May 1997.
The Diagon alley regained some of its color, Harry was pleased to see, and parents with children could be seen once again. It wasn't even close to the impression Harry got when he first stepped into the alley, but it was on its way there.
Once again, the alley breathed magic. Children played with enchanted toys and golden snitches that teased them, wizards and witches enjoyed a walk pointing at the newly opened stores and discussing a new repertoire of goods that alley offered, and even more shops looked like they were about to open in no time at all.
All possible because of his money.
All possible because of his generosity.
All possible because he dared.
However, as their plans proceeded forward, they started to attract attention from the ministry. Old, pureblood names of his friends managed to open many doors, and Harry used it as much as he could. Money was shifting around without anyone noticing.
The ancient goblin did a good job of hiding it.
Nonetheless, Harry's contacts warned him that ministry officials smelt the foul play, followed the shady trait, and realized something was a bit off.
Harry was sure they brought the matter to the minister and, unfortunately, Kingsley wasn't stupid and probably guessed pretty quickly what was going on, and more importantly, who was behind it.
'Pitty', Harry mused as he casually glanced to his right and noticed the same man once again. Auror, he knew, and had no doubts about it. The wizard was good, Harry had to admit; always blending with a crowd, looking interested in shops, moving like every normal man that was in the alley did.
But Harry spent a good part of his life on the run, watching behind his back. He spent hours sneaking through the halls of Hogwarts, and no one was better in it than him.
It took him few days to confirm, but as of now he was sure that he was followed and he wasn't the only one; Draco and George both reported an increase in ministry's poking their noses into their business.
Their foundation was under the very observant eyes of the ministry of magic, and Harry's time in the country was near its end and hence this meeting.
He walked into the Leaky Cauldron, politely nodded to the bartender, and shook many hands, as always. This time, however, was different. People didn't approach him only because of his fame. No, for they wanted to show their appreciation for what he did in the recent months; a lot of people were part of the secret, either borrowing his gold or receiving his help in bureaucratic matters.
George, Theo, and Neville were already there, casually drinking butterbeer. (Harry knew George's had a little bit 'extra' in it.) It was strange to see only three of them together, but Harry picked them himself to do his bidding in the future.
"Hey, guys," he said, and sat down, Tom already on his way to bring him his own drink.
"Gran warned me it's going to be like this," Neville said, amusement in his eyes. "Secrets within secrets."
Harry just waved it off as he paid for his drink.
"Never thought I'll be sitting with Weasley and Longbottom in a civil manner," Theo said casually, but Harry spent enough time with Slytherins to know what he really meant.
"Isn't it something," George said, smiling.
"Only Harry could pull it off," Neville added and Harry scoffed, casting charms that would ensure their privacy. George's eyes hardened instantly. It was time for business.
"So," Harry started. "Anything I should know about?"
"Umm, yeah, I was about to owl you yesterday, but reckoned it's better to tell you in person," Neville said, leaning forward. "Gran was in the ministry the other day and she heard something interesting."
"Oh yeah? What's Kingsley about now?" Harry asked.
"He's organizing some kind of raid, and he's trying to be secretive about it. She pulled some strings and the word is a lot of warrants s'been issued."
"Warrants?" Theo asked, frowning. "What for?"
"Umm, to raid manors and so. They noticed there is more gold going around than there should be. I guess he hopes to get his hands on some of it in the raid," Neville explained.
"Joke's on him, though. He won't find shit," George said, a cruel smile on his face. "If we're lucky Aurors might even curse themselves with some stuff that's lying around."
"What's the problem, Nev?" Harry asked Neville, noticing a hesitation in another man's eyes.
"Yeah, I was getting there. Gran sneaked a glance at the list and she swore she saw 'Black' among the names."
"What? They want to raid my house?"
"And I'm not judging you," he continued, "but I saw some of the books and items you got back at Grimaulds place. The whole lot of it was outlawed some time ago, and the rest is about to be forbidden next time the Wizengamot gets together."
"Shit," Theo murmured quietly, and then repeat louder. "Shit. You've any idea what I got in my library? They'll ruin me if they find out."
He stood up, already trying to leave, but Harry flicked his wand, and the boy was forced back into his seat.
"Calm the fuck down, Nott," he sneered. For the moment he felt like some else took over him, and he felt some guilt when he spotted hesitation and fear in Theo's eyes. He took a deep breath, thought for a second, and forced himself to calm down. He suddenly remembered a small disclaimer on the last book he read.
'Dark magics are among the most powerful forces in the world, but beware, brother, for they corrupt everything they touch; body, mind and soul.'
It was poison, unnoticeable and tasteless, Harry realized. It took you over slowly, under the pretense of a pleasure, as it worms its way into your body. Maybe he should slow down with his studies.
"Sorry, Nott," he said softly, and noticed a flash of the realization on Theo's face. He was a Slytherin. He knew. He understood the necessity.
"S'alright, Potter. I just panicked. It was foolish of me," he said, but didn't dare to look Harry in the eyes. Neville and Goerge pretended nothing was amiss so Harry decided to continue.
"Leave it to me, okay? After we're done here I'll go to your place and ward anything troublesome."
"Yeah, okay. Thanks," Theo simply said.
"Now, onto the reason why I've called you here," Harry said. "I'll leave Britain soon."
"What?!" George said, his eyes wide as his hand searched for his drink.
Theo managed to hide his surprise, but Harry noticed the tension in his shoulders.
Neville spilled his butterbeer, and said, "The hell. What the fuck, Harry?"
"Let me explain," he said, and raised his hand to calm them down." I'm attracting too much attention, Kingsley's out to get me and he got someone following me around. With the goblins and werewolves causing the trouble, he'll lay off you if I go away. It's the simplest solution."
The trio said nothing for a few moments, thinking about his words. Harry noticed George's eyes sharpened, and knew that his friend got it correctly.
"So you need someone to do your dirty work while you're away," he said, and chuckled. Neville's eyes narrowed at him, and Theo nodded for himself.
"Why Draco isn't here?" Nott asked.
"I promised to Narcissa," Harry simply said, and it was enough.
"What about others?" George asked. "Ain't they a part of this too?"
"He'll have them managing the business, gold and so," Neville said sternly. "He'll have them doing legal stuff."
Harry nodded. No sense in denying the obvious, even if it sounded wrong.
"Why the three of us?" Neville asked, his eyes hard as steel on Harry.
"Because I know you'll do the right thing," Harry said gently, meeting his eyes. "You'll know what to do, no matter what!"
"What's our goal here?" George broke their staring contest, and Harry felt a bit relieved.
"To keep a status quo till I get back. Don't let the ministry take over, don't bow to them, and keep an eye on my friends."
Silence took over as glances were exchanged. Harry patiently waited for he knew they'll say yes at the end. They always did so for him, and Nott is too power-hungry to say otherwise even if he hid it well. Harry knew the Dark and he could see it in Theo's eyes.
"How long will you be gone?" George finally asked.
"Long," he replied shorty. They all knew that wizard's travels could last for decades. The trio exchanged uneasy looks as they thought it over.
"You might find Britain in ruins when you come back," Neville said hesitantly.
"Then I'll burn the rest of it to the ground," he hissed, as the poison from within took over him again. The coldness spread through him as his magic started pouring out; dark, chaotic, and absolute. "I'll wreck their rules and limitations. I'll erase their believes and righteousness. I'll destroy it all, and from the ashes of it, we'll build a new world. A better one."
He fixed them with his stare, one by one, and waited for them to nod. To accept his word for the truth it was. He needed them on his side because, after all, everything he did he did for them.
"I won't leave you here," he added softly. "I won't forget my friends."
(...)
Ministry was upping their ante, Harry grimly realized as his eyes went over the burnt remains of one of the shops he helped to start. The owner stood beside him, pacing nervously back and forth and murmuring nonsense to himself.
The older wizard tried to salvage as many items as he could from the alley during the war, and once it was over he decided to open kind of a pawn shop to sell it all back to the people cheaply.
He appropriately named it Threes and dogs and Harry personally oversaw the paperwork and the opening of the store. He liked the idea, and now it was all gone.
"Calm down, Mr. Twinkle," he said sternly to the wizard. "I'll have a friend look it over. To see if there was a foul play involved."
"B-but, it's all gone," he said in anguish. "This will ruin me."
"No it won't," Harry simply replied. He crouched to examine a burnt book; half of it was completely missing, turned into an ash while the other half was almost untouched.
"Talk to Draco Malfoy and say I sent you. We'll have you running again in no time at all," he said, trying to calm him down.
Ordinary fire would destroy things evenly, and it would certainly turn a whole book into the crisps, Harry mused, as he looked around the interior of the shop. The part of it where goods were stored was completely black, and barely holding itself straight. Wooden beams that held the roof were too damaged. With appropriate charms and varnishes, it should've outstayed the arson.
"What kind of protections you used?" Harry asked, looking around, and noticing more inconsistencies, a theory already forming in his mind.
"Uh, the usual ones," the man answered, stumbling over the words. "Anti-theft and intruders charms, potions to preserve all the surfaces, some runes and enchantments over the case with more valuable stuff, you know."
"Anything else?" Harry asked. "What about shop-window?"
"The unbreakable charm, and some spread to keep it spotless," he answered and Harry hummed.
At that moment, a tall, redheaded wizard appeared, warmly greeting Harry and offering his hand.
"Okay there, Bill?" Harry said with a wide smile, accepting his hand. The older man looked around and whistled for himself, already taking his wand out.
"I must admit, I was surprised when I got your Patronus asking for my expertise," he casually said, returning his attention towards Harry, but not before he cast a few spells.
"Yeah, well, I owed a favor to Mr. Twinkle here, but to be honest I don't know much about diagnostic charms and detective work," Harry explained, sheepishly smiling.
"Mhm," Bill said glancing towards the owner, his eyes narrowed. Harry knew he should trust Bill, but he couldn't afford it. Not yet. Bill, however, turned his attention towards to shop once again, and decided not to pry. "So you suspect something?"
"Yeah," Harry said, letting his breath out and started pointing out the things that didn't blend with the ministry's theory while Bill nodded along and cast more charms at the burnt parts.
"Definitely foul play," he finally murmured, but Harry heard him and nodded to himself, pleased to know his hunch was correct.
"I reckoned incendio couldn't do this much damage," Harry said.
"You're right. If it was used it would be like a normal fire, but a bit amplified, nothing that could touch those beams. The damage would be evenly split too, but you can see that they aimed for that room there," he pointed the room in the back, the storage. "Was the door open, Mr. Twinkle?"
"N-no. I lock them every night with enchanted lock," he said, sounding thoughtful. "I paid almost half of," he started, but abruptly stopped when Harry glared at him, and hastily added," h-half of my salary. Twenty-something galleons."
Bill frowned as he inspected the door more closely, not paying any attention to the slip Mr. Twinkle made.
"It's not here, the look," he said as all three of them started to look around for any sign of it. "It wouldn't just disappear. Those looks are made to last, and more expensive ones would even indicate to you what really happened."
"Like prior incantatem?" Harry asked.
"Kinda. There are special enchantments," Bill answered shortly.
"So what you got out of this?" Harry asked, aimlessly waving his hand around himself. Bill frowned again, looked around himself again, his eyes stopping at the sight of a crisped wooden beam.
"Not Dark magic either. It would destroy everything and it would leave traces behind. All dark magic does," he started, and Harry could swear he glanced towards him as he mentioned it.
"Could be some potions, but we would see some remains behind. You can't just scourgify stuff like that, but something experimental might have a way around that."
Harry narrowed his eyes. Bill was omitting something, he was sure, but couldn't fathom why. It seemed like Bill didn't want to trust his own thoughts or something. Harry wasn't sure.
"Mr. Twinkle," Harry said coldly, attracting the attention of the older wizard. "If you could give a few moments to Mr. Weasley and me."
"Err, yeah, sure," he said awkwardly as he stepped back.
Harry stood silent for a few seconds, his eyes resting on the Bill's. He casually stepped forward and put a hand on Bill's shoulder. Just a whisper of threat, Harry thought, ashamed of his actions, but he needed to get to the bottom of this. He smiled widely, showing his teeth, and waited for another moment to pass.
Bill, to his credit, held his ground admirably, but Harry was much more observant now. He was tutored by Blacks, and he can and will find the tiniest weakness and exploit it as much as he can. He may hate doing so to his friends, but such were ways of the Blacks.
He will not be denied. He was bloody Harry Potter, and for once, he was in control.
"Why don't you tell me what you really think?" he asked softly, adding a bit more weight on Bill's shoulder, and he let it slide down as soon as Bill started talking.
"Look, Harry, err," he hesitated, but something in Harry's eyes must've urged him to go on. "It's dangerous to even think so."
"Go on," Harry said through his teeth, barely resisting the inviting song from Elder wand. It would be so much easier to curse it out of Bill. Some of it must have shown off as Bill stepped back and raised his empty hands.
"Alright, alright, but you didn't hear this from me," he said slowly and quietly. "Do you know Aqua Eructo charm? Well, it can't be stopped with normal fire charms. Most Dark magic don't even work against it with the exception of fiendfyre.
"I'm still waiting for the answers, Bill," Harry said forcefully, showing just a tip of his wand in his sleeve.
"Well, Aurors can stop it. There is a fire charm they teach them in the Academy and I don't know it," he started to rant.
"And you believe it's the cause of this," Harry interrupted him.
"Yeah. I've encountered it a few times before."
"Very well. Thanks for the input, Bill," Harry said, smiling honestly in a futile try to mend things between them he surely just broke, but judging by the Bill's tight lips he didn't succeed in doing so. Harry felt a stab of guilt; he just keeps burning the bridges he has with the people he cares for.
No price is too high, he reminded himself, but the guilt was still there.
"Harry?" Bill asked.
"Yeah?"
"I'm a trained curse breaker. We have a good affinity for the magic, a-and, well, you reek," he hastily said, "and I know I have no right to judge you. Especially after everything you did for my family, but, mate, you're already getting too deep into the things you might not even understand."
"Bill..." Harry warned him.
"And I want you to reconsider. You'll drag Ron and others that care about you into it, and then there will be..." he suddenly stopped, and paled.
"Blood? There will be blood?" Harry guessed, and a dark chuckle escaped his throat as he turned around, ready to apparate away.
"Please, Harry," Bill tried once again and Harry stopped.
He wanted to turn around and tell the older guy everything that bothered him. He wanted to cry and to ask him for forgiveness. He wanted to ask him for advice and guidance. But he did none of it. He wasn't that Harry anymore, and he chuckled again.
It was a cruel, cold chuckle and Harry barely recognized it as its own. He opened his mouth, but no words came to him. The time for words has passed.
Harry apparated away.
(...)
As soon as Harry arrived at the Grimmauld square he felt something was off. There were no muggles around, no sounds cutting through the unnatural silence of the afternoon. He stood in the center of the square, and with a well-practiced twist of his wrist he willed the Elder wand into his fist; it happily obliged.
He closed his eyes for second and tried to feel the wards around his home, but they didn't reveal much. He should've spent more time with Mrs. Black on the wards, but right now was too late for that, he mused, as he noticed the door slightly open.
It made sense. The only way someone could enter was to be let inside by Narcissa, Draco, or him. Kreacher would never let them in without checking with him first.
The portrait of Mrs. Black seemed very glad to see him as her eyes widened and she started screeching.
"My lord! Finally," she said. "Our house is being defiled by mudbloods and blood-traitors! The filth is stealing our secrets and legacy!
Harry nodded to her and rushed into the dining room, his wand at the ready.
His eyes asserted the situation in mere seconds as his blood started to boil. Kreacher was stunned in the corner of the room, his head bleeding with a prominent bump on his forehead. Narcissa was bound, silenced, and stunned, with a small cut on her shoulder. A single Auror was guarding them.
"What is the meaning of this," Harry said coldly, not even bothering to raise his wand as young Auror struggled with his own.
"M-ministry business, Mr. Potter," he said, trying to sound important as he finally leveled his wand towards Harry. He heard someone coming down the stairs too. "You'll be going with us!"
Harry swished his wand, instantly waking up both Narcissa and Kreacher as the young Auror took a step back, his expression fearful and uncertain. Kreacher instantly started wailing as another Auror entered the room in a defensive stance. This one was older, and had a cursed scar on his cheek. His eyes were hard as steel. Experienced, Harry deducted.
"Master! They caught me by surprise," Kreacher cried. "Kreacher will be punishing himself for failing his master!"
"Easy now, Potter," older Auror said at the same time, ignoring Kreacher and stepping forward. "There are three of us here, no point in resisting."
"Out," Harry whispered, his eyes furiously gleaming as he turned around and started walking towards the exit. Auror tried to curse him in his back, but he forgot about revived Kreacher.
The house-elf in the extremely well-warded house of his master was a powerful force, and Harry trusted him to know what to do so he continued carelessly, and patiently waited on the square for Kreacher to toss the Aurors out.
He could barely think in his rage as his magic cracked, begging to be released onto the unworthy.
They dared to enter his home.
They dared to hurt those who he considered family.
Three Aurors made a half-circle around him and Harry recognized their leader. It was a sallow-skinned, tall and thin man, with a constant sneer on his skinny face. His older brother was convicted Death-eater, Selwyn, and Harry had no idea how this scum managed to keep his job.
"You went too far this time, Potter," Selwyn said. "We'll get your hide."
Harry merely smiled, happy to have a chance to finally put his studies into the practice. Harry noticed the effect he had on them; the young Auror's hand was slightly trembling, Selwyn hesitated, and an experienced one side-stepped to get a better angle.
It was all the invitation Harry needed.
In quick succession, he released an angry barrage of spells of multiple colors; all of them fueled by his rage. All of them deadly. The Aurors instantly jumped into the action, blocking and countering his spells, side-stepping away and starting their own attack which Harry swatted away with a sharp swish of his wand, and spiraled away from a new swarm of stunners, sneering at their choice of spells.
They were weak if they believed they could bring him down with useless spells. He used to be the same, he realized, with a smirk.
"Sectumsempra!" he snarled, pointing his wand at the young Auror, and grinned as he felt a wave of pleasure fulfilling him when it connected with Auror's upper torso, spraying the blood all over the place.
He had no time to celebrate, however, as the remaining duo pressed their advantage. The colors of their spells were much darker now, and were filled with malice. The kids' gloves were off, he realized as he felt a sharp stab of pain in his left shoulder, followed by a crack, but Harry didn't pay much mind to it; he was used to pain.
"Your buddy is bleeding over there," he taunted. "You should hurry if you wanna save him."
Selwyn was unaffected by it, but Harry noticed another Auror's worried glance back. He was happy with every advantage available, and the enraged look of the Auror was certainly one; angry men were prone to mistakes.
His arm was uselessly dangling now and two Aurors continued to relentlessly press him, but he refused to give up as he blocked, counterattacked, and stepped back over and over again
Panic slowly started creeping its way in his head. He wasn't strong enough to take three Aurors on his own. They would toss him in Askaban like a piece of garbage. He'll die there.
'No! I am Harry Potter. I wield a Death Stick. I will not be defeated!'
Another curse caught him in the belly, and he staggered backward feeling the blood soaking his robes. He spilled blood that collected in his mouth and realized his rib must've been cracked. A light smile on Selwyn's lips showed him that man was confident in his victory.
He faked another stagger, drawing them in. Let 'em think they've won, he thought, as he started to prepare his spell and waited for an opening. He found it in the Black library and recognized it; Voldemort used it in a DoM.
Experienced Auror advanced slowly, carefully, but Selwyn was convicted by his stagger and relaxed as he shot binding charm towards him.
Harry shot him a bloody grin and released a terror, spell banned by ICW, considered as gruesome as the unforgivable curse. Its existence contained only in a dozen books worldwide.
A large, continuous torrent of darkness emerged from Harry's wand. It swallowed all the spells in its way and Selwyn was caught in the chest by it. The black filth dissolved everything it touched and its force shook a whole square, knocking the remaining Auror on the ground.
Harry started madly cackling and vanished his spell. He heard the young Auror gurgling in blood, slowly suffocating, he saw Selwyn's smoking remains; his whole torso was pulverized, but he didn't care. He had one more Auror to deal with and he slowly walked towards him.
He was the one in charge.
The Auror tried to grip his wand and lift himself, but Harry just stepped on his wand hand and smiled as he heard bones cracking under his weight. Auror looked at him, and Harry was delighted to see only terror and fear in his eyes.
They wanted to ruin him.
They harmed his family.
There was only one curse that would satisfy Harry's anger, and he instinctively knew he would be able to cast it. He leveled a wand with Auror's head who opened his mouth, but no words came out. Harry started to wave his wand in a well-known pattern. After all, he had it engraved on his forehead for most of his life.
"Avada Kedavra."
He emotionlessly observed as the life abandoned Auror's eyes and felt...nothing. Something that used to be there just vanished and Harry tried to focus on it. He searched through his memories to find some kind of explanation, and stiffened as he remembered an odd piece of information from Dumbledore.
His soul was now damaged.
A quiet sniff broke him out of his stupor and he violently turned around, the spell already at the tip of his wand, but quickly vanished it as he saw Kreacher and Narcissa watching him. Kreacher seemed to be in awe, while Narcissa was in tears, her eyes wide and unbelieving.
"Kreacher, take this trash in the house and clean the square. Call Theo Nott and George Weasley to get rid of it. Narcissa, firecall Ernie Macmillan and tell him I'm harmed. Under no condition is he to tell anyone about my wounds, understood?" he said coldly and flatly, in a voice he barely recognized as his own.
Adrenaline finally left Harry, and he felt a weakness in his knees, pain in his stomach, and a whole turmoil of emotion rampaging through his already weak mind. He felt on his knees and started spitting more blood.
At the very next moment, he fainted, his strength leaving him to the bittersweetness of the dark that embraced him.
Note: I know that the black thing spell is a movie nonsense rather than books cannon, but it's kinda cool so why not. Aurors should be very capable wizards so I hope I powered Harry enough to present it as believable as possible.