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Disclaimer
See the first chapter, nothings changed.
This story is being written for the Vigilante Harry Challenge issued by DZ2.
A/N: Mental conversations will be italicized.
Special thanks to kissinghollie for betaing my story.
Another note of thanks to lordblink for helping me develop my own crazy ideas into something readable.
A/N 2: It has been pointed out that I messed up with the ages of Harry, Hermione and Nevil. Sorry for any confusion and from this point on, their proper ages will be reflected. Harry will be taking his seat as Lord Potter on his fifteenth birthday, along with Nevil, instead of their sixteenths.
Harry Potter and the Avenging Angel
by Dng
Chapter Fourteen
Lord Voldemort was pacing back and forth in his private chambers. He was counting the problems that he had encountered so far by not having the Potter boy show up in the graveyard, he had been sure that Albus was going to try and force a confrontation between the two at that point, but was slightly caught off guard when the other lad had shown up. Lucius did an outstanding job with Cornelius, he mused, getting the Minister to suppress the information like that, but who in the hell is this Avenging Angel. Whoever he or she was, they had managed to catch one of his inner circle before he had a chance to secure a firm grip on one of the many muggle financial strongholds and an endless supply of gold to force his ideals on the world.
The main reason that the boy was to be used for the ritual though, was the encounter that he had had with the boy while possessing Quirenus Quirrell during the child's first year at Hogwarts. He had underestimated the power of the ancient magics that Lily Potter had invoked that night at Godric's Hollow and did not know that the magical protection was inside the boy instead of surrounding the boy, so it should have been the boy's blood used in the ritual. A setback to be sure, for now, but one that was most definitely conquerable.
He knew where the boy lived of course, but the blood wards that were in place, and he was sure that Albus had placed them there, were nigh on impenetrable to anyone intending harm, bore the dark mark, or were under the influence of a potion or in someone else's control. What he didn't know about the wards was the fact that until recently, they were a constant drain on the boys magic and that the link was cut and the wards were beginning to weaken. Unfortunately, the new protections that the boy had created himself were ten times stronger and more lethal than Albus' ever thought of being, but that wouldn't be discovered until the first attack on Privett Drive.
And not for the hundredth time in the past few days, he pondered on his potions master's whereabouts and why he hadn't responded to his summons. Was he a traitor like Bella and Peter kept saying he was, was he dead, incapacitated? And where the hell was that snivelling rat, he was due back with a report and he was late. Three of his inner circle were, at the least, temporarily out of the game and he could ill afford any more screw ups. He was going to have to do something to instill fear back into the worldand an attack on diagon alley on Saturday would be the right time. It was a weekend, Hogwarts was out and the Alleys would be at their busiest, maybe the attack should be scheduled for eleven o'clock in the morning, before lunch when everyone was out and about.
He strode out of his private chambers, down the hallway and entered his throne room at the other end of the hall, pausing long enough to use the dark mark on one of his minions to summon Lucius. Minutes later, a crack of apparition could be heard out on the grounds announceing his servant's arrival and moments later, the blond haired aristocrat rushed into the chamber, bowing and kissing the hem of his master's robes.
"You have summoned me master, how may I serve you".
"Lucius, I need you to put a team together and have a little fun in Diagon Alley tomorrow. The attack should take place around eleven o'clock in the morning, when the most people are present and the terror of the attack will be at its highest possibility of creating the greatest amount of fear" amongst the people. Cause damage, wreak a little mayhem, kill no more than five mud-bloods, cast the dark mark and then get out. It should send a message".
"Is that all milord?"
"No, if you or any of your team get caught, your stay in Azkaban will be permanent and I'll take my displeasure out on any who should return from such a failure".
Gulping silently, Lucius said, "Yes milord, shall I leave now so that I can round up my team?"
"Yes, now be gone from my sight, my patience is wearing thin".
After Lucius departed from the throne, Lord Voldemort started wondering once more, how he could get around Albus Dumbledore's defenses and get at the boy. He needed the boy out in the open so that he could finish him off once and for all, his own inability to destroy the child, to end his life was driving him even madder than he already was.
"Albus Dumbledore, my old mentor", mused the dark lord, "You can't hide the boy forever, those blood wards will fall on his seventeenth birthday, and then what will you do? My informants have been telling me that you haven't even been training the boy. What game are you playing at? Are you using him to fulfill the prophecy so that you can finish me off yourself? Good luck, I'm more powerful than you ever thought of being, even if you do have control of the fabled Death Stick".
HP HG HP HG
Friday morning saw the rat running frantically around the ritual chamber once more. The runes were still gold and they were patiently waiting for them to turn crimson. Once that happened, they had been told that Peter would randomly start spewing out his different crimes and offences admidst his continuous rantings and ravings. From there, the runes would turn green signifying that he had indicated all of the crimes that he had committed and that depending on his strength of will, was close to slipping into an unrecoverable state of catatonia. This would be indicated by the runes turning black, there task complete as foregiveness could not come from the dead, one had to cross over before that possibility ever had a chance to happen.
"Hermione, what do you want to do today, being that its our last day before you and your parents have to leave for Paris".
"I don't know sweetheart, I'd like to go to Diagon Alley and visit Flourish and Blots. I'd like to get some new reading material for the trip".
"Sounds like an idea, and maybe we can stop at Fortescue's for an ice cream after?"
"I'd love that, when do you want to leave?"
"After a shower", Harry said, with his eyebrows waggling slightly.
"You're on mister", giving Harry a playful push that sent him sprawling onto the loveseat behind him. Turning on her heels, she wiggled her bum at him and then ran towards the bedroom and the bathroom beyond.
"Minx, I'll get you for that".
HP HG HP HG
Lucius and Narcissa stepped out of the Floo at the nightclub, followed closely by their son Draco. Lucius had intentions of meeting up with some of the fellow Death Eaters and plan out the attack that was to take place tomorrow morning. He didn't want to fail his master because of the implied threat of failure, because he knew that the least amount of punishment would be the use of the cruciatus curse on his own person and his master's curse was the strongest that he had ever been subjected to. No, he wouldn't fail the dark lord tomorrow, his very sanity depended on it.
The family of three walked out of the club into the midmorning sun and turned into Knockturn Alley, there were a few shops to visit down there and a few supporters that he could round up. He actually had one particular person in mind, Fenrir Greyback. He knew that the werewolf could round up at least twenty of his own kind that would be more than willing to don the cloaks and masks and bring a little mayhem to Diagon Alley.
As the Malfoys made their way into Knockturn Alley, Harry and Hermione came through the Floo in the Leaky Cauldron. Waving at Tom the barman, the pair of teenagers made their way to the entrance to Diagon Alley at the back of the pub. After tapping the proper stone and watching the archway form, they made their way towards Flourish and Blots, hand in hand.
Upon reaching the bookstore, Harry opened the door for Hermione with a gallantly sweeping bow, as he was feeling a little silly at the moment and said, "Your destiny awaits milady". Harry decided that the laugh that erupted from Hermione's lips at his actions was well worth the silliness and that he most definitely loved the laugh. The slap to his shoulder and the utterance of 'Prat!' as Hermione passed only served to make Harry start laughing himself.
Once inside the shop, they made their ways back through the rows and stacks of books, not really searching for anything in particular, but more for that one book that just jumped out at you in its odd and unique way. What they eventually settled on was the fifth year Charms and Transfiguration text books, for Hermione and her constant thirst for knowledge and for Harry, to appease his wife. Once their purchases were paid for, they strolled down the alley a little bit further until they came to Eelops Owl Emporium where Harry purchased some more owl treats for Hedwig and Hermione bought some catnip and a couple of kitty toys for Crookshanks.
Once they were done getting their supplies and tired of wandering, they made their way towards Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour where, upon arrival, Harry purchased a double-sized vanilla scoop sundae covered with nuts and strawberries that were drizzled with hot mint chocolate fudge. Then they proceeded to the patio where they took in the early afternoon sun while they indulged in the delights of the sundae like any couple in love would. As Harry Placed another spoonful of the melted chocolate into Hermione's mouth, some movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he watched as the Malfoy family prance into Diagon Alley from the seedier Knockturn Alley.
Pausing in his romantic attempts to spoonfeed his wife, he failed to notice as the hot fudge dribbled off of the spoon and onto Hermione's chin. A slightly annoyed 'ahem' caused him to snap his attention back to his wife, and seeing the chocolate running down her chin, Harry quickly leaned in, placing his mouth around the offending mess, and lightly sucked the mess away.
When he was done, Hermione looked at him for a second or two before saying, "What seems to have garnered your attention away from me".
Instead of answering her, Harry just placed a hand on her chin and turned her head in the Malfoy's direction and politely pointed them out with his other.
"Oh", she said, "The proud peacocks are out mingling among the pheasants". I wonder what has them out gracing the general public with their aristocratic facade".
The slight dig at the Malfoy gene pool caught Harry off guard momentarily and he nearly snorted into the sundae from the quirkiness of the comment. "I don't know, but it should be rather amusing to sit here and watch what the high and mighty do for excitement when they're not wearing their masks and cloaks".
Continuing to eat the sundae, both teenagers watched as Lucius helped Draco and his wife into a store and then observed him walking a couple of stores down. As he neared one of the many side alleys, a figure in a gray cloak stepped out of the alley in front of Lucius Malfoy. They seemed to exchange words and then parted, the gray cloaked man fading back into the side alley and Lucius made his way back to the potions shop.
"Hermione, do you feel like having a little fun before we head for your parents?"
"What do you have in mind, love?"
"How about we fade from view and follow the Malfoys around, Merlin knows how irritating both male Malfoys can be and maybe I can get some dirt on them".
"You mean like our first covert operation then?", excitement flooding her voice.
"Something like that. I can sense something dark and I think that we should investigate, give us a chance to stretch our wings a little bit, if you get my meaning".
Getting up from their table, Harry and Hermione dropped the remnants of their sundae in the closest trash bucket and made their way off of the patio and into the tree-lined playground that was next door to the ice cream parlour. Their eyes never left the potion shop and when they were sure that no one could see them amongst the trees, they faded from view simultaneously. Moments later, the two Angels of Fury were on the rooftop of the ice cream parlour, waiting for the Malfoys to come out.
They spent the next three hours watching the Malfoys visit several of the more darker businesses of Diagon Alley and observed Lucius meeting up with the same grey cloaked figure no less than a dozen times throughout the course of the afternoon. As the day waned, the Malfoys finally returned to Knockturn Alley where they met up with a shabby looking man. Closer observation caused Hermione's brain to start working and as the Malfoys separated from the man and headed into the Cosmo Girl, Hermione mentally spoke to Harry.
"I think that that person is Fenrir Greyback. He dresses like Remus and he kind of smells a little bit like Remus too".
I agree, although I think that his stink has a more foul odor to it, don't you think".
"Most definitely. Do you want to follow him and see what he gets up to".
"It couldn't hurt. Besides, it looks like the Malfoys are going for dinner anyways and it might be just a little more exciting".
Deciding to follow the known werewolf, they glided from rooftop to rooftop as Fenrir made his way deeper into Knockturn Alley. Occasionally, Fenrir would stop and talk to different people, but he was always making his way further and deeper into the magical shopping center of London.
HP HG HP HG
Fenrir Greyback, the notorious leader of the Greyback werewolf pack, slowly stocked the unsuspecting young teenager down a secluded section of Nocturn Alley. As he crept closer and closer, constantly sniffing the air for any hints of more delectable prey, or unseen predators, he grew more and more anxious for the moment he could pounce on the absent minded teenager. Suddenly, he reached forward, and grabbed the teenager, causing him to scream in fright.
"Well now, what have we here?" sneered Fenrir. ""Haven't your mommy and daddy ever told you that it isn't a good idea to wander down here in Nocturn Alley? You might run into evil men with terrible intentions..., men like me!
As the young boy started to try and struggle out of Fenrir's grip, Fenrir gave a low, throaty growl. As soon as the youngster heard this sound, he realized exactly how much trouble he was really in. As the boy began to scream for help, Fenrir simply stood there, and laughed.
"No one is coming to help you boy! Down here, they all know who I am, and what I am. They're all afraid of being the next in line. Now..., come along, I'll take you back to the den, where you'll wait with the others, and when the full moon rises, you'll join the family!"
Just as Fenrir tucked the young lad under his arm, and began to turn towards the 666 club, the air was suddenly knocked out of his lungs, as a sudden jolt of pain shot through his chest from a sudden invisible impact. Fenrir flew backwards into the block wall directly behind him, hitting it with such force, that the concrete morter between the blocks actually cracked. Fenrir gave his head a groggy shake, and looked up into the eyes of a creature he had never seen before. The creature seemed to loom over him, at an approximate hight of about seven feet tall. The lion's head roared at him in anger, and with the manner in which it stood, also in challenge.
Fenrir quickly surveyed the area around him, only to notice that a second creature, only female in nature, seemed to be wisking the young teenager away to safety. As Fenrir got to his feet, he answered the creatures challenge with asnarling growl of his own. "I don't know who you are, or even what you are, but you've just made the last mistake you're ever going to make. I am the alpha, and I back down to nobody!"
Before Harry's eyes, he watched as Fenrir began to change..., only the change didn't seem to complete. Fenrir's finger nails grew into claw like extentions, and his teeth began to elongate, similar to a natural werewolf transformation. He grew some in body mass, but nothing compared to a full transformation. As he completed his partial change, he positioned himself in an aggressive posture, as if ready to attack. Harry, already in a defensive position, was ready for Fenrir's next move. Suddenly, Fenrir leapt forwards, his clawed hands extended, attempting to grab Harry by the throat. Harry met his hands in the air with his own, reefing Fenrir to the side, and slamming him into the wall on the opposite side of the alley. Unfortunately for Harry, Fenrir was well versed in hand to hand battle, from years of maintaining his position as the alpha in the pack. As Fenrir hit the wall, his legs pushed him off of the wall, and right back at the unsuspecting Harry, who was knocked backwards onto his back. Fortunately, Harry was a quick study, and had learned his lessons well, so he rolled with the blow, and also, using his back legs, pushed against the lower abdomen of Fenrir, and sent him flying backwards through the air. Following through on the roll, Harry was once again back on his feet, and back into an attack stance.
Picking himself up off of the ground, Fenrir wiped the blood off of the side of his lip, smiled, and said, "Not too bad. I can see that you managed to survive the kiddies yard, so let's see how you do with the big boys!" With a running leap, Fenrir gave a snap kick to Harry's mid section, only to have it miss, as Harry simply turned himself out of the way. Unfortunately, this move left Harry wide open for Fenrir to rake his clawed hands across Harry's chest. Feeling the burning pain of the deep cut gouges, Harry roared in agony, and began his own attack.
Harry took a running leap forward, directly into the surprised, and unsuspecting Fenrir. The two smashed through a door, and into the display room of an exotic wood's furniture store. The astonished store clerk, seeing the two battling, decided that she wasn't making enough gallions to break up this fight, and decided it was time to search for a safer job, like guarding vaults with the dragons in Gringotts. The two combatants continued to hammer on each other, until finally Harry was able to get in a lucky hit, using a throne like chair made of iron wood, and drove Fenrir back out into the alleyway. Fenrir was slow in rising up off of the ground, and as he seen his approaching opponent, he reached out and grabbed an innocent female victim, who was attempting to escape from the carnage in the alley. Fenrir held the young lady by the back of her neck, and his opposite hand, with claws still extended, against her throat.
"Go ahead!" yeled Fenrir, "Just take one more step closer, and I'll make sure that what is left of her will make front page news in tomorrow's edition of the Daily Prophet. I don't think they'll be able to recognize her pretty young face when I'm done with it."
As Harry stood there, all he could do was watch, as this inhuman beast threatened the life of another innocent person. As Harry thought to himself, that there simply was no way of redeeming people like Fenrir Greyback, the essences of the griffin and the phoenix seemed to instinctively agree. Although he didn't like it, Harry knew that one way, or another, Fenrir had to be put down, permanently. As Fenrir continued to stand there, and taunt Harry, with his prisoner still in hand, he took no notice of the approaching female version of his opponent. With a sudden, surprising jerk upwards, Fenrir lost the grip on his captive, and that was all that Harry needed to start his final attack on Fenrir Greyback.
With a quick slashing motion, Harry drew his claws down across the chest of Fenrir Greyback, down towards each hip, leaving deep bleeding gashes. As Fenrir screamed in agony, Harry moved around behind the partially transformed werewolf, and with a quick jerking motion, removed the use of Fenrir's achilles tendon. As Fenrir was dropped to the ground, his damaged leg gave out on him, and he dropped to the ground, unable to stand. A sudden motion off to the side drew Harry's attention momentarily, and that was all the time that Fenrir needed to withdraw a hidden portkey, and before activating it, and portkeying off to safety, he said, "You may have gotten the drop on me this time..., whatever you are, but the next time we meet, the end results will be entirely different." With a quick flash of blue, signalling the use of a portkey, Fenrir was gone.
Moments later, Hermione's arms wrapped around Harry's torso avoiding the gouges across his chest and they both disappeared in a burst of flames. Rita Skeeter's quill couldn't write the amazing story that she had just witnessed fast enough.
HP HG HP HG
The two Angels of Fury reappeared in Hermione's bedroom at her parents. Moments later, Harry was laying on the bed and Hermione was leaving the room, both reverted to their natural forms.
"Mom. Dad. Come quick, I need some cleaning supplies".
Moments later, Dan and Emma appeared at the top of the stairs and headed directly towards their daughter.
"What happened honey, why do you need some cleaning supplies".
"Um, well, Harry and I were having some ice cream earlier when we saw someone that we decided to follow inconspicuously and to make a long story short, he met up with someone else, and that person was about to attack another kid our age, and we decided to intervene on the other kid's behalf, and Harry kind of got hurt a little bit".
"How bad is he?", asked Emma.
"He has some nasty looking scratches across his chest and I really need some antiseptic supplies to clean the wound".
Looking at her husband, Emma said, "Dan, you go and grab some supplies while I go and assess the situation".
At this point, Hermione was near panic mode because she knew who Fenrir Greyback was and more importantly, what he was and she didn't know if her Harry had been infected with the Lycanthropy virus. As she led her mother into the bedroom, both females were shocked at the sight. Emma stood frozen, while Hermione rushed to Harry's side, her panic receding as she remembered her new healing abilities.
As Emma watched on, frozen to the spot just inside her daughter's door, she looked upon a scene that was vaguely reminiscent of a recent episode of the X-Files. Her son-in-law was stretched out in the bed and his entire body was surrounded by a light blue aura. As she watched her daughter approach, she noticed that her hands also started to glow with the same light blue colour and as her hands came in contact with Harry's shimmering blue shell, it erupted into a brilliant blue that caused Emma to shade her eyes somewhat.
It was at this point that Dan emerged into the bedroom and he too, was frozen in place at the spectacle that presented itself to him. As both adults watched on in a type of morbid fascination, being doctors and all, they watched as the five ragged claw marks that ran from Harry's left shoulder to his lower rib cage on the right side slowly faded from view as the tissue miracuously healed itself in front of their eyes.
About five minutes had passed when suddenly, the light blue glow around Harry's body faded back into his body and Hermione's glowing hands returned to normal. Paying no heed to her parent's presence, Hermione crawled onto the bed beside her husband and wrapped her arms around his now sleeping form, placing gentle kisses across his one shoulder and neck while softly cooing to him.
Dan and Emma, seeing that there didn't seem to be anymore crisis to the situation, quietly wished the kids a goodnight and backed out of the room, two o'clock in the morning came early and the kids looked exhausted. Walking down the hallway to their bedroom, Emma started to relay the story that Hermione had told her about the attack and how they came to the aid of the child. The realization of their daughter's and son-in-law's future slowly sinking in, and just how special these two children were going to be to the rest of the world.
HP HG HP HG
A/N 2: Hoped you liked it and please leave a review.
Special thanks to lordblink for the Fenrir scene and please check out lordblink's new story, 'Birth of a Phoenix', its his first posting and a thoroughly enjoyable read.