Harry Potter and the Secrets from the Past

13. THE DARK LORD

....

Know me

My loyalty

Today You know, that I would die for honesty.

Know me

Know my name

You are the only one to know

If it's true or not

That I believe in God.

....

"Thoughts and Words" by Lucio Battisti

The sun was slowly rising, even if the sky was still grey, since a storm was approaching.

Harry and Hermione were sitting close to each other, with their backs leaned on the wall, their eyes lost into space, uncertain about their destiny. Then Harry turned to his friend, and broke the silence which had fallen between them.

"You didn't tell me yet how that SNAKE Viktor Krum managed to bring you here."

"You and Ron were right. Viktor is on Voldemort's side. I didn't listen to your warnings, and I'll never forgive myself for this."

Hermione was feeling so guilty, but Harry could not blame her.

"NO, Hermione, you couldn't have known that Krum had changed so much!"

"Yeah, I'm such a silly girl! Anyway, I should have understood it from the beginning. When Viktor met me by Madame Puddifoot's, he wanted to go out immediately; he was saying that there were too many people there, and that he wanted to talk to me in private, then he headed to the Forbidden Forest and started to talk oddly; he was saying for example, that someone had helped him to open his eyes, and to understand what was really important in life, that many things had changed since the last time we met."

Outside the window, the storm had started, and the rain was falling heavily. Even if it was morning already, the sky was dark and full of grey clouds. Hermione paused, and then spoke again.

"I was just starting to notice something very odd about him, then he suddenly pointed his wand at me. He kept saying that he was sorry for that, but to betray his friends was the only price to pay, if he wanted to gain all the rest. Then I looked for my wand, and got ready to react. I tried to make him reason. I told him that Voldemort couldn't have given him happiness, but just misfortune and suffering. Anyway he was insisting that he had to be thankful to Voldemort, for the fame, the wealth, and the power he had now."

Hermione paused again before speaking.

"Suddenly, a group of students passed along, and I took advantage of this chance: I started to run as fast as possible into the depth of the Forest. Viktor followed me, casting a burst of spells in my direction. In the end, one of those spells caught me, and I fell down. I just remember that I woke up in this room, and that my wand was missing."

Something came to Harry's mind abruptly.

"I brought it! I mean, your wand... it's in my jeans' pocket."

Harry's hands were still tied, so he turned on the side, to allow Hermione taking her wand. She smiled at him, and then looked at his wand with affection.

"You found my wand and kept it safe, for all this time."

"Yes, I thought that you would have been glad to have it back..."

Hermione stared at him thankfully, but Harry lowered his gaze in great embarrassment, thinking that he had another true reason: that wand reminded him of Hermione, and he had decided to keep it until he would be able to give it back to her.

"What happened afterwards? Where has Krum gone?" He changed the topic, trying to sound as natural as possible.

"Since I was here, I have never seen him."

"He's such a poisonous SNAKE! He did the dirty work and then left." Harry made this comment aloud, without trying to hide all his disgust. Then he gazed Hermione directly in the eyes, and spoke again.

"Did you see him? I mean... Voldemort!"

"No! I have just seen Lucius Malfoy. He came several times to question me: he kept asking about the Prophecy, and even if I was telling him that it broke, he didn't want to believe me. He said that, for sure, you should have told me something important about it."

Harry felt guilty for that: Hermione didn't know anything about the Prophecy, but Voldemort would have never believed it.

"Hermione, listen to me! There is something I should have told you a long time ago..."

But she cut him off, laying her fingers across his mouth.

"No, YOU listen to me Harry. I don't want you to talk about that now, it's not wise, you understand me?"

Harry nodded: Hermione was perfectly right. Then suddenly the door opened, and Nott entered the room. They both turned to face him, with deep scorn in their eyes.

"Get them!" He ordered to other two Death Eaters, who immediately grabbed Harry and Hermione's arms, lifted them up, and dragged them out to the corridor, heading up to the second floor.

"Here we are. Now I'll meet my mortal enemy again, face to face..." Harry thought, while feeling a mixture of anger and fear rising inside him.

Now the two Death Eaters were dragging them to one of the doors in the middle of the second floor's corridor. With great disgust, Harry saw that in front of the door, a huge snake was curled up and looking directly at him, hissing. Suddenly his scar started to burn.

Nott knocked at the door, and then he slowly opened it. The two Death Eaters pushed Harry and Hermione inside without saying a word and closed the door behind them. The room was just like the one Harry had dreamt of: large, dark, just lit by the fireplace.

Horrified, Harry saw that the two people he hated the most, a part form Voldemort, were present: Wormtail, his parents' traitor, and Bellatrix Lestrange, who had caused Sirius's death.

At the far end of the room, Lucius Malfoy was standing by the fireplace and was looking at them with his hands folded. Harry glared at him with hate, but then his attention was attracted by Lord Voldemort's clammy and cold voice.

"I wish to thank you for coming, Harry. It's been a long time now that I have been trying to meet you again."

Voldemort ended the sentence with terrible, blood chilling laughter.

Harry could not see him yet, because he was sitting in a great armchair, with the front of it turned to the fire. Now his scar was throbbing unbearably while he glared at the back of the armchair, his hands still tied behind him.

Suddenly he became aware that Hermione had grabbed his arm, and now she was trembling like a leaf.

"You know what, Harry? At the Ministry, last time we met, I didn't like your attitude very much. So hostile, so hot tempered... you should try to control yourself, when you are at the presence of LORD VOLDEMORT!"

Pronouncing his name, Voldemort got up and turned to face them: he was more tall and threatening than ever, his cat-like eyes were red as the fire, his face pale like the dead, his cloak black like a Dementor's, the only difference being that from the sleeves, two white, cadaverous hands were coming out, ending with long and twisted fingers.

Hermione raised her hands to the mouth, horrified, while Harry was still glaring at his enemy directly in the eyes, trying to hide his fear.

"Since I'm going to die, I want to do it with honor, straight and with my head up, just like my father did," he thought.

Then Voldemort spoke again.

"Are you afraid of me, Harry? Yes, I am feeling it, even if you are trying your best to disguise it. I am aware that you know everything about the Prophecy, don't deny it. Now I want you to tell me. IT'S AN ORDER!"

But Harry didn't say a word, and was still standing there motionless, challenging his enemy.

Voldemort should have known that Harry wasn't going to give it up so easily.

"Very well, if you put it like that, your nice mudblood friend is here with us for a good reason."

Voldemort pointed his finger to Hermione, and suddenly, Harry felt his blood boiling inside and lost his temper.

"Don't even try to touch her! You, monster!!"

Harry shouted at Voldemort, who just laughed amused at him. Then the Dark Lord turned to his Death Eaters.

"BELLATRIX! You know what to do..."

"With great pleasure, my Lord!"

On Voldemort's order, Bellatrix Lestrange reached Hermione, and grabbed her arms tightly.

"Leave her alone, damned witch! If you just hurt her, I... I..."

Harry was really furious now, and he was struggling to release himself, without succeeding in it.

"YOU WHAT? I suggest you calm down, Harry, or maybe it's not enough for you to have been the cause of your parents' death? And what about Sirius Black's death?

Harry believed that his brain was going to explode for the terrible pain he was feeling, but he didn't care, and turned to his enemy with rising anger and hate.

"You are the only cause for my parents' and my friends' deaths! You're a murderer, and I hate you with all my strength!"

"STOP TALKING NOW! We have something more important to do. Prepare yourself to let me get inside your brain."

Harry turned to Hermione, who was now looking at him with fear, her eyes widely open, her face pale, and then he turned to face his enemy again, and he realized that he had no other choice.

Voldemort was now slowly reaching the center of the room with his arms stretched up like an antenna, his eyes closed in deep concentration.

Harry closed his eyes too, and just like an Occlumency lesson with Snape, he started to see images of his memory darting in front of him at great speed: he saw himself in Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione; then he was flying on his broomstick during a Quidditch match; now he was sitting on a desk, during a Potions class.

Voldemort was skimming Harry's brain like an illustrated book, and Harry wasn't able to resist him, even if he was trying with all his strength.

Harry was still seeing his memories darting in front of him like a videotape, which had been rewound, and then everything had stopped: now he found himself in Dumbledore's office, after his raid at the Ministry of Magic.

Dumbledore was now talking to him about the Prophecy, but Harry tried again to reject that mental attack: Voldemort absolutely COULDN'T watch that memory...

"NOOO... I DON'T WANT IT!"

Harry shouted in pain and in anger, but he realized soon, that it was impossible to resist Voldemort's attack.

Suddenly, against his will, Harry saw Professor Trelawney in trance, who was repeating the prophecy.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...

Born to those who have thrice defied him...

Born as the seventh month dies...

And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...

And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..."

Harry fell exhausted to the floor, half conscious of what was happening around him. He was now completely depleted of all his strength, as if his enemy had sucked away his soul.

"Now stop it! YOU ARE KILLING HIM!"

Hermione's worried voice resonated in the room, but the Dark Lord didn't pay attention to her.

Then Harry heard Voldemort's terrible laugher, followed again by his clammy voice, and slowly he raised his head, trying to look at his enemy in the eyes.

"It has been really interesting, really interesting. As per the famous prophecy, I should fear you, impertinent little boy, even if now, you are more like a little helpless birdie to me. I almost feel pity for you, but unfortunately, I have to get rid of you, and in this way, finish the task I wasn't able to accomplish long time ago, with the only difference, that now your beloved mother won't be here to protect you. Then, get ready to die, HARRY POTTER!"

Voldemort laughed again, but this time Harry didn't care. He was feeling suffocated by the horrible weight of his sense of guilty. He had given up, he wasn't been able to fight his enemy, he wasn't been able to rescue Hermione and now they were both going to die. He wouldn't have seen anymore, Ron, Mrs. And Mr. Weasley, Remus Lupin, Dumbledore and all the friends who had trusted him.

Now he felt that his end was approaching.

"NOOO, LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Harry just realized that Hermione had shouted desperately. Then he heard a terrible boom and his vision suddenly clouded.

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