*Wow- when my muse works, it works! I got inspired in English class today- I hope this chapter is worth the yelling I got for not studiously reading "Thanatopsis" like I was supposed to. You be the judge!

Let Slip the Dogs of War

by Balizabeth

"With Ate by his side come hot from hell,

Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice

Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;

That this foul deed shall smell above the earth

With carrion men, groaning for burial."

-William Shakespeare,

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

Act III, scene I

This chapter dedicated to T.H and WhetherRose, my now official muses! Thanks, guys!

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Last chapter was about Draco, and his POV. This starts with Harry and his POV, just so there is no confusion.

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Darkness, like black velvet. It stretched and enveloped him. It was comforting and all-knowing. In the dark he had nothing to hide, which is why he let the two tears slide noiselessly down his face. He looked up to the stars. They went out to infinity, and back again. Infinity. That seemed like a nice place to be. There would be no heroes, no enemies. There would be no magic and muggles, no power, no Dark Lords. No dead parents or burning scars or mourning families. No dead eyes of murdered classmates, staring blankly out at you in the dark. No hurt. Harry stretched his arms and looked about the owlery. The quiet was wonderful.

When he was little, he used to think that his parents were in the stars. When he asked his Uncle, he had snapped,

"You parents are nothing, boy. They are dead. And if they got what the deserved, right now they are underneath us, not above."

Too young to understand concepts of Heaven and Hell, Harry gave up the idea of celestial parents. He thought what his uncle meant was that his parents were a part of the earth, a part of every living beautiful thing. When Petunia made him weed the garden, he was with his parents. When Dudley locked him outside all night, it was okay, because he was with his parents. He liked that idea better. That way, they were always near him. But tonight, he spoke to the stars. Tonight, they seemed much closer than any flower or clod of dirt. Tonight, they would understand him. He looked up to the stars and spoke, without realizing he was talking aloud.

"Oh, Mum. Oh, Dad. What am I going to do? Why me? I can't take this; it's too much. I am no weapon; I am not some powerful thing to be used. Hagrid was right- everything happens to me. I guess I can see now why they didn't tell me. Here I am, crybaby Potter, whining because yet another miraculous thing has happened to him. Damn him. Damn him anyway, for keeping this from me." He didn't know who he was damning- he was just angry. Angry and oh, so tired. The stars gave no answer, just burned steadily, unreachable gems in the darkness. Harry heaved a great sigh, a sigh filled with more sorrow and burden than any teenager should know.

"I- I just don't understand. Who decided that I was to have power? I don't deserve it- I don't want it. I don't even know how to use it. Give it to someone who wants it, someone who deserves it. I don't want your 'gift'". He whispered fiercely to the heavens, "Take it back- I offer it up to you."

Harry slumped in defeat, realizing the absurdity of what he was demanding. Who was he to push this thing away from him? It was given to him, and his path now was as concrete as the starts twinkling above him. What could he do but follow, and hope to do good, and help others in the process? Here he gave a short, bitter laugh.

"I would almost rather be Malfoy right now. At least he enjoys being a bastard." Harry sighed again, his eyes scanning the horizon.

"I just don't know. I can try, I will try, but I just don't know if I can do it, if I can live up to what they expect me to be. But it's why you died, isn't it? So I can at least try. I love you too much not to try. And Sirius. I can't just give up- he went through thirteen years of hell for me. If I give up now, it would be like spitting in his face." It was only then that the true impact of all that Voldemort and his minions had done hit Harry. He realized the pain, the suffering. Lives were ruined, families murdered, and those who were left behind had to mourn and pick up the pieces. He didn't know why it had happened- he never wanted to understand why. He believed in absolute evil as surely as he believed in absolute good. Voldemort was evil. Draco Malfoy was evil. He didn't know why they got pleasure from pain, they just did. Voldemort was evil and rejoiced in ruin and chaos. That was just the way it was.

And now he was back. He was back and he was bent on recreating the power he held before. He must not do it. He must not. I can't let it happen. No more families torn apart, no more Muggles tortured. No more murders and Dark Marks in the night. As the rage coursed through his body, Harry offered his vow to the darkness:

"This began with me. It will end with me. I have been given this thing, this power, and I will make Voldemort pay. My life is not in his hands any more. I will destroy Lord Voldemort."

What Harry did not know was that there was a black dog standing behind him, listening to his words with a heavy heart.

Never before had Sirius felt so proud or so sad. In front of him was a boy (by rights, he was a man, the world had denied him his boyhood long ago) who had just taken the weight of the world onto his shoulders. Sirius knew that he would never again complain or protest it, now that he had taken the responsibility. It wasn't like Harry to shirk away from duty, even if it was forced upon him. He would bear it like he did everything else, patiently and quietly. He remembered a quote from long ago that seemed as if it was written for Harry: "some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them". Harry was the recipient of all three.

For a moment, Sirius allowed himself to marvel on how much Harry was like James- James and Lily. What an incredible person he was, to have Lily's intelligence and compassion, James' loyalty and bravery, and both of their integrity. Then he pushed the thoughts aside. This was Harry, this was not James and it was not Lily. Yes, he was their son, but he was Harry, too, a different person and his godson. Sirius did not owe him his loyalty, as he once thought he did, but he was loyal to him because he loved him. And he was a wonderful person deserving and needing that love.

Sirius padded across the stone floor to his godson, where he was still standing, his face bathed in starlight. He gently nudged his head under Harry's hand. It was ice-cold. Harry looked down, seemingly unsurprised at the appearance of his godfather.

"'Lo, Sirius," he said softly. "I was wondering when you would get here." Sirius decided not to mention that he had heard the boy speak to himself, and his dead parents. Sirius leaned against him for a moment, warming up the boy's thing frame with his shaggy fur. Then, he stepped back and with a small pop! he was in his human form. Concern and regret were etched into his face.

"Harry. Are you all right? I know you're angry and hurt, but please, believe me when I say I didn't know until today. I wish I could spare you this, but you have to understand- with this comes danger. Voldemort will find out you are an Istari, and he will stop at nothing to get you. Once he knows, he will search for you even more, before you develop your powers. He wanted you before for revenge, now he must eliminate a powerful enemy. You must take great care Harry, be careful, and go and see Dumbledore, so he can instruct you further. Harry, please, I couldn't bear it is something happened to you. Harry? Harry, please, say something." Sirius stopped his flow of words, looking anxiously into his godson's face. Could Harry understand how perilous this was? He just wanted Harry to say something, yell at him, cry to him, curse him, anything. Anything but this unbearable silence…

"I'm tired, Sirius," He finally said, looking into his godfather's eyes. "I want to go to sleep." And it was true, a great weariness had overcome him, even more so than before, and all he wanted to do was rest. Sirius nodded, and put an arm around the boy's shoulders. They were trembling and Sirius suddenly realized that Harry's teeth were clacking together, he was shivering and cold…

"Harry, you're freezing. Come on; let's get out of this place. Do you- Do you want to sleep with me tonight? I have a room near Dumbeldore's office, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. We can talk, if you want-" But Harry shook his head slightly, saying,

"No, no thank you. I appreciate it Sirius, I just think I would like to sleep in my own bed tonight, with my friends…" He looked up anxiously at his godfather, hoping he hadn't hurt his feelings. He just wanted to be in his own bed, away from the new knowledge of who he was. Sirius quickly disguised a hurt look with a smile.

"No- no, that's all right Harry. Go ahead, its probably better to be with your friends right now. Go on, go to bed, before you catch a cold." Harry nodded, running his hand up and down his arms vigorously to try to warm them up. Gods, he was cold…

"All right, well, I should go then. Y'know, classes tomorrow and everything…G'night, Sirius." Harry gave his godfather a short hug, and turned away and walked quickly to the door. Before he left, he turned around and said, "I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore tomorrow." And then he was gone, running down the stairs. Sirius looked after him a moment, and then transformed and headed back to his own chambers. It was late, and he was tired. All he had to do now was avoid Filch…Some things never change, he thought to himself wryly as he crept down the dark halls. Thank God for that…

*

Lucius Malfoy entered the dark chamber, his head bowed. As always, there was a stench of ruin and decay in the air. No doubt the one who dwelled here reveled in it. What was it about the darkness that created automatic fear?

"Lucius…you said you had news for me. What is it? I can only hope it is something important…" Lucius suppressed the shudder of disgust that he always had in the presence of Lord Voldemort, this twisted thing that was no longer human. He knew that whenever he entered this chamber, he put himself at peril, on the whims of a cunning madman. He felt positive, however, that the news he had would ensure a period of grace for quite a while.

"My Lord…I have just heard from my son that Potter has seemed to have developed some…wandless abilities. You will recall, I am sure, the boy's parents. This new power can only mean one thing…Potter is an Istari my Lord. To my knowledge he has just found out. He will not have developed the power, yet, there is still time to strike before he is near invincible…" At his words, Voldemort gave a sharp hiss, whether it was out of pleasure or fear, Malfoy did not know. There was silence for several minutes. The Voldemort said softly,

"I…thank you for this information, Lucius. No doubt it will prove invaluable. I ask that you bring young…Draco, isn't it? Bring him to me, I have some things I need to discuss with him." Lucius bowed, and said,

"If my Lord wills it, it will be done." Seeing that there was nothing more, Lucius straightened up and backed out of the dark room. Never turn your back on the Dark Lord…a lesson that some never learned, to their eventual demise.

So, while Hogwarts slept, Lord Voldemort sat awake, turning these new events around in his head, and once again plotting the death of Harry Potter.

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Whew! Finally, something happens! I hope you guys aren't getting sick of all this drama, I really don't know how else to write. So, now that I have everyone's feelings established, we can move on to the actual plot…

Review, my friends, review! I can ask for no more…and here are my thanks to the lovely people that did…

T.H- aw, thank you! I am glad you liked it, that was the chapter I enjoyed writing the most. I love doing Draco, I refuse to believe that he is al bad. He will be redeemed by JKR, I am sure. Your fic is awesome, it was my pleasure to review it! Your compliments brighten my day… you wonderful muse, you!

CatalinaRose- yeah, it took me a while huh? I'm glad you don't pity Draco, you shouldn't. He is not an angel or anything, he just has issues.

Giesbrecht- bring it on! I ALWAYS need to improve my writing. Thanks for reviewing!

Whether Rose- hahaha, yes a review promise is the next best thing! Now you get two chapters…hope you enjoy! Drop AP Chem, I say. Life is not worth the hassle. Stick with what you enjoy.

JaimeyKay- well, you should know who the other Istari is by now…I love Sirius, too!

Moonlight- many thanks for the review!

To Everyone Else- if I forgot you, I am sorry. AP classes are destroying my brain cells.

Thank you everyone, please review and tell me what you thought!

Cheers,

Balizabeth.