The Nightmare Man

Summary: In the depths of the Ministry, there is a cell for the world's most dangerous man… and he wants out.

Pairing/s: None.

Warnings: Time travel, OOC-characters, Light!bashing, Twisted!Harry, Evil!Harry, violence, mention of gore. Yeah, stuff like that.

Disclaimers: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I make any money writing this.

-o-

Edited 2021

-o-

Chapter Sixteen

Harrison was woken up in the morning by Lucy jumping up and down his bed, not even glancing at the hovering Dementor. None of his servants confessed about pointing out his rooms to that little menace, and then Lucy decided to spin around with the Dementors, giggling. Which made him wonder if she hit her head somehow and lost her marbles. She didn't even mind the cold!

"Not even the tiniest bit?" Harrison wondered.

"It's alright," Lucy said.

"If you say so… now, shoo, I'm going."

"Going where? I go too!"

"Dungeons, and there's no children in the dungeons. Go play fetch or something."

"I'm not a dog," Lucy protested.

"Just go, play with someone."

Ywgraine and Joanne jumped at the chance. Angel was clinging to Joanne, as Severus was busy in the potions lab. With Lucy distracted, Harrison went down the dungeons alone to meet Fred and George.

They were both resting on stone tables, breathing deeply. Harrison moved his hands above their chests. The magic hummed around them.

"Time to wake up," Harrison said.

The magic vibrated, enough to be seen, and then vanished into the two bodies. Fred woke up first, silvery sheen in his eyes. He sat up and looked at himself. Then at George, and last at Harrison.

"I was eaten by a Dementor," Fred said.

"Yes, you were."

"That's the most horrible thing I've ever experienced, and then it spat me out."

"Indeed it did," Harrison said.

"That was disgusting."

"Yes, it was," George agreed and sat up as well. "You made them like that on purpose? All… scary and that-that missing face-looking?"

"Yes," Harrison said. "What would be the point of making them good-looking, or friendly? They're made to frighten people, so a pink rabbit hardly would have done the job alright."

"He has a point," Fred told George.

"That he does. But a pink rabbit that would devour souls sounds equally terrifying."

"I don't want their victims feeling calm and happy," Harrison clarified. "I want them terrified as soon as they look at my children."

"Oh," George said. "I see. Well, you have succeeded pretty much."

"Thank you."

"So, why are we here?" Fred asked Harrison. "Did you save us, despite being a big, bad Dark Lord?"

"Kind of saved you, I supposed. How do you feel?"

"Strong," George said.

"Yeah, but pretty normal beyond that," Fred said. "But I have a feeling I had something against you before this but that's gone. Did you fiddle around with our brains?"

Harrison did stifle a laugh at the suspicious look he was given.

"Yes, I might had fiddled a little bit," he said, holding a hand over his mouth. "Are you angry about it?"

"Not really. That's your fault too, isn't it?"

"Probably. Who knows? Then, are you two willing to work for me?"

"You ask people that?" Fred said.

"Sometimes I do. I heard it's polite so I figured if I do it once in a while it's fine."

"I see," George said. "Now, is this a dungeon?"

"Yes, it is."

"Brilliant. Do you have prisoners?"

"Not at the moment," Harrison said.

"Bugger."

"I think he's waiting for an answer from us," Fred told George.

The twins looked at him. Harrison arched an eyebrow. Fred and George turned to each other, shrugged and said:

"I mean, why not? Will you tell us we can't work on our pranks?"

"No, I won't, as long as you don't try them out on me," Harrison said. "I can also get you prisoners, if that's what you fancy. None of my servants do."

"They don't like prisoners?"

"Well, Elise prefers hunting people herself. There is no end to her joy if they run all over the world."

"Really? Why?"

"It's good exercise, she says. Once she was gone for three months, chasing one single person."

"What did that person do?" George asked.

"He tried to write a misleading book about Godric Gryffindor," Harrison replied. "Elise doesn't like it when people does that."

"Did she kill him?"

"Eventually," Harrison said.

"Wow," the twins said. "Can we meet her?"

"She's the head servant, so that's a meeting you can't escape."

"Wicked," they replied. "Is professor Snape here too?"

"Yes, but he's busy today so you'll see him later. Now, your wands…"

He handed the wands over and the twins followed him. As they walked through the corridor the twins looked around.

"You don't have skulls and blood on the walls," Fred remarked.

"Aside from the blood, skulls and bones are more Elise's version of decoration, no idea where she got that from. According to all of the servants, I'm not terribly creative when it comes to decorating. Any blood that might end up on the wall is accidental and promptly removed."

"Do you have Inferi here?" Fred continued.

"Nearby."

"Wicked," George said. "Can we see them?"

"Can we touch them?"

Harrison glanced back at them.

"They might bite," he warned.

"Not us! Or do they bite servants?"

"Do you tell them off?" Fred continued off from where George left off.

"Or do you let them bite even your servants?"

"What kind of teeth do they have?"

"Do they speak?" George continued.

Harrison stopped and turned around.

"Am I going to regret you two?" he wondered.

The twins looked at each other, then back at him.

"Maybe a tiny bit?" they said. "Now, about Dementors, can they see?"

"That's it, Severus can deal with you two."

"Wasn't he busy? Or can we help him?"

"I'm quite sure your version of helping isn't the kind of help Severus has in mind, nor what he needs," Harrison said as they began to walk upstairs.

Once in the main hallway, he sighed and said:

"You can meet Elise later. This will lead you to Severus."

"Oh, professor Snape's gonna be mad at you for letting us near his precious potions," George said.

"What's the worst he can do, behead me?" Harrison said. "It just gives me coordination issues for a bit. Now go away."

The light he had created now sped off, and the twins ran after it.

"Elise!" Harrison called out.

"Yes?"

Harrison looked up.

"What the hell are you doing on the wall?" he said.

"One of the paintings was covered," she replied.

"I had a painting up there? What for?"

"I hung it up in 1503," Elise replied.

"Why?!"

"It was of heads impaled on spikes, it was funny. Was that those twins you spoke about earlier?"

"Yes. I sent them to Severus, so I expect to be yelled at by him later. You mind talking to the twins after that?"

"Not at all, master." She jumped down from the wall, landing on all four like a cat before rising up. "Will they be troublesome?"

"If they are anything like I suspect, then trouble has been their middle name since the day they were born. You'll have to be more specific."

"Will they cause trouble to us?"

"No, they're loyal. Will they, however, be annoying? Most likely, but they will be fun."

"You have bones on the walls!" one of the twins shouted. "Wicked!"

"Those belongs to Elise!" Harrison called back at them. "Now, I need to talk to someone. Do make sure they don't destroy anything too valuable."

Harrison left the twins at Elise's mercy, if they didn't hurry up and go to Severus, and went down the hall. He walked through a couple of rooms before pressing a panel. A hidden door opened, revealing a smaller library as well as a grand room with several paintings of rooms and different types of nature. The centre pieces were four portraits, along with a painting of a big room with room for four people to be in comfortably. Only one of the portraits had an occupant, the other three frames empty.

Harrison walked up to one of the portraits and gently tapped the frame. The woman opened her eyes, and smiled once she saw him. Harrison smiled back.

"Hello, Rowena," he said. "How is one of the world's most beautiful ladies feeling today?"

"And you always said you had no charm," Rowena said with a smile.

"Ah, but do remember Godric thought me a barbarian, to have treated ladies so harshly. It didn't take him long to realize though, the ladies I do know are perfectly capable of defending their own honour."

"That is true. So why this compliment?"

"I suppose I have learnt a little bit of charm. Also, it's true. I do appreciate beauty."

"Such a gentleman. What can I do for you, my dear lord?"

"You have portraits at Hogwarts, even if they remain mostly unseen to the students. Have you heard of a Harry Potter?"

"Yes, I have," Rowena said. "Rather dreadful father, full of foolish pride as a student. His mother wasn't so bad. Harry though, oh, he has all four houses in him. Such a rare piece. But they are pushing him."

"The adults?"

"Yes," she replied. "Why do you ask? Are you going to kill him?"

"Why do you think that's my first action?"

"Because killing someone is normal to you."

"That's true," Harrison admitted. "But no, I'm not going to remove such a rare piece from this world. Is he being trained? Or perhaps taken away from the school?"

"Now that you mention it… yes, he is. He's been missing a lot of classes because of them."

"Well, we can't have that now can we," Harrison said. "Would you be a dear and watch him? I need to speak to him outside of school… persuade him away from those awful people."

"Knowing you, those people are probably rather decent ones but for you, I will."

"The others will surely help you once you've informed them."

"Poor Salazar barely has a painting at Hogwarts," Rowena said. "Say, will you take over the castle? You know you can do that."

"I might… or I'll be on the side that does. Why?"

"Put Salazar's paintings near ours. He's a founder, an important person. Yet people think of him as a monster."

"When the real monster amongst you was me," Harrison replied. "If I have a say in it, your portraits will hang in the Great Hall, overlooking the students."

"Good."

With that Rowena stood up from the chair, and vanished through a door in the painting. Harrison stepped out of the room, and looked around the paintings in the room next door. Albus Dumbledore had spies in the paintings… but so did Harrison.

But his weren't limited to just Hogwarts.

"It pays off to accept paintings as gifts," he mused to himself as he left the room.

-o-

Three days later, when the holiday spirits began to settle, Harrison arranged for fifteen people to be taken. The garden thrived in the cold and the Dementors he hadn't forced up early were now nearing harvest. They needed a final set of blood.

He did the watering but didn't allowed the trees to take any of the bodies. Severus stood nearby, blanked by the twins who kept staring at the trees.

"Are those for real?" Fred finally said. "They're moving worse than the Whomping Willow!"

"The Whomping Willow didn't eat people either," Severus added. "Why won't you let them eat the bodies?"

"I'm going to teach Voldemort about making improved Inferi," Harrison said. "So take them down to the dungeons. Don't use magic, just drag them or something."

Fred and George began to pull at one body at the same time, then looked at each other before whipping out their wands.

"My corpse!" George said.

"No, mine. You take that one!"

"No, this one is mine. You take the other one!"

"Never!"

"Mr Weasley…" Severus began. The twins continued to squabble. "Both Weasleys! Twenty points from Gryffindor and detention!"

The twins gasped and Harrison crossed his arms, glancing at them in bemusement.

"He's giving us detention," the twins said to each other.

"Yes, I did," Severus snapped.

"But you're not a professor anymore, because you're kinda dead," they said. "We're also not students anymore because we are kinda dead."

"I will not repeat myself," Severus growled. "Cleaning guts from the potion cauldrons, and I'll make sure to use them well first if you don't stop."

"Right-o, sir!" Fred said, grabbing a pair of legs and dragging the corpse away. "Moving, I'm moving!"

"Me too!" George grabbed another body and the arm fell off. "Oh… do I have to get it inside in one piece?"

"You heard master, they are to be used in training in making Inferi. A missing limb or two will hardly matter."

"Professor Snape calling someone 'master'," George muttered. "Just bloody weird."

"Move it Mr Weasley, or I will make that thirty points!"

"You're not a professor anymore, you can't take points away!"

"Move it!"

George began to drag the body away, sticking his tongue out at Severus who merely bared his teeth at the teen before grabbing a body of his own.

"They might be a bit crazier than I thought," Harrison said as they vanished into the manor. "Or did I bring that out in them?"

Did it really matter though? One of the trees poked him in the back.

"No eating me," Harrison said absently and swatted at the branch.

It kept poking him and he turned around. He could see the Dementors, their thin arms and long fingers safely encased in translucent cocoons filled with rot and decay.

"I know," he said. "They're ready. Almost…"

Turning back to the bodies still scattered around, Harrison heaved a great sigh before bending down to grab a leg. He began to drag the body away, whistling in the cold, clear air.

-o-

The new year arrived with a bang. Literally in Harrison's case, due to now having the Weasley twins living at the manor. Thankfully they knew better than to wake him in person, so he woke up to hearing fireworks go off, the twins yelling in triumph mixed in with Lucy's excited cries.

"Oh, Merlin, they aren't gonna make her like them are they?" he groaned into the pillow.

One of the Dementors began patting his back when he wasn't turning over.

"I'm not trying to suffocate myself," he informed the Dementor, voice muffled by the pillow.

The patting stopped but the hands didn't move away. Harrison turned his head and looked up at the Dementor.

"Go on. Go scare them."

A noise, known to Harrison as one of joy, and the Dementor was out the window. The twins shrieked soon enough and Harrison laughed to himself.

The door opened and Lucian stumbled into the room.

"Good, you're awake master," he said.

"You don't look like you are," Harrison replied.

Indeed, Lucian's eyes were more closed than open, and his hair was sticking up, arms crossed as if he was trying to sleep while standing up.

"Those nightmares woke me up a while ago," Lucian said. "So I'm going back to sleep in here."

"Why didn't you come in sooner?"

"Because on the off chance you might react badly, I didn't fancy picking up my entrails from the floor. Now move over, master."

Harrison rolled over and watched Lucian settle down.

"I'm not staying," Harrison said.

"Good, then I have more of the bed to myself. I will have my revenge on those two… why did you pick up teenagers, master?"

"They seemed fun. Now go back to sleep."

Harrison joined the twins and Lucy outside, still setting off fireworks now when the Dementors were done scaring them. Harrison wore a heavy cloak and said:

"You aren't supposed to fire those off until midnight."

"You know about New Years?" the twins said.

"I know I'm old, but I'm not entirely ignorant."

"It's just," George began.

"You don't seem like the type," Fred continued.

"I mean, evil lord and everything," George finished.

"Evil lords don't tend to follow a manual that tells them what to do," Harrison said.

"They don't?" the twins said.

"I hate rules and rulers," Harrison told them. "I especially hate those who try to rule over me."

"Someone has tried then?" Fred said.

"What?"

"Your tone says someone has ruled over you."

"Yes, which is why I killed that person," the Nightmare Lord said. "It was satisfying. Now, are you going to continue shooting fireworks while it's daylight? That's kind of boring."

"I believe he just indirectly called us boring, Fred," George said.

Lucy laughed at their faces before running over to Harrison and crashing into his legs.

"You seem quite fond of trying to squash your nose against my shins," he told Lucy before picking her up.

"Now I'm quite certain he's ignoring us, George," Fred said.

"Do you want to experiment on some bodies I have down the dungeons or not?"

"Bodies?" Fred said, perking up.

"We can play with them?" George continued. "But what about Voldemort and his lessons?"

"He's a fast learner," Harrison replied. "He's probably creating new Inferi as we speak. That reminds me that I need to sneak over there for a bit."

Fred and George raced each other to the dungeons while Harrison dropped Lucy off with Severus, who had Angel with him.

"Have I become the to-go babysitter now?" he asked.

"Well, you didn't protest it," Harrison said. "Ywgraine and Joanne will probably compete with you later though. I'll be back in a bit."

He left by himself and Apparated to Voldemort's manor. After a quick check, the only one who appeared to be there was the Dark Lord himself, and he probably didn't celebrate this occasion.

Because if he had done so, he wouldn't have celebrated in the basement. So he most likely didn't celebrate his own birthday. As much as Harrison had tried to ignore his own birthday, he did make a point of not working that day.

Voldemort stood bent over a body. Was he making Inferi, or just experimenting? Based on how different they were, he probably was making Inferi. He was more practical than Harrison, and wouldn't waste perfectly good corpses just to entertain himself.

"Good morning," Harrison said.

Voldemort, to his credit, did not startle or even look up from his work. Then again, Harrison hadn't tried to hide.

"Harrison," Voldemort said as he wiped his hands off, facing Harrison. "What brings you here?"

"It is customary to congratulate people on their day of birth. So, happy birthday."

The Dark Lord tilted his head.

"Not many people know that," he said at last. "Not even amongst my own Death Eaters."

"Why? Are you afraid to get too many gifts?"

"I've never desired them."

"Oh, that's a lie. We all desire gifts."

"I've never gotten many in my life," Voldemort clarified.

"When I turned eleven, I got a moth-eaten blanket to sleep with," Harrison said. "On the floor. Can't say that was my best gift."

"At least you got a blanket."

"It wasn't a real gift though. The holey sock, that was meant as a gift. How is it going with the body?"

"It will take a few more tries to get it as good as you," Voldemort confessed. "You make it too complicated."

"I like complicated Inferi, that makes them more terrifying." Harrison looked at the body. "You're doing fine."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are. Can we leave the dungeon? I'd like to try alcohol."

"Why?"

"Alcohol makes you warm, and it's not warm here."

"Heating spells accomplish the same thing."

"Well, that is correct…"

"I was about to take a break anyway," Voldemort said. "You don't put heating spells on your clothes before you enter you dungeons?"

"I light a fire."

"Why a fire?"

"I like setting fires."

"Like… fireplaces, or people?"

"I do enjoy burning people alive," Harrison said. "Last time wasn't even too long ago. His screams were funny."

"Figures," Voldemort muttered as he led the way to the library.

He lit a fire and prepared drinks for them both before they sat down.

"I think this is a good way to celebrate a birthday," Harrison said.

"I generally don't take notice of it," Voldemort said. "Do you?"

"Well, I didn't work. Other than that, not much."

"Your servants don't know your birthday, do they?"

"They've tried in vain to find out."

"You haven't told them?" Voldemort asked.

"No," Harrison replied. "I usually let them pick a date if they insist on a celebration."

"Is there some sort of secret regarding your birth?"

"I just didn't want to remember my real birthday, I suppose."

"Maybe it's the same with me," Voldemort said. "I preferred to make use of my time instead."

"Oh, how I hate hearing about diligent people."

"Why's that?" Voldemort wondered as he took a sip of his drink.

"Because it makes me seem lazy," Harrison replied as he drank some as well.

"I wouldn't go that far, there are always days when nothing gets accomplished," Voldemort said. "Why have you come though? New Years nowadays is a great celebration, shouldn't you be at home with those brats of yours?"

"They're not mine, I just accidentally kidnapped one and deliberately kidnapped the other one."

"If you say so."

Harrison wasn't sure if he could call it banter, but he found himself enjoying the whole thing. Over several drinks, which was in a surprise in itself, he also managed to convince Voldemort to celebrate New Years back at Harrison's manor.

"I won't reveal it's someone's birthday if you don't want me to," Harrison added.

"I would appreciate that."

"Or are you perhaps hiding it because a birthday means you're an actual living being and didn't just spring into existence from nothing?"

"Have you tried to convince people of that concerning you?" Voldemort asked.

"Not really, people did come up with silly things concerning my existence. But no, I'm just like any other human. Probably worse than other humans."

"I see… taking care of two children, one of which is an orphan…"

"I orphaned her! Well, I didn't know she survived, I didn't take her in because I orphaned her!" Voldemort glanced at him and Harrison continued, "Kidnapped, I kidnapped both of them!"

"From what I've heard, the orphan girl didn't mind you from the start."

"I still kidnapped her from those… whoever they were, one with a weird eye and this woman who was angry with me."

"Weird eye? Must be Mad-Eye Moody."

"Mad-Eye? Really?"

"He's a category all by himself," Voldemort said.

"I mean, Nightmare Lord sounds a bit silly sometimes, but Mad-Eye? That sounds silly all the time. Is the eye mad? Why would it be mad? Who is it mad at?"

Voldemort just looked at him. Harrison emptied his glass once more and said:

"By the way, is that Bellatrix around?"

"Why would she be?"

"Well, she seemed very loyal."

"She has her own home and husband."

"Why did you mention the husband?"

"They are both loyal, but Rodolphus gives a blind eye to her flirting. Then again, she does the same."

"They're married, but flirt with other people?" Harrison said. "I don't get it."

"Some marriages are like that, more in name than anything else," Voldemort replied. "Now then, shall we go?"

Harrison shrugged and they Apparated to Harrison's manor, Harrison listing to one side temporarily before righting himself while Voldemort strode into the manor.

"Did I drink too much?" Harrison asked the air. "But I didn't drink that much… did I? Maybe I just can't drink."

He followed Voldemort inside. The manor was still in one piece, but Fred and George were both partly covered in soot.

"What have you two been doing?" Harrison asked. "And did you kill anyone while you were at it?"

"We didn't!" they said. "Just…"

"One of the fireworks," George began.

"Went a bit wrong?" Fred continued.

"A bit wrong?" Harrison repeated. "You look like you blew up."

"Maybe it kinda did?" they said.

"I'm guessing that wasn't planned."

"He laughed at us," the twins said and pointed.

Harrison glanced over and Lucian glared at the twins, who jumped and then ran away. Lucian turned to look at Harrison and Voldemort.

"Good afternoon, lord Voldemort," Lucian said. "I advice you to stay away from those horrid creatures."

"Their names are Fred and George," Harrison said.

"Horrid creatures."

"Would you like nametags for them?"

"May I carve the names into their forehead, master?"

"Not very stylish," Harrison replied.

"Horrid creatures it is then," Lucian concluded. "Will you be staying long, lord Voldemort?"

"Harrison invited me in, so I'll stay for a while."

"I see. I shall alert Elise that we'll have a guest. Please excuse me. Do go and have a drink in the living room."

Lucian left. Voldemort looked around the hall.

"How many living rooms do you have?" he asked Harrison.

"Four," Harrison replied. "No, three… or is it four? What makes a living room into a living room? Is there a list that a room has to fill before it can be recognized as a living room?"

"… Are you drunk?"

"What is drunk?" Harrison countered with.

"Excuse me?"

"What is the feeling of drunk? I don't remember."

There was a crash, Lucy's laughter, and Severus cursing.

"I think I need to rescue Severus from a toddler and a tiny menace," Harrison said. "Find a living room and a drink, and I'll join you shortly."

-o-

A few days into the new year, and Harrison went to find Harry Potter after Rowena had reported that the teen had been taken out of school by some suspicious-looking lads.

"What is suspicious in your eyes?" he said. "Also… lads?"

"I've heard that's a word!" Rowena protested. "Also, shifty-looking."

"Shifty and suspicious are almost the same thing, Rowena dear. Was it people in uniforms or something?"

"I think someone called them Aurors," she said.

"Ah, yes, well, they're the good guys meant to help Harry Potter," Harrison said. "So I'm going to go be the bad man and lure him away from them."

"Today?"

"Well, I'll put the seed of doubt into him. Thank you, you beauty."

"Flatterer," she said and waved him off.

He did find them rather easily, which surprised him. He thought Harry Potter would be under more lock and key, or at least behind some powerful wards. Or did Voldemort not seek Harry Potter out and they felt the boy was safe enough out in the open?

He stopped once he saw Harry. He hadn't seen the boy before. This other version of him. When he took Lily, he hadn't looked at any pictures, and those memories in her mind had been left untouched. He never asked Severus what Harry looked like.

So he looked at a teenager that looked almost exactly like he had done when he was that age. With a few, but very important differences. This Harry Potter wasn't as pale and thin. Or afraid and tired. This Harry Potter looked happy, laughing at something one of the Aurors said. Harrison settled in and watched Harry for some time.

They began training again, probably having taken a break earlier. Harry was good, considering his age. Much better than Harrison had been. Harrison followed the spells, the moves, and was impressed.

But Harry was still a child forced to be someone else's weapon. Harrison thought his parents would be here. Help him train. Make him feel protected. Or had Dumbledore told them off? Perhaps they wanted their son to be a fighter… a killer.

Perhaps they didn't think Harry as a future killer, but Harrison knew he had thought himself as that shortly after killing Voldemort in his own dimension. He had taken another person's life. Now, he was fine with it, he was a mass murderer now but how did young Harry Potter feel about that?

Harrison settled in to wait, his magical signature completely hidden. He was surprised he was this patient watching the Aurors help Harry with his stance, how to dodge and correctly erect a shield. But then again, being frustrated rarely helped.

He'd tried being frustrated for maybe like two years while chained up, and the only thing that had happened was him developing a massive headache.

Finally they took a longer break, and once Harrison saw they were about to Apparate, he subtly reached out and clung on with his own magic. He Apparated with them, quickly moving to a more shadowed corner when they landed.

Hogsmeade was a picture-perfect winter landscape, looking unharmed from the raid months ago. People milled about, talking and looking in shop windows. So it wasn't a break, but the end of their session? Harrison hoped they would make a stop before shipping Harry back to Hogwarts, because getting Harry alone at Hogwarts would be more difficult.

Luckily they did. The Aurors went off, leaving Harry outside of Honeydukes. Did they think nothing would happen? Harrison cast a charm on himself so people wouldn't recognize his face, and sat down on the bench next to Harry. Having found a newspaper earlier, he now unfolded it and began to look through it. Harry glanced over a few times, before saying:

"Excuse me?"

Harrison looked over.

"Oh my," he said. "You're Harry Potter."

"Ah, yes, yes I am," Harry said with a slight smile. "I guess I'm easy to recognize."

"Yes, I must say you are. Your eyes are just like your mother's."

Harrison had liked that comparison back when he was young. Just people seeing something else than James Potter. Then again, he was always only compared to his mother and father, never to the person he was. Never as Harry himself.

"Do you know my mother?" Harry asked. "I feel like I should know you."

"Oh, I may have met her briefly once or twice," Harrison said. "But just in passing."

"What's your name?"

"You may call me Harrison."

Did he trust people this easily when he was Harry's age? Harry had no problems talking to him about anything. Harrison did find it a bit worrying. Surely Harry should know to be cautious? Maybe he should instill that in the boy? But make himself a trustworthy individual, of course.

He didn't even have to bring up Voldemort directly for Harry to talk about it.

"People say I'm the one meant to defeat Voldemort," Harry said. "But how can I? He's stronger, he's fought for decades."

"Why do they say you have to defeat him?" Harrison asked.

"I…" Harry looked at him. "I don't know, it's just… everyone's told me that, that I have to defeat him."

"Why don't they try first instead of sending an innocent child to act as their weapon? In fact, why hasn't he been defeated? People sing their praises about Albus Dumbledore, and yet he has not managed to defeat a single man for decades. Is he even trying? Or does he want someone else to be the killer?"

"Killer…"

Harry's gaze flickered back and forth, and then down at the ground quickly. His hands clenched, knuckles going white. Had he thought about what Harrison had just said? A quick peak told Harrison that in some ways, he had.

He didn't think his parents saw him as a weapon, or killer, but he had begun doubting Dumbledore in the last year, before Harrison had even escaped. He was afraid of what Dumbledore truly wanted. Oh, so he had already planted a seed of doubt in himself; now all Harrison had to do was making it grow.

"Professor Dumbledore said it was my destiny," Harry finally said. "Only I can kill him."

"Destiny, huh?" Harrison looked up at sky. "Hear an old man out; there is no such thing as destiny. It's for people that doesn't take matters into their own hands. They leave it up to destiny and think that will solve all their problems."

He couldn't go all out, he supposed, or Harry might get spooked enough to mention this to Dumbledore. One peek into Harry's head and Dumbledore would see who spoke to him. If that happened, Harrison could forget getting another shot at speaking with Harry, and make Harry want to run away from those who wanted him safe. Well, technically Harrison also wanted him safe, but he was on the bad side.

Harrison glanced over at Harry. He had to plant enough suspicion so that Harry would keep this conversation to himself.

"That sounds convenient for those people," Harry said. "What about those who are supposed to be that destiny?"

"Left to fend for themselves, I'm afraid. Alone and unwanted… quite a cruel fate considering what they sacrificed for their loved ones."

"They wouldn't do that to me…" Harry said, mostly to himself.

So he had thought about it before? He was worried. Probably not his parents; James and Lily seemed to truly love their only child, and wished for him to live. But still, they didn't object to Harry being the only one supposed to be able to defeat Voldemort. They could have worked over the years to bring Voldemort down, so Harry was only needed in the end. Harrison wondered if Voldemort was too strong of an opponent in this dimension he had found himself in.

After all, he had never lost his body here. He seemed to have emotions. He had goals that stretched beyond the Voldemort Harrison had known as a teenager.

Nevertheless, Harrison needed Harry to think they would sacrifice him without a second thought, and leaned closer. The teen didn't shy away. Harrison hadn't trusted people this much when he was Harry's age. How could they be so different? Was a parent's love that life-changing? Or was it that Harry grew up safe, in a caring family?

"Are you so sure about that?" he asked, which made Harry look at him. "Dumbledore have defeated a dark lord before… why is he hesitating so much over a younger dark lord?"

"I… I don't, I don't know."

"So strange. He truly acts strange, Albus Dumbledore. Using a boy, while trying to remain the centre of attention."

That wasn't necessarily true. But Harry didn't need to know that now.

"But, you are the boy-who-lived," Harrison continued. "Surely they wouldn't treat their hero that callously and cruelly…"

"He keeps things to himself, I never know anything," Harry blurted out. "I want to know more, but no one ever tells me."

"Trust your instincts, Harry," Harrison said. "And be careful."

Still, he was surprised Harry hadn't run off by now. What teen stayed near a stranger that tried to convince him that those he trusted was out to betray him in the end? Unless Harry feared that already. Or needed an adult that listened to his fears without brushing it off.

James and Lily wouldn't betray their son, or leave him for dead, but they could keep things from him. Thinking they would spare him, while in reality they only widened the gap Harry felt was growing between him and those he had trusted his whole life.

Also, Harrison didn't know this Dumbledore that well. He didn't know if Dumbledore would protect Harry, or use him as a weapon, discarding him once he was done being useful.

"I better go now," Harrison said, rising up. "Be careful, Harry Potter."

"Wait!" Harry grabbed his arm. "I… can I get in touch with you, somehow?"

Harrison looked into those green eyes. So young, and foolish, trusting a stranger more than his own parents. It was almost too easy to lure Harry away. Then again, Harrison didn't want him dead. Maybe Harry could somehow feel that.

Either way, Harrison reached into his robe for some parchment, and wrote down an address. Not to his manor, he wasn't that stupid, but somewhere he could easily go and check every day.

"Send your owl to this place," Harrison said, handing over the parchment to Harry. "Whatever you wish to write, it will reach me."

"Thank you."

Really, was it supposed to be this easy to manipulate someone?"

-o-

"Am I manipulating people, or corrupting them?" Harrison asked Lucian later that day.

"Pardon me?"

"Do I manipulate or corrupt?"

"You have done both in the past. Is this about Harry Potter?"

"Yes, I went to see him."

"It went well?"

"Too well. Maybe he lacks a brain to think with?"

"… What did he do?" Lucian asked.

"He trusted me!"

"What?"

"He trusted me," Harrison said, throwing up his hands. "People, people don't just trust me. Was I that easy to fool in my youth?!"

He thought it over for a bit.

"Damn, I was," he realized.

"Easy to fool?" Lucian wondered.

"I was ridiculously easy to fool," Harrison groaned, sinking lower into the armchair he had flopped into earlier.

"Somehow I find that difficult to imagine, master."

"I wasn't always inclined to paranoia. I didn't generally trust strangers, but I was so easy to fool."

"It's still difficult for me to imagine it, I suppose," Lucian said. "So did you manage to sway him for Severus' sake?"

"Not sure yet," Harrison said. "But it seemed he had worried about his role in this whole war before I brought it up. Now, where is everyone?"

"Most of them are running errands."

"All of them?"

"Well, the twins are helping Severus."

As long as they weren't trying to make things blow up on purpose, Fred and George were good at potions. Inventors too, he supposed, even if their preferred goods were pranks. Harrison assumed that at least, because they knew better than to use them on him.

"Master? Your back will hurt later."

Oh, he had slid even further down. Harrison straightened and felt his spine pop and snap. He looked at Lucian and said:

"That sounds like I'm old."

"Few people can sit like that, young or old, and not have it hurt. But you are old, even if one can't see it on your face."

"I don't like wrinkles," Harrison said. "They don't suit me."

"Such a vain master," Lucian said. "Then again, I'm also a bit vain. I'm very fond of this face, without wrinkles. I suppose I'm fond of everyone here. Not aging, always remaining as beautiful as always."

"Well, at least it's more my vanity than my murderous tendencies that seemed to have rubbed off on you…"

They were interrupted by Lucy running inside, screaming, with Fred and George chasing after her. She made two rounds around the armchair Harrison was seated in before clambering up on his lap and smashing her face into his chest. Harrison froze. Lucian made a motion that Harrison should hug her, and Harrison frantically shook his head. Lucian sighed.

"She's not going to bite, you know," he said as the twins stopped in front of Harrison.

Harrison opened his mouth, snapped it shut, and then placed a hand over her back before looking up at the twins.

"What are you two up to now?"

"How rude, assuming we're up to something!" Fred said.

"How rude, thinking I don't know you two," Harrison replied. "You two live and breathe horrid plans on all creation."

"That is true," George said.

"Much true," Fred continued.

"If you two were planning on doing something to her…" Harrison began.

"No, it's just," the twins said, "we made this potion that turns our tongues blue…"

They stuck their tongues out, revealing they were indeed very blue.

"And then we said we were cursed and had to pass it to her with a kiss on the cheek…" Fred started.

"So she ran away," George finished. "Fast little bugger. Are you sure she can't Apparate?"

"She's five," Harrison said. "I'm quite sure."

Lucy rubbed her face against his robes, giggling a bit. Her hands covered her cheeks.

"I'm guessing Lucy didn't want a blue tongue?" Harrison asked the twins.

"No, she wanted a green one," Fred said with a shrug. "So we gotta figure out what made this potion blue, and how to make it into green instead."

"Have fun, don't break Severus too much."

Lucy stayed with them, and Harrison figured she was tired once he discovered she was actually asleep. He slowly settled back into the armchair, quiet for a bit.

"Is this what it means to have a family life?" Harrison asked Lucian.

"Why are you asking me? I never had a family."

"Didn't you grow up with parents, love and all that nonsense?"

"All that nonsense… elegantly put, master. Very elegantly put."

"Are you answering me or not?"

"I had parents, yes," Lucian said. "I'm quite sure they loved me, but I don't remember it. My memories from before I became your Lucian, master, are vague and hard to reach. I don't tend to look."

"But if you were to guess?"

"About family?" Lucian looked at Lucy, and then back at Harrison. "Perhaps it is a sort of family that you have here."

"Hmm…" Harrison looked down at Lucy. "Well, so far it's not that bad is it?"

"No, master. It's not bad at all."

-o-

The first letter from Harry came only a few days later, actually waking Harrison up. Not the actual letter, but the school owl tapping on the window. Harrison considered getting up. But it was cold, so he just waved the window open and let the owl in.

He had set up at the other house that if an owl had no tracking spells on it, it would be transported to his manor, and so Harrison took the letter and gave the owl a few strokes over the wings. Then he conjured a mouse for it, letting it eat before it left again. Harrison let the window close and yawned.

From the shadows came a few Dementors, one going so far to crawl under the sheets.

"What are you doing?" he asked that one.

He only got a wheezing breath in response, and blinked. The others were looking at him.

"Have I missed something?" he said to them. "Is it some sort of anniversary today? I don't tend to remember those. No?"

They shook their heads.

"Then what is it?" he said.

But they didn't need to spell it out before he heard sounds from outside. The trees were being quite lively.

"Oh," Harrison said. "Oh, it's harvest day today. That's why they're so excited, the trees. But the letter…"

He looked down at it, and then tore it open.

"Fifteen minutes," he muttered, "I won't need more than fifteen minutes, yes, that'll work, he hasn't written that much… you lot, go wake the twins."

All but the one under the covers, the oldest one, rushed out of the room.

"You're a silly thing, aren't you?" Harrison said to it as he pulled the sheets away to reveal the Dementor. "I made you to be scary, not snuggling up in bed."

The Dementor shrugged.

"Lazy arse."

But Harrison didn't make it move away. Instead he dropped a hand on its head as he started to read Harry's letter. The boy spoke of his concerns quite freely in the letter, and Harrison did fear a bit for his naivety.

"Was I this bad? I don't think I was, especially towards strangers… or did I do that?" Harrison squinted into the near-darkness of his room whilst absently petting the Dementor's head. "No, no way. There is no way I would write a letter like this to someone I just met once."

He turned back to the letter, but was soon interrupted when he heard the twins shriek.

"Oh, they're up," he commented. "I hope that didn't wake Angel or Lucy…"

Finishing Harry's letter Harrison put it back into the envelope and put it aside. He would respond to it later; now he had Dementors to take care of.

Fred and George were waiting for him once he got down to the main hall.

"Those things are horrible," Fred said and pointed at the Dementors.

"Horrible, horrible creatures," George agreed.

"They're meant to be."

"We don't want to wake up seeing those faces!"

"No? I do, every day. They love to wake me up."

"There's something wrong with you," they both said.

"Hush now," Harrison said. "We're going to see more of those lovely faces."

"What?"

"It's harvest time."

They stared at him.

"Just the three of us?" they said.

"Yep."

"Harvesting, before breakfast?"

"Oh, yes."

"What the hell are we harvesting?" Fred added, looking at him suspiciously.

"Dementors," Harrison replied with a grin and swept past them.

-o-

"I'm beginning to see your point," George admitted after a while as he broke the skin of a cocoon and watched a new Dementor stretch and claw at the ground. "They're kind of funny when they're new."

Harrison was too busy rubbing away rot from one Dementor to properly reply. He didn't as much as twitch as he heard George say to Fred:

"Reckon he's in love?"

"He does have tiny little stars in his eyes," Fred whispered.

"Not a heart?"

"Maybe one or two."

"Go get them," Harrison told the new Dementor. "Scare them."

And yes, it still worked. The Dementor used its new arms to make itself bigger and howled. Fred and George shrieked and ran away, chased by it. Harrison's laugh made the trees shiver in delight. They were almost finished.

"I love this part so much," Harrison told the last cocoon, digging into it with his bare hands. He uncovered the last Dementor and watched its mouth open wide. "There you go, take a breath… or whatever you're doing. Yes, that's my hands."

The long fingers grasped his own, tugging and feeling. Harrison raised one hand and pressed it against his cheek. The Dementor burrowed into his chest and he laughed again.

"You should've woken us up."

"It's alright," Harrison said and turned to where Elise stood. "The twins helped me out just fine."

"So why are they running around?"

"Because it's funny. Alright, you lot, how are you all feeling?"

The Dementors huddled closer, all swept in black cloth and great hoods. They were noisy now, grasping after him and willingly going into the cloak that housed the other Dementors.

"You're not sending them out to eat?" Elise wondered.

"No, I think they should be with the elders for a bit," Harrison said. "Oi, you over there! You're last, come on!"

The Dementor chasing the twins changed direction and came to Harrison and moved into the black fabric. Harrison stood up and put the cloak on.

"Did we wake you up?" Harrison asked Elise.

"No, I was going to prepare breakfast. Do you have anything in particular you want?"

"Just tea for me."

"No, you have to eat something. I can make scones."

"Scones?" Harrison perked up.

"As many as you like."

"Oh… well, alright then. Scones and tea. And jam. Something disgustingly sweet."

"Of course, master."

The chill of the Dementors radiating from the cloak didn't bother Harrison. He looked around, and said:

"I'll just clean the area up a bit before breakfast. Half an hour?"

"That gives me ample time to get breakfast ready, master," Elise said. "Shall I tell the twins to come with me?"

"Fred, George!" Harrison called out instead. "Go with Elise, and don't be a bother or I won't eat her breakfast."

She must have sent the twins a look, because they rushed to Harrison and said:

"Is she going to kill us?"

"What?"

"Her eyes said she was going to kill us," George hissed.

"Don't be a bother then," Harrison said.

"All this over breakfast?" Fred whispered to George behind Harrison's back.

"Master's health is very important," Elise said icily.

"Master can also survive without a heart," Harrison replied. "But yes, scones are nice, I actually want scones today."

"You two will behave."

"Elise, don't threaten them."

"We will behave," George said.

"We'd be stupid to do anything but behave," Fred continued.

"Good, I suppose," Harrison replied. "Go on then, I'll be back in no time."

-o-

Harrison had been so absorbed in his own existence, the works around his manor, that he kind of dismissed the fact he was a wanted man. Which was why he one fine January day found himself surrounded by Aurors.

Many, angry Aurors.

"Hello," he said, looking around at the people surrounding him. "How is everyone?"

"You filth!" one Auror screamed at him.

"Ah, that kind of day?" he said. "Well, I don't blame you. We all have bad days."

"Capture him!"

"That won't do. I promised Lucy I'd be home for tea. You can't make me break a promise to a five-year old, she'll be so annoying when I get back!"

They wavered for a moment, glancing at each other. He realized why when he scanned their surface-thoughts.

"You think I killed the girl. I understand why you thought that, I've killed numerous children in the past. But I don't take them away before I kill them. I don't hide away my murders, usually. People tend to find out about them."

He dodged a stunning spell, and Harrison felt wards snap in place. He tested it with his magic, but for a first try, they held strong.

"That's not good," he muttered before raising his voice, "I will have to escape, you know. I simply don't have time to be captured."

"You're dead!" one woman shouted at him.

"I mean, fair on you to think that since I'm old in your eyes," Harrison said. "But I'm actually alive, heart beating and everything. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

A shockwave would throw them back, but Harrison would be better off if he defeated them all instead of running away due to the fact he wasn't sure how much strength he needed to use to break the wards. Then again, if he killed them all the wards surely would fall, right?

"Take him out!"

Harrison pushed magic into his legs, and jumped up into the air, allowing him to avoid several spells. He twisted around so he could look down. A swipe of his hand became a blade of magic, cutting a man neatly in half. He landed on his feet, dodged a sword and kicked a woman in the cut. He conjured a sword on his own and decapitated one Auror, and then threw the sword at a young man, turning it into a large snake halfway there. The man shrieked, but Harrison didn't stop there.

He grabbed a passing woman by the hair, pulled out a dagger and slit her throat before throwing her corpse at another person.

Blood sprayed the ground as he moved, tearing arms off and snatching wands from stunned and horrified Aurors. The wands vanished into an ever-expanding bag, as he only wanted to steal them away.

Harrison danced away from spells, but at last began to throw up shields. For the moment, the fight made his heart race. His blood sang. He couldn't stop smiling.

The cold air was filling up with screams, from enraged to desperate cries for help. The spells lit up the snow in different colours, made it almost sparkle. Harrison found himself enchanted by a Killing Curse as it sizzled past his head. He wanted to bottle it up.

A cutting spell tore into him. Blood began to fill his mouth, and Harrison's eyes widened as he felt skin, fat and muscle separate. He stopped and looked down, staggering a bit. His chest was torn open and now bleeding heavily. Some blood dribbled out of his mouth.

"Kill him, we have permission to kill him!" one Auror shouted, wand raised.

"Oh, shut up," Harrison said, Apparated over and ripped the man's tongue out.

He threw it away and forced the chest wound to partially close up. However, the blood kept trickling out and it made him dizzy, spots dancing in his vision. Harrison wasn't immune to blood loss; even he would collapse in the end. He better finish this up before he let himself pass out by accident.

With the last Auror gone, his heart ripped out, Harrison staggered backwards. He dropped the heart on the ground. A few still moved, but they missed limbs and organs. One was trying to crawl away from him. Harrison moved around, gathering wands and other knick-knacks. In the end he moved towards the wards, spitting out some blood. They still stood, but definitely wobbly now.

His chest wound had opened again. He could heal small wounds automatically, but larger ones took more time, and at times he required some assistance. Harrison kept walking away, pulling at his skin and flesh. His lungs didn't want to draw full breaths, but his heart was still beating nice and steady. Well, except for that time. And that time.

… Alright, so maybe he needed to lie down for a bit.

Harrison passed the crumbling wards, and Apparated. Apparently his legs didn't want to hold him upright, because he landed in a heap in the hallway.

"Ouch," he commented to the floor.

"Master!"

"Fine, I'm fine," he said, getting an arm up.

Louis turned him over, and Harrison coughed up blood.

"Alright, maybe not completely alright," he wheezed. "Get me to my room and call for Lucian."

"Of course, master."

Thankfully Louis and the others usually left it up to Elise and Lucian to ask Harrison what trouble he got into when he arrived injured, and so Louis just took him to his bedroom and placed him on the bed after conjuring a few towels to soak up the blood.

The Dementors surrounded the bed, both old and young ones. Louis backed away and said:

"Master?"

"Get Lucian," Harrison said. "And tell Elise I'm sorry for the mess."

Thankfully he didn't have much blood on his back, and the bleeding was tapering off so the towels weren't soaked when Lucian arrived. He was a bit paler than normal. Harrison smiled and said:

"Cutting spells are annoying. Remind me to step away from them, alright?"

"What were you doing?!"

"Walking; apparently that's offensive."

Lucian removed his robe and shirt. The oldest Dementor stroke back Harrison's hair, screeching softly.

"I'm fine," he told it.

"Stay still, master."

"Yes, yes." Harrison looked up at the roof. "Have I missed tea, Lucian?"

"No, it's still quite early," Lucian replied.

"Good. Lucy wouldn't be very happy if I missed tea. I promised her we would sit with the portraits."

"I recommend that you don't move from bed."

"I will choose to ignore that advice and go anyway. I hate to disappoint people."

"Lucy is five years old."

"Yes, even worse to break a promise to a five-year old. Do you have any idea how loud she might cry?"

"So?"

"I dislike loud children," Harrison said. "Cutting off their heads isn't very good for their continued health, or so I've heard."

"I see, master," Lucian said as he finished removing whatever pieces of flesh and bones that he deemed unnecessary to remain in Harrison's body. "You do like Lucy, so you probably shouldn't cut off her head."

"Exactly why I want to avoid her crying," Harrison said.

"You may start healing the wound now. I will assist you." Lucian worked in peace for a minute or two. "If you're going to go and have tea…"

"I will, didn't you hear me?"

"Right. Might I at least suggest you refrain from moving too much? And please don't pick up Lucy or Angel."

"Because of the wound?" Harrison said. "Because it won't be finished healing when it's time for tea, I imagine."

"No, I suspect not. It will soon cease bleeding completely and close, but it appears some of your organs took damage and will require some time to fully recover. Your right lung in particular is affected. How is your breathing, master?"

"A bit short," Harrison confessed. "I'll be fine though."

He slowly sat up. There was a fair amount of tension, but little to no pain. He got dressed again and Lucian helped him to the room containing the four founders' portraits. Salazar took a double-look and said:

"What the hell did you do?"

"I just took a walk!"

"Lucian, dear," Rowena said as she put away the book she had been reading, "do make sure he's not running around hurting himself."

"I'm not a child."

"Lucian, promise me that. Why is he even walking around?"

"It's not like walking will kill me," Harrison muttered.

"I believe I shall chain him to the bed after tea," Lucian said. "Elise and the children will be quite willing to help me keep him safe."

"Don't make it sound so threatening…"

Lucy did make an attempt to jump on Harrison once she arrived, but Lucian caught her and began to attempt an explanation. Lucy frowned and looked at Harrison.

"I'm injured," Harrison said.

"No, you're not," she said.

"Internally," he explained.

"What?"

"It means if you jump on me, my organs will start to bleed and then there won't be any tea and sweets for either of us."

"Oh," Lucy said. "Alright."

Thank god that she was so easy-going.

Elise arrived with tea, and Lucy spent the majority of teatime chatting with the four founders. Elise left after a stern warning, but Lucian remained. Harrison drank only tea, shifting every once in a while when his injuries decided to make themselves known.

Lucian pulled a blanket over his legs.

"Old man," Lucian whispered, grinning at him.

"You're not much younger," Harrison said and grabbed Lucian's chin. "Have I mentioned lately that sometimes you lot can be really annoying?"

"You sound grouchy, master. Is it time for a nap?"

"Why are you so blindingly white? Is it the light in the room? Or are you just doing that to hurt my eyes?"

"Perhaps it's more an indication that your brain wishes to rest, master."

"Maybe… what, wait? Noo, don't move me. I'm comfortable here."

"Master can't sleep here."

"Mr Harrison can't sleep in a chair!" Lucy agreed.

"That sounds weird, just call me Harrison," he replied to her.

"No chair!" she said.

"Fine, you two win; I can't be bothered to argue anyway."

"What was Mr Harrison doing to get hurt?" Lucy asked aloud.

"It certainly can't have been from just walking," Godric said. "You're clumsy, but not that clumsy, lord."

"Shut up, you lion."

"Mr Godric isn't a lion," Lucy told Harrison.

"Oh, he is one," Harrison said. "You should hear him roar."

"Mr Godric can roar? I wanna hear him roar!"

"Just because there was one comparison, one, when I was alive," Godric said. "One that I maybe said out loud one too many times, I suppose."

"Come on now, Godric, roar for the child," Salazar said, sweeping his hand towards Lucy. "She's waiting for it."

"… I hate you all. Rowena, Helga, stop laughing at me!"

Harrison couldn't help but laugh as Lucian began to escort him out, Ywgraine bouncing in to keep Lucy company until teatime was over.

To be continued…


Chapter seventeen: Harry Potter and Harrison meet again, but under less ideal conditions. What will Harry do once he sees Harrison threatened?

See you later,

Tiro