Translated Author's Note: Good day to you all~ As you can see, I come today with, this time, a DGMxHarry Potter crossover. This is my first xover, so please bear with me! As you may have noticed, I can't keep myself from writing about Neah, no matter what I do. So once again, he'll be the protagonist of the story! I didn't hold back on his personality and behaviour, because in my opinion, Neah is much of a player and, to be fair, kind of a sadist.
Yours to tell if my interpretation of him is accurate or not!
Translater's note (Axel's Lullaby) : Bear with my possibly inaccurate or sometimes weird translation. Going from French to Dutch to English is no fun!
Professor Campbell {Chapter One}
He never understood.
It had always been so, anyway.
On that day, he lost all hope.
But he used to have so much.
He wished, with all his heart and soul.
But he just had to face the facts.
Happiness can't exist for one such as him.
A monster.
Everything began on that day
Of December 1886.
Sounds of clashing steel and explosions echo everywhere. Everything is ravaged. Two sides can be seen. On one side, people garbed in red and black with a rosary cross adorning their breasts. On the other, abnormal people, with grey skin, amber eyes and seven stigmata embedded in their foreheads, followed by disgusting mechanical creatures.
Soon enough, everything stops because of a massive burst that reduces the forces of evil to ashes. The humans are knocked away against the ruins of the fight.
In the middle of it all, two young adults.
One of them, with long brown hair, covered in wounds and bruises, too grievous for him to live. Next to him, another that looked too much like the first, except for shorter strands of hair, crying more than humanly possible. Through his sobs, one could hear him uttering a name over and over: "Mana".
"Please, Mana. Stay with me. I'll... I'll heal you. You'll soon be up and running..."
"Neah..." Whispers the dying one.
Neah scours through his memory, hoping to find something that would save his brother. He tries and tries, but he can't think of anything. A hand grips onto his arm, cutting him short. His twin looks at him with sad eyes, yet a small smile shows on his lips.
"It's alright." He says. "It's better off like this... If I was to survive, this war wouldn't end... I... I'm doomed to stay the host of the Earl, forevermore. But... But if I die, you'll inherit its power, but you... You'll be able to control it. You'll... Be able to seal it away, right?"
"Mana..."
One more appears, not too far away. A teenager, looking at his adoptive uncle with compassion and sadness. He must have missed something, for the Millennium Earl, his greatest foe, looked much like a teenager, just like him. So, this was the world's Greatest Enemy? A teenager?
"Allen Walker..." Said foe called.
The white-haired boy walked closer and kneels by the dying one, facing Neah. He has a hand pressed under his ribcage, blood flowing abundantly. He forces a small smile onto his face.
"Sorry for everything I've done..." Mana speaks in a broken voice. "Please, Neah. Forgive me too... Because of us, of the Millennium Earl, your life has been a disaster..."
Allen shudders softly. That voice, that odd speech pattern... He begins crying, too.
"Mana... I don't hold it against neither you nor Neah. You never asked for any of this. No one would want a cursed life, like this. I'm just happy... Happy that this all happened. I've been able to learn what's it like to have a loving family, friends I could rely on, a reason to live on... I wish that someday, we could all be together again."
His smile twists as the blood flows faster. A happy grin settles on Mana's face as his eyes close, and he whispers his last words:
"Thank you, my dear brother, Neah..."
His body disappears into thin air, as does any Noah's corpse. Allen collapses to the ground, and in one last effort, he utters his final sentence:
"You have to keep walking and go on, for Mana and me... Thank you, my uncle and friend, Neah."
Neah stands up, his face covered in tears. He keeps himself from shouting his pain. He feels the Earl's curse awakening inside, but he controls it. He must seal this cursed legacy, so that nothing like this ever happens again. He walks away, letting the mist swallow him, without looking back.
"Don't stop, keep walking."
On this day, his nephew should've celebrated his seventeen years.
On this day, his twin brother, his other half, died. He won't come back. He leaves him to be alone, forevermore.
August 15th, 1995
A snake slithers on the floor. Through the open window, an owl enters, holding in its beak a letter. Neah gets up and catches the mail, lifting an eyebrow upon seeing the wax seal. It's from Hogwarts.
He tears it open, showing thick parchment, covered in the neat, easily recognizable writings of Albus Brian Wulfric Percival Dumbledore, whom he had met long ago, more than sixty years now.
"To my friend Neah
It's been long since we've seen each other, nearly fourteen years if I remember correctly. As you most certainly already know, Voldemort has returned. Witches and wizards will once anew fight him and his Death Eaters. Which is why the Order of the Phoenix has gathered, for two months now. But that, too, you surely already know.
If I write to you this day, is not only to know how you fare, as you most likely do as you always do. Even though I am in Hogwarts, it is not entirely safe. Your presence, though, would make it so. You are a powerful wizard, through your magic, the wand you use, but also your Immortality of which's secrets I have yet to discover.
Which is why I offer you to work as a Teacher. You know as well as I do that to get rid of Voldemort, all horcruxes have to be destroyed, one of them having already been taken care of a few years ago. Someone has to teach young Harry Potter and his friends how to fight Voldemort, and you are the most fit to this role.
I beg of you if I must, Neah, to help out the Order of the Phoenix and to protect Lily and James Potter's son.
Oh, and it would help a lot if you could head to the Minister of Magic in six days to help defend young Harry Potter. Hopefully, they will listen to you.
Albus Dumbledore"
Neah sighs as he reads. And now he is asked to play teacher... Turning the paper around, he notices a post-scriptum in a writing that is anything but foreign to him.
"Post-Scriptum:
No matter your answer, Neah, come by my house someday, so that we can have a chat like in the good old days. I could only talk to you briefly last time. Please, do not bring too many snakes. And as I am a generous soul, I'll tolerate the presence of your little golden snitch-like pet. But please, ONLY ONE SNAKE.
Padfoot"
The Fourteenth rolls his eyes at the first message. He definitely recognizes Sirius Black, always here for dubious jokes. It had always made most people laugh. He remembers all the dumb things they did, back when the Marauders were at school. He had stuck around and sneaked in Hogwarts just to have some fun with them. At first, he had only gone to visit Albus...
"I bid you luck in Hogwarts, Neah. Lily and James' son has definitely inherited his father's talent for trouble. He'll probably be distrusting of you, though, but don't pay it any mind. I hope you're doing well since last time we met, two years ago. You have greetings from Severus! So you don't ask any question, the recent full moon went well. Padfoot stayed by my side, and we went in an isolated forest.
Moony"
As he had expected, Remus Lupin still is as serious, and he finds it to be a good thing. He had heart of Harry Potter's 'talent' for trouble, as Remus had put it, just like his father had. Although this time it wasn't writing lines, but the world's most evil wizard. Bah, to each their daily problems. There was a time where he, too, was running away from his problems after having attempted to kill the Earl. Even though, he had to admit, this story had had a sour end.
Remus had expected Neah to ask about the full moon, because, as a werewolf, they often went badly. It had been a while since they had spent said time together, keeping company to the rampaging beast. Last time had been about fourteen years ago, and he had ended up with quite a lot of fun... And a few wounds here and there. No one had ever understood why he had just laughed.
Neah went to the nearby table and, picking good old paper and a pen, began writing. He had never much liked the Wizarding World's taste for things of past times.
"Albus
Once again, you tried to manipulate me in one of the most pitiful ways I've ever witnessed. Greetings, then explanations of the situation, some honeyed words here and there, compliments about my magical abilities, and then finally straight-up saying what you want... Congratulations on that, although hopefully the paper won't be too covered in obvious sarcasm. As for what you asked of me, I accept and will be a teacher at Hogwarts. I am extremely bored, after all. Some time at Hogwarts for a year won't hurt, and who knows, maybe I'll have as much fun as last time! And I think I've heard this year, there'd be a person from the Ministry. You know how much I love them~.
I'll be in Hogwarts the day class begins. No use preparing some books or whatever, I have my own methods.
I feel like you're not exactly asking me to defend Harry Potter, sounds a bit more like ordering me around... But oh well, I haven't been at the Ministry in ages, and as I just said – wrote? - I love these people~.
Neah."
Writing done, he hands the now folded paper to the owl, who immediately flies away, heading for the school of magic.
Five days later, only carrying a small suitcase, followed by a certain golden golem and with a snake coiling around his arm, Neah finds himself in an empty room after having sent his owl, Exitium, to Hogwarts' owlery.
Seeing stairs on front of him, he climbs them down with a sigh before walking down a very small hallway, opening a door without bothering to knock.
"Good day everyone!" He greets happily, as he always does.
In the room, there are multiple people, but only adults all either in their thirties or older, and he stands out by his physical appearance of a young – very young – adult, that would still be in age to study at Hogwarts.
There is only one woman in the room, whom he knows to be Molly Weasley. She is standing, and suddenly brightens up upon seeing the newcomer. Near her, two people who seem to be bickering. Sirius Black and Severus Snape. Next to them, a much quieter Remus Lupin. Neah takes a moment to notice that there aren't many people of the Order.
Molly greets him, keeping herself from hugging him because she knows his distaste for it – she had tried before. She had ended up facing the wall a bit too fast... Sirius has a big grin plastered on his face, putting a stop to his bickering. Remus stands up and shakes Neah's hand, careful to pick the one that does not have a venomous snake on it.
"Hello, Neah. How have you been the past two years?"
"Been better" He answers, "Knowing I'll spend the year with loud children makes me already feel the chronic headaches... I don't need to ask you how you've been. How about you, Sirius, Snivellus?"
Sirius raises his thumb and nearly shouts "Great!", while Severus shoots him one of the darkest glares he could possibly muster, which Neah takes as a positive answer.
"Come on, come on, don't get started on looking at me like that! They don't do anything and you know that. I've heard you were spying on Voldy for Albus. That's really dangerous, you know that?"
"… Voldy."
Snape looked at him weirdly.
'Voldy' is the kind, degrading nickname that Neah had picked for Voldemort. At least no one would shudder every time. Some people told him he is crazy for daring, but truthfully, he does not care.
Neah raises an eyebrow upon hearing some noise from the first floor, thanks to his inhuman hearing. He looks at Sirius who shrugs, and then at Remus.
"Harry has been expelled from Hogwarts."
"Ah, yes. That thing with the... 'Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery'." Neah says in a snarky tone. "I know the kid used magic on front of a muggle, but still. Putting him on trial for that is kind of extreme. Proves the ministry's scared of Voldy's return, doesn't it?"
"Talking about the ministry... Did things get settled between you and them?" Asks Sirius with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, I absolutely don't see what you're talking about." The Noah answers with a laughter full of sarcasm. "They don't like people like me, that's nothing new."
About fifteen years ago, Neah found himself called to the Ministry of Magic. There, they have a full folder marked with his name, just like they do with any witch or wizard. And... The fact that he was born in 1849 even though he definitely looked like a young adult had earned him some curiosity, and he had to made up that he had undergone some sort of mutation that made his body stop ageing and granted him a much longer lifespan. And as hybrids weren't really appreciated at the Ministry, he was far from good terms with its people.
Sirius suddenly shrieks in fear, and Neah realizes that his snake had coiled around Padfoot's arm. He had never liked snakes. It makes the Noah laugh, because most of the Black family had gone to Slytherin, which's symbol was such a reptile.
"Be careful with that thing!" Sirius added with a touch of horror in his voice.
"It's just a snake, Sirius. Not some sort of monster thing." Neah adds while rolling his eyes. "He likes you, you should be happy with that. It's not as if it was Nagini!" Sirius shivers upon hearing the Dark Lord's pet's name. "Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go pick my room."
On these words, the Fourteenth, if he can still call himself that, leaves the room and climbs back up the stairs, chatting in parseltongue with his snake, which he had named, by pure irony, 'Noah'. And each time he speaks the name, he can't keep himself from smiling. He had once heard that Noah was also the name of a nest of venomous snakes, and the one coiling around his arm is one. It was one of the reasons Sirius had shrieked.
Neah has fourteen snakes, for the sake of irony. The one he took with him was the last one he had obtained.
His snakes' names?
In the proper order, they were: Adam, Tryde, Joyd, Desires, Wisely, Fiddler, Wrath, Road, Mercym, Bondom, Lustol, Mightra, Akuma and finally Noah.
Yes, those are the names of the memories of the Noah clan, accompanied by the name of the creatures they created. Whenever someone asks the name of the snakes, he laughs while imagining how the Noah family would've reacted.
"It's bad to scare people." Neah scolds the snake in Parseltongue, uncaring if anyone heard him. "Padfoot has been nice enough to tolerate you coming with me even though he really doesn't like snakes. And you're venomous, too..."
In a nearby room, three teenagers are having a less than happy chat. Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. The two latter are quite unhappy about their friend being expelled from Hogwarts, even though he had done nothing but defend himself from a Dementor. Yet their joyful conversation is cut short by a strange sound easily recognizable to the trained ear.
Parseltongue.
Attention caught by hearing such a rare language, the golden trio leaves their room. In the hallway, a teenager, older than them, was chattering with a snake coiled around his arm. By him was flying a strange thing that looked like an inflated golden snitch.
Immediately noticing the three teenagers, the unknown boy stops talking and fixates them with his bright amber eyes, and Harry's scar suddenly feels like it's on fire, causing the Golden Trio to get on their guard.
"Well, if it isn't Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger." He speaks, looking very little surprised. "Nice to meet you all." He smiles, his gaze settling on Harry. "I can only see that what Padfoot and Moony told me was true."
Harry's eyebrows crease. Those names are the Marauder's. Few people knew who they really were. The boy with the snake steps closer, and the scar begins itching further.
"You really look like Prongs. Except your eyes. Those are definitely Lily's. Can't wait to see how much trouble you can bring yourself." He pauses, and then speaks again. "But I didn't even tell you who I am, so you're probably thinking I'm suspicious! My name's Neah. Neah D. Campbell. I'll be one of your teachers for this year, and lawyer for a certain rulebreaker." He adds with a grin. "Oh look, I wonder who I'm talking about..."
"Did you say Lawyer, Professor?" Asks Hermione, attention caught. The Noah's expression falls with the 'Professor'. He'd have to get used to it.
"Yes." He confirms. "Albus asked me to do it in his stead, since I'm in good relations with the ministry. And..." He suddenly swaps to Parseltongue. "Don't even think about it." He tells Noah, who was a bit too close to Hermione for comfort, maw open and ready to grant the girl a slow and horribly painful death.
She winces, looking as the reptile coils once again around its master's arm. She thinks to herself that the strange teacher must've been in Slytherin when he was still studying and judging by his appearance, the Weasley twins had surely known him.
"He doesn't like normal humans too much. Don't mind him." Neah adds, about the snake.
"What's its name?" Asks a fascinated Harry.
"Noah." Neah adds with what could almost sound like laughter, but no one understands what is supposed to be funny. "Anyway, I have to go."
He leaves without another word.
The next day, Harry Potter and Arthur Weasley head to the Ministry of Magic.
There are a lot of people in the courtroom, and when Cornelius Fudge announces the important people that would partake in the trial, by the end, a melodious voice arises as the great doors open.
"Witness for the defense, Neah D. Campbell."
Harry turns to look at the newcomer. As he had thought following their meeting yesterday. He simply hopes the man – boy? - won't put him in more trouble than he already is. Even though he looks very friendly, the Boy who Lived is concerned about Neah – mostly because of the burning of his scar whenever he gazed at him.
Unfriendly looks appeared on many faces, but also a sort of camouflaged fear. Strangely, Neah looked as if he was dearly enjoying it. Even Percy Weasley, in all his Ministry-worker glory, looked very little reassured. Harry asked with a glance, and the Weasley boy simply shook his head, looking somewhat sorry.
"Ah, Campbell. Still as... Well informed, I assume."
"Of course, else how boring it would be! Don't bother getting a seat for me, I'll stay up."
The snake yet coiled around Neah's arm hissed softly.
The trial begins, and Cornelius Fudge seems to be enjoying keeping Harry from justifying any of his actions by cutting short any explanation, only listening to whatever could give him an advantage. Yet after some time, Neah finally intervenes.
"I seriously doubt Dementors were there on a little walk, you know." He says, tilting his head to the side slightly. "They only obey orders, after all. Maybe not the Ministry's, but that's just my personal thoughts." He shrugs.
"It is your thoughts indeed, Campbell. Dementors only stay in Azkaban and merely obey orders."
"Well then, how comes one was there? Did someone from the Ministry order them to attack Harry?" He adds with a grin.
There is a long moment of quietness.
Last time he had come to this place, Neah remembers having had the same kind of fun. It is always fun, to meddle with their thoughts.
Long ago, Wisely, Noah of Wisdom, had given Neah a fraction of his power. It was both how he kept himself updated on the current events, and a powerful weapon against his talking foes.
A prickly conversation soon began between a woman named Dolores Jane Umbridge and Neah, and Harry has to admit that his lawyer was a good talker. A sprout of hope begins to grow within him, and yet suddenly everything freezes when a badly-chosen sentence escapes the woman's lips.
"What would a muggleborn like you know about the Ministry, anyway? Do not forget your... Situation." She spat as if it was poison on her lips.
"Oh, what, do you have something against, how do you say again... Oh, right, mudbloods like me?" He said, a sparkle appearing in his eyes. "Know that I hold no shame about my situation, as you so well put it, and better than that, I am PROUD of it. But do be careful..." He says, as his gaze grew different, more dangerous. "Attacking me in any kind or form would be the last thing you'd do before going through something far worse than death." He emphasized. "My 'mutation' has very useful advantages, far more than keeping my body from growing old..." He lets the menace go through the woman's thick skull, silence filling the courtroom.
Soon, the trial ends. Harry has no idea what happened, but he knows that all charges against him have been abandoned without a second word.