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 48: Hellos and Goodbyes
I woke up in a cold sweat, and opened my eyes to see a familiar face.
There was a noise I couldn't quite make out, and the person in question gave me a hug.
So, naturally, when the pain in my arm that I had not quite noticed suddenly hit me with the force of a linebacker on steroids, I let out a loud yelp, and flinched.
"—sorry! I didn't mean to!" The indistinct noises I was hearing before began to make sense. Probably the adrenaline rush that reached my brain, but I was too groggy and in pain to even consider the reasoning behind it.
"It's okay." I said, my throat feeling exquisitely dry, before focusing my attention on the person in question, waving her wand at me. My pain soothed a little.
I thought about what to say to her.
Complete blank.
Shit.
"Hello, Daphne." I went with a standard greeting. "Probably not how I wanted our long awaited reunion to go."
Daphne had changed. It was a minuscule thing, almost, something I would not have noticed had I spent the past few months with her.
For me, the time was much shorter, so the change seemed a little more defined from my perspective.
Though she had grown even more beautiful than the last time I'd seen her— my eyes took in her form, stopping at her assets underneath her red, silk pajamas, just long enough for her to notice and give me a half amused half scandalized look— I could tell that she was tired.
Had she been worried about me that much, or had Voldemort's offensive already taken its toll on her?
There was no way for me to tell.
"Probably not." She agreed, glancing off to the side. "What would you have preferred?"
"I don't know. I guess it would've been too much to ask for if I was capable of standing up so I could do it proper." I groused slightly.
I followed her line of sight, checking out my surroundings as I did so. My neck flared in slight pain, but I ignored it.
The old, gray walls, the tattered Gryffindor banner next to a half shut window, the smell of the place…
This was Sirius' room, all right. I began to relax as my mind began playing catch up.
Red Court vampires, the Crimson River, the ritual to kill all wizards in London, calling the Death Eaters by invoking Voldemort's Taboo; then, the Lord of Outer Night.
Holy shit.
Clark had destroyed the ancient being and made it look easy.
"Proper, huh…" Daphne murmured softly, turning back to me. Our eyes met.
I smiled, and extended my good hand to touch her face.
My freakish black scaled hand glinted in the meager light.
I frowned, stopped midway, realizing what it was I was extending, and drew back.
I felt Daphne's warmth as she grasped me by the palm.
"Don't." She said, caressing it slightly. I gave her a hesitant look.
"You…" I started uncertainly. "You don't think it's…"
"What?" She cut me off. "Ugly? You think I wouldn't want you anymore because you went through some changes?"
She hit the nail on the head. It was exactly what I was thinking.
It was then that I noticed my state of dress, or rather, undress.
Her blue eyes glittered before roaming over my half naked form.
And it actually made me blush and sink under my sheets in an attempt to cover up. Her disappointed expression almost made me sit back up again.
Almost.
How could she have such an effect on me, after so long?
§Probably because you actually care about her, idiot.§ Balthazar's hiss came out of the palm of my hand, startling the honey golden haired woman. §So fun to make them jump, like that.§
§Yeah, thanks, Balthazar.§ I hissed back in slight irritation.
"They told me about Balthazar being part of you now, but I didn't expect…"
"Yeah." I confirmed, still feeling hesitant about all this. "Are you sure you still— Mmhh."
Daphne had closed the distance between us, almost aggressively pressing her lips onto mine. I pretty much gave up in less than a second and just kissed her back, ideas like pushing her away for her own protection becoming silly little memories.
Why would I push such a— oh damn, using her tongue this early?
Only an idiot would actually do something like that.
Every second that passed, her fervor and want increased, to the point where she straddled me as gently as she could manage, making sure not to touch or even stir up my broken arm.
She ran her fingers over where my neck bruise was, breaking our lip-lock to kiss it instead. I stifled a small whimper at the pain and pleasure, Daphne's move arousing me much more than I thought it would.
"You—" I stammered, my mind realizing the position we were in. I hadn't seen her for months and the first thing we do is this? "We should—"
She put fingers against my lips, lightly shushing me as she drew herself up, intensely pinning me down with a gaze that I couldn't quite read.
I took in the view, one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen in my life.
She grabbed something off of the nightstand— her wand— and waved it at the doorway.
It closed.
"Colloportus."
The lock clicked.
"Tell me where it hurts…" My mind whirled as she leaned forward and whispered in my ear, pulling my hand up to feel her body. "I'll make it all better."
I was in heaven.
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I could write a lemon, but… I don't write lemons out of principle.
I mean sure, I could easily write one and make it fap-worthy, but I don't think we're here for that.
If anyone feels writing one for me, go right ahead!
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After that long, enjoyable adventure, Daphne and I cuddled in the relative darkness of the room.
"You need a haircut." Daphne said after a small while.
"Yeah."
"I'm glad you're back." Daphne said, almost vulnerable. I held her tighter. "It's been so long."
"Wasn't for me." I admitted honestly. She shifted and turned her head to look at me.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, after the events at Temen Ni Gru happened." I started, rubbing her back slightly. "I think Erebus kept me in some kind of stasis until I was spit out into Metropolis."
"Erebus?"
"Over there, by the fireplace." I gave a meaningful glance in that direction. The black Falchion was placed at an angle against the side of the fireplace, complete with its sheath.
"Nice show, boy." Erebus praised.
Daphne stiffened and blushed.
"You didn't tell me he was here with us!" She almost hissed out. "This is so embarrassing!"
"Ah, don't worry so much about it." I waved off her concerns. "Erebus is an ancient Demon, the emperor of Darkness. He's probably seen more sex than we have ever thought about."
"Indeed, I have. You humans and your intercourse never cease to amuse."
"That doesn't make it okay!" Daphne still protested.
"Well, technically, Balthazar is with me, too." I pointed out again. "So what does it matter?"
"…" Daphne opened her mouth, and closed it, before relaxing against me again. "Good point. Tell me about what happened that tower."
It was an innocent enough question, but did I really want to go through all those memories, right now? Fight after fight after fight.
I gave the girl a short glance. She was staring right back. Her look reminded me of something.
The look my parents gave me when I stared into the Mirror of Erised.
So I told her.
I told of her of how Tristan, Sirius and I had fought a bunch of Demons, before dealing with Lilith and Cerberus. I told her of how we had to separate, and I muddled my way through Temen Ni Gru in a half-assed attempt to save the world.
I told her about Erebus, about how he tried to kill me—"Are you still crying about that, boy?"— And then how I defeated him using a Lightning enhanced Patronus—"If we were fighting in my Demesne, then you would have lost miserably." The Devil Arm grouched.
"Now look who's crying." I sniped back in amusement.
I told her about finally reaching the top, and having to fight Agni and Rudra, two Demons with the power to control fire and wind.
"Wind?"
"Yeah."
"I've been learning how to use that element, ever since you left." She admitted quietly. "I'd like to think I've gotten pretty decent at it."
I considered those words.
"It sounds awesome! You should show me, sometime." I said. She smiled in response.
"Go on, finish the story." Daphne said, before quieting down once more.
I told her about how I had met Dante, who was probably one of the strongest fighters I had ever seen. That Red Court vampire— Wulfric— went down when I had doused him with Balthazar's venom.
Dante had taken it head on, and was merely irritated afterwards.
And then I saw her incredulous gaze when I told her that the white haired man had just brushed it off and joined forces with me, just like that.
"Then, after jumping through two different portals, we reached Hell." I said. "The first thing I noticed was the river."
"Um." Daphne started. "I am not fully fluent in the Christian religion, but shouldn't Hell be awash in flames?"
"That was my first thought, too." I grinned, before grimacing. "Lilith was there, and so was Dante's twin brother, Vergil. We thought she had taken control of him, but he turned on her when and destroyed her in a split second."
"Did he hit her from behind?" Daphne gasped, having heard the stories about Lilith from her brother. "I thought she was this powerful Demon Lieutenant."
"She was. Vergil beat her, head on. In less than two seconds." I replied. "He was that much stronger."
"Wow."
"But then we fought Mundus." I almost shivered. "That guy made us all look like kittens trying to beat up a rhinoceros. He took everything we dished out, and then some, and still kicked our asses."
"The Goblins said that you beat him, but they never said how." Daphne said curiously.
"We didn't really beat him." I explained.
"Then how—"
"We were fighting in between worlds, and I took everyone's energy and smacked him with it. It sent him back to Hell." I said after a few moments of contemplation.
Daphne's lips twitched. "So you all just pushed him out of the equivalent of the Knight's Bus as he was boarding it?"
I considered her words with an amused air. "Pretty much, yeah. That's when he tried to trap me in between worlds. He hoped that I would starve to death, but I opened up a Dark Rift with Erebus' help, and I floated in the darkness for months, before waking up not too long ago."
"In Metropolis." Daphne supplied.
"Right. It was all blurry, and I felt really weak at first. I think a homeless guy sold me to some scientists, or something." I explained, not really wanting to remember that part.
"That's terrible!" Daphne said.
"It just got worse, after." I continued in a grim tone. "They put me in a lab, on a metal table. I didn't have my wand, or Erebus, or even any clothes. I tried to use my Lightning, but it just kept bleeding off into the metal, and then the ground."
"You think…" Daphne said hesitantly. "You think they knew about your powers?"
I hadn't thought of that.
"I don't think so, no." I said, shaking my head slightly. "All the other rooms had metal tables."
"Other rooms?" Daphne shifted slightly, feeling tense against me.
"Yeah. I wasn't the only lab rat, it seemed." I said. "A guy came in the room, and we bantered a bit. He told me that they took my semen while I was asleep."
"They—"
"Yeah. I don't know what he did with it." I answered quickly, uncomfortably. "He took my blood and one of Balthazar's scales after that, too, and then he injected me with liquid green meteor rock from Clark's hometown. That's why my body is so much more defined in muscle, so much stronger."
Daphne just sank further into me in response, her warmth providing me with relief.
"I managed to escape, somehow. I found my wand, Erebus, and my pants in the scientist's office. My blood and a scale from my arm were in a nearby refrigerator, so I destroyed both of those, before clearing out of the place." I continued my tale. "We were underneath a hospital. They were experimenting on people underneath a hospital."
"…" Daphne didn't answer. What could anyone say to something like that?
"I managed to find a Gringotts branch, got some clothes, and a bag to hide my belongings. Got some food." I continued explaining, leaving out the part where I had robbed a place.
Not one of my best moments, there.
"I found a place to stay, and started looking for information on 'meteor freaks'," I continued. "That's what the homeless guy called me when he found me. I mostly found dead ends, until I stumbled onto some old high school journal. I looked up the author, a Chloe Sullivan; turns out, she is one of Clark's friends."
"She introduced you to him?" Daphne asked, sounding interested.
"Not really." I smirked.
"Then how did you two meet?" She asked in confusion.
"Turns out, the people behind the experiments sent a few people to take us back." I explained. "So I pretty much killed most of them, before Clark stopped me."
It was a bit of a risk, saying I had already killed people, but Daphne didn't even flinch when I had spoken. I guessed the war really had changed the girl— no, woman.
"We had a disagreement." I said lightly. "So we had a little fight. More of a spat, really."
"Who won?"
"Well, I did." I said, my mind not on the fight between Clark and I; but on the ass kicking he had delivered to the Lord of Outer Night. "But he was strong, and ridiculously fast. If he hadn't been underestimating me, he would have won."
"After that, Clark's dad smoothed things over between us, and we joined forces to save the other people being experimented on, and hopefully find the semen they took from me." I continued with the story.
"You really can't help but try to save everyone, can you?" She asked rhetorically, kissing me on the cheek.
"Heh." I grinned. "We managed to rescue them all, but I couldn't find my sperm. I'm hoping it got destroyed, but…"
"You're afraid they used it." Daphne finished.
"You know my luck. I'll probably meet a child of mine in a couple of years." I sighed. "But that's pretty much when I got Snape's Patronus saying that I need to come back here."
"I still can't believe that Snape is on the side of the Light." Daphne said.
"The guy was friends with my mom." I waved it off. "He can't be all bad."
"Harry Potter saying something nice about Severus Snape? I never thought I would see the day." Daphne said, almost laughing.
We shared a laugh, before the both of us went quiet, choosing to snuggle for a while.
"You know." I said with a hopefully wolfish grin. "It's not exactly the sign of a good nurse if she wears out her already exhausted patient while trying to make his pain go away."
Daphne grinned and kissed me on the lips, running her hand over my chest.
"Maybe I'm a naughty nurse."
"Well, do you know what I do to naughty—"
There was a knock on the door.
Son of a bitch!
"Who is it?!" Daphne and I called out irritably, before smiling at each other in mutual amusement.
"It's Clark." The muffled voice came from the other side of the door. "I got you some batteries so you can recharge."
"What am I, your phone?" I muttered, sounding exasperated at the wording of his statement. Daphne extricated herself from our comfortable embrace, and I lay there, feeling a little cold as I watched her do the unforgivable: wear clothes. "Just give me a minute!"
Daphne finished putting her red silk pajamas back on, taking her old spot by the bed. She winked at me, before undoing the locking spell on the door.
"Come in!" She said sweetly. The door opened up, revealing the familiar face of Clark Kent.
"Harry." He greeted and entered the room, carrying a large box. He looked like he had a lot on his mind.
"Clark." I returned, the memory of the fight still fresh.
The man silently placed the box in front of the bed, before pulling out the largest battery I'd ever seen in my life, easily triple that of any car battery I'd seen.
"This is a truck battery." I observed.
"Yeah."
I heard a few clicks as Clark hooked up the cables.
"Isn't it a little overkill?" I asked dubiously.
"You threw around enough power to take down several dozen enhanced monsters." Clark argued intelligently. "And then went ahead and got your arm broken as well as sustained other injuries."
"He's right, you know." Daphne agreed easily.
"It's not that bad. Daphne did a great job fixing me up." I beamed at the girl in question, who smiled back. "Oh, right. Clark, meet Daphne, my girlfriend. Daphne, this is—"
"We've met." The blue eyed witch cut me off, sounding faintly amused. "He brought you here half dead a while ago. And the more energy you have, the faster your healing will go. I've managed to patch you up, Harry, but it would still take about a week to fully heal from a clean break, and yours was anything but clean."
"You're right, of course. We don't exactly have that kind of time on our hands." I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment, before grasping the cables and biting down on the exposed wires, drawing in the electrical energy.
I redirected the energy to my stomach as an afterthought, the motions having become second nature for me after months upon months of practicing my Lightning Dragonslayer Magic.
Almost immediately, I felt my energy reserves swell up in response, and I funneled every single bit of it to my broken left arm.
I felt, more than saw, the electric power surge into the cells, greatly empowering my cell's anabolism, enabling them to construct molecules at a speed far greater than they normally would.
I was aware of all this, but if you had asked me to put it into words, I would tell you to go stuff a sock in your mouth.
The flow of energy eventually died out as the battery was emptied out of every bit of power it could spare.
I spit the cables out, the coppery taste barely bothering me at this point, and moved my left arm.
No pain.
I tensed the muscles slightly, gradually increasing the strength until I was at my maximum, and my entire arm was shaking with the effort.
No pain, aside from my muscles protesting against the move.
"It's like you're cheating." Daphne groused, but there was no sting behind her words.
"I guess it does seem that way, huh." I agreed, but shook my head. "But this just heals my body. It doesn't help my mind and soul all that much. That's what actual bed rest, friends and family are for." I gave the girl a meaningful look.
Daphne leaned closer, trailing her finger on my right cheek, feeling the indentation underneath.
"The scar on your face didn't disappear." She said, frowning a little. "It looks intimidating, to be honest."
I grinned in response, Clark mirroring it.
She rolled her eyes. "Of course you'd like it. Boys…"
"Hey Clark," I got the man's attention. "Thanks for the help. Could you give me a minute so I can change? It won't take—"
"It's fine, I need to eat, anyway." Clark cut me off.
"Ooh what're you having?"
"Pizza, in the kitchen."
Of course; with Sirius' food choices, what else would we have?
"I'll be down in a minute, then." I smiled. Clark smiled back, before quietly making his exit.
He closed the door behind him.
I unashamedly tore the covers off of myself, and got off the bed, treating Daphne to the full view of my naked body.
I could feel her gaze following my every movement, as I looked for my clothes.
"By the window; someone cleaned them for you." Daphne supplied. I turned to look at her.
She licked her lips, and moved closer to me.
"You're naked." She said, giggling.
"I know. I was there." I pulled her in for a hug. "Thank you, Daph. I— I needed that talk."
"You don't need to thank me, Harry." She mumbled, hugging me back, her hands not straying anywhere. "I'll always be here for you."
Those words rang in my ears.
I hugged her tighter, before pulling away and grabbing my clothes from the side of the window.
"Hey!" I jumped, feeling the sting on my rear, turning to the mischievous girl in slight irritation.
Daphne merely winked, before exiting the room, leaving me to put my clothes on.
I sighed in slight exasperation, but there was a smile on my face. Ear to ear, full blown grin.
I felt better, better than I had in a long time. It wasn't the energy I had just absorbed from that battery. I pulled on my underwear, my pants, and a dark green shirt that said:
"IT'S
DANGEROUS
TO GO ALONE!
TAKE THIS."
There was a sketch of a wicked looking, red sword on the side.
I stared outside of the window for a while, watching the people milling about in the street. Cars drove by every other minute but, for the most part, the street was quiet. It looked like it was about midday, judging from the sun's position.
I briefly admired myself in the mirror, lightly fiddling with the scar on my cheek.
"Not bad." I smirked for a few seconds, before grabbing Erebus and going to join the others in the kitchen.
The smell of cheese and pepperoni hit my nose long before I had even come close to reaching the place. My stomach growled in protest, and I hurried my pace.
I was greeted by the sight of Sirius, Clark and Daphne, sitting around and chatting amiably, munching on their food.
"Hey guys." I waved, and got waves from Daphne and Clark. Sirius smiled.
"Good to see you're on your feet." Sirius said, before pulling out a chair for me. I gave a nod of thanks and sat down with the three, leaning Erebus on the chair.
I grabbed a slice of pizza, and began to eat with the others.
"Remus is dropping by a bit later to say hello." Sirius said between bites. "Right after meeting with dear Nymphadora, of course."
"Eh?" I asked, curiosity in my tone. "What ranks her a visit before us? Especially with me coming back from my… extended vacation."
I made sure to feed Balthazar a couple of chunks of pepperoni and cheese. The viper-arm mentally sent me its feeling of satisfaction.
"I don't know." Sirius said solemnly. "It might have to do with the fact that the two are together, but there is no excuse to put your hoes before your bros."
I shook my head in amusement, before catching onto what he was saying.
"Wait, so, Tonks and Moony are… Together?" I asked.
"Yep. Tonksie and Moony." Sirius confirmed with a grin.
"Catchy." Daphne interjected. Clark just snorted.
"I should congratulate the two later." I said, grabbing another slice and tearing into it hungrily. "Who knew Moony had it in him."
"I had no doubts." Sirius bragged in a faux-obnoxious tone. "Taught the old mutt everything he knows."
We joked around like that for a while still, simply enjoying each other's company as we ate. Before I even knew it, an hour had passed, and Clark had to go.
We stood outside of the house, still in the range of the Fidelius Charm in place. Daphne and Sirius were telling Clark their goodbyes.
"It was nice meeting you, Daphne." Clark smiled. "Maybe we can all meet again under… better conditions."
"I'd like that." She returned the smile, shaking the older man's hand.
"That raid on the vampires…" Sirius said. "We couldn't have done it without you, Clark. Thank you."
Clark ducked his head. "It was nothing."
"You keep telling yourself that, kid." Sirius said in amusement, before turning serious. "You'll do great things. Mark my words."
Clark shook the man's hand, and turned away. "I hope so."
I unsheathed Erebus, and sliced at the air. I heard the telltale noise of paper being ripped as the black Falchion tore through the fabric of reality itself, opening a way into the Realm of Darkness.
Clark went through, first.
I turned to the others.
"I'll see you guys in a bit." I said, before following Clark inside. I was greeted by the familiar sight of the dark forest around us.
"Erebus?" I asked, nodding to Clark as I did so.
"Take your right. I'll let you know when you reach your destination." Erebus replied, all the while muttering about being reduced to a tour guide.
"Oh, come on, Erebus. You're much more than my tour guide." I placated, though the smirk on my face gave away my amusement at the Devil Arm's mutterings.
"So, how much payment do you want for our little mission?" I asked nonchalantly as we walked through the enchanting woods.
"You… You were serious about that?" Clark asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Harry, I can't take your money…" Clark started.
"Nope." I cut off whatever he was trying to say. "You're part of my guild now, and guild-mates go on missions for money."
"…" Clark didn't answer.
"So, how much do you want?" I asked again.
"I don't know…" He said, actually thinking it through. "Ten thousand? That's a lot, right?"
"Right, that sounds good." I said.
"I don't really care about the money." Clark said. "I didn't even think about it, really."
I hid a wince.
"The Lord of Outer Night, right?" I dropped the title. Clark tensed up slightly at the mere mention of the creature he had killed. "You know that thing had probably killed millions upon millions of humans over the millennia, right?"
"I know, I know." Clark said. "But it was just so… Easy for me. I just had to stop holding back and the monster died. What if I lose control and the next time I use my strength on innocent people?"
"That won't happen." I said with conviction. "Last night was an impossible situation. That thing's psychic attacks were insanely powerful; and insane, for that matter. I could barely resist it when he had part of his will directed me. You took the assault full force and came out on top."
"Seeing all those people." Clark said quietly. "It just made me so angry."
"I know the feeling." I mumbled, but knew Clark heard it anyway. Super hearing and all.
"You do, don't you?" Clark said, mostly to himself. "You're like my magical counterpart. Always saving the day; except your world is much more dangerous and dark than mine."
I didn't answer.
"You should see them when you're not around." Clark said softly. "It's like the lights leave their eyes. They barely have any hope left."
My throat tightened.
"But when they see you, Harry…" Clark trailed off. "It's like they're alive again. I'm not a mind-reader, but I bet they were thinking 'maybe we have a chance, now'."
"I didn't want that weight on me. Never did." I said sullenly.
"Neither did I." Clark admitted. "But with great power, comes great responsibility."
"Did you just quote—" I shook my head incredulously. "Erebus, how long until we get there?"
"Oh, you passed it around a minute ago." Erebus said nonchalantly.
Clark snorted.
"This is payback for me messing with you, isn't it." It wasn't a question.
"Yep."
So we backtracked a bit, and I tore a hole open in the fabric of reality.
"I'll send you the money soon." I promised, and we clasped arms. "Fifty thousand, right?"
"I said ten thousand." Clark corrected, eyes wide at the number.
"What's that?" I brought a hand up to my ear. "I think you said fifty thousand. Yeah, definitely fifty."
The man rolled his eyes, and turned to leave, before stopping.
"Um…" He turned back to me, looking unsure.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Would you tell Hermione I said bye?" Clark asked slowly, unsure.
"Uh… Yeah. Sure. I'll tell her." I said, just as slowly.
Clark smiled. "Thanks, Harry."
And then he exited through the portal, and into the real world.
The doorway closed, leaving me with Balthazar and Erebus.
§I think he likes her.§ Balthazar hissed out.
§You know what, buddy.§ I answered. §I think you're right.§