The Wolf's Lion ~ Harry Potter (Editing)

Chapter Fifty-One | The Duel

Voldemort completely ignored Harry and Ariana, his back to them. He ran his pale, spindly fingers over his bald head and down his face, feeling his new body for the first time. He slowly drifted towards a snivelling Wormtail, moving like a dense, black cloud.

"My wand Wormtail," he said, his voice smooth and cold. Wormtail bowed deeply and presented Voldemort with a white wand, which Ariana thought looked rather like a bone. "Hold out your arm."

"Master. Thank you master," Wormtail stuttered, holding out the bloody stump at the end of his right arm.

"The other arm Wormtail," Voldemort hissed.

Ariana didn't miss the concerned look upon Wormtail's round face, but he done as he was told nonetheless. Voldemort stuck the tip of hos wand into the other, smaller, man's arm. Thunder rumbled overhead, the sky darkening with dark clouds.

Ariana couldn't turn her head more than a few inches to either side, but she forced it to her right anyway. In the sky above was the same mark that had hovered above the camping grounds of the Quidditch World Cup: the Dark Mark.

Wormtail looks concerned, but does it anyway. Voldemort sticks
the wand into Wormtail's arm. The sky changes, others have been
summoned. In between the graves, Death Eaters began to appear, Apparating to their master in swirls of black smoke. They wore identical black robes, masks that bore a strong resemblance to human skulls covering the upper half of their faces.

"Welcome my friends," Voldemort began, standing in the centre of the group of Death Eaters that surrounded him. "Thirty years it's
been, and yet you stand before me as
though it were only yesterday. I confess myself disappointed, not one of you tried to find me." He began angrily slashing at the wizards, removing their masks with magic, making them fall to their knees before him. "Crabbe. McNair. Goyle. Not even you, Lucius."

Voldemort peeled away the mask of Lucius Malfoy more gently than the others, but Ariana knew his 'calm' action was an even more threatening one. The man removed the hood from his head, revealing a head of platinum blonde hair, and a pair of eyes that had a tiny pleading aspect to them.

"My lord. Had I detected any sign or
even a whisper of your whereabouts -"

"There were signs my friend, and more than whispers," Voldemort stated, his voice dangerously low.

"I assure you I never renounced the old ways. The face I have been obliged to present each day since your absence, that was my true mask," said Lucius.

"I returned," Wormtail added.

Voldemort spun around and strode straight for Wormtail, who ducked so low he was almost folded in half and gasped.  "Out of fear, not loyalty. Still you have proved yourself useful these past few months, Wormtail." He held his wand up to Wormtail's stump and a stream of silver liquid, that looked a little bit like Mercury, poured from the end, forming a hand in the end of his arm.

"Thank you master, thank you," Wormtail snivelled, taking wheezing breaths as he inspected his new hand.

Voldemort glided over to Cedric's paling corpse, pushing his face with his foot. "Oh, such a handsome
boy."

Fury rose in Ariana. How dare he disrespect Cedric like that? It's absolutely disgusting... disgraceful.

"Leave him alone!" Ariana shouted angrily.

"Don't touch him!" Harry yelled, clearly just as pissed as Ariana was, struggling to get free.

"Harry!" Voldemort gasped, feigning surprise. He slowly approached Harry, making Ariana strain against her bindings again. "I'd almost forgotten you were here. Standing on the bones of my father. I'd introduce you but word has it you're
almost as famous as me these days. The boy who lived. How lies have fed your legend Harry. Shall I reveal what really happened that night thirteen years ago? Shall I divulge how I truly lost my powers? It was love. You see when dear sweet Lily Potter gave her life for her only son she provided the ultimate protection. I could not touch you. It was old magic, something I should have forseen. But no matter, no matter. Things have changed, I can touch you now!"