When the Roses Bloom Again by TheBlack'sResurgence

Chapter 108

Where it all Began (Part Two)

"I'm scared, Harry," Minerva whispered as she clung to his shirt. "It's like how it was before, but the prophecy…"

Harry offered his wife a reassuring smile.

"My whole life has led to this," he murmured. "With him gone, I will finally be able to live."

"Have we not been living these past few decades?" Minerva replied sadly.

We have," Harry replied, "but he has always been there, and always will until one of us dies. I tried to ignore it, Minerva, but I am drawn to him to like a moth to a flame. For everything he has ever done to me, it has to be this way."

Minerva nodded as her eyes brimmed with tears.

"Don't leave me alone, Harry. I don't know what I would do without you."

Harry sighed gently as he pulled her closer to his chest.

"You never will be," he promised.

"Kill them all!"

At his command, the men that had served him so loyally on the continent so many years ago attacked, and the Death Eaters immediately found themselves on the defensive.

Those that didn't manage to shield themselves or avoid the onslaught screamed in agony as they were set upon, but Harry's eyes were fixed on only one person.

His fury was palpable, the sight of the man that had tormented him since he had been little more than a year old bringing the worst out in him.

That simmering anger and hatred he felt at the murder of his parents, the death of Cedric, the loss of Sirius, and every single other transgression that Tom Riddle had dared to commit against him tore through Harry.

Riddle was a monster, but in this moment, it was Harry that was to be feared, though his foe showed little of it.

Whatever shock he had experienced initially seemed to have worn off quickly, and he brought his wand to bear, a flurry of spells bursting from the tip.

With a wave of Harry's wand, they came to nothing, swept aside as though they were nothing more than a minor irritant.

The casual dismissal angered the Dark Lord and he sent forth another effort, to no avail.

Harry simply stepped out of their path before sending his rebuttal, and he felt a wave of satisfaction as Tom's eyes widened in concern.

If his first offering elicited such a reaction, then Riddle was in for a rude awakening in the coming moments.

Still, he smiled in his own deluded way as he breathed a fireball into his hand and manipulated it into an enormous snake, beaming smugly as it lunged towards Harry.

Again, with little more than a wave of his wand, the Dark Lord's effort was eradicated, much to the man's surprise.

"Pathetic," Harry snorted before returning the gesture, his own serpent much larger and burning hotter than Voldemort's.