Disclaimer- Nope, still don't own Harry Potter.
AN: Short chapter with nothing but plot setting.
Chapter 19 Deal With The Devil
Harry Potter floated silently on the top of the Astronomy Tower, reviewing his meeting with Dumbledore. Although to in the Headmaster's office he had conviction, when he reviewed his plan, the more and more he doubted it would work.
Was he really arrogant enough to believe he could predict and manipulate Voldemort into a battle with Thanatos? Who would he be helping in this situation?
The spirit sighed deeply, more out of habit than necessity. "What in the nine spheres of Hell am I thinking?" He asked the stars.
The stars didn't answer, only twinkling mysteriously.
But someone else did.
"I don't know, since you haven't told anyone."
Harry jumped slightly, and spun around, magic at the ready, until he recognized who was behind him. "Ginny, don't do that." He chided quietly.
The young woman blushed faintly and nodded. "Sorry." Slowly, she stepped next to the spirit. "Harry... I'm sorry."
The Boy-Who-Lived blinked. "Why?" He asked, dumbfounded.
Ginny looked at him with surprise. "I broke the blood bond that kept Thanatos at bay... its my fault your like this and my fault-" She sniffled slightly, "My fault Hermione's... dead."
Harry shook his head. "No, it's not. We didn't know that would happen. You were just angry-"
But the youngest Weasley wouldn't take that kind of answer. "No! I should have been more careful! I should-"
"Stop it." The words had more force than a gale. Harry floated down and then bent slightly to look Ginny in the eye. "I've wasted my life and should haves and might haves. Don't do the same."
Ginny nodded. "Thanks Harry." She said softly.
Harry smiled. "Anytime."
For a moment, everything was peaceful.
Then Snape came in. "Potter. I have the information you wanted." He said curtly, sneering at the two Gryffindors. "I hope I wasn't... disturbing anything." He added nastily.
Ginny's face flamed, and Harry simply gave him a weak glare as he blushed less obviously. "Let's go then."
"Damn... why didn't I figure this place before?" Harry asked himself quietly. He was floating just a little down the road of Riddle Manor, once again questioning his sanity. Glancing at the graveyard, the doubt only grew as he remembered the sheer hatred Voldemort had of him.
At least the risk was only to him. Harry had flatly refused to allow anyone to accompany him, stating that spells (at least conventional ones) didn't work on him, making him a perfect negotiator.
The fact that Harry had only ever mediated arguments between Ron and (he swallowed) Hermione, and did a poor job of it, was not brought up.
Now of course, it seemed quite simple. Walk in, and convince Voldemort to ally himself with his most hated foes.
Discounting the number of Death Eaters that might try some Dark Magic to stop him, and the Dark Lord himself attempting something.
He sighed again. "This must be the craziest plan I've ever thought up."
Although with my track record, that's not saying too much.
Contrary to popular belief, Voldemort did not feast on the flesh of the living and the souls of the small children. He in fact, enjoyed some nice red wine with his filet minon, served extra rare, just the way he liked it.
As he sipped from his wine, his door opened.
No, opened wasn't the right word. Imploded, more like it. Shards of wood soared and clattered to a halt nearby Lord Voldemort, and smalls swirls of dust flew forth.
And, flying to the feet of Voldemort, came the battered and unconscious body of Marcus Crabbe.
The Dark Lord sighed. "Did you defeat all my guards, Potter?"
Harry smirked slightly. "All the ones I could find." He shrugged. "They got in my way."
"I should have given them the day off." The Dark Lord muttered and sighed. "I assume you didn't come here to fight me, or we wouldn't be talking."
The Boy-Who-Lived nodded. "Your guards wouldn't let me in, and it seems that you've set up wards against spirits. I had to... incapacitate your guards."
"What can I say? I don't fancy being haunted." Lord Voldemort remarked with a small smile. "Enough chatter, though. What do you want, Potter?"
"To make a deal." Harry replied.
The smile turned into an amused smirk. "Interesting." The Dark Lord leaned forward, vermilion eyes flashing slightly with piqued interest. "I'm listening."
"Do you think Potter's plan will work?" Snape asked Dumbledore quietly.
The Headmaster sighed. "I have no idea." He paused, and continued. "And even if he does succeed... who is to say that is the correct course of action?"
His Potions Master simply nodded wearily. "We knew this war would force us to choose between the lesser of two evils at times. But this..." Severus Snape shrugged helplessly.
A reflective silence passed onto the room.
"I suppose we will just have to hope for the best." Dumbledore sighed.
Snape raised a sardonic eyebrow and stated flatly, "Don't feed me that optimistic crap Albus."
Lord Voldemort burst out laughing. Real, honest-to-God laughter.
It scared Harrypossibly even more than Thanatos' laugh.
Possibly.
"You want me," The Dark Lord paused to wipe a fake tear of mirth from his eyes, "To help you and the old man. And not just that, but to fight someone whose been killing off my enemies."
The Boy-Who-Lived nodded, but cut in quietly. "You were not aware of his presence. There was no need to have two enemies fighting him at the same time."
Voldemort smirked. "Why Potter, that sounds almost Slytherin."
Harry nodded grimly. "That's exactly how Thanatos thinks. You're not fighting a bunch of Gryffindors. You're fighting someone who thinks like you and can use your greatest weaknesses against you."
The Dark Lord stiffened. "I have no weaknesses." He said briskly.
His foe merely smirked. "Yes you do... Tom."
For a moment, Lord Voldemort yearned to curse the boy, but he held back. Controlling his temper was something he was learning, ever since Dumbledore had bested him at the Department of Mysteries.
"What exactly do you want me to do?" The Dark Lord inquired, managing to force his voice to be calm.
"Tell me what Thanatos is." Harry said.
Lord Voldemort shot him an inquiring look, one that seemed to gauge his nemesis. "And what, pray tell, makes you think I know what he is."
"Because he's too much like you. Fueled by rage and power. I know, I've felt both of your minds." Harry shot back, a slight glare in his eyes as he remembered the terrible violation of possession.
A flash of insight struck and haunted Harry. Was that how it was for Ginny?
In that moment, Harry had never felt so disgusted with himself. To forget that you saved someone's life... how arrogant was he to think he was the only one with problems?
The Dark Lord's lips quirked into an interested smile. "You're much smarter than I gave you credit for, Potter."
"What can I say? Having you try and kill me every year makes me quite the detective." The Boy-Who-Lived responded with a trace of humor in his voice.
"True. Anyone who has lasted this long must be smart." Voldemort conceded.
"Can we get back to what Thanatos is?" Harry asked again, quietly.
"What do I get in return?" His long-time nemesis asked.
Harry sighed. "Thanatos has also been killing your people."
For a moment, the Dark Lord seemed thrown back and quickly, he pieced together what the boy meant. "He killed Bella and Wormtail."
"And he'll keep killing your people, just like he'll keep killing ours." Harry nodded. "We can try to kill each other while he keeps getting stronger, or we kill him. And then we get back to killing each other."
The Dark Lord paused and nodded in agreement, obviously plotting something else. He sighed and began. "Do you believe in the concept of pure evil, Potter?" He asked.
Harry raised a questioning eyebrow, but played along. "I used to think you were, when we first met. But Thanatos... he's even worse... something in him isn't right. He's not human."
Lord Voldemort smiled darkly. "Exactly. The concept of something being pure, completely and utterly evil is thought to be impossible by most. As the old fool would put it, everyone has a spark of light within them, no matter how dark their soul."
"Even you?" Harry inquired wryly.
The Dark Lord shot him a deadly glare. "That is not the issue. What is the issue is that some wizards believe that if you ever managed to create a being of pure darkness, it would have unimaginable power." He paused, almost grimacing. "Many have tried and failed to destroy that spark of light within their souls."
Harry decided not to inquire if Voldemort was the same.
"Something was missing. Something not even I could find." Lord Voldemort looked almost jealous for a moment. "Whatever this... 'Thanatos' is, he is the greatest evil to walk this earth. Pure and utter Darkness."
"How." Harry asked flatly.
The other chose not to respond at first, instead lacing his long fingers together and placing them in front of his mouth and his elbows propped on the table. "Perhaps whatever happened that fateful night," The Dark Lord seemed to have a flash of pain as a memory moved in his mind, "Whatever happened there transferred the effects of what the rituals of the eidolon had on me to you. And perhaps your infant soul, not yet fully divided between good and evil, was split into two beings."
"Eidolon?" Harry asked quietly, not liking where this was going.
"It is a word, Potter. A word for an idea or a phantasm. And the term used for this Thanatos." Voldemort explained condescendingly.
"So Thanatos is pure evil and I'm human. That explains a lot." Harry sighed quietly.
"Not quite Potter." The Dark Lord added, his face expressionless. The sinking feeling in the Boy-Who-Lived's stomach grew.
"You're an Eidolon too... in a way." At seeing Harry's shocked face, he chuckled mirthlessly. "In order for pure evil to exist... pure good must also exist." He grimaced at the idea. "This is my own guesswork, of course. But it makes sense, seeing as how dedicated you are to the light." He sneered at the spirit.
"You mean..." Harry gasped quietly.
The Dark Lord nodded. "You aren't human either. What's more... its quite probable that if the eidolon of Darkness dies," Lord Voldemort seemed to relish the next words. "You too will die. Your existence is tied to his, and if one of you is destroyed, it is quite likely the other will be too.
The silence was deafening.
"Does it work both ways?" The Boy-Who-Lived asked.
"I suppose it might." The Dark Lord said guardedly, a spark on interest in his vermilion eyes.
Finally, Harry spoke. "Then I'll make you a deal. You kill me, and Thanatos dies. Even if it doesn't work, you still win."
Lord Voldemort looked surprised. "Are you deaf as well as foolish Potter? You will die along with him, or possibly even in vain." He shrugged. "I don't really care, but I thought you were a tad smarter than the rest of my foes."
"That's a price I'm willing to pay, a risk I'm willing to take." Harry replied quietly.
"How... altruistic of you."The Dark Lord sneered disgustedly. "Ithink I rather likethe terms." The Heir of Slytherin smirked.
"I thought you might." The Boy-Who-Lived deadpanned.
The Dark Lord grinned viciously, eyes glinting with satisfaction. "You've got yourself a deal Potter." He paused. "It may take a while, seeing as how you are a spirit, but I can wait."
Harry nodded, that sinking feeling in his stomach only growing. It was the right choice, he reminded himself. If this worked right, then at the very least one threat would be stopped. There had to be someone else who could destroy Voldemort.
"Well, lookie lookie whose making friends."
Both Lord Voldemort and the Boy-Who-Lived whirled in unison.
From the shadows, a smiling Thanatos stepped forth.
"Now see, I knew that in the end, friendship would reign on earth." The eidolon wiped a fake tear from his black eyes. "It makes me so glad to know that even the worst enemies can come together in times of crisis."
"I take it you heard everything." Voldemort deadpanned.
Thanatos smirked. "Indeed. Interesting theory, though it does pose a few problems for me." He shrugged. "But I'll worry about that after I kill you, Tommy boy."
"Looks like there's a change of plans," The Boy-Who-Lived said quietly, glancing at the Dark Lord.
"True." The Dark Lord glanced at Harry. "I'm going to enjoy killing your body." He murmured, withdrawing his wand.
Harry said nothing.
Thanatos smiled as the room grew colder and darker. "Well, I must say that feeding on your Death Munchers was quite satisfying... but I wonder how your soul tastes."
"You won't find out." The Dark Lord replied. "I know what you are, eidolon. I know how to destroy you." Voldemort raised his wand, placing himself in a dueling position.
Thanatos merely smirked and raised his hand, letting the shadows around them grow.
The Boy-Who-Lived watched, the only spectator to witness the battle between the two darkest beings that existed on this miserable planet.
Thanks to PinkyTheSnowman, m-girls, Ice-Phoenix-Tears, PersonaJXT, Hakkai-Gojyo-Goku-Sanzo, VampireHeart, Bujiana, Night Wanderer, The Best witch of all, stoned joker, Bongie, brady, HPbabe143, Quillian, Tondo-the-half-elf, Pleione, japanese-jew, Zeromaru Chaos Mode, Emma Barrows, Vegita43, moonlightwitch, Night-Owl123, Georgiana, Nic'sim87, FroBoy, Harrie, YamiClara, nitrous, harrysmom, mashimaromadness, Lady of Masbolle, QueenWeasel, and Darkmoonslion for reviewing!
Q&A
PinkyTheSnowman- (blinks) Damn, three hours? I agree with the guys at your school. And it appears Shattered Reality is entering a coma.
m-girls- He tried and failed. Hasn't had the time to finish the job yet.
Tondo-the-half-elf- This would be that chapter.
Harrie- True. Harry knows that Thanatos has the potential to kill everyone, so its obvious (slightly) who is the lesser evil. Not that I'd ever tell Tom that...
harrysmom- Thanatos' anger does weaken him. As for people showing love to Harry weakening Thanatos, you're a bit off. It doesn't affect Thanatos at all... (mysterious smile)
mashimaromadness- Its okay about the rant. While Harry is made of pure light and good, you must always be aware of one thing. Just because something is good does not mean it can't be dangerous, perhaps even more so than evil because good can drive you to do terrible acts in the name of the Right. (Blinks) Sorry about my little lecture. I'll attempt to keep my soapbox in check.
Lady of Masbolle- Well, this is also another "unforgivably short" chapter, isn't it? Don't worry, you've got an awesome fight to look forward to. The question you asked about bleeding sparked quite a few discussions, and I'd have to say that while Thanatos can bleed (he is corporeal), it may be a bit hard to make him.
AN: Oh... now that's a nice cliffhanger, huh? Well, have fun sitting around till the next chapter, and please review!