The Dark Mark

Summary: The Dark Mark, a plague on the wizarding world, destroys and conquers all. It ravages life, growing on the death and destruction it causes. How will the dark mark intervene in Harry's journey, and what will he learn? After HBP.

Rating: T- For language, some violence, and adult material.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J.K Rowling

Callie Here: I am here to introduce you to this twisted tale of life; it begins where The Half- Blood Prince ends, at Bill and Fleur's wedding. I will continue if, and only if, it has the sign of approval from my reviewers. My other story Forever, will more than likely be taken down to make room for this. Sorry to all those who enjoyed reading it, I hope you will enjoy this story as well.

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Dumbledore was dead, and Hogwarts was closing. The only silver lining to this dark nimbus cloud was Bill and Fleur's wedding, which symbolized the start of new beginnings. Not only for Bill and Fleur, who would be entering into harmonious matrimony, but also for Harry, Ron, and Hermione with plans to leave for Godric's Hollow- directly after the wedding. Even though the Order of the Phoenix's remaining members, and other's that knew of their motives, advised against it, Harry's mind was made up; likewise were Ron and Hermione's, who would follow Harry to the end of time. The day of the wedding proved to be beautiful though, and was not wasted on thoughts of farewell, but to last minute wedding mix-ups and cold feet. At least Fleur would see to that.

"Oh, my cake! My beautiful cake, ruined!" Fleur screeched wildly, as if she had spotted a rat. (I know she has an accent, but I'm really bad at those. Can you please forgive me.)

With all the noise Harry and Ron soon found their way into the kitchen, to join Mrs. Weasely and Hermione in scrutinizing the cake. All four off them glanced at each other skeptically, for they could see nothing amiss, but in the presence of the teary eyed Fleur they dare not contradict her.

"What exactly is so ruined about it?" Harry tilted his head to one side and stared at the intricately designed, quadruple- layered lavender cake, on which two porcelain miniatures were charmed to dance atop; believing that maybe from such an angle, he could see what Fleur was seeing. It didn't work.

"Everything!" Plopping down in a chair, the bride to be threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "Don't you see? The colors all wrong, there should be doves and hearts instead of theses swirls, and- and the girls not pretty enooooooough!" Indicating the porcelain woman, whom twirled about to an unheard beat, Fleur slumped farther into her chair devastated. "That's it, the wedding is canceled."

"What?" Mrs. Weasely raised her hand to her heart in alarm. She had never really encouraged this marriage, but this far into the game she would be dammed if it weren't perfect.

Hermione exchanged a worried look with Ron and Harry, and was rather disappointed when they didn't offer any help.

"It's a bad omen, first this than a whole lifetime of ruinednesssss." Unaware of her companions snickering behind their hands, Fleur burst into a monologue of how ruinedness her future would be. About halfway through telling about the hurricane, which would ruin their house, she perked up. "We'll have to do it on another day. A day when the cake is more suitable."

"You shouldn't base major decisions, such as your wedding, on the suitableness of a cake." Hermione stated trying to persuade the eccentric Fleur.

"Yes, yes. Hermione is right dear," Mrs. Weasely patted Fleur on the back soothingly while pulling her to her feet, "we'll fix the cake just the way you like it. Harry and Ron will help too, won't you boys?"

At this mention Harry and Ron had begun to silently slink out of the room, but Mrs. Weasely was too quick for them. "Boys!"

"Yesssss Mum." The youngest Weasely boy hung his head in agitation. To Harry he whispered so that none of the females could hear, "What's with women, always needing the help of us men to clean up the problems they make?"

Harry rolled his eyes, and after Mrs. Weasely guided Fleur from the room Hermione ventured to smack Ron over the head.

"Owww! Bloody hell, Hermione, what was that for?"

"Oh please Ron, you think I didn't here that?" Hermione retorted, a censorious look alighting her face.

Ron rubbed his tender head while Harry rolled with laughter. If this hadn't been one of the few times since Dumbledore's death, in which Harry laughed, Ron would've been very sore with him; under the circumstances, he was thrilled to hear his friend laughing at his pain.

"Come on boys," Hermione whipped out her wand and headed over to the cake. With a flick of her wrist, the cake changed from lavender to white in the blink of an eye. "Let's hurry up and get this fixed."

Ron took out his wand grudgingly, but Harry backed away, "Sorry Hermione, you and Ron will have to handle this yourself."

Hermione stopped forming a heart with her wand and looked at Harry incredulously. "What do you mean by that?"

"Yeah Harry, you can't ditch us, Mum said for you to help too." Ron, his nose all scrunched up with a bit of misplaced icing on it, was trying to think of a way Harry was planning to get out of this one.

"No can do. Under aged wizards you know, can't perform magic outside of school." Laughter overwhelmed him as he made his way out of the kitchen.

Hermione and Ron stared after him enviously; their mouths open in shock.

(Break.)

Just brilliant, Harry thought to himself his sides sore from laughing so hard. He had never relished in his late birthday but now he could use it to his advantage. Of course he knew that it didn't matter if he was underage in a house full of eligible wizards, but Hermione and Ron didn't have a clue. Besides it would give the two some alone time, for their relationship was definitely growing- in more ways than one. A light laughter drew his attention away from his thoughts and to the hallway before him.

There just paces away was Ginny, playing with the owl Pig and laughing at the delighted squeals he made. She hadn't noticed his presence yet, which was good, allowing him to slip quietly through a door into another room. He listened, his ear pressed against the wooden door, as Ginny's footsteps faded away and breathed a sigh of relief.

It had been hard, during the past week at the Burrow, to constantly be avoiding the redhead but it had to be done. He wasn't sure that he was making the right choice to squelch any possible feelings between them, but he felt that he couldn't just leave her with the hope that he might come back for her. Then why was he hiding, why did he slink away anytime she was in the vicinity? Why didn't he just talk to her, explain things, like how he might never return? He hated to admit it but he was scared. Scared of expressing his feelings to Ginny because he might hurt her, or hurt himself.

"Harry?"

Harry whirled around at his name, he hadn't been aware that there was someone else in the room. Bill stood looking at him concern written on his face, which deepened the scars from the werewolf attack. As prophesized the full moon didn't hinder Bill's human lifestyle, but he was left with darker almost predatory eyes, long shaggy hair that grew abnormally fast, and an unusual appetite for rare steak.

"Is everything alright Harry?" Bill pulled his arm through the dress cloak, which he would ware today on his walk down the isle, but his gaze did not fall as he stared inquiringly at Harry.

Not knowing what to say, Harry shrugged and side stepped his question with a question. "Are you excited about today?"

"Well- yeah… yeah." Nervously tugging at his robes Bill turned towards a mirror, hoping that Harry didn't see how he was falling apart. "I mean it isn't everyday that you get married, and Fleur… Fleur is wonderful. Have you ever had a girl, Harry, whom made you feel like the greatest man alive- that you could do anything with her by your side? That's how Fleur makes me feel. It's wonderful."

Harry's thoughts turned back to Ginny and the weeks that they had been together. Yes, he knew what Bill was talking about but he couldn't delight in it as Bill was doing. "Well I'm happy for you?" Happy that Bill could be with the girl of his dreams, happy that he could live a full life, happy that there was still joy in the world that some could still benefit from; however this wasn't his happiness, this wasn't something Harry could enjoy, this was something he had to leave behind.

"You're a good boy, Harry." Bill clasped his hand on Harry's shoulders reassuringly, "You're becoming a very talented wizard, and you could find a job in the ministry. You could forget about he-who-must-not-be-named, there are people who can protect you in the ministry, Harry, you don't have to leave."

"Yeah, right." A fanatical laughter gripped Harry as he wrapped his mind around what Bill was saying. He threw away Bill's hands as if his touch was poison.

"One by one my friends would fall under Voldermort's hand, because he wouldn't stop until I'm dead. I could never live knowing that he hunted me, knowing that I was the cause of all these deaths; of Dumbledore's death. I am lost in a half life, which I can't break free of till Voldermort is dead and I'm the only one who can kill him." Harry found himself struggling for breath under the weight his rage. Bill was staring at him with confusion and fear shadowing his features, he hadn't yet accepted Harry's role in this scheme but there was no denying it. "Bill, what you're proposing is ludicrous?"

With that Harry turned and disappeared through the door from whence he came. Bill stared at the door and felt pity for the young wizard who had just vacated the room. Mumbling under his breath he continued with his wedding preparations, "How can there be such a great weight on one boy's shoulders?"

(Break)

Two live willow trees, braided together intricately by magic, created the great white marital canopy under which Bill and Fleur would be wed. White flowers were conjured to rain over the scene, the pristine white petals glistening like snow. Everyone attending was dressed in their best robes and gathered outside the Burrow- the Weasely's, Harry, and Hermione gathered on one side of the isle, the siren's family on the other. A member from the ministry, a qualified law enforcer, was there to oversee the wedding; everyone was ready and waiting, but where was the bride.

"What is taking her so long?" Mrs. Weasely wondered out loud not caring how anyone might take the agitated tone in her voice.

Mr. Weasely lent her a comforting hand, "Don't worry love she'll be here?"

Sure enough after that statement Harry heard the ring of bells that signified the brides entrance. Everyone rose, as if on clue, and turned to face the bride as she walked steadily down the isle in all her splendor and glory. Her robes were wrapped about her, a white crystalline gown made of unicorn hair trimmed with golden minx fur, and her hair was twisted up in a bun creating a nest for two doves. She was magnificent and the twinkling bells added to the beauty of the scene.

Harry was so caught up in the sight that he didn't notice Ginny moving silently to his side and barely heard her whisper over the chiming bells, "Harry we need to talk."

"Not now Ginny." Harry didn't turn to look at her, leaving his eyes trained on Fleur, but he could feel hurt emanating from her.

"If not now, when? I know you've been avoiding me Harry, but it doesn't have to be that way." She moved a little closer to him and lowered her voice, so that others couldn't hear. "I love you Harry, at first I thought I could forget about it but- but I can't. I can't give up hope that you will come back, and we will live happily ever after; just like Bill and Fleur. Harry," There was a note of pleading in her voice "is there any hope for me?"

He knew it would come to this, this one question that he hadn't wanted to answer. If he left her with hope then she would be crushed if- if things didn't work out right, she could heal with time if he just let her go now. "No." His voice was surprisingly cold, and he didn't miss Ginny's soft sob that this word encouraged. "I'm sorry Ginny but there is no hope for us, whatever we had was over."

Fleur had reached the canopy and Bill took her hand. Harry watched noncommittally as the young couple touched wands, letting their souls twine as one with a string of magic. There were a few words of commitment but Harry's ears were death to all, but Ginny's silent tears.

This day brought on new beginnings indeed, and the end to some old ones.