quot;And now our youngest champion, Harry Potter! There is only one path left. Best of luck young lad!"

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"I don't know ma'am." Mallie answered. "Quinlan was being quite aloft about the trailing ship. All he said was that they'd found the source of the disturbance you and Master Yoda felt emanating from Odessan and was bringing it with them."

Pursing her lips, Nox looked up at the sky as she reached out with the Force. Even from this distance, she could faintly sense Quinlan and Asajj. As well as one other. One who was almost as powerful as the two of them put together. 'Hmm…who have you brought back with you Vos?'

"Tell him to land on the southern platform. And he'd better have a good reason for all this secrecy. We can't just be bringing anything and everyone here whenever we find them. Oh, and tell Yoda and Kenobi to get off their asses and meet up with us on the south landing dock. Something tells me those two might be needed for what's coming."

"Yes ma'am. I'll send the messages. Mallie out." Mallie's holographic representation bowed before winking out of existence.

"What's he bringing back with him?"

"Not what, but rather who is the better question luv." Nox responded before turning towards Aela and Remus. "Finish loading the ship and get ready to depart. You two will be taking command of the ship for this expedition as you probably have the most flight time out of everyone else here save for our former Jedi friends." After getting a nod from the two, Nox turned and gripped Tonks' arm. "And you're coming with me luv."

A quick turn and Nox had apparated the two of them to the south platform on the opposite side of the Temple. "Merlin's fucking balls Nox!" Tonks cried. "I'm used to apparating and all…but still. A bit of warning before side-along apparation is appreciated!"

"I'll keep that in mind for next time." Nox said as Kenobi, followed quickly by Yoda, cracked into existence next to the two of them.

"Master Nox." Kenobi greeted her kindly while Yoda merely nodded. "Are you expecting trouble?"

"With Quinlan…that might almost be a guarantee Kenobi." Nox shrugged, drawing the slightest bit of a grin out of Kenobi. "But no. I don't think he's bringing trouble back with him today. Rather…I just have this feeling that you two need to be here for this."

The two looked at her curiously before turning their eyes to the sky. In the distance, two small ships could be seen cutting through the clouds and heading towards the temple.

"Unless I'm seeing something…I do believe that that is a old Republic T-6 Shuttle." Kenobi mused as they watched the ships descend towards them. "What in blazes is it doing all the way out here?"

Shaking her head, Nox shot an amused glance towards the human. "Probably the same thing you are Kenobi."

"Point taken." Kenobi conceded as the two ships touched down lightly onto the landing pads.

As expected, Quinlan and Asajj quickly emerged from the Howling Wind, but the one who exited from the second ship made even Nox pause. She was, quite frankly, one of the most attractive women Nox had ever come across in her entire life. She looked almost human, save for her slightly elongated and pointed ears.

Her long blond hair waved slightly in the wind, emphasizing an almost ageless face. But it wasn't just the surface of the woman that drew Nox's attention. It was her power. She was incredibly powerful in the light to be sure. But it was tempered by a slight darkness within in a manner that reminded her almost exactly of the Hero of Tython Aedan.

"Master Fay."

Turning her head, she found Yoda staring at the woman with happiness while Kenobi…Kenobi looked like he'd just seen a ghost. "Master Yoda, Master Kenobi. I'm glad that you're both still alive." The newly named Fay said in a soothingly calm voice as she walked forward with Quinlan and Asajj. When Nox met the woman's eyes however Fay stopped in her tracks. "You are the one…the one who sent the warning through the Force a saved dozens if not hundreds of Jedi."

"Yes." Nox answered simply. "I am Ziri Nox, former Darth of the Dark Council of the Sith Empire and now I am the Grandmaster of the newly formed Guardian Order."

Fay's eyebrows scrunched together as she stared at Nox not necessarily in anger, but more as if Nox had suddenly become a puzzle for her to solve. "I was not expecting our savior to be a Sith…even a former Sith."

Nox couldn't help but laugh. "Trust me. I certainly wasn't expecting to be the one to save the Jedi either."

"Master Fay." Kenobi stuttered, stepping forward. "How? I– I felt you die in my arms after Ventress…"

"After I stabbed her through the chest." Asajj finished. "I don't deny my past Kenobi."

Kenobi's face twitched. "Right, but still Master Fay. How are you still alive? Not that I'm not happy to see you, I am. It's just…I felt your essence fade into the Force."

Taking a step forward, Fay reached out and grabbed Kenobi's hand before pressing it to her face. "As you can feel, I am still flesh and blood Master Kenobi. And as for why I'm still alive…the Force wasn't ready for me to pass on yet and so I remained. It is a lot easier to concentrate on healing oneself when everyone is ignoring you because they think you're dead.

"I lowered my heart rate to the point of almost nonexistence and then projected my essence out, making it seem as if it's left my body. After that, I crawled into a cave and entered a deep state of meditation in order to heal the damage done to my body."

Pausing, Fay nodded towards Nox. "The warning this one sent through the Force jolted me out of my trance. But by the time I could get moving again, it was too late. And the Jedi were gone. And I was alone."

Once Fay had finished her tale, Yoda hobbled forward before reaching out with his stick and striking her in the knee. "Alone, you are not." Yoda hummed. "Lost many brethren we have. But lost, we are not. Evolve, change the Jedi must. But alone we shall never be. Allow it, the Force will not. Evident of us standing here, the will of the Force is."

Fay stared down at the diminutive Jedi. "You're right Master Yoda." She sighed before looking up at Nox and tilting her head to the side.

Nox could feel the woman reach through the Force at her, trying to get a read on her for a moment before retreating. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Nox growled. "Because if you try that shit again with me I'll turn you into a rat and make it permanent."

Fay blinked. Apparently the woman wasn't used to being caught snooping. "Forgive me. But…you are not at all what I expected from a Sith. Even a former Sith at that."

"Really?" Nox asked dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well sorry to disappoint. I left my portable torturing kit and blood stained cloak back in my room."

"That is not what I meant. And you know it." Fay responded which a chuckled. "There is darkness within you yes. A dominating darkness that encompasses your entire being. But it is controlled in such a manner that I have never seen. It doesn't control you. There's a light within you…love."

"Yes, yes," Nox said dismissively. "I've heard all of this and seeing as how these four are apparently willing to vouch for you, you can stay here. And I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to study me to your heart's content latter. But for now, Winky!"

"Yes Mistress Nox?" Winky asked, appearing by her side out of thin air.

Nox had been hoping to surprise Fay, but much to her disappointment the near-human Jedi merely raised an eyebrow at the sudden appearance of the elf. "Please prepare a room for Master Fay here."

Winky turned to look up at Fay before beaming and running forward to grasp her hand. "Yes Mistress! Winky takes cares of Mistress Fay! Winky bes the bests caretaker ever! What would Mistress Fay like in hers room?"

Fay tilted her head clearly lost as the little house elf began to drag her by the hand across the tarmac and towards the entrance to the tunnel. Once they were out of sight, Nox rounded on Quinlan and Asajj. "Don't ever do this again."

Quinlan and Asajj turned to one another, clearly confused by the sudden hostilities in her voice. "What?"

Spreading her fingers, Nox wrapping both of them up a Force Stasis and holding them a full meter off the ground. Kenobi made to reach for his lightsaber, but was stopped as Yoda's cane shot out and blocked his path.

"Never bring someone here without informing either myself or Yoda again." Nox growled. "Do you two even realize what you could've done? Our whole existence is owed to our ability to stay hidden. Your actions, while honorable, could've led to our doom. Suppose that she'd been compromised by the Sith and was sent as a spy to try and find us out?" That made Quinlan's eyes widen.

Obviously he hadn't thought about that chance. But judging by the glare that Asajj was sending him, she had. Letting go of the Force stasis, she let the two drop to the ground.

"Now get out of my sight." Nox growled, turning her back on the two and purposefully walking away with Tonks trailing after her hurriedly.

"Nox?" Tonks called out hesitantly as the two walked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Nox growled before stopping in her tracks. "Just amazed. Even after nearly four millennia the stupidity of some Jedi and Sith remain. But…while we're on the topic of being alright…shall you let me know why you're so hot and bothered?"

"What?" Tonks reeled, back peddling away from her. "I– I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me luv." Nox cooed, licking her lips as she stepped towards the younger woman. "I can sense your feelings. You get a little jolt each time you look at Aayla and several others. Your dreams are morphing as well and I've heard more than just my name passing by your lips as you sleep. And just now with Fay…well I don't blame you with her. She is incredibly attractive. Enough so to put even a veela to shame."

Reaching out quickly, Nox pulled Tonks flush against her, her anger at Vos and Ventress quickly being replaced by something else as she fed off the arousal emanating off of her lover as she spoke. "So tell me…what floated into that pretty little head of yours when you saw Fay hmm? Perhaps an image of me and her laying on our backs while you-"

Pressing her hands against Nox, Tonks pushed herself away. Her face completely red and her breathing more than slightly labored. "Right. I'm going to go and take a cold shower…a really cold shower!" She shuddered before disappearing with a slightly louder than normal crack.

Smiling to herself, Nox stood on the platform licking her lips as the memories she'd shared with both Ashara and more recently with Tonks raced through her mind. 'Ashara…I think I found your reincarnated soul in human form.' Normally Nox would've let it end at that…but the memories wouldn't leave her be and she turned on her heel and apparated to her room.

The first thing she noticed when the world stopped spinning was the line of clothes leading from the center of her chambers to the joining bathroom. The second was the sound of water running. And third was the unmistakable sound that was filling the room just under the sound of running water.

Shedding her outer robe, Nox dropped one piece of clothing after another adding to the line heading into the bathroom so that by the time she entered the brightly lit room she was completely bare. Inside she found Tonks standing in the middle of the large shower letting the steaming water run over her as she…took matters into her own hands.

'Well now…waste not want not.'

Stepping silently into the shower, an easy feet with the water running the sounds Tonks was making, Nox waited until she was just behind her lover before making her move. Grabbing Tonks by the shoulders, she pressed through the young woman against the tiled shower wall and pinned her there. "So…this is your 'cold shower' huh?" She smirked.

Tonks gasped at her and struggled slightly against Nox's hold on her. "Ziri…I-"

"Shhh…it's alright lover." Nox cooed before letting her hand slide down Tonks body before sliding under Tonks hand. "You never need to feel ashamed with me."

Tonks' eyes widened and a low groan rumbled in her throat as Nox curled her fingers. "Ziri…"

"So tell me Nymph…which one was it?" Nox asked in a completely normal tone as if they were talking about the weather. "Is it Aayla? Or our new arrival Fay? Or perhaps it's my son and Ahsoka if you're feeling adventurous hmm? Master Kenobi? Remus and Aela…maybe even while their beast blood is clouding their minds? Or maybe it's all of them at once no? Although that could probably get quite tiring…not to mention the sweet soreness you'd feel the next day."

Tonks' head fell back against the tiles as she groaned. "Morgana…Ziri…please…"

"Nope, not yet." Nox smirked, backing off and letting the storm within Tonks dissipate slightly. "Not until you tell me which one."

Tonks groaned again, her head swinging from side to side hard enough for her hair to fly around. "Morgana tits! You! It's you! An– and oh– A– Aayla! You and Aayla! And…and maybe…now…Fay…"

"There," Nox cooed, increasing her pressure and pace. "That wasn't so hard to admit was it? And both of them hmm?"

"You…" Tonks panted, her body shaking as Nox expertly controlled her. "Only…you…"

"Now now…no need for that." Nox continued. "You're mine…and I'm yours. But…that doesn't mean we must limit ourselves does it? As long as you talk," she accented with a hard thrust, "to me about it first. I am rather open minded about such things. I did tell you about the time Ashara and I 'split' a pair of twi'lek dancers didn't I? I bet we could create our own memory of such an event with Aayla and Fay."

Nox smiled as she felt Tonks clench even tighter. "Ah…so that thought does do something doesn't it? I must say…it does quite a bit for me as well. And I so do love a challenge. And conquering two Jedi legends…hmm what a fun challenge no?"

Standing on the bridge of Wolfsbane just before the main viewport, Aela gazed out the window at the mass of asteroids that made up the asteroid belt floated by just a few hundred meters before them. Straight in front of them, nearly two kilometers into the belt floated the asteroid that they were going to be landing on. It was enormous. And far more menacing up close than it'd looked on a projection. The pilot's voice at the helm interrupted her thoughts as she gazed out the window.

"Ma'am, we have a course plotted and are ready to begin maneuvers."

Without taking her eyes off of the large asteroid, Aela nodded to her helmsman. "Very well. Take us to the edge of the belt at half sub-light."

"Aye aye ma'am."

It'd taken nearly ten days, three days longer than she'd planned, in order to find the large asteroid. But in her mind, the three days had been worth it. During those days she had her helmsmen and helmswomen practice maneuvers through the outer ring of the asteroid belt. And save for one instance where the ship had been dinged by a small asteroid, which luckily resulted in no structural damage thanks to the numerous runic enchantments running between the plating of the hull, her men had done remarkably well. But this time, this time they would be traveling far further into the belt than they had before. Even magic had its limitations. If they were to hit a big enough asteroid, the strain on the runic arrays could cause them to collapse.

She knew that in part, this was a test for her. Nox had had her running more simulations than she could remember ever since they'd returned from the greater galaxy. Nox had been training Aela. And this was her final test. And with no help from any of the experience spacers, the Guardians for example, this was quite literal sink or swim time for her. The only problem was…if she sunk she would be taking nearly a hundred of her brethren down with her. Not to mention the five or so goblins that Ragnok had insisted join her and her crew.

Turning her back on the viewport, she made her way back to her captain's seat. The bridge of the Wolfsbane was unlike anything she'd seen in the few science fiction movies she'd watched.

The bridge was long, just over a third as long as the ship itself. At the very bow of the ship was the helmsman's spot, which had terminals for one pilot and two co-pilots. All the rest of the terminals that control every facet of the ship: mechanical, electrical or even magical, lined either side of the bridge leaving the center of the bridge almost completely devoid of obstruction save for a large half-runic half-muggle table which could create three-dimensional holographic map of the surrounding space, or of the ship itself. And near the back of the command table was what she'd come to call the "captain's spot". Which was nothing more than a single chair that could be moved back and forth and a control panel to control the holographic display.

Standing next to her seat was Remus. Although truthfully the only reason he wasn't sitting in the seat was because he'd turned the position down when Madam Nox had offered it to him. A fact that irked Aela more than slightly. She loved her gentle wolf. She truly did. But sometimes his lack of ambition was more than slightly maddening. So now, instead of commanding the ship, her wolf acted more in a support/magical consultant role.

"Remus," she greeted him before sitting down in her seat. "How are the runes holding up?"

Nodding, Remus held up a datapad and started flipping through it. "Good. Although I have to say I'm more than a little nervous about this whole endeavor. That little hit we took a day ago really opened our eyes to just how quickly unbreakable charms and runic arrays can deplete if put under enough stress. After all, nothing lasts forever. Not even magic. I fear we're going to have to go back to the drawing board with some of our runic designs. We're going to have to go back and refocus on kinetic energy absorption…maybe if we adjust the rune scheme here and add a charm…no that would disrupt the matrix…hmm."

Smiling slightly to herself, Aela tuned Remus out as she refocused on the path before them. Besides, she doubted that anything short of her stripping naked and dancing in front of him would knock Remus out of his thoughts at the moment. Pressing a few commands on her terminal the holographic display, which had been showing a representation of the Wolfsbane, shifted to give her a 3D view of the asteroid field and their desired path. Truthfully, Aela had no idea just how Nox had managed to put together this piece of magic and technology…but it was bloody well brilliant.

"Adjust course," she called out as a small asteroid floated into their path and the computer reconfigured their path. "Three-point-five degree downward burn for twenty seconds then correct course."

Wolfsbane tilted downwards on her command, barely missing the asteroid roughly the size of a large semi-truck before tilting back upwards and readjusting to follow their original course.

With that obstacle out of the way Aela kept a constant watch for any other smaller asteroids that might bar their path. "Ma'am, we've got a clear run at the target." One of the crewmen from along the side wall said from his spot controlling the ship.

Nodding, Aela expanded the map before her to double check. "Bring us up alongside the asteroid." She ordered. "I want us parallel with the asteroid half a kilometer off its surface until we find a landing zone."

Her crew quickly took to her orders, leveling out the ship so that they were running parallel alongside the asteroid. Adjusting the display, Aela focused in on the asteroid, trusting in her crew to continue scanning for any smaller asteroids that might be coming their way.

"There," Remus called out, pointing towards a large flat spot on the asteroid. "That looks like a good spot to set up camp."

"I agree," she nodded as she took note of the location and calling out for the pilot to change his course. "Now comes the tricky part. Landing this bird on a flying brick floating through space." And unfortunately, there was nothing she could do at the moment. It was entirely in the hands of her pilots.

Watching the asteroid getting steadily larger in the viewport, Aela couldn't help it as her hand clenched tightly over Remus's as her heart began to beat heavily in her chest. On the hologram, a small representation of the ship appeared alongside the asteroid as a line was placed between the two, indicating the rapidly shrinking distance between them.

When there was less than ten meters separating the two, the ship jerked almost violently as the landing thrusters were engaged and the ship came almost to a complete stop before suddenly dropping again and landing hard against the asteroid. "Sorry 'bout that!" A voice yelled from the bow of the ship. "Still need ta work on me landin'."

"If you broke anything then it's coming out of your pay." Aela growled as she righted herself and changed the display back to an overview of the ship. "Damage report."

"The runic array held strong ma'am." One of the crew reported. "No structural damage to the outer hull."

"We might need to take a hammer to da landing struts to straighten em out." Another reported. "But that's 'bout it."

"Good," Aela nodded, walking forward to the pilot seats and staring out the window. It was…surreal. Here they were, on a ship parked on top of an asteroid watching as hundreds of other smaller asteroids passed them by. "Get a team ready to head out." She called out over her shoulder. "I want a full visual damage report as well as a geographical survey of the immediate area on my desk by the end of the day."

"Aye aye ma'am!"

Walking with his fellow champions, Harry made his way out of Hogwarts and down towards the Quidditch pitch as, for once, the sun shone brightly in the late April weather. For Harry's part, he could hardly believe that the time for the third and final task of the tournament was only two weeks away already. The past two months had completely flown by.

Which was understandable considering that Harry's every day consisted of waking up, eating, going to class, training with Ginny or in a group with the others, studying, meditative sleep and repeat. The only time his schedule changed at all was during the weekend when he was at the Temple. And even then the only thing that changed for him was the fact that he had the chance to slip away with Ahsoka for a little bit of time.

Thinking of the Temple brought his mind back around to the newest member of the Guardians. Master Fay. In many ways, the strange former Jedi reminded Harry of his mother. She was witty and incredibly knowledgeable. But unlike his mother, who usually wore her emotions on her sleeve, Fay was serene. But despite her apparent calmness, Harry could sense the will of steel underneath her calm exterior. She was in a word, fascinating. And not just because she was physically angelic in a way that put even Fleur to shame. Of course, in his mind no one could beat Ahsoka. She was in a league of her own to him.

Speaking of Ahsoka, just thinking of how his togruta girlfriend and Maris acted around the fabled Master was amusing. The two practically worshiped the ground upon which the Master walked. Apparently Master Fay had been a legend amongst the Jedi. She spent hardly any time amongst the actual Jedi, preferring instead to float amongst the stars going and going where she was needed. Another interesting fact about Master Fay was the fact that she had never bother to create or even hold a lightsaber ever since she was raised to the rank of Jedi Knight. Instead, she relied on her vast knowledge of the Force when in a confrontation.

And because of her reliance on the Force, as soon as she got her hands on a wand, a custom made order by Ollivander in which he actually used several of her hairs after commenting on how remarkably similar she was to a veela, she was unstoppable. Any spell that was put forth to her, she could perform flawlessly. She even managed to create a fully corporeal patronus; which took on the form of some avian that Harry didn't recognize, after only three attempts at the spell! Not even Master Yoda had been able to create a fully corporeal patronus so quickly, although it still only took the diminutive Jedi two weeks to master the charm.

Hearing a loud screeching cry, the four champions looked up towards the sky was they walked. "If I'm not mistaken…that is a red kite." Fleur mused as they watched the bird circle around before diving down and disappearing into the trees of the Forbidden Forest. "Truly magnificent."

"Yeah," Harry murmured silently with a grin. "She is."

Of course, it wasn't really a red kite. But rather Susan who'd apparently decided to take a midday flight. That had been another development over the past two months that'd truly surprised Harry. Almost simultaneously Susan, Daphne, Ginny, Hermione and Luna all managed to perfect their animagus transformations. Susan was a red kite. Daphne was a white-tailed eagle. Ginny was a merlin falcon. Hermione, predictably enough, was a raven. And Luna was a snowy white owl, much to Hedwig's chagrin who'd taken great offense when Luna had shown up in the owlery and tried to befriend Harry's familiar.

'Of course, those three aren't the only ones who managed to finalize their transformations.' Harry thought with a grin as he recalled the week after the second task when he'd gone back to the Temple for the weekend only to find Ahsoka sitting and waiting for him in his room. Before he'd even managed to utter a greeting, she'd crossed the space between them, pressed a light kiss to his lips, and then stepped back and disappeared from his sight. Although she didn't disappear, rather she'd shrunk into the form of a large bird that he'd come to learn was a Corellian banshee.

For nearly ten minutes he could do little more than stand there and stare at her, completely dumbfounded. Finally having grown fed up with waiting for him, Ahsoka had flapped her wings and made her way over towards the balcony railing. Once there, she shot a look at him as if asking, "are you coming?" before dropping out of sight.

Harry didn't even remember crossing the distance to the balcony, nor transforming into his phoenix form. All he remembered was the feeling of elation as the two of them flew circles around each other all over the Temple. Unfortunately staying in his memories was not to be

"Harry? You still with us?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded, giving his head a brief shake before focusing back in on Cedric. "Sorry. Head's in the clouds right now." Harry smiled at the private joke.

Cedric gave him a strange look for a moment, but then shrugged and continued walking. "Well best get it back down to Earth here. Unless you don't want to know what the third task is going to entail that is."

Harry already had a good idea about what the third task. You'd have to be completely brain dead or blind not to notice the hedges that Hagrid and Sprout had been tending to ever since the end of the second task. "Five galleons says that it's going to be a maze of some sort." Harry called out, drawing several sharp looks. "Any takers?"

Viktor shook his head, as did Fleur. Cedric pursed his lips, but nodded and held out his hand for Harry to shake. As the four walked through the outer ring of the Quidditch stands, Harry heard Cedric curse as the older champion began digging through his robes. "Lucky guess." Cedric grumbled as he handed over the five galleons to Harry.

'Not really.' Harry thought as he pocketed the galleons. 'Considering I've already flown over the maze in my phoenix form during the night and have already memorized most of the paths through.'

Near the entrance of the maze stood the five judges, each of whom were standing with their backs to the maze as they watched the four champions come closer. As usual, Ludo was the first to greet them, his ever present grin never fading from his face. "Welcome champions! Take a good look around you…because by this weekend this area will be unrecognizable. Any of you care to take a guess at just what your task shall entail?"

"It's a maze." Viktor grumbled, staring at the hedges which, when inspected closely, were visibly growing.

"Exactly right my boy!" Ludo clapped happily. "A maze. A giant maze which will stretch throughout the entirety of the Quidditch pitch and even slightly beyond. And in the center of the maze will be your object. The Triwizard Trophy! The first to reach the cup will be declared the winner."

"The points you have obtained will be used to determine the order in which you will be allowed to enter the maze." Umbridge continued, her face faltering slightly. "However….seeing as how you all decided to violate the spirit of the tournament in the second task, only the scores from the first task shall be counted. Therefore, Mr. Krum. At forty-five points you have the lead and have the honor of entering the maze first. Mr. Diggory, at forty-four you shall be entering second. Ms. Fleur, with thirty-six points you shall enter third. And Mr. Potter…as you have only managed to acquire thirty-four points during the first task you shall be entering last."

"You will be entering in the order given at five minute intervals." Maxime took over, shooting Umbridge a look. "Within the maze you shall be tested by various enchantments, magical creatures and magical plants. You knowledge and skill shall truly be put to the test within."

"There is also the possibility that you will encounter one another within." Karkaroff added. "To that we have this to say…there can be only one champion. However…the use of lethal spells or the Unforgivable Curses is strictly forbidden. Violation of this rule will result in your immediate expulsion from the maze and subsequent disqualification."

"And lastly," Dumbledore continued. "The maze is ever shifting. Even while you four are traversing it the maze will shift. Not even we five, who designed the maze and the traps within, know the exact layout. Now, should you encounter something that you are unable to pass through, or if you should wish to be withdrawn, you simply need to raise your wand and send up a flare of red sparks and you will be extracted from the maze by one of the watchers. Now…are there any questions you four might have?"

The four champions looked at one another. "How do we know when the competition is over Headmaster?" Cedric asked. "If the task is over once a single person reaches the center, how will the rest of us know?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "An excellent question Mr. Diggory. Each of you will be bringing in with you a small one time use portkey, just like you did in the first task. Should you fall unconscious it will remove you from the maze, which will constitute a forfeit. And once a single person touches the Champion's Trophy, your portkeys will begin to pulse for ten seconds to give you all a warning before removing you from the maze. Any other questions? No? Well then champions…I wish you all the very best of luck."

Sitting in his high backed chair, the twisted form of what was once the most powerful Dark Lord since the time of Morgana, idly stroked the scales of his beloved familiar as he watched the flames eat away at the logs in the low burning fire before him. The anxiety within him had been building up to the point of almost being uncontrollable for weeks now. Nearly three years of carefully cultivated planning was about to come to fruition. And soon he would be whole once more and able to continue on his noble crusade.

Hearing the door to his sanctuary open, he felt out the presence behind him, recognizing who it was almost immediately. "Come…Luciusss. And tell me…your newsss."

Walking around his chair, Lucius knelt before him, keeping his head lowered so he would not look him in the eye. 'Foolish.' Voldemort thought. 'As if I needed legilimency to know your mind Lucius. You seek my power. My knowledge. How foolish. What I have and am is not mine to give.'

Lucius was a useful tool, perhaps not as powerful as some of his more devout followers like his sword Bellatrix. But the monetary and political advantage he brought more than made up for that. But his failures as of late had been testing that. The fool was rapidly losing his usefulness. And already Voldemort was contemplating on just who would replace him. His son perhaps? Not nearly as powerful as his father, but if Potter and the girl Tonks were taken out then young Draco would stand to inherit both the Malfoy family and the Black family name.

"My lord, your request has been fulfilled. All of the necessary components for the ritual have been gathered and prepared." Lucius said clearly. "And we have assurances that Potter will be brought before you at the designated time."

Voldemort smirked while he began petting Nagini. "You have…doubtsss Luciusss."

"Yes my lord." Lucius nodded, keeping his eyes downcast. "Is it truly wise to trust…this person with this task? Should we not have a backup plan in case they fail to deliver Potter to us?"

Smiling, Voldemort leaned his frail frame back against the cushioned chair. "They…will not fail. They…know the cost of failure…Luciusss. Potter will…be brought before usss."

"And…if he isn't my lord?" Lucius pressed, daring to raise his eyes ever so slightly. "What shall we do then?"

This was one reason he kept Lucius around instead of just going straight to his son. Lucius was meticulous and had plots inside of plots and plans on top of plans. "A sssuitable replacement…hasss been chosen." Voldemort growled. "Ssshould Potter fail to appear by the allotted hour…the replacement will be sssent to usss. And the one responsible for failing…to deliver Potter…will know the weight of their…failure."

"As you say, my lord." Lucius groveled. "Is there anything else you require of me, my lord?"

"No." Voldemort said, waving his hand dismissively. "Go and prepare…my followersss for my…return. And sssend in…the rat. It is time…for Nagini to be…milked."

Lucius's throat visibly bobbed as he nodded. "Yes, my lord." He muttered before rising quickly to his feet and all but running out of the room.

Alone once more, Voldemort resumed his petting of Nagini. 'Soon Potter…I will have my revenge on you and your mudblood mother for what you've done to me. And once you are defeated…I will strip your mind of every secret you hold of these…Guardians. And once I learn your secrets…there will be nothing to stop our rise. Just as I deserve."

Chapter 15

"So it's a maze then?" Nox mused, leaning back in her seat.

With the new information that her son had brought to her regarding the third task of the Triwizard Tournament, Nox had deemed fit to call for another Council meeting.

Everyone who'd attended the last meeting were once again in attendance in the same manner, save for her son who was here in person this time instead of having to queue in remotely.

"A really large maze." Susan Bones added. "Hermione and I decided to take an overhead view of it yesterday to see if we can find a route through. The hedges are all at least five to six meters tall. The paths between the hedges are just barely wide enough to fit two people side by side and they go on for miles. And unfortunately, after an hour of scouting the maze we can confirm what Dumbledore told Harry. The hedges are almost constantly in motion. Opening one path while closing another. Unfortunately Harry, I think you're going to have to do this the hard way as creating a map of the maze will be impossible."

"Is there any way to predict there the maze will be shifting?" Mallie asked curiously.

Shaking her head, Susan's projection leaned back. "No. Hermione and I watched that maze for hours and never once, even after looking it from the pensieve, were able to predict its movements. But even if we were able to predict where and when the maze would shift. Although there is a pattern, but by the time we'd be able to discern it the third task will be well past over."

A loud sigh came from Obi-Wan as the veteran Master leaned back in his seat and rubbed tiredly at his brow. "Forgive me, but I'm still trying to figure out how this all plays into the favor of this Dark Lord." He said. "You say that he has a vendetta against you personally and will want to settle it personally, which I believe to be true as well. But I still cannot see how entering you into this tournament accomplishes that goal. Sure you will be isolated from everyone while in the maze, but then he would have to expose himself as well. Which is something he does not want to do. So how does he plan to confront you then using this last task?"

"Abduction." Harry answered. He'd had more than a little time to think about that very question as his entire year had been monopolized by the tournament. "Each of the champions will be wearing an emergency portkey before the start of the task that will activate upon one of several factors. One, being rendered unconscious. Two, someone grabs the trophy at the end of the maze. Or three, voluntarily withdraw from the maze. Once they are activated they're supposed to bring us back to entrance of the maze."

"But there are two problems with that." Master Ti said, tucking her fingers under her chin. "One, how would they change the portkey? It was my understanding that those destinations are fixed locations that cannot be changed. And two, what about the chance of you not receiving the right portkey? Wouldn't they risk sending one of the other champions besides yourself away?"

"I can name two off the top of my head that willing served Voldemort during the last war." Harry answered. "Karkaroff, who's a judge and Headmaster so he would have access to the portkeys before they're to be distributed. And Snape, a Professor at Hogwarts who for some reason has Dumbledore's complete and utter trust. Both of them have the knowledge, means and reason to insure that I'm to be brought before their Master."

"And to answer your other question lass, ol'Voldy was never really one to worry about collateral damage." Sirius grimaced. "But she brings up a good point. There is a chance that all of the champions, and not just Harry, will get swept up in this grab."

"Then we're going to have to take that into consideration." Nox mused, her mind racing.

"Well if we know how this Dark Lord plans on abducting Harry, then why not just get rid of the portkey once he enters the maze?" Kento asked. "Then all that Harry needs to do is just find the other champions in the maze and take their portkeys."

"Unfortunately I don't think that will be enough." Nox sighed.

"Madam Nox is right," Amelia nodded. "Unfortunately, just about anything could be turned into a portkey, even a stick. And all Harry or someone else would have to do is accidently step on it while they're going through the maze and they would be whisked away. And Voldemort is too smart to leave this to chance. The portkey is a probability for how to abduct Harry, but by no means is it the only way for it to happen."

"Plus there's something else to consider." Harry continued, leaning forward. "According to mother's spies, Lucius Malfoy has been gathering together all of the old Death Eaters who managed to escape prison last time and then some. If Voldemort is anything, he's prideful. He'll want to defeat me with as big an audience as he possibly can. He set a trap for me; one that I honestly can't see a way of escaping without risking my connection to the Force. But instead of being the victim, we can turn this around on him. And instead of the victim, I become the bait."

"Intend to trap this Dark Lord, and his supporters you do?" Master Yoda half questioned half stated.

"Yes." Harry nodded, making sure to meet everyone's eye before he continued, although his eyes did linger on Ahsoka's for a time. "I understand the risks. But if we go this route then we could uproot almost all of Voldemort's supporters that aren't already in prison and capture the slimy snake himself."

"Why not just kill him?" Asajj asked casually. "If this man will be as much trouble as you predict, it would be far better to simply be rid of him now."

"If only we could." Nox shook her head. "Unfortunately, he still has two soul anchors, which we have not destroyed. We know where one is but are unable to get to it. The other however we have no idea where it is or even what it is. The man could've made an anchor out of an old pair boots for all we know. And until we know for certain where this last anchor is, we cannot risk disembodying him again."

"Forgive my well, lack of knowledge on the subject at hand," Quinlan interjected. "But what's to stop him from making more than six?"

"The fucking fool shouldn't have even created one let alone six."

It wasn't so much what'd just been said, nor the sheer vehemence in the voice that said it, that drew everyone's attention. But rather just who said it. In the short time he'd known her, Harry had never seen Master Fay even slightly flustered. But now, now the former Jedi was positively radiating anger. "Such things are an affront to the very nature of the Force! Only a Sith could actually create such a vile affront to the Force."

"Don't lump all Sith together in the same group Fay." Nox interjected not unkindly. "Although I do share your sentiment about this subject. Severing one's soul into pieces is an affront to the Force and having done so he will be forever denied actually becoming one with the Force. But as for why he hasn't created more, it's a simple matter that he can't. I'm actually amazed he made six and still has the amount of power that he does.

"For a point of reference, creating six soul anchors would be akin to cutting off both of your feet, both hands, gouging out one of your eyes and cutting out your tongue. You become a shell of your former self and are never able to return to what you once were. In return however, your soul is bound to this plane of existence. Not a smart trade. Which is why even the Sith abandoned such rituals even during my time."

"Well this is all good and interesting," Sirius cut in, "but perhaps we could get back to the matter at hand? Namely my godson volunteering for what is basically a suicide mission!"

"I'm more than capable of handling a few of Voldemort's flunkies' godfather." Harry shot back.

"But you're not immortal either Harry." Nox cut back, knocking his legs out from under him. "But as much as it pains me to admit this…this is our best chance of not only taking out Voldemort, but taking out most of his supporters as well."

Silence descended upon the council chambers. "Then the question becomes how do we track Harry after he's whisked away from this maze?" Quinlan asked, breaking the silence. "Can we trace him through a portkey with either a spell or a transmitter of some sort?"

"No." Amelia answered immediately before continuing on at a slightly slower pace. "As we've said, Voldemort and his followers are not stupid. Well, at least most of them are not stupid. They'll make sure that any tracking charms on Harry are disabled before we can get a proper read on them. One bloke even placed a tracking charm on his underwear thinking they wouldn't dispel that…well he disappeared and was found a week later hanging from the rafters by his own entrails.

"And as for muggle transmitters, for some reason they really do not like portkeys. We've tried a couple of times and each time we do the transmitter ends up…short circling? Or whatever you call it. Either way, no active transmitter has managed to survive a trip through a portkey."

"What if it wasn't active?" Ahsoka asked, blinking as she found herself the center of attention. "I mean, you've only tried with active transmitter's right? What if Harry had one on him that wasn't activated until he was already through the portkey? Then he, or we, could activate it we could track his location."

The only sound that greeted her suggestion was of Sirius slapping himself upside the head. "Good Merlin…how the bloody hell did we never think of that? If it doesn't survive the trip through while on…then just turn the bloody thing off and wait till you're through to turn it on. Bloody brilliant Ahsoka."

"So, that solves the problem of how to track Harry then," Kento pressed onwards. "But we still have a major problem. How exactly are we supposed to provide support for Harry once he's surrounded and cut off by the enemy? He could be sent anywhere for all we know. And while I'm no master of apparating, even I know that you can't just blindly apparate somewhere you haven't been before."

"No you can't," Nox nodded as her head turned towards Master Ti. "Which is why we won't be. Master Ti. How many LAATs are operational and what's the status of our troopers?"

Master Ti paused, rubbing her chin and thinking for a moment before answering. "We have three LAATs that could be considered 'operational'. However they have yet to undergo proper field testing. As for the troopers, General Rex has declared that while we have three squads that have passed what he would consider basic training, he would be hesitant to put them in the field just yet."

"Unfortunately time is not on our side in this endeavor." Nox sighed, making Harry wince. He knew how much his mother hated rushing things. Not that she couldn't rush things of course. She was just meticulous and preferred to plan for any and all scenarios before dedicating herself and others to a specific task.

"And the Wolfsbane is not due to be back for another two weeks so using it is out of the question. No. we're just going to have to use what we have. Master Ti, I want those LAATs field tested and ready in the next two days. Tell General Rex that he has the squads for three more days before they're to rest. I also want him as well as Commanders Gregor and Wolffe to take temporary command of each squad for this mission."

"I will see that it is done." Master Ti bowed her head in acknowledgement.

"Whoa whoa, hang on one bloody minute." Sirius gaped. "We're not really seriously considering this are we? I mean I know you're good Harry, but for fucks sake you're going to be left alone and surrounded by Merlin only knows how many of the Dark Lord's arse kissers until we can get to you!"

"Then that's a price that I'm willing pay godfather." Harry responded, his voice completely flat and devoid of all emotion. "This gives us the greatest chance of taking down not only the head dark wanker, as you have so colorfully referred to him as in the past. But a number of his followers as well. This is a chance that we cannot let pass us by."

"And what of the collateral?" Obi-Wan asked. "The other champions. What if they get pulled into this as well?"

"Then we do what we can to defend them as well." Nox cut in. "If we were to tip them off…there is a possibility, however slight, that it could get back to Voldemort. We can't take that chance. And that said, they were each chosen for this tournament for a reason. None of them are slouches in terms of magic."

"I can have a few of my Aurors ready to assist in this operation as well." Amelia added in.

"No." Nox quickly shot that idea down. "While I trust you Amelia, I do not trust your Aurors or the Ministry. News of an operation of this scale and intent, even if you waited until the day of to tell your men about it word would get out. Lucius has bought far too much of the Ministry to chance it. But I do agree that we will need the local government to make this all official. So once we're done we will call in you and your men for cleanup."

Amelia didn't look necessarily happy about that, but she nodded her head in agreement nonetheless. "And what of Maris and Nat?" Mallie asked. "While they're both skilled, I don't think they're quite ready for something like this just yet."

"I agree." Nox nodded. "But I have a different task in mind for Maris, and you as well Fay. You will both have a part in this operation, indirectly. But still a part. Are there any other questions? No. Good. Oh and one last thing," Nox said, turning in her seat and looking directly into Harry's eyes.

"Once you are on the other side Harry there is no telling how long you will be alone for. Whether you're with the champions or not…I hereby give you leave to use your abilities to their fullest extent. Show no mercy. And expect none."

Harry blinked, partially because he could honestly never recall a single moment when his mother had seemed so serious and so…fearful, at the same time. "I understand mother."

Harry was pressed tightly against some sort of stone, his arms forced out to either side as vines, as black as his robes, held him in place almost painfully. Voices. Dozens of voices echoed rhythmically around them, but not all. A figure dressed in black stepped forth…his hand shining as he brought his hand up to Harry's exposed arm. Harry's teeth gritted in agony as the black figure pierced his right arm with the object before traveling down towards his elbow, causing blood to fall from his arm like a river.

The black figure disappeared as the chanting increased tenfold. The vines tightened further on his body, the thrones cutting through the cloth and into his skin. The chanting reached a crescendo, and the world exploded into light even as the Force cried out in revulsion.

Then there was man; a man with no face and red eyes standing before Harry. A wand leveled at his eyes as Harry stared back at the faceless man with hatred. Words passed…inaudible. Save for when the no faced man's eyes glowed red with delight.

"Suffer!"

With a cry of agony, Ahsoka sat bolt upright in her bed. Her body covered in a thick sheen of sweat as her breath came and left in uneven gasps. 'A– a vision…it had to be.' She shuddered, pulling her knees up to her chest. 'Harry…he was…being tortured. Force…he…there was so much pain!'

Never before had she ever had a Force vision that powerful before. The agony that Harry was being forced to endure…it made what she'd been forced to suffer at the hands of the Empire after her capture seem light in comparison. 'And I felt it all…' She thought, lowering her head to her knees as tears started to swell at the corners of her eyes. 'I felt it all…'

Throwing her covers off of her body, she made it two steps towards her door before the cold air hit her body. Stopping, she hurriedly made her way over to her dresser and pulled out a random shirt and pants before throwing them on and running out into the hall. Even if she'd paused to ask herself where she was going, she probably wouldn't have been even able to answer as her mind was running completely on autopilot. Reaching her destination, she frantically began pounding on the door praying that it would open.

It didn't even register in her mind where she was in the Temple, nor what time it even was, until the door open revealing a shirtless, but thankfully still dressed in a pair of baggy pants, and obviously freshly awoken Harry. "Ahsoka?" Harry called out sleepily, rubbing at his eyes. "What's the-"

That was as far as he got as she threw herself at him, her arms wrapping around his body as tightly as the vines in her vision as she clung to him. "You're here…you're here…" She heard herself repeating as she held him, pressing her face against his warm chest.

"A-Ahsoka?" The alarm in Harry's voice reached through the fog that'd settled in on her, bringing her back enough so that she could lean her head back just far enough to look him in the eye. "Ahsoka…what's wrong?"

Ahsoka opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a moan as she buried her head back into his shoulder and pushed him into the room, letting the door slam shut behind them. She could vaguely feel as Harry brought his arms around her, holding onto her tightly as he began gently rocking back and forth while murmuring, "It's alright Ahsoka…whatever's wrong I promise that it'll be alright."

She had no idea how long she stood there in his arms, trying to draw comfort from him, but eventually she managed to gather enough strength to push back from him slightly. Although he still kept his arms wrapped loosely around her shoulders which made her heart flutter ever so slightly. "I– I'm sorry about that." She murmured, unable and unwilling to look up at him out of embarrassment for what she just did.

"Hey," Harry said softly, one of his hands coming around and finding its way under her chin and gently lifting her face so that they were staring eye to eye with one another. "It's alright Ahsoka. You have nothing to apologize about. Do you…do you want to talk about it?"

'No.' "Yes." She cursed as soon as she said that as she'd meant to say 'no' and think 'yes'. But now she was stuck. "I– I had a vision. A true Force vision."

Harry's eyes widened fractionally as he led her into his room and over towards one of two comfortable looking chairs in the center of his room. Pausing, he waved his hand towards the small fireplace in his room. A light fire sprung to life, eating away at the logs within, giving the room of soft glow as he deposited her into one of the chairs before taking the other for himself. "Alright," he said, taking her hands in his own and staring at her eye to eye. "Tell me what you saw."

Taking in several deep breaths Ahsoka nodded. "I couldn't see much. But what I did see…I saw you. Held against a stone statue of some kind while all around you black figures were chanting. Then one came up to you and cut your arm. Then– then there was a man with no face and red eyes. Taking another deep breath, she made sure she was looking right into Harry's black and green eyes before continuing. "He tortured you. I– I don't know what he was doing…but you were screaming louder than I've ever heard before. And– and everyone around was just watching and laughing at you. Then– and then I woke up."

Harry didn't say anything for some time after she'd finished. Not that Ahsoka could blame him. It wasn't every day that one was told someone had a vision of them being tortured. "Was– was there anything else you could see in the vision?" Harry asked tentatively. "Was there anyone there besides the man with red eyes and the black figures?"

Ahsoka couldn't hold his gaze and looked down. "I– I don't know. I can't-"

"Ahsoka." Harry urged, forcing her to look at him again. "Please. It may be important. Did you hear or see anything else besides what you've already told me?"

"I– I don't…" Ahsoka cried softly, shaking her head as she tried desperately to remember something, anything, besides those red eyes full of malice and the sounds of Harry's screams. "I– I think I heard someone calling out for them to stop but…but it could've just been me in my own head. But, there is one thing I know for certain. And– and it's the timing," pausing, she made sure she had his complete attention. "It will occur just after you're whisked away from the maze Harry. Please, please Harry don't go through with this! I– I've lost so much already. I can't…I can't lose you too."

"Ahsoka," Harry called out, trying to brush away at the tears that were falling from her eyes, yet failing to do so as she turned her head away from him. Not able to look at him. "Ahsoka, look at me."

Reluctantly, Ahsoka turned her head. His glowing green eyes surrounded in a pool of black almost seemed to pierce through to her very soul. "You're not going to lose me. And I'm not going to lose you either." He said calmly. "You may get hurt. I may get hurt. But, we're at war. Sure it hasn't been declared officially yet, but soon enough you and I both know that it will be. And my mother said that there are two rules every commander needs to realize about being in command.

"Rule number one, people will get hurt and die. And rule number two, no one can change rule number one. You already know this Ahsoka. And tell me honestly…if you knew that there was a chance to defeat the Sith Emperor that destroyed the Jedi and corrupted your former Master, would you take it? Even if you knew that you would have to endure again what originally happened to you when you captured by the Empire the first time?"

Ahsoka didn't even bother to try and stop the tears from falling from her eyes. "That's not fair Harry. This isn't the sam-"

"This is the same." Harry pressed. "If we don't stop Voldemort here and now, his influence will grow like a cancer and plague this world. And if I have to endure a bit of pain to try and stop him and get vengeance for the death of my parents then so be it. And you can't sit there and tell me that you wouldn't do the same."

Ahsoka lowered her eyes once more, her shame mounting as the words Master Yoda had spoken to her months ago came to the forefront of her mind. 'Be wary, Knight Tano. For in the end, ultimately selfish, love is. When the time comes, careful choice, you must make. For love, or for betterment of all. A hard choice, this is. Fallen, many have when pressed on this matter.'

Leaning forward slightly, Ahsoka let her head fall against Harry's bare shoulder. "I– I'm sorry." She whispered. Looking back on her actions now with a slightly clearer head; she couldn't believe how clouded her actions had been. And only now did she truly appreciate the gravity of what Master Yoda had said.

Her body felt completely weightless as she sagged heavily against him. She felt completely and utterly drained, both emotionally and physically. There was no strength left in her. Not even to sit up right. If not for his arms holding onto her gently, she was sure that she would've face planted onto the floor. Mercifully, Harry didn't say anything as she leaned against him. He merely held her, giving her the support and comfort that she needed.

The two stayed like that for a long time. Neither of them spoke, instead taking preference in enjoying the silence and drawing comfort from the other. "Harry," Ahsoka called out slowly as she pulled back from him slightly. "I– I don't want to go back to my room tonight."

If not for what she'd just gone through, she would've laughed outright at the expression that came across her boyfriend's face. "Ah– Ahsoka! I– er…not really sure how that would work. I mean, I've only got the one bed. I suppose that I could sleep on the floor or in one of the chairs if you wanted. Or maybe I could ask Winky to bring up another bed and then-"

"Harry." Ahsoka cut across firmly, ending his tirade. "Just get in the bed already."

Harry hesitated only for a second before scrambling to his feet and crawling under the sheets of his bed. Taking a second to center herself, Ahsoka purposefully made her way over to the small bed. If they slept shoulder to shoulder, there would be just enough room for the two of them to sleep comfortably. Not that she necessarily planned on sleeping that way though. After a moment's consideration, she waved her hand towards the fire and used the Force to extinguish the low fire, plunging the room into darkness.

Not giving Harry's eyes the time need to adjust to the sudden darkness, and not giving herself the time to second guess herself, she quickly stripped off of her shirt and crawled in under the sheet with Harry. "Ahsoka?" Harry croaked as she felt his skin touch hers. "Are– are you-"

"Not a word." She said softly, laying her head against his pectoral muscle as her right hand rested across his chest. "I– I can't really sleep with a shirt on. But don't dare think that this is an open invitation Potter."

Beneath her, she felt him swallow hard and shudder. After a few awkward moments the arm she was laying on wiggled out from underneath her and wrapped itself around her back, allowing her snuggle in closer to him as he held him. "I would never dream of doing anything you didn't want me too Ahsoka."

Pressing her head back down onto his chest, she closed her eyes and listened to the steady, albeit rapid, beating of his heart. Slowly, his heart rate began to settle as his breathing evened out. 'I can't let anything happen to you Harry.' She thought as she felt him drift off into the realm of dreams. 'I've lost far too much to lose you too. I won't lose you. No matter what. I swear it.'

Sitting in a tent with the other three champions as they waited for the judges, Harry had his eyes closed as he tried keeping his emotions in check. The final week leading up to the third task passed by in a complete blur as Harry went through his daily routine in complete autopilot. His mind had been completely focused on the upcoming task, or more accurately his upcoming confrontation with Voldemort. His entire life he'd been training for this moment. He would finally face off against the man responsible for the murder of his parents, again. Only this time, there would be no escape for the Dark Lord. Not if Harry could help it.

Although, if he was being completely honest with himself, it wasn't just the Dark Lord that was weighing on his mind. More often than not, especially when he laid down to rest for the night, his mind would wander back to Ahsoka and the night they'd shared together just before he came back to Hogwarts. They didn't do anything, well except for a few innocent kisses in the dark. And he didn't see anything either. But the feel of her warm skin on his…the feel of her Force presence so close to his own. Those thoughts had led to more than one instance where Harry had to take matters into his own hands as it were, or risk having a sleepless night.

But despite the week leading up to this moment passing by so quickly, the past few hours had actually dragged by at a snail's pace. First there was Dumbledore's grand announcement of the final task and a recap of what a "wonderful" experience it'd been so far to host the two foreign schools. Then the champions had been pulled aside so that they could spend some time with their families just before the task was set to begin.

That had been more than slightly awkward as Harry had to act as if his mother and Ahsoka were actually with him, not Master Fay and Maris. After an hour of sitting with two women who looked like his mother and his girlfriend despite not being them, Harry and the other champions had been ushered down to the waiting tents where they were given uniforms to change into before the task. Just like in the first task, Harry turned down his uniform. Not that he didn't mind representing his school, but as he'd said before, Cedric was Hogwarts champion. Not only that, but his Guardian robes allowed for far better movement than the gaudy piece of fabric that could only have come from the mind of his eccentric Headmaster.

Feeling several presences approaching the tent, Harry forced himself out of his meditation and opened his eyes just in time as the tent flap opened allowing the judges to enter. "Well champions…here we are! The third and final task of the first Triwizard Tournament in a long time." Bagman beamed, looking over each of them one at a time. "The rules for this final task are simple. No lethal spells and no Unforgivables. The first one to reach the center of the maze where the cup awaits will be declared the winner. And other than that…there are no rules once you enter the maze!"

"While this is a competition between you four, I urge you all to remember how you succeeded in the second task." Dumbledore added quickly, stepping forward. "You gain more from working with those around you rather than pushing them away."

Bagman blinked dumbly at Dumbledore before snapping himself out of whatever haze he'd been in. "Right, well then! Before we head out we have something for each of you. So, if each of you will please step forward and pick up your portkey-badges we can get started!"

Getting up from his kneeling position, Harry walked towards the judges, and nearly scoffed as he saw that badges that Bagman was holding. One was in the shape of a badger. One was in the shape of a lion. One was a capital letter 'B' surrounded with golden accents. And the last looked like a deer skull and antlers with two birds sitting atop its head. 'Well I was right.' Harry thought as he grabbed the lion badge and placed it on robes. 'Each portkey was unique.'

"Right-o!" Bagman smiled. "Now then, to explain what you will be facing in the maze I turn the floor over to our hosting Headmaster, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Thank you Ludo." Dumbledore nodded politely. "First, I want to say that we are proud of all of you. Your accomplishments during this tournament have been outstanding. But unfortunately, there can be only one overall champion. As was explained to you before, you will each be released into the maze at five minute intervals in accordance with your current point rankings. On top of that, there are four entrances to the maze. Each of which can only be entered once before they will close permanently. Now within the maze you will be tested for your physical capabilities, your magical knowledge, and your wits. You must use all three if you hope to reach the center and claim the trophy.

"And just so that you are all not startled. Your badges are portkeys which will take you out of the maze should you fall unconscious or should you wish to withdraw. Also, the Triwizard Trophy itself is a portkey as well that will activate all of the others, save for the one that it is nearest to it. Any questions? No? Very well then. If you will please follow us we will be heading out into the starting area."

Turning on his heel, Dumbledore led the way out of the tent followed quickly by Maxime, Karkaroff and Umbridge. Cedric, Fleur and Viktor all walked out single file leaving Harry last. "A moment Harry," Bagman said softly, stopping him just before he could exit the tent.

"What?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes at the man.

Bagman swallowed and cast a quick look over his shoulder. "If possible take the south route and at the first opportunity head north and keep going north."

Harry blinked once, but before he could ask what the man meant he had turned around and left the tent, leaving Harry to jog in order to catch up with everyone else. 'Well…someone wants me to win.'

Following after the judges and his fellow champions, Harry stared up at the twenty foot tall hedges as they entered the maze. 'Even after all these years…magic still impresses me. I wonder if the same type of magic that they used to grow these hedges so fast could be incorporated into food production as well. Hmm…definitely something worth checking out.'

After walking between the hedges for a solid minute, the small group emerged into an oval clearing. As they stepped out, the sounds of cheering erupted making Harry wince as he fought the urge to cover his ears. 'Bloody hell…this is louder than the World Cup was!'

After the four champions had gathered into the center of the oval, the path that they'd taken to arrive closed up on itself as four other paths opened. One to the north, one to the south, one heading east and the last heading west. 'Ah…so that's what he meant by the 'take the south route'. It's probably the quickest to the end of the maze.'

Clearing his throat, Bagman pressed his wand to his throat. "Witches and wizards! Welcome to the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament!" The cheering grew even louder as the crowd roared. "Today our brave champions shall be tested! Their magic, their wits and their endurance shall be put to the test as they traverse this maze! And while they have all done wonderfully so far, there can be only one Champion! Who shall it be? Our current point leader Viktor Krum? Or perhaps the hometown hero Cedric Diggory? Or maybe it will be the ever beautiful and intoxicating Fleur Delacour? Or perhaps he will defy all odds and Harry Potter, the youngest champion in history, will be the one to claim eternal glory!"

The crowd cheered even louder, Bagman seemed to be soaking it all up like a sponge. "And without further ado…I bid our champions the best of luck! Mr. Krum. The honor of going first is yours. Choose your path wisely. And once you enter the maze the timer for your competitors will begin!"

Krum, after waving his hand to the crowd, turned and nodded to Harry and the others. "Good luck." He wished them all before turning around and heading into the southern path, which sealed up as soon as he walked through.

'Well,' Harry thought as Bagman's face fell momentarily. 'So much for that idea.'

Five minutes later, Bagman held his wand to his throat again. "And that is five minutes! Cedric my boy, the choice is now yours to make!"

Cedric didn't wait as he immediately took off at a light jog into the northern path. Leaving only Harry and Fleur waiting for their chance to head out. "Fleur Delacour! The choice is now yours to make!"

Straightening her back, Fleur took one step towards the eastern path before stopping and turning around to face Harry. "Bonne chance Harry Potter."

"Good luck Fleur." Harry nodded back before Fleur graced him with a smile and headed off down the eastern path.

Now alone, Harry's mind began to race. 'Odds are I won't be able to find them in the maze. According to Susan and the others, the maze goes on for miles.' Looking down at the badge on his chest, Harry grimaced. 'I guess I just have to hope that all he wants is me and none of the others. But still...who set the portkeys? And is this the actual trigger that will take me away? Or maybe…Dumbledore said that cup was a portkey as well. Maybe that is the one. Damn it. I guess I don't really have much of a choice. I can't run the risk of the trophy being the true portkey and having one of the others reach it first. Guess I actually have to take this whole maze at least semi-seriously.'

Squaring his shoulders, Harry held his head high and took off into the maze at what he considered to be a light jog, but would actually be a full sprint to many others. As soon as he was in the maze, he opened himself to the living Force trying to get a beat of where the cup might be. 'Damn it.' He hissed. 'There's far too much magic condensed in the area. And without actually seeing the cup beforehand, I can't find it. I guess I'm just going to have to do this the old fashion way. Although…Bagman did say head north…maybe…'

Slowing his pace ever so slightly, Harry pulled out his wand and sent a powerful cutting charm into the brush. A huge gash opened in the brush, but any damage he caused was repaired just as quickly as he could inflict it. Next he tried burning the hedges. The brush went up like kindling for a second before the flames extinguished leaving a pristine hedge. Giving it one last shot, he conjured up a walking stick and shoved it into the thicket. The stick snapped in half as he felt something within the hedge grab hold of the stick and snap it in half. 'Must have some devil's snare mixed in.' Harry theorized as he kept running. 'Well…so much for plan A. Guess I really do have to huff it.'

Rounding another corner in the corner, Harry suddenly found himself running upside down. 'Shit!' Harry cursed as he jumped back reflexively and the world righted itself. 'Has to be some sort of enchantment…very clever.'

Stepping forward, the world flipped once more, only this time he was ready for it. Instead of backing out, Harry focused on the path ahead of him and shattered the illusion with the Force. 'Hmph. Pathetic.'

Taking off again, Harry raised his wand to his eyes. "Omnes videntes."

His vision pulsed, and he could just barely make out two red dots of to his front and left, while the third as behind him and to the right. As he watched, the dots continued to move around frantically with no set pattern or direction to their movements. 'Well…it looks like we're all lost in here.'

Lowering his wand from his eyes, Harry remembered Bagman's advice and continued heading north. 'Not really sure if this is way I should be going or not. But from what I can sense, the strongest concentration of magic is in this direction. So it's a safe bet that-'

Harry's feet skidded to a stop. Just before him, blocking the entirety of the path before him, was a creature that he'd only read about before. "Ah…a visitor at last." The sphinx purred, raising one gigantic paw to distinctly feminine human face and giving it a long lick.

Swallowing, Harry took a tentative step towards the hulking beast as he tried recalling anything that he'd read about the legendary creature. 'I can't run around it. I might be able to jump over it or simply blast it out of the way…but its reflexes are incredibly fast.' "I don't suppose that you'd consider letting me past would you?"

The sphinx stopped licking its paw and shrugged. "I might. But you have to entertain me first by proving your wits. Answer my two riddles and the path is yours. Agree to my third and clue I shall bestow. Deny and a long path around awaits you. Guess wrong…and flesh I will claim."

'Damn it.' "Ask your riddles."

The sphinx smiled. "No man has seen it, but all men know it. Lighter than air, sharper than any sword. Comes from nothing, but will fell the strongest armies. Of what do I speak?"

Harry's brow furrowed as he thought. "Hunger."

The sphinx smiled. "Very good. Now answer me this. I have seas with no water, coasts with no sand, towns without people, and mountains without land. What am I?"

Harry didn't need to think about this one. "A map. Now give me the last riddle."

This time the sphinx laughed. "Oh very good human. I like you. But I fear your flesh shall soon be mine to feast upon. But you wish to truly test your wits? Then I am not one to deny. Very well, listen well human, for I shall only say this once. First think of the person who lives in disguise. Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies. Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend, the middle of middle and end of end? And finally give me the sound often heard, during the search for a hard-to-find word. Now string them together and answer me this. Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"

This one actually gave Harry pause for a moment. 'Damn it…there has to be something…Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies…a spy. The last thing to mend and the middle of middle and end of en- that's the letter 'D'. Now string them…oh! Spy-d. But a creature. Spider!'

"Spider."

The sphinx actually looked surprised. "Hmph…impressive human." The large creature purred before getting up and moving aside. "I would've enjoyed feasting on your flesh. But a deal is a deal. And the path is yours. And for you clue…your goal is just ahead, with three paths. Continue on forever. Get left in the darkness. But turn left three times and your treasure shall you find."

Harry smirked as he figured it out. 'Don't go straight, or left. Instead go right at the next path.' "Thank you, mighty sphinx." He bowed to the massive creature before taking off at a dead sprint once more.

At the next intersection, Harry split off and ran off down the right path. Over the next twenty minutes he ran through the maze, countering any and all obstacles that were thrown in his path. There was a section of the maze that was enchanted to look like a thick swamp, but was actually just an illusion. Another path was guarded by a relatively smaller acromantula, which Harry did feel a slight pain of regret for killing it but only because he knew that Hagrid would be upset because of the loss. Then there was also a nasty little hidden patch of devil's snare that was in the middle of the path.

'Thank the Force for that little warning,' Harry thought as he landed on his feet just out of the reach of the devil's snare. 'That would've slowed me down more than a little bit.'

Rounding one last corner, Harry felt a pulse through the Force as he came to a stop. Directly in front of him, no less than fifty yards away was the Triwizard trophy; sitting on a podium for all to see. 'Okay…' Harry thought looking around. 'It can't really be that easy…could it?'

Reaching out with his senses Harry felt the immediate area for any residual magic. But besides the now familiar pulses coming from the hedges and the trophy before him, he couldn't sense anything. 'Well…only one way to find out I guess.'

Taking one step forward down the path, Harry cursed as the hedges around him started groaning and moving about. 'Oh shit!' Taking off at a dead sprint, Harry just barely managed to stay two steps ahead of the hedges as they closed in behind him. 'Come on Harry! Just a…few…more…paces…and…gotcha! Whoa shit!'

The moment Harry's fingers closed around the trophy, he immediately felt a pull at his navel as the portkey activated and he was once more forced to endure the relentless spinning through the ether of the Force. 'Damn it! There has got to be a better way to travel magically!'

The spinning came to an abrupt end, as his feet landed hard on solid ground. Wherever he'd ended up was dark. And not just dark in the sense of a lack of light. The dark side was almost oppressively strong in the air. "Harry? Where are we?"

Blinking, Harry felt his heart sink as he whipped around, praying to whatever higher power there was that he was alone. But his prayers went unanswered as he found Fleur, Cedric and Viktor standing just behind him.

"Fuck," Harry cursed, spinning around in a circle as he felt a warning from the force assault him on all sides. "Get do-"

His words died in his throat as dozens of red stunners shot out from the darkness. Cedric and Viktor went down first as each were hit with spells dead center in the chest. Fleur managed to evade one or two while pirouetting like a dancer, but she only managed to keep that up for a few seconds before she went down as well. Harry felt the first stunner hit him in the leg, the darkness encroaching on his vision as he pulled deeply on the Force to keep consciousness. But then the second bolt hit him. Then the third. By the forth he was on the ground on his hands and knees. And when the fifth struck him his world descended into darkness.

Sitting in the stands, Ahsoka, or rather Maris Brood sat high up in the stands staring down at the large hedge maze below. She couldn't deny that the potion that she'd drank before coming here was positively astounding. Being able to morph into someone was a trait that was reserved solely for Changelings. Being able to do so at will, with only a single strand of the intended target's hair was incredible! Even though they didn't end up using any hair from Ahsoka, seeing as how togruta are naturally hairless. But somehow Grand Master Nox managd to alter the potion enough so that they could us a single drop of blood instead of hair. She still remembered Master Nox and Lord Black arguing about her findings a while back. Black insisted that it was impossible to do, while Nox countered that the potion just needed the DNA at the roots of the hair, and therefor with a slight alteration the potion could use a single drop of blood instead.

Maris didn't really care how it worked though, she just cared that it did! And…the fact that she'd transformed into Ahsoka of all people was just a bonus! Having Ahsoka's, admittedly teenage but still grown, body…she was actually reveling in the attention she was receiving from everyone around her. Attention that her younger body, which had yet to fully develop, wouldn't garner for several years.

"Harry's gone." Master Nox, or rather Master Fay stated suddenly, pulling Maris out of her musings. "Reach out with the Force young one. You will sense that his presence is gone.

Frowning, Maris stared back out over the maze and stretched out with her senses trying to find Harry, but coming up empty. "I can't sense him Master," she nodded, reaching into the folds of her robe and pulling out the small spherical device that Grandmaster Nox had given her.

Remembering what she'd been told, she pressed down on two specific spots amongst the intricate designs on the sphere, making it split into two halves. Turing the top half around a half turn, she realigned the design before pushing it back together. She felt the briefest of Force pulses emanating from the small sphere. But the pulse last for only the briefest of moments before it was gone, leaving her once again holding what looked like just an intricate piece of metal.

"Do– do you think that they'll be alright?" Maris asked the famous Jedi Master, now Guardian Master, tentatively.

"I know they will." Fay responded with conviction. "Trust in the Force little Maris. They'll be fine. It's those other idiots that want to hurt Harry that really need to worry."

Pacing back and forth like a caged nexu, Grandmaster Nox of the Guardian Order waited impatiently beside her LAAT for the signal to come in that Harry had disappeared from the maze. Due to the magical nature of Hogwarts, and the fear that whoever abducted him would try and disable any tracking spells or short out any electronic devices he had, if they were smart that is, they couldn't risk activating the small tracking beacon that'd been injected beneath his skin until they received the signal. So Nox was stuck doing the one thing she hated. Waiting. While around her the Guardians and the three squads of battle ready troopers checked and rechecked their equipment. The only Guardians who weren't with them at the moment were Maris, Nat, Fay and Yoda. Nat was with Yoda back at the Temple and Maris was with Fay at Hogwarts.

Those four served a dual purpose as well. Should this mission go wrong, they were part of the "last man standing" policy she'd created. Should the worst happen, the wards of the Temple would reconfigure themselves on the one she'd chosen and they would become responsible for the continuation of the Order. She trusted Yoda, to a growing degree, more so than Fay to finish training not only Nat, but Luke and Galen as well in the way of the Guardians. So should the worst come to pass, those four, plus the two boys and the Knights and Apprentices at Hogwarts would be responsible for continuing on the Order.

The only condolence to the situation she was in, and it was slight at that, was the fact that she was not the only one who was visibly impatient. Ahsoka looked as if she was about ready to hijack the nearest LAAT and take off on her own. 'Understandable.' Nox thought. 'I used to get the same look as her whenever Ashara I and I would pull off these types of missions, or even more recently I know I'm in a somewhat similar state whenever Nymph is away on a mission that could lead her into danger.'

Feeling a strong vibration in her pocket, Nox didn't even waited to check what it was as she turned to the trooper manning the satellite uplink. "We've got the signal. Activate the tracking beacon."

"Yes ma'am!" The trooper shouted as his fingers quickly started to dance across the keyboard in front of him.

The moment she'd made her proclamation, all attention was on her and the trooper as the Guardians and the troopers gathered around the two of them. "Satellite link up confirmed." The trooper announced. "Triangulating his position and…single locked! He's in Little Hangleton in what looks like the local graveyard."

"Everyone load up!" Nox shouted, creating a flurry of movement as the three squads, their commanding clone and the Guardians ran to their assigned LAATs.

Stepping into her own shuttle along with Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Rex, Nox reached up and grabbed hold of the netting above their heads as the shuttle rocked slightly as it began to take to the air and the door began closing. "Pilot," she called forward. "What's our ETA?"

"Fifteen minutes ma'am!" The pilot shouted back, making Nox close her eyes and curse.

'Fifteen minutes of hell.' Nox thought, trying to reach out for her son but finding their connection muddled. 'More than likely out cold…which could be either a good thing as it will buy us the time we need to reach him. Or…it could be a really bad thing.'

Sensing movement beside her, she spied Ahsoka out of the corner of her eye. The young togruta was practically bouncing in place. But more than that, fear was radiating off the girl at an almost sickening level. And it wasn't the fear commonly found in one that was about to enter battle either. "Ahsoka," She called out, making the younger girl look up at him. "My son is strong. Stronger than many will ever give him credit form. Trust in him."

Ahsoka bit her lip, but nodded nonetheless and turned to stare once more at the countryside flying past them. 'Be safe my son.' Nox thought, her hand tightening on the netting. 'And woe be to any who harm you…I'll make their deaths legends that parents tell their kids to keep them in line.'

Groaning, Harry tried to move his arms only to find them being held down tightly against a hard surface by something that was...moving. And incredibly sharp. Forcing his eyes open, Harry found himself suspended several feet up off the group as thick black vines wrapped themselves around his arms, chest and legs.

"Ah, I see that our guest of honor has finally decided to grace us with his presence."

Twisting his head, not an easy feat as the vines had begun wrapping around his neck and head as well, Harry glared at what he saw before him. There were no less than twenty, and those were the only ones he could see black robed figures standing around a large boiling cauldron hung up over a fire. But more than that were the three figures that were bound and gagged with the same type of vines as he and were being forced to kneel just off the side.

'Shit…they've got the others as well!' Flexing his hands, Harry could that his wand holsters were still strapped to either wrist, but given how tight the vines were around his wrists he couldn't draw his lightsaber at the moment. That, and his wand wasn't anywhere near him. He could've gone wandless…and while he was more than slightly proficient at wandless abilities, he was limited. And there were more than a few Death Eaters around at the moment.

"What's the matter Potter? No snappy comment? Your father would've been so disappointed in you."

Craning his head over slightly, Harry glared at the silver mask belonging to the one who'd been speaking. "Malfoy…I'm surprised. I thought your lips were so permanently fixed to your Master's ass that you wouldn't be able to come out and play. Although… considering your great 'Master' is little more than a parasitic wraith I guess it would be hard to kiss his ass."

The figure that was Lucius stood stock still for a moment. His only response was to slash his wand across his body. Harry gritted his teeth as the vines covering him tightened to the point where he thought his bones were going to break. "Come…on." Harry wheezed. "Is that…the best you…got? Fucking…pussy."

Malfoy twisted his wand and the vines around Harry started to heat, searing his skin for a brief moment before it all stopped and the vines loosened enough so that he could breathe once more. Harry cursed as he saw the other three champions fighting against the bindings trying to stop what was happening to him. 'Damn it all,' he wanted to yell at them. 'Stop drawing attention to yourselves! As long as their attention is on me you three will be fine!'

"Silence!" Lucius shouted, stomping over to Cedric and kicking him in the face before backing handing Fleur across the face even as another masked individual slapped Viktor. "You three have been granted a high honor here tonight. Do not press your luck or our patience." He paused, looking up at the sky as the clouds parted to reveal a new moon high overhead. "It is time."

The vines holding him in place strained as he tried to throw himself at the small rat faced man who walked into the graveyard clearing carrying a small bundle in his arms. "Wormtail!" Harry hissed loudly, making the small rat flinch. "You're a fucking dead man!"

The sniveling rat shuddered, making more than one of the cloaked figures laugh at his expense. "Enough!" A strangled hiss came from the small bundle in Wormtail's arms, ending all laughing. "The time…isss nigh. Luciusss…begin…"

"Yes, my Lord." Lucius's head bowed slightly as he walked over to one of the black robed figures, this one only distinguishable from the others because he held a plate in his hands. Atop of which sat a pristine looking skull.

Picking up the skull, Lucius moved back towards the cauldron in the center. As he did, all of the black robed figures knelt as one and began a low chant as Lucius held the skull high above his head. "Bone of the father, unknowingly given. You shall renew your son!" Throwing the skull into the cauldron, the liquid contents splashed as puff of green smoked billowed up into the air.

Turning around, Harry saw a flash of steel emerge in Lucius's hand as he stalked towards him. Coming to a stop just before him, Harry glared down into the eye sockets of the bone mask. Without a word, Lucius lashed out, slamming the knife into his left arm up to the hilt before twisting the blade and wrenching it free. Harry nearly bit his lip in his effort to keep from crying out in pain. 'Come on! This is nothing! Mother's training was harder than this!'

"Is that…all you got Lucius?" Harry gasped through the pain.

His comment earned himself a backhand across the face as Lucius glared at him for a full minute before turning around fast enough so that his cloak billowed out behind him. "Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken." Lucius drawled, knocking the knife against the edge of the cauldron so that Harry's blood entered the mixture. "You shall resurrect your foe!"

Next, one of the kneeling followers stepped forward and bared his arm before Lucius. "Flesh of the servant," Lucius drawled, grabbing the arm and pulling it over the cauldron. "You sha-"

"What's the matter Lucius?" Harry yelled out, growing desperate to stall for time. "Too much of pansy to carve off your own flesh for your precious 'Master'? Like father like son I guess. Far too cowardly to do the dirty work themselves."

Lucius's hand holding the dagger froze in the air as he started visibly shaking with rage. "Ignore…him Luciusss!" The figure, who Harry was now sure to be some malformed version of Voldemort, hissed. "Finish it!"

"…you shall revive your Master!" Lucius yelled, bringing the knife down and cleaving the unnamed Death Eater's hand clean off and into the pot.

Another round of sickly green smoke bellowed out of the cauldron as the Death Eater who'd sacrificed his hand cried out in agony as he was set upon by one of the other black figures. Dropping the knife into the cauldron, Lucius hefted the bundled up figure out of Wormtail's hands and held it above his head. "Behold as he rises once more! The one who has beaten death itself! Rise once more! Our Great Lord Voldemort!" Lucius cried out as he dropped the bundle into the cauldron.

The world was engulfed in a thick white light so bright that Harry had to avert his eyes. But it wasn't just the light…the Force itself was crying out in outrage at what was transpiring. The light, which had been to the point of burningly bright, died instantaneously leaving everyone blinding rapidly as they tried to readjust their eyes. When Harry could finally see again, he noticed that the cauldron was gone. And in its place was a naked man with pasty white smooth skin.

Voldemort had been reborn.

The entire graveyard was entrenched in silence as the figure began running his hands almost lovingly across his new body. "Lucius…robe me."

Lucius was moving even before Voldemort had finished speaking, grabbing one of the cloaks from the nearest Death Eater and walking up to the Dark Lord and placing it onto his form. Freshly robed, Voldemort pushed Lucius aside and strode over to the rat. "Wormtail."

The former Marauder stuttered and shook almost violently as he reached inside his robe and pulled out a long bone white looking wand. "I– I've kept it sa– safe for you my– my Lord."

"As was expected of you Wormtail." Voldemort responded calmly, snatching the wand from the rat and making a show of inspecting it before turning his back on the rat and moving over to the figure that'd sacrificed his arm for his resurrection. "You have served me well. And I reward those who serve me."

Waving his wand, the Death Eater in question screamed for but a moment before he gasped in wonderment. The hand that he'd lost had been replaced with a pure silver hand. "Th– thank you my Lord!" The Death Eater cried, sinking so low to the ground that Harry was sure he was about to actually kiss the Dark Lord's feet.

Completely ignoring the prostrating Death Eater, Voldemort turned back and around and stalked over to the three kneeling champions. He took his time, sizing each of them up one at a time before moving onto the next. "You three have just bore witness to a historic event." Voldemort declared. "For I, Lord Voldemort, have returned. I alone have conquered death. You three…despite one of you having a questionable pedigree," this he said while staring at Fleur, "represent the best of the younger generation of your schools. I offer you three this one chance. Kneel at my feet. Accept my mark. And be welcomed in my new order. What say you?"

Waving his wand, the vines that'd been gagging the three champions receded enough so that they could talk. Fleur, was the first to get a word out. And it was definitely not what anyone had expected. "Baisez-vous cochon!"

Voldemort merely sighed as he shook his head. "Such a pity. So beautiful…yet so stupid. Crucio!"

Fleur screamed violently as the spell hit her, her body curled in on itself as she convulsed. The vines moved back into her mouth quickly, cutting off her screams as she convulsed under the effects of the spell. Voldemort held the spell on her, a slight smirk playing across his lips mouth.

"Leave them alone fucker!" Harry shouted, struggling against his bonds. "I'm one the one you want! Not them!"

If Voldemort heard him, he made no indication of it. With a neglectful wave of his wand he ended the torture spell that'd been racking Fleur's body and moved over to Krum.

"And you, young man?" Voldemort asked. "I can sense it. You know some of the dark arts, but you have only just scratched the surface. I can show you things that you never even dreamed of before."

Krum stared up at Voldemort, before looking down at the still weeping Fleur. "Otidat v ada, murtvets."

Again, Voldemort sighed. "Ah…such shame. Crucio!"

Viktor managed only slightly better than Fleur as he actually managed to stay upright for a scant few moments before he too collapsed onto the ground and cried out in agony. Harry didn't try to call out again. He knew it wouldn't do him any good even if he did.

Soon enough Voldemort released the spell on Viktor and moved on to Cedric. "And you would, Cedric of house Diggory, no?" Voldemort asked, using his wand to tilt Cedric's face upwards. "Your father wasss sssmart enough never to take up armsss against me. But he was foolish enough never to ssside with me. Join me, take up the mantle of Head of house Diggory, and I will forgive your family'sss ssslight against me."

Cedric glared up at Voldemort. "Blow me."

Harry was actually mildly impressed by all of their backbones, to stare one so corrupted by the Dark side, which Voldemort was even if he didn't realize it, and to spit in their face was incredible. "I see," Voldemort sighed, shaking his head. "Sssuch a ssshame. Like father like ssson I guessss. Crucio!"

Cedric collapsed almost immediately, convulsing in pain until Voldemort ended the spell and turned towards Lucius. "When we are done here they are your toysss, my faithful ssservantsss. You may do with them asss you wish, but they must not be killed, at least not yet. Not while they can still be used to leverage their family's onto our ssside."

Lucius bowed. "I understand, my Lord."

"Yesss…even you could understand sssuch sssimple instructions." Voldemort sneered before turning around and facing Harry. "And now we come to the…boy of the hour ssso to ssspeak." The Death Eaters in the graveyard laughed slightly as Voldemort almost seemed to glide across the space separating the two of them. "Harry Potter…the boy-who-lived. My vanquisher. Nothing more than a lie. You did not cause my temporary fall any more than your pathetic father did."

Glaring down at the man who'd taken his parents from him, Harry had the sudden urge to lash out and break the man's neck. 'Not yet.' He cursed himself, trying to put his anger aside for the moment. 'Need to stall for time.'

"I know." Harry said, drawing more than a few sharp turns of the head from the masked Death Eaters as he leaned forward as much as he could towards the dark lord. "I've never once claimed to have killed you Voldy. But I have to wonder, and tell me the truth. What hurt more? Being disembodied by your own killing curse. Or knowing that it was my muggleborn mother that ended your life you cocksuc-"

Harry's head snapped back as something slammed against his mental barriers with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop. But as powerful and sudden as the attack was, Harry merely shored up his barriers and rebuffed Voldemort hard enough that the Dark Lord staggered back a few steps. "What's the matter ol' Voldy?" Harry smirked. "Having some difficulty?"

Voldemort stared at him blankly for a minute before smiling widely. "I see that you have inherited your father's bravado, for all the good that it did him. But you have indeed inherited your mother's power and ssskill. But your training…it isss not theirs. No doubt it is thisss mysteriousss Madam Nox's that my followersss have told me about. The leader of these ssso-called 'Guardians'. Which you are no doubt a part of."

This time it was Harry's turn to start, as Voldemort gave him a grin of triumph. Several of the Death Eaters began whispering frantically between each other and the three champions had all overcome the pain of the cruciatus curse enough to stare at him with wide eyes. "Yesss," Voldemort drawled. "You sssee, I remember things Harry. And I try not to let the sssame thing sssurprise me twice. Three yearsss ago, you sssurprised me with a weapon that I've never ssseen before. A weapon that you used to kill Quirinus Quirrell." That drew quite a few more mutters, and a mild look of horror from Cedric.

"And thisss ssstrange weapon, which I've never ssseen or heard of, sssuddenly made a sssecond appearance in the hands of those calling themselvesss the 'Guardiansss'."

Turning his back on him, Voldemort began pacing in front of his followers as if he were teaching a class. "At first I thought that these new people were followers of the old fool himself. But then I realized that they were not. For you sssee, these Guardiansss are not afraid to kill. And are in fact quite willing to do ssso. Ssso, if the old fool wasn't leading them, then who wasss?

"The answer wasss sssimple. A person who made an appearance after the war wasss already placed on hiatusss. Madam Ziri Nox." Turning back to Harry, Voldemort's grin was positively feral. "Like I said boy, I don't like being sssurprised twice. Ssso between Quirrell'sss death and now, I've been planning on how to counter these ssstrange weapons. And now I am more than your match boy. No matter what tricksss Nox hasss taught you. But that'sss not all I've done. I've also undone what your pathetic mudblood of a mother did all those yearsss ago."

Racing forward once more, Voldemort made a dramatic showing of lifting his hand and pressing a finger to Harry's forehead. "You sssee…the protection Lily Potter gave you ensured that I could never touch you. But now…now your mother's protection is gone! Your mudblood whore of a mother might've set me back, but in the end she was still a pathetic and weak litt-"

With a cry of anguish, Harry lashed out at Voldemort, the vines holding him, the stone statue he was being held against and even a few of the Death Eaters that had stupidly ventured too close. The stone statue behind him turned to dust. The vines holding him in place simply ceased to be. The Death Eaters who'd come to close were all thrown back hard, some of them crashing into monuments with enough force to break bones. Voldemort, managed one quick look of shock before he was thrown violently away from Harry, taking his glasses with him as he vainly tried to grab onto something.

Harry could feel the Force rippling around him, manifested as small arcs of lightning as he knelt on the ground. "You should've just kept your fucking mouth shut." Harry growled loudly as he rose to his feet and slowly opened his eyes. "And you have no idea what 'tricks' my mother has shown me. Nor what I've gone through to get to this point."

Opening his hand, the Death Eater that'd been holding onto his wand lurched forward as Harry ripped his wand away. While it was still in midair, Harry pulled the three champions towards him. Catching his wand, he threw three cutting curses which severed the vines that'd been used to secure the three as they flew past him. He then reached out and grabbed the wands of the three champions and pulled them away from the Death Eaters as well, letting them fly past him and land near their original owners.

Voldemort, who'd still been rising to his feet, watched everything he did, his eyes never leaving Harry's black and green.

"I see." Voldemort drawled slowly. "Nox hasss indeed taught you a few interesting tricksss. And your eyesss…most curiousss. But your talent isss wasted ssstanding against me Harry. Ssso…allow me to make you the sssame offer I made your parents." Reaching out with his hand, Voldemort gave him a small smirk. "Join me Harry. Nox has indeed taught you much, but I can teach you more. Together…we can be unstoppable. We ssshall put those who are lesser than usss in their place and rule the world asss isss our right asss the ssstrong. Don't waste your potential defending those who don't deserve it. What say you Harry?"

Part of Harry wanted to laugh out loud. 'Of course he wants me to join him.' Instead of answering immediately though, Harry snapped his right arm out to his side, drawing his lightsaber into his hand. "There is no Dark side nor a Light side. There is only the Force. I will do what I must to keep the balance. The balance is what sustains me. There is no good without evil, but evil must not be allowed to flourish. There is passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order."

Activating his lightsaber on only the primary emitter, Harry held the glowing black-purple up vertically in front of his face. "I am the wielder of the flame, the protector of balance. I am the holder of the torch lighting the way. I am the keeper of the flame, the soldier of balance. I am a guardian of balance."

Leveling his eyes on the Dark Lord, Harry pointed his lightsaber towards the murderer of his parents. "My mother taught me this code. This code is who I am. And by this code…I will kill you. Tom Riddle."

Voldemort's red eyes narrowed dangerously as more than one Death Eater took an unconscious step back from their master. "No one kills him but me." Voldemort growled, stepping forward.

Taking a step of his own, Harry risked a quick glance over his shoulder at the other champions. All of whom were looking quite addled. "Stay back," he said, raising his lightsaber into a Soresu stance while he held his wand off to the side in his left. "This is between me and him."

Voldemort didn't waste any time as he threw four spells, three towards his torso and one at his feet at Harry so quickly they almost looked to have been casted at once. Using his lightsaber to knock aside the three spells that were aiming for his head before using his wand to cast an isolated shield charm to negate the fourth. 'Soresu isn't my preferred form.' Harry thought as he blocked a killing curse into the ground. 'But after watching just what Master Kenobi was able to do with it…it is just what I need at the moment.'

Voldemort didn't let up his barrage, chaining one spell after another while aiming at different parts of his body while at the same time managing to dodge the hexes and curses Harry sent back his way with a dexterity that was more than slightly puzzling. But not once did Harry actually throw a curse or a hex of his own. Instead using Voldemort's own energy against him.

"Not bad Potter." Voldemort applauded as he dodged yet another of his own spells that Harry sent back at him. His lackeys, after one got hit with a particularly nasty hex that Harry had sent back, had all retreated backward at least a dozen or so paces and all had their wands drawn ready to cast a shield spell. "But I already told you. I know how to defeat you."

Another barrage of three spells shot at Harry almost simultaneously. He just barely managed to block the first two and was mid-move to block the third when the spell stream split and burst into streams of fire that surrounded him. Slashing his own wand across his body, Harry conjured a cyclone of wind from the ground to catch the flame before hitting the now cycling flames with a powerful Aguamenti Spell. The water and flames disappeared in a wall of steam as the two collided with one another. Still controlling the cyclone of wind with his wand, Harry directed the steam towards where Voldemort had been, only for the Dark Lord to appear just in front of him with a crack of apparation.

Using the momentum that was already in the spell, Voldemort added his own gust of wind which dissipated the steam. Seeing his chance, Harry dove forward and slashed his lightsaber horizontally. Voldemort's upper body bent backwards nearly in half as he dodged the attack. Harry had only the briefest of warnings from the Force as he noticed that, despite being bent over, Voldemort had his wand pointed right at him. "Avada Kedavra!"

It was only because of the warning that he'd had that he was able to drop flat onto his back as he just barely managed to dodge the curse, the sickly green light passing within an inch of his face.

As he fell, Harry shot a banishing charm at Voldemort's leg. Voldemort, who'd obviously expected his spell to land, hadn't been expecting Harry's counterattack and was thrown back, giving Harry the time he need to spring up and regain his foot. By the time he'd righted himself, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. One of the Death Eaters had been trying poorly to sneak around the fight while everyone else had been watching, his eyes focused on the champions who were all distracted by Harry.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Voldemort had rolled over enough to fire off another killing curse, only this time Harry had his lightsaber in position. Angling his lightsaber just so, he managed to deflect the killing curse away from himself and directly towards the lone Death Eater. The woman, which became instantly obvious from her high pitched scream, only managed a single cry of alarm before the spell struck her dead center in the chest, throwing her across the graveyard and killing her instantly.

"This fight is between you and me Tom." Harry growled. "Unless you feel like losing more lackeys, I highly advise they be good little ass kissers and stay back."

Voldemort, who'd by then had gotten back to his feet, tilted his head slightly as he tapped the tip of his wand against the palm of his left hand. "Hm. I would Potter. If only the both of us were actually taking thisss fight ssseriously." The Dark Lord drawled, idly twirling his wand around. "I've been matching your ssskillsss ssso far Harry. And while impressive…they are no more developed than they were three yearsss ago when you faced Quirrell. Which meansss one of two thingsss. Either one, you haven't improved, unlikely. Or two, and far more likely, you are trying to ssstall me in sssome vain hope that you have you help coming to save you."

Shaking his head and tsking, Voldemort took two steps towards him. "Allow me to destroy that hope Harry. There isss no help coming for you. We know about the tracking charmsss that you had on you. And the portkey that my loyal follower gave you ssstripped all four of you of any tracking charmsss asss you traveled through the ether. And if that wasn't enough, they then double checked each of you, making sssure to dispel any tracking charmsss. Although I must sssay that the hair braid in the veela creature was ingenious. I would've never thought of that had you not already used that little trick during your sssecond task. Ssso let me ask you Harry, now that you know there is no hope of sssalvation coming, why are you holding back?"

'Huh…I see Fleur is a quick learner. I wonder who's tracking her. Eh, mystery for another time. Either way, ol' Voldy is a little off the mark.' "Because I am stalling for time." Harry answered as he began to pace back and forth slightly. "You were right on the fact that I'm waiting for reinforcements. You see, we figured out your game some time ago and set a trap with me as the bait." Pausing, Harry turned around to the champions. "Unfortunately I couldn't tell any of you. And I'd hoped that none of you would've been wrapped up in this. So for that, I apologize. But as for how they would find me once I was pulled out of the maze…they would find me via a muggle tracking means."

The Death Eaters again began muttering amongst themselves and Voldemort narrowed his eyes. "A muggle meansss of tracking are uselessss in the face of magic."

"Oh, most times you are right." Harry nodded, reaching out with the Force. "But you see, we found a way around that. Actually my girlfriend Ahsoka figured it out so credit goes to her. But right now, I'm currently in possession of a muggle tracking 'charm' if you will that is leading our reinforcement's right to us."

Voldemort's eyes darted around briefly as his Death Eaters began looking around as well trying to avoid their Master's gaze. "And pray tell Harry, just where is thisss 'muggle tracking charm' of yoursss?"

"It's in my right ass check. Wanna check?"

Voldemort's wand twitched as a yellow spell shot at him. "Okay," Harry sighed, blocking the attack into the ground. "I lied. It's in my left ass check."

Knocking the second spell into the ground, Harry started chuckling. 'Okay…it is way too easy to get him riled up. But then again…I'm not feeling anything from him besides the desire to kill. No hatred. No anger. Only a mild frustration.' "Okay! I lied again. It's right in-between the two. I'm sure with how much experience Lucius has with sticking his nose up your ass he should have no problem with looking for i-"

A third spell shot out at him, this one a sickly green killing curse that he turned away into a headstone. "Luciusss!" Voldemort yelled, turning his head to look at the Death Eater who'd fired the curse. "He isss mine! And he isss only trying to unravel you. Which I applaud Harry. It ssseemsss you have truly inherited your father'sss gift. But your liesss are at an end. If you had sssuch a meansss of being tracked, your alliesss would've already been here by now."

Feeling a familiar pulse in the Force, Harry let a full out grin cross his lips. "Be careful with what you wish for Tommy boy…speak of the devil. And he might just appear."

The low humming of the LAATs passing overhead was all the warning the Death Eaters had before hell literally fell upon them as all three of the LAATs forward lasers open fired on the mass of black cloaks. Harry had to give credit where it was due though as only three of the Death Eaters got hit in the initial barrage, while the rest quickly dove for cover or poured all of their energy into shield charms. Even Voldemort was left quickly backpedaling as he conjured up a powerful shield to defend himself.

But putting them on the back foot was all the LAATs were supposed to do. As soon as a zone was cleared, the side doors opened and the Guardians along with their twenty soldiers made the twenty foot drop from aircraft to ground. Nox landed right next to him, her blood-red lightsaber springing to life as she twirled her wand into her left. Harry's heart went up into his throat as Ahsoka landed on his opposite side, her eyes catching his for just brief moment. 'Force…she's beautiful.'

After that, it was pure pandemonium. All of the Guardians activated their lightsabers and began throwing whatever spells they knew at the now hiding Death Eaters. As they did, the soldiers under the command of the clones took up defensive positions around Harry, or more specifically the champions, and began raining down suppressing fire while overhead the LAATs began weaving as they avoided spells from the ground.

Falling into a rhythm with again, Harry moved in tandem with Ahsoka and his mother as the Guardians started pressing their advance into the graveyard. The soldiers stayed behind laying down covering fire for their advance and keeping an eye on the champions. The Death Eaters, unused to fighting in such conditions, began to fall back trying to keep the Guardians at range as their lightsabers cut down anyone who they get into range with. But that plan was ultimately thwarted as the LAATs moved behind them and started firing down upon any cover they found, forcing them out and towards the waiting blades of the Guardians.

Ducking under an ill-thrown punch of a Death Eater, Harry speared the man through his chest before twirling around and banishing the corpse away with a wave of his wand. As he did, Harry locked eyes with Voldemort and saw something he never thought he'd see. Fear. The Dark Lord was afraid. Snarling, Voldemort twisted in place…and didn't go anywhere.

'So that's what took them so long.' Harry smirked as he noticed several other Death Eaters trying to either apparate or portkey away and ultimately fail to do so. 'They had to make sure that the anti-portkey and anti-apparation wards were up before we sprung our trap.'

The Death Eaters, realizing that they'd been caught into a trap and having nearly a third of their number decimated, started throwing everything they had at the Guardians, the troopers and the LAATs overhead. Statues exploded as they were hit with exploding curses. Fire rolled through the graveyard in an effort to keep distance between them. But apparently Voldemort had more followers than Harry had originally counted as the black cloaks seemed to be replaced almost as fast as the Guardians could cut them down.

Leaping over a wall of fire, Harry brought his lightsaber down in a spinning strike, cleaving the Death Eater who'd cast the spell in two. Ducking low, Harry's eyes swept over the battlefield. His mother was currently trading spells with Voldemort. The Dark Lord's face was contorted as everything he did was countered by his mother while most of the curse she sent his way were sent with such velocity and ferocity that he didn't even have time to counter them.

On the edges, Harry saw Asajj and Quinlan fighting side by side against a quartet of Death Eaters. As he watched, Asajj dodged a killing curse before using the Force to summon one of the Death Eaters to her and impaling him on her lightsaber. While she did, Quinlan leapt over her head, throwing his lightsaber as he did and decapitating one Death Eater before catching the second with a blast from his wand and landing safely on his feet.

In another section, Master Kenobi was proving himself to be a true master of Soresu as he parried away every spell that was shot at him while standing guard over one of the trooper squads that'd split from the rest in order to flank the Death Eaters. Both Kento and Mallie were standing side by side, each of the covering the other as they deflected spells, cut down any Death Eater who got too close and retaliated with their own spells.

In yet another section of the graveyard, Aayla and Shaak Ti were standing back to back as the two clearly alien women guarded each other's back from an onslaught of spells that seemed to be coming at them from all angles. But despite their situation, both women looked completely calm and in their element as they moved with a grace and fluidity that was almost baffling.

He briefly sought out Ahsoka, and found her going toe to toe with two Death Eaters that he recognized. 'Lucius and…Wormtail. The traitor!'

Harry had been so caught up in scanning the battlefield that he hadn't noticed the two Death Eaters that'd been sneaking up on him until they were quite literally standing over him. "Die Potter!"

Bringing his wand up to create a shield, Harry's eyes widened as both Death Eaters flew off of their perches as several blaster bolts hit both men dead center in the chest in rapid succession.

"A skirmish isn't the time to go sight-seeing sir!"

Harry cursed his own stupidity as a trooper with blue markings and wielding two blaster pistols dropped down next to him. "Trying to assess the situation General Rex."

Holstering the blaster in his left hand, Rex pulled out a grenade from his belt and threw it behind a downed stone column. The grenade went off, forcing the two Death Eaters that'd been using the column for cover to go running. Which is right when Rex took them both down with two accurate shots from the pistol in his right hand. "Then I suggest you assess faster young Master Guardian." Rex nodded to him before moving falling back to his squad.

Gritting his teeth, Harry focused on his target before rolling out of cover and running straight for them. Seeing his approach, Ahsoka ducked underneath a sloppy spell from Wormtail before retaliating with a back roundhouse kick to the side of his head. The fat little rat spun like a top after receiving the kick. He managed a full rotation and a half before stopping. Only to gasp as Harry was right on top of him.

Activating the side-emitters of his lightsaber, Harry punched out and pierced Wormtail's right shoulder with the shortened blade coming out of the side-emitter. "Fucking traitor." Harry growled, Force lightning arching out of his right hand, down his lightsaber and into Wormtail.

"Harry!" Wormtail screamed in agony, falling to his knees as the combination of lightning and having a small lightsaber blade in his shoulder shut his nervous system down. "P-p-p-please…m-m-m-mer-"

Harry didn't give him a chance to continue as he tilted his wrist and wrenched his lightsaber out of his shoulder. In the process, the main blade arched clean through the rat's neck. Then pushing against his body with the Force, Harry threw his body back into another approaching Death Eater as Wormtail's severed head fell to the ground at Harry's feet.

Breathing hard, Harry stared down at the head of the man who his parents had once trusted with their lives. 'A far better fate than you deserved you rat.'

As Harry turned to rejoin the fight, the ground erupted almost right from under him as Voldemort screamed at the top of his lungs and launched a powerful blasting curse into the very ground. All of the Guardians, including Harry, his mother and Ahsoka, were forced to jump back to avoid the explosion. "Damn you Potter!" Voldemort yelled before pointing his wand skyward.

Harry had no idea just what spell Voldemort used, but a dark violet sphere of light shot out from the end of his wand and raced upwards. When it was nearly fifty feet in the air it seemed to almost hit something as the sphere detonated, revealing a dome like shield overhead. As he watched, the dome cracked and eventually shattered as the sphere forced its way through before disappearing.

"Pull back!" Voldemort shouted. His Death Eaters, eager to comply, quickly started disappearing as the wards that'd been preventing them from leaving were suddenly gone. "Avada kedavra!"

Harry heard the spell and raised his lightsaber to defend himself. But the spell wasn't aimed at him. Rather, it was aimed at Ahsoka who was currently engaged with another Death Eater. There was no conscious thought as Harry felt his body construct and twist as he apparated between Ahsoka and the deadly curse. Raising his wand, Harry didn't even realize what curse he was shouting until he'd already shouted it. "Avada kedavra!"

The two green curses met with a thunderous clap just inches from Harry's wand tip. But instead of cancelling each other out, the two spells…merged together as one creating an arcing bridge of green light between Harry and Voldemort with a small sphere of light close to Harry's wand.

Harry had absolutely no clue as to what was going on, and judging by the look on the Dark Lord's face neither did him. Their confusion lasted for a split second before Harry felt the sphere of light where the two deadly spells had joined coming closer to him, and without even realizing what he was doing Harry began channeling as much power as he could into his spell.

The sphere wavered just beyond the tip of his wand for a moment before quickly heading down the bridge towards Voldemort. Voldemort, realizing what was happening, responded forcing his own considerable power into the spell and the sphere of light froze in-between the two of them. Dropping his lightsaber, Harry grabbed his wand with both hands, grunting with effort as he pulled deeper and deeper on the Force trying to channel as much power as he could into his spell. Slowly, the sphere inched closer and closer to Voldemort until it was just beyond the tip of Voldemort's wand.

Harry could feel sweat pouring down his face from the effort of putting so much power into a single spell. Feeling the sphere stall just within a breath of Voldemort's wand, Harry closed his eyes and pictured his parents. 'For my parents you motherfucker!'

His anger, righteous in nature, added the last little bit of power needed for the sphere to finish its journey into Voldemort's wand. The result was…explosive. A massive shock wave shot out from Voldemort's wand. The few Death Eaters that'd remained to this point were all thrown back. The stone structures were either blown away or simply disintegrated. The Guardians all jumped back hoping to avoid the blast while the troopers all ducked behind their cover.

As the smoke began to clear, a lone figure remained in the center of the blast. Voldemort, his robes burned and torn and half of his face scarred and blackened, was staring down at his right arm in horror. Or rather, he was staring down at what was left of his right arm. As everything from the elbow down was simply gone.

"Master!" A distinctly female sounding Death Eater cried out as she lunged at the Dark Lord. As soon as her arms were wrapped around him, the two disappeared, followed quickly thereafter by the Death Eaters who were still alive.

Blinking dumbly, Harry stared at the spot where Voldemort had disappeared from before allowing his eyes to wander over the battlefield. Dozens of dead black cloaked individuals lay scattered about the ruined graveyard with one or two white armored troopers intermixed with them. But through all the carnage, Harry didn't spot a single Guardian.

Turning on his heel, Harry found all of the Guardians, the troopers, his fellow champions and even Ahsoka and his mother, staring at him in shock. "Wh– what?" Harry muttered taking one step towards Ahsoka. "W- what happ-" It was when he took his second step that his strength left him. His knee bent and just kept on bending. The ground rushed up to meet him as a dozen voices shouted out his name. And then there was only darkness.

Sitting in a high backed throne in one of his many strongholds, Voldemort hissed as the young girl who'd apparated him out of the battle zone hesitantly applied a paste onto what was left of his right arm. "Forgive me my Lord!"

Glaring at the young woman, Voldemort hissed lowly causing his familiar to slither out from where she'd been warming herself and came to his side so he could stroke her head with his still intact left arm. "Finish it." He glared at the young woman, just barely out of Hogwarts, before turning to look at the four kneeling men before him. "Well Luciusss…how do you explain this failure?"

Lucius raised his head just enough so that Voldemort could see the man's face but not his eyes. "I do not know my Lord. T-the only thing I can think of my Lord is that Barty Crouch Jr talked before he died."

Hissing again, Nagini slithered away from him and started circling the four kneeling men. He already knew that Barty had talked. His faithful servant had already confirmed as much for him well before the ritual had taken place and he'd taken precautions in case she did take action. Precautions which in the end were useless. "I already know that." Voldemort hissed as the girl applied more paste to the stump of his arm. "What I meant, wasss how did Nox sssurprise usss ssso when we had precautionsss in place? Answer me Flint!"

Reacting in response to his anger, Nagini shot out from his side and coiled herself around the kneeling Flint. "My Lord!" The elder Flint cried out in agony as Nagini tightened hard enough to crack bones. "I– I–"

"You were responsible for our outer defensesss tonight!" Voldemort yelled, rising to his feet suddenly and making the girl fall back. "You had one job. To ssset the boundary wardsss and to warn usss of an impending attack. The wardsss were not ssset. And no warning came. Explain yourself!"

Flint's face began turning a violent shade of red as Nagini squeezed him harder and harder. "My…Lord…I- for…give…"

"Why am I wasting my breath?" Voldemort sighed as he turned back around and walked back to his throne. Hissing, "Nagini, kill."

Flint screamed as Nagini's long fangs sunk into his flesh, her venom pumping into his blood and dissolving him from the inside out. Wormtail had actually proven quite useful while he was still alive in aiding Voldemort in turning his familiar into a formidable weapon. She was magically resistant. Faster than any known snake. Stronger than any know snake. And her venom not only paralyzed her victims, it slowly digested them from the inside out. Extremely slowly. And painfully. The perfect punishment and lesson.

Sinking back down in his seat, Voldemort closed his eyes and took a moment to enjoy the sounds of the dying man's screams and pleas for mercy. Holding out his stump for the girl to continue, Voldemort turned his eyes onto Lucius. "Luciusss. Have you compiled the list?"

"Yes my Lord," Lucius bowed before getting to his feet and walking towards him while being careful to avoid to the still convulsing Flint. "I have it right here."

Voldemort merely stared at him as Lucius pulled out a scroll from within his robes, unrolled it and held it up so he could read it over. "Hmm…very good Luciusss. You're coming close to earning my forgivenesss." Voldemort nodded as he finished reading the list. "But these turn of eventsss are unfortunate. We will have to accelerate our plansss in order to replenish our now deteriorated ranksss. Contact Valad Sssanguine."

Lucius's eyes widened. "My Lord I– yes. Yes of course my Lord. And what shall I offer him in return?"

"The ssspoils Luciusss. And sssafe passage." Voldemort answered. "In the end, the contents of that list offer little to me. He can keep whatever he wishesss. That will be hisss payment. And prepare the next phase of our plansss. We will have to move quickly to counter the momentum that Nox hasss gained. And contact the Minister and the Prophet. I do not care if you have to empty the entirety of the Malfoy family vaultsss to do it, but I want the people turned against Nox, Potter, Dumbledore and these Guardiansss."

Lucius's eyes bulged at the command, but a low moan of agony from Flint quickly killed off any resistance his servant had. "Of course my Lord. I will see to it that it is done."

"Good. Now leave me. And take that piece of trash out with you. Hisss moaning isss becoming distracting. But don't kill him. The lesson of failure needsss to be taught." Voldemort said, dismissing the remaining three Death Eaters with a wave of his hand leaving just him and the young woman.

Letting his head fall back, Voldemort closed his eyes. He had miscalculated and it had almost cost him everything. Nox was a far more powerful opponent than he'd believed. No doubt she'd hoped to capture or kill him. More than likely the first as he knew that she was the one currently destroying his horcruxes. Which meant that she knew he couldn't die until they were all destroyed. But she had miscalculated. He'd managed to escape. And in turn Nox had shown him her hand. The advantage was now his.

"I've finished applying the paste my Lord."

Opening his eyes, he stared down at the young woman. She was a rather attractive thing. Her dark hair cascading over her commonly face and her tight robes doing nothing to hide her figure. Her magic was slightly better than mediocre, but she had displayed a ruthlessness during the battle and had been one of his only followers to actually take down one of the men in white armor during the battle. But it was her eyes that truly captured his attention. They were wide and full of devotion. He could see the makings of another Bellatrix in this young girl. Not that anyone could ever hope to replace his prized servant. But two were better than one.

"What isss your family name girl?"

The girl's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Flint. My Lord."

'Hmm, interesting.' "Ssso that would make you his daughter. Tell me girl. What do you think of my treatment of your father?"

The girl's eyes hardened in a way that was more than slightly pleasing to him. "He deserved his fate and more my Lord for failing you. He and my pathetic brother both failed you my Lord. My only regret is that I was unable to deliver your punishment upon them."

He didn't need to be an expert Legilimens, which he was, to know that the girl was being completely honest with him. "Very good…now tell me. What are you willing to do for me?"

The girl's eyes widened. "Whatever you would have me do my Lord. I will."

"Good," Voldemort hissed, reaching out with his index finger on his left hand and tracing a line along the girl's jaw and chin. "Because I have a ssspecial task that I think you would be more than sssuited for."

The girl's eyes went half-lidded as he gently pressed on her mind. "I will do whatever you will my Lord. With pleasure."

Feeling a stirring he hadn't felt in sometime, Voldemort smiled. His new body was definitely an improvement over his old one. In every way. But he'd yet to…test out every aspect of his body. Something he planned on rectifying immediately. Especially after the debacle that had just occurred. "Good," he cooed, pulling the girl's head towards his lap. "Ssservice me well…and I you will give you thisss task that you and you alone will be responsible for."

The girl didn't even hesitate as her hands hurriedly pulled his robe aside and her head lowered into his lap. Yes…the girl was almost exactly like Bellatrix. Not as skilled…but that would come in time. But until he got his prized weapon, servant…toy, back. This girl would suffice. Yes indeed…she was definitely quite eager to please.

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