Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter!
AN: Gah... I'm so sorry. I've been completely stuck on how to write this chapter. I'm feeling guilty that this (and Shattered Reality) haven't been updated in a while. Language is a bit harsher than normal, so if bad language offends you...
Chapter 18 From the Abyss
Little lances of light, sparking and swirling and twisting, coalesced together to form a silvery form, and took the bolt of darkness in what would be its midriff. As it buckled under the magical attack, the ethereal form took shape, growing and changing until at last, a familiar visage greeted the oculus of all.
Once again, every single eye was wide with shock, and this time, even the unflappably calm Thanatos was gaping. But only for a moment, before his mouth snapped shut, his eyes narrowed, and for the first time, everyone could see that they now radiated utter hate, fury, and malice, nothing like the calm, sadistic demon of before as he snarled one word.
"Potter."
No one could move. No one could even blink. It was as if Time had stilled itself at the return of the Boy-Who-Lived.
At least, it looked like him, anyway.
His form was silvery tinged, and had an almost ethereal look to it, as if he would vanish like smoke in the wind. Dressed in plain jeans and a t-shirt, with familiar glasses and the same emerald eyes, Harry Potter floated defiantly.
"I thought I was rid of you." Thanatos growled.
"I came back because I need to stop you." Harry whispered, but his words were carried by the wind.
"You? Stop me?" The demon laughed, his composure returning, cockiness filling his voice. "Not bloody likely, kiddo." Gesturing at the incorporeal Harry, he grinned. "You, ghost. Me, solid."
Suddenly, the air brightened for a moment, and Thanatos stopped laughing as Harry's fist connected with his cheek.
Glancing at the darkening bruise that seemed almost... burn-like, the air began to darken and crackle with furious energy. "Fine." Thanatos said softly. "Then let's get to it then."
Lashing his arms out, Thanatos unleashed a storm of dark thunderbolts towards the Boy-Who-Lived, who flew aside easily. On instinct, Harry yelled, "EXPELLIARMUS!"
Eyes widened as a jet of red light erupted from Harry's palm, and Thanatos barely spun around, avoiding the attack.
"So you're more than a ghost..." Thanatos murmured quietly, and his lips quirked into a grin. "Perhaps this will be more interesting than I thought."
Beyond the combat, everyone's eyes were glued to the battle. Boy-Who-Lived versus his dark alter ego. The hero and his inner demon.
No one could move. Not that they could, what with Thanatos' strange power holding them in place.
But something was happening to their constraints, one person, namely Albus Dumbledore realized. Slowly, they were being worn down. Either Harry's presence or the battle was weakening the bonds... or perhaps it was both.
"Well... I've never tried Wandless before. Let's see what happens." Thanatos laughed, before yelling, "CRUCIO!"
The jet of the Cruciatus Curse went straight through the Boy-Who-Lived.
Snapping his fingers in annoyance, Thanatos grunted, "Bugger." But the grin returned. "I guess pure Dark will have to do."
Suddenly the area around Harry turned completely black, and the Boy-Who-Lived felt himself being choked, his entire essence being swallowed by the hungry dark. It was as if the abyss had opened itself underneath him, gaping and ready to devour him.
And Dumbledore realized this was how Thanatos fed on souls.
"NO!" Ginny and Ron screamed in unison, their bonds of darkness shattering as they fired their respective spells towards the demon.
Thanatos narrowly leapt aside, but the Darkness surrounding Harry kept up, and a terrified shriek cut the air apart and the hearts of everyone around them.
"Its not nice to interfere when people are eating." Thanatos snarled, and loosed a dark bolt towards them.
Ron was struck in the side and he screamed as it seemingly struck at his very essence, causing him to convulse in utter agony.
"You sick sonofabitch!" Ginny screamed, hurling herself at the demon, who sidestepped easily.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you Ginevra," Thanatos whispered, and grabbed Ginny's robes and pulled her up to look into his abyss eyes. "It's not nice to call people names."
For a moment, she looked ready to vomit, but strength returned to her chocolate brown eyes. "You're not a person." Ginny snarled, and spit on his face.
Time froze.
Every eye turned towards the apparently suicidal young woman.
Raising his hand to his face, Thanatos wiped the spit off his face slowly. "You know, the trouble with you people is you don't know when to give up." He whispered, and then backhanded Ginny, sending her crashing into a gaggle of chairs.
Slowly, the demon raised his arm into the air, letting it coalesce into a shadow ball, deeper than the darkest nightmare. "I've been working on this for a while, you know." Thanatos whispered, letting his every word drip with malevolence. "Bit by bit, it'll kill you ever so slowly. It'll drag up all the darkest memories of your soul and throw them at you until there's nothing left of you." The grin changed to a smirk. "It'll make you utterly helpless, no better than a mewling kitten. You might even go so far as to call it mind rape..."
The smirk widened. "I wonder how long you'll last."
Suddenly, the cloud of Darkness around Harry went supernova, and everything became pure white.
When the white cleared, Thanatos was on the ground, his clothing smoldering from whatever hidden powers the Boy-Who-Lived had unleashed. Across from him, Harry floated imperiously, glaring daggers at his darker half.
Slowly, the demon stood. "You know... this whole deus ex machina thing of yours is really, really fucking annoying!" Thanatos roared, and loosed a flurry of dark bolts at Harry, who flew aside, but this time, the fiend was ready as he leapt with inhuman speed for the Boy-Who-Lived, and struck him in the chest.
Harry, although not technically breathing, was the spiritual equivalent of it as he was hurled backwards. But he wouldn't give up, as he loosed his own punch and struck Thanatos in the face.
"JUST DIE!" Thanatos nearly screamed, letting bolt after bolt of Darkness rain from his hands.
Harry was impacted once, twice, thrice, and hurled backwards as more and more as the assault continued.
Screams erupted from all around as smoke engulfed the Boy-Who-Lived, but Thanatos didn't stop his barrage.
"STOP IT!" Ginny screamed, trying to hurl herself at the demon, but he stood immovable, laughing and screaming.
After another moment, Thanatos stopped, smiling viciously. "That was entertaining."
"Don't leave, Thanatos. The second act is only just begun." Dumbledore replied, his voice coming from... the dust cloud.
"NO!" The demon screamed, "HOW DID YOU-"
"It's amazing what anger can blind you to." The Headmaster said calmly. As the smoke cleared, it revealed a pure white shield surrounding Dumbledore and the spirit form of Harry Potter.
Glancing about himself, Thanatos realized that the others were free again. "Another day Harry." The demon promised.
And then he was gone.
For a brief while, there was nothing but silence. Shock had settled over everyone present, the heat and adrenaline of battle leaving them with a weary ache. Finally, it was broken by a soft voice.
"Harry... is that you?" Ginny asked quietly, stepping towards the ethereal, silvery form.
Nodding slightly, Harry's eyes looked unfocused for a moment. "Yeah... its me. I almost didn't make it back."
Tearfully, not caring that her last words to him had been ones of loathing and anger, Ginny hurled herself towards the Boy-Who-Lived... and promptly went through him.
Glancing down at himself, Harry murmured, "Bugger."
A quiet laugh murmured through the crowd, but Harry's next words cut it short.
"Who died?" The Boy-Who-Lived asked softly, looking at the coffin. "And where's-" Harry began, searching for Hermione, the one person he hadn't seen this entire battle and-
"Oh no."
Ron nodded weakly, getting up despite the aches and pains in his heart and soul. "Come on Harry... let's get inside."
Harry shook his head. "It was him, wasn't it."
The word him was said with more venom than the Boy-Who-Lived had ever used for the names of Voldemort and Bellatrix and Wormtail combined.
"Yeah." Ron choked out softly.
For a moment, Harry was silent. Then he nodded and turned, so as to hide the bitter tears that fell from his face.
When Ron and Ginny moved to comfort him, he began to sob openly.
"DAMNIT! WHY HER! WHY HER YOU SON OF A-" Harry cut his curse off and fell to his knees. Silvery tears fell from his eyes.
As Ron moved to touch Harry's shoulder, Ginny stayed his hand. "He's incorporeal, remember?"
"What is he, anyway?" Her brother asked softly.
"I don't think any of us know the answer to that." She replied. "We should give him time."
And so the two Weasleys kept watch over the ethereal form of a grieving Harry James Potter, in turn watched by the others gathered.
The storm at last began to pour its pain down onto the Earth once more, but no one paid any mind to it.
"So Harry... what happened to you while you were... drifting?" Dumbledore asked softly. It was the day after the funeral, and Harry had agreed to discuss what had happened to him with the Headmaster. So now they were in the Headmaster's office, sitting (in Harry's case, floating in the center of the room).
If it was possible for... whatever the Boy-Who-Lived was to shiver, he would have. "Cold... pain... so dark." He mumbled softly.
Dumbledore's eyes spiked with pain. "If this is too traumatic-" He began, but Harry cut him off.
"I'm fine..." Harry replied softly, forcing a grin. "Just memories."
"How did you come back?" The Headmaster inquired.
"I... I needed... need to stop him." The identity of him was clear.
"Why?"
"Because... I don't know."
Dumbledore smiled kindly. "I think that's enough for now."
Harry's head shot up. "Sir... what's happened to me? How was I able to touch Thanatos... but no one else?" Earlier, they had explained that the demon had given himself a name.
The Headmaster sighed. "I have a number of theories, Harry. But whatever Thanatos is, it is clear that he was formed of is Dark magic. Harry," He began softly, "Do you remember when I told you that Voldemort may have transferred some of his powers to you?"
Harry visibly stiffened, and nodded.
"Thanatos... informed us that whatever Voldemort did to you that night created him."
An idea wormed its way into the Boy-Who-Lived's mind. "Sir, do you think Voldemort might know what Thanatos is, and how to stop him?"
Dumbledore's gaze turned sharp. "Harry, I hope you're not planning to-"
"Sir, that monster is a part of me. Or at the very least, its masquerading in my body, killing innocent people" like Hermione "and I will do anything to destroy him." Harry said firmly, hatred filling his tone.
"Even if that includes turning to your greatest foe, the one you are destined to kill or be killed by?" The Headmaster replied, his voice a little higher.
"Desperate times." Harry shrugged. "And if Thanatos is me... then maybe Tom is the only one who can do it."
"I cannot consent to you doing this." Dumbledore said softly.
"I have no other choice. I will choose the lesser of two evils if need may be to stop the greater."
"You believe Thanatos is a greater threat?" He asked.
The shade nodded, and looked away. "Headmaster... you have no idea what I saw when I was trapped with him. Thanatos has the power and will to consume all life on this planet. And every time he does it he'll grow stronger and hungrier. He will never stop until everything is dead."
"And Tom won't?" Dumbledore countered.
"Voldemort's insane, but he wants purebloods alive." Harry replied calmly. "And I know he'll want this threat dead."
"My God Harry... you're talking about making a deal with the proverbial devil." Albus Dumbledore gasped softly.
Harry's face hardened into grim, determined lines. "It takes a devil to kill a devil."
But will you become that devil to do so? Albus asked silently.
Thanks to Pleione, Vegita43, Julie Long, Treck, Tanydwr, Night-Owl123, Dr Gero, Rose of Many Thorns, arekuruu-inabikari-no-She, Harrie, Zeromaru Chaos Mode, Emma Barrows, spike blade, japanese-jew, FroBoy, Maxennce, mashimaromadness, ciberloco, Pure Black, hyperdude, Me7878, Tondo-the-half-elf, Discombobulatedperson, harrysmom, Ginny M, xxJaredxx, Queen Weasel, YamiClara, and Q for reviewing!
Q&A
Vegita43- Must have been my alter ego, or maybe you misunderstood me. I always planned for it to go down like this.
Julie Long- He came back.
Treck- Too quick.
Tanydwr- No one will! Mwhahahaha! And when is Harry ever careful?
Dr Gero- Not at all. I like the guy, personally. So much fun to write.
Rose of Many Thorns- Secret.
Zeromaru Chaos Mode- Both Harry and Thanatos still have some powers I've yet to show off... though you glimpsed one of Thanatos' in this chapter.
FroBoy- Nope. Two separate entities.
Maxennce- All will be revealed in time.
ciberloco- I'm trying to play up Ginny's guilt, but there's more to the story than her. And I'm going to delay the forgiveness stuff for a while, let her fester.
harrysmom- (looks shifty) Yeah... that would be great... but who would possibly believe that! (Forced laugh) I mean, that's just absurd. (More forced laughter)
Q- I don't know... perhaps Quillian? (Laughs)
AN: Unforgivably short compared to the wait, I'm afraid. There's just nothing I can do about the length of this chapter.