Harry Potter: The Making of a Dark Lord

Malfoy Manor, The Dungeons

While Harry agonized over how he could escape Hogwarts with his life, another man was thinking through the steps required to take his own. He had just endured another round of "sport" in the presence of the Dark Lord, and now his body was nearly broken beyond repair. Bloodied hands trembling with fatigue, the man grasped an enchanted crystalline carafe and gently unstoppered it.

Today he had lost all hope of rescue. The odds of the Dark Lord's stronghold being stormed in the next few days were absurdly low, and he would never recover fully even if he were rescued. He had lived a long and fruitful life, and his only regret was the wealth of magical knowledge and wisdom that would die with him. What happened next would be painful, but at least he would be able to die with some semblance of dignity.

As carefully as he could, the old man raised the carafe of basilisk venom to his lips, then quickly downed its entire contents. His body twitched and convulsed for ten seconds, and then Emmanuel Ollivander was dead.

Hogwarts, Great Hall

Harry gave Hermione a strained smile as he passed her a pitcher of pumpkin juice. It was now dinner time in the Great Hall, and Harry had somehow made it through the last seven hours without murdering his best friends.

After missing divination, he was determined to go about his usual routine and not arouse anyone's suspicions. With Ron and Hermione not speaking to each other, this proved to be easier than he thought. He had endured their presence for Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology, but then escaped them quickly after that.

He had found a few spare moments during the day to call Dobby and explain what was happening, and the little elf was now frantic with worry. It didn't appear that Dobby would be able to help much this time. Elves couldn't pop with humans, so Harry would have to find another way to escape the castle. The real trouble was figuring out where to go after that. If he went missing would they be able to hunt him down immediately?

Tonight he cast surreptitious glances at those around him while he ate. He was wondering just how many of these people were conspiring against him. Ron and Hermione were not behaving any differently toward him, and he wondered at their ability to lie so brazenly to his face. Ginny was sitting with some of her friends, and Harry still couldn't visualize her being a part of all this. The usual chatter and noises of dinner were so surreal to Harry that he almost wondered if he had imagined the first part of his day.

As dinner was coming to an end, Parvati caught his eye and gave him a small raise of her eyebrow. Harry just shook his head slightly, and Parvati gave a barely perceptible frown. What exactly is she asking me? Harry wondered. I need an ally here, but how could Parvati Patil possibly help me? She knows more about makeup than she does about magic.

Closing his eyes in frustration, Harry wondered again how he was going to get out of this trap alive.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione finished dinner and returned to the Gryffindor Common Room in silence. Ron and Hermione still weren't speaking to each other, and Harry was certainly in no mood to break the silence. When they arrived, Harry noticed Parvati sitting one of the couches, pretending to read as she kept an eye on the door. When he passed by, she coughed loudly. Sighing mentally at the girl's persistence, Harry leaned down to tie his shoelace and whispered "ten minutes, just outside this room" in her direction.

Ten minutes later Harry was waiting outside the Common Room entrance under his invisibility cloak. When Parvati appeared, she was startled briefly to hear Harry's voice come out of thin air.

"Parvati," he whispered. "I'm under an invisibility cloak. We need to go to the seventh floor, and then I'll take this off. I'll be right behind you, but don't talk until we get there, yeah?"

Parvati nodded and headed off in the direction of the closest staircase.

Harry followed three feet behind her, careful not to make any noise or take up much space. It would be a disaster to run into someone right now.

.....

Want to read ahead by more than 60 chapters. Then join my p@treon Right Now.

Link: p*atreon.com/BookReaderBoy (Remove the *)

Also Free members get 2 advanced chapters for Free as well.