Luna loved the wonderfully unique atmosphere of the deep forest. The magic of the woods was easily twisted, a beautiful tapestry of life and death swirling around her as she danced.

"Please… make it stop…" It whimpered.

A tapestry currently dyed and vibrant with the crimson streams that flowed from their evening entertainment.

"You give up far too easily, Lord Selwin! Where is all that righteous fire you clung to for the first few fingers?" Her Mad Hatter grinned widely as he spun her in capricious circles, his hand burning hot against her waist even through her robes, their footprints making intricate patterns across the ruby snow.

And over the footprints, It crawled.

"Please…" It begged again. "Please, kill me…"

She couldn't help but laugh, the jingling of joyous bells in the crisp Christmas air.

It was so, so fun, to see how long it took before It stopped begging to be released and started begging for the sweet, sweet sleep.

They had given It every chance, honestly.

"We told you, remember?" Harry reminded It, like a patient parent to a child. "You have to earn your freedom. Fly, little bird! Run, run away, and if you find the edge of the woods, you're free. But if we catch you, we take take take another piece."

Of course, there was no edge to their wonderful woods. But It didn't need to know that. That would ruin all the fun.

It had managed to run a fair distance, the first few times. Back when they had only taken Its fingers.

It got slower, when they took Its toes.

Now, without feet or hands or eyes, it had stopped bothering to fly. A pity.

Trails of lovely droplets led through the woods in all directions, a masterfully painted canvas.

Her gift, from her mad Mad Hatter. The evidence of his love, of his commitment. Hers, in blood and pain and death forevermore.

Such a sweet boy. She would make sure to get him something nice for his birthday.

"Can't… won't… please…"

What beautiful music, in the snowy night.

They danced to the symphony together, under the stars.

…

It was with great sadness that Harry conceded that, like all good things, this too must end.

He always lamented the end of a good song.

Alice gently caressed the skinless cheek of what used to be Lord Selwin as his soul finally slipped away into the dark.

Harry looked around at the scattered bits and bobs strewn about the forest, mentally tracking down all the wayward lumps of meat so that he could put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

He hummed while he worked.

Luna made a snow angel in the blood- drenched slush.

She was so beautiful, and his empty heart swelled at the glorious sight of her usually white-blonde hair and ivory skin stained crimson with the melody of his gift.

All too soon, his work was complete and the deceased body of the pureblood Lord was once again whole, now bearing the unmistakable marks of an untimely demise by poison. It wouldn't do for the old lion to see the evidence of his and Alice's games.

There were so many useful things to do with a dead body.

It was unfortunate that he couldn't bring Daphne along for this lesson. This was the next step of her tutelage; how to properly leverage the aftermath of a good concert. He hadn't had time to prepare before they sliced up her father.

But, alas, this was his time with Luna. He didn't even want to leave for the brief time it would take to set the stage, but he was supposed to be responsible now, after all his grand talk about taking over the world.

Honestly, it was a bother. He just wanted to make his music with his Alice.

Still, that was much easier done from the throne than from the gutter. And his Circle had their own goals, their own hopes and wants and dreams. He couldn't deny them that rapture while he selfishly danced to his symphony in the forest.

"Would you like to come along while I sow the seeds of chaos, Alice?" He asked as Selwin's reconstructed body floated next to him. "Or would you prefer to stay here and languish in your masterpiece?"

She looked up at him from where she lay on the forest floor, mismatched eyes shining with the leftover joy from their games.

"Do I need to tidy up? I'm rather enjoying my current outfit," she smiled with blood-stained lips and his eyes once again raked over her delicious form, winter robes over a button-down saturated with beautiful evidence of their music.

Ah. That was a good point. Harry vanished the evidence that clung to his suit with a sigh. It wouldn't do to leave a trail for the Aurors.

"Unfortunately, if you want to tag along. I want to leave our good friend here somewhere he'll be found by the right people, and we can't have bloody footprints giving away the game," Harry said.

"I'll stay here then," Alice said lightly, continuing her snow angel. "Just don't leave me waiting for too long, my Lord. I might get bored, and who knows what will happen."

Who knows, indeed.

His deadly, capricious Alice.

"I'll miss you terribly, I promise," he said with an answering grin.

"You'd better," she chirped.

Perfection.

He and the remains of their game disappeared as the eyes opened and he stepped into the dark.

…

Harry didn't normally plan things, per se, but it was mildly satisfying when events could be mutually beneficial in multiple categories.

For example, he enjoyed killing people. It was such a simple thing, but it was true nonetheless.

Additionally, Alice liked killing people, too. Such a wonderful alignment of shared interests. A present for her was also a present for himself.

An opportunity, to tie Tracy closer to him and the rest of the Circle. To satisfy her need for petty retribution against the system and people who oppressed her and her friend for so long. A chance to feed the anger she harbored in her soul, even if she refused to acknowledge it most of the time, while also adding guilt to her chains as she realized the depths of their depravity.

And, finally, killing people had consequences. Such fiery repercussions in the world of endless gray fog, the pointless prattling of the Things that made up the bones of the society upon which he and Luna danced.

Those consequences could be aimed, as effective and sometimes more useful than a bullet.

In this case, Harry had a very fun idea.

He appeared in a wonderfully opulent dining room. Upstairs, the two inhabitants of the manor slept, blissfully unaware of the chaos Harry was about to invite into their lives.

Not for long.

The eyes opened in the walls. In one bedroom, a man stood from his bed, put on fine robes and walked downstairs with a glassy stare. In another, the child slept on, none the wiser.

Harry took the opportunity to rummage around in the man's memories and make the necessary adjustments.

A previously amicable partnership, gone awry due to greed. A plot, to poison the good Lord Selwin and buy up his businesses in the aftermath.

Businesses that were, by happenstance, related to the Lord's connections to an international potions smuggling ring. Not that he knew about those, since they, too, were fabricated by Harry.

He finished setting the scene, all the pieces in place. The recently poisoned body of Lord Selwin, his half-drunk glass of tainted wine spilled on the expensive rug under him. His host, still sitting across from him, believing that his backhanded betrayal would be pulled off without a hitch.

Harry took one last look at his victims, alive and dead.

Three…

Two…

One…

An ear-splitting crash echoed through the empty manor halls.

"AURORS! WE HAVE A WARRANT, WANDS AWAY AND ON THE GROUND!"

Harry, of course, didn't do that. He just giggled and stepped into the dark.

…

"Are you happy, Alice?"

It was a strange question, but it bubbled forth from his lips before he could think to contain it. He wasn't in the habit of suppressing his urges.

Or thinking at all, really.

They lay on their backs in the blood-drenched clearing, far from the prying eyes of the world.

The stars stared down at them, bright and endless in the wilderness sky.

"What is happy, Harry Potter?"

The snow deadened the air and made the silence deep.

"I don't think I know. I was hoping you would," Harry said, relishing the feeling of her warm hand held within his own.

"Does it matter?" Luna asked, her mismatched eyes leaving the sky to peer over at him.

"I don't usually feel, like this. I've been empty for so very, very long, I don't know if I can be anything else," Harry mused. He was in a strange mood.

"You don't have to be anything else, my Mad Hatter," Luna said as she ran a crimson finger down his cheek. "And you're very pretty."

He couldn't help but smile at that. It was quiet, for a time, as she ran her shining eyes over him and he stared at the stars.

"Yes," Alice said suddenly, the word jarring in the silence.

"Hmmm?" Harry met her mismatched stare as he turned to her.

"I'm very happy, Harry Potter. Thank you for asking."

…

Ginny all but dragged Harry into an empty compartment as soon as they met on the train. It was amusing, how bold she had become, despite the nature of her curiosity.

It made him smile, that she was comfortable manhandling him even as she planned to accuse him of murder.

The redhead spun to face him across the compartment, her motivation suddenly quaking under his grin.

"I have to know," she started a rehearsed speech. She was adorable, honestly. "I don't think it will change anything, but I need to know the truth. I can't do this and second guess everything at the same time."

Harry's smile widened.

"Then by all means, Ginevra, ask away. I will not lie to you," Harry said.

Why would he, when the truth was so much more fun?

"Did you kill Ron?" Her voice cracked at the end.

"Yes," Harry said softly, the emerald and silver flames in his eyes boring into hers. "Yes, I killed him. He made Hermione cry, so I peeled the skin from his flesh and let his blood drip drip drip upon my chamber floor. Your brother made such a lovely melody, both before and after I cut out his tongue."

The eyes opened in the dark and Ginny's breath hitched, but she didn't look away.

Just the right amount of fear, like the bite in a fine wine.

"And I would do the same to anyone who hurt you," Harry continued in the same quiet tone as Ginny shivered. "Just say the word, and I will rip every last scream from their throats. I'll make them beg for death until their voices fail and then I'll make them scream some more."

The churning cacophony of conflicting emotions within her was delicious.

Tears gathered in the corner of Ginny's eyes and he ran a single slim finger up her jaw to touch the starlit dew.

"I'm the only one who's allowed to make you cry, now. Well, and Luna, but she's special," Harry said.

It was quiet, in the dark.

"Okay," Ginny whispered eventually.

The eyes and the dark retreated and they were on the train once again.

"You said that you didn't think knowing would change anything," Harry said curiously. "Does it?"

Ginny closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"No," she said finally. "I'm a monster…"

Harry smiled.

"We're all monsters," he said, meeting her gaze as she opened her bright brown eyes. "And that doesn't make us any less beautiful."

He held out his hand.

"The others are waiting. Are you ready?"

He could tell that she was lost, for a moment, in sunlit forests and silver sands.

Then she refocused and took his hand with a small, tremulous smile.

…

It was nice, to be back in his alcove.

It was familiar, now.

His Circle united once more as he idly fiddled with Alice's delicate blonde lace.

However, a new note interrupted the familiar melody, and Harry managed to suppress his pleased grin.

It was quite satisfying, when the pieces fell as he intended.

"Lord Potter."

Theo Nott stood on the edge of the alcove, tense and attempting to contain the combination of fear and apprehension.

"Good evening, Theodore. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Harry asked with a calm and calculated expression. Different hats for different cats.

"Can we speak privately?" Theo said, squaring his shoulders determinedly and smothering his fear.

Lovely.

"Of course," Harry said.

The eyes opened once again and darkness fell. He and Theo stood alone in the night, the endless eyes watching silently as they regarded each other.

Harry waited for his guest to speak.

"You once said that I could find you, when I was ready. That you would be willing to bargain for my servitude, in exchange for what I want," Theo said carefully, his voice strong despite his apprehension.

That was good. Theo would make an excellent addition to the Circle, a competent counterpart to his Dragon and another piece of the puzzle.

"I did," Harry said neutrally.

"Is that offer still open?" Theo asked.

The eyes stared and emerald chains began to circle them.

"It is," Harry said. "What do you want, Theodore Nott?"

There was a pause as Theo took a deep breath.

"I want you to free my father from Azkaban."

Harry couldn't help but smile.

"He was arrested over the holidays," Theo continued. "The trial was a rushed farce by Dumbledore and his sycophants."

"Breaking into and out of Azkaban isn't something to be done lightly. Impossible, many would say," Harry mused, as if he didn't already know what his answer would be. As if any of the chess pieces moved without his hand.

Theo just raised his eyebrows.

Good. Harry didn't enjoy groveling.

Okay, so maybe he did. But not from his Circle.

"In exchange for your loyalty and service, Theodore Nott, I will have your father free from Azkaban before Yule of this year," Harry said, holding out his hand as the chains rattled in the dark. "Do you find these terms acceptable?"

He needed to plan a trip to the prison anyway. So many Death Eaters and potential public hysteria, just wasting away. He couldn't let the other little crimson shard of Tom get his grubby paws on them before he did.

"I do."

Theo took his hand.

The emerald chains slithered up his newest follower's arm and Harry cackled internally.

And, when Theo inevitably learned the truth… Well, it was far, far too late for it to matter. Plus, it would be hilarious.

They were monsters, after all.

…