In His Eyes

In His Eyes Chapter 05

'Very well done, Harry, and now, in we go.' They stepped inside, and at once, the floor gave way, and they started to fall down a black chasm. Harry yelled, he could see the floor getting nearer and nearer... FLUMP.

The ground had turned into cushions.

Harry got up, feeling a bit dazed. He spotted Dumbledore a little way off, brushing creases out of his robes. Harry went over to join him, and Dumbledore said, 'Are you alright, Harry?'

'Yeah, I'm fine, what happened?'

'A simple transfiguration charm. It was because I am with you that the floor disappeared. It is, shall we say, a burglar alarm?' His eyes were twinkling again in amusement.

They started walking and after a while, they came across rows of shelves. But not just a few shelves, there must have been millions of them. Each shelf was filled with hundreds and thousands of small glass spheres.

'What are--?'

'They are prophecies that have been made. But no one can touch them, apart from the person that they are made about.'

'How true,' said a horribly familiar drawling voice from behind them. Harry and Dumbledore spun around and saw a figure dressed in black. He stepped forwards into the light and Harry recognised him as Lucius Malfoy. He was dressed in his black, Death Eater's robes, and was pointing his wand at them. Harry instinctively made a grab for his own wand, but Malfoy cut across him. 'Ah! No, no, no, I don't think so! Keep your hands where I can see them Potter! After all, don't you want your memories back?'

Harry's look of scorn faded. 'It was you!'

'Well, not me personally. Now then, if you don't want to die now, you will do as I say.'

Harry's eyes narrowed and he glanced at Dumbledore, whose face was blank.

'Now, walk!' Malfoy walked behind them, his wand at their back. After a while, he commanded them to stop. Harry looked to his left. There was a small, glimmering object on one of the shelves. It was quite different from the other orbs. Captivated, Harry walked towards it, and stretched out his hand to pick it up.

'No, Harry! Don't!' Dumbledore exclaimed suddenly, but Harry wasn't really listening. He looked into the glowing glass ball, and saw wisps of silver, not quite liquid, not quite gas, almost like the memories in a Pensieve.

It started whispering to him. 'Neither can live while the other survives--'

But it was cut off by Malfoy, who said loudly, echoing down the halls, 'Good. Now come back over here.'

Harry turned to look at him. 'If you don't let us go, I'll drop it.'

There was silence for a minute. Then Malfoy lowered his wand. Harry seized this moment, took out his own wand, and before Malfoy had time to react, yelled, 'Petrificus Totalus!'

Malfoy froze and fell to the floor.

'Harry!' Dumbledore took out his own wand, 'Time to go, I think!' they ran, down the aisles of shelves and prophecies, until they got to a clear space. They saw a side door, and sped through it. They came out into a huge dark room.

'Lumos,' Harry whispered and the room was partially illuminated. It must have been miles high, and there, in the middle, stood a small-ish glass phial, filled with silvery liquid.

Harry looked around, and saw what looked like a pile of boulders amongst a massive array of random objects, all heaped around the room.

'Where are we sir?' Harry asked, still clutching the prophecy and looking around.

'We are in the Lost and Found Department,' replied Dumbledore, inspecting a gold pocket watch. 'How strange,' he continued, picking up the watch, 'I lost this when I was forty-six; a very nice witch gave it to me for--'

But he was interrupted by a cold, high pitched laugh. Dumbledore and Harry looked around. A man stepped out of the darkness, a man with red eyes, and slits for nostrils in his pale and gleaming face.

Harry's scar seared. He cried out and dropped to his knees, shaking all over. He felt the prophecy sphere sliding between his fingertips, and was dimly aware of it smashing on the cold, stone floor. Powerless, he watched as its smoky contents curled upwards and dispersed.

'Harry--' Dumbledore tried to get to him, but Voldemort waved his wand, and a wall built itself to stand between them. Dumbledore stopped in his tracks.

Voldemort laughed a laugh that went right through Harry, who was still shaking. He spoke in a sing-song voice, 'Oh, does Dumbledore want to see his favourite? Very well then! You can watch me kill him!' He flicked his wand, and the wall became transparent. He advanced on Harry, and, despite the pain from his scar, Harry did his best to get to his feet, and glanced at the wall.

He could see Dumbledore quite clearly, as if it was made of glass. He was watching them with a look of helplessness on his face.

'Give me back my memories, Riddle!'

Anger flitted across Voldemort's face. 'Wouldn't you like to know why I took them first?' he said in a mocking voice.

Harry paused. He desperately wanted to know.

Voldemort spoke again with a sneer. 'I had the school caretaker, the Squib, Filch, Imperiused to make him leave the doors open that night, then, when everyone was in the hall having their pitiful Hallowe'en feast, my faithful servants came in, and Stunned you.' He laughed. 'Oh, Dumbledore, you should have locked the doors yourself that night, like you normally do. But I was patient, and eventually that opening came. I took you back to my father's old house, and kept you there as my prisoner. Little by little, your resistance was eroded, until finally, you broke.

'Everyone says your eyes are different, Harry, because as someone--unimportant--said, the eyes are the gateway to the soul. But haven't you wondered why there is a red mark on your left arm?'

Harry looked at his arm, there was indeed a mark, but he had passed it off as a rash.

'It's the Dark Mark, Harry,' he continued, as they carried on pointing their wands at each other. 'Or, more accurately, where it should have been. I tried to brand you with it, but as soon as the Mark started to form, the "protection" in your blood acted against it. It would not stay. Anyway, I had taken everything useful from your mind, so I wiped it of the last year, and taught you to block your mind without even trying. Then, just for good measure, I wiped myself from your mind too. But, you still had one more purpose to serve, so I could not dispose of you. I could not simply walk into the Ministry, so I needed you to retrieve the prophecy, for me. And luring Dumbledore here would kill two owls with one spell. A brilliant plan don't you think?'

'Brilliant if it had succeeded!' Harry retorted, then, 'Expelliarmus!'

Voldemort had been caught off guard, and his wand flew from his long, bony fingers. He laughed again. 'As if that's going to stop me!' he held out his hand, and his wand flew back to it. 'Now give me the prophecy!'

'Well, tough! It's gone!' Harry dived behind a boulder just in time for a ray of green light to hit it. The boulder exploded, and Harry caught his breath. Voldemort had been inside his mind? He rubbed his left arm, and looked at the red mark in disgust.

Just then, the glass wall shattered. Dumbledore appeared, his cloak billowing. His eyes flashed with fearsome power, and his voice rang out, 'The sphere has smashed, Tom. The prophecy is lost.'

A look of shock and rage passed fleetingly over Voldemort's face. 'No matter,' he snarled, 'I can still do what I came here to do.'

He pointed his wand at Dumbledore, who also raised his, then at the last second turned to face Harry.

Harry saw the look of horror on Dumbledore's face as Voldemort shrieked, 'AVADA KEDAVRA!'

Harry was caught off guard, but a second before the deadly spell hit him, he muttered hopelessly, 'Protego...'

He saw the green light coming towards him, and knew his end was near. He heard people cry out. More people than there should have been. Then he was thrown against the remaining part of the glass wall, hit something sharp and solid, and sank into the enveloping darkness.

He felt himself falling.

Down, and down...

He heard someone scream.

And was lost.

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