Chapter 1: On the Hogwarts Grounds
Voldemort let out a piercing laugh, sending his chilly breath into the air of the warm summer Hogwarts grounds. “Oh Harry!” Voldemort called out, “I forgot to ask you; isn’t it your birthday today?” He laughed. “How’s death for a birthday present?”
Harry and Voldemort were feet away facing each other right near the Whomping Willow. Ron. Ginny, and Neville, that had gotten a lot braver and stronger throughout their sixth and seventh years, were busy fighting Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. The adult Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix were fighting within the Dark Forest, but had been missing for about an hour now. Just like there was a DA, Malfoy thought up and created a DEA; Death Eater’s Army, which consisted mostly of Slytherin students at Hogwarts. In the distance, Luna Lovegood was spotted dueling against Millicent Bullstrode. To Harry’s left, he could see Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbot fighting against a few Slytherin students Harry recognized from the Slytherin Quidditch Team. He felt braver seeing all of his fellow DA friends fighting with him, they had all gotten extremely good, and from what he could see out of the corner of his eyes, the DA was doing a lot better than the DEA.
“Actually Tom, tomorrow’s my birthday. Thanks for remembering, though. And the only time I expect death to be a present for me is when it’s my rightful time to go. I’d say, 90 years old sounds good doesn’t it?” Harry responded lightly. He and Voldemort had been standing there for quite some time, speaking”rudely, yet still speaking as if they had been old time competitors; which in a way…they were.
“Tom? How dare you…who do you think you are calling me by my filthy muggle father’s name? And as I see it, you’re taking this very lightly. Why?”
“Well, Tom”oops, sorry, Voldemort, it’s just you standing here. Your Death Eaters aren’t here to help you. And, uh, as you can see, your little followers aren’t doing that great of a job.” As he said this, Goyle was thrown 30 feet across where Voldemort and Harry had been speaking. Harry let out a chortle. “Honestly, I’ve seen you so many times in my life. The point of the story is always the same…you want to kill me. We both know why, and let’s face it, as much as you want to kill me, we both know for some odd reason you can’t.” Harry said this with somewhat of a bored voice, however he knew very well why Voldemort failed to kill him. According to the prophecy Dumbledore had told Harry about, Voldemort and Harry would either both have to live…or both have to die. Harry gulped at the thought, and remembering Dumbledore at St. Mungo’s, gulped again. ‘Dumbledore is still the greatest wizard alive. It’s just his old age that’s getting to him. But the Healers said he would get better.’ Harry reassured himself.
“It’s true, young Potter. For some reason you have always escaped my wrath. I think you know why, too.” Voldemort spoke softly, but the next moment, Harry felt a sharp blinding pain inside his head. He knew immediately what was happening; Voldemort was trying to get inside Harry’s head. However, after Sirius’s death, Harry had made it his deepest responsibility to not only learn Occlumency, but to perfect it. Voldemort did not know of this, and when Harry turned back the spell and hit Voldemort with a hard force, and broke inside his head, Voldemort actually stumbled back a few feet. The next few images were short, yet Harry locked them in his memory. It was of the Order; they were captured and locked up with magical chains in the back of the dark forest. Harry could see the Death Eaters standing around laughing, and heard Lucius Malfoy’s voice amongst them. “Let’s head back in a few minutes shall we? The Dark Lord must be annoyed standing around there with all those pests.”
“POTTER! That was a wrong move…” Voldemort was obviously angry at Harry’s attempt to break into his mind. Harry on the other hand, ignoring the blinding pains, could hear his heart beating faster. Was the Order in serious trouble? If the adult Death Eaters joined in, the DA seriously wouldn’t stand a chance…and with Dumbledore in St. Mungo’s…
“Expelliarmus!” Voldemort’s voice boomed. Harry immediately snapped out of his thoughts as he felt his wand being released from his hand. It flew a few feet to his right, just as Hermione stumbled back a few feet and fell on her back from one of Malfoy’s spells. Malfoy laughed as Harry picked up his wand and ran to Hermione’s side.
“She won’t wake right away, Potter. That’s the fifth Stunner Spell that I hit her with straight in the chest. Quite proud of myself, actually. For a mudblood, she was quite a difficult dueler.” Malfoy smirked and then turned respectfully towards Voldemort. “My most powerful Lord, would you like me to take over with this filthy excuse of a wizard?” Harry felt his anger rise.
Voldemort chuckled. “Why, go ahead Draco. I’ve wasted enough time on this pathetic soul. I’m quite impressed”I might add. I shall let your father know of your accomplishment.” With a turn of his black cloak, Voldemort disappeared. Harry knew he couldn’t have apparated…nobody can apparate on Hogwarts grounds. But where did he go?