All That Glitters Also Darkens
Disclaimer/Plot/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER
Recommended Reads: Aspirations by megamatt09, Apex by JustBored21, A very Black plan by Rose1414, Harry Potter and the Founders' Vault by CharmedMilliE- Karry Master, Pray For The Wicked by Kapiushon, Harry Potter, Dark Legacy by The Fallen One 2012, The Best Laid Plans by Lowten, Soul Scars by Rtnwriter, I Once was Lost but Who was Found and Rituals and Artifacts: A Fourth Year Story by bluezinthos, I See No Difference by maschl, Angry, Overpowered Harry Potter by TomHRichardson and The Boy Who Lived, The Brightest Witch and The Boy Who Wasn't by dragonfly117
Key Pairing: Dark Harmony;
Other Pairings: To be determined
Normal Speech
'Thoughts'
/Parseltongue/
Review Answers:
Ginnylove9990: Then I hope you like the next instalment;
Stephanie MRV: Since responding to your points might give a little too much away, I'll just say thanks for the encouragement;
Silverdragonstar: Nuts? He's Harry; it's kind of in the job description;
SLYNNR: Come on, it's me: when wouldn't she be on Harry's side?
"There you are…you see? Now you begin to understand…and so, Harrison Peverell, Last of my Masters…now, we can talk…as equals…but first, tell me…would either of you like some dessert? The lemon meringue comes highly-recommended…"
Chapter 3: Justice Is Not Blind
A shiver ran through Harry as he awoke, lying out in his spot where he'd cut his hand on the large stones, with a familiar weight pressed against him, her brown hair tickling at his nostrils while the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest seemed to match his in synch.
Looking down at her, Harry sighed softly before, reaching down, he stroked Hermione's hair between his fingers, his methods and motions slow, but steady as he watched her, sleeping peacefully for – in her case – the first time since forever. At the same time, Harry hoped she wouldn't mind how he not only teased her messy brown locks, but also tried to cover his fingers, both palm-and-back-side, and his fingertips and even his fingernails in the feeling, scent and bushy mess that was Hermione's hair.
Why?
Because he doubted he'd ever be able to forget what he saw in…in…
'Huh…I guess He was right about us not being able to think about it, speak about it or even tell anyone else about my Mia's secret,' thought Harry, a small part of him relieved by this stipulation from The Higher Power – as he thought of them, since euphemisms like that seemed to be the only way he could think about who and what he'd met in…in…in his dream, which, again, was a euphemism.
As he teased her hair, Harry gulped hard before, looking up over his head, he saw the looming, currently-upside-down view of Hogwarts, which, thanks to the Higher Power, Harry found himself unable to think of as a home anymore. Not when so many wolves were lurking amongst the sheep, thinking they could just take what they wanted, do as they wished and nobody was going to make them eat humble pie and choke on their words.
Recalling the imagery, as well as the bedtime story that had come with it, Harry's hand gripped a handful of Hermione's hair, earning a sharp hiss and a wince from the brunette before, looking up, she sighed softly, "You're thinking about it, aren't you?"
"Yes," said Harry, looking down before, releasing his grip on Hermione's hair, he gently stroked the spot he'd pulled on as he added, "Sorry about that, Mia; I just…I just can't…"
"Sssshhh…" said Hermione, placing two fingers against Harry's lips as she explained, "Save that rage for the Tasks, Harry. Remember, let them see who you are and what you are capable of; make them remember you, and not just because of that stupid scar. And, no matter what happens next, know that I'm here with you, for you and to do all I can and so much more, so you can stand tall and stride across the skin of this world."
"I know," agreed Harry, before he sat up, as did Hermione, before he smiled thinly, "In that case, you know where we have to start, don't you?"
Hermione nodded.
"Coming with me?"
"Always," replied Hermione, before she nodded off to one side of the long stretch of green that made up the outer grounds of Hogwarts.
"And, fortunately, we know a way to get out of here without attracting too much attention."
This time, Harry kissed Hermione on her forehead, before he smiled fondly, "That reminds me…Hermione Granger?"
"Yes, Harry Potter."
Without any hesitation, much less any fear or dread, Harry asked, "Will you be my girlfriend?"
Scoffing at her best friend's lack of ability to notice the hidden secret, Hermione cupped his cheek before she answered, "As I just said in the exact same way, you clueless boy…yes, Harry Potter."
Glitters
A couple of hours later, as everyone sat down to dinner, some of them giving wary, if not suspicious looks in the direction of the Gryffindor Table, the mass horde of food had just appeared when, to the surprise of the students and staff, the doors to the Great Hall flew open. As everyone turned to the doors, a few people pointed and whispered, while others looked on in abject curiosity as they saw a sight that, to be perfectly honest with each other, none of them had expected to see so soon.
Harry James Potter, looking like the cat that ate the canary, only to then discover its recently-hatched chicks, walked into the Great Hall, tall, proud and without so much as a hint or a whisper of his previously-noted confusion or alert.
To the surprise of the assembly, however, Harry also wasn't wearing his glasses, while he seemed to be carrying a small, red-leather-bound book under one arm, as well as stylish-looking, black, silk gloves over his hands. His robes also seemed to have undergone a change, since they now looked posh, prim and proper, instead of shabby and off-the-rack.
As he walked into the hall, Harry looked left, then right, then straight ahead before, sneering at the way he'd become the centre of attention, he scoffed once as he mused, "Not to tempt fate, or someone named Creevey, but…why don't you just take a picture? It'll last longer."
"Potter!"
"Snivellus, please, don't waste my time or your oxygen with your usual overcompensating drivel," drawled Harry, earning a surprised look from the Potions Master, while a few people who loathed Snape – so, basically, roughly 75% of Hogwarts – did their best to mask the low giggles and titters at the nickname used by Harry.
As for Harry, he cleared his throat as he explained, "I just came here because I've got a couple of things I need to get off of my chest, then I'll leave you to see if you can finally discover the cure for grease addiction. Now, sit there and look ugly: your betters are talking!"
"Why you insolent little…" Severus Snape began, but before he could finish wasting anymore of his oxygen, his eyes widened in horror when, as soon as he went for his wand, in a bid to challenge Potter, Harry smiled confidently, while Severus' hand flew to his chest, his eyes wider than wide and his face paling even more than usual.
Harry, meanwhile, scoffed amusingly as he remarked, "Not even five minutes and you already proved me right…I'd say thank you, but, let's be frank here, Snivellus: I wouldn't even say thank you if you excused me when I sneezed. Now, as I was saying, sit there and look ugly: I've got things to do and polishing egos isn't one of them."
"Harry…"
"Dumbledore, shut your mouth," added Harry, earning a surprised look from the Headmaster, before Harry snapped his fingers in McGonagall's direction as he added, "And that goes double for you, you outdated hypocrite! In case you recently came down with Alzheimer's, let me remind you: not twenty-four hours ago, I found myself a Champion of what I've now dubbed the John Smith Academy!"
"The what?" asked Snape, though his voice trembled as he demanded Harry answer him.
"What?" asked Harry, shrugging ruefully as he explained, "It's a fourth school nobody's ever heard of, which is so unknown, it has no name and, somehow, is able to defy basic logic by turning the Tri part of Triwizard Tournament into Quad, so…what? Do we now call it the Quad-Tri-Wizard Tournament instead? Anyway, like I said: unknown school, unknown name, ergo, John Smith, as in the name Muggles mostly associate with someone unknown or with no idea who they are or what they do…hmm…seemed appropriate, really."
"But…but…but you…you're…a…a…'Ogwarts Champion!" exclaimed Madame Maxime, earning a scoff from Harry.
"No," said the boy-champion, indicating the Hufflepuff Table, many of whose members were looking either alarmed or confused, while Harry pointed to one specific Puff as he explained, "There is the 'Ogwarts Champion, Madame Maxime: the guy who, at the time of drawing, was a: of age and b: a willing entry…well, I say willing. I mean, so many of you other sixth and seventh years who claim to be his friend basically shoved him through the Age Line, so…I don't know…semi-willing? What do you think, Cedric?"
Indeed, even Cedric Diggory seemed to be taking on this information with interest, while, as Harry looked around the Great Hall, he continued in a softer tone, "As for yours truly, I've got a very good idea who'd be so deranged and desperate as to risk the wrath of Mother Magic herself by breaking Magically-Binding Laws older than everyone here, even Dumbledore. But, to be frank, even though my name's Harry, I neither know nor care about their reasons, because, thanks to them, I've managed to pick up some fun new gifts…"
Suddenly, behind Harry, Albus Dumbledore's eyes widened in alarm as he saw Harry lift his right hand, before he used his left hand to pull the glove off of his right, "No…Harry…please…tell me you didn't…"
"Claim what was rightfully mine by Magical Law?" asked Harry, lifting his glove clean off, which earned a round of gasps of awe, disbelief, wonder and even dread from his peers as Harry revealed his right hand was now adorned by not one, not two, not three, but four new rings, all of different shape, size and design.
The first of the rings was pure gold, with a ruby-encrusted crown that was shaped like a sword held in the claws of a fierce-looking lion; the second was a black raven with a silver-encrusted sword in its beak; the third was a single, blue stone with an illegible-looking insignia – though Harry knew the insignia was only illegible because the symbol was the same colour as the stone: pale, fiery-blue. Finally, there was a band with a single, clear-cut emerald that had several diamonds engraved around the rest of the ring, which, upon closer inspection, everyone who could see it noticed how the band was shaped almost like the Ouroboros Serpent, the head and tail of the serpent connecting at the emerald.
"Yes," said Harry calmly, flexing his fingers, making the rings shimmer and shine in the light, while he explained, "I'd rather say I did do that, Albus; you see, thanks to…well, I think we all know who was responsible, not that you'll admit it. But, anyway, thanks to this person, yours truly, Harry James Potter, is now Harry James Potter-Black-Peverell-Slytherin, Lord of All Aforementioned Houses, one by Right of Conquest, and, as a result, I decided to dub my doesn't-exist school as the John Smith Academy…"
Suddenly, Harry saw a flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye, which made him scoff as he mused, "Go ahead and attack me, Malfoy: it won't do you much good, especially not since I've already made it crystal clear that, as long as I attend Hogwarts, if any Black attacks me, even a surrogate one who is the renamed son of a Black Daughter, they will be immediately disowned and disinherited, which would also mean your dear Daddy would have to pay a very steep price for breach of contract and, of course, the right to continue calling himself Lady Narcissa Black's husband…in fact, if anything were to happen, the end result would leave Lucius and, by extension, Draco as poor as…well, I won't name names, but I will say that one of their children does owe me her life, just like Snivellus here!"
"Harry, how…how could you…you do this?" asked Dumbledore, even as an equally-horrified Malfoy slunk back to his seat, while Albus then surprised everyone – sans Harry – as he insisted, "I am your Magical Guardian and, in order to finalise your emancipation, you would need me!"
"You…" agreed Harry, before he lifted a hand and snapped his fingers; as if on cue, a collective gasp filled the hall when a certain House Elf, as well as a beaming, amused-looking Hermione Granger and, to the absolute horror of the Potions Master, a familiar scarred man and a certain grey-eyed old dog all appeared in the Great Hall, while Harry smiled ruthlessly as he turned to Dumbledore.
"Or the consent and agreement of my oath-sworn, legally-and-magically-and-bloodingly-binding godfather, blood-adopted Father and oath-sworn surrogate godfather, all of whom, under the Ts and Cs of the Potter Family Codex of Law and Ascension, have full rights to act in the stead of my legal and/or Magical Guardians, especially if said guardians have already betrayed the will of the Family by, say, for example…leaving me with magic-hating Muggles, going against the will and whims of my late Mother and Father and, conveniently, forgetting that they themselves were present when all oaths were sworn…including the FIDELIUS CHARM!"
"WHAT?"
Harry honestly didn't know who screamed louder.
Hagrid…or Professor Flitwick, the latter of whom looked from Harry to Dumbledore as he asked, "Al…Albus…is…is this…can this be…"
"Of…of course…of course it…it's…"
"Keep gnawing away at that bone, Snivellus," said Harry, actually smiling as Severus continued being attacked by the magic that bound him to the debt he owed Harry's family. "In the meantime, let me also extend a personal thanks to Susan Bones for having such a brilliant Aunt who, unlike certain sweetie-named Ministers I know and loathe, isn't so easily bought or blinded by ambition, ego, greed or any other little foibles."
"Hear, hear," said Sirius, before he smiled proudly as he stepped forwards, while he explained, "You see, Albus, my boy, it was Amelia who came to the bank, at Harry's behest, and heard my story, unlike Fudge, unlike Snivellus, and unlike you. Then, with evidence provided, testimonies given by these two fantastically-talented individuals with Remy and I, and my own vow of truth, dear, sweet Amie did the world, me and, most-importantly, my son a favour by clearing me, granting me a full pardon and, in light of the fact that ol' Bart didn't even bother handing me a trial when even my deranged cousin got one…she even gave me the right to name a stipulation, since, let's face it, we Blacks…we don't need money…right, Draco?"
Malfoy's head sank lower, while Sirius placed a proud hand on Harry's shoulder as he continued, "And, since my term is yet to be named…well…I'd hate to find myself in my crosshairs, or that of my family…so, for now, I asked Amelia if it was okay for me to aid the JSA Champion…"
Suddenly, a collective laugh rose up around the hall, including from Harry and Hermione, when Sirius used an acronym for Harry's made-up school.
Seeing the confusion, Harry waved it off, "Oh…sorry, Siri; it's a Muggle thing. I'll explain later."
"O…kay…anyway, as I was saying," continued Sirius, though he felt like his boy knew something funny that, for once, he'd missed out on, as Sirius continued his explanation. "So, as well as aiding my boy's Championship status, I also got her permission to supervise Remus' return, since, let's face it, who better to neutrally teach Harry and give him the tools to survive the…what did you call it, pup? The Quad-Tri-Wizard Tournament?"
"Yep!" laughed Harry, earning a soft laugh from Sirius.
"You do realise you're claiming it now has seven reps, not four…Quad plus Tri equals Sept…Seven!"
"Ah, the magic number, cool," laughed Harry, earning another shake of the head from Sirius, while Harry took up the explanations, "Anyway, now there's a real teacher here and not a Death Eater, we can…"
"I am not your teacher, Potter! And let me say, I'm glad of it!" snarled Karkaroff, while even Snape managed a weak, uglier-than-normal sneer.
Harry, however, clicked his tongue as he turned to Karkaroff, his green eyes shining brightly as he scoffed.
"I wasn't talking to you!"
Suddenly, spells flew through the air, including, but not limited to stunners and body binders from Remus, Sirius, Hermione and even Dobby.
All of them flying straight and true towards Mad-Eye Moody, who didn't even get a chance to defend himself before his body hit the ground, earning a sea of alarmed, disbelieving faces from the Hall's assembled numbers.
"POTTER!" Thundered Severus, but, again, the magic of his debt hit him as Harry scoffed before he indicated the downed Defence Professor.
"Oh, come on, Snivellus: are you and Igor there honestly going to sit there like lemons and tell me that neither one of you knew that your old poker buddy, Bartimaeus Crouch Junior, was sitting not two feet from you?"
Suddenly, a thud on the Gryffindor Table indicated that one of their number had fainted, earning a sigh from Harry. "Dobby, you know what to do."
"Yes, Lord Potter-Black, sir," said the elf, taking the now-unconscious Neville Longbottom away with a snap of his fingers, while Harry looked back to a white-faced Dumbledore, as Sirius advanced on the downed ex-Auror.
"Not one, not two, but three Death Eaters in the same year, and me in a trap set by their boss…do you know what, Albus, dear boy? Sometimes, especially after all the crap you've had me deal with since walking through those doors, I have to wonder…where exactly do your priorities, and your loyalties, lie?"
Chapter 3 and it looks like Harry and Hermione have started down the path to making sure the future is a hell of a lot better than whatever nightmare our favourite brunette had to live, but with allies old and new now watching out for them, can they succeed?
Also, Harry's claimed all he's owed, but will there be any backlash from this, not just from the Ministry of Morons, but cosmically?
Keep Reading to Find Out
Next Chapter: Time to clear the board: Harry, still reeling from taking control of his life, makes damn sure certain people know the price for disloyalty, especially after what one of these people let happen in a future he now aims to leave as nothing more than a bad dream; and, speaking of bad dreams, a certain interfering insect gets a first-hand example of the fire now burning in the belly of the boy-Lord;
Please Read and Review
AN: Clichés
So, yes, this is the obligatory 'cleaning the board and becoming Lord' chapter; it's also why I didn't bother writing the Gringotts scene, since, if you're a fan of these kinds of story, you can probably guess what happened, especially with Sirius' info.
However, I hope you liked the twist I made with how our heroes can't tell anyone about Hermione's time travel: personally, it's a theme in TT stories that I always found a bit offish; sure, they know the future and can help change it, but the point of coming from the future is so you can change it, so why share nightmares that won't happen with those who don't even remember living them?
That's always confused me, tbh;
AN2: Dark
Also, before anyone asks, let me say the 'Dark' aspect of this story is kind of slow-burning;
It won't hit until the day everything changed for Hermione, so, for now, Harry's just being rebellious, disrespectful and out to prove why you should never do what the Hogwarts motto says you shouldn't do;
However, when I say 'Dark' I don't mean Dark-Lord-and-Lady-level Dark.
I just mean…well, darker than people might like…