Disclaimer; Some wizards are quicker to anger than others, they are probably also less subtle. Do not attempt to wake them if they are sleeping in the park.
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Tuesday morning found Harry sitting in his Defense class listening to Professor Montgomery discusses basic dueling tactics. After the deplorable level of teaching Umbridge had given them the year before, it was almost entirely DA members in the NEWT class. The class was currently studying form, etiquette, and basic tactics for dueling. Montgomery had promised to give them an exhibition duel at the end of the lesson, and since Harry had requested extra tutoring he agreed to participate.At the end of the lecture, the professor called to Harry and they squared off at the front of the room. They agreed to keep anything inside a small strip and if either set foot outside it would be the same as a forfeit.
After the ritual bowing was out of he way, the opponents faced each other with their wands at the ready. Harry twisted his body sideways to present less of a target and crouched so he could move quickly. For a few seconds they only stared into each other's eyes, waiting for the other to make the first move. Harry decided to force the issue and snapped off a cutting curse at chest height since the match was to the first blood. Montgomery dropped backwards but apparently had cast a spell beforehand because he simply bounced back to his feet, shooting a percussion hex as he did. Harry moved his upper body and let it fly past before shooting a tripping jinx low to the ground. The professor brought up a quick shield and decided to step things up a bit.
Harry made a snap decision when he saw the flurry of incoming spells shouting the strongest shield he knew. The rain of spells continued for a few moments, but when Montgomery stopped to catch his breath Harry returned to the offensive. Harry conjured a thick stack of paper and banished it at his opponent, trying for concealment while he worked on his next move. Harry nearly tripped when he found his shoes tied together inexplicably, but chose to ignore it. He shot a series of low powered blasting hexes at the floor trying to hit his opponent with shrapnel for some indirect damage. As he dodged his professor's cutting curse, Harry focused his mind and conjured the biggest log he could with McGonagall's spell. The tree trunk fell to the floor just in front of the professor, who looked at it in surprise.
"Nice try, but you missed." Montgomery told him.
"That's what you think. Accio Tie!" Harry jerked his wand as it reeling in a fish.
Montgomery made a choking sound as his neckwear jerked forward. He tried to move with it to prevent it from choking him, but caught his feet on the log and tripped. The professor slammed into the floor face first and came up with a bloody nose.
"First blood!" Harry called triumphantly. "I guess that means I win."
Professor Montgomery cast a quick spell to fix his nose before shaking Harry's hand. When Harry moved to retake his seat, he spoke to the class. "And that is an excellent demonstration of how unconventional tactics can win or lose a duel. I could have bled from a paper cut or some of those stone fragments just as easily as I could from a cutting curse or other spell, but in the end I lost because I was overconfident. Never let your guard down in a fight, even if you think you've won."
No sooner were those words out of the Professor's mouth then there was a bright flash of golden light from where Harry was sitting. Harry let out a pained cry as he was blasted out of his desk and slammed into the back wall of the classroom where he fell to the floor unconscious. In an instant wands from around the room leapt into their owners hands and were pointed at the Defense professor, with angry looks on every face.
Before anyone could throw a curse, Harry stood up. His entire body radiated malice and anger in that moment. Harry flicked his wrist and the sound of tearing fabric was heard as a foot long dagger was suddenly in his left hand, having cut the sleeve on it's way to Harry's hand. To everyone's surprise he disappeared from the class after swearing, "You utter bastard."
"You can't apperate inside Hogwarts," Hermione said with awe and fear in her voice. Then the spells began to fly as Hogwarts reacted to the theft of one of their own.
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When Harry regained consciousness some time later he found he wasn't alone anymore. Raistlin was back in his mind and in control. They were in the Tower standing over a sink full of pink water.
"Why were my hands covered in blood? And what are you doing in my mind again?" Harry asked his master.
"There's always a bit of blood when you slit someone's throat." Raistlin replied calmly. "I'm here because somebody tried to kill me. They got my body but since my soul stone linked me to your clone, I wound up here instead of passing on. Fortunately they never expected me to show up again and I was able to avenge my death and recover my things with little trouble."
"So you died, but came to my body instead of going to the afterlife? How is that possible?"
"The clone spell I used it normally a form of insurance for archmages. You create a clone of yourself that lacks a soul, then when your body dies, your mind wakes up in the clone. It costs a bit of your magical strength to jump bodies like that, but it's better than death." Raistlin explained. "On the bright side, now you have proof that I can't kill you so our deal is secure. My soul was bound to your clone, and therefore to your body, just as yours is. If I were to kill you, your soul would go to my body. There are of course ways to remove souls without killing the body, but you would still be alive for all intents and purposes."
"I take it you'll be growing another clone now?" Harry preemptively rubbed his arm.
"You're not that interesting," his master said dryly. "It will be a few days before you can return to school."
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The fireplace in Albus Dumbledore's office flared to life late that evening. "Headmaster Dumbledore, are you available?" An American voice called questioningly.
Dumbledore put aside the many things that were going wrong since Harry's disappearance and moved to answer the unexpected call. "I'm here, what do you need?"
"Hello Mr. Dumbledore, I am Auror Swanson with the Massachusetts Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I am calling about one of your students, one…" The auror checked his notes, "Harry James Potter. Can you account for Mr. Potter's whereabouts this morning between the hours of five and six a.m.?"
"Just after ten thirty this morning Greenwich Mean Time he disappeared from one of his classes and hasn't been seen since. Do you know where he is?" Dumbledore asked hopefully.
"Just a moment Mr. Dumbledore. Now as his school teacher, have you noticed any troubling behavior recently? Has he become more violent, or angry?"
Dumbledore frowned. "No, I can't think of anything that would demonstrate that sort of change. Is he in some kind of trouble?"
"Did Mr. Potter have any enemies who wish to hurt him?" The auror asked, ignoring the questions.
"Just every dark wizard in Britain. Harry Potter is an icon to the British people in our war against the Dark Lord and his minions."
"I see, if Mr. Potter were to suddenly find himself in a strange situation and possibly under attack by someone, how do you believe he would respond?" Swanson asked.
"Given his past history of attacks and kidnappings, I'm confident he would fight his way out to the best of his abilities and call for help. What's going on?"
"Oh dear," The auror said tiredly, "I'll never finish the paper work on this one. Mr. Dumbledore I'm going to have to ask you to come through to my office, there are a few things we need to talk about and I need you to do something for me."
"Yes of course, I'll come right away." Dumbledore gathered the essentials and moved over to the fireplace where the floo link to the Salem Auror's office was being held open for his convenience.
Once through the link, Dumbledore shook Swanson's hand in greeting. The auror motioned to the door and began talking as they walked down a hallway. "I don't really know how to say this, but there was an incident this morning in the muggle world. Officer Jones of the Salem Police Department was on his usual route through the public park, telling vagrants to move on and the like. At roughly five thirty a woman tells us she came around a bend in the park exercise trail and saw Officer Jones confront a young man in strange black robes who was waving a knife. She reported the sharp crack of gunfire and ducked behind a trashcan. A moment later there was a second crack. When she got over her fear and looked again, both the officer and the young man were laying on the ground covered in blood. She called the police, who upon hearing the description called me."
Dumbledore was horrified. "Great Merlin! Are they alright? This has to be some kind of misunderstanding."
Swanson shook his head. "When we arrived on the scene we found traces of an apperation with the same signature we found on the young man. There was an eleven inch knife in the Police officer's throat bearing the fingerprints of the other. The young man who we believe to be Harry Potter was shot through the heart with a thirty eight caliber revolver. Forensics say that Potter died first by several minutes, but given the way Jones was found Potter cut his throat when he was leaning over to examine him. We think Potter apperated into the park with the knife in hand, which startled Jones. Jones who thought he was being threatened, shot him in self defense, and Potter killed him with his dying breath. It would account for the two cracks the witness heard, though her timing seems off."
Dumbledore stumbled and stood still. "No, no… Tell me he's not dead."
"We need your help identifying him, if it really is Harry Potter." Swanson said sadly. "I'm sorry, but there is just no good way to explain this tragic accident. If you could just come this way…"
Dumbledore and Auror Swanson walked the rest of the way to the morgue where Dumbledore identified the pale body of his favorite student and last hope for peace. How could things have gone so wrong? What of the prophecy?
"How am I going to explain this to my students?" Dumbledore sighed, sinking back into his chair.
"He was popular I take it?"
"He was an icon of hope. When he disappeared from his Defense class this morning I was barely able to save my Professor from being lynched. Nearly half the school rose against him when Harry was injured in a duel and immediately disappeared."
"It was that bad?"
"To the Gryffindors he was a god among men. To the Ravenclaws he was one of the great minds of his generation. The Hufflepuffs… Well after what happened at the Tournament two years ago, he's practically been adopted. He was tortured, half dead, and had just fought the greatest Dark Lord in half a millennia, but he cared enough about their housemate to risk his life again by bringing his body back to them. The only ones in the school who didn't treat him as the leader he was destined to become were a small group of Slytherin students who will probably end up following the Dark Lord when they graduate." Dumbledore explained slowly. "He would have died for his friends, and they would kill for him. I don't look forward to breakfast tomorrow morning."
"I am sorry for your loss. This all appears to have been some twisted kind of accident. We'll be able to release his body in a few days. We tried to contact his family but they laughed and insulted us before telling us to call you."
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"And so it pains me to inform you all of the death of one of your classmates. Harry Potter was found dead in a public park in Salem, Massachusetts, in the United States of America yesterday morning. He will be missed by many. Classes will be canceled today in remembrance, there will be a memorial service on Friday." Dumbledore stepped back from the podium in front of the teacher's table. For once his robes were not flamboyant and cheerful, but instead were a dark purple that was nearly black.
Cries of disbelief and shock rang out from around the hall as people refused to believe it. There was a single laugh from the Slytherin table but it was cut short. Blaise Zabini had to be hauled off of Draco Malfoy as her booted foot kept finding itself in a very uncomfortable place. Once she fought free of her housemates she left the Great Hall in a hurry, letting out a single sob as she did. Hermione and Ginny saw this from across the hall, and wondered. Hermione hadn't wanted to accept that the lone Slytherin was genuine in her friendship, but now she wondered. The sudden change in attitude seemed so off, but attacking Malfoy over Harry's death would put her on the wrong end of things now.
Suddenly it sank in for Hermione. This wasn't some mystery like they usually got mixed up in. Harry wouldn't be back this time and observations about who was really his friend didn't matter anymore. Her friend was dead, life finally caught up with him and he was really gone. Hermione grabbed Ron and cried into his shoulder.
It was a dark day for Gryffindor tower.
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It was Friday morning before Harry was ready to return to Hogwarts. Since they already had the lab set up, Raistlin was able to start growing another clone as soon as they gathered a few ingredients for the nutrient bath. Harry lost a bit more flesh and the spell was cast. In the meantime, Harry had been busy on his own. Once he prepared the necessary potions and powders en mass, Harry raised the remaining corpses as skeletal warriors. Harry equipped them all with knives transfigured from stone and gave them their orders.
His army of the dead would march through the forbidden forest towards Hogwarts. Under cover of darkness they were ordered to cut through the grass and dig their own graves around the premises. They would bury themselves and pull the grass back over their graves to hide that they were ever there. Harry would then be able to call on them if he ever needed. An army of fifty skeletons and the Order of the Phoenix was better than nothing,
After giving the orders to his troops, Harry apperated to the gates of Hogwarts and began his walk up the drive. He thought it strange that the castle seemed so dead at this hour of the morning. It should be just after breakfast. Third year Gryffindors should have a free period, where were they? Harry knew there would be questions, so he started towards the Headmaster's office. When he crossed in front of the doors to the Great Hall, he heard the low murmur of students beyond.
Harry slipped unnoticed into the Great Hall and kept to the shadows. The Great Hall was decked in black banners where the house banners should be, just as they were at the leaving feast after the Tournament. Harry saw the bier at the front and knew what was happening. He saw Professor McGonagall sitting at the front of the crowd and stepped out of the shadows to catch her attention.
McGonagall's eyes widened as she saw him. Harry put a finger on his lips and moved back into his alcove just enough to no longer be obvious. He held out three fingers and pointed at his friends and Zabini before jerking his thumb back and leaving the hall. McGonagall leaned over to whisper into Dumbledore's ear and they stood to leave. They collected the indicated students and headed out the door for the Headmaster's office.
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Harry was still wary about having Zabini present when he talked with Dumbledore, but it was a necessary risk. She believed herself to be one of his closest friends thanks to his spell, and if she ever felt slighted the spell could break. Others could point it out, ask her questions, whatever, but the spell would hold. Only if Harry actually acted would the spell fail. Disloyalty, aggression, hostility, or harsh words would be enough and he didn't want to risk feelings of betrayal because she wasn't around to see him alive. He wasn't going to tell the whole truth anyway, but he hoped he wouldn't have to reveal too much.
Harry heard the footsteps approaching down the corridor and soon found himself engulfed in a three way hug. Once the initial rush to prove he was breathing settled, he found himself on the receiving end of a set of very harsh stares. Dumbledore gave the password and ushered the group into his office.
"It seems I have to keep asking this. Mr. Potter. Do you have any way to prove who you are? I've got a body downstairs and a funeral about to start." Dumbledore skipped the offer of lemon drops or tea and went straight to business.
"Well I think I can explain that. Dumbledore, on my birthday you paid me a visit and cast a Fidelius charm over my new home, but I never told you the secret. Hermione, at the end of third year you and I took a little trip to see justice done and save a mangy dog. Professor McGonagall, last year I complained to you about unjust detentions with then Professor Umbridge. You told me to remember who she was reporting to and keep my head down. Is that enough?" Harry settled into one of the arm chairs in front of Dumbledore's desk.
The Headmaster looked to the others and noticed them nodding to themselves. "That is very convincing but it doesn't explain where you've been or what happened in the first place."
"What about me Harry? Is there some thing only I know?" Ron asked.
"There's a lot of secrets between us over the years, but I can think of one thing that will definitely prove who I am. I am running out of Time. If you check whoever that is downstairs, I'm positive he has no time left at all." Harry glanced down at his arm meaningfully.
Comprehension dawned in Ron's eyes, but Dumbledore wasn't helped any. "You were going to explain?"
"Ron knows what I mean, but I guess I owe you something for the other questions. Tuesday in defense, something triggered the wards around my home. Everything was going crazy and I was thrown into the wall, my fail-safes kicked in. If certain conditions are met, I have emergency measures set up to take me somewhere safe. The duel and getting knocked into the wall combined with my wards getting tripped activated them. Then a few things happened and something popped up which kept me away. That meeting you wanted, will Sunday morning work around nine o'clock?"
"I see, and I'm glad you're taking your safety seriously. Yes, Sunday will be fine. Do you have any idea where we suddenly acquired an extra body that looks like you?"
"I can't say for sure, but I'm thinking it was something like what happened to Barty Crouch Junior. His mother was taking polyjuice potion when she died and was locked in his form. If someone were impersonating me, then died, it might lead to something like this." Harry postulated slowly as if he hadn't thought this through carefully for the last couple days.
"That might work. And it is slightly more likely than intercontinental apperation through Hogwarts' legendary wards." McGonagall put in.
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. He looked at Harry and his eyes began to twinkle once again. "Welcome back my boy. I am afraid that I need Professor McGonagall for a private meeting for the next few hours. Let's hope no one decides to throw a party in the common room."
Harry smiled and stood. He helped Hermione and Blaise to their feet, "We hear you loud and clear sir. And why would there be a party? It's not like anyone came back from the dead."