Author's note: When Draco dreams about Harry speaking to him in parseltongue; it's based on a similar experience I had; I had a dream about my best friend speaking to me in Spanish and without really understanding it, I knew what she meant… in my dream that is. Sorry for the inconvenience…

Harry Potter and the Shard of Magic.

By Wihstrum

Chapter eleven: Rise of the Shadows

Hermione slipped her hand into Harry's as she looked her friend sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling ever so slightly. She felt so, so sorry for him; always, it was him who got into trouble, him who got hurt, him everybody was depending on…
She stroked his cheek and praised him for his strength, physically and mentally. Imagine their shock when they found out that it was Malfoy, of all people, who saved his life. If the Slytherin hadn't been there, Harry would have died. Nobody knew what happened and Harry refused to explain so far. Ron was so worried that he nearly cancelled the Quiddich practice; she however insisted that he'd go out and try to relax.

She felt the raven haired boy squeeze her hand weakly. He softly opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling. "Hermione…"

"Oh Harry…" she leaned over and pressed her face in the round of his neck.

He wrapped an arm around her "I'm okay…" he smiled in her hair, so glad to see her.

Hermione pulled back and looked in his beautiful green eyes. "Ron wanted to stay until you woke up, but I kinda forced him to continue the Quiddich practice anyway…" She brushed another lock of hair out of his face "We were so worried…"

"It's fine really. I just feel a little tired."

"Harry… please tell me what happened…" her voice quivered slightly.

The Gryffindor frowned. Should I tell her? He saw his friend's pleading brown eyes. Damn you Harry, this is Hermione! She has the right to know!

"Well… it actually started before Sirius died…" His hand was shaking slightly when he reached out for the mirror on his nightstand "He gave me this mirror; it was from back when they were Marauders. They could communicate with each other by speaking one of the others names; their face would show up in the mirror." He pushed himself upright and put his glasses on "When Sirius died, I tried it. I called out his name several times, but nothing happened… in my frustration I broke it and left it forgotten in my trunk… And now, just a week ago, I cut myself on it while I was sorting out my trunk. I repaired it and barely a second after the last piece connected… Sirius' reflection was in it." His voice was strained "Before I could say his name, it was gone. Yesterday, I was sitting by the lake, trying again, calling out his name over and over again… Nothing happened. After that Malfoy pulled the mirror from my hands, wanting to tease me a little…"

Hermione's brow furrowed.

"No 'Mione, he didn't want to get on my nerves, he just wanted, I don't know… tease a little. Anyway, I 'Accio'-ed the mirror back… without my wand, I left it up in the tower. Still is."

"You can do wandless magic?" her eyes went wide.

"Seems so… But that's not what it's about. When I looked at the mirror in my hand, Sirius was in it again, but seemed like he was trying to warn me or something. And indeed, only a moment later, Voldemort's reflection appeared. That's when it happened… it felt like a cold hand slipped in my throat, choking me. And then I coughed up blood…"

"Oh Merlin… How? How did he…?"

Harry's jaw clenched… "This is my dad's mirror… Merlin knows where Sirius' is… Moony still ought to have his…'

"Pettigrew…"

"Exactly…" Harry spat. "I bet he was crawling happily around when he found out they could reach me like this…" he heaved a sigh "This is all such a mess…"

Hermione rubbed his arm comfortingly "I'm here for you…"

I smiled at her while Finbar's words seeped back into my brain. Perhaps, if I told her now, she'd still be feeling too sorry for me… so maybe she wouldn't smack me over the head…

"Umh… 'Mione?"

"Yes?" she gave me a worried look, probably hearing the tone in my voice.

"I've got something to tell you…" Harry ran a hand trough his black hair. "I… eh… I seems like I'm… eh… bisexual…"

Silence.

"Mione?"

"I knew it!" she grinned triumphantly.

"You what? Did he tell you? Oh I'm so gonna kick his ass…"

"Eh? Who?"

"Finbar…"

"What has Finbar got to do with it?"

"Well, he was the one unlucky enough to 'feel' me being attracted to him. We were changing after the tryouts… and I felt attracted. Imagine our mutual shock…"

Hermione giggled behind her hand "Don't worry, he didn't tell…" she laughed out loud now. "Actually it was Alex… She told me about the kissing-escapade, you wanting to know whether or not you were attracted to her…"

Oh Merlin… forgot about that

"Remind me to kick Alex' little ass instead…"

"Why would you wanna kick my ass?"

Harry's head shot up. Alex strode over to his bed, a wide grin on her face, Blaise tagging a little awkward behind her. She gathered him in a warm embrace her face somewhere in his hair. "Damn you… I nearly had a heart attack…"

She was wearing some old yeans hanging low on her hips, her wand in her back pocket, a simple white blouse and her hair hanging freely around her face, reaching till the half of her back. Blaise observed the scene from a safe distance, not sure of what to do. When Alex eventually let go of Harry, he strode over and nodded at him. "Good to see you're okay Potter…"

The Gryffindor snickered softly at hearing Blaise calling him 'Potter'. "Thank's Zabini…"

Blaise's mouth corner quirked up as he winked.

Seems like not all Slytherin's are cold, calculating people…

Harry felt his bed wobble when Alex plonked down on it. "So… you wanna kick my ass eh? The honor of this event being?"

"Harry, mate you are awake!"

Saved by Ron!

Ron had to keep himself from running over to Harry and squeal in delight. He settled with a warm grin. "I'm so glad you're okay…" he said, joined by mutual responses coming from Ginny, Finbar, Neville and Luna. Ginny and Luna where the next ones to give him a warm hug, while Finbar settled with tousling his hair.

Harry had been released from the hospital wing Monday morning. Psychically was nothing wrong with him and of course, as always in Hogwards, a mind-blowing epic about Harry facing Voldemort in a face to face duel, fighting for his life was the result of that. After that came an even more complicated story about Harry receiving the power of wandless magic, by some sort of Saint. Harry had dreaded being in public places, everyone asking him to do a trick without his wand. And indeed, he was just as skilled in the art of wandless magic as Alex was.

Tuesday evening. Occlumency practice. 5 Weeks Later.

He and the white haired Slytherin were sitting next to each other, both clearing out their mind. After about half an hour of silent meditation, Dumbledore and Snape each asked their respective students if they were ready to give it a try.

They practiced a short while, Harry satisfied for being able to block Dumbledore out, even if the old wizard tried to force himself in. He smiled contently when he'd completely fought the pressure in his skull away. He suddenly heard Alex groan next to him, somewhere on the floor. She was holding her head with her hands, looking positively green. This kept on for another hour or so, before McGonagall stumbled in the room, obviously panicking.

"Albus! Emergency call from the North of Ireland! Death Eaters are slaughtering several rural villages!"

"Harry, Alex, stay here and practice clearing out your mind for another half hour… after that you're dismissed." Dumbledore instructed them before he hurried after the Transfiguration professor, Snape hurling after them.

Harry could feel his scar tingle, he wondered if it came from the attack going on in Ireland… he helped Alex up, her face pale, eyes red.

She swayed slightly as she pulled herself to her feet. "Thanks Harry…" she tied her hair back with a little cord and heaved a sigh "This is never going to work… I can't hold him of… not even for a second… I'm just so nervous… I don't want him to see in my memory…"

The Gryffindor studied her gaunt expression. "Say… maybe I could give it a try…"

Her green eyes locked with his. "Really? I'd feel a lot better if it were you…" she smiled weakly at him.

"Okay, I'll try…" He gave her another five minutes to clear her mind. He waited her to give him a signal to go. She gave him a slight nod and braced herself.

He aimed his wand and shouted "Legilimens!"

Alex furiously tried keeping her mind blank, focusing on a point in the far distance. She was able to keep him out for a few minutes before room started to blur and sway, Harry's mind seeping into hers. Her defenses were violently shattered and her mind drifted while the sparse few memories started to flash rapidly before her eyes. Draco helping her with a History of Magic essay, Finbar and her practicing Quiddich at late night, Ginny laughing, Harry in the hospital wing, Alex herself in the hospital wing, Draco's chest covered with blood, Thestrals, Finbar on the train, Diagon Ally, her first wand, Harry combing her hair, a cold floor, darkness.
Deep, heavy darkness. Oh wait, there was a little dot in the distance, a little ray of light. They were getting near. Almost…

Suddenly they were in a dusty, cold room. It looked a bit like a cellar. In a corner of the room was a rickety chair, a young girl tied to it, her cheek was purple from a nasty bruise, her clothes torn. She was barely 14 years old, baby blue eyes brimming with tears, an unspoken plea, while her bottom lip quivered. A man with a black cape held the back of her neck in a painful grasp.

"Kill her." An inhuman cold and shrill voice commanded.

Her fists clenched "No, I- I won't!"

"You are to follow my command! Kill her now! Or you'll pay the consequences…" he threatened her, his red eyes boring deep into her skull, giving her a pounding headache.

"No!" she hissed trough gritted teeth.

"If you can't do it by the killing curse, use this dagger…" he pushed a sharp, small dagger in her hands. There were still stains on it from the previous victim.

"I refuse!" she growled, her finger nails leaving little half moons in the palm of her hand, blood seeping out of them.

The Dark Lord hit her head on with a Cruciatus. An explosion from all-consuming agony darkened her sight, as she writhed in pain on the cold, dirty floor. Her blood seemed to boil in its veins, yet also freezing her to death. The pain stabbed her flesh, bones and skin… She just wished he'd finally kill her when suddenly he lifted his wand and left her sprawling on the floor, gasping for breath.

"Then watch."

A blood-freezing scream filled the room.

Harry's eyes flew open as Alex' high plea reached his mind. "Stoooooooooooop…" he abruptly lifted the spell he held her in and the white haired girl slumped to the ground.

"God Alex, I'm so sorry" he hunched next to her, wanting to comfort her.

"Keep away from me!" she slurred, her eyes were glazing over.

A tight knot strangled Harry's insides. "I'm so sorry Alex… I'm so sorry." He reached out.

She slapped his hand away sharply. "Goddammit Harry, keep away from me… keep… keep… away." She was holding her head, while she struggled to get to her feet.

"It was an accident…"

"GO AWAY! PLEASE!" suddenly she stared shuddering, the green color draining from her eyes.

The Gryffindor hurried over to keep her from falling against a table.

"HARRY! DON'T" with all the might she could muster, she ignored the venomous little voice in her head telling her to kill him, pushing him violently away instead. She didn't stop to check whether he was okay or not and sprinted out of the classroom.

Harry hit his back against a table, but ignored the sharp pain, darting after her. He could hear her swift footsteps echoing trough the castle. He didn't know why, but he just knew he had to stop her. Something awful would happen if he didn't. His scar burned and tingled as if urging him to go even faster. Before he realized it, he was chasing her over the grounds surrounding Hogwards, the pale moon high in the dark sky, illuminating Alex' white hair fluttering behind her as she disappeared into the Forbidden Forest. Without further consideration he followed in after her. He had to stop her, he had to. He just knew it. This was wrong. The thorns pulled at his clothes and the twigs whipped his face, leaving red marks on his jaw and forehead. He couldn't hear her anymore. Did he lose her? He was about to call out her name when he saw her standing, paralyzed as if she was a statue. Carefully he walked over to her. "Alex?"

"H-Harry… run. G--go…" He voice was a faint whisper before she wavered and fell over on her stomach.

Before he could comprehend what was happening goosebumps spread across his body without warning. Several dark shapes were looming in the shadows of the trees and the rattled breathing of Dementors filled the chilly air. He also saw the creatures he remembered from his vision about Gringott's… the demon-like creatures. One of them was considerably bigger than the others, almost as big as Fluffy whom had guarded the Philosopher's Stone. Its teeth flickered in the faint moonlight as drool seeped down its chin… Instead of being hunched over on all fours, it stood awkwardly up, two long limbs as arms, nearly reaching the ground ending in long, sharp claws.

"Expecto Partonum!" The silver stag sprang from the palm of Harry's hand, prancing briefly around before attacking some nearby dementors. There were so many, all gliding closer, occasionally fleeing Harry's raging Patronus. He knees gave out when he felt a rotting hand touch his cheek, his silver stag evaporating immediately. He tightly shut his eyes and mouth when the foul stench of decay and death penetrated his nose. He almost missed Alex' calling out his name, her voice hitching on the last syllable of his name. Harry's eyes flew open "A…alex…" was all he managed to get out, his mother's pleading screams echoing in his head as the mouth of a dementor was lowered onto his.

"HarRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYHHHHHHH" her voice rang trough the night, her clear voice, her feminine voice… suddenly a hoarse growl… and finally a furious roar.

The lips of the dementor brushed Harry's and he lurched at the contact, feeling as if he'd swallowed some sort of living insect. A sharp pain shot trough his heart…

A large creature dug its teeth in the back of the dementor's head, yanking it away from Harry with immense power… Growling in frustration as all dementors and demons turned their attention to it. It snarled and licked its lips, before it dug in the nearest dementor's stomach.

Meanwhile Harry's eyes fluttered open, a liquid drab somewhere on his cheeks and lips. He coughed and scrambled to his knees and the blurry vision cleared… he caught glance of a conflict between the Shadowborns, dementors and something else. He couldn't quite see what it was; the creature being buried under a pile of demons and soul-suckers, all trying to conquer the ferocious attacker.

Instinctively he reached out for his wand… but it wasn't there. It still was in the classroom, on the ground, forgotten in the chaos. He'd called a Patronus without his wand… he closed his eyes and tried to focus on his soul, containing the magic power he needed. Harry's eyes flew open again, an angry shout leaving his throat while he stretched out the palm of his hand to the group of fighting creatures. A blinding pulse of white light rolled trough the forest and lighted everything in a radius of 15 kilometers…
The raven haired boy blinked a few times, the impact of the blast had knocked him backwards, he pushed himself up on his elbows and saw the large demon circling with Harry's unusual savior: An unnaturally big, white tiger. The creature seemed to shimmer silver in the moonlight, large green eyes never leaving the enemy, teeth flickering as the upper lip was pulled up in a vicious snarl. The tiger was wounded heavily in its side, the bright red blood contrasting the white fur. It was also limping heavily, hind leg pulled up, supporting itself on tree legs.

Yet a blood-stirring roar left its mouth as itself lunched once again forward, teeth disappearing in the weak stomach of her opponent. The demon roared in anger, while it slung a long claw at the Tiger's cheek, knocking it backwards. The black nightmare threw himself on top of the Tiger, caught of guard, aiming for the soft throat of the creature. In a split second, the tiger rolled over and shut her jaws around the ugly head of the demon, the black skin and flesh parting under its teeth like butter. The Shadowborn screeched one last time, a sickening crunch audible as its skull shattered. The Tiger winched and let go after making sure that it was dead with one last extra effort of pulling a chunk of grey flesh from the head of demon.

Harry scrambled to his feet as the white tiger limped over to him, thick, dark blood dripping from its mouth… a jaw missing. It stopped some few feet away from him and looked Harry in the eye. Vaguely the Gryffindor heard Alex' voice reaching him in his mind… it sounded as if she was far, far away.

"Oh Merlin… Alex?" he reached out, the tiger surpassing him greatly in length.

As soon as he called out the name, the green, feline eyes of the beast before him, glazed over. It hurled a terrified snarl and started shaking and scratching his head, pulling strands of white fur from its skin. The misty eyes turned blazing white, the tiger swaying on its legs as if it were drunk and Alex' voice being pushed back by an annoying, high beep.

The tiger slumped down a few meters further, bashing its head against a tree in the progress. It was like watching a film in fast-forward… the fur disappeared, the back straightened, the head changing, jaws shrinking, the large paws turning to hands. And there lay Alex, wounded beyond any help. Harry swiftly strode over to her, but ran into an invisible wall.

A high-pitched snickering cut trough the air, sending shivers down the Gryffindor's spine. "Seems like my little decoy in Northern Ireland worked just perfectly… And just as soon as that old fool left, I only had to lure you out…" His snakelike features pulled into a false grin.

Harry noticed silhouettes of several Death Eaters, circling around him… one of them broke the formation and pulled the black cap back. Bellatrix. The emerald eyes youth's fists tightened, his knuckles turning white. She pulled Alex roughly to her feet; the girl's green eyes flew open in bewilderment.

"I wouldn't have suspected her to fight of my little army of dementors and Shadowbrons… not mentioning that little trick you pulled of…" he hissed, clearly displeased.

"Let her go Tom…" he said calmly.

"Tom? Tom! " A shrill slaughter left his lips "Don't even dare you call me that, Harry… Don't you remember what I did to you in the Ministry of Magic? We wouldn't want that to happen again now would we? I bet you're missing you're filthy little dog aren't you?"

Harry's eyes narrowed in pure hate. The earth began to tremble…

"Oooh… is little Potter scared? Don't worry, if you bow before me, it will be a quick and clean death…"

Harry clenched both his fists as the earth began to shake all the more. "I'm warning you… let her go! It's me you want, not her!"

"You're wrong Potter…" he snickered, the hairs rising in the Gryffindor's neck once again. "Bellatrix" he snapped, his eerie red eyes never leaving the green ones. "Finish it."

From within the folds of her robe Bellatrix pulled her wand, a nasty grin curling around her thin lips; she pointed the tip at Alex' heart; her injuries keeping her from defending herself. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The second word barely rolled over the Death Eater's lips as Harry once again stretched his palm instinctively. A second wave of pure white light blinded them as the Unforgivable bounced of the shield the young wizard had erected. The white was followed by a green one, a sharp pain cutting trough every living thing it encountered, leaving an unbearable stench.

Harry sank to his knees, the last of his powers wasted countering the Curse of Death. But he wasn't the only one, no; all his opponents were on the ground as well, even the Dark Lord.

Death Eaters apparated away as Tom recovered from his shock and outrage. "You were lucky this time Potter, but don't forget I'll always be there…" he touched his temple briefly before he disappeared with a plop.

The forest fell quiet all of a sudden, only Harry's ragged breath audible whilst the leaves of the trees rustled softly. It took a great deal of energy to lift his head, a few meters before was his friend, the wound in her side, gaping at him, her face down in the leaves and sand. He crawled over to her, on elbows and knees, every movement draining him more and more. He cradled her lithe body in his arms, and brushed the long locks out of her face.

"O Alex…" a tear ran down his cheek as he saw the hideous wound on her head, blood dripping out of her mouth, a teeth missing.

She coughed and opened her eyes. "You go Harry…" she snickered, but the mere shaking made her howl in pain. "Don't think I'll make it trough the night…" her voice strained and she spat out some blood "You better go back."

"Don't be ridiculous… You'll be fine." He hissed.

"Heh… After remembering, I'm not so sure I want to live on…"

"Shut up! If you dare leaving me now, I'll swear to Merlin I'll never forgive you!" he wrapped his cloak around the both of them and pulled her close to him. "Never give up. That's the worst thing you can do, you can't give up nor ran from your fears... because they'll come after you…"

Alex buried her face against his chest as she cried silently while the Gryffindor rocked her softly. "Please Alex, you have to fight…" he placed a kiss on her forehead. The hours came and went. Alex was cold and her heartbeat weakened.

Harry waited for help.

Oooooooooh! How was it? Please tell? Review if you want more! Okay how about this: I'll update if I hit 30 reviews ; mwhahaha…

I have a question for all those who're reading my story: Whom do you want me Alex to partner with, if anyone at all? There are only 2 available victims: Finbar or Blaise, and if I don't find 'Mister Right' she'll remain single for now. And just to make sure: Alex and Draco is a no go, period! You'll find out later why and I will have Draco and Harry getting together later on…

Why not now? Well, I don't like stories which go like: I don't hate you, I secretly love you! –Really? Kewl me too! –Wanna get busy?

And are there really that much supporters of the Harry/Finbar coupling?