Disclaimer: What if I didn't say that I didn't own the Harry Potter
characters? Could you really sue me? Would you want to? *tears* Well
considering I have no money so I better not do that.
A/N: I'm sorry it takes me awhile between chapters. Life has been hectic. Not really anything too important too say... *vacant stare* Thank you so much everyone that's reviewed! It keeps me from putting off the chapters even longer.
Harry sorely climbed to his feet. Painfully bending over he lifted the crooked bed frame and did what he could to set it right. His mattress it seemed was in a worse state. Chunks of stuffing were strewn about and several springs had been pulled out as well. Sighing he slowly pulled the mattress back on to the metal frame. His arms were already exhausted but it was nothing to how he felt inside. He was raging a war in his mind.
The same questions kept popping into his head. Why had he done it? Why had he lost his temper? There really wasn't anything in particular that Ron had done that was so horrible.. Now that Harry looked back on it all seemed so stupid... Why had he lost his temper? Mostly he thought it was all the little things. He couldn't stand the fact that Ron could have been right... He was supposed to be the smarter one. Ron was just his sidekick. Or at least that's what Ron used to be... He had smartened up and tried to pull away from Harry. To finally make it out of the shadow of him.
A mocking voice answered him. "You couldn't bear to have someone better than you. Could you? He was finally proving that he could be better than Famous Harry Potter so you had to get rid of him didn't you?!? Ron was right too! You remember the little discussion in the Forest before your sad attempt to kill him? It seems he was interrupting your 'perfect little world'."
"No! No of course not! Ron I didn't mean it!" Harry cried frantically.
"Are you sure? You could be great you know! It's all here in your head and killing Ron will help you on your way to greatness." The words echoed through his mind.
His thoughts ran back to when he had first arrived at Hogwarts. Sitting on the small stool he remembered the Sorting Hat's similar words. "You could be great you know. It's all here in your head. And Slytherin would help you on your way to greatness." But he'd been sorted into Gryffindor and moments later he was joined by a very relieved Ron. It seemed so long ago, they had both changed so much. 'What has he done to everyone?' Harry began to sob into his robes and he couldn't stop. He cried for Dumbledore, Hermione, Neville, Cho, Ron... He let out a strangled breath. Most of all he cried for how things had changed so much and it hurt to know that he was responsible. But through the tears Harry didn't notice that someone had been watching him. He couldn't hear its supportive meows and he didn't see the cat slink back around the corner. All he could do was cry.
It wasn't until almost an hour later that Harry gave out one last muffled sniffle and sat up. His bones ached even more now and his head was pounding. But despite the nausea that was threatening to overcome him Harry couldn't help but feel better. Almost as if part of the huge weight holding him down had been lifted away. Raising his tear stained cheeks Harry peered into the dungeon beyond his cell. Most of the candles had long since been extinguished except for the few that stood around the mirror. Half in awe and half in curiosity Harry was drawn to the bars of his cell. The black ivory shimmered in the flickering candlelight, almost as if it was calling him too it. The mirror was beautiful and he wanted nothing more than to be gazing into it right now. The glow of the candles was reflecting softly in the mirror and all Harry wanted to do... was throw something at it! No! Harry thought desperately. No more violence... I'm so sick of all the violence. At least that's the one thing I can control.
"Can you?" asked the wicked voice. "Look around you. You did all of this off of two words. Do you still have that illusion that you can actually contain your anger?"
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, he knew the voice inside his head was right. "But..." he thought, his hand shaking. "I can control it..." Yet Harry knew he was lying. "I don't know how to deal with my anger."
"Oh for chrissakes Potter this isn't some kind of AA meeting!"
Harry was taken aback for a moment. Not by the fact that a man had just appeared out of thin air rather, but what he was talking about. 'Did Voldemort just mention something about alcohol anonymous? No... I'll just ignore that he's never said a thing like that before. "Twice in ten days? To who do I owe the pleasure?"
"Don't get cheeky with me boy!" he spat out.
"Cheeky? What, are you turning into a muggle? First AA and then you call me 'cheeky'. Your starting to sound like my Uncle Vernon."
There couldn't be anything that upset Voldemort more. In fact, in all the years Harry had to face him he'd never seen him this angry. His red eyes were bulging in anger and it seemed that there was only a tiny shred of self control that held him from ripping Harry limb from limb.
"Let's get one thing straight boy I am not a muggle. I am the most powerful wizard of all times! Soon I will rule the world and no one can stop me."
Laughing hysterically, Harry could only nod. After he had calmed down a bit he was able to speak more than a few words at a time. "Geez, all I did was say you're acting like a muggle. No need to get all bent out of shape about it."
"Do you think this is a joke boy? Have you ever shown this kind of dedication? Have you?! You loser! I have spent my whole life working up to this and you aren't going to stop me. I've worked too hard, I know I will succeed. The only question is if you will join me in doing it."
"I would never join you and you know it! If it weren't for you I'd be home right now with two loving parents! I'd be happy!!"
"Ha! You still have the illusion that your parents were great people?" Voldemort's anger turned into amusement.
"I know my father wasn't perfect. He picked on Snape all the time, but, Snape was a git even back then."
"Oh, those childish pranks. Yes, James did seem to play those a lot. Especially on Severus. But he has done other, far worse things as well."
"Stop it!" Harry yelled curling himself into a ball. "I won't listen to it! It doesn't matter, so just stop, just... stop." he faded off.
Voldemort's grin widened. "Your father."
But Voldemort didn't get any further than that. Harry sprung at the bars and snarled, "I told you to shut up about my dad!"
"Tsk.. tsk, temper, temper. Well than, I see now that my work here is done." With that Voldemort once again disappeared beneath his invisibility cloak and Harry heard his footsteps echo across the dungeon floor. But the damage had already been done, and by the smile on Voldemort's face he knew it.
'What could his father have done that was so terrible? He knew about the joke that Sirius had tried to play on Snape, but his father had saved him from that. Plus, Voldemort said it was something more than a childish prank. Perhaps..' he thought. 'Maybe I can get it out of someone else.'
Seeing the edge of a cloak hanging around the corner Harry took a chance and hoped it was Peter on watch. "Wormtail! Oy Peter! Wake up!" But Peter was still slumped sleeping as usual in the same decaying chair at the door.
Picking up a small spring Harry threw it at the wall as hard as he could. It wasn't that loud but it was enough to tear Peter away from the dream world and bring him crashing back down to harsh reality.
Seeing him finally stirring Harry had a new wave of enthusiasm. "Hey, Peter, come here." he beckoned.
Wormtail gazed stupidly around for a few moments then climbed to his feet and peered warily into the dungeon. A look of surprise crossed his face when he realized it was Harry calling him, but he still entered and took a few steps toward Harry before pausing and staring.
"Erm," said Harry, slightly put out. His courage seemed to have failed because instead of asking about his father like he intended he mumbled something under his breath. When Peter didn't answer him he looked up in annoyance. "Why are you here?"
Peter answered bluntly, "Why are any of us here?" Harry's face screwed up in thought but Peter took no notice. He only plowed on. "Everything we think is important are merely things. They have no meaning. like my life."
Harry was taken aback. This wasn't at all the kind of answer he'd expected. Especially from Peter - the same man who gave up his friends for a bit of power. Against his better judgement Harry felt bad for the poor man. He looked so lost and alone. Much like. Harry sucked in his breath quickly. 'No!' he thought fiercely. 'I am nothing like that scum. He murdered my parents. But he was scared. Everyone was.' Harry suddenly felt a wave of pity for him. 'Was everyone like this? Just as scared and lost?' A rock settled in the pit of his stomach. 'We're all alone. No one can help me. They are just as lost as me.' Peter was still rambling on but Harry wasn't listening anymore. He couldn't bear the fact that he would have to live with himself for that long. A huge weight felt like it was pressing down on his head and he felt like at any second it could just explode from the pressure. And so the 'Famous Harry Potter' came to realize that he was no different then anyone else. The real world was finally crashing down around him and Harry didn't like what he saw.
A/N: Sorry this chapter wasn't as action packed but the truth is it's angst and this was needed.
A/N: I'm sorry it takes me awhile between chapters. Life has been hectic. Not really anything too important too say... *vacant stare* Thank you so much everyone that's reviewed! It keeps me from putting off the chapters even longer.
Harry sorely climbed to his feet. Painfully bending over he lifted the crooked bed frame and did what he could to set it right. His mattress it seemed was in a worse state. Chunks of stuffing were strewn about and several springs had been pulled out as well. Sighing he slowly pulled the mattress back on to the metal frame. His arms were already exhausted but it was nothing to how he felt inside. He was raging a war in his mind.
The same questions kept popping into his head. Why had he done it? Why had he lost his temper? There really wasn't anything in particular that Ron had done that was so horrible.. Now that Harry looked back on it all seemed so stupid... Why had he lost his temper? Mostly he thought it was all the little things. He couldn't stand the fact that Ron could have been right... He was supposed to be the smarter one. Ron was just his sidekick. Or at least that's what Ron used to be... He had smartened up and tried to pull away from Harry. To finally make it out of the shadow of him.
A mocking voice answered him. "You couldn't bear to have someone better than you. Could you? He was finally proving that he could be better than Famous Harry Potter so you had to get rid of him didn't you?!? Ron was right too! You remember the little discussion in the Forest before your sad attempt to kill him? It seems he was interrupting your 'perfect little world'."
"No! No of course not! Ron I didn't mean it!" Harry cried frantically.
"Are you sure? You could be great you know! It's all here in your head and killing Ron will help you on your way to greatness." The words echoed through his mind.
His thoughts ran back to when he had first arrived at Hogwarts. Sitting on the small stool he remembered the Sorting Hat's similar words. "You could be great you know. It's all here in your head. And Slytherin would help you on your way to greatness." But he'd been sorted into Gryffindor and moments later he was joined by a very relieved Ron. It seemed so long ago, they had both changed so much. 'What has he done to everyone?' Harry began to sob into his robes and he couldn't stop. He cried for Dumbledore, Hermione, Neville, Cho, Ron... He let out a strangled breath. Most of all he cried for how things had changed so much and it hurt to know that he was responsible. But through the tears Harry didn't notice that someone had been watching him. He couldn't hear its supportive meows and he didn't see the cat slink back around the corner. All he could do was cry.
It wasn't until almost an hour later that Harry gave out one last muffled sniffle and sat up. His bones ached even more now and his head was pounding. But despite the nausea that was threatening to overcome him Harry couldn't help but feel better. Almost as if part of the huge weight holding him down had been lifted away. Raising his tear stained cheeks Harry peered into the dungeon beyond his cell. Most of the candles had long since been extinguished except for the few that stood around the mirror. Half in awe and half in curiosity Harry was drawn to the bars of his cell. The black ivory shimmered in the flickering candlelight, almost as if it was calling him too it. The mirror was beautiful and he wanted nothing more than to be gazing into it right now. The glow of the candles was reflecting softly in the mirror and all Harry wanted to do... was throw something at it! No! Harry thought desperately. No more violence... I'm so sick of all the violence. At least that's the one thing I can control.
"Can you?" asked the wicked voice. "Look around you. You did all of this off of two words. Do you still have that illusion that you can actually contain your anger?"
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, he knew the voice inside his head was right. "But..." he thought, his hand shaking. "I can control it..." Yet Harry knew he was lying. "I don't know how to deal with my anger."
"Oh for chrissakes Potter this isn't some kind of AA meeting!"
Harry was taken aback for a moment. Not by the fact that a man had just appeared out of thin air rather, but what he was talking about. 'Did Voldemort just mention something about alcohol anonymous? No... I'll just ignore that he's never said a thing like that before. "Twice in ten days? To who do I owe the pleasure?"
"Don't get cheeky with me boy!" he spat out.
"Cheeky? What, are you turning into a muggle? First AA and then you call me 'cheeky'. Your starting to sound like my Uncle Vernon."
There couldn't be anything that upset Voldemort more. In fact, in all the years Harry had to face him he'd never seen him this angry. His red eyes were bulging in anger and it seemed that there was only a tiny shred of self control that held him from ripping Harry limb from limb.
"Let's get one thing straight boy I am not a muggle. I am the most powerful wizard of all times! Soon I will rule the world and no one can stop me."
Laughing hysterically, Harry could only nod. After he had calmed down a bit he was able to speak more than a few words at a time. "Geez, all I did was say you're acting like a muggle. No need to get all bent out of shape about it."
"Do you think this is a joke boy? Have you ever shown this kind of dedication? Have you?! You loser! I have spent my whole life working up to this and you aren't going to stop me. I've worked too hard, I know I will succeed. The only question is if you will join me in doing it."
"I would never join you and you know it! If it weren't for you I'd be home right now with two loving parents! I'd be happy!!"
"Ha! You still have the illusion that your parents were great people?" Voldemort's anger turned into amusement.
"I know my father wasn't perfect. He picked on Snape all the time, but, Snape was a git even back then."
"Oh, those childish pranks. Yes, James did seem to play those a lot. Especially on Severus. But he has done other, far worse things as well."
"Stop it!" Harry yelled curling himself into a ball. "I won't listen to it! It doesn't matter, so just stop, just... stop." he faded off.
Voldemort's grin widened. "Your father."
But Voldemort didn't get any further than that. Harry sprung at the bars and snarled, "I told you to shut up about my dad!"
"Tsk.. tsk, temper, temper. Well than, I see now that my work here is done." With that Voldemort once again disappeared beneath his invisibility cloak and Harry heard his footsteps echo across the dungeon floor. But the damage had already been done, and by the smile on Voldemort's face he knew it.
'What could his father have done that was so terrible? He knew about the joke that Sirius had tried to play on Snape, but his father had saved him from that. Plus, Voldemort said it was something more than a childish prank. Perhaps..' he thought. 'Maybe I can get it out of someone else.'
Seeing the edge of a cloak hanging around the corner Harry took a chance and hoped it was Peter on watch. "Wormtail! Oy Peter! Wake up!" But Peter was still slumped sleeping as usual in the same decaying chair at the door.
Picking up a small spring Harry threw it at the wall as hard as he could. It wasn't that loud but it was enough to tear Peter away from the dream world and bring him crashing back down to harsh reality.
Seeing him finally stirring Harry had a new wave of enthusiasm. "Hey, Peter, come here." he beckoned.
Wormtail gazed stupidly around for a few moments then climbed to his feet and peered warily into the dungeon. A look of surprise crossed his face when he realized it was Harry calling him, but he still entered and took a few steps toward Harry before pausing and staring.
"Erm," said Harry, slightly put out. His courage seemed to have failed because instead of asking about his father like he intended he mumbled something under his breath. When Peter didn't answer him he looked up in annoyance. "Why are you here?"
Peter answered bluntly, "Why are any of us here?" Harry's face screwed up in thought but Peter took no notice. He only plowed on. "Everything we think is important are merely things. They have no meaning. like my life."
Harry was taken aback. This wasn't at all the kind of answer he'd expected. Especially from Peter - the same man who gave up his friends for a bit of power. Against his better judgement Harry felt bad for the poor man. He looked so lost and alone. Much like. Harry sucked in his breath quickly. 'No!' he thought fiercely. 'I am nothing like that scum. He murdered my parents. But he was scared. Everyone was.' Harry suddenly felt a wave of pity for him. 'Was everyone like this? Just as scared and lost?' A rock settled in the pit of his stomach. 'We're all alone. No one can help me. They are just as lost as me.' Peter was still rambling on but Harry wasn't listening anymore. He couldn't bear the fact that he would have to live with himself for that long. A huge weight felt like it was pressing down on his head and he felt like at any second it could just explode from the pressure. And so the 'Famous Harry Potter' came to realize that he was no different then anyone else. The real world was finally crashing down around him and Harry didn't like what he saw.
A/N: Sorry this chapter wasn't as action packed but the truth is it's angst and this was needed.
