A/N: SUICIDE WARNING. Harry doesn't kill himself but I still prefer to put the warning as some of Harry's thoughts before doing his 'prank' could be close to what some people really think before killing themselves and I don't want to trigger anyone.
"So ends the famous Harry Potter..." said Riddle's distant voice. "Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by his friends..."
Harry Potter was brooding.
It had been one month since Harry had come back to the Dursleys for the summer holidays. The fact that Harry still had to stay with his relatives when he had a godfather willing to take him in frustrated him to no end.
At the end of their latest year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had discovered the truth about Sirius Black and what had happened on the Halloween Harry had become orphaned.
The Wizarding World believed that Sirius Black was a mass-murderer and Lord Voldemort's right-hand man. They believed that Sirius had been the Potter's Secret-Keeper and had betrayed them to the Dark Lord. They believed that Sirius had murdered Peter Pettigrew (when Peter had tried to capture and arrest his friends' betrayer) and twelve innocent muggles when Sirius had blasted the street with a powerful curse. Unbeknownst to the Wizarding World, that was all false.
Its frustrated Harry to no end that the Ministry hadn't even given his godfather a trial after his arrest and thrown him directly into Azkaban, the Wizarding prison and Hell on Earth.
When Harry and his friends had encountered Sirius at the end of their third year, they had discovered the truth. Peter Pettigrew had been a secret Death Eater and spy for Voldemort. Peter Pettigrew had been the Potter's Secret-Keeper and the real betrayer and Peter Pettigrew had murdered the twelve muggles before faking his own death, framing Sirius in the process.
Pettigrew had been uncovered by Sirius, Professor Lupin and the trio. For thirty sweet minutes, Harry had believed that he was finally rid of the Dursleys and that he could live with his godfather as his parents had wanted. Unfortunately, Pettigrew had managed to escape that evening in the commotion following Professor Lupin's abrupt transformation into a werewolf. Without any proof, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, had refused to believe their version of the story and sentenced Sirius for an immediate Dementor's Kiss. Because of that, Harry and Hermione had been forced to use Hermione's borrowed Time-Turner to travel back to the past and help him escape.
Sirius had managed to escape on the back of Buckbeak the hippogriff thanks to Harry and Hermione's intervention. Harry had wished that it hadn't been necessary but ever since he had been a witness to Hagrid's arrest and incarceration into Azkaban simply because the Minister "needed to be seen doing something", he had started losing faith in the Wizarding World. Learning about his innocent godfather spending more than a decade in Hell on Earth and being sentenced to a fate worse than death without anyone trying to figure out the truth was the final nail in the coffin. It hurt to think about the fact that his parents had sacrificed their lives for him and the Wizarding World only for that same world to act like corrupt idiots.
Harry could not thank Ron and Hermione enough for their help in the whole ordeal. Harry's friends meant the world for him and he saw them both as his true family. He would be forever grateful that they had stuck through thick and thin with him. He wouldn't have blamed them if he believed he was too dangerous of a friend but they didn't. Harry was happy that they trusted him as much as he trusted them.
Now, Harry was back at the Dursleys and wishing he was anywhere but. Sirius had sent him a letter a few days after he had arrived at Privet Drive where he told his godson that he had to meet some old friends of his. Harry had no idea who that could be as from the little he knew; his friends had been his dad and Professor Lupin. From the way it was mentioned in the letter, Harry was led to believe that they weren't friends but more like secret allies.
Back to the present, it was currently night-time. Harry's relatives had gone to bed a few hours ago but Harry couldn't sleep. He had been spending so little energy during the day that he barely had to sleep. It left him enough time to brood on his situation.
Laying down on his bed, Harry was thinking about how he had come to see the magical society in three short years and how he had been disappointed. When he had arrived in the Wizarding World, Harry had seen it as some sort of fairy tale. Now, he could see it for what it truly was and he didn't like it. That had led to some self-questioning for Harry. What would he do when he would graduate Hogwarts? From the little he knew about prospective careers; most available jobs were in the Ministry of Magic and Harry didn't want to work for them. The only interesting prospect within the Ministry would be the Auror Department but Harry wasn't interested in working for a Department that arrested innocents and sent them to prison without a fair trial. Harry had thought about teaching at Hogwarts as, for him, Hogwarts was the closest thing to home that he had but the only subject he saw himself good enough at was Defence Against the Dark Arts which happened to be the cursed position. Harry had no interest in tempting faith.
While Harry was thinking, something softly knocked somewhere. Harry raised his head and looked at the door but rapidly returned to his brooding. The Dursleys wouldn't have knocked on his door if they wanted to enter or speak to him and, anyway, they were sleeping.
Harry heard a louder double-knock and raised his head again, this time withdrawing his wand. Something was not right here.
Again, Harry heard another double-knock. That's where he realised that the knocks didn't come from his door but from behind him, where his window was! Harry turned around and his jaw dropped.
It was Sirius and he was standing outside of his window!
"Sirius?" whispered Harry with shock. He was shocked to see his godfather holding on the edge of the window. From the other side of the window, Sirius pointed the lock with his hand. Understanding his message, Harry unlocked and opened his window. Sirius immediately slipped inside. It was then that Harry noticed his godfather's weird outfit.
The last time he had seen his godfather, Sirius had been wearing his old Azkaban rags. Harry had expected Sirius to get himself some slightly eccentric robes now that he was free to do so but not whatever he was wearing. Sirius was wearing what appeared to be white and red hooded battle robes with two leather bracers and a leather belt with an iron buckle in the shape of a stylised 'A'. Sirius also had a mokeskin pouch attached to his belt.
"Sirius? What are you doing here?" he hissed quietly, not wishing for the Dursleys to wake up. "What are you wearing?"
"I'm here to see you, of course!" answered his godfather with a grin. Sirius then sat on Harry's bed and continued. "And I'm wearing my Assassin robes."
Harry felt as if a cube of ice had dropped in his stomach. "What do you mean, 'assassin' robes?"
"These are the robes from the Assassin Brotherhood. They are the 'old friends' I had to speak to."
"Assassin Brotherhood? You are an assassin?" he asked. At Sirius' nod, he blew up. "You're an assassin!? I thought you said you weren't a murderer!"
Sirius interrupted it. "I never said I never killed anyone. I just never killed Peter or his victims. I only killed three times and it was during the war. Two were Death Eaters during a raid against Hogsmeade and one was a muggle that was literally about to rape an innocent teenage girl."
"Oh." said Harry, deflating. "Why are you in an order of murderers then?"
Sirius chuckled. "I know that the name can be confusing but the Assassin Brotherhood isn't simply about killing people."
"What is it then?"
"The Assassins are an old Order, dating back to Ancient Egypt. Back then and until the Crusades, the Order was known as the Hidden Ones. In my opinion, it is a more fitting name than 'Assassin'."
"And what do the Assassins do?"
"They fight for order through freedom and free will." answered Sirius. "For two thousand years, the Assassins had been fighting against the Templar Order, an Order who want to bring peace to the world by controlling free will."
"Templars?" asked Harry. "Like the knights?"
"Exactly like the knights as the Templar Order from the Crusade was the new public façade of what was once known as the Order of the Ancients. The goal of the Templars is to impose a New World Order and control the entirety of humanity. The Assassins are the group that decided to oppose them and fight for the right of the individual, for freedom and for free will."
Harry didn't like the idea of those Templars but failed to see why Sirius was telling him all that. "What does that have to do with me then?"
"When the war against Voldemort started, both Assassins and Templars decided to watch and observe us. The Assassins feared that the maniac would try to make a genocide while Templars wanted to see if they could use Voldemort to their advantage."
Harry palled. "They didn't, right?"
Sirius shook his head, making Harry sigh in relief. "Templars want order. When they realised that Voldemort wanted nothing more than chaos, they ignored him. However, the Assassins didn't and decided to create a new magical branch of the Brotherhood to help fight against Voldemort."
"Which you joined." said Harry with understanding. "Who leaded this new branch?"
Sirius grinned. "Fleamont Potter."
"WHAT!?" let out Harry very loudly before putting his hand on his mouth. Both godfather and godson listened for hints that the Dursleys were awake but after a minute, they resumed their conversation."
"My grandfather was an Assassin?"
"Yes. So was your grandmother and your father."
"And Mum?"
"She wasn't but she knew about it, just like Remus."
"And Mum was fine with this?"
"Yes, of course! The only reason she didn't join herself was because she didn't think she would have been able to kill anyone, even in self-defence!"
Harry had to sit down on his chair before he fell to the ground. The fact that his father and grandparents were part of the Assassin Brotherhood was mind-blowing. The fact that his mother had apparently known about it was almost as shocking as everything else. From the little he knew about Lily Potter, he had never imagined that she would be okay with this. In his mind, his mother was the type of person that believed that murder was a big no-no, even if it was for a good cause.
"And you came here to recruit me?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Not exactly. Well not yet."
"Huh?"
"Listen." said Sirius as he removed a leather bracer from his pouch. "The reason I am here is because I believed that you should have your father's Hidden Blade."
"And what's a Hidden Blade?"
"That is the signature weapon of an Assassin." answered Sirius before a blade suddenly appeared on his forearm in a quick, metallic sound.
"Wow." said Harry with wide eyes. "That could be a useful weapon. I doubt any witches or wizards would look for it and it could give me a secret defence in case I need it."
"That's exactly why I came here." said Sirius, giving him James' Hidden Blade. While Harry attached it to his forearm, Sirius took out something else from his pouch. Harry tested his father's blade by releasing it a few times. "That's incredible..."
"That's not all." said Sirius emotionally. Harry, who was surprised by the change of tone, turned back toward his godfather. Sirius was looking at his left forearm with a fond smile, reminiscing about James Potter.
"Sirius?"
"Right. I also want to give you this." he said, giving him another white and red robes.
"Is that..."
"Your father's robes. Yes, it is. The robe is magical." he said. "Not only will it shrink and expand depending on who wears it but it can also be worn and removed with the simple flick of a wand. The hood also has an obscuration charm which will create shadows so nobody will be able to have a proper look at your face even if you were looking straight at the sun."
"Really?"
"Yes. It is very useful so if for instance you suddenly need to cover yourself to move incognito through a crowd, you can just walk in an alleyway, do a flick of the wand and walk out wearing the robes. It will only take a few seconds to do so."
"Thanks, Sirius."
"No problem... listen. I want you to always be wearing your father's Hidden Blade. There are no doubts that things are changing for the worse and I don't want you to be left undefended, especially when you can't use magic. Keep the robes on you. Actually, you know what, take my mokeskin pouch. It is a lot bigger on the inside and you will be able to keep your robes with you at all time."
"Thanks." said Harry before he hesitated. "If I ever want to join the Assassins... will I be able to?"
Sirius smiled. "I would prefer if you didn't join until you were older but if you truly wanted to join now then you could. You would need to be trained first before going on any type of mission however."
"Fair enough." said Harry.
"Well, if that's done then I will let you sleep." said Sirius.
"Where will you go?"
"Back to the Brotherhood Headquarters... See you later, kiddo." and with that, Sirius jumped out of the window. Harry looked back at his robes and Hidden Blade. With a flick of the wand, Harry was now wearing his robes. It was lucky that it wasn't a spell as it would have caused him a lot of problems if it was the case...
He had killed. He still couldn't believe it. And everything was going so perfectly!
The final match of the World Cup had been brilliant. Ireland versus Bulgaria. Ireland had won but Bulgaria's Viktor Krum had caught the snitch. The match had been brilliant to watch and he, Hermione and the Weasleys had been discussing it until after midnight. Before going to sleep, Harry had decided to take a walk outside and possibly find friends from school to talk to.
Harry had been out for around ten minutes when the atmosphere changed. He had just come from talking to the Diggorys about the match when Harry heard an explosion from further in the camp. Almost by instinct, Harry had flicked his wand to put on his Assassin robes and ran toward the explosion. Quickly enough, people had started to flee but in the opposite direction. After another few minutes of running through the crowd, Harry had found what had happened.
Death Eaters had attacked the muggle family and were causing chaos.
Unwilling to let them get away, Harry had hidden within a tent close to the Death Eaters and waited. When the group passed in front of the tent, Harry whistled. One Death Eater at the back heard the whistle and turned around, something his friends had missed. The Death Eater walked toward the tent and was about to blast it when Harry grabbed him from inside, threw him on the ground and stabbed him in the heart.
Harry quickly left the tent and slowly followed the Death Eaters. The Death Eaters were slow as they seemed to be enjoying the chaos they were causing. Harry took the opportunity to walk into a bush between two tents and assassinate the Death Eater at the end of group. He had managed to hide the body in the bush just in time as a few seconds later, a few Death Eaters turned and called for their lost comrade.
"Leave him!" said the apparent leader of the Death Eaters, a voice Harry recognised as Lucius Malfoy's. "He couldn't do anything proper anyway. It's a wonder the Dark Lord accepted him within his ranks."
"You shouldn't question the decisions of the Dark Lord!" said another Death Eater, causing a debate between the group. Harry used the opportunity to hide behind a tent. One Death Eater noticed something moving and walked toward the disturbance to investigate. Harry used the opportunity to kill another Death Eater.
Harry suddenly heard loud cries coming from the forest and upon turning toward it, Harry found a big, emerald skull with a snake floating in the clear, black sky.
"Shit!" said one of the Death Eaters. "I didn't think he was back!" and immediately apparated away.
"Wait, no!" said Malfoy as other disapparated. "We aren't done yet."
"Forget it, Malfoy." said one of the Death Eaters. "We only wanted to have a bit of fun, we didn't want to make it an official attack! Now the Ministry will be unto us!"
"Fine!" barked Malfoy, dropping the muggle family on the ground. "Be as it may! Let's go away." he said before disapparating. Malfoy was quickly followed by all the others except one.
The remaining Death Eater looked at the terrified family on the ground and said "The others might not want to have some fun anymore but I certainly want." in a voice that chilled Harry to the bones. "I will first rape your wife and force you to watch before I imperius you and order you to rape and kill your own daughter." he said before crackling in laugher. The laughter quickly subsidised however as the Death Eater moaned in pain before holding his throat. The Death Eater fell to the ground, revealing to the muggle family a white hooded figure.
Harry took out his wand and unfroze the family.
"Who are you? croaked the terrified father.
"A helping hand." he said as he helped the father raise back on his feet.
"Cicilla, Jasmine, are you alright?" asked the father to his wife and daughter.
"Fine." muttered Cicilla, the mother. Jasmine however ran to her father's legs and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Thank..." started the father before he noticed that the man in white robes was gone. A few seconds later, he heard a few pops: Men and women in red robes had appeared and were walking right toward them."
Fifty meters from them was an unrobed Harry who was walking as quickly as possible back to the Weasley tent. The reality of the situation suddenly crashed into him. He had just killed four people! Sure, they were Death Eaters and Harry had done so to save the lives of the muggles and fellow Quidditch enthusiasts but still. He had killed!
He was wondering if his parents would be proud of what he had done or not. He doubted his father would have an objection as he had apparently also done the same thing but, what about his mother? His mother had been fine with her husband being an Assassin but would she think the same for her son or would she be disappointed in him that he had killed? Knowing that this questioning wouldn't lead to anything, Harry tried to push it at the back of his mind.
"Harry!" yelled someone in relief. It was Bill Weasley. It was then that Harry realised that he had arrived to the tent. "Are you alright?" asked the eldest Weasley son.
"I'm fine." said Harry, walking inside. Harry could see that only Bill, Charlie and Percy were present. "Where is everyone else?"
"Still in the forest, we reckon." answered Charlie as he was healing a bleeding cut on his arm.
"Where were you?" asked Percy to Harry.
"I was walking back when I heard an explosion."
"Say no more." said Bill. "You ran straight to it, right?"
Harry blushed in embarrassment, making the three Weasleys chuckle darkly.
"Who did you see?" asked Charlie. "I'm guessing that you saw the Death Eaters, right?"
"I only recognised one. Lucius Malfoy."
"Of course." they all muttered.
"What about the muggle family? We heard that they had taken one hostage and were 'playing' with them." asked Bill, spitting the world 'playing' as if he had never said anything more disgusting.
"When the thing in the sky appeared, the Death Eaters apparated away and left the family on the ground." answered Harry. "They are fine, from what I could tell."
"So, we can expect them to all get away with only a slap on the wrist then?"
"Probably." lied Harry. He didn't want to reveal the fact that not all of them had come out of it alive. He didn't want to broadcast the fact that he had killed four of them.
As Harry was talking, three people entered the tent.
"Harry!" said Fred, George and Ginny in relief.
"Thank Merlin, Harry, you are fine!" said George.
"Where are Ron, Hermione and Dad?" asked Charlie with concern.
"I don't know." answered Ginny. "We lost them on the way to the forest."
"Fuck." swore Bill.
"Where were you?" asked Fred to Harry.
Harry proceded to repeat his story (while omitting the fact that he had done more than observing them.) to the twins and Ginny. By the time he was done, Charlie had been pacing outside the tent, waiting for his father, younger brother and their friend.
"No sign of them?" asked Percy when Charlie re-entered the tent.
"None. We can only wait and see."
"I'll go heat some water." said Bill. "We could all do with some hot chocolate."
"Fair enough... wait." said Charlie. "I think I'm hearing footsteps." Charlie walked back toward the entrance and poked his head outside. "Dad!" he said to everyone's relief. "What's going on?" he called. "Everyone else got back okay but the others..."
"I got Ron and Hermione with me!" they heard Mr. Weasley say from outside. "Is Harry with you?" he asked with some concern, his voice coming closer and closer.
"Yes. He's fine, he's with..." but he was never able to complete his sentence as he was pushed out of the entrance by a frantic Hermione.
"HARRY!" she shrieked before she threw himself in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. "I was so worried! There were cries and people were running and you weren't there and we had to go and I was so worried you would get hurt and I wanted to find you but I couldn't and you were in the same direction the Death Eaters were coming from and..."
"Hermione..."
"...I was so worried I wanted you to be safe and to be with us, I had hoped we could find you in the forest but we got lost and then we heard someone cast the Dark Mark and I was so scared that they had killed you because you are the Boy-Who-Lived and..."
"HERMIONE!" shouted Harry. Hermione immediately stopped. "I'm fine!" he said quietly in a reassuring tone. "You see? I'm not injured. I'm here. I'm fine."
"I was so worried." she moaned. "I thought you had died when the Dark Mark was casted!"
"As you can see, I'm fine." said Harry. "Let's not worry about this anymore, alright?" he whispered. Hermione nodded before squeezing him in her arms.
"Mate!" said a very white Ronald Weasley. He had taken longer to enter the tent as he hadn't run frantically toward them when he had heard that Harry was safe. "Where were you? We thought you had died!"
Harry groaned as he was forced to repeat his story a third time. At the end, Hermione was still sobbing as she almost had her heart stop when she heard that Harry had been so close to the Death Eaters to hear them talk. She had chastised him for not running toward the forest and instead staying close to the enemy.
In all three retellings, Harry had never once mentioned that he had killed. He had said that he had seem four of them get killed but didn't say who or how. After all, he knew that the news that they would all know soon enough that four of the Death Eaters had been killed and they would get suspicious if he hadn't mentioned their deaths.
He had never imagined that his life could become so horrible.
A week before, Harry's name unexpectedly came out of the Goblet of Fire. Harry had been forced to participate in a tournament he had no interest in whatsoever. As a result, the entirety of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had suddenly turned their back on him. People went from looking at his scar in admiration to looking at Harry with hatred. Harry didn't know which one was worse.
As if that wasn't bad enough, ALL of his friends had stabbed him in the back. Somehow, neither was willing to believe that Harry hadn't willingly put his name in the Goblet of Fire. Ron had gone so far to insult him in his back, sometimes even when he was in the same room. Hermione would glare at him and refuse to help him in any school work, the Weasley twins wouldn't stop doing more and more cruel pranks to him and Ginny went from blushing every time they saw each other to looking at Harry with disgust.
Everywhere he would walk to, Harry would hear whispers of how Harry was just seeking attention, how he was a cheater, a liar, someone who you couldn't trust. It became so bad that at the end of the week, some would question whether or not Harry had turned dark.
It seemed like the only ones who would believe him were a few teachers (such as McGonagall and Dumbledore), Mr. And Mrs. Weasley (who had sent him a letter apologising for their children's behaviour and telling them they believed him) and Sirius. Sirius' presence was a life-saver. Every day, late at night, Harry would meet with Sirius in the Shrieking Shack. Sirius was appealed that Ron and Hermione had turned their backs on him and weren't even bothered to help him prepare for the tournament or even support him.
Harry finally snapped on Friday evening. Harry had been walking back from the library when he had suddenly gotten hexed in the back. That hadn't been new and had already happened a few times since Halloween but what was different this time was who had done so. Harry had turned around to face his attacker when his heart stopped in horror.
It had been Ron that had hexed him and Hermione was laughing!
"What the fuck!?" swore Harry, his heart feeling as if someone had ripped it apart piece by piece. "Why are you doing this to me!? Does our friendship mean so little to you!?"
"Friendship!?" snarled Ron. "Friends don't lie to their friends!"
"I DIDN'T LIE, YOU FUCKING IDIOT! You know what? I had enough. I don't want to see you ever again!" he yelled to his former friends before storming away.
"Tough luck!" he heard Ron say from behind. "We share the same classes!" he said before both he and Hermione laughed.
Harry didn't go back to the common room. He instead put on his invisibility cloak and went through the passage under the Whomping Willow. On the other side, he found Sirius, wearing his Assassin robes as usual, waiting for him.
"Sirius." Harry sighed in relief. Finally, he was with a friendly face.
"Are you alright? Did something happen?"
"Yes." said Harry, grinding his teeth in anger. "Ron Weasley just hexed me in the back while Hermione Granger stayed there and laughed."
"They did what!?" yelled Sirius as he started pacing furiously. "I can't believe them! They are supposed to be your friends! I knew they didn't believe you but to go so far as to hex you in the back!"
"I know." moaned Harry. "If only there was a way to show everyone that I didn't lie."
"Well, there is a way, it's..." started Sirius before he realised what he was saying. "OF COURSE!" he shouted. "I'm so stupid!"
"I know that but what are you talking about?"
Sirius rolled his eyes and said "There are a thing called magical oaths. You basically have to swear on your magic and your life something before saying 'So Mote it Be'. It's very old fashionned and sound like something out of the sixteen century but it's how it works."
"So, I could just go in the middle of the Great Hall and say 'I swear on my life and magic that I never...'" said Harry, his hope rising.
"Yes, yes, yes. You can do that." said Sirius.
For a moment, Harry was happy to have found a solution until it immediately came crashing down. "What's even the point." he sighed. "At the next small thing, everyone will be back to hating me. I'm either the saviour of the universe of its next destroyer! And why is it the case? Because my parents died and I didn't!" he said, throwing his arms in the air, not noticing Sirius flinching. "I just can't do it anymore Sirius. I can't stay in the Wizarding World. I have enough."
"Are you sure? I know things are pretty bad right now..."
"Bad!?" cried Harry. "That's an understatement! Everyone hates me, even my supposed friends! I have to participate in Tournament that was once cancelled because of the death toll and that doesn't include the fact that I have Voldemort on my arse!"
"Said like that, it sure sounds horrible."
"You don't even know half of it." sighed Harry. "I swear, my only way out would be... but of course!"
"What?"
"I would get out of this mess if I died!"
"WHAT!?" yelled Sirius.
"I don't mean that I would kill myself!"
"Oh." said Harry's godfather, relaxing immediately.
"But I could fake it. Like that, I would be able to leave the Wizarding World without anyone asking questions and nobody would come to drag me back in because they would believe that I am dead! Meanwhile, I could go and train with the Assassins and fight Voldemort from the shadows!"
"That's actually not a bad idea. But are you sure that's what you want? That's a huge decision to make..."
"Yes. I want to do this. I don't have anything keeping me in the Wizarding World. Heck, the only reason I'm willing to continue fighting Voldemort is because I know that the innocents will be harmed if I don't do anything... Do you think Mum and Dad would be disappointed in my decision?"
"No." said Sirius almost immediately. "If they felt like your life was horrible in the Wizarding World or were truly miserable then they would have found a way to make you happy, even if it was to pull you out of Hogwarts and send you to muggle school. All they would want is for you to be happy and if it's away from magic, they would accept it."
Harry smiled. It was reassuring to be told that.
"How do you want to proceed then?" asked Sirius.
"Well, I need to fake my death. I think the easiest way would be to fake a suicide. I mean, it would be pretty convincing considering all the bullshit happening in my life. Might make my supposed friends think twice about what they did..."
"Vindicative much?" smirked Sirius.
"Maybe. I mean, they think I'm an attention seeker, right? I could use it to my advantage and so something grand for my supposed suicide."
Sirius laughed. "I have an idea..."
And, together, godson and godfather worked on their act.
The next morning, Harry thought again about his and Sirius' idea. Their first step would be for Harry to make the magical vow in front of the entirety of Hogwarts and its visitors. The vow would not only publicly clear Harry's name of any wrongdoing but would also give a bigger impact to their next step in their 'prank' to the entire Wizarding World. To accomplish this, Sirius had given Harry a potion that allowed one to cry at will, only by thinking about it. Sirius was an expert at brewing it because of how often he had utilised it in his Hogwarts years to "get the birds" as he had said.
The second step would be to petrify the entire Great Hall. Harry and Sirius had determined that Harry was powerful enough to do this. It would only last a few minutes but it would be enough for the next step.
The next step would be for Harry to write on the wall with red paint: HIS BODY WILL LAY IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER. That idea to use the Chamber had come straight from Harry. It would allow both a place where nobody would be able to 'save' him and make a reference to his second school year when everyone had also turned their backs on him.
Once this was done, Harry would then go to the Chamber of Secrets while making sure that he was seen going there by portraits and ghosts. Once he would be in the Chamber, Harry would call Dobby to apparate him to the Shrieking Shack and Sirius would take his godson to the Assassins and away from Hogwarts.
That was Sirius and Harry's plan. Their plan relied on the Magical World' unreliability toward investigations. They would believe that they had all the necessary proofs about Harry's death and wouldn't even try to enter the Chamber to try to confirm it. Once they were away, the Wizarding World wouldn't bother anymore and they would be able to fight Voldemort from the shadows.
Only two individuals had been told about what would happen. They were Remus Lupin and Professor Dumbledore. Neither liked that Harry wanted to fake his death but both understood why he wanted to do so.
Dumbledore had himself seen how badly things had gotten for Harry and had himself tried to make things better but as Dumbledore was a very busy man and not often at Hogwarts, he hadn't been able to do much. Dumbledore had also recognised the advantage of having Voldemort believing Harry to be dead. Dumbledore feared that Harry would lose his magic if he didn't participate in the First Task but also realised that the Assassins would be able to train Harry, to give him a chance to fight. Dumbledore wasn't a fan of the Assassins because they wouldn't hesitate to kill someone if they believed it was for the best but he himself had no problem working with them. The Order of the Pheonix and the Assassins had even assisted each other a few times during the first war against Voldemort although very few in Dumbledore's Order knew about them.
Remus hadn't liked the idea either but had understood that Harry was miserable and wanted a way out. To force him to stay there would not only put him into more danger (which he obvious didn't want) but could also push Harry over the edge. If it happened, it would be possible that the fake suicide would become real. Remus had offered to tutor and teach Harry so that his best friends' son would still be able to get his magical education.
One last thing Sirius and Harry had done before their prank was to transfer Harry's Gringotts account to a division working uniquely in the muggle world. Thanks to that, nobody would be able to claim his money after his death. They had also given a will to Gringotts where Harry had stated that all of his money and processions would go toward a 'friend' from the muggle world named Sophia Clarke. Sophia Clarke wasn't a real person but nobody would know that.
Everything was ready, everything was done.
It was now time.
The doors of the Great Hall opened with a bang. Literally as they had been given a push powerful enough to hit the wall. Nearly everyone present jumped in their seat in surprise.
Harry noticed the look of resignation that Dumbledore was sending him. Harry had pretty much forced Dumbledore to agree not to tell anyone that he was still alive. Not even Professor McGonagall or his former friends. Dumbledore had tried to include Severus Snape but that had been a big no-no for both Harry and Sirius so he had dropped it.
"Mr. Potter!" yelled Professor McGonagall in anger. "Ten points from Gryffindor for causing a ruckus with the doors of the Great Hall!"
Dumbledore noticed the Gryffindors groan and glare at Harry while others muttered angrily to their friends. The Headmaster slowly shook his head in disappointment. It was for reasons such as this that Harry wanted to leave. He really couldn't blame his almost former-student.
Harry wasn't surprised at the reaction of both Professor McGonagall and the Gryffindors. His former Head of House seemed to have a shorter temper than usual these days, especially for him. That had really confused him as it had been clear on Halloween evening that she hadn't believed that he had entered his name in. Why she was acting like that, he would never know nor cared to.
Harry shrugged it off, knowing that he didn't care about it anymore and withdrew his wand. "I will do it once and only one so you better listen carefully."
"Mr. Potter." said McGonagall with wide eyes. "What are you doing?"
Pointing his wand upward, he said "I swear on my life and magic that: I did not put my name in the Goblet of Fire, did not want to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, did not ask for anyone to put my name in the Goblet of Fire or have any idea how my name ended up in the Goblet of Fire. SO, MOTE IT BE!"
There were gasps of shock around the Great Hall as Harry did his vow. They were even more shocked when a golden light shot out of his wand, leaving a very much alive Harry standing in front of them.
Harry's eyes looked around the Great Hall. Most people were looking at him in shock but some were showing guilty looks. His eyes sought his former friends. Ron looked shocked beyond belief and it looked as if his jaw had literally dropped on the table. Hermione looked the guiltiest of them all and like she was about to burst into tears at any seconds. 'Good.' he thought.
"I'm tired." said Harry in a painful voice. That's when he decided to will his first few tears to drop. Harry wasn't exactly able to cry after a life at the Dursleys. He hadn't lost the ability or anything but he was so conditioned not to cry for anything that even if he had been suffering from a heartbreak, he wouldn't have been able to. Sirius' potion helped correct that flaw and give him control over his tears. "I'm tired." he repeated, tears slowly leaking out of his eyes. Harry kept his head high so that everyone would be able to see his tears. "I can't do it anymore." he said as if he was able to collapse in tears at any moment. People gasped, realising how he sounded like.
"Harry..." moaned the familiar voice of Hermione Granger from the Gryffindor table.
Suddenly looking very furious, he turned toward Hermione. "SHUT UP!" he shouted to her in anger. Just like him, she was crying. "You don't get to tell me by my first name after what you did! You don't even get to talk to me! Neither you or Ron! I trusted you! I trusted you to be always there for me as I would always be there for you and you spit on it at the first opportunity! Do you know how hard it was to convince myself that you would never abandon me!? I spent the first eleven years of my life believing I was worthless and it was only thanks to you and Ron that I started to realise that I wasn't! I thought after last year that we would always be there for each other but you threw that trust away! You didn't even just do that! You only threw it on the ground, spitted on it and stomped on it!"
"Harry..." cried Hermione. "I'm sorry!"
"No! Shut up, Granger!" he yelled, making Hermione and everyone else gasp. Harry had never called anyone by their last names but the adults and those he hated. Since Hermione wasn't an adult, calling her 'Granger' was bringing her to the same level as Draco Malfoy. "Same for you, Weasley!" he shouted to Ron who was about to speak. "I don't want to hear it!"
"Honestly, Mr. Potter!" said Professor McGonagall.
"I've had enough. I give up." said Harry before walking back toward the exit of the Great Hall. Turning around, he noticed that a few people, including the teachers, and Ron and Hermione had raised on their feet and were about to follow him.
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"
The entirety of the Great Hall froze into place and various people looked at him in horror. Glancing at the Headmaster, Harry saw Dumbledore close his eyes in resignation. "I've had enough." he repeated one last time. "Goodbye everyone, you probably made my parents regret their sacrifice." he finished before leaving, slamming the doors shut behind him.
Harry walked toward the nearest cupboard where a pot of fresh red paint was conveniently located and took the brush. Slowly, he wrote on the wall facing the entrance of the Great Hall: HIS SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER . He then vanished the brush and pot of paint before he ran toward the girl's bathroom on the second floor.
"Oh, hi Harry." said Moaning Myrtle when Harry entered the bathroom.
"Hi Myrtle! I'm going to the Chamber of Secrets to kill myself!" said Harry cheerfully.
"Oh, really?" answered the ghost with excitation. "Will you come hunt the school with me? I have a place in my toilet for you..."
"Sorry Myrtle. Nothing against you, I just want to be reunited with my parents."
Myrtle sighed. "Shame." she said.
"Sorry." said Harry with a shrug before hissing open the entrance. "Well. Goodbye Myrtle."
"Goodbye Harry. You were a good friend." said Myrtle as Harry jumped down. A few seconds later, the sink took back its usual place.
Harry crashed down in the old corridor before the entrance. He immediately called for Dobby.
"What can Dobby do for Master Harry Potter Sir?" asked the over-enthusiastic House-Elf. Dobby had been delighted when Harry had bonded with him the previous night. He had been disappointed when he learned that his new master was planning to fake his death but had promised to not reveal the fact that he was alive to anyone.
"Take me to the Shrieking Shack, please."
With a snap of the fingers, Harry was apparated in the Shack, in front of Sirius.
"It is done?" he asked.
"What do you think?" replied Harry.
"How did they react?"
"Mostly in shock, some in horror. Hermione looked completely guilty and Ron had the face of someone who was about to throw up." he sighed.
"That's a good thing, right?" asked Sirius in confusion.
"Yes... I just can't help but feel guilty. I know Ron and Hermione will blame themselves alone for the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, they do have some share of the blame, maybe the biggest but it wasn't their fault alone. Hermione looked absolutely distraught which really made me question why she had even gone against me in the first place if I got that reaction from her."
"People aren't always rational." sighed Sirius. "It's possible that she has a crush on Ron which made her choose his side when he turned on you, even if she believed you."
"Gee. A friend who prefers to turn their back on their innocent best friend for some attention instead of supporting them. That made me feel so much better..."
"Well, there's nothing else to say. Ready to go?" he asked.
"Yes. Where are we going?"
"To the Headquarters of the British branch of the Assassins. Don't get shocked when you see who the Mentor is." he said with a grin.
"Who is it?" asked Harry just before Sirius apparated them away.
About the same time as Harry apparated away from the Shrieking Shack, the Great Hall was liberated from Harry's curse. The waiting had been painful for everyone. Nobody had been able to move nor speak. The only sound everyone heard where the distressed wailings coming from Hermione's throat. Most people had tried to tune the painful cries out but had been unable to. It had taken a few minutes until everyone who was standing crashed down on the ground. The curse was lifted.
The first person to run toward the doors was Hermione. She had reached them before most even realised that they had been unpetrified. Hermione opened the doors wide open and... shrieked in terror, chilling everybody to the bone. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" she cried.
Many raised to see why Hermione had reacted in such a way. Everyone who managed to see gasped loudly. A second shriek was heard when Ginny Weasley saw the writing on the wall. "HIS SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER FOREVER."
"We have to do something!" yelled Hermione.
"Miss Granger..." said Dumbledore quietly when he arrived at the entrance. He hated himself for agreeing not to reveal the fact that all of this had been an act. "If he is in the Chamber... There is nothing we can do anymore."
"No, no, no, NO!" she cried. "It can't be true! Harry can't be dead!"
"I fear that it is already the case." sighed Dumbledore. The next time he would see Harry or Sirius, he would really need to ask for them to at least reveal the truth to Harry's closest friends, even if he wasn't on speaking terms with them anymore.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed, breaking nearly everyone's heart. Then, almost in an instant, Hermione turned to Ron and yelled "It's your fault! I should never have agreed to your bloody jealous opinion! Because I chose you, Harry had nobody for him and killed himself! We broke his trust!"
Ron didn't even bother to defend himself, knowing that it was true. The evening Harry's name had been drawn from the Goblet of Fire, Ron had spent the whole time Harry was away with the Professors to try to convince Hermione. Hermione hadn't been so sure at the beginning but after nearly an hour, had relented. Both had gone to bed before Harry had come back and, the next day, neither was willing to speak to him. Neither had let him defend himself nor had they been willing to hear him out when he had tried to tell them the truth. The result was that Harry had killed himself, believing that he had nobody in the world and that his two best friends hated him.
Hermione's emotions became so overwhelming that she collapsed on the ground and fainted. She was immediately brought to the Hospital Wing by Madam Pomfrey.
Meanwhile, the Weasley twins were trying to comfort their sister who had gone through a horrible memory upon seeing the message on the wall while trying not to throw up everywhere. They had seen Harry's face when he had said that he was tired and was giving up. They had never imagined that Harry could give up anything. He was the most stubborn person they knew. The twins also hated themselves for treating Harry so horribly and for constantly doing cruel pranks on him. That summer, they had told him that they saw him as an honorary brother. The fact that all four Weasley children attending Hogwarts that year had turned on him the moment his name was entered in a stupid and pointless competition showed how little their word meant.
Ginny was in her own nightmare. Not only was she reliving memories from her first year but she was feeling all the emotions of loneliness and despair she had felt that year. It wasn't lost on her that Harry had gone through the exact same thing since Halloween and a lot more because people like her refused to speak to him or help him when he was being abused, hexed and pranked by everyone else. She blamed endlessly for not being there for the boy who had saved her life at great risk of his own just because of a tournament.
Professor McGonagall was feeling terrible. Not only had she failed one of her lions spectacularly but she had failed James and Lily's son. James and Lily had been her friends and she had loved them just as they had loved her. She was feeling terrible for not being there for their son when he was terribly in need of someone to support him. She could see his face when she had snapped at him not ten minutes ago. It was a look of resignation, as if he had been expecting it. She had known that Harry hadn't entered his name in the Goblet of Fire but had treated him as if she had believed he had.
Various students and professors were looking at the message on the wall in horror. Most of them felt responsible for pushing Harry over the edge. Most of them had purposefully said something when he was in earing range, or they had cursed him in the back, or pranked him, or just generally been bad to him. All because they believed he had cheated his way in the Tournament. Such students were the other three champions. Surprisingly enough, the champions had been few of the tamest students in the situation. They had never cursed, pranked, bullied, abused or talked in the back of Harry. The problem was that they had never tried to stop others from doing it either. The champions blamed themselves for Harry's suicide for that reason alone.
Dumbledore sighed, feeling all the emotions running around the Great Hall. "Everyone in their common rooms. Classes are cancelled for today."
Harry and Sirius arrived in front of a large manor in the middle of London.
"Where are we?" asked Harry.
"Harry... welcome to Kenway Mansion."
"Kenway Mansion? The name seems familiar."
"You probably heard it from the pirate, right?"
"Ah, yes. Edward Kenway, one of most famous pirates of the Golden Age."
"And also, an Assassin. That was his house."
"What!?" said Harry in shock.
"Indeed, that was Edward Kenway's home during the eighteen centuries." said a new voice. It sounded somewhat familiar but Harry had only heard it once. Turning around, he was shocked when he saw who was in front of him. "Dr. Granger?" Seeing the father of his former friend really wasn't what he needed after faking his death in front of her. No doubts that a letter would soon arrive for him where he would learn the "tragedy" that had happened at Hogwarts. Dr. Granger would know right away that it wasn't the truth. "Fuck me." he muttered. Dr. Granger's next words however managed to calm him down.
"Sirius told me about your... huh... prank. I was disappointed when I learned how my daughter was acting toward you and, for that, I can only apologise to you, Harry."
Harry nodded weakly. "Is Hermione an Assassin?"
"She knows about us and we had been training her to some extent but neither she nor us decided whether we want her to join the Brotherhood or not."
"So basically, there are chances that she will learn the truth about me?"
"Yes." said Dr. Granger. "I will happen altrough when? I do not know. I won't say that I wouldn't prefer for her to know right away but..." he said when Harry was about to interrupt him. "I understand why you did so. Now, you wanted to join the Brotherhood..." said Hermione's father as he led Harry and Sirius inside Kenway's Mansion."
Epilogue:
The Wizarding World had mourned the death of Harry Potter, not knowing that the Boy-Who-Lived was still living. Hermione had dropped all the way back down in her grades as she became more and more depressed and lonely. Hermione had heavily been blaming herself for Harry's death and her friendship with Ron had been ruined in the process as she hadn't wanted to be close to the boy who had convinced her to betray her best friend. At the beginning of the Winter Holidays, Hermione was seriously envisaging to drop out of Hogwarts and move back to the muggle world and train as an Assassin. While she had never been interested in becoming an Assassin like her parents - always prefering a career in academics - Hermione decided that she would become one. She was ready to do anything to redeem herself so that once she passed away, she would be welcomed by Harry with open arms.
Voldemort had unfortunately come back to life shortly before the First Task, around the same time as Alastor Moody disappeared from Hogwarts. The Ministry had refused to acknowledge the return of Voldemort, especially so soon after the death of their saviour.
Hermione hadn't been at Kenway Mansion long when she had started wandering around, saying hello to other Assassins from time to time. Usually, in her situation, she would just have taken a good book and started reading but even that had become annoyingly boring in the last few weeks.
As she was thinking about her situation, she bumped into an Assassin who was walking by, reading a letter. She was about to excuse herself when the Assassin beat her to the punch.
"Sorry!" said a horribly familiar voice that Hermione only recently heard in her nightmares. Turning around she saw that the Assassin walking away with messy black hair, He was looking down, apparently reading his letter.
"Harry?" she asked before she could stop herself. The figure froze before slowly turning around. Bright green eyes met chocolate brown ones.
"HARRY!" she shrieked. Hermione didn't know if she was losing it and, to be honest, she didn't care. Hermione collapsed on the ground in tears as Harry Potter looked at her incredulously. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I'm sorry! I didn't know! Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry..." she said very, very rapidly.
Harry was shocked. He had known since he had met Dr. Granger that it was inevitable that Hermione would lean that he was still alive. However, he hadn't expected her to plead at his feet to forgive her. At best, he had believed that she would do her best to ignore him.
"Hermione?" he said quietly, slowly dropping down on his knees. Harry placed his left hand on Hermione's shoulder. Hermione jerked away from his touch in surprise before she looked at him straight in the eyes.
"You really are alive?" Harry nodded weakly and Hermione burst into tears of relief. She grabbed him forefully and cried in his chest.
For Harry, it felt incredibly reminiscent of when Hermione had thrown herself in his arms at the World Cup after learning that he had been alright. He couldn't help but notice how... sick she looked. She was a lot thinner than he had last seen her, like she was barely eating enough to survive. Her skin was a lot more pale than usual and she looked completely tired. Harry realised that she was probably hunted by nightmares every single night. He flinched. It wasn't hard to figure out what the subject of those nightmares were.
"Hermione..."
"Please Harry, please forgive me. I didn't know I was hurting you. Please forgive me! I can't live with myself!"
"Hermione!" he said more abruptly. Hermione stopped and Harry could see that she was using all of her willpower to look at him in the eyes. He could see the fear and resignation in her eyes and he realised that she was probably expecting him to reject her.
"I forgive you." he said. He was shocked how easily it had come out. Just the sight of Hermione had shown him that she truly meant her apologies and that she had truly loved him. If it hadn't been the case, she wouldn't have looked so... destroyed.
"You... you forgive me?" she squeaked.
Harry nodded. Hermione started crying again. Harry just held her as she let go of all of her pain. After a few minutes, Hermione had become silent but her face was still buried in his shoulders.
"Hermione?" he whispered. When no answers came, Harry slowly lifted Hermione's face. He was surprised to see her eyes closed. She was breathing softly. She had fallen asleep. Chuckling to himself, Harry lifted her in his arms like a bride and carried her to one of the bedrooms.
Unknown to Harry, from the other end of the hallway stood Sirius and Dr. Granger both smiling at the young couple. Both had known how much the other meant for their child and neither could for the life of them understand why Hermione had reacted the way she had when Harry's name had been drawn out of the Goblet of Fire. They were both happy to see that Harry had forgiven Hermione and that both could at least re-establish a friendly relationship, even if they never became best friends again.
After arriving in a room, Harry slowly dropped Hermione into one of the beds. During the small walk around the Mansion, Hermione had grabbed Harry in her sleep as if trying to reassure himself that he was indeed alive. When Harry deposed her in the bed, Hermione hadn't been willing to let go of him and Harry had been given no choice but to climb in the bed as well. The moment he had done so, Hermione had rolled around and flung one of her arms over him while her head rested on his shoulder.
Harry sighed and before he could even realise he was tired, he had fallen asleep, letter forgotten.
Hermione slowly opened her eyes. For once, she didn't have a nightmare. She had dreamed that she had found Harry in Kenway Mansion and that Harry had forgiven her for spitting on their friendship when he had needed her the most. But as she had said, it was a dream. First, Harry was dead so she wouldn't be able to accidently meet him. Second, it had taken place at Kenway Mansion. Kenway Mansion was the Headquarters of the Assassins and as far as she knew, Harry had no knowledge of the Assassins. Third, she doubted that Harry would ever forgive her for what she had done to him.
Feelings tears leaking out of her eyes, she sobbed quietly as she mourned her best friend, the one she had wronged so much.
"Hey... why are you crying?" asked a horribly familiar voice from behind. Hermione immediately turned around and ended up face to face to a sleepy Harry who was still wearing his Assassin robes.
"It... it wasn't a dream?" she whispered, hope rising in her chest.
"Huh... what was supposed to be?" asked Harry, not completely there.
"YOU'RE ALIVE!" she squeaked loudly, finally awakening Harry.
"AAAH." yelled Harry in surprise.
"Sorry!" she said immediately "How is that possible!? I thought you had killed yourself!"
Harry looked sheepish. "Uh... well... I didn't."
"What!? But why did you..."
"Fake my death?" asked Harry. At Hermione's nod, Harry sighed. "I didn't lie when I said that I had enough. I couldn't stay in the Wizarding World anymore. I was suffocating and, apart from Sirius, nobody else was there for me." he said. Hermione looked down as a few tears started leaking again. "If it wasn't for Sirius... I don't know how long it would have taken before I snapped and killed myself for real. In hindsight, I can admit that I was on that road but I thankfully decided to leave the Wizarding World before. I decided to fake my death so that I wouldn't be forced back into that world by the Ministry or others, knowing it would also give me an adventage against Voldemort. I came here instead. I started my training as an Assassin, just like Sirius, my father and grandparents before me and I began to fight the war against Voldemort from the shadows. And, well, here I am."
"Did I dream it or did you really forgive me?" she asked. She didn't know how she would feel if he told her that he hadn't forgiven her.
"I do. I forgive you, Hermione. I won't forget but I will forgive."
Hermione squeaked again before she grabbed Harry and started crying in his arms again.
"You do cry quite a lot." chuckled Harry.
"Of course, I do!" she said loudly. "My best friend is alive! The boy I love forgave me... oops." she said, blushing furiously.
"You... you love me?" said Harry, looking at her as if he could hardly believe her. Hermione could do nothing but nod in his chest. "But I thought you loved Ron!"
"What?" she choked. "Why did you believe that?"
"Well, one of Sirius' theories were that you loved Ron and had treated me horribly in an attempt to stay in his favour."
"I don't know why I didn't believe you, Harry. I was on the edge after your name was drawn but, somehow, Ron managed to convince me that you had lied to us and I felt... I felt betrayed. I didn't understand why you would have lied to us, not realising that you never would have. I hate the fact that you needed to make a magical oath for me to realise that you hadn't been lying and that it was us that betrayed you. I will never forgive myself for that."
"Well... I do forgive you." said Harry, making her smile. "I won't deny that I had feelings toward you..." he said. Hermione's happiness immediately crashed down. She heard the 'had' and knew that she had lost her chance with Harry with her stupid mistake. She didn't blame him however. If he had acted like that to her, it would most probably had killed any feelings she would have had. "...and I don't think they ever got away, more like stayed hidden so there might be a chance for something to happen." continued Harry.
"Really?" asked Hermione with hope.
"Yes, but not now." said Harry. "It would be a terrible idea to jump straight in a relationship after what happened. We should try to be friends again before seeing later if we still want to move to the next step or not."
"I agree." said Hermione with a smile. "Since when did you become logical?"
"Since I met Hermione Granger." answered Harry with a kiss on her head. Hermione sighed in contentment as she slowly fell asleep again. Harry let her as he knew she hadn't had a lot of it in the last month and a half.
Now, he just needed to get rid of Voldemort and maybe he would be able to have a happy life...
A/N: There will be a sequel for it, eventually. Not now however as I'm working on The Wife of Slytherin.