Title: The Best Revenge.
Author: Sakya
Summary: Pansy thought she had the best plan ever to get rid of the competition, but did she? Harry finds a new family and powerful friends in a new country where he can get in to a lot of trouble…as usual.
Rating: Oh, my! I don't know yet. I'll have to go over this one later.
Pairing(s): Harry? (Yet to be decided)
Feedback: desired, craved, needed...
Characters: Harry, Buffy, Giles and Gang.
Betas: The beautiful Rose, if she is still willing.
Author's notes: I had promised myself I would not start a new one before I finished all the ones I had already started… I failed.
Disclaimer: Nope, not mine and not profitable… for me, that is. I've heard rumors that J. K. Rowling is doing terribly well, but she writes the originals, maybe it has something to do with that…
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Chapter 01
Pansy stormed through the hallways knocking other students out of her way. She hoped they all got hurt, she hoped they all died. Hot tears rolled down her face.
How dare they? How dare HE? Oh, she knew he had fooled around with others but that was small matter, purebloods, especially strong ones always fooled around before getting married… sometimes even after. It was a common, well deserved indulgence. They all knew that. But this time it was different, this time he said the words.
"I love you" he had whispered to his lover in the dark classroom. Pale hands idly running through raven locks.
How dare he? Those words were for her, he had no right saying those to anyone else. But she heard them, whispering to each other, pledging their love.
"I love you" it still ringed in her ears.
They would both pay. No matter what she would have to do, she would have her revenge on Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. They would curse the day they were born.
She wanted revenge. Her whole body screamed for revenge. Revenge… wait. Revenge... Why did that ring a bell?
The book, the book she had stumbled upon in the Restricted Section. The book on revenge!
It had been two, maybe three years ago. One of those ridiculous teachers had given her a permission to research in the Restricted Section and while she was there half hidden behind piles and piles of books she caught a discussion between the librarian and the headmaster. They were discussing the safety of keeping some of the books in the library and she clearly remembered now.
----Flashback----
"But… Headmaster, a book on revenge… beings? And with these summoning spells? What if a student gets their hands on this book?"
"Don't worry, my dear." The headmaster assured her standing at an aisle with only a few shelves., "we will put all the more dangerous volumes here and it will be protected by a password. How about 'forgiveness'?"
"Fine, headmaster, 'forgiveness' it is." Conceded the librarian.
----end of flashback---
Pansy smiled. All she needed now was a pass to the Restricted Section and she would have her revenge.
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The plan to get the pass for the restricted area was so simple it was almost offensive. She told Sprout that she needed some books for her research on deadly plants and how to prevent or heal the damage caused by them and the silly cow gave it to her with very little fuss. The fact that she was actually good at Herbology and that she was actually working on that paper only added credibility to her story.
And now there she was, hidden from the view of the other students, sitting on the floor of the Restricted Section with some herbs and special powder ready to begin the last part of her plan.
She carefully chanted the appropriate words three times with her eyes closed in deep concentration. Nothing happened. Damn, she must have done something wrong. She picked up the book and checked everything over. It was all perfect; she did exactly as the book said it should be done. Why didn't it work?
She put everything back on its place, making sure the herbs were carefully sealed in their jars not to spill anything in her bag, and walked out into the main room of the library. It was almost time for lunch and she didn't want to call attention to what she was doing. She went through the rest of the day as if nothing was wrong. She would try again in her room that night.
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Now was the perfect time, the whole school was watching that stupid third task in the tri-wizard tournament and there would be no one to see what she was doing.
Pansy checked everything over twice. She couldn't afford to make any mistakes this time, she was almost out of more than half of the herbs needed to work that spell. A knock on the door made her jump a little. Sighing she opened the door.
"Oh, hello."
Pansy looked at the common looking girl standing at her door in Slytherin colors. That was odd. A new student? Nobody had said anything about a new student to her. Was she losing prestige or something?
"Who are you?" Pansy demanded rudly.
"I'm Annie, I'm a new student. It was kind of a last minute thing," the new girl noticed the herbs and the runes on the floor. "Wow, what are you doing?" she asked entering in the room and closing the door.
"It's nothing" Pansy started, but she was tired and frustrated, her summoning didn't work and she couldn't figure out what she did wrong. She sat on her bed and rechecked the ritual, again everything seemed to be perfect. It should have worked.
Extremely frustrated, Pansy set her notes aside and concentrated on getting to know the new Slytherin. What kind of name was Annie anyway? Was she even a pureblood?
After a careful and discrete background check, placing the right questions in their conversation she felt at ease enough to start talking to this girl and for some reason she started to tell her how Draco had betrayed her with someone else and how she wanted them to suffer. They were betrothed for crying out loud. Annie was the perfect listener, she placed the right questions in the right places and got enraged and shocked with their betrayal like a proper pureblood girl should.
"You know what," Pansy concluded after hours of whining, "It would all be perfect if Harry Potter just minded his own business, but no, he had to come and get in the way of my engagement. Draco and I belong together and he got in the way. Now nobody will respect me anymore and I'll lose all my friends. I just wish… Merlin, I wish Harry Potter would find out what is like to be betrayed and abandoned by those he loves, to lose everything. I wish they would throw him in Azkaban. I wish he was out of my way for good."
"Wish granted," Pansy heard, she turned around and saw a she-demon standing where the new girl had been only a second ago. Pansy screamed and fell unconscious on her bed.
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Severus Snape was sitting on his lab doing his best to ignore the whole nonsense of this stupid competition. There were better uses for his time than to cheer like a raving lunatic over some underachiever who managed not to get himself killed doing a mindless task.
Suddenly his arm started to burn in pain. The surprise of it all almost knocked him out of his chair. It had been years ever since he felt anything like that, ever since… no, it couldn't be. It couldn't!
Snape hastily rolled up his left sleeve and watched horrified as the faded tattoo on his arm became more and more vivid, turning from the shadow it had became to pitch black like it had been years ago.
The dark lord was back.
As the pain became more intense, Snape fought to get on his feet, he had to warn Dumbledore immediately. Before he could get to the door a surge of pain made him fall to his knees and the last thing to cross Snape's mind before he fainted in to merciful oblivion was that the dark lord was particular angry that night.
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Out on the grounds the whole school was screaming. Just a few seconds ago Harry Potter had popped right in front of them holding the body of a very dead Cedric Diggory and claiming that the dark lord had returned. Everybody panic and tried to run back to the safety of the castle at the same time.
It took the teachers and the Ministry staff a few tries to make everybody calm down, reassuring them that He-who-must-not-be-named had not returned and that everything was fine.
Anyanka stood in the shadows, making sure that the wish went according to plan and that the little home-wrecker was indeed taken out of the picture. That was when she first saw him.
He was bloodied and most certainly injured. She could see the effects of a dark pain curse lingering around him. His glasses were almost falling off his face and his unruly black hair was matted with dirt. His clothes were also dirty, like he had rolled on the ground, and torn, his arms still around his dead classmate and he was obviously in shock. But she paid no mind to that, humans were disgusting anyway. No, what caught her attention was the many destiny lines connected to him.
A vengeance demon like her could always see destiny lines. It was what told them how far they could go on a vengeance, and judging by the amount of destinies tied to this kid she had just gone a few miles too far. She would have to take this problem to her boss. Yeah, that's what she would do. He could solve it in a heart beat. Having solved the problem in her mind, Anyanka shimmered away to the hell dimension she called home.
On the school grounds, the problems were just getting started.
"Dumbledore, this is your fault entirely," boomed Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, "this protégé of yours is trying to cause panic amongst the Wizarding World."
"He's lying. He killed the boy and now wants us to believe someone else did it. The dark lord is dead."
"Attention seeker"
The crowd was getting louder and louder as they went on about how Harry was lying to cover a murder that he had committed. Unable to control the mob, Dumbledore allowed the Ministry staff to take Harry with them. He feared things could easily escalate to violence if Harry had been allowed to remain in Hogwarts.
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A large horned figure was sitting at an ancient desk reading some scrolls. Everything around him, about him, screamed power. His pale skin didn't show the signs of his extremely long life but his eyes reflected the knowledge of someone who had seen more than a mere mortal could conceive. Nothing but darkness surrounded him as he was not in a room; there were no walls on this place. This was HIS place, his dimension; all that existed here did so with his permission. He was the mighty D'Hoffryn, ruler of the vengeance demons(1) and no one would bother him at his place of work… well, almost no one.
A she-demon with golden locks and in full black school uniform with green and silver details marched up to him and sat at a chair across from him, propping her feet at the top of his desk. The older demon sighed remembering a time when he did receive the proper respect from his minions, but then again, this one had always been different.
"D'Hoffryn, we have to talk," she started paying no mind that she was interrupting whatever he was doing.
"What's on your mind, Anyanka?" he asked, he knew it would do no good to ignore or yell at this vengeance demon, not enough common sense in her to do any good anyway.
"There was something wrong on my last job" she stated shedding the 'Annie' outfit and reassuming her demon robes.
"What do you mean?"
"Well…" she started, frowning as she searched for the right words "I was summoned to this one, not called by her grief as usual but summoned with a ritual, which is unusual but I though it was because of all the magical wards placed at this school she was at. Then everything went as it was supposed to go. She wished, I dished. Job's done."
"And why do you think something was wrong about this one?" asked D'Hoffryn. He knew his demons had a sixth sense about this sort of things.
"Ever since I did the job something seems out of place. I just don't feel right about this one. I want you to check this debt. The intended casualty had all these destiny lines tied to him. I just know something is not right!"
D'Hoffryn looked at his demon, she was troubled about this job. Not a good sign. Never a good sign, Anyanka had been working for him for over 1.100 years and he could count on his fingers the times that she was wrong about a job related matter. Thoughtfully, he picked up a large black leather book with bold red letters across the cover where one could read 'Book of Vengeance' and started to check.
"My, my… this is not good," D'Hoffryn muttered double checking his book, "it seems that you are right about this one, Anyanka. A debt was created with this job, not paid. And the foot notes on this one… call Halfrek, this had to do with a wronged child, it's her area."
Anyanka turned around concentrating on her long time friend, the demon Halfrek who took care of children's vengeance.
"Hallie! Hallie!" Anyanka called out in the darkness, "D'Hoffryn and I need to talk to you… It has to do with a child."
"Anya! Dear, there is no need to shout like a commoner." Halfrek smiled at her friend as she shimmered in to existence, "I'm here. Now, what is so important for me to be summoned here? And how come I didn't sense this child in need of my assistance?"
"Well, it's kind of an out of the ordinary deal. D'Hoffryn is looking into it now." Anyanka explained, bouncing on the balls of her feet like she usually did. They turned to their boss only to find him talking to two glowing humanoids that weren't there before.
"Uh, this is big," murmured Halfrek, "The Powers that Be(2) are here. They never get involve with vengeance."
"Halfrek, Anyanka." Called D'Hoffryn, "come forward."
"Greetings to you on this occasion, powerful ones." The demons bowed their heads in sign of respect for the glowing beings in front of them.
"Greetings, Vengeance demons," said the being that appeared to be a female with light blue skin and white silvery hair, "we face a crossroad due to your latest job and yet you did what was right by your nature. The rules of fate have been obeyed, but the object of your vengeance was neither deserving nor a wandering mortal. He was one with a destiny, a destiny that must be fulfilled or many will suffer, for he is a favored child of magic. His path must remain in front of him."
Anyanka started to go over the problem in her head. That was certainly a major problem of both demon and mortal realms. Mortals usually didn't have a destiny, they just wandered through existence. Vengeance demons could throw them around as they pleased, but every now and then a mortal would be born with a destiny that would help shape the future of many. To be born with a destiny in magic also meant that you could affect not only humans but every other creature that delved into magic, including demons.
What could not be changed in this situation? She had been called and acted upon a vengeance wish, there was no going back on that, but the outcome was not written in stone yet. If what happened was already out of their hands, the future was the only way to prevent a disaster, but she needed more information.
"And what is his destiny?"
"The mortal known as Harry Potter is the one destined to face the new magical dark lord in combat. Because this dark lord has already died and managed to return, he has tied magic to his existence. If he wins, magic will became tainted and increasingly more difficult to perform up to the point where the whole planet will become a magical void, eradicating all mortals able to use magic and trapping many of your kind in that place without the power to free themselves."
"That is horrible," Halfrek shivered, "We must make sure this child wins then…"
"NO!" both beings yelled at the same time, "That is forbidden. No one must tip the outcome of that battle. They must fight alone and with only their powers and abilities. Due to past deeds the demon races have lost the right to intervene in this one."
"We hear and we obey," bowed D'Hoffryn, behind him Anyanka and Halfrek did the same.
"The extent of your influence will be to make sure the boy does not die ahead of his time because of this wish and that he will be where he has to be, when he has to be, so that his destiny is fulfilled. Other than that we let the boy walk his own path. You must not intervene." They ordered as they disappeared.
"Like hell we won't intervene!" spurted Anyanka. "D'Hoffryn, we have to do something! I don't want to blip out of existence because some spoiled little witch couldn't take a hint."
A soft chime rang through the air, calling the demon's attention.
"Blast, I'm being called back to earth." She whined, "Well, think of something." She demanded as she disappeared.
Halfrek decided that it would be a good time to go too, maybe check on her own book of vengeance to see what she could find out about this Harry Potter, but before she could do anything D'Hoffryn called her.
"Stay a while, my little demon. Something important is happening…" D'Hoffryn closed his eyes and concentrated. Halfrek knew what he was doing, he was checking the future outcome of a wish and she briefly wondered if it was the one involving the magic child.
"Ah! Yes, my punishment for Anyanka is in motion. She really should be more careful about the jobs she takes," Halfrek felt a small hint of fear for her friend, she knew D'Hoffryn would not let this go unpunished. Not that he cared about Anyanka's demand for him to do something, it was the imminent danger she had placed all demons at. "She does tend to rush in without getting a hold of all the facts first."
"But she is very good at her job." Halfrek reminded him.
D'Hoffryn turned to face the brunette demon. Her black locks curling around her face gave her a somewhat angelic look and her sweet smile always helped when approaching children. Yes, she was perfect for her job. The older demon pondered over his options a little and made his decision. He knew now what to do with the wizard child.
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Author's Note:
(1) Vengeance Demons – self explanatory. They deliver vengeance in the Buffyverse and tend to specialize in an area (Anya goes to wronged women and Hallie to abused children, there might be more but only those two - and D'Hoffryn - showed up in the series).
(2) Something like The Fates in the Buffyverse.