I Am Darkness, I Am the Night
Disclaimer/Plot/Challenge Information/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Recommended Reads: Just A Touch of Kleptomania and Never Tear Us Apart by Quatermass, The Court of Shadows by AlphaPhoenix, Damaged Raven, Dark Lord Potter and Bonded by JustBored21, How To Tickle A Sleeping Dragon and Harry Potter and the Warlock of Britain by Winged Seer Wolf, Harry Potter, Master of Death by Pseudonominal, Kill me if you can by PercyPendragon3, Raised by Darkness by apple2011 and The Hollow Prince and Guardian Corps(HPxDestiny) by FirstSilverKing
Key Pairing: Harry/Astoria/Daphne
Other Pairings: To be determined
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
'Mental/Umbral Speech'
/Parseltongue/
Review Answers:
Winged Seer Wolf: Well, the adventure's only just beginning, my friend, so get ready for some fun;
Darkness
ALSO: As you can see, I've taken the advice of my readers and decided to add Daphne to the mix; however, Astoria is the first and main pairing while Daphne's feelings and romantic interests will come later-on in the adventure.
As for Astoria, like I said before, I have a plan that doesn't go down the 'normal' route for such things, so keep reading to find out what I have planned and, at the same time, I hope you enjoy it;
As he faded back into sleep's embrace, Harry heard a soft voice whispering to him.
'Goodnight, Harry…'
"Goodnight…"
As soon as he replied to it, however, Harry's eyes snapped open again, a look of shock, if not alarm and childish fear crossing his face as he stared out into the darkness of his cupboard under the stairs.
"Wait…what?"
Chapter 2: Out of the Dark
Five Years Later
In any other time, any normal child would probably be scared to find themselves waking up in almost-perfect pitch blackness, no light, sound or feeling being made available to them, except perhaps the drumming of their hearts in their chests and tears of fear and shock in their eyes.
Harry Potter, however, was anything but normal.
And he loved it.
Just like he loved it when, like on the seemingly-ordinary morning where this story starts, he awoke to what could only be described as a thick, all-encompassing blanket of darkness that was wrapped around him, leaving him trapped and bound in the darkness' coils. At the same time, he was aware of a low, seemingly-content breathing sound, as well as a low, dull, rumbling noise that seemed to come from all sides, the sound almost like a distant rumble of thunder, but much-more soothing.
At least, to Harry, it was such.
Allowing a thin smile to cross his face, Harry drew in a deep breath before he whispered, "All right, Selene; I'm awake."
'Mmm…but it's only early…'
Letting out a dry laugh, Harry reached out to the darkness, before he seemed to rub his hand over it, like he was patting down a blanket or smoothening down a duvet – the touch even felt like that beneath his fingertips; silken, warm and comforting – as he argued, "You're a creature of shadows, Selene; to you, it's always early. Now, let me out."
'Fine.'
With that, the darkness rippled and shifted around Harry before, just like the blankets he compared the touch to, Harry watched as the darkness seemed to pull back and fold away, receding into nothing more than wisps of darkness, giving way to a dull, overcast morning sky.
As the last of the shadows receded, Harry put a hand to his heart before he asked, "Are you going to sulk in there all day?"
'Yes.'
"Fine then," said Harry, heaving a sigh before he shrugged, "I guess if you want to ruin my special day, where we're supposed to finally claim my place among the wizards, and I guess if you'd rather leave me all alone to face the fame I never asked for and…"
The words were no sooner out of his mouth before his mocking tone of apparent disappointment and resignation turned into cries of warm, childish laughter as he found himself attacked by a small, furry figure, which proceeded to nuzzle his body and licked at his face, while a warm, female voice kept saying the same thing over and over.
'No, no, no, I'm sorry, Little One; please don't think I'd leave you to these humans! I will always protect you from them; I was just grumpy. You know me, I'm not a morning person.'
"No, you're a midnight person…" laughed Harry, running a hand over the small, black Labrador puppy that now curled up in his lap, whining softly, as Harry added, "And so am I, but you really shouldn't try and trick me like that either, Selene. What if I'd woken up and we were late? What then?"
'I'd have Veiled you to the train,' retorted Selene, earning a soft laugh from Harry as he petted the dog's fur, earning another content whine from the pup as the female voice added, 'Oh, Little One…you always know where to pet me in just the right spot; are you sure I can't convince you to let me become your girlfriend for you when you're older?'
Laughing at Selene's words, Harry set the pup down on the floor before he added, "Now, Selene; you know I can't marry my Shadow. Besides, if Magic's taught me anything, it's that even love comes when you least expect it. Now, wait here while I go and get washed and then we'll go and have breakfast, okay?"
'I'll close my eyes this time, I promise,' replied Selene, before the pup did indeed lower herself down and cover her eyes with her paws, earning another laugh from Harry as he walked off towards the bathroom.
Darkness
As he let the warm water run down over his pale, but healthy-looking eleven-year-old body, Harry leaned against the wall of the shower before he sighed softly as he looked not at his body, but at a single dark spot in the corner of the bathroom.
'At least this time, she kept her promise,' thought Harry, closing his eyes as he let the water run down over his face, soaking into his skin as he savoured the warmth for what it was. At the same time, he let his mind flash back to how much his life had changed, ever since the first time he'd met the mysterious, but kind, loving, friendly and, unquestionably, loyal, if not stubborn spirit of darkness known as Selene.
Darkness
Admittedly, when he'd first met Selene – who hadn't had a name until Harry had found her one and, until then, he'd just called her Shadow – he had been scared, mostly because his then-six-year-old mind had perceived her as the monster in the dark, who wanted to gobble him up.
Even now, he still laughed when he remembered her response;
'Hmm, well, you do look soft and chewy, even for a human…but I promised my…err…a friend that I wouldn't…'
Then, Selene had explained everything about herself; how a friend had delivered her to Harry, to let her bond with him and unlock power inside of him; the kind of powers that, were this a comic book, might have made Harry a superhero. As proof of their bond, Selene then indicated the pendant that Harry still wore around his neck – in fact, he never took it off and, according to Selene, only he could take it off – and told him about how it was only a small piece of his power.
'One day, Little One,' Selene had said, while Harry fingered the pendant, liking how heavy, but warm and cold it felt in his hand, 'You'll earn the other half and, when that happens, you'll know everything you want to, or need to, about who you are and why I'm here for you…always…'
After that strange explanation, Selene had become something of a big sister figure in Harry's life; she made sure he got plenty to eat – even when the Dursleys tried to deny him – and kept his young body strong, fit and healthy, using her powers – or rather, his powers, while she was what she called his Spirit Partner, which was like being a wizard's familiar…oh, and she told him he was a wizard, too – to heal him, nurture him, comfort him and do everything she could to help him grow.
Then, one day, after yet another bad day for Harry, primarily thanks to Dudley, Harry found out one way Selene protected him…
And the Dursleys' lives changed forever, as did Harry's…
Darkness
Two Years Ago
"Ha-ha! Just you wait, freak! Mum and Dad are going to kill you!"
'No, they won't!' growled Selene, earning a gentle, shushing motion from Harry, whom then proceeded to massage the spot where his heart was located – the same part, which always seemed to be the spot where Selene and his bond was strongest, so he often touched, rubbed and made sure to care for that part of himself – as they walked behind Dudley, whom looked like the cat that ate the canary.
And with good reason.
After chasing Harry again, Dudley had lost sight of his cousin, but Harry, thanks to Selene, had ended up on the roof of the school kitchens.
Before Selene had a chance to help guide Harry back to safety, however, someone caught him and, as a result, the fire brigade were called out, Harry was suspended and forced to wait until the end of schooltime thanks to how no-one was available at home.
Of course, he knew this was a lie; Petunia only went out to spy on the neighbours and Vernon had been taking some of his sick days for the past week – conveniently avoiding an inspection at work and a seminar on sexual harassment in the workplace – but, at the same time, Harry knew they never answered the phone during schooltime.
There's no telling what sort of freaks are trying to sell us junk we don't want or need, Vernon had always said, though, curiously, when Harry was at home, or it was first thing in the morning, or during a weekend or holiday time, this rule seemed to change to, You can earn your keep and stop wasting our phone line, freak. Tell them no and then slam the phone down.
As a result, believing the Dursleys to be unavailable, Harry was forced to wait in the headmistress' office, up to the end of the day where, with a letter explaining the reason for his suspension in hand, and another appointment he knew the Dursleys would ignore for a parent-teacher meeting about Harry – not that they ever attended any about Dudley, believing the sun set when he sat down – Harry followed his gloating cousin home.
Suffice to say, Harry was not looking forwards to seeing what happened when they got in.
But, at the same time, he had to do the best he could to calm Selene, whom seemed as annoyed as he was worried, "Please, Selene; please don't let them see you. I know you want to hurt them for how they treat me, but…but if they see you, they…they'll kick me out and…and then, I'll have nowhere to go…please, just a little longer…"
Selene, who hated hearing her Little One begging like this – especially given what she knew about him, but had been forbidden from telling him until he received the second half of his pendant's power – knew she had no choice, but to go with his request.
'Fine…but if they so much as harm a hair on your head, I'm NOT hiding, Little One!'
It was the only deal on the table, and Harry knew it.
"Okay…"
Darkness
Unfortunately, as soon as they were through the door, Dudley broke his neck trying to tell his parents what had happened – meaning he basically blurted it out like a 1930's newspaper seller, not that he actually broke his neck telling them, more's the pity.
"HE DID WHAT? WHERE IS HE? THAT LITTLE FREAK! THIS TIME, HE'S GONE TOO FAR!"
"It wasn't…"
A single punch to Harry's stomach.
That was all it took for the Dursleys to realise, too little, too late, how they were the ones who'd gone too far.
One minute, Harry was curling up on the floor, spitting and coughing from the heavy-handed impact, and, the next thing the Dursleys knew, the living room suddenly went pitch-black. Even the windows seemed to vanish, as did the light from the television and the lamps in the room; all that remained was darkness.
Darkness, and a loud, damning roar, which tore through the Dursleys' minds;
'DON'T YOU DARE LAY YOUR FILTHY HANDS ON HIM, HUMANS!'
Darkness
Had anyone been outside Number Four at that particular moment, they would have heard a shrill, terrified scream tearing from the living room.
However, as ignorant as they were – which was why they ignored the signs of Harry being abused and neglected for so long, not to mention the roars of the Dursley patriarch when he was in one of his moods – none of the neighbours noticed so much as a glimmer of difference.
Instead, to them, the house may as well have been enveloped in darkness.
Ironic.
Seeing as how it was…
Darkness
'Little One?'
Groaning from the pain, which seemed to be lessening thanks to Selene's presence, Harry smiled softly as he cracked his eyes open, just in time to see a truly-frightening – but, to him, it was awe-inspiring and even funny to behold – vision looming over him.
A large, semi-transparent black dragon, which seemed to fill the whole room with its size, its jaws clamped down hard on each of the Dursleys as it held them by the scruff of their collars. However, what Harry found funny was the fact that all three Dursleys wore gormless, dull, dopey expressions while, when he looked closer, he saw the dragon's belly held what could only be described as a swirling mass of dark colourings, all of which seemed to swirl, gyrate and fly past a trio of pale, ghostly-grey faces, all of whom were screaming from inside the belly of the beast.
"Let us out…"
"I want my Mummy…"
"You're going to Hell, you FREAK…"
"Harry, please…let us go…"
"I'm sorry…I won't do it again…"
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, FREAK!"
"Forgive us…"
"Mummy, Daddy, please, I don't like this, make it stop…"
"I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU SUFF…"
"BBUUUUURRRRRRPPPPPPP!"
Even a nine-year-old couldn't help but find a loud, wet and very foul-smelling-breath-infested belch hilarious, even moreso when the shadow dragon's belch seemed to quieten the voices before, to Harry's surprise, the great beast lowered itself down and nuzzled at Harry's chest with the tip of its phantasmal snout.
'They did NOT taste good…but I DID warn you I'd hurt them if they touched you, Little One…'
Harry was speechless!
"S…S…S…Selene?"
'In the flesh…so to speak,' replied Selene, curling her large ghostly wings around Harry before she let her body follow suit; as she did so, Harry saw her large, bulky body become something slender, elongated and almost snake-like, but still with the wings, as Selene seemed to transform in front of him, coiling around him much like a certain snake from the Jungle Book, as she nuzzled Harry again.
'Remember how I always said I had more power than just helping you? Well, this is what I meant.'
"Wow…" gasped Harry, petting the dragon's snout, earning a low, content rumbling from the shadowy beast, as he whispered, "You…you're really pretty, Selene; can…can you change into any animal or…or is it just dragons?"
'Oh, you mean…like this?' asked Selene and, moments later, a black Labrador was nestled in Harry's lap, earning an amazed look from the young boy as he stroked her fur and even tickled her tummy, earning a low moan from Selene in the process.
'Oh, Little One…it's a good thing Shadows can't digest those we eat…or those humans would be SCREWED!'
Harry just laughed in response…
Darkness
Present Day
That was the first day that Harry really began to understand Selene's power.
A power that, after that day, she began to teach him in earnest; she called it Umbrakinesis, or the ability to command and control the powers of darkness, shadows and all those haunted, horrible spots where monsters were supposed to exist.
Whenever Harry asked how he could do these things, however, Selene told him, 'I'll tell you when you're older, Little One.'
He knew he should be angry with her for keeping the secret, but, at the same time, she was his friend, his guardian, his avenger and he loved her like a sister, if not a best friend, so, for now, he was content to wait.
Besides, he liked having power over darkness, especially since part of that power involved doing things like moving from place to place faster than the blink of an eye, entering a strange, ghostly part of the world that Selene called the Shadow Realm, though she always told him to solely focus on travelling through it, never to stay there.
And when he asked why, she told him, 'You're not yet ready to endure the effects of our Realm. But, don't worry, Little One; one day, you will be.'
Guessing this was the day he received the second half of his pendant, Harry accepted that…for now.
As he stepped out of the darkness, Harry called on his power over the dark, using it to banish and absorb the damp from his skin before he walked back into his bedroom – yes, his bedroom – where, as he dressed for the day, he saw Selene growling under her breath.
"What's wrong, girl?"
'They're awake.'
"Are they?" asked Harry, looking to the door of his room; sure enough, less than a minute later, Aunt Petunia appeared in the doorway, her eyes seemingly unfocused while her body was dressed in the sort of outfit you might see on a maid. In her hands, she carried a tray of breakfast things, which she set down on the bed before she stepped back and smiled in a creepy, if not dreamy way at Harry.
"Is there anything else you'd like, Master?"
"No, go to your room and stay there," said Harry, earning a nod from Petunia as she left the room.
Seconds later, he heard a click on the cupboard under the stairs, accompanied by a thud and a second click, indicating that she'd followed his order to the letter.
And why wouldn't she?
When Selene had eaten her shadow – as she'd explained when Harry finally plucked up the courage to ask – as well as Vernon and Dudley's, it left the spiteful little bitch as nothing more than a puppet to be commanded and controlled by Harry's wishes.
As Selene had explained, 'If you wanted me to do so, I could expel their shadows and kill them, but I can sense you don't…yet, so I won't.'
In the meantime, Harry's family became his in-house pets, while, outside the house, things took a turn for the better.
Darkness
Vernon seemed to go through a miraculous transformation at work, turning up every day without fail and, to the curiosity of his often-disgruntled employees, even passing the buck to a worthier and more-qualified managing director. Vernon, meanwhile, seemed happy enough cleaning toilets, mopping up the floors and emptying out the machinery of the scrap and blockages in the machines.
If he got hurt…meh, who cares? If he became sick from fumes or accidentally ingesting oil or some other product…no big loss. If he suddenly felt a need to go to the bathroom…he always cleaned up after himself.
And, weirdly, even when it was offered, he always turned down promotions.
Darkness
Dudley, meanwhile, turned his bullying ways on his former cohorts, all of whom spent so much time in hospital, Harry wouldn't have been surprised to find a revolving door and plaques on their beds. Sometimes, Dudley was caught, and set a brand-new record for suspensions while, at one point, Piers Polkiss – easily Harry's least-favourite member of Dudley's gang – decided to prove how tough he was by going after a known gang of teens and young adults, all of whom were known for carrying when they were out on the streets.
Poor Piers never left the hospital, having to be put in a vegetative coma after that day.
But at least his Shadow went to a good home.
Darkness
As for Petunia, she seemed intent on making up for lost time with her nephew, spoiling him out and about, buying him clothes, games, toys and, basically, whatever he wanted.
Inside the house, however, she was his maid and he was her Master.
And, weirdly, the fact that Harry admitted to Selene how he liked her calling him Master only amused the shadow spirit.
The point was, Harry's life had definitely taken a turn for the better and now, as he finished his breakfast and left the dregs for his pet to come and clean up, Harry knew things were only going to get better.
And why wouldn't they?
After all, it was September First.
The first day of the rest of Harry's life, mostly because of how this was also the first day he would spend at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learning even more ways about his new powers and all that implied.
Little did he know, this wasn't the only thing that waited for him inside the walls, halls and corridors of the ancient citadel…
Chapter 2 and it definitely looks like Harry's life has taken a turn for the better, but what awaits him at Hogwarts, apart from fame he never asked for, so-called friends who aren't friends and an old fool with a serious case of OCD based around being all-powerful?
Also, what will happen on the day Harry receives the second half of the pendant? What is this secret that Selene doesn't seem able, if not willing, to share with her Little One?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: Hello Hogwarts, Harry's here…and he's here to play some games, kick ass and chew bubblegum…and he's all out of gum;
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