Yes, I know this is a late update; however I had some serious Desktop issues that have forced me to use the laptop that is currently on my desk, replacing everything. I had to redo most of the chapter, and to be honest it went in a completely different direction that I'm happy with.
Thank you everyone for the reviews, and for those of you who didn't like the inner monologue feel of the last chapter, there is dialogue in this one for you to munch on.
Thank you to Ink, my favorite fan and the person who brought me back into my writing mood.
Disclaimer!: I do not own Harry Potter, so please don't sue me.
Harry Potter and the Magic Introvert Chapter 4: Early Bird gets the Worm
It was the sort of hour during the morning when the stars could still be seen shining and the moon visibly falling towards the horizon while an opposing violet and orange color assaulted the sky. It was at this sort of hour that Privet Drive had several black robed figures standing around, waiting for some unknown signal. Minutes passed by and the figures simply stood in silence, not even speaking or looking towards another in the cold chilly weather. After nearly half an hour another figure popped into existence near the others, immediately speaking to the group.
"Speak Goyle, your message specified that the wards have been altered." The voice was venomous, and nearly completely devoid of anything other than hissing. The reptilian looking figure was none other than Lord Voldemort, looking contrite as a gust of wind hit his face.
"My Lord, the others and I have witnessed the wards break down, or alter drastically at Number Four, my estimates is that this happened sometime during the trap at the Ministry."
The other members of the group shuffled nervously at the mention of that incident, only two of the six had been present, both of them cursing Gregory for bringing up their failure.
"Interesting, well done Gregory. I require a…volunteer to attempt to enter the house uninvited." Voldemort smiled viciously, watching the group further act like small children in his presence.
The six robed figures looked to each other, an argument seemingly on the verge of occurring before a single member walked forward. "I will do it my Lord." He said in a rough voice, glancing towards Gregory with a stiff smile.
"Your loyalty and obedience will be rewarded if you live Vincent. The Crabbe family seems to redeem itself with every day."
All five of the remaining Death Eaters subtly sighed in relief, watching as Vincent walked confidently towards the home, his stride quickening as he came to the lawn. Not even bothering to knock on the door Vincent raised his wand and a bright yellow spell shattered the door admitting Crabbe Sr. into the home. The others waited, watching for nearly anything to happen and when nothing but murmured shouts could be heard inside Voldemort himself strode towards the home, a frightening smirk on what could only be called his face.
The house was already being ruined beyond ordinary repair, Vincent grinning as he destroyed a pathetic muggle home and high off of the knowledge that he would be rewarded for his act of…obedience. He took pleasure in destroying the home that was clearly meant to show how "normal" the family was…how conformed they were to the idiotic muggle fashions of the decade and Vincent nearly cackled with glee as he made sure nothing in the house could ever be called normal again.
He was found by his Lord while destroying the kitchen; an unspoken question was being answered as Vincent pointed with his wand above him, towards the second floor. Voldemort idly registered that this was eerily familiar to the destruction of the last house Potter resided in. Shoving such thoughts aside, he made his way up the stairs with disgust at the white paint haphazardly thrown everywhere. It looked as if some child had painted it.
He found his prey cowering in the master bedroom; huddled together presumably hoping whoever was there would leave them unharmed. "The brat isn't even here yet! He's still at school!" the man said from in front of his family, not even bothering to successfully hide them…though with his mass he certainly could.
"You think I do not know that Muggle? I am not looking for Potter just yet; I can wait for that pleasure. However, killing his family will be a blow I am quite happy to deliver." The Dark Lord paused for a moment, looking around the room with distaste. "I have to say, I have been waiting years to be able to breach the wards here, a shame that it wasn't during the summer, though the Order would no doubt be placed here then. Curious, isn't it? That Dumbledore hasn't even been protecting you during the school season?"
Voldemort scowled as his concentration was taken away from his objective, he was here to kill the Muggles and leave, nothing more.
He raised his wand, the very beginning of the Killing Curse on his mind, when the long-necked female shrieked "Spare us! Wait a few weeks, we'll give you the boy!"
The green glow his wand had attained drained quickly, what did they just say?
"Repeat yourself immediately."
"I s-said to s-spare us! Give us a few weeks! W-we'll give you the boy!"
He couldn't be hearing them right, were they really willing to hand over Potter for their lives? This certainly wasn't the way the last home had gone. The Potters had put up such a good fight…he was almost in need of assistance during that debacle of a transfiguration arena Potter had turned his living room into… Where has my concentration been going?
A quick nonverbal Legillimens and Voldemort found himself inside the mind of Vernon Dursley. What he found was enough for him to eject himself soundly and quickly from what even he could consider an evil pig of a man.
"To clarify, you are willing to give me Harry James Potter, in return for your lives?" He needed to be sure; the answer to this question could change everything.
He had barely finished the sentence before a resounding "Yes!" had come from their mouths. Just who were these Muggles and why would Dumbledore give them the boy if they wanted nothing to do with him?
It was an interesting proposition, but the Order would be guarding Harry by the time Dumbledore let him free from his tower. This family had no more say in what could be done with Potter than the boy himself had.
With his decision made, he raised his wand again, concentrating on his hate for Muggle filth such as this. Filth that would knowingly give up a child of their own, for their "safety"…the kind of hatred he could only attain when faced with Muggles who reminded him of his filthy cowardly abandoning mother… He hadn't realized the curse had left his lips and Vernon Dursley lay dead over his family, two quick curses later and the rest of the evil spawn were dead as well. It was good riddance, even the thorn in his side called Harry Potter did not deserve to be caged with these beasts.
He briskly walked downstairs to find Crabbe Sr. still cursing the home into ashes, he signaled the man to follow him out and said to the others waiting outside "Burn the house to the ground; nothing should be left standing, absolutely nothing."
Before he apparated out, Voldemort considered what he had seen in the mind of that overweight swine. It seemed that Potter had a similar childhood to his own, though more frightening in its own respect. While he had the luxury of peers at a young age to manipulate and control, young Harry Potter was forced under the constant rule of people several times he size and age. Dumbledore would have to be put through another few torture sessions for allowing yet another child to go through abuse without interfering.
The final thought that ran through his mind was, perhaps I could find something other than an enemy in young Harry Potter…
Meanwhile Harry Potter was still experiencing an agonizing nightmare in which nearly everyone he held dear died at the hands of the Death Eaters. He saw Hermione die first, blaming him and his 'saving people thing' and she hadn't even hit the floor before Ron was cursed. Next came Neville, Ginny and Luna, each in some way blaming him or furious with him for making his horrible choice to bring them to the Ministry.
Finally his Godfather would appear, furious at his incompetence; calling him useless and a freak like only his Uncle had previously. Hearing it so often and now from the only man he could say he loved…broke a part of Harry James Potter irreparably. Whether or not this was real would be of no matter, the words would echo in his heart and Harry would never be the same.
Still tossing and turning in his sleep, Harry was awoken by a hand on his shoulder. Large amounts of willpower were the only thing that kept the hand from being ripped from the unknown limb in his half-sleeping daze.
With a muttered growl Harry asked "What?"
"Not so much a morning person I take it?" the familiar voice said amusedly, getting the wolf's attention.
"No, I'm not. I never did like waking up to fix the Dursleys breakfast at damn near dawn." He replied testily, forgetting just what he was disclosing."
"And why would they make you fix them breakfast at dawn?"
A flash of the word "freak" entered his mind, and Harry struggled to ignore it. He saw two ways this could go, he could 'confess' a small piece of his abuse and garner pity and needless anger, or spin a tale and save everyone some stress. Door number two it was.
"Chores." He mumbled while stretching his legs and yawning in a way that made his jaw feel unhinged
Remus chose to look as convinced as he could muster, but remained completely skeptical. "Hmm, well we're done packing and we'll be taking the floo to another safe house. We'll get you some breakfast when we get there."
Harry nodded and followed his uncle of sorts to the fireplace, reminding himself that this might just be the last time he ever set foot in his Godfather's childhood home. He tried to come up with any reason other than that to remember it, but found none. Grimmauld Place would not be missed.
Remus picked out a handful of neon green powder from a small pot on the mantle and threw it into the fire, only to look surprised when the flames continued to stay red and orange.
"Odd…" Remus mused, trying twice more to successfully connect the floo up. He scowled when both failed and soon soft popping noises could be heard in the other rooms. Harry briefly wondered if Remus could hear them too, but the panicked look on his face told him everything.
Remus grabbed onto the wolf, a look of concentration marring his face for a moment, before he huffed. "Damn! Wards are up!" he cursed and tore out a rather rusty looking medal from his coat pocket, "Grab it!" he yelled, voices coming from upstairs and the rumble of rushed steps signaling the arrival of some very unwanted guests.
Harry reached out and touched the medal, disappearing with Remus Lupin before the invaders even made it to the bottom of the stairs.
Five robed figures including Voldemort himself came down the stairs. Bellatrix, Rabastian and even Peter followed Lucius and Voldemort down. Bellatrix took a leisurely pace with her hand over the stairwell, inspecting her childhood home, her eyes reflecting a faint sense of nostalgia…and pain. The home was in such disrepair, looking nearly nothing like the manor she had played with her sisters in. Sirius had let it become this disgusting pit that shamed the very memory of the Black Family.
Kreacher popped into existence at the bottom of the stairs as Bellatrix made it there, bowing as far as his elderly body could go. "Mistress Bella, I's so sorry for the state the Manor be's in. Please forgive Kreacher, please!" the elf cried, slapping himself in the head repeatedly.
Bellatrix leaned down towards the elf she remembered fondly, frowning at how insanity had taken its toll on his mind. "Kreacher, I order you to no longer punish yourself. You've done nothing wrong." Her voice was soft and soothing, Rabastian sneered to himself at the sound of it wondering why his Lord hadn't renewed some sort of curse on his former sister in law to keep in from acting below her station.
"Now Kreacher, what has been going on here?" she asked, noticing that even her Lord was interested in hearing the answer as he stood staring at the elf.
Kreacher nodded to himself, gathering as much detail as he could. "Many things, Mistress Bella, many things indeed. The former Master Black died tonight, I can sense it. The people that have's been defiling our home stole everything they could! The Black Library is in shambles Mistress!"
The elderly elf was already becoming upset and Bellatrix was quick to comfort him with her voice and patting his head. Rabastian had enough of it by then and took out his wand to point it towards the filthy creature. "Get to the point! I will not hesitate to kill you!"
Kreacher scowled at the other man for a moment, folding his arms against his tiny chest. "Kreacher does not answer to Strange men anymore."
Rabastian growled but his wand was taken from him with a quick disarming spell by Peter, who nodded quickly towards their Lord who stood irritated by what had happened.
"Thank you Peter, Rabastian! Calm yourself and let Bella gather the information we need, it is useless to threaten Elves, and you know this."
The only remaining LeStrange male looked cowed and backed away without asking for his wand back. Bellatrix softly asked "Where did they all go Kreacher?"
"They knew the wards woulds come down, they left just before you came Mistress! I swears I couldn't stop them!"
Bellatrix nodded and ordered Kreacher to go rest before starting his repair on the home and stood up to look at her Lord. "It would seem that we were mere seconds away from capturing them my Lord."
Voldemort was anything but pleased, failure was something he could no longer tolerate and while the Black Home would suffice for a resource for now, it was not what he was looking for.
"Crucio!" Voldemort growled, cursing one of the robed figures into unfathomable pain for several moments. "I will not trust your judgment again in these matters Lucius. It seems Harry was not in the bedrooms, giving them plenty of time to escape. You make another mistake like this and I will throw you in Azkaban myself and let the Dementors have their way with you!"
The still writhing blonde man nodded, keeping his screams to himself while the other three looked on with no sense of pity. Malfoy Sr. had no friends among the Death Eaters, allies perhaps…but never friends.
Haven, as Albus fondly called his ancestral home and the new safe house was now inhabited by many of the Order. With Thomas still out there and the Ministry none the wiser it was conceivable that many assassinations would take place. Cornelius would continue to keep his head in the sand and with it the entire Wizarding community of Britain. Thomas would be free to lurk in the shadows without repercussions until the Order was in working form and able to complete missions. Dumbledore Manor would suffice, having plenty of room for the meager number of members they still had and training facilities for some of the less experienced. Soon he would have to consider conscripting some of the Hogwarts students, while starting simply with eager to serve 7th years.
Packing had been a massive endeavor, most of the library tomes back at Grimmauld had been charmed against being tampered with, forcing them to be hauled physically from one location to another. It had taken hours of everyone's time to get what they had out; knowing they most likely had only the night to complete the task. Some of the more dangerous materials were now in safe keeping, though only Sirius would have known what they had missed.
The death of one of his members was still haunting, though necessary perhaps in the long run it seemed, that such pain was needed to mold a hero was heartbreaking without his regular use of the penseive. It had taken him several shots of firewhiskey and a few vials of memories to rid himself of his guilt, and he pondered just how much of his mental essence he could keep quarantining before he would become insane.
He was brought out of his thoughts by Molly Weasley entering the room and quickly casting several privacy charms.
"Albus, when can we expect Remus…and Harry?" she asked, toying with her apron and smelling suspiciously like biscuits.
"Very soon, Remus was sent to wake the boy and bring him back. It shouldn't be more than a few minutes." He replied, attempting to finish the conversation as quickly as possible.
Molly continued to stand, looking terribly nervous and Albus mentally sighed, figuring what she was here to talk about.
"And the contract?" she meekly asked, continuing to look towards the floor instead his eyes.
"Molly, I'm unsure whether it is a wise move to contract Harry with Ms. Weasley, you've seen his new…affliction and not only will this strain their relationship from the outside but legally it could have many repercussions."
This had been a rather strained topic between the two of them, Albus could see why the Weasley matriarch would use the Potter gold to her advantage, knowing at least partially what Albus had planned for the boy. But with what little morality he felt he could still claim with dignity he was rather disgusted with this tactic, but if he lost the contribution of the Weasleys to the Order he would be very hard pressed to find more light-sided individuals to support him.
Every now and then he could convince himself that perhaps young Ms. Weasley and Harry could perhaps grow feelings towards each other and the contract would never have to be heard of, but with the recent events it was likely that Molly would want more…guaranteed options.
"But Albus, you've seen the two of them, you know how easily they could fall in love. They look just like James and Lily after all. Ginny will follow him regardless of his ghastly disease and I'm sure with the right motivation Harry could look past his predicament and see the light." She said sweetly, apparently believing what she was saying.
I feel for you Molly, whatever your Mother told you about love left a good deal to be desired…
"I will look into it, and inspect the legal ramifications of Harry's transformation when I next visit the Ministry." He answered wearily.
"That's all I can ask for Albus, we both know this is for the greater good."
And that was what Albus feared the most, that he was indeed using the "greater good" as an excuse as much so as Molly Weasley was for her own benefit. He knew it was a rather weak excuse already however it was for the entire community and not his own benefit, he would hate to find himself one day secretly finishing it as 'for the greater good…of Albus Dumbledore'.
A pop and a loud thud alerted Albus to the arrival of Remus Lupin, the aging young man looked panicked and his eyes were wide and searching around; this couldn't be good.
"Remus, what happened?"
Lupin looked at him, waving frantically around himself. "We heard apparition inside, they must have found a way past the wards…or the wards failed, I'm not sure. But I swear Harry touched the portkey! He was right there with me!"
Albus could feel the blood draining from his face; he forced himself to ask the question that he already knew the answer to.
"Remus, where is Harry?"
Molly was by now nearly hysterical in tears, though rather coldly Albus wondered just why she all the sudden cared about the boy.
"I-I think he's still at Grimmauld.
It was probably too late to stage a rescue; Thomas would have combed the house with many of his followers and probably found Harry already. Perhaps the boy could act as a Dark Creature and stay alive for a while, and Albus hoped that he wouldn't do something rash and start murdering them all only to die to Thomas himself. The Prophesy was far too integral to his plan to fall apart now. With what he thought to be far too many things on his mind already, Albus wondered whether anything else could go wrong within twenty four hours.
Confused and disoriented, a young man felt himself being swirled around in a dark tunnel and being thrown in what felt like all directions. It was the most nauseating experience he could fathom and it hadn't stopped for nearly a minute. Nearly vomiting, he felt himself being thrown down to the ground with great force. He felt several cracks throughout his body and rolled down what he could have sworn was asphalt pavement. Pain shot through his system and he was sure he might pass out at any moment. The smell of blood was as clear as petrol could ever be. His hearing was filled with nothing but this horrible, horrible ringing and vibrating sensation and he felt like his body was made of lead.
A groan escaped him and he whimpered a little in pain. He heard this roaring noise come closer and winced as the sound of doors slamming shut on an vehicle came to his ears. He tried to get up but screamed in pain when a searing sensation could be felt along his forearms. Quick footsteps were heard and the sounds of multiple voices came swiftly afterwards. "Amy! Call 999! This boy's been hit!"
The male voice that had just yelled further back came closer and another groan escaped the boy's lips. "Don't try to talk, help is on the way…just don't go to sleep, whatever you do, do not go to sleep."
That seemed like a horrible suggestion right now to the young man, sleep sounded like such a good option. He heard a lighter, more feminine voice not far away. "Daddy, is he going to be alright?"
"I don't know, is your mother on the phone still?" his voice seemed strained, the boy was attempting to concentrate on it with all the concentration he could muster.
"Yeah, should we really wait for the ambulance, could we move him ourselves?"
A whimper was all the young man could manage to dictate that this idea was not welcome.
"No, I'm not sure what hit him but whatever it was did everything except kill him."
He could hear the younger of the two sobbing, the smell of soap and vanilla permeating the wretched assault of blood in his senses. He would survive…he hoped, but where was he?
Another voice joined, was this a family? "Dan, they're on their way. Could I speak to you for a moment?"
Even with his completely shot mental capacity the young man on the road could sense the desperate tone of the woman's voice; they only took a few steps away and spoke in hushed tones; however what concerned the young man was that he could still hear them clearly.
"Daniel, he won't make it. Its going to be another few minutes at least until the emergency team gets here and look at the blood! What are we going to do?" her voice was pleading, and the young man could even hear what sounded like soft sobs, though he was sometimes mixing them up with the sobbing of the younger woman that was still kneeling near him.
"We make him as comfortable as he can get… We won't leave him alone." The man said confidently, warming the heart of the young man, comforting him in a way that he wasn't sure he had ever experienced before. The couple walked back towards the kneeling young woman, the young man gasping for air as breathing became harder. Blinking rapidly his vision was still swimming, though he would get glimpses of clarity to see the family that might very well be the last people he saw.
The man who crouched by his head was barely in his forties by the look of it, completely brown hair neatly cut near his head. His face determined and his eyes watery. The woman next to him was quite attractive for what he assumed to be her age, long dark hair in waves and water blue eyes. The young woman kneeling near him was the perfect mix of the two, attractive like her mother with long brown hair and the same aqua blue eyes as her mother.
He tried his best to concentrate on the details, dedicating them to memory, perhaps it would keep him awake while the ambulance rushed to wherever they were. Were these going to be his last moments alive? If so he was happy to have people around him, he had this very unsettling feeling that he had been alone for so long up until then.
"Shhh, everything will be okay, your safe and we're here." The young woman said, her voice light and melodic to his apparently refined ears. He coughed up something that he suspected might be blood and heard the family gasp, he was losing control of his body and found himself convulsing wildly for a few seconds before it stopped and he lay still. Still awake, listening to the now hysterical crying of the two women as the father tried his hardest to comfort both the girls and the young man who lay dying in front of him.
Pain was fading, or he was becoming numb, his mind was losing the ability to tell the difference anymore. The damnable ringing had left his ears, leaving him nearly dosing. He felt his breathing becoming shallower, and decided that it was now or never that he would ever be able to say anything. He thought long and hard about what he wanted to say to the family that was staying by him in what might be his last moments alive. He settled on the words he wanted to use, mentally preparing and breathing in a very painful breath he gasped "Thank you" before his eyes fluttered shut and he lost himself to unconsciousness.
A/N The end of another chapter, this one was rather somber and angsty during the end, but fear not! Things will get better next chapter, if only a little. This chapter was meant to transition you into the new direction that this story is taking. Hold on to your seatbelts people!
Till Next time!