Wizards and Demons Don't Mix

Chapter 2
Words: 1 122

It was early morning in Oxfordshire, England. The sun was about to rise, painting the sky in pale colours. It was the beginning of autumn and the leaves on the trees were beginning turn yellow, though it would still be some time before they started to fall.

As the first rays of the sun fell on an old two-story stone house with thatched roof a figure appeared in the garden. He was tall, dressed in black and had hair in the same colour. The only things standing out about him was his green eyes. They weren't normal. The green covered the pupil, the iris as well as the the white giving an ethereal look. The most unsettling thing however was the sense of malice that surrounded the figure like a second cloak.

"Any moment now," the man murmured and began to hum under his breath. "The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah!"

There was no movement inside the building. The windows were dark, the glass reflecting the sky. "The ants go marching two, by two, hurrah, hurrah!"

A few birds flew through the sky, chirping. "The ants go marching three, by three, the little one goes on a killing spree and they all go marching down to-"

The man stopped singing, suddenly finding himself surrounded by three people. "A very good morning to you all," he said, cheerily, green eyes glowing stronger. "Andromeda, Hermione, Ronald, it's lovely to know that you all still are so eager to meet me after all this time. Though I must confess that it was not you I came to see today, rather I'm here to see young Edward."

"Who are you?" the younger of the two women spat. She held a wand in a steady grip, pointed towards the man they had surrounded.

"Ah, I'm hurt! You really don't recognize me, and I who thought we were friends." He made a tutting noise with his tongue. "Ron, mate, tell your wife who I am."

"I don't know who you are, you filthy demon!" Ron snarled, sparks erupting from the tips of his wand.

"Now I'm really hurt and disappointed. Can't you put together two and two? A supreme tactician and the arguably smartest witch of her generation blindsided. What has the world come to? How about you Andy? Do you recognize me?"

The other woman had lowered her wand and was met with a toothy grin as she did so. "Harry," she whispered.

"Yes I am," the demon said, taking a low bow. When he straightened up again the green of his eyes had dulled to look normal.

"H-Harry?" Hermione stammered.

The sun had risen above the horizon now and as the black-clad man turned to her she could see his face and although she understood what he had become she still rushed to him and clasped her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Oh," Harry sounded surprised as she barrelled into him. "Now I'm even more disappointed. Was seeing my face truly all it took for you to let your guard down?"

"No," Ron said, and Harry looked to him, seeing that the redheaded man still had his wand directed at him. "I recognize you, but I get that things have changed, otherwise the wards wouldn't have reacted the way they did. You were my best friend once, but I don't know if you still are. Hermione, let go of him."

"Good, I'm glad. You're a credit to the Aurors I'm sure. Hermione, do as he says and let go of the big bad demon."

"No," she murmured into his chest, "I'm not letting go. You're back and you'll be fine, but for that to happen you need your friends."

"Maybe," Harry allowed, "but I don't know. We knew that I would turn out differently if I got stuck, yeah?"

"Yes."

"The thing is I don't know how different. I can restrain myself most of the time, but I've done horrible things too, you have to understand that. I've tortured, I've killed, and I enjoyed doing it. I can hold back, but I don't want to. Not really."

Ron walked forward and physically removed Hermione's arms, dragging her back. "No need to push him, love, you heard what he said."

"Fine," she said agreed reluctantly. "How long have you been back?"

"This time? About an hour."

"This time?" Hermione's brown eyes narrowed to slits.

"I didn't dare come around before. I needed to know that I wouldn't hurt you as soon as I saw you."

She began to smile now. "That's all the proof I need," she said happily, "if you were like them you wouldn't have cared about that. You would have come because you wanted to hurt us."

"Perhaps. Things are happening now though. You shouldn't be affected, but there will be an increase of demons on Earth. A Devil's Gate was opened."

"Where?" Ron asked urgently, his professional side talking.

"Wyoming, the United States. I'll be heading back soon, I need to put them down. That's something I can do now. Kill demons. I killed Tom not too long ago. Slowly, painfully… ah, happy memories." He shook his head. "Anyway I just wanted to see Teddy first, I think it will help me," he paused making a small sound at the back of his throat, "I think it might help me keep my priorities straight. At this moment I want to be better. It might not last. It has to be now."

"I don't know if I like that, Harry," Andromeda said.

"Just seeing him is enough. I don't need to wake him."

"I'm still not sure," the pure-blood witch said.

Harry sighed. "Just like the blasted Winchesters, though I suppose it's only healthy not to trust a demon. I won't hurt my godson. I just want to see him."

"Harry," Hermione began to say, "there are some things you should know. Ginny-"

"What about her?" Harry asked quickly. "I don't want to see her. It wouldn't be good for either of us."

"He's right about that," Ron said. "She's not over him, and they can't be together, not now. Not when things are like this."

"I- He still need to know. He has a right to know."

"I don't like this," Harry muttered. "I should have stayed away. I can't get involved with you. I'll leave. You'll probably never see me again."

"No!" Hermione screamed, yanking loose from Ron. She darted forward, grabbing Harry's arm. "I get that it's not easy, but, Harry, when you went to St Patrick's Purgatory with Voldemort… Ginny was devastated and she couldn't tell you because you had to do it and she was afraid what would happen if she told you, but Harry, she was pregnant."

The demon blinked. "No," he whispered, his face was a mask of blankness.

"Your son was born in June the next summer. She named him James, knowing that's what you would want. He's a great kid and he looks just like you, only with his mother's eyes."

"I- I have to go. I'm sorry." Harry removed Hermione's hand with unexpected gentleness and with a small crack he was gone.

End Chapter 2

AN 19th September 2013:

A shorter chapter, but I figure that is how this story will work. The chapters will be as long as my inspiration demands.

The song Harry hums is The Ants Go Marching, set to the tune of When Johnny Comes Marching Home I only changed the lyrics a little bit, making them macabre and fitting for a demon.

St Patrick's Purgatory is a place where a gate to Hell is said to be, it's on an island in a lake in Ireland.

Let me know what you thought!