"Half Blood Harry Potter"
By Loki Palmer
Author's Note: Harry Potter and all related characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Percy Jackson and all related demigods (with the exception of Loki) belong to Rick Riordan.
Sean Malloy-1: Did you stop to think that maybe Loki has his own reasons for letting the Ministry arrest him? As to the pity party, let's face it, depression is not easy to live with … in real life or in fanfiction. I would say it like this: it is when we face our flaws that we discover our true selves … wow, is that a great quote, or what?
ShadowEater666: Madam Umbridge is the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic; that's been her role in the series ever since her first introduction … and she is a Class A bitch to boot. Who's to say Fudge won't open her a new posterior when he hears about what she's done? Something to think about …
Chapter 18
Azkaban. The mention of the prison that was a Hell on Earth was terrible enough to make any wizard or witch scream for Mummy. The law-abiding members of the British Wizarding World were grateful for its existence as a place to throw away the worst of the worst criminals, but they did not want to give it any thought beyond that. No person in his right mind would dare to visit there of his own free will; of course, it went without saying that there were no vacation cruises bound for Azkaban. The sole people there of their own free will were the human Aurors, and they saw this job as the most thankless within the Auror hierarchy, though it did require a steel psyche that could withstand incredible pressure, thanks to the other guards – the Dementors.
The Dementors were fiends who sucked all warmth and all happiness out of any area they occupied. They fed on any happy memories they could find, leaving the minds of the Azkaban prisoners looped upon their worst memories. Their worst weapon of all was the Dementor's Kiss – they would suck the soul out of their victim and leave the shell of his body in a permanent coma. Besides the Veil of Death, this was the closest that the Ministry ever came to the death penalty – except it was worse.
PTSD was a common job hazard for the Aurors here, and that is if they left the job alive – some committed suicide, while others had suffered the Dementor's Kiss. The Patronus spell was the sole spell known that could keep Dementors at bay. Until Harry's amazing feat at the end of his third year, nobody had ever killed a Dementor.
Rather than a look of terror, Loki wore a grim mask of a person who would face the coming arena with his head held high. Besides, how could the Dementors crack a person with a cracked mind? What could they do to him?
If they wished to drive my mind off the rails, they were in for a shock, he thought with an inward grin. After all, though I am unsure how, my mind has become a Crazy Train …
He sang [tune: "Hoist the Colors" from "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"]:
"Some have died, and some still live yet,
Many scream in their cells;
Get the keys to the cage, and my Father to pay,
I'll send them straight to Hell!
HOO-AH! Half bloods
Blow your horns on high!
HOO-AH! Stand together,
From Death we shall not fly!"
Madam Bones looked at him. "What do you mean, 'get the keys to the cage?' "
"Are you not aware of how Azkaban came to be, Madam Bones?"
"One of the most prevailing theories out there says a Dark wizard of olden times had summoned up more than he bargained for."
Loki grinned. "That is not too far from the truth. My Father cursed him to become the first of the Dementors. If a Dementor eats enough, he will split into two, and so on ..."
"Gods have mercy! You mean all these prisoners that we sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss have served to make them stronger until we have hundreds of them?"
"The Ministry had thousands of them – until Harry's Patronus killed those at Hogwarts – and they hold control of the hundreds that remain by a hair's breadth. Should they fall out of Ministry hands – and that event would be a matter of time, I assure you – it will mean danger for mortals and demigods alike, Daughter of Ares."
She pointed her wand between his eyes. "How do you know who I am?"
"As a son of the Rich One, I can see a person's identity and how much time they have on this Earth, though He does not allow me to reveal the latter information. There are so many questions you could have thought to ask me, and you ask me that one?"
She lowered her wand. "It was a shock to me. Few people know of my demigod heritage."
He sniffed the air. "War is coming, you know this as well as I do. The Ministry Aurors will need to prepare themselves for it."
"Aye. What of your allies, Loki? How shall they manage without you?"
"Harry and Percy can manage without me for the present moment, Madam. I don't plan to stay here for long."
"How long do you estimate?"
"Meh … three days and three nights should do the trick."
She led him to his cell. "May the gods be with you, Loki."
"And with you, Madam."
~HALF BLOOD HARRY POTTER~
Rooting through his memories, Loki took the happy ones and locked them away deep within the recesses of his mind, so the Dementors could not steal them from him. He then found another memory that was behind a lock, but he had not made the lock. Whatever the memory was, the gods had locked it away from him. Perhaps it was a memory of some traumatic event he had witnessed, but here in Azkaban, he had a way to find out. He put it at the front of his mind where the Dementors could unlock it. If it was traumatic, they would enjoy looping his mind onto it.
~MEMORY START~
The house he and his mother in was aflame, and a mad witch cackled outside.
The young boy looked up at his Father, whom he saw for the first time.
"I'm sorry, My son … your mother must come with Me … her time on this Earth will come to an end any moment now … but I shall keep watch over you as much as I can … and so will the rest of your Family ..."
His mother gave him a sad smile. "Run, you clever boy … and remember me ..."
He sped out of the house as fast as his feet could take him, and watched as flames consumed it. James and Lily Potter found him moments later, with tears streaming down his cheeks …
~MEMORY END~
Listening to Bellatrix Lestrange's mad cackle in the nearby cell made his anger grow stronger; she was the one who set fire to the house!
Over the next couple days, Loki's anger and sadness grew … and with both grew his strength …
~HALF BLOOD HARRY POTTER~
Back at Camp Half Blood, the mood had grown somber and anxious. Everyone wondered about Loki and his safety. Many were the mealtime prayers that had gone up from the central fire. While the gods acknowledged the prayers, even They had no answer, except to say They were as worried as Their children were.
It was on the third day that they heard an unearthly scream …
"Could somebody tell me what in blazes was that?" said Percy, his face pale.
"That, Percy, would be a Dementor screaming in pain," said Harry. "I recognize the sound from the end of my third year, when my Patronus destroyed a number of them at Hogwarts so I could save Sirius."
Thalia's face lit up. "He's alive! Gods be praised, HE'S ALIVE!"
~HALF BLOOD HARRY POTTER~
On the same morning, a Dementor approached Loki. "So much pain and misery … your soul will be delicious in my stomach for the ages to come ..."
It lowered its hood and started to suck as if he was drinking in Loki's soul through a straw.
"Bow to the inevitable … your friends are doomed anyway … why prolong the coming of Death? Just a brief moment and it will all be over ..."
Loki's hands shook in their manacles as he growled and struggled against the Dementor. "No ..."
The Dementor stopped as its face – if a person could say it had a face – wore an expression of shock. "Excuse me?"
"I said ..." he broke his manacles and looked at the Dementor with his eyes glowing, "FUCK … YOU!"
A flaming whip cut the Dementor's stomach from its body, eliciting the aforementioned scream that echoed around the world. Without its stomach, death was quick to come.
Loki stepped over the Dementor's carcass and watched its brothers back away from him in fear. He swiped his hand towards the cells of the Death Eaters and opened them.
"When the Ministry locked me in here, it forgot something, which is this," he said with a cackle, "I'm not locked in here with you – YOU'RE LOCKED IN HERE WITH ME!"
Author's Note: Yet another fun chapter done. Any references you see are the property of their respective creators – let's see how many you can find [wink, wink]. Read and review!
Smiles and laughter,
Loki Palmer