(A/N phew. Busy week. Bleh. Anyway, new chapter! Oh, and a parade and scratch and sniff sticker for She-who-waits-in-darkness, for being the 400th reviewer. Yay! Also, GinHanelle, I love you. That is all.)
"It's been more than twenty four hours since I left the school," Harry said. He was sitting on the floor, and Tom was sitting on his usual chair in his office. The Boy Who Lived had his head resting on the Dark Lord's leg, and he looked up at Tom, wondering what his reaction would be.
"I know," Was all he said. He turned the page of what ever book it was that he was reading, and Harry sighed.
"You know that that means that I cant use the timeturner, right?"
"Yes I know. But it's no longer of any concern." Tom said.
"Why is that? People are gonna know something is up." Harry leaned back, resting his head on Tom's thigh once more.
"Of course they are. I imagine that right now, everyone is going wild with speculation. In fact, I'm sure that a fair few of your school mates now know where your allegiance lies."
"And that doesn't matter to you anymore?" The Boy Who Lived pressed.
"No, it's time that they all knew. Besides, it will be excelent for recruiting new death eaters. At this point, we are just about in control of the ministry. With your support, more people will join us. Who would want to fight against something so unstoppable? The order has fallen, Dumbledore is dead, and the ministry is poised to crumble. The resistance will be miniscule at best." Tom explained, and Harry had to admit he had a good point.
If everyone knew that the Chosen One had left them, they would likely follow him.
"I suppose." Harry said, though he wasn't fully convinced.
"What do I do when I get back there? And are you totally sure that this should happen now?"
"Do whatever you like. It doesn't really matter. And yes. It's time. You need to take control of the situation before they decide to oppose you." The Dark Lord ran a hand through Harry's hair lazily.
"So, what, just walk to the front of the Great Hall and proclaim that I am now a death eater?" He asked, perplexed.
"That could work. I'm sure that a large portion of the Slytherin's will stand with you. And a fair few of your fellow Gryffindor's will follow you. And you're a death eater, now, are you?" Harry ignored the last statement.
"And you're sure about this?" The teen asked again.
"For the third time, Potter. Yes. Are you sure about this?"
The Boy Who Lived shrugged his shoulders and sighed.
"I guess so. If you are. You're the brains behind the operation. If you say it's time, then it's time, isn't it?"
Harry could practically see the smirk on Tom's face, though he was facing the desk.
"Well I suppose it's time you went and faced the music, then." The Dark Lord pushed at Harry's head slightly, making him stand.
"Rude, much?" Harry glared, but Tom just smirked and gestured for him to leave.
"And don't forget to use that chain if anything goes wrong." He said, before Harry activated the portkey.
Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table, feeling more nervous than he ever remembered feeling. The death eaters at the staff table glared down at him, and almost every single student in the hall were looking at him with suspicion.
Ginny had told him after he got back, that everyone had heard a rumor that he had joined the Dark Lord.
He didn't tell her what he had planned.
He had just nodded when she told him this, and she had become rather wary. And true to Ginny Weasley fashion, she had not stopped bugging him about it.
He had gone straight to bed when he arrived back at the castle, planning to wait until dinner the next night to make his announcement.
Ginny had woken him up by smacking him in the head with a book, yelling about being irresponsible.
It had taken half an hour to calm her down enough to explain that this was Voldemort's plan.
It was now dinner, and Harry was having second thoughts. What if he could try and explain it away? Tell them all it was just some big misunderstanding.
He glanced around at the suspicious faces, and decided that, no, this was the time. They weren't going to fall for another cover up. Not after some of them had heard about the raid.
And surely now, they all knew about that too.
Harry's legs shook as he stood up. He pulled his wand discreetly from his robes, and made his way to the front of the hall.
No chickening out now, He thought to himself as he reached the front and faced the school as a whole.
His eyes fell on Ginny first. He noted that she looked worried, and seemed to want to stand to join him.
The rest of the students, besides Slytherin, looked a combination between confused and curious.
The Slytherin's looked excited.
Harry stood, blankly, for to long.
What the hell do I say? He wondered. He decided, first things first. He drew his wand fully, and cast a complex locking charm on the doors. He didn't want anyone running, and alerting the authorities. What little authority there was left, anyway.
A fair few of the students faces went from curious to wary in seconds, but this action only served to excite the green clad students further.
Draco even made a small whooping noise. Harry frowned at him in warning.
He put his wand to his throat, careful to avoid the chain the Dark Lord had given him, and cast the sonorus charm, making his voice loud enough for everyone to hear him.
"Hi there!" Harry waved happily at the hall, and a few people seemed to relax at the sound of the cheeriness in his voice, and he decided that this was the best tactic.
"So, I've been hearing these rumors about me. And I thought I would clear them up for you." The Boy Who Lived smiled widely, and almost everyone in the hall smiled back. The Slytherin's more so than anyone else.
"Just so we're all clear, the rumor says that I've gone and joined Voldemort." Harry only saw three people who looked shocked by this statement, and they were all first year Gryffindor's.
"The rumor is true," The Boy Who Lived said calmly, and everyone stared blankly for a moment, processing what he had just said. Then a huge amount of people stood abruptly. A few people tried the door, though everyone had seen him lock it.
"Sit down!"
Harry spun at the sound of the voice, and was surprised to see Snape standing up and looking irritated.
"Yeah, what he said." Some people sat down, but the rest just stood in silence. He was happy with that.
"Come on, what the hell, huh? I mean, you all have no problem with being taught by death eaters, but as soon as I decide that fighting this is a lost cause, you all freak out?"
He didn't receive an answer, but a few Slytherin's started clapping.
"The reason I'm standing up here, is to see whether or not any of you are worth keeping." Instantly, almost every Slytherin in the room stood and came to stand in front of Harry.
Only six remained at the table, unsure of themselves.
Ginny came next, and stood directly beside the Chosen One.
She gave him a small smile, and Harry returned it. A few of the Gryffindor's looked shocked by this. The Boy Who Lived almost rolled his eyes at this, because honestly, how could they think that Ginny wouldn't join him?
The small red head coming to stand at his side seemed to make a fair few people wobble on their feet, as if they couldn't decide what they wanted to do.
Luna came next, standing at his opposite side.
"Hello, Harry." Her voice was it's usual wispy self, and Harry wondered if she even knew what she was doing.
She made a 'come here' motion with her hand to someone in the crowd, and the Boy Who Lived watched with fascination as Neville pushed his way through the people, coming to stand in front of the dreamy blonde girl.
"Luna, what are you doing?" He asked, looking hurt.
The rest of the school seemed to think that now was the time to move, and as Tom predicted, a little more than half of his housemates came to stand before him.
"I'm doing what's right. I was hoping that you would come with me."
Harry had never seen so much emotion on the blonde girls face. She looked incredibly disappointed by Neville's reluctance.
"Luna," Harry interrupted, taking his wand from his neck.
"Ages ago, in the room of requirement, when you said that you had gained an interest in Herbology, What did you mean?"
More and more students began whispering among themselves, and more and more were coming to stand with the rest of the students who had decided that Harry was their best hope at survival.
"I meant that someone showed me the magic that plants have," She never took her eyes of Neville as she spoke, and Harry hoped that he would come to his senses. It was obvious that she felt something for the young man.
"Luna, this is wrong. You have to know that," Neville pressed, and Luna shook her head, looking sad.
"No, it's not wrong. In fact, this is the only way. Trust me, please." She reached her hand out to Neville, and he looked between it and her face for a long time, and Harry grew worried that he wasn't going to take it.
Just as she let her hand drop, Neville grabbed it, and gave a tentative smile.
"I trust you,"
She smiled wide, and pulled the Gryffindor towards her, so that he stood beside her.
Harry looked out at the rest of the hall, almost three quarters of the students now stood in front of him. The rest of them stood by the door, obviously having chosen to shun the Boy Who Lived.
All in all, Tom was going to be pleased with the numbers. Though most of them were much to young to bear the mark, they would still be useful, especially in convincing their parents that this was the right thing to do.
The only thing to do, if they wanted to live.
"Well, I'll tell you the truth, this is better than I expected." Harry said, putting his wand to his neck once more.
Some of the Slytherin's laughed, and the rest of his new followers looked uncertain.
"This is your last chance to change your mind. After this, there's no going back," He was talking to everyone in the hall not just the ones standing by the door. When no one moved, Harry grinned.
"Alright then. Fantastic." The Chosen One said this just as he heard a scuffle behind him, and he spun to see Snape being tackled to the ground, while the rest of the staff table stood, their wands all pointed at Harry.
The teen still had his wand to his neck, and all he had to do was slide it down an inch, so that it came in contact with the chain.
He knew straight away that this confrontation was going to get out of hand.
He heard someone cast a binding spell on Snape, and he frowned, pointing his wand at the death eaters.
"This has gone on long enough!" Dolohov yelled, and Harry smirked at him.
"What's gone on long enough, Professor?"
"You do not deserve to stand at the Dark Lord's side! You have done nothing to earn it! What makes you think that you are worthy of anything more than death?" The potions professor spat, and the Boy Who Lived was feeling rather angry at that statement.
"Oh, fuck you, ugly. Honestly. I've done more for him than you ever could. What makes you think you're worthy of anything more than death?" Harry spat back, baring his teeth.
The rest of the death eaters stood, stoic, with their wands still aimed on him. This could get bad, quickly.
"I am a loyal servant to my lord! How dare you imply otherwise! I should just kill you now, you disgusting brat,"
"You can go ahead and give it a shot, but I can tell you now that it's only going to piss me off." Harry growled. He couldn't wait for Tom to arrive.
Couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces as he came to stand beside Harry.
He looked over his shoulder quickly, and saw that most of the students had taken a few steps back. But all of the Slytherin's had their wands pointed at the death eaters. They obviously knew the consequences of messing with the Boy Who Lived.
Ginny, Neville and Luna also had their wands out, and Harry grinned.
"Looks like you're outnumbered." Harry pointed out, and Dolohov snorted.
"There's no way that a bunch of pathetic school students could overpower us."
Harry noticed a slight change in the way Rockwood, who was standing to the left of Dolohov, was holding his wand. It was now pointed at Ginny.
"Let's see how you fare without your beloved little girlfriend. Avada kedavra!" The green light shot from Rockwood's wand, and Harry didn't even hesitate before jumping in front of it.
The curse hit him just as he heard the Great Hall's entrance doors explode open, and he recalled that he should have unlocked it for Tom.
Then everything went black, for what felt like hours. Harry knew that he wouldn't be there for very long, not in real time. He would appear to have been gone for a few seconds, at best. He could only hope that the death eaters didn't start throwing curses all over the place. Though surely they had heard Tom enter.
Assuming it was the Dark Lord who had blown the door apart.
Harry tried a few times to talk to Death, but apparently, he wasn't in the mood to chat.
When he finally felt the pull in his middle, he internally celebrated. There was nothing more boring than sitting in the dark, especially when you knew there was something better to do.
He opened his eyes, and glanced upwards at the staff table. Ginny was a little to his left, shaking Harry by the shoulders.
"Ginny, stop it," He whispered. And she stared at him in shock.
"I remember you telling me that you were immune to death, but I was worried it was just a one time thing." She whispered back, and Harry smiled at her.
"Is Tom here? And I've died twice before, remember? When I was one."
"Yeah, he's heading this way now. And he looks totally furious."
Harry grinned, and stood slowly.
The death eaters eyes all snapped to him, and he shrugged his shoulders at them.
"Told you it would just piss me off, Avada Kedavra." Harry aimed his wand at Rockwood, and before the man could even blink in response, the mad was hit in the face by a jet of green light.
"Idiot," The Boy Who Lived snarled.
He then turned to face the Dark Lord, and saw that the students had given him a very wide berth. He also noticed that Eris was with Voldemort. He made a beeline for Ginny, and pulled her roughly into his arms.
He then looked at Harry over the top of the small girl's head, and nodded.
"No problem," Harry responded, knowing that Eris was trying to thank him for saving the youngest Weasley's life.
Harry watched as the students who had decided to forsake him scurried out of the hall. The Slytherin's fell to their knees in submission, and the rest of the students slowly followed suit, though they appeared unsure. And the Boy Who Lived felt an odd sort of pride.
Ginny didn't kneel, because Eris still had not let her go, but Luna and Neville bowed, though Neville was much more reluctant.
Harry didn't bow. He wanted to show the death eaters that he could get away with it, because he was just that bad ass.
When Voldemort reached them, using his intimidating snake like form that Harry had almost forgotten, he came to stand beside Harry, just as he hoped he would.
'You took the word's right out of my mouth,' The Dark Lord hissed, and the Boy Who Lived looked at him in confusion.
'what words?' He hissed in reply.
'Avada kedavra.' Voldemort glanced at Harry side ways, and the Chosen One grinned.
'No one will ever harm you again, I will make sure of it.' The Dark Lord had his usual scowl in place, but his eyes were more sincere than the teen had ever seen them.
Harry had to fight the ridiculous urge to yell, "Voldy! You're such a sweetheart!" And jump on him.
But he assumed that that would have been inappropriate.
Instead, he went for;
"Thank you,"
The Dark Lord ignored him, and turned his attention back to the death eaters, who had all bowed low.
I bet they're all bloody shitting themselves, Harry thought gleefully.
"How dare you pull a wand on your fellow man?" The Dark Lord growled, his voice barely above a whisper.
"How dare you pull a wand on him?" He added, gesturing to Harry.
"Give me one good reason why I should not kill you all where you stand." Voldemort had his teeth bared, and Harry had a feeling that no matter what they said, they were going to die today.
Snape chose that moment to wake up, and he looked monumentally confused for a second, before his eyes landed on the Dark Lord. He then bowed low, when he stood, he gave Harry a look that was almost apologetic. It was all Harry could do to not look shocked. Instead, he nodded minutely.
"My lord, we didn't know," Was Thorfinn Rowle's, the history teachers, fantastic reply.
"Avada kedavra." The Dark Lord grinned a nasty grin as the killing curse burst out of his wand.
"Don't even think about telling me you didn't know," Voldemort spat, as Rowle's body hit the floor.
Apparently, no one else had a good answer, because within the hour, they had all fallen dead.
Severus Snape looked especially nervous when the Dark Lord turned to him.
Harry grabbed onto Voldemort's arm, and whispered in his ear.
'This wasn't his fault,'
The teen felt the tiny shiver that ran through the Dark Lord, but he didn't see it.
"Oh, right. Sorry. No whispery parseltongue. Got it."
'At least not in public,' Voldemort smirked.
Harry blushed and ducked his head, hoping that no one saw the blazing red of his cheeks.
"Jager, come. We are leaving." Voldemort said suddenly, gesturing at Eris.
Harry knew that the Dark Lord also expected him to go, so he told Ginny that she was coming too. Eris didn't seem to have a problem with the arrangement, and Harry knew it wouldn't be good for Ginny to stay at the school. Not if her parents were likely to collect her.
Harry wondered what was going to happen to the school now that the teachers were all dead, but he was sure Tom would figure something out.
The Dark Lord grabbed hold of Harry's upper arm, and the raven haired teen prepared himself for the apparation.
"I'll see you all later! Don't forget to tell your friends and family how awesome I am!" Harry yelled out to the hall. Everyone was still in shock, and Harry couldn't blame them. He just hoped that they didn't change their mind.
(A/N lets play a game. Quickly! You're a murder weapon! What are you, where are you hiding, and who were you used to kill? Leave your interesting or creative responses in the comment section below. :D)