Chapter 1
"Who are you, and what do you want with me?"
As I shook off my surprise, I first felt surprise that Harry was able to sense my presence, and had me trained at wandpoint even before I knew I was being targeted. Then I felt sadness, because his attitude reminded me of the harsh trials he had to face. Finally, I felt pride that he was able to react fast enough, and that he was able to pull one over on me.
"I repeat, who are you and why are you in my home?"
His voice was laced with bitter anger, as though he did not call this a home, but his words were clear. He wanted to know who I was, and why I was standing next to his bed. Before answering, I replied cryptically:
"You place too much trust in your headmaster, Harry."
That should have thrown him off track, but Harry didn't even bat an eye.
"He placed the wards, and I know he has his own plans in mind, but me getting killed by Voldemort will help him none. He firmly believes in the prophecy, and he believes the good of the majority outweighs the good of the individual."
Suddenly looking horrified, Harry realized he was not supposed to mention the prophecy. I chuckled at it, and then clarified.
"I know the prophecy. Do not be concerned about that. I also know about your attempt at the Cruciatus, but it is good that you feel the guilt. If you did not feel guilt, you would be no better off than Voldemort. Unlike Dumbledore, I believe that casting a dark spell does not make you dark, but that you cannot live without a balance. One thing I wanted to ask: you seem to have taken the death of your godfather well."
A brief flash of pain passed Harry's features, but I am sure that he is not grieving as much as he was over Cedric.
"My godfather left me a letter, explaining his actions. He knew that he was of no use to me, or to himself just sitting locked up, and he rationalized that he … he would be with his parents, as he should be. I know that if I should blame someone, I have to blame Voldemort … or Dumbledore."
By the end of that line, I could see that Harry was nearly in tears, so I did not press the issue further. I knew I had to tell him who I was, but I tried to avoid the questions that would come out of it.
"I'll try to answer your questions Harry, but I know you may not like my answers. I will try not to hide anything from you, but there are some things I do not know. Just know this – I do not serve Voldemort, Fudge, or Dumbledore, so do not be afraid that I will pass answers to them. I want to help you, and I know most of what you know, but all I ask is that you trust me."
Harry thought over the proposition, and then nodded.
"Before I let you ask questions, I want you to tell me how you thought I could be trusted. If I am to take you as a student –" Here I was met with a shocked gaze, but then the shock was replaced with eagerness. "If I am to take you as a student, I want to know whether you can think. Waving a stick and saying words is one thing, but you need to think on your feet to be able to survive."
Harry thought it over, then said his conclusions.
"Well, I know that Dumbledore would not have set the wards to allow a Voldemort supporter in. That eliminates the Dark side. I know Fudge does not know about the prophecy, so that eliminates the Ministry. And Dumbledore… Dumbledore would not believe that casting a dark spell – in any circumstance – would be a good idea. He would try to argue with me, and any of his supporters would be afraid that I was going dark."
"Good answer Harry, it shows that you do know how to think. And good job grouping Dumbledore against you as well. You want to learn to live life, and there is no reason to live life in a gilded cage." Looking around, I added "or just a cage in your case."
Harry then thought about what he should ask. I know he had many questions to ask, but I wanted to see whether he would ask the right one.
"What … are you?" was his first question. Technically correct, but not really useful. I told him as such.
"That is a correct question, but it isn't pertinent to the discussion. I will tell you anyway, but you have to learn to control your curiosity…
I was originally supposed to be a Demon. Voldemort's summoning ritual was supposed to bring a demon from the depths of hell to serve him. Obviously, that didn't happen, or the world would be in ruins by now. But, when I found myself standing before him, I felt no pull to obey him – I cannot harm him, but I do not have to obey his will. I have no memory of the time before the ritual – either I was created or my memory was wiped. But know this – I will NOT serve Voldemort, and I will not serve ANYONE. I am my own being, and I am in control of my own life."
Finishing my monologue, I noticed that Harry was crouched in the corner of the room, stuttering to finish a sentence. As I looked around, I noticed red flames circling around me.
"A… a demon? From… Voldemort?"
Sometimes Harry's reactions were so delayed, I knew I would have some trouble with the boy.
"Yes, a demon, Yes, from Voldemort, but NO, I am NOT on his side. Got it?" I asked, being a bit stern. He seemed to snap back into his normal state, because he let off a sarcastic "Sir, Yes sir, Mr. Demon sir!" before collapsing on the bed.
As I willed him to awaken, I made a mental note – teach the boy mind techniques. Although his connection to the scale-face was ripped apart as soon as I saw it – it was draining his power and blocking half his abilities – he was still vulnerable to attacks from within – take Dumbledore and his twinkling for example…
Waking up, Harry sat up on his bed, stood up, then saw me, and sat directly back onto the bed. I sighed – it would take a lot to help Harry get over his stereotypes of Demons. Although he was not very religious (Getting sprayed with holy water was not very appealing to me), he still had a wizard's belief that a demon was bad. He wasn't as bad as his friend Ron, who would probably chase me out with a cross, or faint, in either order, but he still had the prejudices of wizard kind.
"Now that I'm sort of used to the idea of a demon, created by Voldemort, sitting in my room chatting with me, I have just one more thing to ask you. What, and when, can you teach me?"
Now that's more like it! It seems that Harry likes the direct approach, so I will take that to him as well.
"You will be learning many things from me, and I will shadow you everywhere. It is the summer, and you can't do magic with a wand – both the Ministry and Dumbledore track your spells. I will teach you how to use Wandless Magic, but I can't expect you to protect yourself with it immediately. Don't worry, I'll remain invisible, and I can read your mind. If you want something done until you can do it yourself, I will try to do it for you."
"That seems great, but what do we start with? I'm stuck in this room, and I don't even have chores to do, thanks to the order."
"First we have to teach you mind protection. You can't have Dumbledore checking in on you and knowing about me, can you?"
"But Snape tried to …"
"What Snape did was to torture your mind to make it easier to get in. He was not teaching, and he may have weakened your resolve against old Voldy there. What I am teaching you is the demon's equivalent."
Harry was seething at the idea that Snape was responsible for Sirius' death, but quickly schooled his expressions into a mask of indifference, and was awaiting instruction.
"What demons do when they want to protect their mind is to group their mind into layers. The outer layer is what your mind is like now – easily accessible, and extremely easy to read. However, they also have a hard inner layer, unlike most humans. Their inner layer is the memories they want to hide. Unlike Occlumency, that is all there is to it. You do not have to 'Clear your mind,' and you do not need to keep your shield up.
In order to make your own inner layer, you must first choose an emotion. If anyone has that emotion while trying to scan your thoughts, they will be repelled instantly."
"So something like guilt would keep Dumbledore away from my inner thoughts?" Harry asked, liking his new teacher more than he could ever like Snape.
"Yes, but you should choose more than one – what are the odds that Voldemort would feel guilty about scanning your mind?"
"How about guilt, malevolence, and avarice?" Harry suggested.
"Those three should cover it. Now, once you thought of the emotions, think of the prime examples to feel those emotions. Imagine their faces, imagine their frustration when they can't read your mind. Now focus on that, and think of a memory – any memory you want to protect. Once you do that, that memory cannot be accessed by anyone feeling those emotions."
Harry then proceeded to lay down on his bed, sorting through his memories. I was confident that he would be able to handle it – he has done worse before. My suspicions were proved correct, when he looked up and said "I'm done."
I was speechless – for a human to have finished sorting their mind so fast? Nevertheless, I congratulated him and told him to go to sleep – assuring him that his relatives would not see me.
"I have one last question – what is your name?"
I answered simply "You may call me Niamp."
After hearing my words, he promptly fell asleep.