Thunderstruck

A/N: It's been almost 2 years since I finished LLTQ, and while I haven't written a lot, I'm still working on stuff. But I'm feeling like I want to publish something, so here's a small snack to enjoy. This may or may not eventually be part of a larger work, but this particular bit just keeps coming back into my head and won't leave me alone, so I'm posting it by itself for now. But because it's intended to be part of something bigger, there's some important background info that doesn't really fit that well. So here's the TL;DW (Too Long, Didn't Write :P):

Harry's magic latched on to music at an early age, and caused some havoc until he learned to keep it under wraps. Certain songs speak to him, or better yet through him, and cause magical effects if he doesn't actively suppress them. When he got to Hogwarts, he kept it secret and spent time learning how to suppress it further, as well as figuring out that he can "sing" songs in his head by remembering what they sound like and that also works. He manages to keep things pretty much hidden until he ends up in the Graveyard at the end of the TriWizard Tournament, where he faces a reborn Voldemort yet again…

A/N Update 2/12/19: This story is now part of the series, "The Magic's In the Music."

A/N #2: Portions of the first section come from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, pp. 659-660 (Scholastic Edition).

Wormtail approached Harry, who scrambled to find his feet, to support his own weight before the ropes were untied. Wormtail raised his new silver hand, pulled out the wad of material gagging Harry, and then, with one swipe, cut through the bonds tying Harry to the gravestone.

/* AC/DC "Thunderstruck" The Razor's Edge (1990) */

There was a split second, perhaps, when Harry might have considered running for it, but his injured leg shook under him as he stood on the overgrown grave, as the Death Eaters closed ranks, forming a tighter circle around him and Voldemort, so that the gaps where the missing Death Eaters should have stood were filled. As Wormtail walked out of the circle to Cedric's body, Harry nodded inwardly and began singing in his head. By the time Wormtail returned with Harry's wand, Harry could already feel the first tingle of electricity in the air. After thrusting the wand roughly into Harry's hand without looking at him, Wormtail resumed his place in the circle of watching Death Eaters.

"You have been taught how to duel, Harry Potter?" said Voldemort softly, his red eyes glinting through the darkness.

At these words Harry remembered, as though from a former life, the dueling club at Hogwarts he had attended briefly two years ago. … All he had learned there was the Disarming Spell, "Expelliarmus" … he knew that even if he could deprive Voldemort of his wand, he was surrounded by Death Eaters, outnumbered by at least thirty to one. Which was why he had chosen the one song he'd never been brave enough to let it flow freely to completion. Even now he didn't know if he could control it without killing himself, but he knew the alternative was even worse.

/* 0:50 */

There was a rumble of thunder in the distance and Voldemort said, "We bow to each other, Harry," bending a little but keeping his snakelike face upturned to Harry. "Come, the niceties must be observed. … Dumbledore would like you to show manners. … Bow to death, Harry. …"

The laughter of the Death Eaters was nearly drowned out by more thunder, though they seemed unfazed by it. Voldemort's lipless mouth was smiling. Harry did not bow. He could feel the charge in the air increasing, and he did his best to keep the song going, giving into the power of the music and letting it have control of his Magic.

"I said, bow," Voldemort said, raising his wand — and Harry felt his spine curve as though a huge, invisible hand were bending him ruthlessly forward, and the Death Eaters laughed harder than ever.

"Very good," said Voldemort softly, and as he raised his wand the pressure bearing down upon Harry lifted too. "And now you face me, like a man … straight-backed and proud, the way your father died. …

"And now — we duel."

Voldemort raised his wand, and before Harry could do anything to defend himself, before he could even move, he had been hit again by the Cruciatus Curse. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that he no longer knew where he was. … And yet the song continued to play in one corner of his mind, the music having taken on a life of its own, refusing to be stopped for any reason. White-hot knives were piercing every inch of his skin, his head was surely going to burst with pain, he was screaming more loudly than he'd ever screamed in his life —

/* 1:52 */

And then, with a flash of light and roar of sound, it stopped. Harry rolled over and scrambled to his feet; he was shaking as uncontrollably as Wormtail had done when his hand had been cut off; he did his best to steady himself, using the beat of the music that felt like it was getting louder and louder in his head.

Voldemort himself was staring at Harry, who realized that the tree just behind the Death Eater circle was on fire, and there were several Death Eaters moaning on the ground in pain. "What are you doing?" he asked, before the rest of his question was drowned out by another peal of thunder.

Harry smiled, and replied, "What was that? I can't hear you."

"Tell me what you're doing Potter!" shouted Voldemort. When Harry shook his head, he said, "Answer me! Imperio!"

And Harry felt, for the third time in his life, the sensation that his mind had been wiped of all thought. … Ah, it was bliss, not to think, it was as though he were floating, dreaming … tell me what you're doing … just tell me. …

Not yet, said a stronger voice, in the back of his head. Wait a few more seconds. …

Just tell me. …

Almost. …

Just tell me. …

"Alright," said Harry out loud, as the dream state was lifted and his head cleared.

/* 2:39 */

"You've been ... THUNDERSTRUCK!"

As he screamed the last word, he pointed both hands at Voldemort and closed his eyes as a huge bolt of lightning came down and struck Voldemort dead on. Three more bolts came in quick succession, which he aimed at the circle of Death Eaters surrounding him. By the time the chorus of the song had completed, there wasn't a single Death Eater that remained on their feet. Harry blinked a few times to clear his vision as best he could, and realized that he could just barely hear the moans coming from the Death Eaters around him. Voldemort was on the ground twitching like he imagined he was after being hit by the Cruciatus Curse, and Harry realized that it was probably a similar effect.

Feeling that the song was still controlling him, he looked around and saw Wormtail lying on the ground between himself and Cedric's body. Knowing that the only way to get anyone to believe him was to bring both of them back, he limped over to Wormtail and levitated him out of the circle before the music reached its next peak. He had just enough time to dump the traitor next to Cedric's body and stun him before he had to turn back to Voldemort and his followers.

Knowing what was coming, he closed his eyes again and aimed his hands back at Voldemort who was just starting to get up on one knee. This time he kept his aim on Voldemort, and four massive lightning strikes hit him in quick succession. No normal human should have been able to survive even one of them, but Harry wasn't taking chances, and besides, he knew Voldemort's body was more Magic than flesh and blood.

He had hoped those four strikes would have let the song peter out, but it kept going strong, even building into the finale, so he blinked his eyes again and took the few seconds he knew he had to assess his opponents. Several of the Death Eaters were now stirring, and one of them even looked like they were trying to aim their wand at him, so he decided to spare nobody and spread his arms to the edges of the circle, aiming his fingers inwards towards the middle. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he let the song's climax overwhelm him as the lightning came down on the Death Eaters and Voldemort alike. One, two, three, four, he counted in his head, five, six, seven, eight. Knowing the final extended bolt was coming, he quickly shifted his aim back to the middle and shut his eyes even tighter, if that was possible.

/* 4:39 */

A bolt of lightning larger than any of the previous ones struck true, and lasted nearly three times as long, enveloping Voldemort in its uncontrollable energies . Somehow, despite his near total deafness, he could hear Voldemort screaming as he fought to survive. Then, as suddenly as it started it all stopped. The lightning, the thunder, the screaming, everything. Even without the ability to hear anything, Harry knew that it had gone silent as the song finally ended and he felt his Magic settle back down.

Opening his eyes it still took nearly a minute to be able to see properly, and it shocked him when he could. Several of the Death Eaters were still moving, either rocking back and forth or otherwise twitching, while the rest of them were still. Harry didn't know if the latter were still alive or not, but that wasn't the astonishing part. There, in the middle of the circle was Voldemort, curled in a fetal position, his eyes staring blankly into the distance, very slowly rocking back and forth. He had no idea how, but Voldemort had survived, though clearly worse for the wear.

Not wanting to take any chances, he summoned all the wands he could find, hoping that would keep anyone from leaving, assuming they were capable of it. He then returned to Cedric and Wormtail, binding the latter and stunning him again for good measure, before wrapping his arms around them both and pointing his wand at the TriWizard Cup.

"Accio," he said, and the cup flew towards him. He barely had time to realize that he had no way of catching it when it touched him and felt the jerk behind his navel and the world started spinning. By the time he landed, Harry had passed out.

A/N #3: That's all folks, maybe there will be more someday, but not right now. :)