Disclaimer: I own none of the original characters, they all belong to J.K. Rowling but I own the storyline and anyone you haven't heard of before.
Reviews: Arrghhh so much hatred for my kindred... Lol oh well. Look the reason I put Harry as a goth is because wizards seem to be drawn to the more flamboyant styles of dress. They're also more open minded and more geared towards the weird than your average cap wearing, puffy jacket donning, jock asshole :) So in essence Wizrads make the perfect Goths. Because Goths aren't evil and to the other comment, BECAUSE GOTH CHICKS ARE HOT!!!
So anyway, because I feel so sorry for leaving it so long between chapters last time, here's another one...
Chapter 12.
I stand Alone.
For a regular September afternoon the air about was quite chilly, in comparison to it's normal late summer warmth. The grass crunched beneath feet as if still touched with a winter frost and even the faraway mountains, normally giving off a dazzling onyx shine in the sunlight, were capped with a thin sheet of snow. It was almost as if the weather had watched Harry walk out onto the quidditch pitch earlier and changed to reflect his ill mood. It had been hours since he had left the infirmary now and still all was the same. The wind whipping through his hair, the trees rushing by in a blur of green and brown, the excited screams of the spectators he buzzed on the way passed, Nothing; Harry finally decided as he touched down in the middle of the Quidditch pitch, could drag him out of the rut he found himself in. He looked around the stalls and scoffed at the carefree attitude the first day at school always brought out in people. Couples were dotted here and there making out, ecstatic that they were finally together again in Hogwarts. Harry smirked twice, the first was a snide grin that looked ugly on his charming features as he was sure he had shagged at least one of the girls up there during the holidays. He may have been wrong but it would explain why the girl seemed to be over attentive, they always did it just after cheating, kinda like a guilt mechanism.
The second smirk was for the care free looks on their faces. As of today they were going to school with that psycho Lillith and there was a possibility that none of them were safe. He still couldn't get over the fact that people still disbelieved him. Hadn't he been right in the past, every time he had heard a voice? Every time his scar had hurt? Every time he had a hunch which seemed implausible? After all that, still no one believed that they were all in danger. Maybe he would go up and ruin they're day too? Nah, he couldn't bring himself to ruin someone's lives today, not when he had promised Ginny that he was a changed man.
But was he a changed man? Had he really put all his past behind him? He was unsure of his feelings; now more so than ever, everyone in the infirmary had been so disbelieving of Harry's story, right now he felt like the only way to cure his cold mood would be a really good warming shag, just to get it out of his system. But he couldn't do that, not to his friends, not to people who believed in him, not to all the people he had made his promises to. Plus who could he find in this place; that would be willing straight away, apart from maybe...
'NO!' he pushed the thought of Ginny far to the back of his consciousness. He couldn't abuse her feelings for him like that. No he had changed he wasn't going to be Voldemorts pawn, or this tramps toy. He was his own person, he was Harry Potter, wizard extraordinaire, he wouldn't let this thing inside him hurt anyone else.
After much deliberating he decided to try flying again, it was normally so good at taking his mind off of things. This time though he walked towards the ball box. Maybe if he was flying towards a goal then he would become more focused, and forget all about Lillith, and Ginny. He knelt down on the floor magically opening the locks on the box. Almost as soon s the light and air hit the balls inside the bludgers sprang to life, raring to go. They really wanted a piece of harry after being locked in a box all summer, Fred and George had always told Harry that the first game of a season was always the hardest on the beaters. Harry laughed at the memory of them nursing they're injury's.
"I should have released the balls in the beginning, it's working already..." he opened the school crest in the lid of the box and took out the snitch, bludgers still shaking it about waiting for they're chance. Almost immediately the snitch sprouted its wings and buzzed around waiting for the off. Harry smiled and with a quick snap of his knee kicked the bludgers loose as his hand released the snitch. They all hurtled straight up like a strange formation flight team, before the bludgers strafed off in opposite directions to find they're way right for Harry. With a loud whoop of joy Harry kicked off, pulling off a spectacular dodge leaving the bludgers to grind shallow trenches in the ground behind him.
Now he was smiling, in fact he couldn't imagine himself ever stopping, he had almost forgotten where he was, even with the loud screams from the girls in the stalls sometimes breaking through his mind block. He had to give it to himself though, he was pulling off some truly spectacular dodges, the bludgers smashing into each other more often than even clipping him. They seemed to be in complete unison, working together as a team, one going low and one high, to cover both directions. Harry smiled to himself though, he was just better than them simple as that. It was halfway through that thought that the snitch did a little dance under his nose before darting off behind him. He blushed furiously but he was going too fast for any spectator to see him, hopefully they had missed the snitch too.
'I'd better stop giving my self a big head and keep my mind on the job at hand,' he thought as he caught a glimpse of the snitch and instantly swerved to follow it down. The bludger that had been following him continued to sail straight through the teachers stall, sending pillows splinters and coloured shreds of material raining down on the happy couples below. The other bludger was still on his tail though. It seemed that they had abandoned their synchronized attacks and were now just trying to hurt him. He smiled again wider this time if that was possible.
'Well they can try...' but almost as the words formed in his mind he was almost knocked off his broom by a huge dark shape rushing passed him. Still hurtling down and trying to get himself straight, he had just enough time to look at the moving wall before he had to pull up tightly, to narrowly miss the floor. It had not been a wall after all though, but a heavily robed figure, his or her face covered by a slightly see-through shroud. Harry was not happy at all at the appearance of this very unwelcome player, even more so when he realized that this new player was closer to catching the snitch than he was. With the bludgers nowhere in sight any longer he veered around and started off after the figure. The figure was riding a broom Harry had never seen before, which seemed only marginally faster than his Firebolt, but it didn't take Harry's Quidditch knowledge to discern that he was still the better flyer. After a few twists and turns Harry was up next to the would-be-seeker matching his every move with a practiced ease. They both followed the snitch into the hazardous trench running around the pitch, and Harry had a faint sense of déjà vu as they repeatedly tried to ram one another into a wooden girder or post. When they both pulled out of one end, behind the goalposts, Harry took his chance.
With a quick snap of his arm he elbowed his attacker just under the ribs hard enough to send him veering off into a goal post. Hearing the crunch behind him he continued on to find the snitch moving straight ahead in front of him towards the halfway line. He focused now on the snitch, his hand outstretched towards that tiny golden ball, everything else was a blur of motion apart from the snitch which seemed seemed to flap a little slower as Harry's hand curled around it. He never even noticed the two ominous black shapes bearing down on him. As he hit the halfway line he was smashed in a bludger sandwich. One had been following him straight down the pitch and the other had been hurtling straight towards his face hidden behind the snitch which was the only thing Harry had focused on. He felt like he was held there for an age, the waves of shock finally giving over to excruciating agony as the bludgers released him and he fell to the floor still clutching the snitch. The last thing he saw before he blacked out were two large shapes bending over to pick him up.
Harry reopened his eyes to be confronted by the glowering; if decidedly worse for wear, face of Malfoy standing before him. He couldn't help but smile though however as he thought about his predicament. He had Malfoy in front of him and if looks could kill he'd be six foot under, he was being held up by Crabbe and Goyle and McNair stood behind him, wand trained on his back. For some reason though he was less than scared, in fact he felt positively jovial as his ears seemed to catch laughter from off in the distance. Malfoy didn't seem to hear it and as Harry turned back to him, he carried on with what he had been about to say.
"Super Harry Potter gets knocked from broom on first day back at school. Doesn't look good for Gryffindor does it boys?" he smirked at the rest of his gang who's body's rolled a little as they laughed heartily at Malfoy's pitiful excuse for a joke. The laughter in Harry's head stopped and for some reason he thought about Malfoy getting decked by girls on the train. Harry wasn't even there though, how had he known about that? Had someone told him? Who were the girls? Nevertheless something told him to push Malfoy, so he just smiled at him and made his comeback.
"Draco Malfoy, son of known felon gets ass kicked by a girl after two bodyguards are rendered unconscious. Doesn't reflect well on young Dark wizards of the future does it?" at once Harry could tell he had touched a nerve, the laughter stopped, the bodies around him were stiff as boards. Malfoy's smile had turned into a frozen grimace. He knew it had been Harry who had trapped his father; Lucius, in the magical Mysteries department. His father had appealed but it had been Harry's evidence along with Dumbledore that had quashed the appeal. Draco's hand reached for his wand.
"You know Potter, the unforgivable curses only work if you really hate the person your casting them on. I think I could make them work on you. I wonder if the same would happen to me as did the Dark Lord? Let's find out shall we?" he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry. He gave it a small flick, the smile on his face growing wider, and was half way through 'Avada,' when Harry coughed. He had no idea whether his mother's gift would protect him again but he wanted to push Malfoy more, give himself an opening. If he was going out now then he was gonna go out kicking and screaming, not just slumping forward in a green mist.
"Always relying on something other than yourself to get the job done. I mean are you holding me up? NO! Are you about to kill me? NO! Your gonna use magic, when you should be beating me to death with your bare hands. All your ever gonna amount to is a spoilt bully, who's good at a few magic tricks, just like your dad right about now..." he saw the punch coming before it connected, which should have told him really how weak it was going to be. If he hadn't still been a bit dazed his head wouldn't have lolled about so much, being hit by Malfoy was like being hit by a three year old girl, except that three year old girls could probably ball their fists better. Harry had learned to take a punch that summer. There was only so long you could dress like a goth without assholes giving you hassle and picking a fight. He had been in a lot of bust up's over the summer, and had gotten quite good at coming back from being punched in the face. He had always believed that in the movies when someone is punched there was no way he could stay on his feet well enough to return a blow. He had been wrong however when he learned that the more you got punched the easier it became to just role with it and stay on your feet; a fact he had put into use quite a lot. Harry smiled to himself, the smirk hidden by his down turned face all he needed now was... There it was, Malfoy motioned for his lacky's to drop Harry to the floor and back away a little so he could beat him up. Clearing his head Harry just started laughing.
Before Malfoy had any time to react though Harry was up from the floor and had him in a head lock. With a knee to the face Harry would have sent Malfoy flying if not for McNair aiming his wand straight at Harry. With a quick twist of Malfoy's arm; far enough to just hear something break, Harry pulled off a spectacular kick which sent Malfoy's semi-conscious body flying into McNair taking them both out of the game. That only left Crabbe and Goyle to deal with now, and they would never be fast enough to pose a real threat. Harry pulled off an amazing leap over Crabbe's head and with a kick sent his flying into Goyle's stomach bowling them both over. Checking that everyone was on the floor, he took stock of what he had just done and smiled to himself. It had to be something to do with that Book of Merlin's, he made a mental note to ask Merlin when he got to his dorm. He looked back at Malfoy and saw him moving towards McNair's wand which had fallen to the floor a little way away.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry sent a white light at the wand which sent it flying away somewhere down field. Malfoy just stopped and stared up at him with dagger's in his eyes. He was about to say something when a look of realization came over his face and for a split second he looked about to cry, "What?" Harry asked him still smiling, "Your gonna tell your daddy bout his? I'd like to see that actually, cos I don't think they accept mail for prisoners in Azkaban," with one last victorious smirk he turned away, remembering to gather up his broom as he left. He was still smiling when he left the pitch, until he turned the corner and bumped quite forcibly into Cho Chang. He was the taller and stronger though and she fell backwards, leaving him feeling a little sorry for her. But after the way she had treated him in the fifth year, he didn't feel much sympathy for her. He wouldn't let her toy with him this year, but he would help her up. He held out his hand and she took it gratefully, pulling herself up until they're faces were very close.
"Hi Harry, I guess those assholes must have let you go, your still looking good as always," Harry had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing in her face. What was she trying to play at? If her flirting was this obvious, she must be gagging to get in his pants. She continued though, "Look Harry I'm sorry for playing with you two years ago. My mind was so... fucked up; I didn't know what to do. But I realized last year Harry, that I really do want you," she took his hands and pulled herself closer so they're noses were almost touching, "I just need to know Harry, do you still..." she was cut off by Harry kissing her passionately. All the way through her talking all Harry could think about was the summertime. According to his 'friends,' he was a master in manipulation, especially of girls. He was also known as a heart breaker, but more often than not was blamed for seriously screwing girls heads up. Now he had the chance to get his own back on Cho and get it out of his system. Before he knew what he was doing, or who he was betraying, he was dragging a very willing Cho back to his dorm room, loosening her clothes as they went.
Ginny rushed onto the quidditch pitch only to find the semi conscious bodies of Malfoy and his cronies. She had seen what was going on from the Gryffindor dorms, and had grabbed her broom and leapt from the window of her room before anyone could stop her. She had taken a nose dive to the floor before pulling up and heading straight to the quidditch pitch so fast she completely missed Harry meeting Cho beneath her. If she gone down the practical way she would have passed Harry on the stairs back up to dorms. As it was she just rushed over to Malfoy, wand at the ready just incase anything happened.
"What happened you bastard?" she screamed at Malfoy who fell back over in fear as he saw the wand in her hand, "TELL ME! Where's Harry?" Malfoy just stared at her fearful of what she might do.
"He just left, he kicked our asses and then just left, there was nothing we could do," he spoke quickly, giving away a lot more truth than he meant to. Now the whole school would know what had happened and they would all be laughing stocks. But Ginny looked confused, Harry had beaten them all up? She had seen Harry throw a punch in her defense before, in London, but she couldn't believe that he could take on these four alone and survive. Harry had changed so much over the summer; there was still so much she didn't know about him. Was he even the same person she had known last year? Where had he learned to fight like this? What else had happened to him?
She mulled over these questions as she slowly walked back up to her Gryffindor tower. She wanted to know the answers, but the prospect of asking Harry more about his summer scared her. What if she didn't like what she heard? She decided on the way to speak to Hermione about it, she was probably sitting in the common room, already studying for lessons she hadn't started yet. Lo and behold as Ginny walked through the picture of the fat lady and up the stairs she found Hermione sitting at a table alone, mulling over a copy of Advanced Magic, 7th Year Hogwarts Syllabus, by Albus Dumbledore. Even sitting down next to her Hermione still didn't notice Ginny's presence until Ginny tapped her on the shoulder.
"Yes goodnight, I'll be up in a minute Ron..." she said oblivious of who it was. When Ginny tapped her again and she looked up to see who it was, she immediately looked shocked and embarrassed, "Ohhh sorry Gin, didn't see you there. You know I really didn't mean that, I'm not actually planning on going up to Ron's dorm tonight, I'm not really a rule breaker you know?" Even with all the worry in her head Ginny still managed a real smile at Hermione's protesting. But she had to speak quickly with her or her head was going to explode.
"Don't worry Hermione, I won't tell anyone when they find you missing you tonight..." Hermione was about to protest, but Ginny silenced her by continuing quickly, "I want to talk to you though. It's about Harry," all at once Hermione donned an understanding look on her face, which made Ginny uneasy.
"Ohhh Ginny, I know how hard it is to push your feelings to one side for a long time especially when you're in such close proximity but it really is for the best at the moment. Maybe in the future," Hermione had got the completely wrong end of the stick; well sort of, so Ginny shut her up before she settled down into a rant.
"No Herm, I'm worried about him. I just flew down to the quidditch pitch because I saw Malfoy and his gang beating Harry. When I got there though, all I found was Malfoy and Co. crumpled bodies, all battered and bruised and no Harry. Malfoy said Harry had done it to them. Did he tell you or Ron anything about fighting during the summer?" Hermione was about to say something when Ron and Seamus interrupted by rushing into the common room.
"Who's been fighting where?" asked Ron excitedly.
"Harry just kicked the crap out of Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and McNair," replied Ginny before turning back to Hermione for her to continue.
"OHHH YEAH!!!" cried Seamus with a look of utter glee on his face, "All at the same time? YEEEHAAAA!" He punched Ron jovially on the arm but missed the fact that Ron didn't share his happiness. He was looking from Ginny to Hermione, with a slightly worried expression on his face that asked if Harry was alright, "He's probably up in the dorm right now, come on Ron, lets go congratulate him," Seamus grabbed Ron and dragged him with along up the stairs. Ginny watched Ron go, hopeful that he would talk to Harry and be able to quell her fears.
Ron bobbed along behind Seamus until they got to the door at the top of the landing and stopped to go in. Ron was about to turn the handle when Seamus gave a stifled yell and grabbed his hand and stopped him. Ron was wondering what was wrong, when he noticed a blue hair scrunchie wrapped around the handle to his room. He looked at Seamus wondering what was wrong, and it dawned on Seamus that Ron probably didn't have a television.
"There's a Muggle comedy show on our televisions right?" asked Seamus hopping that Ron had at least heard of a T.V.
"Ohhh you mean those funny little picture boxes, that are in all Muggle houses, I've never seen the point in those things, can't you entertain yourselves without them?" asked Ron bewildered about the fascination with something so small.
"That's the point. There's a show on the television about a boarding school like this one, just not magical. It centers on the sexual escapades of these four guys. What I'm trying to say is, that in the program whenever one guy gets a girl in his bed he has to let other people know by givin them a signal not to come in. In the program that signal is a blue scrunchie," Seamus looked hopeful that ron would understand now, but Ron just laughed it off. He was about to say how stupid that would be, but heard a noise form inside, like a bed creaking. Seamus smiled at him and they both placed they're ears to the door to try and hear something. From inside they heard voices and one was immediately recognizable as Harry's.
"Okay so this may hurt a little bit darling, just to warn you," they heard Harry say but then another voice giggled. They couldn't quite make out who it was because she spoke so quietly.
"I doubt it Harry, I lost my virginity a while ago..." So there was no doubt in Ron's mind now that Harry was having sex in there, but with who? Harry spoke again though.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that darling..." Suddenly there was a muffled scream and a slapping sound then a sound of something hitting the floor forcibly. Trying harder to listen through the door, Ron and Seamus lost their footing when it was opened and crumpled into a confused heap on the floor. When they looked up they got a really good look at Cho's naked crotch as she struggled to pull up her trousers and step over them at the same time. They looked into the room confused and found Harry on the floor covered in a blanket and rubbing his cheek tenderly. It was obvious that Cho had slapped him but he still had a smile on his face wider than Ron had ever seen. While Ron looked on at him worried Seamus just laughed and got up.
"What the hell did you do?" he asked still laughing. Harry just smiled back.
"Have you ever heard about the ooops approach to Anal sex?"
A/N: Well I'd like to apologise again for the delay but it's out now so no complaining. There's another one out soon. Enjoy and please review.