Harry Potter and the Shadowed Light
Chapter 3
Previously
With one last nod, Harry lifted his hood and made his way through the crowd, his walk becoming more graceful as he got used to his true form. He didn't realise that every goblin at one point looked up and stared as he passed, that his aura even masked as it was still called out to them, warning them of his power. That to them, his graceful walk appeared almost magical, like a predator in the night.
Diagon Alley, 5th June 1998
The ancient streets of Diagon Alley were practically empty, not that this was surprising. Many of the stores were boarded up, having closed during the war because of Voldemort and his attacks, then because of the control of the ministry. However, there were a few people milling about, cautiously trying to get on with their lives now that Voldemort was gone. Harry felt a twinge of sadness as he looked around at the derelict streets and destruction; he could still remember his feelings of wonder and excitement the first time he entered Diagon Alley with Hagrid all those years ago. Looking around now, he felt none of that; gone was the whimsical fantasy of the bright windows and displays, gone was the magic. Even Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes failed to add joy to the dark alley, the windows dark and lifeless. Thinking of the twins, Harry wondered if the shop would ever be able to really regain its former glory.
Thinking of the Weasleys, Harry once again felt his anger return. They knew, they had to have known, he thought. It would be far too much of a coincidence for Dumbledore to add loyalty charms to them. Thinking about this, Harry wondered how they had been added, before the realisation hit him. The first Hogwarts letter he received, that was the only explanation. Harry wouldn't have noticed the feeling of such charms, back then he was completely oblivious.
Wondering about who in the Weasley family he could really trust, Harry continued towards Eeylops Owl Emporium, happy to see it was still in business. Although he would never be able to replace Hedwig, who was his first true friend and only real confidant, he was in need of an owl; he would be dammed if he continued to use Pig. However, before he reached his destination, Harry was drawn out of his musing by a hissed whisper.
"Really Ronald, you need to learn to keep your mouth shut!" Came Hermione's voice, the scathing tone carrying up from a dark side alley.
Thinking quickly, Harry stepped back into the shadow of a doorway and quickly cast a disillusionment charm on himself before they could see him.
"I don't see what the big deal is," Ron replied.
"Idiot," hissed Hermione as they appeared, moving quickly. Deciding to follow them, Harry cast a silencing charm on himself.
"The big deal is that you almost gave away what we needed the ingredients for!"
"Please, like he would recognise that," Ron said, "and even if he did, it wouldn't matter - we're heroes!" The arrogance in his voice made Harry wince, and he questioned how he had ever been friends with him, potions or not.
"Of course, he would recognise the ingredients to a love potion, you idiot! They're highly illegal and controlled," Hermione's condescending voice rang out even though she was whispering.
"I don't see why you couldn't just keep using mum's potion on him, it worked before," Ron said mulishly as they entered the apothecary.
"It's obviously lost its potency or else Harry's become immune. If it was working correctly he would never have left Ginny at your house alone, or consider not going to school," Hermione said matter-of-factly. At hearing his name Harry stiffened and hissed darkly, the almost animalistic sound luckily being covered by his silencing charm.
"I don't see why he needs it," Ron said and for a minute Harry hoped that maybe he did truly have a friend in the red headed boy. "We should just poison him and be done with it. Dumbledore said he would die in the battle. He's clearly evil, it's the only way he could have survived; must have done some dark ritual."
Harry couldn't believe his ears. Not only were they were planning his death, openly in the streets, but they thought he was evil.
"If we just killed him we wouldn't get his money or access to the books and artefacts in his vaults," Hermione said. "He needs to marry Ginny so that we can get our hands on them. I mean, we deserve it after everything we've been through." She had finished picking up ingredients, surprising Harry as he recognised everything she touched. He hadn't realised he knew so much about potions.
"I still don't like it," Ron grumbled as they left the shop.
"Shut up Ronald! If we're lucky it will only be a few more weeks before Harry has a tragic accident, leaving his new bride widowed and his lifelong friends alone to mourn his loss," Hermione said.
"But the potion isn't working," Ron said, confused.
"That's why we're here; I found a new, stronger love potion to use, and it will completely wipe out Harry's will, leaving him empty to Ginny's. Then all we have to do is get them bonded before school and then Harry can have an accident. I'm thinking something quidditch related, he's always falling off that thing."
"It's because he's such a show off," Ron said. "Always wanting to be the centre of attention. 'Look at me, I'm Harry Potter and I'm so special, I killed You-Know-Who, everybody should pay attention—'"
"Shut up, Ron!" Hermione hissed quickly, as a group of witches appeared in the previously empty alley. "We need to go. Your mother is expecting us and I need a few days to brew this potion. We're inviting Harry around for lunch on Sunday; once we've slipped it to him everything will be back on track."
"Merlin, I hate having to pretend to be his friend. He's so gullible to believe that we would actually like him," Ron grumbled.
"I know, but soon it will be over and we will get everything Dumbledore promised us," Hermione said in a sickly voice as she moved closer to Ron.
"Just think! We'll be so rich," Ron said, the glee evident in his voice.
"And access to all of those books," Hermione added.
After that they remained silent and made their way into the Leaky Cauldron, Harry leaving them as they reached the floo.
Turning, Harry quickly strode to the apparition point and made his way back to Grimmauld Place, his plans for an owl forgotten in his rage. They wanted to kill him. After everything he had done for them, those traitorous bastards!
Not realising that his magic was growing and lashing out, Harry let out a scream of rage as he fought to gain control of himself. At this point, his eyes were glowing and his hair seemed to float around his face because of unseen power.
Kreacher, feeling the disturbance in the magic levels, popped into the drawing room just in time to see his master collapse, the resulting explosion of power only sparing him harm as it recognised his intentions to help his master.
"I'll kill them," Harry said darkly, his soft vow barely audible.
Kreacher stood for a moment, shocked to see his great master in such a state before he jumped into action. With a click he restored the room, removing all traces of damage before he approached Harry. He looked different, but Kreacher knew that this was his master - but that wasn't the only thing different: his master had changed. He had been powerful before, but now Kreacher could feel the power coming off him in waves. It made Kreacher want to weep and celebrate; he was so powerful and he was all Kreacher's to look after.
"Great master mustn't sit on the floor, no, if great master be needing to rest Kreacher will help him to bed, yes he will," Kreacher muttered, staring in awe at his master.
Harry, drawn out of his dark thoughts of revenge by the muttered words, looked up to see Kreacher standing next to him with a look of worship on his face. The old house elf was practically vibrating in his excitement. Startled by the behaviour of his elf, it took Harry a moment to realise what had been said and that he had collapsed on the floor.
"Thank you Kreacher, but that will not be necessary," Harry said, standing gracefully.
Kreacher nodded, still awed by the changes in his master.
Harry took a moment to breathe deeply before slowly releasing the breath. He had a lot to think about and decide. Moving from the drawing room, he made his way up to the library, preferring to use the desk in there over the one in the formal office. Entering the library, Harry saw the book he had previously been reading laid down next to his favourite chair. Soul Magics and Bonds: The Lost Rituals had not held the answers he had previously been looking for, but now the book had potential. Thinking about the bond he shared with Tom, he was unwilling to think about sharing such a bond with Voldemort, made Harry almost weak-kneed. The longing in his soul grew the dangerously the more he thought about the bond; it was nearly unbearable the longer he stood there.
Shaking off the longing with renewed vigour, Harry picked up the book and began to read. Hours later, he almost threw the book into the fire. He had been correct - it did hold answers, none of which filled Harry with any hope. Soul bonds were rare and those who have them are considered to be the luckiest people alive for they truly had a perfect mate out there. Interfering with a soul bond was inconceivable to most as they were considered sacrosanct; to interfere with one deliberately was to challenge magic herself.
It was only with their bonded that could somebody with a soul bond ever have real happiness, and nine times out of ten, if one of the bonded pair dies the other immediately follows. In the rare cases, like Harry's, that one of the bonded dies before the bond is fulfilled and the person lives, they usually die after a few years. Without their bonded they lose the will to live, their very magic is torn in half and the loneliness and ache they feel from the broken bond will drive them to an early death. The longest recorded life after a broken soul bond, according to the book, was 12 years, and that was in the 1600's when a four year old boy died in an accident and his soul bonded committed suicide at the age of sixteen.
With this information, Harry tried to calm himself. Dumbledore would have known this, he had wanted Harry to kill his soul mate. With that in mind he wanted to raise Dumbledore from the dead to kill him, repeatedly. And the Weasleys, he wanted to destroy them. He just wasn't sure how yet.
He wasn't happy to think of Tom Riddle as his soul mate, in fact the more he thought about it the more he tried to hate it, but there was something stopping him from achieving his anger. He remembered meeting Riddle when he was twelve in the chamber of secrets; that boy had so much potential. Such potential that gradually became warped and twisted by Dumbledore and the insanity caused by the horcruxes no doubt.
Standing, Harry decided to rest and think more on the situation the next day. He would no doubt be better equipped to deal with his thoughts after a few hours of sleep.
The next few days passed by in a blur for Harry. He scoured the Black library, reading anything he thought would help him but found all books said the same; without Tom, Harry would eventually die, and sooner rather than later. He had also found more information on soul bonds that had him thinking more into it. It was written soulmates could not deliberately kill one another; this made Harry wonder about what had really happened that night when Voldemort had come for him and killed his parents. Dumbledore had claimed that it was the power of his mother's love that had saved Harry - he had preached this fact ever since Harry had met him, using it as an example of the power of light magic. Yet, now Harry wondered if his supposed defeat of the Dark Lord was really down to his attempt on Harry's life. By trying to deliberately kill his bonded, Voldemort ended up killing himself. That would also explain the last battle, in that final duel Voldemort died after their wands had locked and his own killing curse reverted in on itself. Harry didn't think anybody really understood that, and he wasn't exactly waiting to tell them.
This also made Harry wonder about how it was possible for Tom to not realise just who Harry was, unless, of course, he had his bond blocked like Harry had. This created more questions for Harry, as never before had somebody deliberately blocked a soul bond, Harry was unsure about how to find out if Tom had had his blocked. It would possibly be one explanation for his behaviour Harry mused; it couldn't have been easy having the bond blocked for so long; having such a vital part locked away, it was no wonder he went insane. Add to the fact his horcruxes would have continued to rip away at his already blocked soul? Harry thought, retrospectively, that it was surprising how sane Voldemort was by then end, which was saying something as he was completely nuts.
Even with these realisations, Harry was still lost on what to do now. Honestly, he was tired. He now knew it was probably his broken bond making him feel like this, but he just couldn't bring himself to care. The only thing that was keeping him going was his desire for revenge; revenge for himself and for the boy Tom Riddle had once been. It was Dumbledore he wished he could make pay, but with him already dead he would settle for his pawns - he just had to find them.
On the day Pig arrived, carrying a letter Harry easily identified to be from Ron judging by the chicken scratch writing, Harry felt a slight maniacal glee. He hadn't yet planned out his revenge but he wanted to test the waters so to speak. He knew that Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley were a part of Dumbledore's plans, and he planned on finding out if they acted alone today.
During the week he had Kreacher help him measure his new body and had sent off for some new clothing. The rich clothes made Harry look every inch the lord he was and Harry couldn't wait to see the reaction they had on the Weasley family.
"Hello, Pig," Harry said, taking the letter from the small bird. He couldn't bring himself to hurt the poor creature, no matter whom he belonged to. "Why don't you go have a rest while I get ready? There's no rush for you to get back," he instructed. Although not as smart as Hedwig, the bird seemed to understand and, with a quick nuzzle to Harry's hand, he took flight to an owl perch Harry had conjured with a wave of his hand.
Over the week, Harry had found his magic settling and he found it easy to perform magic non-verbally and sometimes wandlessly.
The letter, like Harry knew it would be, was asking for Harry to come round for lunch today. Setting it on fire without a thought after he had finished reading, Harry smirked and stood with a stretch.
Going upstairs, Harry put on a pair of black dragonhide trousers and a white shirt, over which he wore a dark emerald green robe. Wearing his robe open, Harry looked in the mirror; although simple enough, the outfit was a far cry away from what he used to wear. The clothes fit him like a glove and were obviously high quality without being overly fancy. Looking in the mirror, Harry decided to glamour his facial features to match the ones that Dumbledore's glamour gave him and changed his hair back to the bird's nest it used to be; there was no point in letting on that he knew anything about Dumbledore's manipulations too early.
"Kreacher," Harry summoned, waiting for the elf to appear. "I will be going to the Weasleys for lunch."
Kreacher nodded his head in understanding, withholding his comments like his master had asked; although, he did get the impression his master no longer liked the blood traitors.
Harry, finally ready, stepped into the floo and called out, "The Burrow."
The Burrow, 9th June 1998
Stepping out of the floo with as much grace as he was able, which was not much, Harry's arrival was met with immediate silence.
"Bloody hell mate, why are you dressed like some fancy pureblood tosser for?" Ron's voice rang out after a few seconds.
Smirking internally Harry used his wand to clean the dust from himself as Mrs. Weasley let out a squawk before bellowing, "Ronald Weasley!"
"What Ron means to say," Hermione said, shooting Ron an obvious look that had Harry wondering if part of his compulsion spells had him being oblivious to their blatant lies, "is that you look very different, Harry."
Ron, who was staring at Harry like he had grown another head, nodded, "Yeah, I mean your clothes…." he trailed off.
Harry tried to look nonchalant. "I thought I would try something new," is all he said, resulting in another silence.
"Well, you look very nice dear," Mrs. Weasley said eventually.
"Yes, Harry," agreed Ginny, who suddenly plastered herself to his arm. 'He really does look great,' she thought.
Trying not to snarl at her touch, Harry smiled tightly. "How have you all been?" he asked, trying to surreptitiously remove himself from Ginny's clutches.
Listening as they spoke about how hard it was without Fred, Harry felt a pang of guilt - not towards them, but to George. He was sure the twins were not in on Dumbledore's plans and he felt bad for not checking in on him. Harry had been surprised when he had read a book on Wizarding customs and gotten to the death chapter; in traditional Wizarding customs, a family usually held a funeral within days, yet he had heard nothing about a funeral for Fred.
Realising that they had moved into the kitchen while he had been lost in his thought, Harry took a moment to look at the clock and saw that Arthur, George, Percy, Fleur, and Bill all pointed to Shell Cottage. Not surprised, Harry refocused on the conversation.
"So Harry," Hermione eventually began, "what prompted the new look?" Although her tone was light, Harry could feel the tension in the room suddenly skyrocket.
"Well, 'Mione," Harry said, making sure to use her nickname, "I recently got a letter from Gringotts."
As soon as the word left his mouth they all froze and sent each other panicked looks. Ron seemed to choke on his own tongue and ended up gagging slightly. Pretending to be concerned Harry feigned worry and asked, "Ron, are you alright?"
Coughing slightly, Ron turned red. "Yeah, sorry about that, mate," he said, his voice strained.
"It's fine, as long as you're okay," Harry said in a concerned tone. His act seemed to ease everybody around him as they exchanged more covert glances before smiling.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I got a letter from Gringotts asking me to go in. Imagine my surprise when I went in and found out I was apparently named Sirius's heir and also that I was apparently Lord Potter. Apparently Dumbledore should have told me, but I'm guessing because he died—" at this point Harry made his voice break, taking a moment to suppress his real emotions. Harry made his voice waver slightly when he continued, "Because he died he didn't get a chance to tell me."
After he had finished speaking Harry looked up surreptitiously. Seeing their panicked glances, he suppressed his chuckles.
"What's that got to do with you looking different?" Ron asked.
Harry let out a sad sigh. "Well, after I found out I had money, not just what was in my trust vault, I decided to buy a few things. I mean, I've always worn Dudley's old clothes and now that I can afford not to, I indulged a little."
"Right," Ron said, sounding annoyed.
"What else was in the vaults?" Hermione asked, her eyes gleaming in a way Harry had never noticed before.
"Just money mainly, some old books and stuff I'm guessing," Harry said, making sure to sound disinterested.
"You know Harry, I would be happy to help you sort through them," she said. "I mean, it's important you document what you have."
Harry tried not to snort dismissively; as if he would ever let her near his vaults. "That's a good idea, 'Mione," Harry said. And it was - maybe he should check out his vaults and see if one of them holds an answer for him.
Mrs. Weasley took that moment to announce it was time for lunch. Plating up, she handed Harry his and took a seat. Harry, knowing he would be protected from any love potions by his lordship rings, still took a moment to send a nullifier at the plate before taking a bite.
Harry moaned in pleasure, even knowing that it was poisoned he had to admit that Mrs. Weasley did know how to cook.
"This is great Mrs Weasley," he said, again pretending not to notice their scheming smiles.
After lunch was over, everybody at the table seemed to go quiet as Ginny stood up. "Harry, don't you think you should come upstairs with me?" she asked, smirking.
Harry turned to her and said in a dazed voice, "Ginny?"
Thinking the potion had worked the Weasleys and Hermione barely contained their triumph. Ginny's smirk of victory was particularly vicious.
Deciding he couldn't be bothered to drag out the act, Harry continued, "Why would I want to do that, Ginny? I need to get going soon."
Harry barely contained his laughter when Ginny's face fell, going red then white in her anger.
"What?!" she demanded.
"I said I need to get going; I have business at Gringotts," Harry said, deciding to do as Hermione suggested and take a look in his vaults.
"But-but—" Ron spluttered, turning to Hermione in his confusion. Hermione looked like an angry cat; her hair was practically standing on end and her anger almost palpable.
Standing, Harry barely concealed his glee. Turning to Mrs. Weasley, who was doing a better job at hiding her frustration, Harry smiled.
"I'm going to apparate, thank you so much for the lovely meal Mrs. Weasley," Harry said before turning to the others. "I'll see you guys soon." Without waiting for them to say goodbye, Harry turned and left through the backdoor. However, instead of leaving, Harry cast a wordless disillusionment spell and snuck back inside before the door had fully closed.
Almost instantly, Harry had to cast a silencing charm as his glee quickly overcame him.
"I thought you said the potion would make him a mindless drone!" Ron shouted at Hermione, his face red.
"It was supposed to!"
"Well, it obviously didn't work!" screeched Ginny.
"I don't understand why it didn't!" Hermione wailed, "I know I brewed it right, I followed the notes out of Dumbledore's book perfectly!"
"Well, obviously, you made a mistake dear," Mrs. Weasley said, the only one not screaming. "It's not the end of the world, maybe next time I'll help you."
"But I want him now!" Ginny whined.
"Ginevra!" Molly's voice turned sharp before smoothing out again, "You know that Harry is sullied by dark magic; he's a taint on this world like Dumbledore said. The only reason you should ever want him is for his money, the fact you even have to pretend sickens me but it's for the greater good."
Harry, having heard enough to cement his belief, left at that point, silently exiting the house via the front door and apparating just outside the Leakey Cauldron in order to take off his glamours and change his eyes.
Entering the Wizarding pub, Harry noted that it was slightly busier than it had been days previously, as was Diagon Alley. Moving with purpose, Harry noticed the crowd seemed to part for him easily.
Once he reached the bank, Harry greeted the guards and made his way to a teller.
"Greetings master goblin," he said, not knowing this goblin's name.
The goblin looked up in shock before bowing his body slightly to Harry. "Greeting Lord Potter, what can we at Gringotts do for you on this day?" he asked.
Harry smiled lightly at the personal use of 'we'; that collective showed his place as a goblin friend.
"I was wondering if I might take inventory of my vaults and maybe have them audited," Harry said.
The goblin's eyes widened before he nodded his head and said, "That is indeed possible; Chief Ragnok has taken it on himself to oversee you, Lord Potter." Standing, the goblin beckoned Harry to follow. "If you would follow me, I shall take you to his office,"
"Thank you, master goblin," Harry said, following the goblin down the familiar path. Since the blocks had been removed, Harry had found that he was able to recall much more information with a phenomenal accuracy. Often things he didn't even realise that he knew, such as the dates of particular goblin battles and all twelve uses of dragon's blood.
Reaching the doors, Harry turned to his guide. "I thank you for your help, my friend," Harry said, "may your gold overflow."
The goblin smiled toothily at Harry before bowing slightly. "And may your enemies quake in fear."
Smirking, Harry said darkly, "Oh, they will."
After knocking the door, Harry was beckoned inside.
"I was wondering when I would see you again, Harry," Ragnok said.
Sitting on the chair opposite, Harry nodded his head in greeting before speaking, "Indeed, it has taken me a few days to embrace all of the information thrust upon me during our last meeting."
"I trust you have embraced it all now?" Ragnok asked.
"Yes," Harry acknowledged, "that is why I am here. I was wondering if you have had a chance to overlook my vaults. I wish for them to be audited. I'm more interested in the Potter and Black vaults to be honest, but information on the others would be useful."
Ragnok smirked in pride, "I have indeed had a chance, and in fact I was just about to send you a summons. It seems as though Mr. Dumbledore was more scheming than we first thought."
Hearing this Harry's eyes narrowed. "How so?" he asked, suspicions already forming in his mind.
"He has been taking money from the Potter vaults annually since November 1st, 1981. These payments include a large sum going to the Weasley family in what was named a Scholarship Fund, as well as individual payments to himself, Mrs. Molly Weasley nee Prewett, Mr. Ronald Weasley, Ms. Ginevra Weasley, Ms. Hermione Granger, and Mrs. Petunia Dursley nee Evans."
Hearing this Harry hissed, and his magic flared dangerously. He tried not to think about his aunt and uncle; how they treated him was truly diabolical and Harry had to wonder if Dumbledore had something to do with the abuse never being notice by the authorities or Madam Pomfrey.
"These payments have been stopped correct?" Harry asked, once he had finally calmed down.
Ragnok nodded, shocked at the amount of control Harry had gained in such a short amount of time.
"If you would like we should be able to reclaim some of what was taken and impose sanctions until their debts to you have been cleared," Ragnok said.
"If this can be done without their knowledge, do so. If not, then leave it, I do not what them knowing I am aware of their deceptions just yet," Harry said.
"The sanctions can be put in place without their knowledge," Ragnok said.
"Then do so," Harry replied.
After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, which had been scattered by his anger, Harry remembered his other area of business. "I would like to visit some of my vaults today, to see what they contain."
"A wise decision," Ragnok said. "If I may, I would recommend going to the Mortemis vault; it should hold information very important to you."
Nodding his head in understanding Harry thanked Ragnok and left the office, going with a teller who seemed to materialise out of the shadows to the vault carts.
"Vault number one," the teller intoned when Harry stated his destination. A flicker of thought had Harry pausing; the lower the vault numbers usually meant older vaults, but the sudden jerk of the cart sent his apprehension of visiting the oldest vault in Gringotts flying in the wind.
AN: Big thank you to my Beta reader miisticalwrites for taking the time to check this for me!
Remember people that reviews are always appreciated but I won't hold the story to ransom for them.
Updates should come everyfew days and like usual this is being posed on A03 as well under the same name.
Hope you enjoy reading
~ Annie