HP/LV: What if Harry found out he was a horcrux before he was meant to? What kind of path would that lead him down and to who would he turn to when everything else around him falls apart. Dark Harry and Slash
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other character based off the series, those rights are JKR's not mine.
A/N: Thank you for all my reviewers and followers and a special thanks to my Beta 94 for getting this chapter back to me in time.
Mind talking: Voldemort and 'Harry'
-Parseltongue-
"Normal Speech"
Letters
Chapter Three
Bones Residence
A green light illuminated the fireplace as a woman in black robes stepped out of it, casually brushing soot off her clothes and out of her red hair. Amelia Bones looked around her living room with a sigh: despite all her lights being on, she knew that there was no one there, a fact that never ceased to upset her. She hadn't wanted to send Susan, her niece, away to her friend's house for almost all of the summer holidays, but she hadn't had any other choice: with all the most dangerous Death Eaters on the lose and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's return, she was continuously working long hours at the Ministry and couldn't properly look after her niece.
With everything that was going on, the Ministry had put in place safety precautions for all the Heads of Departments: they were to have two aurors trailing them at all times. They arrived by Portkey and then left by Floo. Looking up at the grandfather clock hanging on the wall, she noticed that it was time for her change of guards, but they had yet to come inside to use the Floo. Amelia frowned: she prided herself in the professionalism and competence of her aurors and she knew that it wasn't normal for them to be tardy.
Deciding to double check her wards, Amelia left the lounge and made her way down the hall and into her study. Upon entering, she immediately walked to the cabinet behind her desk and opened its doors to reveal her monitoring crystals. She sighed in relief when she saw that they were all still softly glowing with a blue light signifying that the wards were intact. Leaving the room, she didn't notice one of the lights flicker before being extinguished.
Shaking her head at her paranoia, Amelia grabbed a bottle of wine from the kitchen and poured herself a generous glass. It had been another long, stressful day at work and her nerves were on edge. Glass in had, Amelia made her way to her living room where she sunk into her favorite armchair, finally allowing herself to relax and her mind to wander. Things had been far too quiet for her liking: after successfully hiding his return for a whole year, the Dark Lord had finally been forced into the open by Harry Potter and Dumbledore in a very dramatic fashion in June, but since then You-Know-Who had been almost completely inactive. It was almost like the attack at the Ministry had been some sort of dream. Amelia wanted to know what You-Know-Who was waiting for and she couldn't help but be frustrated at the Minister's complacent behavior: he was perfectly happy to sit back and wait for You-Know-Who to make the first move instead of trying to prevent more deaths.
Amelia was brought out of her thoughts by the sudden flash of red light that illuminated her house.
BANG!
CRACK!
Her wards had fallen.
Amelia could hear shouting coming from outside and from her window she could make out the flashing green and red lights of spells being cast. Amelia immediately jumped to her feet, raising her wand and pointing it at the door. Breathing heavily as she started to panic, Amelia backed towards her fireplace. 'Please, please let it still be working!' she thought. Scooping up a handful of floo powder and throwing it into the flames, she stepped in and shouted: "Ministry of Magic!"
Nothing.
She let out a frustrated shout, before getting her emotions under control. She knew that it wouldn't be long before they made it inside and found her. She needed a plan. Flooing and apparating were out of the question, so her only hope was finding one of the aurors and their Portkey.
Amelia ran to the back door, opening it slowly. She stuck her head out and seeing no one there, she slipped out into the night. Sticking to the shadows in the hopes of avoiding detection, she rounded the house, making her way to her front door. As she approached she could hear the screams of her comrades increasing in volume: it seemed that the battle had already been lost. Amongst the anguished cries, a familiar cold laugh rang into the night. Amelia felt her stomach tighten in fear: she knew that laugh.
"Master, we've looked everywhere. She's not inside", a voice said.
"Look harder, you fool! She must be there somewhere. She can't escape. She is trapped." You-Know-Who said, sounding irritated at having had his torture session interrupted.
'Oh Merlin!' she thought. How was she going to get out of this one? No one goes up against You-Know-Who and lives, unless you were Harry Potter or Albus Dumbledore. She had very little chance of getting out of this alive.
Peaking her head around the corner, she saw Voldemort pointing his wand at one of the aurors who was twisting and thrashing on the ground. A Death Eater was poking the other three aurors with his wand, presumably checking to make sure that they were all dead.
Suddenly an arm came up and around her as a hand covered her mouth. She tried to free herself from her assailant, but he was too strong and he effortlessly dragged her towards the Dark Lord.
"I have her, my lord", he simpered.
The Dark Lord looked over with a twisted smile on his handsome but terrifying face.
"Excellent Yaxley, bring her over here."
The Death Eater, now identified as Yaxley, threw her to the ground and Amelia found herself staring into blood red eyes: "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person Madame Bones. I will be with you in one moment." He then turned back to the auroron the ground. Releasing him from the cruciatus, he didn't give him time to even sigh in relief as he swiftly delivered the killing curse.
"Avada Kedavra"
Amelia used the distraction to elbow Yaxley in the stomach. Surprised, he dropped her wand that he'd snatched out of her hand when he ambushed her. Grabbing it, Amelia pointed it at him and screamed: "Paralysio!"
Before Yaxley had even fallen to the ground, Amelia was already on the move throwing a "REDUCTO" at the unknown Death Eater who flew into her house with a CRASH, which was followed by a great BANG as the front of the house collapsed.
Having attracted You-Know-Who's attention by now, Amelia barely managed to move out of the way of his first curse. Inching towards the nearest auror, she threw back a cutting curse and was dismayed to see him batting it away as if it was an annoying fly.
Her adrenaline pumping, Amelia threw herself into the duel with a fierce determination, volleying spells back and forth as she tried to hold her own against the greatest Dark Lord of all time. Within a few minutes however, it became clear that Voldemort was just toying with her. Not one to give up, she redoubled her efforts to reach the fallen auror, the portkey being her finale hope.
'Come on Amelia! Keep it together! You're almost there, you can do this!' she thought, trying to ignore the fact that the Dark Lord seemed to be moving at inhuman speed.
"CRUCIO" he snarled.
This time Amelia was too slow. She collapsed to the floor, biting her lip trying not to scream. Eventually she succumbed to the pain, an unwilling cry being torn from her lips. The pain was unbearable and she could already see herself as the next dead body to be added to the pile of motionless aurors. She tried to push past the pain, but to no avail. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named noticing her attempts to overcome the curse, laughed.
"You do realize that they are Unforgivable for reason? You can't fight them", he remarked as he released the curse. His Death Eaters, who had recovered from Amelia's attack, were now watching the scene with vindictive pleasure.
"Why? Why are you doing this to me?" she panted, trying to gain some time as she crawled closer to the auror's body and his emergency portkey. She could see the black, round disk tied to his belt from here.
"You are a mudbood lover and wish to destroy everything I believe in. You have stood by as our ancestral magic has been taken from us. You have watched and allowed Wizarding traditions to fall to pieces, becoming a thing of the past. The question isn't why, it's why not."
"You're insane! You're the one that's destroying our world." In a last desperate attempt, she jumped onto the auror, reaching out to grab the Portkey but, just as her hand was about to touch the black disc, she felt the body beneath her violently being ripped away. Laughter of the cruelest sort rang into the quiet night.
"Crucio!" Amelia crumpled to the ground once more, her voice cracking and trembling as she screamed yet again.
"Pathetic!" You-Know-Who sneered. "Do you really think that I didn't realize what you were trying to do? I am Lord Voldemort I know everything and there will be no escaping for you tonight Madame Bones" he said her name as if it were a curse and raised his wand one more time.
"Any last words?" He asked mockingly.
Amelia knew her life was now forfeit. This was it. Through the haze and numbness, she thought: 'I am so sorry Susan, I'm sorry I cannot be there for you any longer. I love you so much'. Amelia looked up into those cruel, red, merciless eyes and knew with everything in her heart that her world would never allow such a tyrant to rule it. They would find a way to defeat him, even if she was no longer there to guide them.
"You will not win!" she exclaimed with ringing conviction, defiant till the very end. "You have been defeated before and you will be defeated again, I know it."
"Are you talking about your Chosen One?" Voldemort laughed, lowering his wand slightly, a sly smile upon his lips. "Hmmm… well… I hate to disappoint you, but I will have you know that your beloved Boy-Who-Lived has abandoned you all. I helped him realize how useless it would be to try to save you. You are not worthy of him. Only I can understand him. Only I can help him reach his full potential. He is mine and he will be forever!" he said with vindictive pleasure, his voice growing more and more possessive.
All the color left Amelia's face, as a cold feeling spread through her body. No, it couldn't be true! 'Young Potter would never betray them. He would never join his parents' murderer', she thought frantically. And yet, looking at He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's face, she knew deep down, that he was telling the truth. She turned her face away with a cry of despair, her heart shattering for what awaited er heart shattetheir world.
The Dark Lord raised his wand for the last time and smiled a chilling smile.
"Avada Kedavra"
The familiar green light, that reminded him so much of Potter's eyes, lit up the night and Amelia Bones fell to the ground, dead at his feet. A terrifying smile contorted his features as his laughter rung once more into the silent night.
Knockturn Alley
"Cassiopeia! Will you wait up!" hissed Bellatrix, but the young woman just ignored her, continuing down the alley. "Cassiopeia, stop!"
She kept walking.
Bellatrix tried a different approach. "Cass, I'm sorry! Okay? Will you please just stop for a second?" she begged with an almost childlike pout on her haggard face. Azkaban had really done a number on the woman who was once known as the most beautiful of the Black sisters.
The young lady finally turned around. Aristocratic features decorated a youthful face, which was framed by black hair that fell in silky curls past her shoulders. Electric blue eyes stared indifferently at the agitated Bellatrix. Cassiopeia raised a perfect eyebrow in surprised amusement at the thought of her aunt uttering the words please and sorry. She was under the impression that they weren't part of her vocabulary.
Chuckling in amusement, she raised her head and looked down at Bellatrix, superiorly.
"As amusing as it is to hear you trying to earn my forgiveness aunt, now is not the time."
She turned to leave but Bellatrix grabbed her arm, holding her in place.
"Cass, you forget who's in charge here. I decide how we proceed and right now I want to talk." Cassiopeia's eyes narrowed into a glare.
"It is you that forgets, dear Bella, that it's the Dark Lord's orders that, unlike you, I am trying to follow: he said that our attack was to be simultaneous with his attack on Bones", she replied smugly.
Growling, Bella grabbed her niece by the chin. "Don't you dare patronize me Cassiopeia Lestrange! I know my orders, but I also know we have time. We will settle this issue before we go into battle" Bella patted her on the cheek once, before letting her go.
Cassiopeia sighed. She knew Bellatrix was not going to let this go and truthfully she wasn't actually that upset with her aunt.
She was aware, of course, that Bella had been locked away in Azkaban for most of her life, and obviously that had left the woman slightly insane; however, this gave her no right to criticize her adoptive family and job at the Knockturn Alley Apothecary. What Bellatrix didn't seem to understand was that everyone, especially some of the most prominent Dark families, had suffered from the last war so now they needed more than their blood status and money to survive.
"Cassiopeia I know that I upset you by insulting Rosier, saying that he is an old prune and he's brought you up to be an improper woman, letting you play around with potions of all things!" Bella rolled her eyes, throwing her hands in the air as if to punctuate the ridiculousness of it all. Noticing the glare on her niece's face, she was quick to add: "but I only said that because you don't seem to care at all about your REAL father and all HE's been through!"
Cassiopeia felt her blood boil in anger: her father and all he's been through? What about her? What about what she'd been through? Growing up without parents, struggling with money most of the time. Her grandfather might not have been the best role model, but he'd always been there for her, getting her through a potion apprenticeship and being the only family member she could rely on. Her father on the other hand…
"Rabastan" snarled Cassiopeia in scorn.
"Don't you Rabastan me, little girl! He is your father and you will show him respect!" Bellatrix shouted back.
"Why should I respect a man who has hardly been a part of my life. The only thing he's done is put a mark on my left arm. A mark that has taken him from me not once, but twice."
"You shouldn't say things like that Cassiopeia. You of all people should know that our loyalty is first and foremost to the Dark Lord" said Bellatrix, getting in her personal space.
"Oh, I know that alright! I've been paying for it since I was a child" hissed Cassiopeia, not backing down.
Bellatrix took a step back, putting some space between her and her niece, a slight frown marring her once beautiful face: she didn't understand where all this hostility was coming from. Cassiopeia should be proud of what her father stood for, that he chose to go to Azkaban rather than renounce his allegiance. She should be proud that Rabastan tracked down Frank Longbottom, the man that killed his wife and Cassiopeia's mother, and made him pay for what he'd done, even if he had ended up in Azkaban because of it.
"Cassiopeia," she begun. "You shouldn't be so hard on your father. He's suffered a lot. We've all suffered. And yes, I know that you have paid dearly for it as well, but would you rather have the scum that took your mother's life still walking around, a free man? I know I wouldn't be able to stand it and neither could your father. That's part of the reason why we tracked down the Longbottoms. We needed our revenge to be able to move on from our loss. It was unfortunate that we were caught and it was unfortunate that you had to grow up without your parents, but your life has not been all doom and gloom: you still had Tiberius even if his methods in raising you were questionable."
"Bella you know that the last thing I'd ever want is that scum walking around like some sort of hero. It's just that I thought I'd finally gotten my father back, and what does he do? He gets himself locked up all over again. And what's more, when he was here, it was like he didn't care about me at all! The only real conversation we had was when he came to get me for my marking ceremony…" she finished sadly. Bellatrix's face softened slightly at her niece's downtrodden expression.
"Cass you shouldn't get so upset. Last year was hard on all of us. We were trying to overcome the side effects that came from being in Azkaban for so long, our minds were a bit muddled. And as for him getting caught again, you shouldn't blame him. If you want to blame someone, blame the damn Order of the Flaming Chicken: they're the ones at fault, not us!" Cassiopeia smiled at her aunt's name for the Order. Looking down, she checked her watch: it was nearly time to move out. She looked back to Bellatrix with a smirk on her face.
"Well Bella, as much as I love talking about all of this sentimental bullshit, we have somewhere to be", she said, tapping her watch. "Time's up and I'm in need of some stress relief. The aurors will make wonderful targets for me to practice on, don't you think?"
Bellatrix let out an insane cackle, a mad glint creeping into her eyes. Looking around, she motioned for her squad to move into position.
Fenrir Greyback immediately moved closer to her. Bellatrix wrinkled her nose as his potent smell reached her: he stunk, but he looked the part, always ready to rip everything in his sight to shreds. Bellatrix gave him an amused glance.
"Fenrir, while Cassiopeia and I are getting Ollivander you are to look after this bunch" she dismissively motioned towards the Death Eaters, smiling insanely. "Make sure you cause as much damage as you can! We wouldn't want the wee little Light wizards to become too complacent now would we?"
Greyback's lips curled up into a terrifying grin. Bellatrix turned towards Cassiopeia who was finally allowing some emotion to show on her face, her eyes alight at the thought of the chaos they would be causing.
"Well then, my dear niece, I think I will give you the honor of leading the way tonight", Bellatrix bowed mockingly at Cassiopeia who just smirked at her. Feeling a thrill of excitement, she covered her hair with her hood, put her mask on, turned around and stalked her way through Knockturn Alley all the way into Diagon Alley.
Diagon Alley
Cassiopeia's lips twisted into a smirk behind her mask as she heard the first explosion, Gringotts going up in flames in front of her. It was fairly late so not many people were out and about, only a few aurors keeping watch. Cassiopeia was sure that this would be an easy fight.
Bellatrix gave Greyback his last orders before turning to Cassiopeia, motioning for her to follow. Using the shadows to keep hidden, Cassiopeia and Bellatrix crept down Diagon Alley towards Ollivanders' wand shop.
A spell shot past Cassiopeia, barely missing her, hitting Quality Quidditch Supplies instead. Bellatrix pushed her to the ground and out of the way as the shop exploded, flames and debris hitting the place Cassiopeia had been standing just moments before.
"Morgana's tits!" Bellatrix swore, "What in the name of Merlin are those idiots doing! I told them not to come this way until I signaled that we were in the clear."
Cassiopeia stared at her in shock.
"Are you trying to tell me that our own side is attacking us?"
Bellatrix looked at her niece before laughing, her insane cackle sending chills down Cassiopeia's back. She stood up smiling insanely.
"Welcome to the war, my dear niece", she laughed again before becoming serious once more and helping Cassiopeia to her feet. "If they're already firing this way, we're going to have to forgo sneaking around and just make a run for it."
"Are you ready Cass?"
Cassiopeia nodded dumbly, still slightly worried about being killed by her own people.
"GO!"
In the next moment Cassiopeia was running down Diagon Alley, dodging spells left and right and trying to avoid the fleeing people. Heart in her mouth and blood pumping through her veins, she looked up, glad to see that she was finally nearing Ollivander's. Speeding up she dove out of the way of one more panicked bystander. Breathing heavily, she felt a surge of magic coming from behind her followed by her aunt's shout.
"CASS GET DOWN!"
She didn't need to be told twice. She dropped to the ground using her hands to roll onto her back. She watched an orangey-yellow light fly over her head and hit the entrance to Diagon Alley with a loud BANG.
It was pure and utter chaos.
People's screams were shattering the previously quiet evening and debris was flying everywhere. Cassiopeia rolled onto her stomach to avoid a large slab of concrete that landed where she had been lying. Standing up and shaking her head, she barely managed to avoid a spell that had been aimed at her.
"Death Eater scum!" yelled her assailant.
Cassiopeia reacted immediately: she side stepped his next Stupefy and brought her wand up, slashing it downwards to throw a Sectumsempra at him. Her aim was true and the spell reached its target, the man collapsing to the ground in a bloody mess.
"Nice work, niece, but we don't have time to play around with the little Light fools", Bellatrix said as she reached Cassiopeia, patting her on the shoulder.
Cassiopeia simply nodded.
The duo encountered no more obstacles on their way to Ollivander's, but once they reached the shop they were met by extremely powerful wards.
Bellatrix brandished her wand towards the wards and begun rapidly muttering in Latin. As her aunt concentrated on bringing down the wards, Cassiopeia covered her back from attacks.
"We're almost in! Give the signal" Bellatrix whispered, harshly.
"Morsmorde" Cassiopeia whispered, pointing her wand to the sky, the dark mark immediately appearing above Ollivander's.
Moments later, Fenrir and the other Death Eaters had regrouped around them, just in time to watch the wards come crashing down with a bang. Bellatrix motioned for Greyback to follow her into the shop, then looked back at Cassiopeia. "I'll see you in there. You know what to do", she said as she disappeared through the door.
Cassiopeia wasted no time, tucking her wand back in her holster and climbing up the side of the building, leaving the rest of the Death Eaters to guard the front. Reaching the top, she hoisted her body onto the roof and made her way to what she hoped was the back of the shop. She could hear shouting coming from inside and knew that she had to get in there quickly. Taking a deep breath to calm down, she pointed her wand at the roof.
"Bombarda" she shouted, blasting a hole through the wand maker's shop.
Not wanting to jump inside completely blind, she cast a quick "Homenum Revelio", grinning slightly at the results. 'Bellatrix sure knows how to plan' she thought as she dropped into the hole, landing directly behind Ollivander.
The wand maker had been backed into a corner by Bellatrix and Greyback. He was already struggling to block the continuous attack from the two Death Eaters that he didn't even notice Cassiopeia's silent Stupefy.
Ollivander fell to the floor face first. Bellatrix walked over to him and used her foot to roll him over, laughing madly the whole time.
"Aww… poor, little wand maker! You walked straight into a trap", she cackled. "Look Cass! He looks so surprised! Hahaha, not so smart now, are you little wand maker?"
Cassiopeia rolled her eyes at her aunt's antics, though she had to admit, if only to herself, that she was slightly amused. One thing she knew for sure was that missions with her aunt would never be boring.
"Mobilicorpus" Bellatrix sang as she came back down to reality. Ollivander rose into the air as Bellattrix looked to Cassiopeia with a smile. "You have done very well today Cassiopeia. The Dark Lord will be very pleased with you. Let's go" she said, directing Ollivander's body towards the exit of the shop.
"ORDER MEMBERS" came the shout from outside.
"Shit!" Greyback swore. "What do we do?" he asked Bellatrix.
"Don't just stand there!" Bellatrix sneered at him. Turning to Cassiopeia she said: "You take Ollivander. Get him and yourself out of here. You need to get to the Leaky Cauldron to apparate back to base as the Order's put up an Anti-Apparation Wards. Greyback and I will cover you. Just make sure you don't stop for any reason whatsoever. Ready?"
Cassiopeia nodded, recasting the Mobilicorpus spell on Ollivander, before taking her place behind Bellatrix and Fenrir. Bellatrix blasted the door open and stepped outside. Spells where flying left, right and center. Cassiopeia didn't even have time to blink before she was moving towards the exit. Bellatrix was blocking all the spells coming her way making sure she wasn't hit as she pulled Ollivander behind her.
"They have Ollivander", came the shout from an Order member.
"Hurry up Cass!" urged Bellatrix as the Order turned their attention and therefore attacks on them.
Cassiopeia stopped thinking about the fighting taking place around her, focusing on running towards the Leaky Cauldron. She made it to the entrance unscathed, but a cutting curse managed to get past Bellatrix, catching her left shoulder. Stumbling into the Leaky Cauldron, she felt a burst of pain as another curse hit her. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the pain and pulled Ollivander to her, wrapping her arms around his chest. She turned on the spot and disapparated, the light of the Killing Curse hurtling towards her, being the last thing she saw as the feeling of being sucked through a tight tube engulfed her.
A/N: Please my readers tell me your thoughts and leave a review. I had a thousand views on the first day of Ch 2, but hardly any comments. I would really love to know what you are all thinking. I hope you enjoyed chapter three and the inclusion of my first OC Cassiopeia Lestrange, We will be seeing more of her in the coming chapters, so I hoped her introduction ran smoothly. Until next week Scarlett Woman.