Harry got off the train dejectedly, his thoughts stuck on Cedric. Ron and Hermione got off behind him, arguing pointlessly. Harry saw his Godfather and turned to say goodbye to his friends.
"I should go, don't wanna keep Vlad waiting, ya know?" He said with a shrug. Hermione gave him an odd look.
"Are you sure you're alright Harry? What you went through-" Harry interrupted her before she could get too far.
"Hermione, I'm fine. I just want to go home and forget this entire year even happened." Ron looked at him sympathetically, nodding his head as if he could understand what Harry was going through.
Harry spotted Mrs. Weasley pushing towards them through the crowd and quickly made his escape before she could reach them.
"I'll write you guys once I'm back home, okay?" He said over his shoulder not waiting for a response before pushing his trunk over to Vlad. He soon found himself pressed up against expensive Italian cashmere. For the first time in months he felt at ease. Vlad must have already been informed of what had happened as he began rubbing small circles into Harry's back with one hand and was soothingly running his other through Harry's messy hair.
They stood there just holding onto one another for a few more minutes before silently releasing each other. Harry could feel tears collecting in his eyes. He quickly grabbed his trunk and made for the exit.
Vlad silently followed and directed him to a sleek black limousine at the curb. His trunk was put in the back by some faceless employee of his godfather's. Harry quickly made himself comfortable in the back seat and tried to wait for the door to shut before losing his composure. The dam that kept back a tidal wave of emotions finally started to break. Vlad sat down next to him and put his arm around his shoulder offering silent support as tears began to stream down his face. He felt himself being gathered into Vlad's arms as he quietly began sobbing into his chest.
It wasn't long before they reached the private airport where Vlad's jet was waiting to take them home. With strength he didn't know his godfather had, he was lifted into the air. He quickly wrapped his arms around Vlad's neck to keep himself from being dropped before realizing it was unnecessary. With an unusual ease his godfather boarded the jet with Harry still in his arms before sitting with Harry wrapped around him.
Feeling too weak to protest being treated like a child, Harry soon drifted off into an uneasy sleep listening to his uncle's slow heartbeat.
(line break)
Vlad looked down at Harry, gently petting his raven hair. His heart went out to the boy who had been through too much in his short life. He had heard the details of Voldemort's return through his wizarding contacts in the UK.
There were many things that the Fentons didn't know about Vlad. Though he had been their friend for many years, and would continue to be a close friend and confidant to the family if he had any say in the matter, there were some things he figured were best kept separate from that life. Becoming half ghost had opened many doors, which had eventually led him to uncover a whole new world to use to his advantage.
He had been dealing in rare magical artifacts for many years now, and with shady clients and the inherent secrecy of the magical world, it became common sense that his personal life would stay separate from his magical one. This, of course, was complicated when Harry was revealed to be a wizard.
Vlad never knew Harry was magical until he got his letter. He'd only ever known Harry as Harry Daniel Fenton, his favorite (and only) godson. He never could have guessed that his long time best friend Maddie Fenton was the last living (and willing) relative of one Lily Potter. Seeing as the vast majority of his wizarding contacts were dark and had only ever had bad things to say about the Boy Who Lived, it came as quite a shock to discover that his cheerful and selfless little badger was in fact the same hero they had come to loathe.
Vlad's thoughts were interrupted by a tug on his lapel as Harry stirred. "No...please…" he whimpered in his sleep.
"Harry," Vlad gently shook Harry's shoulder attempting to wake him. "Harry, it's just a dream, wake up!"
(line break)
"I'm going to kill you, Harry Potter." Voldemort spat with sick and malicious pleasure. "I'm going to destroy you." Voldemort stared down at Harry
"After tonight no one will ever again question my power." Harry's heart began to race.
"After tonight if they speak of you, they'll speak only of how you begged for death." Harry stared at the tip of his ivory wand, rising in place to point directly at him. Harry sat frozen. The tip began to glow a sickening green. "And I, being a merciful lord, obliged." He knew that this was the end for him. No one was coming to save him this time.
"HARRY WAKE UP!"
Harry sat up with a gasp. Breathing heavily, he looked around trying to get his bearings. He spotted Vlad's concerned blue eyes before casting his own down at his shaking hands, a feeling of shame falling into his stomach.
"It's alright to feel afraid Harry. We all have nightmares sometimes." Vlad reassured him softly.
Harry looked up at him bitterly, "But I don't have nightmares sometimes, I have them every night!" Harry yelled out, running his hands through his hair.
Vlad sighed, unsure how to help his beloved godson. Hopefully being back home with his family would help him to forget what had happened just a short week ago. The jet started its descent into Amity Park airport's private runway.
"Come on Harry, your parents are waiting for us. I'm sure Jack is just bouncing in his seat with excitement." Harry smiled at the thought of his family. It's always hard leaving them every September. Especially his best friends, well his best muggle friends. They didn't understand why he couldn't call or FaceTime them while at school. Tucker was appalled when he heard that Harry's boarding school didn't have any internet or cell service. He tried to explain to them that it was a really old school, way out in the middle of nowhere. That just made them even more suspicious, well it made Sam suspicious. All Tuck cared about was the lack of technology.
He couldn't wait to have some nice, normal fun this summer. No dragons, no mermaids, no giant three headed dogs, just him and his friends.
⊹ ࣪ ﹏﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
Harry got out of the limo and looked up at his home. The giant 'Fenton Works' sign lit up the street around him. He approached the door, Vlad trailing behind him, and took a deep breath. Harry reached for the handle, but before he could make contact the door slammed open. Vlad quickly pulled him out of the way by his shoulders before he could get hit.
"HARRY!" he heard his dad say in his loud boisterous voice. He winced slightly as he was scooped up in a tight hug, trying to ignore the popping of the bones in his back under his father's huge arms. Vlad swiftly side stepped his fathers large form pulling Harry's truck inside the house and up to Harry's room.
"Jack, you're crushing him!" His mother lightly scolded with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Right, right," Jack gently lowered Harry back onto the ground, "sorry Hare, I was just so excited to see ya," he said apologetically. Harry shook his head with a fond smile on his face. While his father's exuberance might be off-putting to some, he found it comforting after so many months away from home. His mom came into view and he quickly wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. Suddenly the events of the Triwizard Tournament seemed farther away, like just a bad dream, or a small shadow in the distance.
"Hey honey" she said softly, running a hand through his hair. Harry breathed in, feeling content in his mother's arms. He caught Vlads eyes as he returned downstairs, Vlad nodded and made a quick exit, knowing Harry would like some time to catch up with his friends and family.
"Harry!" Harry heard Sam and Tucker yell from inside the house. He swiftly let go of his mom only to get pulled into another hug with his two best friends.
"Hey guys," he murmured into someone's shoulder. They quickly let him go and sat him down on the couch, anxious to catch up from the past year since they had seen him.
"Hey little brother," Jazz said from beside him on the couch, pulling him into a quick side hug. "Hey Jazz," he said, wrapping his arms around his sister.
He looked around at his friends and family, feeling safe and loved. As much as he loved Hogwarts, it was good to be home.
"So tell us about your archaic boarding school, it is as horrible as it sounds?" Tucker asked with a smile on his face. Tucker abhorred the idea of a school without technology. He couldn't fathom how Harry could possibly be happy there. Sam on the other hand thought it was totally awesome to go to school in an ancient castle.
"Have you taken any photos of the castle for me yet?" Sam asked before Harry could answer. He had completely forgotten Sam's persistent request for photos of the gothic architecture; he was quickly running out of plausible excuses as to why he hadn't taken any. Maybe Vlad will have an idea to help him.
"No, I'm sorry I completely forgot with all the chaos that was going on this year." After all, muggles couldn't see Hogwarts whether it was in person or on film.
Sam and Tucker sat forward, eager to hear anything he might say about his elusive British boarding school. "What chaos? You're not allowed to cause chaos without us!" Tucker exclaimed.
"Hey! I didn't cause it, I was dragged into it against my will!" Harry argued. Sam and Tucked rolled their eyes playfully with matching grins on their faces.
"Yeah, yeah, you're a reluctant delinquent, you can tell us all about it tomorrow. My parents are no doubt counting down the minutes till they can blame you for me missing my curfew." Sam said, standing up.
"Yeah I should probably head out too, it's good to see you dude. We'll come by tomorrow to reintroduce you to modern society." Tucker said while walking towards the door. It had become a fun tradition every summer for Sam and Tucker to plan movie marathons and late night gaming sessions to help him catch up on all the things he missed during the school year away.
His family waited until the front door had fully shut before Jazz asked, "So what really happened this year? And don't give us the same downplayed version that Dumbledore gave us." Three pairs of worried eyes fell on him, which is exactly what Harry didn't want. He had purposefully left out a lot of what really happened in his letters home the past year, not wanting to worry his family more than they already were.
"Well what all did Dumbledore tell you?" If Dumbledore hadn't told them the bad stuff, then Harry certainly wasn't going to.
"He told Mom and Dad that you were involved in a school tournament that resulted in Voldemort officially returning and in the process you witnessed him murder one of your classmates. Tell us what happened little brother, it's not good to keep these things in. Traumatic experiences affect everyone differently but it's widely known that talking to those close to you can help alleviate the mental strain and can significantly help your mental health in the long run."
"Jeez Jazz, I've been home all of 5 minutes and you're already psychoanalyzing me." Harry shook his head frustrated.
"We're all just worried about you sweetheart. Are you really okay?" His mom asked worriedly.
"Some stuff happened and now Voldemort is back, I'm sure Dumbledore is on top of it. You guys have nothing to worry about, I'm honestly just exhausted and want to go to sleep." Harry stood up, giving his parents and sister one last hug before dragging himself up to his room, thankful that Vlad had already placed his trunk beside his bed. Falling onto his bed still fully dressed, Harry fell into a blissfully deep and dreamless sleep.
࣪ ﹏﹏𓂁﹏ ࣪
He awoke to his sister gently shaking him.
"Harry, time to get up, dad wants to show us something." She said apologetically, taking in the deep circles under her brother's eyes.
Groaning, Harry rolled out of bed. And straight onto the floor.
"Ow."
Jazz brought a hand to her mouth in an attempt to smother her laugh as she backed out of the room. "Sam and Tucker will be here in 10 minutes," she said. Seeing Harry's confused look she explained, "I figured you'd want to hang out with them as much as you could. Even if it is just to witness another one of mom and dad's freak inventions."
Harry nodded. Not bothering to change his clothes or brush his hopelessly unruly hair, he followed Jazz downstairs to have a quick breakfast before disaster inevitably struck.
The Fentons didn't have a great track record with their inventions. Sure, they were geniuses without doubt, but Harry had heard the term "mad scientist" used to refer to them and had to admit that it fit quite well. The inventions that actually worked tended to blow up in their faces (quite literally) shortly afterwards, or to be just slightly off in a way that allowed for disastrous consequences. Harry repressed a shudder as he tried to forget the toaster incident.
Grabbing a piece of Jack Fenton toast he heard the doorbell ring.
"Ah just in time!" He heard his father open the door, "come on down to the lab kids, we've got a real treat for ya!"
Harry and Jazz reluctantly made their way to the basement, Sam and Tucker curiously following behind them.
They all sat down as his mom and dad began to explain their new invention: a ghost portal. Harry listened avidly, as his parents explained that it would tear a hole in the veil, creating a permanent door between this dimension and the ghostly one. Harry's attention began to wander as he wondered whether ghosts really did have their own realm. The ghosts at Hogwarts were nothing like the ones his parents were always going on about. Seeing all the stark differences between real ghosts and the ones his parents "studied" he was quite sure that they didn't really know what they were talking about.
Still, he hadn't ever told them about the ghosts that wandered around Hogwarts for fear that they wouldn't let him go back on account of it being too dangerous. The ghosts were, of course, the least dangerous thing about Hogwarts, even accounting for Peeves. Even if they didn't fear for his safety at the hands of Hogwarts ghosts, they might try to get him to hunt them, which was significantly worse in Harry's opinion. Best to keep such matters a secret.
His father thrust two plugs together, and the group looked at the empty portal expectantly. A spark fizzled from the plugs in his dad's hands and Harry watched as his parents' shoulders simultaneously dropped in disappointment.
The two dejectedly walked back upstairs. Another failed invention. Harry felt guilty that he was slightly relieved at it's failure. Such a large and important invention was sure to cause huge problems if it had actually worked. It was better for everyone that it hadn't worked, really, though that didn't change the fact that his parents would likely sulk about it for a few days at least.
"Well," said Jazz, getting up, "I'm going to the library. There are some books I've been looking forward to reading this summer." She followed her parents up the stairs, leaving the trio alone in the basement.
"Wow," Sam said, eyes locked on the empty hole in the wall. "Can you imagine if it had worked? Who knows what crazy things exist beyond this world?" She excitedly walked towards the portal. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an old polaroid camera from a nearby work table, and as she picked it up Harry could almost see an idea pop into her head.
"Harry, you have to go in there!" She said, nodding towards the portal.
"What? Why? It's just an empty hole in the wall." Harry complained, "You go in there if you find it so interesting! My parents' experiments always end up ruining my day."
"Just have a little peek, dude." Tucker said offhandedly, not even looking up from his PDA, "Who knows, maybe you can get it working for your folks."
"Why would I be able to get it working if my parents couldn't?" Harry asked.
Tucker shrugged and looked up at him. "Weird and miraculous stuff always seems to happen around you. You've got some sort of weird juju."
"Here put this on," he heard Sam say before something was shoved into his arms. Harry looked down in horror as he saw his dad's face staring up at him.
"What the heck is this!? I'm not wearing this!" Harry stated.
Sam looked down at the logo before promptly ripping it off the hazmat suit. "Good call," she said. "Now put it on and get in there." Growing impatient, Sam began to fiddle with some dials on the wall. She looked back at Harry pleased to see he was done changing.
Harry stared into the empty portal. He had a bad feeling about this. Some nagging feeling in the back of his brain told him not to go in there. He chalked it off as paranoia, something bad was always happening to him, at this point his gut reactions were probably just misfiring.
He felt Sam shove him into the portal. He heard the click of a camera. "Go in a little bit further," she insisted. He looked back at her and then took another step forward. His foot tangled in a knot of loose wires and he tripped, falling against the wall to steady himself. He felt a click under his palm and his eyes shot to the wall under his hand. The button said "on."
Suddenly he was blinded and completely engulfed in bright lights. The sound of mechanical whirring drowned out the concerned shouts of his friends. That's when he felt unimaginable pain.
Harry thought he knew pain. After all, he had been tortured by Voldemort himself, but this was something else entirely. The cruciatus curse couldn't hold a candle to it. Harry felt as if every atom inside him was being torn to shreds as a scream ripped through his throat. He was dying, that much he knew. He wished only for death to come more quickly and put an end to this ceaseless suffering. He felt like he had been screaming for a few eternities, and then, as quickly as the lights and sounds came, they left.
Everything went black.