A/N: Hello readers, I hope you enjoy this first chapter, there will be many more to come, around 25 i expect. This is my first attempt at a fanfic, hell even creative writing (in about 7 years haha), so although im very happy with this chapter it may take 5 or so to really get the feel for writing a novel again instead of endless essays. Ive had this idea for a fic for about a year but have never really been able to fully realise it until now. I'd just like to say a big thankyou to Solistice Muse, BuckNC, akksgurl, Noterwomen and all the authors whose fics i have read and enjoyed. You've all inspired me in some way or another to start the ball rolling so to speak. Also just wanted to add that this first chapter has quite a heavy atmosphere as will the next most likely. After that the story will have a slightly lighter air with a bit humour which is non-exsistant in this chapter. The majority of this fic will be set in Hogwarts but I think ive come up with a plausable reason for them to return (This fic is HBP compatible). Also i think i would greatly benefit from a Beta so please contact me by e-mail if you are interested. Finally I would just like to say that critisism is very welcome as it will help me improve as a writer. Oh yes and if you want a better idea of what this fic will entail, please visit my profile where i'll lay out all the basics (without giving anything away of course).
So without further ado i present to you ...
All's Fair in Love and War
Chapter 1: A Cruel Fate
It was a hot cloudy night in Godric's Hollow with a cooling breeze which staved off the stifling humidity of the July night. All seemed calm and at peace but this could not have been further from the truth. Backed into a corner of the abandoned industrial district, with no means of escape was non other than Harry Potter.
"Petrificus Totalas" came the cold cruel sneer of Lucious Malfoy, one of the numerous Death Eaters barring Harry's escape. The Hopelessness of his predicament dawning upon him, Harry was too slow to react and fell face down on the cold hard concrete breaking his nose in the process and blood began pouring from it like a fountain. His wand rolled helplessly from his hand and lay but a meter from his grasp.
Harry knew he shouldn't have ventured out on his own , he knew that he should have at least informed the order of where he was going and he also knew that it was wrong that Ron and Hermione, his two greatest friends, he had carelessly lied and cast aside to suit his own desires.
"Seems like Im paying the price for my mistakes" He thought ruefully
This time he knew there would be no miraculous escape, no quirk of fate, this time his luck had finally run out.
"I'm going to die, Voldemort will torture me then dump whatever's left. Ive failed everyone and doomed the world because of my short sightedness". And with this terrible realisation a paralysing fear Harry had never known gripped his body.
He began to panic, he didn't want to die and certainly not like this, a dog scrounging on the ground at the utter mercy of the Death Eaters who had tricked him.
"I cant believe after all ive been through, this is how it ends, captured by Voldemort's slaves and brought to him for the finishing blow. If I did fail it wasn't supposed to be like this, it was supposed to be in a blaze of glory, fighting for what is right against Voldemort and his pathetic followers. Not like this, not like this…." All semblance of hope fading from Harry as he began to accept his cruel fate.
"Look at him just a pathetic dog" Lucious roared earning a round cruel laughter from his colleagues, inadvertently echoing Harry's own thoughts.
"Who says we have a bit of fun with him before we hand him over to the Dark Lord?" one of the Death Eaters questioned with undisguised glee.
"No our orders were to bring him straight to the Dark Lord upon capture you fool. And disobeying the Dark Lord is not something I would recommend Goyle" answered Malfoy
" What the hell are you doing saying his name, you know that better than anyone" answered another
"SILENCE you fools, here we are on the brink of victory and you pathetic excuses for Death Eaters are afraid to say your names, he is nobody now, the war is won and we will become the new rulers of the Wizarding World. The revolution has started! To the purity of wizards"
"TO THE PURITY OF WIZARDING BLOOD" They all chanted jubilantly, except one silent figure.
"Or maybe your just afraid of failure Malfoy, like that pathetic son of yours. The Dark Lord is most displeased with your family isn't he" a death eater strongly resembling Dolohov mentioned.
"Silence you fool, Ive done more for the cause of Dark Lord than you could ever dream of, I brought him here after all, he nearly escaped me once we should not make the same mistake." Malfoy replied icily.
Harry saw Dolohov roar with laughter out of the corner of his eye and some of the death eaters visibly stiffen.
"That's because you are an incompetent fool, he has no wand and no means of escape, you allowed him both of those" retorted Dolohov.
"Enough of this foolishness, lets take him back now before the auras show up. The Dark Lord would not want another failure would he … Lucious" interrupted another.
"Wise words Mcnair, I never thought you had them in you, has Severus been teaching you the art of the silver tongue?" Malfoy countered icily.
"ENOUGH, all of you, this bickering is foolish, we are on the verge of a great victory. Lets not allow pathetic rivalries to cloud and jeopardise our mission. Mason ready the portkey." Ordered another, clearly the leader which Harry momentarily thought odd as he'd never seen of heard him before.
During this dispute Harry felt the panic and fear leave him only to be replaced by a sad resignation of his failure, and his fate.
"How did I let it come to this, why didn't I listen for fucks sake" He thought angrily and his mind wandered to how he had come to be in this situation and godforsaken place.
The trio sat in the attic of Grimmauld Place hoping for some privacy, they'd placed several silencing and locking charms around the room but knew that woudnt be enough to stop a raging Mrs. Weasley so their conversation was urgent and hurried.
"First up are we going back to Hogwarts or not this year?" Asked Ron.
"If there even is a Hogwarts to go to" Hermione added matter of factly.
"Of course there will be, they didn't close it during the first war so shy the hell should they now" replied Ron passionately.
"Cause Dumbledore's gone and the parents will refuse to send there kids there as he was, well … you know".
"Its ok Harry" interrupted Hermione.
"Anyway that's not important right now" continued Harry boldly, "we should be concentrating on the Horcruxes".
"So you've finally accepted we'r coming along have ya?" queried Ron.
"You don't give me much of a choice in the matter" replied Harry in a deadpan manner, expertly fakeing a curl of his lips which prompted a round of laughter from Ron and Hermione before returning to their sober conversation.
"I shouldn't have lied like that to them, that was my first mistake, come to think of it I never thought I had it in me to lie like that" Harry thought momentarily while the argument among the Lucious and Dolohov raged.
"Anyway I was thinking that we could erm, well you know, do some research about where they could be before we head out" Harry mentioned trying to steer the conversation away from their involvement.
"Harry I think that's possibly the best idea you've come up with in a long time" Hermione added beaming at which Ron sniggered.
Hermione shot a death glare Ron's way and Harry could literally feel the battle lines being drawn.
"And why is that Ronald?" she added scathingly.
For once Ron didn't seem inclined to argue at all "Erm well you know just having a bit of fun Hermione, its not a bad idea just well erm, just wasn't expecting it from Harry" Ron made up much to Hermione's, and to a lesser extent his own astonishment.
Harry had been sensing an odd change in behaviour between the two over the past month but he just couldn't place his finger on it. Being overly nice to each other and avoiding rows, particularly on Ron's part. While Harry was thinking this Ron and Hermione sat in awkward silence, each trying to avoid each others eye without being to obvious about it.
"Oh screw this, we aren't getting anywhere tonight so why don't we leave it for a bit see if anything new springs to mind" Harry lied knowing full well he had no intention of being here tomorrow, but also partly to break the tension.
"What - Pardon" they replied in unison and simultaneously blushed.
"Im going to bed see you tomorrow" Harry added abruptly not wanting to witness the scene in front of him and making a hasty retreat.
"Wait Harry ill come with you" offered Ron who looked as though he couldn't get out of the room fast enough.
"I think …. I'll stay here for a bit and erm, read a book" Added an unusually flustered Hermione.
"So mate …."Harry asked slyly.
"Shut it Harry I don't want to here it" replied Ron a little harshly.
Harry considered further teasing his friend but then the realisation of what he was about to do swept over him and he became sombre again.
"You aright there mate" asked Ron, forgetting is hostility after noticing the sudden change.
"Yeah just tired that's all".
"No that's not it, why don't you just tell us Harry, me and Hermione are getting tired of you hiding stuff from us" stated Ron hotly.
"you mean Hermione and I" sniggered Harry trying yet again to divert the conversation while entering their bedroom on the 3rd floor.
"Harry Im serious here" Ron replied seriously.
Harry knew Ron wasn't going to be bought that easily so decided to change tack, and like all great lies it contained sprinkled elements of truth.
"Well you know its just, well, were really getting there now aren't we. I mean with Dumbledore gone we'r on our own and its just such a huge task. There's nowhere to run anymore, the final battle is coming and it could really be the end, of everything you know".
Ron was momentarily shocked by Harry's seeming honesty but quickly recovered himself.
"Well you know you'll always have us, we wont let you down mate" Ron replied sincerely.
Harry felt his insides squirm with guilt, knowing full well what he was about to do. Its not that he didn't trust his friends, he trusted them with his life and that was the problem. He couldn't let them sacrifice themselves for him in what was most likely a suicide mission, which he knew they would in the blink of an eye. They deserved to be together and not burdened to him. He would never admit it, but he loved them like the family he never had and couldn't knowingly lead them into a dangerous situation that wasn't theirs to deal with in the first place.
"I know Ron mate… I know" and with that they quickly interlocked hands, each to their chest and patted each others backs fiercely with their other free hand. A manly version of a hug so to speak.
"Night mate" said Ron
"Goodnight Ron" He replied "and goodbye mate" he added under his breath.
Soon Ron's heavy snores could be heard echoing around the room but Harry knew his time to leave had not yet come, they'd turned in early and the Weasley matriarch was likely still stalking the hallways. He'd planned his escape down to the finest detail: Firstly wait until the house was silent of all sound, probably around 1 in the morning. He was already dressed under the sheets of the bed had a backpack which he had meticulously prepared himself over many days in secret, aswell as his trusty invisibility cloak stashed within arms reach under the bed. Using it, he could sneak out of the front door undetected and plant his farewell note at the bottom of the stairs aswell. Once away, head to Godrics Hollow to pay his respects to his parents and then hunker down for the night somewhere in the muggle section of the town.
Harry thought it a perfect plan, the death eaters wouldn't expect him to surface for at least another week and he could be gone from Godrics Hollow in the morning before anyone knew he wasn't at Grimmauld Place.
"Things don't always go to plan though do they you idiot!" Harry mentally berated himself as the Death Eaters argument further raged.
"I should of learnt that from the goddam department of mysteries."
"I'd just wish they'd get this damn over with instead of listening to their crap any longer" he thought as blood continued to seep from his nose, limiting his breathing space and bringing the sickly taste of his own blood to his lips.
However his anger only succeeded in further reliving the events that brought him to this dark, dirty alley in the first place.
Harry managed to exit the house without any real problems despite nearly knocking over one of the ugly blood red vases that littered the hallways of the house. The night was clear and hot without a cloud in the sky, the weather complimenting his own burning feeling of righteousness. He proceeded to the edge of the newly formed magical boundaries and apperated immediately to Godric's Hollow.
He materialised right in the town's graveyard and throwing off his invisibility cloak, the darkness was so consuming it wasn't needed, and headed in search of his parents grave. The graveyard was small and cramped, with barely any space to walk in between the multitude of haphazard and run down graves. It gave off an eerie foreboding similar to other resting places, but there was a suffocating darkness that felt unnatural and it made Harry nervous and jumpy. He couldn't help but feel as though there was another presence in this place other than his own.
"Calm down mate, its just a graveyard nothing to be afraid of" Harry instinctively thought before mentally berating himself. He was Harry Potter after all, he had much more to fear than some stupid graveyard. However the resurgent memories of Cedric's death and Voldemorts resurection could not be so easily quashed.
Harry shook his head as if too clear away these dark thoughts and continued his search, which was proving near impossible without any light. He couldn't risk using magic in case he was traced back here, so he wiped out his maglight torch (being raised by muggles had its uses after all), hoping that no one was around to spot its beams. Finally after almost a half hour he found what he was looking for; a small but well kept monument in the north eastern corner of the cemetery. Still though the feeling of another presence was knawing away at him and he nervously approached the tombstone.
Here lies the remains of Lily and James Potter
Dear to all who knew them
May there souls rest in eternal peace
Harry felt numb, he knew he'd wanted to come and pay his respects but now he was finally here the whole situation seemed faintly surreal. He began to kneel but before his leg touched the ground felt the pulse of magic surround him.
Out of seemingly nowhere he was hit by a surge of reddish light and strong ropes wrapped their way around his body, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the floor.
"So Potter come to visit your pathetic excuse for parents have you. I wouldn't worry you'll be joining them quite soon" sneered the icy veneer of Lucious Malfoy, appearing stealthily from the shadows of a nearby grave.
Harry cursed his lack of awareness but quickly pushed it away, he had to think fast, while it was only Malfoy he still had a good chance to get away.
"If I can just buy enough time to get a decent grip on my wand …" he thought to himself.
"Is that the stink I could smell earlier then, I should of known it was you" retorted Harry strongly, hiding the fear that was coursing through his body.
"Strong words for a runt such as yourself, now without further ado my master would like a little chat" He smirked, malice seeping from every pour in his body.
Harry's hand was nearly there, he could feel his wand on his finger tips he just needed a little more time.
"Don't I get a last request, I thought that was common among you villains or something like that anyway" Harry spoke with a confidence he didn't know he possessed.
It seemed to throw Malfoy off slightly aswell, but he quickly regained his composure and seemed to be contemplating the proposal.
"Very well then, we have won and there is nothing you can do to stop us now" replied Lucious though he looked slightly unsure of himself.
Sensing the turning of the tide in the conversation, Harry decided to take advantage even though he now had a strong grip on his wand. Luckily Malfoy had been so shocked as to Harry's boldness that he hadn't noticed the jerk in the ropes that allowed Harry to get a proper grip.
"I cant believe it" Harry thought. "Lucious must be loosing his touch. Maybe Voldemorts not very happy with him at the moment. He did fail in the Department of Mysteries and Draco couldn't kill Dumbledore, maybe he's losing his nerve slightly under all that punishment he must be receiving".
At this Harry chuckled to himself which seemed to only further the elder Malfoy's confusion. He had to take this chance to find out about the Death Eaters, he knew it was a risk but he didn't know when he might get another and the superiority and power he felt over the old man only served to further his own confidence.
"Too confident" thought Harry despondently, now beginning to feel slightly dizzy and light-headed from the loss of blood as it continued to stream from his nose steadily.
"How did Voldemort know I'd be here?" asked Harry curious as to the answer.
"He didn't"
This threw Harry completely and his wide eyes gave a renewed vigour to Lucious. The tide had turned yet again.
"When I bring him his greatest enemy, all on my own I might add, I will overthrow that useless usurper Snape and take my rightful place at Voldemorts side. His most trusted and honoured servant. When we build the new order, I will finally be able to get rid of those pathetic blood traitors, I think you might know them actually, the Weasleys, among many others I might add" he said cackling to himself.
"How did you know I was going to be here" Harry said his voice quaking.
"It seemed a logical place to begin your quest, back to where it all began so to speak. I must say I have outdone even my own high standards of intellect this night" the eloquent execution of his words failing to disguise his unabashed glee. He continued to speak before Harry could retort.
"You thought that by coming here, you were saving them didn't you. Fool you have merely sealed there fates, and so now it ends. Harry Potter" Lucious cried triumphantly.
Harry felt the fury boil up inside of him and without even thinking about it burnt the ropes from his body using the incedero curse and began madly attacking a surprised Malfoy, who barely managed to dodge a cutting curse aimed right at his neck.
Harry's fury however was blinding him, making him open to attack and Malfoy took the opportunity while he could to place a simple diverting spell on Harry who blindly threw every curse he could think of, all of which were either deflected of dodged by the lithe and snake like Malfoy.
Feeling the spell hit him but with no seeming ill effects jolted Harry to his senses slightly.
"What the hell am I doing" he thought " I need to escape before reinforcements arrive, I need to warn the others".
And with that he dissaperated just avoiding the stunner that was headed directly for him.
"But instead of London, I ended up here, I should have realised there was something odd about the spell he used, I should have recognised it from apperation training. How could I have been so stupid."
Harry materialised in a dark grimy alley in an abandoned industrial district but before he could get his wits about him he was hit by a body bind curse launched from the wand of several death eaters. Lucious materialised almost as soon as he'd hit the ground.
"Look at him just a pathetic dog" Lucious roared.
Harry was jolted back to the presence by the realisation this was it. The end of all things good in the wizarding world due entirely to his failure.
One of the Death Eaters broke ranks and gave him a harsh kick to the groin area causing him to roll over in agony, breaking the curse's hole ever so slightly, he felt the stinging, almost monsoon like rain lash his face but could do nothing to shield himself from it.
"See, even the weather is mocking you, the age of darkness has come" Lucious roared loudly. "Mason give him the portkey and lets depart shall we."
Suddenly Harry had a realisation so incredible it surged through Harry's body causing a well of hope to spring up within him, it was a clear night when he set out, not a cloud in the sky so how could a storm of this magnitude have come within such a short amount of time. The presence in the graveyard was not Lucious' but someone else's. He was not alone.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it, the next chapter should be up around some time next week. If you want more information on "All's Fair in Love and War" please visit my profile.