Harry gave Susan, whose eyes held a vacant look to them, another Cheshire grin.
"You know , Susan," he said to the non respondent witch, " that was one of the best I've had in a while. You were fucking great."
He knelt down once again by her face, and ran his hand over her face, which finally drew a reaction from Susan, with her shaking his hand off her face, her eyes holding a terrified look. He gave her a hard look.
Harry hummed absentmindedly to himself as he stepped out of Susan's office . He turned around and gently closed the door before walking down the brightly lit hallway towards the elevator, still humming the same song.
It would be several hours before someone would find Susan Bones' burnt and bound, naked body lying on the floor of her office...
AN: Thanks to all those who reviewed, both here and on gave me alot of insight on my writing and this story. If you didn't catch the author's note on the previous chapter, then I'll say it again. The rating on this story has dropped from NC-17 TO M. This will mean that there is no more smut in the story that would be written. The smut had not even been written yet, as I had planned on doing so only after I finished the story. Also, the story is now no longer a response to a challenge on Demon God of Chaos' yahoo site, and is now a story on it's own. Thanks for the inspiration regardless!
Many thought the rape scene was done in poor taste, and I must agree. While I was writing for the challenge I forced myself to write the smut, however I don't want to put any blame on anybody, and it was mostly my fault for the poor writing at that point. I am moving away from the cliche's that have been in this story as well, such as the Chamber of Secrets, Salazar Slytherin's library etc. I needed them more for an explanation towards Harry's "power the Dark Lord knows not", and they won't be big concepts within the story. His power will be explained better in the next couple of chapters (hopefully!)
Hope you all enjoy this second as of yet non-beta-ed chapter. The beta-ed version will be posted after my beta is finished with it, hopefully sometime this weekend. Thank you sea0tter12. Also thanks to Xiph0, nuhuh and Yarrgh! from darklordpotter for the criticism and help.
Harry Potter and the Consuming Darkness
Chapter 2: Chaos Ensues
As the sunlight poured into Hermione Granger's single room flat, said owner was still in bed, letting the bedspread weaved around her body. The sunlight crept towards her bed slowly, like a soundless predator, nearing its unaware prey. As the first rays kissed her face, her eyes slowly opened, and closed again from the sudden brightness. She really didn't want to wake up, and go through today. Any other day would be fine, just not today. Curling deeper into bed, the sheets wrapped tightly around her body, exposing her shapely curves and wonderful backside. Contrary to popular belief, Hermione didn't spend all her time reading books. She enjoyed a day off once in a while from her job working in the Department of Mysteries. And while her contract forbade her to tell anyone what she was doing most of the time, she was dying to tell Harry of her department's latest discovery.
Rolling over and blearily looking at the bedside table to check what time it was, she was alarmed to find that it was nearly ten, and that Harry would be here in fifteen minutes to escort her to the Weasley's. Today was a memorial day of sorts, of the fallen members of the Order during the Second War. Now she remembered why she didn't want to wake up. It was horrible, remembering the fallen, and thinking of the times they had spent together when they were alive. She often buried herself in her work, just to forget the past four years. She tried, really, to move on like everyone else had, but almost everything that she knew had been destroyed by the war, and Voldemort. She started to reminisce about her past as she pulled away from her soft bed and slowly padded into the washroom to take a shower. Ron, oh God, Ron, it still gave her nightmares to think that he died to protect herself and Harry. Shielding their bodies with his own as the hail of curses from the Death Eaters was sent at them after they had destroyed the final Horcrux in killing Nagini. It was quite lucky in fact, that they had managed to bring his already dying body back to Hogwarts. She remembered that as the Death Eaters neared them, the trio trapped in a dead end, and Ron already injured beyond help, he turned and gave them both one last smile before taking out the emergency portkey Hermione had made for Ron and herself.
Their thinking was if Harry were ever in trouble, he would be unwilling to retreat, being the stubborn and headstrong person he was. Activating the portkey, they would take Harry back with them to Hogwarts, a place he was reluctant to return to. As Hermione saw Ron pulling out the portkey, and noticing Harry's confusion mixed in with panic and determination to fight out of their situation, she barely had enough time before Ron tapped the Hogwarts school badge and threw it at them both. At the same instant, she cast a summoning charm on Ron's body and all three of them managed to touch the portkey in time to send them all back together. Tears came to her, and she collapsed in the stall of her shower, the hot water running down her body as she leaned against the wall. The memories shouldn't affect her so much anymore. As she thought about it, it seemed like she was the only one still coping with the deaths of the Order members, at least visibly. Even Harry seemed to acknowledge the fact that they were dead, and she had always been more emotionally stable than he.
Stepping out of the shower and drying herself, Hermione wrapped a towel around her body as she walked back to her bedroom, only to be stopped by a knock on the door of her flat. Cursing her current attire, only consisting of a light blue towel, she quickly ran to put on some clothes, turning back to give a quick cry of "Just a minute!"
Finally dressed in clothes that would allow her to walk down the street without attracting unwanted attention, she slowly opened the door, her other hand gripping her wand in case of an imposter.
"Honestly Hermione, if I was a Death Eater, I'd probably have blasted the door open, cursed you unconscious and had my way with you already."
Opening the door and putting on a face of annoyance, she looked at the sheepishly grinning Harry Potter, who, not uncommon over the past few months, ran a hand through his messy hair, flashing a smile that would make any witch but her weak at the knees.
But there was something different about him today. She couldn't quite place it. It was if there was something hiding behind his eyes, something sinister that she didn't like. But before she could investigate any further, he slipped on his usual cheery façade and Hermione decided to drop it.
"Why didn't you just Apparate in Harry, I barely know any of my neighbours, so I never expect someone to just knock on my door."
Harry gave her a cross between a confused and an amused look, as if bemused by her question, and remembering something she didn't. "Remember the last time I tried to Apparate in? As strong as I am Hermione I can barely break through anyone's anti-Apparation wards. They actually serve a purpose, they knock the supposedly powerful down a few of their self-imposed notches when they land on their asses trying to break them."
She had to smile at his comment, remembering the time when a loud crashed disturbed her reading. Cautiously, she slowly crept out of her room, wand in hand, and later dropping it at the sight of Harry flat on his back, between the two pieces of her dining room table which had broken his fall. While she supposed if he actually tried, he maybe able to successfully Apparate through the wards, it would take, even from Harry, an immense amount of power to break even a weak anti-Apparation ward. They were given those names for a reason.
"So, are you ready to go?" Harry brushed at some fabric on his shoulder, snapping Hermione out of her reverie. Giving a quick nod, they both headed out her door, with Hermione giving her apartment a once over before closing the door behind her and locking it.
She didn't notice the charred remains of the Daily Prophet that lay on top of the table by her door.
With a sound reminiscent of fingers snapping, Harry appeared with Hermione on the outskirts of the Wizarding village of Hogsmeade. The fall air chilled Hermione, and she absentmindedly pulled the cloak on her shoulders tighter around her body. Harry noticing this wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a warm smile. Hermione returned it and they both started the trek to the Albus Dumbledore Memorial, named after the late Headmaster of Hogwarts. It was like this every year, the Order members would gather at the Memorial and pay tribute to those who had fallen in combat. Later, Harry and Hermione would head back to, with what remained of the Weasleys, the Burrow.
As the two of them neared the sight, they could see that a number of people had already gathered and it appeared that they were the only ones late. Going red in the face, partly from the cool air and her embarrassment, Hermione lead Harry an empty spot near the back of the Memorial as the current Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva Mcgonagall, gave them a small smile and started with the service.
While Minerva spoke, Harry instead focused on what happened yesterday. What he did, the way he snapped, it felt exhilarating. He had never felt more in control, in any aspect of his life. That stupid bitch deserved what she got. But had he gone too far? He certainly didn't need to rape her, though it brought great amounts of satisfaction to him, and she was so fucking good. Surely it would have been enough, just to torture her with the Cruciatus, and was that overboard as well? He would never have done that before becoming Voldemort's spy. He remembered the missions that he joined in on, to kill and slaughter the Muggles. Although he tired to never take part in the activities, his time spent with the Death Eaters had warped his way of thinking, and it was inevitable that he would have to soon cast a curse on an innocent Muggle. But once he had, it felt too good to stop. It was much like learning the dark arts, he knew of his addiction but he couldn't stop. He would often return to Hogwarts, disgusted with himself, after a mission. No one had been suspicious of his late nights as during that time he became secluded and obsessed with stopping Voldemort by any means necessary, shunning all physical and verbal contact with his friends and colleagues. He was a good guy, a member of the Order, he wasn't supposed to be the one torturing the Muggles they were trying so hard to save. He wasn't supposed to be giving information about the Order to Voldemort, but it was a necessary evil. He soon forgot about any of his allegiances, knowing only that in Voldemort's defeat, there would be peace.
But he was mistaken. After the death of the Dark Lord, his inner conflict and guilt of selling out his comrades grew on him and weighed him down. He couldn't tell anyone, they wouldn't understand. No one would ever understand the sacrifices he went through to end the war!
Harry felt a hand tugging at his own as the Wizarding version of the twenty-one gun salute was fired, and instinctively he started reaching for his wand, his muscles coiled, in preparation to tackle his attacker and shove his wand down their throat. But it was only Hermione as she clamed him down, and secretly shot him a look of pity. What the war did to Harry was horrible, but he would've hated her if she pitied him. The gathered members seemed to hold their collective breath as Professor Mcgonagall next announcement seemed to add at least five more years on her life.
"Now, I'm sure that everyone has enjoyed the peace that has been present over the last year, so I'm sure you were all distressed to read the paper this morning," The Professor spoke, her voice more somber than usual.
Hermione looked at Harry, and mouthed a silent inquisition of, "What news?"
He gave a tiny shrug and a confused smile for his part. As the members moved forward to pay their respects to any grave they wished, Hermione separated from him as she sought the Headmistress and Transfiguration Professor, desperately wanting to know the news. Harry knew she would be devastated. The two of them had become quite good friends during and after the war, both sharing and comforting each others pain, Susan with her aunt's, as well as two of her best friends' deaths, and Hermione with the death of her parents and boyfriend. As he passed by Bill Weasley's grave, who died not even a month after his youngest brother's death, Fenrir Greyback had finished what he started, he couldn't help but glance over at the remaining Weasleys. What was once a proud clan of nine, there now stood four, Molly, the matriarch of the clan, the now eldest son, Charlie, the remaining half of the twins George and the only daughter, Ginny. He knew a dark look had passed over his face when he thought about the youngest Weasley. After Ron's death she had become distant towards everyone not in her family, including Hermione and himself. And after Arthur Weasley's, who died protecting Hogsmeade from a Death Eater raid, passed, there wasn't a better word to describe Ginny than whore.
When her father passed away due to injuries, it appeared that Ginny had just lost all will to live normally. She filled her time with sex, with anyone, and more often than not, with more than just one person. He grimaced when he remembered hearing about it from one of his co-workers in the Auror department, Ginny herself working behind a desk in the same department. The following confrontation had not been pretty, with Ginny pretty much cursing the fact that he had ever come in contact with the Weasley family. She explained, painstakingly so, how it was his fault that she had received the diary in her first year, as without knowing Harry Potter, they probably wouldn't have met Lucius Malfoy that day in front of Flourish and Botts. She explained how he was responsible for each of her family member's death. Suffice to say, Ginny was sporting a rather large red mark on her right cheek, and promptly ignored Harry for the better part of the year. But it seemed that over the past few months she had finally come to her senses, and had, many times already, tried to apologize to Harry for her words and actions as well as beg him not to tell her mother what she was doing. But Harry didn't need her attitude, and shrugged off each of her attempts, but kept his mouth silent.
When he finally reached his best friend's grave, he walked forward and placed a hand on it, running his hands over the words etched into the stone:
Ron Weasley
Son, Brother, Friend, Hero
Lest We Forget
He gave a sad smile as he felt Hermione re-joining him. She too silently paid her respects for Ron, though she took a considerably longer time. Together, they moved ahead, and walked to the grave that they always visited last: Albus Dumbledore's. Harry had always resented the man a little. All the secrets he kept from him, prophecy included, and forcing him to live with the Dursleys had taken the shine off of Dumbledore. He would remain a mentor to him of course, but he would never regain the respect or trust he had lost that night after Sirius' death.
Hermione moved on to give Harry a little time to himself in front of the grave, and she quickly walked over to the Weasleys. As with Ron's, Harry ran his hand over the name of his fallen mentor, and once again talked, as much as he could to a slab of stone, to him.
"I've always wondered Professor," Harry whispered, hoping no one would hear what he was about to say, "Do the ends justify the means? Was becoming a Death Eater correct? I can't say much about how it affected my mental health, because Professor…I think I'm dying. Not literally of course, but the Harry Potter that you knew before you passed is leaving me, replaced by something I'm scared of. I've seen how messed up Tom was, and I'm afraid that I'm following his path."
Here, Harry leaned closer to the grave. He could feel the cold radiating off it and caressing his cheek, "I murdered someone yesterday. Susan Bones, you know, red-head, Hufflepuff. You'll probably see her around sometime up there. I couldn't stop myself you know? It was like, I snapped. But it was well deserved, I sacrificed so much, only to have ungrateful people like that leave and abandon me. So I ask you again, do the ends justify the means? Was what I went through worth it if everyone that knows will hate me?"
Harry stood back up, and turned to meet up with the Weasleys and Hermione before heading off to the Burrow.
As the somber group of six headed off to the Apparation points, Hermione leaned close to Harry, and he could see Ginny glaring at the two of them, and whispered, "So, did you hear the news?"
Harry could only shake his head, although he knew full well what they were talking about.
"Well," and here Hermione gave a slight shiver, and Harry in response wrapped his hand around her shoulders once more, earning him a warm smile before she continued, "Susan was found dead yesterday in her office, murdered."
Here, Harry honestly thought he should win some kind of acting award, like the ones he had seen on television, because his rendition of a shocked and disgusted face was apparently good enough to fail Hermione.
She gave a swift nod before continuing, "I know! And that wasn't the worse part. It seems that whoever killed her, bound, and…and, raped her and then burnt her body." She honestly tried, but Hermione couldn't keep the tears from coming. She buried her head into Harry's shoulder.
He awkwardly patted her back and as the rest of the Weasleys turned to see what the commotion was, Harry silently mouthed Susan's name and the red-heads, somewhat sadly, nodded understandingly, although Ginny seemed to give him a small glare before turning back to her conversation with her mother. Hermione lifted her head from his shoulder, face red from embarrassment and her tears. She apologized for making his robes wet but he waved her off.
As the group silently Apparated to the Burrow, Harry couldn't help but wonder what Hermione's reaction would be to him revealing himself to be Susan's killer. He gave a wry smile at the dilemma he would have placed her in. On one hand, he was her best friend, her first friend in the Wizarding world, and they had been together through thick and thin. On the other, he had committed murder, as well as rape, and her moral sense of right and wrong may push her to turn Harry in. Oh what would she do?
Dinner was a quiet affair, with conversations mainly about trivial things like Quidditch, which teams were doing well and which teams were stuck being bottom feeders once again. The topics of conversation had stayed off of Susan's sudden death, but it still remained tense. Harry could see, from the tops of his glasses that Ginny would shoot off looks in his direction whenever she thought he wasn't looking. He almost snorted into his potatoes, when was he not looking? And what the fuck was she looking at him for? Once again complimenting Molly on a delicious meal, Harry and the remaining Weasleys moved to the family room where the conversations turned to memories of times well spent at Hogwarts. It was nice, Harry thought, to revisit the memories of a better time, a time when stress levels were lower and peace was a thing that most people had to enjoy. But inevitably, all things had to end as the conversations sharply turned to the youngest male Weasley, and a choking sob was heard from one corner of the room. Hermione quickly stood up and excused herself before hurrying to find solace. Immediately all talk died down and Harry got up to follow her, waving off Ginny who had also made to go after Hermione. The red-head gave Harry a glare worthy of her mother before surrendering.
Harry quickly dashed up the stairs and found her in the room that he and Ron slept in during happier times. She was sitting on the windowsill, clutching a pillow to her chest, and at that moment, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for her. But another thought struck him. Realistically speaking, he had been through so much more than her, it didn't make sense for him to feel bad for her. He gave his head a shake as he reminded himself that this was his best friend, and he had to be there for her. The other side of him gave a dark chuckle as he walked forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. Almost immediately, she wrapped both her arms around his waist and once again, laid siege on his robes with a torrent of tears.
"Why Harry?" She asked him, not expecting an answer from the green eyed man in front of her. "Why did Ron have to be stupid and sacrifice himself for us? We could've all gone back together."
Harry unwrapped Hermione's arms from his waist, and sat down next to her on the windowsill. "Would it have been better if all three of us were hit by the curses? He pushed us out of the way and covered us for a reason you know, so that we could go on. I'm sure Ron wouldn't be happy to know that you were still mourning him. He would want you to move on, find someone else you can argue with over the advantages of good work habits."
At this, she gave him a tiny grin, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I guess, you're right Harry. Honestly, why are you much better at controlling your emotions than I am?"
He narrowed his eyes at her implied jab at his lack of self control. Something that he knew was his weakness, but he was too stubborn to admit. He schooled his mask back on and gave her a tiny shrug. "The war changed me I guess."
She gave him a small smile and they both turned to look outside at the quickly fading sun painting brilliant colours of red, purple and pink across the evening sky. They were enjoying a comfortable silence, but Harry felt the need to speak again.
"Sometimes it's hard I guess," He started slowly, "To really let go of the past. I mean, you could try with all your might, but the past would eventually come back to haunt you."
Hermione nodded understandingly, trying with all her brains, to figure out where Harry was going with this.
"We do things that we might not want to do, in order to achieve something for the greater good you know? Sometimes, things like that is a necessary evil."
Again Hermione nodded, now more confused than ever. What was he talking about?
Harry gave her a small smile, "You're probably wondering where I'm going with this, and I seriously don't know myself, but I just wanted to tell you that sometimes people make sacrifices, and those sacrifices aren't appreciated by others."
She was confused now, sacrifices?
"Sacrifices Harry? What, I don't understand."
This seemed to trigger something within as he stood up quickly, "No one understands Hermione! I had to go through so much, I endured so much for everyone and no one appreciates it. They take for granted what I've given them!"
Alarmed, she backed herself into the wall, "What? Harry, of course people appreciate what you did. You killed Voldemort for God's sake! Everyone had a hard time in the war as well, I'm sure they know what you've been through."
"You don't understand Hermione!"
"Then make me understand!"
He grabbed Hermione by her shoulders, and it was times like these that Hermione was reminded why Harry was feared by Death Eaters all around, and lowered himself so they could speak eye to eye, "I was a Death Eater Hermione. I did terrible things, I had to! To get close enough to Voldemort to kill him, I had to become the very thing I hunted and killed. I sold us out you know? On the last mission, I told Voldemort we were coming, that's why he was so prepared. I always fed him information about the Order's missions, to gain his trust. And it changed me Hermione, I liked the power I had over the Muggles. How, with a simple flick of my wand I could cause them multitudes of pain and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. As a Death Eater I thought that, and now as Harry Potter I'm starting to think that way as well. But I can't, I'm a good guy, the saviour, the Chosen One…"
Here, he trailed off and took both hands and his eyes off of Hermione. She was, for a lack of a better word, shocked. She had never known Harry had gone to such lengths to finish off Voldemort, nor had she known that it was still eating at him, his guilt of the things he had done during his time as a Death Eater.
"Oh Harry," she sighed and ran a hand through his hair. This really was a mess. "I guess that the important thing is in the end, you did it, and you finished him off. The ends justified the means."
"Did it really?"
She wanted to say no of course. She knew about him learning dark arts, and at first was adamant in her attempts to stop him, but when it proved futile, and it made him stronger, she couldn't complain. It had definitely gotten them out of troublesome situations before. And Voldemort was dead, giving the entire Wizarding world a time of peace. But what he had done, what he had to do, it sickened her.
"Of course," She replied finally, giving him a small encouraging smile.
He wrapped her in a tight hug, as if wanting to press his entire being into her, "You won't abandon me? You won't leave me now would you? Susan Bones tried to do that after I told her, and I had to teach her a lesson."
Hermione's eyes widened. He, Harry Potter, her best and first friend, had murdered and raped Susan Bones? This was just wrong, it was murder! How could she still hold him in her arms. She should be pushing him off, and calling the Aurors to take him away to Azkaban. It went against everything that she stood for! But, he was her best friend, and he had never left her side. She herself had broken many laws with him, including but not only aiding and abetting a known criminal, even though he was innocent. For however much she had loved Ron, she was utterly devoted to Harry. And Harry had been through so much in his life. She hesitantly patted his back as she shuddered knowing he was a murderer. What would he do to her if she tried to turn him in? What would he do if she tried to leave?
"Of course Harry, I won't leave you, I would never betray you like that."
"So you'll keep this a secret? I tried to stop myself, I really did, but she deserved it."
Hermione struggled to rationally think of reasons why anyone would deserve to be raped and murdered while keeping up her façade, "Of course Harry, I'll keep it a secret. I'll be by your side always Harry, I promise."
And Hermione Granger kept her promises.
However, neither of them noticed the cracked door, the horrified gasp of one Ginny Weasley nor the sounds of her feet running down the stairs to the fireplace to alert the Aurors.
Hermione left Harry in the room ten minutes later, content, but also slightly worried of allowing him to stew on his own. She could tell something was wrong immediately, as Charlie drew her quickly to the side, pressing her against his body.
"Is he still up there?" He hissed quietly into her ear.
"What," she was confused, and the expression on Charlie's face frightened her. What was going on?
"Potter! Is he still up there?"
Still confused, she could only reply, "Of course he is."
He gave her a nod and shoved her behind him and into the kitchen. He drew his wand and gathered George and Molly with him. Together, they met with Ginny at the base of the stairs and had a hurried discussion. She knew it must have concerned her, as once or twice one of the Weasleys would look in her direction quickly.
She just couldn't hold her curiousity anymore, "What's going on?"
All four re-heads quickly whipped around to stare at her and then turned their attention back to the Wizard at the top of the stairs who answered with a cry of his own.
"Hermione?" And as he descended the stairs, Harry could tell that something was wrong. His instincts were going haywire and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Not to mention the four wands that were trained on him the moment his feet touched the last step on the stairs. "What the fuck's going on?"
Ginny gave him the first sneer he had seen in his life from her, "We should be asking you the same question, Potter."
Harry frowned, something was definitely wrong, and Ginny, even through their tough times, had never spoke to him like that. His eyes narrowed as he saw all the remaining members of the Weasley family wore the same expression and look of contempt on their faces.
"We know what you did Potter," Ginny spat out venomously, "We know you joined the Death Eaters, we know you murdered Susan Bones. You might as well have pissed on the graves of all the dead in our family! But don't worry, you'll get what's due to you, lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban. The Aurors are on their way, don't even try to move."
Harry lost control of his facial expression as he looked at Hermione in disbelief, "You told them?"
If Harry were mad, he didn't show it, yet his tone of voice told her everything. It would have been better if he was yelling, throwing things, basically throwing a tantrum worthy of fifth year. But his voice was quiet, like a whisper. Not a single occupant in the room said anything as they could feel the raw energy of Harry's magic start to exude from his body.
"How could you betray me like that Hermione? You said you wouldn't"
She shook her head in denial as she could feel tears threatening to come out of her eyes in fear and hysterics, "I wouldn't Harry, you know I wouldn't! I'm your best friend, I love you! I wouldn't Harry!"
"Shut up!"
The force from his yell broke all the windows in the house, making the Weasleys and Hermione cover their heads to protect themselves from the shards of glass.
"You promised me that you wouldn't leave me, and that you wouldn't betray me. You would stay by my side! And now, I guess that's all changed." Harry seemed to stop his rant and sighed, "And now, you all need to die."
Harry snapped his head up and the four Weasleys were thrown back towards the wall while Hermione quickly drew up a shield. Harry drew his wand and fired off a multitude of curses that she knew she couldn't shield against so she dived behind the counter in the middle of the kitchen. Her hiding place shattered upon impact with the curses and the force threw her back, unconscious. Harry pressed his advantage and quickly cast a Cruciatus but it was blocked by a flock of birds conjured from Molly's wand. He narrowed his eyes as the Weasleys had all recovered and started moving on him, trying to trap him in the kitchen.
"You actually think you can beat me," Harry mocked, "Me, the man who killed Voldemort? You must be delusional."
His reminder seemed to stop the Weasleys for a moment before George cast a stunner that Harry parried. Ginny leapt into the fray with a Bat-Bogey-Hex, at which Harry laughed with amusement. Charlie followed with a powerful Reductor curse that blew a hole in the kitchen cabinet that Harry used to stand in front of. Harry spun around the curse that Molly sent at him before he swept his wand in a wide arc in front of him, blowing up the floorboards and tiles in front of the Weasleys and sending the four into a crumpled heap. The kitchen now featured a crescent shaped hole in which it was able to see the first floor. At this point Hermione regained consciousness and quickly whipped her wand on Harry, hand trembling. She couldn't do this! She couldn't cast a hex on her best friend!
Harry smiled darkly, "What Hermione? Can't do it? Can't cure poor widdle ol' me?"
Even though she was being mocked, she couldn't deny the fact that it would be impossible for her to throw a hex on her friend. "Harry, I didn't tell them, you have to believe me! They know, somehow they know."
"Of course they know, you told them," Harry spat. "Remember what happened to Susan? I didn't know her as well as I know you. And since you are my best friend, I will grant you the luxury of a quick death."
As he started the incantation for the Killing curse, he was struck by a powerful stunner, seemingly a solid block of red, and it threw him into the cabinets, scattering pots and pans to and fro. Hermione looked to her right to see a squad of at least fifteen Aurors gathered in the Weasley's living room, helping them regain consciousness and quickly escorting them towards the fireplace. The friendly face of Kingsley Shacklebolt greeted her eyes.
"How are you Hermione," He asked kindly.
She just couldn't bring herself to answer.
"That good eh?" He gave her a warm smile, before extending her hand as an invitation. She slowly took it and he helped her up and guided her towards the fireplace where the Weasleys were waiting for her. Molly gazed at her sadly while she couldn't read any of the Weasley children's expressions. She threw a glance back at where Harry lay and took in a sharp breath.
"Harry, he's gone!"
Kingsley whirled around, wand at the ready and found the same empty kitchen that Hermione saw.
"Hello Kingsley."
The Auror didn't even have time to curse out of surprise before he threw himself and Hermione to the side, just barely missing Harry's explosion curse. As the pair of them collapsed together Kingsley could only stare with horror at his left leg as everything below the ankle had been blown clear off.
"Hm, seems my aim's a bit off isn't it Nymphadora?" Harry asked as he turned towards the beautiful Auror. She seemed to stutter at his comment before steadying her wand at him.
"Don't move Harry!"
Harry was amused at her statement before turning his attention at the now fallen Auror captain. He watched with a smile on his face as he checked on Hermione's condition before standing up and muttering a spell which seemed to ease all his discomfort.
"Ah Kingsley, the Torpeo spell. You know that borders on dark magic don't you?"
Kingsley ignored him while he transfigured a piece of wood into a makeshift stump to support himself on and attached it. The rest of the Aurors seemed at a lost with what to do as they watched their leader heal himself. He gave an irritated sigh before barking out a command.
"Well? What are you waiting for, arrest him, and use force if necessary!" He shouted.'
And with that said, the law enforcers whirled into action. Or at least, they tried to.
Harry quickly blasted two black before waving his hand at another two to suspend them in mid air and threw them at another pair. The remaining wisely stayed at their positions and started firing curses at him, forcing Harry to back towards the wall with his shield. Kingsley rejoined the fight and cast many stunners in succession, each waning in power, but increased in speed. Harry cursed as he felt his shield buckle and threw himself behind the dining table to protect him form the shower of curses. Gathering his breath, he banished the table at the Aurors, causing a distraction while he cast a multitude of cutting curses, aimed at the neck.
The Weasleys and Hermione watched the fight on in horror as the group of Aurors, once twenty strong, steadily decreased in number. Tonks pulled the group of five with her as they took cover from Harry's onslaught.
"You have to get to the Ministry now, call for backup, anything! We can't take down Harry at the moment, he's too powerful," She yelled over the din of the curses being thrown. She closed her eyes in sorrow as a flash of green light foretold of another team mate's death.
"Of course we can't stop him, he killed Voldemort, who we didn't even have a chance against. Did you honestly think we could stop him by force alone?" Hermione yelled back. The Weasleys had the decency to look sheepish.
"I only wish we could just make him disappear, send him away to a deserted island or something," George contributed. At this Hermione's eyes brightened.
"Of course! I've got it."
The others looked at her quizzically.
"Listen, I need you to stay here to distract him, while I floo to the Ministry, I only need like ten minutes. And then lead him to the Ministry, I can stop him there."
George looked at her strangely. "Oh is that all? You don't want us to wash your hair while we're at it? Do your groceries?"
Tonks hit him over the head, "If that's what Hermione needs, then we need to give it to her. Now, GO, Ginny and Molly with her!"
Ginny and Molly ran with Hermione as Tonks, Charlie and George sent a flurry of curses at Harry. Distracted, they nearly hit him before he spun out of the way and sent a blazing fireball their way. All three jumped out of the way before the object they were hiding behind disappeared in a flaming inferno. Hermione stood at the fireplace, floo powder in hand before looking at Harry again. 'I'm so sorry,' she thought, before yelling "The Ministry of Magic!" and disappearing into the fire.
Harry looked at the now departed Hermione and started to follow before he was stopped by the two remaining Weasleys and Tonks. He raised his eyebrows before cursing as Kingsley and the rest of the Aurors also closed in on him. They stood together, numbering twelve, including Charlie, George, Kingsley and Tonks.
"Well," Harry started, "I'm impressed that you have managed to last this long. I'm afraid I have to go after Hermione now, so if you excuse me, I'll be on my way."
The twelve wands trained on Harry before he snarled, "Fine, by your deaths then!"
He waved his wand and sent out a force similar to a tsunami that smashed into the remaining forces. They were thrown off their feet before scrambling for cover under Harry's maelstrom of dark curses.
Kingsley was by himself, never a good thing, and he started to crawl behind Harry, hoping to catch him off guard again. But as he lifted himself from behind cover to point his wand at Harry, he was surprised to see him missing.
"Surprise asshole!" Harry yelled into his ear from behind him as a powerful cutting curse separated Kingsley's upper body from his lower one and the two pieces of flesh collapsed without each other's support.
There was a cry of outrage from Tonks before she charged Harry from her hiding place, only to be banished into the fireplace, knocking her head against the wall, drawing blood. Next Harry sent a stream of water, completely soaking the two Weasley brothers. They looked at each other confused before turning towards Harry as he whispered, "Levitas!"
The effect was instantaneous as the bolt of lightning struck the two wet Weasleys, electrocuting them until their bodies weren't burnt beyond recognition. Three Aurors jumped on Harry from behind, completely forgoing fighting with magic as they tackled him to the group, successfully pinning him and knocking away his wand. They were suddenly blasted upward, striking the ceiling before falling back down with increased momentum, crushing the fronts of their bodies. A fourth Auror ran up quickly and kicked Harry's wand away, and like a Neanderthal, punched Harry across the face, stunning him. As the bright lights danced across his face, the Auror picked him up by the hem of his robes and kneed him in the stomach, winding him before tossing him to the ground face first. Disoriented, Harry managed to transfigure his knuckles into small metal spikes, and as the Auror neared him once more, Harry turned quickly and drove his fist into the side of the man's head. The Auror dropped like a sack of potatoes, his skull crushed and skin flayed.
Wandlessly summoning his wand back to him, Harry faced the remaining four Aurors as they grouped together and sent a powerful stunner at him. He laughed as he parried it with ease, sending it into the ceiling. Enraged, one of the remaining Aurors sent a killing curse his way. Unblockable, Harry had to dodge the curse as it struck the wall behind him, blowing a hole into the once furnished Weasley living room. He looked at the Auror who had the guts to use one of the Unforgivables and instantly recognized him.
"Davies? Roger Davies? Well isn't this a surprise," He smirked, "You know casting an Unforgivable at a human is lifetime imprisonment in Azkaban right?"
Davies sneered in return, "You're less than human Potter!"
Harry snapped, "Shut up! If it wasn't for me then all of you would be licking Voldemort's boots right now!"
A visible shudder passed through the group as the Dark Lord's name was uttered, even though he was dead, old habits are hard to die. Harry took this moment distraction and sent an explosion curse at Davies. The curse caught him full on, as well as the right and left arms of the two Aurors to the sides of him. All that was left of Roger Davies was the stump of his left leg. The other two collapsed in pain as Harry cast a Cruciatus at the remaining Wizard and held it until the man's mind snapped. Quickly casting two Killing curses at the remaining Aurors, Harry rushed towards the fireplace, only to be stopped by a now standing and armed Nymphadora Tonks. Harry moved with speed that she didn't know he possessed and immediately had her by the neck slammed up against the wall. She tried to loosen the hold on her neck by clawing on his hand. He leaned in close next to her face.
"Hm, Tonks, you smell good," He whispered into her ear. "You know, I've always had the biggest crush on you. You could turn into anyone; change any part of yourself to my liking. You could fit around me like a glove, warm, wet and tight."
She couldn't help but shiver a little at Harry's warm breath on her ear and face, no matter how compromising their position was. He stood between both her legs, his growing arousal pressing against her stomach. She was growing excited and she could feel her nipples start to poke through her robes. Harry laughed darkly.
"You're getting aroused aren't you Tonks, with me pressing up against you, hand to your throat, you dirty girl." With that, he removed his hand from her neck and instead took both her wrists with his hands and slammed them above her head onto the wall. She hissed in pain from the pressure he was creating. He smiled darkly before roughly putting his lips on hers, and running his tongue over her lips. She replied in earnest, oh it had been so long. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she felt him grind against her. She was growing wetter by the second and she put her hands around his neck, playing with his hair, as he felt him remove his hands from her wrist and onto her waist.
"Sectumsempra."
Tonks felt the curse hit her in the abdomen, right below her breasts and she gurgled as it passed into her lungs, causing blood to flow in. Harry stepped back and dropped her unceremoniously to the ground. Harry cleaned the front of his robes from blood before bending down to look at Tonks one last time.
"As much as I hate Snape, his curses are quite useful, wouldn't you say?" Harry asked her rhetorically, "You really shouldn't have tried to stop me you know? I would've liked you to be by my side, but that's just not possible when you try to get in my way. I guess that's the last lesson you'll learn."
Tonks couldn't reply as she could feel her lungs start to fill her blood and she was suffocating in it. Harry conjured a handkerchief and threw it at her, "Clean yourself up. We wouldn't want to get blood all over the Weasleys' floor, now would we?
She could only watch as Harry stepped into the fireplace, leaving her drowning in her own blood on the floor. She willed herself to work her abilities to morph the cut in her lung before it was too late, but she was loosing consciousness. 'No!' She thought, 'Not like this, not like this.'
The last thing she could see was the waning sun from the now glassless window.
As soon as Hermione landed into the main lobby of the Ministry, she started to run towards her department. She paused, stopped by the guard at the entrance and showed them her wand. Ginny soon joined her as the raced towards the floor where the Department of Mysteries was located. Molly opted to stay behind to alert more Aurors.
"So what are we looking for?" Ginny shouted as they raced towards their destination.
"I can't tell you everything, but our department discovered something that can contain Harry," Hermione paused as they reached the department, "Stay here."
Ginny waited impatiently, worrying about the battle that was occurring at the Burrow. Were her brothers alright? Was Harry being defeated? As much as she didn't like Harry at the moment, she still didn't want to see him get hurt.
Hermione came out of the department with several of the co-workers, all with a mixture of excitement and a grim determination set on their face. She was holding an amulet of some sort, with different jewels encrusted around the edge. Ginny set her a questioning look that she ignored before she turned towards her co-workers and whispered something. They nodded and together they moved towards the lobby of the Ministry.
"My supervisor has temporarily disabled the oath on my contract because we need you to help us," Hermione said as they hurried to the lobby. "I'm holding an artifact that was unearthed in Egypt not even a month ago, apparently, according to the scriptures and hieroglyphics it was found with, this amulet, when said with an incantation has the ability to send someone to a different dimension."
Ginny was shocked at the knowledge, a different dimension?
"I know," Hermione said, noticing the looks on her friend's face, "It hasn't been tested yet, and even if it was, we have no idea if it'll work. So far we've translated the incantation that needs to be said for the amulet to work. The caster must be wearing the amulet while chanting it. Of course Harry won't stay still while I try to send him away so that's why we need to cast a strong ward around him, trapping him within a certain area while I cast this spell."
Ginny nodded, "But are you okay with this?"
Hermione looked undecided, "We don't have a choice. Harry's too powerful for anyone to stop in this dimension. We, and everyone else, will get taken apart before he stops. And I'm scared that he'll move onto the Muggle world. I mean, he can't hold good feelings about them after what the Dursleys have done to him in the past. I knew that this would happen if he studied the dark arts. Every single case has had a Wizard go insane for power, but in Harry's case it's different. It's like he has two personalities in one, one good and one bad, and he can't seem to control either."
They were close to the lobby, and they could hear signs of struggle so they hurried their pace.
"I can only hope that this sends him to a place where someone is able to subdue him, or at least a place where he can't hurt anyone," Hermione shouted as they neared the lobby. The scene before them made them stop. There were scorch marks all over the lobby where stray curses had hit the wall. The statue and fountain had been decimated by curses and many dead Aurors lay on the floor. Harry was there as well, and currently dueling with a another group of Wizards, slowly gaining the upper hand.
Hermione turned towards Ginny and the others, "The incantation for the encasement ward is 'Desino Deceptus', and it'll only be strong enough to hold Harry if we have six people disabling him."
Almost instantly, Ginny and five others stepped forward and readied themselves, muttering the incantation under their breath.
"I'll distract him and then you six cast the ward. After that I'll cast the dimensional spell and hopefully this will all be over," Hermione gave them all a nod before running off towards Hermione.
Harry had always been horrible with the floo, and the moment he hit the floor on his knees from the fireplace, he rolled to his side as multiple spells struck the ground where he would have been. He muttered a quick "Exuro!" and a gigantic fireball exploded from the end of his wand, torching five Aurors who were quickly vaporized.
A hail of curses was rained at Harry and he quickly cast a dark shield that the curses ricocheted off of, striking either walls or rebounding at the caster. He dropped the shield before throwing two explosion curses and conjuring spears and shooting and flinging them at the Aurors. It was utter destruction. The more foolhardy Aurors were taken apart in mere seconds while the ones with cooler heads only delayed their inevitable death by Harry's hands.
He was dueling with a shrinking group of the Wizards before, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione approaching. He quickly sent an explosion curse into the middle of the group, flinging body parts and bodies all over the lobby. He leveled his wand at Hermione and smirked.
"You shouldn't have come out like this," He started to cast the Killing curse before, once again, he was interrupted.
"DESINO DECEPTUS!"
The combined efforts of the five wizards and one witch encased Harry in a bubble like dome. Curious, he moved forward to the rim of the dome. He had almost placed his hand on the surface before he was thrown back by an unseen force. He collapsed in the middle of the dome on his back, winded. He had never seen or heard of this type of ward before. He pointed his wand at the walls and cast a series of curses.
"Praemium! Exuro! Reducto! Praemium!"
The four curses left his wand in hurried succession, each equal in power. The hit the dome with barely a visible effect, the walls of the dome wavered for half a second. He looked around the dome again for any signs of weakness and noted that the casters had to keep a connection for the dome to be erect. The golden light streamed from their wands to the walls of the dome. He smirked as he made eye contact with Ginny and leveled his wand at her from the inside.
"Sectumsempra! Praemium! Atra Orbis!"
The three dark curses splashed against Ginny's side of the dome and she dropped to her knees from the exertion the curses put on her magical core.
"Hermione, hurry!"
Harry looked in his former best friend's direction before noticing that she had an exquisite amulet hanging from her neck, and that she had drawn a rune around her. A ritual? As she started to chant in Latin, Harry could feel a pull on his very being. So this was their plan? What were they trying to do to him?
Harry re-doubled his efforts in bringing down the shield as he once again fired curse after curse at the walls of the dome. It was working as each caster was on their knees, visibly sweating from the effort they were exerting to keep Harry contained. The walls of the dome were losing their colour. The once bright gold had faded to a pale yellow and Harry could taste his freedom. But just as the walls of the dome finally dropped and he turned his wand onto Hermione, she shouted the last word of the long incantation and pointed her wand in his direction.
A prism incased Harry, and he slammed against the walls of it. He could feel the magic within the prism start to swell, and it started to rip into his own in a swirling vortex. As the whirlwind grew stronger, Harry could feel an intense pain start to burst form within him as his magical core was torn away from his body and his wand exploded in his hand. He gave a cry of outrage and pain as he felt every molecule of his body start to accelerate and he saw as his hand started to disintegrate before his very eyes.
"I'm sorry Harry," Hermione whispered as a stray tear rolled down her eyes. She lowered her head, unable to watch her best friend experience such pain.
Harry gave a last roar of pain before the prism collapsed within itself, taking Harry with it. His cries of revenge bounced of the war-torn walls of the Ministry of Magic.
End Chapter 2
AN: Well, there's the unedited version of chapter 2. Please read and review, as it really helps me improve this story as well as my own writing skills, and that will hopefully let you enjoy this story more in the future!
Until next time,
Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat (Hobbes)