"DIE, JUST DIE!" The boy was screaming, he was hysterical now. The facade of calmness had passed and the madness that was his true self had resurfaced; all that spite, hatred and disgust .The force that fuelled him on further each day.
The desperation for vengeance clear in his eyes as he spat out the words . Blood covered his face and arms, making a pair of growling white teeth stand out aggressively; making him like a pit-bull barring for attack.
The man below him struggled; gurgling on his blood, eyes rolling back in fear trying to avoid the ugly and terrifying image the boy made. He was trying to breath, he was begging, he was still trying to push the boy off him but to no avail.
The boy had decided he would die, and he would die. It was his blood that stained the boy's face and arms, the boy had made a show of covering himself in it.
"You did nothing" The boy hissed "You left us to rot with mudbloods ! YOU LEFT US TO DIE SIMPLY BECUASE IT WAS EASIER THAN TO HAVE BAD PRESS ABOUT THEM! FOR SOME DUMB LIGHT CAMPAIN . MY BROTHER ...my brother.. died because of you lot and your stupid light politics."
"dark ...anyway..." He wheezed out before realising it was the wrong thing to say.
"yes, you would have killed us anyway at some point. BETTER TO LET IT MUGGLES DO THE DIRTY WORK FOR YOU! US DARK WIZARDS ARE WORSE THN BEASTS!ARN'T WE!PIGS FOR SLAUGHTER"
Time was up, The sick man could feel it, he was fading. Looking up desperate of mercy he could see that the boy was actually becoming enrage by the fact he was dying finally , so much so he was unable to think logically anymore "your not to die yet, I'm not finished with you..YOU HAVN'T SUFFERED ENOUGH!"
Time's up. He died, another casualty of war. Harry fumed, kicking the corpse as he got up, he should have made this one suffer longer.
Harry was no longer playing; if the ministry was set on killing him he wasn't going down without a fight, the ministry had already sent 21 people after him, he was still alive. Blackmail wasn't working anymore clearly, the dementor had been proof of that ; he now had a low likelihood of surviving until his eleventh birthday and he knew this. A whole three months away .
Three months away, to most people this seemed like no time at all but to Harry it seemed like eternity. Every second counted, every minute dragged out for what seemed like forever. Time seemed longer when you knew every second could be your last
Everything he did now was planned, from eating to sleeping. Food had to be nutritious and simple; he'd gone to a simple raw diet. High natural sugar, no toxins and high nutrition. Sleeping patterns had altered drastically to one of regular naps rather than long sleeps; this led to a clearer head and less risk of being caught off guard in a heavy sleep.
Mostly Harry walked, eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. Moving in such away made him harder to find; he arrived, did his business and disappeared before anyone even knew he'd been. In secret reports he'd been dubbed ridiculous, unoriginal nicknames like "shadow" and "Cobra".
The only interruption to his unsocial life being the occasional text message from his mystery contactor. Mostly sarcastic, cold but occasionally insightful ; hence why Harry didn't just block him/ her. He'd put up with playing nice for a little useful information anyway.
"How is the rampage going , do tell me your enjoying the innocence and wonders of childhood"
Harry hated the contactor. The comments oddly enough hit a little too close to home; he had no childhood.
He'd occasionally watched the children pass and play in heated envy, adoring parents often carefully watching their every move in the doting way no one had ever done with him. Harry wasn't lovable though, he never had been.
When he was younger the adults from his villiage called him the devil spawn because he had such unnatural gifts; he was creature to lead others to sin according to them. Not even human, a creature. No one tucked him to bed at night, he had always had work hard to survive, beg to eat, if he was calculating and manipulative it was because they had taught him to be so.
If he was a beast; it was the muggles that were the monsters who taught him how to bite.
He looked down on the floor, it was another night alone and on the floor lay six dead bodies, women assassins . Harry had found women tended to make better assassins on the whole; people idolised women as nurturing and soft , they could slip in and out of places better making them more dangerous .
Of course Harry was small and quick, he had his own three seconds grace too . He knelt down, stripping the jewellery of all the victims, they wouldn't be needing it anymore. He took a deep breath, whoever he'd angered was serious and looking at the craftsmanship of the gold bands and necklaces he could only assume that these women where paid a lot.
Shoving them in his pocket he added them to his collection; he had a thing for shiny expensive things, maybe just because they symbolised a kind of luxury he always desired. He decided he was like a magpie, collecting all this tat, because it had no use and he would be hard pushed to sell it even if he was starving. It was funny how attached he got to suck pointless things, but they were the only thing he had in his life, he was little possessive of them.
No , it was more than that, they were like rewards for surviving, Every time he killed, every time he wasn't killed, this was his reward.
The phone rang causing Harry to jump , Standing up straight he answered the call , he already had a good idea as to who it was, there was only one person who ever contacted him on this number and that was the "contacter".
The person had never phoned before though, it was somewhat unusual if not unsettling for Harry, he couldn't decide if this meant good or bad news.
"Good morning sunshine, how are you enjoying the holidays?" the person asked, Harry guessed it was a woman, but it didn't mean anything. The contactor might be using someone else voice to confuse Harry about his/her gender. This did not help him identify who the person was at all
"very well, it is unusual for you to call." Harry said.
"well yes, but I thought we should talk and I always struggle with text. It all the buttons, they frustrate me" the woman said .
"of course..." Harry responded, she was trying to be chatty, make him calmer. Harry tensed up, he hated it when people tried to calm him, it made him wary of their intentions.
"See, I found out who you are, really are. Harry Potter." She said, his name seemed to roll of the tongue as if she was savouring it. "I don't think the ministry have put two and two together, your the famous Harry Potter. The boy who lived."
"I'm afraid I am really not following you." Harry responded curiosly.
"Harry, You killed Lord Voldermort, the biggest enemy to the light and ministry of magic , you are their poster child. Their hero. When they are searching for you , you just show up as Mr Harry Potter though, and all other details are kept confidential . Though the name is rare it isn't that rare and they don't think of you as anything more that a dark child with their saviours name. The tracking system that found you, and is used to keep finding you, is magic. No one actually needs to know anything about you , just that you have in the past produced dark magic and you should be caught. The ministry rarely do their homework and they would be had pushed to believe their lovable Harry Potter is dark, they clearly think your name is coincidental . Ministry workers aren't employed for their staggering intellect mind you . Unless they are at the top of the food chain, the only thing the ministry want for their casual workers are mindless dogs who will follow orders. " The woman explained
"If I am their poster child why did I end up in the middle of an orphanage" He responded calmly, not entirely believing her story.
"Dumbledore thought you would be safe with your relatives, your relatives didn't want you and you went missing." She answered calmly "Boo- Hoo. And that brings us to point two, Dumbledore never explained you went missing to anyone even though he must have known , everyone thinks you are still safe and no one would understand the lengths you have had to go too to survive. Beautiful isn't it. The only real way they would have proof that are not some random Harry Potter but the "Boy-Who-Lived " is from that little scar on your forehead, but since you always meet people in such confrontational ways no one has had a chance to notice"
"So I am their poster boy and they have never realised because the idea is simply to mind blowing and coincidental for them to come to terms with, I'm finding government more and more tiring every second." Harry responded exhausted .
"Yes well, I have some advise for you.." She start stopping halfway as if still in contemplation as to whether she was going to give it to him.
"For what price, why are you helping me?" Harry responded
"Good will naturally, you have no idea how important you are do you. I had a sneaking suspicion you were the Boy who Lived when one of the assassins you mutilated didn't die, she said you had the greenest eyes she had ever seen; said they looked like the killing curse, she laughed and thought it was ironic, not a clever move to laugh with her ribs piercing into her lungs."
"Why did you help me before that?" Harry asked, this was all very suspicios "" And how does that prove I am the Harry your looking for?"
" Your eyes are famous, when she mentioned them I stole and analysed her memory, noticed the scar she missed. As for before, I helped you because you are the most amusement I've had in months" she explained "And intelligent too, It would have been such a shame if you died after you managed to hack my system. I like to collect special people like yourself and if that takes a little helping hand so be it."
"I don't know who you are, when did I hack your system?" Harry asked.
"That information is obviously confidential , but nice try. " She responded curtly.
"So you want to keep me alive so that might be of service later" Harry asked flatly
"Naturally, I don't do charity boy" She said " but that hardly matters, if I don't help you , you will most likely die before you get to go to school."
"I think I would rather take the risk." Harry responded "I don't like debt, you could ask anything of me and that is more frightening than a shot to the head. I've seen how some people end up with debts to people like you, I would rather die. However small , I do have a chance of survival. What do you want, a wizard oath I'm guessing, binding."
"It isn't a debt and no I don't want you to swear an oath to me, it's good will. I know you would be interested in helping me in one way or another, even if it is just research or inventing things. With such a beautiful mind I would be happy to fund whatever, I just want you to come to me first for anything. I want your trust, it is valuable investment in my eyes" She explained "And if you choose a more political option I want you to consider my politics first, you will probably find them similar to your own. We should work well together."
"Good will..." Harry repeated, inside he was uncertain but the agreement was loose enough. He was in no position to refuse something so lenient, and if there was no oath he had less to worry about , he would just have to trust a little . He would have to deal with the price of this help another day, but it did not seem so terrible, it wasn't the oath he was expected her to demand from him."go on, I can live with that for now, what where you going to say"
"go back your relatives, go back to 44 Private Drive in surrey and pretend that you have lived there you entire childhood" The woman said "The wards that Dumbledore has put up will protect you from all and hide you well, as long as you do no more dark magic the ministry will lose you in the protection Dumbledore has used to stop the Death Eaters finding you. Use Dark magic and Dumbledore's wards will work against you because of the type of ward he has created, he is anti dark after all"
"And the Hogwarts letter will still be able to find me though these wards when the ministry cant how?" Harry asked
"ancient magic and also it is not in the headmasters advantage to stop you getting your letter" She responded "this is your only chance, I have already sent someone to alter the memories of everyone who was supposed to keep an eye on you and raise you. Even Dumbledore, though I cannot promise you that his mind alteration will have completely worked, he is a very powerful wizard."
"That is very much appreciated. Thank you" Harry responded, the line then went dead, the contactor was not one for mindless chit chat.
Harry looked at his watch, it was now 11.45 PM, He was in a little village in the middle of nowhere and he had to get to that house quickly before he could be attacked, stalked or time ran out. If his relatives, who now had their memories altered ,started making a noise as to where he was because he disappeared for more than a few days it would mean serious trouble .If his relatives contacted people like the police it would get back to this Dumbledore man. Complicated questions would be asked, questions that would show up the fact that Dumbledore and his relatives have had their minds altered.
That scenario would mean he couldn't stay there , his protection would be lost and it would probably blow his only decent opportunity for survival. If the scenario was worse and they realised that Harry had been trying to trick them while he arrived, they might ambush him at the house and check his memories , which would spell disaster . He wasn't sure what they would do, but he did not want to risk it when it was avoidable .
He had to get to that house and as soon as possible, every second wasted was dangerous and could spell death or discovery of is dark nature, and with people who tortured dark children he wasn't sure he wanted to test these peoples loyalty to their hero.
Biting is lips painfully he realised there was only really one way to get there in time and it wasn't one he liked, in fact it was gamble that could lose him everything if anyone was stalking him already .
He had to call a cab, it was the only option, he only wished they were less easy to stalk and trace. It didn't make things any easier that he was a child travelling alone late at night and that could raise suspicion from the cab driver which could put him in a sticky position, the odds really weren't in his favour, but he also didn't have many options either.
He did not have the time to wait until daytime or come up with other ideas, magic was also to risky to use as well.
He found an old phone box in the village centre; Villages seemed to like them, they all seemed to live 30 years behind everyone else with their cobbled roads and traditional butcher shops. Harry assumed they thought the old red phone box looked very British and traditional, not that Harry was complaining, the phone was easy enough to get too.
Putting a pound in he roughly pounded the digits in for the taxi advised on the phone booth wall, noting irritably that it might be a long wait and the weather was turning for worse. Drops of rain started falling down and Harry scowled.
"Hello I need Taxi , My aunty said to tell you I'm in Castle Village, post code BH34 5HD. " Harry lied smoothly .He made his voice sound a little shy, like a normal child would sound travelling alone" I need to travel to my uncles house because my aunt is sick, he lives in Private drive , surrey. How long will you be?"
"45 minutes son. I'll ring the house number. What is it." The driver asked.
" 22 , the pub in the village centre. Thank you" Harry responded and then cut the call. The less he had to say the better for now. He was hoping the cab driver wouldn't think he was a run away or notice he was making the call from a pay phone.
Harry had less than an hour to perfect his acting skills, he had get his story straight and look the part. If the guy suspected something he would lose his ride and all chances were off.
Wandering around the village he practiced walking like most children his age did, smiling, mimicking little childish habits like kicking his feet and fidgeting. He kept repeating the story he told the cabbie in his head ; sorting out little details the cab driver might question him on; like what's his aunt is like, what illness she caught, why is no one waiting with you.
He kept a close eye on his surrounding to make sure any nosy neighbours weren't watching him either , fortunately it seemed people had better thing to do this time of night when it was pouring with rain, he made sure to be quite and keep it that way. Although he wasn't too fond of the cold rain, it did have the advantage of making visibility difficult too, if people were looking he wouldn't be noticeable in the dark.
Walking around he eventually found what he was looking for; a little cottage with a kids toys in the garden. Judging by the wellingtons on the front porch the child was about Harrys age and size.
Harry needed to take a little risk again. He checked around to see if anyone was looking and then glanced down at his watch, he still 30 minutes and no one was watching him. He took a long calming breath to settle his nerves and then walked round to the back of the house
Pulling out a pocket knife he silently fiddled the lock open and went in. Carefully he looked around checking for dogs, people and alarms. Everyone seemed to be in the living room, he could hear sound coming from the closed door, it was some load chat show host. Perfect.
Harry had to be in and out, his heart was hammering in his chest and he felt sick, he could not be caught now, not tonight when he finally saw a ray of hope for his future.
He crept up the stairs, checking though the living room key hole first to see that everyone was comfortably sat down. He then wandered up the creaky old stairs and into the kids room at the end of the hall.
His aims for this risky visit where simple; he needed to freshen up before the taxi driver came. Normally he had no need for clean, new clothes or to brush his hair and in fact the time it would take to tidy his appearance would put him in risk. In other word he needed to steal some clothes and clean himself off so he would not look like the homeless he is and raise suspicion.
The door creaked slowly as he opened it, Harry was starting to hate old cottages .Harry held his breath and then walked in, every instinct in him making him on edge. He was so close to having a little security at the Dursley's that this night was all the more frightening, any mess up would shred him now, when finally something good had happened to him. He had good luck, but luck was a fickle thing, he was simply hoping Lady Luck would be kind to him one more time.
The room was everything Harryhad wanted as a child; even in the dark he could make out the dotting mother/ daughter photos hanging on the wall, terrible children's painting treasured away in files like they were valuable, toys everywhere. He looked at the Teddy bears, dolls and puzzles littered around uncaringly; what was normality to most children seemed so alien to him it made him feel weird about himself, upset and unsettled.
God the room was so warm, this had been a cold spring and the frost hadn't died down until march, Harry couldn't remember the last time he had gone to sleep warm, it was sometime last year is all he could remember.
He looked over at the princess bed with it's over-stuffed, giant butterfly printed quilt and pillows flooding over the edge and onto the floor . A surge of anger flushed though his whole body. Jealousy like he had never felt before hit him at that moment looking at the little girls peaceful sleeping expression, the unfairness of life, the self pitying hatred. He wanted to strangle her, torture her, scream and make her tell him why she was more worthy of kindness than he could ever be given. Why she could have it all when he had nothing.
He could not understand why some children where loved; dumber, uglier and less interesting children than himself . He felt like a monster, cadged away for the other purer and adored children, tormented and forced to watch everything he was missing and desired. Everything he had no expectation of ever receiving . He did not know why he was so different he could not be loved.
He had to struggle for every breath he took, scavenge for every meal and sleep in the wet and cold. He had never had a comforting night and soothing word, was he that inferior and tainted to deserve such a fate? Some people thought so...
"freak.", "Devil spawn", "homeless brat"
He sucked it in, he needed to stay focused, he needed to get what he needed and leave. After tonight he would sleeping comfortable in a warm house just like this girl, he just had to earn it, had use his wits and get out. He shouldn't have to earn the right to a warm bed he thought bitterly, but he swallowed his resentment, it would serve him no purpose and he didn't get why this bitterness arose so strongly at that particular moment when it was so inappropiate.
Probably because he had never seen how different his life was to other children, he only ever had seen them in the park, it wasn't as bad there.
He wandered over to the wardrobe grabbing the girls black school coat, it was very asexual , the kind of things boys wore grabbed her trousers, jumper and leather school bag too, it had the schools logo on it , she went to catholic private school. Harry smiled, this was the perfect image he needed, the smart private school child from a silent little village giving his sick aunt some peace and quiet for a week or so .
Sneaking into her bathroom he washed himself in the sink quickly; whether he left a mess hardly mattered, the parents would most likely think the girl had done it anyway along with losing her school stuff. It wasn't the kind of thing robbers did, steal kiddie coats and school bags and then mess up the bathroom.
If they thought it was a pervert, Harry had his identity deleted years ago, the police would have a lot of effort for an inconclusive search .
After he was soaped up he shoved on his new clothes, cleaned his teeth and brushed his hair. It took less than five minutes and now he looked completely presentable in his clean clothes and tidy hair. He gave a smile in the mirror, then frowned, maybe he shouldn't smile it looked somewhat odd on him, not natural or instinctive like with other children. He never had much reason to smile.
He sneaked back out of the bedroom and down the hall where he could hear adverts playing in the background.
"I'm going to check Lucy is asleep!" Someone said. Harry wanted to cry, He looked at his watch, 15 minutes left and it would take ten minutes to walk back into the village centre .
He had to hide instead and hope the woman finished quickly. He slipped into the airing cupboard, the vent on the door making it easy for him to see what was happening outside. He sat there silently , he could hear the seconds tick away on his clock as she woman walked up the stairs .
She walked into the girls room, he could hear her moving stuff around. He waited silently, but 3 minutes and she was not coming out. He knew the living room door was still open, he never heard it shut and the loud noise was blaring with it open. He just had to risk it or else the taxi driver would arrive, knock on the pub door and know that the boy was lying to him about his sick aunt sending him away.
He sprinted down the stairs like a chased cat, his feet moved so fast they barely touched wood, he made almost no sound until he hit the hallway and had to turn.
"Is that you Amy, Lucy asleep?" The man in the living room asked . Harry felt like he was going to have a full on panic attack, Amy would be coming down soon, he had to think of something soon.
Harry took a breath reminding himself to be rational , clenching his fists blinked slowly to stop himself shacking and get his nerve back. He walked over to the living room to sneak a peak, the man had gone back to watching his T.V, he must have thought the noise was his imagination.
Harry bolted out into the garden, carefully shutting the door behind him and collapsed. That was too close , little mess ups had never had such big consequences before, being caught in tha past just meant he had to run, this time it meant possibly losing his chance to live to be 11.
He did have a chance without the Dursley's, but it was so slim that he really couldn't risk this opportunity.
The sweat ran down his face like he had run miles, but his body felt so ice cold he was shivering. In his numbed and shocked state he could feel burning vomit come up chocking his passage ways as he refused to throw up and risk messing up his clothes.
His mouth filled up with the foul tasting stuff and he winced as he swallowed it down again, swallowing his own vomit was so disgusting he was almost sick again but he distracted himself by looking at his watch and reminding himself how urgently he needed to get back.
He gathered himself up feeling weak at the knees and a little light headed. At least in the dark the no one would be able to see his pale, sickly face.
He had nine minutes left, and taxi's could always come early, he ran. The village flashed by as he ran; his feet pounded painfully on the uneven cobbled floor. The sickly feeling his scare in the cottage only making himself feel thin and empty. The sooner he was in the Taxi and out of this village the better his nerves would feel, the fear was becoming all consuming all of a sudden
He slowed down when he reached the village centre , no one was there yet and he took a moment to compose himself in rain before heading to the pub stairs and sitting down outside patiently.
Ten minutes later the yellow cab drove down the long winding road, screeching his brakes abruptly upon seeing Harry sitting on the front door step. Harry gave a sigh of relief, he was worried the cab would be a lotlonger and he was glad the cab wasn't early either.
"Wha- ya name? I have to pick up a Harry" He mumbled, wiping his sweating hand down his greyish t-shirt. His accent was thick and sluggish , his breathing shallow and his teeth stuck out as yellow even in the dark.
The man clearly smoked, he was unhealthy and judging from the badly concealed porn magazines he had bad habits too; to say Harry felt uncomfortable was an understatement to say the least, he hated meeting people for exactly this reason, he was to observant for his age. It made situations so Awkward.
The mans inability to speak in proper english and his bad driving did not inspire hope for Harry's journey , at least he wasn't drunk, that was a good start Harry supposed. Harry really wished he had been more selective choosing his Taxi company, this one seemed like a bad choice, but he was really in no position to be feeling sorry for himself. He also knew he was groachy becuase he had to play nice with the irritating slob and he didn't like people at the best of time
"I'm Harry, thanks" Harry forced himself to give a polite smile , He pulled out 200 pound from his bag. "My auntie gave me this to give to you. Sorry she couldn't give it to you herself, she is feeling feverish."
"cool." The man said opening the door "So your uncle, nice place surrey"
Harry nodded in agreement and said his thanks as he got in, though he had no idea what surrey was like , only that it was a very large estate. Whatever it was like he was going to enjoy a peaceful nights sleep in a warm bed for a change. There had to be a first for everything.
The car purred as it started; He sank into the soft leather seat, the taxi was so warm and the ride was torturously long. He wanted to sleep ,staying alert and keeping his eye out for danger was proving itself difficult.
The man thankfully just wanted to listen to pop music rather than talk, so he did not have to think about lying. The boom, boom, boom of the music also helped with keeping him awake.
The whole journey went that way; the man silently sat listening to his music and eating chips while Harry watched the world spin past from his window. He'd never been in a car before, he had always just walked; it was a rather novel experience, the dark landscape ran past his window in a swirl of shades. The light flashing and passing, the hum of the engine and even the smell was all very new. It reminded Harry how different his world was to others, how minimal his experiences where when it came to the simple pleasures in, if this could be called that. To Harry it was though, simple and unusual, so relaxing and alternative from his normal hectic way of travelling and living.
After several hours the cabbie stopped and Harry looked out at his new house; It looked so ordinary, it was clean and new. Harry gave a smile, this would be just fine, he could live like a normal kid for a while; it didn't even matter if his relatives liked him, if he could sleep safely for a night or two. He hid a grin; he bet they had T.V and hot running water; he hadn't had a hot bath for years, he couldn't tell you what it felt like but he bet it was something like heaven. A warm feeling filled him; maybe he would have a chance to do something other than just live day to day.
This was his chance, his only chance.
"Where is your uncle? Are they not coming out to greet you?" The cabbie asked when he noticed none of the lights where on.
"I guess not. It's late" Harry responded. The guy gave him a sympathetic look, he obviously assumed Harry was unloved the child of the family, which would be true . If he was homeless after all he would have asked to be dropped off in London, dress differently and act rougher.
"Hey kid, you should eat something. It's not right seeing someone you age so skinny, do they feed you enough ?" He asked concern in his eyes
"yeah, I've just got over the flu, I simply haven't much of an appetite" Harry said. "Anyway, thank you, I have to get some sleep, I need to catch up on my homework tomorrow. My school is pretty strict, it's so unfair!"
The pouting, childish whine got the cabbie smiling, reassuring him he had nothing to worry about. The boy went to a good school, he was obviously well looked after even if he wasn't adored. Sad, but nothing to fuss over either, maybe his aunt was the more affectionate type when she well. Harry could see him calculating it all in his head, he was like an open book, a very expressive sort of man. Harry did appreciate his half assed care anyway though, even if he didn't think much of the mans intellect.
"Alright kid. I will wait for you to get in then and go." He said and Harry smiled walking over to his house, heart pounding painful in his chest. This was the moment he would find out if everything had worked out.
He hoped the contactor hadn't set him up for a trap
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