HERE WE GO AGAIN (Patreon)

Sorry, guys. I know it has been a while, and I apologise for taking so long. But my grandmother had heart surgery, and I had to be there for her. I hope you can understand.....I hope all are doing well.

I will be sticking to the schedule from now on. You will see me again soon.

Enjoy!!!!!

Chapter 14- The Express Face-Off

“Your orders, my Lord.” Abraxus bowed low, waiting for the Dark Lord’s command.

Lord Voldemort regarded the men in front of him once more. He had marked this day for almost a month now. Today will be the day that he makes his move. A day he had been waiting for more than thirty years now. A day that he had envisioned so many times in his dreams. A day that should not go wrong at any cost.

“We attack, Abraxus.” He began looking at each of them, knowing that he had the undivided attention of the men to himself. “We attack, and we make our presence known.”

“The location is the Kings Cross station when the Hogwarts Express pulls in.” A bout of surprise passed through the people around him. “Of course, I know why that comes as a surprise. But not to worry. I would never let down those who trust me. I have arranged for your heirs and heiresses to escape before we begin.”

“We go to King’s Cross, like every parent waiting for their children. You immediately remove your children from the Express and ensure they reach the floo room. I will see to it that the room is sealed. Send a word to Lucius, Abraxus. I want him to help to make sure that the transition happens smoothly.

“At once, my Lord.” Abraxus agreed hastily and took his leave to inform his son.

“But I want you to focus on one particular group. The ones leaving the platform through the muggle entrance. The mudbloods!” He spat.

“The major focus remains the mudbloods; we leave a message with this action.” He pointed out.

“Why must we keep the mask on, my Lord?” It was Randolph Lestrange that questioned him.

We are a big group, Randolph. But did you forget the number of families still not part of our group? They outnumber us. The mask is not to hide it, the Lestrange Lord said.

“We conceal our identity and make our vision known. When we have control, we can be proud to discard our masks and show ourselves as the leaders of the New World. Until then, we must accept that we are on the back foot.”

“This is not just a change, Randolph. This is a revolution. A revolution that one would read about a hundred years from today and thank us for everything we did. A revolution that would cement us as the greats of Wizarding Britain, up there with Salazar Slytherin. Your families that played a part in making history would be lauded for ages.” He smirked when cheers reverberated around the room. These men just needed the right choice of words, and they would jump into the boat. Words have power. ‘It is so true.’ He thought.

“Get ready.” He muttered after the others had gone quiet and left the room, leaving behind an excited group of buzzing men.

BREAK—------

Lucius,

We have orders, son—your first assignment. We attack the Express today, son. Make sure that the group reaches the Floo room as quickly as possible. Don’t delay it. It is your responsibility to ensure the group does not suffer any problems. If you fail, the consequences will be dire, and you know how bad it will be.

Remember, none from the group should suffer any problems and must return safely.

Abraxus

“We have orders,” Lucius muttered, looking up from the letter in his hand. The others in the compartment sat up, waiting for him to proceed.

“We must get into the Floo Room once we reach the station,” Lucius explained to the compartment. “The entire group must know. Make sure that you find every one of them and let them know. You better not mess up. Gather them at a place very quickly and be discreet about it.” Lucius barked, and the other Slytherin boys in the compartment stood up and motioned to carry out their tasks.

“It’s time then,” Lucius grunted his agreement. “Yes, Thadeous. It is time.” The only other boy in the compartment grinned in delight. “I was tired of waiting all these days.” Thadeous Nott grumbled.

“I had expected this to begin long back, Lucius. I was tired of asking Father to tell me when it would happen. Took too long, in my opinion.”

“Yes.” Lucius agreed. “But we are in a precarious position, Thadeous. One wrong step will set us back years in progress. And that is a compromise we cannot afford. Every single step has to be well thought through and has to be progressed with caution. He does not forgive us easily.”

The other boy grudgingly agreed. He was not foolish enough to miss it. He had understood that by now.

“I am to be initiated if I carry this out effectively,” Lucius informed the other boy, who perked up.

“Truly?” The blonde nodded with a smirk.

“Father has told me not to mess up. I do this properly and will be initiated as soon as we meet.”

Lucius Malfoy and his group, in particular, were sure of one thing. They wanted to serve under Lord Voldemort. The group had witnessed the man's abilities and had been blown away.

It was mind-blowing. They had never seen somebody do the things he did. A very powerful man who was striving hard to uphold the ways of the old. The methods of the purebloods.

Their parents were right. None could hope to match his prowess. They were trusting the right man to make this right. And the Heir of Slytherin at that. They wanted to serve the man. He was royalty. The most suitable person to lead them. And their parents did the right thing following the man.

Now, they wanted to do the same. To follow him and to stand on top of the pecking order.

“Help me out here, Thadeous.” Lucius requested. “I want this job to be carried out without any obstructions. Crabbe and Goyle are buffons. They are bound to mess up. I want you to make sure that I won’t slip up. I will ensure that Father gives in a good word to the Dark Lord.”

The Nott heir smirked, offering his hand. “That would be much appreciated, Lucius.” The two of them shook hands. “You need not worry about it. I will see to it that everything moves smoothly.”

BREAK—--

“This is it.” Narcissa sighed as the Express left Hogsmeade. “The Hogwarts chapter of my life is over.” It should not bother her. It should not bother anybody, but somehow, leaving Hogwarts knowing that you would not return in a few months was harder to digest than she had expected.

“I didn’t think I would say this so soon, but I miss the castle.” She whispered as she watched the top of the castle visible through the window of her compartment.

“No more Mcgonagall, no more Flitwick, no more Slughorn.” She pointed out as she was seated with her sisters and Evelyn Greengrass.

“Don’t you begin your healer training at St Mungos in a month?” Andromeda questioned.

Narcissa, with the blessing of her family, continued to pursue her passion. She had received the go-to from Madam Pomfrey, and now, she would be starting as an assistant healer in St Mungos.

“I do.” She replied, brightening up at the topic of discussion. “I can’t wait to get started.”

“I cannot thank Harry enough for convincing my father. He was the only one who was against me getting into healing. If not for Harry….”

“Grandfather would have done something.” Andromeda broke in. “As much as Father would have disagreed, Grandfather was the one that would have had the final word, and Father would have had to agree.” She explained.

“Anyway, you had your way. You are going to pursue what you want to pursue.” Evelyn spoke.

“What about Lucius?” She questioned. “He is not one to give up quite so easily, Narcissa.”

“He won’t get what he wishes for,” Narcissa answered confidently. “He can offer the entire Malfoy fortune for all I care, but I won’t marry him.” She said. Her lips turned up in a smirk.

“And Harry certainly won’t let it.”

Evelyn narrowed her eyes. “What did you do?” She questioned. Evelyn knew her friend very well. She knew that there was something here and that Narcissa was the instigator. Narcissa was highly cunning. She was a person who could manipulate anybody to do her bidding; such was her charm. She was unsurprised that she had made arrangements to ensure he wouldn’t marry Malfoy.

“I kissed him.” Narcissa shrugged. Three pairs of eyes widened in shock at the answer. Narcissa took joy in the shock that adorned their faces.

“What?” The three of them questioned at the same time. Narcissa frowned. “You were in doubt that something like this would happen?”

“Of course not, but I did not expect you to be so brazen about it.” The younger girls nodded along. She shrugged. “Well. I know what I wanted. I went ahead and tried to get it. What is so brazen about that?”

She stood up from her place and moved to the door. “Does anyone need anything from the trolley?” She asked only not to receive an answer from the three young women.

“I will be back.” She said as she stepped out of her compartment and began the walk to the front of the train in search of the trolley lady.

She found the lady in a few minutes, and after buying a few chocolates for the four of them, she began her walk back to her compartment when she heard heated whispers from a compartment. She would not have paid any mind to it if she had not listened to the words ‘Dark Lord’.

She froze in her stride and regarded the compartment door for a moment. Her curiosity won her over. She used her wand, disillusioned herself, and crept to the compartment door.

She tried to listen to the conversation inside. “Lucius has asked that all of you get to the floo room at the station quickly.” She heard Crabbe speak to four other boys in the compartment.

She frowned in confusion. What was he talking about?

“And make sure that you get there as quickly as possible. They start today.” He continued.

“Lucius will be displeased if any of you is caught up outside the room. He does not want to muck up this task, and you know what happens if you cross Lucius.” She did not miss the warning in his words.

What was going on here? She knew that Crabbe and Goyle were sucklers to the Malfoy heir, but not to this extent. Contrary to popular belief, the two were dense but not foolish. Crabbe and Goyle looked like trolls, behaved like trolls, and even sounded like trolls, but they were not trolls, as many would believe.

“As soon as the train stops, grab what you can…on the other hand, just go. Don’t bother with anything. I think none of us is bad enough financially that we need to hold onto it with our life.” This time, it was Goyle that spoke. “Just go and gather where you have been asked to. Make sure that everyone from the group is inside. Drag anybody you see with you along the way. Am I clear?”

Narcissa’s curiosity peaked. Lucius Malfoy was involved with some scheme, and almost half of the boys in Slytherin were involved. They were talking about gathering in the floo room back at Kings Cross and were told to do so as quickly as possible, even being willing to drop anything and everything necessary for them to go away.

She wanted to know more. She had to learn more. She continued, still under a disillusionment charm and made her way down the train, looking for the person of interest. She passed many compartments with Slytherin students and finally came upon the compartment that held Lucius Malfoy and Thadeous Nott.

The door was shut, and the compartment was soundproofed. She was disappointed to find that out. She could try to do something, but she would rouse suspicion. She waited a few more minutes, hoping to glean something from her errand, but it did not seem to be the case.

She felt something was happening here and began retreating to her compartment.

The girls were startled when the door to their compartment opened, yet nobody was there. Evelyn Greengrass had her wand in her hand as soon as she failed to see anybody at the door, a spell on her lips, and Narcissa revealed herself. She sat down, silenced the door, and turned to face the girls.

“Something is wrong.” She began explaining what she had come across. “Something is going on, Evelyn. I am sure of that.” Narcissa explained, looking out of the window.

“And judging by their words, it is something huge.”

“But what is it?” Evelyn prodded. It was Bellatrix that piped up. “Is it related to that Dark Lord?” She questioned. The elder girls looked at each other. They had not thought about that, but now, it seemed the most plausible answer.

The two seemed uncomfortable discussing this matter in front of young Bellatrix. The young girl was very intuitive. She would know that they were deliberately changing the subject.

“Why do you think so, Bella?” Narcissa questioned. “I have heard many of our housemates talk about him. Not willingly, but I heard whispers.” Bellatrix explained.

“I heard Rudolphus Lestrange brag to his friends about some Dark Lord and true pureblood nonsense. He was saying something about a true pureblood and a true Slytherin.”

“I should let Grandfather know about this. Maybe he could shed some light on the issue.” Narcissa mused.

—---&&&--------

“Quick.” Lucius barked as he led the other boys to the destination that he had specified. It had not been difficult. His influence in the Slytherin house was considerable. The others listened to his orders and followed them. Not to mention, his prowess with the wand was well-known among the Snakes. Nobody wants to get on the wrong side of Lucius Malfoy’s wand.

Everything was going smoothly. He had everybody necessary, and they were about to reach their destination. He had to confirm it once more. He turned around and faced Thadeous.

“We have everybody, right?” He questioned. “It would not be good for me even if one of us is caught in the crossfire, Thadeous.” The Nott heir shook his head.

“You need not worry about that, Lucius. We have everyone. I cross-checked it myself.” He assured.

The boys followed the others walking in front of them. The good thing was that they were close to the floo room, and very few people were around the area. This had to go on without a hitch.

Lucius made his way among the other boys as they approached the floo room. He reached the door and knocked thrice in quick succession, twice slowly and thrice again. “Salazar.” He whispered to the door. That was what he had been asked to say at the door.

The door didn’t open. He waited a few moments and knocked in the same pattern again, this time louder, but he failed to elicit any response from the person who should have answered.

“What is going on? Where is the man?” He turned to Thadeous. “Look around. Quick!” He barked, now looking around himself. He feared the worst. He should have been home by now. Everybody else should have reached the safety of their homes, and Lucius feared that the attack might start anytime now.

“Is everything alright?” Lucius Malfoy froze when he heard a deep voice speak up. He turned around, and he was faced with a suspicious Charlus Potter. Next to him stood Arcturus Black and Harry Potter, along with Narcissa Black.

Lucius felt panic settle in when he was stared at with frightening intensity. He felt a bead of sweat break and roll down onto his back from his neck.

“What is the hold-up?” Charlus continued. “Make it quick. We don’t have all day.” Charlus said.

He noticed Harry Potter staring at him with frightening intensity. His gaze didn’t waver for a second, and Lucius had to avert his eyes, unable to continue looking into the man’s eyes.

“Step aside,” Arcturus growled as he went forward and tried the room door. Sure enough, it was locked and not by a simple locking charm. Arcturus tried again before stepping a few steps back and raising his wand.

“Heads up.” He warned before blasting the door apart, gathering the attention of the others on the platform. Arcturus ignored it and walked inside under the watchful eyes of Charlus and Harry behind him. The first thing he noticed was an ominous symbol painted against the wall as soon as he entered the room. A snake protrudes out of the mouth of a skull. The Dark Mark that Harry had talked to him about.

Just below the mark was a body, hands and legs separated from his body, face distorted beyond recognition. Arcturus had expected a man from the Dark Lord’s side inside. He was not expecting a dead body and one mutilated beyond comprehension.

“Charlus, get in here.” The Potter patriarch quickly made his way inside, and he spotted the dead body. His eyebrows shot up as he witnessed the scene in front of him.

“That is brutal.” He muttered before stepping up closer to get a better look.

“The Aurors must be informed.” Arcturus voiced his thoughts. “Somebody was not pleased with the man over there.” He nodded at the mutilated corpse.

The two men left the room and faced a small crowd ahead. The public had grown restless, having waited for a long time.

“The floo is out of operation at the moment. It would be better to make it out by other means.” Mutterings of disagreements and denials were heard, but Arcturus continued.

“There is an emergency here, people. The floo is out of order and will be so for some time. I would not bother waiting if I were you.” He barked. The thing about the Blacks, people just listened to them, and it was the same here. Though there were disagreements, they heeded his words. The crowd began to disperse, and they would have too when Harry stiffened. He whirled around, his eyes darting across the platform, looking for whatever he had seen.

“What is the matter, Harry?” Charlus questioned. He noticed the tension on his face and knew something was wrong. Harry faced Lucius Malfoy instead.

“Where is your father?” The Malfoy heir jumped slightly, his eyes flitting around to ensure that Abraxus Malfoy was not there. The young man’s face wished that he would be anywhere but here, not to mention that he seemed jumpy, reacting to every sound around them.

“He is here,” Harry muttered, and right on cue, an explosion rocked the platform. The platform was in chaos as two more blasts were heard, and men in black robes adorned with familiar masks began trooping in.

“Bastards.” Harry hissed, glaring at the boys in front of him. He understood what Narcissa had told him about. He had dismissed her concerns knowing where she was coming from. Of course, Lucius would go into his servitude, and he remembered that Lucius Malfoy and many of his associates had joined Voldemort right after they graduated from Hogwarts. But he had not expected an attack in King’s Cross of all places.

“Go.” He ordered, looking the girl in the eye. “Now.” She nodded, and although she

These boys were asked to go to the floo room and leave so that the attack planned by Tom goes as planned. He could save the children of his supporters, and he could deal with the families opposing him, all the while fulfilling his ideology of killing the muggle-borns and their families that were slowly leaving the platform.

Harry’s wand was off in a flash. He didn’t know how bad it would be, but he hoped he could do something here.

BREAK-

“Is everything in position?” Abraxus nodded. “It is, my lord. The Express will arrive in two minutes, and I trusted my son to do the job he was asked to. We go in five minutes, my lord.”

The Dark Lord hummed. The day was finally here. He had dreamed of this day, and today, he would announce himself to the world.

Five minutes later, the Dark Lord nodded, and the men attacked. He remained behind. He had no necessity to make his presence known. His men could get the job done before there was any form of retaliation.

He disappeared in a plummet of smoke and reached a location where he could see what was happening. The explosions that rocked the place had him grinning ear to ear. He looked around, and it was chaos. Screams of parents looking for their children, running to safety, trying to escape the explosions.

The Death Eaters went about their job—several killing curses to the people running helter-skelter. A few curses struck true, and he began to see bodies falling on the platform.

Curses flew around the platform, damaging it considerably and adding fear to the already scared crowd.

People are so naive. The Dark Lord knew it would be difficult if the people fought back. They outnumbered his group considerably, and had they fought back, had they stood up to them instead of running away, it would have been his men that would be running away.

But that never was the case. Never in history have people fought back against their oppressors, and that will be the case again. They will run. They will hide. They will do anything rather than take up arms and fight, expecting someone to turn up to do their job for them, to protect them. And that was his cash cow. That was how he would do what he had planned to do.

They would never resort to fighting back, and he would never have to run away from them, fearing retribution from the public.

He smirked as the group proceeded in their attack, but suddenly, a white beam of light drove straight through the group, and the attack fizzled out for a moment.

“What happened?” He whispered to nobody in particular. Somebody shot a spell. Somebody fought back?

The spell struck one of his men, and to his surprise, he was toasted. The man lit up, and his screams permuted the now silent platform. His eyes narrowed in confusion. Who was this?

He found his answer a few seconds later when Harry Potter stepped forward, his wand held to his side. What surprised Tom was the attitude of the young man. He seemed to have no care in the world; his wand was held loosely in his hand, not bothered by the fact that he could be attacked.

Whatever it was, this was not the reaction he had fathomed from somebody in the crowd. He was sure he would meet no opposition as it would take some time for the news to reach the Aurors, and any other opposition should have been Dumbledore, unaware of it.

“Leave.” He heard the man say. “I know who you are. Every one of you. Leave right away.”

“Avada Kedavra!” A man roared, and the Dark Lord smiled as the curse raced towards the young man. He jumped out of its path, and the spell sailed around him. He smirked.

“Very well. You asked for it.” But instead of attacking the group, the boy turned slightly to his side. “Come here.” He ordered loudly for everybody to hear.

The Death Eaters went for their wands, ready to defend themselves when necessary. But to their shock, a group of young men strolled to the front. It was not the group that was shocking; more like who was in the group.

Furious mutterings were heard among the death eaters as they watched their sons walk out from wherever they had been. The Dark Lord was angry. What are those idiots doing over there? Weren’t they supposed to be in their homes by now?

“I found a few interesting scenes near the floo room.” The Potter boy began to talk. “And when I found your boys here, they had some interesting things to tell me. Very interesting.” He said.

When none of the Death Eaters spoke a word, Harry hummed. “Ok then.”

“So, none of you know who these boys are?” He questioned, and the Death Eaters remained silent. “Very well.” He smirked. “I am so happy you chose this path.”

Harry conjured a knife and dropped it onto the ground. “Pick it up.” He instructed Lucius Malfoy in the front. The young man obliged and picked up the knife dutifully.

“Oh, sorry.” Harry apologised. “This is not something that you are expecting to happen. Your assumptions are wrong.” He turned back to the young man.

“Cut your wrists open.” Harry heard a gasp but didn’t pay heed, focusing on the young man who, once again, obliged and slit his hands open. He didn’t make a sound all the while.

“Okay.” Harry turned back and looked straight into someone. “Foolish, Malfoy. Foolish.” He tutted.

“Here is the deal.” Harry began in a no-nonsense tone. “You will surrender to the Aurors, who are on their way. Your boys would be left unharmed and safely escorted back home, stating that they were victims.”

“Or,” He began after a pause. “You can escape. But your heirs here will be handed over to the Aurors. They were found in the floo room, having killed a man and tried to get away before they were caught.”

“The choice is yours.” He muttered. “The longer you drag this, the more the hands slit open. Sad to see young men such as them die over nothing, isn’t it?” Harry's voice was what scared the group. They knew he was dead serious, and his voice was deadly serious. He was not playing around.

"Abraxus Malfoy. What do you say?" Harry looked straight at a masked man. How he knew that was Lord Malfoy, Lord Voldemort didn't know.

The masked men looked at each other. They seemed to have come to an agreement, and Lord Voldemort knew what it was….

They fired together all at once. Every wand in the group fired in unison at the young man against them.

His wand was a blur as he met every spell thrown at him, cancelling the spell, swatting it away and avoiding them altogether. He had to say; the young man was swift. He was reluctant to admit it, but he was better than he was at his age.

"Wrong choice." He shook his head.

"Your other hand," Harry ordered, and the Malfoy heir followed, placing the knife on his other wrist and splitting it open.

“Next try, and I will start with the other boys,” Harry announced.

Lord Voldemort knew that this time, they would cave. They had no other option. They had to yield, and they would. Sentimental fools who could not see the bigger picture. He had to do something.

His mask was back in place, and he disguised his voice with a wand wave. He casually strolled up behind the group and stepped ahead.

He was quick to his task, his spell leaving his wand as soon as he found some space. He glanced at Lucius.

"Take them and leave quickly." He ordered, ducking a spell that was shot back in retaliation.

"Lord Potter-Black." He greeted the young man who was staring back at him.

"I was impressed, young man. You certainly know how to hold your end in a difficult scenario."

The Death Eaters waiting for Harry to shift his focus now took their chance and advanced. They had to get their children and leave. The Aurors would be here any moment now.

“Not so fast.” They heard somebody growl, and Arcturus Black and Charlus Potter decided to jump in and take it up from Harry. They continued precisely from where Harry had left off.

Back in the middle, Harry and Lord Voldemort had been engaged in a furious duel, neither giving each other an inch and neither willing to relent. Every spell and every move was met with an answer.

Any spell Harry threw was met with equal resilience. Every spell the Dark Lord threw at him, he fought back. It was a stalemate. Harry knew that Tom was neither fighting at total capacity nor was he. But he was just giving answers to his every question. The man, on the other hand, was gauging him. All his questions were thrown, expecting answers. He was going too easy.

“You know what, I think it's time to go.” Harry snorted. ‘Like hell, you would.’

“Ah!” The Dark Lord exclaimed. “I know it's not something you would do. Of course not. But I do have something I can ensure you make the right choice.” He smirked.

“Come on, sweetheart.” The man swiped his wand, and Harry’s eyes bugged out when a bound and silenced Narcissa became visible. Harry’s wand arm faltered as he saw Narcissa next to the man.

“See. I knew I could make you see reason.” He laughed. “Now, have your father and uncle stand down, and I will let you have your princess back, unharmed.” Harry gulped, his eyes not leaving the other man. He was furious with himself but was scared beyond what he could show.

Charlus and Arcturus didn’t let their guard down but stopped their assault. The masked men gathered the boys and popped away as soon as possible. Within seconds, the platform was deserted, barring the five staring at each other.

“I had fun.” The Dark Lord chuckled, his eyes shining through his mask. “I will be keeping my word, Lord Potter-Black. This won’t be the last time we do business with each other. I tend to keep the people I do business with in my good books and them in mine.”

He glanced down at the tied young woman. He ran a finger across her cheek, brushing her cheek slowly. “Huh. No wonder he is so mad about you.”

“See you around, pretty face.” And just like that, he was gone, leaving a severely damaged station behind, dead bodies strewn around. Tom Marvolo Riddle had made his mark on the Wizarding World, and this was just the beginning.

TBC—---------