Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot.

A/N: To make things simpler, I will from now on refer to Voldemort's master as "the Master".

Chapter 1: What murder leads to

Harry Potter woke up with a start, stifling a scream of pain, because of his scar. What was strange was that although he could remember his dream perfectly as usual, he had seen it in a third-person point of view, therefore had never seen the stranger's face. It was troubling, Voldemort had a new master, and Harry sensed that this man, whoever he was, was a million times more dangerous, and cruel than Voldemort could ever be…

N° 4, Privet Drive, the next morning…

Harry sat up in bed with a cold sweat, his left hand fumbling on the side table looking for his glasses. Having found them, he slipped them on his sweaty nose and looked around his small room. Here at Privet Drive he had the smallest of bedrooms in which to live and grow up in. As Harry tried to recall his dream so that he could inform Albus Dumbledore when he wrote him a letter, another chill went down his spine just remembering that new man who had appeared at Riddle Mansion, Voldemort's master. The evil powers had just been radiating off him, and Harry had to admit that he had been frightened of the person.

As he looked around the room, Harry spotted his favourite objects lying on the floor, his treasured Firebolt, the Marauder's Map sitting next to it along with a few spell books and other wizarding objects. He looked at his alarm clock and saw to his surprise that he had slept until 9.30 for the first time, since Voldemort's rise in his fourth year. Harry went down to go and have breakfast with the rest of the Dursleys and noticed that he had been served a full plate. Now one might have considered this to be strange coming from the Dursleys, but then again this was the last summer Harry was ever going to spend in the company, since the blood protecting wards would fall the minute he was seventeen. So Harry guessed that they were happy, and of course the feeling was completely mutual.

Having finished breakfast, Harry went back to his room, took out a piece of parchment and a quill and started to write:

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

I hope you've had a nice summer so far, and me of course being Harry Potter am about to ruin it. Last night I had a dream about Voldemort, he was sitting in his mansion when a stranger came and with a few words and curses he bent Voldemort to his will, he even blocked the death curse as if he were toying with Voldemort! The evil aura was just coming off this person in waves and it looked like Voldemort was truly frightened of the man.

Thought I should warn you,

Yours Sincerely,

Harry

Harry was about to attach the letter to his owl, Hedwig, when he realised that this letter was never going to reach Dumbledore. Snape had murdered him barely a month ago. Snape. The name itself brought hatred to Harry's heart that even he disliked. Dumbledore had been like a father to Harry, and once again Harry broke down thinking about the man he had loved so much. Sure he and Harry had had their disagreements, especially after Sirius' death in the Department of Mysteries, when Dumbledore had finally decided that Harry was mature enough to understand the prophecy. But as Dumbledore had explained his plans concerning him, Harry understood that Dumbledore had never considered Harry as a weapon but as a child who had been abused, in search of love. Love was something that Dumbledore had plenty of, to supply Harry with.

Harry then said to himself words that would have pleased the Dark Lord to no end, had he heard them, because they were filled the feelings of anger and hatred:

"Before this over, I will kill you Snape, I WILL KILL YOU, CAN YOU HEAR ME," he roared. Harry's grief was such that, he was crying and tearing at his own clothes with claws he had not noticed or felt, with the pain, also he hadn't noticed Aunt Petunia staring at from his bedroom door.

A few minutes earlier…

Petunia Dursley had awoken with a start when she heard her nephew yell in his own bedroom. She got up grudgingly, prepared to give Harry a long lecture about waking people up at 9.30 on a Sunday morning, whilst her husband continued sleeping not having heard anything. But never had she been prepared to see what she saw. She saw him crying and ripping his own clothes with claws! Blood was starting to appear and she just stood there completely frozen.

A few minutes earlier…

Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, now promoted to Auror Commander due to the war with Voldemort, was comfortably lying down on the grass in front of the Dursley's house, after having gone through a 18-hour shift guarding Harry. Lying there in his invisibility cloak, Shacklebolt was drifting off to sleep when he heard a yell from inside the house he was supposed to be protecting. Immediately, any feeling of drowsiness left him and he stood up to investigate. He blasted the door open, and as he started to climb the stairs leading to Harry's room, the telltale pop of apparition sounded and Remus Lupin appeared in front of the house:

"Well Kingsley, I've come to replace you can go back to n°12 now," said Lupin.

"Kingsley, where are you?" said Lupin looking around, worried.

"REMUS!" Kingsley yelled from Harry's room, "I need your help up here!"

Immediately assuming a Death-Eater attack, Lupin drew his wand and swiftly made his way upstairs. What awaited him upstairs, was the worst shock of his life: Harry was lying on his bed, covered in his own blood with cuts all over his chest and a shredded pyjama top, crying and yelling in grief and pain, about Dumbledore. Petunia Dursley stood seemingly frozen next to his door, and Vernon Dursley was coming out of his room saying things like:
"What the hell do you think you're doing boy, making such a racket on a Sunday morning?"

When he saw the two wizards standing in front of the boy's room armed with their wands gaping at something on the inside, Vernon went to investigate. Remus stepped into the room, picked up Harry's body, being mindful of the claws, which seemed to have replaced his hands and were probably the cause of the blood and scratches on his frail body. Immediately, he left the house and apparated, to St Mungo's, where Healer Strout noticed him and immediately took charge of the situation. She carted Harry off through the double doors that led to healing areas.

A few hours later, Remus walked in Harry's ward and saw him still crying gently, rid of those strange claws, and muttering about why he was the cause of Dumbledore's death. Remus immediately embraced him and Harry started to calm down a little bit.

At the other end of the room, in the shadows, unnoticed after having cast an invisibility and aura restricting charm, stood a hooded man in a black cloak. The Master had watched everything, and smiling a sadistic smile he muttered very quietly:

"Potter is in pain, it will be interesting to see how things develop. This is excellent." Using a silent form of apparition, the Master disapparated back to where he had come from, Riddle Mansion.

The Burrow, a few hours later…

Remus Lupin appeared with the characteristic pop, at the Burrow, and saw Molly Weasley hanging up streamers in the front garden of the house, humming a wedding march to herself. Obviously she was very happy with the way things were going, and looking round the house; he could see Bill and Fleur practising the wedding. Lupin had to say that his face looked much better now. The scars were Greyback had savaged Bill were fading, and it looked like his face would be close to normal, come the wedding. Needless to say everyone at the Burrow looked happy, which was a good things given the dark times.

As Lupin walked up to Mrs. Weasley, she said:

"Hello Remus, have you come to help with the decorations?"

"No sorry Molly, I came here with some good news but also with bad news, which would you prefer to start with?" Instantly it seemed, Mrs. Weasley's face darkened and she replied:

"Let's go for the good first"

"Minerva sent me here to tell you that Hogwarts is opening next year, therefore Ron and Ginny will be able to attend school."

"That great, Remus," Molly replied, then she said, "what is the bad news?"

"Harry is at St Mungo's."

" WHAT? WHY?" she yelled. Then she turned around and called "Ronald, Hermione!"

"Yes mum," Ron replied.

"Yes Mrs. Weasley," replied Hermione.

"We're going to St Mungo's"

"Why?" they said in unison.

"Because Harry is there, and he is hurt."

Seconds later, the four pops of apparition belonging to Remus, Molly, Ron and Hermione all sounded and each face was twisted in fear of what might have happened…

A/N : Hope you enjoyed that chapter, please read and review.

Coming up next in Harry Potter and the Quest of Immortality:

-The reaction to Harry's grief.

-The Weasley/Delacour wedding.

-The Master's plan.