Dark Conscience

by HighKeyMars

For as long as Harry could remember, there had always been a voice in the back of his head, giving him advice. but when the Deers are about to kill him and Sirius, he finally gives him and listens to it. that might just be the best decision he's ever made or perhaps the worst decision the world has ever seen. (Not a Tom Riddle Jr/Harry Potter slash fic)

2. Chapter 2

The Voice

The Voice's inner thoughts

"Parseltongue"

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

You are absolutely soaked, even through your robes

'What would you have me do?'

Act like the young boy who listened to me all summer, getting the best results that you've ever seen

'The result was killing someone'

Yes, someone who was trying to kill us first. Would you rather he be alive, and you be dead? Stop acting like a naïve child

'Surely there is another way to go about life, we can't just kill people that we don't like'

I have never once told you to kill anyone nor will I. You did that on your own, it was YOUR magic that followed YOUR intent. I have done nothing but guide you to be more educated, more informed of the principals of magic.

Harry didn't respond as he and his friends entered the castle, finally escaping the down pour of rain from the storm.

"Well, move along, then!" said Professor McGonagall sharply to the bedraggled crowd. "Into the Great Hall, come on!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione slipped and slid across the entrance hall and through the double doors on the right, Ron muttering furiously under his breath as he pushed his sopping hair off his face.

The Great Hall looked its usual splendid self, decorated for the start-of-term feast. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in midair.

Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost greeted them with a beaming smile, "Good evening,"

"Says who?" said Harry, taking off his sneakers and emptying them of water.

Why not simply use magic to remove the water, look at Granger. She did so with a simple overpowered warming charm.

Harry ignored the snide comment from Junior inside his head, "Hope they hurry up with the Sorting. I'm starving."

Is this how it's going to be? You did something that you don't like, and you take it out on me? Imagine if every time you did something wrong that I gave you the silent treatment, I would never talk.

'I'm sorry' caved Harry, 'I guess I am just scared that I might be going dark'

Harry had never heard Junior laugh before in his life, so the sudden crackle of wheezing laughter inside of his own head threw him for a loop.

You … you've got pulling my … leg

'What's so funny?'

Harry, you didn't cast a dark magic based spell. Hell, you didn't cast any spell actually. That was a case of accidental magic, your magic lashed out to save you. Because in case you missed it, a former death eater was trying to murder you.

'But I still killed someone'

How?

'The snake thing ripped him apart'

I was there, but how did you do it?

'I dunno"

Almost like you didn't do it and it was an accident

'It was an accident'

A magical one …

'I mean, that sounds right'

So, your magic lashed out in an attempt to save you, and you accidently harmed or in this case, killed someone, and now you're the next great dark wizard?

'When you put it like that, it sounds stupid'

You don't say

'Okay, so what was it?'

Accidental Magic

'At my age?'

Didn't you blow up your uncle's sister last year, you're being naïve to act like your emotions don't impact your magic. What is the base of all spells?

'Intent'

And I am sure that you intended to not die

'You're right'

I always am

Harry blinked as Hermione slide food onto his plate and gave him a weird look, "I thought you were starving, but you spaced out and the food appeared a couple minutes ago. I wanted to get something on your plate before Ron went for thirds"

"Sorry, I was lost in thought" admitted Harry

"Still thinking about this past summer?" asked Hermione

"Yeah" nodded Harry, "You don't think that what happens makes me a bad person do you?"

"Are you daft?" questioned Hermione, "It was accidental magic Harry"

Hmm, I wonder who told you that?

"But what about that guy?" asked Harry

"The man trying to kill you?" asked Hermione with a weird look on her face, "It's unfortunate what happened to him, but there is nothing that you could have done to save him"

Harry frowned, "But- "

"Harry, you were covered in flames. What spell did you cast to save yourself" interrupted Hermione

"I didn't cast a spell" said Harry

"Then there is nothing you could have done to survive without your burst of accidental magic, if you can't recreate the effect, you didn't do anything wrong" continued Hermione, "Perhaps you should talk with Dumbledore or a healer about this"

"No, I guess I just can't get what happened out of my head" said Harry

"The muggles call that trauma" said Hermione, "Maybe you should talk to someone about how you're feeling"

"Maybe I will" replied Harry before he scooped mashed potatoes into his mouth as his stomach rumbled with hunger

Done being a crybaby?

'If Hermione thinks I am wrong about this, then you are right. She's the most rule abiding person I know'

Didn't she light one of your professors on fire?

'Morale gray area'

You will talk to Dumbledore about this past summer, about what happened, and you will do it tonight.

'But I understand what you were saying with the accidental magic stuff and that I'm not a bad person'

And while I want to believe you, I am also inside of your head. Talking to the old man will help you, he will tell you that you did nothing wrong, and you can honestly put it to bed.

'I guess'

Harry, if you wanted to cut something, would you use Exitiale or the simple cutting curse?

'I've never heard of Exitiale, so I guess the simple cutting curse'

Good, Exitiale is a Latin dark magic spell for cutting things. It means fatal cut. No matter what spell you used, you were going to cut something. That Weasley boy has you thinking of things being light or dark, it does not matter. The intent to cut something is what is going to power both spells. What were you thinking of when the Fiendfyre was wrapping around us?

'How I could survive it'

Then there you go, your intent was never to harm anyone. It was always to survive the attack. You need to forgive yourself before you can progress, which is why you are going to speak to the old man after dinner.

'Yes sir'

Harry had continued to eat during this mental conversation, with it ending just as the food disappeared and there was a deafening rumble of thunder, and the doors of the Great Hall banged open.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up toward the teachers' table.

A dull clunk echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling. Hermione gasped.

That is Mad-Eye Moody, one of the best dark witch or wizard hunters to ever be born. It's over for you now Harry. They know about the darkness inside of you, they've sent the best after you, after us.

'I know you're being sarcastic, but should we be worried about him?'

I would be, he's insane

'What do you mean by that?'

Have you grown less intelligent over the summer?

'What makes him insane?'

He's been exposed to the darkest branches of magic, there is a reason his nose doesn't grow back, there is a reason he has a wooden leg. That staff isn't just for show, he needs it to help himself walk about.

'Oh'

Yes, be on guard around him. Not because he's going to be coming after you, but because he's going to be a bit wild.

Also, because I've crossed wands with the real Moody and while this one is a quality actor, this is not the same Mad-Eye.

11 days later:

Harry's conversation with Dumbledore had reassured him that he had done what anyone else would have done in that situation and that he was still a polite, morally correct young. Junior had been right, it had made Harry feel a lot better to have his actions cosigned by the Headmaster.

You need to twist your wrist when you jab the wand, if you twist the wand with the jab, you are dispelling the buildup of magic

Harry sighed as he twisted his wrist as he jabbed his wand and his teacup was successfully duplicated, splitting into two equal teacups. Which Flitwick came by and tested with a tap of his wand.

"Good Merlins, Mr. Potter" exclaimed the half goblin professor, "Not only have you cast the spell correctly, but you also did it silently. Someone has read ahead on their OWLs theory"

Harry blushed as rubbed the back of his head, "I have felt that maybe I could live up to my potential a bit more than I have in the past"

"I'll say that you are doing a splendid job, Mr. Potter" replied Flitwick, "You might even be able to apply for a summer internship with an Enchanter in the Diagon Alley after your OWLs if this is the type of effort that you are planning on keeping up for the remainder of your years here"

Hermione looked at Harry's twin teacups and her own, unduplicated teacup and bit her lip in wonder.

"How did you do it?" asked Hermione as they finished packing up, her own spell have not worked. Everyone but Harry, had been assigned a 17-inch essay on the properties of the Duplication Charm.

"I allowed the intent of the spell to guide me towards the correct combination of magic, desire, and power" replied Harry

"But how?" asked Hermione once more, ignoring the very much real answer that Harry had just given her.

"Magic" answered Harry

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Fine be a prat and keep your secrets"

'I literally told her the answer'

She's never going to accept that Harry, it's because she's muggleborn.

'Woah woah'

Relax, it's not a racist comment, it's simply due to the difference in upbringing. She might study magical theory, but she doesn't understand it like I do, like you've come to.

'Why do you say that?'

Because if she was really that tuned in with her own magic, she would never have any issue casting a spell.

'I guess I never thought of it like that'

Going back to last year when we cast the Patronus Charm, haven't you felt your magic slowly becoming easier to control?

'Hey, it actually has become much easier to understand'

That is due to all our reading this past summer, you've started to learn and understand how motions, incantations, intentions, and desire all impact magic.

Harry mentally nodded as he arrived at the DADA classroom. This was the lone class that he hadn't been to yet this school year. Mad-Eye had seen just about every other year besides his year so far, but this was the end of the first week of classes and their time was due.

Harry walked into the class and sat in the first row of desks, right in the middle. It was where Junior had insisted that he sit and the voice in the back of his head had been a great judge of what to do so far.

Soon, he heard Moody's distinctive clunking footsteps coming down the corridor, and he entered the room, looking as strange and frightening as ever. Harry could barely make out the clawed, wooden foot protruding from underneath his robes.

"You can put those away," he growled, limping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them."

The class all returned their books to their bags, Ron looking excited beside Harry on the right, while Hermione looked a bit put out on his left.

Moody took out a class roster, shook his long mane of grizzled gray hair out of his twisted and scarred face, and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list while his magical eye swiveled around, fixing upon each student as he or she answered.

"Right then," he said, when the last person had declared them- selves present, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures — you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?"

There was a general murmur of assent.

"But you're behind, oh so very behind, on dealing with curses," said Moody, his voice almost becoming a sing songy as he said that "So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark —"

"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out.

Moody's magical eye spun around to stare at Ron "You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?"

Ron nodded in confirmation

Moody smirked, "I like your old man, sonny. Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago. Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore, the old goat. One year, and then back to my quiet retirement."

He gave a harsh laugh, and then clapped his gnarled hands together.

"So, straight into it. Curses. They are a branch of magic, used strictly for offensive purposes. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you counter curses and leave it at that. But no student of mine is going to leave my classroom with only the ability to shield and run away" started Moody

The class was as silent as Harry had ever seen it, nobody dared to say anything and from the looks of it, everyone was hanging onto Moody's every word.

"How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful" continued Moody before over his shoulder he jabbed his wand.

Behind Harry, Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing Parvati her completed horoscope under the desk, but Moody had caused the piece of paper to burst into flames, ruining the piece of paper instantly. Apparently Moody's magical eye could see through solid wood, as well as out of the back of his head.

"You would do well to pay attention in my class" warned Moody, "If you think this is one of those classes where you can doze off, do other class's homework, nap, or bury your face in a book, you are sorely mistaken"

His threatening words hung over the class, causing several students to shiver at the thought of drawing his ire.

"So, do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?" asked Moody after he was certain his words had gotten through to the masses. He limped up and down the gaps of the desks in his class, his eyes scanning the room as he did so.

Several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Ron's and Hermione's. Moody pointed at Ron, though his magical eye was still fixed on Lavender.

"Er," said Ron tentatively, "my dad told me about one called the Imperius Curse, or something?"

"Ah, yes," said Moody appreciatively. "Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse."

Moody walked around his desk and opened his desk drawer and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around inside it. Harry felt Ron recoil slightly next to him, not that he could blame him after second year.

Moody put the jar down on the desk and he turned back to the class, "This curse is not something that should be taken lightly. It requires extreme mental strength and discipline. You have to be able to completely overpower the other person's will or they can throw off the spell. It's something … else to have another person or being's life in your hands. This spell is one of the most difficult to cast, one of the most straining to maintain. Only a powerful witch or wizard would be able to cast it and keep it up. In the last war, the Dark Lord's forces used this spell with mixed results"

Harry felt an icy sensation crawl down his spine at those words, as if he wasn't getting the same message as the words being spoke.

Moody slowly opened and reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders, and held it in the palm of his hand so that they could all see it. He then pointed his wand at it and muttered, "Imperio!"

The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.

Everyone was laughing, everyone except Moody, Neville, and Harry.

"Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

He flicked his wand, and the spider threaded a noose from its own silk before hanging itself. The spell wore off and the spider spasmed as it tried to break the complicated knot that was it had been forced to make. But the more it struggled, the tighter the silk became until the spider's head region was crushed by the loop.

"You see what I could do with a mere flick of my wand to any of you?" asked Moody, his voice was faint. Yet, Harry swore that he heard a hint of pride in it.

"How easy would it be to have you in that same position? How easily would I be able to force you to put your fellow classmates in that position while they slept? Where is your laughter now?" questioned Moody

Nobody said anything now, nobody was laughing now as they saw the actual horror of the spell with their own eyes.

"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?" asked Moody as he vanished the dead spider's remains.

There were a lot less hands that flew into the air this time, but to Harry's surprise, among them was Neville's.

"Yes" breathed Moody, his magical eye rolling right over to fix on Neville, and he seemed excited to see the boy raise his hands, "Tell us Longbottom, what is another unforgivable curse?"

How did he know Neville's name? What was wrong with Moody?

"There's one … the Cruciatus Curse," said Neville in a small but distinct voice.

Moody smiled and it looked unnatural on his scarred face, and he eagerly said, "Perfect answer Longbottom"

Moody reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it upon the desktop, where it remained motionless, apparently too scared to move.

"The Cruciatus Curse," said Moody, "Is a spell that is not about mentally overpowering your opponent. No, this is about causing someone you dislike pain. You must hate with every fiber of your being. You must let the anger take over, you must wish them to suffer"

"Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," he said, pointing his wand at the spider. "Engorgio!"

The spider swelled. It was now larger than a tarantula. Abandoning all pretense, Ron pushed his chair backward, as far away from Moody's desk as possible.

Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, "Crucio!"

At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body; it rolled over and began to twitch horribly, rocking from side to side. No sound came from it, but Harry was sure that if it could have given voice, it would have been screaming. Moody did not remove his wand, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently.

"When the spell is left on a target for too long, the subject continues to take damage. No matter how strong they are, no matter how mentally strong they are" stated Moody, "They crumble like the pathetic insects that they are"

"ENOUGH!" stated Harry as his body sent out a flare of magic that pushed away the desks around him.

Moody stopped as he looked at Harry who was gripping his wand so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, behind him was a Neville that was trembling as tears poured down his face, his eyes locked on to the spasming form of the spider.

The burst of magic from Harry had dispelled the spell from Moody who glanced at his wand and then back to the glaring 14-year-old boy.

"You are in fact correct, Mr. Potter" continued Moody with glee, "When a subject has been put under the Cruciatus for too long and it has lost all of its brain function. There is only one thing left to do. Does anyone know?"

Nobody said anything as the glaring Harry continued stand in the front of the class between the students and Moody.

"Ah, nobody knows the answer? Nobody wants to say it?" mused Moody, another slight smile twisting his lopsided mouth. "Yes, the last and worst. Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse. It is unblock-able and the only person to survive it is standing in the front of the class"

Any eyes in the class that hadn't been staring at the standing Harry were now and Harry felt like he was going to puke as Moody circled the spasming spider on the desk.

"To cast this spell, it requires a great deal of power" started Moody as he continued to limp around the desk, "You must accept that the person who gets hit by the spell is going to die. You must accept that that person is going to die by the spell. That they must die"

Moody raised his wand, and Harry felt a sudden thrill of foreboding.

"Avada Kedavra!" said Moody in the calmest voice he had used all day. As if he wasn't killing a living creature for the fun of it in the class.

There was a silence that filled the room as Moody vanished the spider that he had just finished killing.

"Avada Kedavra is a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it, all of you could get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed. But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it. Now, if there's no counter curse, why am I showing you? Because you've got to know. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You have to understand that there is a beauty to the dark arts, they are more than just twisted magic. They require focus, they require power, they require that you understand how the magic works. They are not for everyone" finished Moody

The rest of the class was spent jotting down whatever offensive and defensive spells that they were certain that they could cast. Harry was very much happy when Moody had finally dismissed them and they had left the classroom, a torrent of talk burst forth.

Most people were discussing the curses in awed voices:

"Did you see it twitch?"

"and when he killed it, just like that!"

They were talking about the lesson, as though it had been some sort of spectacular show and not a disgusting fanboy letter to the 3 unforgivable curses. It might have been great for them to know and see them, but he hadn't found it very entertaining and neither had Hermione.

"Hurry up," she said tensely to Harry and Ron.

"Not the ruddy library again?" said Ron, before Harry's elbow found his ribs

"No," Harry spat angrily, pointing up a side passage. "Neville."

Neville was standing alone, halfway up the passage, staring at the stone wall opposite him with the same horrified, wide-eyed look he had worn when Moody had demonstrated the Cruciatus Curse.

"Neville?" Hermione said gently.

Neville looked around.

"Oh hello," he said, his voice much higher than usual. "Interesting lesson, wasn't it? I wonder what's for dinner, I'm … I'm starving, aren't you?"

"Neville are you all right?" said Hermione.

Of course he isn't, the Cruciatus was used on his parents to the point that they were driven insane and are mentally dead. All that exists of them now is an empty shell that sits in the mental ward. Disgusting to expose a child to the horrors that his parents suffered and to openly mock them and the child while doing so.

"Oh yes, I'm fine," Neville gabbled in the same unnaturally high voice. "Very interesting dinner … I mean lesson, what's for eating?"

"Neville, it was wrong for him to show you that, given – you know" finished Harry, trying to show Neville that he was both aware of what happened but also not reveal it to Ron and Hermione.

Neville wheeze as tears bubbled up in his eyes, "I always hated them for not being stronger, but seeing it … how could they?"

Harry pulled Neville into a hug, "I know what you mean"

Hermione looked at Ron, "Are we missing someone?"

"I honestly dunno" admitted Ron

"Give us a second guys, I'll catch up to you two in a moment" said Harry as he broke apart from Neville

Hermione looked like she was going to argue against Harry's wishes, but for the first time in recent memory, Ron was useful and tugged her away.

"How do you know about them?" asked Neville once they were alone, the two of them walking to the top of the tower to sit outside in the pleasantly cool fall weather.

You visited that hack Lockhart

"I saw them while visiting Lockhart over the summer" lied Harry

"Oh" said Neville

"There isn't anything to be ashamed of Neville" said Harry

"Why do you say that? My grandmother thinks I disappoint them every day" muttered Neville

"Because you know that they loved you" replied Harry

"How can you know that?" asked Neville, "They can't talk, they can't think, they can't do anything, but spill drool out of the corner of their mouths and soil themselves. They're little more than bloody life-sized puppets"

Because they did it for you

"Because they did it for you" repeated Harry

"Huh?"

"Neville, can I tell you something that I've never told anyone else before?" asked Harry

"Sure"

"For most of my life, I hated my parents" admitted Harry

"What? Why?"

"Because growing up, I didn't know that they had died for me. I didn't know that they were even magical back then. I was told that they were unemployed drunk bums who carelessly killed themselves in a muggle accident" answered Harry

"Who would tell you that?" asked Neville in horror

"My only living family" admitted Harry, "My mum's sister"

"But … but that's just wrong" stammered Neville

"Exactly, my parents died for me" said Harry, "Both of us were targeted by the Death Eaters. My parents died when Voldemort *Neville flinched* attacked and your parented were put in that ward when the death eaters attacked. Guess what Neville, they didn't give you up. They could have easily gotten out of that situation by giving your location up. Your grandmother is just upset that her son is gone"

You make quite the repeater Harry

'Thank you for helping my friend'

We are in this together

"I guess I never thought about it like that" admitted Neville

"Maybe we should just turn in for the day" suggested Harry as he stood up from his seated placed on the floor next to Neville and offered him his hand.

With Snape and Dumbledore:

"How has the year started for you, Severus?" asked Dumbledore

"This has been a rather … acceptable start to the year" replied Severus

"Interesting that you say that as well" commented Dumbledore, "Flitwick and McGonagall also report the similar things. Sprout has said that her students have been sneaking out to visit the kitchens a bit more this year"

Snape rolled his eyes at that remark, "I'm sure you could just change the password and be done with that"

"Nothing wrong with a bit of youthful indulgence" replied Dumbledore, "Now, tell me what you think of young Harry"

"He's … different" admitted Snape, "He seems to have a better grasp on things that were borderline common sense in the past"

"He cast a duplication charm silently" added Dumbledore

Snape blinked, "Did you just say that Harry Potter cast a charm silently?"

"Flitwick was rather taken back as well, apparently Harry said that he was trying to live up to his potential moving forward" continued Dumbledore

"Interesting" commented Snape, "His potions making has taken a step forward as well. But not just in timing and technique, but he also has developed a bit of knowledge on the short cuts as well"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, "He has shown a massive leap forward in basically all magical fields, capable of casting silently now as well. All of this, on top of him killing Barty Crouch Jr over the summer"

Snape snorted, "You believe that rumor?"

"I have his unfiltered memory of the event" replied Dumbledore as he pointed to his pensive, "You are more than welcome to take a look at it as well"

Snape walked over to the pensive and reviewed the memory for his own desire, returning to Dumbledore's office with a slightly shaken look on his face. Dumbledore offered him a spot of snowberry tea that he had a house elf pop up upon returning.

"He dueled several death eaters prior to Crouch Jr, I was not expecting that" admitted Snape as he accepted the tea

"Did you notice anything out of the usual?" asked Dumbledore

"You mean besides a child who relied on luck to tie his shoes prior to this past summer being able to counter 4 different death eaters as well as being able to cast a mage spell?" asked Snape, "Are we certain that is still Harry Potter?"

Dumbledore gestured to a device on his desk, "I am most certain that this is still Harry Potter, but I was referring to the manner in which he adjusted to each new opponent"

Snape reviewed the memory in his own head, "You are correct, he made several adjustments that I'm not sure many in the Order would have been able to"

"Either he is capable of reading their minds …" started Dumbledore

"He would need to be a powerful Legilimens" countered Snape

"Or someone or something provided him with the knowledge of how to counter each one of their styles" finished Dumbledore

"There was nobody else there" noted Snape, "Potter, as much as I wish to discredit him, did face all four of them alone to save those muggles"

"I feel that we are missing something" admitted Dumbledore, "He did come and talk to me after the arrival feast, but it was mostly to be reassured that he was not becoming a dark wizard"

Snape rolled hie eyes, "The boy is a Gryffindor through and through. Only he could face off against 4 dark wizards and come away thinking he was in the wrong for not dying"

"Not the worst thing, the upcoming war will require someone to be a beacon of hope" said Dumbledore, "Harry wanted to reconfirm that he's not a bad person for saving lives by any means needed, while slightly naïve and childish, is not a deal breaker"

"Lily's son being the next Dumbledore" muttered Snape, "Unbelievable"

"I am uncertain that I could have cast that Mage spell to fend off Fiendfyre like he did" countered Dumbledore, "He completely overpowered those flames in a manner I haven't seen since Voldemort was walking around"

Snape frowned, "Interesting that you say that, because the spell warped out of the way, wrapping around his body. I hadn't seen that since the Dark Lord"

Dumbledore sighed as he leaned back in his chair, his teacup sitting on his desk in front of him.

"Do you think that the scar could be influencing him?" asked Dumbledore

"In what manner?" questioned Snape, "The dark magic that lingers in the scar is not vast or powerful anymore. The scar is slightly fainter this year"

"I had noticed that it seemed to be healing" agreed Dumbledore

"Besides, if the magic in the scar could influence him, why wait 14 years to make the boy something?" asked Snape

"Maybe I am just a paranoid old man after all" chuckled Dumbledore

Snape cracked a smile, "I don't mind it, it's rather nice to not be the only crazy person roaming the castle"

Dumbledore laughs as he grabs his tea, "All fun and games until the teacher evaluation forms come back"

As the weeks pasted, Harry keep his eyes on Moody, never trusting the man. Junior seemed to think that there was something off with the man, which made Harry feel like he was in the right. Apparently the man got permission from Dumbledore to cast one of the three unforgivable spells on them.

"Potter," Moody growled, "you next."

Harry moved forward into the middle of the classroom, into the space that Moody had cleared of desks. Moody raised his wand, pointed it at Harry, and said, "Imperio!"

It was the most wonderful feeling. Harry felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in his head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. He stood there feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of everyone watching him.

And then he heard Mad-Eye Moody's voice, echoing in some distant chamber of his empty brain, "Jump onto the desk . . . jump onto the desk. . .."

Harry bent his knees obediently, preparing to spring.

"Jump onto the desk. . .."

Why, though? Another voice had awoken in the back of his brain, You barely listen to me, you're going to listen to this scarred faced man you don't even trust

Harry blinked as he unbent his knees, "I don't want to"

Moody looked at him in complete shock, pumping more magic into his Imperio, but Harry just brushed it off with a glare, "I said I don't want to"

"Now, that's more like it!" hummed Moody's voice gleefully and suddenly, Harry felt the empty, echoing feeling in his head disappear, "Look at that, you lot . . . Potter fought! Hell, he did more than fight it, he won. Very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'll have trouble controlling you!"

Moody cast Imperio again without warning but Harry who now knew what it felt like, dispelled the spell on his body with a pop of his own magic.

Moody crackled with excitement, "Potter, you are not at all what they made you out to be. You truly have what it takes to be a great wizard, everything they said about you was understating you"

Harry mentally frowned, who was talking about him? His other teachers? Dumbledore? His muggle family? Maybe the Aurors because he was constantly doing dangerous things near the end of the school years.

Harry watched as Moody moved onto another student, casting the imperio spell on them and having them cartwheel around the room. The class ended and Moody flicked his wand, and a small note shot out to each student, Harry caught his and read the note.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will end half an hour early —

That just meant that there would be no classes with Snape that day, but that wasn't a big deal for Harry. He was completely okay with not having classes with the man, even if he was being oddly neutral towards him this year.

As he arrived at lunch, he got a letter from Sirius who was asking him to keep his nose clean, watch out for Snape, and never to let his guard down around Moody. As Sirius said, "We pranked Mad-Eye once during the Auror academy during the first war, he hung both James and I on the flagpole by our underpants"

Harry laughed at that part and finished the letter where Sirius mentioned that James and Mad-Eye had a bit of a mentor-mentee relationship, something that Sirius had been blessed enough to witness. It was what had made James so special during the first war, you don't cross wands with Voldy three times and live to talk about it due to sheer luck.

Scribbling a quick recount of how peaceful his year had been, how he would keep an eye on both Snape and Moody, Harry wished Sirius good luck and mentioned the date of the first Hogsmeade trip, before giving the letter to the owl who delivered Sirius' letter. The owl took off immediately.

Halloween Day: The Day the TriWizard champions would be chosen

The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual, mostly because this was their second big feast day in a row. Harry was rereading his transfiguration homework, wondering if he should add another couple inches on how proper wand motions would assist the act of transfiguring one object into another.

"Oi, mate" said Ron, "Put away the essay, you're turning into Hermione"

"What's wrong with wanting a good grade" asked Harry before Hermione could

"Nothing, but it's dinner time" noted Ron

"And I'm sure you'll find a way to eat enough for both of us" countered Harry

Hermione giggled and Ron shot him a glare

"Anyway, who is becoming the champion for Hogwarts?" asked Ron

"Probably a sixth year who has an early birthday" suggested Harry as he rolled up his essay, giving up on adding to it at the moment

"Not a seventh year?" asked Ron

"No, Harry's right. Seventh Years have their NEWTs to worry about. They don't have time for a silly tournament" answered Hermione

"It's a thousand galleons, it's worth it" whined Ron

"Not to anyone who is academically inclined" said Harry

"Huh? What's that mean?" asked Ron

Hermione and Harry shared a look, and both laughed

"Smart people don't have to worry about making a thousand galleons, Ron" said Hermione, "If you get good grades, you can get a job where you could make close to that every month. Think about senior Aurors, they pull in 150 galleons every week. Many would argue that they're overpaid for the amount of work that they do versus regular aurors who made half of that weekly"

"I never thought of that" grumbled Ron

Harry leaned into Hermione and whispered, "Who is surprised that he didn't think of that?"

Hermione covered her mouth as she giggled, and Ron shot Harry a glare.

Neville said, "I think the champion will be Harry somehow"

Harry shook his head, "I didn't enter the tournament"

"When has that stopped you from doing something before?" asked Neville

Ron nodded, "He got you their mate"

Harry rolled his eyes, "I have more money than I could ever spend. My trust fund has like 30,000 galleons, I don't even know how much I have in my family vault"

Ron looked a bit bitter at the mention of how much money Harry had, but Harry ignored it as he was used to Ron's jealousy flaring up from time to time. Ron had proven to be a bit of a prat when he became jealous, but he always came around and he was Harry's co-bestfriend with Hermione because he was a good friend.

"I could use 1000 galleons" declared Ron

I think you would make a great champion Harry

'But I don't want to be a champion'

It is never about wanting to be one, it is about showing people that you can

'I don't want to show anyone anything'

Of course not, let them underestimate us

'You are a bit too prideful at times, not every single year has to revolve around me'

I disagree

As Harry rejoined reality, he saw that they had already pulled the Goblet of Fire out and were getting ready to select the champions.

The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it — the whole room gasped.

Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."

"No surprises there!" yelled Ron as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Harry saw Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table and slouch up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

The claps were far fewer, mostly males, but Harry added a polite if slightly quiet series of claps as well. Fleur Delacour was clearly not the most well-liked witch from her school

"Oh look, they're all disappointed," Hermione said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party who did not look happy with the selection.

"You think they're jealous of her?" asked Harry

Of course they are, she's the best their school has to offer, do you not feel that alure that she is letting out

'I guess I do, it kind of feels like the Veela from the World Cup'

Because she is a Veela

'So, you think she's like a half veela like they said?'

Harry, there is no half or quarter veela, you are either a Veela or not

'Really? How does that work?'

It's a magical property, think of how we can speak to snakes, you either can understand them or you can't

'I guess that makes sense'

When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion was next.

Murmurs of Cedric or Angela or Flint

And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "Harry Potter?"

The name came out much less certain than the previous names and everyone turned to look at Harry who, for his part, looked as confused as everyone else.

There was no applause. A buzzing, as though of angry bees, was starting to fill the Hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at Harry as he sat, frozen, in his seat.

Up at the top table, Professor McGonagall had got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear toward her, frowning slightly.

Harry turned to Ron and Hermione; beyond them, he saw the long Gryffindor table all watching him, openmouthed.

"I didn't put my name in," Harry said blankly. "You know I didn't."

Both of them stared just as blankly back.

Well Harry, looks like we get a chance to show them what we can do.

'I want you to know from the bottom of my heart, I fucking hate every single part of my shitty arse life'

Sure, not let's win this thing, show the world how bloody great Harry Potter really is

A/N: Hi, this chapter ended up being just as long if not longer than chapter one. I want to say that I am slowly changing Harry's personality, meaning that he's still a boy scout type of person right now. He WOULD think killing someone makes him a bad person at this point in canon, but as you know, this shit is about to go left.

I will be making a pairing choice by the end of the 4th year, I have previously done a Harry/Fleur story and would be okay with doing that again. If you think Mad-Eye Moody is Moody, you're wildly incorrect.

If you have any questions, leave them in a review or PM or join my discord and ask them to me directly.

Use invite code: SyXa2Vx9

Until next time, HKM out