"Expelliarmus!"
Harry's Disarming Charm knocked aside the goblin's iron axe. "Demacia!" he roared, channeling pink light.
A baseball bat materialized in his hand, which he swung at the goblin's face with brutal force, sending him hurtling out of the shop!
The shattering of glass accompanied the goblin's rough landing several meters away. He tried to rise, head ringing, but a bolt of white lightning immobilized him before he could move.
...
Harry was annoyed that Cassandra had "stolen" his kill, but another goblin charging with a knife demanded his attention. Enhanced by the transformation, Harry dodged the clumsy attacks.
"Cassandra, did you say Tom Riddle was coming?"
"No," Cassandra replied, freezing a goblin solid with a Freezing Charm. "He said he was busy. Only Professor Snape and the others came."
"He's not coming?"
Malfoy, having just knocked out his own goblin with a hammer, bounced over. "Then what was all that showing off for?" He looked ridiculous for nothing.
Malfoy suddenly felt incredibly foolish, remembering the elaborate fight moves and stupid lines he'd spouted, hoping to impress Tom Riddle.
"So?"
Harry smashed another goblin with the bat, sending him flying. "What were you showing off for?"
Malfoy flushed, embarrassed. "Scarhead, you are insufferable!"
...
In the Forbidden Forest near Hogwarts, Voldemort's remnant soul avoided a direct confrontation with the centaur tribe, instead opting to lure out a lone centaur scout.
...
Concealed in the shadows, Voldemort's remnant soul watched the male centaur warily approach, bow and arrow at the ready. Once he was far enough from the herd, it bellowed, "Petrificus Totalus!"
The centaur, one of the strongest in his tribe, barely had time to register the attack before he was petrified, his body locked in place.
"Hehehe, I..."
Voldemort's remnant soul peered out, ready to deliver a gloating pronouncement, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
...
Cold sweat broke out on Voldemort's remnant soul's brow. Instinctively, he whirled around, yelling, "Avada Kedavra!"
But as always, the situation defied understanding. The person who should have been on his right was now on his left.
"Gotcha, did I?"
The familiar voice sent a jolt of terror through Voldemort's remnant soul. He frantically looked left and behind, only to find the ghastly green tip of a wand inches from his face.
...
No way! Not again!
Voldemort's remnant soul had lost count of how many times Tom Riddle had subjected him to this near-death experience.
"You truly are disobedient."
Tom Riddle smiled thinly, tapping the Elder Wand against Voldemort's remnant soul's bald head. The remnant soul, paralyzed by fear, remained motionless.
"This unsafe little toy..."
Tom Riddle reached for Voldemort's remnant soul's wand. "I shall hold onto this for you."
Tom Riddle brought the wand down sharply across the noseless sprite's face.
A sickening crack echoed through the forest as the once-sturdy wand snapped in two. Voldemort's remnant soul crumpled to the ground, a red welt forming on his pale skin.
!!
Never in his past life as Voldemort had he suffered such humiliation!
Enraged, Voldemort's remnant soul snapped his head up, meeting Tom Riddle's cold, piercing green eyes.
...
Voldemort's remnant soul's brief surge of defiance evaporated, replaced by the chilling certainty of impending doom, a feeling as if his soul had been plunged into an icy abyss.
Tom Riddle crouched down, a cruel smile twisting his lips. "What do you say? I'll keep your things safe for you. Aren't you touched?"
...
He dared not move!
He truly dared not move!!!
Voldemort's remnant soul opened his mouth to speak, but the "smile" vanished from Tom Riddle's face as quickly as it had appeared.
"Heh..."
Tom Riddle gave a cold chuckle, placing his right hand on Voldemort's remnant soul's bald head. "You dare fight me?"
In a crack of displaced air, both figures vanished from the forest.
Leaving behind a petrified centaur, anxiously awaiting rescue from his tribesmen.
...
On a remote, isolated island far from Hogwarts, a spatial distortion heralded Tom Riddle and Voldemort's remnant soul's arrival.
The island was protected by an Anti-Apparition Spell, but it proved useless against Tom Riddle's power.
Rather than teleporting directly onto the island, Tom Riddle instead chose to arrive just outside its boundaries.
Refusing to simply fly in, he located a hidden, rickety boat just large enough for two. Tom Riddle wordlessly helped Voldemort's remnant soul aboard.
...
Voldemort's remnant soul stared at the oar thrust into his arms, utterly bewildered.
"What are you gaping at?"
Tom Riddle tapped Voldemort's remnant soul's bald head with the Elder Wand again. "Row!"
...
Voldemort's remnant soul finally understood. This was pure, twisted sadism on Tom Riddle's part.
He knew better than to resist. Tom Riddle, in his current mood, was more likely than ever to simply end him.
Helpless, Voldemort's remnant soul could only row with trepidation.
They entered the island's interior through a hidden cave.
The ghostly shapes of Inferi could be seen swimming beneath the water's surface, but for some reason, they dared not approach the small boat.
...
Voldemort's remnant soul was intimately familiar with this place. It was where he had concealed the protections for his Horcruxes.
He didn't know how Tom Riddle had discovered it, but he dared not ask. At worst, he would simply lose a Horcrux.
As Voldemort's remnant soul pondered and rowed with all his might, the small boat approached a tiny island in the center of the lake.
Without the Inferi to impede their progress, the boat moved quickly.
Reaching the island, Tom Riddle located the crystal basin filled with a peculiar potion, and the fake Slytherin's Locket.
Next to it sat a small bowl, also made of crystal.
Tom Riddle picked up the bowl and glanced at the potion in the basin—a concoction designed to inflict unbearable suffering and negative emotions upon anyone who drank it.
Then he scooped up the potion.
Voldemort's remnant soul felt a surge of perverse elation. Was Tom Riddle actually going to drink the agonizing potion he had so carefully brewed to torment others?
"Drink."
Tom Riddle held out the bowl of potion, repeating in an unquestionable tone, "Drink it!"
Voldemort's remnant soul fell silent.
...
Voldemort's remnant soul felt like weeping. He knew exactly what would happen if he drank it!
He didn't want to! He absolutely didn't want to drink it!!!
Voldemort's remnant soul pleaded, forcing a pathetic smile, "Can… can't I not drink it?"
"If you don't drink it, am I supposed to?"
Tom Riddle shoved the bowl closer to Voldemort's remnant soul's face. "Drink!"
---