Oh, thanks for the reviews and the follows, everyone! I'm glad people like this story, so far.
NaruHarem4ever: I highly suggest watching Fairy Tail. I used to shy away from it because of the name. Looked more like an anime for cutesy girls or something. But it's pure bad-ass. The show's about a guild called Fairy Tail, and all the members use magic of all kinds. Starts off a bit slow, then picks up. It's a MUST watch.
lolol1991: He will definitely use cunning in the trial, though the trial's not in this chapter, surprisingly enough. I don't really know about the whole "lineage of Squibs" thing. I'm sure Squibs can be born to Muggle families. Harry will definitely exhibit cunning in this story. It is a simple byproduct of lurking on the internet for months on end. I go to the cinema all the time, and I notice huge plotholes, and solutions. For example, how did Madara not beat Naruto and Sasuke? Same goes for Obito. They made it such a huge deal that Naruto was using Sage Mode, but back in the Pain arc, Pain could absorb the Natural Energy because he had the Rinnegan. It was also shown that Madara could control Natural Energy. That fight should've been in the bag, and yet, it wasn't. Stuff like that. Now, Harry will be the same.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
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Lightning Dragon's Roar
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
By Zero Rewind
© 2014
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Chapter 4: Arctic Fury
Four days had passed since Dudley and I had an encounter with the servants of anti-happiness, the dementors. I stayed inside the house, as ordered by the many messages that made me feel like I was some kid that got his hand caught in the cookie jar. It was infuriating. I fight for my life and that of my cousin, and all I get is a stern scolding? I fought to regain control of my emotions. I sent Hedwig three days ago, with orders to peck her recipients until they gave an answer, but haven't heard from her since. I ignored any thoughts of her being dead in a ditch somewhere.
The Dursley family had been kinder to me these past few days. And to think, all it took for that to happen was saving Dudley's life. Wish I had thought of that sooner! I heaved a great sigh, deciding that all of this didn't matter, for now. Being angry about recent events was not currently useful. If I learned something from the summer holiday, it was to exert great self control, and quick, strategic thinking. Often times, anger got in the way, though it did have its uses. So let's use that head of mine to figure out where to go from here.
Dudley and I were attacked by dementors, who are supposed to be guarding the wizard prison. This could have several meanings. One: the Ministry doesn't have control over them. Two: I was so tasty in my Third Year at Hogwarts that they just had to eat me— I chuckled hollowly at that. Three: Voldemort controls them now and sent them to kill me. Four: the Ministry sent them to kill me. The second option was probably not likely, since dementors had a constant source of food from the prisoners. The first and third options seemed highly plausible, while the fourth one... Well, it had merit. I remembered all of Fudge's blunders; he tried sending Hagrid to Azkaban. He said I was Confounded when I told him Sirius was innocent. Moreover, he refused to believe that Voldemort had come back, last June. The words had come straight out of Dumbledore's mouth, and he refused to believe them.
Maybe they're in league with Voldemort? Maybe they just want to shut me up. Old Fudge was rather eager to shut Barty Crouch Jr. up, wasn't he?
So how do I go from here? I've got a disciplinary hearing to attend soon. I need a strong defense for my case, which means I need witnesses. Dudley was there. He'd seen the dementors. But the letter sent to me said that he was a Muggle. Though, if he was a Muggle, how did he see the dementors? The next logical step to my train of thought was that Dudley was probably a Squib. Why would the Ministry of Magic care about those that can't do magic? Squibs were as good as Muggles, no? The only visible ones, are the ones that come from pureblood families. If a Squib is born into a Muggle family, how would anyone know?
They wouldn't.
It was a long-shot, but it could work. I had to ask Dudley to attend this hearing with me, as a witness to the defense. There didn't seem to be any other way.
I heard the doorbell ring. It was Eight in the evening, who could be visiting right now? I pulled my wand out almost immediately, my left hand ready to channel electricity. I silently opened the door to my room, and made my way to the top of the stairs, hearing the front door open.
"Yes, can I help you?" I heard Aunt Petunia say.
"We're here to pick up Potter." A gruff, low growling voice said. A voice I recognized. Mad-Eye Moody was here? Or was it a fake— again? I slowly backed away into my room, and closed the door with an almost inaudible click. I waited. I heard Vernon and Petunia protesting, but their protests were ignored as I heard footsteps thumping on the stairs. Just how many people were here? I swallowed thickly, at the thought of having to fight them off. I might be able to kill off a few, before I finally succumbed to injuries.
There was no knock, Moody just opened my door, and stepped inside, seeing me pointing my wand at him. He had an approving, if a little bit annoyed look.
"At least you're not stupid." The grizzled Auror growled out. I gave a nasty smirk in response, not lowering my wand in the least. Several people were outside in the hallway, but I couldn't make any of them out. They were all excitedly peeking at me. How annoying.
"How do I know you're the real Moody? You've been caught by Death Eaters before. What's to stop it from happening again?" I bit out harshly. "Answer quickly, or face the consequences."
"Harry," A familiar voice called out, pushing people aside. "It's us. We've come to take you away."
"Professor Lupin?" My heart soared at the sight of my former teacher. He looked worse than I'd ever seen him before. His robes looked horrible, his skin was clammy and white, but he had a broad smile on his face. I lowered my wand slightly, but my grip on it was still strong. I composed myself, before pointing the wand at him, now. "What was my boggart's form, and what did you say about it?"
The man looked surprised for a moment, before answering. "It was a dementor, and I told you that you were very wise, because what you feared was fear itself."
I nodded, completely relaxing at that. "Good answer."
"What about you, then?" Moody growled out. "How do we know you're not just some Death Eater we brought to Headquarters?"
"Harry, what form does your Patronus take?" Lupin asked.
"A stag." I answered.
"That's Harry, all right." Lupin confirmed, before giving me a hug. I stiffened against the contact, but relaxed slightly.
"Good to see you too, old man." I smirked, giving the older man a few pats on the back. Lupin and I made our way past the group of wizards staring at me as they stood in the hallway. We descended the stairs, seeing the Dursleys sitting in the living room. Vernon made to stand.
"So, you're leaving, boy?" Vernon asked with a strange look on his face. Petunia wasn't even looking at me; it seemed like she was deep in thought.
"Yeah, I have to prepare for that hearing soon." I noticed Dudley standing off to the side, and walked to him. "Dudley."
"Yeah?"
"You want to be a witness to my defense?" I asked immediately, not bothering to beat around the bush. Now was not the time to screw around. "Would be much easier for me to do this if I had a witness."
"A-All right, Harry." Dudley agreed hesitantly, wary of what could happen.
"It's on the 12th of August. I'll see you then?" I held out my hand.
"Yeah. Count on it." Dudley shook my hand, before giving me a look. He was about to say something, but hesitated.
"What's up?"
"Ah- Well- Nevermind. It's nothing." Dudley looked away from me. What was that about?
"O-kay, then." I drawled, before moving to the stairs. A witch with violet, spiky hair, a heart-shaped face, and dark eyes blocked my path. She was kind of hot.
"Could you move aside, please? I have to get my stuff from my room." I asked nicely. I'd already fully packed in case of an attack, or an ambush of some kind. All I needed was to haul the stupid trunk downstairs. The woman giggled, stuffed her hand into one of her pockets, before handing me a miniature trunk, and broom. My trunk. MY FIREBOLT! Why is it a midget now?! Inconceivable!
"Oh. Thanks, I guess. Could you turn the Firebolt back to normal?"
"No problem, Harry!" She smiled brightly and did so, before wincing. "Oh, right. Where are my manners? My name's Tonks."
"Harry Potter." I said, not questioning—nor caring— why she gave only part of her name. The internet taught me that anonymity was a blessing. "Care to introduce me to everyone?"
"My pleasure!" She winked at me, before pointing towards Moody. "This is Alastor Moody, also known as Mad-Eye Moody."
"Yeah, I know."
"Of course you know Remus Lupin." She then waved at the tall black wizard, who gave a bow and a smile. "That's Kingsley Shacklebolt".
"Elphias Doge." Much Elphias, Such Doge. I bit back a snicker at the reference, as the wizard in question gave a nod. Tonks kept going.
"That's Dedalus Diggle—" Tonks said but was interrupted by the excitable man.
"We've met before." Diggle squeaked out, dropping his hat.
"Emmeline Vance," Tonks pointed towards a witch in an emerald green shawl who inclined her head.
"Sturgis Podmore, and finally, Hestia Jones." Tonks finished, pointing towards a square-jawed wizard with straw-colored hair, and a pink-cheeked, black haired witch, who waved at me.
"Nice to meet you all," I began. "But why is everybody and their mother here to meet me?"
The group had the decency to look sheepish at the question. Thankfully, Professor Lupin came to their rescue.
"A surprising number of people volunteered to come and get you." He fought from snickering at their expression.
"The more the better." Moody said ominously. "We're your guard, Potter."
"That's nice." I said offhandedly, already knowing this. "So, when do we leave?"
"A minute or so, I reckon." Lupin checked a nearby clock.
"All right then, let's get outside." I said agreeably, and everyone shuffled their way to the front door. I turned to my relatives, giving them a nod.
"See you all next summer."
"Good luck, boy."
I did a double take. Did he just-
I shook my head, disbelievingly, and walked out of the house.
Not five steps were taken, before the front door opened, revealing Dudley.
"Harry." It seemed as if the boy was making a great effort to just talk to me.
"Yes? Spit it out."
"I-I..." Dudley stuttered, before swearing loudly. "Fuck it! I'm coming with you."
"Sure- Wait, what?"
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It took some begging, but Dudley managed to convince his parents to tag along with me. He promised that he'd be back after the hearing. He made a quick call to his girlfriend— I gleefully teased him about that— to tell her that he was going to be out of the country until the twelfth of August, and like that, we were ready to depart.
The trip itself was not really noteworthy, as we flew around, in formation, avoiding Muggles, and freezing our collective asses off because we were high in the sky. Tonks managed to convince Moody not to drag us in the fucking clouds. Paranoia is a great friend of that man. Dudley was astonished at all the flying, but seemed to be enjoying himself.
Eventually we landed in the middle of a small square. Moody busied himself by taking out the lights using what looked to be a lighter. Oh the beauty of contradiction.
"That should take care of the Muggles who might be looking outside their windows." Moody growled out, before motioning for everyone to follow. "Come on, quick."
We all followed, wands out, except Dudley of course. I could hear the muffled pounding of a stereo in the nearest house. There was some smelly garbage somewhere, as well.
Headquarters was in this slimy neighborhood? Dudley and I shared looks of bewilderment.
"Here," Moody walked between us, thrusting a piece of parchment to my hand. "Read it quickly, and memorize it. The both of you."
"The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London."
Order of the Phoenix, huh? Sounds like Dumbledore's been on the move. I gave the note to Dudley, who read it as well, and nodded at everyone. Moody snatched the piece of parchment, before setting it on fire. The grizzled Auror turned to the houses in front of us. I saw that there was a number eleven, and thirteen, side by side.
"Where's number-"
"Shh!" Moody shushed us urgently.
"Think about what you've just memorized." Lupin supplied helpfully. So we did.
Instantly, a house began to appear between number eleven and thirteen, pushing them aside. Dudley gaped at the display, while I nodded thoughtfully at the display of magic.
"Strange, wouldn't the Muggles feel the vibrations from that?" I asked curiously, as we all walked up the worn stone steps.
"No, the Muggles aren't magically sensitive like we are, Harry." Professor Lupin explained in a low voice, before tapping the door once with his wand. The door made many loud clicks, and even the clatter of a chain. Talk about excessive locks. "Try not to be too loud, and don't go far inside. Don't touch anything."
"Am I allowed to breathe?" I mocked his words, and entered the house without a care in the world, Dudley following. The hallway was dark for a few moments, before Moody lighted all the gas lamps up with a wave of his wand, revealing the most horrible looking house I'd ever been in.
"Mate, this place looks like it hasn't been used in decades." Dudley whispered next to me. I gave a nod.
"Looks like one of those houses in reality TV shows. You know, the ones that need fixing. It's a wonder it's still standing." I commented with a smirk.
Our voice seemed to attract footsteps from the far end of the hall. The door at the end opened, and out of it emerged Mrs. Weasley. She gave a bit of a confused look at Dudley, but beamed at me in welcome. She hurried towards us.
"Oh, Harry! It's lovely to see you!" She whispered, pulling me into one of her patented hugs. She gave me a critical look. "You're looking very healthy, Harry!"
I blushed, and gave a noncommittal shrug. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." I nudged Dudley forward. "This is my cousin, Dudley Dursley."
She eyed the formerly fat boy with distaste, before noticing my frown. Her expression softened immediately, before holding out her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dudley."
Dudley shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too."
"I would invite you both for dinner, but you're going to have to wait a bit, I'm afraid..." Molly turned to the gang of wizards behind us and said, "He's just arrived, the meeting's started."
They all began filing past us towards door in which Mrs. Weasley came out of. I made to follow, but Molly held me back.
"No, Harry." She refused me entry. "The meeting is for members of the Order. Ron and Hermione are upstairs, you can wait for them until the meeting is over and then we'll have dinner."
"But-"
"And keep your voice down in the hall." She added before I could say anything.
"Wait, why?"
"I don't want to wake anything up."
"Wake anything up? What are you-" Dudley tried to say, but was interrupted by Molly ushering us past a pair of long curtains, and an umbrella stand that looked like it was made out of a troll's leg. We went up a dark staircase in silence, until...
"Holy shit." Dudley mouthed out looking to the side. I followed his line of sight, seeing a row of shrunken heads, mounted on plaques on the wall. House elf heads.
"Language!" Molly Weasley scolded.
"House elf heads, Dudley. Mrs. Weasley, why-"
"Ron and Hermione will explain everything, dear," I began to tune her out, only listening to where Ron and Hermione were supposed to be. She was not being helpful at all right now. My anger rose, bubbling to the surface, but I bottled it for now. Dudley and I reached the bedroom door, and opened it. Almost immediately, I was tackled by a mass of bushy hair, nearly knocking me over. Sheesh, will that girl ever learn?
"HARRY! I was so worried! Ron, Harry's here!" She called out. "We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless — but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got to tell us — the dementors! When we heard — and that Ministry hearing — it's just outrageous, I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's a provision in the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations —" Hermione rambled, as usual, before noticing Dudley behind me, smirking.
"Let him breathe, Hermione." Ron's voice was heard from the side. Hermione just looked at Dudley, as I gently pushed her off of me.
"Hi, Hermione, Ron. This is my cousin Dudley, standing behind me." I explained before any questions arose.
"Hello." Dudley quipped, still amused at what he just saw. "Didn't know you were popular with the girls, Harry."
"Don't get any ideas." I warned, before shaking hands with Ron. Dudley went through the hassle of introducing himself, as Hedwig landed on my shoulder, rubbing her head against mine affectionately, while I stroked her feathers, glad that she wasn't found and killed. It took the edge off of my rage, but I was still furious. I sat on a nearby bed.
"She's been in a right state." Ron said. "Pecked us half to death when we she brought your last letters. Look at this." He showed me the deep cut on his right index finger.
"Sorry." I said insincerely, a nasty smile on my face.
"We tried to give you answers, but Dumbledore wouldn't allow us to give any specific information." Ron tried to explain. It always came back to Dumbledore, huh. That man was infuriating, sometimes. Couldn't he send Fawkes over with messages, or something? I felt cold, anger rise within me at that. Why was I being kept in the dark? My eyes narrowed menacingly as I thought about how to deal with this.
"We are sorry about what happened, mate." Ron said morosely, mistaking my glare as me blaming them. But why would I blame them? They couldn't even use magic if they wanted to, and the adults could just force them to do nothing.
"He seemed to think it was best," Hermione backed up her red haired friend. "Dumbledore, I mean."
I said nothing, slightly amused at the growing panicked expressions on their faces, but too angry to smile right now.
"Why would Dumbledore keep me in the dark?" I wondered aloud. "Does he not trust me?"
"Don't be thick, Harry-" Ron tried to say.
"Maybe he thinks I'm too weak to be allowed any information of any kind..." I mused with an angry, calculating gaze. He clearly had no idea of my abilities with Lightning Dragon Slayer magic. Dudley stood off to the side, silently processing what he was hearing. He was probably trying to figure out how I was weak, considering I'd driven off those two dementors with a couple of words. Not to mention the lightning he'd seen appearing in my hand. If I was weak, then what the hell was he? They were sobering thoughts.
"Of course he doesn't think that, Harry!" Hermione protested in defense of the old man. I turned my harsh glare at her. She wilted.
"Indeed? Can you read his mind? Looks to me as if you're not allowed to these meetings either!" I gave a cold grin.
"Please, Harry!" She said desperately, "We're sorry! We really tried to send you messages, to tell you what was going on, but they wouldn't let us!"
A very long, silent time, passed, with Hermione's sniffles only being heard. Ron lowered his head to the ground, while Dudley merely looked uncomfortable.
"I... believe you." I finally said, still angry. I turned to Dudley. "What do you think I should do?"
"Uh..." My cousin looked slightly surprised at my question, as if he didn't expect me to value his opinion or something. "I say fuck it. Barge in there, and demand answers. If someone tries to stop you, beat the shit out of them."
I pointedly ignored Hermione's gasp at the crude language, and gave a savage smirk, having expected an answer like that. My cousin has always brute forced his way through most situations. This one was no different, it seemed.
"Good enough as any solution." I agreed, before getting up and making my way to the door. Hermione stopped me with a hug.
"Harry, you can't!" She protested vehemently.
"Oh, I definitely can." I retorted. "There is nothing I can't do. The only reason I don't do certain things is because I don't wish to deal with the consequences, not because I can't. There's a huge difference, Hermione."
That seemed to shock her into silence, as I pushed her off of me. I glanced at both Ron and Dudley. "You guys can stay here if you don't wish to deal with the consequences of what I'm about to do." And I meant it. If they didn't follow me down there, I would completely understand, and I would not blame them for it.
"Worry not, I won't hold this against any of you, if you choose stay here." I continued, leaving out the door. All three of them followed. I smiled in response.
Half a minute later, we all stood in front of the closed door. Beyond it, a meeting was being held. The subject? Probably Voldemort and I. I tried opening the door, but it was firmly locked in place. Great. I loudly knocked twice.
"What are you doing?!" Hermione whispered worriedly, a part of her still not wanting to get into trouble. I gave no answer, as the door opened, revealing Mrs. Weasley. Behind her, I could see a large group of wizards sitting around a table, all looking at us. I spotted Dumbledore at the end, and Sirius— I had to bite back a smile— off to the side, next to Lupin. I also saw Moody, Tonks, Shacklebolt, and the rest of my personal guard. Professor McGonagall was there as well, sending me a stern looking, probably knowing exactly what I wanted. Hell, even Snape was here!
"What's wrong, dearies?" Mrs. Weasley asked, looking a little annoyed at the interruption.
"I want in." I went straight to the point.
"Harry, I've already said that you're not allowed to attend these meetings! You're too young." She tried to close the door, but I stopped her.
"I need to know, Mrs. Weasley."
"No, Harry. Go back to your room, all of you!" She closed the door in my face. My body shook angrily at the casual dismissal.
"Well, that's that." Ron said after a short silence.
"They think they can keep this from me...?" I said slowly, something of an intense look on my face. I began to channel my power, electricity sparking off of me. Ron and Hermione looked shocked at the display, while Dudley ushered them backwards, having seen this before.
I gave a grateful nod to Dudley.
"Oh, no... They will allow me entry. I tried asking nicely, but it just can't be helped, I guess." I smirked, before beginning to concentrate.
"Harry, what is-" Hermione tried to say, but I shushed her.
"You might want to stand back." Bluish-white lightning began to run through the entirety of my body, a chirping noise filling the hallway. I slapped my right fist against my hand, saturating it with magical power. They dared deny me what I had a right to know? I concentrated my energy, further and further, until my fist glowed almost white in color.
"Let's see them close the door now! Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" With a mighty yell, I slammed my overcharged fist into the thick, wooden door. It didn't stand a sliver of a chance.
Almost immediately, the door flew off its hinges, before being almost completely atomized by the energy I'd just released. Thick, wooden chunks of what remained flew everywhere, lightly pelting the shocked occupants of the room. I stalked menacingly inside, my fist still glowing, and my body still charged with jagged sparks of electricity. Dudley, Hermione, and Ron, were still outside, gawking at the display of pure, unadulterated power. Dudley had seen a hint of my powers, before, but he had never expected that.
And to think, I still had a long way to go before I properly mastered the Breakdown Fist... At full power, I could probably break through steel.
Dumbledore was standing, too shocked to say anything, while everyone else openly gaped. I gazed at my fist pretending to be curious, ignoring the shock— no pun intended— of the room's occupants. I turned back to them, glaring harshly, the power fading from my body, except around my eyes, giving them a frightening green glow. My fist slightly crackled with residual power. It all made for an impressive sight.
"Now, care to tell me what's going on?"
The mad female yelling about half-breeds and freaks from behind me ruined the moment. I swore loudly.
So much for an impressive entrance.
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I didn't expect the trip to the order to take this long! I'm well over four thousand words, so I decided to stop. I don't like huge updates.
Dudley's going to be a witness, for the defense!
Harry's decision to barge in was one that any angry teenager with a penchant for ignoring authority would make. What would you do if you could use incredible destructive power, and people held you back using a simple door? I'm sure that if Harry could use his wand and not get into trouble, he would have done so in a heartbeat. His state of mind during OotP was widely regarded as unstable. However, Harry does show maturity, insofar as he didn't blow up at Hermione and Ron, realizing that they were powerless to stop the adults from blocking their mail.
Make sense?
What kind of pairings do you think I should do? I was thinking Harry/Daphne.
As always, I appreciate any input you might have.