Well, i meant to upload this earlier, but i was running a little late. So late, in fact, that i compeltely forgot an A/N. So, i'll be uploading one other chapter in just a few minutes. Here's chapter two of Lord of The Night.
Nura chapter 2
Susan and Daphne walked as quickly as they could from the room after being dismissed. Susan was ecstatic to be given a chance to save her family, while Daphne was complete shocked. As the approached the potions room, Dumbledore swept passed them with his wand drawn, and fury etched on his wrinkled face. Neither of them dared to breathe as they waited for him to move on. Finally as the door to the final room opened, they raced into the potions room, which had its flames extinguished, and the continued passed the troll, the chess set, and the key. Once they reached the devil's snare, the saw that a rope ladder had descended from the trap door, and the hurried up, encouraged by the soft music from the room above.
Once safely out of the forbidden corridor, Daphne pulled Susan into an abandoned classroom, "What the hell just happened?" she glares.
"What about?" Susan asks.
"Well, first of all, you're a yokai?" she says coldly.
"As are you." Susan nods, "What about it?"
"Well, I didn't know that there were any others." Daphne fumes, "And why on earth would you want to join his night parade just like that?"
"Because it's my only chance." She counters, "You and I aren't the only Yokai in this school, and a couple of the others have been pressuring me to join them. Not only me, but my family as well. The bones' are strong, but not so strong that we could fight against so many at once. You know what would happen if we refused to join. They'd swoop in all at once and crush us mercilessly. My mom, aunt, and sisters would all be killed or forced to join with them. But with him… Do you honestly think that there's a yokai that would have a chance against that? He could have killed us both before we even knew that he found us."
"So, you'll use him to protect your family?" Daphne glares, "And what happens when he finds out that you're using him like that?"
"I won't be keeping it a secret." She answers, "And I'm sure that the rest of my family would approve of following him, at least when they consider the alternative."
"What about me?" she asks, "What's going to happen to…"
"Like he said, if he'd wanted to kill you, you'd be dead." Susan smiles, "Maybe he wants you to join as well. After all, you aren't a pushover."
"My family isn't exactly strong fighters." She sighs, "What could he see in me?"
"Your personality. Your quick wit. Your knowledge." Susan lists, "Not everyone in a night Parade is a fighter. You might just have to be his advisor."
"I don't know…" Daphne sighs.
"Give it some thought." Susan smiles, reaching into her pocket, "In the meantime, I'll walk you back to the dungeons. You wouldn't want to get caught, would you? After that, I've got to find some way to hide this."
Harry found himself on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch, standing in the center of the field. There didn't seem to be anyone around.
"Got something on your mind?" Someone asked from the sky.
Harry looked up, and was startled to find the same person he'd seen in the mirror staring down at him from a broom. "Who are you?"
"You." He answered simply, "I'm the other you. Your power. Your true nature. Your inner Yokai."
"Yokai?"
"That's right." He says as he smirks.
"What exactly was all of that?" Harry asks when it becomes clear that he wasn't going to elaborate.
"That was me taking control. You were tempted. Far too tempted." He says calmly, "It wouldn't do for the Lord of the Night to be subservient to another. That's why I intervened."
"What are you talking about?" Harry growls angrily, "I'm tired of you beating around the bush!"
At this, he laughs, "I see. Well than... to answer your question, what are you talking about?"
Now Harry was just confused. "Huh?"
"You asked what I was talking about. What part? Were you confused about me being your inner yokai, or perhaps you want to know why I took over your body. Or maybe what I meant about being the lord of the night. If you're going to ask a question, be clear about it."
"All of it." Harry glares, and he chuckles again.
"Well then, I suppose I should get started. You can only be unconscious for so long after all. Let's start with the first question. I'm your inner yokai or demon if you prefer. Somewhere relatively recent in your family history, you have a yokai ancestor. Thus, you're part human part yokai. Your human side is in control for now, but if need be, and if I'm strong enough, that can change. Which leads to question two. I'm not nearly as gullible as you. I can see everyone lying all around you. Most of the time, it's during the day, and I have no power to stop it. Last night, I had the power, and I wasn't about to let him get away. All you would have gotten from him was a knife in the back. Honestly, I shouldn't have to tell you that the most evil dark wizard in the world wants to kill you."
As much as Harry hates to admit it, his inner yokai was making a lot of sense. Even he couldn't believe that he had almost agreed to Voldemort's little plan.
"And for the last question. The Lord of the Night, the Lord of Pandemonium. These titles are given to the yokai who prove themselves the strongest. Whose 'fear' proves greatest, and who lead the yokai world as the pinnacle of power. That's all there is to it. That's who I am. Who I will be. Whether you like it or not, one day, what you saw in that mirror will come to fruition. The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons."
"Come again?" Harry asks, and then before he could answer cryptically, he adds, "What the heck is a night parade or whatever?"
"A gathering of Yokai. Even the most powerful Yokai are simply Yokai. A Night Parade changes all of that. In the end, a true test of ones 'fear' is their night parade, and without one, Becoming the lord of the night is impossible." He says with a smile, flying slowly around him.
"And what about me?" Harry asks, not liking this at all.
"Are you afraid that I'll take over?" He smirks, "That you'll cease to exist?" Harry nods weakly, and he chuckles, "You needn't fear. I'm still you, after all. And my powers are only at their peak during the night. You will not change at all. However, you should know that the power I revealed last night will not go unnoticed. Susan is only the beginning. There will be others, and some will not be so kind. Without my power, you'd die. Plain and simple. I'm not going to tell you to give me complete control. While that would make it easier on me, even you aren't that stupid. All I'll tell you is to keep an eye open, and if you feel your blood boil again, know that you are in danger."
"Fine." Harry sighs, "What about Susan? You said that we'd talk on the train. How can I do that if you can only come out at night?"
"That's not entirely true. Night is only when my powers reach their peak, and I have the strength to break through your barriers and assert control. If both of us are in agreement, I would be able to take control as needed." He says calmly, "Just leave it to me. I'll leave the humans to you, while the yokai will be mine."
"What about Voldemort?" Harry glares, "You were just going to let him join your night parade?"
"Of course not." He shoots back angrily, "Don't forget that they were my parents too! However, I take no pleasure in killing humans. Had he accepted, he would have left the man's body safely, and I would have killed him where he stood. He forced my hand and he reaped what he sowed. That's all there is to it."
"Sorry…" Harry mutters sheepishly.
"It's fine. I guess it would have looked that way from an outsider's point of view." He says, waving it off, "I think that killing him is something we can both agree on." At that moment, the world started to fade away, "Damn. Out of time already." He sighs, "Look, just stay calm once you wake up. Dumbledore can't know about all of this. Just say that the stone was destroyed by some unknown curse, and in his fury, Voldemort killed Quirrell. Alright?"
Harry nods as his vision goes completely white.
As Harry regained his senses, he felt the sun on his eye lids. Struggling to sit, he opens his eyes. He was in the school Infirmary. None of the other beds were occupied, which Harry took as a good thing. It means that Ron and Hermione are okay. Next to him, on his nightstand, was a huge pile of treats.
"Gifts. From your many admirers." Someone said from the door, and he turns to See Dumbledore sit next to him, "You see, Harry, What happened between you and Professor Quirrell, is a complete secret. Thus, it is only natural that the whole school knows. It is to be expected that many students felt you deserved a reward from your heroism. I believe that Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat, though Poppy seemed to think it would be detrimental to your health."
Harry laughed along with him for a few moments before asking, "Professor, What happened exactly?"
"There are many stories going around, several claiming to be you exact words." Dumbledore says as he takes a pack of Bertie Botts off his nightstand, "Naturally, I'm sure these are all lies. I must confess that even I do not understand everything that happened during your encounter, and I would very much like to hear your take on the events."
Harry's thoughts flooded back to him as he remembered the power he used, and the talk he had with his yokai. Quickly, Harry started to explain, "Well, Voldemort was sticking out of the back of Quirrell's head, and he saw me. Quirrell captured me, and Voldemort ordered him to make me get the stone. Once I'd gotten it, which I have no idea how I did, he tried to convince me to join him. I refused after he released me, and he started cursing me. One of the curses hit the stone after I dropped it and it was destroyed. Voldemort started screaming, and then so did Professor Quirrell and he just collapse. The next thing I knew, I was here."
"I see." Dumbledore nods, "That does, indeed, sound like Lord Voldemort. Quirrell was a worthy pawn for the task he required; infiltrating Hogwarts and stealing the stone. However, once that had failed, and the stone was destroyed, he was simply a witness and knew too much. Your story does indeed fit with the facts that I myself had observed from the scene. Now then, do you have any questions?"
"What about Ron and Hermione?" he asks at once, "Are they okay? What hap-"
"They are fine." He says soothingly, "Both are just fine. Miss Granger brought him to the Infirmary as soon as she escaped, and was on her way to the owlery to send me a letter when I happened upon her. I realized, half way to the ministry that the place I was needed was where I had just come from. From there, I speed to the third Floor with all speed, and arrived mere moments after you had collapsed. Both have made a complete recovery and have been at your bedside every day since."
"Why was I able to get the stone?" Harry asks next, "It wounded like Quirrell couldn't, so why could I?"
"I enchanted that mirror, the mirror of Erised, to give the stone only to one why wanted it, but would not use it. Quirrell, who wanted nothing more than to aid Voldemort in returning to power, could not have retrieved it himself. In time, he might have broken them, but I would have arrived long before that happened."
"I've just got one more question." Harry sighs, "Why me? Why would Voldemort want to kill me?"
Dumbledore's face darkens as he begins rubbing his temple, "I was afraid that you would ask me that. Any other question, and I would answer, but I beg your forgiveness in this. It is not my place to burden you with this while you are so young. Place it out of your mind, and in time, I swear to you that I will tell you all I know."
"Yes sir." He mutters.
Looking down at the candy in his hand, Dumbledore chuckles, "Bertie Bott's every Flavor Beans. I was quite unfortunate in my youth to come across a vomit flavored one, and since them I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them. Though, I believe it should be alright for a nice toffee." Removing one, he bites it and chuckles, "Alas. Earwax."
The two laugh as Harry himself begins opening his candy.
That night was among the happiest that Harry could ever remember. Meeting Hermione and Ron at the end of term feast was wonderful, and winning the house cup because they saved the stone was even better. Afterwards, Harry lay awake, feeling sad for most of the night. In part it was because tomorrow he would be leaving Hogwarts for the summer, but more than that was the fact that he had lied to Ron and Hermione. He'd told them he same lie he told Dumbledore, and like Dumbledore they believed him. That, more than anything, made him upset. They trusted him, and he was betraying that trust.
After finally falling asleep, Harry found himself back on the Pitch, and once more, the yokai sat on the broom above him, "Well done. You managed to convince the old man." He says pleasantly.
"But I lied to them." Harry sighs.
"I know. Honestly, I don't know how they'll factor into things." He says sadly, "You need them as your anchor, to ensure that you don't lose yourself in my power, but we can't risk them finding out. I don't know if they'd accept us for who we are."
"I know that, but it still sucks." Harry growls.
"Life sucks." He counters, "Tomorrow, once we're on the train, I'll take over. I'll handle things with Susan, and maybe Daphne. After that, we'll work on some way to ease them into the idea of staying friends with a demon."
"Alright." Harry sighs again, and the world around him disappears again.
"Idiot." His yokai sighs in the depths of his own subconscious, "You need to stop taking orders for once. Even I can only do so much, and you'll need to improve if you're not going to die this summer."
The next morning was slow. Everything was packed, and they'd received instructions to leave their trunks, as they would be moved to the train. At breakfast, Harry let his thoughts wander. 'Should I tell them?' he thought, looking over at Ron and Hermione, who were arguing, 'I really want to, but what if they reject me? What would I do?'
"Harry!" Hermione yells, snapping him out of his trance, "Is something wrong? We've been calling you for the last five minutes."
"It's nothing." He smiles, "Just thinking. So what's up?"
"I'm going to see if I can invite you over this summer." Ron tells him, "SO, hopefully, I'll be seeing you again real soon."
"You're talking like we won't be seeing each other on the train." Harry smirks, and his best mate blushes slightly, glancing over at Lavender Brown, "Oh… I see. When did this happen?"
"The other day." He mutters, "After everyone found out that I was with you."
"Well, glad to hear it." He smirks, "Don't be a stranger though."
"Right." Ron nods, standing and walking over to Lavender.
"You know that she's just using him." Hermione huffs.
"I know that." Harry admits, glaring at the girl chatting with his best mate, "But a burned hand teaches best, and if we try to stop him it'll just push him away. He'll be back next year, when there is some other school celebrity."
"You're right." She mutters, "Doesn't mean that I have to like it."
"I feel the same." Harry admits, "And I'm seriously considering consulting the twins to plan for her betrayal."
"That's low." She smiles.
"But in this case, justified." Harry counters, and they laugh for a few moments.
With breakfast behind them, the duo took a carriage from the front of the school to Hogsmeade station. Once on board the train, Hermione did as Harry expected her to, and wanted to get started on the summer home work. Not that Harry minded too much. It wasn't very likely that the Dursleys would let him do anything, so the less he had to do on the train ride up the better.
It was almost an hour later that the train started moving, and Hermione announced he'd made sufficient progress to continue on his own. "I'm going to go and see if Ron wants any help." She smiles, "You know how he'll probably forget about it after he gets home."
"Alright." Harry nods, "I'll be here doing what I can."
"I'll help you once I get back." She says as she walks out of the cabin.
As Harry continues his own work, there's a knock on the door, and Harry immediately feels his blood boil. Relaxing, he closes his eyes and everything changes. It's as if he's viewing everything from the outside. His features were changing, his hair was extended, and the mist was covering the room.
"Come in." 'Harry' says calmly, and the door slides open. Susan walks nervously in, a hand in her pocket.
"Hello." She says as she sits across from him, "I'm surprised that you're alone. I thought you'd be with Hermione or Ron."
"Ron and Lavender are seeing each other, so they're spending the train ride together, and Hermione wants to make sure that he does his work, so she's gone to pester him. I imagine we've got about an hour before she gets fed up with him and comes storming back in." he replies, "So, have you got the stone?"
Wordlessly, she withdraws the Philosopher stone and hands it to him.
"Well done." He nods, placing the stone into his pocket, "So, you still want to join my Night Parade?"
"Yes sir." She bows.
"Before you do, you should know a few things." He says calmly, looking her over, "I'm not a full blooded yokai. Most of the time, during the day, Harry controls this body. He's just agreed to make an exception for this meeting. I don't know what your reason is for asking me, but I felt it would be good to mention that beforehand."
"That's fine." She says, bowing again, "As for my reason, my family is under a lot of pressure from nearby families, all of whom want our strength for themselves. But our power isn't what it used to be, and since the death of my father, we lack the ability to defend ourselves from them."
"So, by joining my Night Parade, you want my protection?" He says to clarify, and she nods, "Well, that's fine. I would be a failure as a lord if I allowed my vassals to be harmed."
"There is one more thing." She says nervously, "I don't speak for the rest of my family, so I can only offer you my life. I would be willing to see if they would consent to join and I expect that they would, but I can't say for certain."
"Very well." He nods, "Then let's drink to it, shall we?" from the black mist, he pulls a bottle of whiskey and two cups, "This is specially created for this very purpose. It will grant you a portion of my 'fear' so long as you remain loyal. Disloyalty, however, will turn that power poisonous…"
"I understand." She says as she accepts the cup. As one, the two drain their cups and she offers it back to Harry.
"Welcome, Susan." He smiles as both glasses vanish, "To my Night Parade of a Hundred Demons."
"Thank you, Master." She bows again.
"Well, I am curious just what kind of Yokai you are." He smirks.
Susan's skin turns pitch black, save for bone marking that covered her body. Her eyes were completely white, and at times she was almost see-through. "The Bones family are Ankou." She explains.
"Ah… Well the name 'Bones' certainly suits you." He chuckles, "You mentioned before that there were other Yokai pressuring your family. Anyone I know?"
"Several people." She admits, "The Notts, and by extension their vassals Malfoy and Parkinson, also the browns, though they are likely the least threatening. Their strength is roughly equal to ours, and they have no vassals under their command, so a battle between us would just destroy both. They've just been purposing an alliance to survive until our house regained our strength. The Abbotts have been doing the same. The last one is Diggory, and the five families under his command. Of all the yokai at Hogwarts, he's likely the most powerful. Next to you, of course, Master." She adds hastily.
"So, Theo, Draco, Pansy, Lavender, Hannah, and Cedric?" He says carefully, "Well, from the little I've seen of him, Nott would never give in. Quite Gryffindor of him, but it just makes him useless to me. He will be dealt with. Draco and Pansy I could recruit, though I can't truly say that the idea appeals to me. Hannah I think I'll approach her. You two seem close. Would she be willing to join me?"
"Perhaps." She sighs, "Her family is in much the same position as mine, but they do have a male heir. Her younger brother, Steven, who if I understand it, inherited all of his father's power. If they can last until he comes of age, they would have the strength to last on their own. On the downside, everyone else knows this, so there have been multiple attempts on his life. It would really depend on how you phrase it."
"Alright. Let her know that I'm interested and see if you can set up a meeting. With your family as well. The sooner I know where their loyalties lie, the better."
"Yes, Master." She nods.
"What about Greengrass?" He says while doing some of Harry's homework, "She knows my identity, but she's made no attempts to meet with me, nor told anyone else."
"Her Family is one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight." Susan explains, "Which means that her blood is powerful. As far a yokai strength alone, she's got me completely outclass, and she knows it. Despite that, she still wouldn't stand a chance against you. She was completely convinced that you would kill her the other day. She likely intends to mention this to her family, so that they will decide how to proceed. She can't risk taking any action alone. Not with the difference in your strengths."
"I see…" he shrugs, "Well, let her do as she wishes. Her concerns that I would kill her are unfounded. As long as my true identity stays out of the common knowledge and she doesn't oppose me, we will not interfere with her."
"Understood." She nods.
"Who else at Hogwarts are among these Twenty eight?" Harry smiles, "They would be powerful allies if I can recruit them."
"Well, aside from Abbott, there's also Bulstrode, Avery, Flint, Longbottom, Macmillan, Malfoy, Nott, Parkinson, Rowle, and Weasley." She lists, "Though neither Weasley nor Flint has had any known yokai since the twelve hundreds."
"Is that right…" he murmurs, "Well, that could just mean that they have decided to conceal themselves. For now, I won't make any assumptions. We'll deal with Nott first. Though who oppose us will be crushed, and we'll give Malfoy and Parkinson a chance to join us. Then we'll try to recruit Longbottom and Abbott. Brown and hopefully Greengrass can come later. With all of them, we should have the strength to defeat Diggory without taking too many losses. Once Hogwarts is under my control, we'll send emissaries to the other family, and expand."
"I understand." Susan nods, "Would you like for me to go and tell Hannah now?"
"Good idea. But don't have her come here. Hermione should be back soon, and that isn't a conversation I want to have with her." Harry instructs, "Tell her so that she can talk it over with her family, and have them send you an answer when they get one."
"I understand." She says as she returns to her human form, "Then I shall take my leave, Master."
"Good." He nods. Once he was alone in the room again, he sighs, 'Back to you, Harry.'
Another chapter will be up shortly.