Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -

Harry Potter & the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers (though this plot here is mine :)). I am not the original writer (though I wish I could be) & I do not wish to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued. So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.

There's plenty more...blah blah blah....forget it & let the story begin :).

Note: US English has been used here.

HARRY POTTER & THE POWER OF HOGWARTS

Chapter 17 - Who Am I? (Part II)

But the time had come for everyone to face one of their worst fears apart from Voldemort.

Dementors.

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"What is he doing?" Ron whispered his question to Hermione. Hermione, who had been busy in a chat with Lavender, followed Ron's gaze and saw Harry walking towards the door of the great hall. Ron, who had noticed Harry get up on his feet a few moments ago, noticed Malfoy and his goons leaving the Great Hall in a hurry and knew for sure now that something bad was coming their way. As he and Hermione, along with many other students and teachers watched Harry, they noticed a certain stagger in his steps. It seemed like his feet were not exactly following his minds directions and he was making a struggle to walk to the door. All the teachers at the staff table had also turned to watch Harry by now and, in a matter of seconds, the whole hall had fallen silent and was looking towards Harry and wondering what had happened to him. Hermione looked at Ron and shrugged her shoulders to indicate she had no idea about what Harry was up to.

"Potter" the scathing voice of Snape broke the pin-drop silence, but even that couldn't get Harry to turn around. "If you are not thinking of leaving Hogwarts right now, then I suggest you get back to..." Snape's voice trailed off at this as he, along with all the others, felt it; or rather felt them.

"Hermione" Ron's voice sounded very fearful and it seemed to be quavering as he reached out to shake his girlfriend out of her stupor. "Do you feel anything? It's like..." Ron couldn't finish his sentence as he saw many people at the Gryffindor table looking around frantically. Hermione, who had turned to face Ron by now, gave an affirmative nod of her head and said in a whisper "Dementors". Both their faces seemed drained of any color and as they looked around they saw Neville clutching his head with both his hands as if he was trying to keep it in one piece. With each passing second, screams ensued in the Great Hall. It seemed like all the happiness in the world had been drained in just a matter of seconds.

"Listen everybody" McGonagall's voice was heard over all the screams. "Fourth years and below have to return to their towers RIGHT NOW. One member of the fifth year will escort them to their dormitories". No longer had this been said that almost all of the first to fourth year students started to make a beeline for the exit. The house heads quickly assigned a fifth year student to each of the groups and soon the hall was filled with the sound of scrambling footsteps.

"Fifth year onward students..." McGonagall called out again but everyone could make out the shakiness in her voice. "Those who know the patronus charm may remain here while the others are asked to go back to their towers NOW. Do not, I repeat, do not come out of your towers unless your house heads inform you that it is safe to do so. Please go now". As this statement was finished, more scrambling ensued and soon the Great Hall had around 70-odd occupants remaining, including the teachers.

McGonagall then focused her attention towards Harry who seemed to be oblivious of everything happening around him. "Harry...HARRY..." McGonagall cried out to no avail as Harry stood in front of the door, irresponsive to all the shouts and scrambling.

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"They are here" Harry thought to himself as he felt the presence of the dementors before anyone else. Everyone knew that dementors affected Harry more than it did the others and Dumbledore had explained to Harry that it might be due to his traumatic past. To tell the truth, Harry didn't care about his past anymore. All he knew was that a person named Voldemort had killed his parents and was also responsible for Sirius's death and he had to take revenge. But even though Harry didn't care too much, his parent's death scene was something which was flashed in his memory every time dementors were nearby. As Harry glanced around, he noticed Neville squirming around his seat in obvious discomfort and knew that his own past could be matched only by Neville's, though Neville's present was far worse than Harry's own.

Harry didn't know what it was but, all of a sudden, he let his mental defenses down and felt himself drowning in the images of his parent's death. Maybe it was his own selfish self which wanted to see his parents again, even when they were dying, or maybe it was because he wasn't strong enough to hold his mental barrier against the combined forces of so many dementors in the vicinity. Whatever the reason may be, he knew he didn't want his mind to be protected against his fears. He had been running from his fears for too long and it was time for him to take stock and face the fear he feared most - fear itself.

Harry's vision was somewhat blurred as he got up from his seat and headed towards the door of the Great Hall in a daze. He had a hunch that the dementors would come through the main door and he moved towards the door, albeit a bit limply. The nearer he came towards the door, the better his vision got - the vision of seeing his parents die.

Harry saw his mother crying in front of him and could almost feel her locks falling across his face. He heard her mother muttering the all too familiar words to his father who went on to take on Voldemort. The child Harry was now crying very hard along with his mother and Harry felt like he would break down into tears himself. His mother carried him to another room but there was no escape from the red-eyed demon. His mother's begging, pleading, crying, everything fell on deaf ears.

Harry had never seen the worst night in his life so clearly and, now that he could see it, he felt as if everything was happening before him once again. He saw Voldemort raising his wand to curse his mother and he lunged forward to take away his wand. Even though it was just a vision, Harry felt himself taking a step forward in real life too. Alas, his outstretched hand couldn't reach the wand. He tried to push his mother out of the way but he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw his mother falling dead before him, again. He tried to grab hold of her as she fell, to soften the impact, to give her some comfort even in death but she seemed to fall straight through his arms and hit the floor with a sickening thud. Harry couldn't believe that he had missed his mother completely; that he couldn't lessen her pain even in death. With mixed feelings, he looked back towards the demon who had raised his wand again and...

"HARRY" someone seemed to be calling to him as Harry felt like he was at two places at the same time. All of a sudden, a flash of green light seemed to be coming towards him and, subconsciously, Harry stepped out of the way to avoid getting hit. It was then that his vision became slightly more focused and he realized that he still had his right hand stretched in front of him. Slowly he turned around, his eyes still focused on his outstretched right hand and he became face-to-face with the others present. If he had looked around, he would have seen the fear in everyone's eyes and the way everyone was latching on to something to prevent themselves from screaming out.

Harry stood by the door for quite a few moments while his mind kept playing back the scene of his mother falling through his arms again and again and he felt a tear slide down his face. It just wasn't enough for him to be the cause of his parent's death; rather, he had also been unable to give his mother even the remotest comfort in her death. Slowly his hand went out of vision and darkness surrounded him.

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Hermione had gone over to Neville when all the students were scurrying back to their dormitories and when she reached Neville; she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Neville looked up to see who it was and tried disastrously to smile at Hermione. Hermione, who had been thinking of saying something to him, instantly stopped. One look at the face of the chubby boy was enough to convey what kind of feelings he might be having.

As Hermione looked around, she saw people doing weird things to keep their thoughts in control. She had seen loads of children crying as they had been going out of the Great Hall but now the scene was very different. Yes, some people were sobbing as their worst fears were being replayed constantly in their minds but some of those present were banging their hands on the tables as their happy feelings were getting drained. One of the extreme cases Hermione saw was that of Ron banging his head on the Gryffindor table. Almost all of the D.A. was present in the hall along with some additional students and the teachers. Amongst the teachers, Snape was the one who looked to be better off than the other teachers and Hermione attributed this to the fact that Snape was a master Occulmen. After all, if a dementor couldn't penetrate into someone's mind then they would have no effect on anyone.

Slowly but steadily, Hermione was also starting to think that banging her head on the table would be a better option than to wait for the dementors. All she could now think of was how the world will be if her parents, Ron, Harry and everyone else was dead and she was left face to face with Voldemort. From a certain angle this was a slight improvement because she didn't fear her not getting the top marks as she used to but still, fear was fear. Whether it was regarding one thing or the other, it always managed to make you think of bad things and make you feel miserable. Hermione wasn't even aware of her hand being placed on Neville's shoulder when she heard McGonagall calling out Harry's name. In the midst of her fears, Hermione had almost forgotten about Harry and now she turned to look at the boy whom she still considered one of her two best friends.

Harry looked odd. Yes, odd was the word which came to Hermione's mind the instant she laid her eyes on him again. Harry had slowly turned around when McGonagall had called out to him but he seemed like he was in some kind of dream or in an altogether different world. His eyes had a faraway look but at the same time they were focused on his outstretched hand. For some reason, Hermione thought that Harry was more relaxed than usual when faced with dementors. He seemed to be almost lost in some kind of dream and he didn't seem to be screaming out the way many others were doing now. Even though Harry had her full attention, out of the corner of her eyes she noticed a tall, petite figure rushing towards Harry. All of a sudden, Harry collapsed but he did not hit the floor. Fleur Delacour had caught him just before the impact.

"Somebody 'elp me" Fleur gave a shout as she caught hold of the limp figure. Fleur herself seemed to be under a lot of stress and her reactions were almost hysterical in a sense. Almost instantly, Neville and Cho rushed towards Harry and carried him to a room beside the hall. Ron, who had tried to rush to Harry's help, was held back by Hermione.

"Why did you do that?" Ron hissed at Hermione.

"Ron..." Hermione said with an embarrassed look on her face. "There are many people here to help him and he wants to stay away from us. Let him be. We are always there for him if no one comes". Ron gave a glare in reply and looked away.

"Everybody, listen carefully" McGonagall said in a slightly croaked voice. "If we have any chance of surviving then we have to take them head on or else we will lose our minds even if the barrier of the castle is between us. Are you all ready?" Several nods came in reply though none of them seemed to be too reassuring to the transfiguration teacher. With a nod of her own in reply, McGonagall approached the door and muttered a spell causing the door to open. As the door opened, everyone felt a chill going down their very spines, a chill like one they had never felt before. All the happiness in their worlds seemed to have been sucked away in a split second as the door opened up. Fleur, Neville and Cho rushed out to join the others at the doorway, all the while wondering what had made all the others to almost freeze in their places. When they joined the others, they too froze in their places just by looking at the scene in front of them. Outside stood what seemed to be endless number of dementors and more seemed to be joining them with each passing second.

&&&&

Harry was again walking down a great white hall without boundaries. Somehow he felt better at the thought that he might see his parents again. He walked on and on for what seemed to be a long time and finally was able to see some familiar faces waving their arms to him.

"Hi son" Harry's father greeted him. "I can feel that you are not ok"

"Yes father" Harry replied, his eyes looking at their feet in shame. "I...I..."

"It was not your fault Harry" Lily Potter spoke up as she seemed to have read his mind. "Don't blame yourself for it"

"But mom..." Harry choked for a moment as he looked up to face his mom. "...I was there. This time I was there and I could have saved you. But..."

"It's the past, honey" Lily replied. "You could have done nothing"

"Why not?" Harry questioned before shouting at his parents for what would be the first time in his life. "WHY THE HELL COULDN'T I EVEN TOUCH YOU? WHY COULDN'T I EVEN HOLD YOU AS YOUR LAST BREATH LEFT YOUR BODY? WHY MOM, WHY?"

Lily looked sadly at Harry as she guessed that he was passing through a terrible experience. It pained her to see her son in such a state. After a long moment, she spoke again "Because you were not there. Harry, try to understand this once and for all. You cannot change the past and that was the reason you couldn't touch me" Lily had tears in her eyes as she told this. "Because you were not there in the first place"

"But I was there mom" Harry protested.

"Yes, you were there as a child and not as what you saw in your memory today" James corrected the misunderstanding. "Son, you cannot live with sad memories all your life. Your past memories are making your present life vague"

"Sorry father" Harry apologized. "It's just that...that I wanted to see you guys again. I miss you all and I wanted to see you even when you were..." Harry couldn't finish his sentence as tears started flowing from his eyes.

"Dying?" Sirius finished the sentence for Harry. "No Harry, we are not dead. Physically yes but we continue to live on in your heart"

"THAT IS A LIE" Harry cried out amidst his tears. "EVERYONE SAYS THIS KIND OF THING. I AM NOT A KID ANYMORE WHO WILL BUY THOSE KIND OF STORIES"

"And do you think everyone is wrong son?" James questioned Harry. "Do you think everyone is wrong and you are the only one who is right?"

Harry looked at his father in a surprised manner as he couldn't understand the real meaning behind his words. There could be a thousand interpretations of his father's words and he didn't know what his father was actually implying.

"I don't know" Harry said meekly. "I miss you guys, that's all I know and that's all I care about"

"Really honey?" Lily questioned her son. "You mean you don't care about them?" She asked once more as she pointed towards a space which was now shining a bright golden color. Instantly Harry covered his eyes but slowly got used to the brightness. As he looked on, he saw some familiar faces approaching him - faces of Ron and Hermione.

"NO!" Harry cried out. "How...how could..."

"Son" James said gravely. "Your friends need you. It is up to you to decide whether you want to help them or not". Harry looked at his dad who had a very serious expression on his face. Yes, Harry knew that it was his choice and he had to take a decision. He had to make a choice - now.

&&&&

"EXPECTO PATRONUM" three dozen voices cried out for what seemed to be the umpteenth time but many of the patronuses never materialized as they just couldn't gather enough happy thoughts. Neville looked on in surprise as only a thin whitish vapor came out of his wand while Cho's patronus didn't seem to last for more than a few seconds. Ron, Hermione and many others had already become unconscious and had been carried inside but no one in the castle was able to avoid the onslaught of the dementor attack. Screams could be heard from all over the place as people seemed to have lost all their happiness. All they could think of now was death.

Malfoy and his two bodyguards were sitting smugly in their dormitory room. His father had informed him of the impending attack and had sent him a special potion which would help him protect his mind from the dementors for around an hour. Along with the potion, a note had also reached him asking him to not disclose the existence of the potion to anyone else. Malfoy was only too happy to keep the secret to himself but what he didn't know was that the potion had been invented very recently by a death eater and the ministry still didn't know about it. He had even given Crabbe and Goyle a bit of the potion but knew that such a small amount's effect will wear out with 20 minutes time. 10 minutes, in his opinion, was long enough for everything to be over and done with and it had already been 5 minutes since the Great Hall doors had been thrown open.

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"What..." Harry looked slightly dazed as he raised himself into a sitting position. He was wondering where he was when he vaguely remembered his vision and the subsequent unconsciousness. As he tried to understand where he was, the sickening feeling hit him again. Screams could be heard from everywhere around him and he understood that he was in a room adjacent to the Great Hall. As he scrambled back to his feet, he felt the presence of more people in the room. Looking around, he saw the unconscious bodies of Ron, Hermione, Ginny and many others of the D.A.

Harry stood blinking hard for a moment even though his mind seemed to be in tatters. The scene of his parent's death was once again playing over again and again but he knew it was the past and he had to help others - those others who made up his present. As he looked on, he knew that he just couldn't let his friends slip away in front of him. At that moment, Fleur came running in with the unconscious body of Neville floating in front of him.

"Oh Harry, you are conscious now" Fleur said with obvious relief but Harry didn't seem to be hearing her. He felt a kind of fury building inside him as he watched the body of Neville lying in front of him. Neville, Ron, Hermione, Ginny - weren't they the one's for whom he cared so much? Weren't they the people whom he had pushed away so that they could be safer? Weren't they the one's who were lying in front of him in a battered state of mind with the possibility of dying? Harry was feeling terrible himself and he wanted to scream out but somewhere deep down he felt another feeling stir. He was reliving his worst moments but now, he felt as if a volcano of anger was starting to build inside him. He didn't know what was making him so angry but all of a sudden, he was angry with all the people around himself. Slowly he understood that anger was not the right word, rather the word which could describe his true feelings was 'hate'.

Harry hated everyone who was anyone. Harry turned towards Fleur who was trying to convey something to him but all he saw were her lips moving. As his gaze met that of Fleur, he saw that her lips stopped their movement and her eyes were filled with...fear. And the fact was that he liked that look. He hated Fleur, he hated Ron, he hated Hermione, he hated everyone in the wizarding world which had torn him away from his parents but most of all, he hated the dementors. He hated them with a passion he had never felt before and it surpassed even his passion for quidditch by a long mile. Without making any sound and with a look in his eyes which could strike fear in even Dumbledore, Harry left the room.

&&&&

Fleur came running in the room adjacent to the Great Hall to lay down another unconscious victim but what she had not expected was that one of the victims would be wide awake.

Oh Harry, you are conscious now" Fleur said in relief. She knew that the dementors had gained the upper hand within minutes and it was just a matter of time before everyone was either unconscious or had lost their minds. From what she had guessed, around 150 to 200 dementors had attacked the castle and the effect caused by them was beyond imagination. For a moment she had thought that the final attack on Hogwarts had begun but had later understood that only dementors were present. At least they didn't have to deal with death eaters which, in her opinion, would have made this the battle of their lives. But she had been wrong. This had become the battle of their lives and she was hoping that some kind of miracle would happen and Dumbledore would return. But alas, no such thing had happened till now.

Now, on seeing a conscious Harry, she had hope again. She knew that Harry was special, had always been special and somewhere deep down, she knew that Harry could somehow save them. It was just like him being a superhero in the wizarding world who would always save the day. Everyone had hope in their eyes while Harry was on his two feet with a wand in his hand and Fleur was no different.

"Harry, it's terrible out there" Fleur said as she saw Harry looking at the body of Neville. "We need you out there too. We have to..." Fleur gasped as she saw Harry look at her. There was something in his eyes which she had never seen before. It was a look of pure, undiluted hate and absolute loathing. For the first time in her life, Fleur feared Harry, maybe as much as she feared You-Know-Who. She held her breath as Harry gave her one last look before walking out of the room, his expression intact.

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Harry looked around the Great Hall as he made his way towards the doorway. The hall seemed a mess in a lot of ways and even the house-elves had not been able to clean it. But this didn't matter to him anymore. He hated house-elves and whether they did their job or not, they still deserved to be hated. As Harry reached the doorway, he saw his teachers sending patronuses on their way but to no avail. The dementors did not make any move to approach anyone as their sheer number was enough to draw out all the happiness out of each person around Hogwarts. Harry knew that the effect of the dementors could be felt in Hogsmeade too and it would be a matter of minutes before aurors arrived. But could all the ministries aurors handle an army of dementors?

As Harry thought about this, a voice called out from somewhere, a voice filled with loathing "C'mon Potter, use your famous patronus". Harry closed his eyes for a moment as each and every moment of Snape's torture classes went through his memory, not because he wanted to remember them but because the dementors made him do it. As he opened his eyes, he knew that he hated Snape as much as Pettigrew. He hated Snape and everything about him. Slowly he peered into the eyes of his potions teacher, his jaws set firmly, and he was happy to see one thing - Snape looked afraid. He kept glaring at Snape but, to his disappointment, saw Snape turn away and cast the patronus charm again but the dementors seemed unaffected.

Dementors. They were the thing Harry hated the most. They made him relive every moment of his parents death. They made him hear that evil shrill laughter again and again. They made him hope that his life had ended 16 years ago on this night. They made him see his friend's unconscious, maybe even on their death-beds. They made his life hell.

Harry didn't know how it was happening but slowly, all his fears were draining away, replaced only by an intense hatred towards the dementors. He hated them with every inch of his living tissue and he wanted to kill them. He wanted to take off their hoods and grab hold of their mouths and tear them apart. He wanted to leviate their bodies high up in the air and then drop them on spikes. He wanted revenge.

Revenge. This was the word which kept going through his mind as he took a step forward. Keeping his eyes focused on the nearest dementor, which was about a hundred feet away, Harry made his way past his teachers. He heard many people calling out to him but they didn't matter. No one mattered anymore. All he wanted was to cause immense pain to these dementors, pain which would be nothing compared to what they could cause to others, pain which would make Voldemort's cruciatus seem like a mere pin. Someone caught hold of one of his arms but he freed himself with a violent jerk. He heard the sound of body hitting the ground but he didn't care about it.

Harry had covered half the distance between the dementor and himself when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw other dementors starting to encircle him. He felt a greater stress on his mind as the dementors started to concentrate their powers on him but this only managed to increase the loathing he had for these slimy creatures. Though he didn't know exactly how he would extract his revenge, he kept on walking until he was only 20 feet from his initial target. He stopped and glanced around for a moment and saw that he was in the middle of a circle of dementors. Harry's lips curled up in the most horrendous smile possible as he wondered what these dementors could take from him. At most, he would lose his soul but that also didn't matter anymore. He hated these creatures and today they would have to pay. One way or the other, he was going to make them pay and for the first time that evening Harry took out his wand.

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It took Fleur quite a few deep breaths before she could think logically again after Harry had left the room. After recovering, she rushed out of the room and into the Great Hall. As she made her way towards the doorway of the hall, she noticed an odd looking elf bouncing around nervously but without giving too much thought to it, she proceeded onwards. As she reached the doorway, she saw a spine-chilling scene - Harry Potter seemed to be making his way towards the dementors.

She stood stunned for a moment as she looked at the young boy making his way down the stairs with apparent ease while the others were having great difficulties in maintaining their mental stability. She heard McGonagall, Flitwick and the other teachers calling out to Harry but he seemed to hear none of them. Seeing no other way, Fleur took off at top speed towards Harry and, on reaching him, caught hold of his right arm.

"GET BACK HARRY" Fleur shouted but Harry still didn't seem to hear her. Even though she was using every bit of her will-power to keep herself conscious and sane, she just couldn't let go of Harry. She raised her wand to try to stun him but was thwarted as Harry gave a fierce jerk of his hand which caused her to stumble backwards. She couldn't keep her balance and fell and the last thing she knew was an immense pain in her head as darkness cast its veil on her.

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"You want a piece of me?" Harry asked with a smile, a smile which made even the dementors doubt his real intentions. "What can you take from me? Tell me...tell me WHAT THE HELL CAN YOU TAKE FROM ME?" Harry shouted at all the dementors around him. For some reason, none of the dementors came nearer to him but Harry didn't fail to notice this fact.

"Don't have anything else to take from me, do you?" Harry asked again. "I - have - no - happy - feelings - in - me - anymore" He said slowly as if he was trying to tell a bunch of kids that he didn't have any more toffees to give them. His face then broke into a maniacal smile and he spread his arms and said in a sing-song tone "See, I have nothing to give you anymore". As he looked around, his expression changed to one of pity. "Ahhhh...I have disappointed all of you. Bad Harry. I am sooo sorry. But..." Harry's sing-song tone was back again "...but I have my soul". With the maniacal look back in place, Harry continued his speech "Don't you want it? Ooooo...why not? You can have it if you want". As he noticed that none of the dementors made any move forward, the volcano of anger inside him burst.

"Reducto""Humus Fragosus""Electriano Claustrum". Spells started coming out of Harry's wands at lightning speeds but they didn't seem to make much of a difference to the dementors. After having sent a hail of spells into the dementors, Harry shouted at them "C'MON, I AM HERE. WHY DON'T YOU TAKE ME?"

At Harry's this statement, one of the dementor started to glide in slowly followed by another. Harry saw that all the dementors were slowly starting to close in and, seeing this, his eyes began to get a maniacal shine in them. His anger, which had subdued a bit after throwing so many spells at the dementors, was back in its place and so was the feeling of intense hatred. He was going to go down at last and he wanted to take at least one of them with him. Looking around, with his lips curled up in a sinister sneer, Harry raised his wand and cast a spell almost sub-consciously and without thinking "Perosus Infinitus". A jet of the blackest black light sped towards the nearest dementor.

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All the teachers were on tenterhooks as they saw that dementors had surrounded Harry. Madam Pomfrey had the good sense to rescue Fleur from where she had fallen down but the others stood rooted in their places as they heard some of Harry's shouts. Just as Snape's mouth had curled up in an evil grin, all of the teachers and the remaining students present there saw a jet of black light emitting from Harry's wand. The scene which followed evoked a frightened response from McGonagall which echoed other's sentiments too.

"What the hell is Potter doing?"

&&&&

Dobby had been cooking dinner for Tonks and Remus when he had felt them. He was afraid, very afraid. These creatures made him think bad thoughts and Dobby hated them for it. But what was even more frightening for him was that Harry was outside and more vulnerable to dementor attacks. For a moment Dobby thought about searching Tonks or Remus, both of whom had left on some urgent Order mission, but then he realized that he might get caught in some other mess. If he couldn't get Tonks or Remus back with him in time, then he could end up losing his dear friend and he couldn't let that happen. Turning off the gas, Dobby popped straight into the kitchen below the Great Hall and found that it was empty. He knew that all the elf's must have gone back to their quarters and, to tell the truth, if Harry had not been out there, he too would have snuggled up in a corner of the trunk and laid low until the dementors had left. Dobby quickly popped into the Great Hall itself and found it in shambles with food and water spread on the floor.

Looking around, Dobby saw the professors and some of Harry's friends fighting with the dementors. He was quite relieved for a moment in not seeing Harry around but then panic started to creep in. If Harry was not here, then where was he? He was lost in thought when one of the professors came inside with the unconscious body of Neville and a few moments later he heard the all too familiar footsteps. Dobby was relieved to hear those sounds but his relief vanished the moment he saw the hatred in the eyes of Harry. Was this the Harry Potter he knew? Or was it...?

Dobby didn't know what to do and cursed himself loudly for not going to either Tonks or Remus. He started popping around in nervousness when the same professor passed him once again but this time she glanced at him oddly. He didn't care whether he looked odd or not, whether the others would treat him like dirt or not but what he did care about was Harry's well-being. He just couldn't let Harry become like them. In a few more moments Dobby's nervous bouncing stopped and, with a grim expression on his face, he went outside to face what fate had in store for him.

&&&&

"What the hell?" a part of Harry wanted to know what was happening but his dominant part wanted to enjoy the show. After all, he had never been able to hurt a dementor before.

Harry did not know how he was doing it but his subconscious mind had forced him to cast the Hate Charm which he had never been able to cast in the class. In fact, if he remembered correctly, Professor Flitwick had stated that the charm was almost impossible to perform by most of the light wizards as it required an extreme feeling of hate. So much so that even Dumbledore was incapable of casting it. But Harry didn't care about all this stuff. He held his wand steady and kept the black light focused on his 'victim'. He wanted revenge and today he was going to get it.

Harry had a look of utter glee as he heard strange noises coming from the dementor, which he guessed was their way of screaming. It felt good, that was all he could say to himself. The dementor in front of him was almost in a kneeling position and Harry, though he couldn't explain how, knew that it was feeling pain beyond anything it had known before. The smile on his face widened as the dementors slowly started to glide away from Harry's victim.

"Oh no, you don't..." Harry said, shaking his head and casting his glance at some of the other dementors present. With the maniacal look still in his eyes, he said "No one gets out of here alive". Harry knew he now had a weapon against the dementors even though he didn't know how the hate charm affected them. Now that he had a weapon, he was not going to let it go easily. He broke the spell on his current victim and looked around at all the dementors while he kept on thinking about how much he hated them. And how much he hated everybody else too. With every passing moment, the feeling of hatred grew in him and, all of a sudden, he knew he had had enough. These creatures had to be wiped off the earth along with others. Licking his lips, he raised his wand again.

"Perosus Infinitus" Harry cried out, whipping his wand in a complete circle and bending his back while doing it. Wave after wave of black light went into the throngs of the dementors present and a series of cries filled up in the air.

&&&&

"Oh my god, what is Potter doing?" Professor Flitwick said in a whisper, both fear and awe filling his voice. He, along with the others, could feel the effects of the hate charm as their hearts seemed to become filled with hate for the others. The effect of a mild hate charm on wizards and witches were known but this was the first time such a huge velocity hate charm had been felt by any of them. Also, this was the first time Flitwick was seeing the effect of the charm on dementors

"Somebody has to stop him" McGonagall replied with great difficulty. She couldn't believe how Harry was able to produce such a hate charm but, on the bright side, all the effects of the dementors seemed to be vanishing along with the coldness in the environment.

"SOMEBODY STOP THAT KID" Snape bellowed and seemed to be losing his composure for the first time that evening. All he needed was another of Harry's abilities to make him 'special'.

&&&&

Harry enjoyed hearing the unique screams of the dementors. The dementors were screaming now and the next in line would be Voldemort. After that there would be others, including the wizards and witches in Hogwarts. He felt the maniacal anger grow even more and felt a part of himself laughing madly at what was happening. Yes, he would fulfill his destiny in a way no one could have imagined.

"Harry Potter is stopping now" a tiny, but stubborn voice was heard by Harry which broke both his concentration and the spell. Looking downwards, he saw Dobby standing in front of him.

"Get out of here elf..." Harry said in an angry voice "...or else you will understand what I can do to you"

Dobby seemed a bit taken aback at being called an 'elf' by Harry but he didn't stop. "Harry Potter is listening to Dobby. Dobby is not letting Harry Potter cast this spell anymore"

"I - said - get - out" Harry said through gritted teeth. This elf seemed to be getting on his nerves and the dementors seemed to be retreating in the meantime.

"DOBBY IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE" Dobby screamed at Harry for the first time in his life. "Harry Potter had said to Dobby to stop him when he is doing wrong. Harry Potter is doing wrong now"

"Am I?" Harry said with an evil grin and whipped his wand around to point it at Dobby. "Who do you think you are?"

"Dobby is Harry Potter's friend" Dobby said in a loud voice. He had to get Harry out of the mindset he was currently in. "Has Harry Potter forgotten about his friends? Has Harry Potter forgotten about his Dobby, his werewolf and his Tonkie?"

"ENOUGH" Harry shouted. "One more word and I will hurt you real bad"

"Has Harry Potter forgotten his parents?" Dobby continued with defiance in his voice. "Has Harry Potter forgotten about his godfather?" Hearing this, Harry seemed to subdue a bit. His parents and Sirius had meant a lot to him. They were the ones who had been torn away from him by Voldemort and he wanted revenge for it. As he thought about revenge, the look in his eyes seemed to be coming back and Dobby knew he had to do something.

"Harry Potter is not harming anyone. Harry Potter is good and he cannot let his bad side overtake his good side. This is not what Harry Potter's parents wanted him to be"

At the mention of his parents, Harry's eyes seemed to slightly get back to their normal look. What was he doing? He was trying to kill the dementors but they had never tried to harm him intentionally. Whenever they did anything, it was based on the orders of someone else. No, he couldn't harm them.

"Harry Potter is a good wizard. He is the greatest wizard on earth but he is seeking revenge from the wrong things. Harry Potter's destiny is to face big bad dark wizard" Dobby said this in a very fearful voice. He never wanted to even think about Voldemort but for Harry, he was ready to do so.

"I...shouldn't...harm...". Harry felt as if a ray of light seemed to be emitting from somewhere deep inside him. No, he couldn't harm the wizarding people. He didn't want to harm them but yet, just a few minutes back, he had wanted to wipe off all these people from the face of the earth. Whether he had the ability to do so or not was not the question but the main point here was about his intentions. Did he really want to destroy others?

"Harry Potter is good and he is not wanting to harm others" Dobby said in a consoling voice, as if he could almost read Harry's mind. "Dobby is wanting his friend back". Dobby could see that Harry was returning to his normal self and he had to do all he could to get his friend back.

"Dobby..." Harry said in a whisper as he looked down at the elf in front of him again. Falling to his knees, he realized that this was not just any elf but rather, it was his friend Dobby. How could he threaten Dobby? How could he even think about it? How could...

Harry couldn't finish his thoughts as he collapsed for the second time that night.

&&&&

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked as he arrived at the door of the hall. He had finally got an owl sent by a staff member and Fawkes had helped him get back. The grounds in front of Hogwarts were clear of the dementors now but a chill was still present in the air. All he could see was Harry standing in the middle of the ground and talking to Dobby.

"Potter tried to act the hero again" Snape gave his 'briefing' to the headmaster but didn't meet his gaze. He was very thoughtful about what had happened before his eyes and he knew that the dark lord would get to know about it. Just one more of Potter's abilities which would make the dark lord extra cautious and more difficult to defeat, Snape thought grimly.

"Someone, get him out of there" McGonagall said in a weak voice as she slumped to the ground in exhaustion. The evening had been a very stressful one to say the least.

Madam Pomfrey was about to rush out to help Harry, who seemed to be talking to an elf, when a reassuring hand stopped her. Looking around, she saw Dumbledore holding her back.

"Harry needs to talk with someone" Dumbledore said to her. "Leave him alone and Dobby will take care of him". With that, Dumbledore returned to his office. He had a lot of talking to do with the aurors who were turning up now and also, he wanted to have a Council and Order meeting as soon as possible.

&&&&

"Harry Potter is not well" Dobby said to a hysterical Tonks when she arrived back at the trunk to find Harry unconscious. Remus was yet to return and Tonks seemed to be at her wits ends.

"What happened? Tell me fast" Tonks asked. Dobby proceeded to tell her about the dementor attack and Harry's subsequent use of the hate charm and what happened thereafter. Tonks listened to him in absolute shock and almost a minute after Dobby had stopped speaking that she realized that Dobby had become silent.

"He called you an 'elf'?" Tonks asked in shock. If anyone else had called Dobby an elf, she would have thought nothing about it but if Harry did so then it was a matter of concern to her. Dobby did not reply to her and she understood that he was very sad at being addressed like that by Harry. After all, he never expected anything less than the best from Harry.

"Oh Dobby, I don't think he meant it" Tonks said to the sad elf in front of her. "Don't worry; as soon as he gets up I will scold him"

"Harry Potter's Tonkie is going to do nothing like that" Dobby retorted. "Harry Potter has done a lot for Dobby and Dobby does not expect anything more"

"But what if Harry Potter is angry with himself for calling his Dobby an elf?" came a weak voice from behind.

"HARRY POTTER IS OK" Dobby squealed in delight as he saw the wizard approaching the two figures sitting on the couch. "Dobby is so happy"

"But I am not" Harry said. "Dobby..." Harry said with a sad face as he fell to his knees and looked straight into the little elf's eyes "...can you forgive me for my mistake today? I beg you"

Dobby looked at Harry with moist eyes and opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. He was just too emotional at the moment, not only because that no wizard had ever apologized to an elf, but also that Harry seemed fine again. Finally, Dobby said "Harry Potter is the best wizard in the whole world. Dobby is too small to be able to judge him. But what Dobby is knowing is that Dobby is loving his friend". With that, Dobby embraced Harry and started to sob uncontrollably on his shoulders. Harry felt the love which this little creature had for him and felt very guilty about how he had treated Dobby that night. Finally when Dobby let go, Harry felt a relief when he saw the toothy grin back in place.

"Dobby..." Harry said finally. "...remember one thing. No matter wherever I am, no matter whatever state I am in, you will always be my friend". Dobby gave another nod and, just as the dam in his eyes was on the point of bursting once more, he popped away to his room. With a sigh, Harry got up from where he had been kneeling and slumped into the couch beside Tonks.

"Harry, what happened?" Tonks asked finally.

"Uh..." Harry seemed a bit startled as he was brought out of his thoughts. "Did you say something?"

"I asked what happened today" Tonks repeated. The expression on the face of Harry took a turn for the worse as the memories of a period of 7-8 minutes of that night seemed to come back in his mind. With a shrug of his shoulders, he said "I don't know". Tonks remained silent at this as she saw Harry contemplating something and decided that if Harry wanted to talk about it then he will; otherwise she won't force him to talk.

"You know Tonks..." Harry said after a long while "...I could feel the dementors before anyone else. I could have run away to some secluded corner of the castle where their effect would have been lesser but...I didn't. I don't know why I did it"

"Did what?" Tonks asked as she got no further response from Harry.

"I let my mental shields down" Harry said in a sad voice. Tonks looked horrified at this because she knew that dementors had an extreme effect on Harry but Harry didn't notice her look as his gaze remained fixed on the ceiling.

"I wanted to see them again" Harry said slowly with a faraway look in his eyes. "You remember about what happens to me when dementors are nearby, right?" It was more of a statement than a question. "I wanted to see my parents again. I just wanted to see them no matter in what condition they were. And I saw them". A smile broke out on his face as he said this but Tonks saw that it was not a happy smile. It was a very sad one to say the least. "I saw my mom die all over again". A single tear trickled down his face as he recounted the scene. "I couldn't help her. Not now, not anymore". Harry gave a deep sigh as he said this.

"Then?" Tonks prompted Harry a little bit as she was unsure whether Harry would want to continue or not. She knew that sharing some problems lessened the pain but some things are such that they cannot be shared with anyone. She waited patiently for Harry to either continue or to say that he didn't want to talk.

"Then..." Harry said slowly after a couple of seconds had passed. "...then I saw my friends. They needed my help. I can no longer help my parents but I could help them". Pausing for a few more seconds, Harry said in a whisper "Mom, dad and Sirius wouldn't have liked me to run away when my friends needed my help, would they?"

"I think not" Tonks replied.

"You know what..." Harry suddenly sprung up on his seat and seemed very excited. Tonks also noticed that his eyes had a strange sparkle in them. "...I was able to help them. I was angry with the dementors. I wanted to save the others from the dementors..." Harry paused to think for a moment before saying "...No, I didn't want to save the others from the dementors. I just wanted to hurt them. Yeah..." a smile broke out on Harry's face and he continued even faster. "You know Tonks, I wanted to tear them apart. Ha! Have you ever thought about how they would look that way? I wanted to hurt them real bad"

Tonks looked slightly stunned at all this. Harry seemed to be talking with so much enthusiasm and yet he was talking about hurting dementors. Yes, Harry never liked them and neither did she but Harry seemed very happy about torturing them and this was very unusual for him.

"You know..." Harry said in a whisper as he cast a glance around to check that they were all alone. "...You know, I did hurt them and it was real bad. No...not for me, it was bad for them. It was so much fun. They felt pain Tonks, they felt pain. I mean, they must have been begging for mercy but..." Harry's rose from his seat and spoke in a majestic voice "...but Harry Potter shows no mercy". With this he started to have a fit of laughter.

"Stop this Harry" Tonks said sternly as she realized that Harry was talking hysterically.

"But you haven't heard the fun part yet" Harry replied. "Don't say this to anyone..." Harry had taken his seat and was speaking in a whisper again "...I wanted to hurt everybody. I mean, I wanted to hurt all the people in this world, all the elves, everyone and I can hurt them. I know I can". With this Harry started to giggle somewhat like a 5-year old child.

"STOP IT" Tonks shouted at Harry. Even though he was hysterical, he sounded very sane. At the sound of Tonks's shouts, Harry quitened down and looked very guilty.

"Tonks, am I bad?" Harry questioned her like a child who had done something wrong. Tonks was about to reply when Harry spoke again. "I mean, am I like Voldemort? Ahh, let me tell you..." that fanatical glee was back in Harry's eyes. "When those dementors were all shrieking, I knew I could be better than Voldemort. I could defeat him and then...then...I would kill everyone. Everyone who has caused pain to me over the years". Realizing he had made some kind of a mistake, Harry added quickly "No...no...I won't kill you or Remus or Dobby or my friends but everyone else. Then Lord Harry Potter would rise". With that, Harry rose from his seat and spread his arms like a king acknowledging the crowd. "Lord Harry Potter would rule everyone..."

"I said STOP IT"

"And Lord Harry Potter will kill anyone who causes pain to him and he..."

SLAP!

A resounding sound echoed through the room as a furious and concerned Tonks slapped Harry with all her force. Tonks had put so much force into her blow that Harry lost his balance and fell, coming to a stop only after skidding a feet on the slippery floor. As a heavily breathing Tonks looked on in astonishment at her own action, she saw the figure on the floor curling up and shaking. Concerned, Tonks took a step forward and bent down beside Harry and tugged at his arms to find him sobbing uncontrollably.

"I am so sorry Harry" Tonks said with tears in her eyes. "I didn't mean to hit you. You were not stopping and I had to do something and..."

"Am I bad Tonks?" Harry asked Tonks in between hiccups. "Am I becoming like Voldemort?"

Tonks looked at the wide, innocent looking eyes of the kid in front of her and her heart went out to him. "No Harry" Tonks reassured him as she took hold of one of his hands. "You are not bad". Instead of calming down, Harry's broke down completely.

"But I wanted to harm them Tonks" Harry said forcefully, hell bent on proving that he was becoming like Voldemort. "I wanted to harm others too. I called Dobby an...an...elf. I didn't even call him by his name Tonks. How can I not be bad?" Harry asked as he looked up at Tonks who was silently shedding tears of her own. As Tonks looked at the helpless looking figure in front of her, the same questions got raised in her mind again - Why did everything have to happen to Harry? And if every bad thing seemed to happen to him then why did he have a conscience?

"No Harry...No...No...you shouldn't cry like that. You are a big boy now, right?" Harry nodded in reply but couldn't stop his tears. A few minutes earlier he had giggled like a 5-year old boy and now, he was crying like one.

"I know I am becoming bad" Harry whispered with a nod of his head. "I don't talk to my friends, I had kept secrets from you...I am bad...very bad"

"No Harry" Tonks said as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "You did what was right"

"You are just saying that to make me feel better. I know I am not doing the right things. In trying to destroy Voldemort, I might end up like him. Will you hate me if I become like him?" Harry asked Tonks with fear in his eyes. What if everyone in this world started hating him?

"You are not becoming like him. And we will always love you" Tonks replied truthfully.

"You are lying" Harry said as the tears were finally starting to stop. "No one likes Voldemort and no one would like me"

"I - said - that - you - are - not - becoming - like - him. Is that understood?" Tonks tried to say this in a very stern voice but couldn't do so. She had never seen Harry like this and it was quite painful.

"Ok" Harry said meekly. Wiping his tears, he finally got up and walked over to his room, leaving behind Tonks. The moment Harry disappeared, Tonks broke down herself.

&&&&

"You are back early" Remus said to Harry as he arrived back in the trunk just a few minutes after he had left for school.

"Classes have been cancelled for today" came the reply in an unfamiliar and monotonous voice. Remus had come back late the previous night and had heard of the whole incident from a sobbing Tonks. It had taken a long time to convince Tonks that everything will be ok and Remus had also planned to talk to Harry today about the whole incident. He knew that Harry had to talk to someone and even though Tonks had been able to provide him with a lot of support, he wanted to verify for himself that Harry was really ok now.

"You haven't eaten anything today" Remus said to Harry as he was proceeding towards his room. "Why don't you join us at the table?" Harry stopped for a while and then decided to go ahead with what Remus had said. After all, it had been more of a statement than a question and Harry knew that he owed Remus an explanation for what had happened the previous night. As he took his regular seat opposite Tonks, he noticed that her eyes were red in color.

"So, you wanted to talk to me about last night, right?" Harry came straight to the point. He knew that he was right and he didn't want to beat around the bush.

"Yes" Remus replied calmly. "Tonks and Dobby have told me what had happened but I wanted to know some things from you"

"Go on. Maybe answering to your questions will help me answer some of mine" Harry said as he traced a line on his left palm with his right index finger.

"Are you feeling ok now?" Remus asked.

"Yeah" Harry's reply was as short as possible.

"Do you have any idea what happened yesterday? I mean, what made you think like you did?"

"No" came the reply.

"I thought so too" Remus said in a concerned manner. "I can offer you a short explanation based on my knowledge of the charm you used"

"Really?" Harry seemed to regain his old voice slightly.

"The thing is..." Remus started his short explanation "...the hate charm is one of the hardest one's to use. Mind you, it is almost similar to the Cruciatus or the other unforgivables but slightly more difficult"

"More difficult?" Tonks seemed puzzled at this.

"In a sense Tonks" Remus said. "You see, the unforgivables can be used to target only a single person at a time but the hate charm can be used to target more than one person or being. If you use the hate charm on a single living being, then it is easier than the unforgivables but if you use it on a large group then..." Remus shrugged his shoulders at this.

"Then it requires even more hate and evil to cast the spell" Harry finished off. Tonks gave Remus a glance who returned a reassuring glance to her.

"Yes and No" Remus said. "Yes because it requires more hate and no because it doesn't require evil to do so. Harry..." Remus looked at the boy in front of him who still refused to meet their eyes. "...remember one thing, hate doesn't mean evil. We all hate Voldemort but does that mean we are evil? No. What you have to know is that everyone hates someone or the other and you are no exception"

With a sad smile, Harry asked "Does everyone like to kill others and does everyone like the feeling of torturing others?"

"Harry, you are too young to understand some things in life which can come only with experience" Remus said. "You know the first time I turned into a werewolf and the returned to normal...well...I was livid. I wanted to bite everyone so that they could also know what it feels to be a werewolf. Now you tell me, would I have been right if I had done so?" Remus waited for a few moments for an answer but when he got none, he continued. "No Harry, it wouldn't have been right. But I still hated everyone for what had happened to me when only one werewolf was responsible for it. I couldn't see the truth then but later on, I understood that I had been wrong. These things happen Harry. This is what life is all about. You have your ups and downs but that is not always the reality"

"But Remus..." Harry interrupted him. "I wanted nothing but revenge. I didn't care whether the person in front of me was good or bad. I only wanted revenge"

"And so did I" Remus replied. "But with the help of James and Sirius, I was able to pass that phase. I learned to live with my fate and I started to enjoy it. You can't let the happenings of a day to wreck your whole life. Remember one thing; we are always here for you if you need any help. Do you still think that I am wrong in saying that you are the same old Harry?"

"I am not old" Harry said with a grin and both Remus and Tonks were happy to see him smiling again. "But..." Harry paused for a moment before saying "...I am scarred. Not only on my forehead but also on my soul". At this, Remus looked at Tonks with a helpless expression on his face. He knew what Harry was talking about as he had also felt the same thing initially, but had later learnt on to live with it. It was going to be a tough job for this young man in front of him.

"Dobby is thinking Harry Potter is not scarred" a tiny but determined voice spoke from beside Harry. "Dobby is thinking Harry Potter is having to make the right choice now"

"What do you mean Dobby?" Tonks was the first one to recover after hearing this surprising statement.

"Dobby is knowing the spell Harry Potter is using and Dobby is wanting to help Harry Potter"

"What do you know Dobby?" Harry asked curiously. He knew that Dobby wouldn't say something rash unless he had some hard evidence about it.

"Dobby is knowing what is written in page 268 and page 269 of this book" With that, Dobby held forward the book on the patronus charms and dementors which Hermione had gifted to Harry on his birthday. This book had articles about different people's experiences with dementors and Harry had gone through it once before also. Harry quickly flipped to the page numbers Dobby had mentioned and saw that these were the same 2 pages which he had been unable to understand previously.

"What is written here Dobby?" Harry asked grimly as he didn't know what to expect in reply.

"These pages is written in Dobby's language and these is written by elder elves" Dobby explained. "These elves worked for bad wizards and they is seeing lots of bad things. They is seeing the hate spell too"

"And?" Harry prompted Dobby.

"They is saying the hate charm was developed to control dementors" Dobby shuddered slightly as he said this. "This charm is having ability to kill dementors but..."

"But what Dobby?" Harry asked to the elf who suddenly seemed very nervous.

"But..." Dobby continued in a shaky voice "...this spell is bringing out the bad side in a wizard. If wizard is not able to control his emotions, wizard is becoming bad"

"What do you mean?" Remus asked this time.

"Elder elves seeing people using hate charm going mad because they are not liking anyone anymore. If they cannot control themselves, they is also having the chance of only wanting to kill" Dobby said meekly. He didn't want to say all this stuff but he knew that Harry should have the full knowledge of the hate charm. Harry was about to say something when Dobby spoke again "But good wizards can use hate charm too. They is having to know when to stop"

"And how am I supposed to know that?" Harry asked grimly. From what he had just heard, he didn't like the use of the hate charm even in the most extreme case.

"That is up to the wizard. They is knowing when to stop" Dobby replied. "If they is not stopping then the charm can start controlling the wizard"

"But I didn't stop myself, did I?" Harry said vehemently.

"That's why great wizards like Harry Potter have friends to stop him" Dobby replied. "Harry Potter's friends not letting him get into trouble"

"How long have you known about this charm and the book?" Tonks asked.

"Dobby is knowing about the book when Dobby cleaning up things. Harry Potter is leaving the page open and Dobby is happy to read something in his own language" Dobby replied and added in a whisper "But Dobby is not liking what he read". The elf jerked his head vigorously to prove his point. "Also, Dobby is once hearing about the spell being used"

"When?" Remus asked. This seemed to be going from bad to worse.

"When Dobby working for bad wizards" Dobby gripped the edge of the table to keep himself steady in his nervousness. "Dobby is hearing You-Know-Who using hate charm to control dementors"

&&&&

Nov 1.

I am back to where I was a few days ago. Before, it was Tonks questioning me but now, I am questioning myself. Dumbledore had said that emotions help to drive magic and that my emotions would help me make choices which will decide the outcome of this war. Great...just great. Then we are taught some hate charm and no one ever says what can happen if it goes out of control. And then we are attacked by dementors when Dumbledore was not here and I became hysterical. I don't even remember everything which happened but I know that I did all that which took place.

Tonks and Remus are just great. Without them I might have gone mad by now. But Dobby is not a step behind them either. He knew that I could have cursed him during my hysteria but he didn't back off. All I can say is that I must have done some good in this world to have earned such a trusted friend.

Today Dobby told me the effects which can take place if the charm is not controlled by me. I must say, yesterday it was not me controlling the charm but the opposite. If I cannot control my emotions then I will end up making wrong choices and...no, I can't let that happen.

I am really at my wits end now. Am I more powerful than the others because I can use this hate charm or am I the same? Is this one more thing which makes me different? Can I ever control this charm or will the charm control me? How do I come up with all these stuff in any case? Why me in every case?

Do I know who I really am?

&&&&

A/N:

Here's the 17'th chapter. I don't know whether this will satisfy you but I just wrote it on my instinct. Did I drag on a bit too much or was the balance ok?

This is for those who think Hogwarts is impenetrable – Please go back to the a/n's of chapter 12. I have pointed out some things. If you still think Hogwarts is a fortress, then please provide some better logic. Anyway, I respect your opinions greatly.

Zaxxon – 2 reasons for my (and most others) first chapter being the way it they are:

This is my first attempt at writing something

Even if someone doesn't know a single thing about the HP universe, they can still understand the story.

spaimla – Thanks for your review. If you have continued till this point then I would like to ask you a few questions:

You commented about the similarities with a said fic but you have not left a single review about some of the more unique points in this fic. I wonder how many people always get so much time to point out what they think are deficiencies and never have time to show some appreciation?

I have no reason to say that the said fic authors ideas are not marvelous but let me ask you something – are all the ideas of the said author original? Be very sure before you say a yes or a no because you may be proved wrong. Having said that, I have the utmost respect for the said author.

If I sounded rude then I apologize profusely because that was not my intention. In any case, thanks for your review again.

Darkmoon Fleur – A ship is still not in place so you don't have to worry too much.

Schnuff – I don't know whether you continued till this chapter or not but if you have, then I think some of your queries would have been cleared up. Apart from that, I would like to point out some other things:

1. You said that all the other people could also be using the trunk if it is just 8k worth. IMO, 8k galleons is far higher than 8k $. Secondly and more importantly, where have I said that no one other than Harry uses such a trunk?
Also, you said that Harry couldn't see the D.A. because they were in different timetables. Did you carefully read the ending of chapter 10 where I had mentioned that the 2 timetables had been made similar by Harry? Oh well, please read carefully before saying such things.

2. Yes, Harry is letting his fear for Voldemort to drive away his friends but it is his decision. That's what my Harry is about.

3. My Harry is not smart, he is human. He will make mistakes too.

Talons – It still isn't an H/T. You might be sensing a wrong ship ;)

Whatever Star – Why is Voldemort's army knocking so much on Hogwarts doors? Hmmm…wait and see.

artihcus – Yeah, sometimes my style gets a bit jumbled up. I am trying to improve on that.

To all those people whose names I don't mention here - Thanks. Each and every word you write in your reviews is of great importance to me and I always take your suggestions/comments very seriously.

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