see why you're worth talking too," Harry replied while he sat up.

The first year Slytherin took his first look around the place he was sat in. As far as he could make out he was sat in what looked to be...

"A sewer pipe?" he muttered to himself before turning to the Death Eater. "Wow you guys pick weird places to keep your hostages."

Harry was sure the Death Eater was sneering. "It's not just a sewer pipe Potter," he said grudgingly.

It was then Harry noticed that they were quite close to where the opening of the pipe was. He could see some towering stone pillars with carvings of serpents. The room seemed to give off a creepy, gloomy feeling. He wanted to get up and look out the opening of the pipe, but Harry didn't think the Death Eater would appreciate that much. He just had to wait for the right moment to try and run.

He didn't have to wait long to see anyway. A few minutes later, the Death Eater dragged Harry to his feet and lead him out the opening. He found himself standing at the end of a long, dimly lit hall, the stone pillars lining the entire length of it. At the very end, as Harry got closer to it, he could see a statue. It was of a man, with a long beard that nearly fell to the bottom of his robes. The face, Harry recognised after a few minutes of studying it.

"Salazar Slytherin," Harry muttered.

"You're not completely useless then?" another Death Eater said from a few feet away. Harry recognised the voice instantly. It was Avery, one of the Death Eaters that had kidnapped him on Halloween.

Harry scowled at the man then turned to where a cauldron was sat in the middle of the stone floor. He had a funny feeling he knew what that very cauldron was going to be used for. He would have made a run for it, but the entrance to the hall was now blocked with Death Eaters. Harry didn't think he'd seen so many in his life.

The raven haired Slytherin sighed. It couldn't hurt to at least try and run, could it? He had made his mind up. As soon as he saw a small gap between the Death Eaters he made a run for it. Unfortunately and embarrassingly enough, it didn't last for more than a few seconds before a Death Eater grabbed him by the scuff of the neck and dragged him back to the front of the room.

Avery made a noise under his breath and murmured a leg locking charm on Harry.

Harry just sat there, arms folded, looking exceeding grumpy. Okay, so he knew it wasn't going to work, but he'd had some faith. Obviously faith didn't mean anything.

"Where's your Master then?" Harry asked Avery, trying to wind the Death Eater up a little. Avery ignored him. "You know what I think? I think he's ran off and left you all here looking like morons."

"I assure you, Harry Potter, that I have no intention of scurrying away like a rat," a horrible silky like voice said from just out the corner of his eye. Harry knew what he would see if he moved his head just a slight bit.

Voldemort was stood right in front of him, still in the back of a man's head like at Halloween. He had a hideous grin on his face.

"You didn't deny that they're morons though," Harry said quietly. He would have smiled if he didn't see the murderous look in the Dark Lord's eyes.

Voldemort stopped looking at Harry and glance at the Death Eaters in front of him. "We're here today to witness my return to power." Voldemort walked backwards towards the huge cauldron and laid a hand on it, almost tenderly. "An old dark potion that would bring me back to my original body was quiet easy to find, though the ingredients took me a little longer to locate."

"It's obvious isn't it?" Harry decided to interrupt, sounding braving than he actually felt. "You decided to find the easiest three on the list. A bone of a relative, flesh of a robe-kissing follower and my blood."

Voldemort just looked at Harry for a few moments before laughing. A laugh that was so repulsive and cold that Harry was sure that he would die happy if he never heard it again.

"I didn't take you as someone who would read Dark Arts, Potter," Voldemort said after he finally stopped his laughter.

Harry took a deep breath and said, "Well some of it's rather... interesting..." His voice wavered near the end of the sentence and Voldemort seemed to pick up on this.

The Dark Lord laughed in a repulsive way. "Scared of Dark Arts are we Potter?"

Harry didn't answer him. He turned his gaze to the floor. He didn't care how it made him look; he just didn't want to look at Voldemort's nauseating face any longer. The laugh alone was more than enough to make him want to throw up.

"And here I was thinking I might have a respectable opponent," Voldemort continued.

"I never asked for you to choose me," Harry snapped back.

"We never get to choose our opponents, Potter."

"Bit like family then really," Harry said with a small smirk.

Voldemort just snarled and muttered something under his breath. The man, who Voldemort was still using as a vessel, pointed his wand at Harry and shouted, "Crucio!"

Harry used all his will to keep his hand firmly by his side. He couldn't escape for now and didn't want to show Voldemort his Aegis abilities just yet. He knew Avery and Pettigrew had seen him conjure a shield, but he didn't know if they knew he was an Aegis Wizard or not. He needed every advantage he could get at the moment.

The spell hit the first year Slytherin and he began to scream. It felt every bit as painful as it had the last time, maybe more. The curse didn't last long. Harry got the impression that it was his one and only warning shot. He shakily got to his feet while staring Voldemort in the eye.

The Dark Lord seemed to be ignoring Harry now. He turned back to his followers and began to speak once more. "Once the potion is complete I shall be unstoppable. Wormtail, help me prepare!"

Wormtail scuttled out from the crowd and walked almost timidly up to the cauldron. Harry would have laughed at the man if he wasn't so concerned that he'd get the Cruciatus curse again for his troubles.

Without any warning what so ever, Voldemort ripped himself from the vessel's body and the vessel crumbled to the floor. Harry could tell that the man was dead before he even hit the ground. Voldemort's spirit then hovered for a few moments before descending into the cauldron.

"Begin Wormtail," Voldemort hissed.

Wormtail, who looked scared beyond his wits, shook as he removed a bone from his robes. He raised his wand into the air and spoke, "Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"

The bone seemed to grind into dust while still in Wormtail's hand. The dust then rose into the air and fell into the cauldron, hissing as it touched the liquid.

Harry noticed that Wormtail seemed to tremble even more now. The raven haired boy felt Avery grab hold of him by the top of the arm. He nearly cried out from the pressure Avery was applying.

Wormtail took a dagger from his robes and held it to his arm. The Death Eater was whimpering now. He nearly let out a sob as he began the next part of the spell. "Flesh... of the servant... willingly given... you w-will r-revive your m-master."

Harry turned his head to the side to avoid looking at Wormtail as the Death Eater cut off his own arm. Harry heard the scream Wormtail had made and the hiss the potion made as the flesh hit the fluid. Wormtail seemed to be panting and moaning in agony now, not that Harry could blame him really.

Avery then tighten his grip on Harry's arm while grabbing the other and bringing it behind his back. As Harry began to realise what was going to happen next, he began to struggle. Avery yanked Harry's arm behind his back more making the raven haired boy yelp in pain.

Wormtail began to chant the rest of the spell. "Blood of the enemy... forcibly taken... you will resurrect your foe."

Wormtail fumbled with the dagger in his left hand, pushed Harry's sleeve up and brought the knife to the crook of Harry's left arm. Harry felt the knife pierce his skin and blood start to seep from it. Avery brought a phial up to Harry's cut and collected some of the blood, giving the glass to Wormtail.

Wormtail walked unsteadily back towards the cauldron and poured Harry's blood into it. Once again the potion hissed. Wormtail walked away from the cauldron and fell to the ground; the pain from cutting off his own arm was a little too much for him to bear.

At first the potion did nothing. Harry knew the potion was going to work - Wormtail had done nothing wrong - it was just a question of when.

All of a sudden, sparks began to emit from the liquid. A gush of white smoke billowed thickly from the cauldron. Harry couldn't see more than a few yards in front of him. As the smoke began to clear, Harry could see the outline of a man stood in front of the cauldron. The first year Slytherin closed his eyes slowly. The world is in deep crap now...was the only ration thought Harry had.

Lord Voldemort had risen again and he was standing right in front of him.

The Dark Lord looked straight at Harry and said, "I would ask you to duel, but it seems that you have misplaced your wand."

Harry unconsciously felt the holster on his arm already knowing his wand wasn't there. Wandless magic wouldn't do him much good, he only had the power to do the odd simple spell, nothing that would be able to get him through a duel.

"Maybe I should just put your useless life to an end quickly," Voldemort continued, "After all, an eleven year old Wizard would never have the power to defeat Lord Voldemort."

As much as Harry didn't like it, he knew Voldemort had a point. The raven haired Slytherin hadn't the faintest idea how to duel properly never mind against the Dark Lord. "Maybe I don't right now, but maybe I will one day," Harry muttered.

"Which is exactly why I am willing to end your life quickly right now," Voldemort said softly, his red eyes narrowing just a little.

"Isn't that a little unfair? It's like kicking a puppy," Harry commented. "Mind you, you've already tried to kill me once. It didn't work then why should it work now?"

Voldemort snarled and raised his wand at Harry. "Say goodbye, Harry Potter. Avada Kedavra!"

Harry gulped as he saw the green light shoot towards him. His reflexes took over and he held out his arm in front of him and yelled, "NO!"

The green light hit the shield Harry had produced and bounced off it. The blow, even though it did no permanent damage, still knocked Harry flying. The spell that had ricochet off Harry's shield and hit a nearby Death Eater, who fell to the floor dead. Harry had ended up landing on a random Death Eater, the blow knocking both of them to the floor.

Without a second thought, Harry got to his feet, wincing at the bruises and cuts he had gained from the landing and began running while the Death Eaters and Voldemort were still trying to process what had happened. The boy had run only around a hundred feet before he heard yelling behind him. He distinctly heard the words 'Potter' and 'dead'.

He shot off down one of the sewer pipes, hoping it would bring him to the surface. He had no such look. He came to a dead end, or what looked like a dead end to start with. There was a pipe leading upwards that would be impossible to climb up given how steep it was. As the shouting and footsteps became louder, Harry hoped the tactic that had worked when he was stuck on the ground floor with the troll would work in this situation. He pointed his hand to his feet and whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

He began to float lazily up the pipe, just disappearing from view when the Death Eaters arrived. They didn't notice him floating up the pipe. I wonder if they're really that stupid, Harry thought.

As he came to the pipe opening he found himself in a bathroom. The pipe was connected to the sinks, which had moved to allow access to the chamber below. Harry found this weird but thought no more about it. Not willing to try and work out how to close the sink, Harry bolted out the bathroom and used the strongest locking spell he knew to close the door. He then leaned against it to catch his breath.

He's back, was all Harry could think of, he's back and it's all my dumb fault for getting caught in the first place. He pushed himself away from the door set on finding Severus before the Headmaster found him.

Harry stumbled down the halls towards the Dungeons, feeling incredibly weary all of a sudden. Harry guess his adrenaline had finally ran out. He all but tumbled into Severus' private rooms to find the man sat on his sofa, nursing a glass in his hand. Harry would have laughed at the shocked look on the Potion Master's face if it was any other situation.

The raven-haired first year fell to the floor. As he did Severus dashed over to him. Harry looked the Head of Slytherin right in the eye and whispered, "He's back. Voldemort's back." He then blacked out.

~+~

~ Leatrix Malfoy - 8^th April 2004