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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
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Lightning Dragon's Roar
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
By Zero Rewind
© 2015
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Chapter 25: Meetings
The next few days went by quite smoothly, all things considered.
I had expected to have to go back to Hogwarts as soon as I recovered, but it seemed that Dumbledore had extended the school holidays by a week, saying that people needed to spend time with their families in this hard time.
Not only that, but it would give the Headmaster ample time to hire a suitable replacement for Dolores Umbridge, who had been summarily sacked when word of Lord Voldemort's return came out.
Sirius kept hinting that he knew who the replacement was; which could only mean one thing.
Remus Lupin was the likely replacement, which meant that I could safely stop those DA meetings and increase the intensity of my training in my Lightning Dragonslayer Magic.
An increase which was sorely needed.
If there was anything I learned, it was that I needed to increase the power and intensity of my attacks. Lilith took a Roar head on with only minor damage to show for it.
Granted, I practically had little to no energy left, and was beyond physically battered and exhausted at that point, while she was fresh. Still, that was no excuse to slack off in my training.
Against demons, I would probably have a lot of trouble, no matter how strong I became. Against humans, however…
I felt the telltale persistent pang of guilt that came when I thought of the people I had killed during the Tri-Battle— I snorted at the name.
Those weren't battles; they were massacres. Hundreds of men and women, dead by my hand, simply because they were following my archenemy's orders.
An archenemy I somewhat identified with.
I knew, in my head, that what they were doing wasn't right; I knew that I had to stop them, simply because no one else would. People were afraid, and they needed someone to step up. The Death Eaters had killed the sick, and the young.
It was horrific, and I killed them for it. They wouldn't be hurting anyone, ever again. That's what I kept telling myself.
Thankfully, the news of Sirius' exoneration, as well the constant soothing presence of Daphne had taken the edge off quite a bit; something which I was extremely glad for.
I fired up my trusty PC, feeling a little proud when I saw it boot up correctly. I had switched most of its parts out, as well as installing a new operating system for it— Windows 8.1, if you were wondering.
It allowed me to install and play more graphically intensive games, as well as improve the computer's performance in general.
I opened up my tor browser, and began browsing. I spent a few dozen minutes checking my private emails, as well as check for any new updates on certain… let's say products that I managed to 'acquire'.
Then, I hopped onto /b/, to see what had been happening lately.
I took a moment to peruse through the pictures of a thread titled "Punchable Faces"; at first, it was a collection of the pictures of people that looked like assholes, but it ended up turning into a "celebrity you want to punch" thread. Still somewhat amusing, but overall "meh".
A few strange pictures of a gigantic tower in the middle of a modern city attracted my attention. The only caption that came with them was "Temen Ni Gru." Interesting, but I had no idea what it meant.
Moving on.
I kept at it for the better part of an hour, making sure to refresh the page at half a minute intervals. Hmm, cringe thread, loli thread, more gore threads… Oh, wow, a video game thread in /b/? OP must be new here. And, there's a brony thread; I didn't understand the fascination that these people have with My Little Pony. I kept going.
Wait a second…
"Download as quick as you can before the party van shows up." I read the title. There was a download link, but no explanations, no captions of any kind.
I fired up my online scanning service and clicked the download link. It was a service which employed the use of twenty different antivirus software to detect the use of malware.
A few minutes later yielded the promising result of no malware being found. I unpacked the zip file and opened the destination folder. It was a series of numbered documents. I opened up the first document, and began to read.
"..." I quietly absorbed the information. It was a series of heavily censored documents. Through the first two documents, I managed to sort of understand its contents.
Apparently, there was a secret department of the United States Air Force, based in a mountain of some sort. The name of the mountain was all blacked out, which was consistent with any reports pertaining to black ops.
This department was somehow able to send other agents halfway across the universe— if you could believe something like that.
It gave off that Star Trek feel, to be honest. Apparently the method of travel had something to do with the pyramids in Egypt, but as to how exactly this could happen… No information was given.
"This can't be real." I said incredulously. "Light travel is impossible, let alone going faster than light… There's no way this can be right."
I refreshed the page I was on in 4chan, and widened my eyes in shock. The page didn't load? I refreshed it a few times. Still no luck.
The website was taken down?
"Good thing I had tor browser on." I mused, before I turned off my internet and read the other documents.
Travel through a large stone ring that functioned as some sort of gateway between different worlds. This document wasn't as censored as the others. The gateway was referred as the "Stargate".
Supposedly, the teams sent in made contact with whatever species were on the other side, and acquired natural resources and technology to the best of their abilities. One team in particular had even supposedly saved the entire planet on many occasions.
The name O'Neill was thrown around several times to this effect.
But there was no noticeable effect on the world at large, which meant this was an incredibly well kept secret. Whoever shared this information was a true 4chan hero. I felt a little uneasy at what I was reading.
I backed off, trying to make sense of what I had just learned.
This was much bigger than the simple worries of having to kill Voldemort, a Dark Lord in the UK. Riddle was a relatively harmless entity when compared to the Universe at large— provided this information was correct, of course.
And why shouldn't it be? The fact that the site was taken down almost immediately served as proof of the importance and veracity of the subject at hand.
Actually, this was a little confusing, to be honest. My thoughts ventured to Lilith.
Where had she come from? Did Voldemort create a makeshift "Stargate" using the Dementors, or was it something completely different? Were demons simply some species based on a different planet?
Did realms like "Heaven" and "Hell" even exist?
"Harry?" The sound of my name broke me out of my reverie.
I blinked, regaining awareness of my immediate surroundings. I had been deep in thought, while pondering the information I was absorbing.
I turned to the source of the noise.
Daphne had already entered my room, and was in the process of taking a seat on my bed.
"Hey, Daphne." I smiled at the girl, pushing all of these concerns to the back of my mind. "What's up?"
"Well..." She trailed off. "I was just here to remind you that my family will be meeting us here in an hour for lunch."
I nodded with a grin, giving the beautiful girl a quick kiss.
"I know." I said, a little nervously. "You think they'll like me?"
"Of course." Daphne said immediately, before biting her lower lip. "I don't see any reason they wouldn't..."
"Yeah." I agreed. "You're right, Daphne. I'm just nervous, that's all."
She smirked. "You have no trouble facing dragons, armies, and Dark Lords, but you're nervous about meeting my family?"
"Well, when you put it like that..." I trailed off, before shaking my head. "Nope, facing those still sounds easier than meeting your parents. At least, in those situations, I can solve my problems with extreme amounts of violence."
"I'm sure it will all be fine." Daphne assured me, before grabbing my hand and getting up. "Come on. Let's help Sirius get everything ready."
She led me out of the room.
The next hour was spent setting the table in the dining room, helping Sirius cook the meal (he had actually become better at cooking, somehow), and generally joke around. Sirius kept making random lewd comments whenever Daphne and I got close enough to each other.
It was a bit amusing, all things considered.
As soon as we were about to relax, I heard a sharp knock on the front door, followed by the chiming sound of the door bell. It was something that Sirius had installed with the help of Mr. Weasley a few months back.
I went up to the front door, and opened it after a few moments of hesitation, revealing the visiting Greengrass family.
I smiled nervously at the small group before me.
I recognized Daphne's little sister, Astoria. She looked like she didn't really want to be here. Behind the little bored girl were her parents. The woman had the same golden hair, and the same expressive blue eyes.
And judging by the father's looks, I could understand where she got her piercing gaze from, at least. The man had short, brown hair, and piercing black eyes. The couple wore regular non magical clothing, suggesting that they didn't buy into the pureblood nonsense.
But, behind them all, was a fourth person.
He had the same golden hair, though it spiked in random directions, and the same blue eyes as Daphne. He was looking around warily, as if expecting an attack to come from anywhere.
He looked as if he was coiled, ready to strike at any given moment if a threat presented itself.
And the power… It rolled off of him in waves. It felt familiar to me, somehow. It had a certain similarity to that of Lilith's, but without the depravity I had come to associate with the demonness.
"Hello." I said nervously, not wanting to stare at them. "You must be Daphne's family."
"And you must be Mr. Potter." The father said, before motioning at the woman beside him. "My name is Ionas, and this is my wife, Alena. Of course, you know my youngest daughter, Astoria."
"We've met." I smiled politely at the younger girl, who gave a small, bored wave.
I finally made eye contact with the fourth person, and almost flinched in surprise. Something had passed between us in that small moment. He felt familiar, really familiar.
It was as if I was staring into the eyes of a snarling dragon.
"And this..." The man motioned the young adult behind him, looking a little wary when he noticed the sudden staring contest. "Is Tristan, my eldest."
I shook off the feelings, and broke eye contact.
"I've heard a lot about you all, from Daphne." I grinned excitedly, before moving back to give them room. "Please, come in."
I led the family towards the living room, where Daphne and Sirius were waiting for us. Daphne immediately went to hug her parents and siblings, before noticing their unease when looking at Sirius.
"Hello." Sirius said with a smile, taking a step forward and extending his hand. "I'm Sirius."
After a small moment's hesitation, Daphne's mother took it, followed by her husband and children.
"It is nice to meet you. I am Alena, and this is my husband Ionas; and these are my two other children: Astoria and Tristan." She answered back politely.
"It's a pleasure." The ex-prisoner gave a sad smile at their wary behavior, figuring this was something he had to get used to. "I hope we can be good friends."
Silence hung in the air for a few moments.
"Is it true that you didn't kill all those people?" Astoria blurted out excitedly, staring at Sirius.
Daphne's father, Ionas, choked and began to cough, while the rest of her family gave her incredulous looks.
Sirius chuckled, liking the bluntness. "Yes, it's true."
"I knew it!" She said, before running up to the man. "I knew there was a reason you didn't do anything when I saw you in the forest two years ago!"
"Wait— That was you?" Sirius asked in surprise.
I raised a curious eyebrow.
"Astoria..." Alena said, a little exasperation and disapproval in her tone. "The forest is off limits for a reason."
"Pfft." She scoffed in a Daphne-esque way. It was a little cute. "Rules are for boring people."
"I like you already!" Sirius grinned, before leaning forward and stage whispering. "Maybe I'll teach you a thing or two about rule breaking."
"You never told me about this, old man." I gave Sirius a curious look.
"I don't tell you everything, you know."
"That's how it is, then?"
"Yep." Sirius nodded.
"Fine."
"Fine!"
We grinned at each other, before turning to the family.
"I assume you all are hungry?" Sirius asked, and got nods of confirmation in return.
A few minutes later saw us sitting in the kitchen, enjoying a pretty well made lunch. It was still surprising, really. In the months that Sirius was enduring his semi-house arrest, he had managed to learn how to cook some really nice dishes.
He seemed to have a thing for Mediterranean style food, judging by the presence of the Tabbouleh— a salad made of tomatoes, parsley, mint and onions— the Shawarma and the Pita bread.
Sirius had said his heightened dog senses helped him find a nearby Arab store that sold them.
He was hooked almost immediately.
"So, tell me about yourself, Harry." Daphne's mother began when the eating began to slow down.
I wiped at my mouth with a napkin.
"What would you like to know?"
"Well, I'm sure there's more to you than this Boy-Who-Lived nonsense." Ionas cut in with a little grin. "Am I right?"
I was really starting to like these people. For the most part, people's eyes would drift to where my lightning bolt scar used to be. They would always ask about that part of my life. They were never interested in anything else I would be doing.
"Heh." I scratched the back of my head. "There's not much else right now. Voldemort"—only Astoria winced, strange —"has been keeping me busy, as of late. Hopefully I can either make him stop, or..." I trailed off.
The others stared at each other uncertainly.
"Kill him." Daphne's older brother supplied in a monotone.
"...Yes." I gave the man a strange look. "I don't want to do it, though. Kill him, that is. I've already done enough of that."
"Why not?" The man named Tristan pressed on, heedless of the warning stares his family was giving him. "He killed your family, did he not? Your actions would be justified."
"Tristan!" Alena cautioned sharply, motioning to the upset looking Sirius.
"It's fine." I said before Sirius could retort. "It's a valid question."
I looked up. "My actions would be justified. You're right about that."
I let that statement hang in the air for a few moments, before continuing. "But even if it is justified, it doesn't mean it's right. He..." I hesitated. "Given the circumstances, I may have ended up just like him. When I got past my anger and hatred of the man, I realized we were very similar people."
"Similar?" Astoria piped up.
"Yes." I nodded, and gave Tristan a long look. "I don't really want to explain how exactly, right now. Suffice to say, I feel that killing him would be the same as killing myself."
The man in question nodded, accepting the answer. He ruffled Daphne's hair. She scowled in response.
"Good find, squirt."
Daphne went a little red, and sputtered. Sirius and the parents' worried looks faded into amused ones.
"Do I pass the test?" I asked, lips quirked upwards.
Tristan smirked widely, showing off some pretty familiarly long canines.
"Pretty much." The older man said, smile widening. "You ready for the next test?"
"Another?" I raised my eyebrow in anticipation.
"Tristan… You said you wouldn't." Ionas said, frowning in resignation. I looked between the two, feeling a little confused.
Ionas seemed somewhat wary of Tristan's actions, as if he didn't trust the man to control himself around others. But then again, I glanced at the man in question.
Tristan look like he was ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. All of the signals he was sending told me that he wanted a fight, and that he wanted it now.
Well, who am I to refuse?
I wiped at my face with a napkin, before getting up from the table. I gave a nod to Daphne's parents, before turning towards Tristan, who had an unreadable look on his face.
"Come." I turned my back to him and walked out of the room. By the sound of the hurried footsteps, I figured he was following me. A few more sets of footsteps followed; likely Sirius and the others.
I entered the room I had used for training during the last summer; the signs of my attacks could be seen littering the magically reinforced walls and floor. I found it amusing that I'd become much stronger since then.
I made my way to the side of the room, my back still turned to the man.
I stood there for a few seconds, taking in my surroundings. The room was a little cramped, but would have to do for… whatever it is we were about to do.
"So. You ready?" The elder man's voice grabbed my attention. I turned to see a feral grin on the man's face. It was as if his personality did a one eighty. Is this what Daphne was talking about? I shook my head.
Sirius, Daphne, and Astoria were standing in the doorway. Ionas and Alena were nowhere to be seen.
"You're here to watch?" I asked nonchalantly, ignoring Daphne and Astoria's worried gazes. Sirius, on the other hand, looked calm and confident. It brought a smile to face.
"Sirius, can you referee… Whatever this is?" I asked my godfather.
"I can do that."
"Don't underestimate him." Daphne said worriedly.
Was she addressing that to me, or her brother?
I shook off any doubts. I felt I had to prove myself to Tristan. Sure, it was kind of a dick move to test me like this, but considering my situation, I had to show that I could actually protect those I care about. To me, this was important.
"Ready?" Tristan said again, beginning to look agitated.
I gave Daphne one last look, before turning to her older brother. I tensed and got ready for yet another fight. My lightning answered my call, filling my body with power.
Strange; I felt.. Different than before. My power felt lighter somehow. I moved it around in my body, unaware of the display inner energy manipulation was giving Tristan.
I blinked, noticing the excess energy outside of my body, and reined it in.
"What the fuck— ow!" Astoria said, before getting slapped in the back of the head by Daphne.
"How… fitting." Tristan said, not even noticing the byplay of his two younger sisters. "Lightning powers for the lightning bolt scarred boy."
"Heh." I chuckled, before exposing my unblemished forehead. "I suppose it would have been fitting if I still had the scar." My smile faded, and I adopted a determined expression.
The atmosphere changed.
What was a somewhat cheerful environment suddenly turned incredibly tense.
I watched Tristan intensely, not sure of his method of attack. Was he going to simply rush me with his fire? Was he going to use distractions and evasive maneuvers to lure me into a trap? I had no idea of the level of control he possessed with his fire.
The encounter with Lilith had given me a newfound respect for the element of fire. The element itself was usually meant to destroy, but I had seen the sexy succubus use her flames as a shield, as well as incredibly explosive bombs. The potential was incredible.
Tristan grinned, and I jumped back as fast as I could, my danger sense warning me of an incoming attack.
The air I stood in a moment before exploded in a powerful shower of purple flames.
He can remotely set fire to the atmosphere?! What. The. Fuck.
This definitely changed things. I couldn't play defensively if he could simply bypass my defenses with ease.
Offense it is!
The older man's grin didn't fade in the least as I got closer and closer to him.
I got within striking distance. He made no move to counter.
Something wasn't right.
This was a trap!
I braced myself and quickly expelled my lightning and converged it around my body as extra protection to guard against whatever it was Tristan had in store for me.
I felt the power build up around me, and the world exploded in purple fire. I felt the intense lick of heat against my skin, but it seemed weaker than I was expecting. No doubt, my defense was working.
I knew the shielding wouldn't last long against this onslaught of fire. I threw a kick, through the flames, and it connected with Tristan's midsection with a satisfying smack.
The purple flames around me faded into nothing, and I managed to see the damage of my attack.
Judging by the surprised look on his face, I figured he was not expecting such an attack from me. Underestimating me, much?
"Not bad. You took a level one Scorch attack without too much damage." Tristan breathed out, looking a little pained. "Not only that, you even managed to successfully launch a counter-attack. You pass."
"But..." Tristan's voice carried an ethereal tone as even more intense purple flames began to form around his body, condensing themselves further and further. "Let's see you take Level Two."
"No."
We both turned to see Sirius, who had his wand drawn. "I think that's enough. Don't you?"
Tristan gave the older man a long, considering look, before waving his hand. The flames were snuffed out immediately. I powered down my lightning as well.
"...My apologies." Tristan said, leaning against the wall. "I find it sometimes difficult to repress my.. urges."
"I can tell." Sirius answered wryly.
"It is an after effect of my knowledge of the Scorch magic. It makes me..." He paused for a moment, grimacing as he did so. "Somewhat violent and bloodthirsty."
Scorch? That word wouldn't stop popping up.
Lilith had spoken of it during our fight, as well.
Was he in league with her? They both used the element of fire, after all. It was the same magic, honestly. The only difference was the techniques used and the color of the flames.
"I've heard that before. What is Scorch?" I questioned, not lowering my guard. "A succubus called Lilith used that against me a few days ago. But her flames were different than yours."
"Lilith, huh? Small world." Tristan grinned.
"How do you know her?" I asked, feeling a little wary.
"It's not really a nice story." Tristan warned. "Suffice to say, she tried to work her charm on me and… failed miserably."
I grimaced, remember how easily she managed to seduce me. It was completely different from the allure of the Veela. Even now, days later, the mere thought of her sent a shiver through my spine.
It both excited me and disgusted me.
"Ah." Tristan nodded wisely. "You've been at her tender mercies as well, huh."
"You could say that." I hedged cautiously.
"Yes, well." He continued on in his wise tone. "You tend to never forget those encounters. You're better off not even trying to. Keep them with you forever."
"I'll tell you more about Lilith, later." Tristan waved off whatever question I had in store for him. He turned to Sirius.
"Do you happen to have a nice, quiet room, in which I can collect my thoughts and suppress my more… bloodthirsty urges?" Tristan asked politely.
"Right this way." Sirius didn't miss a beat, motioning the blonde haired man to follow him. I saw their forms disappearing behind the door frame, leaving me alone in the room.
"At Lilith's tender mercies, Harry? Is there something you want to tell me?" A deceptively calm voice was heard from behind me.
...Shit. How to explain this one?
"You're screwed." A more high pitched voice said bluntly.
Well, Daphne's little sister was right about that one.
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Well, that chapter's done. To bed I go~