Chapter 1 ~ truce and Whispers of Darkness
-separater-
Does Everyone have to try and kill me? There was the incident with the dark lord when I was just a baby and then last year …
Last year it was pretty bad. The 'dark lord' Voldemort possessed the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and tried to get himself a new body.
But this year was going to be worse he just knew it. Voldemort couldn't be done with him yet. Killing his parents was one thing but killing the dark lord too? What was the point. Just because he was the 'savior' didn't mean he had to save anyone. No one had tried to save him the year before, so why should he help?
As he laid back onto his bed his eyes flicked to the ceiling. He had taken to staring at it a lot lately. It didn't scream at him and it didn't try to harm him. Not like his relatives –cough—the whales and the horse woman. They treated him like he was beneath them, as if they were perfect gods and he was a lowly demi-god.
Closing his eyes Harry let his thoughts wander. Why did he have to deal with so much shit? Couldn't the world leave him alone for once?
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Harry Potter found himself at Snape's office door after classes.
"Come in," the man said as he knocked. Brushing his hair out of his eyes Harry glanced around the room before his eyes met his professor's.
"Do you know why I asked for your audience here Mr. Potter?"
Shaking his head the boy sighed,
"I have no idea Snape. Why not just get it over with?"
Glaring Snape said,
"I have called you here to warn you."
"Of what? Has the Dark Lord returned or something?"
"No, but I do believe that he will. There are many ways to stay alive without a body. It is unlikely but I want you to be careful."
"And why would you help me? You seemed content to let me alone the first time we met."
"I made a promise …"
Green eyes flashed, challenging him to continue. Running a hand through his greasy hair Snape replied.
"It does not matter who I promised. I promised to protect you."
"The only person I can think of would be my parents. You clearly knew them."
Gritting his teeth Snape nodded. What he chose not to tell the boy wouldn't hurt him. Hopefully that would be a good enough explanation.
-separater-
Harry stood next to Draco near the Quidditch pitch. Their flying teacher Madam Hooch was standing nearby.
"Say up to get your brooms ready. Then I want you to mount them."
Soft cries of 'up' could be heard from the congregation of Slytherins and Gryffindors. Harry looked around and was happy to see Ron having trouble. Beside him a curly haired witch was also having some trouble.
They wore the Gryffindor garb but Harry could see something different in the girl. As if she wasn't as 'glorious' as the others. She had a smartness to her that stood out from the others. Considering she was a Gryffindor that would probably just get to her head. He did not know her name but if she proved interesting he could find out.
"Mount your brooms and hover above the ground. Come on, all of you." Madam Hooch instructed. Several of the Slytherins were able to float a few inches off of the ground. Harry blinked as he soared six feet into the air. With a sigh he swooped back down. Draco had done something similar, a smirk plastered on his aristocratic features. A boy with short brown hair from the Gryffindor house soared into the air.
"H-help!" he cried. Malfoy snickered and picked up something the boy had dropped.
"Looks like Longbottom forgot something. Too bad it is supposed to help him to not forget." The blonde said as he held up a small glass ball. Harry's attention had landed on the slowly ascending boy on the broom. Without thinking he left the ground and chased the boy. After making it to the rooftops the broom slammed into a wall. It stuck into a groove in the stone and the boy fell. He was kept from falling to the ground by his robes, which had caught on the end of the broom. He looked terrified and Harry hovered nearby to make sure nothing else happened.
Without warning the boy's robes slipped off the broom. He screamed as he fell to the ground. A crack could be heard by the students standing on the ground.
"Shush," the teacher said as she came over to the fallen boy. Harry landed and watched.
"Looks like a broken wrist, I am taking him to the Hospital wing. If I see one broom in the air that person will have detention." She said as she escorted the frightened boy off of the grounds and toward the castle.
Draco smirked as he took to the air.
"Maybe Longbottom needs to figure out what thinking is? I think I'll leave this somewhere for him to find."
"How about the roof?" another boy said from the ground. The Slytherins laughed, all except Harry. An expression of anger overtook his fine features. Soaring into the air he said,
"Give it here Malfoy," in the coldest voice the boy had heard him use since being placed in Slytherin. Paling slightly Draco raced toward the forest at the edge of the pitch.
"Catch me Potter,"
Growling Harry followed him. Taking out his wand he said,
"Accio," the glass ball floated into his hand and he smirked.
"Now that you have nothing to keep me here I think I will go back Malfoy. Have fun explaining why you were in a restricted area."
The blonde gaped at him and then followed after the dark haired boy.
"you will pay for this Potter."
When Harry landed Professor McGonigall stood in front of him with a calculating look on her face.
"Slytherin has no seeker right now. That was exceptional flying Mr. potter. If you will follow me." She said with a slight twitch to her fingers. Placing the broom on the ground Harry followed the stern woman into the castle. She smiled slightly and said,
"I think you would do well as a seeker Mr. Potter."
"A what?" Harry asked feigning knowledge.
The professor shook her head and led him toward a classroom he recognized. Tapping on the doorframe she asked,
"Professor Quirrell can I speak to Mr. Flint?"
"O-of c-course, F-flint?"
A tall boy that looked to be in fifth or sixth year stalked out of the classroom.
"What is this about Professor?" he asked politely. Harry could tell that it was only out of courtesy. The boy obviously did not think highly of her.
"Potter, this is Marcus Flint. Flint I have found you a Seeker."
"What? This one? What year is he in? First? Second? He is too young."
"I am in first year." Harry's soft voice startled the boy.
"he has exceptional skill Flint. I may not be your head of house but I can recognize talent when I see it." The woman said. Nodding Flint held his hand out for Harry.
"Sorry. I forgot my manners." He said, glancing down to see in fact that Harry was a Slytherin.
-separater-
Harry sat at the Slytherin table next to Draco and a girl he knew mostly by name only.
"Draco, when do we get to go back to your Manor? I am becoming bored of this place." The girl said.
"Pansy, not until Christmas. I am bored as well. The Gryffindors are idiots and the other houses aren't much." The blonde replied.
Rolling his eyes Harry looked to the other side of the room. Ron Weasley and the bushy haired girl were eating quietly. For once he couldn't hear the red head's complaining from across the room. All of a sudden Ron stood up and glared at Harry. Blinking the Slytherin boy turned back to the conversation the blonde and raven were having. They hadn't noticed the angry Gryffindor.
It was Halloween and today had been hell enough. Waking up screaming put Harry in a bad mood. It was those nightmares again. The flash of green light and the shouting woman. Who the hell was she? He didn't need protection. Not from her and most certainly not from Snape.
Ron stormed over to the table and glared at Pansy.
"You think you have it bad? Try living with many siblings and all in a small house. You have nothing! You are just a pureblood brat." He spat.
"I will have you know Weasel, I do have a family. At least mine doesn't have freckles and ugly red hair."
"You take that back!"
"I will not. There is no point in arguing this. You are low-class and that is all there is to it." Pansy said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She looked to Draco for help but the blonde wasn't paying attention. Her eyes fell on Harry and she smiled.
"Harry?"
"I am staying out of this Pansy. If you can't take care of yourself in front of a Weasel you are not worth it."
"He's right. Wait did I just agree with a slimy snake?" the Weasley said in horror. Smirking Harry left the great hall. Pansy followed after with an angry expression on her face.
"Potter,"
"What?" he asked not turning around.
"Why didn't you stick up for me?"
"You need to learn to stick up for yourself."
"But-"
"If you can't do that then why should I associate with you?" he asked. Tears formed in her eyes and she ran toward an empty corridor to be alone.
Harry felt as if he should go back into the great hall for some reason. Running footsteps stopped him in his tracks. Sliding to the side he watched as Quirrell came into view. He ran into the hall with Harry following.
"Troll in the Dungeons!" he shouted, before fainting.
When Pansy wasn't seen the rest of the day Draco grew worried.
"Daffiny do you know where Pansy is?" he asked in their last class of the day.
"No, but someone said they saw her in the bathroom. She was crying. The Granger mudblood was there too, I think."
This caught Harry's attention. There was a bathroom near the dungeons. Maybe …
He and Draco made their way to the bathroom. They met up with the Weasel on the way and ignored him. He followed and they were met with an ugly figure dragging a club. The creature growled and lumbered into the bathroom. The boys were transfixed for a moment, which was broken when two high pitched screams were heard a few minutes later.
"Hermione!"
"Pansy!"
Ignoring the other two Harry walked into the bathroom. The troll was gigantic and smelled horrible. Quickly casting Protego around the girls he faced the monster. It smiled stupidly and raised its club.
Ron cast the floating charm to smack the troll on the head with its own club. Harry cast a Stupify on the beast to make sure it didn't get up. They all walked out of the bathroom as four teachers came up to them. They were spared detention except for the mudblood.
"You are to meet Hagrid at his hut in a week's time. He has something for you to check out." McGonigall said. Sighing the three boys nodded their heads, along with Pansy.
-separater-
Harry got bored quickly during the detention. Hagrid took the four of them into the Forbidden Forest. He said something about Unicorns. This was not interesting enough for the other three. Harry's eyes twitched at the mention of the light creatures. He much preferred the darker versions: Thestrals. Though they were not the polar opposite they were pretty close.
Growing bored when Hagrid showed them silver blood Harry wandered off on his own. He could smell the blood of the Unicorn from miles away. Why was this? Was it because he hated the light creatures? That couldn't be it surely. There had to be a another reason.
As he walked darkness surrounded him. This was what he liked. The wizards who preached the goodness of the light were so annoying. This included Albus Dumbledore of course. The git just wanted him to be his little savior. He did not care if Harry suffered for it. How he knew this the dark haired boy did not know. That was the vibe he got from the man.
He was drawn from his musings by a strange sound. It had been pretty quiet in the forest since he had left the others. Scanning the forest he didn't notice anything out of place at first. Then there was a barely noticeable figure in the shadows. It loomed over a creature whose fur coat gleamed brightly in the moonlight. Unicorn.
The creature's neck had been broken. Its head lay at a painful angle. Whatever was hiding in the shadows obviously knew what it was. A low hissing sound caught his attention.
/Unicorn blood will sustain me./
What?
The figure leaned over the Unicorn. A few seconds later and a silvery substance was flowing freely from the creature's neck. Bending down the figure drank from the creature of the moon. It was horrible to watch and Harry bit his tongue to prevent himself from vomiting.
-separater-
Harry stood in a room nearly devoid of anything. A large mirror stood along one wall and a staircase descended toward it. Climbing down the stairs he stared into the mirror. Bright red eyes stared back at him. He turned but there was no one there. Footsteps caught his attention as a person walked into the room. It was Quirrell. So he had been right after all.
The turban wearing man stopped and stared at him.
"Master?" he muttered.
"Let me see the boy."
"Master you are not strong enough."
"yess I am. Show me the boy."
With a disturbed look on his face Quirrell began removing the turban from his head.
Not five minutes later a grotesque sight met Harry's eyes. As Quirrell turned he could see slitted pupils and a flat face. What intrigued him the most were the eyes. They were such a vivid red color, like blood. Recognition made him want to gag and then throw up what he had eaten earlier that evening. The eyes … they were the same as in his dream. The same as in the mirror …
Did he desire Lord Voldemort?
/Give me the stone./
"I don't have it. Why give the person who has been trying to kill me for so long what they want? Why would I want to give you a body?"
/You can-/
/Yes, I can understand you. Would I have answered otherwise?/
/No. Give me the stone. You can get it from the mirror./
"No."
/Kill him./
Harry smirked as he stared into the mirror. Something solid landed in his pocket and he could tell it was the stone. The Philosopher's stone that the dark lord wanted so much. Quirrell came at him, wand raised.
"Avada Ked-"
"Protego,"
The spell was halted as the dark lord blinked. This boy dared to defy him?
The shield was black instead of the normal blue color.
A spell that powerful had to mean something. Most wizards that age couldn't even use the shield charm let alone one so powerful.
/What are you waiting for?/
"M-master …"
"Kill him!"
The timid man started toward Harry. His wand was put away as he approached.
Most wizards fought with magic. The fact that Quirrell was coming at him the muggle way was surprising. This caused Harry to lose control of the shield charm. It fell away and he stared at the man.
"I shall kill you."
"Really? I was under the impression you couldn't hurt a fly. What makes you think you can kill me? You couldn't even cast the killing curse."
Quirrell's hand was around his neck before he could protest. As Harry held his breath Quirrell started screaming. Ashes collected around his hand and he stepped back.
/What are you waiting for?/
"It hurts master. It burns."
/You can still kill him. He is just a boy./
"Alright master,"
Quirrell said as he walked toward Harry again.
Harry met him half way. He placed a hand on Quirrell's face and grinned wickedly as ashes formed under his fingers. The man shrieked and eventually there was nothing left of him. Blisters and boils covered his body and then ashes were all that was left. Harry stumbled back in shock. A vicious spirit wafted by him.
It turned and sped toward him.
/I shall kill you./
/Just try it. You have no body now./
/I shall take yours./
Harry erected a Protego around himself to protect against the spirit. It was not needed. The ghost disappeared a few seconds later, leaving an unconscious Potter in his wake.
-separater-
Sweat covered most of Harry's body as he awoke. Carding a hand through his hair he slowly blinked his eyes open. It had been a while since he had dreamed about Voldemort. The others were just annoying. At least Voldemort seemed to know what he was doing. He may not have the greatest ideas but at least he didn't bicker and whine like a child. He could live with that, if the dark lord would stop trying to kill him.
At least he had a bedroom now, instead of the cupboard. Some threats had gotten him here. Afterr arriving back 'home' from school at the end of the year he had set the Dursley's straight. With the rune he could do magic that the ministry would not be able to stop. He gave Dudley a tail for a few days to prove this point. In their terror they gave Harry Dudley's second bedroom. It was smaller than the mini whale's current room but it was fine for Harry.
Harry got up and made his way to the bathroom to shower. After letting the scalding water help him wake up he made his way to the garden. Out of all the chores his aunt had forced him to perform this was the only one he still did. He liked weeding and caring for the plants; they were better deserving of life than the whales and their female companion. At least the plants appreciated his existence and did not scorn him for being a 'freak.'
When the flora was to his liking he went back inside. After making himself some breakfast he sat down at the table. His aunt must have made food for the whales because they were sitting on the couches in the living room rubbing their stomachs. It was a fact that her cooking was sub par, and sometimes harmful to those who ate it. He refused to cook for them now and they would have to deal with it. Once done he put his plate in the sink and went upstairs to his room.
A strange creature stood in the middle of the room. It was much shorter than his 5'4 and had large floppy ears.
"What are you doing here?"
"I am Dobby mr. Harry Potter. I have come to warn you."
"Warn me of what?" harry asked as he lounged on his bed.
"There are bad things going on Mr. Potter. Bad things are happening all around us. Hogwarts is not safe this year."
Nodding Harry inwardly scoffed. What the fuck was this creature talking about?
"What exactly are you?"
Stopping his explanation the creature –Dobby—blinked at him.
"Dobby is a house elf Harry Potter sir."
"A house elf? Why would you want to tell me … bad things are happening? Do you think I will stay here?"
"Yes Harry Potter sir must stay here this year. Hogwarts is not-"
"I already heard you earlier. But why is it not safe?"
The elf sighed softly and slumped to the floor.
"I cannot tell you."
"Why not?"
"Master forbids it. I will have to-"
The elf's ears went red as he grabbed a lamp on the desk next to him. He proceeded to hit himself across the head with it. After a few minutes of staring at the creature Harry's hand stopped him.
"Quit hitting yourself. It won't do you any good."
"Master would do worse to Dobby." The elf said As he obeyed. Harry stared at him wide eyed. His master would … abuse him?
"Harry potter sir must stay away from Hogwarts."
"Why?"
"Did Harry Potter sir's friends not write this year?"
"I haven't gotten any letters from Draco or Pansy this summer. Why do you ask?"
The elf pulled a few envelopes from the pillow case that he wore.
"Dobby thought if Harry Potter thought his friends forgot him he wouldn't want to go back."
Harry reached for the letters but Dobby ran to the door and opened it.
The elf plodded down the stairs and watched the muggles. He snapped his fingers and the cake his aunt made earlier floated in the air. Harry came downstairs and glared at the elf.
"Give me the letters Dobby."
"Only if you promise Dobby you will not go back to Hogwarts."
"No."
"Dobby must do this." The elf said as he levitated the cake over Aunt Petunia's head. With an audible slushing sound it fell into her face. Screaming the woman turned acusing eyes on Harry.
About to acuse the elf Harry noticed too late that the creature was not there. Dobby had disappeared and now he would have to deal with the ministry. The elf's magic was not affected by his rune and how was he supposed to explain this?
After speaking with a wizard who called himself Kingsley Harry felt slightly better. The man said that Dobby had been reported missing by his master. He was not to be penalized for the use of magic. He was underage after all and it was doubtful that he could use the spell in question. That of course, was by normal standards. They did not know about his advanced state of spellwork and he wasn't going to tell them.
It was going to be a long year. He would not heed the warning and go back to school. It was bound to be hell this year. Someone wouldn't go through the trouble of coming to warn him for nothing.
-separater-
Harry walked toward the barrier that would take him to the Hogwarts Express. The summer had been uneventful for the most part. He had gone to Diagon Alley with Draco around his birthday. They got their supplies with mostly no trouble. The only mishap was when they entered Flourish and Blots to buy their school books.
Their newest DADA teacher just so happened to be there. Gilderoy Lockheart was a reasonably handsome man, it was his ego that was the problem. A celebrity by trade he thought the world revolved around him. When he noticed Harry he just had to have a picture with him for the Daily Prophet. Ugh.
There had been a fallout with Ron's father and Draco's. The older Malfoy dropped a black book into the youngest Weasley's cauldron. Ginny Weasley would be a first year this year. Harry didn't think she was anything special but it was not easy to tell with wizards. People could easily deceive others.
Draco had gone through the barrier before him. As he stalked toward it something made him fall to the ground. After dusting himself off he glared at Ron Weasley who was next to him.
"I can't get through either. I didn't do anything to the barrier." The red head replied. Sighing Harry picked up his trunk from the ground.
"How are we going to get to school? It's not like we can fly or anything." Harry said.
Ron's eyes brightened.
"We can take my parents flying car." He said. Blinking Harry stared at the other boy.
"Are you nutters?"
"No, my dad enchanted a car so it could fly. Let's go."
The Weasel dragged Harry out of the station and to a small blue Ford Anglea.
With a tap of his wand the doors were unlocked. The weasel slid into the driver's seat, which left Harry to the other side.
"I will drive. I know how it works."
"Fine,"
"What? You're okay with this?"
"I don't really have a choice do I?"
The Weasley smirked and started the car. With a tap of his wand they were no longer visible.
-separater-
A/N:
I was going to keep going with this chapter. Recent reviews and author/story favourites changed my mind. So this was the first chapter.
In the next chapter Harry will start his second year at Hogwarts. There will be many differences from the original series. For those who liked the JK version of book two I am sorry. I am sticking with some of the major plot points, but changing them.