War, Huh? What Is It Good For? Absolutely Nothing! A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its associated characters: all rights belong to JK Rowling. I do not own any crossover references used in the story: all rights belong to their original creators. I do own any OC spells explained at the end of a chapter.

Plot: I Give Up Response: When Harry returned from the Third Task, there was something really off with him. And not just the fact he's got the traitor to his family in his grip. However, rather than give them the satisfaction of answers, Harry's got two words for them!

Challenge Information: DZ2's 'I Give Up' Challenge: Harry's had enough and, if nobody's going to listen, he'll have to prove it, even if it means becoming the very thing he hates most.

Rules: Dark or Evil Harry

Powerful Harry or stronger

The story MUST start at some point following the Tournament and Tom's return

Harry MUST be adamant that he's done: he's done being the hero, he's done being the saviour, he's done being the one who has to risk everything, he's done being the pawn and he's done with all those who refuse to accept that, frankly, this is HIS life

At some point, Harry MUST reason with himself that if there's no chance of people listening, then there's only one way to prove it

He joins Tom, but, as Harry makes clear to Tom, he's only doing it out of self-preservation: he'll take the Mark and, yes, even kill to prove it, but, frankly, he's done

At some point, Tom MUST realise Harry is a Horcrux and do anything to keep him alive, even allowing him to 'give up' and be free to live his life

All pairings are welcome

Guidelines: Super/OP Harry

Snapped/Insane Harry

Dark-Lord Harry

Harry arranges the Dursleys' murders

As proof of his defection, Harry gives Tom the Dursleys' heads/corpses, having killed them already (how is up to you)

Harry knows he'll be sent to Azkaban if he uses magic outside Hogwarts, so goes ahead and does it willingly without needing the Dementor attack or any other reason (even the Unforgivables, if it means he can just stop!)

Draco becomes Harry's closest confidant

Tom makes Harry his heir and/or grooms him to be the next Dark Lord

Bellatrix takes to Harry like a new Mother, albeit one who seriously tortures anyone for disturbing her son's peace and quiet

Nagini spends more time around Harry, having imprinted on him like a mother hen...err...snake

Before joining Tom, Harry tries to put the message across by trying to commit suicide

Harry and Ron fight, which Harry, thanks to all his 'experiences' with Muggles, wins, though not before giving Weasley a reason to stay the 'F' away from him

When Hermione tries to get Harry to keep being the hero, Harry actually throws books at her and demands she go ahead and find answers there, since that's all she's good for

Before Tom offers a full truce with Harry, Harry actually tells Tom he's there to be a prisoner/sacrifice/food for Nagini

Slash

Harems

Harry/Multi

In keeping with his new give up attitude, Harry commits the ultimate fanon sin and sides with Umbridge!

When he discovers she was the one to give the prophecy, Harry tortures/kills Trelawney and leaves a bloody message

When Ron and Hermione try to get him to lead the DA, Harry sells them out and, when asked why, he says I told you; I'm done; you wouldn't listen

Forbidden: Light or Grey Harry

Harry as the hero

Harry NOT siding with Tom

Tom refusing Harry's offer

Anyone convincing Harry to be a hero again

Tom not realising Harry's one of his Horcruxes

Other than that, it's up to you…

Author's Note: So, here we have a dark theme that includes a couple of familiar tropes and themes, but with fun and games abound.

Recommended Reads: Apex by JustBored21, Rise of the Dark Angel by mykkila09, Suns of Death and Darkness by Chakahlah, The Dark Prince: Rebirth by TheDarkLover22, Two Minds, One Wand by RobertWilsonWriting, A Flaw in Fate by 521-DREAM, Serpent's Ascending, Ruined Omega, Riddle's Obsession, Devilish Romance and The Dark Prince's Ascension and The Dark Prince's Coronation by Madriddler, Ascension by PerseusPeverell092 and Child of Azkaban by Fire and Starlight

Key Pairing: Dark/Evil Harry/Daphne/Astoria

Other Pairings: To be determined

Normal Speech

'Thoughts'

/Parseltongue/

Chapter 1: Third Time's The Curse

The first sound of the cannon sent Harry Potter running into the maze, officially starting the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament.

After him, Cedric Diggory went inside, then Fleur Delacour and, finally, Viktor Krum, all of whom seemed as nervous and calm at the same time as their youngest rival. After that, all the staff and students of Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, as well as the apparently honoured guests who'd come on behalf of the Ministry – including the Minister himself – could do was sit.

Wait.

Wonder.

Watch.

And whisper amongst themselves, especially when red sparks went up soon after, closely followed by the retrieval of Delacour and Krum, the latter of whom seemed to be off in his own world and, when he did move and speak, he might as well have been drunk.

Soon, the only ones yet to return were the Hogwarts Champions…or rather, the Hogwarts Champion and the one whom many still called the Cheat.

And all the spectators could do was wait.

War

One hour, forty-seven minutes.

That was how much time had passed since Diggory and Potter had entered the maze, and how much time passed before anything else happened after the surprising, suspicious and sudden returns of Krum and Delacour. However, when the sudden sound of a Portkey's arrival filled the arena, not one of the spectators found themselves able to believe exactly what it was that they were seeing.

Instead of two Champions, the only one who stood there was Harry Potter, and he did not look like someone relieved or curious about what had happened, much less what had gone on in the maze.

Instead, the Boy-Who-Lived was standing stock-still, one hand looking like it had been burned while the other was scarred, bleeding and, to the alarm of several of the spectators – namely a certain old coot, a certain corrupt insect and two less-than-important so-called lions – wrapped very tightly around the throat of a pale, trembling figure of a man with rodent-like features, as well as a large, black stain on his trousers and blood dripping from his nose.

He was also squealing like a rat in the jaws of a hungry tiger, his eyes wide and tearful, even as Harry looked to the crowd before, without so much as a word of explanation, he threw the ratty man to the ground as he hissed out two words.

"Say it."

"M-M-M-M-M-M…my….my…" stammered the rat, his voice edged by horror, pain, torment and no small amount of broken emotion as he looked once to Harry, who lifted a thumb to his throat before, much like a certain sports entertainer, he drew his thumb across his throat in a warning gesture, prompting the rat-man to whimper as he looked back to the crowd of silent spectators.

"My name is Peter Timothy Pettigrew and, of my own free will, on my life and magic, with all present, I hereby confess to framing Sirius Black, betraying the Potter Family to the Dark Lord and, most-recently, the murder of Cedric Robert Diggory!"

A harrowing wail filled the arena…

Closely followed by no less than ten Stunners, all of which sent Pettigrew falling to the ground.

Harry, meanwhile, stepped over the stunned rat before, noticing Fudge and Dumbledore approaching him, he sneered before, to the alarm of the aforementioned adults, Harry hawked up a large mass of sputum, which he then spat heavily at the feet of the two men, before he leered at a white-faced, horrified-looking Fudge.

"So…tell me…Minister…am I still confounded now? Or are you going to do the smart thing and listen to something other than cash registers?"

War

The soft sound of a knock at the door made Harry look up from where he was busy putting the finishing touches on his now-packed possessions.

When he turned to the source of the knock, Harry's eyes remained stone-faced and emotionless as he saw Sirius poking his head in, a relieved, but also weak smile on the face of the ex-Prisoner of Azkaban as he asked, "Hiya, pup: are you ready to go?"

"Almost," said Harry, closing the trunk hard before he looked to Sirius as he explained, "However, I don't want you thinking I'm going anywhere with you, Sirius. I'm glad you're free, finally, but, to be frank, right now, I'd just as soon as be left alone over the summer…AND THAT GOES DOUBLE FOR YOU LOT LISTENING IN OUTSIDE THE DOOR!"

Sirius didn't need to turn to know that both Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger looked alarmed, if not disbelieving that Harry even knew that they'd both followed Sirius, hoping to get some answers out of all the craziness that had taken place over the last two days.

War

Ever since Harry brought back Wormtail, and, in doing so, more-or-less demanded justice for Sirius, outed the man responsible for putting his name in the Goblet – Bartimaeus Crouch Junior, whom everyone was alarmed to hear had been masquerading as Professor Moody before he'd fled soon after Harry's return – and then gone off to be…well, alone, without so much as an explanation about the Third Task's length or what had happened to Cedric, the other two had found their friend to be…cold.

He didn't seem all that eager in sharing pretty much anything, not even what had happened to the rat – who, surprise-surprise, had been kissed as soon as he spilled his guts about his crimes – and he also didn't appear to show any emotion whatsoever concerning Cedric's death. The fact that Harry had returned without so much as a glimpse of Cedric's corpse left a few people whispering among themselves, starting the rumour mill of Hogwarts anew.

But, to be perfectly honest, Harry was used to it by now, so he let the sheep bleat their songs of one-sided harmonies.

War

Now, though, Sirius felt a cold weight settle in his chest as he slowly, carefully, walked into the dorm, hands raised in neutral surrender, as he explained, "I had a feeling, especially given the whispers circling after Crouch's flight and Wormtail's so-called miracle return from death."

"Let me guess," said Harry, scoffing as he buttoned up his coat, before brushing a lock of his dark hair away from his eyes as he asked, "Is someone, probably someone with the initials AD, claiming that this is evidence that Riddle's back? Or is he trying to pump others for information, especially since he's pleading ignorant to the fact that not one, not two, but three Death Eaters have been in this school all year long?"

Sirius didn't show it, but Harry was right on the money.

Harry, however, scoffed again, "Whatever; let the old man have his fantasies if that's what helps him sleep at night, just go back to him and say these words exactly…"

With that, Harry turned and, walking right up to Sirius, he actually pushed the man back, leaving Harry alone in the dormitory where, taking hold of the door handle, he sneered at the shocked, if not disbelieving and a little saddened look on Sirius' face.

"Leave me out of it…because I'm done playing soldier…I'm done playing hero…I'm done…being the Boy-Who-Lived…"

As though emphasising the last part, Harry slammed the door hard, the force so strong and emphasised by emotion that it actually caused the torches in the Common Room to blow and dim with the backlash from the slamming force.

Sirius, however, didn't know what emotion he should feel more at that point, especially since he'd never seen Harry this broken-down.

As a result, he didn't know what to feel more: disbelief?

Or fear?

Wow, talk about grim – and I don't mean Sirius!

Harry seems to have been broken beyond all repair, even if only mentally and emotionally, which begs the question: what happened in the Third Task?

Also, what could have happened to Cedric? How did Wormtail end up looking like he'd been cornered by a hungry Nundu and why won't Harry be willing to allow even Sirius to get close to him?

Keep Reading to Find Out

Next Chapter: Home Again, Home Again, Jiggedy-Jig! Harry returns to Durzkaban, but if the Circus of Human-Ish Horrors think that they can intimidate and belittle him this summer, they're in for a nasty surprise as Harry reveals a new addition to the usual homecoming BS;

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