Title: Harry Potter and the Last Crusade

Author: Emanon

Beta read by Lauren

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or the rights to anything related to the Harry Potter franchise and I don't claim to. I am making no profit from this fiction and it is solely amusement value. The Harry Potter series are credited to J.K. Rowling and Scholastic publishing company.

Rating: R

Summary: HBP spoilers, H/Hr, WIP. Dark!Harry. The summer after his 6th year, Harry has had all he can take with the pressures of being the savior of the wizarding world. Living up to hero standards can take tolls on the mind.

Feedback: Greatly appreciated and will be returned with comments.

Author's Notes: Thanks for taking the time to read and write reviews. I hope you enjoy my version of these characters and the situations they may encounter. Thanks again.

Warnings: HBP spoilers, H/Hr, WIP. Dark!Harry. Mentions of explicit content, violence, gore, angst, tragedy, rough relations, torture scenes, character deaths, child abuse, and crude language. If you feel that this criteria is too extreme for your liking please feel free not to read it. There is a character of my own creation that is disclaimed mine and should not be used by any others without direct permission from myself or Lauren.

Harry Potter and the Last Crusade

Chapter 1

Another Sleepless Night

It had been a long summer for the boy named Harry Potter, a very long summer indeed. He had relived his summer and previous school year mentally more times than he had eaten in the past few months. He saw it over and over: his helplessness, Snape's betrayal, Dumbledore's death.

Even now he thought of it, as he sat on his window sill with half of his body hanging out of the window and half of it inside, a cigarette, which he had stolen from Dudley, hung loosely in his lips, he puffed on it slowly as the thoughts kept running through his head: Sirius, his parents, Cedric, Voldemort. He inhaled, memories of his school life rammed into his head, he exhaled only names of people he'd known came out with the smoke, their memories drifting along with the fumes until dissipated, only to come back with the next puff.

Hedwig gave a hoot in the background. Harry turned his head and pushed his glasses as he looked at her with a smile.

"What's the matter?" He asked the owl as he threw the butt of his smoke out of the window and came back into his room. He stroked her beak a couple of times and she nipped at it gingerly, he gave a small chortle and scratched her head.

"Don't worry; we'll be back home at Hogwarts before you know it." He gave her an owl treat and closed his window. He then dressed for bed and climbed under his sheets, maybe by tomorrow the Weasley's would come to fetch him, it had been far too long since he had seen his big red headed friend and he missed him dearly.

His thoughts moved to his other friends, mainly how much he missed them, hell, he'd have been happy to someone like Ernie McMillan right now as long as it was someone that wouldn't shun him for being a wizard, unlike the still slumbering Dursleys.

He thought about Hermione for a while, hoping she was safe and then thought about someone else, Ginny. His short lived relationship with the fiery haired young girl had been far too short in his opinion, but in the end he believed that he had made the right decision. He sighed as he let his mind wander a bit more before turning in for the night; these thoughts were mainly about the future. Specifically Hogwarts without Dumbledore, this was his most difficult thought to comprehend, not only because of Dumbledore being his role model but because of the little things. Who would lead the great hall in the school song? Who would give some random cocktail of seemingly nonsensical words before the feast? Who would be there when he had no one else to turn to?
This made Harry's head hurt, it wasn't worth the trouble to think of dead mentors, though it did feel good to imagine him alive and well. Harry let out yet another heavy sigh and put his glasses on the night stand, he put his head on his pillow and let sleep wash over his mentally exhausted body.

The dream came quickly, a reoccurring nightmare that had been plaguing his unconscious life for the past few weeks. He was fine at first, in a field of green grass. He saw Ron and Hermione and began running towards them, but never did they get closer. After a few moments running the ground he ran on fell, dropping him down, down, down until he hit solid ground. All around him was black. A golden bauble floated in the distance, growing larger and larger until it shot right in front of him, it was the snitch. He tried to reach up and grab it, but he was held in place by thick iron chains. He watched the snitch, it stopped as a hand grabbed it from the darkness, and there stood Ron and Hermione again. Ron smiled the snitch held in his hand and Hermione waved. He tried to stand, tried to each them but couldn't. Then, without warning there was a flash of green light. Harry stood over his friends, their lifeless eyes stared blankly back at him, in Harry's hand was a wand, it still glowed green at the tip. His mouth fell open in amazement and something touched his shoulder. Harry looked up at what was touching his shoulder and beheld the eyes of Voldemort. But, and this is what scared him, instead of lifting his wand to smite the dark lord.

He smiled and bowed, kneeling as he said "Is this what you wished…Master?"

Harry sat bolt upright, his body covered in sickly cold sweat. He grabbed his pants and flung his window open. He rummaged around and pulled out another cigarette, lighting it with a match from a book that he kept on his window sill. He breathed deeply, and after two puffs broke down into sobs. This would be another one of those nights.

Dawn found itself looking onto Harry's sleeping body, his head still on the window sill where he had cried himself to sleep. He sat up as the first of dawns rays of sunlight arched across the horizon and into his face. The light was warming and very pretty in Harry's opinion. He smiled as he watched the sun come up from his window sill pillow and thought to himself one day… It will all be okay. Harry laughed at this, he couldn't shake the horrid feeling that he was lying to himself. But, his smile didn't fade and for the first time in weeks; he was happy. He sighed and began cleaning his mess of a room, but before doing this he looked at the calendar, tomorrow was the big day, as of midnight tomorrow he would become a man in the wizarding world, he took a moment to daydream about what it would feel like, and that took an entire two minutes. Harry dressed, that half hearted smile still on his lips.

After he dressed himself in the same old baggy hand me downs he always wore, he considered himself ready for the day. He grabbed the pack of his newly attained bad habit and head of downstairs. The Dursleys weren't awake just yet, thank god, and this allowed him to sneak out the front door with out being berated by his aunt and uncle. He slipped out into the street and into the light of the new born morning, birds tweeted in the back ground and grass hoppers beat their wings against the air, taking to the air in short bursts of defiance against gravity, before landing once again in the grass. To be truthful Harry thought it was beautiful, he imagined his self and his friends laying about in the grass, exchanging chocolate frog cards, eating in an old fashioned picnic.

Harry gave a short, exhausted sigh and continued to lie in the grass. He let the thick warmth of the day roll over him like a blanket it was unbelievably cozy for this time of year. He smiled and closed his eyes behind his glasses, he was just about to fall into a deep rejuvenating slumber when, BAM. Harry reeled, rolling through the grass as quick as he could. He stood in mere moments his wand drawn a curse ready in his mind when he heard. "Wotcher, Harry." He smiled at the voice and looked directly in its direction. There stood a short but lanky young woman, mousy brown hair covered her scalp and chocolaty eyes gazed at him from under long bangs, she was dressed in a pair of very tattered jeans and a tee shirt proclaiming 'I AM A WITCH!' in large pink letters.

Harry lowered his wand and laughed, all the young witch did was smile wider and wider until she herself was giving a little laugh. She placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "What are you doing out of the house without informing ol' figgy or I?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry shrugged, "I didn't think you'd really care." He said as they started back towards the Dursley household.

Tonks made a very odd sound, on that was the mix of a growl of annoyance and the soothing sound of a sister's care. "Of course we do, after all, we know that dementors will attack here. Happened last year, what if it happened again?" She asked, with her arm still about his shoulders. Her grip was tight, as if she thought he'd run for it.

Harry smiled and held up his wand. "I'm not defenseless you know." He said as he put his wand away. "I fought them off once I can do it again." He said in a, what he hoped sounded like, serious tone.

Tonks merely smiled and gave his shoulder a shaking as they approached Harry's aunt and uncles' house. "I know that Harry, but still, better safe than sorry. Besides, every time you defend yourself before tomorrow it means more paperwork then you can imagine for folks like me." She said as she released him and began walking away.

Harry waved to her and walked in the house. He went up to his room and finished cleaning it. He then laid down waiting for dinner; the dream came again, plaguing him. It would be another sleepless night.

End of Chapter 1. TBC.