FicWad

Disclaimer: This fan fiction was based on the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership on any character created by J.K. Rowling, and no money is collected from this story. This is one way I show appreciation to J.K. Rowling's works. Other names or places on this story are fictional. Any similarity to actual name is purely coincidental.




Chapter 16: Unfortunate Events pt. 4

Harry carefully studied the dark wizard Slughorn called Voldemort. He couldn't believe this snake-like man... or was it creature... was the most feared wizard in the magical world. It was undeniable he had a face only a mother could love. But still, a whole wizarding world against Voldemort and his merry band of Death Eaters, they should be languishing in prison right now. He glared angrily at the Dark Lord. The wizarding world might be afraid of him, but he wasn't going to be one of them.

Voldemort smiled satisfactorily at the terror exhibited by his former professor. Fear and terror... These were the emotions he craved most on his victims. He would have left the old professor alone, if not for the fact that he knew too much. Sooner or later, Dumbledore would seek him out, and pick his mind of everything he knew of a former student named Thomas Marvolo Riddle.

Voldemort turned his attention to the boy standing beside Slughorn. He was a poor excuse of a wizard if his illusion was anything to go by. There was something else, though. His eyes narrowed, displeased. This boy... He was not cowering in fear. He dared to stare back at him? Voldemort sneered. This boy would learn in the most painful way that nobody... nobody defied the Dark Lord.

"Good evening, Professor Slughorn," Voldemort greeted sarcastically. "You're not planning on leaving without chatting a little bit, are you? It's been years since we last saw each other. I'm sure we have a lot to talk about."

"N...Not really," Slughorn replied nervously. "I heard you're a very busy man, Tom." Voldemort lost his false civility at hearing his muggle name. Slughorn, recognizing his mistake, immediately sought to repair the damage. "I mean... Lord Voldemort. Please, forgive this old man's slipping memory." He breathlessly waited for Voldemort's explosive retribution. It never came. He slowly released the breath he didn't know he was holding. With a shaky voice, he began again. "As I was saying, I wouldn't dare impose on your busy schedule. If you will lower the anti-Apparition ward, we will be on our way."

Voldemort laughed dryly. "You're still a funny man, Professor Slughorn. You have no idea how you made me laugh when I was still at Hogwarts. It is a pity I cannot grant your request." He smiled with malevolent delight when he saw his old professor shiver in fear. "You are one of the loose ends that I need to eliminate."

Slughorn's false sense of bravado slowly crumbled in the face of certain death. "Please, Lord Voldemort, have mercy... have mercy," he begged pitifully as he fell down on his hands and knees, crying. His supplication fell on deaf ears. Voldemort only smiled cruelly overjoyed at his victim's helplessness.

Harry had seen and heard enough. He stooped down and dragged Slughorn to his feet. He turned the old professor's fear-wracked body to face him. "Look at me! Look at me!" Harry roughly cupped Slughorn's fat chin and forced him to look at him. Staring straight at Slughorn's fearful eyes, he said, "No self-respecting wizard should beg mercy to a monster like him. He is not a fearsome all-powerful wizard. The only power he has is the one you give him. He thrives on your fear. Without it, he is nothing. Do you understand?"

Slughorn stared wide eye at Harry. Slowly, sanity and reason returned to the old man's fearful eyes. For a moment, he felt ashamed for being reprimanded by a boy. He squared his shoulder and stood up straight. He nervously faced Voldemort again and bravely said, "I am not afraid anymore, Tom. Do your worse."

Voldemort, however, wasn't paying attention to him. He was staring furiously at Harry. "Those are very brave words for a mudblood. Are you in such a hurry to die? Don't worry. Before this night is over, you will beg me to give you death. And, I will take great pleasure in denying it to you." He grinned nastily.


Harry barely heard Voldemort's taunting words. He was discreetly looking around searching for a way out. The front door was out of the question. They couldn't possibly fight their way through Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The windows were the only option open to them. He could probably make it. But, that would leave Slughorn to the mercy of these monsters.

Harry stared impassively at Voldemort. If what he read about the Dark Lord was accurate, there was no way he could win a duel with him. He could even die a few minutes into the fight. However, he might provide enough distraction for Slughorn to escape. There was no other way. His plan had to work.

"Those are very threatening words for a Dark Lord surrounded by his cronies. Tell me. Do you always have them around whenever you make a threat? Because the way I see it, your words don't carry much weight without them." Harry grinned broadly when he saw Voldemort's reaction. The Dark Lord was making it too easy. It was now or never, he thought. "Lord Voldemort... I, Harry James Evans, challenge you to a wizard's duel. What say you?"

Voldemort laughed out loud. "YOU?, challenge ME?, to a wizard's duel? You insult me, /boy/." He couldn't believe this boy had the nerve to defy him. Wizards and Witches alike either cower in fear or ran away or beg mercy for their lives. A movement to his right drew his attention.

Gunthar, the servant he ordered to kill Slughorn and retrieve the Felix Felicis potions, had stepped forward. "My Lord, let me accept the challenge in your name. This whelp insults you by thinking himself your equal." He also would like a payback for his humiliation earlier.

"I will deal with him myself. It has been a long time since a wizard has challenged me to a duel. However, you and I have a matter to discuss after this." Voldemort warningly glared at Gunthar. He, then, turned his eyes to the boy who was whispering earnestly to Slughorn. He was intrigued. Perhaps, this boy could be persuaded to join his cause. No. The boy would better serve the cause if he died. The boy's death would serve as an abject lesson to his Death Eaters.

While the dark wizards were having a chat, Slughorn had leaned closer to Harry, and whispered, "What are you doing? Do you want to die?"

"I know what I'm doing. When the right time comes, I want you to jump through the window. Don't worry about me, okay?" Harry whispered back urgently. Slughorn was about to say more, but Voldemort spoke aloud.

"I accept your challenge. This wizard duel is to the death." Harry silently nodded his head. Voldemort gave him a predatory smile.


The Death Eaters pressed themselves against the three walls of the sitting room. Slughorn was about to do the same when Harry grabbed a hold of him. Harry made it appear Slughorn was going to be in the way as he firmly shoved him in the direction of the windows. Then, he quickly shed his cloak and threw it to one side. He nervously backed up near the fireplace. The toppled armchair was on his left and the other one on his right. He made sure he was as far away from Slughorn as possible without getting himself boxed in.

Voldemort remained unperturbedly where he was. He was busy thinking of a way to make this duel as entertaining as possible to his Death Eaters. "We will start the duel with a bow." He saw the Evans boy gave a slight nod. "No self-respecting wizard would start an honorable duel without properly bowing." Voldemort smirked remembering the boy's words when he was censuring Slughorn. "Now, we both take a bow."

Voldemort saw Evans warily bowed from the waist. He was pleased. The boy knew how to show proper respect. As Voldemort began to stand straight, he saw Evans quickly reached for the upturned armchair's leg and strongly hurled it towards him. The Dark Lord smirked as he realized the low bow was just a ruse to pick up the chair. He haughtily stopped it in midair. A wizard's duel fought the muggle way, he thought disdainfully.

He was about to blast it back to the boy when it suddenly exploded. Fabrics and pieces of wood forcefully flew in all direction. Voldemort was caught off guard. He instinctively raised his arms to protect himself from the blast. He, then, felt a spell hit him in the chest. He was blasted backward into the arms of his Death Eaters.

"My Lord, are you alright?"

"Stop them! They're escaping!"

"Stay where you are, mudblood!"

"My Lord, Slughorn has escaped."

"Move away from me!" Voldemort shouted angrily to his Death Eaters who were crowded around him. He determinedly stood up. He felt the pain from his chest receding and saw his wound healing. Some of his Death Eaters had their wands pointed at Evans. He regarded the boy in a new light. "You are not as pathetic as I thought you were, Evans. That was a very good dueling tactic. It's a pity you will not live long enough to tell it to your friends."

A Death Eater came running inside the room, and reported breathlessly, "My Lord! Several Ministry aurors have appeared outside the house. What are we going to do?"

The Dark Lord didn't even look at his servant. His attention was solely focused on Harry. "Gunthar, Bellatrix, Wormtail, you stay here. The rest of you, go outside and keep the aurors at bay." The Death Eaters left to do his bidding. Voldemort grinned nastily at Harry. "Just because the aurors have arrived doesn't mean we have to postpone the duel. This is, after all, a wizard's duel to the death."


Harry was glad Slughorn escaped. He would have escaped too, but he had to stop the Death Eaters from following. Now, it was too late to do anything. Some of the Death Eaters were menacingly pointing their wands at him. Harry watched as Voldemort furiously pushed his fanatics away from him. When the Dark Lord faced him again, there was no sign of spell wound on his chest. The hole in his cloak was the only evidence that Harry squarely hit him.

Harry wasn't surprise that Voldemort was pissed at him. He did, after all, scored a hit. He had to think of a way to escape, fast. It was obvious Voldemort was more powerful than what was reported. When a Death Eater nervously reported the aurors had arrived, he felt hope. This could be his way out. However, it was quickly extinguished when Voldemort opted to continue the duel rather than leave. What more, he ordered Gunthar and an undernourished witch named Bellatrix to block the windows. The ratty looking Death Eater named Wormtail stood guard at the door.

A faint sound of wizard battle can be heard inside the sitting room. But no one had any idea who was winning. Meanwhile, Harry and Voldemort were giving each other a considering look. Both duelists still hadn't raised their wands. Who would cast the first spell? Harry knew he couldn't repeat what he did earlier. Voldemort would be expecting it. So, they stood, as if frozen in time, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Max used to tell him that the eyes were the windows to the soul. They would either reveal your inner strength or your inner weakness. So, Harry stared directly into Voldemort's eyes hoping to gauge his enemy's strength. He felt slightly disconcerted staring at the Dark Lord's snake-like eyes... eyes that seemed to bore into his mind. Still, he refused to show any sign of weakness. He refused to look away, even when Voldemort gave him a sinister smile.

A brief flash of Dudley and his gang chasing him flitted through Harry's mind. He quickly clamped down on the memory and shoved it aside. This was not the time to reminisce he told himself. He was in the middle of a duel. Another memory of his Uncle Vernon backhanding him rose to the forefront of his mind. And then, he saw his Aunt Petunia locking him in the cupboard without dinner for not finishing weeding the garden early. It was slowly followed by another and another... one bad memory after another. Until all his unhappy memories were flashing right before his eyes.

He had heard from people, who were involved in a life threatening accidents, that this was a normal occurrence. Granted the situation now was life threatening, he shouldn't be experiencing it, just yet. Without lowering his guard, he tried to push the unhappy memories from his mind. It seemed to work, or so he thought. The bad memories slowed down until it stopped at the one event that ripped him from his secure and trouble-free life. He felt a lump in his throat as he witnessed again, the death of his Uncle Max. His eyes began to burn with unshed tears. His heart tightened with intense grief and guilt. "Uncle Max, I'm so sorry," he remorsefully muttered. He was so lost in his grief, that he didn't even realize he had dropped his wand.


Voldemort smiled with maniacal glee. He stared hard at the glazed eyes of the boy who stood immobile, trapped in his own grief and guilt. Mudbloods were so weak, so easy to manipulate, he thought. And to think, he complimented this boy for providing him with a little challenge. Well, this Evans boy will suffer for his impudence. As he had said earlier, the boy would beg for his death. Gritting his teeth with eager anticipation, Voldemort probed deeper into Harry's mind and made him focused on Flint's face. He made Harry see Flint's pitiless laughter and hear his malicious taunting words. He vindictively magnified Harry's grief and guilt to break his will to fight... his will to live.

Gunthar felt anger at his master as he watched the almost blissful expression on the Dark Lord's face. Lord Voldemort knew perfectly well the boy was no match for him. The pleasure of killing the impertinent mudblood should have been his. He briefly glanced at Bellatrix and saw her mocking smile. He returned his attention back at the duel. He didn't know what the Dark Lord was doing. But, from the mudblood's sorrowful expression and the amount of tears flowing down his cheeks, it was probably very traumatic. The boy was even visibly shaking. As Gunthar watched, he still couldn't believe he was bested by this same boy... a mudblood boy.

Bellatrix silently slinked to Gunthar's side. Still watching the Dark Lord amused himself with the mudblood, she sardonically said, "Don't worry about what the others will say. Most wizards would be caught off-guard too, if a mudblood breaks an improperly cast Imperius Curse." Gunthar furiously glared at the witch who condescendingly smiled at him. She brought her wand near her breasts and lovingly caressed it with her left hand. "If I were you, I wouldn't have dispensed with pleasantries. A nice and simple Cruciatus Curse would have done the trick," she cruelly taunted, her eyes glinting with insane glee. "A mudblood boy got the..." She stopped abruptly when she heard the Dark Lord's horrifying scream.


Gunthar, Bellatrix, and Wormtail saw Lord Voldemort staggered backward while cradling his head with both hands. He was screaming in pain and terror. His eyes were wide with fear as he vigorously shook his head from an unseen horror. They turned to look at the mudblood and saw him slowly transforming. His face and ears were elongating. His teeth were getting sharper. His fingers were changing, developing claws. His hairs were growing, most probably all over his body. They couldn't believe it. Yet, the evidence was right before their eyes. The boy was transforming into a werewolf without the aid of the full moon? It was impossible.

Bellatrix didn't waste any time. She quickly shot a Blasting Curse at the werewolf. The dark creature forcefully hit the corner wall leaving cracks and a large dent. The werewolf groggily shook its head. The curse merely ripped the werewolf's shirt. Then, it jumped with alacrity on its two legs growling furiously. They saw the werewolf briefly scan the room. When it saw the pained and confused Dark Lord, it attacked. Gunthar and Bellatrix bellowed curse after curse. But, the werewolf was just too fast. And, the failed Disillusionment Charm was making it even harder. It darted and dodged the curses as if it was just playing around. Bellatrix swiftly ran in front of the rampaging werewolf to protect her master. But she was viciously slapped aside like a rag doll. Its razor sharp claws cut deeply on her left cheek.

"Wormtail! Use your hand! Use you hand!" Gunthar cried in panic as he watched the werewolf heading straight towards the Dark Lord.

Wormtail didn't do anything. The thought of Moony nearly biting him flashed before his eyes. He was frozen stiff with fear. From where he was standing, he saw his master attempted to curse the dark creature. But, it was too late. The werewolf was so close it merely grabbed his master's wand hand and pulled. Wormtail clearly saw the creature bit his master hard on his left shoulder. The Dark Lord horribly screamed in pain and agony. The werewolf viciously shook its head side to side trying to tear off the flesh. Blood spurted and flowed freely on the black cloak soaking it red.

"Crucio!"

"Crucio!"

Bellatrix's face was twisted in pure hatred. This creature dared to ruin her beautiful face, she thought. Her curse along with Gunthar hit the werewolf in the back. The dark creature agonizingly howled from the excruciating pain. Its body grotesquely arched backward. Still, it remained firmly on its feet. And, instead of releasing the Dark Lord, the werewolf tightened its grief, and forcefully swung Voldemort to the two Death Eaters.

The Dark Lord was plunged nowhere near Bellatrix and Gunthar. Her victim forgotten, Bellatrix watched her master flew spinning across the room into the brick fireplace. She heard a resounding thud. Her master landed on the floor unconscious and bleeding profusely. She ran to her master's side and quickly applied a spell to stop the flow of blood. Wormtail, seeing the danger was almost over, hurried to Gunthar's side and cursed the writhing werewolf on the floor.


A panicking Death Eater rushed inside the sitting room. "My Lord! My Lord! The aurors and Dumbledore's men are about to break through our defenses! We have to..." The messenger stopped abruptly when he saw the unconscious and bloody form of the Dark Lord.

Bellatrix immediately took command. "Tell the others to portkey back to Headquarter. Gunthar... Make sure you activate all the explosives before you leave." The Death Eater and Gunthar immediately left to do their assigned tasks. "Wormtail... Grab a healer and take him to Malfoy Manor." Wormtail gratefully activated his portkey and disappeared. She cautiously walked back to the unconscious dark creature. "You will go with us, mudblood. The duel isn't over yet... Mobilicorpus!" Bellatrix carelessly guided the body to her unconscious master.

Gunthar dashed to the kitchen to activate the key explosive. His fellow Death Eater ran outside to call a retreat. When he reached the kitchen, he went straight to the dining table. He muttered a spell, and an ordinary box materialized. He reached inside, and brought out a metallic ball, covered with rune. Once this key was activated, it would trigger the rest of the explosives. The power of the explosives was enough to turn the house into a pile of rubbles, and bury the Ministry Aurors and Dumbledore’s followers, when they overran the house.

He was about to cast the activation spell, when he unexpectedly caught movements through the window. He quickly pressed himself beside the kitchen window, and cautiously peered outside. He saw several silhouettes. One of them had a wand raised, and then, a curse was shouted.

“Flabra!”

Gunthar didn’t wait for the outcome of the spell. He immediately reached for his portkey inside his cloak pocket, and activated it. As soon as he vanished, the whole expanse of the wall, where he was standing, exploded from a blast of a gale force wind. Five wizards burst through the destroyed wall, and deftly skirted the debris filled kitchen. They warily inspected every room along the hallway, leading to the front door.

Meanwhile, at the front door, a group of blue-cloaked aurors led by Mad Eye Moody came charging in. With the help of his magical eye, he easily located the whereabouts of his quarry. He blasted the door of the sitting room off its hinges. They quickly took a defensive position in and out of the room.

"Surrender!" Mad Eye harshly shouted. He could tell their sudden appearance caught Bellatrix Lestrange by surprise.

Bellatrix silently cursed the name of the seasoned auror. She didn’t expect Mad Eye to breach the perimeter ward so fast. As much as Bellatrix wanted to take Harry with her, she had no choice but to drop him, and dived towards her master. Curses bounced off her shield as she activated her portkey and vanished. Mad Eye and the aurors were left staring at the unconscious, slightly disillusioned, human form of Harry Evans.