Chapter 8: The Devil You Know

I do not own Harry Potter and I am not making any money from writing this whatsoever. The Harry Potter franchise is the property of Warner Brother's and J.K Rowling.

"... the devil doesn't come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you've ever wished for ..."

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"You lied!"

"I never once lied to you, Johnathan, I held up my end of our bargain."

Johnny tried to punch him, but it just went straight through him, like he wasn't even there.

"W-what fucking difference does it make if he dies two months later?"

The devil looked bored. "How soon he died after I took away his cancer is of no concern to m-"

"Oh that's fucking bullshit!"

His eyes flared dangerously, and though he had an amused grin on his face, his malicious words showed no humor.

"You promised me your soul in exchange for your father to be cured of his cancer. I have delivered, have I not? I do not care that he has passed away recently anyway. It is time to pay up, Johnathan Blaze."

He always hated that fucking smile.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded.

"Testy, aren't we?" Mephisto taunted. "Is it so hard to believe that I just wanted to see you?"

"Yes."

He stood up, and decided to glare at him. The room felt warmer than it had before, and a small voice in the back of his head was egging him on to take a swing. Mephisto's presence was dreadful.

"Fine," Mephisto dragged out, like a child, "I've actually come to ask a favor, something that would benefit us both."

"No."

"Johnny, you haven't even-"

"No, now get out."

"Oh, believe me," Mephisto said, gesturing to the room, "the sooner the better, this house is depressing, but not without your help."

"Why," Johnny whispered, struggling desperately not to shout, "would I ever help you?"

"Because," Mephisto said simply, grinning at him knowingly, "I will remove your curse."

"No!"

The devil's cocky expression faltered for just a moment.

James walked around the corner, into the alleyway.

"I don't fully understand what's going on here," he said, looking at Johnny and the devil, "but if you're planning on hurting my brother, I won't let you!"

"How... sweet." The devil practically snarled.

"J-James, just go - please just go." Johnny begged.

"No!" James shouted. "You're my brother, and I love you, man! If you wanna hurt him, you gotta get through me first. He's the only family I have left, and I'll die before I let you do anything to him!"

An ugly look came over the devil's face, and though he tried to get closer to the brothers, it seemed to physically pain him.

"You have made a grave mistake, tonight." He promised.

A fireball shot out from his hand, and Johnny shielded James from it. He was caught square in the chest, sending both him and James flying.

Johnny had never felt this sort of pain before, he was on fire, but he wasn't dying, no matter how much it felt like he was, or how much he wanted to. His skin was melting away to bone.

And then it stopped.

He was able to stand. The devil was gone, James was knocked out cold, and Johnny had an insatiable hunger for vengeance.

"I'm not so naïve to believe you ever again," he told Mephisto, "so you can leave now."

How dare he? How dare he come here, act like they were friends - family, and offer him the one thing he knew Johnny could not refuse. Except he would be sorely mistaken. This was Johnny's last laugh at him. To not care if he offered salvation.

"Don't you want an end to the suffering?" Mephisto asked. "The endless cycle of killing?"

"Of course I do," Johnny snapped, "but the last person I'll take it from is you. How can you look at me, and honestly think I'm stupid enough to believe anymore of your lies?"

"I am not lying," Mephisto said, looking angry, "I need your help, Johnny. My realm is under siege, I am at war. My son, Blackheart, has opened the realm up to attacks from all manner of demons and spirits."

"Your son?" Johnny almost sputtered. "Blackheart is your son?"

If possible, Mephisto looked even more confused than Johnny. "You know of him?"

"Know of him?" Johnny asked incredulously, "He nearly killed me!"

Mephisto looked troubled. For the first time, there was no taunting smirk on his face.

"He has come here, then?"

Johnny told him about what he was doing here, and how Blackheart was helping Lord Voldemort on one side of a brewing wizarding war. Careful to leave out any major plans of the Order.

"Intriguing," he said.

"That's not how I would put it," Johnny said sarcastically, but Mephisto did not notice, or simply did not care.

"Our goals are aligned then," Mephisto said finally.

"What? No," Johnny said, "did you not hear the part about me not wanting to help you? Do it yourself!"

"I cannot," Mephisto bit out, "as I said, I am at war. Even now, being here, is costing me more than you can know."

"Don't talk to me about that, like I haven't paid enough."

"Then do not do it for me," he said simply, "do it for your silly fight. Killing Blackheart is beneficial to both of us, if he is truly helping this Voldemort character. I see no reason not to add a bit more incentive."

Johnny struggled to come up with a counter argument that wasn't just 'I hate you, so no' - though he felt entirely justified to do so.

"I don't even know if I can kill him," he muttered finally.

"He may be fast, and one of the very few things on any realm that can hurt you, but he is not as strong as you. What you lack in speed, you more than make up for in raw power. You will find you can do things you never even dreamt of before."

Johnny didn't want to. He didn't owe Mephisto anything, but he was right, getting rid of Blackheart needed to happen eventually.

"If I do this," he said, "if. I'm not doing it for you. I don't owe you a damn thing. I don't trust you. And if you're lying about this, you will regret it."

The room was silent for a moment, the only noise was Kreacher's mutterings just outside in the hallway.

"Excellent," Mephisto grinned, extending a hand, "shake on it?"

"No."

For the first time in a year, the possibility of escaping the Rider felt real.

He'd rarely ever entertained the thought, it was always so out of reach for him. So impossible. Johnny tried his best to use the Rider as a force for good wherever he went. New York, Toronto, Barcelona, Moscow, Paris, Tokyo, and now Britain.

The very idea that he was even entertaining Mephisto's bargain pissed him off. The rage from the old days was returning with a fiery power. He'd been so angry then, only really calming down when he met the Order. Even then, not really. Being irritable and easy to set off were just a part of him now. Not that anyone could realistically blame him.

Maybe it was the people. He hadn't properly interacted with anybody for a full year. Even growing up, he had very few friends, and becoming the Rider certainly didn't help with his social skills.

"Apologies for my tardiness," Dumbledore said as he swept gracefully into the dining room, "Green Day are on tour and they throw quite the concert."

Johnny blinked.

"Unfortunately, I do not bring good news." He said gravely. "Hagrid has run into trouble with the Giants in Norway. Though at first contact, they seemed receptive, he has recently reported - and I use that term loosely, as it takes weeks for the letters to come in - that the appearance of several Death Eaters and the death of their leader have swayed them against us."

Johnny was surprised at this. Barely a month ago Dumbledore was happy with Hagrid's progress. The giants was one of the very few ventures that was actually going well besides he and Moody's work on the streets.

"He and Madame Maxime are badly injured," Dumbledore said, "what with the now hostile Giants and the frequent Death Eater attacks. Apparating that far is impossible, well, without breaking several laws at least. But they need our help, so, I want to send you, Johnny," he now looked at Johnny, "over to help them."

Really, at this point, he should stop being surprised at Dumbledore's faith in him.

"Nymphadora has told me about your ability to create portals for quick travel," he said, and Tonks flinched at the use of her full name, "this would be an effective way to go unnoticed by the various magical ministries one would need to go through to apparate into their countries."

It made sense, he supposed.

"Am I going alone?" Johnny asked.

Dumbledore looked around the room at everyone else. "Is your manner of travel suitable for others?"

Well, he didn't really know. Never tested it. Worked on demons just fine, but mortals were tricky.

"I don't know," he said truthfully, "I've never tried it before."

"Will you be alright on your own?" Sirius asked, not looking convinced.

"Yes," Molly piped up, looking concerned, "are we sure that we shouldn't at least try to send someone with him?"

"Johnathan's method of travel is untested on humans, magical or otherwise. Risking someone's life like that would be unwise." Dumbledore said.

"If I may," Snape said coolly, "the Dark Lord has sent a formidable force there. Some of the best Death Eaters he has, as well as Blackheart."

"So you've finally seen him at the manor, then?" Remus asked Snape, who shook his head.

"The Dark Lord changes his location quite frequently, I believe this particular time was in Norfolk. The creature remained looming in the dark, listening in on the meeting. He was sent off shortly after to help in the efforts with the Giants."

Johnny tensed up. This would be the perfect time to try and kill him off.

"I have been instructed by the Dark Lord to make sure you were all aware, so that it would get back to Johnathan." Snape said.

Voldemort believed that Dumbledore was playing his cards close to the chest, thanks to Snape's carefully crafted lies. He was under the impression that only a small few knew who Johnny was or had ever seen him, and Snape was not one of them, therefore he could not tell his master what Johnny looked like.

"So he wants me to know where Blackheart is." Johnny said blandly. "Nice."

"Your last fight with him did not go well," Dumbledore commented, looking at him over his half-moon glasses.

"No," he agreed, "in fact, this is probably some elaborate trap."

"And yet," Dumbledore continued, "I sense that you're still going to go regardless."

"What choice do we have," Moody asked, "let Hagrid and Olympe die? You certainly can't go, you're under too much scrutiny already."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, not looking happy about it, "High Inquisitor Umbridge makes frequent trips to my office, and routine inspections of my staff. Our best plan of action, is to meet up with Hagrid and Olympe, and escort them back here. The giants, I regret to admit, seem to be a lost cause for now, with their leader being more sympathetic with the Death Eater's cause."

Search and rescue then. Probably for the best, fighting a small army of Giants, demons and Death Eaters was not high on his priority list, especially if Blackheart was going to be there. He thought back to Mephisto's deal. This could be an opportunity, but not a good one, for him. Too many variables, and if he was to be the only one fighting considering Hagrid and Olympe's weakened state, he didn't think it would go well. No, there was going to be plenty more better times to potentially deal with the son of the devil, whether he had to carve them out for himself or not, was yet to be seen.

"Don't worry about it," he told Dumbledore, "I'll be there and back in no time if it's just a simple rescue mission."

Now he just had to convince himself of it.

"Look sharp, eh Johnny?"

He stopped in his inspection of Sirius' bike, as the owner in question stepped into the room.

"I don't even know what that means," he told him, a small smile working its way onto his face.

"Be quick," Sirius answered, a small grin of his own, "hurry back, and all that, yeah?"

Johnny thought about where he was going, how in no uncertain terms that if he did find Blackheart there, it would not end well for anyone. Didn't have the heart to tell Sirius he might not even be coming back.

This was bad, very bad. Dumbledore wouldn't call Hagrid back if he didn't think the half-giant wasn't in serious trouble.

"Yeah," he agreed, "come to wish me luck then?"

"Yeah," Sirius said quietly, smile gone.

Johnny frowned. "What?"

Sirius shifted a bit. "I don't like you going alone, is all," he said, "especially considering that you and Dumbledore seem pretty convinced that it's a trap."

"Because it is," Johnny told him pointedly.

"Then why are you going alone?!" Sirius suddenly burst out, looking a little crazed. "The last time you fought Blackheart, you nearly died!"

"Did Tonks put you up to this?" Johnny asked.

"No," Sirius said, "but you already know she agrees with me."

"I can't take anyone, my method of travel is untested with humans."

"No better time to try it out than right now," Sirius said simply.

Johnny did a double take. "With you? You're a wanted criminal!"

"We're going so far north it doesn't even matter," Sirius said, pacing now, "you think the giants will take the time to call the authorities? And its not as if the Death Eaters will either. It'll be fine."

"Dumbledore won't like this," he said, desperately trying to think of a way to dissuade him, "isn't there anyone else we can bring? Tonks, Moody, Kingsley?"

Sirius' eyes were a little manic. "Tonks is swamped in paperwork after the troll incident in Manchester, Kingsley's got the week training new recruits, and Moody is still focused on the streets. Take me, I'll be able to watch your back. I've got a new wand, I can fight!"

Johnny knew then that while Sirius did want him to be safe, he also wanted out of this depressing house. The constant mood swings. Hours spent in Buckbeak's room. Hoping Harry lost his trial. All of it was because he hated it here so damn much.

He swore under his breath. "I'm gonna be in so much shit for this."

Sirius grinned wickedly.

Going back outside without permission was not the experience Sirius thought it would be.

They drove by fire and brimstone at alarming speeds. Creatures he never dreamed of barely spared them a glance as they sped by, too busy engaging in bloody fights to the death. There were many outposts littered with people crucified on obsidian pillars. There was a man in Greek armour pushing a boulder up a hill.

Hell was an interesting place.

"I don't just teleport, Sirius, I travel the appropriate distance through another dimension, to end up where I need to go. Can't just drive on water."

He reckoned drowning would be preferable.

Sirius felt like his mouth was closing down as if it'd never even been there at all. His sanity was slipping away more and more by the second. He gripped Johnny's waist even tighter, afraid he'd fall off the bike and be burnt to a crisp by the flames erupting from the exhaust.

Thankfully, it was over only a few moments later. That was worse than apparition, and he never planned on doing it again for as long as he lived.

Norway was a beautiful place, he had only been here once before while on the run last year, and it wasn't for long. The northern mountains were a far cry from Oslo, however. The field they stopped at was small but barren. Distant rumbling echoed down from the ginormous cliff above. They were high up, one look over the side saw a sizable drop below. The grass on this patch of land was overgrown, and in some places, seemingly trampled.

Not good signs. The bike was forgotten as they walked around cautiously.

Rocky parts of the cliff layered the far end of the plains, and Sirius casted a hesitant look Johnny's way, who's unnerving soulless stare surveyed the land.

"Hagrid and Olympe should be here," he said in a bone chilling voice, "and the giants camp is just up the cliff."

Which wasn't good, Sirius knew. He was getting goosebumps the longer they stayed. It was quiet, far too quiet for a place where over three dozen giants supposedly lived.

"How do we get up?" Sirius asked, squinting at the cliff. "There doesn't look like a good place to set up camp there."

Johnny kept staring up at it, not answering just yet.

And then Sirius smelled it.

Having the animagus form of a dog had its perks, and while Sirius spent a very long time only in his dog form, he retained some of those abilities while human. One of those things, was a keen sense of smell. This sometimes meant learning just how gross London's garbage really was, but it could have been the fleas he'd kept instead. He learned not to complain.

"Wait," he told Johnny, "can you smell that?" A stupid question, as he didn't have a nose at the moment. "Smell's like... rain?"

"Fulminis!"

A bolt of lighting fell from the sky, hitting Johnny dead on and the sheer power sending Sirius flying back.

He struggled for breath as he tried to find his footing. His wand was somewhere in the tall grass. Johnny was thankfully still standing, but the terrain around them had changed. The plain was much bigger, and the cliffs were adorned with jeering giants. He counted almost forty of them. Wizards in dark robes and masks - Death Eaters, he realized belatedly inched cautiously towards Johnny, but it wasn't him they were afraid of, it was the frost giant standing menacingly in front of them with a large stone totem with a light blue rune engraved on it.

"What the bloody hell is that?!"

He didn't get an answer, had to roll to his right to avoid a jet of green light.

Sirius could only dodge spells though, as his wand was lost to the overgrown grass. What he was able to see between his frantic movements was unlike anything he'd ever witnessed before.

Johnny, with a fiery chain brandished like a whip, was dolling out death and destruction. The beast with the totem was too slow to hit him, and the Death Eaters spells bounced off him harmlessly. A wild swing from the beast crushed a Death Eater to a nearby rock, blood splattering all over it.

The giants roared in approval, and a few of them even joined the fight.

Johnny was taking them all on.

One of the smaller ones (though still several feet in height) delivered a savage punch that only staggered Johnny momentarily, before he responded in kind with a bone shattering strike. Fire shot out of his hands, burning any that got too close, the chain wrapped around a giant three times, and with a tug, he burned to ash.

Despite the overwhelming feeling that he was going to die, Sirius let out a manic laugh. He'd never felt so alive! Certainly not since he'd been imprisoned.

The great beast took another swing, and this time Johnny caught the totem, boots digging into the ground. With a mighty heave the beast took flight for all of two seconds before crashing to the ground again. It roared in anger before getting back to its feet.

An explosion from behind Sirius send him tumbling again, and he was knocked loopy by the hit.

It wasn't an explosion. A creature the colour of obsidian slithered by him, a jagged and spiky tail trailing behind it.

Blackheart.

Nobody had cast an explosive curse, he'd been hit so hard over the head it just sounded like one. His vision was blurry now, and a gnarled hand grabbed at his back, hefting him up by his tweed jacket as if he weighed nothing. Sirius was carried forward, the creatures steps silent.

"I have waited far too long to meet you again, Johnny Blaze."

This wasn't going good.

Johnny had lost track of Sirius during the fight, there was just so many different things trying to kill him at once. Giants swinging their tree trunk like arms at him, tossing small boulders his way, the frost troll swinging its totem, and Death Eaters shooting spells. None of it hurt, but Johnny fought frantically to try and defeat them all so he could help Sirius.

And then none of it mattered anyway. Blackheart spoke and everyone else stopped fighting Johnny. He had Sirius in his left hand.

His mind was slipping, the Rider was fighting for full control. There was a high pitched whine in his head, getting louder and louder and louder-

"I'm right here," he said, "so let's finish this."

Blackheart tossed Sirius to the side like a sack of potatoes, and charged at Johnny. His spiky tail darted for him as he feinted with a punch, but Johnny was ready. He grabbed the tail just in time, and tugged hard, pulling Blackheart towards him. Johnny gave the son of Mephisto a hard punch of his own to the face, sending him reeling back, but he kept a tight grip on his tail.

Johnny kept pulling and punching, never letting up for even a second.

A harsh slam to his side sent him flying however, it seemed that the frost troll had seen enough.

Fast movement to his left, and Johnny could hardly start to get up before a searing pain erupted from his side, and then all over his body. He was being stabbed by that fucking tail again, over and over. Wizards and giants alike jeered at him. In response, he shot out fire from both hands, catching the blur that was Blackheart moving around him quickly by surprise. The creature screamed in pain, and the jeering stopped. The frost troll swung again, but he just barely caught it, his entire body in protest of the action.

Johnny threw the totem up a little, before uppercutting it as hard as he could. It was sent up at high speed into the troll's face. Blackheart was still writhing in pain in the distance, and the frost troll was knocked flat on his ass, but it was far from a victory. The Death Eaters were advancing on him, wand tips glowing white. He knew from experience now that this would hurt, possibly even kill him. He lifted his arms up, and a wall of flame surrounded him. They tried to put the fire out with water spells from their wands, but none of it worked. Some of the giants that got too brave were punished harshly for their misjudgment, as when a few tried to step through, they immediately burned to ash. He'd never really done that before, didn't know how long he could keep it up for. Needed to find Sirius and get out. Couldn't even summon his bike, let alone travel. Apparition would have to do.

When he did find him, Sirius was just on the edge of the circle he had created, an inch or two more and he would have been burned to death as well.

"Sirius," he rasped, shaking him roughly, "wake up, you need to get us out of here!"

He was so fucking tired. Wanted to plop down right there on the grass and take a nap, but if he did Johnny knew he'd never wake up.

The wall of flame dimmed, a red spell whizzed overhead.

Sirius' eyes shot open, and for a moment he tried feebly to escape from Johnny.

"It's me! Apparate us out of here!"

He mumbled incoherently at Johnny, probably some severe concussion.

The flames were gone now, a spell - he didn't know what color - connected with his right side, and the pain made it hard to even kneel anymore. He was losing consciousness.

"You need to apparate us out of here!" He practically screamed again, and finally the words registered, Sirius gripped his arm tightly, and twisted slightly as the sensation of being shoved through a tube over took him.

Before he passed out, Johnny hoped that Hagrid and Olympe were already dead, so they would not have to face the bleak realization that the Order had failed - Johnny, had failed to save them. And that they were going to die on a mountain in Norway.

When he awoke, it was to blurry vision and a wand over his head waving furiously around his body.

"Merde," an unknown voice said, "eet is a miracle 'e is even alive."

"Aye," another, more gruff and distinctly male voice said, "I don' know how they even found us. Sirius splinched himself, had ter be an accident judgin' by the sorts he's in."

He knew that voice. Had heard it before, but couldn't quite place it.

Johnny groaned as he tried to sit up, and a rough hand pushed him back down.

"It doesn't matter how they've found us," a male, angry voice said, "only that they are here now, vich means ve can finally leave this vretched place."

He groaned again, felt warm saliva force its way up into his mouth. A bucket was placed in his lap, and he was helped into a sitting position as he threw up into it.

"Zhat's the potion working," the female voice said, "you'll feel better in a moment."

She was French, he realized belatedly, as his body relieved him of his lunch. Johnny's vision cleared seconds after he stopped barfing, and he took in the surrounding area. They were in a damp cave, and two people towered over him.

"H-hagrid?" He asked confusedly.

"Aye, 's me, Johnny." The half-giant confirmed with a small smile. "Yeh had us scared fer a moment there, was pretty touch an' go."

He didn't know what to think, could hardly focus. "Thought you were dead."

"Nah," Hagrid said, waving a dust-bin sized hand airily, "I don' go down tha' easy."

"Nor do you, it seems," the woman, Olympe, he assumed, said.

"Probably wouldn't have been able to make it without your help, so, thanks."

She smiled a little. "Do not zhank me yet, monsieur, you are still a long way away from being in perfect 'ealth."

He nodded, unsurprised. "Where's Sirius?"

"Right here," the man in question said, coming to the left of his makeshift bed.

" 'E was easier to fix up," Olympe told him, "a severe concussion, and he splinched himself, but I have managed to bring it down to a very annoying 'eadache."

"Sounds about right," Johnny said, smirking just a little.

"Oh, piss off." Sirius said, trying to look stern. The effect was ruined by the smile on his face. "At least this explains how we ended up here, all I was really thinking about was getting us to safety. Reckon that concussion had something to do with messing up my apparition."

"Yes, yes, this is all very nice," the other man said, the one he didn't recognize, "but can ve please talk about getting out of here? For days ve haff waited for you two debily to vake up, and now that you haff, I am eager to leave this place."

Out of everyone there, he looked the worst. Ragged clothes that were stained with dirt and sweat. Dark circles under his eyes and greasy hair.

"Yeah, I'm sure out of everyone here, you're dying to get out, Karkaroff." Sirius snapped, glaring at the man darkly. "The only reason you're coming back with us is because you took in Hagrid and Olympe. If it were up to me-"

"If more things vere up to you, I'm sure the Order vould have fallen long ago. The Death Eaters come closer and closer every day to finding us here, Black, and I for one, do not vant to be around ven they do."

"Well I doubt either of us could apparate very far anyway, so it hardly matters."

"I can try," Johnny said, eyeing the man warily, "if I can become the Rider, anyway."

Sirius shook his head morosely. "You're already dead tired, and that bike can only fit one of us at a time, you'd need to make multiple trips, and that could take ages."

"It doesn't have to be a bike," he said, "that's just what I choose to make it." Johnny looked around the room.

"Ever been in a pickup before?"

The ride back to Grimmauld Place was a quiet one, to say the least. The all black truck he was able to make spit fire and was deafening. Karkaroff was in the back seat, looking moody, while Sirius glared out the passenger side window. Hagrid and Olympe sat out on the cargo bed, the only place they could realistically go, they were just too damn tall.

"Can you move your seat up?"

"No."

Karkaroff, too scared by Johnny's flaming head to sit behind him, sat back with a huff, his expression looking even more sour than before.

When they finally got back, the truck immediately dissipated, and Johnny nearly fell over in exhaustion, caught by Sirius just in time.

"I don't like that we've brought him back here, you know," he whispered to him, as Karkaroff and Olympe read the note that told them the location of headquarters, "we're gonna have a lot of explainin' to do."

"What else is fuckin' new," Johnny grunted, and Sirius laughed.

"Too right."

As Hagrid and Olympe entered - ducking their heads down to do so - Johnny's arm snapped out to grab Karkaroff roughly by his own.

"Poprobuy chto-nibud', i ya tebya ub'yu."

Karkaroff looked white as a sheet, and nodded shakily.

Johnny didn't know the man, but by the the way Sirius talked to him, and how Hagrid kept looking at him warily, he knew to be on his guard. Judging by the terrified look on his face, Johnny had gotten his message across.

Try something, and I will kill you.

A/N: My Russian is probably bad but; debily - dipshits/morons