Chronicles of Camelot

The final showdown

"He…he's back?" asked Dumbledore, and that was when a plume of darkness rose into the circle and, from within the darkness came a man in his twenties with raven-black hair and cold, dark eyes; he was dressed in a midnight-blue robe with a crescent moon on his crest, a sword with a jet-black blade at his side. Lifting his hand, the figure dispersed the darkness and, turning to Harry, dropped to one knee, his blade held flat in his palm.

"My King," Tom Riddle spoke up, "I am reborn and now my powers are the allies and service of the Elemental Order: I, Tom Marvolo Riddle, Holy Knight of Darkness, pledge my allegiance."

"Thank you Tom," Harry replied, "You may rise."

When the ex-Dark Lord did so, he turned to Dumbledore before taking his place at Harry's side, the circle of Knights now glowing even brighter as Harry let his power extend outwards, allowing the powers that be to decide the Last Knight. While the decision was being made, Harry shook his head slowly as he explained, "I would have gladly worked with you Dumbledore, but you did so much to weaken and make me your slave that those options have gone out the window. Had you been the grandfatherly, warm and respectable wizard that I'd seen and known on my first day here then I would have willingly brought you into the Circle, but no more."

"You'll still die!" Dumbledore insisted, not really caring about the allies that were hearing his words, "Because you seal your fate allying with him Harry: how do you know he won't turn on you?"

"Because Voldemort is dead," Tom informed Dumbledore, "As are the Horcruxes that you allowed me to create Dumbledore: did you know that it was him who set me on that path?" he asked Harry, who shook his head as Tom continued, "I was introduced to this world by Dumbledore, but only after Grindelwald himself had anointed me as the Holy Knight of Darkness. He himself was the Holy Knight of Terra and wanted to unite the world using his moniker for the Greater Good, but then he met a man who trapped him, betrayed him and killed him: that man's name was Albus Dumbledore."

"Gellert was a fool," Dumbledore snarled, "As are you Tom: you cannot hope to defeat me now as you thought then; even your Horcruxes wouldn't save you."

"Weren't you listening?" asked Tom, "The Horcruxes are destroyed old man: the snake, the diadem, the cup, the locket, the diary, the ring and the one that was inside Harry: that one was destroyed when he became his birthright of the Holy Knight of Thunder. Which reminds me," he then reached into his pocket and, turning to Harry, held out his hand, "I believe you were looking for this."

Opening his palm, Tom revealed a small diamond-shaped black stone that seemed to hover in the air before Harry took the stone; as soon as he touched it, a black aura had spawned from within the stone, before it wrapped around Harry, making him glow with renewed power, his energy that had been used in the maze coming back to him in leaps and bounds. Looking to the stone, Harry actually chuckled before he whispered, "The Resurrection Stone."

"Yes," Tom replied, looking back to Dumbledore as he asked, "And you know what that means don't you Dumbledore?"

"Harry," Albus gasped, trying a last gasp, "If you let me help you…"

"No," Harry told him, "I've now fulfilled a long-overdue promise Dumbledore: I am the Master of Death as well as Lord of the Magical Realm, so I'll give you one chance: back off and never darken my life again or…"

He didn't get to finish as a curse was fired from Dumbledore; tapping into the darkness and the power of the skies, Harry banished his other Knights out of the circle, before sealing both the former Head and the Knights' Commander in the fire. Drawing Excalibur, Harry deflected the curse and faced Dumbledore head-on, "Don't challenge me Albus: I have more power than you and the means to do what I must."