She leaned forward, her hands twisted in her front, fidgeting. Harry watched her, bored. Today was Tuesday, the Hogwarts house-elves would be serving bacon, his favorite.
"What was it you wanted to tell me?" He asked, scanning his left wrist, around which the expensive, diamond wristwatch he had confiscated from Adrian Pucey.
"I love you, Harry." Padma said. Harry blinked. 'Is this a joke or something?' He picked between his fingernails, eyeing her.
"And you are telling me this why?"
"I want you to love me back." She replied, an earnest look etched on her face. "Say you love me too." Harry rolled his eyes.
"I'm not really in the mood to tell lies this morning
." He said, truthfully. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to eat breakfast."
Padma blinked at him, as though he had just spoken in some unintelligible language, before a terrible sound escaped her lips.
He realised with surprise and a little bit of alarm that she was crying. He stood there, for a moment— hands in his pockets, trying to figure out what to do. Why did she have to cry? All he did was tell the truth. Weren't people supposed to be more appreciative of the truth?
He supposed there were oddities, once in a while. Or was he the odd one? Was he the one missing something?
He shrugged it off. He turned towards the Great Hall, leaving Padma in the deserted corridor. He was not going to let an encounter with a loquacious girl ruin his appetite.
Rows of uneven, rough grass crunched against the hard sole of his plaid boots. Harry stopped in front of the small wooden door, tracing his wand around the edges of the many wards layered. He could feel their anchor, their power force. It was lacking. Such substandard wards… Shouldn't a rich, big-shot, pureblood family be able to afford more?
He twisted his wand in a sharp curve, muttering under his breath, extracting the veil over the power to the Elder wand.
He could feel it rushing through his veins, suffocating him with its pure, indomitable power. He drank it in and inhaled, so deep that he held his breath for a few moments. Sweat beaded on his forehead. It spread to drizzle over his face, stinging his eyes, spiking his lips with the definite saline tang.
He drew in more power. The Elder wand shivered in his grasp. Magic flooded his every being, like a cataract of ice on bare flesh. It shimmered and twisted within, wrestling his control. Harry traced the edgeline of the wards, holding the key node.
He released the power.
Destruction set like the sun amidst late evening. The wards exploded in a blast, like a cannon. The wooden doors splintered, and fell. He could see his targets moving already. Harry wasn't idle either, he was already casting his spells. They had already lost. They just didn't know it yet.
He dodged a sickly, green curse that exploded against the floor behind him. Plumes of debris and earth rose.
"Fulminis."
Lightening extended from the end of his wand, arcing towards his left. It shattered the pale blue dome of a protego charm, impacting against his target with a loud bang. The smell of burnt, sizzled flesh filled the air.
"Esmeralda !" Nott cried. "No !". His eyes hardened with ill intent.
"Avada Kedavra."
Harry waved his wand, casual in his countenance. The large armchair to his right sprang to life, revealing a crouching, cowering body. The piece of furniture jumped to intercept the sickly, green curse.
"Expelliarmus."
Nott's wand landed in Harry's outstretched hand. Harry pocketed it. He pointed his wand at the still crouching Theodore Nott. The boy squealed with surprise when the wind brought him to Harry's feet. Nott made to move but Harry waved his wand, immobilizing him without a word. He snapped his fingers. A knife materialised in his right hand. Harry pulled Theodore up by his neck.
"Now let's play a game." Harry said, in the same tone one would use when talking to friends in an inn. "The rules are simple." He waved the knife as if demonstrating. "I ask you a question. You are to maintain eye contact at all times. If you do not give a satisfactory answer then I will cut off one finger from Theo. If you break eye contact, I will cut a finger. If I run out of fingers to cut then I will kill him. Understood?" Nott nodded, shakily
Harry tsked, he jammed his knife into Theodore's thigh, ignoring the over-dramatic high-pitched scream. "When I ask a question, I expect you to answer with words. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do !" Nott shouted. "Please, spare my Theo."
Harry ignored his words. He focused his gaze on the cobalt eyes.
"Did Lord Voldemort leave something with you? Something of his?"
"No." Nott replied. "I swear, he didn't."
True. Harry nodded. He couldn't be lying. Nott was a flat-out failure at occlumency. His mind was ridiculously accessible.
"Do you know if he left something with any of his other followers?"
A pause. Hesitation. Amusement sparked in Harry. He had already seen the truth of it. He wanted to see what the Death Eater would decide to say. Nott scratched his hair, stalling. He blinked out tears— A mistake. Harry's hand moved with a fluidity that bespoke impeccable grace. Theodore screamed as his last finger on his right hand dropped to the ground.
Why?" Nott queried. "I didn't lie the first time!"
"You blinked." Harry replied. "I asked you to always maintain eye contact. That includes you not blinking."
"Please, why are you doing this?" Nott asked. "What do you stand to gain? The Dark Lord cannot be stopped. He's too strong. He will always win."
"Why?" Harry repeated, squinting his eyes in confusion at Nott. "Is there supposed to be a reason for torture? And here I thought you Death Eaters used to have good fun just for the sake of it."
"Please, just let me and my son go." Nott begged. "We won't ever bother you. We will-"
"Enough." Harry interrupted, growing bored with the diatribe. "Just answer my question, you dolt. "Or perhaps you want more encouragement."
He slashed his knife against Theo's right hand. Two fingers dropped at once.
Theodore screamed.
It sounded like music to Harry's ears. He raised the knife again, pulling Theo's left hand closer.
"Stop ! Please Stop, it's Bellatrix." Nott shouted. "The Dark Lord gave Bellatrix a golden cup to keep in her vault."
Harry smirked. He already knew this, of course. But it was fun to make Nott tell him.
"Please, I have done what you asked," said Nott. "Let my son go."
"Okay," Harry agreed readily. He spun the knife in his fingers and jammed its full length straight between Theodore's lungs.
A violent spasm was the confirmation that he hit bullseye. Theodore shuddered in his hands and went still.
Nott screamed.
The shock of it brought him to his knees, breaking through the immobilization charm. Harry tossed the body of his son towards him. Nott clutched it like a life-line. As though if he squeezed hard enough, he could somehow bring him back to life.
"You said you would let him live." Nott accused, Tears framed around his face.
"Did I?" Harry asked. "I can't remember ever saying that."
"You're a monster." Nott said, tone laced with conviction. Harry laughed.
"Let this monster grant you one final gift then." Harry said.
He pointed the elder wand towards the pathetic, kneeling form of Nott, releasing the wand's power like a haze of firestorm against a dry, weathered forest-bush.
"Avada Kedavra."
Green light enveloped the room. A rush of pleasure flooded him for an ephemeral moment that seemed like eternity.
The light receded and left Harry standing alone in a destroyed cottage, surrounded by bodies. He turned on the spot. The sensation of being squeezed into a cylinder. The world whirled around him leaving behind the image of Nott crumpled against the body of his son.