Fleur De Lis

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The soaring of his heart had been short-lived. He had done it. Justin had beaten his older brother to the cup. Having taken down both Durmstrang champions he felt the win had been more than deserved. When he saw Harry and Fleur enter the long corridor he had wasted no time in scrambling backward towards the cup expecting spellfire to follow and was only moderately surprised when it never came. The euphoria was ruined however when the portkey flew from his hand and he hit the dirt hard. Recognizing the familiar pull of a long-distance portkey the disorientation threw him, but only for a moment. Sensing danger he instinctively raised a shield as a red light flashed towards him.

Rolling towards his right he cried as his ankle locked up under a rock, but facing an unknown threat, he buried the pain as his brother taught him, and whipped his wand in an arc of destructive blasting curses. Roars of rage followed his spell fire, followed by cries for help, "YOU FOOLS! HE CANNOT ESCAPE."

The voice made a sharp pain lance the length of the lightning bolt on his forehead. It felt as if a hot iron had been pressed against his skin. It was worse than any normal burn, however. Worse than any broken bone. It was as if he was back under the cruciatus that Peter had once held him under, but he couldn't fathom the cause. He staggered under the weight of a dozen stunners hitting his shield, and only then did he realize that his attackers were wearing the familiar black robes and silver masks. Death Eaters. At least a dozen. His wand attempted to fire back, but as soon as he did he was caught in the chest with a bright red light and darkness consumed him.

Copper was the first thing he recognized when the lights of the world came back on, and his eyes opened. The feeling of both of his hands being in chains lifted above his head nearly had him panic before he realized why copper was flooding his senses. Blood. The taste was familiar to him, and he wanted to spit to give himself relief of the taste, but not knowing the circumstances of him being chained up prevented himself from doing so. His tongue moving in his mouth caused a pain to lance through his mouth, and he knew he must've bit his tongue when he had been stunned by the Death Eaters. As his mind began to process exactly what was happening around him he realized the world was quiet. The creatures of the night were even silent. The only audible sound was a lone voice, "13 years it's been. Not one of you tried to find me."

Roaring the names of his followers Justin lifted his eyes to see the man rip their mask off causing them to groan, and fall to the ground in some type of pain. When Lucius Malfoy was dropped, realization had hit the young Potter like a hurricane. The Dark Lord was walking among the living once more. Every nightmare Justin had experienced since he was old enough to remember was occurring before his eyes, but for some reason he knew he wasn't going to wake up this time. His only hope was his brother. If Harry could get to him then maybe he had a chance, but he would need to get to his wand, and he would have to summon his patronus. It was his only hope.

Before he could begin to ponder what had come of his wand the cold voice of the humanoid man began to direct itself at him, "Justin Potter, the boy who lived, our own little celebrity. Oh how your survival has inspired defiance among the people who once feared me. Shall we tell them what truly happened that night? The night I lost my power."

Justin wanted to antagonize the man with defiance, but his brother's voice entered his mind, "Say nothing. If you are outclassed, lull your opponent into a false confidence. Don't show your strength until you absolutely have to."

Following the advice of his brother he said nothing as Voldemort continued his monologue, "You see, it was old magic. Something I should have foreseen. When dear, sweet Euphemia Potter wouldn't even raise her wand to fight me, she enacted a powerful ritual. No matter though. Things have changed."