Time had seemed to come to a standstill after Boris' death. Harry spent the rest of that day locked up in the Pit, staring into the fire and refusing to leave his friend's side until he was sure the fire had consumed his small body. After that, Harry had felt off, as though a piece of him had been cut out. He went about his days in a daze of sorts, only vaguely aware of what was happening around him. It just didn't feel right. It didn't feel fair. Boris had done nothing wrong. It had been too quick.

Nearly a week into December, something changed. Dumbledore had been teaching Harry how to apparate, partly to help get the boy's mind off his snake, partly because he needed to learn. Most of the training sessions had involved very little talk on either of their parts. Harry picked up on apparition at an alarming rate. Dumbledore wasn't sure if it was Harry's natural talent or whether it was because he had already learned a form of magical transportation. But it didn't seem right to him. He couldn't quite place his finger on why, but something felt very, very off.

As the days progressed, Harry seemed to get more focused. There was a burning in his eyes that no one had seen since before Boris' passing. It was then that things clicked. Dumbledore gave him the usual instructions and Harry followed them as usual. But, unknown to Harry, he was effectively burning up the magic in the air around him with each test. Dumbledore could feel it and sense it both. He wasn't sure what this meant, as he had rarely heard of it happening before. As Dumbledore continued to instruct him on where to try apparating to, the size of the problem grew. He finally called a halt to the day's training early, citing Harry's rapid skill progression. It was getting too familiar for him.

And while Harry went back to the Pit to work on his schooling, Dumbledore went back up to his quarters and scanned his many bookshelves. He was looking for one book in particular - a journal he himself had penned back in his youth. There were many things he was forgetting or growing foggy about in his old age and this was one of them. After a few minutes of searching, he found what he was looking for.

Flipping it open, he scanned its pages as quickly as he could. His writing was much more elegant back in those days, even when describing terrible things. And what he was looking for was terrible indeed. When he found what he was looking for, a quick wince passed over his features. It wasn't quite the same. Harry burning up the magic in the air around him wasn't the same as it had been for Ariana. There were enough minute variations that Dumbledore felt himself relax slightly. There was no immediate risk and that was all that mattered. But it still left their side with a problem.

Harry's magic was growing out of control too quickly. His desire to grow stronger was no doubt assisted by his immense magical reserves. But it was opening up to him at too fast a rate. So far, none of the professors had come to Dumbledore with any notes about Harry, but that could change in the blink of an eye. And Albus Dumbledore was not going to overlook any signs this time around. And even though his had found the two situations different, they were similar enough to plant the seed of mobilization in his mind. They needed to attack Azkaban. They had to get the Soul of Balthazar out and they needed to reforge the Gauntlet in order for Harry to safely control his own magic.

Harry had talked to Dumbledore about finding out the general directions to Balthazar, but that wasn't good enough for him. They needed more information. They needed to know what kind of defenses the island had and what barriers, if any, would be waiting for them to fly into. Shutting the book, he set it back where he had taken it from, leaving his quarters to sit down at his desk. Sighing wearily, he leaned forward and took off his spectacles. There was a lot that was going to need to get done that day.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Harry's eyes snapped open. Watching Tonks to ensure that he didn't wake her, he reached his arm out to the table, grabbing his wands. As soon as his fingers curled around them, he shifted.

Moving quickly up to the Nest, he shifted back in and let go of the Armor. Dropping back on the couch, he let out the deep breath he had been holding. His heart was pounding in his chest and his breathing was ragged. Another nightmare. They had returned regularly after Boris' death. He knew that's all they were - nightmares. No deeper meaning to them. His sleep was simply plagued by bad dreams.

Letting his head flop back as the grogginess took its course, he brought a hand up to rub at his eyes. He wouldn't be getting any more sleep that night. Shifting seemed to be a good way to get out of the bedroom without waking Tonks, as he didn't have to move to do it. The only way she would wake up was if the light got too bright. He had been making sure it wasn't.

'This has to stop.' Came a voice in his head. 'We're not thinking clearly anymore. It's like someone's got a vice grip on our temples.'

"Do you think I like it?" Harry asked, not caring that he was speaking aloud. After all, who would hear him? Stretching his arms along the back of the couch, he continued, "If you have a way to keep the nightmares out, I'd love to hear it. Occlumency certainly hasn't done me a lick of good."

'It all comes back to him.' Said the voice. 'We need to speed our training up. We need to practice the Defaeco!'

"No way. It's too dangerous and we still haven't worked a solid theory out on why it tried to eat the darkness from that one guy." Harry responded.

'Here we go again! You and your god damned sense of righteousness! Nothing but pain and suffering is going to happen if we keep putting it off! Don't you get that?!'

"I 'get' it just fine." Harry said, glaring up at the ceiling. "Do you think I like the fact that I'm giving Voldemort plenty of time to change his game plan? Of course I don't. But I'm not comfortable using it again until we've worked out the kinks."

'Kinks be damned, we have to keep moving forward. The only time we really invoke the Armor is when we're flying around the blasted school. We have to try pressing out time out further! We managed to go over what we were capable of on the night of the attack. Surely we can do it again if we just TRY!' Yelled the voice.

"Stop shouting. Makes my head feel like it's rattling." Harry groused. "Look. I've got no problems with putting time aside to work on extending the time we're able to hold the Armor. But that isn't what you really want to do. You really want to do this so we can work out exactly how much power to pour into the Defaeco."

'Of course I do. There are puzzle pieces scattered all over the floor. Don't you want to try figuring out where they go?' Asked the voice.

"That isn't the point and you know it. Naturally I want to figure things out. But I'm not willing to put myself and the surrounding area at risk to do that." Harry stated.

'And that is the difference between us. Ever since the split, you have been growing softer. You won't take chances like you used to. You won't push yourself to and past your limits anymore!' Cried the voice. 'Now listen to me and listen good because I'm only saying this once. You're going to do as I ask or I will start encroaching on your dominance again! Do you think you can fight me off? You couldn't last time!'

"Don't you dare." Harry growled, glaring again. "You know the agreement. I remain in control unless the situation calls for otherwise."

'Which this currently does.' Stated the voice. 'As you aren't willing to go beyond the impossible anymore.'

"And what would you have me do? How can we test the damned spell anyway?" Harry asked. "We can invoke the Armor then try invoking the Defaeco past that. But then what? Are we going to try seeking out test animals to see if we can discover and devour the darkness in them? Are we going to see how big we can make the sphere? I'm not doing that."

'Oh yes you are.' Argued the voice. 'We're going to purposely perform an overloaded Defaeco.'

"No. We're not." Harry declared. "We don't even know the exact range on that. What happens if we calculate wrong? People will die. And I've had just about enough of that, thank you."

'And if we don't, what happens? What are we going to do if Voldemort unleashes his full stock of Altered somewhere? What happens if he holds them back in anticipation of an attack on his floating island? What if we arrive to find the place swimming in Dementors? We have to force an overflow. We have to because we have to see how big the sphere can get before overflow even occurs. We don't know that either, remember.' Said the voice.

"Not happening." Harry said, standing up and walking to the railing, glancing out over the grounds. "We have nowhere to test it. And if the island is that thick in Altered, we won't use the Defaeco. We'd be better off charging in with just the Armor. It did an admirable enough job back in Hogsmeade."

'Admirable. Not perfect. Our light must achieve perfection. We must be able to annihilate every last Dementor on the island. As for where to test it, I see no reason why we can't rush into the Forest. Give me one good reason why we shouldn't.'

"Unicorns. Thestrals. Centaurs. Especially centaurs." Harry said, ticking off things with his fingers. "Countless other living creatures? Why don't you think before suggesting things?"

'Oh, I've thought long and hard about this. The only other place is in the skies over the lake. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to drown if we lose consciousness!'

"We'll die if we do it in the Forest and get knocked out!" Harry exclaimed. "Do you not think the creatures will want to know what the hell killed their friends?"

'I don't think any of them will survive the spell's fury.' Stated the voice. 'Hence why I suggested it. There are no good creatures in there. Unicorns are tainted. You know that as well as I. The Thestrals will be missed by no on as few even know of their existence. And the centaurs hate everything. We can shift away to avoid them if need be. But we're going to do this because we need to know the extent of our power! We have to know the breaking point!'

"The answer is still no." Harry said, raising his eyebrows as his eyes slipped shut. "Besides, it comes back to unknowns. We don't know how big the overflow could get. If the sphere kept expanding, it would take out Hogwarts itself. The barriers wouldn't be able to stop that much raw magic."

'Think for one second.' Growled the voice. 'The Defaeco can eat away at darkness.'

"And?"

'What would it do to Tom?'

Harry's eyes snapped open again.

'Yes. I thought so. It hadn't crossed your mind, had it? What if we can burn him out of existence using nothing more than the Defaeco?!'

"There's not way that could work. It's too simple." Harry said, shaking his head.

'DAMN you, we're GOING to do this!' Screamed the voice.

"You're insane." Harry said. "We're going to go back to bed."

'I may be insane,' Hissed the voice in Parseltongue, 'but at least I know what must be done.'

Harry felt the other half of him surge forward. He was unprepared for it and easily fell victim to the attack. Breathing out a light green mist as he took control, the other Harry smirked as his solid green eyes glowed. He hated the sudden, sickly feeling that overcame him each time he and his weaker half traded the controls, but it was necessary. The weaker half didn't know what was good for anyone. The weaker half would just sit back and let the Dark Lord's power grow.

No, that just wouldn't do. Harry, not being sure what would happen if he were to try the Armor when his weaker half wasn't in control, decided to take the long way down to the front of the school. Besides, it would give his weaker half more time to scream for him to stop. And any time he made the other version of himself angry was cause for celebration. It was quite annoying in a way, though. In the past, when they were one, they never would have hesitated. Perhaps that was why Sirius died and he was born. He wasn't sure. But he knew one thing - that day had awakened something in Harry. The desire to kill. The desire to push beyond his limits and to grasp the impossible. The power surge he had experienced that day had been almost devastating. He was surprised his weaker half had been able to even remain in control of it as long as he had.

Making his way to ground level, Harry pushed open one of the two doors and stepped back into the cool winter night's air. It was a bit chilly out. If it hadn't involved both using the Armor and going back to the Pit, he would have gone to get better dressed. But, he figured, no one was going to be around to witness what was going to happen... though many probably would see the aftermath. He was sure his being in control would cause a natural overflow, since he effectively was Harry's wild side. That was another reason to not try and shift. When he finally did decided to invoke the Patronus Armor, he wanted to make sure he was good and deep into the forest.

Of course, it would be dangerous stepping into the Forest even with his wands. But then, he was quite sure nothing would bother him. If something did, he would always try shifting. One never knew - it might just work if his weaker half determined the danger to be great enough. Speaking of, as he got closer to the Forest, his weaker half's shouting had increased in volume.

"Oi." Harry said out loud. "If you don't shut up, I'm not going to be able to listen for things that might try creeping up on us out there."

'Turn back!' Yelled the 'real' Harry. 'We can still go back to bed! You can't DO this! It isn't your decision to make!'

"Of course it is. We are the savior of the wizarding world. What lies in this Forest is merely darkness personified. No light travels through this place, even when the sun is up. Have you ever stopped to think why?" Harry asked.

'But the centaurs...'

"The centaurs in this place are different. They have grown slovenly and weak. They have given in to desire and philosophy. Speaking of, I think I know how to get a Philosopher's Stone. If you're willing to hear me out."

'I don't WANT to hear your ideas. I just want you to turn around and go back in! Please! Don't do this! I don't want that much blood on my hands!'

"You don't get a say anymore." Murmured Harry, his eyes shining brighter as he took that first step into the woods. "You've lost that right. Now sit back and shut up. I need to keep my ears open. We have a bit of a walk ahead of us. We're going to see an old friend."

'Old friend? ...Aragog?!'

"Bingo." Harry whispered. "You've wanted to make him pay for attacking us. For attacking Tonks. For attacking Leon. We can exact that revenge right now. Admit it - you want to."

'No!'

Harry sighed. "And that is why I am in control right now."

Trudging through the forest at a brisk pace, Harry headed straight for where he remembered the acromantula's lair to be. The Forest was quiet tonight. Almost disturbingly so, in fact. But Harry didn't much care. There was a job that had to be done. And if his weaker half would not consent, then his weaker half be damned. Optimally, they would merge again and they would be able to see what needed to be done. But it was looking like that wasn't going to happen. He was irritated, yes, but there was nothing to be done for it. He would just have to remain in control under Voldemort fell. The only problem was the unknown in forcing the overflow. The backlash of magical energy would be devastating, to be sure. But what would it to do him? That was one thing he hadn't been able to think up a proper answer for. It was one of the reasons this had to be done.

Surprisingly soft footfalls brought Harry to a halt. He turned his head slightly. "...Can I help you?"

"Why are you here?" Growled a dirty-grey centaur. He was leading a small pack. The others remained behind their commander, spears and bows at the ready.

"I am here to destroy Aragog and his kin. The power required will kill everything in the area. I suggest you get your kind out if you want to live. Consider that your only warning, centaur. I do not like your kind. I will not be threatened. And I will not be stopped." Harry said, turning to glare at the lead centaur.

"You dare issue an order to us?" Asked the centaur, teeth clenching as he finished. "Do you know to who you speak, human?"

"I do not know and I do not care." Harry said, bringing his wands up. "I told you what I was here to do. What you do now is your business. But if you try attacking, I'll personally see to it that your end, as well as those who follow you, will be quick. You should be happy that I'm feeling merciful. You won't have to be caught in the backlash!"

The centaur roared out something in a language Harry couldn't understand. But he didn't need to know the words to know the meaning. The centaurs all readied their weapons while the leader backed up and prepared to charge. Harry narrowed his eyes. Why did everyone have to be so obstinate?

The leader ran forward at full speed, spear extended and aimed at Harry's head. Whether his weaker half wanted to comply was irrelevant now. He was going to have to do it sooner or later. Forcing the Patronus Armor up, Harry quickly shifted to a spot a few feet in the air above the charging centaur. The Armor didn't quite feel right, as though his weaker half was trying to force him out of it. No matter - he wasn't strong enough. Shifting back, Harry let off a couple of strong slashing hexes before shifting to a new spot. When the first attacks caught the centaur in the back, a new pair had been loosed from one side. The centaur reared back from the pain of the first two, his left back leg getting hit with both of the second.

It was enough to cause him to lose his balance. He slammed into the ground hard just as Harry reappeared in a new position - just out of spear's reach in front of the centaur. He had both arms raised over his head. The centaur, gripping his spear in one hand, quickly began to get to his feet as best he could. His back was screaming in pain and his back left leg was going to be almost useless. But as long as he could stand, he could fight.

"Stay down." Harry growled. "Final warning."

"No one orders me!" Yelled the centaur.

"And no one ever will again. SECTUMSEMPRA!" Harry yelled back, jerking his arms straight down as fast as he could.

The twin spells connected to the front of the centaur as he was getting back up. Cleaving deep into his head and body, his blood sprayed as he dropped back to the ground. Twisting his face up as blood splattered onto him, Harry glanced over at the centaur's pack.

"I have all the time in the world right now. Shall I just kill you all now or will you listen to me and run?" Harry asked. "I won't draw things out with any of you like I did with your glorious leader."

"You will pay for harming him, Harry Potter." Said one of the centaurs. "When word gets back to our elder..."

"There will be no elder when I am through here." Harry said, a smile splitting his face. "In fact, there won't be much of anything left when I'm done. You can be caught in the blast or you can choose to lay down your arms and warn the rest of your kind. The choice is yours. I really don't care what you do."

"We will return to our village. We must inform the elder of your crime." Said the centaur, motioning for the rest of the pack to follow him. "Do not think this is over."

"Not yet it isn't. Will be soon enough." Harry muttered as the remaining centaurs turned and ran back off. Glancing down, Harry saw the leader was still alive. He was bleeding heavily and seemed to be blinded by the blood pouring down and over his eyes, but he was trying in vain to move. "And what do you think you're doing?"

"You... will be stopped..." Growled the centaur weakly.

Harry turned, twirling his wands lazily as he ventured deeper into the Forest, leaving the dying centaur behind. "Nothing will stop me. Nothing has enough power to. Now if you'll excuse me, I must finish what I came here to do."

The Forest grew darker as he progressed inwards. It wasn't like the last time he had been this far in, though. This time, he was the strongest thing around. He wasn't going to be chased off by overgrown spiders this time. His weaker half continued to yell at him in a laughable attempt to make him stop. He was currently asking what Hagrid would think if they killed his old pet.

"I thought we hated Hagrid." Harry said, smirking.

'We hate what he did!' Argued the voice in his head. 'We don't want this to happen, though!'

"Pity." Harry murmured.

'Are you really going to go through with this?" Asked the voice, sounding tired finally.

"Of course. We must know. We must be able to force pieces of the puzzle in place. We cannot work with unfounded theories. We need evidence of what an overflow will produce." Harry explained. "We need to feel the darkness. We need to see how it reacts within the Defaeco when it is pushed beyond its limits. We need to know what it will do."

'No matter the cost?'

"No matter the cost. Quiet, we're getting close." Harry muttered, gripping his wands properly.

'I thought you weren't afraid of the spiders.' The voice said, mockingly.

'No sense drawing attention to ourselves before we are ready for it.' Replied Harry mentally.

Despite this, he was noticed anyway. They were trying to hide themselves in the thick brush on either side of the clearing, but Harry could both see and hear them. Giant spiders didn't sneak very well. There was a hushed chittering noise that was steadily growing louder as he moved further towards Aragog's den. When he drew near the entrance, a quartet of larger than average spiders descended from above, blocking the way.

"Out of the way. I mean to see Aragog." Harry stated, raising his wands. "Move or die. It's your call."

The spiders hissed at Harry, who smiled in response. He didn't know whether the acromantulas were going to attack or not. He was hoping they wouldn't, though. More energy expended. It was bad enough that the Armor wasn't bending to his will properly. He didn't want to waste energy that could be used to pump the Defaeco over.

"I recognize your scent." Came a deep voice from within the den. Immediately, the quartet of spiders got out of the way. Legs became visible shortly before Aragog's head appeared at the entrance to his den. "What are you doing back here?"

"Getting my revenge." Harry whispered. "Patronus Contego!"

The Armor shone brightly in the darkness of the clearing, causing an immediate reaction to the spiders in the area. Many scurried away, getting as far from the light as they could. Others remained close to Aragog. Not that it mattered. In the end, they would all befall the same fate. Staying to guard their precious leader or running in terror from the light, they would all wind up dead in the end. And, as the voice in his head screamed for him to stop, he threw his head back and roared.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Albus Dumbledore had had a long day. It had been a day that would have worn out men half his age. Tugging his spectacles off, Dumbledore tilted his head to each side, producing a painful series of pops and cracks in his neck. The initial pain passed, giving way to much needed relief. He had been too tense in his dealings with Scrimgeour. They had talked for the better part of the day, as Scrimgeour had said all his teams were out working on projects for him. That gave him a bit of down time from all of the working. If there was one thing Rufus Scrimgeour didn't like, it was paperwork. And that seemed to be all he was getting flooded with.

Yawning, Dumbledore got up from his desk and stretched. Another loud pop filled the room, this time coming from his collarbone. This one didn't give way to any feelings of relief. It just hurt. Too long sitting in one position. Making a face as he slid his glasses back on, he brought a hand up to rub at the aching spot as he turned to head towards his quarters. As his first step away from the desk landed, he was hit with an immense shockwave that nearly caused him to fall over.

Shortly after, an unholy wailing filled the air, as though a banshee had decided to grab his head and scream straight into his ear. Running to the nearest window, he looked out over the grounds in hopes of seeing where it came from. Instead, he was met with the sight of a giant, black dome of energy shooting out from near the center of the Forbidden Forest, growing to a massive size in mere seconds. It came to a halt just before it reached the edge nearest the school, though it seemed to fluctuate slightly. It was pulsing.

Narrowing his eyes, Dumbledore turned and rushed from his office. Just as he left the door at the bottom, half the staff came running up to him, all talking at once. Dumbledore raised a hand to quiet them and, looking at each as he spoke, quickly instructed them. "Get the students to the back of the school. I do not want any of them in a position to see what is taking place in the Forest. I will explain later. I must hurry!"

McGonagall watched Dumbledore run off, a troubled look on her face. The times she could recall Dumbledore looking that frightened could be counted on one hand. Turning, she began barking out instructions to the gathered staff members. It was going to be hard to drag the entire student body away from windows. Surely everyone in the whole of Hogwarts had been awakened by whatever the hell that thing had been.

The front doors of the school opened of their own accord as Dumbledore rushed toward them. As he got out, he could see no traces of the giant sphere that had been engulfing the Forest, though the damage was quite evident even from as far away as he was. Beyond the first few layers of trees, there was simply nothing remaining. The trees were gone, leaving nothing to indicate they had ever been there. The ground had been eaten away as well, leaving little more than kicked up dirt and mud to cover what had once been the Forest's floor.

Hagrid wasn't in his hut - he had passed the man en route down the stairs. He had told him what he had told the rest of the staff. As Dumbledore passed by the half-giant's hut and got to the edge of the Forest, he saw the one sight he had been praying not to see. He saw Harry. And, as he got closer, a cold feeling washed over him.

Harry was shambling forward and bleeding heavily from every part of his body that was visible. And quite a bit was visible, as his pajamas were badly shredded. His left arm was bent back at a distinctly incorrect way. But none of that is what made the headmaster of Hogwarts suck in a sharp breath. It was the boy's hair and eyes that made Dumbledore rush forward, pushing himself to move as fast as his old body would go.

Harry's hair and eyes were both as pure white as freshly fallen snow. There wasn't even any indication that Harry could see. It was as though the green from his other half had simply been bleached away. As Dumbledore ran up to the Ravenclaw, he could make out the sources of the bleeding. Deep gashes were carved into Harry's body at all angles.

Harry looked up at the headmaster. His mouth opened slowly, shaking as he tried to speak. But the only thing that came out was a dark mist. Drawing a rattling breath, Harry toppled forward. Dumbledore easily caught him, quickly scooping him up. Barely taking a moment to look into what had once been the Forbidden Forest, he turned and started back up toward Hogwarts at an even faster pace than he had left it.

"What have you done?" He whispered, looking down at Harry's broken body. "What have you done?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Author's Notes: A complete reversal of all things pure. The Defaeco was pushed to and beyond its limits. Power was pumped into it to the point of breaking. And now Harry is left at his most vulnerable. Were Voldemort to strike now, no one would be able to stop him.

But what happened within the blackened sphere? And what left Harry in the pitiful state he left the Forest in? What remains within the Forest itself? And what consequences will befall Harry for what he's done?

I'll see you next time, dear readers, when we'll find out the lasting effects of the backlash.