Before I go on, this has officially become my most-reviewed work by a wide margin. Also, I'm hoping to continue with Under the Light of the Shattered Moon soon, and hopefully turn it into a full story, considering the feedback I've gotten. Just need to watch more of RWBY.

Anyway, here's the crossover with Overlord I promised (based on the light novels/anime, rather than the unrelated game series). It's based, somewhat roughly, on DZ2's challenges 'The Potter Race' and 'Evil Never Dies'. And like my Homestuck crossover Kakistocracy, it doesn't deal with the canon story of Overlord. Instead, the characters and some concepts are transplanted into the Potterverse. So, while Albedo, Shalltear, and others will appear (though Albedo and Shalltear will be about the same age as Harry, given that I'm pairing them with him, and Shalltear can age, to reduce the squick), Momonga will not. Ainz Ooal Gown will be a title rather than a character. That being said, elements will still be integrated into the backstory.

Albedo and Shalltear may be somewhat OOC, but given the different backstory (and the lack of diddling with her backstory that Momonga/Ainz did in canon), I think this is understandable. They're also less sycophantic, given that they need to shape Harry into the leader they need. But they are still devoted to Harry.

Oh, and fair warning before you begin reading: this is easily one of the darkest and most horrific beginnings I've ever written for a fanfic. No, seriously. And while it will get better for Harry and his allies, for the rest of Magical Britain, well, it WILL get worse. If this does get published as a full story, this will be easily one of my darkest works, though to be fair, it's because of Harry turning into a dark lord with a bunch of monsters at his command. Not actually evil, but certainly ruthless and misanthropic. And while there will be some humour to break things up, it's nowhere near as much as On the Delights of Drinking Blood.

So, yeah. Continue reading at your own risk...

YIELD TO THE DARKNESS

CHAPTER 1:

THE HEIR OF AINZ OOAL GOWN

A pained gurgle came from his mouth. He was used to pain, true, but this was even worse than almost anything he had undergone before. Well, it was the worst he had to deal with from Muggles, he had to think. Everything else was either magical, or came from a magical creature.

His threat towards his uncle of siccing his godfather on him backfired, badly. Vernon had one hell of a grudge building up after what Harry did to his vile sister, and Vernon had just sneered at Harry's threat, beaten the ever-loving shit out of him, and then hurled him into his room. Harry wasn't any medical doctor, but he was sure that whatever his uncle did to him, he needed to get to a hospital fast. His right arm and left leg were broken, along with a few of his ribs (and the blood he was coughing up was not healthy by any stretch of the imagination) and his jaw, he was pretty sure he had lost sight in one of his eyes thanks to shards of glass going into it, and, oh joy, he was pissing himself, and he now wasn't sure what warm liquid was blood and what one was urine.

Well, this was it, was it? Irony abounded. He wasn't going to die at the hands of Voldemort, or a Basilisk, or an Acromantula, or a werewolf, or a Dementor. No, he was going to die because that fat fuck he was forced to call an uncle decided to beat the shit out of him. And was that a shovel he could hear being used in the backyard? Huh. Must've been the first time Vernon dug a hole ever since he had Harry to use as his slave.

How had they been able to get away with this? Those were Harry's thoughts as they spiralled into greyness from blood loss and concussion. Time and time again, he had raised the issue with the authorities, first in this part of society, and then amongst the magicals. Nothing ever changed, and Dumbledore sent him back here, thrice now, with a pat on the back, a cheery wave, and a 'they can't possibly be as bad as you say'. Hell, he nearly got his godfather back, only for him to be forced to go on the run. He would have given anything to be with him.

But no. He hated most people, Muggle or mage. Most of those magical fools seemed willing to believe that Sirius had been a murderer, or that Harry was evil because he was a Parselmouth. And nobody in authority would ever believe him that he was being wronged by the Dursleys. It was a surprise to realise this, but he was a true misanthrope, with only certain exceptions. He hated his fame, and how people saw him because of it. He hated how he had Voldemort after him, and yet Dumbledore wouldn't tell him why. He hated how Snape was allowed to get away with what he did scot-free. And he hated being powerless while the world used him as its punching bag.

There was a distant screeching, a screeching he recognised as Hedwig's. He tried to get up, but couldn't. He could only hear as Vernon roared, and began…oh. Well, it sounded like Hedwig was being battered to death by Vernon and his shovel. A warm trickle of tears joined the puddle on the floor, especially when he heard Vernon mutter, "Ruddy bird…the freak will join you soon…"

Before anything further could eventuate, Harry heard knocking on the door. He heard Petunia answer it, only to scream, "GO AWAY!" But when she slammed the door, he heard an explosion.

Then, he heard the voice of a girl, maybe his age or younger, cheerfully say, "How rude. Don't you know how to treat guests?" Then, a pause, and then, the same girl said, her voice filled with menace, "Albedo…I can smell blood…his blood. Fresh blood, too."

"I see," came the voice of a more mature girl. "…Mare, with me. Shalltear, I will leave you to clean up the…rubbish. As much as I'd love to myself, our lord is in danger, and his blood may cause you to…"

"It won't, but it would be my greatest pleasure to deal with these worms who dared to lay a finger on our lord," the other girl said.

Inhuman snarls and screams came from downstairs, but Harry found himself not actually caring that much. Though what was that 'my lord' business? They couldn't have been talking about him, could they? Hmm, maybe the blood loss was causing him to hallucinate a rescue. Yes…yes, that was it…

The door to his room burst open, and as his sight began to be eaten by darkness, he saw a figure in white appear…a figure with black wings, peering down at him with golden eyes.

Is that an angel? He thought muzzily. Then, he saw the horns. Or maybe it's a devil, come to drag me down to Hell… Then, he fell into oblivion, perhaps never to surface again…

The first thing that he realised upon waking up was that, well, he was surprised to even BE waking up at all. The second thing he realised was that he was in considerable pain, though not as much as he was in earlier. The third thing he realised was that he could hear a very familiar voice…and it sounded like Hermione.

"…Just as well that Shalltear dealt with them," Hermione was saying. "My parents and I have lived amongst humans, Albedo, and I have seen them at their best and worst. But given what they did to Harry, I would have…"

"Yes, I know, Hermione," said the voice of Albedo. "It is fortuitous that we did this now, or else we may not have a lord and master any longer."

Wait, what?

"How are Black and Lupin fitting in?" Hermione asked.

"Surprisingly well. Black is fine, for a human, though he has been flirting with the Pleiades rather more than is healthy…for him. Lupin seems to be attached to Aura and Mare. I believe his guilt at not trying to look after our lord and master has driven him to that. He has no pride as a werewolf and little more as a human, but with time, perhaps he will change that."

As Harry opened his eyes, and saw a brief glimpse of Hermione's bushy tresses before he screwed his eyes shut with pain, hissing quietly, he heard Hermione say, "Oh, he's waking up. Harry…can you speak?"

"Hermione…" Harry rasped.

"Take it easy, Harry. They managed to get you just in time," Hermione said soothingly, stroking his cheek gently with her hand.

Harry heard a door open nearby. "Ahh, that's better. Nothing like a warm bath after a bloodbath," came the voice of the girl that Albedo had called Shalltear. "Is he okay?"

"He's conscious, and he's able to speak," Albedo said. "Harry, could you open your eyes and look at us?"

Harry obeyed, and found himself looking at a trio of girls, about his age, fourteen verging on fifteen, surrounding his bed. He recognised Hermione, of course. But the other two…well, one of them he briefly glimpsed when he fell unconscious, and the other he had never seen before.

The first wore an elegant white dress over her beautiful figure, a golden necklace like a cobweb hanging in front of her chest. Her serenely beautiful features were framed by tresses of black hair. But she wasn't human. Her eyes were golden, with slit pupils, like those of a cat or a reptile. A pair of horns curled around her head like a circlet. And a pair of black wings seemed to sprout from her hips.

The second was dressed in elegant, Victorian-style purple dress, complete with a parasol (open, oddly, given that opening an umbrella indoors was bad luck) and bonnet. Pale of skin, with silver hair framing a cute, elegant face, her eyes were blood red, and shone faintly. Where the first girl's smile was serene, this one had something of a smirk.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves, my lord," the dark-haired girl said. "I am Albedo."

"And I am Shalltear Bloodfallen, my lord," the second girl said. She looked at Hermione. "So, are you going to show Harry?"

"In a moment. Sealing my abilities was not my best idea in hindsight," Hermione said. "Otherwise, I could have figured out about the Basilisk sooner."

"You did so to protect yourself and Harry, Hermione, I am sure he would be as forgiving of the oversight as I was," Albedo said.

"You teased me mercilessly, and that's without going into what Shalltear had me do!" Hermione protested.

"Sorry, what?" Harry rasped.

Hermione winced, before she looked over at Harry. "I'm sorry for keeping this from you all this time, Harry. I had to seal almost all that was me to effectively infiltrate Hogwarts. This…is what I really am."

Suddenly, Hermione changed, her body shifting and transforming. Green and brown scales sprouted all over her body like a rapidly-moving rash. Her bushy hair changed into a writhing mass of serpents. Her eyes, once brown, now resembled Albedo's, albeit a darker gold that reminded Harry uncomfortably of the Basilisk he had fought, even though he hadn't actually seen the eyes.

It was still recognisably Hermione. The monster in front of him had all her features. Hell, she was still beautiful, in a monstrous, exotic way. But she was also not human. She was a Gorgon.

As Harry gaped, Hermione gently hugged him. In Parseltongue, she said, "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. In fact, I couldn't. My mission was sealed by a spell like the Fidelius. It was for my protection…and yours. So too were my abilities, otherwise, I would have figured out about the Basilisk sooner and protected you! But I tried to do my best. I'm sorry if you hate me for it, but…"

"Hermione," he said, slipping into Parseltongue instinctively, trying to tamp down the feelings of betrayal he felt. "I just want to know what's going on. And…if you were ever my friend."

"Harry…I understand why you were sceptical. I wasn't sent to become your friend. I was sent to guard you, to help you survive until you achieved your destiny. But after you saved me from that Troll, just before I would have had to reveal myself and risk being put to death, I…it just happened. But if I told you what I really was, others could have found out. Wizards barely tolerate Goblins and Veela, they despise vampires and werewolves, even those who don't attack people, and Gorgons and Succubi…some of the staff at Hogwarts use Legilimency, a form of magical mind-reading, to put it crudely. Even if I told you, they could have discerned it from your mind, and it might have seemed suspicious if I taught you Occlumency, how to shield your mind."

"My lord…I mean, Harry," Albedo said. "Hermione is as loyal to you and your cause as Shalltear and myself, if not more so, reluctant as I am to admit that. Her deception was a necessity, one that has now ended. I personally find myself jealous that she was permitted to be in proximity to you all these years, but unlike many sycophants you will find here, I believe her loyalty to you is beyond reproach."

"Wow, did that stick in your craw to admit that?" Shalltear asked snidely.

"He is learning things he has been kept in ignorance of for his own protection, things that will have him questioning everything that has gone around him," Albedo explained with a thin veneer of patience to the other girl. "If we are to serve him well, then we need to ease his transition to assuming the title he deserves."

"Sorry, what are you talking about?" Harry asked, confused.

Hermione looked at Albedo and Shalltear, before she looked back at Harry. "Most of what I'm about to tell you isn't even in the history books, Harry. What is known is that Azkaban was once the fortress of the dark wizard Ekrizdis, known for his dark experiments. He kept Azkaban hidden, Unplottable by magicals and the mundane alike, partly to conceal his dark deeds. Or so the stories say. In truth, Azkaban was already hidden, and he stumbled across it, and usurped it from its rightful rulers. But those Ekrizdis enslaved eventually rose up against him. In his last spiteful act, he managed to reveal the presence of Azkaban to the world, and our ancestors were forced into hiding. Though not before taking Ekrizdis back with them…and ensuring he took a long time to die. He still is, in fact. Dying. Even after nearly six centuries."

Albedo's smile became decidedly predatory. "My clan consider it a rite of passage to think up a suitably novel torture to inflict on him. Considering what he did to my great-grandmother, it is richly deserved."

Great-grandmother…right, so Succubi were long-lived. He really hoped they were about his age.

"Don't feel sorry for him, Harry," Hermione said. "Ekrizdis was as bad, if not more so, as Voldemort or Grindlewald. And what he did to us was unforgivable."

"So, I'm like the Heir of Azkaban or something?" Harry asked. Well, that was just brilliant.

"Not exactly, my lord," Albedo said. "Rather, you are the heir to the legacy Ekrizdis attempted in vain to usurp. We have been waiting a long time for this. You are the heir to the title of Ainz Ooal Gown, and thus our lord and master…"

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

Well, that just happened. And that's easily one of the darkest and most horrific beginnings I've ever done to a Potterverse fanfic.

Now, keep in mind that, while the NPCs of the Tomb of Nazarick will be characters here, their ages (at least where Albedo and Shalltear are concerned), natures (I'm having Shalltear age normally until she's an adult to reduce the squick factor, though she's still pretty much a lamprey when she gets her game face on), and some of their personalities will be a little modified. While still considerably misanthropic, Albedo's much less hateful of humans. Still contemptuous, though, save where Harry is concerned…as well as Luna (and to a lesser degree, Sirius and Remus, for reasons we will go into later). The history of the Potterverse version of Ainz Ooal Gown will be elucidated later.

Oh, and the Potterverse characters are a year older than in canon.

No numbered annotations this time.