Harry Potter and the Blessed Blood
Retaliation
***Despite my plans to eventually own things, Harry Potter will never be one of them. ***
§ParselTongue§
***HPBB***
Eventually they would all see that he had been correct, that his was still the one that would lead to the light. Eventually everyone would see that all of the sacrifices that had to be made would lead to a better world.
All for the greater good.
***HPBB***
"Hey Moony can you get the door?" Sirius yelled as his mother's painting began screaming and shouting about various crazes.
"Yeah yeah I got it, hey Padfoot what did you figure out for Christmas?"
"I was going with a new broom, Neville told us how much Harry likes to fly and..." Sirius paused, as the portrait fell silent above him. "Well that is odd, why so silent all of a sudden?"
"Undoubtedly because the true Black heir has returned."
The man froze, instantly recognizing the voice as he slowly turned to see his cousin standing in the doorway.
"Bellatrix"
"Sirius"
His eyes widened in horror as he realized what was happening. "MOONY DON'T OPEN THE DOO..."
The sound of a door shattering, and someone being thrown across the room filled the air a moment later. Before he could aid his friend, Sirius was forced to dodge a barrage of spells sent by the Death Eater.
"DOBBY!"
The Elf popped into the room, gave a screech of fear, before jumping behind some furniture for protection as well.
"Dobby, get the Grangers out of here! Emergency plan seven!"
The creature nodded, before popping away. The adults living at the mansion had discussed the possibility of something happening of this nature, especially after it had been revealed that Dumbledore was threatening them. One of their courses of action was to create 'emergency plans' that would be enacted should the worst come to fold. Most of these involved getting the Grangers out of the house, and to safety, first and foremost.
"Clever Sirius, but..." the woman waved her wand, locking down the house from the inside, "you just wasted your chance to live."
"I wasn't planning on going anywhere you bitch. I am going to put a hole in your skull and rid the world of one more psychopath." The Black Lord growled, before raising his wand and beginning his portion of the magical duel in earnest.
***HPBB***
-Moments prior-
"MOONY DON'T OPEN THE DOO..."
Before Remus could respond the door was kicked open splintering in the process as the force threw the werewolf across the room. "Well well well... look who I just happened to run into."
Blinking to shake off force Lupin picked himself back up before growling at the newcomer. "Greyback"
"Come along cub time to teach you who the real alpha is."
***HPBB***
"What is wrong darling cousin? Surely you have recovered from your time in Azkaban." The witch taunted as another blasting curse was barely redirected by the man, who countered with a cutting curse of his own.
"Perhaps not as well as you have Bellatrix dear, but you always did enjoy the company of soulless monsters who prey upon the happiness of others. How is your Dark Lord by the way?"
"Growing stronger with every passing day, unlike your leader who grows old and weary with years."
"Who Dumbledork? Please, the old man began to smell a bit too much for me."
Sirius ducked underneath a rather nasty purple blast, before sending a wave of fire towards his deranged family member, who responded in kind. The two infernos, one darkened slightly with Bellatrix's taint, clashed in the center of the room, each raging and seeking some form of dominance over the other. A split second later the magical density reached a breaking point, as the epicenter exploded outwards, throwing both duelists to the ground in opposite directions.
***HPBB***
Remus Lupin knew he had very little chance of beating his adversary in a 'werewolf duel'. Simply put the monster was faster, stronger, and overall more powerful than he. What he did have was a greater knowledge of spells, more experience dueling, and a godson who had shown him more than a few Muggle fighting moves to compliment his own strength.
The feral man across from him charged forward, growling something in rage... just what he had predicted. A feint to the left sent the opposing werewolf missing his target due to his built up momentum, and allowed Remus to dodge in the opposite direction at the last second. Grabbing his wand from where it had been knocked from his hand moments prior, he spun on his heel, firing a blasting curse the second his wand was raised, unfortunately it appeared as though Greyback had far more experience fighting wizards than he initially anticipated and was able to push off from the wall to avoid the blast.
Once more the bastard charged, and this time was able to just connect with his outstretched arm, grabbing ahold of Remus' cloak and throwing him across the room into an opposing wall, cracking it from the force.
Any further capitalization was halted, when a barrage of hastily fired spells forced Greyback to leap from the room and move into the side hallways.
***HPBB***
"Mr. Potter"
The boy turned to observe the man who had been chosen as temporary Headmaster until voting could determine the more definitive replacement. His name was Shacklebolt if Harry remembered correctly.
"Headmaster"
"I heard you are planning on leaving the school soon for the holidays."
"I am"
The man nodded, before handing out a small book to the boy. "Albus Dumbledore's departure seems to have been rather unplanned on his part, and he appears to have left this behind in his rush. After a bit of research I found you are the student who it should belong to anyway."
Taking the offered book the student's eye quirked upward in curiosity. "The Tales of Beedle the Bard?"
"Indeed, in the front cover it mentions being gifted to the Peverell Family, and you are technically a descendant of them."
"Shouldn't it go to Dumbledore's nearest family member though?"
"Normally I suppose so, but considering how badly the old man was manipulating everything around here... well perhaps it is time he starts getting his punishments eh? There appears to be quite a few of his own notes on the pages themselves so this might give you a unique insight into the man's mind."
"With all due respect sir... why me?"
"Because you have far more reason to hate him than most Mr. Potter. I am not sure if you have been told this or not but Dumbledore is currently the head of an organization known as 'The Order of the Phoenix'. I myself am a member but after what has been revealed lately... well let us just say that more than a few of us are reconsidering our allegiances. I want you to be able to trust adults Harry, and I know that is going to be a hard thing to do all considering but I hope this can be the first step of many to maybe someday trusting me."
The boy nodded before continuing on his path, before a voice called out for him once more.
"Oh, Mr. Potter?"
"Sir?"
"A little known fact about Albus, he was known to carry two wands on him at all times."
"Sir? I don't think I understand..."
"Just keep that in mind as you read through."
***HPBB***
It was an unnerving feeling, the werewolf noted, as he crept from room to room trying to make as little sound as possible. He knew better than to try and help his best friend at this point in time. If he tried to intervene with Bellatrix then Greyback would attack them from a flank and the consequences would be disastrous. No, his best plan right now would be to force his opponent to retreat, and then gang up on the witch to get rid of her as well.
After that they would need to figure out just how the pair had managed to enter the sanctuary, but Remus Lupin's bet was on either Voldemort... or Dumbledore's intervention.
A small glass object fell from the nearby table, breaking the silence and forcing the man's attention. Unfortunately, it appeared to have been just what the monster was waiting for, as Greyback crashed through an opposing wall, sending them both onto the ground as his hands wrapped around Lupin's throat.
"Aw, what's wrong cub? I thought you would be happy to see me after all these years. But here you are, living the cozy life and not even giving me a proper greeting."
His grip tightened, while his position managed to keep the opposing wand from directly targeting him.
"I heard you have a new cub yourself. Hopefully he will be coming home soon..."
Moony's mind froze in horror, Harry was due back within the next hour or two at most. If he were to be ambushed... the monstrous images of his godson being turned into a werewolf lit a fire of rage in the rugged man's heart. His free hand shot forward in a blow to the opposing man's throat, causing some shock, and a pleasant amount of choking, for the evil bastard.
Using this moment of weakness Remus brought his legs against his chest, and kicked upwards, throwing the older werewolf back across the room.
"I will kill you before I ever let you near him you monster."
"Ah that's the spirit! Do not disappoint me cub!"
***HPBB***
Sirius Black was, rather embarrassingly, starting to run out of breath as he continued his on-the-move duel with the Death Eater. His cousin certainly had not lost her edge, and the current Black heir was quickly losing ground, and sustaining a few minor injuries for his troubles as well.
The only hope he had was to somehow rendezvous with his best friend and use their superior teamwork, or to outlast the witch and gain outside assistance. The problem was that with the mansion locked down he would be unable to contact the outside world, and Dobby would not be able to give the location until the spell was ended.
For now, they were on their own.
Dodging another Cruciatus curse the man retaliated with a flurry of his own magic, attempting to catch his opponent by surprise and perhaps deal enough damage that it could force a retreat.
Something deep in his mind was urging him on, forcing him to take more risks than even he usually would, but what was it?
A wayward spell struck the clock centered on the wall, causing it to crash down and chime out due to the damage. This single event seemed to be enough to break through the fog covering his mind.
Harry
His godson was due back in less than an hour, if he stumbled onto this he could be caught in the crossfire. A wayward unforgivable, or Merlin forbid Greyback mauling him, the thought sent fear and rage down the former convicts spine.
His attack force doubled, earning a startled cry from the witch as she struggled to defend herself. Sirius Black was not going to let this happen, he was done letting Harry fend for himself, done letting his pup protect others at his own expense, and was beyond done with seeing him injured.
***HPBB***
Claws tore into his side, eliciting a wince of pain as he slammed his own fist into the opposing man's stomach.
An open hand reached forward to slash at his face, but was caught by his own and forced into a painful hold which pulled the muscle and strained the bones. Unfortunately his strength was slowly waning with his own stamina, while the opposing man was obviously using one of the many dark potions designed to force a half-transformation.
Once more Lupin found a hand grabbing his clothing, but this time he was thrown up into the ceiling, cracking the structure before falling down onto the floor, gasping for breath. A kick to his chest less than a second later launched him into a nearby wall, and caused blood to pool in his mouth. If this continued on much longer he would not be able to drive Greyback off, would not be able to save Padfoot, and would leave Harry vulnerable. No matter what the older man could not be allowed to roam free in the house.
Two clawed hands were impaled into his shoulders a moment later, and the marauder was thrown up against the wall as blood began to seep through his clothing.
"Such a disappointment cub, all of these years of hiding from me I would have thought you could put up a better fight. A shame really."
"Piss... off..."
Greyback grinned before ripping his hands out of his victim, and pulling back his right arm while holding Remus' throat with his left.
"When you see the boy next tell him the Dark Lord sends his regards."
With that he impaled the younger man with his right arm, forcing blood to be coughed up from the damage.
***HPBB***
"B-bitch..."
An hateful laugh echoed through the room, and hallways beyond, as Bellatrix advanced on Sirius' bloody form currently propped up against a wall.
"So disappointing my dear cousin... so very very disappointing. I was hoping that you would have been worth the effort but alas it was not the case."
"Glad I could disappoint you."
"You always were the disappointment to everyone. Is the boy the same way? Does he look at you with disappointment in his eyes, does he see your failures?"
Sirius spat some blood up into the woman's eyes earning another laugh, and a torture curse for his efforts.
After the pain had ended the Death Eater reached out, gripping his face with her skeletal fingers. "It isn't personal you know, the Dark Lord wants little Potter to suffer, and you were the easiest targets."
A hate filled glare was the only reply the man could manage.
"Don't stress though cousin. Neither you nor your wolfie friend are going to live much longer, and after that well... The Dark Lord has plans for your 'godson' can you imagine how distraught he will be when he fails to save you two? Imagine how that will escalate when his friends begin to die off one at a time, perhaps his two little girlfriends will be saved for last? Do you think the Dark Lord will force little Potty to watch them suffer? To listen to their screams? Maybe he will just send their broken bodies to the boy after the Death Eaters are done with them. Do you think that the boy-who-should-be-dead will kill himself, knowing that everyone he cares about is destined to die because of him?"
"I will... see you... in hell Bellatrix."
"Don't wait up for me Siri, you will be there well before I am."
With that the woman began her 'work' sending weakened cutting curses and bone-breakers into non-lethal parts of his body simply to cause damage without killing him, her sickening laughter increasing as the time went on.
***HPBB***
"M-Moony..."
"Padfoot?" the name was rasped out, mixed with blood and pain, earning silent tears from his best friend as Sirius Black pulled himself into the room along the floor with his one good arm. Prongs always did say he would be too stubborn to give up, and he was proving the man right.
"I-I..." the animagus paused, coughing up blood as his strength failed him once again.
"I'm sorry Padfoot... I couldn't help you... I didn't stand by you all those years ago I didn't..."
"In the past buddy... in the past." With another grunt of effort Sirius pulled himself alongside his best friend, and practically collapsed next to him.
"Got my ass kicked by my bitch of a cousin..."
Laughter escaped from the werewolf's lips, followed by coughing. "You are never going to live this down... last fight you lose and it is to a girl..."
"H-hey now I don't think there is any proof she is a girl..."
Another pained laugh escaped there blonde man.
"Did they leave?"
"Y-yeah Moony, Bella gave some cliché laugh and ran away from my sheer awesome."
"Th-that's good... cub will be back soon..."
"I-I know. I wish he didn't have to see us like this."
"But I hope to say goodbye to him one last time."
"Me too..."
***HPBB***
"Padfoot, Moony you guys home?" Harry called out as he exited the Floo system into the ancestral Black home. In an instant Excalibur appeared in his hand as his trunk was dropped to the ground.
The room lay in utter ruin, scorch marks marred the walls, the furniture was torn apart, and little of value lay undestroyed.
It was a scene from a warzone, rather than the house he had found comfort in over the summer. Before he could begin rushing through the rooms screaming his head off Hermione appeared behind him. "Harry is every..."
"Contact the Aurors and Madam Pomfrey. Have Luna and Neville do the same." His order snapped the young Granger from her shock, as she nodded and disappeared in green flames once again.
Combat instincts honed over the course of a year and a half began surging through the young boy's mind as he crept from room to room, clearing them slowly to avoid being ambushed and listening for anyway wayward sounds. Finally he came upon the scene of his two godfathers, practically drenched in their own blood.
"SIRIUS, REMUS!"
Tactical thoughts were abandoned as he rushed to their side, earning slight groans from both.
"Pup?"
"I'm right here just hold on. Hermione is contacting the medics, everything will be okay."
"N-not this time cub..."
"Don't say that! Don't you dare die on me! I need you two, I need..."
"Y-your hand pup..."
Harry instinctively knew what was being asked and gently, yet firmly, took the hands of his two godfathers, showing he was right there with them.
"It will be okay... I promise it will be okay..."
"Pup..." Sirius whispered out, before guiding the boy's hand onto his own faint heartbeat and swallowing painfully. "That thing you told us about..."
Remus nodded, the two had silently agreed on it moments before Harry's own arrival, the last thing they could give him.
"N-no... you are going to be okay, you both are going to be okay! There is no reason to..."
"Let us protect you. Let us be there one last time... let us give you one last gift Harry. Let us be the godfathers that we were supposed to. To protect and care for you..."
"I don't care about any of that, I just want you to stay with me."
"Please cub, please let us be selfish this one time, allow us to do what we should have years ago and be the parents that..."
"That we should have been."
As Harry wept, and nodded his head, he began to gently give into the pulling sensation he felt.
***HPBB***
"Harry..." A hand gently grasped his own while two bodies were lifted out on stretchers, covered in white sheets. "I am so sorry." Luna whispered as she gave a gentle squeeze to show her support.
The medics had arrived minutes after being contacted, but by then it was too late. The doctors had been quick to assure the teens that even if they had been contacted earlier it would not have mattered, the injuries had been far too severe for them to heal even if the battle had occurred in St. Mungos itself.
Tonks had arrived less than an hour later with Amelia Bones, and had tried to pull the boy into a hug, only for him to go wide eyed and avoid her. The metamorph had excused herself on the basis of 'investigating the scene' only to find an empty room and sob alone.
"Based on the evidence we can assume that the attackers were Bellatrix Lestrange and Greyback. However the fact that they managed to get through the wards is far more worrying."
The boy-who-lived didn't even respond, his eyes simply staring at a wall as Luna gently sat him down. Hermione had gone to find her parents to ensure they were alive, and to figure out what they would do next.
Neville was still being interviewed nearby.
"Ma'am" one of the Aurors called out, as they entered the room. "It appears as though our suspicions were correct, there is a faint magical mingled with the wards, it appears to be that of Albus Dumbledore."
"He warned me..." Harry whispered, his eyes still pointed straight ahead in an unseeing gaze.
"Mr. Potter, this is not your fault. I can assure you that Dumbledore will be brought in for questioning, I don't give a damn if he stands against the Dark Lord or not, this is assisted murder and he will pay for it."
With that she got up to leave, and was replaced a moment later by Hermione.
"Apparently Dobby managed to get them out after Sirius summoned him... he saved their lives. Harry... I am so so sorry."
"They are okay?"
The bushy-haired witch nodded, although she wasn't quite sure if Harry had seen the gesture or not. "We talked it over and I convinced them to take an extended vacation in Australia for now. They have family friends down there so it should be safe."
"Good, what about..."
"My father is used to threats and attempts on his life, but he has agreed to lay low for right now, especially after the article. He will be taking a trip to Sweden."
"Gran isn't going anywhere" Neville announced as he walked over. "I sent her a message and her reply was 'If he comes after me I guarantee he will regret it'. She has extended that offer to both of your parents." the Longbottom heir glanced between the two girls, who nodded gratefully.
"You three should take her up on the offer. It will be safer."
Hermione moved from her spot next to her boyfriend to kneel in front of him, forcing his attention. "What about you Harry? Will you come with us?"
"No, Dumbledore has made it clear that this is the consequences for my defiance... you are not safe with..."
"Bullshit!"
The bookworm's interruption seemed to snap the other three students from their thoughts as they gaped at her.
"We are not safer without you Harry, and the old bastard has made it clear that he doesn't care about anyone but himself. Even if we separate from you we will still be targeted. We are far safer with you than apart."
"I agree, he went after your family Harry, it is obvious he is too cowardly to go after you."
Luna nodded in agreement with the other boy, "Which means we will be staying with you. I do think we should choose somewhere else to live for the time being though... we are going to get through this Harry, I promise."
***HPBB***
"Excuse me, Mr. Potter?"
Harry glanced up from the photo album he had taken to staring at in his free time. Of those pictured all but one were dead, and the remaining man was a 'dead man walking' after his betrayals anyway.
"Director Bones"
"Please, just Amelia for now. I wanted to give you an update personally. When Aurors went to confront Dumbledore we found that his house was empty. It appears he left shortly after his forced retirement. There is a warrant out for his arrest."
"But you cannot spare the Aurors with Voldemort's return."
She nodded sadly, "I am truly sorry Harry, I promise you this is not over, but right now..."
"Right now the murdering psychopathic madman takes priority, I understand and agree. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Right now just keep yourself and those you care about safe. Once we deal with the Dark Lord and his cronies my department will be going after Dumbledore, I swear it."
Harry nodded, and the woman departed with a sad expression on her face. The boy was far worse than she thought he would be, there was almost nothing left behind those emerald-green eyes of his.
***HPBB***
"Mr. Potter, I would like to see you after class."
Harry nodded at McGonagall's 'request' and held back while his two friends eyed the situation wearily.
"I promise he will be along shortly."
Hermione and Neville gave reluctant nods, before departing and leaving the two alone in the Transfiguration classroom.
"Harry... I am so sorry about what happened. If I had known Al... that Dumbledore would do such a thing..."
"He seems to be quite deceitful when it comes to his actions."
"Yes... he does. There has still been no sign of him though and... Harry, I know how ridiculous this might sound but... how are you doing?"
"The last two people that could ever be considered parents to me were killed because I disobeyed an order to return to an abusive home... I put my own happiness above..."
"You put your safety above the threats of an old manipulative bastard. We are the adults Harry, not you. It is our job to protect you, not the other way around. You should have been removed from that hellhole years ago... I should have forced his hand years ago..."
"If you had there is a good chance it would be you lying in that morgue."
"Better me than Sirius and Remus."
Harry's eyes snapped up, burning in rage. "Don't. You. Dare."
"Wh-what?"
"Don't you dare assume your life lesser than theirs. I lived almost my entire life with that mentality and look where it got me. My parents are dead, my godfathers are dead, I have a total of three friends and their parents are all in danger, I have been beaten, abused, tortured, and killed..."
"Yet you are still here, you are still standing. Do not let him, or anyone else, take this from you Harry. Do not let those senile old monsters win."
"Then do not think about sacrificing yourself."
"Agreed"
***HPBB***
"Sirius... Remus... Harry... I am so sorry. I failed you... I failed all of you." Tonks sobbed in the silence of her apartment.
If she had only been there, she could have saved them. If she had not volunteered to help her former mentor chase down a lead on Death Eater activity she could have helped them, could have saved two of the three lives that had come to matter most to her, save for her own parents. Could have saved a young boy from further loss.
Instead she had failed them, and now Harry hated her. Bones had claimed otherwise but she had seen it on his face the moment she had come into the room, when she had moved to try and comfort him, and perhaps herself as well.
He had moved back from her, distanced himself.
Whatever remained of her broken heart had shattered even more.
Now she was alone. Mourning the death of her former lover and her cousin in a dark, empty room.
'Not as alone as Harry is... you still have family, still have your mother and father, bitch. What does he have? What hasn't been taken from him?' a cruel voice whispered in her mind, earning further tears from the Auror.
"I am sorry Harry... so so sorry..."
***HPBB***
Harry James Potter,
You are hereby invited to the combined will reading of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin this coming Sunday, May 28th.
-Black Family account Manager, Gringotts
***HPBB***
"Is this official?" the raven-haired boy inquired, before passing the letter to the Longbottom heir, who moved it away from the bushy-haired girl's attempts to snatch it from him.
"Looks that way, official seals and everything. I would still be careful though Harry, Merlin knows what that twinkly eyed jackarse is up to."
"You could ask Tonks to go along, I am sure she..." the cheerful blonde began, before she was swiftly interrupted.
"No! No I am sure I will be fine, plus she is probably busy with everything going on."
"Harry... is something wrong between you two? I mean you haven't said ten words to her since..."
"Nothing is wrong, I just... nothing is wrong."
The three friends shared a concerned look as the raven-haired boy's attention turned back to studying for the end-of-year exams.
***HPBB***