Harry Potter, Hogwarts student, the Boy-Who-Lived,

fighting to save Hermione Granger's life.

Then an accidental exposure to troll blood

alters his body chemistry.

And now, whenever Harry Potter

grows angry or outraged,

a startling metamorphosis occurs.

The creature is driven by rage

and pursued by an investigative reporter.

(Mr. Lovegood, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.)

The creature is wanted for breaking out of Azkaban.

Harry Potter is in hiding

and he must stop the world from finding him

until he can find a way to control

the raging spirit that dwells within him.

Harry's Ultra Large Kind – Chapter 6 – Hulk Smash!

Amelia Bones was filling out a report when there was a knock at her office door. "Who is it?"

"It's me," replied her secretary, a middle-aged woman with black hair and brown eyes. "I thought you'd like to see this." She then handed her boss a copy of the Quibbler. "The editor claims he spoke to Harry Potter." Amelia looked down to see the headline.

Interview with the Hulk

By Xenophilius Lovegood

Yesterday, I was able to achieve a goal I've had for months. I interviewed Harry Potter. He was with the person he escaped prison with, who believes himself to be Sirius Black, when he is in fact Stubby Boardman, who was arrested due to a case of mistaken identity.

Those of you who follow the Quibbler know that Harry's Ultra-Large Kurse causes him to transform into a huge troll-like creature, which I, unfortunately, didn't get to see. I did, however, learn that anger helps his transformation, since he warned me when my investigative questions began to agitate him. He and Mr. Boardman were camping out in a forest, but unfortunately apparated away before my interview was complete. Harry claimed to have no control over the creature, despite my pointing out that it has only ever helped him. For example, he was locked in prison, so the Hulk broke him out…

At Hogwarts, a blonde second-year girl was sitting by herself at the Ravenclaw table. The other occupants, as usual, sat as far away from her as possible. "I wonder why Daddy didn't take me to see Harry if he knew where he was," commented Luna aloud to no one while she was reading her father's paper. Her expression became even more dreamy than usual. "He's so cute."

At the nearby Gryffindor table, another second-year girl, this one with red hair, was reading the Quibbler as well. Ginny immediately got up to show the article to someone else. "Ron, Hermione, look at this!"

"What," replied her brother sarcastically, "Did the Quibbler find a thrice-fanged wompy?"

"No. I suppose I'll have to read it to you since you obviously aren't capable of that yourself!" she retorted. "Mr. Lovegood interviewed Harry."

"What?" asked Hermione. "Are you sure that's the truth? The Quibbler doesn't always…"

"Mr. Lovegood doesn't lie about who he interviews!" interrupted the second-year girl. "He just sometimes comes to…unusual…conclusions…and believes…the wrong people. But if he said he talked to Harry, he did."

"All right. I'm sorry," apologized Hermione. "Does he say how Harry's doing?"

"Not directly, but he is with Sirius Black."

"That murderer?" shouted Ron, gaining attention.

"Keep it down!" hissed Ginny. "Do you want everyone staring at us?"

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "If Sirius Black is still with him, then that means he hasn't tried anything." She then reached for the Quibbler from Ginny, pausing long enough for the younger girl to nod, and then took it.

"Or maybe he has Harry under the Imperius Curse," suggested Ron.

"If he did that," Ginny responded, "he'd have had Harry attacking everyone as the Hulk."

"Unless the curse doesn't work on the creature," suggested Hermione as she browsed through the paper, "but then he'd have attacked Black as the Hulk, since I would agree that it's seemed to do what Harry wanted, or at least helped Harry."

There was also one person who subscribed to the Quibbler at the staff table, and he was reading the article as well. This person happened to be sitting in the headmaster's chair.

"It seems that Xenophilius Lovegood has accomplished what neither myself nor the Ministry has been able to, Minerva."

"What's that, Albus?" asked the Deputy Headmistress glibly. "Locate a four-headed dog?"

"Alas, no," replied Dumbledore, "although I'm sure Hagrid will be excited if Xeno ever does accomplish that. What he has done is to find Harry Potter."

"What?" asked Minerva, practically ripping the Quibbler out of her boss's hands.

"Unfortunately, Xeno's particular brand of interviewing drove Harry and Sirius away to another hiding place."

"He's with that traitor, Sirius Black!?"

"He is with him, yes, although the fact that they are getting along does make me wonder about Sirius' guilt. He did, after all, have no trial, at Barty Crouch's insistence."

"There is no need for a trial with the likes of Sirius Black," commented Snape venomously. He was sitting on Dumbledore's opposite side, and obviously eavesdropping. "If you ask me, he should've been given the Dementor's Kiss as soon as he was arrested."

"This is neither the time nor place to discuss Sirius Black," replied Dumbledore authoritatively. "The most immediate concern is locating Harry."

"If Mr. Lovegood found Harry once, he might be able to do it again," suggested Minerva, looking hopeful.

"Agreed," said Snape. "If finding that useless boy is so important to you, make Lovegood tell you how he found him."

"Alas, in order to get Xeno to betray a source, I'd have to do some despicable things I'm not prepared to do." He sighed. "What I will do, is prepare for my next meeting with Harry, whenever that is." He had, of course, received the letter from Hermione Granger about how Harry had been exposed to troll blood, and thanked her for it, but he had no idea of how to reverse that, nor did he think it was prudent to attempt to do so, at least not until Voldemort was defeated for good.

-HULK-

Dear Miss Weasley,

Would you be so kind as to meet me in my office tonight at 8 p.m? It's rather important.

Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore

P.S. I enjoy chocolate frogs.

Ginny reread the note that had been handed to her at dinner by a first-year Hufflepuff boy for the eighth time that night. She'd hurried from the table to her dorm to retrieve the mentioned snack, wondering why he couldn't get his sweets himself. She supposed she should be thankful he'd asked for something she did have a stash of. She looked up at the gargoyle guarding the entrance.

"Er, Professor Dumbledore, I'm here," she announced nervously, looking around as if to see if he'd appear out of nowhere. "I've…I've got your chocolate frogs," she said unsurely while pulling two packages out of her robe pocket.

The moment she mentioned the name of the sweet, the gargoyle turned aside, revealing a staircase that she immediately ran up, only to be stopped by a door.

"Come in, Miss Weasley," came the voice of the headmaster, just before that door opened, revealing the eccentric headmaster sitting at his desk. "Sit down."

Ginny cautiously approached the chair on the opposite side of his desk while she looked around the room. She saw various unidentifiable objects on his desk, along with a bowl of lemon drops. She also saw diverse books on his bookshelf. There was a staircase leading up to what was presumably his bedroom. However, what held her attention was the magnificent phoenix that she saw staring at her from its perch. "Hello, there," she said to the large red bird. It chirped in response.

"I think Fawkes likes you," commented the professor, conversationally. "Would you like a lemon drop?"

"No, thank you, sir," the second-year girl replied while sitting down. "I brought you some chocolate frogs."

"How extraordinarily kind of you," he replied with a smile, which faded after a few moments. "Were you under the impression that I requested them in my letter?"

"Er, yes, sir," she admitted, with her head down.

With a twinkle in his eyes, he replied, "Quite understandable, Miss Weasley. However, I was simply giving you a hint at the password to my office."

"Oh," she responded while her face reddened even more than her Weasley hair.

"I certainly do not demand candy from students whom I meet with…However, the chocolate frogs are here, and they are so very delicious. Would you be so kind as to let an old man have one?" His eyes seemed like the hopeful eyes of a two-year-old as he begged for candy.

"Of course, sir." She then handed him one, which he promptly opened.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed happily as he grabbed the frog before it could jump. He then brought the struggling snack up to his mouth and bit off the head. When he was finished swallowing, he asked his guest, "Aren't you going to join me?" indicating the other chocolate frog. She opened the package, and that one, as though it had seen its brother's fate, immediately jumped. Ginny grabbed for it, but missed. It landed on the headmaster's desk. He pointed his finger at it, freezing it in place. "I believe that may help, Miss Weasley."

"Thanks," she muttered as she grabbed her candy and began eating it. They sat there in silence until both were finished. The young girl was getting more nervous by the second, ideas about this being her 'last meal' going through her head.

"I'd imagine that you're wondering why I invited you here, if it wasn't to steal an excellent treat, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir," she replied softly.

"I'd like to talk about Tom Riddle's diary."

'Here it comes,' she thought to herself. She knew that her lack of punishment was too good to be true. With her head down, she said, "I know what I did was wrong, and will accept any punishment you…"

"No, no, no, Miss Weasley. I'm not trying to blame you for what happened. I want to learn more about the object. You did, after all, have it in your possession for several months. I may have it in my possession now, but all the magic in it is gone, due to it being stuck into a basilisk fang. Your brother was certainly correct and, in fact, heroic to do so, but it does prevent further study.

"Now, I'd like you to collect your thoughts while I see which card I've gotten." He retrieved his new chocolate frog card and exclaimed, "Wendelin the Weird! She's certainly a favorite of mine. It actually is quite enjoyable to be burned at the stake with a freezing charm in place, as she arranged so many times. I once did that myself." Ginny giggled at the thought of the headmaster setting himself on fire just so he could enjoy the tickling sensation of that charm. "Miss Weasley, do you think you could tell me about that book?"

Dumbledore had sufficiently relaxed her to the point where she could tell him all about the book's properties, confirming to him his suspicion that it was indeed a Horcrux. He worried that if Voldemort had left it in Lucius Malfoy's possession, it couldn't be his only one. He needed to learn how many there were, and there was only one man Albus suspected could answer that question.

After his guest left, he commented to himself, "After I speak to Horace, I must redouble my efforts to locate Harry."

-HULK-

It hadn't been easy, but Dumbledore had managed to persuade Horace Slughorn into giving him the true memory of the night Riddle had asked his head of house about Horcruxes. He frowned at the thought of the implied threat he'd given his former colleague, about telling Harry Potter, now known as the dangerous weretroll, that he was holding back information. He hadn't mentioned, of course, that he was not yet in contact with the Boy-Who-Lived. He only hoped that the boy hadn't left England.

If Harry were still in the country, there was at least a chance that at some point, he'd end up in Godric's Hollow, specifically at the graveyard. If, as he now suspected, Sirius wasn't a traitor, he'd most likely take Harry to his parents' graves. Albus only hoped he hadn't already done it.

-HULK-

The headmaster was right. Harry and Sirius hadn't visited the Potter graves yet. Harry had wanted to on his birthday, but Sirius had thought it too dangerous. Now, in November, he believed that anyone who still held out hope for Harry visiting the graves would believe he'd wait until Christmastime. If they did, they were wrong. It was a cold evening, around 2 a.m., when an adult man and a teenage boy appeared in the graveyard, unknowingly setting off an alarm ward that had been placed there by one of the greatest wizards of the age.

"Their graves are just there," commented Sirius, pointing toward them. "I'll leave you alone for a few minutes, shall I?"

"Thanks, Sirius. I appreciate you taking me here." The boy slowly made his way to his parents' graves while his godfather browsed the other tombstones, including some from the Peverell family, as well as the Dumbledore family.

Harry looked where his parents were buried and said, "Er, hi mum, dad. It's me, Harry. Sorry I haven't been here before. I…lived with Aunt Petunia for awhile. I even went to Hogwarts for a few years. But, er, well, I've got an…unusual problem. You see, some troll blood got in me and now I…change…into a monster, whenever I get mad. Can you believe that? The Ministry put me in Azkaban."

He sighed. "Maybe that's where I belong, but I can't stay there. The Dementors…make me very angry. I've been with Sirius Black. The Ministry put him in jail, too, and he broke out with me. He's told me a lot about you. He says you'd be proud of me, but I don't know." He took a deep breath and waited about five seconds while he held his composure. "I'm a monster, a dangerous beast. Maybe I should be put down, like that Umbridge person the Daily Prophet quoted says."

At the same time, Sirius was reading, "Ariana Dumbledore, 1885 – 1889."

"Alas, my sister died far too young," commented the last voice Padfoot expected to hear. He turned around quickly, pulling his wand. "There's no need for alarm, Sirius. I'm not here to arrest you or your godson. I merely wish to speak with the both of you…about Voldemort."

Within ten minutes, the three of them had left Godric's Hollow and were in a clearing Sirius had chosen. It was not his and Harry's current campsite. The two of them looked at the headmaster expectantly.

"First of all, I want you to know that I accept the fact that the two of you are still together as proof of your innocence, Sirius. I hope to hear the true story of what happened, although first I'd like to speak my peace."

"Thank you for that, Dumbledore," replied Sirius. "And I am innocent. What do you want to talk to us about?"

"Harry, before you were born, a prophecy about you was given to me by Hogwarts' Divination professor, Sybil Trelawney. It says,

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."

Sirius and Harry both looked shocked at that. It was Padfoot who spoke first. "That's why both the Longbottoms and Potters went into hiding. Both had escaped Voldemort three times, and both Lily and Alice were pregnant."

"You caught that, did you? Excellent. I can see your time in Azkaban hasn't affected your intellect. Good."

"But…how did Voldemort find out about it, sir?" asked Harry.

"A Death Eater overheard the first part of the prophecy and told his master. I have always interpreted that power to be love, because it was your mother's sacrificial love that saved you that night, ripping Voldemort from his body."

"Now, you're thinking it might be…something else," said Sirius with a smirk, "perhaps a not-so-jolly green giant?"

Harry's face reddened a bit at that statement. "Maybe it does have a purpose," he muttered to himself.

"Maybe so," agreed Dumbledore, who'd obviously heard him. "Although you should realize that it is our choices - not our abilities - that define us. You are not a monster, so I hope you haven't been thinking that."

"But now I have to murder Voldemort…if he ever comes back again?" asked Harry.

"My dear boy, there is a difference between killing and murdering. It's your reason for doing it. Voldemort has delved into the darkest of magics. He has killed for the pure pleasure of it. He tortures people for his amusement. He is beyond redemption. He has even severed his own soul into seven pieces in his bid for immortality. Killing him will be saving countless lives."

"What do you mean, he severed his soul into seven pieces?" asked Black.

"The darkest magic imaginable. After murdering someone, your soul will have a tare in it. This spell uses that tare to rip off a piece of the soul and place it into an object. As long as that object is in tact, the person's soul cannot go onto the next great adventure. The object is called a Horcrux. It's literally a piece of that person."

"Tom Riddle's diary," muttered Harry.

"Precisely! You are a good learner," the professor responded.

"That was one," commented Sirius. "You said there were seven."

"His plan was to have six Horcruxes, in addition to his own body. May I cast a quick analysis spell on you, Harry?" The boy nodded, looking confused. Albus pointed his wand at his forehead and silently performed the spell, and then a big smile broke out on his face. "Just as I'd hoped. You see, Harry, when Voldemort tried to kill you in Godric's Hollow, he accidentally made a Horcrux inside you, but somehow your transformation has removed it. Fortunately for Miss Weasley, you seem to have remained a Parselmouth."

"Yeah. That's why my scar hurt when I was around Voldemort in my first year?" Harry asked.

"Yes," confirmed Albus.

"That's good news," commented Sirius.

"Very good news, indeed. I had failed at finding a way to remove Harry's Horcrux that didn't involve him being hit with a killing curse. I'm glad that Harry found a way."

"You mean he'd have had to kill me in order to die?" clarified an exasperated Boy-Who-Hulked-Out.

"I had thought of ways in which you might have survived it, but that was certainly a terrible risk," replied the Hogwarts headmaster.

"I'm glad we don't have to worry about it, then," said Sirius, wanting to change the subject. "What other Horcruxes do we have to find?"

"I believe that he made a Horcrux out of both a ring and a locket that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin, as well as a cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff."

"So…Founder's relics?" asked Sirius.

"Yes. I also suspect he used something that used to belong to either Godric Gryffindor or Rowena Ravenclaw, but have no clues as to which." He took a deep breath. "I believe that he's hidden them in places important to him. For example, there's a cave I feel I'm close to locating, wherein Voldemort first tortured people with magic. His orphanage took a trip nearby and the students that accompanied his exploration of the caves were never the same after returning."

"I'm sure that's a monumental day in his book," Sirius replied disgustedly.

"I'm also going to explore Little Hangleton. It contains the mansion where his father lived and the hovel his mother lived in, as well as the cemetery where the Riddle family is buried."

"I think he'd have hidden one at Hogwarts, as well as Gringotts," declared Harry.

"Why would you think that?" asked Sirius, while Dumbledore looked deep in thought.

"I think I understand him," Harry tried to explain, suddenly feeling nervous. "In some ways, we're alike. After living with the Dursleys…"

Sirius interrupted at that point, practically growling, "Who I still need to repay for the kindness they showed to their nephew."

"Now, now, Sirius. We must all learn forgiveness," commented Dumbledore.

Harry continued without comment. "Hogwarts was the first home I ever had. I think Tom Riddle felt the same way."

"I would agree," Dumbledore interjected, "especially since he manifests an obsession with the Founders."

"Exactly," agreed Harry.

"Why Gringotts?" asked Padfoot.

"Because having a vault there is, to me, symbolic of really belonging in the Wizarding world. I suppose he never got a vault of his own, but many of his followers have them."

"I never thought of it that way, Harry," responded his godfather, "but that's as good a lead as any. We'd just have to figure out which Death Eater is keeping a Horcrux in their vault."

"While I currently have no leads on that," said Dumbledore, "I do believe I know when Tom hid a Horcrux in Hogwarts."

"When?" asked both of his companions.

"When I interviewed him for a teaching position."

"You what?!" again both Harry and Sirius shouted at once.

"I didn't hire him, of course," Albus answered calmly, "although the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher position has seemed to be cursed ever since that day."

"That's taking the rejection a bit far," replied Sirius, actually chuckling about that. "I hadn't realized how sensitive Tommy-boy was."

"You think he hid a Horcrux while he was there?" asked Harry. Dumbledore nodded. "Where did he go during that visit?"

"Alas, I should have had him followed, but didn't. I do, however, know the route he took during his visit, which was straight up the stairs from the entrance hall to the seventh floor, to my office. If he did hide something, it would have to be on the seventh floor."

"That's a start," suggested Sirius. "I think you should handle that search since we'd be arrested on sight if we went to Hogwarts."

"Agreed," the aged wizard said with a twinkle in his eye. He then announced, "It's getting late. I believe I should be headed back to Hogwarts. Goodnight, gentlemen."

"Bye," replied Harry.

"Night," said Sirius.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore disappeared with a small pop.

-HULK-

With a smile on his face and twinkling blue eyes, the headmaster of Hogwarts reached out and tickled the pear on a certain portrait. It swung outward, revealing a doorway. Albus stepped inside.

"It is being Headymaster Dumblydore," announced several of the house elves in the kitchen.

"Is you wanting your usual hot cocoa?" asked the nearest elf.

"Or perhaps a treacle tart?" suggested another.

"Both of those sound excellent. Thank you," Dumbledore replied jovially as he sat at the table they'd hurriedly set up. He took a sip of his cocoa before saying, "I have a question I'd like to ask you."

"Of course, Headymaster Dumblydore," they all enthusiastically replied.

"Do you know of any place between the stairway on the seventh floor and my office where one could hide something, so that it wouldn't be found for over forty years?" After searching the area himself, Albus had to admit he hadn't found anything.

"Of course!" all the elves excitedly proclaimed. "The Come and Go Room!"

"The Come and Go Room?" he asked, surprised. "I've certainly heard about it, but thought it was a myth. It's real?"

"Yes," replied the nearest elf. "and it is being close to your office."

"Would one of you be so kind as to show me where it is," he politely requested, "after I finish my treacle tart?"

-HULK-

After being shown the Room of Requirement, Dumbledore had no trouble locating the Horcrux, which turned out to be Rowena Ravenclaw's long-lost diadem, along with several historical artifacts which he intended to put on display once Voldemort was fully dead. He had used Ron Weasley's memory of Harry opening the Chamber of Secrets to get there himself and liberate several fangs off the dead basilisk and had the Chamber cleaned up, with every useful part of the huge snake harvested. He also wished to allow tours of the Chamber of Secrets at the same time he unveiled Ravenclaw's tiara, even if it did now have a hole in it from a basilisk fang. He then began searching for another Horcrux, which brought him to the cave he was about to enter with Sirius Black and Harry Potter.

Albus was magically drying himself off from his swim while his companions were putting their brooms in their bottomless rucksacks. "I still can't believe you swam for it," commented Sirius, chuckling.

"A moonlight swim can be quite enjoyable, although I admit that without a warming charm, December would not have been the proper time of year for it."

"I guess not," replied Harry, amused at the eccentric headmaster's antics.

"Now that I'm properly dry," Albus stated, "let's get back to business." He then looked around, quickly moving his wand in a seemingly random pattern. "Ah ha. Here's the entrance," he announced, indicating a part of the mountain wall that looked the same as the rest of it to Harry. The headmaster pointed his wand at it, revealing a blazing silver archway that vanished quickly. "But how to open it…of course. Quite disappointing and crude, but certainly predictable." He then pulled a knife out of his pocket. "Tom requires a blood sacrifice."

"Then I'll…" volunteered Harry.

"I don't think we should risk the Hulk showing up just to get into the cave," interrupted Padfoot. "I'll do it."

"No, thank you, Sirius. I've got it," said the headmaster as he pricked his finger and smeared a bit of blood on the wall. The blazing silver outline of an arch appeared in the wall once more, revealing the entrance of the cave. The blood-smeared wall vanished, leaving an opening into what seemed total darkness. "After me, I think," he instructed while lighting his wand. The others followed suit. After a few minutes, during which time Sirius unsuccessfully attempted to summon the Horcrux, Dumbledore located a hidden boat that Voldemort had left for visitors.

"It doesn't look like it'll fit all of us," commented Sirius, "So Dumbledore and I will go."

"I'm afraid that's not an option Tom has left us," commented Albus. "I'm afraid that the boat will only allow one full-grown wizard on it. I do believe that Harry, if he were an ordinary underage wizard, might've been able to join me. However, given his unique power, I doubt his magic would avoid detection."

"We're not letting you go alone," insisted Harry, getting an idea. "Couldn't we ride our brooms above the water?"

"Perhaps," agreed Dumbledore. "But be sure to stay well above the water with no light, and don't touch the ceiling, either. You don't want to be detected."

Being extremely careful, Sirius and Harry followed behind the boat Dumbledore was riding until it came to a small island in the middle of the cave. During the ride, they'd seen that the water was infested with inferi. The only light on the island was greenish and coming from a stone basin that looked rather like a Pensieve. It was full of an emerald liquid emanating a phosphorescent glow.

"What is it?" asked Harry quietly.

"I am not sure," answered Dumbledore. "Something more worrisome than blood and bodies, however."

"Be careful," suggested Sirius as Dumbledore reached out his hand toward the surface of the potion. However, the aged professor demonstrated that none of them could touch it and then revealed Voldemort's method of getting to the bottom of the basin, where the Horcrux was hidden.

"I can only conclude that this potion is supposed to be drunk."

Sirius swore. "That's crazy! There's got to be another way."

"I'm afraid, Sirius, that there is no other method. I'm sure that the potion won't immediately kill me."

"I guess he'd want to keep you alive long enough to interrogate you," agreed Sirius thoughtfully.

"Exactly. Which one of you will feed me the potion, and keep giving it to me no matter what happens, even if I beg you to stop?"

"I will," volunteered Harry, looking grim. "If you insist on taking it." He then handed his broom to Sirius.

"I do," replied Dumbledore. "I'm proud of you, Harry." He then conjured a crystal goblet and handed it to the Boy-Who-Had-A-Different-Plan. Harry slowly lowered the cup into the potion and turned toward his former headmaster as though he were going to give it to him. Instead, Harry quickly brought the goblet to his mouth.

"NO!" shouted both Sirius and Albus as they watched him swallow it. It only took seconds before Harry's eyes glowed green and he started transforming. His shirt was quickly shredded, along with his shoes.

"RAHHH!" the Hulk roared before tossing his destroyed shirt onto the island. He then tried to punch the basin, which managed to block him with an invisible shield at first. However, that only made the Hulk madder. He roared at the offending container and began punching it over and over.

"It looks like it's working," commented Sirius. "He's getting closer each time."

"Indeed. I think we should be ready for when he succeeds. Do you think Harry would mind my borrowing his broom? I suspect we'll need to exit much more quickly than we entered."

Finally, the Hulk broke through the invisible shield, his fists continuing on to smash the basin, causing the entire foul potion to spill to the ground, revealing a locket at the bottom.

"That must be Slytherin's locket," commented Dumbledore as they watched the Hulk leap into the water.

Padfoot swore again while Albus quickly grabbed the locket, placed it in his pocket, and mounted Harry's broom. Sirius silently joined him just as the Hulk jumped out of the water with several inferi holding onto him. They watched him rip them apart one-by-one as they flew toward the exit. The Hulk made his final leap out of the water. After smashing the inferi that had come up with him, he made his own doorway out of the cave, which Dumbledore and Padfoot followed him through. Then the Hulk turned around and started punching the mountain itself, over and over until causing it to collapse and destroy the cave.

After the cave was destroyed, the Hulk sat down and changed back into Harry. He opened his eyes and looked around. "Did we get the Horcrux?"

"Harry," reprimanded Sirius, "that was the single most irresponsible thing I've ever seen you do!"

"I figured that Voldemort didn't have me in mind when he made that potion, so I had the best chance at surviving it. Did we get the Horcrux?"

"I'm afraid that I must agree with Sirius that what you did was quite reckless, Harry," chastised Dumbledore, reaching into his pocket.

"Fine, but did we get the…"

"Yes," answered Dumbledore, pulling out the locket, before opening it and saying, "No."

"What?" asked both Harry and Sirius at once.

"This is a fake. It has a note written by someone who identifies himself as R.A.B."

"R.A.B?" asked Padfoot. "Let me see that." He took the note from Dumbledore and looked at it. He suddenly smiled. "I guess he turned on Voldemort, after all. This was written by my brother, Regulus."

"Really?" asked Harry, surprised. "The one who became a Death Eater?"

"Yeah. Kreacher!"

A house elf popped in front of Sirius. "Master Sirius Black?" he said, quite surprised.

"So, you are alive?" asked Padfoot, who hadn't called on the Black family elf since he was sixteen.

"Alive to see the horrid day when Kreacher's poor mistress died and her blood traitor son Sirius became the head of this once glorious house," he replied.

"Have you seen this locket," shouted Sirius, already getting angry at the elf.

"Y-y-yes, Master Sirius," the elf answered. It then looked around and realized where it was. "You is destroying the cave?"

"How do you know about the cave?" asked Padfoot.

Kreacher then told a story of how Voldemort had borrowed him from Regulus to test the cave's defenses, leaving Kreacher for dead in the process, and that when Regulus found out about it, he'd gone to the cave himself and ended up dying in that cave, ordering Kreacher to destroy the locket. However, he'd so far been unable to fulfill that order.

"Would you like to do that, now?" asked Sirius. The elf nodded eagerly. "Then bring that locket here." The elf disappeared and was back within ten seconds. Sirius pulled a basilisk fang (which Dumbledore had given both him and Harry) out of his rucksack and handed it to Kreacher, who immediately stabbed it into the hateful locket, not even giving the piece of Voldemort in it time to defend itself.

As the elf began doing a happy dance, Dumbledore recommended, "I suggest we go to Little Hangleton next, perhaps starting at the Gaunt shack."

-HULK-

"Not exactly a welcoming sight," commented Sirius as he gazed at the skeleton of a snake that had been nailed to the front door of the shack he, Harry and Dumbledore had come to investigate.

"No, indeed," agreed Dumbledore. "We must proceed cautiously." He then pointed his wand at the door, causing the handle to turn and it to open. "Follow me."

Harry and Sirius walked into the dark shack with their wands glowing, to see their former headmaster moving his wand about in every direction. He stopped at a particular spot on the floor. "Harry, would you come here for a moment?"

He walked over to look at what Dumbledore was looking at to see a small drawing of a snake. Albus commented, "I've heard enough of Parseltongue to imitate the word 'open,' but it may be better to have a genuine speaker say it."

Harry cleared his throat, staring at the eyes, and hissed 'open' at it. A glowing outline of a square about one square foot appeared on the floor. The snake drawing was in the middle of it.

Dumbledore levitated it with his wand, saying, "Thank you, Harry."

The moment the piece of wood started floating, Harry heard some hissing coming from it. 'Are you the great Voldemort?' it asked.

'Yes," answered Harry, wondering what defense he'd just bypassed when the floorboard replied, 'Then you know the counter curse.'

Harry then looked down to see a small black velvet jewelry box was sitting inside the now revealed part of the floor. Albus levitated it and magically opened the box, revealing a ring with a large black stone.

"The snake-face said there's a – DUMBLEDORE, NO!" At that moment, the aged headmaster was reaching toward the ring with his eyes looking eager. Harry didn't have time to stop him, but Sirius grabbed his hands before he touched the ring.

"What do you think you're doing, Albus?" demanded Black.

"Sorry, sorry," apologized Dumbledore. "I guess I got a bit too excited."

"I guess so," agreed Harry. "I was just saying that the snake face warned me I'd need a counter curse."

"Of course, Harry. I'll determine what it is." He then began magically examining the ring. "Yes, that's quite a nasty, not to mention lethal, curse. It would've been quite painful as well. Thank you both for helping an eccentric old man."

After that point, they had no trouble destroying the Horcrux, and Dumbledore insisted on keeping the now curse-free ring. Neither Hulk nor Padfoot disagreed.

"Now, all that's left is determining which Death Eater Voldemort would've trusted to keep Hufflepuff's Cup in their Gringotts vault."

"I've been thinking about that, Albus," replied Sirius, his face rather grim. "I remember one time in Azkaban when Bellatrix was bragging about how much Voldemort trusted her. She said he'd trusted her with his most precious possession."

"Even if she doesn't know it's a Horcrux, a Founder's relic would certainly qualify as that," agreed Dumbledore.

At the same time, less than two miles away, the caretaker of Riddle Manor was being murdered for overhearing two very unusual trespassers discussing things he did not understand.

-HULK-

"Are you both certain?" asked Griphook. "We understand your difficulties in coming here, but I'm sure we can come to a different solution." Harry Potter and Sirius Black were in a private room at Gringotts, speaking to one of the tellers. The Goblin nation didn't care one way or the other about Wizarding law. They served anyone who had a vault, regardless of whether they were fugitives. They also wouldn't allow the Ministry of Magic to seize any assets inside a vault. That's how the goblins convinced all elements of the Wizarding World to allow them to be their bankers.

All a wanted customer had to do was get into Gringotts and enter this private room. Harry and Sirius had snuck in under the Potter heir's Invisibility cloak. They had decided that if they were going to rob Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts, it would be better for the both of them if they no longer had vaults there. Even if they succeeded in their mad plan, the goblins would probably never let them in the bank again.

"Yes, we are," answered Sirius.

"Mr. Potter?" asked Griphook. He wasn't happy about losing two major customers, and was therefore giving them every opportunity to change their minds.

"It's just too risky for us to keep coming here to get gold," the Boy-Who-Lived replied.

"Besides," added Sirius, "this way, we have freedom to move anywhere in the world, if needed."

"Very well," Griphook replied with a sigh. "May I interest either of you in a shrinkable bottomless trunk that has security features that allow only yourself to open it?"

Harry, feeling bad about what they were planning to do, decided to buy the trunk, even though he suspected they'd be charging more than he'd pay at the trunk shop. "How much?"

Not long after, a man was walking along just outside of Gringotts. He was dressed in tattered clothes and was smoking a pipe. He noticed the door open and then close by itself. That wasn't that unusual of an occurrence at the magical bank, but sometimes investigating such things led to profit for Mundungus Fletcher. He watched the ground and followed where the shadows changed, after quickly disillusioning himself.

Slowly moving under Harry's Invisibility cloak, he and his godfather were whispering. "Now that we've emptied our vaults, we're free to go on with the plan tomorrow," Sirius quietly whispered.

"Yes, but I do hope no one gets hurt in the chaos of our getaway."

"The Hulk barely hurt that Malfoy kid who cursed you. I'm sure it'll be all right."

"I guess so, Sirius." He sighed. "Either way, we have to rob that vault."

"Exactly."

Mundungus Fletcher quietly strode away, still invisible, and thought about what could be accomplished inside a bank that was dealing with an attack from the Hulk.

-HULK-

It was about 10 p.m. the next day when Sirius Black and Harry Potter invisibly entered Gringotts to rob it. They were hiding under Harry's invisibility cloak as they snuck around the lobby. Harry stared at the message written for people like them as they walked past it.

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

of finding more than treasure there.

"This way," whispered Sirius, despite the fact that they had a silencing charm on themselves. "There's someone getting ready to ride a mine cart."

The two of them hurried as best they could without being spotted, neither of them noticing that Mundungus Fletcher was in the lobby reading a newspaper, just waiting for chaos to begin.

Padfoot and Harry had an insane plan on how to pull this off. They felt they could find Bellatrix's vault easily enough, flying through the tunnels. Sirius knew the number. They also were aware of how to get into any high security vault. Harry had been warned of that during his first visit to the bank. When Griphook had been opening the vault that had held the Philosopher's Stone, he'd made a comment.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there."

Getting in would be easy. It's getting out that would be difficult. They were hoping that the Incredible Hulk would be able to smash their way out of the vault.

The pair managed to follow a man and goblin through the door that led to the tunnels before it closed and silently waited for the pair to take off in a cart. Once they were alone, both Sirius and Harry pulled a broomstick out of their bottomless rucksacks and mounted them. They put the cloak inside Harry's sack and disillusioned themselves. The cloak would've flapped all over, revealing them, assuming they could even keep holding it. They then began flying around the tunnels of Gringotts, looking for the correct vault. It took them hours, wherein they spotted more than one dragon, along with goblins and customers, but eventually they were standing visible in front of Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. There was a dragon near that as well, to which Sirius simply tossed a huge raw steak, which he'd brought for just this occasion, so it was leaving them alone.

"Here goes," announced Harry. "You'd better take my stuff." He then put his broom, glasses, shirt and shoes into his rucksack and handed it to his godfather.

"Good idea," agreed Sirius. "Knowing the goblins, being sucked inside will hurt enough to cause your transformation. As discussed, I'm going in first. Follow me after ten seconds." After Sirius had put his own broom and Harry's rucksack into his own, he put his finger on the vault door, pretending he was a goblin. It didn't take long before it happened. Harry stood watching as his godfather started swearing while being shrunk and pulled through a small hole that appeared in the door.

"How bad could it be?" Harry asked himself as he took a deep breath. "It didn't even set off an alarm." He remembered Griphook saying they checked the vaults every ten years for a trespasser, and decided he must have been telling the truth. "I think it's been long enough." The Boy-Who-Had-An-Unusual-Problem imitated his godfather and soon found himself being painfully compressed and sucked into the vault. He began screaming as the pain crossed the threshold necessary to summon the Hulk.

Sirius, who'd had no trouble spotting Hufflepuff's Cup, as it had been displayed in a place of prominence, had immediately grabbed it and was in the process of stabbing it with one of the basilisk fangs Dumbledore had provided when Harry emerged from the door. The process had been painful for Sirius, but left no lasting harm. Harry's skin was already turning green when he showed up, and his godfather forced himself to focus on his work rather than watch the amazing transformation.

He stabbed the inside of the cup, causing a ghost-like image of Voldemort to appear above, only to scream in agony at its death. That scream occurred at the same moment that the Hulk let out an ear-piercing roar, signifying to Padfoot that the transformation was done. He quickly grabbed his own broom, knowing he'd have to follow the Hulk quickly once he got out of the vault. He said, "Okay, Harry, smash through the doorway and get us out of here," before disillusioning himself again.

"Hulk likes smashing," he replied before pounding on the door, which shook a bit, but stayed in place.

"Impressive construction," Sirius commented quietly. He didn't have a doubt in the world as the Hulk roared again and punched the door, which formed a large crack. It took three more hits before the thick metal door finally smashed in. An alarm sounded immediately. "Good job! Now climb up!"

Whether the Hulk understood him or not, he did begin jumping up and grabbing the sides of the cave they were in, causing a lot of damage. Sirius took off quickly behind him, hoping there wouldn't be a cave-in. The dragon seemed to be licking its claws, obviously making sure to swallow all the blood that had come with the raw steak it had been gifted. Once they got past that floor, Sirius could see hoards of goblins coming out of everywhere, axes and bows in hand as they tried to protect the bank.

Mundungus Fletcher entered the tunnels as soon as the alarm went off and the goblins started going after the thief. He jumped into an empty mine cart and managed to get it to move for a bit, before it stopped dead. He climbed out and began looking for a vault to rob.

When a goblin arrow hit the Hulk, it didn't penetrate his skin. However, it did annoy him. He turned toward his attackers, roaring, "Puny things!" before jumping at them, grabbing two of them and hurling them into more incoming goblins. He then jumped up to a higher level, roaring in victory. Sirius kept following, invisible and riding a broom, making sure to dodge any stray goblin arrows.

Meanwhile, 'Dung' was trying to blast his way into a low security vault with his wand. He didn't think he could get into a higher one, but hoped that his target was weak enough to open.

The Hulk jumped onto a floor that had an empty mine cart and grabbed it, hurling the vehicle at a group of twenty goblins running at him with axes. "Leave Hulk alone!" he roared before jumping up another level, still followed closely by Sirius Black.

The few goblins that were still in the lobby of Gringotts had managed to get all their customers out the door while they dealt with the thief. They were watching to door to the mine with their weapons drawn, ready to kill any non-goblin that came through.

They soon began hearing crashes and bangs, and then the floor itself was shaking a bit before the doors they were looking at were torn off their hinges by a huge green hand before being tossed in their direction. As they were dodging for cover, the Hulk ran through the doorway and busted the outside doors wide open. One of the goblins managed to hit him with an arrow that simply fell to the floor, without causing any injury. The green giant turned toward him and roared, before running out of Gringotts.

In the meantime, a team of goblins found Mundungus Fletcher trying to blast open one of their vault doors. He was just lucky he hadn't been successful; otherwise, he'd have been killed. As it was, he had to spend quite a few months shoveling dragon dung before they finally let him out.

Sirius was still flying invisibly, stunning any Auror that got anywhere near the Hulk. He didn't want Harry caught as soon as he changed back to himself. If the weretroll looked like it wanted to stop and rest, Black would tell it they were still being chased. Finally, when the coast seemed clear, Sirius let the Hulk rest. As soon as Harry transformed back, he grabbed his godson and apparated them back to their current campsite.

-HULK-

"Well, Wormtail, that was an interesting tale on the Wireless. It seems poor, innocent Harry has been driven to theft. I wonder how much he stole." The wireless had only reported that the Hulk had robbed Gringotts, not what he'd stolen or from whom. "Regardless, his blood is the only thing we need in order to finish our task."

"Yes, master," agreed his servant.

"We'll have to pay Xenophilius Lovegood a visit, and politely inquire how he found Harry's whereabouts." The Dark Lord then laughed, soon being joined by Peter Pettigrew.

-HULK-

Author's Note: At the Yule Ball in Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore said he had recently discovered a disappearing bathroom (which was the Room of Requirement). In this story, I'm assuming he was telling the truth that it had been a recent discovery, as opposed to lying so that Harry would hear about it.

P.S. Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

The Incredible Hulk belongs to Marvel.