Descend to Darkness
By: Kyuubi04
HARRY POTTER FANFICTION
Chapter 7: The Start of Something New
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
-x-x-x-o-o-o-x-x-x-
Harry, Sirius and Remus came out the fireplace of #12 Grimmauld Place. Upon scanning the house, a habit that he had developed as Salazar, he understood the reason as to why he was always wary of the place. He sensed the anger and hatred that was deeply entrenched into the house. He didn't know how this came to be but he didn't think that those feelings were only ingrained there in the years that Sirius lived in the house as a teen. Somehow, he was of the thought that someone died there while having deep feelings of resentment towards someone of the House of Black. He stopped himself before he was able to ask his godfather about it. He didn't want to add to the stress that the ex-convict was suffering from now that he knew the truth about Harry's existence.
The boy had to admit that the two adults were taking the situation better than he had thought. He imagined that Sirius would be in denial about it while Remus would try to find a more logical reason as to how it happened. He was rather thankful that not only had they accepted it as a fact, they also gave him some options on what to do now that he was with his old memories. He considered going down to his chamber but didn't know whether he would have the chance to do so. He just hoped that he could rope the other two into planning for it.
As Harry was contemplating his predicament, Sirius and Remus were taking their time to actually allow their new information about their godson to sink in. They understood the complication that this event would bring not only to their relationship but also to Harry's social life. Upon further consideration, they decided to have a talk with the teen on how they were supposed to act with each other.
With these, the two adults led Harry to the room that he was supposed to use and allowed the boy to settle himself properly into the house.
-x-x-x-
As Harry entered the room, he noticed that the feelings that coated the whole place were stronger compared to the feelings that came from any other part of the house. He was curious about it but he knew that only a seer could recover a past memory from anything imbued with magic fuelled strongly by emotions. He unpacked most of his clothes into the wardrobe beside the bed and decided to sleep the remainder of the day and let his godfathers' have some time to further mull things over.
-o-o-o-
The next day, Harry awoke to the sound of tableware falling around the kitchen. In his state, he hadn't realized that he flew to the place with only his boxers on. When he entered, he saw his godfathers become slack-jawed at the sight of him and forgot that they were holding the frying pans that they were trying to cook in and allowed them to fall down the floor with a clang in their shock. Harry blushed while Sirius laughed out loud. Remus, being the calm person that he was, navigated Harry back at his room and waited for him to come out in his daily clothes.
When the two reappeared in the kitchen, they saw Sirius covered in flour and eggs. Harry grumbled about purebloods not knowing how to cook and therefore, making him embarrass himself in his fright, before he irately took over and magically cleaned the mess. He searched for some ingredients and came up with bacons, hams, and the vegetables that seemed to have survived the cooking catastrophe attempted by his godfathers. After making some salad and sandwiches, Harry placed their breakfast on the table and asked, "What are you trying to do?"
The two looked at him sheepishly and attempted to explain that they were trying to cook breakfast since Sirius had executed the treacherous house-elf Kreacher for betraying the Order and most of all, Sirius, his master. Harry sighed at this and replied that they should have just called him to do it. Sirius argued that they had managed to do the cooking without something like this happening. Harry, however, countered that it was only because the one who did the cooking was probably Remus. With that, Sirius pouted like a child while Remus laughed, giving Harry a thump on the back saying that he was spot on.
With this incident, the two adults decided to treat their godson in same manner that they did before.
After breakfast, the three conversed about the general plan that Harry was to initiate. He wanted to know who were truthful to him and who were not but didn't know how to go on about it. The werewolf suggested that he continue to act like Harry and observe how the others would respond to his increased fame. The animagus added that he should also keep up appearances as Gerald since it would be suspicious if someone was to notice that as soon as Harry Potter returns from his sickbed, Gerald Moonhaven had disappeared from the public eye. After all, now that he had announced the return of the powerful family, it would be expected that he join them in some public settings. When faced with the problem of having Harry and Gerald appear at the same time, Harry just brushed it off saying that he could fashion himself a temporary golem that would act as Harry Potter while he posed as the Moonhaven Lord.
With that out of the way, Harry informed them that they didn't have to treat him like they were treading on thin ice. It wasn't like they actually knew the truth behind the history of Hogwarts to be wary about slandering the honour of his house. The only thing that he reprimanded them for as Salazar was their hostile actions towards Severus Snape since not only was it unfounded, it was made out of pure malice as well. He told them that it wouldn't do to cause harm to someone just because they didn't like some aspect of that person. And with that, Harry managed to have Sirius agree to apologize to Snape for past transgressions.
The following two weeks had come and gone in a smooth manner. Sirius decided to ask the headmaster to bind one of the Hogwarts' elves to the Black Manor and have it clear the atmosphere of the whole place without much success. The elf, Ruddy, worked in synchronization with Harry and together, the two made for a liveable place for the three humans and one house elf.
While spending time with his godfathers, Harry also spent some of his time to go on scheduled visits into the wizarding world as Gerald. They decided not to make Harry's recovery public and have yet to inform the others about it. Dumbledore agreed that it would be best to just let them see Harry at Hogwarts to stave off some of the paparazzi that were sure to hound the Black House as soon as new of Harry's return came out.
Harry ended his summer quite nicely compared to his previous vacations with the Dursleys. He didn't even bother to check on them knowing that they would just treat his presence deplorably like before. Although he didn't visit them, Harry thought it best to send them some sort of monetary compensation for taking him in even if it wasn't one of his best experiences. Although Sirius grumbled about it, his godfathers agreed with him.
Feeling good about the turnabout in his life, the teen headed to the Hogwarts Express along with his guardians wearing a new set of school robes. He entered the last compartment, which he thought was empty, and saw one very livid Draco Malfoy who seemed intent to maim him for something. He was about to escape the compartment when the blond spelled the door shut and silent before motioning him to take the seat opposite the Malfoy heir.
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Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince of his batch, was beyond pissed. He was of the thought that he'd be able to puzzle out the enigma that was Harry Potter but to his dismay, he learned that the boy left immediately after their shopping and speaking with Dumbledore. He didn't know where the boy went but he had an idea about it. He had heard rumours circulating about a charismatic noble calling himself Moonhaven from his father's social circles. He realized that his rival was making connections for himself but this did not abate the unexplainable displeasure that he felt when Harry left as suddenly as he did.
A week before the start of the term, his father brought him home to their renovated manor and was informed that his mother, Narcissa, died two day prior due to the effect of the Dark Lord's death almost four months ago. He was, at first, curious as to why his father and godfather weren't affected by it and was told that Dumbledore had been supplying them with Fawkes' tears that slowly terminated the magical soul link that Voldemort gave to his followers through the Dark Mark. He was even told that had the war stretched on, he, too, would be given the same. He wondered as to how his mother survived this long when most of the others that were part of the inner circle died only a month after Voldemort's demise. His father, however, told him that the link they had from his marriage with Narcissa probably allowed her to live longer than the others. With his curiosity satisfied, Draco could care less now that his father and he were free from having to pretend to grovel at half-blood's feet. He might be a blood purist but he was in no way a fool who would follow a deranged man to his path for total domination. After all, he was from the house of snakes. He was just thankful that Blaise' parents were neutral and it gave them more ground to help Pansy and Theo claim the Lordship over their own families right after their Death Eater parents died due to the mark. He knew that many of his peers in Slytherin were without their parents but he also knew that they were more than glad to be free from the chains that would enslave them to the Dark Lord had not the Boy-Who-Lived killed him a bit earlier than they hoped.
He had spent most of his vacation with his friends and family that he almost forgot about his irritation with the Golden Boy. This, however, was rekindled when he saw the de-glamorized teen walking towards the platform with his godfathers. The others hadn't noticed him yet and he noticed that Harry used it to slip into the back part of the train and into his current compartment which he chose just to be away from his friends who were pestering him about the Moonhaven Lord. When he saw the boy open his compartment, he immediately made it known that he was displeased with him. And when Harry attempted to leave, he spelled the door shut and silenced it to prevent eavesdroppers to hear them.
Harry sighed and asked, "What do you want, Malfoy?"
"So it's back to Malfoy now is it? Right after you dragged me into playing along with you like a dog on a leash during that trip?" Draco sneered, hiding the hurt that he had felt since his first year when the other boy disregarded the friendship that he had offered for the blood-traitor Weasley.
"Okay, Draco. What are you angry with me for? And is it really necessary to lock the door?" Harry was confused, he thought that the blonde would have liked to see Harry gone from the school premises last summer so he didn't inform him of his departure, but now he didn't know what to think.
Draco snorted, "First, you called a truce with me and then, you left without even waiting to see if I am of the same mind. And now, you're wondering why I'm angry? You even made me deceive my friends for your sake and then what? I was left hanging back there in school not knowing what to think of your actions. Let me tell you this now, I don't like to be treated like some rag that you'd toss away after using it and yet, you did just that when I thought that somehow, now that this farce of a war was over, I'd be able to see something different from your Golden Goy self." He ranted, not knowing that he was releasing all the pent-up resentment that he had nurtured through years of constant taunting of the other boy.
Harry opened his empathy and sensed Draco's interest, resentment, and surprisingly, his hurt. He didn't know what caused the blonde to direct these emotions at him but he decided that maybe by trying to prevent a dispute between them, he had offered his hand to the boy for a truce. He also recalled his first day at Hogwarts as Harry and wondered if the Malfoy arrogance was only a mask. He decided to take a chance and replied softly, voice full of regret and confusion, "I apologize if I have made that impression when I just upped and left the school. But I did it without your knowing because we are not that close and besides, I thought that you'd be more than ecstatic to have me out of your way. I understand that on that day, I offered for a truce so I'm going to say this more as a formality. Can we have a truce this year and the years after, Draco Lucian Malfoy?" With that, he formally held out hand to seal the offer.
Draco took the hand but was far from satisfied. He didn't understand his feelings since they seemed to be unfounded but he knew, for sure, that he didn't want a simple truce with the boy. He kept his thoughts to himself and changed the subject into the area on how they were going to break the news to their friends.
Harry felt the dissatisfaction from the boy but decided not to push it and ask. He freely gave his ideas on how to properly inform the others of their new situation. Finally, after an hour or so, they came up with using one of Hogwarts old rule of creating a truce between opposing parties from two different houses that the current headmaster could activate after war-time. Harry made it seem to be Draco's idea so as not to arouse suspicion from the other boy about his actual knowledge. After all, it would not do to expose himself unless he had no choice.
After that, Draco had finally cooled down enough to finally decide to return to his friends. At Harry's suggestion, he disillusioned himself so as not to make others suspicious about having Harry as company.
-o-o-o-
Hermione was beside herself. She still hadn't seen her best friend and Ron seemed to believe that Harry was only trying to increase his fame since it was obvious that Sirius and Remus sent him off today at the platform when they saw the two adults heading out. She huffed and stomped out her compartment when she finally realized that Ginny was only trying to primp herself up and wasn't exactly worried like she pretended to be.
She met up with Neville and Luna outside the compartment and together, they went in search of the missing hero. As if knowing where she was going, Luna led them to the farthest compartment and inside; they saw Harry lounging in the seat, asleep. They settled into the compartment and didn't disturb the sleeping boy.
Neville and Hermione sat together on the opposite seat while Luna sat beside Harry and said in her trance-like voice, "You could stop pretending to be asleep, you know."
Harry cocked an eye open and answered lazily, "I wouldn't have to if you've just informed me that you're going to join me. After all, I'd rather not answer questions from pawning students once they realized that I'm situated here."
Luna looked a bit sheepish but had decided to let it go. Hermione began to ask Harry questions about his well-being and the teen answered them all without giving away too much of the actual truth. Neville, on the other hand, retold to him his encounters with the Lord Moonhaven earning himself amused looks from his three companions but for different reasons. Harry was amused because he thought that Neville wouldn't have considered him more than an acquaintance, given that he did hope that he would. Luna was amused because she knew the truth about the young lord. And Hermione was amused by the fact that the brunette seemed to be so taken in by the pureblood teen because he managed to throw Ron and Ginny off the "food chain" during his party.
After chatting for another hour or so, the four decided to went to the compartment bearing Ron and Ginny due to Harry's insistence, "I think now would be the best time to start the show. Come on, you three. If what you said about those two are true, I don't want to add more to it by making it look like I did just what they thought I'd do."
His friends nodded and all four headed out. Hermione and Harry went to find Ron while Neville and Luna opted not to join them.
As soon as they arrived, Ron reverted to acting like a concerned friend while Ginny started fawning over him asking about his health and flirting with him in general. He somehow, much to his relief, managed to act like he usually did and didn't cause any suspicion from the two.
-x-x-x-
The students arrived at the Great Hall and seated themselves in their proper house tables. Harry, sitting in the Lion's Den, listened intently on the Sorting Hat's new song:
There were once four great mages of renown;
And four values they're known to uphold;
Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, and Cunning;
Which one of these is yours in becoming?
Do you remember the man called Godric;
Whose bravery is quite unparalleled?
Can you, with head held high, take the challenge;
For me to see the courage in your heart?
Or do you recall Lady Rowena;
Whose beauty is on par with her wisdom?
For you may be one of her wonderers;
Of whether knowledge can be one's best blade?
Mayhap you agree with sweet young Helga;
Whose loyalty remains true till her end?
Come on, walk up to me and let us see,
How good a little badger can you be.
Or would you rather meet shrewd Salazar;
Whose mind remains levelled with the greatest?
Could your subtle tactics become a match;
To that of the best mind here in Hogwarts?
Come on now and don't be afraid to try;
This old hat's one trial to sort you out.
Whether to Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw;
Hufflepuff, or Slytherin, we shall see.
The old soul smiled softly at the hat's description of him and made a move to better see the students to be sorted. His smile brightened when he realized that without the threat of Voldemort, the Slytherin House table became more welcoming to the eight students that were sorted there. After ensuring that all was well with his original house, the teen genially welcomed the ten new lions that entered their den.
As soon as the feast began, Harry took a plate of chicken, peas, and mashed potatoes while disregarding the steak and the stew. He sipped some of his hot chocolate that he silently requested from the house elves and zoned out Ron's unending rant about how the snake pit should be taken down so as to remove the bad blood that permeated the school. When he heard Ron make a comment about it being a pity that not all of the snakes were killed because he's so sure that they've only escaped the effects of the Dark Mark through some sort of disgusting dark magic, Harry almost thrashed his so-called best friend. He was highly disappointed that not only was the other boy becoming more close-minded than ever, he was also becoming so inconsiderate as to even contemplate the idea of wanting the death of all the members of his old house. He was almost tempted to disclose the truth about himself and frighten the redhead with subtle threats but with exercised control, he prevented himself from doing such. And mistaking his silence as some form of agreement, Ginny added her own knuts about it, saying that the ministry should just make the Slytherins swallow veritaserum and have them confess to being Death Eaters before handing them to the dementors for the Kiss.
Hermione and Neville, who were listening in on the conversation, were disgusted by the girl's ideas and were about to counter them when Harry replied, a little bit coldly, "If you could even consider such things to be done to others, then I guess that you would also be willing to be the first one to try such a form of punishment, eh Ginevra?"
Taken aback by the use of her full name in such a manner, Ginny was forced to silence herself. Ron, on the other hand, jumping to his sister's defence, replied almost accusingly, "How can you even suggest such a horrid thing to my sister, mate? It's not like she's a slimy Slytherin."
Harry eyed gave him an icy glare and responded, his voice freezing almost everyone within hearing range, "How can I not when your own sister can and did just that? Do you even realize what you were saying just now? Contemplating the death of others as if it is just a simple walk in the park, how can you even be so inhumane as to do just that? Tell me, Ronald, have you not ever felt the loss that death brings because I might consider your folly as a result of ignorance and not of malice."
Ron sputtered at this. He didn't understand why Harry wasn't taking his side. After all, how was he supposed to cement himself as Harry's best mate when the other boy wasn't even supporting him in his crusade to eliminate the slimy snakes? Within a minute or so, the redhead flushed with anger for being embarrassed by Harry since almost everybody from Gryffindor were eying him with disgust. He was about to call the boy a traitor or something of the sort when the headmaster stood and made his usual announcements.
-o-o-o-
Dumbledore felt, rather than saw, the tension forming on the Gryffindor table. Realizing that almost everybody in the Great Hall could sense it as well, he decided to cut it short by making his announcement. He cleared his throat and spoke clearly, catching everyone's attention, "This year is such a glorious year. Not only had Lord Voldemort been vanquished, Harry Potter and Sirius Black have also returned to us as a student and a teacher, respectively. In light of this, I am also proud to announce the return of Remus Lupin as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Sirius Black would also serve here as an assistant to Professor McGonagall and would be teaching first years through third years in the art of Transfiguration. I hope that you would give these two the proper respects. In addition to that, I am pleased to say that Professor Firenze would remain here as the Divination instructor of third years to fifth years while Professor Sybill Trelawney will return to teach the sixth and seventh years. Mr. Filch also reminds me to tell you that all Weasley products are banned from the school grounds and anyone caught in possession of such products would serve detention with our caretaker. I would also like to remind you that the Forbidden Forest shall remain so to all students and is without any exception unless you're accompanied by a responsible adult. Now that I'm done, I suggest that we all head to bed. Goodnight to you all."
-x-x-x-
Harry spared a glance at the head table, one that was not missed by four people, one of which was suspicious of its reason, and gave a grateful nod towards the headmaster who merely raised his goblet in salutation. He was thankful that headmaster had stepped in before he lost his patience with Ron and ruined his act for the whole year through.
-o-o-o-
The rest of the staff was thankful as well. The headmaster had chosen and impeccable time to make his announcement and thus, averted a possible disaster had he not done so. They didn't know why two-thirds of the so-called Golden Trio was biting each other's heads off but the feeling that they got from their saviour was enough to frighten them a bit. Remus and Sirius, knowing part of the reason for the sensation that they felt, were only too grateful that the boy's ire wasn't focused at either of them. Snape, feeling the same thing, brushed it off as some sort childish disagreement that had just triggered the spoiled brats' – insert Harry's face – probably still unstable magic and sneered in disgust as his colleagues gave the old wizard appreciative nods. The other teachers were wondering as to the power that the boy possessed to be able to produce such form of energy.
-x-x-x-
In their own common rooms, all the members of the four houses apart from Harry, who was oblivious to the aura that he gave off, Ron, who didn't observe anything due to his thick-headedness, and Ginny, who was too shocked by hearing Harry use her given name, wondered as to how Harry acquired such intense power and what triggered its release. All of them shivered in fear at the thought of having that power directed at them with its owner intent on harming his target. They all promised themselves not to do anything foolish to anger Harry not knowing that a blonde raven would remove the memory from their minds saying, "It's not yet time for you to fear HIS power." So, the next day, only the adults remembered it for the raven considered them matured enough not to fear their saviour, especially when he'd be the one to help them redeem all of wizard-kind from its great follies to the rest of the world.
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This is the next instalment to Descend to Darkness...
If you don't like the Sorting Hat song that I composed then I'm sorry since I find it hard to compose something with a set theme like that type of song...
I decided to put the two ideas together due to the suggestion of a friend of mine... He also suggested the title of this chapter...
I do hope that you caught on to where it came from... :-)
Tell me if the story is starting to become confusing and I'd try to rectify it as soon as possible...
Can you guess who the blonde raven is and what said raven is to the story?
By the way, here's the list of all the main characters' capabilities:
Harry Potter – is a soul-mage and has empathy, skill in mind-magic, wand-less ability, mage-sense, and ability for magical infusion. His darkness affinity also allows him the increase in the level of his offensive spells, ritual magic, and shadow manipulation. He also has great skills in potions, and crafting. His amulet merely enhances his abilities to allow him better control and has no other special powers.
Neville Longbottom – is an earth-mage who's proficient in natural magic and wards. His gifted amulet serves also as another power source.
Hermione Granger – is a water-mage that is proficient in defensive spells and healing. Her soon to be given amulet will also increase her abilities.
Luna Lovegood – is a seer gifted with empathy and mage-sense that allows her to widen her casting range. She will also be given an amulet that would increase her powers.
Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini – are gifted with amulets that gives them specialized abilities.
That would be all for now...
Can you guys help me decide whether to give Dean Thomas and Parvati Patil their own amulets as well?
I would really appreciate your input...
Next on Chapter 8: the events that would take place on the first quarter of the year (September to half of November)
Enjoy...
Kyuubi04...