“I very much hoped they wouldn’t’ return,” Sirius said grimly.

Voldemort turned away from Harry and approached Barty Crouch, Jr., not giving a second glance at Pettigrew who was still on the ground bleeding. Crouch had turned to face Voldemort, still on his knees and his head still bowed. A hissing was heard, alerting Harry that the large snake was moving. Harry watched as the snake moved towards him and stopped at his feet, watching him, daring him to move so it could strike at him. Cautiously, Harry glanced back at Voldemort and saw Crouch handing over a wand.

“Crouch, Voldemort is bad enough wandless! Don’t help!” James cried.

For a moment Voldemort just held the wand in his hand, like he was remembering how it felt before returning his eyes to Crouch. “Hold out your arm,” he ordered. There was no room for objection in his voice. Crouch obediently extended his left arm and pulled his sleeve up to his elbow, revealing something that looked like a dark red tattoo resembling the Dark Mark that Harry had read about in the ‘Daily Prophet’. It was the same mark shown in the sky after the Quidditch World Cup” a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. Voldemort took a close look at the mark and smiled. “It’s back,” he hissed. “Now we shall see how many have foolishly turned against me.”

“I hope all of them did,” Sirius grunted.

“I hope that too,” Lily said grimacing, “But I highly doubt that.”

Without warning Voldemort touched the mark on Crouch’s arm. Harry felt another burst of pain from the scar on his forehead as Crouch let out a scream. As fast as the pain had come it was gone. Bowing his head and breathing heavily, Harry forced himself to look over at Voldemort and Crouch to see the Dark Lord pulling his hand away from a now dark black mark.

Voldemort stood up straight and looked around the graveyard with a cruel smile on his face. His stance was foreboding yet somewhat impatient. Harry didn’t want to think about what Voldemort was waiting for but that didn’t stop his mind from coming up with possibilities. Whoever ‘they’ were Harry knew that they were servants of Voldemort. The question was what type of servants were they?

After a few minutes, Voldemort turned back to face Harry, his evil smile widening. “Harry Potter,” he hissed. “You are sitting on the grave of my late father. He was a Muggle and nothing more than a fool—similar to your mother.

 

“Hey! Don’t talk about Lily that way!” James yelled angrily.

Both of them served a purpose and nothing more. Your mother died to save you and I killed my father, only providing his usefulness after death. My father turned away from my mother when he found out she was a witch…much like your relatives turned against you.”

Harry’s eyes widened at the statement. Voldemort knew about Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia? What else had Pettigrew and Crouch told him? How much did he know about Remus and Sirius? Did he know about his outbursts? Did he know about the training Sirius and Remus had given him? The thought of Voldemort knowing so much about him made Harry feel sick to his stomach.

“He can’t know about all that,” Sirius said worried, “No one knows. Right? Right? Moony? Lily?”

Remus and Lily nodded but their unsure expression was not comforting.

“Oh yes, my spies have informed me all about you, Harry Potter,” Voldemort continued with a cold laugh. “You were taken from your abusive uncle and given to a blood traitor and a werewolf. Don’t worry. Both of them can be easily turned to follow me.”

“NO WE CAN’T SNAKE FACE!” Sirius cried.

“YOU’RE MIXING US WITH PETER! I WILL DIE BEFORE I JOIN YOU!” Remus cried.

Harry paled at the comment. “Revenge was taken against your uncle. Granted you needed the Muggle-loving fool to do it for you instead of taking it into your own hands. I took the revenge against my father. My mother died giving birth to me. I had to be raised in a Muggle orphanage since my father had left my mother before I was born. We share the same name, you know. Tom Riddle, a name I couldn’t wait to leave behind.”

“Damn sight better than Voldemort,” James grumbled.

The sound of the swishing of cloaks alerted both Harry and Voldemort that others had arrived. “My true family has finally returned,” whispered Voldemort. Black cloaked figures appeared between the graves with a cracking noise, the sound of wizards Apparating. They all wore white masks and had their hoods up, blocking anything of their head that could identify them. Slowly, they started moving, one by one, towards Voldemort, falling to their knees as the reached him and kissed the hem of his robes while calling Voldemort ‘Master’.

“That’s not a family,” Lily sneered, “You don’t see Harry having to bow to Moony and Padfoot. They respect and love each other. Not fear!”

Once they had greeted the Dark Lord, they stood back up and backed away; forming a circle around the grave Harry was bound to. Nervously glancing around, Harry noticed gaps in the circle. These people were wearing the same robes as Crouch and Pettigrew pushing Harry to the conclusion that these…men were Death Eaters, Voldemort’s loyal followers.

Voldemort glanced around at the figures, looking neither impressed nor disappointed by the turnout. “Welcome, my Death Eaters,” he said softly. “It has been thirteen years since you were last called yet you come like no time has passed. United under the Dark Mark you all wear…or are we?” He slowly looked around at the cloaked figures, almost like he was examining his followers just by a simple look. “There is guilt in their air,” he said at last. “Many of you reek of it.”

His voice turned to an accusing one. “Every single one of you is healthy and powerful,” he hissed. “I can see no reason why no one sought me out, the wizard you swore your loyalty to. I had to wait for someone like Wormtail to come across me because everyone else had reentered society, claiming to be innocent of the very actions they performed of their own free will. Perhaps they felt the need to join the Mudbloods, Muggles and Albus Dumbledore.”

“Of course they did. They care only for their own skin just like you,” Sirius sneered.

Several members of the circle shook there heads while others stirred uncomfortably but Voldemort ignored the movement. “Being deserted by those who declared their eternal loyalty to me was a disappointment,” he said, “and I don’t like to be disappointed.” Several members tried to move but it seemed that something was preventing them from dropping to their knees and pleading for mercy. “Don’t even bother trying to beg for forgiveness. None of you deserve to be forgiven. It will take thirteen years of repayment for the thirteen years of betrayal. Wormtail has already paid some of his debt and Barty was trapped by his own father until I rescued him.”

Crouch bowed his head gratefully as a confirmation of Voldemort’s statement. Pettigrew was still on the ground, clutching his stump of an arm, sobbing. “You helped me return, Wormtail,” Voldemort said as he turned to Pettigrew. “As worthless and cowardice as you are, you helped me and Lord Voldemort always rewards those who helps him.”

Voldemort raised his wand and twirled it through the air, a strip of silver being left behind as his wand continued to move. Slowly, the silver began to take shape, forming what looked to be a silver human hand. Once it finished forming, it slowly lowered and attacked itself to Pettigrew’s bleeding arm. Silence filled the air as Pettigrew stopped sobbing. He looked down and stared at his new silver hand in amazement before hurrying on his knees to Voldemort and kissed the bottom of Voldemort’s robes.

“Thank you, my Lord, thank you,” Pettigrew whispered then stood up and took his place in the circle.

“You disappoint me more and more every second Peter,” James said sadly.

“I never break my word, Wormtail,” Voldemort said. “You better remember that.” Voldemort then turned to a man to the right of Pettigrew. “Lucius, I am surprised you arrived so quickly. You carried out your task masterly. I had thought when Barty’s presence at Hogwarts was discovered my plans had been ruined. You brought the one I needed to me. You will be rewarded.”

“He’s the one that Imperiused Krum! I didn’t even know he was at Hogwarts!” Sirius cried, “Slimy git. When I get my hands on you…”

The Death Eater he had been talking to bowed his head respectfully. Harry’s eyes widened in hearing this. Lucius Malfoy was responsible for him being here? Lucius Malfoy had been there? Had he also put Viktor under the Imperius Curse, forcing Viktor to torture Cedric? The thought of Cedric made it difficult for Harry to breathe as he felt his eyes sting with tears.

“I trust you didn’t use something as simple as a portkey that could be traced,” Voldemort added.

“No, my lord,” Malfoy said firmly as he bowed his head. “A transportation spell with a sensor notification spell placed on the Cup. No one suspected the presence of a concerned school governor.”

Voldemort nodded as if he had expected such an answer. “That would explain how the spare arrived without either of them touching the object,” he said then turned the large space next to Malfoy. “The Lestranges—locked in Azkaban for their master rather than turning against him. ­They will be rewarded when Azkaban falls. The Dementors will join us of course along with the giants and dark creatures that are feared by many.” Voldemort moved on until he noticed the largest of gaps. “Ah, here are five missing,” he said thoughtfully. “Three are dead, one is too much of a coward to return to me and the final has left me. He shall pay for his treachery with his life.”

“Who do you think that is?” Lily asked.

“I have a suspect,” Remus said grimly.

The Dark Lord slowly turned to look at Harry, a cruel smile forming on his lipless mouth. “Now, I am sure many of you have noticed we have a guest,” he said as he strolled towards the teenager. “Harry Potter is, of course, my guest of honor tonight. Many of you thought this mere child had brought about my downfall. I lost my powers and body that night because of something I had overlooked. His mother had died trying to save him, providing a protection which made it impossible for me to harm the boy.”

“And I would do it all over again,” Lily said sobbing.

The pain from Harry’s scar was increasing with each step Voldemort took. It was impossible to think. He had to remind himself to breathe. There was a part of Harry that wanted Voldemort to just get it over with while another part was screaming at him to think of a way to escape back to Hogwarts…to his guardians and friends.

“Yes, Harry. Please don’t give up!” Sirius begged. Tears falling unchecked from his eyes.

Voldemort took another step and reached out to touch Harry’s face. “His mother’s sacrifice was left upon him,” he said. “Old magic that I had foolishly overlooked but it doesn’t matter anymore. The protection is gone.” Without further ado, Voldemort touched Harry’s cheek, increasing the pain that was already searing from Harry’s scar. “My error…the woman’s foolish sacrifice that deflected my curse, sending unimaginable pain and ripping me from my body has finally been corrected. I am no longer less than a spirit yet alive. I no longer have to possess animals or other humans like I did four years ago in an attempt to steal the Philosopher’s Stone—an attempt that had also been thwarted by Harry Potter. I no longer have to rely on a servant who was on the run from his former friends to keep me alive.”

Several Death Eaters shifted their weight back and forth uncomfortably but Voldemort took no notice of it.

“You see, Harry Potter, fate always favors Lord Voldemort,” the Dark Lord said with a grin. “I learned about the Tournament from Bertha Jorkins, a witch from the Ministry who had the misfortune of running into Wormtail. She also revealed the location of a faithful Death Eater. Her mind and body just weren’t the same afterwards. I had to dispose of her.” The look of disgust on Harry’s face only made Voldemort’s evil smile widen. “You saw what I was before the rebirth. You noticed the change from a few years ago, didn’t you…Harry? You see, with a spell I invented, a little help from Nagini, and a potion consisting of unicorn blood and snake venom, I was able to return to a form that was almost human. Since Dumbledore had destroyed the Philosopher’s Stone, I had to use other means—an old piece of Dark Magic. Bone from my father, flesh from a servant and blood from my enemy…there was only one choice of which enemy should be used. Your mother’s protection is now in my veins too.”

“What? No!” Lily said shocked shaking her head.

Harry stared at Voldemort in disbelief. He had moved past the denial. There was too much pain for this not to be happening. His head felt like it was going to split open any moment, his right arm was throbbing in pain and his muscles were screaming in exhaustion. Truthfully, Harry didn’t know how much more of this he could take. Right now passing out was looking like an extremely good idea.

“No, Harry! You can’t! If you pass out you’re lost! Don’t give up!” James encouraged him, “You’ll find a way out. A way back to Padfoot and Moony!”

“You put up quite a fight, Harry Potter,” Voldemort said, sounding almost proud. “I underestimated what the blood traitor and the werewolf had taught you in such a short amount of time.” He looked down at Harry’s neck for a moment, his eyes narrowing in confusion. “And what is this?” asked Voldemort as he pealed open Harry’s collar to reveal the necklace. “Well, well, you are full of surprises, aren’t you, Harry?”

Voldemort wrapped his long fingers around the necklace and pulled, breaking the clasp and its hold around Harry’s neck. He stood upright and looked at the necklace closely. “A suppression necklace,” Voldemort said then looked over at Crouch. “It seems that Dumbledore is full of secrets these days.” He returned his red eyes to Harry. “Suppressing the magic of a fourteen-year-old. I never thought I’d see the day when that Muggle-loving fool was afraid of a mere teenager. You must be very powerful for Dumbledore to resort to this.”

Harry narrowed his eyes as he stared at Voldemort. He knew that wasn’t true. He wasn’t powerful. Dumbledore wasn’t afraid of him. Remus, Sirius and Dumbledore had told him many times that his magic was simply maturing too fast. The outbursts were causing him pain so the necklace was put on to stop it. There was nothing special about it.

“That’s true Harry! Don’t let him goad you,” Remus encouraged.

James bit his lip, “Without the necklace he can have an outburst,” he said scared.

“He won’t,” Remus said firmly.

“Moony-“ Sirius started.

“HE WON’T!” Remus said more firmly with a hard look towards his friends. They decided to let him believe whatever he needed to.

Of course he wasn’t going to tell Voldemort any of this.

“Perhaps we shall see how powerful you are,” Voldemort proposed as he raised his wand and pointed it at Harry. “Crucio!”

 

Pain worse than anything he had ever felt before filled his body. Every muscle, bone and organ felt like they were on fire, a second away from exploding. Harry instantly closed his eyes and tried to think…tried to ignore the pain but it was too hard. He wanted to pass out…he wanted to die…he wanted it all to end. Was that too much to ask?

“No, don’t give up. Come on Harry. It’s going to stop soon. Don’t give up,” Lily mumbled through her sobs.

As fast as it came it was gone. Harry’s head fell forward as he sat their, his bindings being the only thing keeping him from falling over. Laughter could be heard but that was the last thing on Harry’s mind. He felt ashamed. All it had taken was one Cruciatus Curse and he had given up. He had asked for death to come. He had failed Sirius and Remus. He had failed Professor Dumbledore.

“No you didn’t. We understand how you felt. The important thing is you didn’t give up,” Remus said hoarsely as he wiped his eyes.

“What a pity,” Voldemort said as he tossed the necklace off to the side. “It seems that Dumbledore has overestimated your worth, Harry Potter. You escaped me all those years ago by luck and nothing else. I will prove my power by killing you right here, right now but not like this. I shall give you a chance to defend yourself, now that I know what you are capable of. Wormtail, untie him. Barty, find his wand.”

Pettigrew and Crouch obeyed. Pettigrew knelt down in front of Harry, pulling the gag out of his mouth before tearing the bindings free with his new silver hand. A cry from Crouch could be heard through the silence alerting Harry that Crouch had found his wand. Before Harry knew what was happening he was roughly pulled to his feet and a wand was shoved into his hand. Raising his head, Harry noticed that the circle of Death Eaters had closed in making any sort of escape impossible. Harry’s grip tightened around his wand as he straightened his glasses on his face. If he was going to die then it would be on his feet. He had one last chance to make Sirius and Remus proud.

“You already make us proud,” Sirius said in a cracked voice, “You are not going to die!”

“I have no doubt that blood traitor of a godfather has taught you how to duel,” Voldemort said quietly. “It will be interesting to learn what else he may have taught you although pranks will be of very little use now.” Several Death Eaters chuckled at the comment. “Bow Harry.”

Harry rolled his eyes and bowed ever so slightly, never taking his eyes off of Voldemort who returned the bow. He knew defiance wasn’t the path to take. Voldemort knew he could physically defend himself but had no idea that his training with Sirius and Remus never consisted of pranks. He needed to think of a plan and keeping Voldemort away seemed like a pretty good one at the moment.

“Yes, Harry. Think. Use everything to your advantage. Especially Voldemort’s confidence,” Remus said a little more encourage by Harry’s change of attitude.

“Now, we duel,” Voldemort said as he raised his wand.

Harry was expecting Voldemort to act fast and ducked as Voldemort sent a quick curse at him. After hearing the screams of the ‘unfortunate’ Death Eater who received the curse instead, Harry knew it was the Cruciatus Curse. Quickly, Harry stood back up and pointed his wand at Voldemort. “Reducto!” he shouted but Voldemort quickly created a shield to deflect the spell.

“Impressive Harry but it will take more than that,” Voldemort said evenly.

Two beams of light shot out of Voldemort’s wand. Harry managed to dodge the first but wasn’t so lucky on the second. Instantly, Harry felt pain flood his body once again. As quickly as possible Harry closed his eyes and retreated inside his mind. The pain suddenly lessened as he fell to his knees. The searing pain throughout his body was now only similar to the pain a broken bone would cause. Harry bit his lower lip to prevent himself from crying out in pain. Eventually it all stopped and Harry finally realized he could taste blood in his mouth. He had bit his lip too hard.

Slowly, Harry looked up at Voldemort who was staring at Harry with narrow eyes. Someone clearly wasn’t happy about the lack of reaction their curse had. “It seems the curse wasn’t strong enough for you,” Voldemort said finally. “No matter. I’m sure with time we can find the correct dose. What do you say, Harry? How would you feel to being just as insane as the Longbottoms?”

“What do you mean by that?” Lily hissed.

Harry remained silent. Did he just say Longbottoms? Focus on the task at hand! Gripping his want tightly, Harry slowly rose to his feet. He was determined to end this on his feet, just like his parents had all those years ago.

“Answer me!” Voldemort shouted. “Imperio!”

The spell hit Harry quickly. Similar to in defense class, Harry felt his freewill leaving him but fought to keep it. Suddenly, Harry felt a warmth fill his body followed by a rush of energy. He remembered this feeling and there was no necklace around his neck to control it. The first feeling of nothingness vanished as he broke the connection of the Imperius Cruse abruptly, sending Voldemort backwards a few steps.

“Yeah! Take that Snake Face!” Sirius yelled.

Voldemort looked at Harry with wide eyes. All of the Death Eaters who could see Harry’s eyes noticed what the Dark Lord was staring at. There was an unnatural glow to those intense green eyes. The power in those eyes was frightening. It was almost as if an extremely old and powerful wizard had placed their eyes and their power into a teenager’s body.

“Perhaps I was too quick to judge you, Harry Potter,” Voldemort said with a smile. “You clearly are powerful. You have thrown off two of the Unforgivables tonight. Join me, Harry. I can give you more than that fool Albus Dumbledore. I can help you train this power into a formidable weapon. Think of what we could do together. Do you honestly believe you are the only magical child that has been mistreated by Muggles? They are beneath us, Harry. They deserve to be destroyed.”

“Ok, this guy is obviously delusional if he thinks there is a chance in Hell that Harry would join him,” James said.

Harry didn’t have to think about it. “I would never join you, Voldemort,” he said, sounding more confident than he felt. “You killed my parents. You are the reason I was sent to live with them in the first place.”

Voldemort let out a hiss in anger as he raised his wand again but Harry was already moving. Pointing his wand at a group of Death Eaters, Harry sent a Reductor Curse at them, creating a hole for him to run through. Curses were fired but somehow Harry knew where they were and was able to move just right so nothing hit him. It was almost like he could feel what was coming. Changing directions, Harry dove for cover then crawled to another headstone and hid behind it.

“You can not change the rules, Harry,” Voldemort scolded loudly as he approached. “I will find you and when I do you will die just like your parents, just like your friend that Barty had to kill because of you.”

“HEY! That was your fault not Harry’s. Don’t try to get him to make a mistake by playing on his guilt,” Sirius said angry.

Harry felt his hands clenched into fists. Voldemort was not going to mess with his mind now. Repositioning his body, Harry inhaled and let out a calming breath as he waited. Voldemort was coming closer. He was ten feet away…five…three…two…one. In the blink of an eye Harry was on his feet, jumping in the air as he pulled his legs to his chest then shot his legs outwards with as much force as he could manage into Voldemort’s chest. Voldemort staggered as Harry landed in a low crouching position.

“Serves you right. Knocked by Muggle methods,” Lily cheered Harry.

The next movement seemed to happen in slow motion. As Harry stood, Voldemort regained his footing. At the same time, their wands raised and pointed at their opponent. Two voices could be heard throughout the graveyard. A teenager’s voice screaming, “Expelliarmus” while the high-pitched voice of Voldemort shouted “Avada Kedavra”. The green light of the killing curse hit the red light of the disarming spell.

Harry suddenly felt his wand vibrating in his hand and tightened his grip. He wouldn’t let go…he couldn’t let go. A beam of gold light suddenly connected the two wands in addition to the red coming from Harry’s wand and green coming from Voldemort’s. Looking up at the Dark Lord, Harry saw that Voldemort was just as shocked as he was.

“What’s going on?” Sirius asked. The other shrugged helplessly.

Just when Harry thought things couldn’t get any stranger, he felt himself being lifted off the ground along with Voldemort and were carried over to a patch of land that was free of headstones. The voices of the Death Eaters could be heard as they asked Voldemort for instructions. They reformed the circle around and pulled out their wands, ready to fire at Harry.

If it were possible, the golden connection between the wands noticed this and immediately splintered into countless strands that arched over Harry and Voldemort, creating a lightened golden dome, separating the two from the Death Eaters. There was no way anyone could interfere with what was happening now. Harry and Voldemort were on their own now.

Voldemort yelled something at his servants but Harry couldn’t make out what it was. He was too focused on keeping hold on his wand as he gripped it tightly with both hands. A sound filled his ears, a familiar sound he knew all too well…it was the sound of a phoenix. Harry closed his eyes and listened. The beautiful sound along with the uncontrollable energy building in him gave him hope. He suddenly remembered the second task, how he had used the second outburst to force a spell out of his wand. Could that work now?

“YES! DO THAT! DO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO!” Remus yelled.

The vibrating of his wand increased drastically. Opening his eyes quickly, Harry saw the beam between the wands had changed shape. There were now large beads of light that was slowly moving its way to Harry’s wand. He had to push it towards Voldemort. Closing his eyes again, Harry focused on his wand and pushing the golden beads. He could feel the beads slowly moving towards Voldemort. He poured more and more of his energy, his focus in completing the task. Slowly, the vibrations of his wand lessened slightly allowing Harry to open his eyes and look up at his opponent.

Voldemort’s wand was now vibrating fiercely as one golden bead connected with the tip of Voldemort’s wand. Faint echoing screams could be heard as what looked like a hand belonging to a dense, grayish ghost emerged from Voldemort’s wand followed by a head, chest and arms. It was the upper body of Cedric Diggory. Harry nearly dropped his wand in shock as he watched the rest of Cedric come out of the wand. He looked too solid to be a ghost but what else could he be?

Cedric stood, glanced at the golden beam connecting the wands then turned to Harry. “Hold on, my friend,” he said, his voice sounding almost like an echo, a reminder of something Harry had forgotten.

“What’s going on?” Sirius asked.

“I have no idea but if it helps Harry I very much don’t care what or why that is happening,” Remus said.

There were more screams as another…being pulled itself out of Voldemort’s wand similar to the way Cedric did. It was an old man that looked strangely familiar but Harry just couldn’t put a name with the face. Why couldn’t he remember? The man had a walking stick in his hand as he leaned on it and took in the sight before him. He moved to Cedric’s side and looked at Voldemort.

“So he is a wizard,” the man said in amazement then turned to Harry. “Keep fighting, boy. He’s the one that killed me.”

Harry was saved from responding by another figure—or whatever they were—coming out of Voldemort’s wand but this one was a woman. This one Harry knew he had never seen before. She was a pump woman, only a little taller than him. She also took in the scene before turning to Harry. “Hang on, Harry,” she said, her voice echoing like Cedric’s and the old man’s. “Don’t you let go!”

“Do as they say Harry,” James cried.

The three figures started to pace around the dome, offering words of encouragement to Harry and words Harry couldn’t hear to Voldemort but from the looks on their faces Harry knew it wasn’t pleasantries. Another head emerged out of Voldemort’s wand and the moment Harry saw it his breath caught in his chest. Nothing could prepare him for this.

“What?” Lily asked.

The grey shadow of a woman with long hair fell to the ground, stood up and looked at him. Harry’s bottom lip was shaking as his eyes filled with tears. It was his mother looking at him. “Hold on, my son,” she said gently. “Your father’s coming…just hold on, my darling boy.”

“Oh, it’s me,” she whispered, “Hold on Harry.”

As his mother finished her plea Harry saw the figure emerge out of Voldemort’s wand. The presence of the untidy hair as the head came out left no doubt in Harry’s mind. James Potter fell to the ground and stood up. He glanced at the beam connecting the wands before approaching Harry, who could feel the tears rolling down his face. It was too much. Harry could feel another burst of energy forming, needing to be released.

“You must stay strong, Harry,” James said, his voice echoing like the others. “Control what you are feeling. Your magic is a part of you, don’t fight it.”

“Yes, Harry. Do as I say. I must become very wise with years ‘cause I absolutely haven’t got a clue of why I am saying that,” James said in a chocked voice.

Harry tried to nod but it was too much. Harry let out a cry as his head flew back and power beyond power shot through his wand, through the golden beam at Voldemort. Suddenly one beam became two…two became four. Voldemort let out a painful shriek but didn’t let go of his wand. Pain filled Harry’s body, especially in his chest. What was happening?

“Break the connection Harry!” James shouted. “You have to!”

“Come on Harry!” Remus cried.

“I can’t!” Harry shouted as he looked at his father. “It won’t let me!”

“Harry, don’t challenge your father!” Sirius cried, “Do as he says!”

“Harry, this is your magic,” said Lily as she approached. “You are the only one who can control it. Break the connection then use this powerful magic you’re feeling to change the Cup into a portkey. Envision the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch clearly in your mind and say Portus. It is the only way for you to escape, my son.”

“Come on Pronglet. If Lily said it it’s true. She knows stuff,” James begged.

Harry nodded but doing so seemed to be easier said than done.

“Harry, please take my body back to my parents,” Cedric said softly. “They need closure, as do you.”

Harry nodded again as another burst of power filled his body but instead of it going threw the wand it seemed to explode. With a loud boom, Harry felt a powerful force ram into his chest sending him flying backwards as the same thing happened to Voldemort. The golden dome vanished as Harry flew through the air at an incredible speed. Before Harry knew it, his back collided with the ground sending more pain throughout his body. His entire body was screaming in pain, his lungs wouldn’t seem to work but Harry knew he had to move.

Slowly, Harry rolled over onto his stomach and looked around to see the Cup and Cedric’s body not too far ahead. Ignoring the protests from his body, Harry pulled himself to his feet and staggered to his destination. His lungs were screaming for air. His head felt too heavy to keep upright. Harry knew he was on the verge of passing out but forced his body to keep moving. He had to do this. His parents and Cedric were counting on him.

When Harry reached his destination, he collapsed to his knees, grabbing Cedric by the sleeve with his left hand and pointing his wand at the cup with his right. Closing his eyes, Harry focused on the Quidditch pitch until he could see it clearly in his mind before muttering, “Portus.” He rested his hand on the Cup and instantly felt a jerk behind his navel. His eyes closed as the graveyard dissolved into a whirl of color. He had done it.

A moment later Harry felt himself slam into the ground, sending more pain throughout his body. He was lying face down on thick grass waiting for the darkness to consume him. Unable to control his limbs anymore, Harry released his hold on Cedric and his wand just as distant sounds filled his ears. Two sets of hands slowly turned him over. A hand touched his face but Harry didn’t move. He had no energy to spare.

“HE DID IT! HE’S SAFE!” Sirius cried with sobs as Remus hugged him. Lily and James were hugging each other and sobbing too.

“Harry, Harry can you here me?” a familiar voice asked frantically. “Harry, please look at me!”

Before Harry could do anything, arms lifted him up and pulled him to the chest of someone. He felt himself being rocked back and forth sending pain throughout his back that had been slammed into a tree and into the ground.

“Stop rocking him moron! He’s hurt!” Sirius cried.

With every ounce of strength he could muster, Harry forced his eyes to open partially and saw that it was Sirius who was rocking him.

Remus raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I am a moron. What can I do? TAKE HIM TO THE INFIRMARY!”

He knew he didn’t have a lot of time. It didn’t take a genius to know if you couldn’t breathe, you would die. Slowly, Harry reached up with his left hand and loosely grabbed Sirius’ cloak, causing his godfather to jump in shock and look down at Harry in relief.

“Harry, you scared me,” Sirius said quickly. “Just hang on. Poppy’s coming.”

“S—Sirius, I—I tried,” Harry croaked out weakly. The already dim lighting seemed to be decreasing into darkness. “P—Petti—grew…Crouch…I tried…to save…Cedric…I’m…sorry…He’s…back…They…brought…him…back…” The pain, exhaustion and lack of air became too much for Harry as his arm went limp, releasing Sirius’ cloak and falling to the ground. Harry’s eyes closed as his head lolled backwards. No breath escaped his lips.

“NO!” they four cried.

“DO SOMETHING!” James yelled.

No one would be able to forget the scene before their eyes for as long as they lived as they watched Sirius Black with tears rolling down his face begging his limp godson to come back. Remus Lupin was finally able to pry the-boy-who-lived out of Sirius’ arms and rush him to the hospital wing in a desperate attempt to save his life. Cedric Diggory was pronounced dead and it looked like Harry Potter was only moments away from following him. No one at Hogwarts felt like celebrating.

They were all sobbing uncontrolled and without embarrassment. Sirius was afraid to turn the page and find out that Remus attempt had been in vain.