As always, I'm only playing with JK Rowling's toys. All credit goes to JK Rowling, her publisher and all the other people involved in bringing her work to life.
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Fury was not generally associated with Harry Potter; during his time at school, anger had been a constant companion that burned brightly before fading away. In his years after Hogwarts, his ability to control his emotions grew to the extent that it was only on very rare occasions that he lost control; one of those times was upon Hermione's death.
The fires of rage burned in his eyes as he slowly and deliberately made his way to the infirmary. Vengeance would be his.
Word had spread that Harry had returned to the school and that there would be a confrontation, eagerly the students gathered in the corridor outside the hospital wing. Harry and Hermione paid them no mind as they made their way to the double doors.
A group of fifth and sixth-year prefects barred the doors, and all stood with their wands in the hands.
'Potter, where do you think you're going?' asked one prefect
Harry swept his left hand to the side; the prefects were brushed aside, Harry snapped his fingers, and all of their wands were summoned to him.
'Oi, you can't do that', shouted another prefect.
Harry stopped and slowly turned to face the pile of bodies on the floor.
The glare that he gave the sprawling prefects was enough to render them silent and had the added effect of scaring away every other student gathered.
'Dobby?' Hermione gently called for the house-elf
'Miss Grangy?' asked Dobby
'Can you take these wands to Professor McGonagall and tell her that the prefects with be coming to collect them later?' asked Hermione
Dobby simply nodded and popped away to carry out his task.
Harry stood looking at the prefects, burning their faces into his mind for future reference, before turning to the infirmary's double doors.
Harry held out his right hand for Hermione to take before gently pushing open the door in front of him.
The familiar aroma of antiseptic that every medical facility has, greeted him; it was almost a welcome scent. Almost.
At the far end of the ward stood the four occupied beds, Cho and Pucey hadn't been hurt in the confrontation, but it was deemed to be in their best interests to be isolated from the rest of the student population.
Four sets of eyes turned and what they saw chilled them to their marrow.
Harry Potter stood in the middle of the ward, and his Magic was flaring wildly. It seemed that Harry was losing control to everyone else, but the fact was that this was simply a parlour trick that he found amusing because of the effect that it had on the unsuspecting.
His hair was billowing; between his fingers, it appeared that his Magic was arcing, but it was his eyes that caught their attention. They burned with emerald green fire; Cho was so panicked that her hair turned white instantly before she passed out; Pucey had an episode of involuntary urination and defecation before collapsing. His Magic reacted to protect him.
Cormack and Tiberius could not take their eyes from Harry; in the pit of their stomach, they knew that this was a reckoning and that they had brought it upon themselves.
'Good, you're both awake' said Harry, his voice devoid of any emotion.
'Do you l know who I am, boy?' barked Tiberius
'I know exactly who you are, what you've done, and who you've done it to Tiberius. The question that you both need to ask is, do you know who I am?' As Harry spoke, he moved the space at the foot of both beds.
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The atmosphere in the ward swirled like a hurricane was blowing through the school. In her bed, Cho screamed and cowered under the covers as the magical winds buffeted her. Hermione stood behind Harry and realised that she was not affected by the wind.
When Harry opened his eyes, they were glowing vibrant green.
Harry spoke in a visceral, guttural growl as the fates worked through him 'Tiberius McLaggan; Magic finds you guilty of acts of defilement, torture, and depravity. You are unworthy of our essence; it shall be stripped from you, and your magic-less body shall be displayed for all to see, so mote it be.'
Slowly Tiberius rose from the bed, his limbs thrashing about as he struggled to break the invisible bonds that held him. Slowly his magical essence began to be siphoned from him before he glowed bright white and the rest of his Magic was violently ripped from him.
'Your essence will be returned to Mother Magic so that others more deserving will benefit.' In a blinding flash, the pooling essence that had come from Tiberius had disappeared into the ether, and Tiberius vanished with a high pitched scream.
'Cormack McLaggan, we leave you to our chosen one.' Harry spoke, but the unearthly voice was not his.
Suddenly Harry's eyes closed, and he dropped to his knees like a marionette with the strings cut.
Hermione rushed to his side.
'What did you do? Where's my uncle?' roared Cormack
'It was the fates who judged him, not me.' said Harry weakly.
'What do you mean?' asked the older boy.
Harry lifted his head, stared at the bedridden teenager, and said, 'What I mean is you're mine.'
Harry stood with his hands outstretched; he looked over his shoulder to Hermione; she was the wronged party in this, not him. If she was still ok with him taking retribution on these three, then that was precisely what he would do.
Hermione simply nodded.
Harry brought his hands together in an almighty clap; the three students were levitated to the centre of the room, Chang and Pucey were roused by the Magic being used.
'You tried to take something from my love, and I will not forgive such a transgression. From henceforth you will know only heartbreak, you will know only the suffering you have caused to others, and you will know only bitterness and loathing of yourself said Harry; he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he re-opened his eyes, the familiar emerald colour had vanished to be replaced with an eternal abyss; when he spoke, his voice had changed to a deep guttural snarl.
Harry spoke in Latin 'perpetuam unaquaeque', and a light purple spell hit the three teens, 'sui amaritudine' and a vivid yellow spell hit the teens, 'vivamus alio dolor' and a bright orange spell hit the teens.
The last spell he cast at the three teens, Harry spoke in English.
'I punish you to the fourth generation of your line in retribution for your sins' as the last syllable of the spell left his tongue, a bright iridescent flame engulfed the three until Harry said, 'So mote it be.'
Cormack, Adrian, and Cho flew back to their beds and dropped unconscious on to the mattresses. Harry swayed slightly and fell in a heap on the floor.
'HARRY' yelped Hermione as she rushed to him.
'Hey Mia' he said weakly
'Don't move, Harry, I'll get help' Hermione said as she started to get up.
Harry gripped her hand and said, 'I'm fine, I just overexerted myself. I need to eat and get some fluids.'
'But you collapsed.' protested Hermione
'Please trust me, love. If you can get me to the seventh floor, there is something that I want to show you.' said Harry
Hermione wanted to protest, but the look of pleading in his eyes convinced her that he knew what he was doing. She helped him to his feet, and they slowly made their way to the seventh floor. They had to make frequent stops along the way because of how exhausted Harry had become; each time they stopped, Hermione tried to get him to see sense and each time, he promised her that everything would be fine.
When they got to their destination, Harry said, 'We have to go to the corridor with the dancing trolls; there is something exciting, and I want you to see it.'
'Harry, I've been down that corridor hundreds of time; there is nothing there at all.' said Hermione
'Do you trust me?' he asked
'Yes, I trust you. I love you, don't I?' she replied and poked him in the shoulder
'Then let's get to the trolls.' said Harry
Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered something about impossible boys while Harry chuckled to himself.
A few moments later, they found themselves face to face with dancing trolls.
'Right, we have reached the end of your fool's errand; there is nothing here.' Hermione said as she gestured to the empty corridor.
'That's because you are not in the correct frame of mind. Hospitals and Libraries aside, can you picture the one place you would like to be with me right now?' asked Harry
Hermione turned towards her boyfriend and blushed slightly as a multitude of thoughts and images ran through her mind before saying 'I would-'
Only for Harry to press his finger gently against her lips, 'As long as you know and can see it in your mind, I'll see it soon enough,' he said with a smile.
This was frustratingly confusing for her.
'Now go over to the opposite wall and walk up and down three times and think about the place you want to be with me and I'll see it.' said Harry
Hermione cocked her eyebrow and crossed her arms and glared at him.
'On you go.' said Harry as he leaned on against the wall.
Hermione turned on her heel with a huff and marched over to the wall, and carried out his instructions. When she was finished, she stopped and turned to face him.
'Happy? Now, if you'll kindly stop with the nonsense, it has been a trying day, and I really want you to get-' Hermione stopped in midsentence as the sound of stones sliding across each other could be heard behind her.
##
Ragnok watched as Snape and Sirius bristled at each other; the constant childish remarks had grown tiresome.
'ENOUGH!' demanded the Director, causing both men to jump slightly in the seats.
'Lord Black, whatever petty grudge you held against this man in school ends here. Our world has suffered enough because of the ego of wizards. Professor, his grace has said that I can trust you, yet you have shown little cause for me to do so since you stepped into my office. It is time for you both to grow up.' said the Director
This stinging rebuke caused both men to stare at their feet while they contemplated the Goblin's words.
'I resented you for how easy everything came to you both, friendships, admiration, and all the attention for your achievements, the two purebloods that ruled Gryffindor. You never gave a thought about how others felt or how difficult it was just to be accepted. At least that was how it seemed at the time.' said Snape
'The first time we saw each other, you talked about how great Slytherin was, and that got my back up. I was raised with the pureblood dogma that still pollutes our world. I was beaten black and blue because I refused to accept it. When I was sorted, the only people congratulated from my family were my grandfather Arcturus and my cousin Andi. When I was sixteen, my darling mother tortured me for three days because I refused to join him' explained Sirius
Severus looked at Black with a look of utter shock on his face.
'There was nothing about me that you needed to envy, Severus' said Sirius
'My father used to beat my mother because she refused to let him beat me. Once he beat her so badly that I thought she had died, it was only a burst of accidental Magic from me that saved her. Did you know that I grew up three streets away from Lily? In our neighbourhood, I was known as the weird kid that even the weird kids avoided; we were poor because my father would drink his wages away at the end of the week, and mum refused to use her Magic to make our lives easier. Lily was the first person to show me any real kindness, and how do I repay that? I treat her like crap, and I've been a bastard to her son since his first year. Harry gave me a letter from James, and then he told me that since his mum trusted me, he would. You don't know what that does to someone like me' said Severus
Yes, yes, you've both suffered, and things could have been so much more pleasant for all concerned. Now can we move on to less soppy things, please?' smirked the Goblin
Both men nodded in agreement.
'Good, now Mr Snape Harry tells me that you have been in the service of both Dumbledore and Voldemort. Is this true?' asked Ragnok
'I have been playing both sides; my loyalty has always been to the light. I realised that I couldn't be party to the raping and murdering of innocents. The dark lord refused to let me participate due to the sensitive nature of certain potions.' Explained Snape
'What do you know of the process to create a Horcrux?' asked Ragnok
'I don't know of the process; I do know that they prevent a person from truly dying. The dark lord has created six of these abominations; I told Albus about them as soon as I knew what they were.' said Severus
'What did he use?' asked Sirius
'A ring of some sort, an old diary, a locket that once belonged to Salazar himself, a Diadem, a goblet or cup of some description, and his snake familiar, why?' asked Severus
The Goblin looked at Sirius, who simply nodded.
'It turns out that Tom made one additional Horcrux that was entirely accidental. Lily placed an ancient and powerful protective charm on Harry, which would only activate under very exacting circumstances. Lily used Nordic runes to anchor her protective charms, the Sowulo rune activated, and with the sun's power, it vaporised Tom and left Harry with that scar. We think that, as it was already extremely unstable, a fragment of his soul latched on to the only living thing in the room.' Explained Ragnok
Severus was stunned. Only someone as brilliant as Lily could have created something so powerful that it would stop the killing curse.
'Is the fragment still in his scar?' asked Snape
'No, we removed it recently. We have gathered the fragments from the scar and the goblet. We know the location of all but the snake, which is where you both come in.' said Ragnok
'Us, How?' asked Sirius
'Because Lord Black, one is currently in Grimmauld Place and the other is in Hogwarts, and we require you both to collect them for us.' said Ragnok with a very toothy grin.
Both wizards looked shell shocked.
'Do you have a picture of what these items look like?' asked Snape
'One will be provided for both of you. Mr Snape, for obvious reasons, I need you to retrieve the one from Hogwarts. I am advised that speaking with the school elves will help you.' explained Ragnok
Severus nodded in acceptance of his task.
'Lord Black, to retrieve the item you need only call your house-elf. Ask him to tell you his story and offer to complete his task.' said Ragnok
'Director, this is a task I don't think I am capable of doing. The elf was instructed to torture me by my mother; if you show me the locket, I shall retrieve it on my own.' said Sirius
'Would you care to explain this to your Godson? These instructions come from him; he has given Gringotts all the information we have on these foul creations.' said the Goblin
Sirius sighed and slumped in his seat and said, 'I will do it, if only for Harry. I owe him my freedom, and this is the very least I can do.'
##
Hermione turned and saw a door appear out of nowhere; Harry pushed himself away from the wall and said, 'Find anything interesting yet?'
Hermione turned and glared at him 'what is this place?' she asked
'You should know, you imagined it.' said Harry.
Harry stepped forward and opened the door.
'My lady.' he said as he held open the door.
Hermione entered the room with trepidation and saw before her the fruits of her imagination come to life.
'Harry! How can this be real?' she asked
Harry smiled and said, 'hey, it's a kind of magic!'
Hermione stood in wonder as she took in everything about her.
'Where are we?' Harry asked
'In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.' explained Hermione as she looked about.
'Verona?' asked Harry, 'You mean the actual Verona? Is that a real story?' Harry asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
'There are some that believe that Shakespeare based his play on an older historical account. There is no real way to prove one way or another, but there is a place that is believed to be the actual house of the historical Juliet, although the balcony is a much later addition.' replied Hermione.
'Wow, this place looks amazing, Hermione. Only you could think of somewhere that is significant in both literature and history as the one place you would like to be with me. I love it, thank you for sharing this with me' exclaimed Harry
Hermione turned and gave Harry a megawatt smile. She took his offered arm, and they walked to a nearby bench so that Harry could rest a little.
'Dobby?' called Harry
'Yes, Mr Harry Potter, sir?' asked the excitable elf.
'Could you bring us some lunch and something to drink?' asked Harry; Dobby nodded and popped away before returning a moment later with a platter of sandwiches and a pitcher of pomegranate juice.
'Pumpkin juice can get a little too sweet for my taste.' Explained Harry
'What did you do to the three stooges?' asked Hermione, cutting straight to the point.
'I used three ancient spells that I found on my travels. They were created about seven hundred years ago by a witch, who had been wronged by her husband' explained Harry
'And the spell you did in English?' Hermione asked
'That was simply a paraphrased bible quote; the flames were only for show. It served its purpose. Soon word will get out that if people threaten you to get to me, then their entire family is in jeopardy, although I hope you know I would never condemn an innocent because of the sins of a parent.' Harry said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
Hermione grasped his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
'What happened with Cormack's uncle?' Harry asked Hermione
'What do you mean?' she asked
'I could see what was going on, but I couldn't hear anything. D-did I do something that I don't remember?' he asked
'I think that the same thing happened to him that happened to Ginny. I know that she broke the terms of the life debt, but I think that Magic deemed him unworthy. This intense, harsh voice called him guilty of defilement, torture, and depravity, then all of his Magic was stripped away, then he vanished' explained Hermione.
##
In the atrium of the Ministry of Magic, a breeze started to blow. The atmosphere began to feel greasy, bolts of raw cobalt blue Magic began to arc across surfaces. The people started to panic and run about blindly. Just then, a massive ball of blinding white light appeared from nowhere, almost instantly is disappeared and in its place stood a gibbet cage.
In the cage hung the dead body of Tiberius McLaggan, with a sign above the cage that read "defiler, torturer, and depraved."
The people in the atrium gawped at what they saw before them.
Three spectral figures appeared in the air above the gibbet and spoke in the same visceral, guttural voice heard in the hospital wing and said, 'Listen well, ye who weld the essence of Mother Magic, and pay heed. This man was found guilty by Magic of abusing his powers. Magic deemed him unworthy and stripped his essence; this will be the fate of all who transgress against Mother Magic.' The figures vanished with a loud crack that rent the air and shattered every window in the atrium.