Black Holly, Dark Phoenix
Disclaimer/Plot/Challenge Information/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Dedication: I'd like to dedicate this story to everyone who enjoys stories such as these: my recommended reads are Harry's Madness by SilverLocke980, Rise of the Dark Angel by mykkila09, Harry Potter and the Grim Heritage by shinobikarasu, Harry Potter and the Shadow of the Demon by ArlyssTolero, Harry Potter and the Power of Revenge by God of Death and Disease, Damaged Raven and Dark Lord Potter by JustBored21, Dark Prince Rises by Ronin2106, Dark Rage by YamiPaladinofChaos, Rise of the Wizards and Be Careful What You Wish For by Teufel1987, Do Not Meddle In The Affairs Of Wizards by Corwalch and Harry Potter and the Forces of Darkness by Judge 99
Key Pairing: Harry/Luna; Neville/Ginny;
Other Pairings: To be determined
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
'Mental Speech'
/Parseltongue/
Review Answers:
HorusRa: Hmm, interesting imagery there, my friend: hope you enjoy what's to come
WhiteElfElder: Clearly, you forget one of my favourite David Thewlis lines, friend
Chaos Snow Kitsune: I confess, when the Battle of the Ministry is involved, I rarely, if at all use the book scenes and stick with movie images for this, but that's what makes carrying out my idea so easy…and fun too
ArlyssTolero: I get the feeling you might like this chapter and probably the next one too, old friend
Winged Seer Wolf: Oh, I've got my own plan in mind for Miss Psycho
Hikari Nova: Basically, but, being Harry, he's also something more!
"Come on, we have to stop Harry before it's too late."
To Ron and Hermione's surprise, the only one who followed the wolf's demand was Moody, while Tonks stayed where she was, looking from where Remus and Moody had vanished to the spot where she'd watched her cousin, as well as the only boy he could have ever called his son, do their battle and go through everything that had led up to this moment.
And when she looked at the Veil, and the scorch mark on the spot where Harry had vanished, Tonks' hair seemingly-unintentionally blackened while her voice took on a grave tone as she shook her head slowly.
"Why do I get the feeling it already is too late?"
Chapter 2: Payback's a Bitch
"I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black!"
Suffice to say, Bellatrix Lacerta Lestrange nee Black was on Cloud Nine, or at least, the Death Eater equivalent of it, as she sauntered through the Ministry of Magic, as happy as Larry and drunk, not to mention higher-than-high could take one on success, delight and self-satisfaction.
She just couldn't believe she hadn't done the deed sooner, not to mention how easy it had been to execute that pathetic blood traitor who'd chosen Mudbloods and Blood Traitors over his own flesh and blood. It had been just as easy as taking out that pathetic child Longbottom and the whore he'd bedded; Bellatrix just wished she'd had the chance to complete the set and send Squib-Boy to join Mummy and Daddy in incurable hell for the rest of his life.
"He's gone forever and he's not coming back! Weepy-weep, booby-boo; I killed Sirius Black!"
As she sang her victory, crowing like a rooster for all the world to hear, Bellatrix reached the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, her laughter now like a stereotyped evil witch as she cackled her way towards her freedom…
Or so she thought, right up to the point where a flash of green fire that could have also been described as a blazing veil of green lightning cut off her escape, startling Bellatrix as she jumped back, going for her wand instinctively.
When she saw Harry Potter, or a much-sexier-looking something that looked a little like the half-blood brat, as well as Neville Longbottom, the only Weasley girl in the brood and some airhead she dimly remembered was related to that lying, crazy mongrel, Xenophilius Lovegood, Bellatrix let out a sigh of relief as she cackled softly. "Well, that's a neat trick, Potty-Wee-Potter."
"What can I say?" asked Harry, his voice cooler and darker than he had been earlier, even as he shrugged before he told Bellatrix, "I thought I might give you the chance to finish the job, bitch!"
"How dare you insult your…OWWWW!"
Before Bellatrix could finish her hissing remark, she cried out in pain when a blast of green lightning struck her side, forcing her to her knees, even as she growled, "You dare attack your betters, you insignificant Mudblood whore's spawn?"
"That would depend on your definition of betters, cunt," hissed Neville, his own voice darker than ever as he lifted his wand, aiming it at Bellatrix with a dark gleam in his eyes as he added, "Because if you actually think a pathetic little whiner like you holds a candle to Harry and his real power, you're as thick as you are mad!"
"Is that supposed to frighten me, Weakling Longbottom?"
"I don't know, why don't you tell me, slut?" asked Neville, looking once to Harry, who folded his arms as he nodded.
"Do it."
"Do wh…"
"Crucio!"
To Bellatrix's alarm, as soon as the Unforgivable Curse left Neville's lips, what should have been nothing more than a minor bee sting at best, and an annoyance at the least, was revealed as a wave of agonising torture that seemed to ignite Bellatrix's nerves. At the same time, she felt the strain on her ribs, elbows, knees and even her neck joints as her body thrashed wildly against the power of the curse.
"Enough."
To her shock, Neville Longbottom released Bellatrix from his curse at Harry Potter's command without even questioning the pathetic half-blood brat, while said brat sneered as he told Neville, "Unlike her husband and brother-in-law, we're not going to let her go quite so easily, Neville."
"Death should be a release, not a punishment," added the airhead blonde, earning a cold smile from Harry.
"Precisely; couldn't have put it better myself: nice one, Luna."
"Thank you, my Lord."
"You…" coughed Bellatrix, spitting up blood as she tried to get to her feet; when she saw her own blood splattering over the ground, however, her eyes widened in renewed rage and fury as she hissed, "You can't hurt me! You…you're just weaklings…you're weak, silly, little baby-children: no more than pathetic Mudblood's spawns!"
"Oscausi."
Now Bellatrix was truly alarmed, if not simply because of how Potter didn't even reveal, much less wave or flick a wand in her direction as he cast a dark hex that she knew was meant to be one only known and used by Lestrange Family Members. And yet, at the same time he managed to cast it wandlessly, Potter also managed it successfully, judging by how Bellatrix's lips suddenly fused together, earning a muffled scream from the crazed sorceress as she flicked her wand at the spot where her mouth used to be, intending to undo the hex as only a Lestrange knew how.
However, when her attempts were thwarted, Bellatrix shrieked behind her sealed lips, even as Neville sneered at her – her – before he added, "I told you, Lestrange: you're a fool if you actually believe you hold a candle to his power."
"Nice choice too, Harry," agreed Ginny Weasley, looking from the still-muffled Bellatrix to her raven-haired, darkly-dressed friend and leader as she asked, "Let me guess: you found it somewhere in Sirius' home?"
"Yep," said Harry, stepping forwards before he added, "Just consider that a message from the man you betrayed when you killed your own flesh and blood, bitch! Oh, and consider Neville's Cruciatus the message from his Mum and Dad…"
"Crucio!"
As Bellatrix started thrashing again, Harry turned to Neville, who removed the curse as quickly as he'd cast it before, meeting Harry's eyes, he told him, "If it was a message from both of them, it makes sense I cast two Crucios, my Lord; one for each member of the family that she stole from me."
"He's got a point," agreed Luna, though not before she patted Neville's wand arm as she added, "Just don't do it again, Neville; after all, our Lord wants this she-devil bitch to know what it feels like to be at someone else's mercy."
"And on that note," added Harry, snapping his fingers before, to Bellatrix's horror, her body began to rise up off of the floor, like she was being used as a dummy for the Levitation Charm, while Harry turned to face the crazed witch with emerald-green eyes that were much colder, darker and less-heroic-looking than any other time anyone else had seen Harry's eyes.
Of course, the fact that those eyes were now jet-black in sclera-colour didn't hurt much either, even as Harry glared icy, deathly daggers at Bellatrix before he asked, "I just have one question for you, Lestrange…although you're not even that anymore, not now your husband and brother-in-law are dead and gone."
Bellatrix squealed behind her sealed lips in outrage and disbelief, even as Harry cocked his head to one side before he asked, "So, my question now is…how shall you die?"
"Death should be a release, not a punishment," repeated Luna, moving to stand next to Harry, even as he scoffed in response.
"Yes, you said that already, Luna-girl."
"But you don't understand its meaning, my Lord," argued Luna, placing a hand on Harry's right shoulder before she leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder as she looked to Bellatrix while she explained, "What I mean is…death would be a release from this life, and her sentence has yet to be carried out. Besides, to kill her now would be a mercy."
"What are you saying, Luna?" asked Neville, standing next to Harry and Luna, even as Ginny joined them, while Luna smiled with a cold, but eerie air about her as she looked back to Bellatrix before she lifted a finger, waggling it like she was scolding a naughty child as she addressed the dark witch before her.
"Listen…and listen well, Bellatrix Lestrange: you cannot…no…you will not die…until you have suffered the same way my Lord and his brother have suffered…until you have known complete despair…"
"And you will," hissed Harry, stepping towards Bellatrix before he lifted his right hand as he added, "I promise."
With that, he placed his hand upon Bellatrix's face; as soon as he did so, even the dark witch's sealed lips couldn't mask the scream of agonising pain and torment that escaped her as her face was burned by Harry's touch, just like Quirrell had been nearly four years earlier.
Unlike that time, however, Bellatrix's face and body didn't crumble away into nothingness; instead, her skin blackened and became charred and seriously-burned by the touch of the vengeful teenager before her while her left eye was burned up in a way that left her blind in that eye from then on. Because of Harry's hex sealing her mouth shut, Bellatrix's lips, tongue and teeth were spared from the pain, though, as Harry later discovered, his burning had left the damage done to Bellatrix's mouth-area irreparable.
Even when he removed said hex, she was still mouthless and unable to speak, save for whimpering squeaks, grunts and eeping sounds that never really said anything.
Pulling his hand away from Bellatrix's burned face, Harry drew in a slow breath before he snapped his fingers again, leaving the witch to fall to the floor before, without waiting for her to recover, the dark scion growled, "Kreacher."
With a pop, the elf appeared, but when he saw Bellatrix there in front of him, his eyes widened in horror and alarm, even as he turned to see Harry staring at him with those black eyes of his.
"Filthy half-blood dares to harm Kind Mistress Bella…Kreacher will…"
"Avada Kedavra."
Even Ginny was stunned to see the green flash of the Killing Curse actually hit Kreacher, without needing to be launched from a wand; instead, when Harry commanded the darkest of the dark curses, the green flash enveloped Kreacher, much as it had done Harry back in the Veil Chamber and, seconds later, the disgruntled elf was nothing more than a corpse on the floor of the Atrium.
"Now," growled Harry, ignoring the horrified disbelief in Bellatrix's good eye as he remarked, "Let's try this again…Dobby!"
This time, the elf that appeared at Harry's command didn't even bother speaking out against Harry, or the fact that there was so much darkness, terror and everything that wasn't the Great Harry Potter he used to know in this dark spectre. Instead, Dobby bowed so low that his nose touched the tips of Harry's shoes as he addressed the young man before him.
"Yes Master?"
"Take Bellatrix back to Grimmauld Place," said Harry, a part of him momentarily-surprised to notice he could say the name of the supposedly-hidden home of the Order's HQ, but, at the same time, he kept his dominance on show as he told Dobby, "Also, take Kreacher's remains with you and hang them somewhere that Walburga Black's portrait can see him: if she refuses to let us take her down, she can suffer! As for Bellatrix, chain her up in the attic with Buckbeak and make sure she isn't armed or able to flee: as your Master, you have my full permission to do whatever you must to stop her, short of actually killing her, do you understand?"
"Dobby always hears…and Dobby always obeys, Master," replied the elf, taking hold of both Kreacher and Bellatrix before he vanished, leaving Harry alone in the Atrium with his faithful followers, all of whom watched as the young man smiled coldly before, drawing in a deep breath, he cleared his throat as he spoke again.
"So, are you going to stand there in the shadows much longer, Tom? You might as well show yourself: I know you're there, after all."
While Neville, Luna and Ginny turned suddenly to face the direction Harry addressed, the young scion craned his neck and rotated it, working out the tension in his joints, before he turned to face the same shadowy area of the Atrium. Sure enough, as he'd said, Tom Marvolo Riddle, alias the Dark Lord Voldemort, emerged from the shadows, his red eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and curiosity, as well as bemused wonder as he slowly approached the same open floor area where his long-time enemy was standing.
"So," drawled the Dark Lord, watching as Neville, Luna and Ginny moved to stand out of the way, almost as though they understood what Harry was planning on doing, even as Voldemort went on. "It's true; you really do have a much-darker mindset now, Harry."
"Dark enough to do what must be done and make sure they get the message," agreed Harry, craning his neck again while, to the amusement of his three friends, he also cracked his knuckles and stretched out his fingers, clicking the joints in them as he added, "And, not to sound like a kid at Christmas, Tom, but, between you and me, I've been looking forwards to this for years!"
"Ah," agreed Voldemort, nodding once as he drew his own wand before he asked, "So, I take it this means you're finally ready to face me, Harry? No running away, no Portkeys and no Dumbledore to save you this time!"
"And you think I need that manipulative old bastard to save me, why?" asked Harry.
"HARRY! WHAT ARE YOU…OH MY GOD! LOOK!"
"And here comes the peanut gallery," drawled Harry, though, just as Ron, Hermione and the remains of the Order appeared, Harry lifted both his hands as he threw them out to the sides in a very powerful, commanding gesture. As soon as he did so, everyone – even Voldemort – save Luna, Neville and Ginny gasped in alarm, awe and disbelief when a ring of the bluest-coloured fire any of them had ever seen suddenly sprang up, creating a ring of elemental defence that kept Harry and Voldemort inside and everyone else outside.
"Come on!" insisted Ron, pushing forwards as he exclaimed, "We've got to get in there; Harry can't stand against You-Know…"
"Step back, you stupid child!" snapped Tonks, dragging Ron back, just as he reached the wall of fire, earning a shocked, questioning look from the redhead, which prompted Tonks to explain, "Do you actually think you can walk through fire, especially this fire?"
"Harry's my mate; he wouldn't let me get hurt!"
"The old Harry, maybe, but not the new and improved one, Ronald," argued Ginny, looking at her brother from the other side of the flames, even as she smiled thinly before she looked to Tonks, who nodded once, even as Ginny asked, "If this is what I think it is, my brother probably owes you his life, doesn't he, Tonks?"
"Yes," said Tonks, earning curious looks from Hermione and Ron, though not before Remus gasped as he too realised what was happening.
"Protego Diabolica."
"Exactly," said Tonks, indicating the wall of fire between them and Harry and his advocates, even as she told Ron and Hermione, "It's no ordinary shield wall of fire: it's more-destructive than any flame, save Fiendfyre, because it's both a defence and a test, which can only be passed by those who are truly his allies, while his enemies are burned to a crisp, leaving nothing but bones and ashes!"
"But…but how did Harry learn such a spell?" asked Hermione, horror in her voice as she insisted, "He…he couldn't have learned it from Hogwarts, because it's not in any book there. And we weren't allowed anywhere near the Black Library, so…so he couldn't have found it in there! So how could he cast such a powerful cursing spell?"
"You'll never know, that's for sure," said Luna in a matter-of-fact voice, before she smiled coyly as she waved dismissively at Ron, Hermione and the Order, even as she returned her attention to Harry and Voldemort, as did everyone else.
"Now, be a good stupid little girl and hush up or we're going to miss all the fun…hey; has anyone got any popcorn handy?"
Chapter 2 and, blimey, talk about a tense place to end the current chapter, but still: is this going to be the Clash of the Titans we never really got in canon between the Chosen One and the Man Who Made Him What He Is?
Or, is canon going to be a bitch even in this story and deny us that thanks to the convenient return of He-Who-Made-The-Monster-Weak?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: Harry Potter vs Tom Riddle: fasten your seatbelts, get your popcorn in and, whatever you do, don't look away, even to blink: you won't want to miss a moment of this!
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