A/N: I wished I owned Harry Potter. Alas, I do not. Ms. Rowling, I'd be happy to take it off your hands
A/N: READ THIS AUTHORS NOTE! TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter has a section that is very dark, and more than a little gruesome. The language is filled with cursing throughout the chapter and some of the scenes depicted could best be described sickening. I will make of note of the part where it starts, and where it ends, and write a quick summary at the bottom of the chapter that summarizes the action without the gory details, but be forewarned, this chapter alone earns the M rating for this story.
I debated for a while whether or not to get as dark as this chapter is, as this is on the whole a light-hearted story for the most part. But I felt like some gritty realism worked best for the story I am telling in this chapter.
Chapter 48: Birth and Death of a Monster
March, 1995
The first thing Harry noticed was the absence of wind. Maybe it was because all the time he spent on the quidditch pitch in the past was on a broom with the wind rushing past his face. But now the rows of unfilled seats were a little unnerving. Harry had never feared Draco when they were on brooms. Even first year Harry had been better on a broom even before the rough tutelage that was the trademark of Oliver Wood. But seeing Draco smirk at him across the pitch was unnerving.
Equally unnerving were the pair of dementors hovering over the far side of the stadium. Amelia's eyes tightened as her eyes lit upon the soul-sucking monsters and she saw a black cloaked figure across the pitch with the Malfoy family in attendance, along with the potions professor.
"Harry, are you sure about this?" Amelia asked. Harry was touched by concern. She was obviously very in love with Sirius or she would not have come. To offer to fight Draco's champion was not something to take lightly, as now the worst fears of all those in Harry's corner was confirmed.
"Of course I'm not," Harry answered. "But I need to see where I stand, and putting Draco in his place is as good a motivation as any. Once I realized who might champion him, the advantages were too high. Amelia, you know as well as I that another war is on the horizon. There may not be another chance to take out Draco's champion in a one-on-one fight."
"You don't need to worry about a war in the future."
"So I should back down? Surrender a Wizengamot seat to Malfoy?" The idea of Malfoy on that council made Amelia feel literally sick.
"The wager was really not fair."
"Draco won't be able to stop himself. Lucius knows that." Harry stared down the elder Malfoy, who looked supremely pleased. "He is a slimy bastard, but he is clever. As much as I hate to admit it because I loathe him, he is an excellent Slytherin. His plots and schemes have contingencies within contingencies. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a portkey waiting to take Draco away in case I win."
"Harry," Amelia voice was tinged with worry, "the person you are fighting will not give up. Nothing short of death will stop her."
"Amelia, do you remember what I told you in December?" Amelia struggled to remember the exact conversation. Then her eyes shone with recognition. "The first deadly curse thrown at me, and I retaliate with similar force."
"This is not someone you can engage in a magical battle Harry." Amelia felt like she was Sisyphus trying to talk Harry off this ledge he seemed determined to sit on. "And Malfoy made sure you can't touch her. It was actually pretty smart."
"I wouldn't be willing to fight her if I didn't think I could win," Harry mentioned. Then he saw Bellatrix remove the robe that had hidden her identity. "Well, it's good to get confirmation." He stretched a little and then gave Amelia a pat on the shoulder. "Get behind the wards." Amelia joined the professors, who had all come to witness the fight.
"This is a blood duel of Harry Potter of line Potter and Peverell and Draco Malfoy of line Malfoy," Dumbledore said as Harry and Draco stepped forward. "As the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, I shall be the witness. Do you have seconds?"
"My godfather, Severus Snape."
"The intended of my godfather, Amelia Bones." Malfoy Sr. seemed to register the presence of Madam Bones for the first time and his face twisted.
"You can't do that!" Draco screeched. Harry looked at him with contempt and then backhanded Draco across the face, sending him flying across the pitch.
"Name your champion, Draco," Harry told him as the Malfoy heir came up spitting blood and teeth. "I have class this afternoon."
"My champion is Bellatrix Lestrange, blood sister of my mother!" Draco cried. The witch strode forward and Harry saw the crazy in her eyes. Not the craze of battle, or the craze of genius. Pure, unadulterated crazy of complete and total madness.
"The shields will not lower as soon as magic accepted the blood of the participants. The duel shall be conducted with no body to body contact, and shall continue until one of the participants cannot continue or forfeits. There shall be no spell restrictions."
"Oh goody," Bellatrix said with a squeal. "I'll have friend for the Longbottoms. I haven't heard proper screams for a long time. Maybe after I destroy you, I'll send a few more with you."
"You were indeed the one who tortured Alice and Frank Longbottom?" Harry asked, his face ashen.
"They screamed and screamed!" Bellatrix laughed maniacally.
"Like you are about too," Harry snarled.
"The wager is accepted?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes showing his fear at the magical intent radiating off the contestants. Before Harry had seemed angry, but composed. Now every spell would be with the intent of eventually killing Bellatrix.
"It is," Bellatrix said.
"It is," Harry replied, and he felt the magical shields come up around them.
"Begin," Dumbledore said. Harry almost died in that moment. Bellatrix was fast and in an instant from close range three spells flew from her wand. Harry didn't even have time to increase his speed with his magic, and only the fact that his reflexes were now almost as fast as the mad witch's wand allowed him to dodge two curses and counter the third. He recognized the spells as a blood boiling spell and two organ exploding curses.
But in the moment that he dodged the spells Harry was forced to break one of the cardinal rules drilled into him by all his instructors: never give ground and almost died a second time in as many seconds. He had stepped back to give himself time to counter the third curse and Bellatrix seized on that opportunity with glee. She fired two curses that Harry recognized as blasting curses. He thought about shielding to allow himself to regain his balance but the spells were fast and full of power, so he threw himself to the side and just about managed to avoid them. They impacted on the shields behind him with power that made him shiver.
Now with his balance back Harry responded with two bone-breakers, but his opponent batted them away with contemptuous ease. A slow red bolt was her response, and Harry's eyes widened. Remus and Sirius had shown him this one but due to the danger he had never faced it, even in simulation. It could not be blocked but it was easy enough to stop. As the curse traveled the ground and Harry prepared to raise the ground to take the power from it, he managed to sense two more curses out of the corner of his eye.
With a twirl of incredible agility Harry deflected one curse and grabbed onto the power of the other, throwing it back at the slow curse he recognized as Lycacomia Curse. He loved Remus, but Harry was not keen on becoming a werewolf. Bellatrix just smiled and cackled with excitement. Harry was not breathing hard, but to his surprise, neither was Bellatrix. A quick pulse of sensory magic revealed something that Harry had started to suspect. Harry had trained for months to be able to move his magic and physical strength to where it was needed most, but it required spells, control, and focus. Bellatrix had never been trained like he was, but it seemed she could adjust her magic and speed accordingly, with pure natural talent.
Bellatrix's wand was instantly in her hand and with frightening speed a hail of deadly curses were headed Harry's way. Harry extended his hand and plunging from the stands came his firebolt, which he grabbed with both hands and infused with a little defense magic. A quick spin of Harry's broom nullified the curses. Harry leapt and swept his broom forward, sending Bellatrix flying as the air current smashed into her. The witch rose with a smile on her face.
"Looks like little Potty came to play." There was no reaction from the stoic 14 year old. "Don't worry, it will all be over soon." Harry just grinned. Now it was his turn to attack, and he would not give her a chance to recover.
A trio of blasting curses crashed against Bellatrix's shield, but the following two stunners curved around her shield in an arc and only a last ditch attempt to have the shield cover her entire body stopped the fight from ending right there. But the shield was now weaker, and Harry fired off three piercing hexes, all curving at different angles. All three broke through the makeshift shield and one caught her in the shoulder.
All the momentum was on Harry's side and two bone-breakers were heading towards the Azkaban based witch. He slipped in a jelly legs curse, and like he planned Draco's aunt missed the weaker curse and her legs flopped to the ground. Bellatrix easily canceled the curse, but Harry felt he had the measure of her now. She had impressed him with her speed at the beginning of the fight, but now his magic was buzzing with power as he sapped his strength and stamina to end the fight. She couldn't react to his combination of wand work and occasional torrent of wind from his broom, and as long as he continued to use his prodigious physical abilities to enhance his magic and infuse the broom, she would be unable to penetrate his defenses.
"Tired Potty?" Bellatrix taunted, even though she was breathing heavily and bleeding from her wand hand shoulder.
"Not particularly," Harry said. "You can join your half-blood master. Voldemort was it?"
"You'll die for that!" Bellatrix screamed. "Avada-" The spell was cut off as Bellatrix had to jump out of the way of two cutting curses that would have removed her head.
"That's an awfully long incantation," Harry seemed totally unaffected by the first half of the incantation that could have ended his life. "Why don't you try a shorter one?"
"Imperio!" Harry didn't even bother allowing the spell to take control of him. He shattered the magic the moment the spell touched his skin. Was this the true strength of the dark lord's most trusted servant? "Crucio!" It was all too easy to dodge the red bolt and with a twirl of his broom Bellatrix was sent flying again, smashing into the shields containing the contestants. Already the end? Bellatrix would prove tricky to most wizards and witches, but how could Lucius Malfoy risk one of the most powerful death eaters against him?
"Is this truly what you have, mad witch?" Harry walked towards her calmly. "You could not have touched the Longbottoms. Who was with you? Who assisted you?" Harry's broom came down with force and Bellatrix screamed in pain as Harry's broom jerked up and Bellatrix was held against the shields by Harry's magic. "Who was with you?"
Nambung had drilled into Harry that in a duel to death, any attempt to extract information meant that your sensor for danger needed to be as high as possible. Harry wasn't thinking straight as his magic began to crush Bellatrix. But the muscle memory of a month of training reacted and Harry jumped back just in time to avoid a flurry of green bursts that spilled from Bellatrix's hand.
"What was that?" Harry wondered aloud. "Wandless and silent killing curses?" Bellatrix rose from her crumpled position on the ground. "That's not possible." Now Harry was a little unnerved and he realized with horror that he had been too foolish and too arrogant. Now he was facing a Bellatrix who was not laughing, concentrated on taking his life with no frills or tricks. But Bellatrix extended both arms and just smirked. Once again it was only reflex as green bolts shot from the hands of his opponent and Harry jumped out of range. If the opponent was going to be firing unforgivable, then his broom would be useless. And as Harry discarded his broom, the mad witch struck.
Harry managed to avoid yet another green bolt that would have ended his life, but he ran straight into the red bolt from her right hand. He collapsed to the ground, pain wracking every muscle in his body. He tried to rise but the pain was too much. With a croak he managed to raise his head but Bellatrix raised her wand and pointed it at his stomach and Harry felt a rib break, slashing deeper into his body than before and causing another devastating jolt og pain.
"Little Harry Potter, tried to play with Bella!" Bella sang. Harry felt another jolt of unbearable pain shoot through him. It was like being stabbed by a million knives at once, and he felt his consciousness fading. Then another bout of pain shot through him keeping him awake. Harry's throat was raw from screaming. "He never told you, did he? Because the old man knew!"
"He knew I could do this. I am special, the dark lord's beloved. My master showed me the way, and I took his power into me. But that isn't all, Potty!" Harry saw Bella draw her wand. "It is so much more potent when I use my wand, and I get to steal your power and make it my own. You will help me kill countless mudbloods and blood traitors when I walk free. Isn't that nice?"
Akira was terrified as he realized that Harry would lose. His brother couldn't stand, not after countless cruciatus curses. But he knew the shields around the blood duel were impenetrable to anyone short of Nambung. As Bellatrix cast another curse, Akira saw a glint in the grass. He zeroed in on it, and saw the watch Harry always wore lying there, and Harry reaching with his left hand for his right hand, grabbing the index finger.
"No, STOP!" Akira cried, but it was too late as Harry pried the ring off his finger. A burst of power rippled the shields, nocking Bellatrix away in a swarm of pure magical power. Harry rose from the ground, a cloud of red smog encircling him. His green eyes, a trademark of the Potter/Evans coupling was gone, replaced by red eyes. Red eyes that made Bellatrix look sane.
TRIGGER WARNING
"Ah," Harry said, although the voice was not his own. "The pain was finally too much for Harry. It's about time." With a feral grin and a wave of his hand, Harry broke Bella's arms. The witch cried as she fell to the ground, and with a negligent wave of his hand two swords appeared. There was no movement, no command as the swords flew through the air and pierced Bellatrix's hand, pinning it to the ground, Blood gushed everywhere as Bellatrix screamed.
"Don't scream, you stupid bitch" Harry said as he walked over and grabbed the swords. "I said DON'T SCREAM! I am just getting started. Your end will last until the end of time, and only then may you scream"
"By Merlin!" McGonagall exclaimed. "What is happening?"
"That's not Harry," Akira said sadly. "Bellatrix is doomed now."
"Not Harry?" McGonagall asked as tears rolled down her cheeks as Harry conjured more blades and stuck them in the broken arms of Bellatrix, his grin turning cruel as all four blades twisted at once.
"No. It's Ares. And he won't give control back this time."
FIRST TRIGGER OVER
-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O-
July, 1994
"Father, have you seen Harry?" Akira asked as he walked into the main dojo. "Some of the other students indicated-" Akira pulled up short. His mother was waving her wand over his father, closing long cuts and lacerations. In the far corner sat Nambung, totally exhausted with a bloody cut from navel to collarbone. "Father!"
"Akira," his father wheezed.
"Stay still my love," his mother said. "You will need to rest. Your magic will need days to recover." Akira sent out a pulse of sensory magic and then pulled back in horror. His father's magic felt wrong, corrupted even. Nambung, who pulsed untold power even when he was trying to remain untracked was entirely drained. Something had caused him to use his entire core.
"What happened?" Akira asked as he knelt by his father.
"We were fools," Nambung spat. "Harry had been holding back all summer. He never did damage, pulled his punches. He was afraid of causing real pain, a reminder of his childhood. So I convinced your father to force him to deal with his pain, and anger and sadness. We would draw it all out, and contain it. But when all his negative feelings came to the surface…" He trailed off, and Akira saw uncertainty in the Taekwondo master's eyes.
"Harry wasn't Harry anymore. He called himself Ares, a manifestation of the monstrous situation his body has been put through again and again. Harry couldn't take the pain he was dealing with, not from people he trusted. Ares broke through and took control of his body."
"Harry has two personalities?"
"No," Nambung replied, "Harry has two souls inhabiting one body. His magic was different, dangerous. Every time we hit him with a spell, he infected our magic. He seemed to feed off our attacks. Finally we managed to restrain him, but Ares is not an apprentice."
"What do you mean?" Akira asked. Nambung drew his wand and numbered appeared in the air.
"Imagine all your power, skills, martials arts and magic as a single number. The average adult wizard is probably at 40, for arguments sake," Nambung said and a blue 40 appeared. "You are probably at 60 at the moment. Your father is at 400, and I am at 500."
"So you are 10 times stronger than me," Akira noted. He could accept that.
"No, it's not simple math," his father said. If it was that, you would be 100 and Nambung would be one hundred thousand. 100 times stronger than you." Akira was silent, unsure with why they were doing this. "Harry, in control of his body, is probably a 30 at the moment. Under serious duress, he shows incredible power, up to a 50 and maybe even beyond. But normally he cannot pull this power out."
"But when Ares is in control, all the limiters are released, and pain becomes the goal. This Ares soul has already mastered specialty magic, magic that is not Harry's and geared towards total destruction. Any negative feeling Harry feels, he transforms into power. If you fear him, hate him, or even feel pain from his attacks, he gets stronger. Ares's power reached 300 before we managed to contain him and force Harry's soul back into dominance."
"What happened?" Akira asked, transfixed by the tale.
"Harry was horrified," Nambung explained. "We had to perform a surgical obliviation and sealing." Akira had to hold back vomit. His father hated using obliviation and any time he sealed power it mean something was horribly wrong. "Harry doesn't know about the existence of Ares, and until his latent power can suppress Ares, he never will."
"How?"
"The watch I gave him is covered in restraining spells geared towards Ares's magic, and it hides a ring on Harry's finger. Even if he removes the watch, Ares would need to enter Harry's mind and convince him to remove the ring. The watch I give him when he goes back to school will be even more powerful. Ares will be contained. He must be. If he emerges again, the Harry we know and care for may never return."
"Is there anything that could give Ares more power?" Nambung and Takashi Hayashi glanced at each other.
"Perhaps if he experienced pain like he experiences at his uncle's house," Hayashi said after a long pause. "But I doubt that Ares could invade Harry's mind to the point that he manages to get Harry to take of the ring. You know what Harry's mental strength is like. There should be nothing to worry about. Nothing too bad. Ares will stay contained."
-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O-
SECOND TRIGGER
March, 1995
Ares had summoned more blades and was happily chopping off tiny pieces of Bellatrix. Occasionally he took one of the blades and licked up a little bit of the blood. He seemed to grow in happiness as the mad witch's screams seem to intensify in volume, even though she was silenced. "Not yet," he muttered as he removed a toe from her right foot with a swipe of a blade. "Not yet."
"How is this possible?" Minerva asked Akira as he explained everything
"The boy that is Harry is gone. The pain became too much for him. He probably removed the watch of his own volition. He knows it restrains his power. But with the pain in his mind, Ares was able to find a foothold. He probably told Harry that if the ring was removed, the pain would stop. The desire for vengeance, all of this was too much."
"What will stop Ares?"
"Nothing," Akira said. "He will grow more and more powerful as he feeds on Bellatrix's pain and suffering. We need the shields around the duel to stop now. Any more and we will not be able to force Ares back inside Harry's head, and the longer Ares is the dominant personality, the more his behavior will affect Harry. If tomorrow comes around and Ares is still not contained, it won't matter what happens. The personalities will essentially fuse, with Ares as the decision maker."
"But there is no way to stop a blood duel," Dumbledore warned him. "When Bellatrix finally dies, we will need to make sure Harry does not follow a dark path. No matter what it takes." Akira scowled at him, but then a light came to Minerva's eyes. "Minerva, you have an idea?"
"I just want to tell you what will happen," Ares explained as all the swords started to remove toes and fingers with excruciating slowness. When I am done removing every finger and toe, then I will break your legs so you can't move. I will stop your cuts from bleeding too much. Then I will leave you alive so you can watch me kill the rest of your family. The Lestrange and Black bloodlines will be purged from the other. The Malfoy's will suffer my wrath next. But I can be merciful"
Ares inhaled deeply as Bellatrix's waves of fear, hatred, and pain filled his sinuses. He felt better than the first time he had emerged. For years, Ares had dwelt in Harry's psyche, only able to give slight urges to force the boy to tact rashly and forcefully, hoping that one day Harry would experience enough pain to allow him to emerge. He had never realized that the emotional scars Harry had were too deep to allow simple emotion to overwhelm the dominant personality. But when the foolish masters over the summer had combined physical and mental pain, he had broken free, realizing his power. And now Ares had no intention of ever allowing Harry to take back control.
"Tell me who was with you when you tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom." Ares saw Bellatrix's eyes go wide. "Tell me, and I will end the pain. If you try to say you give up, the pain will go on for days. Do we have an agreement?" Bellatrix nodded. "Very well then." Ares waved his wand. "Who was it?"
"My brother in law and husband, Rastaban and Rodolfus."
"And?" Ares said, raising a blade high. "I can see you are forgetting someone."
"Barty Crouch Jr! Please, end the pain!"
"Turns out I am a monster too," Ares said, waving his wand and silencing Bellatrix again. "Wouldn't want you to use that disgusting voice to surrender." He took a deep breath, inhaling her pain and suffering. "I hope you are ready for the next course," Ares said as he banished most of the blades, but used the remaining two to slice Bellatrix's legs off at the shin. With a wave of wand, Harry conjured a blazing fire, cauterizing the wounds. "Would you like me to let you speak? So that you can forfeit? Maybe even be healed?" Ares could see Bellatrix trying to speak. "Oh. Today is not your lucky day." Fire incinerated her feet and they burned to ash. "Only when you cannot fight anymore, remember." Ares twirled his wand. "I snapped yours, but you could always steal mine. Brilliant I know."
"Now, why don't we see what is hiding under those robes?" The blades sliced down but instead of removing clothing they carved long bloody scythes of pain in Bellatrix's upper body. "Whoops. I am so clumsy. Let's try again." This time Ares removed an ear, then a hand. "It's like a puzzle. What will I cut next?" The blade descended again, but hit a solid metal shield and rebounded.
"Mr. Malfoy has conceded, and the duel is over," Dumbledore said, his wand trained on Ares.
"The duel may be over, but this battle is not," Ares growled. "It never ends. Until all the injustice my vessel suffers is righted. Thank you for appearing, old man. It saves me the trouble of seeking you out." Ares leapt, sword in hand, and only Akira's quick intervention stopped him from removing Dumbledore's arm at the shoulder. "Ah, brother. Do not stand in my way, or I will cut you down."
"Not advisable," Akira said as he drew his own wand and Ares copied his actions. "Harry wouldn't truly try to fight as you dealt with Bellatrix. But he will fight back if you try and harm his brother." Ares seemed to lock in place. "Now!" Chains spilled out from the wands of every professor but Snape, locking Ares in place. The monster struggled against the chains and the magically enhanced restraints were on the edge of bursting. Ares took a half step forward and spit a yellow ball of fire, almost enveloping Professor Sprout until Flitwick intervened and banished the fire.
"The ring!" Minerva summoned the ring and tossed it to Akira. He raced towards Ares as the chains began to break from the unfathomable strength. "Turn him back!" As Akira neared Ares the last chain snapped and as Ares began to turn Akira realized his brother's sinister spirit was too slow. But as Akira extended his hand to slip the ring back on and give his brother back control until the watch could be reapplied, a conjured series of arrows rushed past him. Ares simply smiled and deflected them towards Akira, making the Japanese man vault over Ares.
"STOP!" Akira yelled but the jump had cost him. Ares caught him center of mass with a giant sword and Akira spit up blood and collapsed to the floor.
"This is where you choose to meet your end, brother? Pitiful." Then Ares was hit from behind with a red bolt, and he collapsed. Out of the corner of his eye, Akira saw Bellatrix with her remaining hand outstretched. Ares rose on unsteady feet and advanced towards Bellatrix, knocking away a second crucio with his sword. "I wasn't finished with you bitch. Thanks for reminding me that I needed to end you first!" Ares's blade rose to cut of Bellatrix's other arm but his right hand was open and with the last of his strength Akira cast the ring underhand, and it latched onto Ares's hand and with a howl of anger the sword in Ares hand shrunk to a dagger but the momentum was too much and the dagger plunged into Bellatrix's skull. The witch collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut, dead the moment the blade penetrated her skin.
SECOND TRIGGER OVER
The green eyes were back and Harry turned in a full circle to see the carnage. A death rattle came from the woman below him, and Harry stared in horror at the dagger in his hand. Then he spotted Akira and with a cry he ran to his brother. "He needs blood replenishing potions!" Harry dove into his magic and with brute force tried to force the wound to close.
Eventually McGonagall dragged him away and Harry sat with bated breath as Madam Pomfrey tried her best to stabilize his brother. It took an hour on the pitch, as Pomfrey was too afraid to move him. But at the end of the hour the healer announced that while he would need rest Akira would recover and Harry let out a breath.
"Everything will be ok," Minnie was saying as she hugged Harry. "None of that was you."
"He got out of control, didn't he?"
"You knew he was there?" Harry gave a dry chuckle. "I thought the memory was removed."
"It was, until he broke out again. As his magic replaced mine, it brought the original memories back. Otherwise I might have been able to fight him." Harry looked at the dagger, still in his hand. "I agree with what he did, in principle. She needed to die, and I won't apologize for it. But I have that anger in me, that horrible person. The way he did it, that was wrong."
"It wasn't you," Minnie tried to comfort Harry, but he brushed her hands off.
"Don't you see?" Harry looked totally broken, even more than when his name had come out of the cup. "Ares is part of me. He amplifies the worse urges I have, but deep inside Harry, those same horrible feelings exist. As he tortured Bellatrix and I fought for control, I couldn't help but think that maybe I should give Ares total control and never come back. He would eliminate people like her."
"That is Ares talking," his grandmother tried to reassure him. "You will get through this."
"Accio watch!" Harry yelled and the watch jumped into his hand. Harry refastened the watch and reversed the dagger, holding it out hilt first to Minnie, who took it. "You don't understand. Ares is his own person, but he only exists because I created him. I have to contain him, and I can't risk him breaking loose here."
"Harry, what are you saying?" Minnie asked.
"Give the knife to Neville. Say it is the last revenge for Frank and Alice Longbottom. Tell them all that Bellatrix Lestrange will never torture another person. Tell Akira sorry for me. And…" Harry took a deep breath. "Maybe the magic of the cup will kill me. Minnie, I'm so sorry. But I can't do this anymore. Magic has brought me just as much pain and suffering as the muggle world. I would be fine with that. But now I am bringing the suffering and death to others. And I can't live with that. Know that I love you, and this isn't your fault." Harry gave a fake smile and then with a crackle of lightning Harry vanished.
"Where did he go?" Dumbledore cried, rushing over to the spot Harry had vanished. The transfiguration professor had collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. The headmaster stared at her in horror. "Where did he go?" He insisted.
"My grandson is gone, lost to us forever!" Minerva cried. "I could have forced him to name me champion, but I was scared. Scared people would know that I had a child. Scared people would judge me. And now I have lost him. I will never forgive myself that." She hauled herself to her feet. "But I can fulfill his last wishes."
As she walked into the great hall, she saw all eyes on her. A quick "Tempus" revealed that it was lunch time for many students. Ares must have tortured Bellatrix for at least a half hour if not more. Every eye was on her as she slowly walked to the Gryffindor table. She stopped behind Neville Longbottom and handed him the dagger.
"This is from Harry. He promised that Bellatrix Lestrange would never harm another person. He has asked me to give this to you as proof." Neville's eyes were wide with wonder as he reverently took the dagger.
"Where is Harry, professor?" Hermione asked. "Did he get hurt?"
"No," McGonagall said. "But he is gone."
"He disappeared again!" Cries of disbelief were echoed around the great hall. Some students looked totally crushed, but the primary reaction was stunned silence. The death of someone like Bellatrix Lestrange changed the world, and it now appeared like Harry was fleeing the scene of a horrendous crime. Revenge killing was punishable by time in Azkaban, but not in a blood duel to the death.
"Not this time," McGonagall explained, wiping away a fresh tear. "This time, Harry is gone for real. And I do not know where to find him."
"What about Professor Hayashi?" Cedric asked. "They are close, right?"
"Professor Hayashi was injured in the aftermath of the duel," McGonagall explained. "He will not be able to move for a week.
"Hmph. So we must drag him back," Fleur said with a sniff. Everyone turned to her in surprise. "Oh, you all give up on Harry Potter so easily?" More stunned silence met this statement.
"Of course not!" Hermione managed to say. "But if he flashed away, how can we find him?"
"Because Harry knows nothing of Veela," Fleur explained. "He did not know what he truly gave me when he gave me this," Fleur added as she fingered the stone around her neck. "Because many people have secrets of their person, but I hold the secrets of a great race. And because regardless of what Harry did, I know who he is. Perhaps better than anyone. And I will not let him escape me. Not now, not ever." And with those words Fleur grabbed the crystal around her neck and vanished in a ball of white-hot fire, leaving all behind in disbelief.
Summary of Triggers
First: Harry's other personality Ares is released and starts to torture Bellatrix
Second: Ares continued to torture and threaten Bellatrix, but Draco surrenders to Dumbledore, ending the duel shields. However the professors cannot restrain Ares and as Akira tries to restore Harry's mind, he gets seriously wounded with a sword in his chest, and Harry regains control just as he kills Bellatrix.