Jaded Eyes of a Prodigy Chapter 17: The Masquerade, a harry potter fanfic

A.N.: I am not dead, lol I have been trying to finish this chapter for a while now. Needless to say life has certainly gotten in the way. My laptop had a melt down; of course raising the funds to buy another one is disheartening and harder than I thought it would be. I lost all my notes and chapters in the great crash of '09. It has taken a lot of will power to get through this chapter mostly because writing this on a public computer is not exactly inspiring =/ you just can't get the right feel going when there is other people around for this story. Lol I did it though! Yay I can only hope it was worth the long ass wait. I wish I could say the next chapter will come out sooner but my car was recently stolen so my squirreled away funds will be going to the unfortunate search for a new vehicle. That aside, enjoy, and please review I need some encouragement here. Lol

Chapter 17- The Masquerade

"War does not determine who is right- only who is left."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes at the spot floor where the diary had lain. It shouldn't have been here but now that it was it looked like his peaceful night has gone. Someone needed to be punished after all, but not tonight. Tonight he had memories to sort through, he needed to think, and he needed to recover from his forced merging. He sneered when he thought about it, the pain, the need to scream and that empty feeling he got when merging. Now more than ever he could feel the pieces he was missing, like a void within himself that he could never fill no matter what he did.

Even now, with three pieces of his soul within him Voldemort could feel the cracks, the small bits that had been lost in the fracturing. He akined it to when you shatter glass and then try to put the pieces back together. Nothing ever fits back together quite the same again, tiny pieces were always lost in the breaking and those one never does get back. He could feel the missing parts of him as acutely now as when he had broken them and it left an ache in him.

He might have shattered his soul to ensure his survival but that boy was broken without even that. The look in his eyes, to the haunting words he had spoken and even the way he moved told Voldemort terrible things. Nevertheless as he organized his new memories Voldemort began to realize something…that boy belonged to him. "He is mine," Voldemort hissed into the dark. The boy, Harry Potter or Tristen Winter, whatever name he went by belonged to HIM. Before he was born Harry had belonged to him, Harry had been made for him and he was his perfect match.

It mattered very little to him that the boy was quite mad, and as such he would be very hard to control. However, it seemed the boy was as attached to him as Voldemort was and so it would make things much easier. He sneered a bit when he thought of all he knew of the boy, the secrets, the pain, and he couldn't help but feel impressed. After all he had been sixteen before he had taken life for the first time but Harry had been only six when he had done the same.

The boy was probably the most brilliant person Voldemort had ever come across, his power was astounding rivaling his own and truly he would find no one else who equaled him. Perhaps that was the reason Dumbledore had feared the prophecy so, after all his equal would only help him take over this world sooner rather than later. Maybe he had thought about it all wrong all those years ago, maybe having his equal would not be such a terrible thing.

The way things were heading Voldemort was sure that with Harry's help he would be able to crush the light and any whom would oppose him. Of course there were things he would have to give up to Harry if he wanted to have a good partnership with him, the most aggravating being he would have to leave the muggles to him. The boy was slightly deranged when it came to the non-magicals, especially since Voldemort distinctly remembered some of the things Harry had told him. The experiments, the screams, the torture, Harry would not take kindly to being told to back off from that front.

With a sigh Voldemort realized he would have to leave the muggles to Harry, it was a shame though since he so enjoyed a good torturing session. Vaguely that got him imagining Harry torturing alongside him, he remembered the way his eyes had stared so hungrily at him, the hallow sound of his voice and it lead him to distraction. It would be glorious to watch Harry in action, without being the recipient; his power and grace would be undeniable. He sucked in a breath at the image, beautiful, wild, and savage.

-x-

The room Suzie had brought them to was open and the windows were high stain glass reflecting a rainbow of peaceful colors onto the floor. Harry thought that this dusty old room seemed peaceful; it was a forgotten room, open and spacious. 'How sad,' Harry thought, 'that a room like this lies forgotten because there is not enough magical people to fill its halls.' Suzie was smiling broadly at him, "This is a perfect place to learn to dance right?" Harry felt the need to indulge her innocent smile, "Yes, plenty of room to move."

Having voiced his approval his gathered elites at his back shifted and quickly got rid of the dust and grime. Suzie's gathered friends stood back opened mouthed at their power but Harry didn't pay them much mind. The Twins, Flora and Fauna, moved to vanish the broken furniture from the room but Harry made them leave one of the better chairs. He sat there while they finished cleaning up the rest.

He had been distracted all day, this hollow feeling inside of him seemed to be threatening to swallow him whole if he allowed it. That was why he had said yes when Suzie had asked him for dance lessons, apparently she and most of her friends did not know how to formally dance. So here they were, his elites and Suzie's friends, one group ready to teach the other something they should have already known. The magical world was too compliant, there was not enough magical people left in this world and Harry suspected it was the muggles doings.

The muggles populated most of the world now, clogging and choking the lands with their presence. Their technology, their filth, it was stifling the world…killing its potential. Harry suspected it was them that were slowly killing off all that was beautiful and right in this world. It was them that were slowly stripping the world of its mysteries; they were systematically destroying this world and killing them without ever knowing they existed.

Harry thought it was very much like two similar species fighting for their rights to certain resources. The human race was winning because of their numbers and their unrelenting thirst for knowledge beyond them. The wizarding race was dying out because of their complacency with their lives, never striving for something more. That is why their culture was dying, there was not enough people thirsting for more, searching newer better ways to do things. Harry thought that their society had once been the greatest in the entire world, their wonders had been unmatched and their power had been unparalleled.

That was not how it was any longer, somewhere along the way the wizarding race had gotten lazy and to set in their ways. One only needed to look at their clothes to see that change had not swept this dying world in a very long time. They still wore clothes that could have passed hundred years past, longer since even and no one would bat an eye. The muggles were quite different, always changing, always evolving; it was this that made them stronger. It was this that made them the dominant species in this world; they swarmed more numerous that roaches and were just as filthy.

Not for much longer, the wizarding world had gotten two champions now, two people who craved enough to set the world aflame with change. Soon, Harry with Tom at his side would take back the world from the muggles. They would retake the rightful place at the top and give back the world some of its mysteries. They had been great once, and they would be great once more. He looked up to the stained glass windows high above him; soon their people would flourish as they had never before. That was the last goal, the thing he wanted more than even the extermination of those low life humans. To see the world as it had once been before the humans had ruined its beauty and poisoned its glory.

As much as the race of humans disgusted him they also fascinated him, with their religions and their wars. Their beliefs that drove them, and most especially their bible utterly enthralled him. Ever since he had read Paradise Lost and of Lucifer, god's most favored angel, the one who fell from heaven. Lucifer certainly was the most captivating fictional character. He was beautiful, charming, powerful and the muggles god was said to favor him the most out of all his angels. However, Lucifer had strove for more than their god had been willing to give and so he was cast out from heaven.

Just as he had been cast out from his family; so had Lucifer's god turned his back on him leaving him to rule in Hell. Turning blank eyes back to his elites he watched them slowly learn to dance, Suzie's friends were not all too graceful though. Scuffing Harry turned his eyes to Ophelia, "Play for them," he said and she nodded her acceptance. Soon a sweet melody from Ophelia's piano filled the air and it allowed the novices to get the rhythm of the dance.

Leaning back into his chair Harry thought about how one concept, one shared belief drove millions of people every day. Their beliefs connected them, made a scattered race a whole one, it was above nations, above government, and though there were differences in some religions the base is always the same. God decides your fate in the end of all things, grating eternal peace or forever in torment. Harry never understood why that thought would be comforting to anyone, to have everything that you were laid bare to one person and then wait to be judged? That didn't give him any comfort at all, in fact the idea of slipping away into to nothingness was much more comforting to him.

However, that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the power this God had over the muggles since it was a weakness and as much as it was their strength. Harry tilted his head to listen to Ophelia play. She really was something on the piano, which was a bit surprising since she was such a hard girl. Her tune was so soft, gentle, with just a small trace of her magic to give the embarrassed new dancers a bit of confidence and calm. She was flowing neatly from one song to the next not missing a beat so it seemed as if she was playing one continuous song instead of many. When she turned into a song he knew Harry tilted his head to her; Ophelia certainly had a sense of humor.

Casting bored eyes onto the fumbling dancers Harry began to sing along with her playing. The song reminded him of how he felt about magic, how its call had saved his life and how weak he had been before it.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

He had been blind, he had been so afraid of those stupid muggles because he had been so blind to his own power.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

The moment he had chosen to pick up that knife, chosen to end his tormentors and take that first step into his new life he had learned true fear. Yet that fear had turned to determination so easily that it changed everything for him, changed his outlook, given him the grace to use his gift…his magic…in such a way that he managed to accomplish so much.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

Magic had led him to his school, to his path in life and it has kept him safe. Harry knew it would lead him to his end one day; hopefully it would be after he has accomplished all that he has set out to do. The prospect of death didn't disturb him in the slightest, and in fact the thought of walking into the dark sounded like the closest he would get to peace. Nonexistence would be a small price to pay for that.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Lord Voldemort, or Tom Riddle, whatever the name he chose to go by mattered little to Harry because it didn't change the man. Tom had promised to stay by him, and with Tom he had laid his hopes on.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

Harry looked forward to the day he should die, so much so that he even had it planned to some extent. After all his work is done, all that he sought was reached, and after Tom had taken his rightful place as ruler of the world Harry would seek out the Veil. It was hidden in the confines of the Ministry and Harry had a vague notion that when all was squared away he would walk through its arch.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

-x-

Harry knew he shouldn't be this weak, this desperate for him and yet here he was again. He watched in fascination as his love cast curse after curse on the blond on the floor. The blonde's face was so twisted up in pain it took Harry a while to recognize him as Malfoy and when he did Harry wondered what the fool had done. His screams were beautiful though, they filled up the room and echoed inside of him nicely. His fingers twitched with need as the screams suddenly stopped and red eyes fixed on him.

An insane smirk greeted him and Harry wondered what Tom was thinking of that had brought about such a reaction. Still, it soothed something broken and sharp inside of him to be in Tom's presence after so long. It had only been a few days but for Harry it had felt as if it had been an eternity. Tom stalked towards him, his smirk firmly in place, and brushed his hand along Harry's arm when he got close enough to do so. Just a small touch, grazing Harry's arm and trailing to his back causing a shiver to rise up.

Tom bent to his ear, his breath brushed the back of his neck and his hands ghosted over his arms. Harry trembled and began to lean into him. "I don't have much time," he said resisting the urge to turn around, knowing that if he did his thoughts would be lost to him. "I came because I am going to start this war…" Harry said not even flinching when Voldemort's arms tightened around him. "I am going to strike a huge blow the night of the Yule ball, I suggest that you get your forces ready. While the light is distracted by my move you will have an unparalleled advantage."

"It is a little sooner than I would have like but…" Tom said as he tangled his hand in Harry's hair to force him to look in his eyes. Harry felt trapped beneath him and Tom gave him a twisted smile as Harry stared into his jaded eyes. Those eyes, those familiar, damning eyes, they bore into Harry much deeper than anyone has ever gone. Looking into Tom's eyes was like looking into his own in a Mirror, both horrifying and fascinating at the same time.

When Harry really thought about it, thought about the 'love' he must feel for Tom, he realized that it was much like loving oneself. Harry knew his affection for those close to him (Suzie, Madeline, his Dark Angels) was like the foliage in the forest. Time would change it just like winter changed the trees, but his love for Tom was like the rocks lying beneath the trees, it was eternal. The great miseries of his life were Tom's miseries, and his great thought in living was Tom. If he should die along with everything else and this world crumbled to ash yet Tom remained…Harry knew his own existence would continue to be. If all else lived and Tom was to die, the universe would seem a stranger with Harry not a part of it.

Tom was Harry, as Harry was Tom. Tom was always, always in his mind, not as a pleasure any more than Harry was always a pleasure to himself but as his own being. Harry is Tom Riddle just as Tom is Harry Potter. Nothing could ever change that; no force on earth could ever shatter the connection they had to one another. They were the same being in two separate bodies. "But…" Harry asked tone light revealing none of his thoughts.

"But I would require that you spend the night here with me for the inconvenience of having to implement all my plans early," Tom said smoothly while dismissing the broken blond on the floor with a flick of his hand. Tom led Harry by holding onto the small of his neck to another chamber, wordlessly locking down the wards on the room before focusing entirely on him. Smoothly Tom vanished Harry's clothes taking in his sharp intake of breath and how he struggled to keep from hiding his form from Tom's eyes.

Tom traced every scar with hungry angry eyes, "I am sorry you killed your relatives and took that pleasure from me." Tom said as he circled his prey, "No one harms what is mine." Tom's hands ghosted over the scars he could see making Harry shiver from the sudden intimacy. "I am not gentle, I am not warm," Tom said as he roughly pulled Harry's bare form to him harshly kissing his lips. When Harry jerked away for air he looked into Tom's eyes and said, "I never expected you to be." Tom gave a dark and sinister chuckle taking that as permission he took what he wanted from Harry's body that very moment.

-x-(trying not to be graphic here, use your imagination we all know what went down)

The room was beautiful, crystals hovered everywhere reflected sparks of multi-colored light on the illusion of snow falling from the ceiling. Exquisite white lace tablecloths draped elegantly down to the floor and clear crystal china twinkled at you. Madeline thought the entire scene was breath taking and murmured that into Severus' ear. He would have agreed if he could have taken his eyes off he a moment to see for himself, instead his attention was captured on her.

She was wearing a very tight dress that loosened at her knees to fall into a small train behind her. The dress was deep green and made from some sort of reptile, at least he believed so since the scales felt real. Her silver mask framed her face beautifully and enhanced the blood red of her lips. He couldn't believe she had chosen him, him, this time someone had picked him and he felt stupidly happy about that. Though he hid that fact well enough, at least he thought so.

The Yule ball was just about to begin the champions all-waiting outside the door, his eyes swept the room taking in every mask. A masquerade, it was oddly appropriate considering how many were hiding their true faces from the world. As if Severus' thoughts had summoned his attention Dumbledore gave the signal to bring the champions inside. This ball, this masquerade, was about to begin and everyone's attention turned to the door.

In swept the champions, masked, their partners' on their arms but none of them drew as much attention as the last couple. The Noctiluca boy had a man leading him onto the dance floor with the others. The man was draped in red dress robes, a deep blood red color; his hair was wild hanging like a black mane around his head. His mask was black covering half his face, framing his cheekbones and leaving his pale mouth in stark contrast. The boy had on simple black dress robes with a plain black mask and yet there was something very menacing about this small boy. More so than the tall escort beside him leaving Severus to wonder just what was about to happen.

The dance began fluid, synchronized, the champions all fell in step and yet his eyes were drawn to Madeline's boy. Something was wrong, the air was too still and the hair on his skin was raised. There would be trouble tonight, every instinct was screaming at him to hide or run. Glancing around Severus noticed that he wasn't the only one on edge tonight. The Noctiluca students were all eyeing the Winter boy with caution as he danced. Though those were the only other ones, everyone else seemed oblivious to the storm brewing on the horizon tonight.

-x-

Bridge Street was bustling even this late at night, cars drove by, people crowded the sidewalk and tourists snapped pictures at the gates guarding Big Ben. London's most famous clock stood proudly in the moonlight and no one paid much mind to the boy in the black hooded jacket with shaggy wild hair. After all St. Stephan's tavern was right across the street and there have been stranger people known to roam London's streets at night.

The boy whistled a toneless melody while striding down Bridge Street, tossing a ball from one hand to the other before he reached the entrance gates of Big Ben. He couldn't go in of course but he sat down next to them, waiting, and wondering how long he would need to wait. His alpha had given him explicit orders after all, and he couldn't leave until whatever was supposed to happen happened. Sighing he looked at the crystal ball in his hands and the black smoke within wondering just what his pack had gotten him into.

In Paris a girl hummed as she walked through the park towards the Eiffel tower being extra careful not to drop the crystal ball in her hand as she made her way in the dark. It was quiet and still, she almost wanted to turn back now. But she didn't knowing her alpha would have her skin if he even thought she might have skipped out on her duties. Still, she grumbled to herself who sends a girl to the middle of nowhere at night?

In New York a man sat by the edge of the lake in central park and tossed a crystal ball from one hand to the other. Not really minding being sent out into the park at night, because the park was certainly easier on his nose than the city had been. A beautiful woman sat demurely in a gondola hands cupped to hold onto the crystal ball carefully as the gondolier glided the boat along. Venice was certainly a beautiful place and she didn't mind one bit being sent here as the boat glided down another canal bringing her closer to the center of the city.

All over the world there was someone in every major city carrying a crystal ball filled with black smoke. Some wondered just what they were doing while others didn't mind being sent on such a bizarre errand. They all had the same instructions after all, they were to go to their assigned place hold the ball and just wait. Now what they were waiting for they didn't know but they figured soon it would all become much more clear. None of them were prepared for what was to happen and how far reaching this simple errand would become.

-x-(If you want to hear what I did when I imagined this listen to Death Zone by Apocalytpica)

Madeline smiled at him as she went to the stage and Severus was hard pressed not to smile back. She went up to the stage and summoned her cello with an array of sparks between her hands. Behind her three of the younger students summoned up three smaller cellos to play her accompaniment. Slowly Madeline played the first long sweet note, it was beautiful and Severus couldn't keep his eyes off her. Then the other three joined in and the melody became darker and more sinister by the moment.

Everyone moved to the dance floor to join in the waltz that the champions started. The tones got darker, the Noctiluca students were captivating moving as if they were one with the music. Dipping their partners low, bringing them up violently and soon for them the waltz became a tango. Dark and slow, Severus couldn't take his eyes off of Madeline who was playing furiously giving no regard to anything outside her cello.

He never noticed when the low drums started to beat in the background or when the music started to wind down his attention focused solely on the woman. Then as her song faded away Severus noticed a shift in the air, the crowd parted for Madeline's boy and his band of followers as they moved onto the stage. Whatever was going to happen tonight was beginning now.

The boy moved to the stage and the others Severus remembered having played with him before took up the space behind him. The whole room was tense now, wondering just what the Winter boy would do now.

-x-(I highly recommend listening to the song during or after you read they are What lies beneath by breaking Benjamin, hero by Skillet, and Give me a Sign by breaking Benjamin)

Harry felt the pulse of magic as everyone summoned their instruments, Leon began to play and Harry focused on the task ahead of him. This would be without a doubt the most challenging piece of magic he had ever preformed, it was almost too bad that no one in this room would witness it. He took a deep breath and began to sing:

Take a breath
Hold it in
Start a fight
You won't win
Had enough
Let's begin
Nevermind
I don't care

All around the world the small crystal orbs began to pulsate in the hands of their bearers, as a voice sang from the black smoke within. The smoke started to fill the air around them, more and more, until they couldn't see a thing besides the black smoke surrounding them. Harry could feel their fear, and continued to sing drawing magic from everyone who bore his mark. He wouldn't be able to do this alone, he needed all the magic he could take.

All in all
You're no good
You don't cry
Like you should
Let it go
If you could
When love dies in the end

The smoke blanketed the cities, the black fog made it impossible to see through, all one could hear was the panic and fear from the others experiencing it. A screech of wheels and a loud crash of metal hitting metal, someone was screaming. No matter if you were outside or in, the smoke found you and filled up all the space. You could feel it clinging to your skin and all anyone could see was the darkness of being surrounded by it. The ones who saw it coming tried to run…but there was no where to hide where the smoke couldn't find you.

So I'll find what lies beneath
Your sick twisted smile
As I lay underneath
Your cold jaded eyes
Now you turn the tide on me
'Cause you're so unkind
I will always be here
For the rest of my life

The most terrifying thing was the disembodied voice that sang out from the smoke. Harry could feel them, his orbs, his weapon; he could feel their terror was the muggle world was being swallowed up by the darkness. This was his greatest achievement and soon the whole world would know the darkness he had been in his entire life.

Here we go
Does it hurt
Say goodbye
to this world
I will not
Be undone
Come to life
It gets worse

The smoke came at you like a living thing, grabbing at you as you tried to run and many tried to outrun it. Harry could feel it spreading it was almost covering all of their cities now. He could almost feel all of them, as he sang he told them to say goodbye, because very few would see the sky again.

All in all
You're no good
You don't cry
Like you should
I'll be gone
when you fall
Your sad life
Says it all

Harry looked out at the dancer on the floor but he didn't see them. His eyes were seeing the girl in a red dress running as fast as she could after her mother but she fell. His smoke surrounded her and Harry heard her crying. The boy in the blue shoes rocking back and forth on the floor of his bedroom and the old man in his rocking chair sitting as still as a statue. He could see the ones in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.S., Africa and all of Asia. Just a little more and he could begin.

Alucard didn't notice the bit of smoke surrounding his hands, but Harry sang on knowing he would get what he deserved for trying to turn the tide on him. Harry knew the plans Alucard had laid in motion and he knew what he had to do now. He was not one to forgive or forget a betrayal.

Don't carry me under
You're the devil in disguise
God sing for the hopeless
I'm the one you left behind

Harry looked towards his parents, as he sang about being left behind and wondered if he should kill them tonight. However, he could already feel the strain from just coating the entire muggle world with his weapon and knew he wouldn't have the strength tonight.

He thought of Tom and Voldemort, as the last little bit of the muggle world was cover in the smoke from his orbs. He could feel them all now, every last one of them and he was going to enjoy what was coming next. Harry motioned for Suzie to come up onto the stage with him and she eagerly did. They sang the end of the world together.

(Harry Suzie Both)

I'm just a step away
I'm just a breath away
Losing my faith today
Falling off the edge today

The voice was singing but Mary could barely hear it over the sudden screams. The screams where horrible, she had never heard a sound like this so many people were screaming and she could hear the sound of concrete crumbling. She could almost swear she felt the rush of air as a big chunk of something heavy fell beside her and yet she didn't hear a crash. Only more scream, only the sound of more things breaking, she could only hear it all. The worst thing of it all was she couldn't see what was happening, she didn't know if she was going to be the one screaming next.

I am just a man
Not superhuman
I'm not superhuman
Someone save me from the hate

Richard tried very hard to plug his ears with his hands; he didn't want to hear them anymore. He couldn't stand the screaming anymore. Suddenly the solidness of the ground gave away and with the darkness surrounding him was all he could see or feel as he fell through. He was the one screaming now, this was a nightmare, it had to be and soon his mom would come wake him up for school. So he kept falling and screaming wondering when he would finally wake up from this nightmare.

It's just another war
Just another family torn
Falling from my faith today
Just a step from the edge
Just another day in the world we live

Jean-pierre held on as tightly as he could to his older sisters hand but she kept trying to shake him off. She kept screaming and shaking, he tried to shout at her to see what the matter was but she didn't answer. Her hand was beginning to feel weird too, like the way cotton candy feels when you get it wet and it starts to dissolve. He kept trying to hold onto her tighter but it got harder and harder. Soon she stopped screaming, and he started to cry. The silence was worse, far worse then the screaming.

I need a hero to save me now
I need a hero, save me now
I need a hero to save my life
A hero will save me just in time

Brenda just wanted the pain to stop, there was no describing it, just that it surrounded her and there was no trying to stop screaming. It was all she could do, scream in pain and hope she would die soon. The pain went on and on…. When Brenda stopped screaming Jacky knew she was alone and cried harder than before. The voice singing was cruel, there was no hero coming for anyone today and no one was going to be saved. Harry felt excitement as he continued to sing bringing to the muggles the despair they had brought onto him.

I've gotta fight today
To live another day
Speaking my mind today
My voice will be heard today

This was his chance, this was the end and today he would be the fighter the magical world needed. He would cut away the disease the muggles had heaped onto the world and in doing so bring about a new age of wonder. Soon the world would be as it always should have been and magic would thrive. It would be a world where no magical being would have to fear the ignorance of a muggle ever again. Never again.

I've gotta make a stand
But I am just a man
I'm not superhuman
My voice will be heard today

His voice would be heard today, and every last muggle would know it by the end. He could feel them dying off, could feel the world they built crumbling to nothing. All that they were would be destroyed soon; nothing of their former glory would be allowed to remain. Harry could hear their screams; it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. So many screams, so many dying and he was doing it!

It's just another war
Just another family torn
My voice will be heard today
It's just another kill
The countdown begins to destroy ourselves

Lillian screamed the smoke was clinging to her tighter now, and she could feel her clothes falling off. She kept screaming even as the smoke released her, so scared that now it would be her turn to die. Her mother was gone, so were her brothers and father. That horrible voice kept singing, disembodied in the smoke and she hated it.

I need a hero to save me now
I need a hero, save me now
I need a hero to save my life
A hero will save me just in time

No one had saved him, no one had protected him and when he had needed it no one had reached out to him. So Harry sang for the hero he had wished had come for him when he had been broken and bleeding in his cupboard. They all had to know what it felt like to be so hopeless, to have all dignity and light stripped away from their lives. They all had to feel what he feels, they all had to cry and scream for him.

I need a hero to save my life
I need a hero, just in time
Save me just in time
Save me just in time

Julian tried to ignore the voice, it was too vindictive, it was too penetrating as the song went on the voice was harder and harder to ignore. At first when the smoke had come, the voice had been so faint hardly anyone had noticed it over the chaos but now it was almost like the voice was inside your head. Like even if you tore out your ears, you would still hear it singing as your family and friends screamed and died around you. Though you never saw them die, you knew they would never come back when their screams stopped and silence came.

Who's gonna fight for what's right?
Who's gonna help us survive?
We're in the fight of our lives
And we're not ready to die

Harry didn't understand why the rest of the magical world hadn't seen what he saw, that the muggle world was choking the life from them. That the magical world was in a fight for their very existence against the muggles and their world was content to just lie there dying. Not caring to fight back against them, to seek the muggles end to save the magicals very lives. Harry wasn't ready to let them just take everything he had ever survived for without fighting back, without trying to stop them.

Who's gonna fight for the weak?
Who's gonna make 'em believe?
I've got a hero, I've got a hero
Living in me

What was happening to them? What was happening, Chris just didn't understand. What was this darkness? Was it some kind of biological weapon? Was it the Americans? The Russians? Was this nuclear war? The silence was the worst thing, before there was screaming, now it was faint and fading. What was happening?

I'm gonna fight for what's right
Today I'm speaking my mind
And if it kills me tonight
I will be ready to die

Harry was beginning to feel weak but he refused to stop this close to the end. He drew more magic from his marked ones, and he continued on fighting. It was almost done now. Everything he had dreamed of, and imagined was almost reality. Soon the magical world will know what it was like to be free. Soon there would be no more reason to hide from anyone any longer.

A hero's not afraid to give his life
A hero's gonna save me just in time

I need a hero to save me now
I need a hero, save me now
I need a hero to save my life
A hero will save me just in time

Harry wasn't afraid to die doing this, and had accepted it as a possibility when he had begun this strike. He would save their world, and soon no magical would have to fear a muggle ever again. Soon Tom would unite their world and everything would be as it should.

I need a hero
Who's gonna fight for what's right?
Who's gonna help us survive?

Suzie pushed her magic towards Harry feeling the need to help him carry this through to the end. So happy that she could be a part of this and that he had chosen her to help cave the world. She sang on…

I need a hero
Who's gonna fight for the weak?
Who's gonna make 'em believe?
I've got a hero

I need a hero
A hero's gonna save me just in time

That was it there was nothing left, his smoke had erased the last of what they had and now it was time to do something with all this energy. No energy is ever truly destroyed it only changes form and not it was time to change to face of the world. He paused taking a moment to sip some water and concentrate on withdrawing the darkness from its path of destruction.

As the smoke started to clear Hanna wished she had kept her eyes closed, there was nothing left, nothing. She stood there naked looking out at the dirt that used to be her home. At the street that was no longer there, at the place where her mom parked their car and there was nothing but dirt and grass. The plants were all there unharmed, but that was all that was left of her life. No one in her family had survived the smoke, no one but her.

Looking down the street Hanna saw a boy standing naked looking just as shocked, just as confused as she was and then she noticed he was staring at something. She looked up and started to tremble in fear, there was the smoke it was all gathering up there. Condensing into a tight ball, then Hanna heard the voice and she knew it wasn't over. Not yet.

Dead star shine
Light up the sky
I'm all out of breath
My walls are closing in
Days go by
Give me a sign
Come back to the end
The shepherd of the damned

Michael looked up at the radiating black star in the sky, the thing that had taken everything from him and wondered just what was there left to take. What was going to happen now? The star exploded then and pieces of it fell around Michael and then a piece headed straight for him and he tired to run. But it hit him hard and fast on the back of his neck. Michael could feel it tightening around his neck like a noose. He felt it on his ankles and wrists too. As he looked down he saw dark blue bands around his ankles and wrists. Feeling around his neck he felt one around his neck, a cold ball of dread filled his stomach.

I can feel you falling away

No longer the lost
No longer the same
And I can see you starting to break
I'll keep you alive
If you show me the way
Forever - and ever
the scars will remain
I'm falling apart
Leave me here forever in the dark

Kiki stared at her red bands on her ankles and her wrists, then at her little sister. Josefina had similar bands but they were white. Then she felt a tug, like a hook in her stomach and the world swam out of view. She hit the ground hard and panicking Kiki tried to find Josefina and found her not to far from where she landed. There were a more and more people landing around them, all naked, all with bands on them.

Daylight dies
Blackout the sky
Does anyone care?
Is anybody there?
Take this life
Empty inside
I'm already dead
I'll rise to fall again

Kate couldn't keep her eyes away from the black star in the sky as it started to rain a heavy drops of something onto the ground. Everything that the rain touched, green things grew, the world came to life, flowers bloomed, trees sprouted up and all around her the world that she had known became a distant memory. Standing in the lush grass Kate couldn't help but think how terribly beautiful it was and how wrong it felt to see London become a wooded plain.

I can feel you falling away

Around the world each magical government was receiving messages, their offices were swamped with reports of muggles disappearing, whole cities along with them. Each minister, emperor, chief warlock and president opened a heavy black envelope with shaking hands. Inside was simple instructions stating that in a few minutes their countries muggle born wizards and witches would be delivered to them. The letter stated that it was expected that they take care to make sure they were placed into appropriate magical homes.

God help me I've come undone
Out of the light of the sun
God help me I've come undone
Out of the light of the sun

Harry could feel the world coming to life, soon the last of the muggles would be transported to their new owners and the magical children of the muggles will have been delivered to their governments. The vampires would get their cattle, some select families would get their servants and some of the werewolf clans would get their new breeding stock. Muggles had some use after all.

I can feel you falling away

No longer the lost
No longer the same
And I can see you starting to break
I'll keep you alive
If you show me the way
Forever - and ever
the scars will remain

Harry hands gripped his sides, feeling his scars underneath his clothes, and remembering all the pain. There were no memories that were not shadowed in darkness for him and Harry wanted to make sure that the world would never forget this night. Alucard held up his gloved hands, the newly restored cuffs and grinned at him savagely. Harry would make sure his enemies would remember the night, the night he changed the face of the world and remade history. He would not let magic die, and no longer would it be so dangerously close to doing just that.

Give me a sign
There's something buried in the words
Give me a sign
Your tears are adding to the flood
Just give me a sign
there's something buried in the words
Give me a sign
Your tears are adding to the flood
Just give me a sign
There's something buried in the words
Give me a sign
Your tears are adding to the flood

It didn't matter to Harry any more if the magical world ever came to an agreement on how their world should be run. He didn't care about blood purity or pureblood rights as opposed to muggle borns. None of that had ever matter to him, because to him magic was magic, a gift that should never be ignored or forgotten. His scars would probably remain with him forever, emotional and physical, but that didn't change what he has accomplished. Harry knew that once everyone found out what he had done this night he would never be forgotten or ignored again.

Forever - and ever
The scars will remain

His eyes swept to his parents as he finished singing and walked exhausted off of the stage. Leon was discretely ready to catch him if he proved too weak to support himself. Harry thought that the thing that made him hate his parents the most was not the fact that they had abandoned him, although that was a big part of it, but it was the fact that they had forgotten him. They had went on with their lives, had a new son; they had went on joyfully ignoring the very fact he had ever existed.

Harry's eyes moved to Madeline, more than once he had wondered what it would have been like to be her real son and not just her adopted responsibility. Things might have been different, he might have understood what real love was, what it was to have friends and people you trusted. However, wallowing in what ifs could only drive one mad in the end because there were always endless possibilities but just one reality. His reality was that he had surrounded himself with a loyal group of followers, not equals, and Tom was the only one who could try to understand him. Tom knew more than most, but no one knew it all.

Not that it mattered much to him any longer anyways, Harry was content with the path he had chosen and he would see it through to the end.

-x-

Snape wasn't sure what had just happened, he could see no sign of anything being different in the hall but clearly the Winter boy had just done some serious magic. The exhaustion on not only his face but also the face of every other Noctiluca student was evidence enough for him. Something huge had just happened and Severus dreaded having to find out what exactly had just occurred. He thought briefly of asking Madeline to speak to him in private but decided against it mostly since he just didn't want to know.

He felt a hand grip his arm lightly and nearly jumped out of his skin Severus was so startled. It goes to show that he had let the Winter boy distract him too much if he hadn't noticed the person approaching him. Lilly's dark emerald eyes stared up at him and he froze, his heart beat just a little bit faster. She had looked at him like that since they were children, like a friend.

"Severus, would you mind stepping outside with me a moment there is something I want to talk to you about?" Lilly asked softly. Severus looked over the see Madeline playing another waltz with her crew of cello players and judged that he would have maybe five minutes before he was missed. Then he turned back to Lilly and agreed to go with a tilt of his head not trusting his voice.

His mind was churning, he didn't know what to feel or say to Lilly. After all until recently he had loved her from a far all his life, had kept loving her after James had already won her and had been certain he would die loving her. However, that was before he had started to get to know Madeline and now he wasn't sure of anything anymore. Lilly was still his first love though and his first heartbreak so he followed her in confusion.

Once they were outside on the walkway she began to speak, "There is something important I need to say to you and I'll hope you'll be reasonable and listen." Severus again found himself only able to nod not trusting in his voice, it had been so long since Lilly had spoken to him this way. "There is a lot of history between us Severus, and I have always regretted that our friendship didn't survive past our fifth year of Hogwarts. You said something to me Severus that I could have forgiven had you asked my forgiveness." She went on to say and watched him look away from her eyes ashamed.

"I have always regretted not begging for your forgiveness the moment the words left my mouth," Severus admitted as she stared at him with those eyes, eyes he had always loved. "Of course after what happened to Harry, to my family, because of the life you had turned to I stopped regretting that break. I thought I would always hate you Severus, for being the key factor in tearing my family apart…in taking my baby away from me," Her voice broke and she turned away from him refusing to even look at him.

Severus felt his heart break into a thousand pieces, he had never meant to hurt Lilly, never, and he knew no words from him could ever make losing her child any better. Harry had been missing for a while now, they didn't know if he was dead or alive. If he was happy or healthy and Severus knew how much her children meant to Lilly. He fell to his knees, "Lilly I know there is nothing I could say to you that would come close to good enough, no apology I could make, I do not deserve your forgiveness so I will not ask for it. But know that should you ask anything of me I would do anything, anything, you asked."

Lilly turned around to face him, kneeing before her Severus had to look up to see her face, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about Severus, there is something I need to ask of you that is selfish and horrible. However, I feel that if you were to do this thing, this one thing for me I think I could begin to forgive you for all you have done to me." "Ask anything of me Lilly," Severus said feeling hope bubble up inside of him.

He had never thought he would ever be able to earn Lilly's forgiveness, and here was a way he could start down that road. "Severus what I want is for you to stop speaking to that woman, Madeline, Sirius has been through so much he deserves to be happy. He's ready to settle down now, and have a family Severus and he wants her. If you ignore her, Sirius will finally be able to sweep her off her feet and I know I'm asking a lot from you but its what I want Severus."

Severus had thought his heart had been broken enough by Lilly that it could break no further but he had been terribly wrong. The hope he had felt was now cold and hard in his chest. 'Sirius deserved to be happy' did that not mean that he didn't deserve to have happiness in his life? That Lilly thought he didn't deserve to keep Madeline, but then again as he remembered his crimes Severus began to believe that also. With a hoarse voice he replied, "Alright Lilly, alright, I'll leave Ma…the woman to Black." Lilly smiled at him and it almost made it worth it, almost. Severus should have known that any ray of happiness or hope could never last long for him. He felt foolish and naïve for ever imagining it could.

-x-

The French minister felt harried and overwhelmed as he pushed the last of the people from his office he just needed a minute to think. No one had seen this coming, the entire muggle world wiped out in a few minutes, and now he was left dealing with the aftermath. The buildings frequented by wizards, their towns, markets and farms had remained untouched thank Merlin. However, anything that hadn't gotten regular contact with the magical world was gone, at least that was what his people were telling him. There was a mess of naked muggle born wizard and witches amassed outside his ministry severely traumatized awaiting some form of explanation.

He had nothing though, just a letter in a black envelope, and a whole world of trouble. He took out his secret stash of fire whiskey and downed a big gulp, hoping to stave off some of his nerves. Whoever had done this was more powerful then any wizard or witch he had ever heard of. The entirety of the muggle world was gone, there were no memories to wipe, no damage to repair, it was done there was no more need for a statue of secrecy. Who was left to keep a secret from?

The main thing was that he needed to take on one problem at a time, first the muggle born outside. They were now very much aware that magic exists or at least they suspected it. Now he needed to figure out what to do with them all, where the hell was he going to put them? John-Claude already had his secretary getting every seamstress she could out there to clothe them because they couldn't leave them naked. That was just barbaric. Just what they hell was he going to do?

Magical leaders around the world were facing the same problem, they didn't know how to handle the situation handed to them and weren't sure how to proceed. The Italian Minister was the first one to crack under the pressure and begin contacting the I.C.W. to arrange and emergency meeting of the confederation. The meeting was quickly agreed upon and someone was dispatched to get the Supreme Mugwump himself.

-x-

Voldemort waited for the signal, his Death Eaters were all gathered with the exception of the ones he wasn't entirely sure of where their loyalties lied. He had watched the destruction of the muggle with a mixture of awe, excitement, and caution. That boy was without a doubt one of the most powerful being on this planet, and he was relieved he wouldn't have to test himself against the boy. If he was entirely honest with himself Voldemort wasn't entirely sure who would come out on top had the boy opposed him.

That was not going to be an issue though, as his equal, though he hated to admit it, the boy had his own goal that happen to align with his own. Together there would be no one that could hope to stand against him and Voldemort was gleeful over that fact. Very soon the world would learn his name and fear to speak it, very soon now everything he had ever strove for would be his, theirs. The signal went up, the idiot Fudge was off the I.C.W. meeting about the worthless muggle disappearances. Dumbledore was at Hogwarts totally unaware of his movements and what has happened.

The old fool would go the I.C.W. meeting first and by the time he got back there would be no way to defend against him…he would have already won.

A.N.: I want to thank everyone who kept with this story and reviewed, it means a lot to me. To the haters that review to tear down a new author, get a life, cause if you need to reread my work and point out every small mistake then all that means is it meant enough to you that you had to keep on reading it! Kodoos on being an asshole! XP lol Next Chapter: The beginning of the End.