Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter as If I did Ron/Hermione would never be a thing, and Luna and Neville would be more proeminent characters.
WIth that out of the way, I gotta start by apologizing for the content drought. I am trying to progress with Naruto, but the inspiration is hard to come by and I'd rather write nothing than write garbage. Harry potter: His own person is a whole other beast. Thoughts, ideas, concepts swirling around in my head and I have to decide which direction the story is going to head.
With that out of the way, please enjoy the new chapter of Times in our lives.
"Harry, stop being such a difficult child!" came the exhasperated, semi-disappointed tone of Albus Dumbledore. It'd have been more convincing if he hadn't just finished throwing a high-powered pink-purple spell at said difficult child.
Harry made his way around a corner just before the curse hit the stone wall, spreading sharp shards and dust in the air. His wand was clenched tightly in his hand and he looked around the room he was in. There were various darkened alcoves that he could take shelter in. With a few waves of his wand, the room was abscured with thick mist and his voice sounded from everywhere at once, even after he sunk into one of the specific spaces.
Dumbledore strode purposefully into the closed-off room, knowing exactly where he was leading Harry to. The elder wand within his grasp, his robes of a baby blue with shining stars, he'd look exactly like the stereotypical grandfather figure were it not for the gleam of madness visible in his eyes.
"You know that you can't escape from here, Harry. Just be a good boy and come out, let's talk things through and come to an agreement."
"So you can try to use me again?"
Dumbledore turned to his left, shooting an overpowered stunner somewhere into the mist where he heard Harry's voice from.
"So you can try to manipulate me some more?"
Once again Dumbledore turned to the source of the sound, shooting another stunner into the heavy mist, trying his best to hit Harry.
"No, Dumbledore. The pawn you believed you had? Never existed."
Once more, now having lost his sense of space and not knowing where he was facing, Dumbledore shot a lightning fast spell to the source of the voice, frustration tinging his features.
"Everything since day one, trapping me with the Dursleys, sending Hagrid to get me instead of an actual professor, my meeting with the weasleys, befriending Ron. The trials and tests that you set for me. The information you tried to withhold, the isolation you tried to impose on me, the dependence you tried to create, and the sense of self-sacrifice. None of those went by your designs, they went by mine!"
By now Harry's voice was coming from everywhere at once, robbing Dumbledore of a target while angering him further.
"I survived the Dursleys for 11 years! 11 years of depending only on my wit, inteligence and cunning! A normal child, heck, most wizarding children would've died by year 6 at most! But I endured! I grew strong! I learnt not to trust blindly! Read patterns! Analyze people! Distrust authority!"
By now Dumbledore was gritting his teeth. Who did this whelp of an child think it was? He was naught but a mere child, relatively to the might of Albus Dumbledore! He shouldn't be self-aware, he should be following the dotted line, and thanking the name Albus Dumbledore for allowing him to be used as an instrument for his goals!
"Your grandfatherly act? Saw through it since day one. Did you never find it suspicious that a mediocre child at most subjects scholarly, consummate headstrong, blindly charging gryffindor managed to pull off the most surprising deeds not out of sheer dumb luck, or nobility or anything like that, but by through planning, inteligence and cunning? You think you know what happened within the walls of your school? Let me shed some truths!"
'Yes, Keep talking Harry, give me a target.' were Dumbledore's thoughts as he discreetly waved the tip of his wand in a circle below him.
"First year, you thought that my mother's protections killed Quirrel? No! Stupid! I used an overpowered blood boiling curse! Why the fuck do you think he turned into dust? And the stone? You destroyed a fake, the original was mailed back to the Flamels! They were very thankful and ended up sending me various tomes out of appreciation by the way. Tomes you never even had the chance to sniff the covers of! Second year, Basillisk? I killed it not to save Ginny, but to make sure Hogwarts didn't close permanently. Third year, 100 dementors. You think that an amateur at the spell could do that? No. As soon as the year started, after first meeting that blasted thing in the train, I started teaching myself the patronus charm. My efforst with Remus were me faking it, since the entire situation of hiring him just as Sirius Black breaks free smelled of year, Triwizard, I used the fact that you forced me to participate to my best possible gains.
I networked. Met and befriended a few Claws and Snakes, figured out who were my true friends and I started teaching them. Umbridge? That fat cow was under my thrall since day one. You weren't the best manipulator at Hogwarts, Albus, I was!"
Dumbledore flicked his wand purposefully, banishing the mist and shooting an overpowered bludgeoner, fueled by anger, at Harry who was straight in front of him. Harry managed to raise a strong Protego, but the spell managed to just barely break through the shield and clip his shoulder, sending him down and forcing him to hold his bruised should close to him. As Dumbledore advanced towards his downed form, he heard Harry's voice right behind him.
"By the way, I win."
Before Dumbledore could react, a sharp pain made itself known at chest level. Looking back, he saw the form of Harry Potter, grinning at him. Looking back at the Harry in front of him, he saw as the telltale bubbling of skin emerged, revealing the first Harry to be a polyjuiced Ginny Weasley.
Looking down at his chest, he saw the bloody swordtip of the sword of gryffindor protruding from his ribcage.
"Before you die, let me tell you something Albus. I wasn't the only one you fucked over with your manipulations. Your prodding and Molly's blind faith in you resulted in dear Ginevra here being all but brainwashed to try to marry the boy who lived. After that, you let the diary into the school and Tom messes with her head. Well, I helped her. Broke her programming, told her the truth, and so she chose to devote herself to the first person to be completely honest to her. And the youngest child of your staunchest supporters caused your death. Now, please go warm up a seat in hell as Tom will be meeting you shortly."
His peace spoken, Harry twisted the blade before pulling it back out of Dumbledore, snuffing out the man's lights.
Making his way towards Ginny, he waved his hand next to her arm, fixing her shoulder. The girl eyed him with fire, a mixture of lust, devotion and infatuation , both with Harry, and with the power he wielded.
"Beautiful" she breathed out distractedly as she watched his imposing figure, bloody sword in hand, acromantula silk robes in emerald green with black trimmings, an aura of power around him, and the softest, most emotive emerald green eyes ever.
"You're not half bad yourself, Ginny luv" came Harry's playful tone as he held his hand out to her, helping her to her feet. Before he could say much more, she slammed herself into his, her lips claiming his with ferocity. Pulling back lightly, a smouldering look in her eyes, she spoke "I am yours, now and forever, Milord."
-The present. I guess?-
"And that brings us to now."
Hermione blinked owlishly at Harry. Yes, Dumbledore made some mistakes, but the tale he just told her did not compute. Then, a thought made it's way through her mind 'Oh, different dimensions, different Dumbledores'
"So, you became a Dark Lord?"
"Yes."
"And Ginny became your wife?"
Said redhead was the one to break in at that "Dark Consort and Lady Potter."
Hermione sighed, shaking her head exhasperatedly "Only you, Harry. Only you."
Harry just shrugged at that "Hey, not my fault fate likes to screw around with my life. I just roll with the punches, y'know. Now, we should head down to the great hall and catch breakfast before classes start. I don't know about you two, but I could really go for a bite."
The two girls shrugged before they followed Harry out of the gryffindor common room portrait to face the population of Hogwarts, Hermione hugging onto his right arm, and Ginny hugging onto his left one, the brunette showing contentment while the redhead showed eternal devotion.
That day ended up being one for the ages in the history of Hogwarts.
CHAPTER END! Please Rate and Review, as Reviews are the key to the realm of creativity. Probably. Maybe.