Erised's Bane

Author's Note: Yes, yes, my initial suspicions were indeed correct. The obsession is BACK! It died for a little while after a thorough reading of the fifth book after it came out and it was on the back burner for a while, but look at this. It just takes one little movie preview for Megx to get all worked up and obsessive! So sorry about my lack of commitment to the story in the past couple of months, but now that I am back in the mood my little old brain is just teeming with ideas about this story, so get ready for a great ride!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any other character, location, or concept mentioned in the series, as I am not J.K. Rowling. I do own the plot and Sabrina Young, and I would be very willing to let JKR borrow them if she so wished. *winkwink*

What This Chapter is Named

Flying through the air shouldn't have been so strange, Harry thought to himself. Well, it shouldn't have been so strange, except he appeared to be floating aimlessly without aid of a broomstick and, what was more, the ground below him appeared to be yawning.

But then again on second glance, Harry decided that it wasn't the ground after all that he was flying over, but a giant dragon coming up from underneath to sweep him up in her gullet. He shrugged it off with a strange lack of concern and sighed as he was swept up in the dark mouth, but as he sat there in her throat he heard a strange tapping coming from the belly below.

"Harry?"

What an odd thing to hear, one's name coming from inside a dragon's stomach, he though to himself.

"Harry! Are you in there?"

He jerked up out of bed, the room immediately coming to him as an immediate blur. Shaking his head he reached out and put on his glasses, throwing off the covers as he went to the door and slung it open. Hermione fell forward into his arms, looking paler than usual and clutching a newspaper tightly in one hand. "Hermione? Are you okay?" he asked slowly.

"Harry...oh Harry..." she said quiveringly, sinking down at the chair by his fireplace. "I could barely believe it when I saw it this morning, I didn't really want to. But things are starting, things are getting so much more complicated than they were..."

"Take it easy, Hermione." Harry tried to look less confused than he felt, and crossed the room to close the door. "Now, what's happened?"

Hermione said nothing and wordlessly handed him the newspaper. Harry unfolded it and looked at the immense dark mark on the front page, glinting in eerie distinction against the gray canvas of sky beyond. "What's this?" he asked slowly.

"Read the headline." Hermione said. Harry did, and a terse whoosh of breath escaped him as the full implication of it hit home.

DEATH EATER ATTACK IN WULFRIC VALE: WIZARD FAMILY KILLED

Recent reports from the Ministry of Magic have confirmed that on the morning of November the 18th, a total of five witches and wizards ranging in age from nine to forty-three were found dead in their home. The bodies were found by muggle 'police' who had been called to the scene with reports of people dressed in cloaks and masks scouting the area, and sudden noises that caused many animals in the area to behave strangely.

Although officials have the event currently classified as 'under investigation' it certainly seems that this event resembles those of sixteen years ago, when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named rose once more to power. With the recent news that it is highly probable that You-Know-Who has returned to Britain, events like these must come into closer scrutiny, for fear that events such as these are only the beginning of something much greater, and that one day You-Know-Who will rein a terror greater even than the dark days which were ended when The-Boy-Who-Lived ended his dark rein.

Among the dead were Meriann Crowne, age nine, Yvonne Crowne, age ten, Jacob Crowne, age eighteen and a recent graduate of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Reginald Crowne, age thirty-eight. Surviving them is Wilhelm Crowne, who is currently in his fourth year at Hogwarts, and their mother, Lenina, though her whereabouts are currently unknown and it is feared she has suffered a fate similar to that of her family.

Services...

Harry read through the article twice before the full implication hit home. "She was in the Order." He said slowly. "Now she's missing, and her family is dead."

"It's starting, Harry." Hermione said waveringly. "We're supposed to be prepared against this sort of thing, so why is this happening? Why is he starting to kill now?"

"Maybe because he sees that he can't work on me from the inside out anymore." Harry said with a gulp.

Hermione buried her head in her hands and took a deep shuddering breath. "I sometimes wonder if I wouldn't have been better off staying a muggle, becoming a doctor or something. This is too much sometimes, Harry, and I sometimes think it would be better being a muggle, not knowing all that's going on."

"It won't be that way for long, if Voldemort has his way." Harry said with a swallow that caught him adam's apple hard in his throat. "You're a brilliant witch, and this has to go away someday."

"Yeah." Hermione said weakly. "Yeah."

Harry shrugged the tension out of his shoulders and sat down in the other chair, stretching out and self-consciously aware that his old pajamas reached well-over his ankles, as he had grown much in the short span of time that he had began wearing them. He pulled his feet back and looked again at the article. "Do you know this Wilhelm guy?" he asked her.

Hermione shook her head. "I've heard of him, but never talked to him or anything. He's a Hufflepuff."

Harry bit down on the inside of his lip. "So Voldemort's taking the killing out into the limelight for good now, it looks like." Harry said. "The Dark Mark is in the air now, and the Order is being sent to answer the call."

The both of them shuddered at the thought. They heard a faint tapping coming down the hall and Harry opened the door just as Ron rounded the corner and came face to face with him, hand up to knock the door, and if he hadn't stopped in the nick of time he would have slammed Harry in the face.

"Have you heard?" he said quickly.

Harry nodded and pulled Ron inside, shutting the door behind them all. "They never found that Lenina woman, and now this." Hermione said slowly. "It's the first real blow to the Order."

"Not the first." Harry said quietly, making Hermione remember and flush with the thought.

"Besides Sirius." She said quietly. "I mean, this is the first killing that has come like this, unexpectedly, not in battle or anything like that. This was premeditated. They went there in the night for the purpose of killing, and nothing more." Her voice shook a little and her eyes filled with tears. "How can...how can people be so horrible?"

"I don't know." Harry said slowly. "I just don't know." He stood up and relinquished the chair to Ron, who took it gladly, and with a flourish. "All I do know is that Voldemort is pretty confident right now. I can block most of it, but not all of it, and I keep getting the old familiar twinges. It's freaky, because I know when he's happy and when he's angry, and lately he's been happy more often than the other. It's why I've been trying to block it, why I've actually tried the Occlumency. I don't need him in my head any more than he needs me in his."

"I have a feeling it isn't going to be a very pleasant Christmas." Hermione said quietly.

Ron laughed. "At least you get to spend it with muggles, away from all this war and stuff. My family is the at the core of the Order, I'll be lucky if I don't get a few of those muggle gums or whatever they're called." Coming from Ron, who had been initially excited to be part of the action, this said a lot.

"And I'm guessing that I'll probably be holed up yet again here at Hogwarts." Harry said slowly.

"Why do things have to be this way?" Hermione wondered aloud. "All this war, and darkness. It's happening all around us. Where do we get a chance to live normal lives?"

"You don't get to live normal lives," Harry said reluctantly, "because you're friends with me. I mean, life must've been pretty normal for Wilhelm Crowne until his mom disappeared, and now his entire family is dead. And how about...Seamus Finnigan for instance? Things must be pretty normal for him when he goes home for the holidays."

"We would never blame you." Hermione said, almost irritated. "And I really wish you'd stop acting like we're making such a great sacrifice, being friends with you. We wouldn't be friends with you Harry," she said, sitting down beside him, "if we didn't get something out of it."

"Yeah, that's right." Ron said. "So stop being the melodramatic hero, all right?"

Harry looked up and, despite himself, grinned. "Thanks." He said quietly. "Thanks, I really needed that."

________________________________________________________________________

Things were darkening on Harry's doorstep, and even though the conversation with his friends after the recent dark events had left him somewhat stirred emotionally, he still took some time to evaluate the things that Young had told him and within a few days had finished the book on Legilimency that she had given him.

He looked around the hall as he went to her office, self-consciously making sure that nobody saw him there. When he was satisfied that the area was empty, he reached out and tapped on her door. "Just a moment." A muffled voice called out through the door. Harry waited, listening to the noises beyond the door as he stood there. A moment passed and finally the door swung open to reveal the sharp profile of Snape, snarling down at him.

A moment of intense dislike passed between them before Snape swept out, nodding brusquely at Young back in her office and ignoring Harry altogether. "Who is it?" Young asked as she came to the door. She saw Harry and paused, and he might have sworn that he caught the glint of a tear in her eyes before she smiled broadly, ushering him quickly inside her office and closing the door behind him.

"Have you finished the book?" she asked eagerly. Harry nodded and, pulling it out of his robes, handed it back to her.

"What was Snape doing here?" he asked cautiously. Young waved him off, setting the book on a shelf nearby.

"Just talk of one sort or another." She said. "Nothing I can really share with you; I'm sure you understand."

Harry nodded and watched as Young turned back to him. "I trust you understand a majority of what the book said?" Harry nodded and she fairly beamed. "I believed you would; you really are rather talented when it comes to these sort of things. But that is beside the point. Harry..." she looked into his eyes hard, as if she were trying to see something beyond bright green, and finally she shook her head.

"Do you really think I might be able to do this?" Harry asked.

"Of course." Young nodded. "Or have you not yet noticed where your magical strength lies, Harry?"

Unsure of what Young meant, he shook his head. She looked fallen for a moment before sighing. "Harry, from a very young age you have been able to accomplish things...you have been able to do magic since before you first laid fingers on a wand. Other children have been able to achieve results playing with mommy or daddy's wand but..." she swept her hand in an arc, as if to encompass the world, "but you did everything with your emotion. It is what I meant when I said the other day that your emotion will be your downfall. Even when you first took flight on broomstick, I am willing to wager that you had been feeling some sort of strong emotion at the time...something that helped you tap into this inner talent of yours."

She leaned forward, hands on his shoulders. "Harry, I don't mean that you should abandon your emotions, but rather than let them be useless put them to work. When Voldemort causes you pain with his wrath, send back your own anger to make him wish for an end to this infernal connection of yours. Without your wand, you are still a great wizard. Make him see that. You blew up your aunt, Harry, without magic, just because you were angry. Imagine what you might have done had you been able to control that power."

Shocked at this sudden outburst from Young, he took a step back. Seeing what the intensity of her speech had done, she flushed. "Professor, do you mean to tell me that I can accomplish things like...like apparition because I have skill in wandless magic?"

"That is part of what I am saying." She replied. "The full context of my message is this...with your emotions unbridled, you accomplish little." To emphasize the point, she took her wand and waved it through the air, sending a fine silver mist jetting through the air. Then, raising an eyebrow, she said, "Now control your emotion, Harry, and you can do what you have already done." She said this and waved her wand again, this time sending an owl flying through the air...a patronus.

Harry would only be able to explain the moment later in two words...it clicked. Everything she was saying he suddenly understood and, to indicate this, he nodded.

"Well then." She smiled. "Let's begin."

________________________________________________________________________

"Harry, you look tired." Hermione observed. Harry looked up from the book he was reading to Hermione, who was sitting nearby.

"Just a little." He muttered. "I've got a lot on my plate, what with studying and all. I can't get kicked from any of my classes." He said resolutely. "I can't let Snape get what he wants, even though it's what I'd like as well."

Hermione sighed. "I'll admit, I've always wanted you to do your own studying for a change but it is getting kind of strange. Harry, you've studied more in the past week than I have."

Harry blinked a moment, before realization set in and he realized that what Hermione was saying was true. He shrugged.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" she said with some concern. "Why the sudden change? You're acting like...well, like you are some sort of weapon. Like you're training yourself for combat."

It was the fact that what Hermione was saying was so close to home that irritated Harry. He slammed his book closed and stood, looking at her angrily. "What, do you think I'm unable to want to do well in my classes? I don't have to study apparition, which I'm sure you've noticed, so I'm taking a little extra time to study outside of class."

Hermione ignored his outburst and rose from her chair, sending Crookshanks scurrying to the floor. She walked over and Harry, seeing what her intentions were, tried to shield the book from her. He was too slow, though, and Hermione grabbed at it and pulled it to her face. Most of the Gryffindors in the common room had now turned to watch, and when she snorted and tossed the book back at Harry the entire room was on end. "Advanced Hexes and Jinxes by Brunhilda Watcombe." She said aloud. "I don't remember this being on our reading list."

"I'm studying for Defense Against the Dark Arts." He snarled, incensed by Hermione's sudden and, to his opinion, unwarranted attack.

"You don't have to study for Defense Against the Dark Arts," she retorted nastily. "What are you doing to yourself, Harry? Do you want to go to an early grave?"

"I am anyway, unless I learn how to kill him!" he screamed, rage blinding him to sense.

"What?"

Harry, realizing what he had just said, paled. "Nothing." He said, turning around so nobody could see his face as he stuffed the book back into his back. "Nothing--at--all." He pulled the bag closed and tossed it over his shoulder, slamming the portrait of the Fat Lady as he exited and calling her to call angrily after him. He went to his own room, hardly hearing Lord Hornswaggle's typical comment, and swung himself on the bed, and heard his own voice going about in his head.

I'm going to die early anyway, unless I kill Voldemort myself.

Hearing it again, he understood the way it must have sounded and felt an uncomfortable pang in the center of his belly, wondering if he was in fact becoming some sort of machine.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a faint tapping at his door and, overcome by a sudden feeling of overwhelming hopelessness, he got up and opened it. Hermione was standing there, eyes wide. She looked at him for a long moment before throwing her arms around him and bursting out in tears.

"I'm...I'm so sorry." She said through her tears.

Harry pulled the door closed and let took Hermione to the fireside, letting her fall into one of the chairs. He pulled the other around to sit before her as she composed herself, silence reverberating around them pierced only by her occasional sob and the crackle of the fire. When finally she began calming Harry handed her a handkerchief and she dabbed at her eyes, looking at him forlornly. "It was that prophecy wasn't it?" she said quietly.

He danced around the idea of denial but needing somebody to share with, somebody his own age, who he could talk this sort of thing over with, caused him to nod slowly. "Yes, it was the prophecy." He said. "Made by Sybil Trelawney to Albus Dumbledore."

Hermione shakily pulled her knees up to her chest. "What did it say?" she asked breathlessly. "What did it say, Harry?"

He laughed nervously. "I thought you didn't believe in these things?" he asked.

"I didn't." she said. "Not until last June at the ministry."

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "The one with the power to defeat the dark lord was to be born as the seventh month died, to parents who had defied Lord Voldemort three times." He said quietly.

"You." Hermione whispered.

Smiling sadly, Harry shook his head. "Not just me. There was one other who fit the profile exactly."

"Who?"

"Neville."

Hermione looked at him a long moment. "And what about the rest?" she asked.

"He would mark the one with the power to defeat him as his equal. And then...and then..."

Hermione swallowed, anticipating the rest. "Harry...what did the rest say?"

He rose and stood facing the fire. "Either must die at the hand of the other...for neither can live while the other survives."

He stood there until he felt Hermione's hand on his shoulder. "You should have told us." She said. "This isn't something you ought to bear alone."

Harry turned to look at her, and something of a sad sort of smile came onto his face. "No...don't you understand, Hermione?" he said. "This is one thing...that I have to bear alone."

________________________________________________________________________

Aww...okay, okay, the angst sirens are blaring right now. *shrugs* You can't have a post OoP fic without some angst, it was just so angst-ridden it would be self defeating not to have a little trauma and drama swirling around at Hogwarts.

I am in love with Harry Potter. Does that make me a maniac?

*nods enthusiastically*

And PROUD of it! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t!