Harry Potter and The Demon Chronicles
Disclaimer/Plot/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Dedication: I'd like to dedicate this story to Winged Seer Wolf: my recommended reads are Saviour of Magic by Colt01, The Rise of a Dark Lord by LittleMissXanda, Hadrian Potter: Darkness Rising and Hadrian Potter: Darkness Returns by AvatarVecna, Harry Potter and The Serpent Chronicles by ACI100, Harry Potter: Lord of Darkness by AngelSlayer135, Core Threads by theaceoffire, The Power by DarthBill, For Love of Magic by Noodlehammer, Saisei no Kuroi Ryu Sorera and Harry Potter and the Archangel by Winged Seer Wolf, Right Side of Hell by NeoMare, Harry Potter and the Tribe of Mystics by Lord of mystics and Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin by The Sinister Man
Key Pairing: Harry/Daphne; Neville/Gabrielle
Other Pairings: Sirius/OFC; Others TBD
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
'Mental Speech'
/Parseltongue/
TDC
IMPORTANT NOTE!
So, I know some of you were a little disappointed to see I'd removed this story from the site; well, if you want to know why, I suggest you go to the review page of this story and look up the reviews written by a now-blocked member of this site with the following pen-name:
soniasingh25150
I can take constructive criticism, sometimes, but the reviews written by this particular member – and not just ONCE either – were more hurtful and offensive towards me than any other I've EVER had in response to a story;
I mean, honestly, one bad review, I could have taken on the chin, but FOUR?
I'm sorry, guys: that hurt me and so, in my depression, I decided to scrap the idea altogether.
But then, as you lot usually do, most of my fans offered uplifting opinions on my story and urged me not to give up – whether or not they'd seen these reviews, I don't know – and, after that, I just…well, let's just say I got my second wind.
So now, the Demon Chronicles are back online and this adventure WILL continue!
And not only will it continue, but I intend to make it go 1000000% all the way to the end; no hiatuses, no abandoning, least of all due to offensive idiots who clearly can't understand the words IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ IT – fingers-crossed – and no giving up.
And so, on that bombshell, it's time for the next instalment and I dedicate it to everyone who always supports my work and helped me find my second wind in time to make sure this adventure DOESN'T end!
TDC
"They don't know I'm the Last of the Marauders…but they will!"
Year One: The Demon of Hogwarts
Chapter 14: Truth and Consequence II: A Riddle Solved
For the first time in a long time, if not the first time in his life, Harry knew he should have woken up on Christmas Morning with a sense of childlike joy and excitement for the fact that one of the most-special days of the year was here at last. He also knew he should have been feeling excited at the prospect of gifts from friends and allies, as well as – knowing his elves – what might as well be the most waistline-tormenting feast he'd ever eat for Christmas Dinner.
However, Harry didn't feel any of those things.
Instead, when he opened his eyes, more than aware of Serena's presence still lying next to him as she had been after the ball, Harry didn't feel excited, happy or even in a Christmassy mood.
On the contrary, he felt numb, empty and, more than anything, he was angry.
Angry at himself for thinking that one noble act could change a prick into a prince.
Angry at his less-demonic nature for allowing himself to be led into the trap set by these purist dicks and their biased beliefs.
But, most of all, he was angry…no, he was pissed at Draco-fucking-Malfoy and his Death Eater father for clearly deluding themselves into thinking he wasn't going to do anything. He was angry at the fact that the elder blonde bastard could grease some high-up's palm and he would be as powerless as those damn Dursleys to stop Lucius or get justice for his dear sister.
More than anything, however, Harry was angry because, on top of anything else, he knew Amelia had been right to say he was just one man.
TDC
All right, he knew he could basically march into Hogwarts on the first day of term and demand Draco's head for daring to attack a member of the Slytherin-Gryffindor family – whether he was Heir, Lord or Other, the fact of the matter was that he still had those titles and, as his sister, it meant Serena was part of those same families too – but what would that get him?
Justice? Maybe.
Satisfaction? Most-definitely.
But it would also get him, and, by extension, his Power noticed by Dumbledore and the one-sided freaks of nature who would basically see him as the next Voldemort, which was not who he was, nor who he was aiming to be.
He also knew he could challenge Draco to an honour duel, if not a wizard's duel to keep these matters out of the spotlight and out of court, but, just like his right to demand Draco's head on a pike, he knew that would only get him noticed for all the wrong reasons. Besides, if that snake-faced son of a bitch was still alive, he didn't want Riddle knowing about the Power or what Harry could do until Fate decided to be a royal bitch and bring them together again.
Then, of course, there was a much-simpler option: using the Power, embracing the Demon within, and arranging a nasty accident for Draco, which would send a message to Lucius that he was basically tickling a sleeping dragon.
But the only thing that would get him was a betrayal of everything he'd worked so hard to do to allow the sliver of light that had been awoken in him by Serena, Daphne and even Gabrielle to flourish.
No.
Harry would not allow himself to become the monster that his ancestor had been falsely-accused of becoming.
If he was just one man, then, for now, this one man would do what any real snake with venom up the wazoo could do when facing their prey.
Wait…
'But I will not promise to be so patient, restraining or naïve with my enemies ever again…and as for Draco Malfoy, just let him try and think I've been de-fanged by Daddy and the Ministry of Morons! After all, I still owe him for what he tried to do to Daphne, but when he dared harm my Serena, all bets were made officially-off. So just try something, Ferret Face…because then you'll know what a real Dragon looks like!'
"Harry?"
As quickly as his ire and his promises of retribution arose, so too did they vanish just as quickly when Harry looked to Serena with a warm, hopeful smile, "Hey you…Merry Christmas."
"Same to you, little brother" mumbled Serena, though not before she left Harry's bed, and his side, while she asked, "Well, are you coming to open your presents or not?"
For the rest of the day, Harry tried his hardest to act like a kid at Christmas.
But he never lost the seething rage that bubbled in his belly, nor did he forget his promise that, just last night, anyone who thought him a de-clawed kitten – or a de-fanged, de-venomed serpent – officially lost all rights to think that about him.
He might not become the Demon that Godric once claimed Salazar had become.
But that didn't mean he was going to just roll over and show his belly a second time.
TDC
After an interesting, if mildly-enjoyable Christmas Day, including a couple of interesting gifts from friends and even those who'd attended his Yule Ball, Harry found himself returning to the mindset of a Lord on a mission as Boxing Day dawned.
After being washed and dressed, Harry made his way out to the same balcony area where he'd spoken with Remus at the end of the summer, but, this time, his reason for being there was for something completely different, but no-less important. As he waited for his guests to arrive, Harry let his chills from the winter morning be banished by the mug of hot chocolate in his hands.
Beyond the terrace, snow had covered the ground overnight, painting a beautiful scene of white and wonder, which seemed to create a truly magical image, casting its proverbial spell on the grounds of the Castle.
As though aiding the magical scene, Harry smiled to himself when he saw Serena had joined him for his morning meeting.
Unlike him, she was sat on the rail on the edge of the balcony, playing a beautifully-crafted silver flute that had been a Christmas present from Zharka. The sound of the soft tunes, even the sharp notes that slipped through the net when Serena went wrong, actually proved to be soothing and almost as serene as her namesake to Harry.
He could tell the music also helped calm his sister after what had happened on Christmas Eve night, but, to him, the sounds were also the perfect environment setter for what he needed to do today.
As Harry took another long, satisfying drink from his mug, savouring the warmth as it flowed down his throat and into his belly, he looked up just in time to see Mixey appear, but she wasn't alone.
With her were Daniel, Emma and Gabrielle, all three of them looking a little tired, but otherwise happy…at least, Gabrielle was. Daniel, on the other hand, had a look of discomfort and dissatisfaction that reminded Harry of how Petunia used to look when she looked down her nose at others or turned her nose up at something she thought was wrong and unclean.
As for Emma, she was in awe of the grounds and the wintry beauty that seemed to have settled in overnight; she also seemed courteous enough to offer Harry a warm, friendly smile before she actually thanked Mixey for her help.
Gabrielle, Harry also noticed, looked happy to see her friend in a calmer mood than the last time they'd seen one another; she was also dressed in a new outdoors travelling cloak that was covered in Slytherin colours.
When he noticed this, Harry laughed as he asked, "You like the gift then?"
"I do," Gabrielle replied, removing the cloak before she draped it over the back of one of the chairs near Harry; even as the young lord indicated for Daniel and Emma to take their seats, Harry also watched as Gabrielle reached into her pocket and withdrew a small parcel, which she set down on the table with Harry.
"Since I couldn't send them to you after…after what happened at the Ball…"
Suddenly, Harry's head snapped up when he heard a particularly-sharp, nails-on-chalkboard-worthy note blown on Serena's flute, drawing Harry's attention to her as her hands trembled, though when she saw her brother watching her, Serena apologised, even as Harry sighed before he told her, "It's okay, Serena: I'm sure Gabrielle…"
"Hermione."
"Gabrielle was just being polite," insisted Harry, his suspicions and dislike for the way Daniel acted only growing as he looked to his friend before he asked her, "Isn't that right, Gabrielle?"
"Y…Yes," Gabrielle replied, watching as Harry took the presents and, with careful aim, he threw Serena's gift to her before he looked back to Gabrielle as she blushed, looking to the dark elf as she added, "Sorry, Serena."
"That's okay," Serena replied, opening her gift with care and a slight tremor in her hands.
Even as she did so, however, Harry cleared his throat before, dropping his voice to a whisper, he told Gabrielle, "She's still a little shaken after what Malfoy did to her. So, just be patient with her, will you? Trust me, compared to what else she's had to endure in her life, that insolent ferret's attack is barely even the tip of the iceberg, but it still left her a bit…well…vulnerable at even a hint at what happened."
While Gabrielle nodded in response, a smile then crossed Harry's face when he heard Serena gasp in awe, "Oh…Gabrielle: it's…it's beautiful."
Looking over to his elder sister, Harry saw Serena fixing a gold band with a dolphin pendant set onto the base, around her neck, the dolphin pendant resting comfortably just above Serena's breasts, even as Gabrielle cleared her throat before she replied to Serena's remark. "I'm not really a fan of dolphins; my Aunt gave it to me when I was little: I think she did it to spite me cause of how I'm different to her prissy daughter…of course, she doesn't know what we do, but, when I was thinking of something to say thanks and hope you were okay, I thought that you'd like it."
"Thank you," Harry sighed, grateful for his friend's sense of care and even friendly intentions towards someone she'd only met once.
At the same time that this thought crossed Harry's mind, however, the young lord waved his hand, conjuring three more mugs of hot chocolate for his guests, though the sight of the magic surprised Emma and even Daniel, while Gabrielle thanked him.
"I don't like hot chocolate," drawled Daniel suddenly, earning a sigh from Harry as he waved his hand again, changing the chocolaty drink into a good, strong mug of coffee, which left Daniel just as speechless.
Harry, meanwhile, cleared his throat, taking a drink from his own mug before he began to address his guests, "Now, first off, I want you to know that I didn't call you here to insult your family or anything, Mr Granger, but, after what happened the other night, I thought we needed to nip this in the bud here and now."
"What?" asked Daniel, taking a drink form his coffee, though not before he looked impressed at the taste. "Not bad…even has a hint of cinnamon, but what do you mean nip it in the bud? Is this because of how you insist on calling my daughter something she's not?"
"Actually, she is, sir," said Harry, snapping his fingers as he said the last part, which caused the parchment from Gabrielle's test to appear on the table between them; as Harry indicated the parchment, he stiffened suddenly when he felt the wards around his castle react to someone else's appearance. "Take a look: this was the result of a magical ritual that used Gabrielle's blood to confirm what we now know. While you do that, I have to go and bring my other guests here."
Even as Gabrielle looked from the parchment to her adoptive parents, both of whom looked somewhere between frightened and in sheer disbelief at what they were seeing, the young Black maiden also noticed Harry leave. When he returned a few minutes later, she was surprised to see Daphne, Astoria, Adrian and Elena Greengrass, as well as Neville and Augusta Longbottom accompanying him, the Longbottom Heir looking a little uneasy, as he usually did around Gabrielle.
As Harry conjured more seats for his other guests, moving on to conjuring drinks for them all – the sight of which earned more than a few awed, disbelieving and even amazed looks from the Greengrass Elders, as well as Astoria and Augusta – he cleared his throat as he explained, "Thank you all for accepting my invitation again; given the sensitive nature of what I have to discuss with Mr and Mrs Granger, and given our friendships and certain…problems that have arisen since then, I thought it was only fair and deserving that everyone present hear what we have to say."
While Daniel leaned back in his seat, his coffee mug now trembling with fear and shock at what he'd read on the parchment, Harry sighed softly before he passed the parchment to Augusta Longbottom as he told her, "And, given your family is the one I fear the reactions of the most, Dowager Longbottom, I think you should see this for yourself, but before you make any brash judgments, just know that anything you may do to Gabrielle will be considered an act of aggression against me, House Slytherin and House Black. And, given your son's former friendships with my Father, and your grandson's friendship with me, which you yourself have approved of, even though we're both Slytherin students, I would hate to have to resort to matters that might see said friendships and the memories of those who came before us disgraced."
For several minutes, silence followed Harry's explanation, though, as Neville looked to his grandmother, Harry following suit, both boys saw her eyes widen with alarm and disbelief before her hand clamped itself around the red handbag she carried with her. Even Harry could see her knuckles turning bone white as she read the information, though, as she finally passed the parchment onto Adrian and Elena, Augusta looked up at Harry before, taking a deep, shaky, hissing breath, she addressed the young man sitting across the table from her.
"I will honour our families' friendships, Lord Potter…but this does not mean I fully accept what I have just learned as a…a good thing."
"I would think you a fool as naïve as many others I would care to mention if you did, my Lady," replied Harry, though not before he smiled when he felt Serena's hand rest on his shoulder, indicating her presence by his side in case of trouble.
While Adrian and Elena shared the shocks of the Court of Slytherin at Gabrielle's true identity, Harry cleared his throat, letting his hand rest atop his sister's as he explained, "Now, before we begin, I want all of you to know that, officially-speaking, she is Gabrielle Black, which I have dubbed her because of how her…her Mother is a daughter of the House, which I am the Heir of and future lord. Of course, if this was to become officially-official, I'm going to need the consent of the Head of House Black: my godfather, Sirius Black."
As a dark look crossed Augusta's face at the mention of the name, Harry cleared his throat as he explained, "I don't fully know the full details behind his persona non grata status, Dowager Longbottom, but I do intend to find out. However, this meeting concerns Gabrielle, not him, so, if we might get back to what I was saying?"
Curiously, even Adrian and Elena seemed to give Harry the proverbial floor, allowing the young lord to draw himself to his full height as he looked to the Grangers before he asked, "Now, I've been thinking about this since Gabrielle and I buried the hatchet and, despite all evidence pointing elsewhere, there are a couple of reasonable explanations I can think of to describe why you are the way you are with Gabrielle. Which brings me to you, Mrs Granger."
"Me?" asked Emma, earning a nod from Harry as she asked, "What…what could I tell you, Lord Potter?"
"Tell me about when you were pregnant with Gabrielle," said Harry, earning an alarmed look from Elena and even Emma, though the lesser's reaction could have been because of how cavalier Harry sounded when he talked about such a mature, grownup topic. "What I mean is; what do you remember from it? What did you crave? How were your sleeping patterns? How many times a day would you say she kicked? Oh…and how long were you in labour for?"
For several minutes, Emma's reaction went from alarmed to confused, to curious and painful, almost as though she was actually struggling to remember the occasion in question.
As Harry smiled thinly, as though something had been confirmed, he looked to Daniel as he asked, "And what about you, Mr Granger? I mean, you must remember the day Mrs Granger told you she was pregnant?"
"Well I…of course I…it's just…"
"Merlin's beard!" gasped Adrian, looking from the Grangers to Harry, who nodded once, as though he'd come to the same conclusion as his future father-in-law, before the Greengrass elder asked, "Are they…is it the Imperius?"
"No," said Harry, indicating Gabrielle, who seemed to be fighting back tears, while, at the same time, she kept herself firmly in her seat as though she understood what Harry was doing. "Gabrielle told me once that her parents' love and admiration for her talents always seemed hollow and empty; that was my first clue. The second one came when she explained how she was a latchkey kid, which is a Muggle term for a child who, basically, has to look out for themselves, even feed, clothe and put themselves to bed. Now, being dentists, this would make sense…except for the bit where we have something else missing."
"Which is?" asked Augusta, watching as Harry indicated the parchment before he cleared his throat as he went on.
"Well, let me put it this way: given who her Father is, and if you know her Mother as well as you say you do, I'm sure you can fill in the blank for yourself, my friends, but given who he is, can you honestly see him giving up his own child, even a daughter who, in the minds of those purist dicks out there, would probably only have a use as a child-bearer and a prize for any loyal follower to gain, like say, a certain someone I intend to teach a lesson to as soon as is magically-possible?"
While everyone else shook their heads, Harry returned his attention to the Grangers as he explained, "This is what led me to the conclusion I've reached, but, obviously, without confronting said Mother about it, I can't confirm it. However, thanks to a little research from a friend of my family, I do know there are those I can talk to who will confirm my theories for me, and even manage to get me an audience with said witch, even though she's in Azkaban Prison."
"Until then?" asked Neville.
"Until then, I can confirm this much for the Grangers," said Harry, looking to Daniel and Emma with a sad, if not remorseful look as he filled in the blank for them, as well as everyone else here. "I'm sorry, but not only is Gabrielle not your daughter, Mr and Mrs Granger, but the truth of the matter is that her true Mother, Bellatrix Lestrange, placed a powerful protective enchantment on you two in a bid to protect Gabrielle from her murdering Father and his sick-minded followers. Unfortunately, even with all my powers, as well as abilities that Neville, Daphne and Gabrielle are all aware of, I do not possess the strength nor the skill to undo the enchantment and allow you both to see the truth for what it is."
"You…" asked Augusta, looking from Harry to Gabrielle and back again as she asked, "You're saying…that bitch…that psychopath…she…she did what she did out of kindness?"
"She's a Mother, Madame Longbottom," argued Harry, lifting a hand to his forehead before he massaged the spot where his scar used to reside, even as he kept his eyes on a stunned Longbottom Dowager.
"Take it from someone who knows, there is no bond of love greater than that of a Mother and her child and, if I'm right about what Bellatrix did to the Grangers, then, I'm sorry to say it, but there is every chance…probably around 75% if I'm right, but there's every chance that, not only did Bellatrix do this out of maternal kindness, if not love, but she had absolutely nothing to do with what happened to Uncle Frank and Aunt Alice…and if she did…I can tell you this much."
While Augusta seemed close to tears with Harry's confession, the young lord looked to his closest male friend as he smiled sadly before his expression grew stern as he went on.
"I'm sorry to say it, Neville, but if Bellatrix did have anything to do with what happened to your Mum and Dad, it wasn't of her own free will!"
Chapter 14 and, wow, talk about dropping a dragon-sized bombshell on his friends and allies, but is Harry right about what Bellatrix might have done to protect Gabrielle and turn her into the girl we know and love?
Also, does this mean he's right about her having nothing to do with the Longbottoms, willingly or otherwise?
And what about Sirius? How will Harry handle learning exactly why his godfather's been so absent in his life and persona non grata among friends and family?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: It's back to Hogwarts where one fool's very stupid mistake tears off gloves and burns them as far as Harry's concerned: you want to see what being Lord Slytherin means? Fine, but remember: he gave you a chance;
Please Read and Review