7: Blood Eagle

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isclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything else that is recognizable.

A/N: This chapter took longer than I expected. Sorry.

WARNING!: There is a Torture/Execution scene in this chapter that gets pretty brutal. You may skip it if you wish but you may miss some important details. It begins soon after the section marked 'Christmas Eve'.

The Dawn of a Golden Age


I Am Atrocity

Chapter VII: Blood Eagle

'I whispered in her ear, "you better fear me dear, for I am Death".'

-For Stevie Wonder's Eyes Only (Braille) by Bring Me the Horizon

'This world is never enough, and I'm not giving it up. My faith in love is like blood, I'd spill it freely for some...'

-Forever May Not Be Long Enough by Live

Harry groaned softly as he emerged from sleep, his mind trying to process the memories he had from the night before. He remembered Hermione not showing up for classes, he remembered fighting a troll in a bathroom, and he remembered taking Hermione to the hospital wing and getting stuck there himself despite the fact that he was perfectly fine. Then he remembered why he had gone to that bathroom, why Hermione hadn't shown up for class and one of the reasons he had taken her to the hospital wing: Malfoy, Parkinson and Weasley. Just thinking their name filled him with rage.

He opened his eyes and blinked a few times to clear them. He tried to raise his arm to rub the sleep from his eyes but found that he couldn't lift it. Confused he looked down and came face to face with a mass of brown hair. Hermione lay there snuggled into his side with her head resting on his chest and one of her arms draped across his abdomen; he couldn't lift his arm because it was wrapped around her. His confusion only lasted a second longer as another memory came to the forefront of his mind. He remembered waking up sometime during the night to someone crawling into his bed with him, he knew who it was the instant her hair came in contact with the exposed skin of his arm. She had pushed herself as close to him as she could and Harry could feel her trembling so he silently put his arms around her and held her until she fell back to sleep. He himself had drifted back off a few minutes later.

He smiled down at her slumbering form, her expression relaxed and peaceful, almost content. He closed his eyes again, he was too comfortable to get up. That and he didn't want to wake her. He must have dozed off again because the next thing he knew he was awakened by Hermione shifting beside him as she too returned to consciousness. He felt her remove herself from his grasp and get up from the bed; he pretended to be asleep so as to spare her the embarrassment that would surely follow if she knew that he had known that she was there. He waited a few minutes then proceeded to 'wake up'. He looked around and 'searched' for his glasses and placed them on his face. He looked to Hermione's bed to find her doing the same thing that he had just been doing. He fought to keep an amused smirk off his face.

Hermione didn't speak at all the whole morning, not even when Madam Pomfrey would ask her questions, she would either nod or shake her head depending on the question. "It seems that the shock still has not worn off." Yeah. There isn't really anything that we can do for her except show her support and be there for her...and hope for the best.

With it being a weekend they didn't have to worry about classes, which Harry was thankful for, and Hermione spent the entire day sitting in her dorm. By the time Monday came around this routine was really beginning to test Harry's patience, she didn't even try to answer any questions in class, but Tom was on the verge of trying to kill something...or someone.

"I say we go up there and drag her out of the room and beat some sense into her!" No, we don't hit women, that is what caused this mess in the first place, or have you forgotten? "No, I have not, and forgive me for my lack of tact. But we still must talk to her and get her to come back out of her shell. Agreed.

Harry stood and walked determinedly toward the stairs that lead to the girl's dorms. He knew of the charm on the stairs to keep boys out but he also knew that magic was all about intent, and he had faith that they would allow him up when it sensed that his intentions were for Hermione's well-being. His theory was proven correct when he reached the door to the first year girl's dorm. He knocked once then pushed the door open. He had no fear of being yelled at by the other girl's that shared this dorm, they were all at dinner. He slowly entered and glanced about the room until his gaze settled upon his objective.

Hermione sat on her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest, her eyes were unfocused as if she were watching something in the middle-distance. He approached cautiously, not wanting to startle her, and softly called out to her, "Hermione."

She flinched at his voice and turned slowly toward him, her eyes once again held fear but it was mingled with something else that resembled hope. This caused him to pause and decide to let her make the next move. She watched him for a moment before motioning for him to take a seat next to her on the bed. She didn't need to ask how he had gotten in, she already knew. "What do you want Harry?" she asked him in a small voice. Harry took a seat next to her, not too close, and studied her for a couple of seconds; she looked so lost that Harry felt something inside of him twist painfully.

"I just want you to be OK again," he told her in a near whisper. "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"

She thought that over for a few minutes then nodded. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find the right words, after a few more false-starts she finally began to speak. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you kill it?"

Harry wasn't expecting this question, he contemplated making up some story but decided to go with the truth. "Because I wanted to. If I didn't it could have killed me, or worse you."

"But why so viciously?"

"It was fun."

This answer caused her to stare at him in shock. "What the bloody hell are you doing!" Being honest, if we lie, I'll feel bad. We tell her the truth and let her decide if she wishes to remain our friend. "I hope you know what you're doing." So do I.

Hermione finally overcame her shock enough to find her voice, "What do you mean it was fun?"

Harry smirked slightly, "I was toying with it, it never stood a chance. It was dead before it even realized that we were there, it just didn't know it yet." Inside his head Tom was bashing his head against an imaginary wall and yelling about how stupid Harry was for saying that. Hermione's response nearly caused Harry to fall off the bed and Tom's jaw to hit the floor.

"Can you teach me?"

"Wha-what?" he stuttered out in disbelief.

"Teach me, to be like you. I don't want to be weak anymore." She clarified. She didn't know why she was asking this, part of her thought that she should be running to tell a professor that Harry wasn't right in the head, but something was telling her that this was what she was supposed to do, that it was the right thing.

Harry took a deep breath, "Hermione, to be like me...is not something I would want for you. I've done horrible things." And Never once felt remorse for it. "They deserved it." True. "Besides, you've only tortured so far." That will soon change.

"I don't care, I can do it."

He looked her directly in the eyes, "I know you can, I'm not questioning your ability. I'm giving you time to change your mind. Once you start down the path that I've walked, there is no turning back. Ever."

"I'll do it. Please Harry." She looked at him pleadingly but with determination. Harry could only nod his head in acceptance.

"OK," he stood and held his hand out to her, she took it and he pulled her to her feet, "but first you have to come with me." She looked at him in confusion, "You missed dinner."


Harry and Hermione sat at a table in the kitchens, House Elves scurrying about preparing a meal for them. Harry had had to explain to Hermione about the Elves' outlook on their 'enslavement', how they would lose their magic if they weren't bound to a witch or wizard and how they enjoyed working, she didn't like it but she accepted it. At the moment they were discussing how to punish those who had done her harm.

"Who hurt you the most?" Harry asked her.

"Um...the red head. Weasley," she answered him.

"OK, then he'll be saved for last. Next?"

"Parkinson."

"Then Malfoy?"

She nodded, "Yes."

"OK then. He'll be the first to go. But first I must issue a warning to Dumbledore's lackeys."

"What kind of warning?"

"Oh, just one that will make them think that they can save Ickle Ronnikins from my wrath."

At this time a House Elf placed a large platter of food in front of each of them, then returned to its earlier work. Hermione waited for it to leave before speaking again, "When will you go after Malfoy?"

Harry swallowed the piece of chicken that he had been chewing then answered, "I was thinking over the Christmas holidays. Seems like as good a time as any."

"How do you plan on finding him?"

"I already know where his home is."

"How?"

"That," he said in a voice that conveyed that he didn't wish to speak of how he knew, "is for me to know and for you to find out when I deem that I can trust you enough." He plucked a small tomato out of Hermione's salad and rolled it between his fingers. "You may accompany me if you wish, to the execution of Draco Malfoy. It will give me a chance to observe how well you can deal with what must be done." She looked back at him with a slightly confused expression so he continued, "Your will, your conscience, whether or not you have a strong stomach. Basically to see if you have what it takes to walk this path with me." He began to lightly squeeze the tomato before piercing it with a fingernail, "Can you spill another human's blood, and not feel sorry?" As if to emphasize his point the juice of the tomato began to drip down onto the plate before him. Hermione felt a chill run up her spine at Harry's words but ignored it and took the tomato back from him before tossing it into her mouth.

"I think I can handle it," she said after swallowing. Harry smiled at her confidence, it wasn't arrogant or cocky but more of an 'I don't know if I can do this but I'm going to give it my all' type of confidence, it was refreshing after meeting tons of witches and wizards who all seemed to believe that they were superior to you just because of how much money they had or what their name was. This type of thinking would soon mark you as a target, and Harry Potter was going to show the world just how much further skill and intelligence could get you then money or name.


The next day Harry cornered Ron Weasley in the entrance hall after dinner, making sure that his older brothers were within earshot. "Evening Weasley."

"What the hell do you want Potter?" Ron asked him with a sneer worthy of a Slytherin.

"Who me? Oh, I was just wanting to let you know that if you ever so much as think about touching Hermione again then your parents are going to find your corpse being picked clean by crows."

Ron looked confused for a second, "Uh..what?" he asked intelligently.

"I'm going to kill you."

Ron smirked, "Yeah, right. I'd like to see you try. Besides I don't see the problem, the mudblood needed to learn her place."

Harry turned and pierced him with a glare, "Tell me Weasley, what satisfaction do you get from abusing women?"

"Women are beneath men, they need to learn that. The only things they are good for is cooking, and fucking."

"You disgust me." He began to walk away but stopped and turned to the other redheads that were present, "You had better teach your brother how to treat women, or I'll teach him for you." With that he turned his back to them and headed to Ravenclaw tower.

"That was a bit more straightforward than I expected." Well, I really didn't feel like beating around the bush. And hey, give me a break, I only had a day to come up with something. "Yeah yeah. If it were me I would have locked him in a room and started quoting Edgar Allen Poe while torturing him to death then left with my cloak billowing dramatically and the Imperial March from Star Wars playing in the background." You are such a geek. "Shut Up! Darth Vader is bad-ass. Much cooler then you, he had a lightsaber." I've got a wand. "Yeah but a lightsaber is cooler." But I can do magic. "He could use the force...and a lightsaber." Would shut up about the lightsaber! "But it's a Lightsaber!." OK, I get it! Darth Vader is cooler then I am. Happy now? "Yup. He had a Lightsaber."


The Christmas holidays came quickly and Harry soon found himself standing at King's Cross Station waving goodbye to Hermione who was being lead away by her parents. They had parted with a promise from Harry to keep in contact and to visit on Christmas Day. Her parents, whom he had come to discover were dentists, had extended the invitation to a few days before Christmas but he had declined saying that he had some things that had to be taken care of with his family before he could visit and that it may take a while. They had accepted this, believing that he just wanted to spend time with his own family, but Hermione knew differently, which she conveyed with a wink over her shoulder as she left.

Harry thought back over the time since his talk with Hermione and her subsequent request to join him. He had begun teaching her a bit of beginner Dark Arts which she had picked up quickly. He then began to step it up and show her more complicated curses; she was progressing very well, all that was left to teach her was the Unforgivables, which would have to wait until she could get an untraceable wand. In some ways he felt bad that he had to corrupt her this way but at the same time the fact that she trusted him enough to go along with his plans filled him with an immense sense of joy.

As soon as she was gone he found a shadowy out-of-the-way place to apparate to Number 4. When he walked through the front door he found the house empty. He fought down a wave of fury, perhaps they were simply out for the day, after all they weren't expecting him to return home today. He placed his trunk in his room and opened the window for Hedwig to enter when she arrived after hunting and filled her water dish, walked to the kitchen and took an apple from the bowl on the table before returning to the living room and taking a seat in his favorite chair, a lightly cushioned one that faced directly toward the front door.

He sat for hours in that chair, waiting patiently, until finally the front door opened to reveal his Aunt and Uncle. They were dressed up in their best and looked like that had consumed more than enough alcohol. Harry took a quick glance at the clock then at the calender, 10:37 P.M. December 14th. Then it came to him, it was their anniversary. Well, that just meant that he had to make this night particularly memorable for them. He waited for them to close the door before speaking.

"Hello Auntie. Hello Uncle. Have a nice evening?" His cold voice cut through the still air causing his aunt to let out a small scream. He stood from his chair and walked slowly toward them, "Imagine how I felt when I returned home to find the house empty, and no note telling me where you were or when you would be back." He could see the fear in their eyes and reveled in it. Absently he thought that at the moment he sounded like a parent scolding their child for not coming home directly after school or going somewhere without letting anyone know. "Now, explain to me why there was no notification of your whereabouts."

Petunia opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, Harry noted the growing panic in her eyes, finally she was able to stutter out a reply, "W-we w-weren't expecting y-you t-to return s-so soon."

Harry smirked at her as he withdrew his Ebony wand causing them to flinch at the sight of it, "Well, ignorance is no excuse."

"Crucio!"

Vernon instead of Petunia, who had closed her eyes, fell to the floor with a loud cry of agony. Petunia looked on frozen in fear. Harry allowed a cruel smile to grace his features as his relative's screams echoed into the night. He lifted the curse only when Vernon lost consciousness, he then turned his wand on Petunia, "Auntie, I'm sorry but this going to hurt...Crucio!"

He hadn't been lying when he said that it was going to hurt, she tried to hold back her screams and only succeeded in biting her tongue off. He lifted the curse when she began choking on her own blood and coughed it up onto the floor.

"There, there Auntie." He reached down and picked up the severed appendage and held it up for her to see. "I believe you dropped this. Here, let me fix it." He then used a quick spell to return the piece of flesh to its proper place. That done he summoned a piece of cloth and stuffed it in her mouth before putting her under the curse again. He continued this until she too lost consciousness. He looked at them for a long moment before deciding to leave them where they were and headed to his room. He noted that Hedwig was now sleeping on her perch as he changed into his sleeping attire and crawled into bed. He quickly fell into a peaceful yet light sleep.

XXXXChristmas Eve.

Harry moved silently through the halls of Malfoy Manor, behind him followed Hermione. He had ordered his uncle to drive him to her house and he told her parents that they were going to do some last minute shopping then to dinner and that they may be back late but promised to be back by 10:00 P.M. At the latest. After They had left her house he had his uncle drive them to a nearby park, from there he had apparated them to just outside the wards surrounding the Malfoys' ancestral home.

Once they had entered the house he had used a simple 'point-me' spell to find the young Malfoy's bedroom. He reached his hand out and turned the door handle and lightly pushed the door open. Draco was laying on his bed, he appeared to be fighting sleep. "He must want to stay up late to try and meet Santa." Haha, sorry to disappoint him but I refuse to wear a big red suit and a beard. "Ah, why not? Hermione can be a reindeer! Oh no better yet, she would look great as an elf! After all, she is 'Harry's Little Helper'!" You seriously scare me sometimes.

Hermione closed the door softly behind them and cast a soundproofing charm on the room and locked the door twice, adding another lock just for that purpose. Harry approached the bed where Draco was laying with his eyes closed. He smirked then reached out and held his hand over Malfoy's mouth; Draco's eyes shot open and Harry chuckled at the confusion and fear he found within those steel gray orbs. "Hark, the Herald and Angels sing. Merry Christmas Malfoy."

Draco's eyes rolled back in his head as he fainted. Harry silently cast a levitation charm on the unconscious boy and conjured a set of shackles on the wall. They were set up high so that he would hang from them with his feet suspended about six inches from the ground. After he was placed in them another set was conjured to hold his legs in place and keep him from thrashing about. This done Harry eneverated the boy and began to speak. "Draco, tell me something...didn't your mother ever teach you not to hit women?"

Draco sneered at him as best he could from his position facing the wall. "No, she taught me that if they are below me then they should be treated as such. Especially mudbloods." he spat the last part in Hermione's direction. Harry just shook his head and held a hand out to Hermione, who had decided that she was going to sit back and enjoy the show. Knowing what he was asking she pulled a long curved dagger out of her pocket and handed it to him.

"In ancient times the punishment for assaulting your superior would be death. This has not changed in my eyes. Because Hermione is my best friend this makes her your superior, and I am your executioner. Now, there are many methods of execution; there was the quick and easy beheading, or the renowned Crucifixion. Or the Death of a Thousand Cuts, or my personal favorite, the Blood Eagle. This Malfoy will be your method. And you will stay awake throughout the whole thing." He waved his hand and cast a spell that he had discovered when going through Tom's memories, it forced the target to stay conscious until either the spell was lifted or until they died. "Let us begin."

He stepped up and ripped the shirt from Draco's back and let it fall to the floor. At this point Draco was crying and begging for Harry to show mercy; Harry ignored his pleas.

He placed the tip of the blade to the base of Malfoy's neck and pushed until it had pierced the desired amount of flesh, them drug it down slowly slicing a long deep gash to the base of his spine. The scream that escaped the boy's throat was like a sweet melody to Harry's ears. He looked to Hermione to find her staring in morbid fascination. He turned back and gripped the torn flesh on each side of the cut then savagely ripped it open, exposing the muscle tissue underneath. By this point Malfoy was beyond agony and his screams had become near silent from the strain they put on his vocal chords.

He quickly cut through the muscles and exposed the ribs beneath them. He flipped the dagger and struck one of the bones with the pommel, there was a resounding crack as the bone shattered. He continued doing this until every single rib was broken. He then plunged his hands through the gaps presented and gripped the boy's lungs, he gave them a light squeeze before ripping them out of him and draping them across his back, like wings. He stood there and watched the light leave Draco's eyes before turning away to find Hermione looking at him with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, almost as if she wasn't sure if she was allowed to show it. He smiled at her which coaxed one out her.

"Well, it would seem that you do have what it takes my friend. Bravo." I couldn't have done it without your help Tom. Your knowledge of torture and pain was what gave me the know-how to pull this off. Thank you.

"Now for the final touch." He raised his blood covered hand to the wall next to the corpse hanging on the wall like a sick decoration. Once he was finished with the last addition to his new piece of art he magically cleaned himself up and removed all traces of their magical signatures from the room.

"Thank you Harry," Hermione told him with a smile. He smiled back and gave her hand a squeeze. They exited the Manor and were gone as silently as they had come.


Harry entered his room and hit the power button on his stereo, which then began to play the song 'Mephistopheles' by Deicide. He changed into his sleeping attire and sat on his bed. He raised a hand to his cheek and touched it lightly; when he and his uncle had dropped Hermione back off at her home she had said goodbye then kissed him on the cheek before running into her home and closing the door, not even giving him time to say anything.

He soon drifted off to sleep with Glen Benton's growls echoing in his ears and Hermione's smile shining through the darkness of his dreams.


A/N: Well that's that. A bit longer then normal but yeah... would have been longer but I hardly had time to write this week. I'll be going on a trip tomorrow and won't be back until next week, and I can't take my PC with me. Sorry. Review if you want. No Flames.