Chapter 10: Fire and Shadow
Harry returned to his dorms after the chat with Dumbledore. He did not trust himself to not reveal anything in his current emotional state. He needed to reign his wayward emotions in, to get back in control and put on his usual emotionless facade.
He blinked out a tear threatening to fall from the corner of his eye. The sudden meeting with James Potter was one he was unprepared for. And the man himself was quite unlike the image of the hateful devil he'd created in his mind. The man who'd abandoned him looked quite unlike the happy vision he'd always thought of during bitter bouts of desperate sadness. Nay, he looked a man hardened by war. A man who had seen too many battles and lost too much. Weariness tugged at his eyes, except when he was looking at his children - but even then there was a hint of self-acrimony and tragedy hiding deep down in his gaze. What had happened that had broken the once proud prankster of Hogwarts and leader of the Marauders? Harry did not know. What he did know was that this was the man who had abandoned him on the steps of the vile Dursleys. He did not deserve Harry's sympathy, nor should Harry have felt bad on seeing the man's form, struggling to hold himself together under the facade he'd constructed. Nay, Harry should have hated him for what he'd been put through due to a father being unwilling to perform his duties, a father who blamed him for his mother's death. And yet here he was, empathizing with the man's tortured visage, despite not knowing quite what it was that the man was searching for, and which had him in such worry, morose beneath that hardened exterior of the person who was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Harry turned a corner and was in the dungeons. "Control Harry. Control. No emotions, no weaknesses. Only control." And with that, he stepped inside the familiar green of the Slytherin House, only to be stopped by crashing into one Dracobuiand his thugs.
"Watch where you are going, Black. Have some respect for your betters".
Not in the mood for any verbal sparring, Harry resorted with a "Sod off, Malfoy".
"Tsk, tsk, language, Black. Is that how the heir to one of the greatest and most noble Pureblood houses behaves?"
Harry just glared daggers at Malfoy.
"Of course you seem to like rolling in the mud with blood traitors and mudbloods. Your ancestors must be rolling in their graves at this shameless behaviour of yours," Smirked Malfoy.
"Another word from your mouth, Malfoy, and you'll regret it," hissed Harry.
"No, Black. You're bringing shame upon the house of the Snakes with your actions. Affiliating with mudbloods and blood traitors isn't tolerated here," said Draco menacingly, as he and his goons closed in on Harry. "You see, we must maintain the sanctity of Salazar's house, and we'll begin my making an example out of you," sneered the blonde-haired boy.
"Malfoy, I'm not in the mood for your antics. Don't start something you can't handle," said Harry in a steely voice tinged with power.
"There's 3 of us and one of you, do the calculations, Scarface. You're in way over your head this time," sneered Draco. "Have him, lads" commanded Draco and his two goons lunged at Harry just as he pointed his own want to his nemesis.
Harry knew that they weren't about to back off and drew his wand in a flash.
A Petrificus Totalis had Crabbe down, while he used Goyle's own momentum and drew him in the path of Malfoy's spell, using him as a shield.
"Two for one, Malfoy, looks like you're an army short to take me down," smirked Harry, his anger getting the better of him. "Back off and go away otherwise you'll just end up humiliated."
"Never," said Draco and raised his wand up high.
"Serpentosoria," he yelled.
A large, black, viper hurled out of Malfoy's wand. It made angry hissing noises at him. The Slytherin upper years who had been taking this as just another altercation between the duo were now staring at them in earnest, not bothering to hide their stares. Daphne and Tracy Davis were looking at Harry worriedly. Surprisingly - or maybe not - Harry was the only one who didn't have an obvious reaction to the snake.
The viper stared at Harry with its slit-like golden eyes.
"Scared Black?" Malfoy smirked.
Harry just smiled at Malfoy's taunts and whispered something softly to the snake - something none of them were able to hear - and instead of attacking him, the viper calmed down and stopped its attack. To everyone's surprise, it went to Harry, climbed up his foot, went up along his torso and perched on his shoulder from whence it glared at the other Slytherin.
All of the gathered crowd watched this scene unfold in various states of shock. Even the usually cool Daphne and Tracy had their hands over their mouths, stifling gasps, while Draco just looked ill.
Harry caressed the snake before whispering something inaudible to it once again. The viper slithered off Harry and approached Draco threateningly, who had gone white and was shaking and staring at Harry with shock.
As the snake lunged at Draco, he closed his eyes and shouted something along the lines of "Mummy" in his panic. He waited for the snakes fangs to sink into him, but nothing. Nothing happened. He opened his eyes and saw that the viper was back on its perch on Harry's shoulders, and if snakes could laugh, this one was surely shaking with silent laugher. Harry had a condescending smile on his face while Draco's wand lay in his hand. In his fear Draco had missed the whispered expelliarmus.
"Let this be a warning for those of you who try to mess with me," Harry said in a foreboding voice. Then his grin widened, almost evilly. "I'm not done with you yet, Malfoy," his eyes gleamed with the promise of pain and humiliation.
"No, I'm not done with you by a long shot," he whispered, as he left for his room, leaving a thoroughly humiliated Malfoy behind.
-0000-
As night fell on the many turrets and spires of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a lone boy made his way to the entrance hall, guided by a caustic caretaker mumbling threats and speaking of the horrors lurking in the forest, loud enough just for the boy with him to hear. However, if Argus Filch, the caretaker of the school was hoping for a reaction from the boy then he would have to be thoroughly disappointed, for Harry maintained a cool façade, not letting the acerbic old man's vituperative comments get to him. They waited at the iron gates of the castle, the caretaker for unwilling to go beyond the safety of those high-standing double doors.
"Well boy, don't worry, I'll make sure to pick up what's left of you by morn," Filch said, his pockmarked face breaking into a mordant grin.
Harry gave him a similarly sinister smile, one which had no place on the face of an eleven year old, and looked all the more menacing for it. He had spent the day mulling over the events that had led to this current state in the first place and had decided that it was his overt actions which were the cause of his predicament, even if Daniel's lies had fuelled it. In the excitement of his start at Hogwarts he had made mistakes, and if there was one thing which he had realized over the course of his life, it was that the smallest of mistakes could provide an opening for the enemy to blindside and destroy you. No, he had to embrace the cunning and coldness which had helped him survive all these years lest he fall and fail. And with these thoughts swirling in his head, his cold smile widened, almost cruelly so, and the caretaker flinched at it.
"Everythin' all right there?" boomed a loud voice from within the roiling fog, followed by a large shape stepping out of the shadows. Hagrid was there, a huge crossbow in hand, Fang the boarhound trailing behind him.
"Hey Hagrid, everything's all right," Harry said with faux-brightness.
"Yes, yes, everything's all right. Go, take this maniac with you and make sure his detention is torturous," said Filch, giving Harry a dark look before turning and walking away, mumbling about crazy students.
"Don't worry, 'Arry, Filch gets like that sometimes," Hagrid said, giving Harry a cheerful look. "He doesn't mean harm. Come along now," he gestured for Harry to come with him.
As Harry followed him dutifully, he couldn't help but notice that one side of Hagrid's hut was smoking fitfully, as if it had recently been on fire.
"Erm, Hagrid, why is your house smoking?" Harry asked, perplexed.
"Ah, that. Had summat of a problem with a pet dragon, y'see," Hagrid mumbled before realizing what he'd said. "Erm, I shouldn'ta said that to you, 'tis supposed to be summat of a secret. You won't tell anyone, will ya?" Hagrid asked, shuffling his feet nervously.
Harry looked at him askance, but he wasn't going to disagree with the big man, especially not when he was at his mercy, out alone by the forest. But a pet Dragon, Harry didn't know whether Hagrid was extremely brave or extremely foolish with no sense of self preservation. But having the caretaker owing him could be favourable in the future, not that he'd rat him out to his fellow Slytherins anyway. Plus Hagrid was one of the few people who hadn't treated him unfairly, he wasn't a bad person, even if he had did try to keep a dangerous creature such as a dragon for a pet.
"Sure, Hagrid. Mums the word. How'd you manage to stop it from burning the whole place down anyway?" Harry asked, trying to make conversation as he noticed that they were getting closer and closer to the Forbidden Forest.
"Thanks, 'Arry, knew ye were a good sort," though he visibly relaxed at Harry's words.
"Daniel Potter and Ron Weasley helped me subdue the little fella," Hagrid said fondly. "They were visitng when Norbert tried to flame the hut down. Seems the small fella was hungry. Anyway, I tackled 'im while those two got some scraps and fed threw it to Norbert, who got busy in eating them. They'd put some sleeping potions on it too, it seems, for the cute fella was out as a rock the moment he ate them. 'Course his snores managed to torch some part o' the roof as well, but it wasn't a big deal. Then they sneaked out today with the help of 'Ermione – I mean got out – and gave Norbert to Ron's brother who's a Dragon Trainer somewhere. I'll miss the little one though," said Hagrid, wiping away a tear. "Good people, those three. Great people," he said, smiling fondly.
"Yeah, great people," Harry mumbled, though Hagrid missed the obvious sarcasm. Harry was surprised Hermione had helped them out, he'd probably have left them to their fate, if he was in her place. But then perhaps that's why she was a Gryffindor and he wasn't. And try as he might to deny it, but he knew he felt a cold, vice-like grip clasp his heart and crush it slowly when he thought of Hermione hanging out with those two.
"Not that I've ever needed anyone anyway," he huffed into the night air, which suddenly seemed colder.
"What was that, 'Arry?" Hagrid bellowed.
"Nothing, Hagrid. Where are we going then?" he asked, taking the conversation to less unpleasant topics.
"The Forbidden Forest."
Or maybe not.
-0000-
"Err, Hagrid, why are we going into the Forbidden Forest? Isn't it, you know, forbidden?" asked Harry a tad tremulously.
"Don't worry, 'Arry, we'll be fine. Yer with me, and the creatures in the forest know me well," Hagrid said proudly.
"Uh-If you say so, Hagrid," Harry said, following him into the darkness reluctantly. Going into dark places without preparation had never ended well for him previously, he thought, remembering his encounter with the boggart a few years ago.
"So, what are we going into the forest for?" Harry inquired. It couldn't only be for the sake of his detention, he mused.
"I'm going there to get some ingredients for Poppy and Professor Snape, as well as to check up on my friends. But most importantly, I've been hearing rumours about bad things happening in the forest. Someone is attacking the creatures, mauling Unicorns, drinking their blood. And no one attacks my friends," Hagrid growled.
In that moment, his visage silhouetted against the bright moonlight, a stark figure against the rising shadows, Harry saw the true face of Hagrid. A proud warrior, the fire of fight burning wild in his eyes.
Ah, now we see the real Hagrid. No wonder the Headmaster has made him the groundskeeper, only a fool – whether man or beast – would attack the school, or try to harm it, with such a guard.
Shaking himself out of his musings, Harry questioned, "Unicorn blood? Isn't that supposed to extend your life, but that half of your life would be forever cursed?"
"Aye," Hagrid nodded, staring at Harry perceptively, surprised that he had known of such a thing.
"Only a cursed being would seek such a power. A being lost to the darkness. Ye'd need to be truly callous, 'Arry, to harm a creature as pure as a Unicorn," Hagrid said, his tone firm, yet laced with sorrow.
Harry nodded in understanding, and they went forth in sombre silence when a voice yelled from behind, "Oi, Hagrid, come 'ere." A voice which sounded suspiciously like Filch. Luckily they were only a few metres in the forest and managed to backtrack quickly.
It was Filch, waiting for them with four others in tow. Ron, Neville, and Malfoy of all people.
"What d'ye want, Filch?" Hagrid askd gruffly.
"These four were caught sneaking out after dark. They were trying to duel each other. They're to serve detention, same as Black 'ere," Filch remarked, taking undue pleasure in their discomfort. The three boys looked scared witless at being so close to the Forbidden Forest.
"Take 'em, Hagrid. I'm off," Filch sneered, before turning away and shuffling back as fast as his decrepit frame could carry, whispering to Ms Norris about all the horrors that awaited the students in the Forest. Soon he but a shadow in the distance, only noticeable as a moving lantern in the foggy night.
Hagrid gave them all a once-over, unimpressed by all their shaking and quivering.
"Come on then, quickly," He muttered, ushering them to come after him, as he and Harry led the way.
The three students were having a small quarrel amongst themselves when Hagrid turned and gave them a stern look, "The Forest is full of creatures who can hear the smallest of sounds and have the keenest sense of smell. The breaking of a twig, or the smell of your fear is enough to draw them, so ye'd better keep quiet lest you call all of them upon us. Not all of them are friendly."
The three paled further, if that was possible, while Harry fastened his grip on his wand.
After walking for a couple of minutes in a single file with Hagrid at the lead holding his massive crossbow and lantern, he got them to a halt.
"Someone – or something - is hunting Unicorns and drinking their blood. Our job is to find out what. We make two groups and proceed forth. But remember, once you see whatever it is, don't engage it. Whatever it is will be a dark, cruel, thing. Avoid it, and if it notices you, run back 'ere. Ye all know the Lumos spell, right? Use it to call for me. If we don't find anything soon, we meet back here in an hour," Hagrid instructed. He then promptly tore off a branch of a tree and carved a makeshift X with the branches in the middle of the clearing by shoving them in the ground. "That should do the trick," he said, smacking his hands together. "Now, let's form two groups. Who's with me?"
"Me, me," screamed all three of the boys, barring Harry who watched them shout with a detached air, worried about what predators their screams would be drawing even as they continued bellowing.
Hagrid looked at them and decided, "Ron, ye and Neville are with me. S'pose I owe ye lot for help with the, err…little fella," he finished with a small wink. "Harry, Malfoy and can stick together. I reckon ye two know each other well enough?" he half asked, half stated.
Malfoy's face lost some colour at that. "What? I don't' want to be with Black! Let me come with you," he said indignantly.
"Ye will do what yer told, Malfoy, or ye can go alone," Hagrid said. "Yer in detention, ye don't get to dictate terms."
"My father will hear ab-" began Malfoy before he was abruptly cut off by Hagrid, "The only thing he'll hear is how you got caught and sent for detention. Now do as yer told."
Malfoy gulped at that and acquiesced. "At least give us the dog," he said pitifully.
"All right, but he's almost as big a sissy as ye are," Hagrid smirked. "Come along now, lads, and remember the instructions," he said, setting off with the two Gryffindors in tow.
-0000-
"What do we do now?" Malfoy asked Harry timorously once the others had disappeared among the foliage and the shadows.
"We go into the forest," Harry answered, and set off with Fang. The extra lantern given by Filch swinging by his side.
After following Harry meekly for some time, Malfoy began grumbling and gnashing his teeth.
"I knew the silence was too good to last," Harry muttered under his breath.
"What did you say, Black?" Malfoy snapped.
"Keep quiet, Malfoy. Do you want all the inhabitants of the Forest to find us?" Harry retorted. That got to Malfoy and his grumblings reduced in tenor, if not in volume.
That was when they heard a scruffy, slurping noise in the darkness, like a vile creature feasting. The sound of unrestrained gluttony, loud in the darkness. Loud and scary. The sound of a nightmare made flesh.
Harry motioned for Malfoy to shut up, who had already paled and was close to wetting himself. Fang was trying to hide behind Harry, getting in his way and making him stumble.
"Down, Fang, hush boy, hush," Harry whispered.
He took tentative steps forward. Whatever it was, it lay in the next clearing, just beyond the foliage and thick shrubbery. Fang followed behind, scared, with Malfoy bringing up the rear, unwilling to stay back alone. Harry put his cloak over the lantern, trying to blend among the shadows so that they wouldn't be easily spotted.
Harry tiptoed forward and sneaked a peek from behind the dense bushes. Fang was now stuck to his legs, while Malfoy was huddled close as well, trying to peek out with Harry.
And that's when they saw it.
A thing barely greater than the shadows surrounding it. Flimsy, almost as if it was a part of the darkness, but only blacker. Dark as pitch, two gleaming orbs glowing red, silvery liquid dripping from its large, wide, maw. Feeding on the corpse of a Unicorn still in the throes of agony.
Scarcely greater than a Shade, yet much more cruel. Its very presence a blight on the land.
They had found the slayer of the Unicorns.
"W-what is that thing?" Malfoy whispered.
Harry gave him a terse stare making him shut up. Putting a finger on his lips to make sure he got the message, Harry went forward. The underbrush rustled by his feet, the wind whispered slowly, softly, and the boys crept forward slowly.
That's when the figure looked up at them, eyes red as ember gleaming with menace and unrestrained hatred. That's when a number of things happened at once.
Draco Malfoy yelled in a high-pitched voice, his fear getting the better of him. Fang howled piteously, trying to hide between the two boys, and pain, unsuppressed pain shot through Harry's scar, streaking forth like a bolt of lightning, almost splitting his skull in two.
The creature surged towards Harry, crawling along the grounds on all fours, yet moving too fast to be propelled by only physical means. It was almost on Harry when he recovered from the agonizing pain in his head enough to cry out, "Petrificus Totalis", at it.
Not expecting the spell, the creature barely managed to dodge out of its path, moving away from the students in the process. Fang continued his howling, while Malfoy's incessant shrieks hadn't reduced either.
"If you two don't shut up then y'all will call the entire forest upon us," Harry managed to say from his pained state.
"Lumos, Malfoy, Lumos, quick," he urged the blonde.
"Wh-what?" asked Malfoy, too scared to react.
"Lumos! Signal the others while I keep him away from us," Harry yelled at him, slapping the other boy to knock sense into him.
Malfoy stared at him, bewildered, before getting his point. "All right, Black," he huffed. "Sure, Lu-Lumos!" he bellowed, bathing the canopy of leaves and branches above in a gleaming yellow of light.
"Hold it," Harry ordered, before getting back to the creature, which was trying to get to them from the sides, keeping to the shadows to avoid any spells coming its way.
"Well, if that's how you want to play," Harry muttered, pain dulling his wit, and anger at the creature's heinous behaviour getting to him. Somehow, somewhere deep down he knew. He knew that this creature was in some way related to Voldemort. The one who had stolen away his childhood, ruined it, leaving behind a shattered husk full of loneliness and pain.
And he channelled all that pain in his next spell. A spell he'd promised himself he'd never use again. One which carried too many harsh, anguishing memories.
"Inferno Maxima," he said, his voice almost breaking on the words.
Flames arose from the tip of his wand. Swirling, incandescent, burning with all his rage. Fire, fire from the very pits of Hell. Flames from the nether, called down to strike upon the foe with great vengeance and furious anger. Emanating from the casters will, from his hatred, arising from his despair, his anguish, his damaged soul. Agony given life, hatred personified, despair flickering forth in the form of all consuming fire.
They roared forwards, scorching the land underneath, killing the grass, leaving the clearing in ruin as they neared their target, the creature of shadow and darkness. Billowing merciless, they followed as the creature turned and fled in face of such anger, such power. Whatever it was, it was still weak, unable to fight a proper foe. Defeating a Unicorn may have been easy, but taking on a wizard, even a young one was a challenge, especially if he could call on such power. And so the being fled in hurry. The blood may have given it temporary strength, but it was far from true life, true power. And so the creature ran, disappearing into the thick shadows, just as the flames caught onto it.
"Black, Black, you have to stop it. Stop it before you let the flames spread and it burns the entire Forest," screamed a voice which sounded suspiciously like Malfoy's. But Harry did not relent, his grip on the wand was firm, strong.
Voices, he heard more voices behind him. One sounded like Hagrid's. He heard Fang give a thankful, welcoming, nark. Two other voices, similar to the Gryffindors.
"Let it go, Black, you'll take us down with the Forest. That creature, whatever it was, its gone. You'll only hurt the Unicorn, it's still alive. Please Black, let it go, we'll burn," Malfoy pleaded.
And Harry stopped. Whether it was the pleading nature of Malfoy's voice, something he had never heard before, or it was the realization that the others would be here soon, or care for the Unicorn, he did not know. But he stopped.
Hagrid, Ron, and Neville burst into the clearing, followed by a tall, proud-looking centaur, and Harry collapsed on the floor.
The last thing he remembered was Hagrid fussing over him – but he was too delirious and tired to respond – while the centaur looked at him emotionlessly and said, "Mars is bright tonight." The others only looked confused at this pronouncement, and a bit scared at all that had happened.
Then, darkness overtook Harry, his exhaustion getting the better of him. Before he fell into the comforting embrace of the void, Harry whispered softly – too softly for anyone else to pick up, except for the keen ears of Fang –
"I'm sorry, Sirius".
-Fin-
Author's Note: As usual, apologies for the delay. Real life got in the way, got busy with preparing for my GRE exam (did really well on it, if anyone cares) and now I'm back at this fic. A longer chapter than the last two times, to make up for the long wait. Will be busy with the admission process and applications now, not sure how often I will be able to update, but rest assured, I will be updating. Lot more to come. We should be finishing year one in 3 more chapters at the most, and that's when the best part will begin. Lots of ideas lined up for the future, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Thank you for all the reviews, they've been overwhelmingly positive, and made sure that I did not stay away from the story for too long - though some may think the wait's already been too long. ;)
P.S. – For those of you interested in reading/seeing what kind of fight scenes I plan to do, check out my oneshot story titled, 'Hermione vs Bellatrix, Where Insanity and Instincts Collide'. Should give you an idea of what style to expect in the future. As for fic recommendations, The Lie I've Lived by Jbern is one of my favourite stories.
Hope you all enjoyed this one. A bit busy working on an original short story collection, tentatively called 'Chasing Shadows', but I'll make sure to update as often and as regularly as I can. Thank you for the support. I do appreciate it, truly.
Until next time then, have a good one! Pip pip!
