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Malice Magic

By Demonabyss

Harry sat on the bench on the side if the road, thinking hard. The Dursleys were going shopping and had ordered him to stay there till they got back, some time later. The boy didn't care; it gave him time to think without being bothered. Ever since last year when Sirius had died in the veil, he hadn't been the same. 'It's all Dumbledor's fault, Snape's and Lupin's too. Damn Umbridge for her torture, damn Voldemort for doing all this to me in the first place, damn Snape for hating me and not teaching me Occulmacy, damn Dumbledor for his manipulations, damn them all to hell,' the boy thought darkly. He had saved the Wizarding world more then once and what did he get for it? Nothing, but pain and ridicule in return for his deeds.

He also hated his friends right now. He hated the Order as well because they did nothing to help in the fight against the dark lord or to at least help Harry himself. Oh no, they were content to simply sit with their thumbs up their asses and let him take all the life threatening risks to save a world he was beginning to care less and less for. He hated Ron, for having the kind of family he always wanted but was taken away from him. He loathed Hermoine and all the knowledge she had. None of them knew how it felt to lose your only real family as well as the only one who truly understood Harry. Right now, the whole wizarding world could burn and he wouldn't bat an eye about it.

The dark haired boy was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone sitting next to him. "Ah overcast, the best type of weather there is," a smooth voice said next to him. Startled, Harry turned to see a strange man had sat next to him. He was thin, but not lanky, with long turquoise hair that was tied in an extremely long ponytail. The man wore a dark purple short-sleeved shirt with matching pants and black shoes as well as a gold hoop pierced through his left ear. His skin was pale and his arms and face sported strange tattoos. His eyes were gold and narrow, very cat like. The thing that struck Harry the most about this strange man was the almost inhuman grin on his face that never seemed to slack of recede at all, even when he spoke.

"Pardon?" Harry said confused.

"Overcast," the man said pointing up to the sky. The boy looked up to see nothing but dark clouds above him. "Best type of weather there is," the man continued.

"How so?" Harry found himself asking though he didn't know why.

The man's grin seemed to stretch just a tiny bit further when Harry asked. "With overcast, you don't get the burn from the sun, nor the chill and wetness of the rain. Just a dark sky and enough light to go about your business," the man explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The man then slouched forward, still grinning like a madman while eyeing Harry carefully. "You look like one who had the weight of the world on his shoulders," the man commented.

'You're not too far off,' Harry thought to himself as he stared at the strange man. "I've got a lot on my mind," he replied evenly, still unsure as to who or where this man came from.

"When ones mind is filled, it is best to empty it to get things in order," the strange man said cryptically.

A riddle? Harry cocked his eyebrow at the strange words before understanding their meaning. "I just feel like everyone either want something from me or just plainly want to eliminate me," he said simply, not knowing why he was telling this man anything. "My past isn't what you would call pleasant," he said softly.

"The past will only hurt us if we allow it to. True allies are few and far between, but can come from the most unlikely of sources," the strange man with the inhuman grin said. He then got up and walked away, leaving the boy to his thoughts.

Harry sighed and looked up to see that the man had disappeared as if he had never been there. He let his hands fall to his sides as he craned his head back and looked at the sky. 'You know, he was right, overcast is the best kind of weather,' he absently thought. It was then he felt something under his hand. He looked down to see a pair of strange books. That strange grinning man must have left them behind. He picked them up and was surprised at what they were. One was a casebook from an Asylum called Rutledge. It was dated way back in 1864 by a Doctor Herionious Wilson. According to the book, the patient's name was Alice. The second book had no writing on the cover at all and was in much better condition then the old casebook. It was black leather with gold rims and a heart shaped lock. The only other identifiable mark on it was a strange empty heart. It had no curves, just jagged lines and was a dark blood red. Something about this book just seemed to call out to Harry and he had no clue as to why. He opened the casebook first and began reading about the Doctor's experiences with a certain girl a long time ago.

It existed there. A place few knew about, but it was there. A realm twisted into chaos and order, light and dark, where opposites could meet and mingle as easily as strands in a rope. There were many creatures in this land, some realistic, some unreal, some friendly, and some that were living nightmares. This is a realm where death was both common and uncommon, where being alive and living didn't always go hand and hand. Though it was a jigsaw of different things and places, the realm worked together in a twisted harmony of light and darkness. As a result, only the insane remained in this land. This land, ruled by the one who both loves it and hates it, who both lives in it and is it, who is ruled by it and rules it.

Living darkness. Warped shadows. Twisted light. That is all she saw. Metal chains. Churning thick blood. Her beating twisted heart. Dripping water. Her shallow breath. Silent echoes. That is all she heard. Nonsense, love, hatred, insanity, sense, paranoia, trust, sadism, kindness, cruelty, caring, purity, and corruption twisted into one thing and many. That is all she thought. The cave she was in was massive and mostly empty. There was a raised altar as well as a stone path. Around the center altar were intricate designs and beautiful symbols carved deeply into the polished stone. In those carvings, a deep red liquid moved through them like a river, a river of blood. She was suspended mid air above the central altar by countless chains, all wrapped around her like a metal cocoon that were held by a large black lock on her chest. Her arms and most of her body were held in place by a black straight jacket that seemed to pulse with life under the chains, leaving only her head free.

'How long have I been here? I don't know, well I do, but that doesn't matter,' she thought with her head looking down, causing her dark colored hair to drape over her. 'It seems someone has finally found my books. I wonder, how much has the world changed? Doesn't matter really, most things don't anyway. It will be interesting to see what happens now that the books have been found, allowing me access to the world once more. There might be something more interesting then laying dormant for so long,' the girl thought as she slowly brought her head up. When it was all the way up, she opened her eyes, which emitted a powerful dark colored energy. The chains restraining her responded. They moved and uncoiled like metallic snakes. They set her down and retracted into the darkness quickly as if burned from just touching her. Her straight jacket then pulsed and melted off her, slipping into the shadows. Now that she was free, she quietly walked down the dimly lit stone path to see what awaited her, torches emitting a black and white light lightning up as she walked.

Harry hid the books until he got back home. Once he was safely in his room, he began to read the casebook first, curious as to whom this Alice was. As he read the first couple of entries, he learned that Alice was a girl with an even worse past then him. Apparently she had been caught in a fire that had burned the rest of the family to death and her nearly to death as she watched everything go up in flames. She barely survived and was put into a trance like coma of sorts for it. The boy continued to read, becoming more curious about this girl.

When she first entered the Asylum on the 4 of November in 1864, she had been completely shut off from the outside world. The Doctor made retrospective comments next to the normal entries in red. One saying, "Would I have admitted her had I known then what I know now?" in red dated nine years later. A later red note was made next to an entry that was talking about how she looked like she was already dead. "So quiet she appeared. Was the deep madness already coursing through her mind?" This one was also dated nine years later. Deep madness? What was that about? Harry kept reading the casebook, intent on learning more.

The comments the Doctor kept making next to his past entries intrigued Harry quite a bit. Next to an entry in February in 1865, where he wondered if Alice would ever be able to walk through the gardens of the asylum, he made another red comment. "Little could I have imagined her mind would eventually gambol in unimaginable forests and gardens," Again, nine years later. The entries cut off in April 1865, where he states Alice has shut down completely and then they pick up again in September 1873 when she wakes with a drawing of a cat.

Harry gazed at the strange drawing of a cat in a tree, having never seen its like before. It looked like a nightmarish lynx of sorts with slanted eyes, a bony body, strange black marking, and a wide head. But the thing that bothered the wizard the most was that the horrid thing had a grin, a huge disturbing inhuman grin on its face stretching from ear to ear. The boy gulped, he had seen that grin, and it was the same one that man had been wearing, no mistake. Harry gulped, what was he getting into?

For the rest of the night, Harry Potter read the casebook as he would a textbook for a test given by Professor Snape. He read about the Doctor's dealings with Alice. Her tales of Wonderland and its denizens fascinated him. Her demonic drawings were works of the finest art in his eyes. The last group of passages intrigued Harry more then the rest. The Doctor admitted defeat to the madness that had claimed Alice and that he was certain that she spend the rest of her life in those asylum halls, with him. The last entry in the casebook bothered the boy a little. "If it's my keen invention you'd like to destroy. I'll withstand your best shot, I've got the right toy." Beyond that the pages were blank. Harry was both curious and worried at that last entry, had the Doctor wrote that or had someone else? Was it a quote from the girl herself? For that matter, why did he care? Why was he becoming so obsessed over a book that some creepy guy with a weird grin left on a bench?

Harry shook his head and looked at the clock. It was already late into the night, he had better get to bed if he was going to be able to make breakfast tomorrow. He sighed and lay down, placing the casebook next to the leather one that he hadn't been able to read yet. As the boy-who-lived fell asleep, he was unaware of a pair of sharp, dark emerald green eyes with a kind yet insane smile gazing at him from the other side of his mirror. The image faded away as a soft whisper echoed through the night.

One two, buckle my shoe.

Three four lock the door.

Five six, blood will mix

Seven eight, it's too late

Nine ten, you'll die again.

Harry never heard it, and if he did he didn't care.

The boy who lived screamed as he fell. Chaotic energy swirled all around him as he fell down into the vortex. He had just suddenly appeared here and was now falling. Before he knew what had happened, he landed hard on his back. After a moment, he got up and was shocked at where he was. It was an elaborate gothic garden. He was standing on a stone path that led into the garden as he gazed all around. There were massive hedges, intricate spiked metal fences, and flowers the likes of which he'd never seen. He himself was next to a grand fountain with four streams stemming off it in four opposite directions. In the background were twisted buildings that glowed eerily. Everything here both frightened him and fascinated him at the same time, even the sky itself. The sky looked as chaotic as anything he had ever seen. It looked like it was ablaze in some parts, others perfectly clear and blue, some looking like a storm, and even a few places that looked like twilight. It was then the boy noticed a couple things. One, his glasses were gone and yet he could see fine, two, he wasn't hurt from that massive fall, and three, there was an odd smell coming from somewhere. It took him a moment before he recognized it, blood. This garden reeked of blood.

The smell seemed to come from everywhere as Harry tried to pinpoint where it was coming from. When he did, he almost wished he hadn't. The smell of blood was coming from the flowers themselves, specifically the roses the red roses. It seemed as if the blood was soaked into the flowers, almost as if . . . as if someone had painted them red with blood. "Oh god," he whispered as it started to dawn on him where he was.

"Really nice aren't they?" asked a childish female voice from behind the boy. Startled, he quickly turned to see a girl right behind him and promptly fell on his backside. However, this girl shocked the wizard to no end. She was small, petite really, but perfectly proportioned, curvy, and filled out in all the right places. However this wasn't what shocked the young wizard. It was the fact that this girl had pointed ears, was completely naked, save for one red rose in her hair, and was covered complete from head to toe in warm dripping blood. Her hair was a dark red, also drenched in blood, and her eyes while large and bright, were also a blood red color. The girl was standing in the fountain, which he now noticed was filled with blood and not water, smiling at him as if she were his closest friend and eyeing him like he was a piece of meat.

"Um, yeah," Harry said unsure as he blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He got up and dusted himself off, not sure of what to do. For some reason his head kept bothering him, making him tired and sleepy.

"Sorry for scaring ya like that, I just couldn't resist. I'm Marie, and you are?" she asked sweetly. Though she seemed harmless, something wasn't right.

"Um, Harry, Harry Potter," he answered slowly. "Um, where am I?" he asked curious.

She giggled at him and stepped out of the blood fountain, her body reeking and dripping with fresh blood. However, the boy noted that she didn't leave any prints on the stone, as if the blood was firmly attached to her. "Does it matter?" she asked smiling brightly, showing off her pearl white teeth, correction fangs. Harry still didn't like the look in her eye and backed up from her despite something in his mind telling him otherwise. He ignored it as much as possible though it was getting harder the longer he stayed here. She didn't seem to notice. "You just got here, why don't you stay awhile? With me?" she asked with almost a longing and sweetness in her voice.

Harry hesitated. "I would, but I really should get going," Harry said as he backed away slowly.

"No, please don't leave me!" she said desperately. However, there was something in her eyes. Something feral and Harry's instinct was telling him to run, fast. However, something else was telling him to listen to her, and it was becoming stronger, even painful now. "You must stay!" she growled out, grabbing him hard, her hands becoming sharp talons, digging into his arm and piercing the skin. Her face twisted, her mouth becoming larger, full of fangs as her eyes glowed a dark red color.

"NO!" Harry shouted, fearing for his life. His magic reacted to his fear and blasted out of him. The blood-covered nymph was blasted backwards into the crimson fountain, causing its red contents to spill all over. The strange pull on his mind released for a moment and he took advantage of it. The wizard took off running down a stone path in the garden. He could hear an inhuman shriek as he tore down the path, along with something chasing behind him. The boy ran, adrenaline, excitement, and just plain pure fear allowing him to run just as fast, if not faster then he could go on his Firebolt. He kept taking random turns to try and loose the creature, jumping over obstacles and dodging hedges as he ran. The garden itself seemed to lash out at him as he ran. Behind him he could hear Marie's inhuman screeching as he ran, fueling his fear and making him move faster.

In front of him was an open metal gate showing the end of the garden. Harry ran towards it, the maniac nymph behind him. He ran through the gate and quickly shut it as he passed through it. He turned and was scared shitless at what was trapped behind the bars. It was Marie, but she had twisted into a more demonic form. Her body had gotten larger, much more muscular with her limbs elongated and lined with razor sharp blades. Her face remained more or less the same except her eyes were glowing bright red and her mouth was larger and full of sharp teeth. She attempted to pass through the gate but was shocked by some strange dark energy.

Harry grasped his heart; afraid it would burst out of his chest as he sat on the ground exhausted from both that magic burst and from running so hard. He watched as the blood red creature shrank back to Marie's original form. She stood there silently, gazing at him with sad lonely eyes, the kind you'd see from a kicked puppy. She was silently begging him to open the gate. Not wanting to look at her or be tempted to open the gate, he slowly got up and silently walked away.

The area he had exited into from that garden from hell was a massive twisted city of sorts. "Where am I?" he asked out loud. He could see cars sticking out of the ground at various angles, the streets cracked apart as if hit by an earthquake, some houses looking like there were hit by a grenade launcher while others looked untouched by time. One road simply cut off, leading to a massive dark ocean. There were also massive things; Harry wasn't sure what they were. They looked like a massive cross between tree roots and red pulsing armored tentacles. In any case, he decided to keep his distance from them. The styles of the streets varied from block to block, showing designs from all over the world at various ages in time. It was all mixed in a twisted sort of harmony that he found both disturbing and fascinating at the same time. He shivered, from the cold or his uncertainty he wasn't sure. "God, I wish I at least had my wand," he said absently.

It was then he noticed something glowing in a small eerie blue fountain of light. This startled the boy, as it hadn't been there a moment ago. He went over and grabbed the floating object. What he had grabbed was the most unusual wand he had ever seen. The handle was woven in black and red thread in a silver setting with a perfectly polished spherical ruby at the bottom. The wood of the wand was black and silver, twisted into a spiral all the way to the tip. He could feel the power radiating from this wand; it was chaotic and lethal, yet it seemed calm in his hand. "Well, a wand is a wand I suppose," he thought out loud.

He started walking again. The air in this strange realm was getting to him; making him jumpy. The boy could swear he was being watched, who or what was watching him he couldn't say. But he could feel it. Harry could also swear he kept seeing movement around him, as well as strange images of various people and things from time to time as he walked. What was this nightmarish city and where the hell was everyone? Who built it, how did he get here, why was he here, who or what was Marie, were there other creatures like her? These questions raged through his mind as he walked down the street, block-by-block, step-by-step.

Harry woke up groggily. That was some dream; it had been a dream hadn't it? He rubbed his arms, feeling coldness he wasn't sure was real. It was then he noticed something on his arm. They were marks, claw marks, from Marie. Even worse was that they looked fresh. . . Like they had just happened. It was then he noticed something else, he wasn't wearing his glasses and was seeing fine. Actually, he could see better now then ever before. This was getting too weird.

The boy went downstairs to make breakfast, his mind on the events of last night. That dream had been so real and yet so surreal. 'I wonder if I'll go back there again?' he thought absently to himself as he mechanically made breakfast for the Dursleys before they got up.

'Better question, do you want to?' an unknown voice rang in his head. Harry's head snapped up and looked around, shocked at the voice. He tried to find the source, but there was no one there.

'Voldemort?' he thought back curiously. The dark lord had tried to break into his mind before, but had never really tried talking to him like this. What he got back surprised him. It was laughter, light merry feminine laughter. The longer it went on, the clearer the voice became. It was serene, yet fierce in a way he couldn't describe, and was most definitely female. 'Not Voldemort I take it then,' he thought back slightly more relaxed now.

The laughter died down to a few chuckles before speaking again. 'No, I'm not Voldemort my friend. Can you guess who I am?' she said playfully.

Harry wasn't sure how he knew the answer to this, and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out, but he replied with the mental image of a grin on his face. 'Alice?'

He got the mental impression of a nod, despite the fact that he didn't know what she looked like. 'Smart answer.'

'Um, sorry if I seem a little rude, but what are you doing in my head? Especially since you died a couple hundred years ago,' he asked curiously as he continued to make breakfast and set the table.

'That is a fair question. Though I did die long time ago, my spirit was preserved and kept in Wonderland and in doing so increased my power quite a bit. I hadn't known it at the time because the fire had consumed my family and myself, but I was signed up to go to Hogwarts like you were. However, they didn't send the letter after learning of my condition,' she explained kindly but in a sad tone.

'Then why are you talking to me? You're not going to try and take over my body are you?' Harry replied nervously. Alice laughed and he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

'Of course not, silly boy, I may be completely out of my mind, but I do have some standards, such as the body being at least female. No, I'm talking to you because one, you found my books, two, you're a wizard and therefore can help me attain a body, three, you understand my position better then anyone else, and four, you're as mad as I am,' she stated simply.

'I'm not,' he started but stopped. He thought about it silently. Considering what he had been through and his thoughts lately, maybe she wasn't so far off. 'Okay, I'll admit to being a little, uh, disturbed, but what can I do and more importantly why should I? Just because you're not my enemy doesn't necessarily mean you're my friend,' he stated in an even tone.

He got the mental equivalent of a smirk from Alice. 'You're a paranoid boy aren't you? Good, I like that. I didn't expect you to help me right off the bat as they say, so instead I offer an exchange of services. I teach you some very "unique" spells, potions, etc. as well as my own unique forms of Legitimacy and Occulmacy, as well as keeping your mind safe from intruders other then myself. In return you'll be my eyes and ears in the wizard world and aide in getting me a real body. I'll also throw in a few extras to help, such as your eyesight and the wand,' she explained.

'Sounds like a decent trade to me. However I have one question, why was I in Wonderland, at least I assume that was Wonderland?' he asked as he quickly grabbed his breakfast and left before the Dursleys came down.

'Yes it was and the answer is very simple, if I'm to see your world, then it's only fair you should see mine. After all, if we're to be business partners and allies, then it's only fair, right?' she said in a smug tone of voice. Harry just smiled to himself; things were going to be interesting.

Harry sat in his room, looking over the second book that he had gotten with the casebook. He was surprised to find that it was a guide to Wonderland, its inhabitants, objects, creatures, even spells and incantations relating to it. The book had been written by Alice herself and had powerful enchantments on it. It adapted and changed as Wonderland changed. It was never the same read twice, which made it all the more interesting to Harry. Right now he was reading the section on the creatures of Wonderland, specifically Marie, the Blood Nymph.

"Though rare and initially harmless looking, the Blood Nymph is one of the most deadly creatures in existence. As its name suggests, this creature feeds on blood, large amounts of it, even more then vampires. She will stay in any area that she believes will supply her with blood. She uses very subtle psychic waves to influence her prey to override any survival instinct that would make them leave or refuse her. Once fully enthralled by her, nothing is able to escape her, or want to for that manner. Her prey will WANT to kill them selves in the bloodiest way possible to feed her. It has been noted that she will have her prey torture them selves for her amusement. However, should her prey resist or try to flee, she will shift to a more demonic form and slaughter her prey herself.

If you encounter this creature, do not try to engage. The longer you are in her presence, the stronger her influence will be. After an hour or more, the prey will be completely in her control. In some cases she will "play" with her food. When you encounter her, if you do not know her personally, hex her immediately or get away as fast as possible. If you do know her personally, consider yourself ungodly lucky."

Harry read silently, enjoying what he was learning about Wonderland. Before he could read on the Jabberwocky, he heard his uncle call for him. Annoyed, he absently picked up three small items before leaving his room. He walked down and met him at the kitchen. "What?" he asked annoyed.

His Uncle Vernon glared at him. "Don't you take that tone with me boy! Now, get going and make dinner," he yelled.

"No, make it yourself you bloated braggart," he stated without a hint of fear. If his uncle hadn't been so mad, he might've noticed the insane glint in his eye. At least his aunt and cousin did and kept their distance.

"WHAT? How dare you boy! Where do you get the nerve to talk back to me?" he yelled at him.

Harry just grinned back as he absently fingered the three small objects. "Tell me Uncle Vernon do you like to gamble?" he asked. The older man stopped his rant and stared at the boy stunned. "Do you know what these are?" he said holding out his hand.

"Dice?" Dudley offered, not liking the look in his cousin's eyes one bit.

Harry grinned in a twisted manner. "Correct, but not just ordinary dice. These are the Diabolical Dice or Demon Dice if you prefer," he stated matter-of-factly.

Vernon grinned himself now. "You can't scare me boy. You know you can't use magic outside of school," he stated confidently. However, that confidence was lost at Harry's next phrase.

"You're only partly right," he stated clearly.

"What? What do you mean partly right?" Aunt Petunia asked nervously.

"Simple really. All rules have a loop hole somewhere and I found one. While I can't affect any magic directly, indirectly is another matter. These dice hold their own magic and do not require a wizard to use them. When rolled they will summon a deadly demon whose power shall be determined by the numbers rolled. All I would need to do is drop them and a demon would appear and attempt to slaughter everyone in this house. Now, as an underage wizard I would be unable to defend any of you, but myself would be another matter," he explained calmly while fingering the dice.

"Are you threatening us boy?" Vernon stated though he was unable to hide the fear in his voice. If what the boy said was true, then he had indeed found a loophole. But the stubborn man wasn't going to give up just yet. "If we get killed boy, they'll know it was you and lock you up for good."

"Perhaps. Or maybe I'll just tell them it was an assassination attempt by Voldemort and being mere muggles, you were expendable and they would have no reason not to believe me. I mean I am Harry Potter, the "hero" of the Wizard world. Any other questions?" he asked in mock sweetness, enjoying watching his boisterous uncle squirm under his gaze. This was definitely not the same boy they had been housing these past fifteen years.