Disclaimer: All recognisable media, TV, Comics and their characters belong to their rightful owners, which isn't Me, also I make no money from this venture it's freely shared entertainment only. This applies to the entire story, I didn't put this up before, and I should've.

Platform Nine and Three Quarters, London

At the same time as everyone else on the platform Ginny Weasley turned to the entrance. Her mouth dropped in shock, and then finally she looked to Hermione who had spent the end of summer with them, and someone she could count on to be a friend, "Is it just me, or did your knickers just melt clean off your body as well."

Hermione just nodded her eyes on her friend. There was something VERY different about him, for one he didn't look emaciated for a change, in fact he looked rather buff. He was also angry, and as much as a nest of hornets by the look of him.

She winced as a little girl cut in front of him, straining to hear what was said, and hoping that his bad mood wouldn't explode all over the little girl.

"Excuse me Mr Potter, sir, can I have your autograph" she said a cute piping voice.

Harry paused, seemed to sag then seemed to muster up a smile for her, "Of course," he said, "but I'm nothing special" he added.

The little girl handed him parchment, then a quill, her smile changing as he took it. It was far too an adult an expression to see on an eight year old and Hermione started to shout a warning. "POP" and Harry was gone.

"GOTCHA" the girl exalted, only to find herself at the bottom of a pile of Aurors who were there on guard duty.

Hermione rushed over, in these sorts of situations, and they only happened with Harry, she wasn't a student, she wasn't a younger girl, she effortlessly took control, "What the HELL!" she asked furiously. "Let me … talk to her"

The head Auror there, a Roberts, took one look at the girl, smiled nastily and pulled the obviously poly-juiced DE to her feet.

"Now…" Hermione said her almond coloured eyes changing, "Where did that portkey land?"

"You'll never find him," the girl cackled, her clothing starting to rip apart at the seams as the poly-juice started to fail, "He's with the Dark Lord, gone forever!" she cackled again, showing herself to be a rather plump middle aged woman, who looked ridiculous in the girls' clothing.

"Oh…I don't think so" Hermione said a chilling tone and smile on her face.

Riddle Manor 20:00 – 1st September 2011

"You hit like a girl" Harry laughed, blood dripping from his face, lacerations across his body, his face swollen half shut, one eye he couldn't even see out of, and the other bloodshot and damaged. This just made his furious look all the more potent, the green stark against the bloodiness of his whites. "Give me to Bella, at least she's man enough to hit me properly" he snarked.

Rudolphus roared in rage, backhanding Harry had enough to rattle his teeth, and yet the little bastard barely seemed to notice it. "Is that all you've got – pussy" he shot, not even slurred yet.

They had been at this for hours after finding to their horror the little shit seemed immune to Veritiserum. They had no clue how he had managed that, but the Dark Lord himself had been there at the time, and confirmed a lie the boy had told. So they had resorted to more old fashioned methods. Something he seemed to be proving rather immune to as well.

"Enough" Bella said, her voice like a whip crack across the dungeon. "You're just making yourself tired, and him amused." She said, almost admiringly.

She walked over to the shirtless Harry, her eyes casting down him. "You are quite the specimen aren't you?"

"Oh god, kill me now – I'll talk I'll talk!" Harry said in mock horror and then laughed nastily, "You know what – you're kinda hot. Let's get it on, if you're half as good with your mouth as you are your wand, it'll be a barrel of laughs."

Bella laughed, running her hand down his muscled torso. "Don't tempt me, this one is useless. You look to be fun."

"Oh Bella, in any other circumstance I would So go for you," Harry said chuckling, "Why not give up this life, and come with me, spend eternity having sex!"

"Tempting" Bella said dryly, eying him, only to get a back hand herself.

"Now that was amazingly stupid" Harry said with a HUGE smile, bloodied as he was, Rudolphus turned to his wife, fear in his eyes at what he'd just done.

"Bella" he started, then screamed.

"CRUCIO" she yelled, her eyes on fire.

"Oh, now I get it, I see how to do it now – thanks for the demo, Bella" Harry said, spitting out a globule of blood.

She turned to Harry anger in her eyes, "You…you wanted that to happen!" she said sounding shocked.

Harry smiled a truly shit eating grin at her.

"CRUCIO" she screamed, fire in her eyes.

"Ohhh tickles" Harry laughed, then screamed, "FUCK That HURTS, GIVE ME MORE!" he cried out, and then laughed even throughout the pain, biting his own lip in the process. The curse ended, and Bellatrix was looking at Harry like she didn't quite know what to do next.

"Enough" a chilling voice said from the door, "You're playing into his hands little Bella, allow me" Voldemort said sweeping into the room with his usual grace. In his hand he had a needle, a dark substance in the vial. "Let's see how he holds up against something a little more exotically Muggle." He purred.

Harry eyed the syringe with wariness. "Do your worst you stupid snake fuck. You'll never get me to talk!"

"Grand words Harry, but let's see about that."

"You've not even told me what you want to know Tom," Harry said suddenly sounding calm, the fires of hell burning in his eyes. He was tied to a cross, nails through his hands already. They were about to do his feet when he'd started to bait them and they had forgotten to finish and Rudolphus had started in on him. "You know, this is really turning out to be a shit day" he said as Bella held his arm and Voldemort shot him full of pure cocaine. The dose was more than enough to kill, anyone Muggle at least, but Wizards are indeed made of sterner stuff than that. The dose had to be high, but the effect was much the same.

Voldemort wasn't interested in information yet, he just wanted to break the little shit first. Then, when he was a shell, then he would rip the information out of his mind, something he could no longer access as he might've before for reasons that escaped him. This and more, he would find out when the drug really got to work and Harry began to beg for the next dose.

"It's done, let's leave him to…enjoy the experience, for a magical it's rather a different one than a Muggle has," Voldemort said with a nasty smile.

Bella cackled in laughter, "You know" Harry said, "You really are kinda hot…until you open your mouth. Seriously woman, do something about your teeth!"

Bella stopped laughing abruptly, fingering her wand, her mouth closing rather fast with a click.

Harry smirked at her.

"Laugh all you like, I believe the expression is that I shall be having the last laugh."

"All the way to hell you sick fuck" Harry retorted to the snake faced bastard himself.

"Leave him," Voldemort ordered, his red eyes flashing, "We'll come back later, when he's more…co-operative."

His Death Eaters, some of the inner circle did as they were bade, the man himself pausing at the door, "The day will come when you beg me, prey I feel merciful."

"The day will come," Harry retorted, "That I won't allow you time to beg" he said his eyes alight, feeling the drug entering his system, and the accompanying fear that losing control brought with it. It really was a perfectly awful day.

Voldemort laughed, leaving the room. Harry sagged slightly, took a breath and then straightened up. He closed his eyes, took a breath and then focused.

It started as a trickle, then a stream and then the entire shot of cocaine flowed back out of his body, down his arm and dripped harmlessly onto the floor. Harry smiled wickedly, looked around and figured out in a glimpse how to get free, and how to get away.

Then in the same moment, he turned around and decided against it. Compared to what he'd felt earlier that day, the pain was tolerable. Plus, he really wanted to know what it was Voldemort wanted.

Riddle Manor

17:30 – 8st September 2011

"YOU WILL TELL ME"

"I WON'T, AND TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT To KNOW, YOU WANKER" Harry screamed back, then laughed, "You know I'm starting to enjoy this rack. I think I might have a kink."

"BAH you're insane!" Voldemort shouted beside himself with rage. Harry was a mess; his eye was totally swollen, perhaps never to be quite right ever again. He was black and blue, multiple fractures and breaks and there wasn't really a bone in his body that hadn't been broken at one time or another. They had drugged him, beaten him, tortured him even Water Boarded him. All they got in return was more snark, more anger, more Harry. He seemed to be getting stronger by the day despite the fact they hadn't fed him anything but water and it was driving his arch nemesis up the WALL. "JUST TELL ME THE PROPHECY!"

"Oh..." Harry said calming down, "Is that all you want to know - seriously?"

Voldemort looked at him askance, "Is that not enough?"

"Well, it's really very simple, and really you could've just asked mate, I'm going to kill you" he said his voice utterly chilling at the end.

Voldemort stepped back, "You Lie!"

"Do I?" Harry said a death's head grin on his face. "Do I really...after this week you doubt that I am immortal you ignorant fuck. I'm coming for you arsehole and I'm going to make it HURT"

Voldemort felt fission of pure icy cold fear grip his heart - what if the little bastard was telling the truth, all his hard work, his preparation, it would be for nothing. "I'll return, and when I do, I'm going to kill you." he said turning and sweeping out of the room, in utter retreat. Bound, bloody and broken Harry Potter had just scored his biggest defeat of Voldemort and knew it.

"Right, time to leave then" Harry said. He looked around the room, spotted a metal dinner plate they had tempted him with yesterday and smiled a hauntingly scary smile.

"But first..." he said, his bounds unravelling themselves, the nails in his feet and hands popping out and stepping down from the crucifix for the first time in an entire week. He picked up the plate, his eyes turning hard, turning dangerous, Temperance had done one thing for sure. She'd hardened Harry in ways she had no clue about yet.

The Death Eaters were about to find out just how hard Harry was. How cold and unforgiving he could be. He hefted the plate, and then with an odd grace he stalked out of the room, limping, bloody, even barely able to walk he still had grace.

They didn't have a chance even then.

Hogwarts, Same Time

Hermione was beside herself currently. She hadn't heard a thing from, or about Harry in an entire week. Her intelligent mind was torturing her with visions of what they were doing to him, even now as she sat in bloody dinner because she was being forced to. She had hardly slept a wink, while Ron was digging into his meal.

She was having feelings about Ron, and turning her eye to him in a specific way, but his handling of Harry's disappearance left a lot to be desired, it was almost like he didn't care.

Then, she would catch him, looking out at the stars, and a worried look on his face, and it reminded her that he was just handling it his way.

Dumbledore snapped to standing in a way no octogenarian should be able to, "The" he started, then looked very confused, "wards are fine…apparently." He said to no one really.

There was a horrendous clap of thunder, a bolt of lightning came out of the ceiling of the great hall, showing a starry, cloudless night and then as their eyes cleared they saw Harry standing there, dressed in rags, bleeding from just about every part of his body, holding himself tall and proud, his eyes literally glowing with power, but beaten to hell and back.

His eye was closed and didn't look good, while the other was furious, powerful and awe inspiringly powered up. He stood up to his now full height of six foot, where he'd gotten the extra height Hermione didn't know and smiled, "Room for another" he said, his voice garbled slightly by swollen and cracked lips. He looked like he'd been to hell and back, and typically, the first thing he said was a bloody crack.

The entire great hall breathed in at the same time and then cheered. Harry shook his head sadly, then turned to her and smiled, "Wotcha" he mouthed.

She was up and out of her seat in a flash, and she wasn't alone, half the house did the same thing. A shield snapped up around Harry and his one good eye glared, "BACK the FUCK OFF" he said, "Now…" he said into the sudden hush, "Just Ron and Hermione. I'm a bit…trigger happy right now, I did after all just escape." He said his voice back to control. "Just them" he warned.

Ron was right besides her, looking at Harry like he was a god, she herself didn't see Harry like that, oh – she knew he was special, and frankly he was god like at times.

But, he was also just Harry, a wounded, dangerously depressed man at times, who just wanted to be loved. Not in the way he was currently by the Wizarding world, but a true love, the love from a woman to a man, a family the whole nine yards. Then, she caught him casting an admiring glance over the hall and adjusted her thinking slightly. Whatever had caused the change she'd first noticed, in fact Ginny had first noticed at the platform, it had changed those priorities slightly, and she wasn't sure what to do with that realisation.

Other than to get to him and hold him up. He was actually starting to sway slightly. He wouldn't want to show his weakness, not to the sheeple as he called them.

No, she got to him fast, walking right through the glowing shield around him, threw his arm over her shoulder and he leaned into her heavily. Ron quickly went the other side and did the same, the two doing what they did best. Supporting him when he needed it. Ron's track record was spotty, but right then and there he was doing it, and doing it with pride.

"Harry…how" Dumbledore said, flabbergasted to see him, "We've looked everywhere."

"Apparently not" Harry quipped mildly, "But you wouldn't have found me – Fidelius I think."

"Right, I thought that may be the case. Madam Pomphrey, if you would" Dumbledore said quickly noting Harry was holding on by a thread.

She quickly stopped staring at him like everyone else was, and leapt to do her duty. Her wand was flowing, the shield going down as a sign of his trust of her. "Oh My God" she breathed, "To the infirmary now!"

"A moment" Dumbledore said, "His wounds."

"Not now," she snapped.

"Yes, now, they have to know, to see" Dumbledore said. "I wish I could hide this from you, but you must know the horrors that Voldemort wishes to perpetuate on each and every one of you, even those that would follow him."

Harry nodded, looking at the nurse seriously, "He's right."

"I don't think there is a bone in his body that isn't broken or fractured, his eye is nearly utterly destroyed, I'm afraid I won't be saving it. He's got more cuts on his body than I've seen during my years as a student practicing on cadavers. His spleen is ruptured and needs immediate attention, his spine is nearly shot and he'll be lucky to walk, and please GOD let me help you now!" she cried, close to actual tears. Hermione was well ahead of her, already flowing down sculpted cheeks.

Harry just nodded, "I'll be fine" he said sounding sure. "So will my eye, proof if you will" he said, then suddenly straightened up. "Watch, watch what she can REALLY do." He said his tone hard.

Slowly the blood seemed to rush into his body, the nurse's wand leaping into action, her eyes going wide. His bruising visibly faded, the cuts healing before their eyes, his eye started to stop swelling and began to go back to normal. They saw enough then to know that it had no hope, the ocular apparatus appeared to be ruined, and yet as the entire hall watched rapt it started to heal, his eye took on a bright Emerald glow, and then his eyeball puffed back into shape, filling out, and eventually two perfectly normal eyes were glaring out at the room.

"I think I need to sleep now" Harry said, folding up backwards. Caught by Ron, and hefted into the burly young man's arms.

"Fuck he's heavy" Ron grunted, "We need to go – quick I can't hold him for long."

"No need" Dumbledore said, walking forward he made a motion of his hand and Harry was lifted right out of Ron's arms and into the air, "I've got him, I've got him now." he said, more meaning to his words than he really meant to admit to. "Oh my poor boy" he breathed, "You fabulous bastard" he added to the shock of the entire hall. "We're away" he said simply and strode with a much younger bearing than his years demanded out of the hall.

Ron looked at Hermione who shrugged, and then the two took to their heels after the old man. Poppy was quick to follow, in a state of shock at what she'd just witnessed firsthand, and via her spells.

It was impossible, but then – this was Harry they were talking about. The boy should be dead, and yet he'd just visibly healed himself, while standing there looking like it took no effort until he'd feinted.

Let the little Death Nibblers report THAT back to their parents and see what happened.

Temperance's Flat – Little Whinging – Surrey

22:00 – 10th September 2011

Tempe looked at her phone, nearly ignoring it, but it was her work mobile and she wasn't quite at that stage to be able to ignore work yet. She picked it up and answered it with, "You've got Sandra, what can I do to you?"

"Liar" a welcome voice said.

"Harry!" she cried out jubilantly, before she remembered the role she'd put herself in. She cringed a bit, expecting a bad call, but he deserved it, to get out some vitriol for what she'd made him think. "That's my work name" she said her voice guarded.

"Oh, I know that, I wasn't talking about that. I've had … a weird week, but I've had a LOT of time to think, to cogitate and really go over the events in my mind." He said. "So I wasn't talking about your name Tempe" he said sounding fond, "I know what you did, and I think I know why you did it. It fucking hurt Luv, and more hurt than I've had in my life – and that's saying something, but thanks to you I got through something I couldn't have done beforehand."

"Is this where you call me a lying whore," she asked tightly.

"Anyone that calls you that send them my way- I'll fuck them up baby."

"Don't; don't call me that, not after…what I did"

"But if I'm right, you did it for a noble reason. Oh, I'm pissed, and hurting, but I wanted to thank you anyway. After this week I needed to hear your voice, I make no apologies for that."

She smiled, holding the phone like a life line, "This is my work phone, lose the number." She said keeping her role as best she could while smiling her head off, he didn't hate her!

"I will, and this may be the last time I call, but if it is, then I wanted to say…that I will always love you, and especially for what you did for me, and got me through this week."

"Are you okay, all I know, and I had to force him to talk to me, is that you were missing, and people were scared, but wouldn't say why. He was as well, scared, he didn't know you know, shocked the shit out of him and he won't talk to me anymore." She added sadly. "It really wasn't his fault."

"Oh baby I know that, when I look back at his reaction, it was obvious really. I know, Tempe, what being kissed by you is like, and what it's like to have you. He didn't, and he wasn't being kissed the right way."

"You sound so sure of yourself, and you evaded my question."

"Bad people are in my life Tempe, probably as well you got out when you did. I shudder to think what they would've done to you had you been in my place."

"Harry…" she trailed off, that did NOT sound good, "Are you alright now?"

"Now I've heard that concern…pretty amazing."

"Get lost now" she said her lip trembling, "Please!"

"Okay Luv, I understand, but if you ever need me – you have my number, I'll never change it."

"M'kay" she said, hanging up, tears in her eyes, but a smile haunting full lips.

Hogwarts, Same Time

Harry put down his mobile just as Hermione rushed in with Ron on her heels. He shot them a large smile, "Hey you two." He said with a grin, "I hear you're a couple now – why am I the last to hear this?"

"Maybe because you were off being tortured," Hermione shot back, her eyes red, a tear gathering. "Why does it always have to be you?"

"In fairness I was there for my own reasons this time, turns out – he didn't want to know anything important. I really was very pissed to find that out."

"You what mate?" Ron said, half laughing, "You make it sound like you stayed on purpose."

"I did" Harry said shocking them both. "I thought he was after something important, turns out he was only interested in the prophecy, stupid thing. I told him it was for me to kill him, that put the wind up him…then I left, he had nothing else I wanted."

Hermione sat down heavily on his bed, just looking at him "You're not right in the head."

"Perhaps not," he said with a wistful smile, "But tortures are a wonderful mechanism for getting information out of people I think."

Ron looked at him weirdly, "Oh no – not performing it, but being the other side. They think they have the control, but they didn't. I did, the entire time. Sure it hurt, but pain passes."

"She's right" Ron said heavily, "You're not right in the head."

Harry laughed, then winced, "Ouch, don't make me laugh; my ribs are still a bit tender."

"If you weren't in a hospital bed already, I would put you in one" Hermione said, "I was worried sick!"

"She was," Ron agreed.

"So were you, stop trying to be tough"

Harry laughed at the interaction, looking between them and tilting his head. He didn't know why, but something wasn't right, something was missing, and he wasn't sure what it was. They didn't…gel the way he thought they should, but it was none of his business, and their mistake to make, and he was sure of the fact it WAS a mistake. Then he winced, his ribs, really were hurting, Rudolphus had done a number on them, in reality only his special relationship had made it so he was intact at all.

"Anyway, I'm back, and a bit bored now, so what say you spring me from this joint, huh, pretty please?" Harry said pulling out the big guns. Tempe and many others that summer had made one thing abundantly clear to him. If he so wished, he could get his way with any woman, and it was all down to his eyes.

Hermione proved to be the exception that proves the rule, "I should think not!"

"I agree" the deeper voice of Dumbledore said, coming out of Madam Pomphrey's office, "You were in a right state Harry."

"And I'm not now, just need to nurse my ribs a bit, so perhaps only light Quidditch."

"Or none at all if I had my way," Poppy said walking out of her office following the headmaster. "Stupid sport!"

"It's a wonderful game" he and Ron said together.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Men!"

Dumbledore chuckled, "I think with the Madam's permission I could see my way clear to letting you out of here only if you promise to return if you have any problems. Poppy finds no sign of the numerous wounds she found on you before and asks that you try to do the same to others."

"I think, I can only do that to myself, and probably just the once sir" Harry said seriously, "Let's just say it was a favour, and a big one at that."

"Oh, and from whom did you get this favour" Poppy asked, "Perhaps I could ask them myself?"

"Perhaps you could madam," Harry said with a winning smile, "But I'm afraid that's not up to me to introduce you. She may do it herself, in time."

Poppy frowned, and so did Hermione. "I did hear from Dudley, told me that people were worried about you. He wrote to me, because he felt you wouldn't talk to him."

Harry patted his mobile, something he had managed to keep close, even while captive, "Oh don't worry I disabused him of that notion already."

"Why are you talking to him in the first place to not talk to him…if you follow" Ron said.

"Dud and I have reached a ... peace," Harry said, "He's not so bad, you just have to save his life for him to see the light."

"Of course, and you do make a habit of that," Ron said, "Just look at my sister."

Harry titled his head, "Why?"

Hermione smirked, "You saved her life second year…ringing any bells?"

"Ginny, my sister…" Ron said surprised Harry didn't remember her.

"Oh, yes, sorry, all I really remember about all that was how fabulous the basilisk was and what an arse it was to have to kill it. Really it was a gorgeous creature."

Dumbledore's lips twitched, making his moustache move.

"Dear god, don't ever let her hear you say that," Hermione said seriously.

"If the girl talked to me on occasion, I may even remember her name." Harry noted wryly, "Otherwise she's just Ron's sister, you know?"

"I am so glad she's not here right now," Ron said with a smirk.

Harry smiled, "I do remember that she was cute"

"Hey now…"

Harry laughed, and then winced again. "Seriously, can I leave now? I hate these beds, and I want my own."

"Very well" Dumbledore ruled in his favour, "But come back tomorrow and the day after for a check up," he added to appease the look from Poppy he was getting.

"I can agree to that." Harry said then smirked, "Perhaps Ron can introduce me to his cute sister."

"Oi"