Return of the King Chapter 1: A New Path, a harry potter fanfic

Lord Harry Black Pendragon Gryffindor Weasley Malfoy Gryffindor Merlin Skywalker Grindelwald Slytherin Snape Granger Prince Riddle Christ Bones Dumbledore Ravenclaw Peverall Baratheon Uzumaki Potter was angry. The old coot had meddled in his life too long, and he had had it. He still remembered his fat useless uncle spilling his guts out as Lord Harry Black Pendragon Gryffindor Weasley Malfoy Gryffindor Merlin Skywalker Grindelwald Slytherin Snape Granger Prince Riddle Christ Bones Dumbledore Ravenclaw Peverall Baratheon Uzumaki Potter applied the third Cruciatus curse.

They had been in Harry's room, his door bolted closed, and a sound suppressing charm placed to prevent the neighbors from hearing any disturbance. My Aunt and Uncle would have wanted that, at least, Harry had though. He had flipped his bed spring up, and bound his uncle to it with a quick Incarcerous, sweat beading down his purple face.

The old coot had had put magical blocks on his powers, the lardass had told him. Lord Harry Black Pendragon Gryffindor Weasley Malfoy Gryffindor Merlin Skywalker Grindelwald Slytherin Snape Granger Prince Riddle Christ Bones Dumbledore Ravenclaw Peverall Baratheon Uzumaki Potter had pointed his wand at him, and his uncle had seen the murder in his eyes. He stopped his pleading, and his look turned hard. "A good thing too," his spat, defiant at the end, "We had you pegged all along, boy", before Harry put him out of his misery.

He found the Killing Curse to be surprisingly intuitive. It felt good to see the light leave his uncles eyes, to see him slump down. Harry had time to note that Vernon was pissing himself in death before the bed fell forward and landed with Vernon between it and the floor, his large gut cushioning the fall.

"Dumbledork will pay for this," he snarled, speaking to his owl. Hedwig looked at him dully. He moved to affix a letter to his "friends" to the owl's leg, before sending her off.

"He has your wand thingy," Vernon had said. "The deathstick or whatever. Was from one of your ancestors."

"Which one?"

"I don't bloody well know, said you have half a dozen -"

Crucio

Harry had enjoyed his pain. He relished seeing his fat uncle on the floor, screaming in pain. Yet even now, his uncle had still found a way to get at him. The man was worse than Snape...

"He pays those friends of yours to like you." his uncle spat, as he came out of the curse, gasping.

"Even your freak friends can't stand you!"

That's absurd

"Don't believe me, boy?" Vernon managed a vicious laugh. "Had me stand there myself and witness the contract. Some freaky ritual involving those sticks and a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. Good thing too, or I would have given those freak 'friends' a good whipping when they came around."

"As if you could," Harry spat, feeling his emotions get the worse of him.

He had known Dursley was right. It was obvious. How could he ever have been so stupid? Even if they had been his friends for real, what use were mediocre, poor, bigoted wizard like Weasely, and a muggleborn ignorant of magical culture like Granger, to him? They were a distraction. The old coot had played him well.

His aunt returned soon after in their cheap, bland muggle vehicle, his fat cousin in toe, sweaty after spending the evening at his muggle school's boxing championships. Harry could tell from their faces that not only had Dudley not won anything, but that he had done terrible. He smirked.

"Diddykins!" Lord Harry Black Pendragon Gryffindor Weasley Malfoy Gryffindor Merlin Skywalker Grindelwald Slytherin Snape Granger Prince Riddle Christ Bones Dumbledore Ravenclaw Peverall Baratheon Uzumaki Potter shouted as they came through the front door, his smirk growing as his cousin gaped at him.

"What do YOU want?" Petunia asked, in her typical snide voice, her horsey face twisted in distaste.

"Your uncle is dead," he said to Dudley coldly. "Your mother murdered him." He enjoyed the look of shock on their faces, and the look of horror that grew on Petunia's face as she realized that he was serious.

"Harry - " she began, her voice small.

"So you do know my name," he snarled. She jerked back behind her son, who was admittedly now taller and bigger than her. Dudley continued his impression of a fish, he mouth hanging open. Harry didn't know whether to pity him or to hate him.

"What do you mean, Harry?" he asked stupidly, his quadruple chin quivering

"What I just said." he looked at Petinua. "You will accept responsibility for murdering him. You saw him hit Dudley and you lost control. The body is in my room. You will have to make it look convincing."

"Vernon would never hit Dudley," she said lamely. She was clearly still in the denial stage.

"He would hit me though," Harry spat. "You know what to do. Vernon hit Dudley, and you murdered him. You might get off on self-defence. I don't care either way. I will know if you don't do what I'm telling you. Then I will release evidence that Dudley was involved."

He looked at Dudley and smirked. "How would you like that Diddykins? You could box with the other prisoners..." Dudley just stared at him. His quadruple chin turned into a triple chin briefly.

With that, Lord Harry Black Pendragon Gryffindor Weasley Malfoy Gryffindor Merlin Skywalker Grindelwald Slytherin Snape Granger Prince Riddle Christ Bones Dumbledore Ravenclaw Peverall Baratheon Uzumaki Potter Disapparated.

Griphook recognized the boy as soon as he entered. Unlike those useless wizards, goblins had no trouble keeping track of the faces of other creatures. The boy was less ugly than most wizards, but age had not made him any less homely. He could see the hideous scar on the boy's head beneath that useless hair wizards had.

The boy was less timid, however, and not accompanied by that oafish, over sized abomination this time. He walked the atrium and came to Griphook's pavilion. He waited politely as the Griphook dealt with the two customers ahead, betraying no boredom or irritation.

"Good evening sir," the boy said politely as he stepped before Griphook's booth. Typical, he thought to himself, not that it really mattered. "I am here to read my Godfather's will, and receive my inheritance."

Griphook snorted derisively. "What do you think this is, boy? We are a bank. Why would we deal with such things?" The boy was taken aback. He had clearly not thought of that. Griphook sneered his best goblin sneer, relishing the wizard's humiliation.

He lied, of course. Gringotts DCLXVI had promised the meddling old wizard to keep his secrets, and Gringotts DCLXVI had ordered them all to do the same. Not that promises made to wizards were worth anything...

"You will give me what I have asked, goblin," the boy said coldly. sneering at him in disdain. "I don't know what promises the old coot made to you..."

"Who do you think you are, boy?" he snapped. "You wizards think you can come in here and treat us like this? Get out."

"I am Lord Harry Black Pendragon Gryffindor Weasley Malfoy Gryffindor Merlin Skywalker Grindelwald Slytherin Snape Granger Prince Riddle Christ Bones Dumbledore Ravenclaw Peverall Baratheon Uzumaki Potter, and if you do not do as I ask..." the boy took a combat stance, and pulled his wand from his pocket. It froze midway out, as did the rest of him.

Griphook cackled loudly. The others, who had been watching out of the corner of their eyes as they conducted business with other wizards, were now all staring too. The wizards themselves had frozen as well.

"You're really something, Potter." he said. "We actually kinda liked you, you know. For a wizard. Had quite a bit of goodwill here." Griphook heard the heavy wooden doorway to the left of his opening. Gringotts DCLXVI had come out of his office, and nodded to Griphook as he came to stand beside him. He nodded to Bogrod and Gornuk as well, who were sitting in the adjacent pavilions. "Just ruined that, pulling a wand in our home.."

"Harry Potter," the young heir to Gringotts said. He was young, handsome, at least among goblins, with perfect wrinkled skin and small eyes. His ears were the longest and pointiest Griphook had ever seen. "We've heard a lot about you. I am disappointed."

The boy's face remained frozen, but he eyes burned with loathing. Griphook knew then that the boy was lost to them. Far better to stick with the meddling old wizard, than trust in this fool.

"We really thought you might have been worth something, for a wizard. Such a shame, really. We have already alerted Dumbledore to your presence. He should be here any moment."

"Avada Kedavra!"

It all happened to fast that Griphook had no time to react. Green light flooded the atrium, and he was thrown back, his ears filled with ringing. He was injured, badly, he knew. Stone had shattered into a million pieces and embedded itself into everyone nearby.

Goblin magic was strong in the place, however, and he quickly healed himself, greatly revealed when his hearing returned and the infernal ringing stopped. Bogrod lay still nearby, but other goblins were clambering to their feet as well. Gringotts was not so lucky. Where he had been there was a small crater of stone. His body had disappeared. Griphook was no expert in wizard curses, but he knew of Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse, and he knew that this was not how it went. The boy was powerful.

Harry Potter stood, or rather floated, above the crater, looking down at the goblins coldly. The wizards who had been in the atrium had all disappeared. How had he rescued them?

"I claim the title of Gringots DCLXVII," Potter said. "Bow before me, my slaves," he said, mouthing the ancient Gringotts coronation ceremony. Griphook did as he was bid, as did the other goblins.

"Hail, King of the Goblins!" the shout went up.

Hermione bowed before her Master, his brightly colored robes contrasting with the stone gargoyles behind him. The Dark Lord Dumbledore looked down on her with contempt.

"You have failed me, my dear," he said, his voice keeping the grandfatherly tone it always had, but Hermione could sense the threat.

"I am sorry, Master. I tried to keep him from finding out, but there wasn't anything I could do while he was with his family." she wailed helplessly, knowing her excuses would not be accepted.

"Crucio!" Dumbledore hissed. Hermione cried out, but he let the curse off quickly. "See how merciful I am, my dear? Tom would have held you under far longer." He was genuinely proud of himself, she thought disgustedly.

"I am sorry, my Lord. I will serve the Greater Good much better from now on, I promise." she grovelled harder, and her Master seemed to have sated his desire for punishment.

"I will not forget your incompetence, my dear. Weasley's failure is much greater than yours, of course, but because you are far more intelligent than him, I must hold you more responsible. With great power comes great responsibility, my dear. Lemon drop?" he asked serenely, holding out a candy. She took it.

"For the Greater Good," she said firmly as she ate the candy.

Nothing happened. She looked at Dumbledore curiously.

`Be patient, my dear," he said, stroking his long beard. "It is a new enchantment of mine. Very difficult magic, but very powerful. Ah, here we go," he said, nodding to a nearby mirror, which Hermione approached.

Her hair was blonde, and much shorter. She had grown taller and paler, and her feminine face had transformed into the pointed visage of Draco Malfoy. When she spoke, it was the oily voice of the Slytherin Boy that came out. "My Lord!"

"Impressive, isn't it, my dear? The hardest part was not making it last longer than an hour. That was easy. The difficult part was making the voice match the body." He was clearly thrilled with himself.

"How long does it last, my Lord?" she asked, not wanting to know the answer.

"Don't worry, my dear, it is temporary. A year, at most. A worthy sacrifice for the Greater Good, I'm sure you will agree," he said gently.

"Of course, my Lord. But why Malfoy?"

"Ah, that is the most brilliant aspect of my plan." he looked so excited that his grandfatherly facade fell away. "You see, I have given Harry a special love potion that makes him feel irresistible attraction towards young Draco. I was planning on creating a marriage law to seal the deal, but unfortunately the boy has taken the majority of the seats in the Wizengamot, so I could not."

Hermione did not see how this plan was at all brilliant. It seemed mad and absurd actually, but she knew better than to say that. "It is amazing, my Lord. Just brilliant!" she did fake enthusiasm well, she had to admit.

"It is, my dear. Now go, and ensnare our savior again before he causes any more trouble."