Author's Note: Okay, this is when things get really, really freaky and dark. You have been warned.
Chapter Six: The Point of No Return
He was hiding in a filthy, darkened room. He didn't dare make a noise, or else someone would surely find him. He was waiting for someone to come…
Just then, he heard a low voice muttering nearby. He clutched the knife in his hand. Someone had found him out!
A shadowy figure slowly entered the room. Curious, he peeked out of his hiding place to see who it was…
"No…" he whispered in disbelief. "It can't be… you're dead!"
Bellatrix Lestrange laughed at the sight of him. "Rumors of my demise have greatly been exaggerated!" She withdrew her wand from her robes.
"YOU KILLED SIRIUS!" he screamed, pointing at her accusingly.
Rage pulsated out of every part of his body. She killed Sirius, he thought madly. It's her fault that the Ministry won't clear his name! She killed him…
"I'LL KILL YOU!" he screamed aloud. Without thinking twice, he leaped upon her, the knife raised. He pinned her to the ground, breathing heavily.
Perhaps it had been the shock of him actually doing something, but Bellatrix did absolutely nothing to defend herself. Instead she just started screaming…
"Get off!" she screamed. "No, don't… I beg of you, have mercy…"
"Did you show any mercy to Sirius when you killed him?" he demanded furiously. "Well? DID YOU?"
He didn't let her finish. He reached for the knife, raised it as high as he could. She continued screaming…yet the screams didn't match her voice. They sounding oddly wheezy…and more high pitched. Too high pitched to be human…
But of all this, he didn't care. He brought the knife down. And down. And down again. Every plunge of the knife aroused a grim pleasure inside of him…
***
The first thing that Harry was aware of when he awakened that his head was killing him. His scar was stinging painfully --- almost beyond endurance. The only other times it had been hurting this badly were when…
No, it couldn't be…
Groggily, he opened his eyes. To his surprise, he wasn't lying on the sofa, but flat on his back on the living room floor. He must have rolled off it during the night…
He suddenly remembered the dream he'd had. He'd met the woman again and accepted her offer. Then she taken his hand, and then there had been nothing except a world of pain.
What did she do to me? he wondered. Maybe it was only a dream after all. He didn't feel any different from before… except for his aching head and a funny feeling in his stomach…
What had happened afterwards? He screwed up his face, trying to remember… he recalled hearing distant screams, and being someplace familiar… but where had it been? Who had been screaming?
I'm letting these dreams get to me, he thought, shaking his head. It was just a dream.
Harry sat up and was suddenly aware of something lying across his legs. He looked down and saw his Invisibility Cloak, covering him like a blanket. Strange, he didn't remember taking it out of his trunk any time during the summer…
And even stranger, his clothes were filthy; they were covered from head to toe in ashes. How did that happen? he wondered. I wasn't anywhere near the fireplace...
He glanced at the fireplace. There were ashy footprints leading from out of the hearth and stopped right where he was lying on the floor.
Harry's suspicions arouse. Was someone other than the Weasleys and Hermione in The Burrow? Had it been a Death Eater? Maybe someone had tried to kidnap him in the middle of the night, and someone else had stopped him…
No, that couldn't be right. If there had been a fight, the commotion would have certainly awakened him. Even if Harry had been tired, there was no way he would have slept through something like that.
But thinking about all of this made his head hurt more. Deciding to take a potion for his headache first, he reached out to pick up his cloak. He froze. His hands were covered with a dried, rusty-looking substance. Something that looked horribly like ---
Oh…my…God…
At once, Harry tried to think of a reasonable explanation. Maybe he'd scratched himself in his sleep… no, why would they be so bloody if it was just a scratch? He searched his arms for a cut. There was none.
Trying not to scream aloud, Harry looked out the window. The sun was beginning to rise, turning the sky a brilliant orange. Nobody else was awake yet…
Quickly, he ran to the nearest loo, carrying the Invisibility Cloak with him. He frantically scrubbed his hands. Even when all traces of blood had been vanished, his hands still felt unclean. If it wasn't his blood, then it was bound to be someone else's…
The pain in his head reached such an intensity that he sank onto the floor and retched. Even afterwards, his head was still aching.
All right, let's look at the facts, he thought, breathing heavily. I have a weird dream about a woman from the veil giving me her powers. I can't remember the rest of the dream, except for screaming… Then I wake up the next morning with my Invisibility Cloak out and blood on my hands.
Oh God, what's happening to me? I must be going mad…
Something stirred in Harry's memory. Last Christmas, he'd been under the impression that Voldemort was possessing him, after witnessing an attack on Mr. Weasley from Voldemort's point of view. He'd hadn't been possessed --- not then, at least --- and Ginny's account of when she had been possessed years ago had convinced him of that fact…
"I'd find myself somewhere and not know how I got there," she had explained.
Only that was silly… Harry had been in the living room sleeping the whole time. At least that was what he thought…
His first thought was to go tell the Weasleys. Then again, what would he tell them? That he'd had a dream, in which he took an offer of revenge and awoke in the morning, covered in ashes and blood? What would they think?
Hermione would probably tell him that she'd been right, and he'd only got what he deserved (avoids repetition) for not practicing Occlumency. Ron and the others would be terrified of him. He couldn't tell them…
Well, what are you supposed to do then? a voice in his head asked. You can't keep this secret for long. If you've hurt someone (and "hurt" is the best case scenario), then someone is going to find out.
Suddenly, Harry heard a pop from the kitchen. "Arthur!" Lupin's voice called out frantically. "Arthur! Molly! Get down here, it's an emergency!"
Footsteps came rushing down the stairs. "Remus? What is it?" he heard Mr. Weasley asked, alarmed.
Fearing the worst, Harry slowly emerged from the loo and cautiously stepped into the kitchen. All of the Weasleys and Hermione were gathered in front of a stricken-looking Lupin. His face was pale and his eyes were wide with horror.
"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked fearfully. "Is it --- is it You-Know-Who?"
Lupin shook his head. "No… at least we don't think it was."
"Well, then what happened?" Bill demanded.
Lupin took a deep breath and exhaled. "Kreacher is dead," he said grimly. "He was murdered last night."
The Weasleys gasped in unison. Hermione looked nothing short of horrified.
"H --- H-how d-did it h-happen?" she choked out.
"I have no idea," Lupin said heavily. "Tonks and I were patrolling the house, just in case the Death Eaters had discovered the Order's whereabouts… Moody usually does this, but he was on assignment with Dumbledore, trying to make more alliances with members of the Ministry; they don't fully trust us yet.
"Anyway, I think we might have fallen asleep during patrol… in any case, the next morning, we found Kreacher's body in his room, along with this." Lupin drew something out of his robes. Harry's heart nearly stopped.
It was an extremely sharp kitchen knife, covered in blood.
Just like his hand had been…
"Who could have done this?" Mr. Weasley whispered. "If it was a wizard, then why didn't they just use --- Harry!"
Harry was swaying unsteadily, feeling very dizzy. Ginny, who was standing directly in front of him, turned around and quickly grabbed his arm. He tried to steady himself, yet the horrifying revelation combined with the pounding in his head was enough to make him swoon.
"Are you all right, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked worried. "You look so pale… I knew you'd catch your death if you stayed outside in the rain all night!"
"No…" Harry said hoarsely, shaking his head. "I'm fine." Pain was stabbing inside head.
Stabbed. Just like Kreacher…
He felt Ginny's hand being placed on his forehead. "Mum, he's burning up!" she exclaimed.
"Get him upstairs to Ron's room!" Mrs. Weasley ordered. "Don't worry, dear, you'll be all right… you just need to lie down."
"Come on, Harry," Ginny said gently, leading from the room. "You'll be okay…"
No, I won't, Harry thought, as the full concept sank in. Oh God, what did that woman do to me?
Exactly what she told you she would, a nasty voice in his head replied. The power to seek revenge… and you used it. You used Floo powder to go to Grimmauld Place during the night. You took your Invisibility Cloak to sneak past the Order members, and you killed Kreacher. He's dead --- isn't that what you wanted?
No, I didn't! Harry thought desperately. He hated Kreacher, yes, but not enough to kill…
You accepted the woman's offer! the voice pointed out harshly. You knew exactly what she meant by "taking revenge", and you were too full of anger to consider the consequences.
No --- I wouldn't --- ever!
You're a murderer. I wonder what Sirius would think…
Ginny suddenly stopped on the second floor, staring at him in shock. "Harry --- your scar!"
Trembling, Harry put a hand to his forehead, feeling something warm and sticky. My scar's bleeding, he thought dimly.
"Ginny…" he croaked, his knees buckling. "I think --- I've made --- a stupid mistake…"
"What is it?" she demanded, white-faced and terrified. "Tell me what's wrong!"
Just then, Harry's head exploded with pain… pain beyond all endurance. "What's… happening… to… me?" he managed to ask before collapsing to the ground.
***
Harry found himself yet again, in the Department of Mysteries. The woman stood in front of him. She looked mildly amused at the sight of him. "Back so soon?" she inquired, a smile playing on her lips.
"What did you do to me?" Harry demanded.
"I gave you what you wanted," the woman replied smoothly. "You wanted to avenge your friend and I gave you the power."
"That wasn't what I wanted!" Harry shouted, paralyzed with fear. "I was angry --- I didn't want to kill anyone!"
"Oh, but you did," the woman said, her eyes gleaming. "I could sense your great thirst for revenge… you asked me to give you the chance, and I did."
Harry shook his head desperately. "I didn't know what I was doing! I was asleep the whole time… I don't remember what happened! It was almost like…"
"Almost like you were being possessed, Potter?"
Harry froze. The woman's voice had suddenly become cold and high-pitched. "No…" he moaned, shaking his head again. "No… I didn't… I couldn't have been that stupid!"
"Oh, but you are." The woman vanished and in her place stood Voldemort himself. A triumphant smile twisted his snake-like face. "Through your folly, you've surrendered yourself to me."
"H --- How?" Harry stammered. "You --- you can't possess me! Dumbledore said that you couldn't stand to possess me because of my emotions!"
"I knew that you would be too distraught over your poor friend Black's death to try and close your mind," Voldemort answered, leering. As soon as I knew your mind was open, I came to you in the form of a woman with an offer of revenge."
"You tricked me!" Harry said, enraged. "What you said about the veil was a lie, wasn't it?"
"What is behind the veil, even I don't know, and I'd be more worried about your fate rather than Black's."
"Get out!" Harry shouted. "You can't stay in my body for long!" He concentrated his mind on Sirius. Voldemort, he knew, couldn't stay inside of him because of his emotions…
Yet instead of the sorrow and pain he'd felt for the past few months, he felt oddly numb.
"What's wrong, Potter?" Voldemort taunted, smirking. "Don't you remember the other part of the bargain?
"Oh no…" Harry muttered, the realization dawning on him.
"Yes," Voldemort cackled. "I, unlike you, learn from my mistakes. I knew that I couldn't possess you as long as those annoying feelings of yours stand in the way…so I offered to take away your grief of Black. You rejected your own feelings, as I had done willingly years ago…and now you're mine."
At once, Harry found himself wrapped tightly in the coils of a monster with gleaming red eyes. Every fiber of his being was writhing in agony. "Help me," he muttered desperately, hoping that someone could hear him. "Please…somebody… anybody…help me!"
"No one can help you now," Voldemort hissed into his ear. "Your stupidity has not only sealed your fate, but your friends as well. I'm going to kill them all, one by one…"
"NO!" Harry screamed. "DON'T HURT THEM! GET OUT OF MY BODY, YOU BLOODY BASTARD!"
"Oh, don't worry. I kept my promise… not only will you have your revenge, you also will feel no more pain… by the time I'm finished with you, you won't be able to feel anything ever again!"
Harry screamed in agony and despair as Voldemort let out a cold, cruel laugh. The room, and the world as Harry knew it, dissolved into darkness.
***
"Harry?" Ginny cried out in alarm. "Harry, what's wrong?"
Harry was lying unconscious on the floor. The blood from his scar was trickling down his face, which was deathly pale. He was twitching in an unnerving way. "Help me," she could hear him moaning. "Please… somebody… anybody… help me!"
"I'm trying to!" Ginny shouted frantically. "What's happening to you?" She started slapping his face gently, trying to revive him. "Come on… wake up… it's going to be all right, I promise!"
The twitching worsened. He seemed to be in an incredible amount of pain.
"MUM! DAD!" Ginny screamed, terrified. "EVERYBODY GET UP HERE! SOMETHING'S THE MATTER WITH HARRY!"
The Weasleys, Hermione, and Lupin came bounding up the stairs, just as Harry let out a horrible scream. "GET OUT OF MY BODY, YOU BLOODY BASTARD!"
"What happened?" Ron demanded. He dropped down to his knees next to Harry. "Harry! Wake up, mate!"
"I --- I don't know!" Ginny stammered. "His scar started bleeding and then…"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Harry's eyes snapped open --- only they weren't his eyes. Behind his glasses were bright red eyes with slits for pupils, glowing intensely. He opened his mouth, and a high-pitched voice started laughing triumphantly.
"Oh my God…" Lupin muttered, turning paler than he already was. "What's happened to him?"
To continued…