Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot.
The Second Darkness
Chapter 7: The Troubles of a Hero.
Harry was losing blood fast, he was becoming light-headed. He stumbled a few more steps before falling to his knees. His head was swimming and his vision was slipping in and out of focus. He breathed deeply a few times but that only made it worse.
He struggled to his feet and took a few more shaky steps. He felt sick, he had taken someone's life and he had felt a satisfaction from doing so.
He heard hurried footsteps coming from behind him, he heard someone shout his name, but it sounded distant, the sound echoed in his ears. He turned around and saw Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Cho sprinting towards him, He stumbled a few steps towards Ron who was in the lead before collapsing into his best friends arms.
"It's alright mate, I've got you." That was the last thing Harry heard before he slipped out of consciousness.
Ron felt a warm liquid on his hand. He looked at his hand and he saw that it was covered in blood. He looked at Harry's shoulder. The wound was pouring out copious amounts of blood.
"We have to get him to the Hospital Wing. He's losing blood fast. Ginny hold onto him for a minute, Hermione go find Dumbledore and tell him to hurry, I'm no expert but I think if he loses much more blood he'll die. Cho, go get Madam Pomfrey." Hermione and Cho dashed off in different directions. Ginny held onto Harry while Ron ripped of the sleeve of his own robes. He quickly tied it around Harry shoulder.
Ron and Ginny heard the sound of hurriedly approaching footsteps, from around the corner came Dumbledore, Moody, McGonagall and Hermione. Dumbledore quickly conjured a stretcher and put Harry on it.
Madam Pomfrey and Cho hurried around the corner, Madam Pomfrey gasped when she saw Harry lying on a stretcher covered with blood. She whipped out her wand and quickly performed a blood replenishing charm. But it had no effect.
"Quickly, get him to the Hospital Wing!" she yelled. Dumbledore charmed the stretcher to speed towards the Hospital Wing. As soon as they got there they put Harry on a bed.
"Albus try every blood replenishing spell you know, the basic one doesn't work." Ordered Madam Pomfrey. She dashed towards the potion cupboard. She grabbed every blood replenishing potion she had.
"You four, go back to the Gryffindor common room, including you miss Chang." Barked Professor McGonagall Without a word the four teenagers turned and walked back to the Gryffindor. The three girls were crying softly and Ron was ashen faced. Nobody needed to say a word, they all knew that Harry was dying.
Ron gave the password and the Portrait Hole swung open. He entered the packed common room followed by the other three. As people saw them all conversation stopped and people began to get worried.
Dean spoke up in a shaky voice, they all knew that this concerned Harry for Cho to be here,
"Where's Harry?" Ron looked down at the floor,
"In the Hospital Wing with Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, Moody and McGonagall fighting for his life as we speak." Gasps of horror went around the room.
"What happened?" Ron took several deep breaths to calm himself before replying,
"A Death Eater Apparated into the grounds, Harry duelled with him and killed him, but in the fight he got stabbed. He lost a lot of blood and blood replenishing spells aren't working on him. If he loses much more blood then he will die." Screams of horror went round the room and terrified conversations broke out. Ron led the three girls over to a couch in the corner and they sat clutching each other, none of them saying a word.
A few minutes later the Portrait Hole swung open and in stepped Professor McGonagall. Her face was pale and there were tears in her eyes and tear stains on her face. This scared the students almost as much as what they had heard from Ron. Professor McGonagall was renown for showing very little emotion and constantly being stern. Ron stood up shakily,
"How is he?" Professor McGonagall smiled weakly but the weak smile never reached her eyes, her eyes gave everything away, there was sadness and worry in them.
"Healers from St Mungo's have arrived but he's not looking good. The wound won't close and no blood replenishing spell or potion is working. The Healers believe that the blade has some sort of poison on it to keep the wound open and bleeding." Ron then asked the question that was on everybody's mind.
"How long has he got?" McGonagall's smile faded instantly.
"Less than half an hour." More gasps of horror. Ron sat down on the couch heavily. His face horrified. Professor McGonagall walked into the room and sat down on one of the armchairs.
Nobody could sit still. Every few minutes people would look at their watches anxiously and then at the Portrait Hole hopefully as if expecting it to swing open and the smiling face of the Boy-Who-Lived to appear.
But it never did.
Fifteen minutes passed and nothing, by now all of the girls were crying softly. The boys were all pacing around the room their faces pale.
Five more minutes passed. Fear and panic rose in people. A few people had given up hope and were crying loudly.
Professor McGonagall, Cho, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and every Gryffindor in the DA never gave up hope.
But how long can hope last?
With every second that came and went they lost a little more hope.
Three more minutes passed and Ron Weasley was just about to give up hope. He cast one more hopeful glance at the Portrait Hole. He was just about to turn away when the Portrait Hole began to swing open. Hope flooded him; he knew that this was either Harry returning or Dumbledore coming to tell them that Harry had died.
"Guys." He breathed to the three teenagers. They all turned round and looked at the gradually opening Portrait Hole. Hope filled their expressions; every eye was on the Portrait Hole. Time seemed to slow down.
And in stepped Dumbledore.
Despair, sadness and terror filled everyone of them.
It was over. Voldemort had won. Harry was dead.
Smiling, the old man stepped aside, to reveal a grinning Harry. Smiling broadly, the Boy-Who-Lived stepped into the room.
He grinned mischievously at the pale, tear stained faces that looked at him,
"So you missed me then?" Ron, Cho, Ginny and Hermione leaped over the back of the couch and sprinted towards him. Cho got there first. She looked at him, drew back her hand and slapped him hard. She then threw herself onto him weeping with happiness,
"Don't you ever do that to me again!" Ron launched himself onto his best friend, laughing and crying at the same time, causing Harry to lose his balance and topple backwards.
"Don't you ever do that to me again, either!" Ginny and Hermione, both in the same state as Ron, jumped onto the three figures on the floor. What followed was a mad combination of hugging and wrestling, all five of them rolling around on the floor laughing and crying at the same time
Nobody could resist cheering madly at the five teenagers rolling around on the floor shouting and laughing with happiness. Their relief at seeing Harry well again was poured into every shout, cheer and whistle.
Soon the whole common room, with Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore standing at the side watching them, was chasing each other around shouting happily.
"How did they heal him?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"The Healers discovered what poison was keeping the wound open and bleeding and they administered the antidote and then healed it."
"It was a close call."
"Closer then you expect." There was a tone to the old mans voice that made McGonagall realise it had been close, she cast him a sidelong glance.
"How close?" The old man sighed.
"An eighth of a pint more and Harry would be dead. In time, that is less than a minute." McGonagall gasped.
"That close! If Harry was an animigus he would definitely be an animal belonging to the cat family!" McGonagall exclaimed, Dumbledore laughed.
"I'm sure he would. Now if you'll excuse me Minerva I must go thank the Healers." McGonagall nodded and followed Dumbledore out of the common room.
******
Cho was chasing Harry around the common room while Ron, Hermione and Ginny stood to one side clearly amused.
"I didn't mean it!" yelled Harry desperately over his shoulder as he vaulted another chair.
"Too late for that! Never insult a Ravenclaw!" laughed Cho in mock anger, Harry threw another desperate look over his shoulder and saw, to his horror, that Cho was catching, as he was running past Ron, Ron, whistling, looked up at the ceiling, and casually stuck his foot out.
Harry tripped over Ron's foot and went skidding across the floor, he glared at Ron, who smirked back, but that glare quickly changed to a look of horror as he saw Cho run towards him. He tried to scramble up but Cho jumped on him.
After a few minutes of rolling around the floor, with Ron, Hermione and Ginny howling with laughter as Harry tried, unsuccessfully, to throw Cho off, Harry and Cho paused to get their breath back. Harry was lying with his back to the floor and Cho was sitting astride Harry' hips pinning his arms to the floor. Harry looked at the position they were and grinned up at Cho.
"I could get used to this." He said mischievously, Cho rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure you could-" Cho bent down and whispered something in Harry's ear that made him blush and grin.
"For someone who was knocking at Death's door half an hour ago, you're incredibly lively." Laughed Ginny. Harry grinned and made a face.
"Madam Pomfrey poured so many different potions down me that I thought she had gotten sick of me being so much trouble and was trying to overdose me." The four teenagers laughed at this.
Gradually people began to go to bed, many of them coming and bidding Harry goodnight. Finally it was just the five teenagers left in the room with Dean and Seamus having just gone to bed. Harry sat down on the couch next to Cho sub-consciously rubbing the bandage around his shoulder.
"Still painful?" she asked softly,
"What- oh - yeah, the Healers told me that there will still be some poison in there that will make it painful.
"Well I'm glad you're ok." Cho leaned in and they began kissing passionately.
The Portrait Hole swung open. When Ron saw who it was he nudged Hermione and Ginny and pointed over to Harry and Cho who were still kissing. Ron rubbed his hands together excitedly,
"Oh boy, this is gonna be sweet!" Hermione rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide the smile that was playing on her lips. Ginny was grinning broadly. There was silence for a few minutes then,
"Hem, hem." Neither Harry or Cho looked up.
"Hem, hem." A little louder now, still no reaction,
"Hem, hem." Louder still, at this both Harry and Cho looked up, identical expressions of horror on their faces which were the colour of ripe tomatoes, upon seeing their faces Ron burst into a raucous peal of laughter and even Hermione and Ginny could not help laughing. Standing there, looking highly amused was Professor McGonagall.
"Miss Chang, I think it is time for you to return to your own common room." Cho stood up her eyes fixed firmly on the floor. She hurried out of the common room not daring to look at Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall smiled at Harry before sweeping out of the common room.
Harry fell backwards into the couch,
"Jesus, that is probably one of the most embarrassing things that has ever happened to me." He glanced over at the other three, "It's not funny!" He said indignantly. Hermione tried to look sympathetic but failed miserably. Ron, however, did not even attempt to try and look sympathetic. He rolled off the couch, landed on all fours and started banging his fist on the floor howling with laughter,
"You – should – have – seen – your –faces!" Harry rolled his eyes and stood up.
"I'm going to bed and tell him," Harry indicated Ron who was now lying on his back clutching his chest, crying with laughter, "to lay off the sugar." Harry climbed the staircase to the boys' dormitories.
******
Harry woke up late the next morning a heavy feeling of dread in his stomach. News travelled like wildfire in Hogwarts, by time he got down to breakfast the whole damn school will know, thought Harry angrily as he slipped on the repaired-dragonskin armour.
Harry pushed open the double doors to the Great Hall and to his immense surprise and relief nobody stopped eating and stared at him. Harry suspected that Gryffindors had been warned not to tell anyone. He finished his breakfast quickly, not wanting to push his luck by staying there too long.
The day passed unusually quickly for Harry and before he knew it he was walking towards the Great Hall for dinner with Ron and Hermione.
They entered the Great Hall and stopped. The entire Hall was decked in black. Harry realised that it was a mark of respect for the second year girl that had died. He sat down between Ron and Hermione. Dumbledore stood up and silence fell.
"It is my sad duty to report that yesterday Julia Sandmark was killed. Killed by an assassin of Lord Voldemort." Gasps went around the room. "Julia exemplified the qualities that distinguish Ravenclaw. She was an intelligent, kind and friendly young girl. I ask you now to stand and raise glasses to Julia Sandmark." Everyone stood up and said in one low, rumbling voice,
"Julia Sandmark." Everyone took a sip from their goblets and then sat down again muttering in low voices. Dumbledore raised his hand for silence. Gradually people fell silent and looked up at Dumbledore expectantly.
"There is one person who must be mentioned in connection with Julia's death. Harry Potter duelled with one of Voldemort's assassins who wanted to capture Harry. Harry killed the assassin" For some reason Harry was getting angrier and angrier. He had no idea why. It could have been the fact that everyone was staring at him or that Dumbledore was giving him more publicity, publicity that he didn't want.
"Harry was wounded in the battle and was nearly killed. Nearly killed to protect him and others around him, he was prepared to die for other people. He showed a bravery that few wizards would have shown." Harry was furious and he didn't know why. He stood up shaking with anger.
"That is a lie." Every head in the room turned to him. Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers looked highly surprised, "Most wizards would have stood up to him. I am no hero and you know it. I am a fool who nearly got myself killed because I was determined to play the hero. That assassin taught me something; he taught me that I know how to kill. What's more he taught me that I can kill without a second thought. I can kill without mercy if I have to. I don't want to go through life knowing that I can murder and feel no regret." Dumbledore stared at Harry incredulously.
"I am afraid I don't understand what you mean." Anger boiled in Harry's veins and he drew his sword swiftly. He was comforted by the familiar weight in his hand.
"You know perfectly bloody well what I mean. I mean that I don't want to go through life killing people. I mean that one day I am going to get myself killed because of my foolish determination to play the hero." Dumbledore shook his head sadly.
"You are not playing the hero, Harry. You are a hero whether you like it or not." Harry stabbed his sword into the Gryffindor table so it stood vertically, making the people around him jump violently. Eight inches of blade sank into the thousand-year-old oak table.
"I AM NO HERO!" Harry yelled.
"You are, you have no option." Harry looked at him and when he spoke again it was in a cold, hard voice.
"The wizarding world can go find a new hero then, because I just don't care anymore." Harry turned and walked out of the Great Hall with every eye on his back. Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione followed him.
They caught up with him at the marble staircase.
"Harry, you have no option. If you stop caring then the wizarding world is doomed." Harry turned around slowly.
"Tell people to write their wills then." Hermione looked at him with tears in her eyes,
"Have you really stopped caring?" Harry sighed.
"Do you have an idea what it felt like, stabbing my sword into that assassin and watching him die, so close that I could see every feature on his face, every expression in his eyes. It felt good in a way. I felt like I had a power over him, it felt good knowing that I was doing to them what they had been doing to thousands of innocent people. But after the satisfaction comes the guilt and the regret. I took someone's life away. They will never wake up to see the sunlight pouring in through the windows, or listen to the birds sing. I hated that feeling and I never want to feel it again. It's much easier to kill someone at a distance, then they're just figures, you don't see whether they are scared to die...or whether they welcome death."
"That is what makes you different to them, Harry. You regretted doing it." Said Dumbledore urgently. Harry shook his head.
"That makes no difference, I still killed someone whether I regretted it afterwards or not." Hermione spoke up in a shaky voice,
"What did that Death Eater look like, was he scared to die?" Harry looked up at her.
"He was terrified. Absolutely terrified, but in a way, he welcomed death." Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something, but Harry held up his hand to stop him.
"I know. I know what will happen if I just give up. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to." Without another word Harry turned and strode up the marble staircase.
******
Harry's outburst scared everyone in the school. They all knew about the prophecy as Dumbledore had told them when he returned to the Great Hall.
They all knew that Harry was slowly giving up. He became withdrawn and spoke to few people. They could see that the burden on his shoulders was slowly wearing him down.
The school became edgy and tense; everyone was on the lookout for Death Eaters suddenly arriving.
For when the Hero fails, so does everyone else.
******
Harry swung his sword in a wild, uncontrolled movement at Lupin's head. Lupin ducked and stabbed at Harry's stomach but stopped short. Harry shrugged and half-heartedly resumed the starting position. Lupin shook his head.
"Harry, that's the seventh time I've beaten you in the last ten minutes and not once have you put up a decent fight." Harry shrugged again,
"Why should I?" Lupin shook his head in horrified astonishment,
"You really don't care anymore do you?"
"No." Lupin sat down and indicated Harry to follow suite.
"How do you think your father and Sirius would feel if they knew you'd given up?" Lupin said harshly, Harry shrugged not remotely interested.
"They don't know. So why are you worrying about it?"
"Because the reason they don't know is because they were killed by, or on the orders of Voldemort. You giving up is an insult to their memories. They died so you can carry on fighting. If you give up then they died in vain." Harry looked up, he hadn't thought of it that way.
"You have to care. You have to be the hero. Because there are precious few heroes in this time and you are one of them. Don't give up. Don't give Voldemort that satisfaction. If you go down, go down fighting. Show Voldemort what you are made of. Show Voldemort the true meaning of fear." The conviction with which Lupin spoke these words inspired Harry and made him realise that giving up was the coward's way out.
"I've been scared long enough, it's Voldemort's turn now." Lupin nodded, he was extremely proud of Harry.
"James and Sirius would be proud of you."
The wizarding world have lived in fear long enough, let them fear now. The hero is back. And he intends to give Voldemort hell. Real hell.
A/N Another chapter done. Over the next few chapters you are going to see Harry really struggle with what he has to do. You will have noticed that Harry's unwillingness to continue fighting was short-lived. It may seem like that but I can tell you that it is not as short-lived as it looks. Fortunately it turns out I had no problem with receiving reviews.
LogicalRaven – Jesus, you really know how to send someone on a guilt trip! Seriously though, I have taken those words to heart. I read your review and it made me understand that I write because I enjoy writing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this just to get reviews, I'm doing this because I enjoy writing. Thanks for the review; it was one of the most useful reviews I have ever received.
BreakDancist – Thank you very much. That review really made me feel good; it made me so happy to see that you are enjoying my fic that much. Right now I am ok and do not need a beta just yet. Give me your e-mail address and if I do a chapter that I want beta'd than I will send it to you. Thanks very much for the offer.
Colm – Thanks, there will be a fight at the end of this fic. I hope it lives up to your expectations.
Keep reading and reviewing 'cos I'll keep writing!
Fireboy
The Second Darkness
Chapter 7: The Troubles of a Hero.
Harry was losing blood fast, he was becoming light-headed. He stumbled a few more steps before falling to his knees. His head was swimming and his vision was slipping in and out of focus. He breathed deeply a few times but that only made it worse.
He struggled to his feet and took a few more shaky steps. He felt sick, he had taken someone's life and he had felt a satisfaction from doing so.
He heard hurried footsteps coming from behind him, he heard someone shout his name, but it sounded distant, the sound echoed in his ears. He turned around and saw Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Cho sprinting towards him, He stumbled a few steps towards Ron who was in the lead before collapsing into his best friends arms.
"It's alright mate, I've got you." That was the last thing Harry heard before he slipped out of consciousness.
Ron felt a warm liquid on his hand. He looked at his hand and he saw that it was covered in blood. He looked at Harry's shoulder. The wound was pouring out copious amounts of blood.
"We have to get him to the Hospital Wing. He's losing blood fast. Ginny hold onto him for a minute, Hermione go find Dumbledore and tell him to hurry, I'm no expert but I think if he loses much more blood he'll die. Cho, go get Madam Pomfrey." Hermione and Cho dashed off in different directions. Ginny held onto Harry while Ron ripped of the sleeve of his own robes. He quickly tied it around Harry shoulder.
Ron and Ginny heard the sound of hurriedly approaching footsteps, from around the corner came Dumbledore, Moody, McGonagall and Hermione. Dumbledore quickly conjured a stretcher and put Harry on it.
Madam Pomfrey and Cho hurried around the corner, Madam Pomfrey gasped when she saw Harry lying on a stretcher covered with blood. She whipped out her wand and quickly performed a blood replenishing charm. But it had no effect.
"Quickly, get him to the Hospital Wing!" she yelled. Dumbledore charmed the stretcher to speed towards the Hospital Wing. As soon as they got there they put Harry on a bed.
"Albus try every blood replenishing spell you know, the basic one doesn't work." Ordered Madam Pomfrey. She dashed towards the potion cupboard. She grabbed every blood replenishing potion she had.
"You four, go back to the Gryffindor common room, including you miss Chang." Barked Professor McGonagall Without a word the four teenagers turned and walked back to the Gryffindor. The three girls were crying softly and Ron was ashen faced. Nobody needed to say a word, they all knew that Harry was dying.
Ron gave the password and the Portrait Hole swung open. He entered the packed common room followed by the other three. As people saw them all conversation stopped and people began to get worried.
Dean spoke up in a shaky voice, they all knew that this concerned Harry for Cho to be here,
"Where's Harry?" Ron looked down at the floor,
"In the Hospital Wing with Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, Moody and McGonagall fighting for his life as we speak." Gasps of horror went around the room.
"What happened?" Ron took several deep breaths to calm himself before replying,
"A Death Eater Apparated into the grounds, Harry duelled with him and killed him, but in the fight he got stabbed. He lost a lot of blood and blood replenishing spells aren't working on him. If he loses much more blood then he will die." Screams of horror went round the room and terrified conversations broke out. Ron led the three girls over to a couch in the corner and they sat clutching each other, none of them saying a word.
A few minutes later the Portrait Hole swung open and in stepped Professor McGonagall. Her face was pale and there were tears in her eyes and tear stains on her face. This scared the students almost as much as what they had heard from Ron. Professor McGonagall was renown for showing very little emotion and constantly being stern. Ron stood up shakily,
"How is he?" Professor McGonagall smiled weakly but the weak smile never reached her eyes, her eyes gave everything away, there was sadness and worry in them.
"Healers from St Mungo's have arrived but he's not looking good. The wound won't close and no blood replenishing spell or potion is working. The Healers believe that the blade has some sort of poison on it to keep the wound open and bleeding." Ron then asked the question that was on everybody's mind.
"How long has he got?" McGonagall's smile faded instantly.
"Less than half an hour." More gasps of horror. Ron sat down on the couch heavily. His face horrified. Professor McGonagall walked into the room and sat down on one of the armchairs.
Nobody could sit still. Every few minutes people would look at their watches anxiously and then at the Portrait Hole hopefully as if expecting it to swing open and the smiling face of the Boy-Who-Lived to appear.
But it never did.
Fifteen minutes passed and nothing, by now all of the girls were crying softly. The boys were all pacing around the room their faces pale.
Five more minutes passed. Fear and panic rose in people. A few people had given up hope and were crying loudly.
Professor McGonagall, Cho, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and every Gryffindor in the DA never gave up hope.
But how long can hope last?
With every second that came and went they lost a little more hope.
Three more minutes passed and Ron Weasley was just about to give up hope. He cast one more hopeful glance at the Portrait Hole. He was just about to turn away when the Portrait Hole began to swing open. Hope flooded him; he knew that this was either Harry returning or Dumbledore coming to tell them that Harry had died.
"Guys." He breathed to the three teenagers. They all turned round and looked at the gradually opening Portrait Hole. Hope filled their expressions; every eye was on the Portrait Hole. Time seemed to slow down.
And in stepped Dumbledore.
Despair, sadness and terror filled everyone of them.
It was over. Voldemort had won. Harry was dead.
Smiling, the old man stepped aside, to reveal a grinning Harry. Smiling broadly, the Boy-Who-Lived stepped into the room.
He grinned mischievously at the pale, tear stained faces that looked at him,
"So you missed me then?" Ron, Cho, Ginny and Hermione leaped over the back of the couch and sprinted towards him. Cho got there first. She looked at him, drew back her hand and slapped him hard. She then threw herself onto him weeping with happiness,
"Don't you ever do that to me again!" Ron launched himself onto his best friend, laughing and crying at the same time, causing Harry to lose his balance and topple backwards.
"Don't you ever do that to me again, either!" Ginny and Hermione, both in the same state as Ron, jumped onto the three figures on the floor. What followed was a mad combination of hugging and wrestling, all five of them rolling around on the floor laughing and crying at the same time
Nobody could resist cheering madly at the five teenagers rolling around on the floor shouting and laughing with happiness. Their relief at seeing Harry well again was poured into every shout, cheer and whistle.
Soon the whole common room, with Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore standing at the side watching them, was chasing each other around shouting happily.
"How did they heal him?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"The Healers discovered what poison was keeping the wound open and bleeding and they administered the antidote and then healed it."
"It was a close call."
"Closer then you expect." There was a tone to the old mans voice that made McGonagall realise it had been close, she cast him a sidelong glance.
"How close?" The old man sighed.
"An eighth of a pint more and Harry would be dead. In time, that is less than a minute." McGonagall gasped.
"That close! If Harry was an animigus he would definitely be an animal belonging to the cat family!" McGonagall exclaimed, Dumbledore laughed.
"I'm sure he would. Now if you'll excuse me Minerva I must go thank the Healers." McGonagall nodded and followed Dumbledore out of the common room.
******
Cho was chasing Harry around the common room while Ron, Hermione and Ginny stood to one side clearly amused.
"I didn't mean it!" yelled Harry desperately over his shoulder as he vaulted another chair.
"Too late for that! Never insult a Ravenclaw!" laughed Cho in mock anger, Harry threw another desperate look over his shoulder and saw, to his horror, that Cho was catching, as he was running past Ron, Ron, whistling, looked up at the ceiling, and casually stuck his foot out.
Harry tripped over Ron's foot and went skidding across the floor, he glared at Ron, who smirked back, but that glare quickly changed to a look of horror as he saw Cho run towards him. He tried to scramble up but Cho jumped on him.
After a few minutes of rolling around the floor, with Ron, Hermione and Ginny howling with laughter as Harry tried, unsuccessfully, to throw Cho off, Harry and Cho paused to get their breath back. Harry was lying with his back to the floor and Cho was sitting astride Harry' hips pinning his arms to the floor. Harry looked at the position they were and grinned up at Cho.
"I could get used to this." He said mischievously, Cho rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure you could-" Cho bent down and whispered something in Harry's ear that made him blush and grin.
"For someone who was knocking at Death's door half an hour ago, you're incredibly lively." Laughed Ginny. Harry grinned and made a face.
"Madam Pomfrey poured so many different potions down me that I thought she had gotten sick of me being so much trouble and was trying to overdose me." The four teenagers laughed at this.
Gradually people began to go to bed, many of them coming and bidding Harry goodnight. Finally it was just the five teenagers left in the room with Dean and Seamus having just gone to bed. Harry sat down on the couch next to Cho sub-consciously rubbing the bandage around his shoulder.
"Still painful?" she asked softly,
"What- oh - yeah, the Healers told me that there will still be some poison in there that will make it painful.
"Well I'm glad you're ok." Cho leaned in and they began kissing passionately.
The Portrait Hole swung open. When Ron saw who it was he nudged Hermione and Ginny and pointed over to Harry and Cho who were still kissing. Ron rubbed his hands together excitedly,
"Oh boy, this is gonna be sweet!" Hermione rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide the smile that was playing on her lips. Ginny was grinning broadly. There was silence for a few minutes then,
"Hem, hem." Neither Harry or Cho looked up.
"Hem, hem." A little louder now, still no reaction,
"Hem, hem." Louder still, at this both Harry and Cho looked up, identical expressions of horror on their faces which were the colour of ripe tomatoes, upon seeing their faces Ron burst into a raucous peal of laughter and even Hermione and Ginny could not help laughing. Standing there, looking highly amused was Professor McGonagall.
"Miss Chang, I think it is time for you to return to your own common room." Cho stood up her eyes fixed firmly on the floor. She hurried out of the common room not daring to look at Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall smiled at Harry before sweeping out of the common room.
Harry fell backwards into the couch,
"Jesus, that is probably one of the most embarrassing things that has ever happened to me." He glanced over at the other three, "It's not funny!" He said indignantly. Hermione tried to look sympathetic but failed miserably. Ron, however, did not even attempt to try and look sympathetic. He rolled off the couch, landed on all fours and started banging his fist on the floor howling with laughter,
"You – should – have – seen – your –faces!" Harry rolled his eyes and stood up.
"I'm going to bed and tell him," Harry indicated Ron who was now lying on his back clutching his chest, crying with laughter, "to lay off the sugar." Harry climbed the staircase to the boys' dormitories.
******
Harry woke up late the next morning a heavy feeling of dread in his stomach. News travelled like wildfire in Hogwarts, by time he got down to breakfast the whole damn school will know, thought Harry angrily as he slipped on the repaired-dragonskin armour.
Harry pushed open the double doors to the Great Hall and to his immense surprise and relief nobody stopped eating and stared at him. Harry suspected that Gryffindors had been warned not to tell anyone. He finished his breakfast quickly, not wanting to push his luck by staying there too long.
The day passed unusually quickly for Harry and before he knew it he was walking towards the Great Hall for dinner with Ron and Hermione.
They entered the Great Hall and stopped. The entire Hall was decked in black. Harry realised that it was a mark of respect for the second year girl that had died. He sat down between Ron and Hermione. Dumbledore stood up and silence fell.
"It is my sad duty to report that yesterday Julia Sandmark was killed. Killed by an assassin of Lord Voldemort." Gasps went around the room. "Julia exemplified the qualities that distinguish Ravenclaw. She was an intelligent, kind and friendly young girl. I ask you now to stand and raise glasses to Julia Sandmark." Everyone stood up and said in one low, rumbling voice,
"Julia Sandmark." Everyone took a sip from their goblets and then sat down again muttering in low voices. Dumbledore raised his hand for silence. Gradually people fell silent and looked up at Dumbledore expectantly.
"There is one person who must be mentioned in connection with Julia's death. Harry Potter duelled with one of Voldemort's assassins who wanted to capture Harry. Harry killed the assassin" For some reason Harry was getting angrier and angrier. He had no idea why. It could have been the fact that everyone was staring at him or that Dumbledore was giving him more publicity, publicity that he didn't want.
"Harry was wounded in the battle and was nearly killed. Nearly killed to protect him and others around him, he was prepared to die for other people. He showed a bravery that few wizards would have shown." Harry was furious and he didn't know why. He stood up shaking with anger.
"That is a lie." Every head in the room turned to him. Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers looked highly surprised, "Most wizards would have stood up to him. I am no hero and you know it. I am a fool who nearly got myself killed because I was determined to play the hero. That assassin taught me something; he taught me that I know how to kill. What's more he taught me that I can kill without a second thought. I can kill without mercy if I have to. I don't want to go through life knowing that I can murder and feel no regret." Dumbledore stared at Harry incredulously.
"I am afraid I don't understand what you mean." Anger boiled in Harry's veins and he drew his sword swiftly. He was comforted by the familiar weight in his hand.
"You know perfectly bloody well what I mean. I mean that I don't want to go through life killing people. I mean that one day I am going to get myself killed because of my foolish determination to play the hero." Dumbledore shook his head sadly.
"You are not playing the hero, Harry. You are a hero whether you like it or not." Harry stabbed his sword into the Gryffindor table so it stood vertically, making the people around him jump violently. Eight inches of blade sank into the thousand-year-old oak table.
"I AM NO HERO!" Harry yelled.
"You are, you have no option." Harry looked at him and when he spoke again it was in a cold, hard voice.
"The wizarding world can go find a new hero then, because I just don't care anymore." Harry turned and walked out of the Great Hall with every eye on his back. Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione followed him.
They caught up with him at the marble staircase.
"Harry, you have no option. If you stop caring then the wizarding world is doomed." Harry turned around slowly.
"Tell people to write their wills then." Hermione looked at him with tears in her eyes,
"Have you really stopped caring?" Harry sighed.
"Do you have an idea what it felt like, stabbing my sword into that assassin and watching him die, so close that I could see every feature on his face, every expression in his eyes. It felt good in a way. I felt like I had a power over him, it felt good knowing that I was doing to them what they had been doing to thousands of innocent people. But after the satisfaction comes the guilt and the regret. I took someone's life away. They will never wake up to see the sunlight pouring in through the windows, or listen to the birds sing. I hated that feeling and I never want to feel it again. It's much easier to kill someone at a distance, then they're just figures, you don't see whether they are scared to die...or whether they welcome death."
"That is what makes you different to them, Harry. You regretted doing it." Said Dumbledore urgently. Harry shook his head.
"That makes no difference, I still killed someone whether I regretted it afterwards or not." Hermione spoke up in a shaky voice,
"What did that Death Eater look like, was he scared to die?" Harry looked up at her.
"He was terrified. Absolutely terrified, but in a way, he welcomed death." Dumbledore opened his mouth to say something, but Harry held up his hand to stop him.
"I know. I know what will happen if I just give up. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to." Without another word Harry turned and strode up the marble staircase.
******
Harry's outburst scared everyone in the school. They all knew about the prophecy as Dumbledore had told them when he returned to the Great Hall.
They all knew that Harry was slowly giving up. He became withdrawn and spoke to few people. They could see that the burden on his shoulders was slowly wearing him down.
The school became edgy and tense; everyone was on the lookout for Death Eaters suddenly arriving.
For when the Hero fails, so does everyone else.
******
Harry swung his sword in a wild, uncontrolled movement at Lupin's head. Lupin ducked and stabbed at Harry's stomach but stopped short. Harry shrugged and half-heartedly resumed the starting position. Lupin shook his head.
"Harry, that's the seventh time I've beaten you in the last ten minutes and not once have you put up a decent fight." Harry shrugged again,
"Why should I?" Lupin shook his head in horrified astonishment,
"You really don't care anymore do you?"
"No." Lupin sat down and indicated Harry to follow suite.
"How do you think your father and Sirius would feel if they knew you'd given up?" Lupin said harshly, Harry shrugged not remotely interested.
"They don't know. So why are you worrying about it?"
"Because the reason they don't know is because they were killed by, or on the orders of Voldemort. You giving up is an insult to their memories. They died so you can carry on fighting. If you give up then they died in vain." Harry looked up, he hadn't thought of it that way.
"You have to care. You have to be the hero. Because there are precious few heroes in this time and you are one of them. Don't give up. Don't give Voldemort that satisfaction. If you go down, go down fighting. Show Voldemort what you are made of. Show Voldemort the true meaning of fear." The conviction with which Lupin spoke these words inspired Harry and made him realise that giving up was the coward's way out.
"I've been scared long enough, it's Voldemort's turn now." Lupin nodded, he was extremely proud of Harry.
"James and Sirius would be proud of you."
The wizarding world have lived in fear long enough, let them fear now. The hero is back. And he intends to give Voldemort hell. Real hell.
A/N Another chapter done. Over the next few chapters you are going to see Harry really struggle with what he has to do. You will have noticed that Harry's unwillingness to continue fighting was short-lived. It may seem like that but I can tell you that it is not as short-lived as it looks. Fortunately it turns out I had no problem with receiving reviews.
LogicalRaven – Jesus, you really know how to send someone on a guilt trip! Seriously though, I have taken those words to heart. I read your review and it made me understand that I write because I enjoy writing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this just to get reviews, I'm doing this because I enjoy writing. Thanks for the review; it was one of the most useful reviews I have ever received.
BreakDancist – Thank you very much. That review really made me feel good; it made me so happy to see that you are enjoying my fic that much. Right now I am ok and do not need a beta just yet. Give me your e-mail address and if I do a chapter that I want beta'd than I will send it to you. Thanks very much for the offer.
Colm – Thanks, there will be a fight at the end of this fic. I hope it lives up to your expectations.
Keep reading and reviewing 'cos I'll keep writing!
Fireboy