Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, and I never will! (Sobs) Just leave me alone!
AN: Well, now that that one's settled, lets set up a new target for my little Dark Harry to feast on. I know plenty of you hate this one too! Oh, and I found a song that totally captures the idealism behind Dark Harry perfectly. "U Better Fear Me", by the Deleted. Completely and utterly fits. It's utterly insane. I think I might make a monologue/songfic by Dark Harry or something with that.
Chapter 5 Love or Death
The next morning, Harry felt extremely drained and strange, as if it had taken him all his might to rouse from sleep. Like something last night had taken his strength.
Like yesterday, Ron was not in the room, obviously still spooked and ashamed of his actions the previous day. "Like he should be." Harry snarled, getting up to change. He had missed dinner last night. In fact… Harry thought to himself, My whole nights a blur after I yelled at Dumbledore…
Harry shrugged it off as an aftereffect of being so tired and pissed off at the same time. Which would cost more lives in the long run. Or at least souls.
When Harry trudged down to breakfast, again, the same thing happened. Everyone stopped they're loud discussions. "Déjà vu." Harry muttered, before calling out, "What is it now? Who died?"
When no one answered, no one even dared look at him for fear of his rage being loosed on him or her, but it only added fuel to his ire. "What happened?" Harry asked, his voice low and so dangerous that even Voldemort would have had to double take.
"Here Harry." Ginny said, seemingly the only one not affected, or least affected by the threat of his rage or whatever they had been talking about. Harry gave a nod and a grateful look at Ginny before looking at the news and grabbing the cup of tea Mrs. Weasley left next to him before she hurried away. He took a long sip and opened his eyes sleepily, the warm drink in his mouth awakening his sleeping body.
What he saw forced him to spit out the drink all over the front page of the Daily Prophet.
"Of you must be joking! Didn't I just go through a trial yesterday people! How could I possibly get the Minister in his own home! I don't even know where that is!" Harry roared, throwing the teacup against the wall. It shattered, but Harry didn't care. He hadn't broken enough stuff last night as it was.
"We never-" Ron started, but the glare Harry sent him was so poisonous that it forced Ron's vocal cords into temporary paralysis, as if a serpent had bit them.
"You know you were thinking it. Why the bloody hell else would you all be so bloody uncomfortable!" Harry roared, his full fury loosed onto Ron, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, Remus, Tonks, and the twins as he glared at them. "I can't believe you people!"
He turned on his heel, muttering under his breath, " Well, I'm definitely not eating today."
As Harry stewed in his room, angry, bitter, and generally ready to bite whoever's head happened to pop through the door when a knock was heard.
"What?" Harry snarled, his voice dark and dangerous and threatening.
"I've got some breakfast for you Harry. I figured you'd be hungry." Ginny answered, and, much to Harry's surprise, opened the door while holding a tray, and entered without hesitation, seemingly unaffected by Harry's recent habit of reaming out whoever decided to piss him off. She set the tray down in front of Harry, on his bed.
"Thanks." Harry said hoarsely, before attacking the food like a half-starved man. Which wasn't far from the truth, having skipped all of the meals yesterday. Reaming people out and making embarrassments out of others really took it out of a guy.
Ginny giggled at the gusto at which he devoured the hearty breakfast she set up for him.
"Thanks Gin." Harry said, wiping his mouth clean of the last of the food with a napkin.
"No problem Harry. Mum told me to bring this up anyway, and-" Ginny began explaining, but Harry cut her off.
"Not that. Thanks for not being scared. For not backing down." Harry said, looking into her chocolate brown eyes with his emerald green eyes that held so much pain and hurt.
"No problem Harry. Don't mind them. They're just really freaked out. They know you would never do something like that." Ginny said, smiling at him.
Harry smiled back, and said, "Not just now. But yesterday, and all of last year. You pulled me out of my funk better than anyone, even Hermione and… Ron." Harry said the last bit hesitantly and nearly choked on the word.
Ginny seemed taken aback, before saying quietly, "I'll always be there to help you out Harry."
"Why?" Harry asked, looking into her eyes again with pleading and confusion. "Ron and Hermione, we were friends for five years. But you have no obligation."
Ginny winced at the past tense Harry used about his friends, but answered, "Yes I do. Harry," She whispered, grasping his hands and looking into his eyes, "I owe you a life debt. But even if I didn't, you're my friend. You mean a lot to this family, and to-to me." She almost choked on the last bit, blushing, but Harry didn't mind nor notice.
"Thanks Ginny." Harry whispered, and then he did something he had never done before. He hugged her. He gave someone a hug for the first time in his life, hugging her fiercely and pouring his thanks, his gratitude to the diminutive redhead who was brave enough to stand up to him, to be there for him.
"Um… Harry…" Ginny whispered, blushing fiercely. This isn't right! I'm over him! I have a boyfriend! Does Dean ring a bell! Ginny thought to herself. She was in a very bad position for a girl with a boyfriend she liked and wanted to know better, being held by her crush and a boy she once believed she loved.
Suddenly, Harry realized what he was doing and let go immediately, scrambling to the other side of the bed and blushing just as fiercely as Ginny. "Sorry… I was just… really grateful." Harry whispered, smiling shyly.
Despite her will not to, Ginny blushed and smiled at him. "Don't be sorry. I understand. It's a friend thing, or something one of my brothers would do." Well, maybe not Ron or the twins.
"Of course." Harry said quietly, but for some reason, he didn't want Ginny to think he hugged her as a friend or brother…
Harry was shaken by his thoughts as Ginny sat upright. "Oh! I almost forgot! Your O.W.L. results came in yesterday! We forgot!" She exclaimed, "All that stuff about your trial and the attack." She grabbed a letter that had been in her pocket, and handed it to him, smiling.
Harry gulped. He wanted to look at his O.W.L. results, but on the other hand, with the way his week had been going, it might be terrible. Eventually, screwing up his nerve, he took it slowly, carefully from Ginny, ignoring the small shock he got from when he brushed against her hand.
Ginny got up, hoping she wasn't moving too quickly as she left the room. But she couldn't help the small smile that graced her face.
Harry found himself feeling much better after talking with Ginny, and decided that he would be as good a friend to Ginny as she had been to him. Also, if he was going to survive Grimmauld Place, having a friend was much better, and, seeing as how he and Ron and Hermione were no longer speaking, he needed a friend. And he wanted to make up for all the times he ignored Ginny Weasley.
That could take a while, but Harry was willing to do it. Something told him he had another reason, but he figured it was his imagination. Just like that dark voice. I mean, everyone has one of those, right?
Sure they do, another voice answered cynically. Remember? Hearing voices isn't good, even in the Wizarding world.
A week later, Harry's gloom had subsided somewhat, mostly thanks to the youngest Weasley. Harry wondered exactly how he had ever gotten along without her, the perfect combination between Ron's temper, the twin's mischievous nature, and her mother's caring nature, all wrapped into one Weasley. She was the best of each Weasley, and the best of them all, in Harry's opinion.
He and Ginny had grown a lot closer, and apart from that one scene a week ago, Harry hadn't had any fits of emotion or uncomfortable silences with her.
The two of them had pranked Ron, testing out the twin's new merchandise as a plus, did homework together, and generally did what the Trio used to do, before the… unpleasantness.
As Harry mused about the youngest Weasley, the subject of his thoughts burst through the door.
"What's up Ginny?" Harry asked, noticing how excited Ginny looked, how her shirt seemed to cling to her as she breathed, how-
"We're going to go to Diagon Alley today!" Ginny said excitedly, breaking Harry's uncomfortable train of thoughts, "To make up for that trial on your birthday. Some gift that was."
"Right…" Harry said, but he had another thought before the thoughts of shopping in Diagon Alley could fully form. "What about Voldemort!" Harry blurted out, and waited for Ginny to flinch. But she didn't.
"Don't worry Harry," Ginny said soothingly, "The Order's got everything set up. Just get ready, okay? We're leaving in an hour."
And with that, Ginny left to go get ready, leaving a much happier Harry Potter behind. Of course, whenever Fate sees a happy Harry Potter, it must intervene.
Harry walked with Ginny in Diagon Alley, feeling better than he had been in the entirety of the past week. A sunny day, a good (and quite pretty) friend walking next to him, and Harry felt that today, things might just turn out okay.
He would have shot himself right then and there for jinxing it, if he could.
As he and Ginny walked, talking and pointing out certain things to each other, Ginny caught sight of Dean, and, mostly because of her obligations as his girlfriend, called out to him.
"Hey Dean!" Ginny called out, smiling at her boyfriend.
"Hey Ginny!" Dean said, smiling back at her, then turned to Harry. Something flickered in his eyes, but he smiled at Harry too and greeted him.
"Hey Dean." Harry responded, and felt something worming its way back from his mind. Ginny said something about 'choosing' Dean on the train ride… Were they going out?
For some reason, this irked Harry a lot more than it should have.
Harry felt that there was a little tension, and decided that Ginny would probably like to be alone with her boyfriend. This idea irritated Harry, but he decided it was the polite thing to do.
"I'll leave you two alone." Harry said, forcing a smile on his face (which looked very realistic, thanks to his years of experience).
"Oh, well you don't have to Harry-" Dean began, but he was obviously not trying too hard to make Harry stay. Who would want their girlfriend's old crush hanging around?
"It's fine," Harry said, waving his hand in dismissal. He wanted to get as far away from the two of them if they started doing… things.
That annoyance was beginning to build up, like water behind a dam.
Ginny nodded, feeling slightly relieved that Harry would leave and a tiny bit of her feeling strange. She squashed that feeling, and smiled at her boyfriend. They had a bit to catch up on.
Harry stewed quietly, watching Ginny and Dean walk ahead of him, feeling a loathing that was quite unnatural towards Dean, who had been a good friend to him for six years…
Of course, that train of thought was demolished by the terrified screams that shattered the morning air like a wrecking ball through glass.
Harry turned quickly, hand plunging into his robes as he looked around. "Oh, bloody hell." Harry muttered.
Everywhere, black robed and masked figures were popping into existence everywhere, wands readied and looking decidedly menacing.
Death Eaters, it seemed, had chosen this particular day to Apparate in and attack Diagon Alley. Voldemort, Harry could feel, wasn't there.
This wasn't about him, this was about causing terror and damage, Harry gathered as Death Eaters began torturing people and demolishing shops.
He just had really shitty luck.
Harry went for the nearest Death Eater first, who was too busy torturing a young girl to notice the angry Boy-Who-Lived behind him.
A second later, he was blasted headfirst into a brick wall, courtesy of Harry.
Harry looked at the girl looking at her. She was still breathing.
Harry felt a prickling on his neck and instinctively hit the floor, just before a purple colored spell struck the wall behind him. Harry growled and fired a Stunner, sending that Death Eater flying too.
Now, more pops were heard, and Harry turned, ready to curse the first one he saw into oblivion.
It turns out that the first one he saw was Remus Lupin.
And as he looked around, his wand raised, he saw that the pops were not more Death Eaters, but Order members.
Perhaps his luck wasn't as bad as he thought it was.
Remus smiled in relief that Harry was safe. The raid on Diagon Alley was not because of Harry, but every Death Eater, Snape had informed them with a disgusted look, was ordered to go after Harry on sight.
The Boy-Who-Lived attracted more bad luck and more danger than wet iron attracts lightning in the middle of a thunderstorm, on top of a hill.
Remus' thoughts were cut short when several more pops were heard. Apparently, someone had gotten word back to Voldemort that Harry was here.
That made things a bit worse.
But his day got better, when he caught sight of something. A very distinct silver hand, which belonged to a person whose scent, was unmistakable. Wormtail.
Remus grinned, one of the few moments when he actually looked like a werewolf, feral and predatory, with a glint in his eyes that spoke of revenge long wished for.
Whoever said revenge was a dish best served cold deserves to be drawn and quartered.
Remus blasted away multiple Death Eaters in rapid succession, his fury driving him onward. His emotions had been reaching a boiling point, and seeing Wormtail, his best friend turned traitor, he forwent any qualms about not taking life.
This bastard had killed Lily and James, and brought Voldemort back. He deserved far worse than Remus could give.
But all the same, Remus would give it his all.
The grin on his face grew larger, and far more dangerous.
Harry watched as Remus took down several Death Eaters quickly, seemingly intent on reaching a certain Death Eater next to the ink shop.
Harry saw why when he saw a silver glint.
Any qualms Harry once had about Wormtail's death were gone. He would only regret that the prick didn't die sooner.
With that, he fired a Disarming Charm at another Death Eater, content to see Remus bring the rat to justice. Even if it wasn't the justice Sirius could have gotten, it was still justice. No matter the price.
Ginny fired her Bat Bogey Hex at one Death Eater who was running past her and Dean, who seemed more hesitant to fight. Ginny, empowered by her anger for what Riddle had done to her and the confidence she had from fighting Death Eaters just months before, let her fight with everything she had.
"Come on Dean! People need our help!" Ginny said, slightly annoyed, but she could sympathize. Fighting Death Eaters took more guts than most people had.
Dean gulped, but proved he was a Gryffindor when he stood alongside Ginny, firing spells.
Remus finally reached Wormtail while Dean proved he truly belonged in Gryffindor, and greeted his old friend with a faux friendly tone. "Hello, Wormtail."
The portly man squeaked, and turned slowly, disbelievingly. "He-Hello… Remus." He managed, stuttering and stammering.
The glint in his eyes grew. "Adlfictatio!" Remus roared, the light of the Pain Curse striking Wormtail's chest and causing plenty of pain, which gratified that dark part of Remus, the werewolf within. The traitor collapsed, wincing and gasping as the pain began to subside.
"How does it feel, Peter?" Remus asked, absolute loathing etched in every part of his voice and face, "How does a fraction of the pain you caused me, you caused Sirius, you caused Lily and James feel!" He lashed out with his foot every time he finished a sentence, every question punctuated by a vicious blow.
Wormtail only whimpered in pain, which served to anger Remus further, spurring a madness Remus had never felt before. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me how you feel with just part of my pain!" Remus said, continually kicking Wormtail, who was barely able to block the kicks, but unable to get up. But Remus, in his rage, didn't notice Wormtail moving closer, into a position to strike, until it was too late.
Suddenly, he lashed out with his foot, catching Remus in his kneecap, sending the werewolf crashing to the floor, at the mercy of his one time friend…
Harry looked on in horror as Remus fell, and a second later, Wormtail was on him, striking at him with his hand. Harry's face went from horror to puzzlement. Why would Wormtail use a hand when he had a wand…
Harry's face went back to horror when he realized Wormtail was using his silver hand to attack Remus. "NOO!!! YOU BASTARD!!!" Harry roared, and burst from his position, his face a terrible mask of anger, hatred, fury, and sorrow that frightened those who saw him.
Ginny watched next to Dean as Harry kicked Wormtail's side in absolute hatred, but her mind was fixed on his visage as he passed. A cold, terrible mask that dwarfed the fury he held the day Sirius died.
"She killed Sirius! I'll kill her!" The words still echoed in the depths of her mind, along with the terrible face that accompanied it. In that one moment, in that one place in time, Harry was no longer the Boy-Who-Lived, a hero, a friend, but… Tom. But Tom was nothing, nothing compared to this sight.
Harry looked like an enraged god, or a demon to be more precise, and Ginny believed that no one, not Dumbledore, not Voldemort could stop Harry while he was like this. She wasn't certain Harry could stop himself.
She watched as Harry punched Wormtail once, twice, thrice, until a spell from the injured wizard blasted the Boy-Who-Lived into a shop window, and for a moment, the glass bent inward, before Harry was thrown inside, and the glass exploded, or perhaps imploded outward, slicing Ginny's exposed skin and leaving small trails of blood to mar her white skin.
A second later, Dumbledore arrived on the scene and raised his wand. Wormtail's cowardice was faster, though, even with a broken nose and jaw (courtesy of Harry Potter), he managed to Apparate away.
"Harry's in there!" Ginny cried out to the Headmaster, pointing towards the shop.
Dumbledore nodded, and raced inside with a speed that defied his age, intent on reaching the Boy-Who-Lived.
Albus Dumbledore found Harry Potter, bleeding and unconscious, on the floor of a curio shop. Actually, on top of a shelf of knickknacks, but now was not the time to quibble.
"Remus… no…" Harry muttered, agitated and troubled, even in his sleep, however forcefully he was put into it.
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, picked up the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry James Potter, like a baby, and cradled him in his arms, feeling pain that this was probably the first time Harry had felt this since Lily died.
Pushing that aside, he looked out of the shop, where Remus Lupin lay, gravely injured, obviously by silver poisoning. Wincing at the damage these two men had taken for so long, he cast a Portkey, and quickly suspended the Boy-Who-Lived on a stretcher, with Remus Lupin next to him, and took them both away, where their bodies could hopefully be healed.
If only the damage to their spirits was so easy to fix.
Thanks to Zeromaru: Chaos Mode, jbfritz, Samurai Demon-God Sekikage, David M. Potter, That Kid Crying In The Corner, SanityEscapesMe, Treck, arekuruu-inabikari-no-She, CharmedMilliE, spacecatdet, moonlightwitch, skittles-07, Discombobulatedperson, SeleneA, Wren Truesong, Maxennce, Kathyrn Black, Black-Hood, Lady of Masbolle, Tanydwr, summersun, Night-Owl123, harrysmom, BloodRedSword, ahbahh, Gyre, jeff, and Pleione for reviewing!
Q&A
Zeromaru: Chaos Mode- James? An interesting idea. I think I might already have something, but hey, if I can change my mind. Dark Harry won't receive his name for a while off.
Samurai Demon-God Sekikage- Actually, "Want, Take, Have" is also the motto of evil, according to Angelus (Who, along with Hannibal Lecter, are whom I am trying to base Dark Harry on). Well, death is really how you view it. Reality bends to perception. (Star Ocean, the only game I've ever played that actually conveyed ideals).
David M. Potter- Why would he need a woman? He's evil, a twisted version of Harry, like one of those fun house mirrors. He doesn't need love, and he certainly doesn't want it. Not too many people lining up to love someone like him.
SanityEscapesMe- You'll just have to find out whose on the agenda, but yes, I think its obvious by my patterns that Peter will be going down. He is going to be with Ginny, (he being Harry, not Dark Harry), but that's a while off, and there's really just a light H/G content as time goes on.
Treck- Draco… Lets just say that when Draco meets Dark Harry, I'm probably going to have to change the rating to R. (Wayyyy too scary for PG-13). Ginny does play some role concerning Dark Harry, but you'll have to find out what.
arekuruu-inabikari-no-She- Harry's next victim is quite easy to place. As for playing online, that'd be great, if I hadn't lost my cd-key a year ago. (I foolishly uninstalled Warcraft 3, because I needed space. I was quite pissed with myself over that.)
spacecatdet- Voldemort, his meeting with Dark Harry will be fitting. But that's later. I do think this is quite disturbing, which is why I'm thinking this should probably be R.
skittles-07- Because… of Deus Ex Machina! (Has no clue, blushes when reading the mistake)
Discombobulatedperson- Next person on the list, is Peter! (It is quite obvious.) Don't see how Dark Harry is sexy, I think he's just plain creepy. Again, that must be the Angelus and slight helpings of Hannibal Lecter in his personality.
SeleneA- Ginny and Harry is a bit off in the future, but her part in this story is going to grow. I can say that people will be tortured in the future, not just evil people.
Wren Truesong- I stand corrected. You are right, it is Harry's opinion, I am merely expressing it. Good reviews do deserve good responses. If I ever had any real contributions, like you, I'd review more often! Act IV was an Act I'm pretty sure I glazed over, especially the first part. I've read both Henry IV and Henry V (I was forced to read Henry IV, but I got interested and read Henry V for both work and pleasure). Actually, I think you're right. This is more serious and plot oriented. I was weird, probably from all the stuff bouncing around in my head. Klepto Harry is fun, but I was thinking more like he does it out of habit sometimes, or to impress the ladies. Its more like he has itchy fingers, but he can wait. I suppose he's not a kleptomaniac so much as he's always in Thief mode.
Maxennce- An excellent idea, which was toyed with. Problems… Well, at this point, I can't tell you, but Dark Harry can't do that yet.
Lady of Masbolle- Question one, since I'm feeling generous, no, Voldemort has no demon within him, he's pretty much a demon already. To question two, well, I don't think Dark Harry can stay hidden forever, he's got his own agenda. He's just doing the natural villain thing, 'biding his time'. You know, if I didn't know better, I'd swear some of my reviewers (you and Tanydwr currently here) can read my mind. Harry's not going to be 'exorcised', but I can promise you some kind of confrontation between the two Harrys.
Tanydwr- Bingo! You've got it! Dark Harry isn't some kind of demon in the literal sense, he's Harry's Dark side. But there's more to the story than that. He's starting to become more and more like Angelus, but his origins are different. Ginny's relationship with Dark Harry will be quite similar to (Loud gong) and (Explosion), though. Well, I don't 'think' about what the demon does, I know what he does. His origins are mysterious, as well as his powers (None of you have really asked how he's doing all of that, probably too busy enjoying the torture.) I'd also like to thank you. One of your reviews gave me a good (a.k.a. bad for someone) idea for the story. You'll just have to find out what, though you (and probably a good number of bleep's fans) will probably get seriously upset.
summersun- If you're sick for loving this fic, then I'm sadistic for writing it! Hey, you hate those characters. It's cool to hate them and love their deaths. Yeah, them putting the clues together will be a fun process.
harrysmom- Thanks for reminding me of Hermione's saying! This Dark Harry is much more than a Harry without inhibitions, letting his dark emotions run free, much more.
ahbahh- I was feeling lazy. Don't let the naming of one spell ruin the story for you.
Gyre- Voldemort doesn't even know that Dark Harry is loose in the world. But when they clash…(shudders in anticipation)
AN: Don't really like this ending to the chapter (not a cliffie! evil smirk), but hey, they can't all be winners. Thanks for reading, and please review!