Disclaimer: Master Slytherin admits that J.K. Rowling (a pure-blooded Slytherin, may I add) owns everything that you recognise. Everything that is not recognisable is owned by Master Slytherin. No money is being made because the line of Slytherin needs not these petty coins, for we have supreme power. Now bow!
" " Normal Speech
' ' Thoughts
P" "P Parseltongue.
Two for one everyone, two for one!
Previously on Freelance Hero(FH):
Harry looked around the room and saw a four poster bed, a table and three armchairs, two comfortable ones and one which seemed off. One of them was occupied, though. It was then that he realized where he was. Blaise's room…
Chapter 4: The Destruction of Diagon Alley and a Nott in time saves nine
"Um…I'm sorry. I'm sure you want to be alone. I'll just go," said Harry quickly.
He walked quickly towards the door and was about to open it when Blaise spoke.
"If you want to stay here, you can Potter. Just-just don't get in my way." She was desperately trying to inject some of the Slytherin coldness she had in abundance. For some reason, it wasn't very effective.
"Don't worry, I'll just go," said Harry, not wanting to seem insensitive.
"I've got something to say to you, Potter. I-thank you for saving me the other day. And thank you for almost saving my mother it meant a lot."
Harry felt very awkward and, for some reason, he was blushing.
"D-don't worry. It was no problem," he stuttered, not really knowing anything better to say.
"I have something I want to ask. Why did you save me? I've never spoken to you in my life, you probably didn't even know who I was, why did you do it?" Blaise sounded both confused and very curious, as if saving someone for no reason was the strangest thing in the world.
Inside, Harry wanted to say it was because he was in Gryffindor but he knew that this wasn't true. None of his friends would come to the aid of a 'slimy' Slytherin. Then he remembered Hermione's words last year, about how he had a saving people thing.
"I dunno. I didn't know you but that doesn't mean I want you dead, it just seemed natural, I suppose…" Harry couldn't think of anything else and fell silent. The awkwardness in the room was high. Blaise mumbled something which Harry didn't catch.
"What was that?" he asked curiously.
"I said…Oh don't worry, it's nothing," she said as though embarrassed by what she had mumbled.
"No, what did you say?" pressured Harry. He knew that sometimes getting things out in the open helped.
"Well, how do you cope with it?" asked Blaise. Harry wore a confused expression upon his visage so she continued. "How do you deal with not having parents around? A week ago, I took it for granted, but you seem fine whereas I am a wreck."
"Well, I suppose it's because I didn't really know them. Sometimes, especially when I was young, I wished they were alive, but now I feel I do have family. The Weasleys have become a family to me and there are others who are as well." Harry stopped himself there. He didn't know why he was opening up so much to a relative stranger and decided to shut up.
Blaise had tears in her eyes again and Harry decided to leave. He got up, hesitated, and walked out.
'She probably wants to be left alone,' he mused.
He didn't know where to go at that point and, not caring whether Hermione was there or not, he went to his and Ron's room.
To his immense relief, the occupants of the room didn't have brown, bushy hair. Ginny and Ron were having a chess match and Remus was watching, occasionally giving Ginny hints. Unfortunately, this usually led to disaster. Whether Remus was bad or Ron was exceptionally good, Harry didn't know.
"Hey guys," said Harry, feigning cheerfulness; after his bout with Hermione, his previous high spirits had worn off.
"Oh, hello Harry, cooling off well?" Remus stated subtly. Ron and Ginny were too engrossed in their match to properly greet him. Ron grunted and Ginny nodded.
"You really upset Hermione, Harry," started Remus, "She's in her room right now, crying. I think that you should perhaps go and comfort her."
Harry snorted; no way was he going to comfort her as if he had done something wrong, she would have to apologise first.
"Until she gets her head out of books and realizes that there is more to life than believing in what you read, then I'm saying nothing. She should apologize to me. She should be a true friend like Ron."
"What?" asked Ron as if Harry had called him. He still hadn't looked away from the board. Harry rolled his eyes and laughed. It felt good to laugh; he hadn't done it in so long.
"I said you're doing well Ron," he laughed. He turned to Remus again, a very serious look replacing the one of mirth.
"Remus, will there be any need for action soon? Has anyone been marked? Anything I can help with?" Harry tried to be as discreet as possible. He didn't need to be though; the other occupants were too pre-occupied to listen to his small talk.
"You read my mind," said Remus with a small smile. Remus was much better than him at the riddles.
Harry looked into his eyes and said, 'Legilimency.' He found there were no natural walls up whatsoever. Harry saw Dumbledore speaking to his Order. The memory was as if he was in a pensieve.
"I've called this emergency meeting without the younger ones to tell you something of great importance. Lord Voldemort will attack tomorrow. He is seeking revenge for the loss of some of his inner circle and his failure to kill Miss. Zabini. To prevent our spy being found out, we will arrive ten minutes late. The attack is on Diagon Alley at around midday, Voldemort is hoping that there will be a lot of shoppers. Fred, George, you will evacuate people using the portkey technique I taught you as quickly as possible. Tonks, Kingsley, Arthur and Alastor, I want you to blend in with the crowd and make sure no-one gets hurt before the rest of us arrive. Please don't tell Ronald or Miss. Granger, they are most certainly not powerful enough to fight and the ministry will cause problems…"
Harry pulled out at that point with a grim expression.
"It is just as I thought. Wait a minute! Midday is in ten minutes! I've got to go!" said Harry quickly after a quick glance at his watch.
"Yes! Come on! Who's the master!" celebrated Ron. "Did you see how I beat her Harry? I could have done it earlier on, but I wanted it to be a massacre. I got every single piece!"
"Yeah, but I got quite a few of yours? What kind of master does that?" moped Ginny.
"That was part of the plan. You've got to sacrifice in war…"
Harry drowned out the siblings' bickering. They didn't even notice that he had gone into his trunk to get his manticore hide battle robes. He had to find a way of distracting the feuding teenagers for an hour or so.
"Why don't you have a rematch to decide the 'master'," Harry almost yelled.
"Yeah, alright, unless you're scared I'll beat you again Ginny!"
"What? You're on!"
Harry walked out of the room; the door hadn't been replaced yet, and looked around for anyone who may see him. When the coast was clear, he affectuseod to Diagon Alley.
As Dumbledore and Voldemort had predicted, the street was brimming with witches and wizards, all wanting to get their shopping over with early. There was a big crowd around a bright orange shop with a flashing sign which read: 'Weasley's Wizards Wheezes.' Fred and George seemed to be doing well out of the shop. Harry recognized many individuals from Hogwarts. He was receiving many frightened looks. He realized that an individual with a shadowy face would be very intimidating; especially at times like these.
He couldn't remove his hood though. The consequences of this action would be far worse.
'I hate being famous,' thought Harry with anger.
Suddenly behind him, there were a myriad of pops. Green lights were already appearing and people were screaming. Harry could see the twins had already evacuated many people. It was obvious that they had planned it. Most of the people in the shop were already gone; the products they were carrying were portkeys.
Harry snapped into action, stunning three Death Eaters. He put up a large barrier protecting the public, similar to what he had done before. He felt relieved that Death Eaters attacked in packs. It made the barrier so much more effective. It couldn't withstand unforgivables though, so he was banking on the Death Eaters concentrating on him. His gamble paid off in that respect.
Three Avada Kedavras flew directly at him and he had to dodge out of the way. Many more were inaccurate and brought down the barrier. Harry brought the barrier back up and added a steel wall to protect it.
'Stupefy,' thought Harry and he stunned the nearest Death Eater. There were too many for simple stunners, so Harry had to dip into the Dark Arts and perform a spell incapacitating a group on contact. It was quite draining and, at close range, deadly, but at the time, innocent lives meant more to him than Death Eaters'.
'You have chosen your path,' thought Harry fiercely, 'Vulnero!'
A jet of bright purple light jetted from Harry's wand and hit the batch of Death Eaters. It instantly killed the first five, their limbs splattered all over the battle field. Fifteen were injured very badly and couldn't possibly continue with the duel. He only had five left.
"Incidere," yelled a cold voice on the far right. This took Harry completely by surprise and the blood red flash of light hit his knee which gashed open. Screwing his face in extreme pain, he quickly stopped the bleeding and cast a pain killing charm on it. It would wear off in around an hour, but that was enough.
"Avada Kedavra!" yelled another Death Eater, stimulated by his companion's success.
"Sive Mirror," yelled Harry and a thick, grand mirror appeared and the spell was reflected right back at the caster who couldn't block it.
One of the hoods of the other four Death Eaters slipped and Harry found himself faced with Wormtail again. The person who had killed his parents. The person who had robbed him of a childhood. Blood was pounding in his ears and he turned his wand to Wormtail and uttered a very Dark curse he had learnt recently. It couldn't be thought, it had to be screamed with extreme emotion, or otherwise the caster would feel the pain himself. Harry was confident, though. No-one hated anyone like he hated Wormtail.
"Cruor Clausus," screamed Harry and a jet black light rushed at Wormtail and hit him right above his heart. At first, nothing happened, then Wormtail fell on all fours.
Harry stunned the other Death Eaters while they were staring at Wormtail. They were obviously new recruits; otherwise Harry would have been dead by now.
Wormtail was now regurgitating blood. The spell blocked the Pulmonary Vein (one of the most important blood vessels in the whole body), and redirected the blood to the mouth. It would take Wormtail around two days to die; it was the worst possible death. Harry, of course, didn't know the gory details. His double had learnt the spell directly from Castus who only said it caused a lot of pain. Harry felt sick as he watched Wormtail. He vowed never to use that curse again.
Suddenly, the barriers came down and Harry couldn't be bothered to fight against Dumbledore (verbally) in the middle of Diagon Alley. Instead of a long, sweeping beard and baby blue eyes, there was a snake-like face and dark, red eyes. It was Voldemort.
"So, Potter, you think you can just go around killing my servants freely just because I want you to join me? Crucio."
Harry felt a searing pain as if hot knives were stabbing him at every angle. This was so much more powerful than Bellatrix's and Voldemort's at the Tri-Wizard tournament. It was then that Harry realized how much more powerful Voldemort was than before. As Professor Trelawney had said: more terrible than ever before. Finally the pain ended.
"Are you going to come with me, or will you have another lesson in pain?" hissed Voldemort, eyes glowing in enjoyment.
'Vulnero,' thought Harry. Voldemort looked surprised for half a second but dodged out of the way, as fast as lightning. Voldemort had an expression of realization on his face.
"It was you, Potter! You can cast spells wordlessly! Ha, even more reasons to recruit you. Now for your second bout of pain. Crucio!"
Harry knew what Voldemort's weakness was at that point, he talked too much. He would remember this once he had grown stronger. For the moment, he dodged out of the way and thought: 'Incidere' as many times as he could. One of the spells cut Voldemort's shoulder. The Dark Lord was too cocky to wear armour.
"That's enough. No more games," hissed Voldemort, finally taking Harry seriously.
Voldemort opened a bony left hand with abnormally long fingers and quickly closed it again. Caught unawares, Harry's wand left his hand and Voldemort caught it deftly. He couldn't believe what had happened; Voldemort could cast spells without a wand. There was no way Harry could beat him.
"Contraho," hissed Voldemort and ropes appeared and wrapped themselves around Harry's torso. He couldn't apparate or affectuseo out of there.
"Portus," said Voldemort in a triumphant voice.
"M-master. M-my b-blood is g-going. P-please h-help me!" choked Wormtail in between regurgitations.
"Hmm. You have failed me Wormtail, but Potter has punished you it seems. One more blunder and I will kill you."
Voldemort waved his wand and Wormtail stopped bleeding through his mouth, but not even the best healer could recover the pale look on Wormtail's face.
"T-thank you, Master. You are merciful, thank you."
Voldemort approached Harry and Wormtail with the portkey in hand.
'This is it,' thought Harry, 'I'm going to be locked up in his headquarters.'
The portkey was getting closer and closer to his skin. Ten seconds, five seconds, four, three, two. Then, the portkey was knocked out of Voldemort's hands.
"Dumbledore!" screamed Voldemort, "You have foiled me too many times; now, I will kill you!"
As Voldemort had suspected it was indeed Dumbledore. The ancient wizard stood behind Voldemort, wand raised, with light blue robes matching his eyes. The fury in his eyes gave him a radiating sense of power and Harry couldn't help but feel intimidated.
Harry saw that the other Order members were battling with Death Eaters which accompanied their master in a similar way to the Department of Ministries battle. Harry knew that he didn't have enough power to duel Voldemort and that he would just be a hindrance to Dumbledore so he made to help the Order.
Diagon Alley wasn't in good condition at all. In fact saying it looked awful was an understatement. The buildings on Harry's right; once grand and welcoming were now ablaze. Madam Malkin's was a smoldering ruin and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had suffered considerable damage. The worst by far was Eeylops Owl Emporium. In addition to the wreckage, there was a blanket of red covering the scene; all the owls had been killed in the building.
Harry was almost near Remus's position where he was dueling Crabbe and Rabastan Lestrange at the same time. While Crabbe wasn't a challenge and Rabastan wasn't as good as his brother, together, they were deadly. Remus was looking bad. He was sporting a broken arm and a damaged shoulder. A few more minutes, and he'd be dead.
"Avada Kedavra," yelled Crabbe, obviously thinking the duel was over.
'Vide Mirror,' thought Harry frantically and a thick mirror appeared again. It reflected right back at Crabbe who died with the triumphant look still in his eye. Harry couldn't conjure up another mirror, it was too magically draining.
"Vulnero," yelled Harry. He couldn't utter spells wordlessly, it would destroy him. The purple light caught Rabastan Lestrange off-guard while he was looking around for the conjurer of the mirror. Lestrange was either dead or critically injured.
'He helped drive Neville's parents insane,' reasoned Harry with his conscience, 'He deserves to be hurt.'
"Th-thank you, Harry. No-one else would have let you come here and told you the plan, but it seems I have been repaid for making that decision. You're a great wizard," breathed Remus through gritted teeth. Harry could tell he was in immense pain and knew he had to get to St. Mungos."
"Accio Stone!" said Harry. Thinking hard of the lobby of said hospital, Harry made the portkey.
"No Harry! I must help the Order! I'll be fine."
Harry couldn't be bothered to reply and just thrust the portkey into Remus's hands.
The Death Eaters were doing quite badly. They had lost many more members than the Order. Mad-Eye was dueling three people at the same time. Harry stunned two of them for him in quick succession, wishing he could do wordlessly but knowing he couldn't.
"Thanks, Potter but I think I could have…POTTER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he screeched once he'd realized who he was speaking to.
"Avada Kedavra!" said the Death Eater, catching Moody unawares.
"Vide Stone," said Harry. He couldn't reflect it back anymore but could block it. The stone shattered into a thousand pieces. Moody was shocked he had been caught off guard and that a barely sixteen year old kid had saved him.
"You'll pay for that Potter!" hissed the Death Eater. "Master will make me his second-in-command if I bring yours and Moody's heads on a plate!"
"Avada Kedavra! Incidere!"
Harry dodged out of the way of the first curse which blew up the Ice Cream Parlour only to find that a cutting hex was heading straight at him. He put up a weak shield which the curse went straight through. It gashed the side of Harry's leg which slowed down his movement considerably.
"Stupefy," croaked Harry. Another Death Eater down.
"Incidere," another Death Eater yelled and Harry's other leg was hit. Harry couldn't move and was feeling agonizing pain.
"Crucio!" Another dose of pain which, compared to Voldemort's was child's play came his way. The pain from the cruciatus suddenly stopped as that Death Eater was stunned.
Harry feebly tried to heal his wounds, but he was too exhausted both physically and mentally to do so. Another curse struck him and another and another; each more painful than the previous. There was a hooded figure standing over him performing the slash movements which paralyzed Hermione the previous term. It was then that he knew he was going to die. The curse hit him and he knew no more.
Darkness. That is all there was.
'Is this what death is like? It's pretty boring!" mused Harry.
Suddenly, to his left was a flicker of light. Upon closer inspection, it was gone. Harry moved towards that general direction. To his surprise, he found he wasn't walking; he was flying on his Firebolt! He sped off and suddenly, he saw the flicker of light again. It didn't disappear this time and Harry forced his beloved broom to go faster.
The light grew bigger and stronger. Harry flew faster and faster until he hit maximum speed. The light was growing ever larger and brighter. Closer. Closer. Harry didn't know why he was heading at it; it just felt instinctive.
Finally, Harry reached the light and found he was not on his Firebolt, but in extreme pain in a hospital. The light was the glare of the Hospital lamps. Without his glasses, he couldn't make much else out. There was a wooden table next to his bed so he groped for his glasses. As he had thought, the glasses were there and his vision sharpened.
A squat old woman with flowing white hair and hints of extreme beauty in the past entered the room. She walked up to him, measuring out a potion; she hadn't realized he was awake. Once she had measured out the potion and looked up, she dropped it in surprise.
"M-Mr. Potter. Y-you are supposed to be unconscious. T-The spell should have kept you in a coma for at least a month and here you are a-after only three weeks. I'm Healer Tamworth, by the way." Healer Tamworth said this all in one breath and even as she cleaned up the mess, she was mumbling something like: 'astonishing' and 'miraculous'.
"Would it be at all possible for me to take a pain killer so that I can walk?" queried Harry.
"No, I'm afraid; you will stay in this bed until I deem you are fit. I also need to check if you are allergic to painkillers and if you need to go back to sleep. Wait, I can check most of these now."
She muttered some incantations and different coloured lights emitted from Harry. She seemed to understand them perfectly but didn't like the results for some reason.
"Apart from the usual side-effect of such extreme healing, pain in certain areas, you seem fine. This-this is preposterous! There is no way you can heal up this quickly. I should like to let you stay here for another week…," muttered the Healer, more to herself than Harry.
"If it is at all possible, I would like you to let me go after you give me the painkillers," stated Harry flatly. He knew the rituals helped the body react better to magic and that he didn't need to stay for another week.
"Well I can't let you leave now! It's 3am! You can leave tomorrow if Dumbledore lets you."
Harry felt angry that it was up to Dumbledore when he left; Dumbledore wasn't his legal guardian! He was glad that it was 3am because he would've been disappointed had he not had any visitors.
He had nothing to do but look at his surroundings. Apart from the wooden table, there was a huge sack full of what seemed to be paper, a chair for the healer and various potions on a high shelf.
After just five minutes, Harry fell into a disposition of severe boredom. Luckily for him, his wand was also on the wooden table.
"Accio Sack." The sack came to Harry as he flicked his wand lazily. The paper was in fact hundreds and hundred of pieces of mail.
Dear Mr. Potter,
After reading the Daily Prophet, I'd have to say I'm very disappointed in you. James and Lily were in my year at school and they will roll in their graves knowing their son has turned to the Dark side and started killing. I would have sent a curse, but if I did, you'd probably kill my family, so I won't.
Please, see the error in your ways.
GM
Harry stared opened mouth at the letter. Confusion and anger where the chief emotions he was feeling. How dare some random person accuse him of going Dark! How dare they mention his parents! Then he re-read one of the lines. After reading the Daily Prophet. So, they were behind this. He was going to kill Fudge!
"Wait a minute, it's not Fudge, he resigned. I'll see what other information I can get from this hate mail. Most of the letters were along the same lines, some wanting him in Azkaban, some disappointed, some downright rude, some asking for an explanation of his actions and many, many howlers.
"Alohamora," said Harry and the door flew open. "Accio Daily Prophet."
Hundreds of newspapers came straight at him like a swarm of flies. Due to the enormous numbers, they were threatening to knock him unconscious again. He had to do something quick.
"Subsisto!" he yelled as he jabbed his wand and they all stopped inches away from his face. He plucked the one nearest to him.
It was dated to three weeks prior to his hospitalization. It had articles about the election campaign and how each of the candidates measure up.
While pointing his wand over the date, Harry muttered: "Planto totus amo is fio pessum ire." This was a difficult and relatively ancient charm which was related to the protean charm. Every Daily Prophet with the same date as the one in Harry's hand would be destroyed. It was a little bit selfish but eliminated about a quarter of the newspapers in front of him.
He repeated this procedure until he found the ones he was interested in. The one before the day of battle made him sick.
Nott not a loser!
By special correspondent Rita Skeeter.
After the polls were closed last night, Sebastian Nott was named new Minister for Magic, replacing the incompetent Cornelius Fudge.
Nott appealed to many pureblood families as he promised to give great powers to the pureblood community. He says he does not have a problem with muggleborns, but in terms of schooling and medical care, purebloods should get priority.
Nott was formerly accused of being a Death Eater, one of the Dark Lord's inner circle. He has denied this and insists he will get rid of the Dark Lord once and for all. In a surprise move, he has appointed Lucius Malfoy as Senior Undersecretary; the second highest position in the Ministry formerly belonging to Dolores Umbridge.
One of his most outspoken critics is Albus Dumbledore who has campaigned tirelessly to get Nott out of the running. "If we allow Nott to become Minister, we are opening up our government body to Lord Voldemort. He is a dangerous man who should be in Azkaban, not in the Minister's chair."
Nott doesn't seem to fond of the defeater of Grindlewald either stating, "While I, like the rest of the country, have the utmost respect for Dumbledore, I believe he feels that he has met a powerful Minister for Magic which he cannot control."
Harry buried his face in his hands, he couldn't read on. The whole country was governed by Voldemort. He wished he had a pensieve but had to settle for putting the information at the back of his mind. He now had to find the issue concerning him. It didn't take long as it was only printed two days after the previous.
Boy-Who-Lived has become Boy-Who-Killed
By special correspondent Rita Skeeter.
The Boy-Who-Lived was spotted performing extremely powerful Dark Arts spells which killed many individuals yesterday at Diagon Alley. There was no reason why he was there but what was obvious was that he has become a ruthless killer.
The attack at Diagon Alley was fronted by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself along with a band of his followers. It was the first time the Dark Lord has attacked for fifteen years and it created mass hysteria.
Luckily, many people were evacuated by portkey and so the death toll was low. But, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal, it was heightened by none other than Harry Potter.
Eye-Witnesses say that Mr. Potter was dueling with around twenty Death Eaters and obliterated them all, causing one of them to regurgitate blood using an ancient and very illegal spell. Afterwards, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named confronted young Mr. Potter.
"It was like watching two Dark Lords face off," said a passer-by, "It scared me almost to death." Mr. Potter, though, couldn't match powers with Him and had to be saved by Albus Dumbledore. He carried on fighting, though, and killed around twenty more people before being hit by a Paralysis Curse. He is now being treated at St. Mungos and is expected to make a full recovery in around a month.
Your reporter wants to find out whether Mr. Potter should be allowed to go to school when he such an obvious threat. Is it school or prison? Even if it was against Death Eaters, will he become the next Dark Lord who also showed great prowess at a young age? Are innocent citizens next? Should we stop him before it is too late?
Harry Potter's past…pgs 2-4
Previous allegations made against him…pgs 4-8
Reasons for turning Dark…pg 9
The Real Harry Potter…pg 10
Harry felt sick. The whole wizarding world thought he was a crazy lunatic who will become the next Dark Lord. This was so much worse than people thinking he was crazy. Harry's mood couldn't have been worse.
"Fuck you, Rita Skeeter. I'm in deep shit now! What should I do?"
"Stay where you are and stop using negative expletives," said an aged, soft voice.
Harry looked up to see Albus Dumbledore standing in the doorway, no twinkle in his eyes and a lack of sleep evident from his posture.
"I'm glad to see you are well so quickly, Harry. Healer Tamworth informed me you were practically fit. I believe I need to discuss some issues with you."
Harry sighed. Dumbledore was going to accuse him of going Dark, he knew it.
"I know about all the stuff in the press. After reading my pleasant mail, I got hold of every single Daily Prophet printed this summer. I know that Nott is the Minister and I know that the wizarding world thinks I'm Voldemort Junior. I also know that you are going to tell me that I am turning Dark."
It was Dumbledore's turn to sigh. Harry looked up at his former role model and was almost overwhelmed with laughter. Had it not been such a serious occasion, he would have burst out laughing. Dumbledore was wearing a bright pink nightgown with teddy bears pictured on it. He really was a mental case.
"Now listen, Harry. I do not think you are turning Dark and if you know about the background information, then I will proceed to the point. You cannot feel the need to go to a battlefield at such a young age. I don't know where you got the information from but once again you could and would have been captured by Voldemort had we not arrived. It is imperative for you to lay low until you leave school and become trained properly."
"I'm sorry, Professor," said Harry, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "But I believe that I have enough power to fight on my own. I can hold my own against everyone but Voldemort himself. Don't you see, I saved Remus and helped out the Order. I am powerful enough to battle Death Eaters."
"Which leads us on to the next topic. Harry, you cannot go around killing every Death Eater you see. If you do, you are no better than them. I don't know where you learnt such Dark and powerful spells, but I must confiscate whichever book you are learning it from, for your health and others. Dark Arts affect you physically and mentally Harry, remember that."
"I try to stun whenever I can but when there are members of the inner circle, they will never see the light. They must be killed for the public's safety. Also, when one of the Order members are outnumbered; I have no other choice but to kill the offending Death Eaters. We can't win the war by just sending them to Azkaban because Voldemort will break them out again."
Dumbledore looked pensieve. His face showed no sign of emotion, as if he was suppressing it. He said the next words slowly, as if weighing up every word.
"I agree about Azkaban. We are dealing with that problem. You mustn't kill them though. Killing is a like bad habit, it is very addictive. There are members of the inner circle which may repent, such as Severus; everyone deserves a second chance."
"Even Voldemort?" ventured Harry. Dumbledore chose to ignore this.
"I've got some bad news; the new Minister wants you at a trial in front of the Wizengamot. You will take Ronald's wand; otherwise a simple Priori Incantatem will gain you a life sentence. I will defend you this time, but anymore antics and I will not help you out at all. Keep your occlumency wards up, keep calm and keep civil. Do this and they will let you off."
"What!" shouted Harry.
"Do as I told you and you will be fine. Your friends will be arriving soon so I'll leave you with them. I hope…" Dumbledore hesitated, "I hope one day things will return to how they were between us." Dumbledore left, his shoulders slumping slightly, not nearly as magnificent as the man who had dueled Voldemort.
Harry was seething. He had to go to a trial for saving people's lives and getting rid of dangerous Death Eaters. As he heard his friends approaching, his mood only lightened slightly. This was going to be a long week.
Harry looked up and saw some Order members, Ron, Hermione and Ginny walk through the door. They all looked like they hadn't had much sleep and Harry felt slightly guilty.
"Hey, you're awake! Great!" exclaimed Ron. "We thought it was going to take at least a month!"
"Harry, dear, we were so worried about you, are you sure you're okay?" said Mrs. Weasley as she enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug.
"Yeah," muttered Harry as he was almost choked to death.
"It's great that you're back Harry," said Ginny rather timidly. Harry was confused, why would Ginny be timid?
Harry saw Hermione lurking at the back of the room, slightly away from the Weasley family. She seemed to be in two minds as to whether she should greet him or argue with him. 'Well,' thought Harry, 'I'm not going to beg her to talk to me; she'll have to approach me."
Fred and George came up to Harry and clapped him on the back. They put on very oily, posh, deep voices as they addressed him.
"Wonderful to see you, old chap. I'm awfully glad…" started Fred and, as usual, George continued.
"…that you aren't seriously injured. If you had died,…"
"…we would have had to grieve. No laughter, no jokes…"
"…As you know, we are not fond of this, so we are eternally…"
"…grateful to you for not dying."
Harry laughed but Mrs. Weasley fumed at them for joking about such a thing and let them know it in a lengthy chastisement. She then turned to Harry again.
"Harry, why were you in Diagon Alley in the first place?" He had the undivided attention of the whole room.
"To help the Order out." He tried to sound nonchalant, as if helping them happened every day.
"The Order doesn't need help. Least of all from a child!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley.
"I'm not a child and I think you did need help. Moody and Remus would have died if I left you to your own devices. There may have been more! Dumbledore was too busy battling Voldemort." The people in the room shuddered.
"No offense, but you can't even hear his name without shuddering Mrs. Weasley. How do you hope to defeat the Death Eaters?" Harry was pleased to see that the Order members in the room, including Mrs. Weasley, were looking pensive.
"Harry, is it true y-you killed some people?" asked Hermione. The Order members knew the answer and looked away, dreading the answer. Harry, though, looked Hermione in the eye and told her the truth.
"Yeah."
"B-but it's illegal. You'll be sent to Azkaban. If you kill, you're no better than them!" stuttered Hermione who was backing away from him as if he was a mass murderer. Ginny also looked a bit scared.
"You've never been in a battle, you won't understand. Are you gonna tickle Death Eaters to death, or is Petrificus Totalus gonna do the trick? A stunner? How effective. Too bad there is a spell called 'enervate'. You'll be taken them down only for them to come back at you! It's kill or be killed because they bloody well won't be using 'light' spells. They'll be sending unforgivable after unforgivable fool! Anyway, I only kill if they are in the inner circle or if it means life or death."
Hermione gasped and looked like she wanted to run out. Ginny looked terrified, but that was probably because of the revelation of what the war was really like. Ron also looked shocked, but in a thoughtful way. The Order members, except for Mrs. Weasley, were looking pensive, some even agreeing deep down in their hearts.
"I'll tell you the truth; I've killed or made…useless about three quarters of his inner circle while the Order have done nothing. You're all useless!" Harry stopped himself there and fell silent himself.
"Y-you can't say that to the Order! You're just in sixth year, what do you know about battling. How can you imply you're more powerful than the Order?" challenged the bushy, brown haired adolescent.
The Order members who were at the battle looked down at their feet, they knew Harry was more powerful than them.
Harry felt angry but had better things to do than argue with a know-it-all. He just thought, 'Legilimency'. He saw that Hermione was indeed under orders from Dumbledore to follow him. Harry got even angrier and whispered in a cold, sharp voice:
"Why don't you tell your fucking boss that I said I don't need anyone following me around when you have your little chat with him tonight. I can't believe you, Hermione. Also, tell him that a good spy has a closed mind. GET OUT!"
Hermione stormed out of the room and the remaining guests looked flabbergasted.
"Harry…" started Remus.
"I used legilimency on her and found out Dumbledore was planning on using her to spy on me. She's been a great friend you know."
"Well, she told me you've been horrid to her and you have to go after her and apologise," pouted Tonks who was sporting lime green hair which spiked in odd places.
Harry just looked at his nails, thoroughly bored. He'd had enough of talking about Hermione and, ignoring Tonks' abashed look, he got up.
"I'd love to sit here and chat but I've got a trial to prepare for."
"But you're not ready to get out of bed, Harry…"
Harry smiled, nodded at them all and affectuseod out of the hospital and landed in his trunk. He didn't care if he saw his double; he had to speak to Castus. He'd probably know a very obscure but useful law to keep him out of Azkaban.
He strolled into the small room and let out a sigh of relief; the room was not accommodated. He found Castus was sleeping.
"Castus, CASTUS!" screamed Harry after his first attempt was fruitless.
"Hmm? What? Can't you see I'm sleeping you fool! I told you to go and study the theory of multiple spells at the same time so that you can become proficient. Now go!"
"No, it's the other Harry and this is urgent!"
"Oh…right. Go ahead. If it is not important then beware!"
Harry retold everything from the battle to the trial. Castus, for once, looked contemplative and was not sure what to do. The portrait caressed his long, silver beard, cold grey eyes a mask.
"You were foolish to show yourself. This trial, Dumbledore says he can get you out? Bullshit. He can with Fudge but by the sounds of this Nott character, Dumbledore has no power and no way of going against all those eye witnesses. You must do this yourself. Firstly, I advise you to dress up for the occasion; wear your best robes, look smart and clean. In this way, the wizengamot may warm to you. We need to find a way to show up their Dark Mark. You won't have a wand at the trial. What to do? What to do?"
"I could store my wand in my sock or something. Then just take it out and show their Dark Mark to the world," suggested Harry.
"Two problems with that: They'll check you and if you assault the minister, Death Eater or no, you will be sent to Azkaban. I have the greatest plan, though. Oh dear lord, how haven't I thought of it before? You'll need a quick trip to Knockturn Alley and a shit load of money. Listen to this then affectuseo out of here."
Castus then told Harry the plan. Harry smiled mischievously and affectuseod to the non-destroyed part of Knockturn Alley, with his shadowy hood firmly on. He slipped into Wizarding Wonders: Rare objects to astound you. The shop was quite dark and dingy, like most shops in Knockturn. He walked up to the wizened shop owner.
"Do you have any pensives?" Harry hissed.
"Pensives…pensives…yes. I have one left. Regular size. It's the second one I've ever sold. They won't come cheap though. No, I have it priced at 3000 Galleons."
"You're lucky I'm in a hurry. Have the bill paid to Vault 643."
"I'll need your magical signature which will summon you here if it's not all in order."
"Of course. And I'll need yours to make sure you don't take a Knut more than you should."
Harry left the shop quickly and affectuseod to his trunk. Here, Castus was waiting.
"Okay, now the Pensive is used a bit like legilimency. You can only use it if you have that particular ability."
"That's why not many people used it," Harry mused.
"Excellent. Now, just bring the memory to the front of your mind and point your wand at your temple. Focusing hard, remove the memory by moving your wand away from you. There will be a sharp shock and voila, the memory will be removed."
Harry did as was described and found that it was very easy. He erased all memories linking him to criminal activity from his mind. He was about to leave when Castus called him back.
"I think," he started slyly, with a grin on his face, "That we should erase all spells that you have cast for the last few weeks from your wand. Repeat after me: Videlicet unus mensis of notitia."
"What the fuck?" cried Harry. Castus sighed.
"Videlicet – unus – mesis – of – notitia."
"Umm. Videlicet unus mensis of notitia." Harry's wand grew hot under his palm and delivered excruciating pain to Harry. It was typical of Castus to not reveal the details, just like he had done with the blood blocking curse.
"You can take your wand to the trial; now go before you are late!"
Harry glowered at his mentor and affectuseod to the ministry atrium, dressed like a rich aristocrat. His appearance was unblemished and almost royal. He had a fine robe made of black satin with a borderline of silver. The robe originally had the Slytherin family crest, which Harry had to take off; he had found the robe in the trunk. Harry saw, with interest, that the fountain had been rebuilt. Not giving this much more thought, he swept to the wand weighing area.
"Wand please," sighed a thoroughly bored sounding man. He put the wand on the scales and took the slip of paper out.
"Harry Potter…Harry Potter! W-well t-the m-minister want t-to see you p-personally before the t-trial sir." The blonde attendant looked terrified; he obviously thought Harry would kill him on the spot. Harry rolled his eyes.
"I'm not going to kill you! Now tell me where his office is."
"It's on this f-floor for g-good accessibility sir."
"I don't want reasons for god sake's; just tell me where it is!" Harry felt like hexing some brains into the man but, given his current circumstances, he decided against it.
"Take your first left and continue down the corridor. It is the door right at the end, made out of solid gold."
Shaking his head, Harry continued on his way. Surprisingly, he didn't see anyone he recognized as he walked down the corridor. As the man had described, there was a gargantuan golden door with the words: Minister of Magic Office engraved at the top. Harry couldn't help but feel astounded. Harry went to knock but decided against it, it would make him seem powerful if he just opened the door and let himself in.
The room was just as magnificent on the inside as it seemed on the outside. Every chair in the room was made of solid gold and was cushioned with expensive pillows. There were portraits of ministers who had passed away and he saw masses of paperwork. In one corner was a grand bird, with black and green feathers like the night and a mysterious aura which drew Harry in. He didn't know what type of bird it was, but it seemed to be calling to him; he had a strange feeling in his heart.
Harry drew closer and closer to the bird until he was within touching distance. His hand reached out and he almost touched it when someone else walked through the door.
"I wouldn't touch her if I were you; she attacks anyone who tries except for one person. I haven't even been allowed to touch her." Harry ignored the new voice and, without even turning around, he caressed the bird's sleek feathers. The touch was heavenly for him. The bird seemed to warm to him as well and let out a shriek of joy. She reached out her head to allow Harry to stroke her neck.
He was finally ready to address the speaker. He was a tall, well-built man with very dark hair. He had long, black robes and black, pitiless eyes which looked like bottomless pits. He had seen this man before, it was Sebastian Nott.
Harry was pleased to see his counterpart was looking surprised and mildly impressed. The Minister held his hand out for Harry to take, but Harry just ignored this gesture and sat down. Nott was looking quite displeased about being rejected but sat down at the opposite side of Harry.
"I never shake hands with I man I do not know," said Harry bluntly.
"I understand this and commend you for it," stated Nott coldly, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. Before he could say another word, the door opened once more. A smug looking Lucius Malfoy slipped in. The look of frustration which passed by Nott's face didn't go unnoticed by Harry.
"Minister Nott and…ah Harry Potter. Have you told him anything else yet? Good. Remember, I am the spokesperson."
Harry wore an expression which resembled a goldfish. He was sure that he had obliviated Malfoy. It was another thing which showed Voldemort to be more powerful than Harry. That was the strongest obliviate Harry could do.
"Yes, yes, go ahead. Did you know that the Augery allowed him to touch her?" Malfoy also looked surprised.
"Potter, the only other person that particular Augery will communicate with is the Dark lord. He told me that there are great similarities between the two of you. Both smart, orphaned, powerful and not dissimilar in physical appearance. To cut a long story short, he wants you to join with him as an equal. He has seen potential in you and has promised great power for you. If you don't join him…" Malfoy fingered his wand menacingly.
Harry pulled his own wand out and, as quick as lightening, both Nott and Malfoy were stupefied. Harry knew that this was a great opportunity to question Nott so he would know what to prepare for in the trial. He affectuseod to his trunk, got a vial of Veritaserum and returned. He forced two drops down the Death Eater's throat and thought: 'enervate.'
"What is your name?" asked Harry.
"Sebastian Nott," came an emotionless reply.
"And who is your Master?" asked Harry, almost lazily.
"I have no master."
Harry dropped the vial in surprise, Nott was one of Voldemort's inner circle; how could he have no master. His plans to interrogate about the trial flew out of the charmed window never to return.
"Explain," said Harry.
"I first joined the Dark Lord at sixteen. All of my classmates had already joined him and I didn't want to feel left out. Also, I felt extreme hatred towards Dumbledore for killing Grindlewald, otherwise known as Walden Nott. He was my father. I wound up in the care of my stupid muggle aunt. This is why I despise muggles. During the First War, I felt a thrill at being powerful and having everyone afraid of me. Then, the Dark Lord was destroyed by a one year old. I began to have my doubts. Had I chosen the most powerful side? I couldn't join Dumbledore so a decade or so later, when He came back into his body, I answered the call; afraid to face the consequences of not doing so. This summer, though, I have seen someone who can become more powerful than the Dark Lord: Harry Potter. He had killed most of the inner circle and I don't want to be next."
"So what are you going to do?" asked Harry, intrigued.
"I am going to offer my help to Potter. With it, he can win this war."
Harry didn't know what to think. He was obviously flattered to be compared to be almost as powerful as Voldemort but was wary of Nott. He didn't want to trust him, not even under Veritaserum. It could be a trick of Voldemort's.
"Why have you chosen Potter?" asked Harry.
"He is not afraid to fight fire with fire. From what I've heard from my son, he is a natural born leader. This summer, he has shown that he can single-handedly do something which Dumbledore and those fools haven't been able to do for decades; seriously put a dent in the Dark Lords inner circle. The final test which convinced me was the Augery. It only allows those with a lot of power to touch them; it would be a wise choice for the line of Nott to ally themselves with the noble line of Potter."
Harry thought for a while and then came up with a question which he already should have asked.
"What's in it for you personally?"
"After the war, I will have power and dignity. I will be remembered as the best Minister the country has ever had. I will have riches beyond belief. My son and daughter could get any job they wished in the future. During the war, Potter's backing will make sure I stay in power long enough to claim the fame."
"What about Voldemort?"
"I am going to formulate a plan before I go public with the alliance."
"And what about the trial?"
"Potter will get away with an official caution. Even without my help, Dumbledore will get him off."
Harry looked pensive and weighed out the pros and cons of having Nott as a collaborator. The main problem was that he wouldn't trust Nott with his quill, let alone his plans.
He decided to proceed to the trial, as if nothing had happened, and question Nott without the truth serum afterwards. With a quick glance at the Augery, he affectuseod to Courtroom Ten, in the hope that it was going to be held there again.
'Vide Mirror,' thought Harry. A mirror appeared out of thin air and Harry scrutinized himself thoroughly, making sure his appearance was perfect. Apart from his messy hair, it was just had he'd hoped for. He straightened up and walked in, leaving the guards to the room baffled and slightly annoyed that their presence was ignored.
Harry delivered a piercing glare to the occupants in the room. He wanted to seem intimidating. Indeed some of the reporters, including Rita Skeeter, who were situated in the visitor's stand blanched as he arrived with a wand in his hand.
"Accio wand," came a voice from behind. It was one of the Auror guards. His wand hadn't moved though.
"If that is what it took to take my wand," started Harry coldly and slowly, "I'd be dead now. If you wanted my wand, you could have asked." Harry handed his wand to the disgruntled Auror and saw a small smile form on the lips of Remus Lupin. Dumbledore's face was an unreadable mask.
"Where am I going to sit?" asked Harry.
The Aurors led him to a chair which had chains similar to the one used in Death Eater trials. Harry shot an angry, questioning glance at Dumbledore who indicated for him to sit.
When Harry sat down, the chains wrapped tightly around him. He was about to test the chains when Nott entered the court with Malfoy. The members of the jury stood in respect.
"Harry Potter, you have brought in front the court for the following charges: The torture and death of various members of the magical community, alignment with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and underage wizardry. If proven guilty, you will earn life imprisonment in Azkaban or the Dementor's kiss. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty," said Harry emotionlessly.
"Before we start this trial, do you agree to the use of Veritaserum and/or the use of Priori Incantatem on your wand?"
"I agree to both counts," said Harry.
Dumbledore shifted in his seat and spoke up.
"I'd like to remind the court that the use of Veritaserum is strictly prohibited to minors. I believe Mr. Potter should not be submitted to Veritaserum."
Harry smiled as Dumbledore was sending him frantic signals to not take the potion.
"I have no objection to taking the potion because I have nothing to hide. According to said laws, a minor may take any potion if they wish and if their legal guardian wishes. My legal guardian is dead." Harry said this while looking Dumbledore straight in the eye.
The potion master of the ministry came in and administered the potion to Harry. The potion was as tasteless as it was colourless. It lolled Harry into a dreamlike slumber where he was controlled by the speaker. It felt a bit like the imperious curse.
"What is your name?" asked Nott.
"Harry Potter."
"Let's cut to the chase: Have you performed any magic which may be deemed illegal?"
"No."
"What about the witnesses who say that you have?"
"I didn't commit illegal magic as far as I know."
"Have you performed any magic this summer, breaking the Decree of Under-aged wizardry?"
"No."
The Order members, namely Dumbledore and Remus looked on in disbelief. They knew he was guilty on both counts and were in the dark on how he had outwitted the Veritaserum.
Dumbledore stood up and spoke.
"I think that is all that should be asked under the influence of Veritaserum," as he said those words, Harry was released from the potion. The old man had more to say. "I think that we now have strong evidence to end this trial and for Mr. Potter to get a full apology from the Ministry and the wizarding world in general, if there is nothing to add that is."
"I have something to announce, headmaster," added Harry. "I believe it is time for the wizarding world to be aware of the truth behind Sirius Black, my godfather. He has never killed a person in his life. Peter Pettigrew is still alive."
"That is enough, Potter," hissed Malfoy.
"What, are you afraid the truth will hurt your Master's pet rat?" spat Harry in contempt.
"How dare you! I have been cleared of all charges and I have no idea what this rat is!"
Harry was about to ask for Veritaserum when Nott brought the battle of words to an end.
"Mr. Potter, you have been cleared of all charges. This bout you have started is unlawful and irrelevant. Court is adjourned!"
The courtroom was suddenly vibrant with conversation. All the reporters, with Rita Skeeter at their head, were about to swoop down upon him when the Minister indicated for Harry to follow him.
Weaving in and out of the disappointed journalists, Harry exited via a smooth, brown door which blended perfectly into its background.
The door ended up being a secret passage leading to the Minister's Office, much like the ones in Hogwarts. The stairs moved for you, which saved Harry a lot of time and energy.
The Minister's Room was much as it was the previous hour with the exception of Lucius Malfoy. Nott was waiting patiently for him. Harry retrieved his wand from said Minister and ran various shielding charms on the room to make it virtually impossible to listen in.
Nott seemed confused but Harry just shook his head and motioned for the conversation to begin.
"Now, you may not know why I have called you up here, Mr. Potter but I am intrigued to know why you have followed a suspect Death Eater into a possible trap. Tea?"
"No thanks," hissed Harry in a commanding tone. "I know what you want and why you have called me. I know this is not a trap because my tests have shown there are three living beings in this room and finally, I have your wand."
After the first bombshell, Nott recovered his posture quickly. He wasn't quick enough to stop Harry continuing, though.
"What I want to know, without Veritaserum, is why you want to help me. Don't give me the bloodline and power crap; I want to hear something new."
"You put me under Verit- you sneaky bastard! Well, that's another reason I should align with you; 'Know thine enemy' as the saying goes. I have no other reasons which I want to disclose to you. You know now I do not serve the Dark Lord. I could help you hone your skills immensely, though. You have excellent power reserves but…"
"I do not need you to teach me. I could kill you using a method Voldemort would be proud of. I don't need a mentor; I need one ear in Voldemort's inner circle and another in the Ministry. You fit into both categories and can also serve as a mouth in the Ministry as well. If I hadn't put you under Veritaserum, I wouldn't be telling you this but: I am going to form my own army against Voldemort. I want you to be my first recruit."
"I have my conditions, Potter." Harry smirked; it was typical of a Slytherin.
"Of course, don't we all."
"I want this to be kept between us. No-one, even your most trusted friend, should know. Not only will this be a liability tactically, but the Dark Lord has ways of knowing things from looking into a person's eyes. I can defend against this but most can't.
"Secondly, after the war is over, I want it to be known that I was a main factor in the win and you will make sure I get credit for my work.
"Finally, you will make sure, using your fame, that I stay in office during and after the war. In return, I will make sure the Daily Prophet doesn't have a bad word to say about you."
"Even though I dislike the last, I agree to your terms in turn for help in the war."
The two males shook hands.
"I will use an owl to contact you," said the Minister.
"Why don't you use your Augery?" asked Harry.
"Alas, it could get to you in a flash of black flames but it won't let me touch it, I am not powerful enough. Only the best Ministers have ever been able to handle it."
"I think…"said Harry slowly, "That after your very wise and brave choice, it may now warm to you, won't you girl."
Harry strode over to the beautiful dark bird and rubbed her neck reassuringly. The Augery stared deep into Nott's eyes, nodded, and then allowed Nott to rub her back.
"Use her; she's quicker and more efficient." Before Nott could respond, Harry affectuseod to his room in the Noble and most Ancient house of Black.
As he approached his bed, exhaustion took the place of every other emotion. His healing injuries really started to hurt. There was no-one in the room so he just fell asleep.
One hour later, Harry woke up and went straight into his trunk. He felt the need to unwind so he grabbed his Firebolt and flew to his heart's content. He must have been up there for three hours or so because when he landed, he found his neglected serpent waiting for him.
P"How did you get in? Oh yeah, Parseltongue. So, what's up?"P
P"That means how are you, right? I am fine, but your human non-speakers are not. They seem to be looking for something. I can't understand human speech but I am guessing it is you,"P
P"What, how long have I been flying?"P
P"Many hours. You should go upstairs and take me with you. It is too cold out here."P
P"I am not going back up there. I think I might stay here for the rest of the summer holidays, the humans upstairs will probably just be a hindrance. I will take you to another room in the trunk though. We are going to see Castus; I need to tell him that I have gained a powerful ally."P
P"Who?"P
P"You'll find out when he does"P Harry teased.
Harry, holding firmly onto Jewel, affectuseod to Castus's room. Harry's jaw literally dropped right to the floor. He wasn't the only living human in the room. There was someone else who was speaking to Castus.
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