In the Shadows Chapter 3, a harry potter fanfic

Tonks returned to Grimmuld Place feeling a little giddy, Lupin and Mad Eye behind her making jokes and innuendo. She simply rolled her eyes contemptuously at them and went upstairs to have a shower. As she was getting changed, a loud popping noise startled Tonks, causing her to jump over her bed and grab her wand.

"Is okay, is only Dobby the House Elf" Dobby said, holding a large package.

"Oh, sorry Dobby but you scared me" Tonks replied, wrapping a towel around herself.

"Is okay, lady of Harry Potter's affection. Dobby has a gift for lady from Harry Potter, he wished Dobby give it to you after he left for Hogwarts" Dobby gently laid the large package on the bed.

"Thanks Dobby" Tonks said, a red twinge on her cheeks as she began to unwrap the gift.

The gift was wrapped in a large clear cellophane bag and covered with what looked like a lot of fine chocolate sweets and some kind of herb, rosemary, Tonks guessed by the smell. Pouring the chocolates out onto the bed and resolving to eat them later, she found the actual present itself. Feeling a little giddy, as if a school girl again, she opened the box.

"Oh, my word" Tonks gasped, lifting the gloves out and inspecting them.

With a very warm feeling in the pit of her stomach, Tonks put the gloves on. Then a most unexpected thing happened. All the stones on the top of the gloves began to shimmer in all different colours and the gold threads also began glowing. Tonks was amazed, she couldn't believe it.

"Morphstones and life thread, oh my god" a smile grew across her face and a few tears.

Running down the stairs, ignoring her state of undress. She made to the fire place and threw in some Floo Powder and asked to see Dumbledore at his office. The grey haired headmaster appeared and asked Tonks what she wanted to know.

"Are you planning any social events this year?" she asked, barely concealed excitement on her face.

"Not that I know of, why, do you wish me to hold one?" he asked, eyes twinkling.

"Well, it might be nice; Hermione said the Yule Ball was a lot of fun" Tonks mentioned.

"True, but the Yule Ball is part of the Triwizard Tournament, I cannot hold that without holding the Tournament again and I think there would be some objections to that" Dumbledore said with a grin.

"Well, what about a Masquerade Ball for Halloween, that's as good an excuse for a bit of fun as anything" Tonks pressed the idea.

"Indeed it is. Very well, I'll bring that to the faculty and see what they think" Dumbledore acquiesced to the request.

"Great, bye" Tonks went to leave, but Dumbledore made sure to get the last word in.

"I assume I shall be able to recognise you from the gloves" he asked as he left the fireplace.

Feeling mortified at being seen through like that, Tonks quietly went back upstairs for her shower. Ignoring the smug looks of both Lupin and Mad Eye as she went passed them, still in her towel with a blush Ron would be proud of on her face. As the door slammed shut they looked at each other.

"Five Galleons, one week after the dance" Mad Eye said.

"Ten Galleons, during the dance" Lupin replied.

"Done" Mad Eye replied and shook Lupin's hand; making a gentleman's agreement.

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-----Hogwarts-----

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The welcoming feast and sorting went on like clockwork, the usual sort of spiel from the hat about school unity among the houses. It was all getting fairly par for course with that stupid hat and Harry was getting sick of it. Once the final student had been sorted, Dumbledore stood to make his announcement.

"Due to the obvious enjoyment of the Yule Ball two years ago, an, anonymous party has convinced me to hold this year a Masquerade Ball this Halloween. It shall be open to all years, although I think separate ballrooms for year one through three and four through seven" Dumbledore smiled, seeing the excited looks all over the children's faces.

"Who do you suppose the anonymous party was?" Hermione wondered.

"No idea, still, should be fun" Ginny giggled, clasping Hermione's hand under the table.

Ron exchanged a worried look with Luna; he was concerned how the rest of Hogwarts would start treating them both. He knew his sister could be every bit as fiery as all her brothers, and Hermione could be very fierce when the mood took her, but, two against nine hundred, still unfair odds.

'Even for a pair as fierce as a nesting mother Dragon' Ron thought, chewing on some bread.

"So Harry, since Tonks is obviously unavailable, whom do you plan to ask to the ball?" Ron tried a less depressing topic.

"Bugger off, Ron, I'll probably not go" Harry said off hand.

"Why not?" Ginny enquired.

"Why bother, no one wants to dance with me, I seem to attract danger like sugar does bees" Harry said miserably.

"Harry, you do know what masquerade means don't you?" Hermione asked.

"Not off hand, no" he answered, looking puzzled.

"It means disguise or hiding. You are supposed to come in a costume to conceal your identity, until midnight usually" Hermione explained.

Harry took that in and thought for a while: given the almost covert nature of the ball, he could ask Tonks to come, she was not much taller than he was and would not be recognised by any of the student body. Save for those who knew her.

'The only thing that would stand in my way would be Snape. Sub Zero and Hanzo aren't here so they can't keep him quiet' Harry sat and began to think very deeply about this.

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--------Hogsmeade-----

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'I don't believe this' Rolanda Hooch thought disbelievingly.

She was caught in the Three Broomsticks because Madam Rosemerta had decided it was too dangerous, Death Eaters are about, she would say and had locked the doors until morning and put everyone in the bar up for free.

"The woman has taken leave of her senses" Rolanda muttered to the air around her.

While Rolanda sat and muttered, two blue eyes had become glued to her. Despite her advanced age, Rolanda Hooch looked only thirty five, a fact not lost on her admirer.

"You are drawing attention to yourself" his companion said, fingering the empty glass in front of him.

"Men tend to stare at women in bars and pubs, but then you never were a bar or a pub man were you?" Sub Zero said, a slight slur in his voice.

"And you always did love alcohol a bit too much" Hanzo shot back.

"True, but when one reaches a stage in life, one requires a little vice now and then" Sub Zero smirked.

"Clear your system. I feel trouble is approaching" Hanzo said, going unusually stiff.

"Okay" Sub Zero used the ice powers in his blood to destroy the alcohol molecules, sobering him up.

Hanzo was right, trouble was coming. However it was from a most unexpected source. The woman Sub Zero had been staring at had very casually gone and broken a window and climbed out of the opening. Grinning, Sub Zero moved quickly among the patrons and hoped out of the hole in the wall himself, Hanzo following him closely.

"Stupid bloody serving wench, totally crackers" Rolanda muttered, knowing she'd missed the feast and the sorting ceremony.

"Well well, what have we here my fellows, it is a teacher from that muggle and mud blood loving school" a deep voice intoned.

"Oh no, no no no no, this is totally unfair" Rolanda couldn't believe it; the one time she decides not to give into hysteria she actually does get attacked.

"Indeed it is my dear, but only for you" another of the Death Eaters mocked her.

Rolanda had her wand, but her speciality was flying, not fighting. If she had her broom then she might have had a chance to escape and outrun them, but she was on her own and now surrounded by Death Eaters. One stood opposite her, obviously the one who wised to attack her first.

"It is time to die, mud blood lover" the tall Death Eater sneered.

Then something truly extraordinary happened: a blue mist overcame the circle, as fast as a thought and all the Death Eaters who mad up the circle were frozen solid, faces frozen in confusion. Slow, deliberate steps echoed in the night and soon a tall figure emerged from the mist: Sub Zero, now wearing the armour he had found in the Cryomancer's Mausoleum. His eyes burnt with cold rage.

"It seems to me, that these odds were unfair. I have created a balance" he said, his mouth hidden behind a mask like Hanzo's.

"Who are you?" the Death Eater demanded levelling his wand.

"If you wish to fight me, then say so. If you wish to fight her, the get on with it" Sub Zero showed no fear.

"Expelliarmus" Rolanda struck while the Death Eater was distracted and was able to disarm him.

"Very well played my dear, now, I shall take my leave. No doubt the local law enforcement is on the way. Farewell" Sub Zero seemed to melt back into the mist.

"Wait" she called out, but he did not linger.

Indeed Aurors had show up and were quite perplexed to find one Death Eater bound by a wizard spell, and several others frozen by a means irreversible to them. They questioned Rolanda about it for several minutes but she could tell them nothing specific. They agreed to let her continue on her way to Hogwarts under her own power.

"Who the bloody hell was that?" she wondered, reaching up to adjust her cloak.

As he did she felt something cool and smooth that wasn't in that place before. Screwing her brow in concentration she removed the object and looked at it. It was a small penguin, riding a broom. Most fascinating off all was that the small brooch was made of ice.

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--------------Hogwarts-------------

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Harry was in his favourite class: Defence against the Dark Arts. Well, it would be his favourite class, had Snape not been appointed to teach it, the new teacher, Professor Slughorn was now the Potions Master. It was a double lesson. The first half was some writing and other theory. The second half, which they were now entering, was a practical lesson.

"You will be working on Non-Verbal Spells today, simple stunners and shields until you get better control over them" Snape commanded breezily, pairing the students up.

Harry ended up with Draco, a not to uncommon occurrence in this class. Only this time, Harry looked at Draco with more than the usual contempt: there was rage now. Lucius Malfoy had been present at the Department of Mysteries, and Draco's own affiliation and ideology were all common knowledge.

"Ready to get beaten, Potter?" Draco asked snidely.

"Not by the likes of you, Malfoy" Harry hissed, wand ready.

They began to duel, silently at first. The silent part was clumsy and broken by occasional speech. Then at one point, Harry and Draco got closer to the one another, trying to overpower the other. It was then that Draco made a very costly mistake.

"Did your godfather fight this way before he died, because of he did no wonder Bellatrix beat him" Draco sniggered.

That simple phrase was enough to unlock a long buried store of guilt, anger and misery in Harry that seemed to translate into a raw form of magical power, there was so much of it that it had to be forcibly expelled from his body: right at Draco.

Draco had no idea what hit him, but he'd lost his wand and Potter was on him. Draco tried to fend him off, but Harry had been under the tutelage of two very skilled warriors and one of the most unfair playing Aurors in all of Britain. Draco threw a sloppy punch. Harry moved fluidly from its path and grabbed Draco's fist.

"This is for Sirius" Harry snarled.

Twisting the arm so that it locked, Harry swung himself from his hips and used his forearm to break Draco's elbow. Without hesitation he snapped a kick to the boy's knee.

"For Cedric" Harry hissed as Draco hit the ground.

"And this is for me" Harry brought his leg up in a powerful axe kick aimed for Draco's head.

Before he could bring the kick down, Ron crash tackled him. The other Slytherin students were rushing to Draco's defence and the Gryffindor students to stop Harry from killing Draco. It was a tough go. It took Ron, Hermione along with Dean and Seamus to bring Harry under control. The rest of the students kept busy keeping members of both camps from brawling with each other.

"POTTER. DETENTION, ALL WEEK. NO QUIDDITCH" Snape was beyond furious.

"You're dead Potter, when I get my hands on you" Draco gasped out.

"Mighty big words since you're the one with the broken arm and knee, you stupid bastard" Harry replied from his vantage point on the floor.

That was the scene Dumbledore was greeted by upon entering the classroom: two houses nearly at each other's throats. Not the sort of unity he'd been hoping for. It only took one student to see the ancient headmaster before a hush fell about the room, save for the pained breathing of Draco and Harry's heavy breathing that was the result of his sudden adrenaline rush.

"Severus, take young Mr. Malfoy to Madam Pomfrey, his injuries are grave as I am sure you can sympathise. Mr. Potter will remain here; the rest of you may go to lunch" Dumbledore said quietly.

Snape and two other students took Draco to the Infirmary, the rest of them did file out to lunch, but there was an obvious divide between them. As soon as they were gone, Dumbledore charmed himself a chair and sat down and looked at Harry.

"It would appear that Mr. Malfoy said something to upset you" Dumbledore began.

"A very astute observation, sir" Harry snapped back.

"That did not give you the right to injure him like you did" Dumbledore also chose his words wrongly, but Harry was content to just yell at him.

"I have no right, how dare you. That son of a bitch has been nothing but trouble for me and everyone else here since he was a first year. His father willingly followed the man that killed my parents. His father indeed tried to kill one of my close friends" Harry was gathering steam.

"Harry,-" Dumbledore tried to interject.

"I'M NOT FINISHED. Draco himself assisted Professor Umbridge last year in an attempt to take over this school and break me. They failed. Draco has also used any authority he has to bully, intimidate and I dare say even hurt other people. Well it is high time that little shit felt that fear. Because if Draco wishes to be like his daddy, then perhaps he should know what he is fighting" Harry had slowed to a stop now.

"Harry, Draco is a bully but not a murderer" Dumbledore implored the boy to be reasonable.

"But he enjoys it!" Harry snapped.

"Draco isn't as happy about that certain aspect of his life as you might imagine, Harry" Dumbledore attempted to placate the boy.

"Then he is guilty by inaction. The only thing worse than the deeds of evil men is the inaction of (supposed) good men" it wasn't working; Harry was severely worked up now.

Dumbledore was seriously worried: he could feel a darkness growing in the young man. A darkness that remained unchecked could lead to irreversible and terrible consequences. It was then that Dumbledore knew in his heart that if there was to be any hope, Harry would need reminding that he was fighting for the side of law and justice.

"Did you know that is the very same logic that Voldermort uses to punish his subordinates, Harry?" the headmaster knew he was walking a tightrope here, but it had to be said.

"Don't you dare sit there and compare me to him. I have never killed anyone for a matter as trivial as their birth or disposition to magic" Harry snarled.

"Yet you attacked Mr. Malfoy for something that is really no more than following an extreme political belief" the line became narrower.

"Get out" Harry snarled; a mist began to leak out of him, magic, raw magical energy.

"Harry…" Dumbledore stood.

"I SAID GET OUT" Harry screamed, allowing a very dark look to pass across his face.

Dumbledore was shocked. This was not the Harry Potter he knew, then again, did anyone truly know him. A life filled with pain, suffering and misery would take its toll on anyone. Harry however had grown up with not only that, but constant threat to his life also from a true manifestation of evil.

"Harry, what is wrong?" Dumbledore began to suspect that there was more than a mere angry outburst at work here.

Harry's body was resonating with the energy itself, making things around him flap and creak. Harry himself had taken to breathing heavily and as he raised his head to stare at Dumbledore, the old wizard stepped back in horror. Harry's normally green eyes were shifting in colour, red to green and green to red, as if one colour was fighting for dominance.

"My word" Dumbledore muttered.

Harry jerkily raised his wand to his throat, his body convulsing a little. Dumbledore moved forward to try and remove Harry's wand from his hand. Quick as a flash, Harry pointed the wand at Dumbledore and used the Expelliarmus spell. The spell was so powerful that it flung Dumbledore backwards and out of the door, startling the students in the hallway.

"What on earth?" Snape had returned and saw Harry. He then knew fear.

Harry was surrounded by his own magical energy and was moving forward jerkily, but the shifting colour of his eyes and the paleness of his skin made for a frightening spectre to see. Snape raised his wand, but Dumbledore advised him to lower it.

"Help, me" Harry managed to choke out before he collapsed, all magical energy retreating into his body.

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Dumbledore, now sporting a bandaid on his eyebrow stood over Harry's unconscious form. The boy was on a large range of magical sensors, not dissimilar to Muggle life-support equipment. Dumbledore was joined by Ron, Hermione, Luna and Ginny who had been told the unbelievable tale of Harry's powerful outburst. They were flabbergasted, to say the least.

"He, managed to summon enough power, to throw you across a room and through a door, just so I got that right" Hermione asked.

"Correct" Dumbledore answered.

"How?" Ron asked.

"I do not know, Ronald. Believe me I wish I did" the old headmaster said with a wry smile.

"Has the ministry heard of this?" Ginny brought a very daunting question to air.

"I believe if they don't know yet, they will know soon. Undoubtedly young Mr. Malfoy has alerted his mother of his assault and news is known to travel fast in this school, so they will know one way or the other" Dumbledore had been afraid of something like this.

"What will happen to him?" Luna spoke this time.

"Undoubtedly they will petition me to have him confined to St. Mungo's, or given the new Minister, I fear he will want him put in Azkaban" Dumbledore gave very grave news.

"They wouldn't do that surely. He isn't a criminal" Ron muttered.

Unbeknownst to them, Tonks had gotten wind of this and had immediately Flooed to George and Fred's shop, roping them into coming with her. Flooing once more to Hogsmeade, they ran though the small town towards Hogwarts not seeing the two shadowy figures that watched them from the darkness, following them.

Tonks, being an Auror, was in top physical shape and the run took barely any wind from her, Fred and George, more used to Apperating and Broom travel were not so fit, but regular Quidditch kept them healthy enough to dog her heels to the gates of Hogwarts.

"Come on, we've got to go faster" Tonks muttered as she barrelled though the doors and up towards the Infirmary wing.

"The way she's running, you'd think she was in love with Harry" George muttered to Fred.

"Between you me and the garden fence, George, I think she is" Fred replied with a grin.

"He does get all the luck" they both chorused as they finally made it the Infirmary wing.

"Stay here a second, keep watch. If you see any ministry goons, yell loudly and get in here quick" Tonks instructed as she entered the Infirmary.

The sight of him nearly tore down her resolve not to cry; he was pale and he seemed to have lost a lot of weight. However he'd only been at Hogwarts a day, how that could any of this possibly have happened in twenty four hours Tonks had no idea. No one noticed her and she was able to walk right past them and kneel down next to him before anyone saw her.

"Tonks, what are you doing here?" Madam Pomfrey recognised Tonks from her hair, a colour she seemed to like and used in school.

"What happened?" she asked, looking up at the rest of the group.

"I long feared that Harry's dark side would assert itself one day, it appears today is that day" Dumbledore gave an unusually concise answer.

"What do you mean?" Tonks was confused, her eyes darting from person to person.

"To every person there are two sides, good and evil for a simple definition. Most people keep this in balance with varying moods and actions. Harry though has kept his darker nature repressed for a long time. Combine that with his past sufferings and recent grief, his control was lost. I fear my own inactions and mistakes have combined with the forces of fate and released a dark power inside of him" the headmaster explained at length.

"How powerful?" Tonks asked.

"Powerful enough to fling me across a room and through a door with a simple 'Expelliarmus' spell. I just don't know what is causing it" Dumbledore now imparted the full story to Tonks.

Tonks lay her head on Harry's chest, trying to find Harry's heartbeat. She searched for a full two minutes before she used a spell to enhance her hearing and she could finally hear it, and even then, it was soft.

"I can barely hear his heart. By Merlin's beard he seems nearly dead" she sobbed.

"He will recover, he's too much a stubborn bugger not to" Ron assured Tonks.

"Ah Tonks, we have someone coming up the hallway" Fred appeared in the room now, a confused look of apprehension on his face.

"Aurors?" she asked.

"No" Fred replied.

"Death Eaters?" she guessed.

"Worse, I'm afraid" Fred grimaced.

"Who then?" she hissed.

"Mrs. Malfoy" he answered finally.

The children all exchanged a worried look. Narcissa Malfoy was every bit as twisted as her husband and some say twice as cunning, after all, behind every great man is a great woman. Dumbledore recommended the children leave, but as Madam Pomfrey pointed out, in here, her word was law, not Narcissa Malfoy's. Soon the object of their conversation appeared.

Narcissa Malfoy is not an ugly woman, indeed if she would stop sneering for one moment she may even be considered beautiful. But the look on her face, one of total indignation and anger made all her attractiveness fade away. Tonks stood tall, wishing she was in her Auror's robes instead of her civvies.

"Professor Dumbledore, I want Harry Potter expelled and arrested. Start with a charge of assault on my son" her voice, melodic and dark, sent chills across the room.

"Narcissa, so good to see you again. I always said your voice would be very suited to singing, a shame you have not graced us with being a singer" Dumbledore always liked to open on a positive.

"Save your platitudes you deranged geriatric. Nymphadora, arrest that boy immediately. A worthless family member you may be, but not a worthless Auror I hear" Narcissa turned to her niece.

"You have no authority or right to tell me to do anything" Tonks' eyes narrowed dangerously, her grip on her wand tightening.

"If you intend to get loud, Mrs. Malfoy, I demand you to leave my Infirmary immediately. I have sick students; your own son was among them" Madam Pomfrey stood tall and defiant in the face of the outraged aristocrat.

"I will have the minister in on this one Dumbledore. Mark my words" she hissed. Then as quickly as she came, Narcissa left.

"Shame she's an evil woman" Fred said, clicking his tongue.

"Why?" Ginny asked, not really wanting to know.

"Because my dear sister, she has lovely breasts" George answered.

"Her arse wasn't bad either" Fred added.

Ron shuddered very visibly while Tonks looked surprised, if not horrified by the twins' admission of Narcissa Malfoy being attractive. The rest of the group only frowned and shook their heads, believing it to be simply their way of injecting levity into the situation.

"Now to more pressing matters. Undoubtedly there will be attempts to remove Harry from Hogwarts, we must secure him here until he is well enough to be at least sent back to Grimmuld Place, under no circumstances is he now to return to Number 4, Privet Drive" Dumbledore outlined his view.

"Albus he requires constant monitoring when he is like this, I have no idea when he will be strong enough to be moved a long distance" Madam Pomfrey objected.

"The Room of Requirement; we could put him there. If what we need is a safe place to take care of him, he could go there, and it would automatically set itself up for housing him" Hermione was struck with inspiration.

"But he needs full time care. I cannot move between the two, people would get suspicious" Madam Pomfrey argued.

"I can watch him; I did basic medical training at Auror Academy. I can monitor him, and if something drastic happens I can call you" Tonks spoke before she even considered the repercussions of her actions.

"Do you agree with this Albus?" Madam Pomfrey only needed Dumbledore's approval and she would go through with the plan.

"I agree, very well thought Ms. Granger. Poppy, if you will prepare him to be moved, Tonks and I shall prepare the Room of Requirement" Dumbledore nodded to the nurse and turned to leave; Tonks right behind him.