Descend to Darkness
By: Kyuubi04
HARRY POTTER FANFICTION
Chapter 4: Of Wardrobes and Amulets
Summary: Harry defeated Voldemort through some unknown magic and has been in a coma for months. Upon waking up, he had somehow changed, in both attitude and stance, and was confusing everybody. During a visit to the infamous Chamber of Secrets, he discovered the reason behind this change along with the confirmation of one Albus Dumbledore.
Warnings:There will be slash... Harry is Salazar Slytherin and will be calmer and colder than before. It will be a Dark Harry but he's not evil. There will be Ron and Ginny Bashing as I don't like the two of them and they will be the main antagonists along with Seamus Finnegan and Lavender Brown. Pairings would be HPDM, SSRL, LMSB, NLLL, DTPP, BZHG, and TNPP. This will probably be a short series and updates will probably range from twice to once a month.
Notes:"Fall Prey to the Eternal Darkness" – regular speech
-Fall Prey to the Eternal Darkness- parseltongue
+Fall Prey to the Eternal Darkness+ gobbledegook
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As soon as the group finished their lunch, the Slytherin boys decided to explore the alley. Draco, Blaise, and Theo were very curious about it that they almost couldn't hide their excitement. Thinking that it's best to split up, Harry suggested, "Would you guys mind if I left you to explore the alley while I set out to buy some robes?" He said this so casually that the others hadn't even seemed to take any offence. However, Draco, somehow, felt disappointed that he won't be able to examine the other boy further.
Although the boys agreed to explore without Harry, Pansy Parkinson had a different idea. She told her companions, "I think, I'm going to accompany our new friend. I know for sure that you'll need a critical eye to examine your outfits." She said the last part towards Harry, who only smiled at the offer, not at all intimidated by the firm tone.
After leaving the restaurant, the group separated from each other and headed towards different directions. Draco, Blaise, and Theo went to explore Crafters' Paradise while Pansy and Harry roamed the Expo to look for some noteworthy shops.
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Pansy dragged the disguised boy to some of the shops, hoping to put as much distance between Draco's group and themselves as soon as possible. Harry, knowing her intent, allowed himself to be pulled away by the girl. When they reached a very posh-looking robe shop near the entrance of the alley, Pansy rounded on him, hands on waist looking very much like Molly Weasley during her lecture mode, and asked with a hiss in an attempt to intimidate the boy, "Now, Moonhaven, I'm going to ask you something and I expect you to answer me truthfully. Am I clear?"
Harry, thinking it best to play along, gave a short nod while wearing a soft smile, "What would you like to know, Miss Parkinson?"
"Where and when did you meet Draco?" She questioned looking for some sort of dishonesty from the other boy.
"We've met recently during my visit with Headmaster Dumbledore." He replied pertaining to his last meeting with the old wizard.
"And when exactly is that?" She pushed.
Weighing his options, Harry decided to speak a part of the truth, "Just today actually."
"And you're already on first name basis with him?" she uttered incredulously, forgetting that she was supposed to be trying to intimidate the boy.
"Actually, it is more of me teasing him using his name that started it, he only retaliated in kind." He replied, chuckling with amusement when he remembered how he said Draco's name quite provokingly.
"I see. So, tell me, how exactly did you meet?" Pansy continued.
"Let's see. I was leaving the headmaster's office when I collided with him. We introduced ourselves to each other. He didn't believe me when I said my name so I invited him to join me to prove it." He replied casually but inside, he was scolding himself for such an oversight. He should have known that his connection with the Malfoy heir would be questioned.
The girl was still unconvinced about something so he asked, "What is it really that you want to know about me?" He decided to be blunt since he cannot afford any mistakes. He didn't want the girl to discover his true identity so he had to paddle-back a bit.
"Nothing much really, I just want to know your intentions about befriending Draco Malfoy?" She said, a bit put out by the bluntness of the boy.
"Intentions? Hmm, if you're worried that I intend to do something nefarious, then, don't worry. In truth, I just wanted to avoid our confrontation to escalate into something nasty so I invited him to cool down."
"Is that so? Then, I guess, you're okay." Pansy finally said.
Harry smirked a bit and replied teasingly, "Now that my interrogation is over, I guess we can actually start buying some clothes now?"
The pureblood blushed a bit; embarrassed that she actually forgot what they're supposed to do in light of learning something about the boy. She gave a flustered nod and dragged his companion inside the shop called, "Magical Wardrobe for Witches and Wizards". Inside, they were met by a blonde female who, they supposed, was one of the store's attendants.
She greeted them courteously, "Welcome to Magical Wardrobe for Witches and Wizards. I am Relena, how may I help you?"
The two customers returned her greeting with a nod. Pansy told the other witch, "My friend here seems to be in need of a new wardrobe so we'll be looking in to your designs." The attendant eyed Harry with admiration but when she felt someone glaring at her, she realized that the young man had come with someone she supposed was his girlfriend. She gave a disappointed sigh before assuming a smiling facade.
Harry, amused by the silent war between the two witches, spoke smoothly earning the stares of all the female customers and glares of the male ones in the store, "May I inquire as to the materials used in your designs?"
Almost swooning over him, Relena said in slightly high-pitched voice meant to impress, "All our robes are made from various textiles like wool, cotton, and silk. We even have some cloaks made from fur of animal bred to ensure top-quality products."
Harry nodded understandingly and replied, "Well, I would like to see your designs so I could choose what to order." He turned to Pansy and said deciding to play along with the attendant's imagination, "Pansy dear, would you amuse yourself by sifting through their products while I choose something for myself? I believe it's going to take a while."
Catching on to him, Pansy gave a sweet smile and answered almost flirtatiously, "Of course, love. But you have to bring me to the jewellery store later."
"Sure, dear." He replied suavely making the eavesdroppers blush at the insinuation in his voice.
After hearing their conversation, the attendant hurriedly went to the backroom to fetch copies of their designs while sporting a blush herself. Upon her return, Harry looked into the robes to see whether something would suit his tastes. He didn't have a problem having himself measured in his disguised form since he made sure to maintain his body's figure while he modified his facial structure, hair-colour, eye-colour, and skin tone.
He chose a formal robe hem-stitched with leaf embroideries; a simple dress robe with cuffs on the sleeves and an overcoat embroidered with a blooming rose at the central back; two casual robes, one was a simple everyday robe while the other was filled with lightning bolts on the edges and a phoenix on both sleeves, he assumed that the design was based on the idea of his scar and the mascot of the Order, and found it amusing to wear; two cloaks, one simple and hooded, while the other was without the hood and filled with embroidered lines meant to make it look elegant; and, some shirts to wear inside his robes. He decided that he would have to visit Muggle London to buy some clothes as well since the store didn't sell underpants like boxers and other muggle clothing that he preferred as Harry.
He called the attendant and pointed out his selection, "I would like to have these designs produced in all shades of blue and green as well as in black and silver. I want the shirts to be made of cotton while all the robes and cloaks are to be made in silk, most preferably acromantula silk. Also, I would like to have six pairs of your finest gloves."
The girl looked at him in disbelief thinking that the order was too expensive for someone like him to buy in that number. Noting this, Harry said, "You need not worry about the payment, just have my order prepared and finished according to my measurement, preferably today."
Flustered, the attendant grabbed her measuring tape and measured Harry's size. Once finished, the girl said, "We have seven shades of blue ranging from dark blue to light blue. We also have five shades ranging from dark green to plain green. Each robe would cost 93 Galleons, 15 Sickles, and 4 Knuts. The cloaks cost 87 Galleons, 5 Sickles, and 24 Knuts each. The shirts cost 43 Galleons, 12 Sickles, and 18 Knuts each as well. The gloves cost 28 Galleons, 9 Sickles, and 13 Knuts each." She said the prices expecting to see her customer back down but was rather surprised when she only received a cold glare.
Harry was irritated with the attendant; surely this poor excuse of a witch didn't think that he wouldn't be able to pay. Apparently, the store owner didn't train their employees enough to recognize a lord apart from the regular pureblood heir. Hell, he even flaunted his ring while he was ordering. He glared at the girl and said coolly, "Just kindly tell me if you do not want me to purchase from your shop because I do not appreciate being looked down upon. Or are you just really this unaccommodating when it comes to your customers?"
His voice was loud enough to be heard through the whole shop. The rest of the shoppers turned to see what the commotion was all about when they realized that the attractive teen they saw earlier was the one who spoke. They felt his power through his voice and sincerely hoped that the attendant didn't do anything foolish to anger the young man. Some of them even realized that he was a lord of some family when they caught a flash of light from his left hand that was raised to hold the design book offered by the shop.
Even Pansy felt some pity for the poor girl even though she was earlier irritated by the said witch. Shaking her head, she returned to her own shopping, wishing that the girl didn't prove to be much stupid than Pansy thought her to be.
The attendant flushed a bright red. She felt humiliated and at the same time, ashamed upon realizing the error she made. When she felt the power exuded by the boy, rather, by the young man, she took another glance at her customer and saw the ring. She didn't recognize the crest but she understood that it was a symbol of lordship. As it was made obvious to her from the very beginning, she felt stupid about herself for not noticing earlier before she had made a fool of herself.
In hopes of redeeming herself, she tried to be more amiable to Harry as she replied meekly, "I'm sorry, my Lord. I didn't mean to insult you. I..."
"What's going on?" A thin-framed, bespectacled man asked as he approached the two. The witch was frantic when she saw the store manager's approach. She tried to utter some platitudes to her offended customer but all that came out was a jumble of word, a result of her nervousness.
Harry faced the man and said coolly, smirking inside at the effect of his stunt, "I was just asking your attendant if your store is always this unaccommodating to the customers, especially to one who is more than willing to pay for the cost of your product, sir."
The man looked at the witch for confirmation. The girl nodded nervously, fearing for the worst. He gave a reprimanding look at his employee before facing the cold youth. He said in a sincere tone, "I deeply apologize for my employee. She is new here and is still inexperienced. If you want to, I will take her place as your attendant."
When he saw Harry nod, the manager motioned the witch to leave. He returned his attention to Harry who, in turn, gave his orders. The manager looked into the list and said, "They will be done by tonight at the earliest, sir."
Harry was a bit disappointed at the pronouncement but nevertheless agreed. He told the manager, "Have them delivered to the Leaky Cauldron under the name of Gerald Gabriel Moonhaven." At this, the man nodded, noting the name although he didn't recognize it. He decided to look into some books about the boy's family and see for himself who the powerful youth was.
He led Harry to the counter and said, "Your order would be 7,264 Galleons, 6 Sickles, and 20 Knuts in all."
Harry brought out his card and allowed the witch at the counter to charge his Moonhaven account. With that done, Harry approached Pansy from the far side of the shop.
Upon reaching the girl, harry said, "I'm done with my business." The girl nodded and fetched the robes and dresses that she chose. She was about to pay when Harry prevented him saying, "A lady should never pay for something if she has a man as her company." He said this casually making the female on-lookers to giggle at their interaction. Pansy blushed a bit at that and mumbled a soft "thank you" at him.
With everything done, the two stepped out of the shop and went to search for the others.
-o-o-o-
Draco, Blaise, and Theo walked briskly towards their destination in their excitement. Once they entered the area, the latter two rounded on the former and said at the same time, "Spill it, Dray."
Draco looked at them confusedly making Blaise sigh in exasperation, "Who's that guy back there? Surely, you obviously didn't expect us not to ask questions?"
With dawning realization, Draco oh-ed and said, "You mean Gerald? Well, I met him today and he invited me to accompany him in Diagon Alley." He thought that it with be easier to keep things secret if he stuck with some part of the truth.
"You're kidding, right?" Theo asked incredulously, not believing that his friend would willingly accompany a stranger after just meeting with him.
"Not really." He said a bit cowed by his friend's aggressiveness.
"Why, in Merlin's name, did you something utterly stupid?" Blaise almost shouted at him and continued, "What if he was a fake and was only trying to get you by acting like a pureblood."
Draco cursed himself for his stupidity, silently asking where he had placed his brain today. He looked at his friends and said, embarrassment colouring his face, "Actually, he may have just invited me to avoid getting into blows with me when I argued with him about that very same reason, Blaise."
"So let me get this straight. You insulted this guy only to get invited by him to Diagon Alley, am I right?" Theo sarcastically asked.
Recalling the actual event, Draco replied, "That's it, basically."
"Yeah right. If that's so, then why are you two on first name basis already?" Blaise questioned.
"Well, he was teasing me by purring my name so I only retaliated in kind because he doesn't seem to be affected when I insultingly called him by his surname." He answered a bit lamely.
The other two stared at him like he grew a second head before shaking their heads ruefully. Blaise said, "Is this your 'off' day or something? It's the first time I've heard that the "Great Draco Malfoy' got himself beaten in a battle of wits." Theo, on the other hand, only said, "Unbelievable."
Draco glared at his friend and stomped angrily towards one of the shops only to be followed by his laughing friends. The shop that he entered was named, "Amulets for All Occasions". As they entered, they were met by a wizened wizard with greying red hair and hawk-like silver eyes. He scrutinized the three teens and sneered, "I don't have candies for children. Get Out!"
The boys were taken aback. Theo, being the first one to recover, scowled and remarked, "How rude. We're only trying to see your shop. It's not like we can't pay for anything in it."
The old wizard snorted and replied, "I don't need your money if you can't even recognize the value of my merchandise. Leave. I don't sell my things to inexperienced teenagers." He made a move to push the boys outside when Blaise interefered, "I apologize if we seem to be inexperienced to your eye, sir. But we are only trying to see if anything from your shop will catch our eyes."
The older man smirked at him and said gruffly, "Such a smooth tongue that you have, lad. You remind of me of another wizard that I've met some years ago. Very well, look until you're satisfied."
Blaise gave a soft bow and motioned his friends to make a move. The three spent almost half an hour sifting through the different amulets. They were quite fascinated by the products that they didn't notice their other two companions enter the shop.
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To hasten their search, Harry allowed his magical sense to look for the most familiar aura that he knew, which means he latched his senses into searching for Draco. They entered the amulet shop when the boy felt a sense of familiarity about the place. He scanned the whole place for anything that might trigger his memories when he noticed the old man hovering over the three Slytherins.
He held on to Pansy and together, they made their way to the other group. "Have you found anything of interest?" He said suddenly, stunning the boys. The old man, however, whipped his wand out of his robes and aimed it has throat.
He chuckled at their reaction while the girl giggled earning themselves several glares from their friends. He gave a mock sign of surrender and said, "Sorry." It took a while before the three boys backed down.
Turning his attention to the wand pointed at him, he directed his gaze to the owner of said wand. He raised a slender eyebrow and removed the offending wand away from him. He was about to say something when he felt a tug from one of the glass shelves inside the shop. He searched the entire room for the source and was lead to an emerald necklace. The gem was surrounded by the body of a silver snake coiling itself so that its head was over the emerald in a striking position. The snake itself was covered with tiny sapphires glinting from the reflection of light coming through an open window. The image was completed by a silver chain connected to the snake's tail. He recognized the amulet as the one that Lady Moonhaven gave to him when he was given his title. He had lost it after his death since he never took it from his body.
As he was about to touch it, the proprietor snarled at him, "Don't touch that, you fool!"
He gave him a cursory glance but otherwise ignored him. He took the amulet out of its case and surprised the old man for getting it scot-free. "How?" the old man whispered breathlessly.
He turned to him, ignoring the curious looks of his companions, and said, "This is a property of the Moonhaven family created by Master Magoriane Shaldyes for Marianne Moonhaven to be passed down on someone whose prowess she recognized as worthy." He excluded the fact that the person he was talking about was the one who earned the title of Soul Keeper. It was the same way with the others. The rest of the founders were also given an amulet to signify their power and the recognition that they received from it. The only thing different was that they were made into various ornaments suited to their personality.
The old man gaped at the words, struck by the teen's knowledge. He made a magical on the boy and was further stunned to recognize his aura. He never thought that someone from a thousand years ago was still walking the earth albeit in a different form. He didn't even notice that the boy was wearing a strong glamour, one that he himself had taught.
Harry noticed the action but put it off as the old man's precaution. He asked, "How much does this cost?"
The old man shook his head and said, "That one is not for sale." Before the teen could protest, he continued, "It's already yours when you touched it. Take it. I have no use for it after all."
Harry was shocked by this proclamation that he didn't realize that the old man left him to entertain his companions. He was silently going over the facts that he was presented today.
Meanwhile, Draco and the others were looking at the two curiously. Draco more so than the others, since he knew who the teen really was. They were snapped out of it, however, when the old man turned to them and asked, "Have you found anything yet?"
The boys nodded by while Pansy went back to looking over the shop. After some time, all four presented the amulets they found to the owner for some explanation of its use.
Draco's was a chain bracelet filled with diamonds and having an amber stone at the centre. There was a miniscule dragon engraved on the clasp and it was the one that caught his attention. The man said that the amulet was to protect its wearer from those with ill-intents. It was also said that the bracelet reveals to the wearer the true nature of a person that he came in contact with. The only problem was that the wearer must be able to prove his worth to be able to unlock this ability.
Blaise, on the other hand, chose an armband made of gold. It was designed to look like and eagle flying downwards to catch its prey. The eyes of the bird were made of opals while an onyx was crafted into the centre of its back. Upon presentation, the teen learned that the armband was imbued with the magic to help the wearer recognized the nature of wards. In addition, it had the special ability to by-pass said wards if activated.
Theo, meanwhile, selected a bracelet made of bronze. Its central gen was a pink diamond while its chain was filled obsidian making the diamond stand out. When he brought it to the man, he discovered that the bracelet served as a mirror that would reflect any form of mind-altering spells and potions back to its source. At the same time, if he was found worthy, the wearer would be able to allow any person of his choosing to have the same ability whenever he wished.
Pansy had her eyes on a pair of diamond earrings with a single ruby as the central stone. Its design was quite simple and seemed to contradict her flashy attitude at Hogwarts. She learned that through them, she'd be able to know the thoughts of the person she chose and as its special ability, it would allow her to tract down anybody through the use of mental signatures.
The boys paid for their purchase but when Pansy was about to do the same, Harry stopped her again saying that he was only fulfilling his promise back at the store. She blushed when she remembered their act earlier but allowed the boy to pay.
The other three grumbled about Harry being unfair and only paying for Pansy so he said, "I'll pay for you if, by any chance, you turn yourselves into ladies." The boys sputtered before they regained their composure and said a series of "no thanks" before heading out the shop in haste.
As they left, the old man trained thoughtful eyes on Harry thinking that they would meet again. He smiled to himself saying that after living for a thousand years, this was the first time that something interesting had happened.
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After that first shop, the rest of the group explored the alley and entered different shops until late in the afternoon. They grabbed some snacks before parting ways. Theo, Blaise, and Pansy headed towards their own manors while Harry and Draco went back to Hogwarts.
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At Hogwarts, Harry removed his glamour, entered his dormitory, shrunk his trunk, and went for another visit with the headmaster. This time, he told the old wizard that he'd be staying at the Leaky Cauldron to finish some business and return to the school within two weeks time. Dumbledore agreed and allowed Harry to by-pass the wards in his office in order to directly floo to the pub. Harry replaced his glamour and took his leave.
He came out of the pub where the innkeeper was waiting for him. He acquired a room and told Tom, "A package for one Gerald Moonhaven will probably make its way here. Just send it to my room if it does." When the pub-owner gave a nod, he tossed three galleons from the coins that he had on him.
After receiving his package, Harry ate some dinner and went to sleep.
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That's all for today...
Can you guess who the old man was and how he came to live for a thousand years...
All of you can have three guesses.... good luck.... Kyuubi04