Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 03: The End of an Era, Part 2
Harry didn't respond to Voldemort's question. Whatever he said was only going to make things worse. At this point, his chances of survival were slim to none… he had already accepted this.
"Too scared to speak, Potter?" Voldemort chuckled, and his followers did the same.
Harry clenched his teeth. He knew this was a mistake, but he had been made fun of during the entire year, and all that anger seemed to have been accumulating.
"Shut up!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "You are all so brave while I am disarmed and tied to this statue!"
That shut them up, at least.
"Are you calling me a coward, Potter?" There was no longer any amusement in Voldemort's voice. He aimed his wand directly at him.
Harry wanted to close his eyes and wait for everything to be over, but he didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing any fear in him, so he kept his eyes locked onto Voldemort's red pupils as if he were further challenging him.
Voldemort gave his wand a simple wave, and the restraints that were securing him to the statue vanished in an instant, allowing his body to fall onto the ground.
"Urgg!" Harry barely managed to protect his face from the fall, although it still hurt.
"Go on, Potter. Pick up your wand and face me like a man," Voldemort urged him.
Harry stood up. 'Where is my wand?' He was sure he had seen it before while looking around.
'There!' He found it next to the body of Cedric.
Voldemort didn't seem interested in attacking him while he ran across the cemetery.
And neither did his followers.
Dozens of eyes were on Harry, watching his every move. Peeking at him as he knelt down to grab his wand and pointed it back at Voldemort.
"Good. Now we can start… do you know how to duel, Potter?" Voldemort asked him.
"Duel?..." He was expecting to be attacked immediately, not to be asked something like that.
'This must be just a game for him,' Harry thought.
"Yes, a duel. We face each other and bow. Then we start. I assume you know how to bow already." The amusement seemed to have returned to his tone.
"I know..." He wanted to say that he knew how to duel. It was one of the only useful things he had learned from Lockhart.
Voldemort was now facing him directly, around twenty-five feet away or so. He gave him a gesture and then bowed slightly. "Well?..."
Harry did the same but didn't take his eyes off the Dark Lord.
Voldemort grinned. "Now we can begin." His wand hand moved like lightning and produced a spell with a yellow spark.
Harry moved out of the way and felt the grassy ground behind him exploding.
'I almost died…' Had he moved a bit later, 'then it would be over.'
He wondered what was the point of fighting this monster. He had never been trained to win a duel like this one. Dumbledore had given him a lot of advice but never tried to teach him how to fight.
Either the old man didn't think that Harry would ever have to face Voldemort directly, or… he didn't believe there was any possibility for him to win, even with training, so it was a waste of time.
Just by chance, he caught a glimpse of something shining on the grass.
'The portkey cup!' Harry's eyes opened wide. For once, he saw a way out of here.
He could not win, but if he could distract Voldemort for just a moment, he may be able to use a spell to bring the cup to him and escape.
'Maybe take Cedric's body with me.'
Harry aimed his wand at Voldemort and performed the wand movement of his best spell. Now he had to say the words 'Expelliarmus.'
However, for a moment, his mind went somewhere else. He thought about what would happen if he went back with a dead Cedric and told everyone that Wormtail killed him before bringing Voldemort back to life.
Even his best friend didn't believe he didn't put his name in the Goblet.
'They will never believe my story… they will all turn against me… again. They will blame me for Cedric death...'
The words 'Liar', 'Traitor', and 'Cheater' keep resonating in his mind.
"Crucio!" Voldemort hollered.
It was just for a moment, but Harry had lost track of what his opponent was doing. He didn't even see the curse being cast. But he did feel the effects on his body.
"Ahhhh!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as he experienced the worst pain of his short life.
Harry felt the cold grass touching his neck as he fell back. He had no idea where his wand had gone and couldn't prevent his body from shaking.
"Getting distracted during a duel, Potter?" Voldemort shook his head. He had, of course, noticed that Harry's mind was not in the fight. "I am offended and disappointed."
Harry moved his head a bit so he could see Voldemort. The Dark Lord was now standing over him.
His body refused to move, other than from trembling. At this point, he didn't know if he was trembling from the curse or from fear.
He opened his mouth to speak but could not form any words.
'He does look disappointed.' Harry had no idea why that thought came to his mind when he saw Voldemort's face. But it was true.
Perhaps the Dark Lord was expecting a fierce duel to occur tonight? If that was the case, then Voldemort was truly naive.
Voldemort's wand was aimed at him once more.
Harry knew this was it. There are no more miracles for him. He was not going to be given another chance to fight. He had wasted the one he had by hesitating, even though it had only been a second.
This time, he closed his eyes.
"Pathetic… truly pathetic," Voldemort spat the words. "So be it. Avada Kedavra!"
Harry could barely perceive the green light from the Killing Curse with his eyes closed.
It was like a flash of light, and then… nothing but darkness.