Unforeseen Trials (Completed)

He dashed up the stairs and towards the library in an uncharacteristic manner the moment Daphne had disappeared into the floo, leaving him alone as she visited the people who managed the Greengrass family assets.

" Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

" It's family business, Harry." She had said with a sad smile. "Besides, you hate numbers. Maybe if Terry was around…"

The innocent slip had dimmed both their moods - it had been two months and there had been no sign of his missing friend, nor was there any indication that progress was being made in finding him.

Equally alarming had been how the world had seemed to forget about his friend; Melisa had even, thanks to Minister Bones, begun selling her Wolfsbane Potion to the Ministry to distribute before full moons.

' Not that that's a bad thing.'

The results from the first widespread distribution of the potion had been overwhelmingly positive.

' The world hasn't forgotten Terry.' He reminded himself, thinking back to the bitching he had overheard from Snape before the last Order meeting. 'They've used him as a chapter in his mum's biography.'

" I can't believe Slughorn's named Boot as a finalist." He'd overheard the man griping to the Order's other potions mistress, Marlene McKinnon. "It's not exactly complicated, is it? Horace has always preferred the story to the potion, hasn't he?"

Harry had no doubt that if Terry hadn't been missing, Daphne would be exploring the possibility of moving her assets to the care of Edmund's firm.

As it stood, he assumed the turmoil surrounding the Boot family would make her hesitant to make that move.

' Maybe she'll follow the Zabini's and shift her assets to the continent where it's more stable?'

France was relatively calm, he was sure he could get Daphne a meeting with Gabriel Delacour.

He tabled those thoughts for the time being as the wards surrounding the Black library warmed him, recognizing his magic and granting him access to perhaps the most comprehensive private library in Britain.

It was rare that Harry got an entire day to himself, and he planned on taking full advantage of the opportunity.

' Maybe I'll go flying later?' He thought, his mind drifting back to the brand new 'Nimbus 3000' sitting in his room.

The broom, a birthday gift from the CEO of Nimbus to the last surviving member of the company's founding family, was set to become the official broom of the Wimbourne Wasps that fall, a major coup.

Utilizing the library's cataloguing system, Harry recalled the book on wards he had been reading the week prior.

He had become mildly obsessed recently, trying to decipher the various wards Tom Riddle had laid throughout Hogwarts, determined to spend his fifth year unlocking the Chamber of Secrets.

' What Does an Inconclusive Diagnostic Mean?'

The heading grabbed his attention, pushing forward a nearly forgotten memory from the prior year.

He had encountered one of these, in Tom Riddle's secret room, the wards protecting the book in the hidden drawer.

Harry hadn't bothered testing the wards a second time after Daphne had found him convulsing alone in the room during third year until this past November, when he and Daphne had been fighting.

While his original diagnostic charm had pointed towards a 'Gravi Capitis Dolore,' a small area protection ward ideally used on a doorway or small to moderately sized object, the symptoms he had experienced didn't fit, and he hadn't known why.

Until he ran a more advanced charm last fall.

The results had been indecisive at best, shuffling through a myriad of possibilities.

In a clever move Riddle hadn't modified an existing ward like he had originally thought, choosing instead to cast a camouflage ward, a highly adaptable ward that allowed the caster to choose the wards appearance and effect.

The possibility of flying long forgotten, Harry removed his notebook and began jotting notes on a possible counter for the wards, ecstatic to finally have a breakthrough after nearly two years of research.

A cold wetness shocked his system awake.

A familiar, harsh, loud laughter rang throughout the dark room, reminding him where he was.

' What time is it?'

"Good morning, Terry." Sergei's jovial voice echoed off the walls of his rather comfortable bedroom.

"What time is it?" He asked, his voice trembling slightly. If he had overslept -

Seeming to read his mind Sergei's laugh boomed throughout the room once more.

"You are a jumpy one, aren't you?" He asked rhetorically. "Get up, get up!" The older man clapped, invading his personal space, jolting Terry awake.

He jumped out of bed, ensuring that his movements were quick, but not hurried, never hurried.

Silently he thumbed through his wardrobe, pausing briefly at each robe to gauge Sergei's reaction.

Seeing the Russian nod approvingly at a soft set of dark black robes, Terry grabbed them, quickly getting ready.

Feeling hopeful, Terry made his way to the desk containing his precious wand, wishing that he would have need for it.

A stern nod told him all he needed to know, his spirits deflating.

"What do you need me for, sir?"

A toothy grin from Sergei caused Terry to shutter.

"You're lonely, yes?" Sergei said, draping his arm around him, leading the lanky brunette out of the room, passed the bathroom with the painting of the sword, and to Sergei's secret staircase.

"Y-yes." He said, scolding himself for hesitating.

Sergei said nothing and Terry relaxed once more as they descended the winding staircase.

"You like women. Yes?"

' Is that screaming?'

"Yes." He answered immediately.

At the bottom of the staircase Sergei spun Terry around so they were facing each other, resting both of his hands on his shoulder as he looked Terry in the eyes.

"The Dark Lord is going to kill my wife unless I get a piece of information, Terry." Sergei said calmly pausing briefly to gauge his reaction.

"Terry I asked you here because the girl here is a rather pretty classmate of yours."

' Who's life is the dark lord ruining now?'

"What does he want sir?"

Sergei gave a half smirk. "She's the secret keeper to some location." He said, handing Terry parchment and quill. "The Dark Lord will let the girl and my wife live if we have an answer soon. Will you help me?"

' He's trusting me?' He smiled at the thought of being trusted again. "Of course, sir. Anything I can do to help you."

Sergei gave him a pleased, but worried look. "Be quick, Terry. If you cannot get an answer, I'm afraid I will have to intervene."

Terry gave him a slight nod before grabbing the quill and parchment and heading off towards the noise.

"HELP!"

The feminine voice had a familiar huskiness to it.

"HELP, SOMEBODY!"

' Parvati?'

Smeared makeup covered her pretty face as Parvati Patil sat in a familiar cage near a familiar puddle of water.

His footsteps seemed to catch her attention.

"Terry?" The pretty Indian witch said in confusion. "Terry where am I? What the hell are you doing here?"

Wishing he had the strength to use legilimency, he wondered exactly how he was going to get her to tell him.

"You're at Sergei's." He said with a shrug, his voice, void of emotion, causing her to shutter. "I've been here since - "

How long had he been here?

"A long time." He said lamely. "What day is it?"

"August 28th. You've been missing for nearly three months!"

' Three months?'

All the things he'd missed.

Harry, Marci, his parents…

' Do they even need me?'

"How are my parents?"

For the first time Parvati calmed.

"Worried."

"And Marci?"

A slightly conflicted look crossed the witch's face before settling.

"She's worried as well."

Of course they were worried, why wouldn't they be? He'd been missing for three months.

' You have a mission.'

"Parvati I need to know your secret. It's the only way we get out of this."

A perplexed look crossed the girls face.

"Terry, I can't do that. You have to understand."

He did understand, that was the problem. He understood that if she betrayed whoever she was protecting they were dead.

' But if she doesn't comply.' She'd be left to Sergei's care.

"Parvati I need to know or else Sergei will be the one interrogating you." He couldn't keep the desperation from seeping into his voice as he pleaded for Parvati to quit being so stubborn.

"Terry if I do that my family dies, they already have Padma!"

For the first time the Gryffindor girl broke down in tears.

"Parvati he's going to find out, one way or another." He pleaded once more.

A soft pop from behind him caught Terry's attention.

"Master wants to know if Master Boot is needing help?"

' I'm out of time.' Panic was beginning to set in.

' What do I do?'

He didn't know, but he did know what Sergei would do to the pretty girl.

"No elf." He said with a resigned sigh, pulling Parvati out of the small cage.

And in a moment his hand was around her throat causing his classmate to gag and gasp for air, her body squirming as he pressed her body against the cold stone wall.

"I need to know that secret, Parvati." He said, doing the best to remove the emotion from his voice as he let go of her throat, her body falling to the cold ground.

"Why are you doing this Terry?" She cried. "Please don't do this to me Terry."

"Why are you making me do this to you Parvati?" He shouted back, grabbing the girl by her throat once more as he threw her back up against the hard wall.

Her eyes widened as she struggled for oxygen in his strong grip.

This time Terry gave her a ham fisted punch to the ribs causing her to sputter in his grip.

"Tell me what you know!" He shouted in her face, his voice manic with desperation as he gave her another punch to the ribs.

Tears ran down her face as he let go of her, leaving Parvati to gasp for air on the damp floor.

"Why are you making me do this Parvati? I don't want to do this, but if I don't, Sergei will. You don't want that Parvati. You don't want that at all."

The girl gave him a terrified look as she scooted away from him before climbing to her feet.

' Please don't run Parvati.'

And she was off, and he was in pursuit.

' Please stop Parvati, I'm only trying to help you.'

And he sprung at her, tackling her to the ground.

"Tell me your secret!" He cried, his fist finding flesh.

"Why are you making me do this, Parvati?" Terry cried again, his fist finding the same soft spot once more.

" Terry!" A voice echoed, his fists finding more soft flesh.

"Why are you making me do this, Parvati?" He sobbed, cocking his arm back for another punch.

And like that he was on the floor, restrained by Sergei.

"Terry." Sergei's calm voice said as the man's arms wrapped around him.

' What happened?' He thought before his attention was drawn to a spot on the ground and it all came back.

In front of him was the unconscious mass of Parvati Patil, her face unrecognizable as the elf tended to her injuries on the floor.

"She'll live, sir." The elf said.

' Why did she make me do that?'

"It's on you if she doesn't, elf!" Sergei snapped before placing a comforting arm around his shoulder.

' Why didn't she just tell me her secret?'

"Shhh, Terry. It's okay." He said calmly, slipping a dreamless sleep potion into the boy's palm.

Terry downed it quickly before passing out on the spot, leaving him to himself.

' Tempus.' He thought as he headed deeper into his dungeon. '2:47.'

He frowned at the time.

Entering a slightly smaller room, he eyed the bloodied, naked Indian girl shivering in fear in the corner.

Antonin Dolohov stared at the teenager with want for only a moment before pushing aside his desires.

The Dark Lord did not tolerate tardiness.

They sat motionless under their disillusionment charms on the dark corner across from the "Randy Unicorn," hoping her information would pay off.

" Every Wednesday, around 2:30, a group of men in black robes enter, but don't come out."

After Harry's tracking charms had failed, Daphne had begun to use her family's gold to buy information about death eater activity.

The tip about the late-night rendezvous had come courtesy of Mundungus Fletcher, a street urchin introduced to her by those ginger twats Harry had invested in.

' 2:47.' her watch read, and still there had been nothing. No movement near the bar.

' Although there is clearly a party going on in the bar next door.'

"What are we even doing here, Daph?" A tired whisper asked from next to her.

"Reconnaissance." She whispered back, her eyes never leaving the bar.

"What are we going to do if someone is hanging around the pub at this hour? It's not exactly a crime."

That was true; there was no law against being drunk at a pub at quarter till three.

' What are you going to do, Daphne?'

Go in wands blazing, avenging the death of her family?

Several sets of footsteps echoing off the cobblestone road shifted her focus to the alley in front of them.

Three men levitating a petite, naked girl were heading towards the bar.

' Why does she look so familiar?'

"Padma?"

Harry whispered.

' The pretty Indian girl in Ravenclaw. Daughter to Singh Patil, Ambassador to Britain.'

"Is that Dolohov?" He followed up from a few feet in front of her.

As if hearing his name, the man paused at the door momentarily, taking a quick glance around before entering.

"We have to go after her." Daphne found herself saying. "We can't leave her to that monster."

It was a convenient excuse and they both knew it; neither of them particularly cared about the girl - certainly not enough to risk their own lives.

" Revenge won't bring them back." Healer Ogletree's words played back to her in her mind.

' What's that bitch know about revenge?' The greatest obstacle that cow would have to overcome was diabetes.

Without a word they were off, silently closing the distance between the three men holding Patil captive.

' Where's Padma?' The girl was either being obscured or had disappeared.

She shook that thought from her mind as they followed them in to the dirty pub.

Harry grabbed her hand as they followed the three men dressed in black robes passed a half-dozen others also in black robes.

' This is a Death Eater meeting.'

"What do you want to do?" Harry whispered into her ear.

She smiled as the group of Death Eater's slowly began to disappear.

"Let's follow them."

Patiently they waited till there were only two left before silently hitting the final two with identical blasting curses to the head.

She felt nothing as their heads exploded in a show of gore.

She frowned as she glanced down at her blood-covered boots.

' Those were new.'

Seeing Harry grab the bone-white mask attached to his victim before promptly disappearing, she followed suit, appearing a second later in a damp, thick forest.

"This way." Harry directed from next to her, cleaning and adjusting the death eater garb to fit him properly as he grabbed her hand and guided her down a narrow dirt path.

They walked the winding trail in silence, the occasional ruffle of leaves from deep within the forest the only noise as they followed their targets for what seemed like ages before the entire group paused at an ancient weeping willow.

"Where're George and Rudolph?" One of the death eaters asked.

She felt her grip on her wand tighten; 'we've been caught.'

Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, Dolohov shrugged them off.

"The drunks had to finish their drinks. We aren't responsible for them."

Dolohov stepped through the trees giant limbs and nearly out of view before approaching the trees trunk and displaying his left arm.

The tree glowed a faint green as an opening in the tree-trunk appeared, allowing the man and a still unconscious Padma Patil through.

"We need those marks." She said as a second death eater went through the passage before it closed once more.

They waited for several minutes before an opportunity to acquire a mark presented itself.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry whispered from next to her, an emerald green light emitting from his wand, striking his target dead a half-second later.

He repeated the feat once more, killing a second man.

"Thanks." She said, as she approached one of the downed death eaters before severing his left arm.

"No problem." A now visible Harry replied from next to her.

Grabbing the arms they stepped through the willows trunk with confidence.

' Crucio.' Was the last thing she heard before falling to the ground in agony.

The skinny werewolf with greying dirty blonde hair squeezed his way through the raucous pub careful not to spill any of the amber liquid in the two glasses floating just in front of his nose, eager to get back to his morose companion.

"Thank you." The larger woman said as he offered her a drink, downing half the liquid in one go.

Melisa looked worn down and depressed in her dirty pale-pink robes.

It would be easy to think less of the woman for her appearance, however, given the circumstances her mere presence had the opposite effect.

"You're welcome." He said as they fell into an awkward silence.

"If you'd like we can go somewhere a little quieter."

The question was rhetorical and they both knew it - very few places were open at this time of morning, and the "Randy Unicorn" was out of the question, leaving "Howl at the Moon" as the only real option.

"Nonsense." She said, waving him off as she swayed in her seat.

' Did she arrive drunk?' Remus gave her another sniff, this time focusing in on her specific scent.

"It only makes sense to meet here, especially at this time of month."

His nostrils were assaulted by the spicy aroma of firewhiskey.

' She did.' Not that he could blame her - when Sirius had been killed he had nearly drank himself to death; he couldn't imagine having a son go missing.

"Of course."

A werewolf's energy spiked the night before a full moon, this is the best he would feel all month.

Melisa Boot finished her drink with another large sip as her eyes darted to and fro.

"Are you sure Greyback won't be taking us up on our offer? It won't cost his pack anything."

Remus shook his head in certainty; "his pack embraces the wolf, they have already joined Voldemort."

The woman shuttered at the dark lord's name, but pressed forward.

"What about Pickard?"

"He has graciously accepted." Moony stated with a proud smile - getting the leader of the Isles largest pack to accept Wolfsbane from the ministry was an accomplishment he would always treasure.

"Liam has always been more reasonable than Fenrir." Melisa stated with a disappointed sigh.

He was only half paying attention to her response as a pair of familiar scents assaulted his nose.

Standing up quickly, Remus excused himself before making his way to the street.

The scents led him to the entrance of the "Randy Unicorn" just in time to see a pair of shimmers reflect off the moonlight as they entered the bar.

' No. No. No.'

' What the hell are Harry and Daphne doing here?'

A trio of loud noises emitting from the bar caused him to pull his wand out in panic as he stormed in.

He was greeted with silence and an empty pub.

The floor soaked in blood and gore. That was the first thing he noticed as he walked around, his dark brown eyes settling on a pair of mostly naked, decapitated bodies.

Remus felt himself sigh in relief.

' Harry is okay.' Before another thought populated his mind.

' Harry is gone. '

The thought sent him into a panic. If he had gone after the Death Eater's they were in serious trouble.

He had to wake Dumbledore.

Crossing through the trunk of the weeping willow and into a rather large opening surrounded on all sides by a thick forest, Harry immediately found himself under fire.

A toothy snarl came over his face as holly and phoenix feather found itself in his hand, his body instinctively entering a narrow crouch as he squared his stance, redirecting a series of spells back at his attackers.

A kaleidoscope of light seemed to rain down on them from all directions as Harry realized their mistake in running into the situation blind.

' We're fucked.'

They never should have been so impulsive. That thought did little for him as he began returning fire in earnest.

Daphne's scream interrupted his casting as he saw a thick, stream of violent dark red connecting his girlfriend to an unseen foe hiding in the treetops.

' They're everywhere.'

Her screaming stopped a half second later - Daphne's training under duress paying dividends as she set the tree ablaze.

' That's not a bad idea.' He thought as a trio of spells connected with his shield, the third shattering it, and his non-casting shoulder.

Gritting his teeth and ignoring the pain, Harry took aim at a group of trees several meters in front of him.

" Fiendfyre!" He roared.

Around them the spellfire ceased momentarily as the hellish flame devoured the group of trees in front of them, filling the air with the sound of burning logs and dying screams.

The air smelt like charred flesh as he felt the magic of the spell struggle against him, yearning for freedom.

Off in the recesses of his mind he was aware of the sweat pouring down his face as the valley became alight with flame and the air thick with smoke.

He felt the spell buck as it began to break free, spreading out wildly throughout the forest.

' Shit.'

He didn't have time to worry about the cursed flame as Daphne grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the way of a sickly green spell and into the flaming forest.

They were under attack once more, firing spells in all directions as the silhouettes of the two teens danced in the smoke and flame.

In front of him Harry summoned several flaming logs before banishing them at his opponents, sending them to the depths of the great flame sea.

His actions only gave him a brief reprieve before he felt several spells cut into his skin.

He shrugged off the pain, returning his attention to the fight in front of him. Growling huskily before returning fire at those who dared to attack him.

From next to him Daphne was more than holding her own against a pair of unmasked Death Eaters; easily dodging their spells while flinging back her own.

His lungs burned as the flames, running out of things to burn, began to close in.

' We have to get out of here!' He thought, silently casting bubblehead charms on himself and Daphne - who had just dispatched of her opponents.

Grabbing her hand, Harry tried to apparate the two to safety to no avail.

' Fuck.'

The pair darted around the valley, hoping for an escape, only to be met with walls of flame in every direction.

' We're going to die.'

"POTTER!" A thick, slightly accented voice roared.

' Where have I heard that voice before?'

"Come out and face your destiny!"

Then it dawned on him.

' Antonin Dolohov.'

The man had been responsible for sending Sirius to St. Mungo's.

' And there's a broom next to him.'

"DAPHNE!" He shouted, pointing towards the broom.

Next to him Daphne didn't respond, shooting off several blood-boilers.

Harry joined her a second later as the trio exchanged spells.

' Damn he's fast!' He thought as Dolohov deftly dodged both his and Daphne's curses.

The lanky sociopath responded with a pair of killing curses.

Diving out of the way, Harry was prepared to erect a shield for Daphne, only to be hit with a skin shredding curse while distracted.

Daphne conjured a stone shield to absorb the spell as layer upon layer of skin started painfully peeling off of his arm.

' She can take care of herself.' He reminded himself.

Silently throwing up a stone barrier, Harry tended to his shoulder and ended Dolohov's curse.

' Where the hell is Padma?'

A scream caused him to pop out from behind his barrier, the sight erecting a feral smile from him.

Idly he noticed that the flames from his fiendfyre were all-but gone, but that wasn't why he was smiling.

Several meters away, Daphne had Dolohov writhing on the charred forest floor in agony.

"Very impressive. Miss Greengrass."

The new voice caused a chill to reverberate through his body at the familiar sound; Lord Voldemort had arrived.

Her innards were on-fire as she screamed herself hoarse.

" Use occlumency to push as much of the pain to the side, and counter with a spell, any spell. That should break the caster's concentration."

Harry's words reverberated in her mind as Daphne went through the process of overcoming the cruciatus curse, thankful that she had practiced this situation.

Her weak stunner did the trick, surprising her opponent and ending the spell.

' Damn cowards.' She thought as a wicked grin spread across her face.

Only cowards would hide in trees.

"Ignem Aestifer!" She shouted as the flame leapt from her wand, slowly devouring the tree in front of her.

As the Death Eaters who had been hiding in the tree began to jump off of it, desperate to avoid being burned to death, Daphne took aim, hitting two with blasting curses in the neck.

An intense light, and even more intense heat drew her attention towards her boyfriend, who was struggling with a line of fiendfyre.

' Goddammit Harry, are you trying to get us killed?'

While Harry was wrestling his magic for control of his ill-advised decision, she stood, her back to his, deflecting spells coming from behind.

' Fulminus!' She thought as a streak of purple lightning rocketed down from the sky, scorching the earth where several Death Eaters had taken refuge.

A streak of green caused her eyes to widen in horror as she grabbed Harry's hand, pulling him out of the flame-riddled valley and into the hellish flame-riddled forest, her efforts narrowly saving his life.

Next to her, Harry was taking on several opponents, seemingly unaware of the litany of spells that were bursting through his shields.

' We're not going to survive this.' The thought wasn't as horrifying as she thought.

' But neither are they.'

Daphne felt herself becoming light-headed as she choked on the smoke filled air, attempting to fend off her enemies.

As if sensing her agony, Harry hit her with a bubblehead charm, providing her with a steady stream of smoke-less air.

' Why didn't I think of that?' She thought as she batted away a barrage of spells aimed at her by a pair of Death Eaters.

Conjuring a couple of dozen needles, Daphne hurled them at her hapless foes, forcing them to dodge deeper into the sea of flames, screaming in agony as they burned to death.

Harry gave her a look and they were off again, back towards where they came, desperate to find a way out, Harry moved gingerly with a heavy limp and a listless left shoulder as they continued their fruitless search for safety.

' This can't be how it ends.' She, thought, finding her previous acceptance of death had disappeared almost instantaneously. She had so much to do, so much to see.

"POTTER!"

A raspy voice roared through the flames.

"Come out and face your destiny."

"Dolohov." She saw Harry mouth through his bubblehead charm.

The pair spread out, in an attempt to split the man's vision.

' Damn he's fast.' She thought as the trio dueled in earnest.

Even with his attention favoring Harry, she was too slow to hit the slippery Death Eater.

' What the fuck!' She thought, her frustration rising.

Across the valley Harry was also having trouble landing a spell as the man rolled out of the way of another barrage of her boyfriend's barrages.

Getting back to his feet, Daphne had to react on instinct as she conjured a stone wall to intercept the deadly green light.

Next to her she watched in horror as Harry, in an attempt to save her, took an unknown spell to the arm.

Dolohov seemed to be pleased with himself, providing her with the opening she had been looking for.

"Crucio!" She bellowed, hatred dripping from her voice as the violent red spell erupted from her wand and attached itself to Dolohov.

She watched in sadistic satisfaction as the man convulsed in pain while Harry got back to his feet.

"Very impressive. Miss Greengrass."

The unfamiliar voice cut through the dying flames, causing Harry's face to take on a horrified expression before a second, more familiar voice caused him to smirk in satisfaction.

"It's good to see you again, Tom." The familiar voice of her headmaster echoed through the valley as the Dark Lord laughed in delight.

He and the unconscious girl arrived in the dark alley with a soft *pop* to the sound of singing emitting from the beast bar the "Randy Unicorn" shared an alleyway with.

Ignoring the greetings of the two other men in the alleyway, Antonin cancelled the levitation charm holding the ambassadors daughter in the air, dropping her into his waiting arms.

He took a moment to grope the girls developing form before opening his eyes to direct the grunts in front of him.

"You two." He snapped. "Let's go. The dark lord doesn't tolerate tardiness."

While one man responded by walking towards the bar, the second gave him an annoyed look, as if he wanted to say something before thinking better of it.

' Someone's a bit cranky.' He thought with glee, personally delighting in the late-night meetings.

" Our Lord is at his peak in the hours before dawn." Augustus had said.

Levitating the Patil girl once more, Antonin made to enter the bar when a faint voice caught his attention.

" Is that Dolohov?"

' Am I being followed?'

He found it unlikely, he was far too careful to allow that to happen, which meant the bar was being watched, but by who?

' Younger male, under disillusionment.' That's what the voice profile told him.

' Potter?' He smiled to himself as he entered the bar. 'I will be rewarded.'

Dropping the girl into his arms once more, he quickly activated his portkey, arriving at the opening in the woods a half-second later.

Under the guise of disillusionment, he and the unconscious girl waited as Dobbs, Travers, and Higgs all dutifully made their way into the clearing and towards the willow.

' Where are George and Rudolph, I wonder?'

He was answered a half second later when two figures, one male the other female, appeared in ill-fitting robes.

Dolohov watched in interest as Potter, and who he assumed was the remaining Greengrass fitted the robes to themselves before affixing their masks and heading down the path leading towards a familiar willow.

He stalked ahead quietly, doing best to not to make any noise as he stalked the pair, remaining just out of sight.

"Where're George and Rudolph?" Dobbs asked right as he was arriving at the willow.

He shrugged them off.

' I wonder if they'll have the gall to enter?'

"The drunks had to finish their drinks. We aren't responsible for them." He replied cockily.

Making a display of it, Dolohov stepped forward, showing his dark mark clearly to the willow as it let off a faint green glow, granting him access to the valley.

Once inside he waited for Travers to make his way through, pulling him aside.

"Take this." Antonin said, thrusting a portkey and the naked teenager into the blonde man's meaty hands.

"It will take you to our Lord, tell him that Potter and Greengrass have made their way to the valley."

The younger man gave a terse nod, activating the portkey and disappearing without a sound.

' Sonorous.' He thought, taping his throat with his wand, amplifying his voice.

"Attention!" He said, the group of Death Eaters abandoning their conversations and turning to him.

He smiled at the power he was entrusted with by his lord.

"We are about to come under attack by Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass." He said, causing a rumbling of murmurs to erupt from the assembled death eaters.

"Get into position, and attack them when they arrive."

Quickly the death eaters dispersed, disappearing into the trees and behind the tall grass, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

' Any minute now.' Dolohov thought to himself from his broom high above the tree line.

He watched, impressed despite himself as Potter lit the forest ablaze with fiendfyre.

' Too bad he can't control it.' He thought to himself a second later as the boy dispatched one of the death eaters.

He watched with interest as Greengrass picked off the men jumping from the trees.

' Power and accuracy.' He knew Potter had it, but Greengrass as well?

He watched in interest for several more minutes, his lungs becoming harsh with smoke before becoming bored with being a spectator.

"POTTER!" He yelled dramatically.

"Come out and face your destiny."

The pair glanced at each other before splitting up, dividing his attention as much as they could.

' Smart.' He thought to himself as he started his assault.

Instead of shielding like he had hoped, the duo dodged while Potter unleashed a particularly lethal spell chain.

With his attention focused on Potter, Greengrass took it upon herself to increase her velocity, causing him to roll forward to avoid the onslaught.

' I'm not going to last much longer. ' He thought as he exited his roll, clearly having underestimated his foes.

In desperation he shot off a killing curse at each of them, hoping to get lucky.

Potter dodged easily before turning his attention to help his girlfriend.

' Stupid mistake, boy.' He thought as Greengrass's shield absorbed his killing curse, leaving Potter exposed.

A split second later Potter was howling in pain as chunks of skin fell off his body.

' I wasted my opportunity. ' He thought in a horrified daze as Potter disappeared from view.

A moment later his world erupted in pain.

A pair of torches illuminated the mirror he was gazing into as he inspected every inch of his self, doing his best to ensure that he looked his absolute best.

Vain, perhaps. But long ago he had learned that appearance was as important to his rise as his power.

His looks and his charm were weapons that were as important to his reign as his magic.

A good looking man had a way of drawing people in.

A well-dressed man was treated with respect.

A charming man persuaded those to his point of view.

A couple simple flicks later and his robes, hair, and teeth were perfect, leaving him with a few minutes to spare before the start of his meeting.

He sat in peaceful meditation as the other occupants of the room watched from the corners motionlessly, knowing better than to interrupt their lord.

Searching deep within the recesses of his mind he found the edges of his soul.

Looking out over the dark void he could feel his souls pain at having been fractured, filling Voldemort with a sense of unfamiliar sorrow.

' What is wrong with me?'

He had long accepted that there would be consequences for his actions, but he never thought they'd be so capricious.

Muffled voices drew him from his meditation.

"Dolohov sent me - "

"I don't care who sent you." Bellatrix snarled. "Our lord is not to be disturbed!"

"It's okay, Bella." He said quietly, his red orbs resting on Travers, who was levitating Ambassador Patils favored daughter. "What message did Antonin wish to convey?"

Glancing nervously at Bellatrix, Travers calmed himself before looking passed him and at the mirror behind him.

"He told me to tell you that Potter and Greengrass have found the valley."

He felt his good mood better considerably at the news - Potter was beginning to become a thorn in his side, a chance to kill him while at his most predictable was an opportunity too good to pass up.

' It's highly unlikely that Dumbledore knows where Potter is." There was almost no risk in the situation.

"Thank you." He said dismissively, waiting for the man to leave before turning towards the other occupants in the room.

"Severus, Lucius, you two stay behind." The two men nodded in obedience leaving him alone with Bellatrix.

Her spat with Lucius had gone on far enough. It would do him no good to have them on each other's throats.

"Go to the Greengrass house and see if they left anything of interest behind."

"Yes, my lord."

Bellatrix nodded before disappearing with a soft *pop.*

He arrived to an unexpected ocean of hell fire, the atmosphere saturated with magic.

' Did Potter lose control of fiendfyre?' He said, chuckling to himself at the thought.

Even if Potter had the power to control such a spell, he found it highly unlikely that he would be able to maintain that control during battle.

Apparently he had been right.

Voldemort easily extinguished the flames enough to reveal Antonin screaming in agony while a school girl stood over him.

' Worthless.'

The girls face was twisted into a satisfied grin that reminded him of the child's great aunt.

"Very impressive, Miss Greengrass." He found himself saying.

"Your aunt Ophelia would be so proud."

The girl looked around in confusion, the remnants of smoke and steam obscuring her view of him.

Potter, however, seemed to recognize his voice, if his terrified reaction was anything to go by.

"It's good to see you again, Tom." An annoyingly familiar voice responded from across the charred battlefield.

' He must be tracking Potter.'

He chastised himself at his simple mistake.

' No matter.' The old man had no hope of defeating him when Voldemort was at his peak, they both knew that.

"It's good to see you again as well, Albus." He said, giving the headmaster his most charming smile.

He was relieved when the headmaster arrived with Bill and Remus right as Voldemort was preparing to kill him and Daphne.

"It's good to see you again, Tom." The headmaster's serene voice cut through the smoldering battlefield with ease.

"It's good to see you again, as well, Albus." Voldemort's tone was engaging and polite, as if welcoming an old friend.

While the headmaster and the dark lord talked, Bill used the distraction to cut across the valley towards Daphne, quickly enveloping her in a hug as the pair disappeared.

Sighing in relief he turned his attention back to Dolohov as Voldemort and Dumbledore began their duel in earnest.

Ignoring the shouting form of Remus Lupin, Harry directed his wand back towards the recovering Antonin Dolohov.

His first spell - a bonebreaker - found its mark, hitting the older death eater in the ribs.

Thick, dark blood began to drip from the enraged death eater's mouth as he responded in earnest, shooting jets of black lightning his way.

Harry conjured a rubber wall, absorbing the tendrils of lightning before shooting off a few spells of his own.

Dolohov jumped to the side and Harry charged forward, showering the area with spells as he tried to predict the man's movements.

Long black hair flung to and fro as the lanky death eater pirouetted nimbly around the onslaught, his wand remaining in motion the entire time.

Harry batted the death eater's first spell off towards Voldemort before redirecting Dolohov's disembowelment curse back towards the caster.

The older man stepped to the side, returning fire with a wide-area severing charm.

Erecting a gold shield, the severing charm bounced off his shield as Harry tapped himself on the head.

The feeling as though an egg was being cracked over his head overcame him, telling him his disillusionment charm had taken root.

The lack of visibility made him impossible to see as Dolohov threw curses around the valley with reckless abandon.

"You can't hide forever, child!" Dolohov roared, firing a quartette of killing curses every which-way.

' Shit.' He thought, dropping his disillusionment charm to avoid a killing curse.

Dolohov's eyes widened in surprise when he saw how close they now were.

Harry smiled victoriously as he raised his wand to finish off the sadistic bastard.

"Avada - "

From off to the side a purple spell from the other duel jetted his way, causing him to dive to the ground and into a severing charm.

He howled in pain as a thin membrane held his left shoulder to his body.

Dolohov took the distraction as an opportunity to retake the upper hand, putting some distance between the two before slashing his wand downward in a dramatic fashion emitting a copper spell that was quickly absorbed into the earth.

' Dammit, Potter!' He scolded himself at his inability to finish off his opponent as the ground fractured and lava flowed up through the fissures.

' It can be regrown.' He thought, severing his useless appendage as he tried to avoid the lava.

Conjuring up a tornado of fire, Harry directed it towards his target, causing the older man to abandon his onslaught.

Dealing with the fire left the man vulnerable, as he sent a multitude of spikes towards Dolohov, causing the man's eyes to widen in fear as one of the spikes impaled his thigh.

He smiled sadistically as he again prepared for the finishing blow.

A burst of pain shooting through his body caused him to falter and yell out in pain as he dropped his wand.

Looking down he could see the flesh on the side of his torso beginning to rot and ooze puss.

Slowly the rot spread as Harry did everything in his power to counter the spells effects.

From off to his side he felt something impact his torso before losing consciousness.

Albus Dumbledore didn't respond, choosing instead to respond by conjuring a stampede of buffalo, directing them his way.

The ground shook and he cackled in delight - he hadn't felt this alive in months!

Taking a trick out of Potter's book, Voldemort casually exterminated the beasts with a vat of fiendfyre before following up the flames with a hoard of hyenas.

Off to the side he was aware that Antonin and the boy were locked in an intense duel.

The fire cleared and the headmaster killed the hyenas with ease leaving the man and his gaudy blood-covered cream and lime green robes, glistening in the dull light of the moon.

Albus responded with gusto.

Using the ash and debris to his advantage, the transfiguration master turned a pile of ash and embers into a large dragon.

As the animation barreled down on him, Voldemort hoped to the side, responding with a quick 'Aqua Erecto' to absorb the dragon.

Without missing a beat, he froze the water into one solid sheet of ice before directing it back at the old man.

Before the wall of ice could be destroyed by the headmaster, Voldemort blew it to a thousand small, sharp pieces, directing them towards the headmaster.

Off to the side he was disappointed to see Antonin struggling with the boy who looked as though he was about to murder his best torturer.

' I can't have that.' He thought before firing off a quick spell towards Potter.

In front of him Dumbledore summoned the shards of ice that had impacted him and was busy redirecting them back his way.

A ball of flame took care of the ice, but left him vulnerable to the blasting curse that impacted his side, leaving a chunk of his rib cage in ruins.

Not wasting time healing himself, Voldemort mimicked Dumbledore, summoning piles of ash and debris and sending them high into the atmosphere before releasing the spell.

Fire rained out of the sky as Dumbledore, following his instincts erected a massive Merlin Shield, protecting the occupants of the area from harm.

Quickly he fired off a killing curse, hoping to catch the old man while he was distracted.

Voldemort howled in frustration when Dumbledore, at the last possible moment, conjured a bird to intercept the curse.

A scream off to the side directed him back towards Potter, who had just finished severing his own arm.

' Impressive, Potter.'

The earth shook as Dumbledore tried to disorient him with a thunder clap, following it up by flinging acid his way.

He successfully disappeared three of the four globs of acid until the fourth disintegrated his arm, leaving a grizzled mess of bone and ligaments.

As he cauterized the wound he idly noticed that Antonin was dealing with something in his thigh.

' Potter's going to win that fight.' He thought to himself. 'I can't allow that to happen.'

Ignoring his own predicament, Voldemort shot several curses towards Potter, the rotting curse ringing true.

Across from him Dumbledore's eyes widened in shock - the spell would kill the boy in minutes unless it was slowed down, and within a few hours unless it was countered.

Dumbledore quickly shot a spell Potter's way, saving him from an imminent death before reaching into his robes and removing a totem, banishing it towards Potter.

He grinned viciously at the opportunity that had presented itself before taking aim.

' Lacerare Furtis!'

Time seemed to slow down as the violent yellow orb of light leapt out of his wand.

Slowly Albus Dumbledore seemed to notice the spell heading his way as he turned to face him, his eyes widening in surprise as the spell removed the man's head clean from his neck.

Laughing manically, Voldemort gathered Antonin and the dead body of Albus Dumbledore, and disappeared.