Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to J K Rowling. Also this story is inspired by 'A Shattered Prophecy' by Project Dark Overlord.
Chapter Thirty Eight
Damien stared wide eyed at Harry, his words ringing in his ears. 'Ran away? Ran away when he was four? What was going on?'
"What...? what are you talking about?" Damien asked, "you...you didn't...run away. Mum and dad told me what happened. They said you were taken away by a...a Death Eater, I mean a friend who was a Death Eater...or something like that..." his mind refused to work properly, to clear quick enough so he could remember exactly what it was his parents had told him that day at the headquarters, when he first learned about Harry, "they...they told me you were only a baby, fifteen months old."
Harry looked away angrily, hands clenching uselessly in his restraints.
"Sounds like an exciting story," he mocked, "friend turned Death Eater. Stealing a baby away. But tell me," he turned his head to look at Damien with cold eyes, "does it make any sense? Why would a Death Eater steal away a barely one and a half year old baby? What would Voldemort want with me?"
Damien felt his mouth dry, but he forced the words out, he had no other choice.
"Because of the...the Prophecy."
Harry shook his head in annoyance.
"Come on, Damy! Don't listen to that crap!" his narrowed eyes fixed Damien to the spot. "The Prophecy has nothing to do with me. Your father and that bastard Dumbledore only said that in an effort to try and turn me against my father!" he was twisting in his restraints now, his anger making it impossible for him to sit still. "Think about it, Damien, if that was true and Voldemort got me abducted because I was the one destined to be his downfall, then would he not just kill me?" his eyes flashed at Damien, "tell me, why would he let me live? Why not kill me when I was just a baby? When I was, what? fifteen months old?"
Damien honestly, didn't have an answer.
"I...I don't know."
"Exactly because it's all bullshit!" Harry seethed, "it's a story fabricated to cover what really happened. Your parents want to keep their saint-like appearances, so they fashioned a lie to cover what they did!"
"Mum and dad wouldn't lie-" Damien started.
"Oh yeah?" Harry cut across him, "always truthful are they? Never kept anything from you?" his eyes gleamed with anger and pain, "then how come they never told you about me?"
Damien was knocked into silence. Harry's question hit him like a hammer and he struggled to find an answer.
"I...I don't know why they never said anything-"
"I know why," Harry interrupted, "because they never expected me to survive. How the hell can a four year old survive on his own, right?" his expression darkened. "They thought I was gone for good. They never expected me to come back. That's why they never told you anything. If I hadn't been caught and forced back into their lives, you would never have even known that I existed!"
Damien tried, really, really hard not to believe Harry. But he couldn't help admit that part of what he said was true. If it wasn't for the Dark Prince's capture, he would never have known he had an older brother. Anger and bitter resentment rose inside Damien at his parents' error. They shouldn't have kept Harry a secret. Not from him at least.
"You're right" Damien breathed, "mum and dad were in the wrong. They should have told me about you, about what happened to you."
Harry laughed, a cold and bitter laugh.
"They would never have told you what happened to me." he said, "they had a reputation to live up to. The great James and Lily Potter, fighters of the light!" Harry shook his head in disgust, "they couldn't tell you the truth about what they did, to their own flesh and blood, behind closed doors."
Damien felt a coldness seep down his back and spread into his gut. He moved closer to Harry, his hand coming to rest on Harry's knee.
"What do you mean?"
Harry shook his head.
"You don't want to know, trust me, Damien."
"No, I do," he argued, "tell me what happened? All of it."
But Harry stayed silent, looking away from Damien, fists still clenched into tight balls.
"Please, Harry," Damien whispered, "don't keep me in the dark. Tell me, what happened?"
Harry looked over at him with pained eyes.
"I ran away when I was four," Harry repeated, his voice quieter but still hoarse, "figure it out."
Damien's eyes narrowed in confusion, but it wasn't for long. He put what Harry had said these last few minutes together and came to the gut-wrenching conclusion, one that made his breath hitch in his chest and his eyes widen with horror.
"No," he whispered, shaking his head, "no, they...you...you can't think...they would never h-hurt you-"
"I don't think that they hurt me, I know that they did!" Harry erupted, "I remember everything, everything, Damien! Every punch, every kick, every slap, every fucking word of theirs is drilled into my head! I lived that nightmare over and over again, until I had to cast those memories away! I took them out of my mind, so that they wouldn't haunt me when I slept! That's what they did to me. Not only did your mum and dad torture me when I was a kid, they continued to hurt me even when I was away from them! There, Damien, I told you! Is that what you wanted to hear?"
Harry was breathing heavily, unshed tears glistened in his eyes. But Damien's tears were slowly trekking down his cheeks. His hand was still resting on Harry's knees but it had clenched into a fist. It took all of Damien's strength to speak without his voice breaking.
"Harry..." he shook his head, "they couldn't have...they could never hurt you. Not the mum and dad I know-"
"The parents you have are very different to the ones I had," Harry cut him off, "they seem to love you, actually give two shits about you." he gave a pained smirk, "can't say they did the same for me."
Damien didn't argue back. He knew it was useless. Harry wasn't going to listen. Then, something came to Damien, a ray of light in the darkness that was clouding his mind. He quickly sat up, his hands came to rest on top of Harry's bound hands.
"Fine, Harry," he started, "I'm not going to argue with you. If you say that you remember what..." he faltered, "what mum and dad...did to you, then...then okay, I believe you." he met the bloodshot green eyes head on, "but I just want to ask one question." he licked his lips, willing his thunderous heart to slow down, "you said that you remember everything that happened to you? That you ran away from home when you were four years old, right?"
Harry nodded, keeping his eyes focused on Damien.
"If that's true," Damien continued, "then how come you don't remember me?"
Harry's brow knitted with confusion, as if he didn't understand the question.
"I'm three years younger than you." Damien explained, "so if you were four years old when you ran away, that would make me around one years old. If you remember everything that happened to you, then surely you would remember me as well, yet when we met for the first time, at the Headquarters, you were shocked that you had a brother."
His question hit the mark as Harry's eyes widened and the look of genuine shock flitted across his face.
"Why don't you remember me?" Damien pushed, "think about it, Harry? It doesn't add up, doesn't make sense."
Harry opened his mouth to speak but his voice was drowned out by the sudden blast outside. Damien whipped his head around to stare at the magically placed windows in the dungeons. He met Harry's eyes before getting up and hurrying to the window, but all he could make out was the dark grounds.
"I can't see anythi-" Damien was cut off when he saw the blur of green soar into the air. It burst into the form witches and wizards had learned to fear; the Dark Mark. Damien had to crane his neck to make out part of the skull with the horrid snake coming out of it's mouth. "Oh God!" he gasped.
Harry looked up at the wall, to see the clock hanging adjacent to him, almost in mockery of his helplessness. The clock had struck eight.
"They're here." Harry breathed, straining against the ropes.
Damien turned around, staring at him.
"You knew?" he asked, "you knew they were coming?"
Harry looked desperately at the door.
"Damien, I need you to do something," Harry said, ignoring his question, "go to Draco and tell him to send the signal. He has to stop the Death Eaters. He'll know what to do."
But Damien was in shock,. His mind could only focus on one thing.
"How can Death Eaters be here?" he asked, "Hogwarts is too well protected."
"Nothing can be protected forever." Harry replied. "Go, Damien, please."
Damien stared at Harry.
"They're here for you?" he asked.
Harry fell quiet.
"I was supposed to go home today." he admitted.
"That's why you attacked dad," Damien realised, "you thought you would escape by tonight."
Harry didn't reply, but his hands twisted against the ropes again, instinctively trying to free himself. All it did was rub his skin raw, almost to the point of bleeding.
Damien seemed lost for a moment. His gaze flitted to the window, his ears picked up the sound of a terrible battle starting outside. He could almost make out the names of the curses and the whiz of spells bouncing from Death Eaters to Aurors and vice versa. He looked over at Harry, his eyes roamed over him, before he straightened up, coming to a decision. He stepped forward, coming to kneel before Harry again. His hands quickly began tugging at the ropes that were keeping his brother restrained to the chair. He freed one hand before reaching for the other.
"What-what are you doing?" Harry asked, so shocked he remained seated, just staring at Damien as he undid the ropes restraining his legs.
"You need to leave," Damien said, speaking without looking at him, "you heard dad? After what you did to him and after this," he looked up at the window, "they'll send you to Azkaban." his voice shook at the name of the prison. He pulled away the last of the ropes and stood up.
Harry pulled at the rope around his waist, tugging it away and stood up. He stared at Damien, unable to comprehend what the boy had just done for him.
"You don't know what you're doing," he warned, "if they find out you helped me escape, they'll turn on you. You could end up in Azkaban."
Damien blanched at the name but stubbornly shook his head.
"They won't," he said, "go, before they come back." he urged.
Harry looked at the door but made no move towards it. He looked back at Damien.
"You realise what you're doing, don't you? I tried to kill James Potter. I'll try again until I succeed."
Damien flinched at the word 'kill' but bravely lifted his gaze to stare at Harry.
"You're my brother," he said, a phrase he had repeated over and over again in the last four months, "I would rather have you away from here and safe, than in Azkaban." he met Harry's green eyes, "but if you try to harm mum or dad again, you're going to have to kill me first." he stated. "I'm not going to let anything happen to them, not while I'm still alive."
Harry smiled at Damien. Not in his usual smirk-like-smile, but a genuine one.
"Typical Gryffindor." he said, playfully pushing Damien.
Damien managed a weak smile back.
"And damn proud of it."
Screams echoed from outside, gaining both boy's attention. Harry turned towards the door, but stopped and turned around to face Damien one last time.
"Stay inside Hogwarts. They can't come inside."
Damien nodded at him, his eyes brimming with tears.
Harry turned around, opened the door with a silent, wandless unlocking spell and walked out, leaving a broken Damien behind.
xxx
The majority of the student body rushed out of their respective dormitories at the sound of the battle going on outside. The prefects were trying to get their house mates back into the relative safety of the dorms but the truth was, they themselves had no idea, if being there was a safer option or not. The school gathered in the main hall, looking out of the windows, trembling and in some cases, crying at the sights and sounds of the fight outside. The sounds of Avada Kedavra and the accompanying flash of green light was enough to throw most children into full blown panic.
It was only when the Order members, still inside the castle arrived with most of the Professors in tow, that the students were ushered back to their dormitories, this time with strict warnings to stay inside. But of course, not everyone heed the warnings and as soon as the Aurors stepped outside to fight and the Professors moved away, the swarm of mostly upper years came back to the main hall, peeking out of the windows, watching the fight in abject horror.
One of these students, was Neville Longbottom, who was struggling with what he should do. He was the Chosen One, the one that had been trained under Albus Dumbledore's guidance. Should he go out and fight alongside the Aurors?
"Don't be foolish, Neville!" Hermione grabbed a hold of his arm, when he asked her the question, "you don't have anywhere near the adequate amount of training."
"You'll get yourself killed!" Parvati shrieked.
"Stay inside," Dean advised, looking like he was about to be sick, "don't even think about going outside."
"But I can help." Neville insisted. "We have to help protect Hogwarts."
"They might be here for you!" Lavender said, hysterical with panic, "you'd be walking straight into their trap!"
Hermione shared a terrified look with Ginny and Ron, They knew who the Death Eaters were here for, and it wasn't Neville.
xxx
Harry ran through the deserted corridors of Hogwarts dungeons. He had fucked up, royally. He was supposed to be outside, waiting on the grounds at eight, not trapped in the dungeons, awaiting the one way trip to Azkaban.
He carried on running, not allowing himself to fume in self hate, not just yet. He had to keep his wits about him and maybe, just maybe, he would get out of here and go back home. He reached the stairs that led him to the main floor and Harry began to climb gratefully.
He pushed open the door and stepped out. So far, so good. He hadn't encountered any Professors or Aurors, yet. He stepped forward, as quietly as he could. He turned the corner and came to a halt, staring at the two Order members that were stationed at the end of the long corridor, which spilled out into the main hall.
The two men turned at the sound of Harry, wands already out, perspiration on their foreheads. They were clearly already nervous about the battle going on outside. They weren't looking forward to a duel indoors.
Harry didn't have a wand. The wand, given by Potter, was still tucked under his pillow. But even if he had that useless stick with him, it would no nothing to serve him. Harry flexed his fingers as he stepped closer. He didn't need a wand. He could take care of these Order members on his own.
"Stop!" one of the men shouted, wand aimed at Harry's chest. "hands up, drop to your knees!"
"I don't think so." Harry growled.
The other man also had his wand aimed at Harry, but he didn't bother shouting out any warnings, he chose to attack instead.
The 'Stupefy' curse came blindingly fast at Harry, but the boy stepped out of the way, still advancing on them. His fingers twisted in the air and two fireballs hovered proudly in his palms. Harry sent one at each, earning a satisfying yelp of fear from both. The Order members darted out of the path, but in their moment of disorientation, Harry's wandless spell caught them and they were blasted backwards into the walls. A pair of sickening thuds echoed in the corridor and both men collapsed to the ground, knocked unconscious.
Harry darted past them, running along the corridor, until he arrived in the main hall. He skidded to a sudden stop, staring in shock at the large gathering of students in the hall. Every single student turned around to stare at him.
xxx
Bella was getting anxious. They had dropped the wards and came onto the grounds at exactly eight pm. But the weakening of the wards would only hold for a total of twelve minutes. Twelve minutes. That's all they had, and they had already used seven minutes. But still, there was no sight of Harry. Draco was supposed to send him the message, to be on the grounds at eight. She told herself Draco must have messed up. He never relayed the message. That was the reason Harry wasn't here yet. That had to be it. There was no other explanation that she would accept.
"Where is he!" Nott yelled from beside her, having sent the killing curse at one of the Aurors.
"He's not here yet," Bella replied, sending a hex at the wizard, stupid enough to try and duel with her.
"They've got him trapped!" Nott cried, slightly out of breath, "he has to come out to us, we can't go in to get him. We only have five minutes-"
"Don't!" Bella hissed at him, "don't you dare!" her dark eyes burned furiously. "we're not leaving until we get him back. We either leave with our Dark Prince," her lips curled into a smirk, "or we don't leave at all." she turned around and struck the Auror with her killing curse, smiling as the Auror crumpled to the ground.
xxx
"Harry?" Parvati and Lavender hurried towards him, looking worried and concerned. "What? What happened to you?"
Harry was still dressed in Sirius' slightly baggy clothes. He knew, just from the pain alone, he must have an ugly bruise on the side of his forehead. He figured he must have hit it when Dumbledore knocked him out. Aside from that, he was out of breath and covered in a fine sheen of perspiration.
Harry ignored them and headed for the doors, his steps strong and purposeful.
"Whoa! Where you going?" Dean and Lee rushed towards him, hands pressed up against his front. "You can't go out there!"
"Get out of my way." Harry roughly pushed them aside and continued, much to the confusion of the surrounding students.
"Harry, what-?"
"Where are you going?"
"Are you mad? You can't go out there!"
"Potter!" a new voice halted Harry in his tracks. He turned around to see four Order members standing behind him, all with their wands out and trained on him.
Harry turned around to face them fully.
"Out of the way, move!" one of them motioned to the surrounding students, as all four hurried towards Harry.
The baffled students did as they were told, frowning and whispering their confusion out loud. Harry stood still, just watching as the four Order members came closer.
"On the floor, hand up, now!" the same Order member said, advancing on Harry, wand trembling in his hand.
"What-?" Angelina spluttered, "what are you doing?" she asked, but the man paid her no attention. All four were concentrating on the Dark Prince.
Harry stood where he was.
"Do it, now!" the man screamed.
Harry smiled. The man just gave away his fear. These were Order members, not all were Aurors. They didn't know how to deal with this sort of a situation and it showed in their nervous actions.
Harry slowly raised both hands in the air and dropped to his knees, to the astonishment of the surrounding students.
"Harry?"
"What's going on?"
"Leave him alone!"
Voices of the stunned and angry students behind him rose in volume, distracting the Order members. But all four came forward and surrounded the kneeling boy, shaky wands targeted at his head. The one that had shouted out the instructions came to stand directly in front of Harry, wand aimed at Harry's forehead. Smirking, Harry raised his head and stared at the man.
"Big mistake." he hissed.
His hand closed around the wand in the blink of an eye before Harry pulled back and one of his legs came out from under him, swinging with full force at the man's legs. Standing so close, the Order member had no chance of dodging the blow. He was knocked off his feet. Falling back, his wand was pulled from his grip, leaving it in Harry's hand. It all happened so fast, the other three Order members had no chance to react. By the time they got their wits about them, Harry had sprung to his feet, wand in hand.
A twist of his wand in a sweeping motion and all three Order members were knocked clean off their feet. They fell heavily to the floor, groaning and gasping, but they didn't stay on the ground for long.
Harry's 'Stupefy' caught one of the Order members, knocking them clean out. The one to his right fired three curses in quick succession. Harry twisted out of the way, making the students behind him scream and duck for cover. Harry sent his wandless spell at the man. The Order member was too busy watching the wand in Harry's hand to pay attention to anything else. Harry's silent spell caught him and threw him up in the air. The man screamed as he hit the roof and came plummeting down to hit the floor face first. He didn't move.
The students scrambled back, watching with disbelief as the remaining two men advanced on the sixteen year old boy, firing all sorts of curses at him. Harry flicked his wand and the blue shield burst all around him, covering him from head to foot. The shield absorbed the curses, much to the astonishment of the students and even the Order members. Not all the Order knew about Harry's exceptional shield.
A moment in which both Order members paused in their attack and Harry dropped his shield. He surprised the men by summoning both of them closer. He dropped his wand as both hands closed over one's throat, while he kicked out at the other one, throwing him to the floor. A well aimed punch to the head and the man in his grip was knocked out. Before the last one could get to his feet, Harry slammed his foot down on the man's front before punching him out cold.
Breathing heavily, Harry straightened up, his eyes darting from one unconscious Order member to the next, ensuring all of them were incapacitated. That was when he noticed the horror in the eyes of the surrounding students. They were staring at him, mouths open, eyes wide and unblinking. Harry's gaze stopped on Hermione and Ginny, who were staring at him with just as much shock as the rest.
xxx
Three minutes to go. Bella was now panicking. They had taken care of the Aurors and the guards outside, but there was still no sign of Harry. If he didn't make his way out of the castle in the next three minutes, they wouldn't be able to portkey out of here, as the wards would fire back up in all their powerful glory.
The Death Eaters with her were getting edgy, already wanting to leave, not willing to risk getting caught. The only thing keeping them rooted to the spot was the fear of what Voldemort would do to them, should they return without his dark heir. But what they feared just as much, was the appearance of the white haired wizard, that was powerful enough to end all of them in a single strike. And seeing that they were attacking his school, Dumbledore's appearance was expected any moment now.
Bella's dark eyes lifted to stare at the towering castle. She knew the only way Harry could be kept from coming outside was by one man and one man alone.
"Albus Dumbledore!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "You want to fight? Come out and fight!" she taunted, "But let him go! He's not your enemy! We are!" she cried. "You let him go, Dumbledore!"
She threw back her head and screamed a long, desperate cry.
"HARRY!"
xxx
Everyone heard Bella's shout, including the assembled crowd in the main hall. Harry was startled at hearing her voice, so close, just past those doors. He felt his heart leap with both joy and fear. Joy that she was here and fear that she would get herself killed.
The sound of his name on Bella's lips made Harry dart forward. He passed the students who were now staring at him with nothing but horror and fear.
The students of Hogwarts understood now. Bella's cry and what they witnessed with their own eyes, the fact that Harry was fighting to go outside, added to the mystery that was Harry Potter, it all concluded to one thing; Harry Potter was the Dark Prince.
Boys that once extended their hands in friendship, cowered away from Harry. Girls that had once batted their eyes at him and fantasised about kissing him, now flinched in fear as he passed them. All of them moved away, scrambling to get out of his way as he headed to the doors.
He passed by Ron, Hermione and Ginny, without sparing them a glance. All Harry was concerned with, was passing through those doors and getting to Bella, so he could finally go home.
But one of the students stepped out from the crowd, blocking the doors, staring at Harry with bloodshot eyes. Harry came to a stop, his heart leaped in his chest, as he met Neville's eyes.
"It's you?" Neville's question rang in the hall, his voice broken and laced with pain.
Harry didn't answer.
Neville stepped forward.
"You?" he faltered, big brown eyes fixed on Harry, "you're the...the Dark Prince?"
Harry reared up his head at the title, standing tall.
"Get out of my way, Neville." Harry said, slowly advancing towards him.
"Or what?" Neville hissed, "you'll kill me? Like my parents?"
The surrounding students sucked in a breath, every eye on Harry or Neville.
Harry tensed, his fists clenched then unclenched. He smirked at Neville.
"No," he replied, "they died fighting. You won't get that chance."
Neville lost his battle to remain calm. He whipped out his wand but Harry was ready for him. A simple wave of his hand and Neville was thrown to the side, slamming into the suit of armour, decorating the corner of the hall. Neville's fall knocked the wand out of his hand. The students gasped and some cried out in shock, but no one moved from their spot.
Before Neville could get up, Harry was towering over him. His hands buried into the front of Neville's robes and Harry yanked him up.
"If you value your life, I suggest you keep a low profile, Longbottom!" he hissed, "I'm not particularly keen on wiping out entire families, so don't force my hand!"
He let go, throwing the boy back so he hit his head with a dull thud on the marble floors.
With a last glowering look at the petrified students, Harry turned around and headed for the doors, blasting them open at last and stepping outside.
xxx
James, Lily and Sirius were pulled from the penesive, just as the memory of a four year Harry leaving Godric's Hollow came to a finish. The three adults slammed to the ground, having being pulled quickly out. Before James could say a single word, the Headmaster had rushed over to him.
"We have to hurry, take Harry and go!" Dumbledore said as he ushered James to his feet.
"Dumbledore? What happened?" asked James and was surprised to hear his own voice tremble.
"Death Eaters! Hogwarts is under attack!" Dumbledore said, as he headed for the door, wand in hand.
"What?" Sirius and Lily both exclaimed.
"No, Harry!" James turned and ran to the door.
He wasn't going to let anyone, especially Voldemort's Death Eaters take his son away, not again. But before he could reach the door, there was a terrible scream from outside. Lily had already reached the window and was looking outside, horrified.
"No!" she screamed suddenly, "Harry! No!" she slammed a hand against the glass.
James and Sirius rushed to the window and what they saw, would haunt them for many nights to come.
There were countless Death Eaters on Hogwarts grounds, white masked men, standing over many prone bodies on the ground. But the sight that took away James' breath was of the messy haired boy, racing down the path, straight into the arms of the only female Death Eater.
Bellatrix Lestrange stood there, arms stretched wide open, like a dark and twisted version of a loving mother, waiting to be reunited with her long lost son. The moment Harry came to rest in her arms, Lily let out a chocked howl, tears that had yet not dried from the penesive burned furiously in her eyes.
James watched, horrified as Harry pulled away to stand before her and Bella's hand lifted immediately to caress the side of Harry's face. Her lips moved, obviously asking him something, most likely if he was okay. Harry nodded and Bella smiled. She took hold of his hand and James knew her other hand was reaching for a portkey.
"No!" he screamed and with one strike, he smashed the glass window and stuck his arm out, aiming his wand straight at Bella.
Harry looked up at the sound of the glass breaking, his burning gaze met James' and for the first time since meeting Harry, James understood the hate and anger directed at him.
James fired his curse, it flew out the tip of his wand and thundered towards Bella. But before it even got halfway towards her, Bella activated the portkey. With a smirk at James, Bella disappeared, taking Harry with her, back to Lord Voldemort.
xxx
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NOTE: I incorporated Wetboy's RC request in this chapter. Hope that's okay! ;)