Disclaimer: None of JK Rowlings characters belong to me and this story is written for the pure love of writing.

Chapter One. Devil Spawn

Harry felt himself falling for what seemed to be an incredible amount of time. Nevertheless he landed on something solid and…cold? Lifting his head up from where he lay, Harry found that he was on a rough wooden platform covered in… 'Snow?'

Scrambling to his feet Harry glanced at his surroundings in confusion. Something told him he as somewhere far away from home. He was no longer in the hall cupboard at Number 4 Privet Drive…

On either side of the platform were small wooden houses that lined a long lane, in which the wooden platform seemed central. Harry took another look at the houses and what he now recognised as shops…they were all rather crudely built.

An angry hiss turned Harry's attention away to the strange little houses to a tall dark man who was tied to a stake.

The man deep dark eyes glared narrowed suspiciously at Harry and Harry noticed his bottle green robes - obviously the stranger was a wizard…

Two men who were standing at the stake's flanks goggled wordlessly at Harry, who shuffled self consciously. Another who had been stacking branches at the base of the stake stopped to regard Harry in horror and lifted a finger to point… "D – de-devil sp-sp-spawn…"

Hearing a number of petrified gasps Harry turned around to find a crowd had gathered at the base of the platform.
"Erm…hello…" Harry said stupidly rasing his hand in a half hearted salutation.

Most of the crowd's eyes widened like saucers as they started to point and crying out that he was a demon child. Harry whirled about once more his mind reeling in deep turmoil; the man at the stake was eying him curiously and gasped when Harry pulled out his wand.

"Put that away boy…do you want to get yourself killed ?" the man at the stake hissed irritably – seemingly unconcerned by his own set of unfortunate circumstances…

But Harry did not react to the man's words…Something that the man had just said reminded Harry of the Death Eater. Right on cue Harry saw the Death Eater snarling and pushing muggles (for that was what the obviously were) in the crowd out of his way.

A few muggles in the crowd glowered at his rude passage and some threw some rotting fruit. However the Death Eater ignored the crowd and pulled out his wand. "CRUCIO…"

Harry fell onto his hands and knees with a scream of anguish as an all too familiar pain erupted through his body. White, hot and terrible…

"More pain, dear Harry?" the Death Eater chortled. Harry glanced up at Volemort's ally through his messy fringe and growled in fear that his voice would betray his pain. Then very slowly Harry got to his knees and raised himself up to face his enemy.

"Coming back for more are we Harry?" The Death Eater snarled. "CRUCIO!"
Harry found himself face first in the snow, his body writhing under the torture of the Death Eater. The pain soon disappeared and Harry lay still, panting …

A few seconds past and Harry got to his elbows and roared, putting all his fear, pain and anger behind his words. "EXPELLIARMUS…" To Harry's amazement, the force of the spell lifted the Death Eater into the air and he flew (almost gracefully) into the nearest building. There was crack followed by a loud thump as the now unconscious man fell to the ground.

Wincing Harry lowered his wand in disbelief…he did not know that he was capable of such force – for the spell had even shattered some of the building's windows.

Harry turned and looked to the crowd which had watched the exchange with something in between horror and fascination. But as Harry moved to gaze out at them the crowd fled in fear of the 'devil's child' screaming at the top of their lungs. Harry watched dispassionately as people pushed and shoved others; as small children were left to fend for themselves…

"Well," Harry mused to himself, "That went well." Harry heard an angry hiss and he chanced a look behind him. The man at the stake was untangling himself from his bonds and was regarding Harry intently with dark fathomless eyes. For some reason Harry felt that he had done something terribly foolish.

Feeling guilty for an unidentifiable reason Harry cautiously approached the man and helped in out of his bonds. The man's eyes bore into Harry's and then narrowed shrewdly as if by doing so he could extract some answers. Then as (custom demanded it) the stranger's eyes flew to the lightening bolt scar on Harry's forehead, then to Harry's smashed glasses…

Harry gingerly took off his glasses… "Reprco…" he murmured glancing at the stranger ruefully…

"Mudblood?" the man murmured to himself, as he folded his arms over his chest and gaze imperiously down on Harry.
Harry pursed his lips tightly in annoyance – obviously this man was a pureblood wizard.
"My father was a wizard – my mother a witch. If that is what you are asking," Harry replied tersely.

The edges of the man's lips twitched slightly. "I did not mean to offend young sir, but you are rather rash…for a pureblood…you should be aware of the dangers…"
"Oh, I am fully aware…both my parents were Aurors after all," Harry added, feeling safe to make such a claim – they were in the original Order of the Phoenix…that must count for something.

"Aurors…?" the man glanced down at Harry quizzically, "And what pray tell are Aurors?"

Harry shifted from foot to foot uneasily as the man continued to stare at him harshly. "Aurors…are…wizards and witches that – erm – fight the dark powers…"
Harry watched the other man raise his eyebrows elegantly, apparently amused from what he was hearing. "I see…" the stranger added darkly, obviously he did not believe Harry...

Harry didn't reply instead he placed his wand inside his shirt and rubbed his hands together, remembering for the first time it was snowing - and that he was cold. But then he caught something in the corner of his eye…someone was lurking in the shadows…

"EXPELLIARMUS…" Harry's wand flew out of his hand and into the clutches of another waiting Death Eater.
The Death Eater grinned menacingly at Harry and then to the stranger who was searching for something frantically in his robes muttering..."Damn stupid muggles...bane of this earth...my wand ...they have it!"

"This should be fun…to for the price of one!"
Harry took a few precautionary steps backwards. "IMPERIO."

In a blinding panic Harry felt his mind being wiped completely of thought. He wafted faintly somewhere where his current circumstances could not touch him. Then a quiet still voice whispered in his mind, '…kill the man with your bare hands…kill him…just kill him…'

Harry tried to turn his head slightly to catch a glimpse of the stranger but he found himself unable to so.
No, I can't…
...kill him…just kill him…

"I can't and I won't!" Harry cried triumphantly stamping his foot in defiance.
The Death Eater scowled furiously and pointed his wand at the stranger who was trying to sneak away… "PETRIFICIOUS TOTALUS!" The man's arms and legs snapped together and he fell into the snow with a muffled 'umph…'

The Death Eater pointed Harry's own wand at Harry's chest as he circled him, his eyes glinting malevolently. "How tragic, the great, the revered Harry Potter slain by his own wand…"

Harry's heart fluttered in his chest. This was not how it was supposed to end…According to the prophecy it was the Dark Lord himself that would be his demise. That thought gave him a heartbeat of hope but as the Death Eater raised his wand Harry was plunged back into the pit of despair.

"AVADA KED…"

"….STUPFY….!"