CHAPTER 18: I'll rip their fuckin heart out

A/N: READ THIS! VERY IMPORTANT!

Alright guys...….now, this chapter has major warnings.

TW: Extreme Violence, Body mutilation, Rape, Attempted Rape

All these warnings are very applicable and they are all described in detail.

That's not all...the horrific things that happen in this chapter are not just done by bad people or characters that are generally hated. If you don't want to read your favorite characters do horrible stuff than I suggest you leave now. I won't hold it against you. You've given my story a chance and I thank you for it but I don't want to deceive you.

You all know that this is an alternate version and in this chapter I'm showing you a tiny snippet of my version of how brutal war can be and how it can corrupt and dehumanize even the best of us sometimes. I know that most of you already don't like my Harry. Some of you hate him outright and this chapter isn't going to turn you over. If anything it will turn you off and that's fine.

I'm not going to put a mark for when the warnings or scene starts or ends. Nor am I going to tell you that you can just skip that part as it is just grotesque violence and depicts nothing but the worst of humanity. I'm not going to do that.

This isn't just a murder mystery. It's a character's journey, Harry's journey.

It's his story and what happens in this chapter plays a big part in his life moving forward. You'll also learn more about him, whether you like what you learn is entirely different. This was his past but THIS DID HAPPEN.

Again, PLEASE DON'T READ FURTHER IF YOU'RE TRIGGERED EASILY AND ARE VERY SENSITIVE TO EXTREME VIOLENCE AND IN PARTICULAR RAPE. Remember, this is just a story folks.

With all that out of the way and if you're still with me I present to you the latest chapter. Without further ado...

Interior, Journey, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire – Night

Hermione was vacantly staring at the burning fire behind the crate. She had her knees pulled to her chest and her arms around them. Despite her face tinged with an orange glow there was a certain paleness to her skin that was overpowering the bright hue.

Her eyes were slightly wide and it accentuated the frightened expression plastered across her face.

"You alright?" Harry's gruff and raspy voice rumbled through the tiny space.

Slowly, she turned her head to face him. The glaze waring off her eyes as they focused on his emerald green orbs.

"You look like you've seen a ghost" he said lightly with a hint of smirk tugging his lips at the corner.

She blinked her eyes a few times before clearing her throat.

"Can you blame me" she asked.

He stared at her for a brief while before saying "No"

"I'm still trying to understand why he would come after you personally"

"Not just me but those close to me as well" Harry added.

"Yeah" Hermione furrowed her brows in contemplation. "You said that you've never met him before"

"Never"

"So, what's his motive then."

"That's what I've been trying to figure out for the past six months. Let's track back, Witherfield, Joanna and Locke, all three are connected with what happened to his mother but grandpa...I went through every little detail countless times and I can't find any connection of him related to anything...except-"

"Except that he was the one who put him in ISC" said Hermione.

"Yeah" nodded Harry. "Alright fine, let's say that murder was for himself. Whereas the other three had been for his mother, this had been for him"

"Hmm" agreed Hermione. "He hated Albus for putting him in ISC, for taking him away from his sister and father. I can't imagine what went through the mind of a child who had gone through and was going through such horrible stuff. He'd lost his mother, the grief of which probably never left, then came the news that his father was sentenced to Azkaban and that his sister was moved to an orphanage"

"Don't forget about the fights. He nearly killed a student."

"Right..." she turned her eyes to the floor. "I think there's a part of him that might have felt neglected or even betrayed to some extent" A scoff from Harry made her snap her gaze back to him. "No, think about it. From what you've told me we know that he didn't want to be shifted to ISC. He hated and dreaded the mere idea of it"

"Because no kid wants to join a school for a bunch of weirdos" he exclaimed.

Hermione was about to counter him but snapped her mouth and scowled. "They are not weirdos"

He shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, that's my point exactly. He didn't want to leave and, in that moment, he wanted someone, in this case, Albus, to stand up for him. That was betrayal number one in his eyes. Then came the feeling of being neglected. You said Albus told you that he never visited him, not until he was supposed to bring him his sister, which brings us to the biggest betrayal...he didn't bring his sister, the sister he had not seen in years. He didn't care that Albus couldn't, that her health didn't warrant it, none of that mattered to him. In his eyes Albus betrayed him once more and I can only imagine the hate...the rage he must've felt at that point and now we know that it never went away"

Silence enveloped them for a while as both were consumed by their thoughts.

"But that still doesn't answer why he threatened to come after you"

"You're going to be my final scalp" murmured Harry, staring at a spot on the floor. He looked up and locked eyes with Hermione. "His exact words...final scalp"

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. "But that was six months ago so and there's been no sign of him ever since. No more people found hanging from the clocktower with their heads decapitated...nor has he come after you"

"I'm not exactly that locatable." he chortled.

"Yeah, but we are" she pointed out, making him jerk his head in her direction. "He threatened to kill those close to you as well, remember...but there's been nothing and I haven't been exactly living under a rock"

"I don't think you'd interest him much once the divorce was made public." he scratched his beard under the jaw.

She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to kill everyone you love, that's what he said and I think you probably dropped to the bottom of the list or maybe you're not even on the list if he thinks killing you isn't going to affect me in the least. I mean, what's the saying...no one hates you more than the one you just divorced" he gave a wry chuckle.

"Yeah" Hermione whispered, averting her eyes when he faced her. "Lucky me"

"I've already informed dad about everything"

She whipped her head back to him, surprise evident on her features.

"When?"

"The same night I left. He's strengthened the wards around the manor and has also up the security. Five hit-wizards are on constant duty from evening till morning."

She gave a slow nod. "That's good"

"Hmm"

"So, sending Rose away..."

"All for her protection" he finished. "I wasn't going to tell her about this. It would've freaked her out too much and there was no way she was going to agree to stay here with me. Also, I leave this shithole early in the morning and don't come back till dawn most of the time and with her around I wouldn't have been able to concentrate on anything other than never letting her out of my sight. So, the next best option was to send her away, far away, and he can't leave the country without an international portkey even if he does somehow track her down which is near impossible"

"One that you can only get from the ministry," said Hermione.

"Bingo" he snapped his fingers. "The department of magical transportation does a full background check before they hand you the portkey if they are satisfied that you've met their requirements. If they deem anything suspicious or shady, they'll hit you with a life ban. I've also sent a copy of that photo" he pointed at a photo of Charles from the night Draco died. It was a close up of his face. "to Neville. Just in case he feels brave and shows up as himself"

"That's all well and good but we're talking about someone who has spent his entire life escaping by making fool of people. This is an entirely different creature we're dealing with"

"True" Harry looked at his nails. "That's why I hired Dean and Seamus"

Hermione's eyebrows rose to her hairline. "To spy on her"

He lifted his gaze back to her and his eyes narrowed slightly. "Caution" he growled.

"Dean and Seamus are excellent PI's but their entire job is based on invading and spying on people's private life."

His gaze hardened. "I don't give a fuck about her privacy. She'll have all the privacy she wants once this is over with." He ran a hand through his hair. "They are professionals, they know how to handle this situation. Their job is to simply report to me if they find anything suspicious. Luckily, they have only contacted a few times"

"I'm assuming one of those times was when you left Katharine's place via floo"

"Yeah. It turned out to be nothing. She went to a rave party in Madrid and the two idiots decided to get drunk." He shook his head in slight exasperation as a small smile curled his lips. "She went back to the hotel and they kept looking for her all night. Serves them right"

"And you call them professional"

"They are but don't worry I threatened to cut their balls off if something like this happens again"

"But Harry, don't you think it would be better to keep her close" she argued. "She can stay with me. She wasn't going to move till the end of year anyway"

"No" he shook his head.

"But-"

"Why haven't you told her about me...about my condition" he angled his head to the side, staring at her with a penetrative gaze.

The muscles on her face twitched before she once again turned her gaze to the fire. "It would break her" she said.

"Hmm" he tapped his fingers on the wooden floor. "It's the same with me" she looked at him. "Asking her to come back and locking her up in a house would mean telling her everything which would invoke fear in her. It would scare her so much that she would be looking over her shoulder every few seconds and not realize that she is doing it. Only difference is that it would break me. I can't spend whatever time I've left in knowing that every moment my daughter is living in fear, I'll do anything to never let that happen." he chewed the inside of his lip and was quiet for a few minutes. "I can never...ever...witness that." His face twitched in anguish and his eyes glazed over. "I can't bear to have her look at me in fear. Those eyes of hers...so innocent...so pure...should forever be filled with joy and happiness..." His expression morphed into a look of pure unadulterated rage and it made Hermione's breath hitch. "I'll snap anyone's eyes out who makes her feel otherwise. Forget about someone wanting to kill her, if anyone even looks at her in a weird way or says anything bad about her...I'll rip their fuckin heart out"

He looked back at Hermione to find tears in her eyes before drifting his gaze towards the fire, as did she, and both basked in the stillness of the moment.

Time passed, evidenced by the change in weather. It was now peltering outside and the cracking of the fire couldn't be heard no more.

A particularly loud rumble of thunder and flash of lightning made Hermione jump and she involuntarily moved closer to him.

He gave her a rueful smile and a blush formed over her cheeks.

"How you hate me now" his voice held a teasing tone.

She tried to mask away the fear shining in her eyes and shrugged nonchalantly. "Why, because you won't put your arms around me." She stood up and stretched her arms wide. "I've learnt to conquer my fears"

Just then another loud rumble echoed through the sky and she gave a little squeal.

"Riiiight" he drawled, staring up at her with a smug expression.

"Still working on conquering this one" she mumbled and walked over to the shelf where her bag was sitting in the middle. She opened it and fetched out a small vial with purple liquid inside.

He watched her with wary eyes as she trotted back to him. His eyes dropped to the glass tube in her hand as she dropped to her knees. "Open" She indicated towards his mouth.

He gave her an annoyed look and went to snatch the vial from her hand but she pulled it back.

"I'm not a child" he scowled.

"When it comes to this, you are." she glared back. She removed the topper as he rolled his eyes. "I've twenty years of experience to speak for it. You're the biggest baby when it comes to stuff like this" she muttered, grasping the back of his head with her left hand and craning it back. "Open" she demanded.

He rolled his eyes before opening his mouth. She brought the bottle to his lips and slowly tilted it down, watching the liquid pour down his mouth.

He tried to close his mouth when the vial was only half finished but she stopped him by pulling hard on his locks. "Don't! You need to drink it all"

She let go of his hair once the vial was empty. He started coughing loudly and twisted so he was on his hands and knees. "Fuck!" he wretched, a look of pure disgust taking control of his features. "That's fuckin horrible"

"Yeah well, deal with it" she huffed, standing up and walking back over to the shelf. She put the vial in her bag and turned around to find him glaring at her.

"Is that your sick way of taking some sort of revenge"

"Please" she rolled her eyes. "If I wanted to take revenge, I wouldn't be here saving your life."

"That shit tastes worse than Polyjuice potion. Something I was sure I would never say in my life"

She folded her arms over chest and leaned back against the shelf. "Well, now you said it so stop moaning about it. God you can be so insufferable sometimes!"

"I'm the insufferable one" he pointed a finger at his chest.

"Yes! There are people working twelve hours a day for a cure to save your life but all you are worried about is the taste of the medicine. Forget this if I were you and someone told me that the only thing that could save my life was drinking piss, I would do it in a heartbeat. You need to get your priorities straight" her chest was heaving by the end as she took ragged breaths.

"Of course, you would. We both know how kinky you are" he rebutted.

She stared at him unblinkingly for a moment before bursting into laughter. His own lips twitched before he too started chuckling.

She wiped at her eyes once her laughter subsided to giggles.

"Ohh" she took a deep breath.

"You liked that one"

"Hmm. Yup, that was good. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard" she fanned herself before looking back at him. He was leaning against the wall and staring at the back wall.

She followed his gaze and walked over to him.

"So, is that what you've been doing the last six months. Putting all the pieces together"

"That and waiting for him to strike next"

She stopped next to him. "Well, you said it yourself that you're not exactly locatable and with the increased security at Potter manor he's probably having second thoughts about attacking it. Plus, I think he's figured it out that you informed your parents about him so he knows that they know which doesn't sit well with him because he thrives on the factor of surprise. As for me, as you said I may not be even on his list anymore and the only way he can track Rose is by pure luck."

She turned to him when he didn't say anything.

"Did I miss anything?"

"What if this is not the end...yet" he looked at her. "Initially I thought, once he killed grandpa and more importantly Locke that he was done. I mean by killing Martin he avenged his mother. He was the final scalp. So going by that assumption I thought that now he would come after me. But what if there's still more people on his list before he gets to me. Some another part that I'm entirely missing" he muttered.

"But if that's the case, why is he taking so long. It's been six months Harry. You think maybe that he was just playing you by making that threat. To be honest I have somewhat of a hard time believing that anyone, no matter who they are, as long as they are not a fool, will ever come after you and he's no fool. He maybe a psychopath but a fool he is not"

"No" he shook his head. "I know when a man's bluffing and when he's telling the truth. He'll come after me, of that I'm sure, unless I get to him first. To answer your other question of why he's taking so long and it's been six months and all. Well, for the major part of the six months, he simply wasn't able to"

Her forehead scrunched in confusion. "What do you mean"

"He was hurt badly the night grandpa died, and I mean really badly. He was caked in blood. There is no way he was able to walk let alone apparate the first four or maybe even five months with the medical attention he had at his disposal and there's no way he was ever going to the hospital. To be honest there have been moments when I thought he may have died from his wounds but that feeling is quickly squashed away. Maybe I don't want to admit it...not until he takes his last breath as I look down on him...I don't know"

"Okay, that could be it then" she lightly touched his shoulder. "He simply wasn't able to do anything other than heal"

"Hmm. But now it's been six months" Harry continued. "That's a lot of time and I think he's done waiting. The only question now remains is who is going to be his next target. I'm leaning towards the belief that he is not done yet...I think he still has more heads to decapitate before he turns his eyes towards me."

"But who?"

"I don't know, cause if he were to come after me then he would've started scouting by now. Even if he wasn't able to his team would've been." He looked at her. "Every day for the past six months I hide in this little spot between two trees near Potter manor and wait till it gets dark. I don't leave until the hit-wizards get there, and yet; I've never seen a sight of anyone who even appears somewhat shady." He paused before continuing. "There are very few things I'm good at...catching people is one of them. I can tell you from hundred yards afar if a person has any business being in where he is or if they are just biding time"

"Every day huh" she whispered, an unknown emotion flashing through her eyes.

He tilted his head slightly with a furrow to his brow.

"You've been going to Potter Manor every day to make sure it's safe"

"Yeah"

She nodded, turning her gaze to the ground. "Good"

An uncomfortable silence fell between them before she looked up again.

"Fine, let's assume you're not on his mind as of yet, that he still has some more unfinished business against those he felt wronged him. However, we know – or we believe that Martin was his last scalp in mother's revenge. Albus, that was for himself-" Her eyes turned wide. "Wait, what if Albus isn't the only person he feels who wronged him...what if there are more. Maybe the revenge for himself isn't over yet"

Harry nodded. "That's what I've been playing around with in my head the last couple of days." He turned his head towards the back wall and started walking towards it. "But the question is, who could it be"

"And how many"

She followed him and stopped next to him, her eyes moving over the dozens of photographs, notes and torn out headlines and articles from newspapers.

Her eyes narrowed when they landed on two pictures at the right bottom corner. "What's that?"

She bent down to closely inspect the photographs. Both pictures were quite similar. They were of a wall with letters carved in the stone. In the first photograph, there were two sets of letters. BD APWBD. The second had a lot more. TW DH HI RL CC GN QL.

Harry took a few steps towards her. "He had carved those on the wall of his room at ISC. According to the woman who runs the institute he started doing that with his fingers"

Hermione snapped her head up at him, her eyes wide in shock.

"But he wouldn't stop so they gave him a wand made of stone. She said no one in the staff knows what it means and is not even sure if he ever told his friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah, his team. I got their names from her. They were all his age group. There were eight of them. One girl, the obscurus, I mentioned earlier. They used her powers to escape from the institution."

"Did you investigate about their names?"

He nodded. "Dead end, but I already knew that. There is no way they've been using their real names in public or anytime they're out. The world believes those kids died that fateful day when the obscurus lost control of its power. That's what they want the world to believe. In fact, the night they attacked IMA and stole those potions, some guy called him by his real name and a second later he was dead."

"Hmm" she turned her gaze back to the two pictures.

"Do you have any idea what these letters means?"

"No." he turned around and started walking towards the chimney. "To be honest I don't think they're even that important. He was a kid when he did that. Maybe it was just a part time hobby. A silly little game for a child to amuse himself with...or maybe he truly lost the plot-"

"Harry"

There was something in her voice that made him whip his head round to her. The wide-eyed stricken look on her face made him walk back towards her.

"What is it" he asked apprehensively.

"I know what they mean" she whispered.

His eyes turned wide as he watched her take her wand out from her inside pocket.

She started writing in the air. She wrote BD before moving her hand slightly to write under it. His eyes turned even wider before she even finished writing it.

Bruno Demenza

They looked at each other. She gulped before she once again started waving her wand. APWBD.

He watched with baited breath as she wrote under it.

He closed his eyes the moment she got to the third letter and he realized where this was going.

He opened his eyes as she finished writing it.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

"This wasn't just some hobby" she gulped, looking at him. "This is his list. The list."

"Fuck" whispered Harry.

"And these are the only two names I can match that he has already killed." she paused. "Which leaves us with seven more names. Seven more people who as of now are still alive, or at least I hope they are"

"No, they are. Every serial killer has some sort of a pattern and his pattern is hanging his victims of the clocktower with their heads decapitated."

"Irony is that both these men weren't hanged from the clocktower...or had their head decapitated," said Hermione.

"Well with grandpa he simply didn't have time. I got there before he could do it and same with Bruno. His wife testified that they heard a noise when they entered the house. A bang, that's what prompted her to go and check upstairs, which means his time was cut short there too"

Hermione fervently nodded her head. "Okay, okay..." she turned her gaze back at the pictures. "But what about the other three" she looked over her shoulder at him. "Sebastian, Joanna and Martin. Why is their name not on the list"

Harry stared at the ground with a contemplative gaze. "Because at that time he didn't know about any of them...shit!"

"What!"

He shifted his gaze to her. His emerald orbs were shining brightly and his expression showed that he'd just uncovered some great hidden secret.

"Mars, listen to this. He was twelve when grandpa brought him to ISC. Twelve, and he was in that institution till he was fifteen. In those three years he didn't learn anything of the outside world. The knowledge and information he had at twelve about the world outside the walls of the institution remained the same till he was fifteen, alright. Now, the question what did a twelve-year-old boy know. He knew about Bruno Demenza, how, because a trial happened. Not only that but that's all his father knew as well. His father didn't know that it was much more than that, that this play went much deeper and that Bruno was just a pawn in this whole mess. If he did then their names would've been on that wall as well.

So, he escapes along with his friends with the help of the obscurus in 2010. We know that a few months later he and the obscurus girl cooked up a ploy and fooled the orphanage by taking his little sister away.

Then - oh my god it all makes perfect sense - he waited three years. What he did in those three years I don't know. Clearly, he honed his skills as a wizard since he murdered Bruno who was now slouch. After all he was Sebastian's bodyguard. So, in February of 2013 he tracks down Bruno and kills him, but not before extracting information from him. I don't know how much he got from him because Sebastian made an unbreakable vow with Bruno so I assume he used legilemens otherwise Bruno would've been dead the moment he told him anything. Then he waited five years. Now, what he did in those five years I don't know, apart from a lot of prep. I also think he went and checked the prophecy."

"How" Hermione interrupted him. "It's impossible. It doesn't matter if he changed his appearance or not, the prophecy wasn't addressed to him. You can't pass the front desk if your name isn't in the archives."

"Hmm. Yeah, I'm not entirely sure of that either. Anyway, he also learns about Sebastian from Bruno and remember Sebastian was living under a rock until this year. So, he kidnaps Sebastian the night of your ceremony from IMA and murders him but again not before learning more information behind this mess. He then goes after Joanna and by this point, I think he knows that Martin was the mastermind behind this whole thing."

"My head's starting to hurt"

"Here's the bullet point version. He knew that Bruno put his mother in the hospital which led to her death before he was sent to ISC. After escaping from there he tracked down Bruno and learnt about the prophecy and Sebastian, Joanna and Martin's hand in it. He then works his way up. First, he goes after Sebastian because Bruno acted on his direct orders. Then he went after Joanna because she is the one who made that prophecy and to him, it makes her related to his mother's death. If she hadn't made that prophecy his mother would've still been alive. Also, he might have found some other stuff too which we don't know, and lastly, he went for the main fish, Martin." He lifted his finger. "The most interesting thing in this entire fucked up scenario is Rolinda, the prostitute. She has been in a waking coma for the past five years."

Hermione's eyes turned wide. "He killed Bruno five years ago" she whispered.

"Bingo" he snapped fingers. "But here is the killer part...he didn't kill her. Now, she is not directly related to his mother's murder but indirectly, sure. I mean it's her name in the prophecy too. The other interesting bit is that Rolinda doesn't have a child. Now, the high probability is that she probably got an abortion but still it's interesting to say the least considering he spared her life." He shrugged his shoulder. "Although some would say that being cruciatus to a waking coma is worse than death"

"It also means he learnt about her from Bruno as well. But here's the part I don't understand. Didn't he learn anything from Rolinda? I mean she knew all about Martin and Rolinda since they were using her and she knew about Sebastian as well since she was sleeping with him but he waited another five years to go after them. Also, she could've told him about the prophecy"

"Two guesses" Harry held up his fingers. "First, Martin obliviated Rolinda so that this whole mess doesn't come back and bites him in the ass, which means Charles didn't learn anything from her and in his anger tortured her. Second, maybe he wasn't ready yet, maybe it did take him five years to plan everything. Remember these weren't some ordinary street hooligans he killed, these were high profile, top of the pile members of the British wizarding society"

"Hmm" Hermione mused. "And Albus was the only other person he hated when he was in ISC so it makes sense he carved his name too"

"Yeah"

"But what about those other seven names. Who are they?" she asked.

Harry looked at the bottom picture and walked over to it. His eyes narrowed after a while before they turned wide and a sharp gasp escaped his lips.

"You fuckin idiot!"

He turned on his heel and rushed over to the side wall where a small cabinet stood in the corner. He opened the first drawer and took out a file.

"What's this?" Hermione asked.

"Case file" he answered, as he began flipping through the pages. "I made a separate copy for myself"

"You could get into a lot of trouble for that"

"Only if I get caught and I'm beyond worried about getting caught at this point" he mumbled. "There it is!"

She walked over to him in hurry.

"Check this out. This is everything documented about the Rivia family. Here" he pointed in the middle of the page. "Charles' father, Benjamin's court trial. Look at these three names. Declan Hammersmith, Calix Cregane, Renson Layport. These names match seven of those acronyms."

"Who are these people?" she asked.

"They testified against Charles' father in court." He took a step back and looked at her. "We were wrong. The revenge isn't for himself now...it's for his father"

"But what about the other four"

"I'm not sure but I can bet you they are related to his father. Cordelia, the woman I met when I went to ISC said something else to me. At the time it didn't seem relevant to the case but now it all ties in"

"What?"

"That before he committed suicide, Benjamin Rivia sent a letter to his son and that after reading it she said that Charles didn't come out of his room for a whole week. It's also during that time that he started writing on the wall"

Hermione tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath as she ran a hand through her hair.

"It's all here, Mars. The cover's been lifted and the painting is revealed in all its glory. It's obvious that's when little Charles' learnt about these seven men who wronged his father...and he learnt it from the man himself. One more thing, remember I said earlier that he likes following a pattern. Well, this proves my theory further. He's working in a timeline. He avenged his mother first because that was the first tragedy the Rivia family encountered. He created a little room for grandpa because it fit perfectly in his plan. It was a stroke of genius; he went for him when everyone's eyes were focused on trying to find Martin, and now, he's going after those he believes wronged his father."

"But how" she interrupted. "I mean there was a court hearing as you said. He was found guilty"

"I don't know but nothing in this case has been straightforward. Who knows maybe someone set up his father or maybe like his mother he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time and got himself stuck in something he didn't mean to."

She turned her gaze back to the file at three names Harry had pointed out "I think the answer lies with them"

"Hmm" he followed her gaze. "For that, we need to find them first"

1998

March 13

Exterior, Blodwen Forest (on the outskirts of Yorath), Wales – Night

Harry was sprinting through the forest, his wand held tightly in his right hand. He ducked as a beam of green light went flying over his head.

"HARRY!" shouted a boy who was running parallel to him but a distance of close to twenty meters separated them.

"I'M FINE." He shouted back.

"DON'T STOP. THERE ARE TOO MANY OF THEM! OLIVER'S HIT. HE'S DOWN" Just then a slew of spells came hurling towards them but they both dropped to the ground in time.

"FUCK!" Harry yelled, as he stood up. "YOU GO! I'M GOING TO MAKE THEM COME AFTER ME"

"NO!"

"LISTEN-"

A loud bang lit the forest in a horde of colours. Harry ran towards his friend and pulled him behind a tree trunk.

"Look, we need to create a diversion" he panted. "Fuckers got us covered from all corners. We can't simply keep running. If we do, we'll end up running to an early grave. You want that"

The blonde-haired boy shook his head. He was trembling.

"Good, now listen to me-"

"There you are!" Two twins with fiery red hair slid to a stop next to them.

"I presume those fireworks were your guys doing," said Harry.

"You know it mate" the one on the left winked.

"And you said our little bag of tricks wasn't going to come in handy" said the other.

"Never doubt the little things, Harry"

"Especially ones that are thin and long"

"They may seem unworthy but it's always the little things that gives you the most pleasure"

"Hey, why are we telling him about this, George. Harry knows all about little things"

"Oh, you're absolutely right, Fred. Precisely, how little are we talking abo-"

A hiss in the air, followed by a loud splash and remnants of his face broken into little pieces shot up in the sky before falling back to the ground. Blood covered every part of the remaining three boys as they looked in shock at the mutilated form of their friend and brother whose knees hit the ground before toppling over. His bone stuck out from between his shoulder blades.

"G-George" whimpered Fred. He took a step forward towards his brother's body.

"NO FRED!" Harry moved to pull him back but he was a tad slower as a beam of orange light hit Fred right in the ribs and he was sent flying high in the air. A second later he was spiked through the chest by a tree branch.

The blonde-haired boy doubled over and threw up.

"Cameron!" Harry pulled him back behind the tree just as a beam of green light flew past him.

"I-I can't" Cameron broke into heavy sobs. "I want to go home"

A figure dressed in all black wearing an iron mask apparated right before them with a loud pop. "That can be arranged, little one. Avada Ke-"

"Confringo" The spell shot out of Harry's wand and hit the cloaked figure right in the chest. He was sent flying backwards before landing on the ground, where he remained, unmoved.

Harry stood up and pulled Cameron to his feet. "C'mon. We need to move"

"But go where" whispered Cameron.

"I don't kn- shit, my mirror's burning"

Harry fetched inside his pocket and took out a small mirror the size of his hand.

"Oliver" he exclaimed, when the face of a boy slightly older than him came into view.

Oliver grimaced and it appeared that he was leaning against a tree trunk. "Harry" he wheezed, as his face twisted into agony.

"Where are you. I'm coming right now"

"No!" growled Oliver. "Listen...he's here"

Harry's eyes turned wide and his breathing stopped.

"They have warded the entire area, including the town so we can't apparate. Only him and his followers can. Zach tried and-" Oliver's eyes welled up and his breath hitched. "He was cut in half"

"You two need to get to town and find a place to hide. I've talked to Sirius and they are on their way but they won't get here for a few hours at least. Their team was ambushed as well. They've lost twenty." He cried in pain. "We-we've been set up. That bastard Mundungus set us up. It was their plan all along and we acted like puppets"

"I'm coming to get you"

"NO!"

"And then I'm going to kill the nose less motherfucker" blood started seeping from his palm as his grip on the glass tightened.

"No!"

Harry put the mirror back in his pocket.

"Harry-"

"You can either come with me or you can run for the town, the choice is yours. But don't stay here" with that he took off.

"Fuck" Cameron muttered, before he ran after him.

Harry ducked and swayed through branches and jumped over rocks before he came to a clearing. It was eerily quiet in here. The only noise was of their harsh breathing as they looked around.

"Harry, Harry, Harry..." a snake like voice hissed before a figure emerged from the darkness. The man, if one could even call him that had very pale skin, a chalk-white, skull-like face, snake-like slits for nostrils, red eyes and cat-like slits for pupils, a skeletally thin body and long, thin hands with unnaturally long fingers.

He started clapping as fifteen other figures dressed in black cloaks created a perimeter around them. Beside every figure a beaten, bloodied member of Harry's team was on their knees. There were ten boys and five girls.

Voldemort started cackling madly as he spread his arms wide and moved in little circles "Oh, how I've waited for this moment." He brought his arms to his sides and turned his gaze on Harry. "Don't you love when a plan just comes together. Who knew that even a pathetic piece of slime like Mundungus can come in handy every once a while"

"You killed my brother" growled Harry, as he started walking towards him.

One of Voldemort's followers took a step forward but he stopped him with a raise of his hand.

"Yes, yes I did..." a twisted smile formed over his face. "But not before I raped him...for hours. I even let some of my men and women have their way with him. But I'm sure you already knew that since we were kind enough to send the body back. We literally blew the boy's hole apart" he cackled maniacally, as did his followers.

"Avada Kedavra" shouted Harry, but Voldemort was too quick and he apparated a few meters apart before firing a killing spell of his own.

Harry rolled over to his right. "Reducto" An enormous beam of red light shot from his wand. It was so bright that Voldemort had to cover his eyes, but not before he apparated to a spot behind Harry. Harry's spell hit a large tree and blew it into smithereens. Large chunks of the wood started raining down and some were not quick enough to cast a shielding charm. Those without a shield were crushed to death, that included two boys from the special squad team.

"Hector!" a girl with chains around her neck shouted.

"Jimmy!" yelled Oliver.

Harry didn't have time to mourn as he turned around just in time to counter attack Voldemort's spell with his own. Both their spells clashed and the resounding sound sent everyone flying.

It also sent the members of the light side free from the grasp of the death eaters.

After that, it was all chaos.

Beams of light were flying from every corner accompanied with screaming voices.

Voldemort levitated a large broken piece of the fallen tree to block one of Harry's spells. He came back with a slashing curse that hit Harry right in the chest and dropped him to his knees. He grunted in pain but quickly got back to his feet as the dark lord's wand produced a yellow beam of light. Harry jumped over it but the spell collided with a girl.

She let out the most agonizing scream and dropped to the ground. The death eater she was battling with apparated behind her and lowered his trousers before pulling her so she was on her hands and knees. She kept screaming but was helpless as he vanished her pants and knickers. He jerked his cock a few times before forcefully thrusting inside her.

"AAAH!"

"Sarah!" a boy with brown hair shouted as he watched her get raped.

The death eater removed his mask and howled into the night sky. "Yeah bitch!" he snapped his hips at a rapid pace. "Take that!"

The brown-haired boy raised his wand at the death eater but before he could even get the first syllable out a jet of green light hit him in the head and he dropped to the ground, decapitated.

Tears were rolling down Sarah's eyes as her body continued to convulse because of the after effects of the spell as the death eater continued his assault on her.

He conjured a metal chain and wound it around her neck. He pulled back on the chain till her back was ached upright as he continued his thrusting.

"You motherfucker!"

A girl from the light side ducked under a spell as she ran towards them. "Avada Kedavra" the death eater pulled hard on the chain and shielded himself behind Sarah. The spell collided with her chest and she breathed no more.

"NO!" the blue-eyed girl cried.

Too shocked to move and standing without any defense she was hit by a killing curse and joined her friend in the afterlife.

The battle continued to rage on as Harry shot another blasting curse at Voldemort. The dark lord swayed it with ease but the spell collided with the tree behind him.

"Is that all you got, Harry." he grinned. "I must admit I'm a little disappointed. All this talk about how you are my equal, some even say that you're powerful than me"

Harry's eyes shifted to the tree behind him as it started falling forward. He slowly took a few steps backwards.

"My Lord!"

Voldemort whipped his head round and apparated from his spot just in time before the tree came crashing down. Harry took the opportunity and shot a killing curse at the death eater locked in a duel with Cameron. His spell hit him in the chest, taking his life away.

He whirled around and took a moment to gaze at the mayhem all around him. Only seven members from the light side were still breathing as they fought valiantly, however, they were surviving on borrowed energy.

"Everyone duck!" shouted Harry.

On call, every member from the special squad dropped to the ground and crossed their arms above their heads.

Harry started moving his wand in a circular motion above his head and kept murmuring something in ancient tongue. His movement quickened and soon red sparks shot from his wand. They went around in circles and followed each death eater. Some dropped to the ground to avoid it, some blocked it with a chunk of wood or rock, some hid, and some casted a shield charm. The latter chose the wrong option as the sparks slid through their shield and went right through their body. Three death eaters yelled in pain before they hit the ground. They were dead.

A moment of silence later the chaos resumed.

"That was brill-" Cameron's praise was cut short as a sharp gasp left his lips. Harry watched in horror as his entire upper body split in half and swayed a little before it dropped to the ground. His jaw clenched as he watched his friend's intestines splayed out in the open. He turned his head and locked eyes with Voldemort who had a shit eating grin on his face.

"Don't worry, Harry" he said softly, as he patted barefoot towards him. "There'll never come a moment that you'll die from my wand whilst I'm standing behind you. No... no...you're far too important than that...this, between us" he motioned with his hand. "Means far too much to me than to end it like that. There'll be books written about our battle. It simply cannot end like that" His smile vanished and was replaced by a bone chilling sneer that showed his dirty, yellow, rotten teeth. "I want to see the life seep out of your eyes as you stare up at me. Avada Kedavra!"

Harry jumped out of the way and in quick fire shot three blasting spells. Voldemort blocked them with ease as he continued to walk in his direction in a leisurely manner. "C'mon Potter! You can do better than that. Show me what you've got!"

"Sectumsempra!" Voldemort pivoted on his foot but the spell caught his left arm.

"Ugh!" he growled, before smirking at him. "Now, that's more like it" he did a twirling motion with his wand as blood started trailing down his arm.

"Harry!"

Harry whipped his head and saw an orange beam of light shooting straight towards him. It was too quick and he was too late. It collided with his right calf and slashed a chunk of the muscle. His bone was sticking out at an angle as he dropped on one knee.

"Harry! Hang on, I'm coming" Oliver's killing curse hit the death eater who shot the spell at Harry. He limped over to him as Voldemort sniggered. He tapped his wand in a playful manner before rolling his eyes. "Oh, this is too boring. Avada Kedavra"

Oliver Wood was dead.

"No" whispered Harry. He moved his gaze around and saw two of his teammates getting brutally raped by four men. They were all taking turns.

They were put under the silencing charm so their screams died in their mouth.

Only two members still remained standing from his squad and the death eaters were simply toying with them.

He turned his gaze back towards the girls getting violated and they were both staring at him, pleading with him with their eyes as tears rolled down their cheeks.

Just then the remaining two fighting members of the special squad hit the ground as they were both cut in half. Their upper half slid off from their midsection. The death eaters started cackling madly and hollering in pure joy.

"Where is saint Potter now!" jeered one death eater as he took his mask off.

"Yeah, is this the chosen one!" taunted another.

"Is that the boy everyone hailed as their saviour" mocked another.

"He seems pretty ordinary to me" sniggered another, as he continued to thrust inside the girl whose expression had turned hollow and there was no life in her eyes.

The other girl continued to sob silently as the man behind her slapped her arse before he pulled away. He conjured a four feet long metal pole with a ten-inch circumference.

"Ready boys!" he levitated it into a horizontal position and lined it up with the with the girls opening.

"Do it, Yaxley!" they all hollered.

"No" whispered Harry. The girl realized what was happening and caught his gaze. She was shaking her head vigorously.

"Are you ready!"

"Yes!"

"No" Harry closed his eyes and turned his gaze down.

"I said are you ready!"

"Yes"

James and Lily's face flashed through his vision. "I need more"

"You ready to see this whore take this inside her!"

"Yes!"

Dumbledore and Cedric's face flashed through his vision. "More!" he growled. "I need more"

Voldemort didn't even pay him any mind as he watched with childlike glee the horrid scene that was about to take place.

"You ready to hear her scream!"

"Yes!"

He took the silencing charm off and the girl's deafening cries rang out to the heavens.

A mop of bushy brown head flashed through his vision. His hands started glowing white.

"Here we go!" Yaxley gave a little flick of his wand just as the white light coming from Harry's hands came into Voldemort's vision and made him turn his head towards him. The dark lord's eyes turned wide and a moment later he vanished without a pop.

A flash of Hermione's smiling flashed through his vision and Harry let out an animalistic roar that drowned out a gut-wrenching scream.

His body was lifted off the ground and his arms spread wide like an eagle as a bright white light enveloped the entire area.

A few seconds later he dropped to the ground on his knees and grimaced in pain. It was quiet all around. He lifted his head and saw no one standing. He grunted in pain as he crawled over to the area where the death eaters had been standing.

He choked on his own breath when his eyes landed on the girl who had one end of the pole coming out from her mouth and the other end sticking from between her bloodied ass. He gagged before retching and covered his mouth with his forearm. He tore his gaze from her and moved his eyes over the bodies of the death eaters. They were all dead with not a single mark or blood to show for it. It was like they were sleeping, only difference being they were not breathing.

A gush of wind made him snap his head in every direction. He stood up with pain showing all over his face and took a moment to steady himself before his feet started moving.

He limped the entire length of the forest and it took him close to half an hour before he finally reached the town of Yorath.

He took his robe off and tore it into three small pieces. He put one around his torn calf, one around his bloodied torso and covered his head with the last piece.

He walked around the edge of the town and only encountered a handful of people who paid him no mind. He stopped when he reached a cottage on the corner. It stood next to the trail that led to another opening into the forest. He looked around and saw no one.

He climbed over the fence and made his way through the backyard. He hid behind the stone wall and stuck his head out to peer through the window. A middle-aged couple were having dinner at the dining table. He moved his gaze to the wooden door in the corner.

Taking a deep breath, he crouched down and ran over to the door. He stood up and put his and on the knob. He took a couple of shallow breaths before he twisted the knob and pushed open the door.

"AAH!" The women screamed as her husband reached for his wand.

A beam of red light from Harry's wand hit him straight in the chest and he was thrown back against the wall. His head made a loud crunching sound as it collided with the wall before he dropped to the ground and didn't move. He was dead.

"Abador!" she screeched, dropping to the ground next to her husband and cradling his head in her lap.

Harry leaned heavily against the door as he touched his wound above his navel.

"You bastard! You killed my husband!"

She reached for his wand and pointed at him.

"Avada Kedavra"

She fell back on her husband with her mouth hanging open as the wand dropped from her wand.

Harry closed the door with his foot and limped over to the dining table. With a wave of his wand, he sent everything flying to the ground and climbed the rectangular table. He laid on his back and breathed a long sigh.

A sound of footsteps coming down the stairs made him sit up in a flash and pointed his wand forward. A girl his age carrying her younger sister came into view. Both their faces turned ashen white as their eyes landed on their parents.

"Mummy! Daddy!" The little girl cried.

She wiggled away from her sister's grasp and ran over to her parent's bodies.

"NO!" She jumped over their form and clutched them tightly as loud sobs wrecked her body.

Harry had his eyes trained on the older girl the entire time. His jaw clenched when he saw her subtly trying to point her wand at him. He shook his head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He growled. "Expelliarmus" he caught her wand as it came flying towards him.

Silent tears were trailing down her cheeks which she wiped away with the back of her hand.

"Come here"

She didn't move.

"I won't say it again"

She glared at him but she answered his demand and moved her feet.

"How good are you with healing spells" he gruffed. "Answer me!"

"Very good" she said through clenched teeth.

"Good. I need you to patch me up"

"Never" she hissed.

He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her closer. "Listen to me...very carefully" he snarled. "If you want to live, you'll do as I say"

He let go of her head.

"I'll give you your wand back but if you try anything...I'll blow her to smithereens" he pointed at her sister whose cries had only gotten louder.

She gave a small nod of her head. He looked at her for a moment before handing her wand back.

He lifted his shirt off and she turned her eyes away for a moment. A large gash ran from the right side of his bone to his left pectoral muscle. It was very deep as blood continued to gush through the gap.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry had already started moving as the first syllable left her mouth. He rolled off to the side just in time as the table was blown apart.

"Christina! Hide behind the counter!" Her momentary aversion was all that Harry needed as the next second he had his hand around her throat. Her wand clattered to the ground.

"You bitch! I warned you!"

"Please no!" the little girl screamed at him. He looked over his shoulder at her and removed his hand. He picked up her wand and walked over to the little girl. He picked her up and pointed his wand at her head.

"I warned you"

"Please stop!" the older girl cried. "I'll do anything you say I promise. Just let her go"

"No! Not until you patch me up"

"Fine!"

In the midst of their shouting the little girl was shaking in fear.

Harry sat on the chair and put Christina on the ground. He waved his wand and a rope wound around her hands and legs. He gave another flick of his wand and a tape sealed her lips.

"Now" he turned back to the older girl. "You try anything else and I'll kill her. Don't test me"

She nodded as tears flowed down her cheeks.

A few minutes later she was slowly moving her wand over his chest. He had his wand pointed at Christina and his other hand was gripping the chair so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"Ugh!" he groaned. "Easy"

"I can't do better than this"

She sealed the wound but the mark remained. "How long can I survive with this and be honest or I'll know"

She pulled back slightly and pushed back a strand of hair behind her ear. "5-10 hours if you don't receive proper medical attention. I have only shut the wound but the damage inside still remains"

"What about this" he removed the cloth covering his calf and she turned her head away in disgust. "Can you fix this"

"No"

"Look at it!"

"No!" she glared at him. "I can't deal with bones, not yet. I'm still in training"

He glared at her and motioned her to back off. "Go sit over there"

She turned around and started walking towards the wall when his eyes caught the wand still in her hand.

"Expelliarmus" the wand left her wand and a moment later he caught it once again. She whipped round and shot him a death glare.

Once she sat down, he tied her up with rope, similar to her sister.

He let out a long sigh as he took out his mirror.

"Sirius"

He looked into the glass, seeing his bloodied reflection.

A few seconds later the glass glowed before Sirius' face popped in.

"Harry!"

"Where are you?"

"We're in the forest. We landed on the outskirts and weren't able to apparate further. Where are you?"

"In a house."

"Wait, in town?"

"Yeah"

"Shit! It'll take us an hour or so to reach Yorgath. That is if we don't encounter trouble first"

"You won't. They're all dead and Voldemort left"

"Then why didn't you stay in the forest"

"I'm hurt, Sirius. I couldn't"

Sirius' eyes turned wide and his face shown with concern "How badly"

"Pretty bad."

"Okay, you just stay there and we'll get to you in no time. Remus is working on breaking the anti-apparition ward but it'll take him a couple of hours"

"That's fine. Just come and get me"

"Ony my way, pup. Stay strong, alright"

"Hmm"

He put the device back in his pocket and looked up to see the girl glaring at him.

"What"

"You're him, aren't you. Harry Potter" she spat.

"And..."

"Your side calls you their saviour but you're nothing but a monster"

"Says the one who follows the nose less bastard"

"The dark lord is fighting for a greater cause"

He scoffed. "Yeah right"

"He's honest and cares for wizard kind above all. He cares for his own people and doesn't want them to live in hiding anymore"

"And how does he plan on achieving that. By slaughtering innocent people. Hmm?" he jeered.

"Sacrifices have to be made. The cause is above all else."

"What cause. Killing all half-bloods and mudbloods before going after the muggles"

"Not all have to die, not if they learn their true place"

"And what place is that"

"That they are not our equals. They have dirty blood running in their veins"

"You have been brain fucked"

"The dark lord is our saviour. He is just and the one true leader"

"Just?" Harry stood up. "He, who has killed thousands and continues to do so every fucking day. He, who rapes everyone before he kills them and if by accident, they die before he can get his teeny tiny weener in them than he'll rape their fucking corpse!"

She stuck her chin out defiantly. "All who oppose him deserve whatever punishment he chooses for them." Her lip twisted into a sneer. "Like your brother did"

Harry's face tensed.

"I was there in the dark lord's castle the night your brother was captured. We all watched him as he bent over like the dog he was as the dark lord took him...multiple times. As did almost everyone present that night. It was a joyous moment. Harry Potter's brother getting fucked." she spat, before she started laughing.

"You think that's funny" Harry asked monotonously.

"It's quite amusing" she shrugged her shoulder.

"Well, let's see if you still find it amusing if you get the same treatment"

Her eyes widened as Harry removed his belt and walked over to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a tremor.

"To check if you'll find this amusing" he removed the ropes from around her legs but the ones around her hands remained.

"No-"

"Where's the amusement now?" He opened the button to his trouser and lowered them to his knees. "We've got company too" he pointed to her sister who was watching them with wide eyes. "Just like my brother did"

He got down to his knees and spread her legs.

"NO!"

She started kicking her legs but he was too strong. He lowered her skirt followed by her knickers.

"NOOO!"

Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she continued to kick her legs. Her foot collided with his nose and he retaliated by punching her in the stomach.

"AAAH!" She howled in pain as he went to remove his underwear but stopped as he caught sight of Christina from the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw her staring at him in pure horror. He stumbled backwards as his eyes turned wide, realizing what he was about to do.

He pulled himself up in a hurry and pulled his trousers up before tightening his belt.

"Fuck" he mumbled, as he tripped over his foot and hit his knee on the ground. He was in too much of a shock to care about the pain, or that he forgot to pick up her wand from the ground when he dropped it before he started removing his trousers. Her eyes landed on it at that precise moment.

She crawled over to it and the sound snapped him out of his shock. He turned just as she grabbed it and pointed it at him.

"Avada Kedavra" He jumped to the side and rolled over before shooting a blasting curse at her. It hit her right above her chest and pierced a hole through it.

"MMM!" Christina's scream was muffled by the tape as she watched her sister take her last breath.

Harry shot up and stumbled backwards. He stared at her body with wide eyes. Christina tried to roll over to her sister but wasn't able to. Her muffled sobs filled the silent house.

Harry walked over to her and knelt down. He removed the tape and the little girl's cries echoed off the walls.

"NOOOOO!" He removed her bindings and she immediately pounced on him and started hitting him with her little fists.

A lone tear ran down his cheek as he kept taking everything she threw at him with his head turned down.

After a while her strength reached its limit, as did her stamina. She got up and walked over to her sister where she laid down next to her and put her arm around her.

Harry got up and headed for the door. He stopped at the threshold, looked over his shoulder at the little girl whose entire body was shaking in silent sobs.

A moment later he walked out into the night sky.

A/N: So...yeah...let me know your thoughts. I read all of them. Say what you want to say because as I always say I learn from you guys. I get a better understanding of my story by reading through your comments. It doesn't mean that I agree with you all the time but it does help me understand my point of view better. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay happy and I'll catch you on the flip side.