Okay ppl, I'm talking mainly to dragonsprincess here (love ya babe!) bcoz I
don't think anyone else really reads my stories! :(
Well CNJ DID but I think she probably gets annoyed by a lot of the realism
I put into the stories and Lady Nassah has kept her promise of not leaving
a review (thanks!)
Anyways, this is the penultimate chapter to the story, and is called "Bad
Tidings" it's in two parts, in Chapter 10 and 11 and this brings us to the
sticky end of Harry Potter the Adult Years.
After this I'll be doing other fics as well but I intend to do an adventure
including MWPP. Any readers with MSN messenger want to add me then feel
free to do so my addy is: aliman99@hotmail.com
Chapter 10: Bad Tidings Part 1 - Revenge from Barzakh
It had been three weeks now since the new arrival of the Potter family, Murron Potter and Cho, having been too preoccupied with the baby's welfare, had not told many people about her. Now, Harry had kept it from Ron until a few days after Hermione's funeral but Ron did not, or perhaps could not show his delight for them seeing as the woman he loved had died recently.
April came, and Cho decided to hold a 'Baby Shower' in honour of the new arrival, and so her and Harry invited all the necessary people: Remus Lupin, the Weasleys, Cho's parents, Parvati Patil, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Lavender Brown and Severus Snape.
The door bell of Number 4 Privet Drive rang.
"I'll get it!" Ron said in an unusually cheery voice that had not been heard from him for days.
He opened the door and there stood Remus Lupin and Professor Severus Snape.
"Are you going to stand there and gawk at us, Weasley or do you make any intention of inviting us in?" Snape said in a needlessly sarcastic voice.
"Sorry, Professor," he said apologetically, "of course, of course, come in."
Snape strode past him without another word, but Lupin whispered to Ron, "Congratulations."
Ron frowned at him, utterly perplexed, "Pardon? Congratulations for what exactly?"
Lupin laughed and clapped a hand on Ron's back, "You'll see."
When Ron and Lupin entered the cavernous living room where everyone was gathered, with little Murron sitting on Parvati's lap now, looking deeply disgruntled, Harry stood up from his seat and called for everyone's attention.
"Right, as you all know, Cho and I have had been blessed with our new arrival, Murron Lily Potter," there was a short applause in which Snape looked towards the fireplace with an air of disgust, "now, although it's tradition for girls to have two godmothers and one godfather, we thought we'd break the rule and give Murron TWO godfathers!"
There were some confused looks but Alexei, Parvati's artist boyfriend, let out a sudden "HAH!" which caused everyone to look in his direction. Alexei did not look abashed at all by this, however.
"Well..." Harry continued, pretending not to have noticed Alexei's interjection, "firstly, we'd like Murron's godmother to be...."
There was a sharp silence and the room was full of a synthetic tension.
Cho smiled and stood up next to Harry and said, "We'd like Murron's godmother to be GINNY!"
There was polite applause from the room, Snape continued to stare towards the fireplace, now fixing his gaze onto the mantelpiece.
Lupin noticed this and saw what he had been looking at.
"We'd like the first godfather to be..." Cho continued and smiled as she did, "Ronald Weasley!"
Ron went pink in the ears and the applause seemed to fill the living room now, particularly from the Weasley Twins' end. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, but Snape had a look on his face suggesting that he only attended the baby shower as a favour.
After Harry shook Ron's hand and Cho gave him a hug, Harry went back to announcing the godparents of the child, "And the other godfather that we'd like to look after our beloved Murron, lest anything happen to us, is...."
The tension seemed to stretch to the topmost point of 4 Privet Drive and again, a harsh silence fell upon the room.
Ginny had had a fit of giggles and was now beetroot in the face, Lupin was sat with his hands clasped together and Dean's mouth seemed to have been left open.
Harry laughed and looked at Cho.
"We'd like... we'd like you to be Murron's godfather, Professor Snape," Harry said in a calmer voice than what he had used before.
Snape suddenly tore his eyes away from the mantelpiece and stared at Harry with surprise, evidently he had been daydreaming and had only woken because Harry had said his name. Snape noticed that all eyes were on him now.
"What..What did you say?" Snape asked with a hint of fear in his voice.
"We want you to be our daughter's other godfather," Cho said clearly.
The applause finally came but Snape looked at Cho as if there had been some sort of heinous mistake.
"Are - Are you sure you want ME to be the godfather?" he said in the same scared voice.
Cho laughed, "Of course we do, Professor," and she hugged him tightly.
Snape stood rooted in the spot, still not accepting his newfound responsibility.
"But.. WHY?"
Harry smiled and faced Snape, "Professor, I know you must feel such contempt towards my father, and rightly so," he added surveying the mantelpiece momentarily, "but you have to realise, I'm not my father. I'm not James Potter, I'm Harry Potter. We're different people, and although we may look alike, we're not the same inside."
Snape just continued to stare at him, apparently lost for words.
"Professor, you're one of the most important people in my life, you've saved my neck countless times - ."
" - Only because I had to!"
Harry laughed, "Okay, but I'm really very grateful, and Cho and I would love it if you would accept."
Snape just sighed quickly and turned, walking away, but then he turned back around to face the Potters, and catching sight of their beckoning faces, he cracked his face into an unmistakeable grin.
Harry embraced Snape, and although this had disconcerted him more than the prospect of becoming godfather to Murron, Cho gave him another hug, and a kiss.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
That night, when everyone had gone home, except Ron, Harry took Murron up to her room to put her to sleep.
The room had been decorated in a pale blue colour, because although Cho argued that pink would be a more suitable colour for a girl, the fact remained that the mere sight of the colour pink and Harry would vomit.
He lay the baby down in the cot and began to sing 'Zero'.
"She's the one for me, she's all I really need," he crooned, "She's the one for me, she's my one and only-y."
Murron had not gone to sleep yet but stared up at Harry through her intensely blue eyes.
Harry laughed, picking her up, "I guess you don't like the Smashing Pumpkins then?"
He walked around the room, rocking her gently and singing some daft nursery rhymes that Aunt Petunia would have sung to Dudley when he was a baby.
After a soft rendition of 'Rock a bye baby', Murron's eyes had shut and she was breathing slowly, her tiny fingers curled into minute fists.
Harry lowered her gently into the bed, but as he made to leave the room, he almost cried out in shock at the person who was standing in front of the door.
With glowing red eyes, livid with corruption, skeletally thin spider-like fingers, chalk white skin and slits for nostrils, Lord Voldemort stood facing Harry in his own house.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked rudely.
Voldemort began to laugh, and began to crescendo but, Harry frantically gestured towards the sleeping baby. He stopped laughing but walked closer to Harry.
"So, I see you have an addition to your pathetic family."
Harry eyed him angrily, "Yeah, but she doesn't need you to spoil her life, Tom."
Voldemort walked closer to the cot, as did Harry, and peered down at Murron.
"Awww," he said mockingly, "Murron eh? What a name, Potter!"
Harry smiled derisively at him, "Well Voldemort isn't exactly too common is it, Tom?"
"Well at least my name doesn't mean 'bitter', Potter. And anyway, there's a reason I'm here."
"Oh, and what's that?" Harry said harshly.
Voldemort walked to the edge of the room, towards the window overlooking the garden of Privet Drive.
"Well you see Potter, I thought it was just someone having a laugh at first, one of my faithful Death Eaters, I daresay."
Harry kept his eyes on Lord Voldemort and let his cold, cruel and deep voice wash over him.
Voldemort stood to face Harry now, and it was amazing how those glowing red eyes looked like fiery rubies, Harry was hypnotized for a few seconds before Voldemort spoke again.
"Destroyed the Dark Wizard, Blaise Zabini did you not, Potter?"
Harry nodded vaguely, still transfixed.
"Well, then you must remember what you did, then to destroy him?"
Harry massaged his face with both his hands and said, "Yes, I killed the Kraken in which he was embedded with these Katana that Pale Hecate gave to me," he indicated a picture of an old woman with deep purple robes and a many headed dog beside her hanging on the wall.
Voldemort laughed, barely making a sound this time.
"No, Potter, what did you use to kill Zabini, when he was free of the beast's control?"
"I-I.." Harry racked his brains to try and remember, "I used the Avada Kedavra, killing curse."
Voldemort smiled a thin-lipped, serpent smile - even his ruby red eyes were smiling.
"Yes, you did," he hissed, "but that was not the only time you used the curse was it, Potter?"
Harry frowned at him.
"What do you mean? I used that curse because Zabini was a bad Dark Wizard, I didn't kill anyone else."
"Liar," Voldemort breathed.
Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Voldemort, "Make your point and leave, Tom."
Voldemort eyed his wand suspiciously, and Harry could have sworn he'd seen his eyes flashed, frightened at the prospect, but then he smiled and made a flicking hand gesture, causing Harry's wand to fall out of his hand and fall with a clatter on the wall behind him.
"Oh very clever," Harry said irked.
"Look, there is not much time, Potter," Voldemort breathed, he looked down at Murron and flashed his eyes back to Harry, "this baby is better off thrown off the topmost room of this house, Potter. It needs to die."
Harry gave Voldemort a look of utter wrath.
"What!?" he yelled, unaware of the sleeping baby, "Are you mental?"
Voldemort's smile had vanished, "Not mad, Potter, oh no," he breathed, "I know more than you could ever imagine, so do what I say."
At that moment, the door opened and Cho walked in, accompanied by Ron.
"Who were you talking to?" she asked, looking from Harry to Murron to his wand lying on the floor.
Harry looked to the window - Voldemort had gone.
"Murron," he breathed, "I was talking to Murron."
Cho looked at him worriedly, and Ron said, "What's your wand doing there?"
Harry caught sight of his wand lying on the floor near Hecate's picture.
"Oh, slipped from my hand."
"Right.." Cho said disbelievingly, "Well Ron was just about to head off, and he came to see of you wanted to say goodbye."
"Yeah... Of-of course, " Harry said, looking to see Murron who was still asleep.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Early next morning, Harry got out of bed at daybreak and ran to Murron's room to check she was still there. Voldemort's warning had somewhat disquieted him and he was not sure what he had meant to say before Cho had barged in. Nevertheless, the warning had included Murron, and he seemed to have developed a sense of unneeded protection for his daughter now.
"Oh good," he said, rushing into her room and catching sight of her snoozing away, "you're still here."
Cho had woken up too and came down, hair tousled, puffy eyes and stiff legged. She yawned wide before saying in an exasperated manner, "What are you doing up so early?"
Harry did not answer her and sat down on the floor beside Murron's cot.
"I'm going to wait till she's awake," he said, staring intently at the cot.
"That's ridiculous, some down for breakfast first, we'll be able to hear her when she wakes up. You have work tomorrow, come on."
But Harry remained silent and continued to stare at the bars of the cot.
"Fine then," she said, slightly miffed, "I'll make breakfast for myself, then shall I?"
"You do that," Harry said not turning to face her.
Her angry footfalls died away as she descended the stairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
It was nearly midday before Murron stirred at all. Harry smiled gently and left her there, while he went to fetch a bottle of milk for her.
As he entered the kitchen, he saw a not pinned to the fridge. It read:
Harry,
I've nipped out to Diagon Alley for a bit with Marietta.
Cho.
Harry laughed, "Well talk about cryptic!"
He filled a bottle with warm milk and ran upstairs to Murron's room.
The door was ajar and the window was wide open.
"Hmm I don't remember opening the window," Harry said walking into the room and closing it.
Murron was sat up, leaning against the bars of her cot, her Sirius Black doll had been thrown onto the floor and there was a black book inside her cot.
Harry picked up the doll and thrust it back into the cot, "Don't throw Uncle Sirius like that, I keep MY doll on my bedside cabinet."
He spotted the black book in Murron's cot and picked it up.
"Who put this here?" he said as the baby gurgled innocently, "whoa.!"
He opened the book and saw its ancient pages and antediluvian writing. When he finally realised what it was, he threw it to the floor and gasped, staring at it with wide eyes.
"Oh my..." he trailed off, still staring at the book.
He fell to the floor, eyes transfixed at the book.
"The... The Grimoire..." and as he said this, the book caught fire and shrivelled up.
Harry had scarce got time to know what awaited him, but before he knew how or why it happened, Murron was hovering a good two feet above her cot.
Harry let out a strangled cry which echoed thoughout the room.
Murron's face was hideously scarred, there were weals and cuts that had not been there a few minutes ago, her eyes were wide and a pale sickly yellow, but worst of all was the fact that she was smiling widely in a menacing toothless grin.
Harry's eyes were so wide now that they were in danger of popping out of their sockets, his hands were shaking behind him and his mouth wide open in a silent scream.
And to Harry's utter horror, the baby spoke with a heavy, masculine Italian accent, "So Harry Potter, we meet again," it cackled horribly and smiled that terrifying smile again.
"M-Murron?" Harry cried.
It laughed again, this time more quietly, "No, dear boy, the one you call Murron is DEAD. Yes, Dead! Oh it feels so good to have control over a body."
Then it hit Harry, this really wasn't Murron, it was Zabini. He remembered how Voldemort had undergone so many magical transformations, that he did not die properly.
Harry got to his feet and groped for his wand but was horrified to find that it wasn't there.
Breathing quickly, he said in a shaky voice, "Who...Zabini?"
The baby laughed yet again, this time throwing its head back and then resorting to its wicked smile after a long guffaw.
"No, you stupid idiot, I'm not Blaise Zabini!" he roared, "That nincompoop is currently regenerating his power in the Lake of Fire, or so he thinks! Little does he know, he's there for eternity!"
It laughed again. Harry wished the baby would stop laughing, it was really unnecessary.
"Shut up!" Harry yelled.
"What did you say?" it said in that calm Italian voice.
"I told you to shut up! Who are you? And where is my Murron?" Harry pleaded.
The baby did not laugh, it flew forwards slightly and stood balanced on the railing of the cot, like a perched bird.
"What do you want with me?" Harry asked, his voice still shaky with fright.
"I want..." the baby said, it's eyes glinting maliciously, "to kill you."
Harry choked on his own saliva and steadied himself, "What? You can't kill me, you're just a baby!"
The baby glared at him and pursed its flabby lips. The answer appeared in the form of an enormous knife which the baby clutched in its right hand.
Its tiny fingers tightened on the hilt of the Machete and it flew forwards slowly.
"You recognise me yet, Potter?" it asked with a malicious grin on it's horribly scarred face."
"N-No!" Harry said; he knew he should run but his legs would not move as they seemed to be glued to the spot.
Harry looked to his left quickly and sprinted to the door, he turned the doorknob but it would not open.
"You can't leave NOW, Potter!" it roared demonically.
Harry turned to the wall with the picture of Hecate on and pressed his back against the wall, hoping for help.
The baby flew slowly towards him, it seemed that it wanted to savour the minutes that Harry was alive before it finally cornered him...
Chapter 10: Bad Tidings Part 1 - Revenge from Barzakh
It had been three weeks now since the new arrival of the Potter family, Murron Potter and Cho, having been too preoccupied with the baby's welfare, had not told many people about her. Now, Harry had kept it from Ron until a few days after Hermione's funeral but Ron did not, or perhaps could not show his delight for them seeing as the woman he loved had died recently.
April came, and Cho decided to hold a 'Baby Shower' in honour of the new arrival, and so her and Harry invited all the necessary people: Remus Lupin, the Weasleys, Cho's parents, Parvati Patil, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Lavender Brown and Severus Snape.
The door bell of Number 4 Privet Drive rang.
"I'll get it!" Ron said in an unusually cheery voice that had not been heard from him for days.
He opened the door and there stood Remus Lupin and Professor Severus Snape.
"Are you going to stand there and gawk at us, Weasley or do you make any intention of inviting us in?" Snape said in a needlessly sarcastic voice.
"Sorry, Professor," he said apologetically, "of course, of course, come in."
Snape strode past him without another word, but Lupin whispered to Ron, "Congratulations."
Ron frowned at him, utterly perplexed, "Pardon? Congratulations for what exactly?"
Lupin laughed and clapped a hand on Ron's back, "You'll see."
When Ron and Lupin entered the cavernous living room where everyone was gathered, with little Murron sitting on Parvati's lap now, looking deeply disgruntled, Harry stood up from his seat and called for everyone's attention.
"Right, as you all know, Cho and I have had been blessed with our new arrival, Murron Lily Potter," there was a short applause in which Snape looked towards the fireplace with an air of disgust, "now, although it's tradition for girls to have two godmothers and one godfather, we thought we'd break the rule and give Murron TWO godfathers!"
There were some confused looks but Alexei, Parvati's artist boyfriend, let out a sudden "HAH!" which caused everyone to look in his direction. Alexei did not look abashed at all by this, however.
"Well..." Harry continued, pretending not to have noticed Alexei's interjection, "firstly, we'd like Murron's godmother to be...."
There was a sharp silence and the room was full of a synthetic tension.
Cho smiled and stood up next to Harry and said, "We'd like Murron's godmother to be GINNY!"
There was polite applause from the room, Snape continued to stare towards the fireplace, now fixing his gaze onto the mantelpiece.
Lupin noticed this and saw what he had been looking at.
"We'd like the first godfather to be..." Cho continued and smiled as she did, "Ronald Weasley!"
Ron went pink in the ears and the applause seemed to fill the living room now, particularly from the Weasley Twins' end. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, but Snape had a look on his face suggesting that he only attended the baby shower as a favour.
After Harry shook Ron's hand and Cho gave him a hug, Harry went back to announcing the godparents of the child, "And the other godfather that we'd like to look after our beloved Murron, lest anything happen to us, is...."
The tension seemed to stretch to the topmost point of 4 Privet Drive and again, a harsh silence fell upon the room.
Ginny had had a fit of giggles and was now beetroot in the face, Lupin was sat with his hands clasped together and Dean's mouth seemed to have been left open.
Harry laughed and looked at Cho.
"We'd like... we'd like you to be Murron's godfather, Professor Snape," Harry said in a calmer voice than what he had used before.
Snape suddenly tore his eyes away from the mantelpiece and stared at Harry with surprise, evidently he had been daydreaming and had only woken because Harry had said his name. Snape noticed that all eyes were on him now.
"What..What did you say?" Snape asked with a hint of fear in his voice.
"We want you to be our daughter's other godfather," Cho said clearly.
The applause finally came but Snape looked at Cho as if there had been some sort of heinous mistake.
"Are - Are you sure you want ME to be the godfather?" he said in the same scared voice.
Cho laughed, "Of course we do, Professor," and she hugged him tightly.
Snape stood rooted in the spot, still not accepting his newfound responsibility.
"But.. WHY?"
Harry smiled and faced Snape, "Professor, I know you must feel such contempt towards my father, and rightly so," he added surveying the mantelpiece momentarily, "but you have to realise, I'm not my father. I'm not James Potter, I'm Harry Potter. We're different people, and although we may look alike, we're not the same inside."
Snape just continued to stare at him, apparently lost for words.
"Professor, you're one of the most important people in my life, you've saved my neck countless times - ."
" - Only because I had to!"
Harry laughed, "Okay, but I'm really very grateful, and Cho and I would love it if you would accept."
Snape just sighed quickly and turned, walking away, but then he turned back around to face the Potters, and catching sight of their beckoning faces, he cracked his face into an unmistakeable grin.
Harry embraced Snape, and although this had disconcerted him more than the prospect of becoming godfather to Murron, Cho gave him another hug, and a kiss.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
That night, when everyone had gone home, except Ron, Harry took Murron up to her room to put her to sleep.
The room had been decorated in a pale blue colour, because although Cho argued that pink would be a more suitable colour for a girl, the fact remained that the mere sight of the colour pink and Harry would vomit.
He lay the baby down in the cot and began to sing 'Zero'.
"She's the one for me, she's all I really need," he crooned, "She's the one for me, she's my one and only-y."
Murron had not gone to sleep yet but stared up at Harry through her intensely blue eyes.
Harry laughed, picking her up, "I guess you don't like the Smashing Pumpkins then?"
He walked around the room, rocking her gently and singing some daft nursery rhymes that Aunt Petunia would have sung to Dudley when he was a baby.
After a soft rendition of 'Rock a bye baby', Murron's eyes had shut and she was breathing slowly, her tiny fingers curled into minute fists.
Harry lowered her gently into the bed, but as he made to leave the room, he almost cried out in shock at the person who was standing in front of the door.
With glowing red eyes, livid with corruption, skeletally thin spider-like fingers, chalk white skin and slits for nostrils, Lord Voldemort stood facing Harry in his own house.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked rudely.
Voldemort began to laugh, and began to crescendo but, Harry frantically gestured towards the sleeping baby. He stopped laughing but walked closer to Harry.
"So, I see you have an addition to your pathetic family."
Harry eyed him angrily, "Yeah, but she doesn't need you to spoil her life, Tom."
Voldemort walked closer to the cot, as did Harry, and peered down at Murron.
"Awww," he said mockingly, "Murron eh? What a name, Potter!"
Harry smiled derisively at him, "Well Voldemort isn't exactly too common is it, Tom?"
"Well at least my name doesn't mean 'bitter', Potter. And anyway, there's a reason I'm here."
"Oh, and what's that?" Harry said harshly.
Voldemort walked to the edge of the room, towards the window overlooking the garden of Privet Drive.
"Well you see Potter, I thought it was just someone having a laugh at first, one of my faithful Death Eaters, I daresay."
Harry kept his eyes on Lord Voldemort and let his cold, cruel and deep voice wash over him.
Voldemort stood to face Harry now, and it was amazing how those glowing red eyes looked like fiery rubies, Harry was hypnotized for a few seconds before Voldemort spoke again.
"Destroyed the Dark Wizard, Blaise Zabini did you not, Potter?"
Harry nodded vaguely, still transfixed.
"Well, then you must remember what you did, then to destroy him?"
Harry massaged his face with both his hands and said, "Yes, I killed the Kraken in which he was embedded with these Katana that Pale Hecate gave to me," he indicated a picture of an old woman with deep purple robes and a many headed dog beside her hanging on the wall.
Voldemort laughed, barely making a sound this time.
"No, Potter, what did you use to kill Zabini, when he was free of the beast's control?"
"I-I.." Harry racked his brains to try and remember, "I used the Avada Kedavra, killing curse."
Voldemort smiled a thin-lipped, serpent smile - even his ruby red eyes were smiling.
"Yes, you did," he hissed, "but that was not the only time you used the curse was it, Potter?"
Harry frowned at him.
"What do you mean? I used that curse because Zabini was a bad Dark Wizard, I didn't kill anyone else."
"Liar," Voldemort breathed.
Harry pulled out his wand and pointed it at Voldemort, "Make your point and leave, Tom."
Voldemort eyed his wand suspiciously, and Harry could have sworn he'd seen his eyes flashed, frightened at the prospect, but then he smiled and made a flicking hand gesture, causing Harry's wand to fall out of his hand and fall with a clatter on the wall behind him.
"Oh very clever," Harry said irked.
"Look, there is not much time, Potter," Voldemort breathed, he looked down at Murron and flashed his eyes back to Harry, "this baby is better off thrown off the topmost room of this house, Potter. It needs to die."
Harry gave Voldemort a look of utter wrath.
"What!?" he yelled, unaware of the sleeping baby, "Are you mental?"
Voldemort's smile had vanished, "Not mad, Potter, oh no," he breathed, "I know more than you could ever imagine, so do what I say."
At that moment, the door opened and Cho walked in, accompanied by Ron.
"Who were you talking to?" she asked, looking from Harry to Murron to his wand lying on the floor.
Harry looked to the window - Voldemort had gone.
"Murron," he breathed, "I was talking to Murron."
Cho looked at him worriedly, and Ron said, "What's your wand doing there?"
Harry caught sight of his wand lying on the floor near Hecate's picture.
"Oh, slipped from my hand."
"Right.." Cho said disbelievingly, "Well Ron was just about to head off, and he came to see of you wanted to say goodbye."
"Yeah... Of-of course, " Harry said, looking to see Murron who was still asleep.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
Early next morning, Harry got out of bed at daybreak and ran to Murron's room to check she was still there. Voldemort's warning had somewhat disquieted him and he was not sure what he had meant to say before Cho had barged in. Nevertheless, the warning had included Murron, and he seemed to have developed a sense of unneeded protection for his daughter now.
"Oh good," he said, rushing into her room and catching sight of her snoozing away, "you're still here."
Cho had woken up too and came down, hair tousled, puffy eyes and stiff legged. She yawned wide before saying in an exasperated manner, "What are you doing up so early?"
Harry did not answer her and sat down on the floor beside Murron's cot.
"I'm going to wait till she's awake," he said, staring intently at the cot.
"That's ridiculous, some down for breakfast first, we'll be able to hear her when she wakes up. You have work tomorrow, come on."
But Harry remained silent and continued to stare at the bars of the cot.
"Fine then," she said, slightly miffed, "I'll make breakfast for myself, then shall I?"
"You do that," Harry said not turning to face her.
Her angry footfalls died away as she descended the stairs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------
It was nearly midday before Murron stirred at all. Harry smiled gently and left her there, while he went to fetch a bottle of milk for her.
As he entered the kitchen, he saw a not pinned to the fridge. It read:
Harry,
I've nipped out to Diagon Alley for a bit with Marietta.
Cho.
Harry laughed, "Well talk about cryptic!"
He filled a bottle with warm milk and ran upstairs to Murron's room.
The door was ajar and the window was wide open.
"Hmm I don't remember opening the window," Harry said walking into the room and closing it.
Murron was sat up, leaning against the bars of her cot, her Sirius Black doll had been thrown onto the floor and there was a black book inside her cot.
Harry picked up the doll and thrust it back into the cot, "Don't throw Uncle Sirius like that, I keep MY doll on my bedside cabinet."
He spotted the black book in Murron's cot and picked it up.
"Who put this here?" he said as the baby gurgled innocently, "whoa.!"
He opened the book and saw its ancient pages and antediluvian writing. When he finally realised what it was, he threw it to the floor and gasped, staring at it with wide eyes.
"Oh my..." he trailed off, still staring at the book.
He fell to the floor, eyes transfixed at the book.
"The... The Grimoire..." and as he said this, the book caught fire and shrivelled up.
Harry had scarce got time to know what awaited him, but before he knew how or why it happened, Murron was hovering a good two feet above her cot.
Harry let out a strangled cry which echoed thoughout the room.
Murron's face was hideously scarred, there were weals and cuts that had not been there a few minutes ago, her eyes were wide and a pale sickly yellow, but worst of all was the fact that she was smiling widely in a menacing toothless grin.
Harry's eyes were so wide now that they were in danger of popping out of their sockets, his hands were shaking behind him and his mouth wide open in a silent scream.
And to Harry's utter horror, the baby spoke with a heavy, masculine Italian accent, "So Harry Potter, we meet again," it cackled horribly and smiled that terrifying smile again.
"M-Murron?" Harry cried.
It laughed again, this time more quietly, "No, dear boy, the one you call Murron is DEAD. Yes, Dead! Oh it feels so good to have control over a body."
Then it hit Harry, this really wasn't Murron, it was Zabini. He remembered how Voldemort had undergone so many magical transformations, that he did not die properly.
Harry got to his feet and groped for his wand but was horrified to find that it wasn't there.
Breathing quickly, he said in a shaky voice, "Who...Zabini?"
The baby laughed yet again, this time throwing its head back and then resorting to its wicked smile after a long guffaw.
"No, you stupid idiot, I'm not Blaise Zabini!" he roared, "That nincompoop is currently regenerating his power in the Lake of Fire, or so he thinks! Little does he know, he's there for eternity!"
It laughed again. Harry wished the baby would stop laughing, it was really unnecessary.
"Shut up!" Harry yelled.
"What did you say?" it said in that calm Italian voice.
"I told you to shut up! Who are you? And where is my Murron?" Harry pleaded.
The baby did not laugh, it flew forwards slightly and stood balanced on the railing of the cot, like a perched bird.
"What do you want with me?" Harry asked, his voice still shaky with fright.
"I want..." the baby said, it's eyes glinting maliciously, "to kill you."
Harry choked on his own saliva and steadied himself, "What? You can't kill me, you're just a baby!"
The baby glared at him and pursed its flabby lips. The answer appeared in the form of an enormous knife which the baby clutched in its right hand.
Its tiny fingers tightened on the hilt of the Machete and it flew forwards slowly.
"You recognise me yet, Potter?" it asked with a malicious grin on it's horribly scarred face."
"N-No!" Harry said; he knew he should run but his legs would not move as they seemed to be glued to the spot.
Harry looked to his left quickly and sprinted to the door, he turned the doorknob but it would not open.
"You can't leave NOW, Potter!" it roared demonically.
Harry turned to the wall with the picture of Hecate on and pressed his back against the wall, hoping for help.
The baby flew slowly towards him, it seemed that it wanted to savour the minutes that Harry was alive before it finally cornered him...