This was a challenge to write, and I went through five drafts before I ending with this one. Hope you'll like it.
Chapter 10
By the time Harry entered the Ministry, it was already late enough that there was no one there. It took him a few minutes, but he managed to find his destination, the Hall of Prophecies.
He stood before the prophecy Voldemort wanted him to get, his sensitive nose catching the scents of his hidden ambushers with ease. Deciding not to keep them waiting, he grabbed the glass orb and lifted it off the shelf.
"Nicely done, Potter. Now, hand it over and we won't kill you." Lucius Malfoy smirked as he and a bunch of other Death Eaters appeared on both ends of the aisle between the shelves.
"Don't you mean, not yet?" Harry grinned as he pocketed the orb and sealed it inside his jacket. Instead of robes, he wore loose pants, a shirt and a jacket. He anticipated combat and decided to wear something easier to move in.
"Hand it over boy, and we'll make it quick." Another Death Eater said with a smirk.
"Oh, where's the fun in that?" Harry's wand that was hanging loosely by his side suddenly released a blinding flash of light, catching them by surprise. When their vision finally cleared, Harry was gone.
"The hunt is on. Come and get me, if you can." Harry's voice echoed through the hall.
"Spread out and find him, quickly, before he escapes. Try and herd him towards the room of doors, Bellatrix and I will stand there to keep him from getting out." Lucius commanded and the crowd quickly divided.
"When I get my hands on that damn brat, he'll wish he stayed where he was." McNair growled as he and Rabastan moved through the darkened corridors of the Department of Mysteries, looking for Harry.
"The brat is probably cowering in fear in some corner." Rabastan grinned widely, but suddenly, he felt a sharp jab in his back and his body locked up and refused to move.
He saw Harry pass by him, holding a sinister looking dagger in his hand as he stalked behind McNair.
"Rabastan, go check…" McNair turned towards his partner, only to see Rabastan standing stock still. The next moment, there was a flash of steel, and a sudden pain in his neck.
Harry was standing calmly before him, his face and body splattered by the sudden burst of blood from McNair's throat.
"You were going to make me regret something? Well go on, I'm waiting." Harry smirked as the dying man tried to aim his wand at him in a last feeble attempt before he collapsed, lifeless on the ground.
"Now, what to do with you?" Harry smirked evilly as he began to circle Rabastan. From the look in his eyes, if the man could speak, he would be screaming in terror right now.
Lucius and Bellatrix stood into the Room of Doors for half an hour now, and were feeling bored out of their minds.
"Honestly, how long does it take for ten adult wizards to capture one untrained boy?" Lucius grumbled.
As if tempting fate with his words, one of the doors slammed open, and Antonin Dolohov rushed out.
It took Lucius and Bellatrix just one look to figure out something was very wrong. Dolohov was splattered with blood, and his face was frozen in an expression of pure terror.
He stumbled into the room, his eyes catching his comrade's with a pleading look.
Then, the duo felt their breath stop in their throats as a long blade suddenly erupted from Dolohov's chest and the man was lifted up.
"I turned towards the man, and looking into his eyes, I told him, 'Ask not for whom the bell tolls'," Harry's voice could be heard from behind Dolohov. With a swing of his arm, he flung the man to the side, the monomolecular edge easily cutting through the torso. "'It tolls for thee.'"
A shiver of fear passed through Lucius at the sight of Harry. His face was spread in a manic grin, with a pair of impossibly long and thin fangs glinting in his mouth. His eyes were a burning red and seemed to stare into his very soul.
The worst were his clothes, though. He was completely soaked with blood, there was not a square inch on his body that wasn't covered with the liquid. Despite that, his clothes still remained looking like they were dry, and only made him look more inhuman.
Now, while Lucius stood firm in the face of this terrible image, Bellatrix let out a soft whimper and collapsed against the wall, muttering nonsense.
"What the hell are you?" Lucius snarled, all thought on completing his mission long gone from his mind.
"When you get to hell, they'll tell you." Harry's grin grew wider and rushed Lucius, but the wizard managed to evade the sword strike and as he finished his roll, sent out a blasting curse at Harry that managed to send the sword out of his hand.
This proved useless, however, when Harry managed to pin Lucius to the wall.
"Tell me, do you fear death?" Harry's breath stank of blood, and that, coupled with his visage, instilled a terror in Lucius that Voldemort never managed to.
"Yes." He managed to choke out. Harry's iron grip around his throat didn't help him much.
"Good. That makes the blood so much more sweeter." With that, Harry sunk his fangs into his neck, piercing his artery and greedily sucking the gout of blood that burst forth.
His meal was interrupted when he heard Bellatrix open a door. He dropped the still alive Lucius on the floor, and after taking his sword and walking to the door, he casually sent a blasting curse at him, painting the floor and wall with his blood and brains.
Bellatrix managed to reach the Atrium and was almost at the exit area when Harry emerged from the elevator and summoned her back to him.
"Please, I'm a good girl, don't hurt me, please." She muttered continuously. Harry saw the confusion mixed with the fear in her eyes, and realized that the stay in Azkaban had damaged her mind more then people thought, and Harry had just managed to break whatever small shred of sanity she had remaining.
"Yes, you are a good girl. Everything will be alright now; all the pain will go away." Harry smirked lightly as he spoke in a soothing tone as he stroked her hair. Slowly, Bellatrix relaxed, and almost lovingly, Harry bit into her neck, letting her blood flow into his mouth.
"I'm… a good… girl…" Bellatrix finally passed away from the blood loss, and once her heart stopped beating, Harry dropped her to the ground and stabbed into her neck to cover the bite marks.
"Are you going to come out now?" Harry spoke to the seemingly empty room.
"A most impressive performance, Potter. I did not expect a being of your…efficiency." With a ripple of distorted air, Voldemort himself appeared before him.
Harry took a moment to evaluate the man he's been hearing about for since his arrival. He was very tall, and so pale he looked almost translucent. His head was bald, while his face was serpentine, with angry red eyes and two slits instead of a nose.
"So, you are Lord Voldemort. It is an honor." Harry gave him a short bow.
"The honor is all mine. You have my prophecy?" Voldemort bowed as well, before taking a combat stance.
"Right here. It is yours, if you can take it." Harry patted his pocket and he too took a combat stance, sword and wand at the ready.
"It seems I am at a disadvantage. Allow me to rectify the situation." Voldemort waved his wand in a complex pattern, and a long sword with a serpentine blade, along with a pair of entwined snakes as a pommel appeared.
"The sword of my ancestor, Salazar Slytherin. None have faced it, and lived." Voldemort smirked.
"Until today." With that, Harry rushed forward, swinging his sword at Voldemort's neck. To his surprise, Voldemort blocked the strike and moved his wand to curse him.
Harry moved back from the block and managed to deflect the curse with his sword and then move it to block a strike from Voldemort. The man was surprisingly strong, and Harry had to push with almost his full power to stop Voldemort's blade.
"I never expected you to provide such a challenge. I will enjoy killing you." Harry was panting heavily after almost an hour of fighting. Not only had Voldemort managed to match his strength and speed, he also matched his healing ability.
"You have pushed me further then any opponent I've ever faced before. For that, I will remember you once you are dead." Voldemort was also showing signs of fatigue, but he wasn't beaten yet.
As they were tensing for another clash, flashes of green and the roar of fire behind Harry signaled the activation of the floo, and moments later, dozens of people filled the Atrium. The Ministry workers gasped in fear at the sight of Voldemort, who screamed in anger before vanishing with a crack.
"Look, that's Sirius Black." One man screamed, and soon all eyes were turned at the group of people from the Order.
"Arrest him at once." The Minister commanded, and a pair of Aurors rushed to comply, only to find Harry's sword blocking their path.
"I don't think so."
"Mr. Potter, if you don't let us through, you'll be arrested for aiding a fugitive." One of them said with a glare.
While most of the blood on him dropped off during the few times he was forced to disperse his body into smoke to avoid Voldemort's sword, his body was still coursing with the Haze, which left him with the red tinge in his eyes, making the Aurors nervous when he leveled them with his glare.
"If Voldemort couldn't bring me down, what makes you think you two have any chance?" Harry smirked when the pair flinched at the name.
"May I ask why you are protecting Black? After all, he was the one that betrayed your parents." An older witch with a monocle stepped forward from the crowd of Ministry workers.
"He is innocent. In fact, he swore an Unbreakable Vow to me that he was not the traitor." Sirius had done no such thing, but they didn't know that. "If you require further proof, I am sure he would be more then willing to take Veritaserum to prove his innocence."
"Very well. I will schedule a trial for next week. You will be interrogated then and your guilt or innocence will be determined then. Until then, I will ask you to remain confined at your current residence under guard by Auror Tonks." The woman turned to Sirius, who nodded with a grin.
"It's a bloodbath. The entire Department of Mysteries if covered in corpses." One man stumbled from the elevator and emptied his stomach.
Seeing an opportunity to save some of his image, Fudge quickly turned to Harry. "Would you care to explain this, Mr. Potter?"
"I'm as confused as you are, Minister. I admit I killed Bellatrix here in self-defense, but the others were still alive when I escaped them in the Hall of Prophecies. In fact, I was trying to get out before the others came when Voldemort ambushed me." Harry replied calmly.
"Dawlish, check his wand." The minister ordered angrily, while Madam Bones only grinned wider at the spectacle. This would greatly aid her political aspirations. With a little luck, she would have Fudge ousted and herself in the Minister's chair within a month.
To her immense satisfaction, Harry's wand only showed a combination of Stupefy and Incarcerous for as far as the spell could show them. Fudge spluttered, but could not do a thing.
"If that is all, I would like to leave. It's been a long night." Harry yawned, making sure his fangs were retracted to their normal length.
"One last thing, Mr. Potter. You said you were in the Hall of Prophecies. Did you take something from there?" Madam Bones asked, and instantly, the hall fell silent.
"Perhaps." With that, Harry stepped into the elevator that lead to London and was gone before anyone could question him.
Several minutes later, everyone gathered in the kitchen of the Order HQ, all wondering what the hell happened that night.
Adding to the confusion was the fact that the moment Harry walked in, a man rushed him, fists clenched and ready to beat him to a paste, only for Harry to effortlessly pin him on the ground.
"I've had a long night, and I'm not in the mood for anymore fighting." Harry growled.
"What did you do to my daughter, you bastard? I demand you let me see her at once." The man snapped, trying to break free.
"I see. You brought them here, then?" Harry turned to Dumbledore and noticed the unknown woman staring at him in fear.
"They had the right to know their daughter was in danger." Dumbledore replied.
"Fair enough." Harry released the man and collapsed in a chair with a long sigh.
"What happened tonight, Harry?" Sirius asked.
"I went there, killed all the Death Eaters and fought Voldemort before you lot arrived." He smirked. The final traces of the Haze were clearing, and with it, his bloodlust, viciousness and sadistic desires were fading as well.
"But they tested your wand." One man protested.
"They tested this wand. This wand, however…" Harry pulled out the mithril wand with a wide smirk.
"Smart thinking, lad. I like your style." Moody gave him a grin.
"So, you faced Tom. What are your impressions of him?" Dumbledore asked.
"My respect for you has certainly grown, old man. Even when I went all out, I didn't manage to beat him. I honestly can't say who would have tired out first." Harry said in a bitter tone. To admit defeat was a hard blow for a person with his training and experience.
"I see. This is most troubling." Dumbledore's face was grim, since he knew just what Harry going all out meant.
"Excuse me, but may I ask what has happened to my daughter?" Mrs. Granger asked nervously.
"She is not in any danger, and you'll be able to see her in two days." Harry said cryptically.
"I want to see her now." Mr. Granger demanded.
"Trust me, it is not something you wish to see, nor is it safe for you. If you get contaminated, you will die." Harry's words disturbed the parents more than anything else did that night.
"You said she was not in danger." Mrs. Granger protested.
"She's young enough. Her body can adapt. You, on the other hand are too old." Harry stood up and walked towards the door.
"Adapt to what?" Mr. Granger asked with a voice laced with confusion and fear.
"The life of a hunter." With those last words, Harry walked out and to one of the bedrooms.