The Death Eaters also laughed, though they did not quite understand what was so especially funny about the poor Potter woman hoping that some former potions professor would come rescue her.
Voldemort did not bother waiting for a response from Lily. "Harry Ashworth is dead. I killed him and Minister Black's arrogant daughter over twenty years ago. They burned to death in fiendfyre."
A voice from the head of the staircase that led into the room from below interrupted the exchange. "I don't remember… dying."
The silence in the room was deafening as everyone turned to stare at Harry Ashworth. He stood at the edge of the room as if he had just ascended the staircase. He looked the same as he had over two decades previous, save for the fact that he seemed rather gray and almost translucent. What appeared to be smoke curled from his clothing as if his robes were slowly smoldering.
Voldemort stared at Harry in shock. "It can't be," he whispered.
"Tom Riddle," Harry said evenly, "we meet again. Do you mind if I just call you Tom? That's how I introduce you to my acquaintances."
Shock and hope rippled through Lily. She knew the voice. Desperately, she tried to shift and move so that she could see her former professor despite being bound in ropes, but the sheer number of Death Eaters, arranged into a circle around her and Molly, made it difficult to see the confrontation.
"No," said Voldemort, his voice slowly rising and almost imperceptibly tinged with doubt. "No. You are dead. I killed you!"
"No, Tom," Harry shook his head, clearly in denial. "You didn't kill me. I'm still here, aren't I? I felt Lily's distress signal. I'm here to rescue her!"
"You are dead!" Voldemort shrieked. "Dead, dead, dead!" He lashed out with his wand and sent a blasting curse at Harry, which sped harmlessly through Harry's ghostly form. Voldemort smiled, and then laughed as he spoke. "See?" he said with disdain and a hint of relief. "If you were alive, that would have hurt you! Be gone, ghost!"
The Death Eaters had sensed that standing too close to an agitated dark lord would be bad, so they had backed away, breaking the circle around Lily and Molly. Lily could now see what seemed to be the ghost of her dead former potions professor. In one way, she was gratified that he had come, but in another, she was disappointed that he clearly would not be able to do anything to rescue her as a ghost, save perhaps for tracking down the Order and giving them information. By that time, it would probably be too late, however.
Harry, meanwhile, stared down at his ghostly form as if he was just now discovering it. "But I don't remember dying," he said slowly, as if thinking through a problem. Then he smiled brightly. "I didn't die, Tom. I'm sure of it." He stepped toward Voldemort, who took a step back.
"Harry Ashworth, you're dead!" Voldemort shrilly shouted. "Leave me, or I'll send for a necromancer."
"I'm not dead," Harry argued calmly. "I can still feel things. I can feel you."
"What do you mean?" Voldemort asked, his fear now noticeably apparent.
"I can feel your mind," Harry said, walking slowly toward Voldemort who was now retreating to the side of the room, away from Lily and Molly. As Lily watched, Harry reached out his hand toward Voldemort whose eyes widened as if his mind was at that moment being touched. With lethal speed, the dark lord sent a volley of curses toward Harry, who smiled almost beatifically as the curses passed harmlessly through his grey and smoky form.
Harry drew his wand casually and grinned as he pointed it at Voldemort. "Prepare to die." Harry then lashed out with his wand in a dramatic gesture, swinging his free hand up behind him as if to balance himself against the backlash his spell would cause. However, as he did so, Harry's form began to fade, and just as he would have let the spell fly, he disappeared completely.
Before Voldemort or anyone else in the room could react, an explosion shook Malfoy Manor, and then another, and another. Voldemort began shouting for his followers to man the manor's perimeter and defend against the attackers as the explosions methodically continued. He cautioned them not to neglect the sides of the manor where there were no explosions, lest the enemy sneak in while they were distracted.
Bemused, Lily watched the chaos as the Death Eaters scurried about while Voldemort tried to retrace the steps of Harry Ashworth's ghost. Abruptly, she felt someone grab her from behind, push her against Molly and place something in her hand. A second later, she felt the familiar sensation of portkey travel.
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