Harry filled the claw with chaotic energy again, but this time without intent of firing. He sprinted towards the arkanite door leading into the gateway to the demonic realm and leapt at it, tearing the blood ruby nails into the unbreakable metal. The resulting noise was loud enough to shatter glass. Grilthauk walked forward, followed by the rest. Harry was on his knees laughing like a lunatic. And for good reason. Five long and clean slashes showed in the supposedly invulnerable barrier, where his new "fingers" had made contact and raked downward. Hitomi lovingly touched Harry's shoulder and he rose to his feet, the frightening glee still present in his eyes.
"Harry, please. You're not acting like yourself. Get a grip."
"I've got it now. Between this wonderful new arm of mine and having the invincible Demarr Devil Blade in my possession I can finally destroy Voldemort once and for all. Have any new form you like, Riddle. I will rend you limb from limb all the same. And then I will shred the corruption that blights our world and skewer the great phoenix into yakitori. Hitomi and Fleur, let's get back to Hogwarts. I feel like going on a rampage."
With that, Harry whipped his head up to look at the damaged arkanite door again and began laughing maniacally once more. Even Hitomi, who loved him with all of her soul, feared just a little for what he had become. Indeed, the humiliating defeat that he had suffered at Voldemort's hands coupled with the death of Remus Lupin may well have broken that fragile dam in his soul separating his sanity from the evil festering beyond.
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Schism – A Ferret's Lament
Diaclaimer: If you've seen it before, it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Otherwise, it's mine. Obviously, I'm making no money off this.
Harry stalked through the dungeons of Hogwarts alone in search of his chosen prey, as only imbecilic or suicidal of those within the school would dare be willing to give him the bloody fight that his enraged and somewhat crazed disposition called for at the moment. He kept his new artificial arm concealed within his yukata for the time being. Hitomi and Fleur had both been willing to give him the space that he required. The kunoichi desired to return home and check on her grandfather's status, and the French beauty simply abhorred needless bloodshed. Harry barely noticed a young Slytherin girl's eyes widen as she noticed his presence in their territory and rushed back towards her common room. Playing right into his hands, the fool. He grinned nastily at the thought of what he was about to do to the procession of inbred filth that would come traipsing out of the serpent's den within the minute aiming to ambush him. Lambs marching to the slaughter. He had come intending to pick a fight with the resident head snake, but his students would do nicely for a quick warmup. He leaned lazily against the corridor wall and waited with his eyes closed. He would come and purge this Death Eater breeding ground sooner or later anyway. Might as well get a head start now.
"Seems like you've strayed a ways out of bounds, Potter. Awfully Gryffindor of you to stray into Salazar's dungeons at this hour."
Harry snorted inwardly and opened his eyes. It would invariably be Malfoy leading this proverbial charge of Gallipoli. Accompanying him were Goyle, Parkinson, Nott and Bulstrode from his own year. There were six others from various years as well. Most seemed to be seventh years, and one younger boy was present as well. The eleven Slytherins all had their wands at the ready, though there might as well have been eleven hundred of them. Harry could obliterate an entire army of pretended dark wizards and witches such as these with a simple wave of his hand. Draco and his goons amounted no more than cannon fodder. The ruby clawed demon hybrid responded in a conversational tone. The ferret would be screaming in pain soon enough.
"Boundaries do not exist for wizards of my power, Malfoy, nor do such pathetic adversaries as yourselves require any particular boldness to confront. On the contrary, you are out of your natural bounds for even having the audacity to look me in the face."
Malfoy and several of his colleagues reddened at the insult, though Goyle and Bulstrode were both seemingly too thick to understand those words that exceeded two syllables and therefore simply appeared confused. Draco appeared to be making a rather comical attempt to size Harry up, for what no good it would do him. The latter just wanted him to attack and get things started, tensing his infernal claw in anticipation from underneath the folds of his Japanese robe. Malfoy spat out his reply as several of the others hissed.
"We'll be correcting those beliefs in just a moment. But first, perhaps you've heard the latest news. Azkaban has been liberated and occupied by the Dark Lord's faithful. My father's a free man. Though you don't really have any need to worry about either of them any longer since you'll be going down right here and now. I just thought that maybe you'd like to know in your last moments."
Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously and his slight grin turned distinctly feral. He was quickly tiring of this childish banter. Compared to the likes of snakeface and the old man or even Snape, Draco Malfoy was a total intellectual cripple. And he was by far the smartest of the assembled purebloods. So it was nice of him to declare his obvious and doomed intentions vocally. He had given Harry a rather intriguing piece of information, at least. Voldemort's assault on Azkaban hadn't been just a raid designed to free his inner circle. The Death Eaters had physically occupied the place and gained a perfectly unassailable fortress that the young warlord was sure would soon serve as Riddle's main stronghold.
"You're so needlessly violent, Drakiepoo. And here I was just hoping for a nice little chat and a sporting exchange of insults. But if it's an arse whipping that you worms are hankering for this cold November morning, then I'll not deny you. Keep in mind that I've already sent your precious Dark Lord fleeing tonight and also that I may very well choose not be so merciful as to let you escape me as well. Whenever you're ready, then."
Harry reached into his subconscious and tapped into his aura as Hitomi had taught in her class. However, his purpose was not to repress his magical energy but rather to expand it. Grindelwald's books had spoken of powerful wizards being able to dissipate incoming spells due solely to the power of their auras. Harry intended to terrify and humiliate these cretins as thoroughly as he possibly could, and could think of no better way than by negating anything they could throw at him without expending any sort of effort. His senses already told him that Malfoy was the strongest of the current lot, and his absolute best was nowhere near enough to even begin to penetrate Harry's aura.
For his part, Draco's face showed considerable confusion upon Harry's mention of having fought with Voldemort. The ferret had apparently not been aware of his master's presence at Hogsmeade, nor had news of the battle there trickled down to the dungeons just yet. Being bereft of the latest news, he had therefore only guessed that the attack on Azkaban had been a success. The Dark Lord would have been too busy trying to tend to his grievous injuries to be bothered with calling a full Death Eater gathering this night. Regardless, only a few of the Slytherins maintained their resolve to fight with Harry upon seeing his complete lack of intimidation at their numbers advantage. The swirling translucent black and forest green aura protruding from him didn't hurt either. It wasn't as large or powerful as either of those from during the battle, but still impressive enough. Some started backing away. Harry tutted and made a motion with his now drawn wand, pointing it at the area behind them and jerking it upwards. Huge stone stalactites emerged out of the ground and then impaled themselves into the ceiling, creating an impassible barrier. The hunters had become the hunted. Malfoy and company were trapped like rats with their only path to salvation being guarded by the hungry cat. Nott was the first to comment.
"I think we might have bitten off more than we can chew here, Malfoy."
Pansy Parkinson, ever the Draco groupie, shrieked out a reply to Nott's intimidated words.
"Sod off already, Nott. You sound like a bloody Hufflepuff. He's only one person. Let's just attack and take him out."
Harry laughed, a mixture of coldness and insanity that caused several to tremble where they stood. These weaklings had never been involved in a real fight in their lives. The most that they had ever done was bully other students in the corridors. They were most foolish to have picked one of the most vicious opponents alive for their debut, and Harry had no intention whatsoever of letting them off easy. It was time to instill the fear of Evans. They would fight despite the futility of the effort. He had literally put their backs against a wall.
"At least one of you has a small inkling of common sense. Not that it'll help you now. None of you are running anywhere. I came for a fight and I will have one."
Harry finally moved from his reclined position and stood in a nonchalant dueling stance. Every element of his mien seemed to scream total disrespect for his opponents. Things were just about to get started when a familiar female voice called out from behind.
"Shame on you, Harry Potter. Two hours out of the Hospital Wing and you're already out getting into another duel. I wish you would listen for a change."
Cho was alone and surveying Harry's field of opponents with as much disdain as her fiancée. Her voice carried a distinct mocking tone, inflected with the knowledge that the Slytherins were no match for him. She had seen his aura before in some of their dueling practices, and so it came as no shock to her. Harry answered her without turning.
"Look at them, Cho. They're trapped like the vermin that they are and you've arrived just in time for the extermination. And I have good news to share with you. Malfoy senior has finally made his valiant escape from Azkaban. Rumor has it that dear Lucius was bent over taking it full in the backside from a particularly grotesque Auror when his comrades arrived to rescue him."
Cho's beautiful ruby lips contorted into a saucy smirk as she picked up on his hint.
"Let's hope the word gets out, then. The parents had best hide their young boys quickly."
Harry almost burst out laughing on the spot. Merlin, he loved this girl more than ever at moments like these. He had indeed made the perfect selection that fateful day on the Quidditch Pitch during his third year. Cho's sharp tongue practically ensured that his life would never become boring with her around. The fact that she was as clever as a fox and as hot and capricious as an active volcano were icing on the cake. And speaking of volcanoes, Draco reddened in a matter of milliseconds upon hearing their tandem insults directed at his father and exploded. Riling the ponce up was always too simple.
"Don't you dare speak of my father that way! CRUCIO!"
Malfoy's poorly aimed torture curse streaked between where the two lovers were standing and the yellow jet of light missed them both by a long shot. Harry and Cho met one another's eyes and both snickered as the former waved his wand at the opposition's feet, causing all eleven to spill unceremoniously to the ground due to a fierce shockwave. Harry placed less force behind the attack than he had against Riddle's escort earlier. He didn't care to actually kill anybody here unless properly provoked, as it would prove far too difficult to explain to the old man otherwise. He had no qualms about seriously maiming them, however. He stabbed his wand at Millicent Bulstrode three times in succession. She screamed in agony as her kneecaps shattered, followed in rapid succession by her ribcage and shoulder joints. He proceeded to send a jet of acid into a seventh year's face as Cho at last seemed to make up her mind to join the massacre.
"Pugile!"
Harry opted to take a quick break from tearing the Slytherins apart as he watched Cho's curse fly towards a disoriented Malcolm Baddock. At the rate he was going, the fight would have been long over before any of them could have regained their bearing and that would certainly have spoiled his fun. The fifth year boy's jaw shattered with a sickening crack as the curse hit dead on. He spat up a huge mouthful of teeth and blood a second later. Malfoy forced himself back to his feet and uttered another curse with a choked scream.
"That's it...you are so dead, Potter! And your little pet chink dies with you! CRUCIO!"
Harry laughed in a low voice, making no effort to shield the dark curse, which covered just barely half of the distance between them before it started to disintegrate. He drew Cho into the unspoken barrier created by his aura and pulled her up into a kiss even as the Slytherins attempted to rain curses down upon the couple with absolutely no success. It seemed to be the ultimate slight to their abilities, as they became enraged and began using darker curses and throwing their all behind them. Yet still Harry's aura did not so much as begin to falter. Nott was the exception. He was hanging back and not participating in the fight at all, instead staring directly at Harry with a mixture of fear and amazement. The spellwork began to take its toll on the attackers as they slowly ran out of energy and stopped throwing curses. Harry snorted disdainfully.
"What a truly pathetic display that was. I'm think I'm going to feed all of your broken bodies to Fenrir Greyback. I have no doubts that you'll all prove to be far more useful as werewolf fodder than you would have been as Death Eaters. Now prepare yourselves."
True to his threat, Harry quickly unleashed a crushing barrage of attacks. He first swung his wand in that familiar wide sweeping arc, blasting three seventh years into a wall and knocking them unconscious. Fresh blood trickled from the wounds created on their upper bodies. That left four active in the fight. Cho kept her smirk as she waved her wand at Pansy.
"Canini Magus."
Parkinson transformed into a pug upon the spell's contact. Harry chuckled at his girlfriend's sick sense of humor as he wordlessly levitated the hideous bitch and banished her into Draco, causing her to empty her bladder all over the ferret's face in fright as they both tumbled back to the ground. Harry then snapped Pansy's hind legs with a quick stab of his wand. She whined and howled loud enough to disturb the dead. Goyle lunged at Cho and threw a nasty haymaker right at her head. Harry's artificial arm finally made its debut and came out from its hiding place just in time to effortlessly catch the big thug's punch. Goyle stared stupidly at the foreign appendage for a moment, and then cried out himself as Harry snapped his arm with a quick flick of the gemstone wrist. He proceeded to score along the entire length of Goyle's arm with the claw, before slashing in a cross pattern over his upper body and finally raking his face with razor sharp nails. Draco's bodyguard was a mess of shredded skin and muscle tissue from the waist up and was oozing blood. Harry rolled his eyes and performed a spell to halt the bleeding. He would live, but he would be mutilated for the rest of his life. No less than the fat cretin deserved.
"Again, truly pathetic. It almost astounds me how weak most wizards and witches are."
Cho didn't reply, and Harry was more or less talking to himself anyway. She had taken down the last remaining seventh year while he was ripping apart Goyle. Malfoy and Nott were the only two left in the fight. The corridor was a cacophony of whimpering and moaning. Harry could head spells impacting the other side of stalagmite barrier that he had erected earlier. It would hold for at least a while, though. He stalked the fallen Draco like a predator. His gray eyes widened as he tried to stammer off another curse, but Harry easily swatted his wand out of his hand. Nott took advantage of the young warlord's fixation to flee down the corridor, and neither victor bothered to stop him. Harry wrenched Draco up by his hair.
"You ought to be pleased, Malfoy. You've been trying all term to get my attention and now you have it. You've no doubt noticed my new arm. My duel with your master this morning cost me a limb but magic thankfully has few limitations. The nails on this ruby arm are sharp enough, but I'm rather curious to examine the other parameters. Perhaps you can serve as my guinea ferret."
Harry backhanded Draco back to the ground with his artificial arm, severely bruising the fair skin of his cheek. The arm served as a decent bludgeoning instrument as well. Several slicked platinum hairs remained in his remaining organic hand. He then kicked the pureblood hard in the stomach, forcing him to cough up blood. He dragged the Slytherin back up again by the hair and rolled down the left sleeve of his expensive robes. The Dark Mark was exposed as clear as daylight. Malfoy attempted to sneer as the taller boy's forest green eyes took in the sight of the cursed tattoo, but the gesture faltered in an instant when Harry flashed a maniacal smile. Harry could kill this ugly albino rodent whenever he saw fit. The law of the land no longer held any clemency for Death Eaters.
"Let's get out of here, Harry. This corridor reeks of dog urine."
Harry shrugged noncommittally and followed Cho, hurling Draco several feet into the corridor wall. He had worked off his frustrations and tormenting ferret boy further bore no particular appeal to him. His fiancée sniffed at the sight of his bloodstained yukata and cleaned the ornate robes with a quick charm. Neither of them noticed the beaten and humiliated Malfoy going for his wand again behind their backs. Draco raised the milky white stick wildly and screeched the two words that would end his existence.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The Killing Curse flew right at the small of Cho Chang's back. Even a hopeless wizard such as Draco could manage a powerful Dark Arts spell with enough hatred behind it. Her reflexes were fortunately good from years of Quidditch and she flattened herself against the wall in an instant, allowing the lethal curse to sail past just inches from her supple body. She stared at Draco with obsidian eyes wide with disbelief and loathing. He met her gaze with equal malevolence as he attempted to send a second curse. He never got the chance. Harry's claw arm impaled him just below the heart, driving clean through his body with the wrist protruding from his back. Malfoy became a human shish kabob, blood cascading from the mortal wound like a waterfall. His enemy savagely whispered the last words he would ever hear.
"How ironic, Draco. All those empty threats and you're now the one experiencing your last moments. But there's no need to fret. Death is just the next great adventure, after all. Though it's a crying shame about your poor father. He survived that Azkaban ordeal tonight but he'll be reading of his son's demise in tomorrow's obituaries, a dead son to go along with his faithless whore of a wife. And to think that I was responsible for both."
Tears of shame and bitterness rolled down the younger Malfoy's face. His skin was becoming more and more pasty as his lifeblood pooled in a small lake on the stone floor. There was no hope of salvation for him. Harry's forest green orbs held not so much as a single trace of remorse or mercy. Cho was no more sympathetic to his plight, as Draco could see from her position behind his rival. His life was over, ended at the cold inorganic hand of the one person that he hated more than anything in the universe. He had failed to avenge his family's honor, and would depart the world with the knowledge that his nemesis had defiled the very womb that bore him life. Harry held him up with ease, not even bothering to notice the barrier separating his small battlefield from the Slytherin common room had been destroyed. Severus Snape led the investigating party.
"I demand to know who was responsible for obstructing the..."
Words failed Snape at the scene that greeted him. Harry met his shocked coal black eyes and sneered, shifting the position of his arm to allow Draco's body to slide slowly down onto the unforgiving floor. His breathing was shallow and his eyes were glazed over. The greasy Potions professor rushed down to check on his favorite student. Adrian Pucey glared hard in Cho's face, enraged at the fact that the Head Girl had been a party to this. None would even look at Harry. All had known of Draco Malfoy's hatred for Harry Potter and had seen the Gryffindor icon's willingness to use lethal force against his enemies during the train incident. It was inevitable that things would eventually come to this. Snape bared his yellowed teeth and snarled at Harry with revulsion burning in his eyes as he examined his pupil. Harry stared back down at him with cold and unreadable eyes and brought his left foot crashing forcefully down onto Draco's neck. The ferret was put out of his misery with a single loud snap that echoed throughout the hollow dungeon.
"His life was doomed to end this way from the very first time that he crossed me. He tried to kill my betrothed and paid the price."
Snape's entire body was shaking at the audacity of the son of James Potter. Harry already had his wand drawn and was twirling it threateningly. Should this greasy git desire to be the next casualty then it could be arranged with ease. Cho placed a hand on his shoulder, as if to silently tell him that enough damage had already been done. He had no intention of catering her wishes this time, though. He flexed his claw as blood from first Goyle and then Malfoy dripped slowly onto the already inundated floor. The merciless young demon and hateful former Death Eater stared one another down for several long moments. Bloodlust danced in Harry's shining green eyes. Snape finally turned and broke eye contact, causing the younger wizard to humph in disapproval. It only lasted for a short moment. Snape leapt to his feet and attacked, all professionalism lost in his rage.
"Ocular Reducto!"
Harry dodged quickly. He had already lost an arm today and had no desire to add an eye to it. He swiped at the Potions master with his claw, taking a chunk out of his billowing black robes as he leapt backward and assumed a proper stance. Snape was an extremely dangerous opponent, probably the most skilled and powerful among the Death Eaters aside from Bellatrix and perhaps Lucius Malfoy. Harry was far stronger, though. Pucey attempted to hex him from the side, causing Cho to get back into the fray and lock him in combat. Harry decided to go for broke on Snape.
"Avada Kedavra."
The green wave of death hurtled towards Snape, who summoned a chunk of Harry's broken stalagmite barrier to intercept it. Adrian managed to get a momentary advantage on Cho and sent a weak Stinging Hex at Harry. He dispelled the basic jinx with ease but got hit in his tender ribs with a vicious Stunner from Snape. Harry spat up an angry mouthful of blood as Snape taunted him. Cho had meanwhile fallen back into her rhythm and was annihilating Pucey. The Head Boy was unable to do anything other than dodge and shield. Harry wanted to end this quickly. Needing assistance from his girlfriend to defeat this greaseball would deal a major a blow to his already reeling ego.
"You will pay for murdering one of my students, Potter, and that freakish little toy arm that you're now sporting will not save you. You have been unfairly exonerated of far too many transgressions over the course of your school career and I will consider it my privilege to be the one to finally take you down and make you accountable. You have turned your back to the light and your use of the Killing Curse is the evidence."
Harry sneered. Being accused of going dark by a marked Death Eater was ridiculous. He fired back with a spoken spell followed by a silent attack.
"That makes two of us, then. Let's see if you can really stop me. I'll bet this one brings back some fond memories. Pugile."
Snape deflected Harry's curse with a grunt, but then took a blow to the leg from Harry's conjured whip of electricity. Harry charged forward and blasted Snape with a straight palm thrust from his artificial arm, flattening his hooked nose. A weak Stunner of his own then sent the spiteful professor sprawling. He got back to his feet gingerly, his sallow face flushed with indignation.
"Curse you and your bastard of a father, you insolent brat! Sectumsempra!"
Harry sensed something coming towards him and raised his claw arm to block. Snape's invisible sword collided with the blood ruby and sent Harry skidding back a few feet. Harry had never seen that particular spell before in any of his tomes.
"Nice nose job, Snivellus. It's a definite improvement if you ask me. I smashed your master's into splinters down in Hogsmeade earlier this morning. Now the two of you are a matching pair, though I intend to leave you in far worse condition. Glycolycium."
Harry intentionally aimed the curse to that it would hit the fallen Millicent Bulstrode should the trollish girl's Head of House move to evade it. Snape cursed as he realized the rather ruthless strategy and was forced to expend a good portion of his magical reserves to shield against it. Defensive spells for higher end curses were quite draining on the caster, which was also why Harry tended to prefer outright dodging where possible.
"Sectumsempra!"
This spell was now beginning to annoy Harry, though he would certainly remember the incantation for future battles. He again deflected the invisible blade with his artificial arm but was forced backwards and to a knee by the impact. He could feel the ruby beginning to vibrate due to the pressure. Snape sensed victory and intoned the spell a third time.
"Sectumsempra!"
Parry with our sword. That false arm cannot absorb much more punishment.
Zharrghast usually never deigned to make his presence known in the heat of a conflict and so Harry heeded his symbiote's warning. The fallen god's voice was imperceptibly different than his host had remembered it being, almost holding the faintest hint of the young warlord's own vocal signature. He quickly dropped his wand and summoned forth the Demarr Devil Blade into his right hand. Snape's eyes widened in disbelief as the infernal brand materialized from nothing and absorbed his attack upon contact. Harry had seen it do the same to one of Dumbledore's spells. Harry unfastened his robes as he stood. He could feel the old man's aura approaching now. It was a long walk from the headmaster's office to the dungeons, but Malfoy's initial Cruciatus Curse would have activated the school's detection wards. Several other teachers were with Albus. Harry stretched his wings to full span, allowing Snape to glimpse his true visage.
"Gaze upon perfection given human form, Snape. A lowly dungeon rat like you should not even stand in the same light as me. This demonic brand is the harbinger of your doom. Now get down on your scabby knees and accept your fate with what little decency a greasy pig such as yourself can muster."
"I think not, Potter. Neken!"
Harry was already rushing forward when the spell came out. His movements were nearly a blue inside the dimmed corridor as he slide out of the spell's way with almost divine intuition. He brought the dark matter blade down on Snape's outstretched wand arm with a downward chop before the greasy man could find the time to react, severing the limb halfway between the elbow and shoulder. It was his primary arm, and losing it meant that Snape would never effectively brew a potion or fight a duel again. Harry smiled coldly as his most hated professor sank to his knees crying and screaming, clutching helplessly at the meager remains of his right arm. He raised the sword slowly and pointed directly between Snape's onyx eyes.
"This is it, Snivellus. It would seem that Death Eaters make rather poor avenging angels. Give my love to my mum and dad for me, and tell Remus that I'm sorry. Also make certain that the lords of Hell put a home on reserve for your master. He'll be going soon."
"Cease your inane prattling, Potter. If you're going to kill me, then get on with it already."
He pulled the black back and placed his artificial arm on the handle as well, resulting in a bushido-style grip. Snape's expression was filled with anguish and hatred, but also contained a veneer of calm acceptance. He had fallen to his knees in pain and made no attempt to deny the inevitable. It gave Harry a sardonic sense of satisfaction to see that he had forced this bitter little man to bend to his will in his last living moments. But just as he began the fatal stroke, Zharrghast pricked his senses again. He turned just in time to dodge the Stunner tearing through the air from behind. Alastor Moody had his wand raised. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Flitwick were with him, all surveying the scene in horror. It was their worst nightmare, a pitched battle within the halls of the school. The retired Auror's magical eye was whizzing out of control as the other stared hard at Harry. Cho was bound and gagged with magical ropes on the ground, and was thrashing quite violently against her restraints. Harry banished them with a wave of his wand.
"That's two Hogwarts professors now that have tried to blindside me this morning. I'm feeling rather insecure around here."
Harry kept the Demarr Devil Blade in his artificial right hand and summoned his wand back into his left. He kept both trained on the teachers, though he had no intention of fighting them. Dumbledore was perhaps the most powerful wizard alive, and his three companions were all in Britain's top ten in terms of power and had decades of experience to boot. Any of them would give him all he could handle alone, and so challenging them all at once with only a comparatively green and weak Cho to back him up was suicide. Dumbledore spoke in a tired but still authoritative voice.
"You will place down those weapons right this instant, Harry. Miss Chang, do not even think of drawing that wand. You are both to return to your respective dormitories and clean yourselves, after which will report directly to my office. I am sorely afraid that we must discuss your futures at this institution after this display. Minerva and Filius, please escort your respective students to their destinations. Alastor, if you would be so kind as to assist me in treating the injured. Poppy still has her hands quite full from Mister Potter's earlier escapade."
Harry shot Dumbledore a venomous look for bringing up Hogsmeade as he banished the sentient sword and helped Cho to her feet. She glared balefully at Moody for binding her without warning. She had left Adrian Pucey in a miserable state, thought she took a few nasty licks of her own during their duel. They both left the scene without a word. Minerva McGonagall's eyes betrayed extreme disappointment with the boy who had long been one of her favorite students. Harry couldn't have cared less.
Cho was already dressed and waiting when Harry arrived at the gargoyle in front of Dumbledore's office nearly an hour later. Most of his friends in Gryffindor were in their respective dormitories, and his own was a ghost town. Neville was out somewhere. The three resident Weasleys were at Grimmauld Place grieving their father's loss with their likely hysterical mother. Hermione had reportedly gone with Ron. Seamus and Dean were at the Hospital Wing being treated due to the beating that said redhead had dealt them. Harry had been able to do his business in the tower without being noticed. He had expected Cho to be distraught over the possibility of being expelled from Hogwarts. However, she seemed to be taking the situation calmly. It was almost as if she didn't particularly care at all.
"Canary Creams."
Flitwick gave the password to open the passageway leading into the office. Harry stalked lazily onto the spiral staircase without a word to the faculty escort with Cho similarly following a step behind. Upon reaching the empty office, he glanced over at the ornate perch that belonged to the old man's phoenix. Fawkes was in his infantile state, indicating that he had burned within the past day or so. The baby bird flinched and refused to meet Harry's gaze, but neither did he appear to be outright hostile towards the young warlord, who only scoffed at the creature. Fawkes was very much the same as his decrepit handler. Blissfully ignorant of the realities of the world.
"Please come and sit down with me, Harry. All that pacing is making me nervous."
Harry nodded and enlarged the armchair that Cho was sitting in with a quick wand motion. He sat down next to her and moved to allow her arm to coil around his waist. He occupied himself by twirling a lock of her raven hair between his fingers, also tapping on the modified chair's armrest with his clawed hand.
"You're awfully calm. We may be expelled, you know. I remember you cutting me off down at the lake a few months back for fear of something like this happening. You should not have interfered in the fighting. None of them posed any threat to me."
Cho shrugged, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"I don't really care anymore. I was only worried about losing my chance at escaping from my father's clutches, but I've already secured my freedom from him with our engagement. We'll soon get married and then you'll conquer this country as planned. Some stupid Hogwarts degree won't matter at all then."
Harry pulled his girlfriend in closer. He leaned his head in closer and inhaled the soft scent of her hair. He cast a privacy ward around the majority of the room in order to prevent the portraits from hearing anything that might prove damaging.
"Ever the optimist. I hadn't really intended for anybody to die donw there, but the circumstances do present a convenient opportunity for me to see exactly how far I can trust Dumbledore. After what took place down in Hogsmeade, I've come to the conclusion that we can't win this war without assistance. Our forces are too few. An entirely new approach is in order. There will be either an alliance forged or a complete parting of ways between the headmaster and myself here. The decision will be left entirely up to him."
"I don't exactly understand."
"I'll explain everything later. He's coming up the stairs now. Just follow my lead and let me do most of the talking. Keep your guard up at all times, but don't involve yourself if things get heavy. And don't make eye contact with him under any circumstances."
Cho nodded her acquiescence just Dumbledore strode into the office. He was angry, far more so than Harry had ever seen him. There seemed to be very little chance of this ending well. The young warlord had no remorse about anything he had done in the bowels of the school, naturally. Snape and Malfoy had both attacked him first, and no person would ever make an attempt on his beloved's life and live to tell of it. Dumbledore sat down heavily in his chair and spoke in a voice that seemed torn between harshness and outright anguish.
"Never once since the Hogwarts days of Tom Riddle has a student been killed within the confines of this institution. I have already taken statements from Professor Snape as well as several of the Slytherins that the pair of you callously maimed down in the dungeons. You are aware naturally that I will be left with no alternative aside from expulsion and perhaps even criminal charges unless the two of you manage to provide some extraordinary explanation for this madness."
Harry took that as his cue.
"I'll tell you what happened. After returning from having a medical procedure performed on my destroyed left arm, I decided to take a little walk around the grounds. My sojourn led me down into the dungeons, where I found myself ambushed by Draco Malfoy and no less then ten of his stooges. We exchanged words and insults, as is commonplace for Gryffindors and Slytherins. Cho arrived in the middle of the banter, and Malfoy lost his temper and fired the Cruciatus Curse at us. He missed, and we counterattacked. I will admit to showing little mercy in the battle, but they were all employing illegal spells as well. I'm sure that you can identify most of their wounds, and Gregory Goyle attempted to punch a girl barely a quarter of his size clear in the face. I tore him to shreds with my new claw for his trouble..."
Harry paused for a moment and caught his breath.
"...She and I made short work of the goons, leaving only Theodore Nott and Malfoy standing. Nott seemed disinclined to fight and retreated when the smoke cleared. I roughed up Draco a bit and confirmed his status as a marked Death Eater before leaving him there with the intention of dealing with him later. Mere seconds after we turned to leave, he threw a Killing Curse at Cho's back. She dodged it and I promptly impaled that little inbred bastard and subsequently broke his neck. She is my betrothed and I would not hesitate a second to serve the same fate unto any wizard or witch given similar circumstances. Snape and Adrian Pucey then showed up. The esteemed Potions master went nutters upon seeing Malfoy dead and attacked me as well. Pucey followed suit and Cho engaged him. You already know how all that ended. And that about does it."
Dumbledore nodded and sighed, looking over at Cho.
"Miss Chang, please make me aware of anything you might have to add to Mister Potter's version of events."
"Nothing. Harry told everything just like it happened. We were provoked in both cases and that white rat tried to kill me."
"I see. I do openly empathize with your motivations, Harry. Any action has merit when performed in the defense of a loved one. However, the fact remains that you have slain a fellow student on Hogwarts grounds. You have admitted to as much."
Harry sneered at the old man.
"I confessed only to striking down a Death Eater, an insurgent against the government and a dangerous criminal, in the defense of my fiancee's life as well as my own. I will also remind you that as a willing bearer of the Dark Mark, his life was officially forfeit according to Ministry law. I ought to know, the statute was named in my honor. The fact that Malfoy also happened to be a student enrolled here is irrelevant."
"That law applies only to Aurors employed by the Ministry, Harry. You possess neither the right nor the authority to take justice into your own hands. You should have incapacitated young Mister Malfoy and left him to the authorities."
"I'll take that as pure hypocrisy coming from the leader of an illegal vigilante group."
Dumbledore inclined his head in acceptance.
"You are certainly entitled to that opinion. Aside from the death of young Mister Malfoy, there is also the matter of your cruel and inhumane treatment of Professor Snape. I will impress upon you the fact that your actions have ruined that man's livelihood. He can no longer brew potions unabated due to the loss of his right arm. You have torn away his only passion in life."
"He has been nothing but cruel and inhumane towards me since the first moment that I set foot into his filthy dungeon cesspool over five years ago. Just another of your glaring double standards, old man. I'm really starting to tire of this nonsense. She and I have told our story. Hurry up and make whatever trifling decision you will. I will not apologize for defending myself and my betrothed."
The headmaster was silent for a long moment, and Cho took Harry's hand gently.
"I have made my decision. Harry, you failed to mention in your telling of events that you descended into those dungeons in search of a fight. You also neglected to share the fact that you walled off the path back to the Slytherin dormitories, more or less leaving your adversaries with no alternative other than to provoke battle. A student is dead and ten of his classmates critically wounded. A teacher at this institution has been maimed. Most of these actions took place at your hands. I have long thought of you as my own grandson. Still, my first prerogative will always be the welfare of this school and the protection of the students residing within it. You have needlessly and willfully flouted both through your actions. This I cannot condone. It truly breaks my heart to be forced to this, but I have no choice..."
Harry tensed in his seat, preparing himself to spring into action. A large tear rolled down the old man's face as he pronounced the sentence.
"...Harry James Potter, you are henceforth expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Due to the special circumstances surrounding your case, your wand will not be..."
Harry interrupted Dumbledore's tearful message a truly frigid tone of voice.
"...Close your big fat mouth already, you pretentious old bastard. You'll wish that you had snapped my wand in just a moment when I use it to end your meaningless existence. But now that I take a moment to consider, perhaps there is a more suitable means to your end."
He was out of his seat in a flash. Dumbledore went for his wand almost on reflex, but Harry was quicker. The Demarr Devil Blade materialized once more in his right hand and he pointed the tip of the pulsating chaotic blade a mere centimeter from the old archmage's temple. Harry's eyes glittered with pure insanity as he laughed at the ease with which he had rendered the great Albus Dumbledore helpless. Cho acted on impulse and snatched his wand from the top of his desk, with the old man being unable to stop her due to the infernal brand threatening to claim his life in an instant.
"Harry...it does not have to be this way."
"I can see that now that it was meant to be like this. You must understand that the chosen scion of Alphonse Evans could never coexist peaceably with his murderer. I said that I would tell you all about the meaning of this blade that I hold in my hand, so be silent and allow me to confirm your worst fears. I am the heir of Lord Grindelwald. I have raised a great army from right underneath your crooked nose and I will soom take vengeance for my ancestor's death and then honor him by creating the utopia that he so long desired. A world where iniquity and prejudice do not exist, and corrupt officials do not harm and mislead the people. You have failed miserably as the guardian of our world, old man. Magical society is sick and dying and you are the first in blame for doing nothing to remedy the situation. Now is the time for you to stand aside."
"I will not, Harry. You have become far too corrupted to simply take my place as the champion of the light. But there is still hope for redemption. Turn back from this doomed path before you become as lost as Tom. Let me help you, my boy."
Harry shook his head slowly.
"Too many people believe in me. I will never stop going forward. I will obliterate Riddle as fate has commanded me. After that, this world will belong to me. I will make my ascension to the jade throne and guide our world into a new age of order and prosperity. And you will fade into the annals of forgotten history like the useless relic that you are. I shan't kill you yet, as the time isn't yet right to reveal my motives to the wizarding world. You will instead serve as my personal witness, watching as everything falls into place and knowing that you are powerless to stop it. No change from your usual modus operandi, then."
Harry lazily drew his wand into his artificial arm and pointed at Dumbledore.
"Memoria Tempus Aetearnum."
A beam of swirling golden light impacted with the old man's chest. It caused him no harm, but placed an unbreakable bind on the information that Harry had revealed. It could not be shared with others in any form, including a forcible withdrawal via Legilimency. The only method through which the spell could be broken was to kill Harry. Albus would be forced to watch events lead to Harry's takeover, but would never be able to tell a soul. The man who had killed Lord Grindelwald would be cursed to witness to the victory of his heir. Albus slumped in his chair as he stared at his desk. The old man's heart was truly broken. Harry shook his head and continued.
"...I will depart your little sand castle as requested, but with the intenion of turning Grimmauld Place into my temporary domicile. The Order of the Phoenix will be evacuated from my house and the Fidelius Charm dispelled by the noon hour today. The consequences will be unpleasannt otherwise. I will now take my leave, as I still have a few loose ends to tie up here before going. Remain here and ponder how things came to this point in the meantime. Perhaps you'll find your answer."
Harry took Cho's arm and led her from the shattered Albus Dumbledore's office. She smirked and flicked his wand back onto his desk, along with her Head Girls's badge. The headmaster had not the heart to take his wand and attempt to stop Harry. The old man's mind returned to a similar cold night many decades ago, when a young Lord Voldemort strode away in an equally similar fashion. And indeed, all that he could do was ponder how things could have possibly come to this. And this time, Fawkes was unable to console him with a burst of song.
(End Chapter Twenty-Five)
Author's Note: Well, that ended up being a bit darker than I had originally planned. My own heart really went out to poor Albus even as I wrote the final segment. Still, it needed to happen. I felt that Dumbledore almost had to expel Harry after what he did to Draco. I also think that Harry had some right to do it, given that he tried to kill Cho. In the end, Harry just needs to get away from Hogwarts in order to progress his evolving master scheme, and he needed to sever his emotional ties with Dumbledore in order to pursue them without any regrets. Perhaps there will be a reconciliation between them in the end. Don't worry too much about Harry's insanity from last chapter. He's still as suave and manipulative as ever. He's just getting even more ruthless.
Next chapter will have Harry start to redefine his plans and hatch the one that will put him firmly in power. This chapter, and the events of Halloween overall were the major turning point of the story. Now strap yourselves in for a roller coaster ride to the end. The big Harry/Cho/Hitomi revelation will probably be coming in the next chapter or two, so stay tuned for that also. Hope you all enjoy, and please take the time to review.