Disclaimer! I don't own Harry Potter at all, and I'm not related to Warner, J.K. Rowling, etc, etc. Only original characters are of my own, but who gives a damn about them xDDD This story is a NEW VERSION of the unfinished 2002 fanfiction "Hogwarts Chronicles: The Potions Master" (id: 604953), but thanks to the 2 books that came out during these years I decided to change the whole thing... I also lost my old account password xD Anyway, some things will remain the same, some things will change completely, but I'm happy that book seven title ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows") just happened to be somehow related to what I was writing!! So, I decided to start this story all over again... Special greetings to all members of T.A.R.S.T. if they ever read this!! And the website should be up again shortly! Thanks for reading, and please review!!
CHAPTER 1 – A Prologue for Parting Ways
"So, this is where it all ends" – said the blond-haired girl, a worried expression on her face. The sound of hundreds of Inferi could be heard not far from where they were.
"This isn't good" – said the blond-haired boy next to her. He turned his face to the tall boy standing behind him. "There is only three of us to face them, Your Highness".
The pale, black-haired boy who was standing behind stayed in silence for a few seconds, nervously biting his left hand a little. The voices and screams of the Inferi were terrifying, and they all were already too exhausted.
"Alright. Harry, go ahead!" – he commanded, while pushing Harry to continue running through the mazes of Hogwarts, to escape from the horrible invasion of the castle.
Harry turned around surprised and looked directly into the other boy's eyes. He was about a year younger than himself, though he seemed a lot more mature, dressed as he was with the dark red and black robes of the royal family of the Hollows. His black hair was falling in small strands in front of his face, his left cheek bleeding from a wound received in battle, and his black eyes were looking at Harry with determination.
"But… what are you going to do? There's too many of them!" – asked Harry.
"Inferi are ancient magic creatures, Harry. We will take care of them" – answered the boy.
"No! You will get yourselves killed!!"
The black haired boy smiled a little, almost ironical. Even if his eyes were so dark, they were always playful and filled with joyful youth.
"We've decided that already, Harry. The moment we joined you in this journey…"
"I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOU TO SACRIFICE BECAUSE OF ME!!" – shouted Harry in anger. "I'm tired of all these people dying because of me, to protect me! I don't need such a sacrifice, I don't want it!"
"It is the Prince's wish to protect you, Harry, and we will do as our prince commands" – said the blond haired girl, trying to calm him down.
"We will follow our prince's orders even if they lead us to death. That's the destiny of a Hollow" – continued the blond haired boy.
Harry looked at them with deep sorrow in his eyes. He could see the three teenagers absolutely determined to die protecting him if it was necessary.
"Why… why are you doing this, Edvard? You don't have to… you don't need to…"
After a few seconds of silence, the black haired boy finally answered.
"My father made a promise a long time ago, Harry, and it has passed down to myself, as his son. I will protect you, Harry Potter, until the day the Dark Lord Voldemort is finally defeated" – said the young prince of the Hollows.
"Your father did that promise to Dumbledore, you don't have to…!"
The sound of bleeding flesh and fierce screams came from a near dungeon. The two blond teenagers ran to their positions at the entrance of the corridor and prepared to face the living dead.
"They are here! Go, Harry!" – shouted the Prince, while runing next to his companions, his bare hands already casting the ancient magic that had passed down to him as a member of the hidden people of the Hollows.
"We will build a magic shield for you! It will last for as long as we're alive!" – said the blond haired girl.
"Please, Harry! Accept the Prince's decision and go! You haven't much time!" – said the blond haired boy.
Harry hesitated for a while, he didn't want to run away and leave the three of them to face certain death by themselves, but something inside him, inside his very soul was forcing him to slowly walk away from them and continue his way through the maze, to find a destiny that was his alone. Before entering another corridor, he turned around to see the three Hollows releasing a magic barrier, creating a solid wall of energy to block the corridor entrance.
He heard the voices of the Inferi aproaching the shield, unable to go through it, and suddenly realized he had to run, to go away and meet with his friends, with Ron and Hermione, his Ginny, the remaining members of the Order, all of them hoping for him to leave Hogwarts alive to finally face Voldemort.
His last words for the trio before leaving couldn't be heard; the Inferi's screams were too loud and the sounds of imminent battle were filling the maze. However, the young prince known as Edvard Hollow did look back a little with a confident smile. Harry smiled a little as well. The pale boy looked so much like his father, the man he always believed to be a traitor, the man who accidentaly had caused his parents' death, that it was almost annoying. But at the same time, he was so different; the nobility of the distant land where he was raised and the royal family who named him heir to the throne was running through his veins, as the youngest member of the Hollow family.
And then, Harry understood the meaning of all what had happened, and his own mission since the day he was born. With his wand firmly and ready on his right hand, he turned around and ran into another corridor, ready to fight, leaving behind the shine of ancient magic, the sound of the horrors he must stop, and the secrets revealed by a teenager like him, a prince who came from far away to help his people, and instead found his own destiny.