Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other fandom I manage to squeeze in this story.

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Lightning Dragon's Roar
A Harry Potter Fanfiction
By Zero Rewind
© 2015
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Chapter 29: Erebus

Silence greeted me as soon as the gigantic door behind me closed with the loud, grating noise of stone against stone. I took a few wary steps in, unsure of what awaited me in this Tower.

Aside from my companion Balthazar, I was alone, now.

Alone; like at the graveyard last June.

The thought caused me to shiver involuntarily. For a moment, I felt as helpless as I did when first facing against Voldemort. Back then, I was completely dominated by the madman. He had toyed with me the entire time, up until our wands connected and I managed to escape through yet another lucky fluke.

I scrunched my eyes closed.

"You're not like that anymore." I said out loud. "You're stronger now, Potter. Stop being such a bitch and move forward!"

§Well said.§ Balthazar hissed out, the sound relaxing me more than I thought it would.

§Sorry.§ I apologized, and took a deep breath.

I opened my eyes and took a few steps in, taking in my surroundings with a critical eye. It was a great entrance hall of some sort. At the bottom, there were several statues of almost skeletal angels, surrounded by torches. Their faces were warped in grimaces of pain, agony and despair.

From each side of the statues, I saw a spiral round walk which led to the top of the chamber, but likely not the top of the entire Tower. Temen Ni Gru was quite a large edifice, all things considered. The fact that I believed I could reach the top of this chamber in a few minutes pointed at the fact that the top of the demonic Tower itself was quite a ways away.

The round walk itself seemed to be quite damaged, but I figured I could make it to the top.

That's, if Lilith was even going this way. I wasn't really sure.

§What do you think, Balthazar?§ I asked after a few moments of deep thought. My trusty companion had kept quiet for the past minute, and I appreciated any input he might have on the situation.

§Obviously, there's no way to go but up.§ I continued, trying to reason my way through the situation.

Balthazar's tongue flicked out, tasting the air for a few moments.

§You are right.§ Balthazar confirmed with an almost thoughtful hiss. §She has flown up a few floors, I think. You'll have to get us up there if you want me to be able to follow her smell further.§

That was… Oddly convenient. And people say that snakes are evil, cruel, sadistic, stupid, and an all around general menace.

I'll give them five minutes with Balthazar, here. They won't stand a chance.

At any rate, I thanked the little bugger with a grateful hiss, and began my trek up the damaged round walks. I heard the sound of falling rocks from underneath me, and quickened my steps, realizing the floor beneath me was quite unstable.

I was seriously regretting not learning the Air Raid from the Watcher of Time. I could have tried to replicate Tristan's use of wings made out of fire, but I didn't trust myself in my current condition. The fight had somewhat tired me out, and I had several throbbing pains in my side, the sign of a burn healing itself very slowly.

I reached the first spot where the two spiral round walks met, and tested the sturdiness of the thing by stomping a few times, starting out very lightly, and moving up to the point where my boots were slamming onto the stone surface.

It didn't budge.

So I took the opportunity to fish into one of my many cargo pockets, grabbing hold of a small, disc shaped container. Inside of it, was an orange paste of some kind. I opened the container and lifted my shirt, revealing the angry burn mark left over from Lilith's onslaught during the fight in the Ice Guardian's Chamber.

I dipped my fingers in the cool paste, before bringing it to my side and spreading it over the burn wound, wincing as I applied a little too much force. I jerked in both pain and relief as the paste began its work. The insistent flaring of the wound had begun to lose its intensity, up until it faded into a dull throb.

Something I could easily tune out.

I lowered my shirt right over the applied paste, not really caring if it got dirty. Hell, it was already somewhat ripped and scorched, so there was no point to try and maintain it.

It was a little disappointing, all things considered.

I knew from my First Year at Hogwarts that the hero gig wasn't all adventure, glamor and fun. I used to think a hero was always graceful in battle. Elegant. Deadly. I had these impossible expectations of myself, especially when Hagrid told me about all the "Boy-Who-Lived" nonsense.

It made me feel special, like I was going places.

And then I fought against a fully grown Mountain Troll on the following Halloween.

Turned out, my idea of being a brave hero was to jump on its back and stick my wand up its nose. Not very graceful, or elegant. Quite disgusting, to be brutally honest.

And to top it all off, I wasn't even the one that defeated the beast! It was Ron, with the same spell that Hermione had scolded him over not a few hours before.

Some hero I was! Ha!

It was the same story later on. Every single major fight I've been in the past few years has been a complete clusterfuck of confusion and luck. The only time I felt like I had a measure of control on the situation was during the battle at Azkaban Prison.

Dumbledore and I had taken on a veritable army of Voldemort's soldiers. The difference in this situation was that I had actually prepared for the battle. We summoned snakes, I took my potions, and used the confusion to strike at them.

The fact that my plans had evolved from "blindly rush in" to "create distractions and then blindly rush in" meant that my tactical awareness was progressing in the right direction.

Or so I told myself.

I sighed, and continued my way up the round walk, eventually reaching a blue door about halfway to the next floor.

§Anything?§ I turned to Balthazar, who was tasting the air with his forked tongue.

§Hm.§ Balthazar took a few moments. §I don't think so. Her scent is on this door, but it's faded, as if she was here days ago. The scent is stronger further up the walk.§

I nodded my thanks to the snake, before moving up the round walk, once more, and stopped once I reached the next level, looking up towards the top of the huge chamber. It was as if there was some sort of machine embedded in the walls.

I could see, and hear, a series of cogs clicking and turning. Faintly, I realized that the wall before me bore a series of engravings that seemed to glow golden with power. I placed my hand against the wall, tracing the runes.

I didn't know what any of it meant. All I could figure out was that it was a mix of hieroglyphs, Chinese and other symbols I couldn't even begin to identify. I extended my senses, feeling for the runes, rather than seeing them, and almost recoiled in shock.

The amount of power that was being collected was immense by any standard of the word.

"Incredible." I blurted out, ending the connection, shaking off the awe I felt.

All of that power was heading steadily upwards. To the top of the Tower? It seemed fitting that the culmination of all the collected power would be diverted to the very top of the Temen Ni Gru; that was where it symbolically made a connection with the heavens, after all.

And if it's something I learned in the past few years, it was that magic was quite symbolic in nature. The portal would open at the top. I was sure of it.

I resumed my previous course, quickening my steps. Whatever that power was, there was a whole lot of it. At least on the same level as the power I felt when channeling the Lightning in the clouds above Azkaban Prison.

And Lilith was heading straight for it.

I stopped in front of a huge missing chunk of the round walk, wondering how I could get past it. A quick check to the other side of the spiral path showed that it was even worse. The only way up is if I walked the extremely fragile looking ledge.

I knew I could transfigure a couple of rocks into some rope, and perhaps fashion some kind of grappling hook, but my energy levels had already taken quite a beating from the previous fights.

I didn't know if I could risk it or not.

I sighed.

There was no choice.

I flattened myself against the wall, making sure to charge my fingertips with electricity; just in case I needed to latch onto the wall to avoid becoming a stain on the ground. And then I— slowly— made my way across the ledge. Halfway through, I heard a loud cracking noise.

I cursed and hurriedly began to cross the remainder before I fell to my death.

As soon as I got to the other side, the ledge had completely collapsed. I sighed, and withdrew the Lightning from my fingertips.

§Her scent's getting stronger.§ Balthazar piped up as his head pointed to a yellow door that was right next to us. §She definitely went in through here. I can smell her blood in the air.§

I gave a quick nod, and moved to the door. There was a bloody hand print on the handle, likely Lilith's blood. Above the door were crude markings of skeletal demons, which looked more alive the longer I looked at them.

I broke eye contact, feeling a sudden chill come over me.

"It's probably just the torchlight." I muttered to myself.

I opened the door, revealing another large chamber, though nowhere near as big as the chamber I just came from. The sounds of the turning cogs had faded into nothingness as the door closed, leaving me in complete silence, with only a single torch providing light to my surroundings.

I took a few, tentative steps forward, each step echoing loudly in the room.

To my right, there was a large, red door. It was lined with strange, dark ridges. Almost as if I was looking at something's ribcage.

On the other end of the platform, there was a large, red stone, with what seemed to be English. I wasn't close enough to read it, just yet.

Off the left side, I could see a higher platform with a large, metallic blue door, though there was no way to reach it. I assumed there used to be a ramp of some sort, leading from this place to the next. Now, there was only a nice, long drop. I looked down the edge, not seeing any end to the gigantic hole.

Whispers steadily broke out from the pit, dying down when I took a few, startled steps back. I heard the sound of laughing children, as if they were beckoning me to jump down the hole and join them for some fun.

A little fun, before whatever was down there tore me to shreds. I rolled my eyes.

That was so going to happen.

§Lilith went up to the other platform.§ Balthazar informed me, tongue flicking in the air.

§...Of course, she did.§ I palmed my face, the feeling of irritation overtaking my fear. The whispers were still there, but I tuned them out. I had to figure out a way to get to the other side.

I moved to the red stone, tracing my finger over the engravings. Luckily enough, it was written in some form of English I couldn't fully understand. But at least there was something.

"Steel thy soul!" I read slowly. "The future knows no bounds for those who deftly march forth to meet it!"

§What's that supposed to even mean?§ Balthazar hissed in slight irritation, the sound echoing off of the walls.

§Not sure.§ I answered honestly, frowning at the engraving.

I read the words once more. Steel thy soul. No bounds. I looked at the missing ramp that led to the other platform for a long while, barely paying attention to the whispers coming from the dark pit now. Could it mean what I thought it meant?

§It's just a test!§ I blurted out in realization.

§I don't understand.§ Balthazar said.

I began walking towards the edge of the platform, where the ramp used to be.

§W-What're you doing?§ Balthazar asked worriedly.

§Shut up and watch.§ I hissed out aggressively, gazing down at the depths of the pit.

"Huumannn..." I heard a voice coming from the pit. It rattled and wheezed, sending shivers down my spine. A pair of flaming eyes appeared in the darkness, staring at me in a mix of hunger and amazement.

"It has been many millennia since a human has graced these halls…" It rattled, eyes shining. "Welcome."

"Thanks." I answered back, breaking eye contact and looking to the platform ahead, braving through the almost paralyzing fear that had almost taken me earlier.

I took a step forward.

Balthazar stopped mid hiss, realizing that my foot had hit something solid.

§I— What is this?§ The black viper hissed out, uncomprehending.

§The inscription, Balthazar.§ I hissed back in response, taking another step forward. And another. And another.

"So the human knows how to cross this obstacle." The Demon spoke, sounding peeved. "How droll."

I took a few more steps forward.

"It wasn't that hard." I said conversationally to the evil spirit. "After I read that engraving. It was only a matter of bravery, and, well…"

I was a Gryffindor. I never ran away. Not from Quirrell, not from Riddle's memory, not from Voldemort…

And most certainly not from this.

"Fear has never beaten me. I have steeled my soul." I said, taking another few steps forward.

"So you do not respond to fear…?" The Demon said, as if it knew something I didn't.

I tried to take another step, but it sank through the air. I lifted my foot, and steeled myself once again. I took another step, hitting solid ground. Good.

My concentration had simply wavered in response to the Demon's mysterious response. Was fear not the only weapon it could use against me?

No, there was no way. It was just messing with me, just trying to get me off my game so I would fall to my death.

"Your tricks won't work, Demon."

I was halfway to the next platform.

"Truly, it is difficult to beat you with Fear." The demon chuckled, a mirthless, evil quality to it. "Well, what about this?"

And the torches lost their light, plunging me in complete darkness. It was a surprising move, but not something wholly unexpected. I pulled out my wand.

"Lumos." The wand lit up with a lemon-yellow light, bathing my surroundings in it.

I smirked as I continued walking.

"You didn't seriously think a silly little trick like that would get me, did you?"

"Of course not..." The Demon said dangerously. "That was not my intention."

"Then what—"

"Harry? Is that you?" I heard a familiar voice coming from the dark pit. "Harry!"

I stopped at the sound, my heart wrenching itself painfully, but I kept my concentration. The voice was familiar to me. I had only heard it a few times before.

I heard that voice back in June, when Voldemort's wand had connected with mine. I also heard it when the Dementors would come out to play with me.

It was my mother's voice. Lily's voice. She was calling to me.

How had she gotten here?

"M-Mom?" I called out, standing still, almost three quarters of the way to the next platform.

"Harry!" Lily Potter's voice echoed from the depths of the pit, sounding delighted at my acknowledgment of her. "My son."

My heart did a few more twists. My concentration was beginning to waver. But I wasn't even paying attention to that. My mother was down there. I had to get her out of there.

I didn't stop to ask myself how and when she had gotten here. I just didn't care.

It was my mother.

"Mom! What are you doing, down there?" I shouted, my voice shaky. "You have to get out. It's dangerous!"

"Dangerous?" Lily asked, a touch of confusion in her voice. "What do you mean?"

"There's a Demon down there, mom." I said, hurriedly. "You have to get out of there!"

"You mean the man who was speaking to you earlier?" Lily said in amusement. "He's no Demon. He's just the caretaker of this place."

Relief flooded my being at those words. She wasn't in any danger. That was a good thing. My mother was safe.

"Can you come up?" I asked, looking down into the depths with a worried gaze.

"Ah, I don't think so." She said to me, her melodious voice causing me to smile. "I don't see why I should, either."

"W-What do you mean, mom? Don't you want to come with me?" I asked, a hint of desperation seeping into my voice.

"Oh, my dear boy." Lily cooed, and my worries went away. "I do want to be with you. Come down, here."

"..." I didn't answer her, but I didn't stop staring down into the black pit, either.

Faintly, I could hear some kind of frantic hissing noise, but it was drowned out by my mother's voice. I just wanted to join her so badly.

"We can live with each other, like a family, Harry." Lily coaxed. "The family we always should have been."

"I— I don't know what to say, mom." I said weakly, my resolve weakening.

"Don't say anything, honey." Lily said softly, her voice echoing through my soul. "Just come down here. Come home."

I smiled warmly at the pitch black pit. "Okay, mom. Home."

I nodded, and began to slowly sink into the dark pit, feelings of boundless joy and euphoria coursing through my body. I would finally rejoin my mother, the woman who had loved me above all else.

And then I felt a sharp pain in my neck.

The physical pain traveled through my body, and the feelings of happiness and euphoria washed away, replacing them with the dull throb of the healing burn wound in my side, as well as a new, pulsing pain in my neck.

I took in my surroundings, realizing I was already ten feet closer to the pit.

§You stupid boy!§ Balthazar's angry voice scolded me. §Are you trying to get yourself killed?!§

I felt a flash of irrational anger come over me.

§My mother's down there! I have to save her!§ I retorted heatedly. §I—§

§Harry, try to remember.§ Balthazar cut me off. §You told me. You told me she died when you were a child. Don't you remember that?§

And like that, my anger washed away. My mother wasn't down there?

§I— My mother. She… Died?§ I said slowly, as speaking those words for the first time. §She died.§

Cold, cruel laughter. A scream, and a flash of green light. The Killing Curse. Avada Kedavra.

My mom had died protecting me.

§That's… Not my mom down there.§ I hissed out slowly, angry tears beginning to blur my vision. §She was never down there, was she? She died a long time ago.§

§That's right, Harry.§ Balthazar said, sounding very strained. §The Demon was trying to break your concentration, remember? You were steeling your soul to cross to the next platform. We're chasing Lilith. Remember Lilith?§

Lilith. That name. I knew that, as well. I was chasing the succubus through Temen Ni Gru, and I got to a strange, silent chamber with a dark pit that housed a strange Demon. Wait…

§Harry.§ Balthazar hissed out tiredly. §I don't know how long I can keep us floating like this.§

I remembered, now. It tried to use Fear on me, but it didn't work. So the Demon invoked the memory of my mother to lure me down. It almost succeeded, from the looks of it.

I took a deep breath, and steeled my soul once again. My body shot upwards, to the same level as the platform I had intended to reach. I began walking forward again.

"Harry?" My mother's voice came from the pit again. "Where are you going, my son?"

Son. That word… I became furious.

"You're not my mother." I kept moving forward.

Almost there.

"What are you saying? You're my son, Harry." Lily's voice laughed nervously, sounding a little desperate. "Harry? Please don't go."

I didn't answer, but my throat felt constricted and dry. Tears were falling freely down my face.

"Harry? Please, Harry! Please don't leave me!" Lily's voice was begging now. "I don't want to live the rest of my life here alone, Harry! Please! Please!"

I kept moving, ignoring anything and everything my mother's voice kept saying.

I reached the other side, but my mother's voice kept going on and on. My heart broke, but my anger surged.

"Enough of your games, Demon!" I snarled hatefully, staring down at the pit. "My mother died saving my life! Stop pretending to be her!"

There was a long silence, before a rattling laugh echoed in the chamber.

"Impressive, human." The Demon wheezed. "Not many have actually passed this trial, and even fewer have passed what comes next."

The chamber itself rumbled ominously as a large, skeletal figure rose from the depths of the pit. The light cast from my Lumos revealed its bony stature, enshrouded in the shadows themselves. A sudden chill came over me, as well as a feeling of despair.

I swallowed thickly, and wiped at my tears, which began to freeze in this Demon's presence.

Was this a Dementor? No… Not quite. It had similar effects, but they seemed more pronounced, somehow.

Stronger.

Maybe it was related to the Dementors, somehow?

"Ah..." It wheezed out. "You've met my offspring, it seems."

"How did you—"

"I can see it all on your face, child." The Demon drew closer.

"It has been an age since I've been awoken like this." It said. "My name is Erebus."

I shot a Lightning bolt at its face, before it could utter any other words. The Demonic entity flew back a few feet, but looked relatively unharmed from the sudden attack.

"That's very rude, you know." It chided me, flicking its finger in my direction.

An unseen wave of pressure smashed into my body, slamming it into the metallic blue door behind me. My ears rang with the vibrations from the impact, and I fell to the floor, dazed. I swallowed the bile coming up my throat, and stood back up, taking a deep breath.

Erebus merely regarded me with a degree of amusement.

"What do you want?" I snapped at the Demon.

"No need to be snappy, child." Erebus rattled out. "I am simply a guardian of this place, assigned here to guard the way past the Endless Infernum."

"Endless Infernum?" I repeated, sounding confused, while at the same time trying to figure how to beat this thing. It took a bolt of my Lightning Dragonslayer head on, while receiving no damage.

"Indeed." Erebus took a moment to gaze at his surroundings. "That is the room we stand in."

"Then why did you let Lilith get past you?"

"She has already passed the trials." Erebus answered curtly. "I see no need to conduct a trial for her, every time she passes through this domain."

"But she's trying to open a portal to the Demon World!" I protested.

"I am aware of that."

"I thought that the Devil Sparda entrusted you to—"

The temperature of the room plummeted at the sound of that name.

"Do not speak to me of Sparda, human." Erebus spat the name of Sparda as if it was a curse.

"Locked in here for eternity by that accursed Sparda! Lilith brought me back from the depth of the Void by using my offspring to grant me strength." Erebus managed to sneer.

"So she didn't pass any trial." I accused, glaring at the Demon. "She just bribed you with power. At least Cerberus stood his ground, unlike you."

"How dare you—"

"Enough talk." I brandished my wand at the Demon, recalling every single happy memory I could think of. Seeing my parents in the Mirror of Erised; making friends with Ron, and Hermione; meeting Sirius; Sirius' declaration of innocence; and all my times with Daphne.

"Expecto Patronum!" Prongs burst forth from my wand, the holy spirit guardian smashing into Erebus with the force of a freight train. The Demon in question hissed in pain as its dark shroud peeled away, its skin sizzling.

"You think a mere mortal's spirit guardian can hold me back?" Erebus cackled maniacally, and began to push back against the Patronus. Prongs grunted as the darkness began to expand once more, easily pushed back by the might of Erebus.

I frowned at the display of power. Prongs wasn't enough?

It made sense, of course. This was the progenitor of the Dementors. I needed something a little more than that. I applied more force to my spell, and Prongs grew in size.

With a grunt, the bright white stag pushed harder against the darkness of the Demon, stopping its advance altogether. But it didn't push it back.

"Impressive, for a human." Erebus praised mockingly. "But I don't think you can keep this up for long, now can you?"

The Demon was right. I couldn't hold on forever.

I looked at the door behind me. Maybe I could simply leave. It might not be able to chase me past its domain. It made sense, in a way. If it was truly free, why would it stay in this empty room, for millennia? The logical answer was that it couldn't leave.

However, it was too close to me, now. I had to push it back down into the pit, and make a break for it. Distance was key.

Prongs turned its head and gave me a long, meaningful look.

I stared back, right into its eyes, and understood what it wanted me to do. I had never tried something like this before, but there was no time to test it out in a controlled environment.

I channeled my Lightning Dragonslayer magic into my wand, further powering the Patronus. White Lightning shot out of my wand, and made a connection with Prongs.

The Patronus stag bellowed as it lit up even further than before, Lightning coursing through its powerful body. Prongs' teeth morphed into canines, and its antlers were covered in electricity, turning them razor sharp; its own version of Edge, I thought to myself in amazement.

The stag simply cut through the darkness like a knife through warm butter, before driving its antlers into Erebus' face, the Demon howling in agony.

Erebus attempted to float away, but Prongs wasn't having any of that. It stomped, and bit, and swung its antlers at the dark entity, giving it no reprieve.

With a final bellow, Prongs tackled the Demon, sending it flying to the other platform. Its dark shroud had completely disappeared, leaving behind a pale, large skeletal body that somehow reminded me of Voldemort.

A long moment passed, but it didn't move.

Had I killed it?

Erebor's body seized up, and slowly floated into the air. A bright orb of light burst forth from its chest, while the body fell down into the pit. The orb of light steadily came to me, passing by the Lightning enhanced Prongs, who simply stared at it, before nodding to me in a gentle manner.

I backed away from the orb of light next to me, not quite sure what to do about it.

§Take it, Harry.§ Balthazar spoke up. §It's a Devil Arm...§

§What's a Devil Arm?§

§Just trust me.§

I nodded, still feeling wary, and extended my hand towards the orb. It made contact with my hand, and got even brighter.

I grasped at it. It felt like I was holding onto the handle of something. Naturally, I pulled.

The orb disappeared as I pulled what was contained within; it was a sword, with a pure black, curved blade, and a white scabbard. A Falchion, I realized from the looks of the sword.

Surrounding the blade were wisps of darkness, reminiscent of Erebus' dark powers.

Come to think of it, its color scheme was the same as Erebus' colors, as well.

§THAT.§ Balthazar explained, gazing at the Demonic sword with what seemed to be awe. §Is a Devil Arm. Erebus' force itself, given to you when you defeat it in battle.§

I had a million questions on my mind, but there was no time for any of that. Lilith was still ahead of us, and I needed to stop her. One thing was for sure, though.

Things just got a lot more interesting.