Title: Nothing Else Matters
Summary: So close no matter how far... Friendship, Bravery, and Love – nothing else matters... A tale of the Chosen One and his travels towards his Destiny.
Will Harry, Ron, and Hermione find and destroy the horcruxes? Will Voldemort succeed in his plans to control the Wizarding World and beyond? Will Dobby ever get over his sock-fixation? Read on to discover a story of one boy's journey into becoming a man, the transformation of an institution into a beacon of hope and light, and the resolution of a drama begun over seventy years previously with the birth of the last Heir of Salazar Slytherin...
Rating: PG-13, bordering on R (see warnings)
Warnings: Possible adult themes in later chapters,and mild to strong language throughout.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters, names, etc. are property of J.K. Rowling, all publishers concerned and Warner Brothers. The only things owned by the author are the plot and any names not featured in the official Harry Potter books or movies. No money is being made from this, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: "Ah, music... a magic beyond all we teach here at Hogwarts..." What a wonderful line to write within a book. I thought to myself, "How right you are, Professor, how right you are."
This story is my own interpretation of the Harry Potter series so far and what I believe might occur in the final book. Granted, I am not JK Rowling and do not have an insight into her mind so I'm probably going to be way off the mark in the end. But, as this is fanfiction, who cares? I was inspired to write this one day whilst listening to the music of a band named Metallica (thus the title). Something about their lyrics and their music just clicked inside my head.
I had tried to maintain an even length for all chapters of this story but sadly that aim was misguided - some are too short, some are too long, but all of them are the right size for themselves. They simply couldn't have been written any other way except by a different author. Occasionally I have been taken in by the idea of presenting a verse from a song at the beginning of a chapter in place of a title. They are chosen carefully to represent either the story as a whole, or some idea within that particular chapter. Don't think too much on them, though, for they're merely extra trimmings.
I will update this story as frequently as I am able to - it is still a work-in-progress, and my job permits me little free time to devote towards Life, let alone fan fiction but I will do my best. All this means that I could be able to upload once every few months or as often as a couple of times a week. I will attempt to leave a warning in advance if I foresee a large gap approaching between updates.
Lastly, if you've not read my profile here then you'd be advised to do so, particularly if you're easily offended by certain pairings of characters. I do NOT like the idea of Ron/Hermione so if you're a Heron / Mo'Ron (or whatever you like to call yourselves), please be advised that there will be nothing but friendship between these two characters. You've been warned in advance so please don't flame me for what happens in this story - feel free to offer up advice and suggestions on how to improve everything, though.
And now, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...
Nothing Else Matters
"Ah, music... a magic beyond all we teach here at Hogwarts..."
Chapter One – The Prince
Now I see his face, I see his smile See his face, see his smile
Such a lonely place, no golden mile
Eyes tell morbid tales of his black heart
His deeds through ages past tell of his part
Time to die
—
Date: Thursday, June 5th 1997
Time: 2:00 pm
Location: Azkaban Island
"You've got some visitors," snarled the warden, as he carefully removed the intricate charms and protective spells that held Lucius Malfoy prisoner.
The year spent in custody had not been kind to Malfoy senior, it was obvious to see. His once white-blonde hair was now replete with streaks of dirt and seemed lifeless; almost dead. He still held onto his regal posture and upturned nose, but it was clearly an act meant more to keep his sanity than for the benefit of the blood traitors guarding his cell.
"How wonderful," he replied, sarcasm practically spitting from his tongue. "I do hope these won't be as filthy as the last." He shuddered for effect.
"Keep quiet, you, or there'll be no dessert tonight!"
"I hardly think it's necessary to break the man's morale further, Warden, he is clearly feeling immense shame and remorse at being discovered as it is."
Lucius recognised that voice immediately... surely He couldn't be here. No, this wasn't good at all... not good at all.
"Whatever you say, sir. There you go - you've got no more than ten minutes, and remember, if he tries anything, we'll sort him out in a jiffy."
"Thank you, Warden; your willing assistance has been most appreciable. I'm sure ten minutes with our dear friend will be more than enough."
The cloaked figures stepped through the open doorway and waited until both the door had been shut securely and the warden had moved away before either chose to speak. Lucius quivered with fear, but was able to show no outward sign of this. Unluckily, he had never been as acclaimed at Occlumency as some of his fellows... he shuddered once more, though this time it was not an act, as a high-pitched laugh escaped the hood of the tallest figure.
"It is strangely good to see you again, Lucius. I wonder why that could be... oh, don't be afraid—you've nothing to fear from young Bella here. Ah, I see she's not the reason for your deathly-pale complexion."
"N-no, my L-lord..." he stuttered. He knew what was going to happen... had dreaded it for over a year now, had been forced to consider it for months, even after the Dementors had finally left the awful island.
"Poor Lucy, caught and twapped by the nasty do-gooders. I knew Azkaban'd improve your looks, dearest bwother-in-law. Kneel before our Master, Lucy, it's only fitting." Bellatrix Lestrange, her heavily-lidded but once-beautiful face still hidden by the hood of her cloak, moved closer to Lucius but stayed out of arms-length.
"Bella…" warned the Dark Lord, "There is no need to taunt him. Evidently he has been tortured enough by the thought of failing me—there's no need to add fuel to the fire. At least, not yet." Another high-pitched laugh that never quite seemed right escaped his lips.
"We have something to discuss and, as the Warden so kindly informed us, time is of the essence. Lucius, do you remember my leaving in your possession a certain valuable memory of my tenure at Hogwarts?"
"I... I do, my Lord..."
"Good. Do you recall what happened to it, after...?" Though the Dark Lord abruptly ended his question, Lucius knew exactly what was being spoken of.
"It is... in the possession of a house-elf called Dobby." The name was like bile in his mouth. Worse than contemplating mudbloods, almost.
"And where is this house-elf, Lucius?"
"Hogwarts, my Lord."
A barely audible sigh escaped the Dark Lord's lips as his slit-like red eyes briefly closed. His face was a mask, completely and utterly.
"Thank you, Lucius, you have done well. Quite apt, actually, that you redeem yourself at this moment." The Dark Lord towered above him; Lucius was reminded vividly of a solar eclipse as Lord Voldemort edged closer. Above the Dark Lord's head, a corona of candlelight blazed deeply into Lucius's eyes. He heard Bella's sharp intake of breath and noted a gleeful smile tug at the corners of her once beautiful mouth. So like her sister's...
The Dark Lord leaned in close and whispered a few parting words into Lucius's ear.
"Goodbye, old friend. Your death will be swifter than your wife's..."
In the split second before Lucius Malfoy broke free of his mortal coil, his heart shattered into a thousand pieces—his master had killed his only love...
—
Date: Friday June 6th 1997
Time: Shortly after midnight...
Location: Undisclosed
Far away from Azkaban, two figures popped into existence in a dense forest and immediately began running, though from what exactly it was hard to tell. The elder of the figures had a certain grace about him as his black robes whipped around like flayed wings. His greasy hair was kept from his sallow face by the force of the air rushing past, and the nostrils on his hooked nose were flared, as if trying to smell danger.
His companion moved much more awkwardly but seemed to be keeping pace fairly well. He was younger, fitter, but less confident in himself and where he was going. How was he to know he'd end up fleeing a castle and dashing through a forest for his life? Barely hours earlier he had been battling with himself to complete his mission; kill the greatest wizard of modern times... but he hadn't done it, and now he had to run from death himself.
Severus Snape was in no better position having fulfilled the boy's mission for him, thus ending the Unbreakable Vow, but landing him firmly between a rock and a hard place. Why had he killed Dumbledore? Why couldn't he have... but no, the boy was still an unknown factor, and hadn't Dumbledore pleaded with him? Pleaded to die?
He needed his pensieve, but so much for that. Returning to Hogwarts now would be willing suicide, even if he feared no one in the school. With a sigh betwixt long ragged breaths, Snape eventually slowed to a halt, reaching out an arm to restrain the boy beside him, lest he continue running.
He waited a few seconds, breathing deeply to replenish himself with oxygen.
"Draco, take out your wand, walk over to that oak, and tap it three times."
Draco Malfoy complied, despite not having a blind clue what his professor was asking him to do.
"Good, now come back here quickly. Ah, perfect..."
What at once had appeared merely to be gnarled bark suddenly shifted, leaving Snape and Draco looking upon a doorway. Without a word, Snape walked towards it, placed his left palm flat against the wood, and snarled an incantation. The doorway opened inwards, inviting...
"Follow me..."
As they entered, the doorway closed sending them into an abrupt darkness that Snape quickly shattered with a silent Lumos before steadily working his way down a steep slope. Draco made to follow but was unsure of the ground beneath his feet, sliding and slipping frequently.
They had been travelling for a few minutes when Snape stopped so suddenly that Draco careened into him; it was like he'd ploughed face-first into a stone wall. Muttering a few choice words beneath his breath, Draco peered over the professor's shoulder, wondering what could possibly be coming next. He didn't have long to wait.
Snape spun around and placed a folded piece of parchment into his hand.
"Read. Remember. Destroy."
Opening the parchment, Draco took note of the tiny scrawl, etching the words into his mind, before setting light to it with his wand, all the while wondering what the hell was going on. Draco wasn't sure what happened next except to say that he'd mistaken this—tunnel, for lack of a better word—to be a dead-end.
"What—what the hell!"
Snape took no notice of the younger man's astonishment and merely continued walking once more, ducking his head briefly to avoid a trailing root from the 'ceiling' and entered a modest cave of sorts. Everything was as he'd left it; two beds positioned along the walls (out of site of the entrance), a round table in the centre with an unlit candlestick resting in the centre, two rickety chairs facing each other. And there was the cupboard... locking charms and protection spells still firmly untouched, even after all this time.
"Come in, Draco, you might as well get used to this place since you'll be staying here for a while. There are some books on the shelf over there which you may interest yourself in. Do not touch anything else until I return—I shall be back within the hour with... or without... your mother."
A swish of robes and Snape was gone, leaving Draco absolutely and unequivocally alone. He hated it. His stomach was churning and twisting inside and it took all of his willpower to avoid throwing up. His eyes burned and stung; he promptly lashed out a fist against the table, collapsing onto one of the chairs, and let out a howl of rage and despair.
Draco's world was in tatters, and there was nothing he could do to make things right. Nothing at all...
—
Date: Friday 6th June 1997
Time: Almost 01:00 am...
Location: Spinner's End
A strikingly beautiful woman with silvery-blonde hair wearing a heavy travelling cloak was perched on the edge of an armchair, her hands clasped upon her lap and her blue-grey eyes shut tightly.
Narcissa Malfoy was praying for her son's life. She also prayed for Severus's, although she was adamant about never letting anyone know that. News of her husband's death had reached her earlier that evening but she was strangely unfeeling about it. They could have told her the Bulgarian minister of magic had killed the Irish Quidditch team for all the emotion it sparked within her. She'd expected it, perhaps as often as Lucius had himself after that night. So now she prayed for the only family she really had left.
"Please let them be safe... please let them be safe..."
"And what of your own safety, Narcissa? Are you not worthy of being protected as well?"
"Severus!"
She jumped from her seat and launched herself at the younger man, wrapping her thin arms tightly around his neck; Snape was startled for a brief moment, but soon responded to the embrace, encircling Narcissa in his arms.
"I thought for sure that something must have happened... where is Draco? Is he safe—is he alive?" Her desperate need for knowledge of her son's state of health was clearly evident in her voice and demeanour.
"Draco was unable to complete his mission for the Dark Lord and I was forced to do so for him, else face breaking the Vow and leaving both Draco's and your own future in jeopardy. As it is, you and he are no longer safe staying here. Draco is in a secure location and I shall bring you to him shortly, but first we must gather a few essential items—do you have everything you might need?"
She nodded thoughtfully whilst stepping away from Snape, looking briefly around the small room. All her essentials were packed tightly inside a trunk which she'd reduced to the size of a matchbox and placed into one of her cloak's inside pockets. There was nothing else she personally needed except her son.
"Good. We have little time—be on the lookout for any of the Dark Lord's followers, or even Aurors; I shall be no more than ten minutes, but if you spot anything at all, call for me and we will leave immediately."
And with that, Snape pulled carefully on an unobtrusive book and swept out of sight down one of the many secret passageways he had had installed into the house of his deceased parents.
Narcissa took out her wand and waved it in a strange, circular fashion over each of the visible windows and the front door. She moved through each room on the lower floor repeating the same wand movements each time she passed a window or a doorway that led outside the building.
Meanwhile, in the basement, Snape was frantically collecting potion ingredients, books, and whatever else he would prefer not to remain in anyone else's hands. Especially not that highly important creation, enigmatically brewing in its silver cauldron... he needed that above all others if his plan was to work.
—
Date: Friday 6th June 1997
Time: 01:00 am
Location: Undisclosed
Draco was resting his head on his left arm, his right stretched over his eyes to block out the light from the candle. He felt emotionally drained.What in Merlin's name could he do now? Snape and his mother should have been preparing for their trip to this bunker of sorts while every member of Dumbledore's private army would no doubt be in search of the ex-professor and Draco – after all, they were the prime suspects for the late headmaster's murder.
Why couldn't he have just gone ahead with his mission? His mother would be safe, and Snape could've remained at Hogwarts... but no, despite all his bluster and pride, Draco was not a murderer. He would kill only if necessary to save his own skin or his mother's, never in cold blood.
And look where that morality left him: on the run from his father's master and in hiding from Potter and his minions. There was nowhere left for him. Either he would wait out this new War or he'd try his best to depart Britain and live in some other pureblood-populated area of the world.
The thing was, he knew of no country where he'd be able to blend in and hide from the wrath of either Potter or the Dark Lord. America was out of the question, with its fractious region-specific guilds; the Eastern European territories were breeding grounds for the Dark Lord's followers. Western Europe and Northern Africa would leave him too close to British rule, with Auror and Magical Law Enforcement officials able to join forces with those of nearby countries when necessary. Only Australia seemed viable enough but even then Draco dismissed it out of principle – he remembered tales of half-bloods and muggle-born criminals being sent there along with their muggle counterparts over a century ago... he could not hope to find a single pureblooded wizard or witch on that entire isle.
More and more ideas were dispelled just as quickly as they were borne unto his weary mind until he was left with fewer and fewer choices. As he waited endlessly it seemed for his mother and protector to return, Draco carefully weighed out his options. By the time Snape and Narcissa arrived in the hideaway, his mind had settled on the only feasible course of action that offered up any chance of his survival. It would take time of course for him to build up his courage but once he did he would set off in order to face his demons.
It would take a few days at least, maybe even a week, before Draco would fully succumb to 'the last resort' and make ready to leave this hidden sanctuary, all in the hopes of securing his mother's safety. He was going to find Harry Potter and no matter how much it might take out of him to do it he would offer his services to the Order of the Phoenix and leave his life in the hands of one he'd always thought to be his mortal enemy. He would not let Snape or his mother stand in his way. He had not discussed his plans with either adult, though there was certainly ample opportunity to do so. Draco quietly assumed that Snape had probably read his surface thoughts and knew what was going to happen anyway, and so Draco didn't care to broach the subject.
—
Date: Sunday 8th June 1997
Time: 11:31 am
Location: The Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts
Severus Snape raised the omnioculars to his dark eyes and squinted, focusing on the bundle carried by the half-giant. At this distance, even with the aid of the magical device, it was hard to determine small details such as the tears welling in Hagrid's beetle-like eyes.
He watched emotions carefully hidden from his face as the ceremony continued, its participants unknowing of the role he played as an observer. He could make out the location of the Potter boy and his friends and was shocked to discover a feeling of pity arise in him towards the thrice-orphaned boy.
Snape was further surprised when Dumbledore's body erupted in flames and the white tomb erected itself around the great wizard's remains. Snape had never known anything like this to have happened in all of history... He quickly attempted to increase the magnification on the omnioculars, deeply interested in the smoke rising into the solemn sky.
There! What was that? A random swirl caused by an equally random gust of wind? No, it was too much of a coincidence for that to be true. A quick manipulation of the controls and he was watching the smoke rise again and again, each time sparks of inspiration and admiration racing through his mind.
"Impressive, you crafty old man..." Snape muttered, almost unable to believe his sight. "You've done it again."
He was unaware of the lone tear that tracked its way down his cheek, or the slight rise at the corners of his mouth. The omnioculars dropped to the ground, unnoticed by their owner as he twirled around and disappeared in a swish of his midnight-black robes.
If someone had happened upon them in the forest they would have seen the image of Dumbledore's body being encased within its marbled tomb repeatedly. To a person with keener eyes they would have, in the midst of all the transformation, seen the shape of a phoenix materialising out of the floating ashes, as if reborn.
—
Date: Wednesday 11th June 1997
Time: 10:42 pm
Location: Undisclosed
Draco gathered what little belongings he had left to him, took a hipflask filled with polyjuice potion and a few other bottled concoctions that Snape had managed to salvage from Spinner's End, and chose his timing flawlessly. Shortly after Snape left the hidden room for a meeting of the Dark Lord's inner circle, and after making certain that his mother was sleeping peacefully, Draco crept along the passageway he'd first used to enter this sanctum before exiting through the very same doorway he'd 'created' for lack of a better word. He turned and barely stood for a few seconds before it disappeared seamlessly, showing nothing more or less than a simple oak tree.
Checking the pockets of his robes once more for their contents, he pulled up the hood of his cloak and vanished with a muffled CRACK. In seconds the forest resumed its nightly chorus of wild animals making their way through their nocturnal lives...
End Chapter One...
AN: The song lyrics at the beginning of chapter belong to a song entitled "The Prince" by Diamond Head, however the Metallica cover (Garage Inc.) is superiour in my opinion. In no way do I own either versions of the song.
Also, this chapter has been edited slightly since there were a few mistakes here and there that needed revising.
Chapter Two is coming along nicely (not all chapters have been fully written, unfortunately, and many are constantly being updated to make sure the story as a whole flows) but as I will be without Internet access from the 24th of September until the 1st of October, it will be a bit longer before I can upload it. My apologies to those whom are reading this.
EDITED on: 23rd September 2006