AN: So the response I got for the last chapter was mostly positive, so I'm not going to rewrite it. I have no idea where all this is headed, but I'm aiming for an evil!Harry with some human emotions left. I am really considering having him join Voldemort for real. Like, not just to kill him later. If that offends you on some deep level, tell me. I base everything on the response I get.

Disclaim Her: I stayed up till two thirty last night, and I am soooo tired.

Chapter 20: Goodbyes

I left the potions room with one goal in mind: find Draco. I went to my room first and got my invisibility cloak. Then I went to the entrance to the Slytherin common room-I knew the way by heart-and waited.

It was not long before a Slytherin came and enered the common room, letting me in unknowingly. I slipped upstairs to the sixth year dorms. When he wasn't there, I followed the faint scent of blood I was getting, and ended up at the door to the bathroom, which was locked. Though nobody else could smell it, to me the room reeked of blood.

"So," I breathed. "This is where he does it."

I unlocked the door as quietly as I could. Most of the boys were sleeping already, anyway. Draco was standing over the sink witha straight razor. He looked up when the door opened, and I closed it behind me before locking it and removing my cloak.

"Pot-Harry? What are you doing here?" He was whispering, but I could hear him clearly.

"I came to tell you that I'm leaving."

"What!" He was alarmed, that much was obvious.

"Look, I did something bad. If they catch me, I'll be sent to Azkaban for life. So I came to tell you. Just, you know, so you wouldn't think I had died when I'm not here tomorrow."

"Harry. What did you do?" He was worried, though I wasn't sure if it was me he was worried for.

"...I killed Professor Snape."

He backed away from me, white as a ghost. "You...you killed him? Why?"

"I don't know. He just...pushed me over the edge. I don't even remember it. But I know I did it. The room...it was covered in blood. My hands...it was horrible. Ron was the one who found me. I was blood soaked...I had no idea what had happened."

He leaned back against the wall. He appeared to be in shock. "So...you're leaving? For good?"

"I guess so."

"Where?"

I stared at him. "The Shrieking Shack. Why?"

"I wanted to know where you are. You know. If I need to reach you."

I shook my head. "You won't. Trust me. I just wanted you to know that I was leaving."

"So, you're going to spend the night in the Shrieking Shack. Maybe the next week. Then what?"

He had asked the question that I had been pondering all the way up to his room. "I don't know. I figure I'll do the only thing I can do."

"And what's that?"

"I'll find Voldemort. And I'll join him. Or at least I'll see if I can. There is no logical reason for me not to anymore. Even Ron has encouraged me to do so."

"Well, I wouldn't argue with you there, you know that. After all, I joined him myself. But, you know, he did kill your parents. And Diggory. And that Black fellow. You could just kill him."

I winced at the mention of Sirius, then nodded. "Yes, but then what? After that, what happens to me? Voldemort will be dead, and they'll be left with a murdering monster for a 'hero'. No, it's best this way. If nothing else, I can buy some time before I turn myself in."

"You will not be turning yourself in."

I smirked. He sounded so sure. I felt an increasing need to grab him and fuck him on the floor of the bathroom then and there. But I really had to go.

"I'll be in touch." I took the razor out of his hand. "Don't kill yourself while I'm gone, okay?"

He looked away. "Sure. Whatever you say."

I laughed once, humorlessly, before putting my cloak back on and slipping out the door.

HPDMHPDMHPDMHPDMHPDM

I made it out of the school without incident, and stood in front of the Whomping Willow, trying to figure out how to get it to stop so I could get into the tunnel. I finally lost patience and willed it to stop with all my might, hoping against hope that something would happen.

It stopped.

I let out a cynical laugh, wondering why I was surprised by anything at this point, and climbed into the passage.

I got to the Shrieking Shack within minutes. Looking around, I observed the lack of anything remotely comfortable to sleep on. I didn't take much notice, however, as I curled up on the floor and dropped into a deep dreamless sleep.

Much harder times were yet to come, of that much I was certain.