Chapter Nineteen

The crash of thunder roared across the sky as the storm rumbled around Hogwarts; though it was still hours before curfew, the sky was as black as night, with the only lights being the flash of lightning.

Hermione was silently studying in the Gryffindor common room when she heard it; someone was playing what sounded like an electric guitar nearby, and the tune was heartbreakingly beautiful. Unable to stop herself, Hermione rose to her feet and strode out of the portrait hole; behind her, Ron and the twins followed, also curious who was playing such a sad yet beautiful song.

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Raven was silently meditating in her room; it had been nearly two weeks since the Dursley's parole hearing, yet Harry was still avoiding her at all costs, much to Raven's heartbreak.

She was finally beginning to find her center when she heard it; music seemed to be ringing out through the halls of Hogwarts, and Raven raised an eyebrow as she realized that she knew that tune better than anyone, as it was from her favorite movie. There was only one person who would play that tune where she could hear it; what's more, no one else could play an electric guitar around Hogwarts. With a sigh, Raven grabbed her robe and stepped out into the hallway, curious to see what the mystery guitar player wanted.

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Albus Dumbledore was enjoying a last cup of hot chocolate before he retired for the evening when the most beautiful tune reached his ears. It sounded like one of those 'electric guitars' he had seen decades ago when he went on holiday to America; Albus fondly remembered when he saw a gentleman named Hendrix play such an instrument with such skill that Albus almost thought the guitar bewitched.

Dumbledore rose to his feet with a happy smile and followed the strangely beautiful song out of his office and into Hogwarts, curious to see who was responsible for such delightful music.

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Harry hovered in the air as he played the song that his big sister had taught him when he first started learning how to play the guitar; it had become his favorite song to play as it seemed to always ease his mind when he was sad or angry.

Hearing how depressed Harry had become, Jinx had sent his new Gibson electric guitar, and Harry had immediately headed for the tallest tower in Hogwarts, his guitar in his right hand and his amplifier in his left.

Even the weather seemed to feel Harry's pain, and Harry had to cast a quick water-repellent charm on his guitar and amplifier to keep the pouring rain from ruining his equipment; slowly, Harry began to rise into the air, and as Harry's fingers danced across the strings, the weather seemed determined to make his pain visual as thunder seemed to blast in the background of his song, and lightning provided the pyrotechnics.

The rain seemed to soak Harry to his core, and yet he didn't slow his song; he couldn't, he needed to play this song as loud as he could right to the end; as the rain continued its deluge, Harry's hair tie came loose, and his wet hair blew with the fury of the storm, adding to the wild performance that Harry was conducting as he hovered in the air.

It wasn't just the pain of leaving Hogwarts that had brought Harry to Hogwarts' tallest tower, though that was part of it; it was something that Harry hadn't even told Raven yet for fear of what she would think if she found out.

Ever since the fight with Voldemort and Quirrell, where Harry had blacked out, he felt different in ways he couldn't adequately describe; he felt as though his strength, endurance, and stamina seemed to have doubled since he woke up in the Hospital Wing. Moreover, Harry felt a continuous and simmering anger beneath the surface that he couldn't seem to burn away, no matter how long he trained or how many hours he studied.

But the most remarkable change that had occurred since he had awoken was that Harry found, to his shock, that seemed to have gained greater control of his tentacles; before, Harry had been able to use them like ordinary tentacles. Now, Harry found that he could make his tentacles change their shape into anything he asked for; but the most amazing thing of all happened when Harry was experimenting to see just how powerful his control over his tentacles had become.

:Flashback:

Harry was standing in front of an old cracked mirror in an abandoned classroom that he had discovered when he had first arrived at Hogwarts; his six tentacles were extended from his back, and each had shifted into a different weapon at Harry's whim.

There was a large broadsword, a spear, an axe, a war hammer, a trident, and a large Roman-looking shield.

"This is so cool!" Harry said ecstatically before morphing the tentacles back into their regular shape, "What else can you do!"

Without warning, the tentacles began to wrap themselves around Harry until they completely covered him from head to toe; a moment later, Harry grew in size until he was well over six feet tall.

"No freaking way!" Harry said in shock as he stared at his appearance in the mirror, "I'm Venom!"

As if the tentacles could hear him, a pair of enormous evil-looking white eyes and a terrifying smile full of large sharp teeth spread across Harry's blank face, making the boy's jaw drop in shock,

"Dude, that's so awesome!" Harry cried in amazement, "I REALLY look like Venom now!"

Flexing his muscles as best he could, Harry posed in front of the mirror and, in the deepest voice he could manage, said,

"WE are Venom!"

A moment later, the silliness of what he was doing hit Harry, and he collapsed into a fit of giggles that lasted for several seconds before he managed to regain control of himself,

"Ah, Tom Hardy, the world loves ya!" Harry said with a laugh, taking in his appearance one last time before willing the tentacles to return him to normal.

:End Flashback:

Since then, Harry had tried to visit the abandoned classroom as often as he could to test how powerful his tentacles had become, and the results were shocking, to say the least!

Harry's tentacles, when wrapped around him, could transform him into anyone that Harry pictured in his head; Harry had laughed himself silly when he transformed himself into Batman and then proceeded to do a waltz around the classroom.

At first, Harry's tentacles had only been able to hold the illusion for five minutes at the most, but after weeks of training, Harry was now able to look like anyone he pleased for close to thirty minutes, and he was getting better all the time!

Another boom of thunder brought Harry's mind back to the present as he began the second part of the song he was playing; the first part was equal parts heartbreak and beauty, but the second part was pure anger and defiance. Lightning lit up the sky as the rain bombarded Harry, making him feel as though he would never be dry again, but Harry didn't pay it any attention; his only concern was on the song that he was pouring every drop of anger, sadness, and angst into with as much passion as he could bring to bear.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Harry ended the song just as the storm unleashed the biggest blast of lightning yet, creating a gigantic spiderweb across the sky; when the light finally dimmed, Harry opened his eyes and nearly let out a gasp of shock.

Dozens of people, both students, and staff, were standing below Harry on the tower, staring at him in shock or awe; dozens more were standing on the stairs of the tower, and Harry suspected that the entire stairway was filled with people who had been listening to his song. They had snuck up on Harry as he played and were so entranced by what they were hearing that they had even forgotten to put up a shield against the rain; which explained why so many of the watchers were drenched.

Unconsciously, Harry gulped as he saw Raven and the other Titans looking up at him with absolute pride; even Dumbledore was gazing at Harry as though he couldn't be more proud of the boy; the rest, however, were gazing at Harry as though they had never seen him before and Harry couldn't help but feel self-conscious as he took in their stares.

"Harry…" Hermione breathed in awe, even as the rain-drenched her, "That was unbelievable…."

"Indeed, my boy!" Dumbledore laughed as he clapped his hands together; the rest of the observers must have decided to follow the headmaster's example, for soon, the tower was echoing with dozens of cheering, screaming people.

As the crowd bellowed for more, Harry nodded that he understood and began to start a new song, his fingers dancing across the strings as the watchers shouted up at him, not caring about the pouring rain that was drenching them.

As Raven looked up at her brother, she could feel the passion behind each note, and she couldn't help but be filled with pride at how good he had become since she had first begun teaching him how to play; but, as Harry hit a particularly aggressive note, Raven's happy demeanor changed to a shocked one as she watched Harry's eyes flash blood red for only a second, but it was enough for her to notice.

Casting a worried glance at Dumbledore, Raven saw that the aged headmaster had also seen it, and she bit her lip anxiously as she watched him narrow his eyes suspiciously; since the confrontation, Raven had been trying to keep as much distance as she could from Dumbledore, hoping to last the remainder of the year without having to deal with him again.

But, as she saw the calculating look on the old man's face, Raven knew that she was not going to be that lucky,

"Whatever your planning, old man," Raven thought with a sneer, "If it involves Harry, I will not hesitate to stop you!"

Glancing over at the other Titans, Raven's eyes widened in shock as she saw that Beastboy was surreptitiously holding the hand of the Metamorph that he had been hanging out with for the last several weeks; Raven was tempted to say something, but changed her mind a moment later.

Beastboy and the girl (Tonks, Raven remembered the girl's name being) were both of age and seemed to like one another; besides, after this year, Tonks would no longer be a student, so it was nobody's business.

As Harry finished his song, Raven proceeded to clap along with everyone else, her mind moving a mile a minute as she saw Dumbledore run his hand through his beard thoughtfully before turning on his heel and striding down the stairs of the tower.

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Author's Note:

Okay, there's only one more chapter, and then Harry's first year at Hogwarts will be done, and then it's back to Jump City! Harry's song that caught everyone's attention was Eric's guitar solo from the movie "The Crow;" it's one of my favorite songs to play when I'm upset, and I feel like Harry, after being raised by Raven, would feel the same.

The second song that Harry plays, which makes his red eyes appear, was Cold, by Static X; I just picked a metal song at random, tbh.

I want to issue a special thanks to AAAirsoft Media for reviewing my story on his YouTube channel; if you have yet to see it, go check it out, as he makes it even more hilarious than I managed to.

And now to business!

*slaps hands together*

There are two ways this story can go, and I leave it up to you to decide which path I choose going forward; I created a poll (I think), but in case you can't find it, just let me know, and I'll tally your vote. So, should Harry return to Hogwarts or no?