Summary: Continues right after HBP (including spoilers). Harry is about to leave Hogwarts for good by himself against the will of his friends when a memory of something Dumbledore said before pops into his mind. Deciding to take action based on this memory, Harry decides to remain at Hogwarts for a while longer and train a bit more before going into the world on his own. What he discovers afterwards about himself and the world marks the beginning of a war of unimaginable proportions. This is a story inspired by Warcraft 3, Reign of Chaos. Also, bits of other shows and books are involved such as Matrix, Lord of The Rings, and Full Metal Alchemist (not enough to actually make it a crossover).
Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Harry Potter other than perhaps the actual books that are published. This is written for fun and definitely not profit. I also do not own anything relating to Warcraft. Anything here you recognize, I do not own it, and otherwise, it's probably my innovation or invention.
Arthur's Note: Once again, I'm going to thank everyone who reviewed, I'm sorry that I said I was going to update yesterday but summer's coming to a close and I want to spend more of my last days doing other things too. However, I still wanted to write this, so here it is. Sorry for it being late, as I feel that romance scenes should be written slowly and thoughtfully because of the mood you're trying to set up (not in the perverted way). Anyway, this is my first real try at a romantic scene, and since I'm a guy… I'm going to need a lot of help. If the fluff here sucks forgive me, because I'm just a guy with no experience what so ever. I think I understand the issue with responding to reviews now. I'm going to do the same as last chapter and I hope that's ok with everyone, if you want my specific thoughts on a matter, please tell me so. I'm going to stop about here now and give you guys the chapter as it's already late enough as it is. The 3, I repeat, 3 winners for the contest will be announced after the chapter. Also, there'll be important news that I think will make most of you happy. Now that that's all done… here's the next chapter!
The Gathering Series Book One
The Gathering Twilight
Chapter Six:
Unspoken PainFrom the last chapter…
Harry gave a final breath before he closed his eyes and tried to recover from this near death situation. As he drifted to sleep, Harry cursed the name of Mal' Ganis, not noticing that a certain Metamorphmagus Auror had gasped in shock under her invisibility cloak…
Tonks was shocked. This was just too much. Here she was, in a secret compartment of the train protected by a variation of the Fidelius charm used for the Order, and suddenly a man, or what used to be a man, smashed through the window and bid his owl goodbye before collapsing onto the seats facing her. Afterwards, she didn't know what shocked her more: the fact that this man (though badly damaged, was a prime specimen of the male population) was Harry Potter, the "chosen one", or the fact that the medical examination spells she used said that he was on the brink of death, with just about every part of him tarnished.
That was about an hour ago, and since then Tonks had used an advanced Auror healing spell to bandage up all of his body, making him seem like a mummy from a muggle movie. The only openings were for his nose, mouth and right eye, which was in better condition than the rest of him. This was so that he could breathe. As soon as she's seen to it that he was comfortable, a soft light glowed before four objects appeared beside him and landed on the small compartment table between them.
She wasn't surprised to find a small blue magical dagger in its sheath on the boy-who-lived. However, she was confused at a small pink magical marble. What really baffled her and caused her to stifle her laughter was the last two items. They were 2 muggle corner store-one dollar trashy romance novels. Why he carried these, Tonks didn't know, but decided to read one of them to pass the time and to have something to blackmail Harry with once he's better.
The night continued on to around 3 in the morning, and Tonks was too absorbed in her book to see that her patient had stirred a little. (Book writing in bold italics) She couldn't believe how happy and relieved she was. The last time she had seen John was when they had broken up. Now after her chance of loosing him had passed, she realized just how much she needed him in her life. "Johnny!" She exclaimed, as she threw her arms around her surprised ex-boyfriend and pressed her lips upon his. John was surprised a bit before he started to enjoy the familiar lips… a pleasurable groan leaving his mouth…
"Ughh…" Tonks blinked. That wasn't how she guessed the groan would have sounded like. The one she heard was more pained than pleasured. She mentally slapped herself before realizing that the groan wasn't imaginary. Putting the book down, Tonks looked over to the other side to see one tired and yet somehow glowing green eye staring at her. "Harry! You're awake!" She said excitedly, glad that her young acquaintance had waken up.
Harry couldn't feel anything but pain, but even that was just felt subconsciously. He couldn't move his body, couldn't do anything. It was all he could do to speak, keep an eye open, and breathe all at the same time. He looked at a figure composed of a blur of colours. "Who are you and how… cough… do you know me?" He croaked, feeling the burning dryness in his throat.
Tonks was confused for a moment before realizing why he didn't recognize her. Tonks carefully removed her invisibility cloak and put it aside. She had forgotten her habit of wearing it like a normal cloak that she picked up after a summer of looking after Harry at his supposed "home". This didn't help Harry however, as the colours only became clearer and brighter and took the shape of a womanly figure.
He told her this, which caused her to frown. "It's really me Harry…" she said, not really knowing hoe to back up her statement. Harry thought for a moment. "Who are you in love with?" He asked. Tonks raised an eyebrow. "I hardly think this is the time…" she began but he cut her off. "I think only people I trust know who Nymphadora Tonks is in love with." Harry said tiredly, hoping for a straight answer so he can either be killed in peace or rest to try and heal.
"Now see here Harry..." Tonks said, narrowing her eyes slightly, "you might be injured, but say my name one more time, I'll fix you up so that you won't be having any offspring in the future." Expecting Harry to get nervous and quickly stutter an apology, she was surprised at what his reply was. "Maybe you should, any child of mine would only suffer like me. Besides, who would want to bare my child?" He asked bitterly. "This is off topic though. If you really are Tonks, then just tell me who you're in love with!"
Saving Harry's comment for later examination, Tonks sighed exasperatedly and answered with all of her honesty. "I don't know." Seeing Harry tense up (even though he couldn't really move) made her explain her answer. "I know you think it's Remus Harry, but I'm still confused about our relationship. We need to clear that up and while I care a lot for him, I don't know if it's that deep yet." Harry relaxed and managed a small nod.
After around ten minutes of silence, Tonks got bored. "So… what happened Harry?" She asked, trying to start a conversation. She was about to ask again, thinking that he didn't hear her, when he suddenly spoke with an urgency someone of his state shouldn't have been able to feel. "Is everyone all right? The Death Eaters' attack! How many were killed? How many..." It was his turn to be cut off. "Everyone's fine Harry, they didn't get pass our shields and they suddenly withdrew. Next thing I know, we had all of them caught and bound within the train."
Harry relaxed again; this couldn't have been good for his heart, and at such a young age. 'Even in his condition, he's more worried about the others.' Tonks thought with awe. 'He really is something special.' The silence resumed, before Tonks repeated her earlier question. Harry thought about it, deciding the whole truth would be the best, but he could still just generalize the events. After all, he didn't want Tonks to think he was bragging and trying to hog all the glory. He didn't want her to turn out like his old friends.
So Harry told her his tale. However, some parts he had to lie about. For example, he said that he only helped the school defenders and didn't take the enemy down by himself. Also, he didn't tell her about Dean's bunch, and what he knew about the werewolf battle. So basically, he only helped with the school defense before coming to the train to see that no one was attacking the train. In the end though, he had to spare some truths and told her about a strange creature and had struck him with meteorites.
Tonks listened intently and could tell that there was more to it then what Harry said, but decided not to say anything about it now because of his condition. "How did you survive that though?" She asked, thinking that something as huge as a meteorite would be able to crush anyone in an instant. "I can only be killed by Voldemort." He said with an air that read, "Don't ask."
Soon, the two were silent again. Harry was looking out his window, still immobilized. "Why?" He thought out loud, not able to keep it in anymore. Tonks looked at him questioningly, wondering what he meant. "Why am I the way I am?" She remained silent, thins time not knowing the answer being her reason. Harry turned his gaze towards her. She felt the pain in his eyes and it broke her heart to see anyone like that.
"Why am I such a terrible person?" This time Tonks was shocked. What did he mean by that? He wasn't a terrible person. Could this be about Sirius? However, he theory was wrong as Harry thought back to recent events. "Do you think I'm selfish and insensitive too?" Ok, so the insensitive part was his own addition, but after than whole episode, he could only think about all of his negative points.
"You're not a horrible person Harry." Tonks said gently and confidently. As if to emphasize her point, she walked over to him and sat down while gently taking a hold of his head and putting it on her lap. "You're too easy on me." Harry said in a monotone, avoiding her questioning eyes. He could see her clearer now. It was probably because of his magical eye that he couldn't see her before.
"Everywhere I go I need a guard, a baby sitter. All the while other people's children are hurt and left uncared for. I take the glory from everything and everyone. I took Hufflepuff's fame in my fourth year, and so many countless other acts against the other houses." He paused here to look into Tonks's eyes again. "After Sirius died, your patronus changed, while mine remained the same. I wasn't even affected enough to have my patronus change…" Harry drifted off from there, a single tear sliding down his cheek.
Tonks didn't know what to say to all this. She couldn't really say anything about it because in reality, she didn't really know anything about Harry's life. Remaining in her silence, Tonks did the only thing she could think of at the moment, she wiped his tears and brought his head over her heart. She could fell his pain, and knew that he in turn could feel hers and feel that he caused it.
They stayed like that, neither saying a word about their more than intimate position. Both looked out the window to see the still greenish black sky caused by Mal' Ganis. Something big was going to happen, if it didn't already happen. In the glow of the moon and the warmth that Harry felt from Tonks, he realized that he could move now, and that his head seemed to have been compressed. Getting up, he saw that Tonks had fallen asleep. He unwrapped the bandages of his left arm first, hoping to see it being the cause of his rapid healing.
He was happy to find that it indeed was the case as it was glowing a soft blue. Harry continued to unwrap himself until only his lower body (he had at least some decency) and Un-Arm was covered (he didn't want any questions about it). It was as it he hadn't been hurt at all, though he couldn't help but feel that it wasn't just his left arm that helped him heal. With his body somewhat back to normal though extremely exhausted, Harry stood beside the window to think about watch the sunrise, ignoring the items on the table.
Tonks woke up to a sight that she would never forget. The rising sun illuminated Harry's body perfectly. His skin was perfect, much more different then just a few hours before. She knew that this wasn't how Harry looked like before, but she also knew that this was the same Harry that had helped her get over Sirius acting like a solid foundation for her to fall back on.
That was the reason why she had followed Harry around for quite a while after she first saw him during the last summer. He didn't look like he was affected much, though she could tell he was suffering unconsciously. She had admired him for that, even looked up to him. Ever since then, she thought of him when the loss of Sirius seemed to weigh more than usual down upon her. It never occurred to her that it was a sign of insensitivity, but she could understand how Harry felt that way.
She quietly got up from her position and got behind Harry before engulfing him in a hug from the back. She was surprised to feel how hard his back was and the fact that his hair reached to around her waist height. Harry had gotten taller too. He tensed a little at the contact, but relaxed soon afterwards. Without thinking, Tonks turned him to face her and placed her right hand over his heart.
"Let me help you subdue your pain." She asked, wanting to help ease the troubles that he carried. He had seen more than some of the oldest wizards and yet he still maintained his resolve and sanity. She wanted to help him deal with it and try to get some relief in his hectic life. Harry shook his head in the negative, while going through his automatic reply. "I can't possibly ask you to do that."
Looking up into his deep emerald eyes, Tonks shook her head slightly. "I'm not saying you can ask me to if you want me too. I'm asking you to let me because I want to?" Harry's face remained emotionless for a while, though Tonks could see that he was fighting within himself. "Why?" He asked, understandably confused at her request.
Tonks buried her face into his chest. "I don't know. Please, just let me." She asked, with an almost pleading voice. Harry lifted her face up so that they were looking into each other again. He placed his bandaged hand over her heart, slightly blushing when he unintentionally brushed her breast causing her to gasp softly. "Only if you'll let he help heal your wounds too." He said in a calming voice.
That day, their unspoken pact was made. They would stay by each other through thick and thin for no reason that they can comprehend other than that they wanted desperately to help each other. Little do they know that their reasons were beyond this time. Their reason was in another time and world, one in which their feelings were legendary.
They had both matured, as Tonks, while an adult legally, was a child inside. They didn't know when it happened, but knew that they had to step out of the protective shell of innocence and childhood to take their roles in history…
(END CHAPTER SIX)
A/N: Ok, this chapter was really bad in my opinion, but I had to get the point across and I'm not the most experienced guy when it comes to romance. I'm sorry if it wasn't something you liked and I'll try to make it better next time. Expect future updates later as school is starting. But if I'm lucky, I'll probably be able to update at LEAST once a week. Please tell me what you guys think of this chapter and for the girls and more romantically experienced guy, give me some pointers on romance… pretty please? I'm sorry but there'll be no review responses today… I have a major headache and I'm not feeling too well. I promise to respond next chapter and if there's something you want to ask me about, please do. Thanks to everyone who've reviewed (especially those who've review more than once) and a special thank you to Roter Draconis who's reading this even though it might be difficult for him to read because he's German.
Pairing standings so far (if you vote for "anyone is fine" then everyone gets a vote, if you vote that you don't want someone, that'll be minus one for that person):
Narcissa Black: 32
Bellatrix Black: 33
Gabrielle Delacour (age modified): 20
Padma Patil: 10
Daphne Greengrass: 20
Hannah Abbot: 10
Susan Bones: 13
Luna Lovegood: 8
Cho Chang (can't believe I forgot her!): 1
IMPORTANT NEWS!
As some of you might notice, there are some names removed from the votes, that's because they're either guaranteed in the pairings or guaranteed to being not in the pairings. Tonks and Fleur are DEFINITELY going to be part of the pairings.
RECENT: the amount of votes for the Patil twins is staggering and with (I think) only one negative vote. Therefore, the Patil twins are also GUARENTEED into the pairings. Relatively, Pansy has received the most negative votes; therefore she's definitely NOT going to be in the pairings.
There are around three more slots for girls, choose from above or someone else if I forgot them. Also, if any of you want an OC for Harry, that's fine too… let your imaginations go wild!
WINNERS OF THE CONTEST (FINALLY!)
Arc Angel Michael! (Chosen randomly)
Lord Nithilius! (The 100th reviewer… if I counted correctly that is)
Fredryck! (As a welcoming present for being new to have a safe trip to the U.S)
These are the winners and there's no changing it. Each of you gets one request from me that is pretty reasonable. However, they may not include more than 1 extra chapter upload. Also, each of you must make a different request so as to have variety. You can guarantee your favourite girl into the pairings; ask to be made an OC in the story (as Harry's new rival, right hand man, mentor, etc.), or something else… but you tell me and if I think it's reasonable, I'll do it! For the rest of you, don't worry, there may be more contests like this one in the future (I'm thinking once every 10-20 chapters?).
That's all for now guys…
U-T signing off…
Bye!