Chapter Twenty: Broken

As the medical team got closer Fleur boosted her natural Fire, making the team stop from the display of the angry looking blonde. Her pale blue eyes seemed to burn like a blizzard of flames, dirty blonde hair almost floated with energy "I ave 'im, I will take 'im to Madam Pomfrey." She snapped at them.

Fleur knew that Harry was self conscious of his scars, they were a reminder of his home life and those who had beaten him so. She recalled so many months ago, when Harry had spoken to Harold about his life and while she knew that he wasn't forth coming on many things; she could fill in the gaps rather well.

His breathing was slow and shallow, the scars that he worked so hard to cover with an unconscious glamour charm, were now visible. Harry must be going through some sort of magical drain, what with his fighting this 'Tom' into returning control.

Fleur leaned down, scooping him into her arms and whisking him off towards the tents for healing; which already held Andromeda, Sirius and Dumbledore, along with the ever present matron. Everyone seemed pale, Andromeda had glassy eyes almost like she was blind, Sirius was of course still in his Wolf-Hound form but she now knew this to be him. Dumbledore finally looked his age, like the world was pressing on his shoulders for the first time in so long.

"Please, place him here." Madam Pomfrey gestured to a bed, while Dumbledore began to seal the tent from prying eyes. Once the tent was secure, Sirius shifted back to his natural form "Ah, I had a feeling that was you Sirius."

The Lord Black gave her a questioning look, one she returned with a look of her own; one that told him to wait his turn. "What can you do Poppy?" He whispered softly, he promised to protect the pup; but Bella might have taken it too far.

"I'm not even sure what I can do, most of these are self inflected, he could start doing it again."

Dumbledore gave a small cough "I believe." He started once all eyes were on him "I know how to help young Harry." He began to examine the rune that was on the young man's chest. "You see how it is darkening the veins around the rune? Or how his scar has darkened?"

"What are you getting at Albus?" Sirius questioned, moving a little closer to examine the rune himself.

"If anyone else was wearing this, it would be working flawlessly but Mr. Potter has never been…..normal." Dumbledore began mournfully "It is something that I have known for a while, something that I hoped was not true….however all other alternatives left when he dueled Severus."

Sirius nodded slowly, biting into his lip and Andromeda answered his unspoken question "Voldemort…..he fought….like Voldemort….." She whispered softly, bringing a hand to her mouth in horror.

Dumbledore nodded gravely "I have believed that Mr. Potter might have some….traits as he, Parsel-Tongue is of course one of his many traits." He spoke gently, sitting on the bed next to Harry's, Fleur had sat down on the other one.

Fleur looked ready to explode in either a shower of tears, or a string of curses "What can we do?" She almost wanted to scream.

Dumbledore examined the rune once more, then sighed removing his half-moon spectacles "I can create runes that shall remove the toxins of this one, and should help control the….creature within, but short of killing Mr. Potter or removing the rune….I see no other alternative." He explained, his age just seemed to get older as he sat on that bed.

"Why can't we remove the rune?" Fleur questioned, she hated the thing, it had taken her Harry.

Sirius answered for her, his answer didn't make anyone feel better in the room "Those that wear the Black rune, wear it for life, it is imbedded into his magic system and wrapped around his heart….it was supposed to be a punishment for those Black's who hadn't adopted the codex of the House."

Fleur began to cry, she had lost him, she had lost to that bitch who had done this to him, when she found Bellatrix Black, she would make that woman pay for what she had done. A hand pressed onto her back, a slender but cool hand.

Andromeda looked down at her with similar eyes, but a childhood full of suffering and pain had taught her to hold those tears in; to turn them into fuel. "It will be alright child." She whispered softly, bringing the young woman into a tight hug.

"Pourquoi faut-il lui, pourquoi ne pas quelqu'un qui a moins souffert!" She cried in French, her bottom lip trembled as the tears streamed down her face and stained the dark robes that Andie was wearing.

"Because, fate doesn't think anyone else can survive such torture….Harry is strong….Fleur….he'll pull through this." She whispered back, she understood roughly what the wailing woman had said in a quick French tongue, with a dialect that she was unfamiliar with.

XX~XX~XX~XX

His world was in pain, like the house had finally collapsed in on itself and then caught on fire with anger, and grief filled the darkened sky with rain, thunder and lightning. While he wasn't certain where he was, he knew that this world held immense purpose for him; though he couldn't tell what that purpose was.

The fragments of glass reflected the burning building, and himself standing perfectly still in the rain watching the house burn to the ground. His shirt was torn, hair was sticking to his face with water dripping down and his glasses had been broken once more.

He could hear crying in the distance, like someone had just lost everything they owned in one fell swoop; and they likely had. As he gazed at his reflection, another stepped forward and stood beside him, they didn't speak for some time but soon the other whispered.

"You almost lost." He said carefully.

Harry wanted to laugh, he glanced over at the man next to him and saw what he might look like if he lived long enough; something he was beginning to think was impossible "I did." He answered back.

The older-self shook his head, hair cut short that did not move as he did so "No, if you had then the foundation would be gone as well. The house is not gone Harry, it is merely gutted." He said calmly, leaned back a little on the balls of his feet "I know what you are thinking, I am not an older you. I am very much you."

"I'm sorry?" Harry responded, turning more towards the man.

He chuckled a little "I am your pride, your joy." He held his hands out "I am your strength, your ambition." He nodded as Harry grew a look of understanding "I am you Harry, the best parts of you. James I think will suffice for now."

Harry bit into his cheek "James? Do you know who started the fire?" He asked carefully.

"You and Salazar did, you might not be aware of it but you have been here all along but it is something that you so easily forget." James explained, a smile spreading across his face "In fact I believe that Sal is quite angry at you, though he now chained in the basement."

Harry rose a brow, a small look of confusion crossed his features.

"Ah you do not remember the shade strolling in here, grabbing Sal by his throat as the flames began and dragged him down the foundation and sealed him away in chains." James explained, pointing to the fires "They shall not hurt you, it merely represents conflict with us, yourself."

Harry nodded, taking slow tentative steps towards the fires and did not feel the heat, and soon he felt no fear. The place was never 'nice' or luxurious, but it had served its purpose as a meeting spot of sorts; a place where they would feel safe away from the creatures that hung the surrounding forests like a plague.

He pulled open a hatch, one that he knew had been there for years but had never been opened until recently; from the inside as well. He took careful steps down the darkness, his eyes slowly adjusted to the low light and on the wall towards the far end, he saw him.

Salazar looked very much like Harry, but something wasn't quite right and a few things began to add up. Sal's hair was much lighter, almost brown, skin was paler and he was sickly looking, the man slowly opened his nearly glowing blood red eyes "Harry…." He whispered softly, a twisted grin spreading across his face "We've got matching tattoo's…." He began to chuckle.

Harry nodded in understanding, when the rune was turned on this….creature would take over and had almost done it perfectly. "Salazar was it?" He questioned, a stool was created from the stone for him to sit.

The creature laughed, shrugging his shoulders making the chains rattle "Ah, Harry….I am more like you than you think, I want what is best for the both of us after all." He grinned quite evilly. "But then again, I am like only one other here, a being from the outside, you might know her. She has been….keeping me here for quite some time, the nerve of that pathetic little Muggleborn."

"So you're a combination of me and Voldemort?"

"Indeed, however I no longer associate with that….name?" He questioned himself, a quick wink "As I said I am here to protect you, in the only way I know how. Manipulation and violence."

"What if you were to fight Voldemort?" He asked carefully, the creature was almost chuckling again "What would you do then?"

Sal looked ready to dance "Proper question that one is! I'd most likely rip his head from his shoulders, eat his flesh and burn his bones; he was weak enough to fall to that bitch, he doesn't deserve to go on living." He explained his thought processes.

Harry shook his head in disgust "You almost hurt Fleur." He said with venom, the memory crossing his mind.

Sal shrugged "She was in my way, our way of everlasting glory."

"Something we both already have."

"True enough, should I be released from these chains once more. I shall endeavor to protect them, so long as it doesn't cross protecting yourself." Sal gave him another sick twisted grin "After all, if you die then I die too, and that would be no fun….but Harry…."

He looked into the deep blood red eyes of the twisted creature in front of him, and felt a deep sense of dread.

"What is the deference between a King and his Jester?" He questioned, then quickly added "I don't mean the petty bullshit either, that one was born to lead and the other was a fool. That one is older, or younger, I mean deep down." Sal waited for a moment, before clicking his tongue in disappointment "Deep down they are the same right, the only difference is Instinct."

"Instinct?" Harry questioned, not understanding where this was going, until a soft female voice carried across the room.

"Fear is what keeps the Jester from killing the King and taking his crown, Depression is why the King keeps the Jester around, Anger is why the Jester and King snip at the other. Instinct is what keeps people from doing certain things and making others do them."

The woman stepped from the shadows, similar green eyes danced behind dark red bangs. She was wrapped in shadows, and as quickly as she came, she was gone once more.

Sal chuckled "Ah, she speaks the truth." He looked over at Harry "You lose your instincts kid, and it will be you chained to this wall."

XX~XX~XX~XX

Fleur hadn't moved from her spot next to Harry, they had moved him effortlessly to the Medical Hall of Hogwarts but that was of course hours ago and they had done what they needed to; it was all up to Harry now. She rested her head in his hand, tears had long stained her face but had dried not long ago "There's a day when our hearts will be broken, when a shadow will cast out the light." She sang softly, no other bed had been occupied but his own.

"And our eyes cry a million tears….help won't arrive." She continued, fresh tears streaming down her face. The she perked up, looking wide eyed as a voice followed her own, deep but weak, powerful but full of pain.

"There's a day when our courage collapses, and our friends turn and leave us behind." His voice carried, he obviously had learned about her favorite band since the Ball had completed.

Fleur pressed her head back into his hand "Creatures of darkness will triumph, the sun won't rise." She whispered, her voice carried softly across the hall "I almost lost you." She whispered to him, tears staining his bed.

Harry turned to look at her, the voices hadn't stopped but now he knew which seemed to be the ones to listen to. James and the form his mother seemed to take, had to be there to help him on his way, to keep him safe. Salazar and another screaming voice, seemed to want to create nothing but conflict, but in their own way he figured they might want to help him as well.

A sense of déjà vu washed over him, he looked ahead his once bright green eyes, then glowing red ones had now turned a dull lightless green once more; eyes that seemed to carry graveyards within. "You almost did." He answered softly, being truthful.

Fleur was going to bite back her question, he had just woken, he should be resting but she couldn't stop herself, she had to know. "It was 'im, wasn't it." She whispered her voice wavered as she did, eyes locking on his now green orbs. "Voldemort."

Harry gave a sigh of sorts, leaning back in his bed as he nodded sullenly "He….isn't the same…" He tried to explain, looking at his arm now covered in runes "He changed when he became a part of me, he became something more." He flexed his fingers, hissing in pain as the runes flared.

Fleur continued to look into his eyes, even though they were focused everywhere else, she laid her hand on his wrist, feeling the smooth ink on his skin "Dumbledore and Sirius did this." She lightly ran her fingers over it, the runes looked like gears and seemed to move up his arm and into his chest "It is designed to keep the other from activating on its own, or being on for very long." She explained, interlocking her fingers within his own.

Harry looked over at her again, his eyes widened for a split second and he seemed to flinch in pain but he shook it off. His breath hitched, eyes still wide and hazy; lost in a memory of something. As he was lost, she tightened her grip on his hand, silent so he would come back on his own.

After several moments of his breathing doing nothing but increase, she began to whisper softly "It's okay, Arry, please, it's okay. Whatever you are facing, it is in the past, please come back." She whispered quietly.

As she finished, she saw colour return to him, his eyes brightened a little and his breathing leveled out. "I-I'm sorry…I just…" He shook his head, looking back at her and pressing a kiss to her brow "Thank you, I think….I just…"

"Need some time?" She asked softly, it was no surprise to her that this Harry, the original would have some flashes of the pain he had been keeping locked away; this Salazar must have dragged it into the light.

Harry nodded "I….who else visited?" He tried to change the subject, tightening his grip on her hand, noticing how soft her hands were. She had recently painted them too, a bright purple that had chipped away from the recent duels.

"Daphne of course, 'ermione and Gabby just left." Fleur counted those she knew would matter the most to him. "I think a few of the Weasley's, Many whose names I did not know, although Malfoy left this." She sneered at his name, looking at the card with distaste "I did not read it."

Harry glanced at her, searching for something for a few moments before he opened the card, eyes scanning its words. A small smile appeared after a moment, his features mirrored his old self "Malfoy just being his normal self, though he wants to chat sometime soon." He spoke with a dull voice.

"Why does 'e 'ate you so?" Fleur couldn't help but ask.

Harry shrugged softly "He approached me when I first started Hogwarts, said he could help me find the right sort. I told him that I could do that myself, so I think he saw that as a slap to his pride." He sighed softly, his hand tightening on hers as he thought "Since, we've been rivals of a sort, Seekers." He smiled a little more.

"You like 'aving a rival, non?" She asked simply, closing the book that was open on the nightstand. She'd been there for hours, other than crying and staring at him, she tried to read up on Runes. "It pushes you forward."

Harry nodded "It did, until last year." He confessed, wincing at the tattoos on his arm as he pushed up "Pettigrew made me realize, The Dark Lord is still out there…"

"Your nightmares."

"It's more than that now, I know how he thinks and I think I know where he is hiding…"

"You are staying in this bed, Arry Potter, or I will tie you to it!" Fleur almost screeched at the gleam in his eyes. He wanted to be rid of the threat as quickly as possible, to endure it and move on like any other challenge, but he will not do it fool-heartily.

"Is that a challenge?" He asked softly, before slipping into another vivid memory, if she had to guess, it was one about confinement; he was trying to get out of the bed like it was made of needles, his scream could be heard halfway around the castle.

XX~XX~XX~XX

The wood was rotting under her boots, the stench of decay and filth filled her lungs as they slipped through the broken window. With a quick glance to the hooded figure in front of her, who nodded at her unspoken question, she took careful steps forward and then turned to help their final partner through the window.

Once he was inside, they lowered their hoods "Alright." He whispered softly, his green eyes still duller than they normally should be "Let me look around, please." Harry coughed a little, covering his face with his sleeve "I should be but a moment."

Bella had lowered her hood as well, carefully moving towards the door to keep an eye on the street as she began to overlap the thin wards with her own. Their ward-stones had to be placed outside of the ancient and unmaintained wards that originally kept people out; wizard or muggle.

"Take your time pup, just try to make it quick." Sirius advised, standing near the window to make sure they had an open escape. "You're positive that this is where he hid something?"

"Hundred percent, this is the Gaunt Family home, his mother's family." He explained dully, running his hand across the weathered wallpaper "The family had two secrets, the Locket of Slytherin and their Ancestral Rin-" He coughed again, wiping the blood away from his lips quickly.

"Is he going to be an issue?" Bellatrix asked, looking over at Harry carefully.

"Salazar is locked away tight, and I have no desire to let him out." Harry snapped, his eyes flashing red for a moment before they dulled back to green "That doesn't mean he's stopped talking."

"Tell him I said hi, then." Bella said calmly, before going back to her wards.

Harry stopped for a moment, sending a glare at her back but shook his head of the dark thoughts and continued on his investigation "Sirius." He called out after a few moments of his careful glancing, his palm on the floor "You feel that?"

The Lord Black wandered over, sending careful glances around the room before setting his palm down much like Harry's; after a few moments he nodded "It's a ward, not a strong one but…"

"It's in Parseltongue, that's why you can't understand it." Harry droned to himself, as if he was using Sirius as a conformation "Open." He whispered gently towards the floor, a second passed before he heard the click of something coming undone.

The floor popped open just enough for a man to slip into the darkness below "Bella keep an eye out." Sirius said after casting a few charms onto his person. "You come down after I call for you." He pointed at Harry before slipping into the darkness.

"How are you holding up?" Bellatrix asked as soon as Sirius vanished into the darkness.

"I'll live." He snapped at her, arms crossed and his position right over the hole "Just night-terrors, nothing too terrible." Harry waved off her concern, coughing into his sleeve again.

"Harry, come on down will you!" Sirius' rough voice barked out, without another thought Harry jumped into the inky darkness, only for it to pass into a room filled with green candles. "That what we're looking for?" He pointed to the pedestal in the middle of the room.

Harry moved a little closer towards the pedestal, then he felt something pass across his form, another ward of sorts and before he could react any further, he banished Sirius away from himself. "Don't!" He hissed.

Sirius righted himself as soon as he stopped rolling backwards "Harry? What's going on?" His voice was full of concern, worry; it was strange, to see an adult care that much.

"The Warding here is more precise, I think I could pass through it because of Salazar…..but I'm not sure what might happen if you had crossed it." He explained, pulling the lead lined box out of his robes "Siri, make me a copy of this will you?"

Harry held the ring out for Sirius to inspect through the Wards, Sirius nodded and started to transfigure some rocks trying to form a decent copy. The ring was made from gold, Harry thought it was rather crude for something so valuable but what caught his eye was the stone in the center, a Peverell stone. "I think there is a curse on it…" He said holding it up to his ear "Yeah, a flesh eater…." He closed his eyes "Wrapped around a blood corrupter and a very powerful compulsion charm."

"Salazar tell you that?" Sirius asked tossing him the fake ring.

Harry nodded slowly, before pausing "Yes, should anyone put the ring on, it will take effect." He explained looking over his shoulder at his God-Father "So into the box it goes." Harry cracked open the box and slipped the ring inside, snapping it shut "Well, I believe we've stayed long enough."

"Yeah…..hey Pup, you're holding up alright? Right?" He asked softly, as Harry passed through the ward, he put his hand on the teens shoulder to stop him.

Harry glanced over, his dull green eyes seemed barely alive "I remember everything…..everything the Dursley's did…." He bit into his lip as another cough racked his body "I had….repressed most of the worst….I'll be fine….I just…"

"Need some time? I'm here for you pup, now until the end, got it?" He ruffled the teen hair, conjuring a ladder so they could climb up and out. Bella had of course finished her ward scheme to make everything seem normal to the letter, Sirius snapped the door shut with his foot and they both turned to Harry "What's next?"

Harry frowned closing his eyes, before nodding and then reopening them "Hogwarts….I need to prepare for the final task." He said lamely, looking bored at the thought "Ah, Dragons, Merepeople and Wizards, why not just make a Maze and toss them in? Arseholes." He snarled before slipping through the window.

"He really doesn't like games does he?" Bella asked innocently, turning to Sirius.

"Nah, he hates being bored is all." Sirius jumped through the window with the grace of his animal side "And Mazes do kind of suck, remember?"

Bella nodded, a lost look on her face as she slipped through the window "We were lost in Uncle Al's maze for hours." She said slowly.

"Was almost a whole day, they had to use brooms to find us."

"Haven't thought about that in years…."

"Memories from a better age, my dearest cousin….I just see that now." Sirius confessed, lighting a cigarette and following Harry outside of the ward lines "Let's get you home."

With a crack the three of them vanished, only seconds before a small man came rushing forward and pulling a stick from his robes. He prodded the wards for a few moments with his wand, before nodding and moving back towards his Master "He must have just felt a rodent." He whispered calmly, not knowing that the ward had affected him.

Another two weeks, and the moon would be just right, he had to prepare; lest he gain his Lords fury.

XX~XX~XX~XX~XX

Hello Hello, So I am back with the Beginning of the Dawn as it has been said, we'll start to see Harry come back after his altercation with Salazar! We're also that much closer to understanding the relationship behind Harry's instincts and new found voices. So I'm open to suggestions on how you guys want this to continue, we can bring back the old Harry who will be more scarred than before or bring back Salazar; I don't expect an answer right now, give it a chapter or two and Act I will be pulling to a close.

So stay with me guys! The Year is almost over, in more ways than one.

'Demon'