Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

_Harry Potter and the Rise of Lord Voldermort_

_Chapter 1: Accidents happen!_

The night was cold and only a single figured dared to brave the storm that had flattened the little street. The glow of the streetlamps was almost ominous, and their pale orange glow made the figure seem almost sinister though in reality he was anything but. The man had been here for quite sometime, his long black trench coat fluttered in the wind and was lashed at by the violent torrents of rain, but this didn't seem to bother the man. In fact it was quite the contrary he seemed serene, peaceful almost. His stance reflected this, a casual lean upon one of the lamp-posts. In fact the same lamppost that was to be found outside number 4 privet drive.

Now this house wasn't special. If anything it was conformity to what everywoman in Britain wished their house could be. The windows where spotless almost constantly, the lawns looked as though they where carefully manicured everyday. Even the gravel seemed to be evenly spaced down to the last stone. Every-single-thing about the house screamed perfection and the man watching despised it entirely.

He new that perfection never came without a price, and he had seen the price of so much perfection first hand. The young child that made everything seem as though it was done by angels in there spare time, he was not much older than five and yet he worked from day break until after the sun had set without complaint. The man had watched the boy work his hands raw, pulling weeds and turning the soil with only the soft flesh of youthful hands as a tool. However, the boy never complained, heck he seemed to enjoy working, in the garden at least.  
So it was all the man could do to pity him from afar until it came to a switching of the guard. He checked his watch, that was coming up soon.

There was a long swirl of the black coat as the man turned to walk away. That is of course until there was a huge flash of light and a ripple of the air; he stopped dead in his tracks and glanced back at the house.

"Well..." he said in an awed tone." I do believe this qualifies as extraordinary Albus."  
With these final parting words the man was gone from sight, it was as if he and his coat had somehow fallen into the all encompassing darkness. The man was replaced moments later with a similarly shady character. Though the man before and the current GUARD where  
nothing alike. Whereas the man before had been clean shaven this man had a rugged look, and graying tufts of hair poking out of a raised hood. Had it been light enough to see the mans face many would have screamed at the sight. The man was defiantly not all together  
... literally. He had many scars on his rugged face and was sporting a long scar over his left eye that seemed to have been recently caused because it burned an angry red.

Now let it not be said that this man went looking for trouble, well he sort of did. He was the equivalent of the S.A.S and a very well trained and managed one at that. It was his job to hunt down terrorists of sorts, but he never went looking for a fight. He merely went in  
prepared and came out, usually with one or two more scars than he had gone in with. He was also a very gifted individual at what he did, so when the black sky around him suddenly changed and began to glow like it was the middle of the day he went away immediately to inform his superior and close friend Albus Dumbledore of the situation. So just as the man before him had done, he vanished away, leaving nothing to say that he had ever set foot upon the suburbia that was Privet drive. 

Albus Dumbledore was having a pleasant evening so far. He sat comfortably in his large office and was slowly but surely finishing the decanter of Ogden's fire whiskey he had received from Professor McGonagall on his birthday. It was a sublime feeling that one received when drinking long and heavy from a bottle of whisky, especially Ogden's finest, much the same as having a Hungarian horntail breathe fire into your gut, the bottle said. Albus could completely agree, though he felt they should add that it could rid you of past  
troubles and pain the way nothing else could. Save perhaps phoenix song.

He poured himself another glass and watched the amber liquid swirl and cast interesting shadows on the wall as it collided with the candlelight. He raised the glass to his lips just as there was a short curt knock on the door. Never one to be caught unawares, the old  
man quickly placed another glass on his desk and said in a composed, collected and most importantly, aware manner.

"Come in Remus."

The door was quickly pushed back on its rusty hinges and a man walked through the door, his black trench coat trailed behind him on the blood red carpet but he seemed not to notice or not to care as may well have been the case had Albus regarded the look in the young man's eyes. Albus was playing host it seemed, he quickly gestured with his hand to indicate that Remus should sit down before he began his tale or rant.

"Well now dear boy, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The old man asked in a jovial tone as a brilliant twinkle entered his dazzling blue eyes.

"Harry!" Remus answered in a voice that didn't sound quite his own. Then almost suddenly he shook his head and said again, in a voice that was very much his own. "Its Harry sir, I do believe that his accidental magic ranks higher than anything we have seen before. I was at the house on duty tonight sir and there was an amazing flash of white light and then the air filled with magic. Pure magic mind you."

Dumbledore grasped his hands together as he lent over the finely crafted desk. He looked as though in thought for a moment. The blue eyes that so amazed everyone who looked at them seemed to shimmer in the dull light before the twinkle returned ten fold and a huge smile became dominant upon his wrinkled face.

"I believe Alastor should be able to provide us with more information regarding this situation Remus. He should be here right about..." The old man pulled a small golden pocket watch from inside the folds of his bright purple robes and admired it for a moment. "Now" he concluded just as the door burst open and an extremely grizzled man burst into the office, brandishing a long thin wooden stick at its occupants.

"Constant vigilance" he murmured before settling down into a seat. 

"Would you care for a drink Alastor, Ogden's finest." he offered with a shake of the decanter in Moody's face. The grizzled warrior nodded his head. "And Remus." he asked, the other man also nodded his head and Dumbledore whipped out another glass, seemingly from nowhere and poured another two generous measures of the amber liquid. Both took their  
glasses respectfully with a nod of thanks to Dumbledore. "Back to business then. Moody would you care to explain why you are currently sat in my office, while school is still in term and also when you should be watching over young Harry."

"His accidental magic is astounding Albus, he made the sky appear as though it was the middle of the day. Complete with sun and blue sky. I also noticed that when this happened the air was filled with magic, pure white magic at that."

"This is interesting to say the least 'power he knows not indeed'" Albus mumbled amiably before taking a long swallow of whiskey then screwing his face up in pain as it burnt its way down the back of his throat before bubbling softly in his stomach. He chuckled to himself as though remembering some joke that had long since passed and indeed he was.

'Lily Potter' he thought. 'She was gifted yes but even she could not block the killing curse and her knowledge of ancient magic's was non-existent. How could I have been such a fool as to believe her capable of doing such a miracle? How many more mothers or fathers have died to protect their children when none of them survived. It seems it does not matter for it was young Harry's doing, though how he did it will require much research maybe the pure magic has something to do to this. No matter it is a problem that can be solved at leisure of course.'

"I do believe gentlemen that we should finish our drinks and go and visit Mr. Potter's current place of residence." There was a murmured agreement until the three unlikeliest of comrades finished their drinks and simultaneously rose from their respective place at the desk. Albus lead the short procession from his office, down his privet staircase, through the entrance hall and out through the great doors into the cold night air beyond. The air seemed to sigh and there was a small flash of light as the three men vanished into the night. 

Back in Privet drive Harry James Potter was also having a good night. He had finished his chores sometime ago and was now sat on his window ledge, his feet dangling precariously over the twenty foot fall that he had edged himself over with his window open. He was not afraid of heights like so many his age, in fact he was quite content to sit there with nothing better to do than swing his legs back and forth in the most repetitive motion he could think of. Harry was special in this way. Many of his peers had un-established fears of spiders or heights or even enclosed spaces. As far as he knew he was not afraid of anything, much less heights, they made him feel so free, so alive. 

The air seemed heavier today than normal for some reason he noted but he could not note what made it this way, after all he was only five, how could he be expected to know something like that. Harry was also special in another way, he was amazingly intelligent and such a   
quick study that his teachers where forced to create special programs for him to follow. The young lad had learnt to read, by himself, at the tender age of three. He had been able to walk for as long as he remembered being at his aunts and uncles but it was more than  
that. Harry could do things people twice his age often had difficulty with, he could multiply easily and new his 1 to 19 times table fluently, he could divide with the same efficiency and in English he could describe with perfect accuracy how and why authors put  
things in certain places. For example the use of short sentences to build tension or longer sentences for description.

He was, to put it unjustly simply, an amazing child. So it was a pity that no-one congratulated him on it. His 'family' seemed to attribute it to freakishness even when they presented no evidence as such and so Harry was ridiculed whenever he did something, if he where to burn the bacon he was a 'freak' if he didn't burn the bacon he was a 'freak'.  
Harry didn't care though, as long as he felt he was doing well nothing else mattered. He had a motive, to make his parents proud of him from their place on high, with this motive Harry was the best at anything he set himself to and no-matter how many people attributed that to 'freakishness' he would not be dissuaded.

It was his own motivation that kept him happy on nights like this when he had been run ragged by his uncle Vernon, nights when he was content to just look out and watch the people on the street below, even if it was raining. He glared, long and hard, at the clouds and they vanished, replaced instead with a bright blue sky and glowing sun. He sat there for a moment content yet again, convinced that it was his head playing tricks on his small mind. Then when after a few minutes he began to worry, had he made the rain and clouds disappear. No he couldn't, could he? No he was being silly, perhaps they had just evaporated or  
something he didn't know.

He gave in, vanishing clouds where not his business and they never would be. He looked on in fascination as three men appeared on his street and at once looked to the sky. The eldest of the three, who also looked the most amazing in bright purple robes with a wispy white   
beard that he could tuck into his belt, shielded his eyes before scrutinizing the houses and eventually looking at Harry before giving a small wave. Harry grinned and waved back, it was only polite after all. The two others averted there eyes from the sky and one of them pulled a stick from the inside of a long coat. He waved it through the air in a long lazy arc that he finished with a short flourish. The effect of which was immediate, the sky turned dark once more, blocking the blue sky and dazzling sun from view and then rain began to fall. Harry pouted, they had only just changed and then he had changed them back.  
That itself was fascinating. The young boy pulled his legs in the window and shut it quietly behind them. He lay his legs along the ledge and went into quiet contemplation.

The three men on Privet drive began there walk to number 4. None of these men had anything in particular against the people who lived in the 'muggle' world as they would say, however as with any rule there where exceptions. This particular rule had three... THE DURSLEYS.   
Harry James Potter's only living relatives and they where muggles, what a disgrace, especially since Lily was the most gifted witch of her age and that was not a title to be taken lightly. The Dursley's where anti-everything that wasn't normal. Hell Vernon Dursley was even anti-imagination if you could believe that. So when he answered the door to his house to find Albus Dumbledore, probably the most eccentric, imaginative and downright weird man in the world standing there you can imagine his reaction.

"Who the hell are you." he screamed loud enough to wake up every person within a three street radius and in fitting with the unsightly figure that was Vernon Dursley, spittle flew from his mouth and his face grew purple. Dumbledore merely smiled in the face of the mammoth man and took a handkerchief from his pocket and proceeded to mop his face which  
was covered in stringy saliva.

"Good evening Mr. Dursley. My name is Albus Dumbledore, on my right is Remus Lupin and on my left Alastor Moody. I would like to ask for a moment of your nephews' time if I may, it shouldn't take long." The fat man, seemed to recognize Albus' name because as soon as it was spoken he visibly paled, all he could do was nod dumbly until Dumbledore finished the introductions at which time he had sense enough to yell for his 'freak'.

"BOY" he screamed. There was no answer except the gentle creaking of floor boards coming from above. At first any of the three men at the door would have mistaken it for a house elf it was that quiet and then they all came to the realization that this was a muggle home and there was no way in hell could it be a house elf. Which left only one possible explanation, it was Harry.

There thoughts where proved correct when a small boy with jet black hair and piercing, Avada Kedavra green eyes moved from the kitchen door to stand in his uncles shadow.

Albus gave a mental gasp of surprise. This was not at all what he had expected the great Harry Potter to be, everything from the bandages caked with blood rapped around his wrists to the shabby and oversized clothes he was wearing screamed negligence. The Unspeakables had said   
his powers where beyond comparison and that he would be the greatest wizard ever to walk the Earth, far above the likes of himself and Tom. So it was a shocker that he seemed so, weak, so defeated and so powerless.

Dumbledore himself had written a thesis on accidental magic and the conclusion he had come to was that, even in its weakest form it manifested itself as a healing attribute. This was the most common, of course there where others. Albus had, in his youth inflated a cat when it had hissed and scratched at him. Tom or Lord Voldermort had used much more destructive powers, those of control and manipulation which had not even been deemed possible and of course these two great sorcererors had never displayed the rudimentary form of accidental magic.

But that was neither here nor there, and so it was with a deep sigh that Dumbledore began to speak with the boy, after commanding his 'Uncle' away.

"Harry Potter, it is a pleasure to see you again dear boy my name is Profess..." Harry had extended his hand and shook Dumbledore's while he was making introductions. That is until Harry briskly cut him off.

"Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Dumbledore. Yes sir I remember you quite well. You haven't changed since the last time I saw you in fact. Upon this very doorstep I do believe was the last time we saw one another. Though I dare say that things have changed a little  
since then." Now Dumbledore was reeling, as if staggered by a blow from the heavy weight champion. How was it that Harry remembered him, had the Order informed him, possible but not likely. Did the young boy really have that good a memory, to remember his full name just from face alone?

It was all Dumbledore could do to nod; he was not ready for that. He composed himself a little more and looked down with a smile, young Harry was gifted.

"How well you remember Harry, and you are correct in what you assume, times have indeed changed for the better I might add. We have come to enquire as to the clouds?"

"The clouds sir, what about them?" Harry asked confused, he had seen the night sky vanish but that was seen by everyone. Wasn't it? Was Dumbledore here to punish him for making the sky disappear?

"I mean to say Harry that there was a lack of clouds here until Alastor, that is Alastor Moody fixed them but a moment ago. It is my feeling that the appearance of a bright and sunny day at eleven o'clock at night was caused by you. Now do not worry, you are in no  
trouble however what you did was quite perplexing, tell me dear Harry. Do you know what magic is?"

Harry looked at Dumbledore as though he had gone senile, which perhaps he had at some stage during his 160 year life span. Magic! He had read the word so many times. Always in story books designed to entertain and nothing more, Harry wasn't gullible like the other kids. He had no delusions of becoming Superman, or He-Man or any other great hero that existed only in fairy tales. No quite the contrary, Harry was looking forward to a fairly normal life...well sort of.

"Magic. Professor is a tool used by Tolkein and Smith, it is designed to give children a feeling of amazement and is more often than not used as a medium for the standing of racial, sexual or political equality. Nothing more."

"How very wrong you are Harry!" Dumbledore said with a smile as he produced his long thin wand and waved it gracefully through the air. A stream of red sparks followed the curve and then formed into a flock of birds that took flight immediately. Now it was Harry's turn to stand looking as foolish as he felt at that moment. He had seen magic before, the cheap parlor tricks performed by men in tuxedos with a flare for dramatics, each and every time Harry had been able to point out what was really happening. The secret compartment, the quick concealment in the hand, anything. But here and now, this was real, no doubt about it.

There was a huge flash of white light that momentarily blinded Dumbledore and his associates in which time all Dumbledore could think was that he had to protect Harry. He lunged forwards seeking to wrap the boy close to his chest. His heart fell when his hands  
met only air and in that instant, Dumbledore knew he had failed.

"Lily, James, forgive me." He murmured as his already crooked nose became more so as it slammed into the Dursley's hardwood kitchen floor.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2: The Return To Hogwarts_

Dumbledore had been forced to acknowledge that Harry was indeed gone and perhaps was never to return, he had given an interview to the Daily Prophet and told them as such. Of course the journalist had dug into everything personal about the young lad and had somehow managed to discover how his accidental magic was the most powerful to ever have held a place upon the Earth. So of course the disappearance of young Harry had made the front page, replacing the Weird Sisters sex scandal which was thought to be the juiciest gossip of the year.

The words on everyone's lips were "Where is Harry Potter?" Indeed even Albus was asking himself the same thing upon his return to Hogwarts. The most dominant of his thoughts where that some of Voldermort's Death Eaters had taken him in an attempt to gain retribution for felling there master. Aside from this the thoughts grew more and more absurd until the point that there was no point in even continuing them.

The headmaster was at a loss. He had been the one to go to the boy's house to try and explain some things to him and get some things in perspective, he had not been able to find a trace of the amazing child even when using tracking spells that focused in on the magical signature and that wasn't even the worst part. He had been accompanied by two of the best trackers he had ever known. Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody hunted people for a living. He had recently tracked a Death Eater over six continents following only the most minute of portkey and appiration trails.

Then there was Remus, the Lycanthrope, he had been able to follow a single rat through the sewers thanks to his acute senses. There where few werewolves like him, those who had been turned so young that the wolf had become a part of them and them apart of it, but not one of the three could find Harry it was simply as though he had vanished from existence.

So Dumbledore mourned, for three solid days and four of the longest nights in his life he wept into his wrinkled hands bringing himself together just enough to get absolutely plastered on as many bottles of Whiskey, Rum and Vodka as he could conjure. For many months afterwards he wore clothes of the purest black which confused the students to no ends. It was very unlike Dumbledore to wear anything other than the most colorful ensemble he could think of, so black robes made them think long and hard.

Remus Lupin had done the same thing but for much longer. His drinking binge lasted almost two weeks before he pulled himself together enough to look for another job and return to his shabby one bed roomed apartment. Remus was not usually a drinker and it reflected in his ability to be pissed after a meager two shots of the strongest drink he could find.

The only time other than this he had drunk so much had been after Lily and James' deaths and Sirius' imprisonment. He had always thought Sirius to be a good man, one who would never betray his best friend, one he loved as a brother. He had often proclaimed that he would much rather die than stand alongside Voldemort and against his friends.

James and Lily had done just that, they had openly defied Voldemort three times and each time had escaped barely usually thanks to James' ability to transport himself and others regardless of the situation. It was when Voldemort had come to their home that they had been unable to flee; the appiration wards around the house prevented that means of escape. James had stood against the Dark Lord that much was clear because of the signs of struggle downstairs. The smashed pictures and broken vases and the undiluted stench of dark magic stood testimony to James' last stand as it would for ever be known to Remus.

Lily had survived a little longer. She had taken the young babe with her and protected it even when her last breath was snatched away by the killing curse. Remus had seen this as well, when he had visited the house after Hagrid had gone on Sirius' motorcycle not too long before Sirius had killed Peter Pettigrew.

There was no doubt as to Sirius' betrayal. The Potters had discussed it with Dumbledore while Remus was there; Dumbledore had even offered to be their secret keeper and the only one to be able to divulge the secret that was Godric's Hollow. James had flat out refused and insisted that it be Sirius, his long time friend and fellow pureblood. Remus had not been envious in the slightest, to hold the burden of a fidelius was a mighty one at that at he already had his own problems to contest with.

Now Harry was gone, the Marauders where truly dead. The once proud four had fallen, two of those to death, one to the horrors of Azkaban and the last to an irreversible condition that threatened to kill at every viable opportunity. The young Prongs which they had all hoped would take up the mantle had vanished into oblivion without a trail to sniff out or even the smallest trace of magic to follow and to it was with a heavy heart that Remus R.J Lupin toasted out the Marauders at every muggle pub in London.

Years had passed since Dumbledore had finished his mourning for the Potter patriarch and yet he still wondered what it would be like if he had been at the school. Would he have died when the chamber of secrets was opened in what would have been his second year? Perhaps he would have, but then again if he was anywhere near as powerful as he should have been a basilisk would have fallen to him without problem.

That was something Dumbledore would be forever curious about. The Chamber of Secrets. How had it come to be opened? How had the sixty foot basilisk inside it been slaughtered with no visible victim in that cavernous chamber. It had been killed there was no doubt there, its blood coated the walls as far as the entrance. The sight and the stench of death had caused many of the Professor's to be violently sick when they had ventured down into the depths. Finding, by a miraculous stroke of luck, the door to the girl's bathroom on the third floor wide open with a deep crevasses descending from one of the sinks deep into the pit of Salazar.

Ginerva Molly Weasley had been found at the foot of the dark wizard's statue, unconscious though she sported no wounds of any kind. It was obvious that the girl had not killed the creature. She had neither the knowledge nor the skill to do such a thing; she was also a first year. It was physically and magically impossible for her to do, and to spill so much blood, it was quite a scene to behold. So the year ended with Ginny Weasley going home to the 'Burrow' as it was known, the only person with any knowledge of the person who had defeated the basilisk, she had readily given all she knew to Dumbledore but it seemed as though he could find no-one who matched the description.

He recalled very well what she had said. He had submitted it to his pensieve in fact so that he could review it at his leisure, from the girls' point of view of course.

The figure stood in the gloom just aside from the statue of Salazar Slytherin. It seemed he was patient for he neither moved nor spoke to decrease his boredom, even when the chamber doors where open and the girl ran in he didn't shift, he merely waited with his face hidden behind the folds of a hood and the deepest of shadows.

She scurried forward and bowed low to the massive statue of her long dead master. It was only when she looked up again did she notice the figure, stood stock still, impassive with folded arms crossing his chest. Her shock was apparent to anyone who was their to see, her mouth hung agape and her eyes bulged with surprise. It was only then the figure moved out into the open and still she could not make out his face.

"Who are you?" she hissed viscously. The fact that she was being controlled seemed obvious now. It was Lord Voldemort's greatest ability. To possess and manipulate and finally to kill all who opposed him, little Ginerva Weasley was far too weak to resist his wiles.

"My name is of no importance." The figure hissed back. "I am only here for the snake, call it so that I might kill it in this place." Voldemort stiffened his grasp on the young girl's soul. No one spoke ill of the great basilisk which had been gifted to Hogwarts by the greatest of the four founders. His blood red eyes narrowed and he stared the man down, to which the other man only chuckled. Voldemort was furious, how dare some lowly mortal chuckle in his divine presence. He turned sharply away from the man and once more to the great statue that overshadowed everything else in the chamber.

"Speak to me Slytherin. Greatest of the Hogwarts four." He intoned, there was a huge rumble in which the statues mouth slid open and a huge basilisk slithered onto the ground before Ginerva who held her eyes tight shut.

"Kill him!" she yelled pointing at the figure that had drawn a long broadsword from his person while the creature was being summoned. The basilisk seemed to observe the weapon for a moment before lunging with bared teeth towards the small figure.

What happened next would stay with Albus for the rest of his days. The figure twirled away from the great snake as though in a dance and in the same flourish hacked a great scar along its left flank. The mighty creature roared as its blood spilled out onto the chamber floor, it splashed among its swamp green scales but most importantly it gushed out onto its attacker. His perfect black robes where covered in the oozing blood and before long his hands had the same red coating them. The snake whipped its tail around to try and crush the warrior against its own naturally strong body. Again the man did not seem perturbed in the slightest as he quickly dived away and ripped the end of the tail of with a powerful downward stroke of his blade.

Again the beast roared in anger and pain. The warrior seemed to pause only then to admire his handiwork it seemed as though he was disappointed because it was only after he saw the ferocious cuts did he really begin to fight. He lunged into battle, transferring the huge sword he carried to a single handed grip and drew another from his back. The snake had no chance; the warrior was far too skilled and attacked with flawless grace. The two cuts that the basilisk had suffered quickly turned to a hundred that would kill the creature eventually. Its blood coated the two swords that he carried, they gleamed oddly in the dim light cast by the torches adorning the walls that where thick with blood. There was stillness now, quietness in the chamber that Albus would never have deemed possible while he was listening to Ginerva screaming and hearing the basilisk call for the death of a mortal.

The figure fell to his knees and began the meticulous work of cleaning the two huge swords in his grasp. This alone took him more time than killing the basilisk had, but when he had finished he slid them back into sheathes under his stained robes. Albus found it strange that he had taken such care over his weapons when he took almost none in his own hygiene it seemed. When this was done he approached Ginny, silently drawing a long knife from his belt. The dagger was the only weapon of this mans that Albus had seen up close. It was, put frankly, a work of art. The curve on the blade was perfectly rounded so that it would slip around the warriors arm without drawing attention to the fact that it was a lethal weapon. It also appeared expensive from the jewels that adorned the hilt and more likely then not it was blessed and carried more enchantments then Albus would care to address.

He approached the girl with grace and poise, not quite like an aristocrat would a dinner party but more like a panther would a sleeping gazelle. The Voldermort induced girl was not about to stop him, it was taking too much to control the girl anyway so he fled back into his book which the girl carried in her robes. There was a shake of the head as the hunter got nearer, with one last step he dived towards the girl and extracted the book with perfected ease. The dagger in his hand lashed out in a flash of silver, there was a spurt of ink as it was retracted, the once pristine diary of Tom Riddle now had a gaping wound through its centre. Dumbledore watched fascinated as the book began to leak dark magic, he had seen the memory before of course but always left him with a sense of fulfillment to know that Lord Voldemort could be destroyed even from beyond the grave.

A smile on his face Albus watched the rest of the memory play out. The book was discarded mere feet away from the girl who had passed out due to the release of Dark magic. The warrior was left to go about his business with no more screams from the young girl, he walked calmly to the corpse of the basilisk and took out one of its huge front fangs before rooting around in the back of the mouth and pulling out a smaller one that he attached to a thin piece of cord around his neck that seemed to hold other, still bloody teeth, no doubt from similar incursions with other beasts.

He pocketed the huge fang and then vanished away into the darkness, leaving Albus alone in the vast chamber for mere moments before he vanished from the chamber of secrets and re-appeared back in his lavishly decorated office.

That had been a little more than two years ago. He had seen the figure since then but had this time met him in person, it was only then that Albus had learned his identity. It was slightly after the Tri-wizard tournament, the event had gone off without a hitch for the most part. Students had gathered from the three most prestigious wizarding schools in the world Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and of course Hogwarts to take part, in the end the three champions had been chosen as Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons and the legendary Viktor Krum of Durmstrang.

It had been a close event between the two males all the way through but in the end it was Cedric who grabbed the cup and what a near-fatal mistake that proved to be. The Tri-wizard cup, which had been placed in the centre of a huge maze as the target for the third task, had turned out to be an unauthorized portkey. One that transported young Cedric to the graveyard in which Lord Voldemort's father rested in peace. It was Lord Voldemort's logic therefore that the one best equipped to fell him in the future would be a student who was chosen as the most powerful by the goblet of fire and the one who would eventually win the tournament.

To Albus Dumbledore this also appeared to be good logic however it was connivance to Albus that Voldemort did not now that the long dead Harry Potter would be the only one to kill him, so no matter how powerful Cedric would become he would never defeat the Dark Lord. This was in turn good because Cedric as it turned out would never have been strong enough to defeat Lord Voldemort even without the prophecy.

The Dark Lord did not however count on the 'Dark Hunter' as Dumbledore had taken to calling him being there but in an amazing stroke of luck he was, that is luck for Cedric. He had been standing in the graveyard as far as Dumbledore knew from Diggory's memory, waiting patiently as it seemed was his trademark. He had taken Cedric from the tombstone where he had been bound by a small fat man with rat like features. The pair would have been able to escape Scot free had Voldermort not noticed what was happening.

The man, while cradling the injured Cedric to his chest drew a long blade from his back, not dissimilar to those used in the chamber of secrets but slightly longer and a good deal thinner with a slight curve, not unlike the Japanese katana. The servant of Lord Voldermort unleashed a barrage of dark curses that polluted the air; the 'Hunter' parried them all with but a twist of his wrist in one direction or another. They bounced away harmlessly and destroyed tombstones that occupied the graveyard. The servant flinched and with his arm twitching violently let a bundle of towels drop from his arm into the cauldron that simmered beside him. There was an unearthly scream coming from the water but the man seemed not to notice or not to care, Cedric on the other hand wrapped his hands around his ears while trying to steady himself.

There was a long hiss from the pot when a bone was raised from the ground beneath and deposited into its murky depths; blue sparks showered the area surrounding. The servant was covered in them, they burned his skin but he didn't seem foolish enough to break off what he was saying in favor of screaming. The screaming coming from the cauldron lessened but where still present and Cedric still dare not remove his hands nor dare he look away from the revival of one of the most feared men in history.

The screams began again with more intensity when the servants joined the fold. He had needlessly cut off his left hand with the other and dropped it into the cauldron which now glowed a startling blood red that cut the darkness of the night, through the screams Cedric could here his continued mutterings then surprisingly the man took the dagger in his remaining hand once more and slit the flesh just above the stump, the crimson liquid flowed from both wounds into the cauldron. The effect of the action was instantaneous, the liquid turned pure white and then a huge flash of white blanketed the graveyard. Diamond sparks jumped from the surface of the water and flashed in the air, everything else suddenly seemed so dark.

'It's failed' Cedric thought triumphantly. Then as quickly as they came the sparks where no more instead there was a snake like hiss of steam and even in the blanket of white Cedric could see the figure. The black outline that defined a man, with wiry spider like appendages.

"Robe me." A voice hissed and in that moment, Cedric's blood ran as ice. Lord Voldermort was reborn. He felt the arms around him slacken and then he was dropped to the floor with a thud. The Dark Lord turned his attention to the two of them and his flat, snake like face contorted into a would be smile. "My wand Wormtail" he commanded, the rat handed over the long slender piece of wood and that was all Cedric knew. He had felt the tug upon his navel but had failed to notice the wand in the hand of his friend, his savior. The cup was a two way Portkey, he knew it because the handle dug into his chest when he landed on the grass of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. He staggered to his feet as best he could given the nights events and exclaimed in his loudest and most commanding voice.

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back" Then he fell, only half remembering that he had been caught in strong muscled arms.

The 'Dark Hunter' had come to Hogwarts. Albus recalled after his viewing of Cedric Diggory's memory. He had been the one to catch the young boy when he had fallen, holding him in stiff arms so as not to let him hit the ground.

The stands overlooking the tournament had broken into uproar and Minister Fudge had come traversing from their peak, lime green bowler hat spinning between his sweaty palms, a distinct note that he was not pleased with what had occurred.

"Dumbledore what is the meaning of this?" He yelled over the commotion but not putting an end to any of it. Children ran amok diving from the tiered seating to the safe retreat of the castle not too far away; they fled as though Voldermort where already biting there heels. Adults, in particular Amos Diggory ran forward to see Cedric's condition. The 'Dark Hunter' willingly gave him back to his father but even this did not stop the barrage of questions.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore boomed, at once everything stopped. The students paused mid stride to listen to the headmaster speak and the adults ceased their questioning. "Everything shall be reviewed when we reach the castle, come now quickly." He snapped, the children once more began there flee to the castle but this time in a much more controlled and orderly fashion. The adults walked behind them speaking in hushed tones while Amos Diggory hefted his son up onto his shoulder and waked away without a word. Only two people remained the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher and the 'Dark Hunter'.

Dumbledore turned back to see them standing there, facing each other down without a care for what was happening around them. "Alastor." Dumbledore shouted, neither head twitched at the name, it seemed as though neither cared about the powerful wizard. "ALASTOR!" Dumbledore yelled again not quite in the mood for silly games with his friend. Much to Dumbledore's surprise it was the 'Dark Hunter' that turned to face him.

"That is not Alastor Moody, Dumbledore, it is Barty Crouch Jr. The most faithful of the Dark Lord's servants. I have him in a full body bind now if you would please cast the spell to remove the effects of Polyjuice potion." The old mage was confused for a moment, that was the moment before he drew his wand and flicked it at his long time friend. The effect was gradual but it was there, the skin melted away as though wax to a flame and standing in Moody's place was indeed Barty Crouch Jr. With another long flick of his wand ropes where produced and bound themselves around the imposter.

With a stutter in his voice Dumbledore spoke up. "Who are you?" There was a long moments pause before and hand rose to the dark folds of the hood that concealed the mans face. With a flourish it was removed and a face was produced to the world, a ruggedly handsome face that held green eyes and jet black hair. The most outlining feature however was not the piercing Avada Kedavra green eyes that bored into Albus' skull with every second he observed them. No, the most prominent feature was the lightening bolt scar upon his forehead, the mark of the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Harry?" Dumbledore spoke at last, his voice cracking with emotion. He had thought the boy dead but now here he was. Standing before him with a wand in hand and wearing jet black robes he had thought belonged to some masterful warrior. Oh how right he was, Dumbledore had seen him perform and he was indeed a master at the dance of Death.

"The one and same Professor. I shall see you in September then; I do think it's about time that I rejoined my schooling, don't you?" Albus gave a sharp nod before the boy melted away into the shadows all around.

Two months had passed since that day and Albus was eagerly reading the Daily Prophet that had just been slammed heartily on his desk by Professor Hagrid. The giant sized man had a grin plastered to his huge face that was most common with the grounds keeper and care of magical creatures professor but this one was special, reserved only for Harry Potter, it was the same smile he had given the babe just before their parting fourteen years ago and now it was back in full swing.

Dumbledore had posted Harry his book list for his fifth year at Hogwarts a little over a week ago, it seemed that Harry Potter had gone almost immediately to Diagon Alley and collected his school things. The Daily Prophets headline was an obvious one but it got straight to the point. _Boy-Who-Lived-Lives? _It had then gone on to describe the boy's journey throughout the wizarding Alley no doubt being hassled by reporters every step of the way. As Albus read deeper into the article he noticed that there where no comments about where he had been or what he had done while away.

'The child is allowed some secrets' he thought pleasantly while handing the paper back to Hagrid who bounced on the balls of his feet with eager anticipation. Immediately Dumbledore understood what he wanted to ask, it was tradition for all students beginning their first year at Hogwarts to travel to the castle by boat. This was Harry's first year but he was supposed to be in fifth, still it was not a difficult decision.

"Hagrid you may indeed bring young mister Potter to the castle by boat." The old man said pleasantly, Hagrid's smile cracked and he sought to wring Dumbledore's hands while mumbling

Thanks incoherently.

School was due to be starting soon. A little over a week away in fact, there was no sign of Harry Potter since his trip around Diagon Alley in the beginning of the week. Monday in fact, it was now Sunday and the train would leave Kings Cross station on the following Sunday. Albus was not worried after all the child had spent his entire life away from the wizarding world with no hope of being found by them it only seemed right that he kept his air of mystique.

Harry Potter was in fact a million miles away from Hogwarts. Sat on his huge bed and thumbing through his transfiguration text for his coming year at Hogwarts, he had already covered the material years ago so it seemed stupid that he was returning to Hogwarts now. This is true; returning to Hogwarts to study things he already knew was incredibly stupid, however returning to the magical world to give the people hope was another thing entirely.

There was a sharp 'thud' from the door and Harry stood, clad in long black silken robes that easily concealed the many weapons that he held about his body. He walked from the large room with a panther like animal at his heels; indeed it was easily mistakable as one except for the fact that it was at least twice the size and had smoke rising from a set of intimidating fangs.

Harry paid the large creature no heed as he made his way down to the dining chamber where he would sit with his grandfather and only his grandfather, the king of theses lands and the Lord Sorcerer. People stopped their travels and bowed to him as he moved along the corridor. He was well respected in this castle, as a prince should be.

He threw open the grand doors not being in a patient enough mood to wait for the servants to do it. He looked to the king who gestured him into a seat at his right; the man wasn't actually his grandfather he had just appointed himself as such when Harry had first come to these lands at the kings whim.

"Do you resent the choices I have made Prince?" The older man asked with a cool deep voice that could soothe all those around him or rage them into battle at a moments notice. This was his everyday greeting and he had asked the same question since Harry was brought here at the tender age of five and always Harry replied in the same way.

"No" The king had been hard on him yes, he had pushed him to new levels of power and of skill that others dreamed of but for all of this Harry was thankful. He had known the prophecy since he was seven, his attention to detail to never make a mistake, his motive they had all only increased because of it. That motive had driven Harry beyond the skill of even the most feared soldiers and hero's and had ultimately earned him the title of the Prince. He had learned everything he knew from the finest tutors or directly from the king. He had learnt to kill with efficiency or to draw out death so as to impose fear in his enemies.

He had killed to rise to where he was now, and he would do it again. Without the remorse perhaps because now he knew that any one of the others would have killed him without any, that thought comforted him, every time he drew his blade or cast a spell with that evil intent he knew that his adversary would kill him without hesitation and so he never hesitated either.

He had killed the head of the king's guard when he was eleven and even this was not the first time he had taken a human life. No that had come at the age of seven; he had dueled a man to death, had taken the soldier to his knees and decapitated him in under a minute. He had wept for a week because of this, taking the life of a man was so much more different than taking the life of an animal. He had killed his first beast at six and had not shed a tear; he had instead feasted upon its carcass.

These thoughts where not to be expressed at the dinner table, this much Harry knew from past experience so he let them slide away from his conscious mind at the moment. He waited patiently for the king to give the word to eat, if he jumped in he would be punished, again Harry knew this from experience so he waited and the king only saw fit to test his patience. Eventually the king gave in with a smile and hastily ripped chucks of chicken from a platter in front of him, Harry followed though not with the gusto that the king displayed.

When the meal was done and the king was happily patting his stomach in thanks to the cook he started up the conversation again but his words fell into the air like the killing curse.

"Prince, we are to do battle then one month from today!" he exclaimed. Harry nodded he knew this already. He would attain his grand master degrees on the same day if he felled his lord and this was one of the things Harry had been waiting for. The chance to show his grandfather what he was truly capable of, that was if the old man did the same. He would take the crown and the title of grand sorcerer from him and if he had to pry those titles from his cold dead fingers than so be it.

"Do you fear death Prince?" He asked in a steely voice. Harry answered with a cold long laugh, he was still the same person he had been at Privet Drive, and he still feared absolutely nothing. He looked at the king with an inferno blazing in his emerald green eyes and the king knew his answer. No, he feared nothing. That was what had made him the greatest warrior in his kingdom.

The king was similar to Harry although whereas Harry was completely fearless the king held one fear. A fear that everyone except Harry could have, it was a fear of that boy. The one who held more power than Merlin, who had a greater knowledge of spells than Dumbledore and Voldemort and who was a more fearsome warrior than any shinobi, samurai or assassin could ever hope to be. Oh yes the king feared Harry James Potter….the one his people had named….the grand dragon of death.

The night had come and young Harry was packing. He could have used magic to get the trunk packed a million times faster and probably neater to boot however he felt that would be over doing the magic and when he used his hands it seemed more personal and gave him a greater sense of achievement. He slipped a collection of his own blades into the bottom and strapped longer daggers to the sides, these where naturally concealed by his robes and other clothes.

'The best hiding place is often out in the open!' he assured himself mentally, and he believed this. He had hidden himself in the centre of countless fights and battles people had never found him unless it was his wish to be found. He had done it the night of Voldemort's rebirth, right in the centre of the graveyard and yet behind a tomb. There where thousands of monuments, each the same he would never have been found and he could kill from the shadows.

Cedric had changed all of that, his appearance was an unforeseen factor and Harry had taken it upon himself to save him, even if he didn't know the boy. If the Hufflepuff had not shown up in the graveyard things would have gone much smoother and more than six death eaters would have fallen.

How he cursed himself for that, he had let an enemy live. Granted he had seriously wounded Voldemort just after he had attained his new body, but the odds had not been in his favor and he didn't have the element of surprise so he had retreated to Hogwarts to check that the boy was ok and to see the castle he would come to school in. It was nice he would grant that, perhaps not as grand as the one he currently occupied but it was nice all the same. The 'Grand Dragon of Death' had also spoken with Dumbledore, he had seemed a nice enough bloke and powerful as well for someone who lived in that realm, he was looking forward to Hogwarts even if he would not say so. That did not mean however, that he would make friends, he had lived fifteen years of his life without any and he would not seek them now.

When Harry had all of his things packed away he slipped the pair of curved swords from his back and lent them against the wall no more than a foot from his bed. Then he began with meticulous care the delicate removal of his knives, they slipped from hidden sheathes on his wrists, from a belt under the lining of his robe bottoms from his ankle and straps around the inside of his boot. He tossed them onto his bedside table and then removed his clothes, with a sigh of contentment he clambered into his bed.

Even the keenest of eyes would have missed the dagger strapped to his back. The long leather straps running around to his front tying with a well hitched belt buckle, the sheath itself was nothing extraordinary a simple design of brown leather it was practical not fashionable. The blade was a different matter; it was the first weapon Harry had ever held built for an obvious sole purpose…to kill. The blade was single edged and serrated, it fit perfectly around the crook of his arm and had spilled the life blood of more than thirty men and more than a hundred beasts including a nundu. It had a poison coating the tip, the most potent poison Harry had ever mixed.

It had basilisk poison mixed with powdered crystallized nundu breath bathed under the full moon for two nights before and three after, in both Lycan and Vampire blood. It had taken him nearly a year to get the measurements exact enough so that the nundu's breath wouldn't simply destroy everything. But it had been worth it, the poison had killed its first victim in under a minute and the only cure Harry knew for it was Phoenix tears, he kept a fresh supply around his belt just incase he somehow screwed up when using the blade.

That dagger was Harry's favorite weapon. It was the first he had used in single combat and he was masterful with it, to watch Harry gut someone with it was like watching poetry unfold before the eyes. To see the flash of silver and then the spurt of crimson that always followed it was a magic unto itself. It had only failed him once, when he had fought Voldemort with it on the night of his rebirth but Harry could not have prepared for that. The poison in that blade had entered Voldemort's system but it had not killed him, the-Boy-Who-Lived had his theory's on why but he always came to the same conclusion when he remembered the glowing red eyes and the flat snake like face.

"There's not enough human in him to die like that!" he whispered before falling into an easy slumber.

The Hogwarts express churned to life at eleven sharp on the beautiful morning of the first of September. Harry had somehow managed to find a compartment to himself and was reveling in it. He had not slept for long the night before and was at the platform almost an hour early, he was on the train trunk and all before most of the students had even cared to show up.

He watched idly as the puffs of white smoke over head became more and more and the train drifted away from the station separating parents from children for another year, or at least until the holidays came around. Harry knew he would not return to his home for the holidays, he had no intention to be surrounded by the idiots and morons who occupied the palace, it was in his nature to help people but those people, they resented him, hated him because he was foreign he would gladly murder them all in cold blood.

Instead young Harry slept, his mind churning with thoughts of the school year to come. The fact that most of the student body would resent and shun him because he had been brought up to kill and they lived in a world of morals where that was wrong. He didn't especially care, how did it become their place to care when they had not saved him in fifteen years. He could dimension hop, he had learned to do it by the time he was ten, how was it that he could escape his dimension but they couldn't come to the rescue. So he had stayed away from earth for as long as he could. He had traveled the other dimensions, seen things people can only dream of, learned things people only imagine until he was sent on a task. To kill his second basilisk, he had gone to Slytherin's chamber and slaughtered the beast and escaped the plane of mortals a further time. Now he was returning to it with the sole intent of killing his enemy. The man who slaughtered his parents, the Dark Lord.

Lord Voldemort

Tom Marvolo Riddle.

So it was with many thoughts that he slept thoughts of murder and bloodshed of green lights and screams until it came to a very abrupt end with the gentle sliding of the compartment door. He snapped up, his eyes still fuzzy from the brief nap he had endured but none the less he could see the three figures in his door way become less and less hazy by the second.

"And just who the fuck are you?" he asked with a hint of cold hard steel to his voice. The leader of this so called group or gathering or whatever the fuck Harry would come to call it in the future just gave him a smirk. Who the fuck smirked at him? 'Jesus this kid must have his head up his ass for the warmth' he thought with a mental smirk of his own.

"My name is Draco Malfoy and I'm here to extend the hand of friendship to Harry Potter if you are he!" The blond drawled still with that annoying smirk on his pale little face.

"Yeah I am Harry Potter and you just woke me up so you better piss off before I slam your face into a wall!" Harry said all of this in a calm and collect voice that seemed to shudder the two thugs either side of him but the ghost boy only looked insulted for a moment before drawing his wand.

"How dare you threaten me!" he snarled, pieces of spittle flying every which way from his mouth. "I am a Malfoy learn to speak to your betters with respect. Rictus…" The heir of Malfoy was cut of when he was hefted by his throat into a wall and his head slammed into it with such force that it crumbled leaving the boy slumped by the neck into crumbling wood and plaster. The two fat boys either side took this as a sign to attack and immediately lunged at Harry who grabbed both of their punches with open palms before closing his own over them and forced them to the ground with a sickening crack of bone and squelch of torn flesh and muscle. The entire incident was over in less than a minute and The-Boy-Who-Lived was forced to find a new compartment as his would soon need to be refurbished.

With a clunk he dragged his trunk from the overhead storage compartment and hefted it onto his shoulder while walking down the aisle whistling a tune as he proceeded to find a compartment with either no people in it or a single person. The search was short lived as he came to a compartment only three doors down that had a lone girl in it, he walked in not bothering to disturb her as she looked quite immersed in her magazine: _The Quibbler _he noticed it was called. There was a loud thunk when he threw his trunk up onto the rack; the girl looked at him appreciatively.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked in his most polite voice so as not to offend the girl, though he would sit down whatever she said. That much was obvious as he had already put his trunk away and had sat down on the side opposite her.

"Be my guest." She said in a dreamy voice. "After all its bad look to keep standing when the nargle's are in season don't you know?" Harry looked at her for a moment, he wasn't shocked or perturbed he just looked; finally he said to the back of the magazine that she had hidden behind once more.

"The nargle's won't dare come near me. I killed their leader and put its tooth around my neck." He said with a smile, the blond haired girl didn't even look up from her magazine so Harry took that as a sign that she either didn't believe him or that she just wasn't bothered. There was a crunch of material when he shifted his weight to lie along the length of the seat and once more went to sleep.

The vicious squeal of brakes awoke him this time and he snapped up. His senses attuned as to what was wrong, the feeling of dread squeezing at his stomach and twisting it until it was replaced by nausea and cold. _Dementors _he thought even as they entered the train.

"Why are Dementors on the train?" he asked the girl who he could see even in the gloom was shacking badly. She was mumbling something; she was weak against them, against their power. He whipped out his wand with a flourish and a great beam of silver wrapped itself around her small body. Immediately she looked up, free of the cold, free of the screams and accusations she heard in her head.

"Why are Dementors on the train?" he asked in a calm, cool voice. She looked at him; she had never seen someone so collect in the presence of the Dementors of the demons that tormented her. She must have seemed so weak to him, to fall to pieces like that even when they where so far away. With a tremble in her voice she spoke.

"They search for Sirius Black, he escaped Azkaban and the guards seek his soul."

Harry left the compartment and walked out into the corridor the long black of his cloak flowing about him with power. Long whips of electricity flew from his body signaling magical discharge, only the greatest wizards could do it and his whips where at feet seven feet long and cracked in the air. He looked to the Dementors with hatred and loathing on his face and in a booming voice he commanded.

"None of us hide Sirius Black under our cloaks so you would do best to leave us in peace lest I leave you in pieces." The Dementors extracted themselves from carriages and compartments and moved towards him. His long slender fingers reached inside his robes around his neck and pulled out a jet black bauble. The demons faltered for a moment before falling forwards and letting out deep lingering sighs. "LEAVE!" he roared a final time and they did just that without another look into the carriages they left the train.

With heavy steps he walked back into his compartment, took a long bar from his robes and handed it to the girl. "Eat you will feel better" he said urging her. He fell into his seat once more and watched her eat, making sure that she took all of the chocolate, after a moment she asked.

"How did you do that?" At his confused expression she elaborated. "How did you make them flee so easily? Can it be learnt?"

"I hold their kings soul around my neck. They will do as I command because I bested him in single combat and embedded his soul. There are ways to combat a Dementor though and they can be learned I will teach you if you so desire?" The end posed more of a question than a statement and the young girl nodded her head furiously.

"What is your name?" he asked suddenly curious in her mood swings and why the Dementors had affected her so badly. A name is often an answer to such questions even if it is not intended to be.

"Luna Lovegood" she answered proudly. _That explains it then _he thought. _Her mother died in a spell accident and she lives with her dad. She hadn't gotten over her mothers death even if she says she has to her friends._ He nodded his head to her and went back to the laborious task of sleeping.

The train pulled into station and Harry climbed off easily. He left his trunk on the train much to his dismay but already had his dagger and swords strapped about his body. Luna walked away from him and went over to a ginger haired girl that was getting onto a carriage. The boy moved away from the hustle and bustle closer to a huge man that was standing almost silently except for the occasional call of first years.

The troll sized man looked down at him with a huge grin on his face. "Your not a first year." He said happily. "So that must make you Harry Potter." A t Harry's nod he was enveloped in a huge from the giant man. "I 'member you from whe'n ye was just a babe." He said proudly, Harry looked at his face and deep into his eyes. He had a knack for people he had met before, even if he was just a 'babe'.

"Reabeus Hagrid." He said evenly even though the air had been crushed from his lungs only moments before. The giant man smiled at him once more and then lead the way over to some boats that where moored on the shore line of Hogsmade village. Hagrid clambered into the lead one and Harry took the one next to his all to himself.

"Four to a boat!" he heard Hagrid yell over the nervous chatter of the first years. Some approached Harry's boat but with a single scathing look they where sent scattering to find other boats. When the students had all found a boat they slowly pulled away, a small wake forming behind the huge triangle formation. Harry watched impassive for the most part as the boats navigated themselves threw the lake and then silhouetted against the moonlight it appeared.

Hogwarts castle stood tall, proud even surrounded by acres upon acres of land until the forbidden forest stopped the grounds at one end and the Black lake the other. Harry gave an appreciative whistle while the other children gave respective ohh's and ahhh's.

The small fleet of boats ended their short journey in an underground dock, it was only small compared to Hogwarts though realistically it could have happily housed large sea faring galleons of old, the ones pirates used to hold their plunder while out on the ocean. Harry figured it maybe had once, along time ago been used for that very purpose but thought no more of it when the staircase at the end of the chamber was descended by a severe looking woman who wore sharp glasses and carried herself with amazing grace and poise.

_Minerva McGonagall _He recalled, she spoke few words and lead the procession of small children up the stairs she had just walked down, they came out into a large hallway and where told to wait until they where called. Harry stood their happily he knew what was about to happen though no-one could speak of it thanks to an old charm placed upon the sorting hat by the founders of old. They would be sorted with the hat on their heads, they had no say in what happened then it was all down to what the hat saw in your soul.

Vaguely he heard the stern witch call the first years and he followed in at the very end of the queue. They marched up onto the stage like soldiers going proudly to their deaths indeed some of them looked as though that was the case. They dripped sweat and reeked of fear, Harry had smelled it so many times he almost tasted it when it was close. He enjoyed the smell and had played on its power more than once.

The hat started a song but he wasn't even listening, he watched though, as a tear in the brim became as a mouth and bellowed out words that made even the headmaster sit upon the edge of his seat, the old man seemed worried and so Harry listened just long enough to hear the final lines.

_Fear and death will descend upon Hogwarts,_

_Courage and Power must stand to fight or all shall be lost._

_How morbid _He thought happily maybe he would enjoy it here after all. The young ones where called forwards and as the dwindling numbers became more prominent so did Harry. It wasn't long before people where pointing to him upon on the stage or whispering to their friend on the next seat.

"HARRY POTTER!" was eventually called and he made his way up onto the stool without tripping or cursing. _So far so good_ he mentally assured himself. The hat flopped down around his ears and their was a long pause before a gentle voice made itself known to him.

"A pleasure Mr. Potter it certainly is to at last sort you into the mainstream of wizards and witches. I have waited along time for you, almost a thousand years to meet an heir of Godric Gryffindor son of Merlin. But where to put you? Should I leave you in Godric's house? You certainly have the courage don't you and the blood to boot. What about Slytherin? You could be great and the noble blood you have would make it so you where respected? But you don't want to do you? You would much rather go to Rowena's house, another of your ancestors. I shall respect your decision young Potter…heir of Gryffindor…heir of Ravenclaw…..heir of Slytherin. You will be great. Oh yes, I will wait for the day we meet again. 'Till then…."

A/N: Many thanks to those of you who have reviewed this story. It is always a pleasure to read what people think of what you have done. My particular thanks go to Hawkeye537, your review made me laugh to no ends. Thanks again and remember kids, review XD


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3: Hogwarts students and toad-like staff_

The entire hall waited with baited breath to see which house the illustrious Harry Potter would be sorted into, it was thought to be a joke to the general public, one that Dumbledore was playing for some perverse pleasure that would ultimately get him off, but no. Harry Potter was at Hogwarts, in robes of the darkest black that seemed made of night itself.

Dumbledore was seen on the edge of his seat, never before had he taken such an interest in one particular students sorting, not even Tom Riddle's, now he feared that if the hat chose to place Harry in Slytherin he may have to kill him in the Great Hall in front of thousands of witnesses to prevent the rise of another Voldemort. This scared Dumbledore more than anything else in existence simply because he wasn't sure if he could beat young Potter. The boy had destroyed a Basilisk and escaped without a scratch and souvenirs to prove the fact; he had actively defied the Dark Lord on the night of his rebirth and yet again escaped without a mark on his body. He was not something to be trifled with; he was a warrior… the 'Dark Hunter' as he had aptly titled the young man.

The brim of the hat opened slowly as if coming to its final decision and if possible the old wizard moved closer to the hat, the table straining against the mans will to learn which house he would go into. The hats lipless gape opened entirely and a wave of darkness and fear descended over the hall, the already sorted first years shivered and gasped at the cold as did many of the upperclassmen. Their where several screams from entirely different parts of the room and then finally there was a huge dragon like roar that stopped all the screaming and hushed whispers. The

Shadows lifted with the feeling of dread and intense cold and the hat finally spoke.

"RAVENCLAW" It screamed out across the silence making most of the students clutch their ears in fear that they might burst. For several seconds their where whimpering sobs from the students as their ears burned from the noise and in this time no one moved. There was no applause for Harry and so he stayed seated with the hat on his head, all the while chuckling to himself.

"A prankster at heart, ey hat! I should have expected no less, after all you sorted both my dad and Sirius Black did you not. Though I do wonder why you insist on copying some of everyone's essence into yourself, surely after all this time I would have thought you had devised your own personality without sponging of another's."

"Your one to talk Potter." The hat exclaimed, deep within the confines of Harry's mind. "Though the fear and darkness trick was nice I will admit and just so you know I do have my own personality I just take part of the ones I like to draw on when it's necessary." Harry just continued to chuckle while the hat joined him. The hall continued to pull itself together and Harry stepped down from the stool and walked calmly to the Ravenclaw table, slid into his seat and went unnoticed by the rest of the students. That is until Dumbledore stood up to make the start of term announcements.

"Welcome students new and old, I trust that you are all looking forward to the feast so I shall not keep you long. First and foremost the Forbidden forest is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to suffer an extremely horrific end. Second, Mr. Filch has taken to extending the list of banned items the total list comprises some 512 items and is on view at Mr. Filch's office door for reference and finally it is my honour to receive Harry Potter into his fifth year of schooling, it is a great pity he could not have been here more often during the previous years." Harry laughed here, not a quiet chuckle though quite the opposite a deep booming laugh that echoed of the walls. The students took turns in looking between him and the headmaster who both seemed to be in on this privet joke but where content on not sharing it.

The joke was anything but privet though. Had anyone cared to recall Harry's current state of dress it would have been no-problem for someone like Hermionie Granger for instance to put the pieces together and figure out that he had been to Hogwarts before. Though the incidents where few and far between he was always there in a time of great need of peril. When Hermionie had locked herself in the girls' lavatory in her first year and the huge lumbering form of a troll appeared it was a figure dressed in black that saved her.

A young Hermionie Granger stepped from the tiny cubicle that she had locked herself in after another one of Ronald Weasley's vicious insults; sometimes that boy was as bad as Malfoy. She thought to herself in a fury. These perfectly acceptable musings where cut short by the heavy wheezing breaths. Cautiously the young woman looked up, straight into the ugly face of a fully grown mountain troll. Scholar that she was Hermionie's brain instantly began to think of a way to combat the huge thing, when no results came to mind she gradually began to shift herself back into the stall she had emerged from, issuing whimpering sounds like a small dog.

Then something unexpected happened, the door to the girls lavatory flew from its hinges and crashed against the wall to the left of the young Miss. Granger. The troll stopped its lumbering pursuit of the woman and turned to face the thing that had stopped its hunt. The great beast let loose a snarl of fury and hefted the huge club into the air with a single hand. There was a squeal and then the soft loamy sound of a dull thud. The girl slammed the toilet seat down, clambered up onto it and looked out at the scene that presented itself. What a scene it was. Her savior, dressed in black with a long hood up that flopped over his eyes so that he couldn't possibly see stood quite calmly in the face of the huge troll and in an outstretched palm he held the troll's club with the troll still attached at the other end.

Hermionie quickly deduced that the thud she heard must have been the club connecting with the hand of the man. The one that was so effortlessly pushing back against the weight of the troll as it tried and failed to crush him into a fine paste. "Leave here." The figure said suddenly, "You do not belong here it is not yours to dwell in. The only reason I offer you peace is because of the girl, the one you would have slaughtered because you see. Unlike us she has never seen death and I do not wish to change that, so leave this place or die." The trolls answer was immediate, the small size of its brain combined with the fact that it had just been beaten in a dick measuring contest all played a small part in what the beast did. With a roar it extracted its club from the mans grip and swung it down with renewed vigor. The figure didn't even try to dodge the ferocious blow; he raised his hand and intercepted it head on with a punch. The club splintered and shards of wood flew off in every direction, the troll howled like a dog that had lost its favorite bone and then was silenced with a blow to the temple from the figure.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Miss Granger. I shall be back one day and when that day comes I hope that we can be good friends." The black robed figure then proceeded to vanish into nothingness, leaving without the slightest trace of noise. Hermionie just stood for a moment, unsure of what to do. Something had just died she acknowledged, someone has just killed it with a single blow, Again she acknowledged the fact, I'm lucky to be alive was her final thought before her shaking knees gave way and she collapsed to the floor in a sobbing heap. Minutes passed until the teachers came bursting through the arch where a door should have been. Dumbledore took the lead, wand out and looking fore the smallest of excuses to curse anything and everything that posed a threat. His eyes peered over the tops of his half-moon spectacles and he gazed down at the sobbing form of one of his first year students.

"Miss Granger." He said in a soothing, calm voice. "Perhaps you should leave the side of the troll and leave the bathroom while this problem is adequately dealt with." He held out one of his bony, withered hands which the girl took gratefully and helped her to her feet.

"It's dead sir!" she sobbed pointing a shaking finger at the troll that lay on the cold floor, drool spilling from its gaping maw at hitting the floor inconsistently making a DRIP, DRIP noise that would rival the very worst of plumbing jobs.

"You killed it Miss Granger, how?" The old man asked while scrutinizing the obviously dead beast. "There was a man." She said slowly, picking her words. "He walked in and stopped that-that thing from killing me. He just punched it, just once and then it died it just fell to the floor just like that sir." Dumbledore was shocked by this, no spell he knew could be placed in a limb for the purposes of fighting but someone had just killed a cave troll in his school with a single punch, it had to be impossible without rituals and rituals signified dark wizards.

"Minerva," he said instantly thinking of how he was best to protect his students. "Organize the teachers and the head boy and girl. There is a dark wizard loose in the school and would you please return Miss. Granger to her common room. Filius check the wards that protect this castle it should be impossible for a dark wizard to enter here without setting them off but apparently they have been bi-passed. Start to search from the ground floor up and leave a teacher on each floor and get Hagrid to guard the entrance. Finish the search in the dungeons." The teachers knew what to do and scrambled away. The transfiguration professor stopped only briefly to guide the young girl back to her common room with a drawn wand in her hand, before joining the hunt herself but it was no good. The man had disappeared and because he or she had saved the life of a student Dumbledore said it was pointless to search further for the man.

It was not common knowledge that Harry had been to Hogwarts any years previous however. In fact it was only a few months before hand that Dumbledore had pieced it together himself and had ultimately come to the conclusion that it was Harry who had defeated the Basilisk, who had saved Cedric Diggory from Lord Voldemort. The troll was an undecided factor but if Hermione had taken a proper look at the boy-who-lived she would have realized it in a second he was her savior, he was Ginerva's savior, he was Diggory's and he was Luna Lovedgood's knight in shining armor.

"And finally I would like to introduce our new Defense against the dark arts teacher Madam Umbridge." The toad faced woman rose from her place at Dumbledore's side but no applause went up for her it seemed obvious why though. She looked like a humongous toad, with her greasy skin, beady little black eyes and overly wide cheeks. For a moment Harry considered bursting into laughter again, this had to be another one of Dumbledore's veiled jokes because this whore didn't look qualified to be anything other then an extremely cheap prostitute.

"Thank you, thank you!" The woman called in a sickly sweet voice trying to quite an already silent hall. Harry looked around him and didn't see any smiling faces, nor did he see anybody's palms even remotely close together. This woman wasn't very well liked apparently so young Harry Potter set about drawing his wand discreetly under the table, he pointed it in the woman's general direction and flicked the wand this way and that. The change was gradual and the woman was so wrapped up in her own speech that she never noticed. Her hair began to change colors until it was almost flashing different ones. First red then green, purple, orange, blue, pink the colors kept cycling, by now some of the students had begun to snigger but Harry wasn't finished yet. With another flourish of his wand he charmed the front of her robes to read. I AM A BIG TOAD-LICK ME. As these words began illuminated in neon pink the whole hall was laughing ferociously, even Dumbledore it seemed was trying his hardest not to laugh the bitch from her podium. McGonagall was the worst though, she tried to be a professional about it but her incredible dislike for the woman had made her turn tomato red with mirth and then finally she exploded. She burst out laughing which only increased the laughter of the students and pounded the table with her fists.

Dolores Umbridge stopped her recited speech the moment one of her 'colleagues' began laughing and pointing at her. "What is so funny McGonagall?" the toad snarled giving her the likeness and all the physical attributes of a pig. Minerva was in no fit state to answer so little Filius Flitwick stepped up to the plate for her. "Your robes and hair my dear have been charmed and are quite amusing to each of us." Toad lady examined her robes and another roar of laughter went up from the students while it seemed that McGonagall was in serious pain from laughing so hard.

"Who did this?" she squealed at the students. They immediately quieted all except for one that is, Harry Potter sat at the foot of the Ravenclaw table clutching his ribs almost doubled over from laughing. "You think this is funny do you?" she screeched pulling Harry from his laughter and sobering him immediately. No-one talked to him that way, no-one was ever stupid enough to try.

"No my dear, I find it fucking hilarious that as the new defense against the darks arts teacher you still haven't stopped my spell and I'm beginning to think that you can't. So stop your screeching it's irritating me and prove to us all that you should be able to do what is expected of you!" Umbridge drew her wand and Harry discreetly kept his under the table just in case. As though to surprise him the woman waved the wand in an arc followed by a short flick of her wrist but to her surprise the words remained as did the changing colors of her hair.

With a sad expression on his face Harry looked down his own table and said in as low a voice as he could muster. "You guys are fucked." This in turn prompted several nods and gaunt expressions one seventh year even had his head in hands visibly sobbing and murmuring something about 'Going to do shit on N.E.W.T's'

"Un-do this ridiculous spell now Mr. Potter or spend the rest of your life in detention with me." She screeched yet again holding her wand pointed dead aim at his heart even at that distance he could tell that she wanted to hex him into oblivion, as if the malice in her voice wasn't enough.

"I find myself in a quandary." He said to a surprisingly quiet hall, it seemed even Dumbledore was willing to listen to what he said if it meant that he could postpone undoing the complex jinxes and hexes that had wrapped themselves so forcefully around her body. "Is it not supposed to be a teacher who teaches us and not the other way around? Now a teacher is asking for my help in undoing a couple of simple spells. I do not wish to point fingers Dumbledore but it seems that you should be more careful when you choose your teachers or at least have them semi-proficient in the subject they are teaching. This…" he said waving his hand at Dolores Umbridge who had turned red with purple polka dot hair. "is a complete and utter disgrace upon academia and I refuse to be taught by someone who has a weaker knowledge of spells and spell casting than a fifth year." Dumbledore bowed his head as if accepting the fact while the hall roared in agreement.

Dolores Jane Umbridge had been insulted many times in her life but the one thing she refused to accept from anyone, even the supposed hero of the wizarding world was being called weak. It was just something that made her blood boil and seethe like a bubbling cauldron of poison or acid or some such other vile substance. In her fury the woman descended from the teachers table and whipped her wand around. Several cracks where heard and then-from the teachers wand-their where spells flying directly for Harry. The boy didn't even move and people could only stare in wonder as the spells glanced the floor or the table around him but not once did they strike there intended target or another innocent for that matter. She pulled her wand around in another arc but suddenly stopped, her arm in mid swing and then was forcefully pushed to the floor with magic. She could feel the weight pressing down on her, crushing her, slowly and then more forcefully. "You would dare attack a student in my presence Dolores." A regal and intimidating voice boomed across the hall, she cringed as did many others it was not pleasing to hear Albus Dumbledore shout like that but it became very obvious why Voldemort was only ever afraid of him. The power that flowed from his body although not yet tangible was magnificent, like a flock of Phoenix's singing the song of death together. "You are to leave my school and never return. You may tell Cornelius that if he wishes someone present then he should send an auror preferably a skilled one. NOW GO!" he bellowed lifting his spell and sending her reeling through the great doors.

The great wizard walked calmly back to the head chair but not before passing by Harry and whispering in a low voice that only he could hear. "We shall discuss this after dinner Mr. Potter." He said gently but a smile had found its way onto his face and that infamous twinkle back into his eyes. Harry remained impassive and simply watched as Albus Dumbledore walked back to his chair.

"It seems that we have already lost our defense against the dark arts teacher so I shall be stepping in until a suitable replacement can be found. I do hope Mr. Potter that I meet your expectations for a faculty member?"

"A master's degree in defense against the dark arts with a grand master's degree in combat and transfiguration seems acceptable Dumbledore, though I do hope you haven't passed your prime. It would be a burden on the rest of us if you had, sir!" Harry spoke quietly but his words seemed to reverberate along the room and the hall heard him, every single student knew that Dumbledore was a Grand Master in Transfiguration something that in a hundred years had only been accomplished by him. It was assumed that Tom Riddle would achieve his Grand Master in charms but the boy was never pulled towards acceptance through grades and instead turned to the dark arts and traveled the world, obscuring his own beliefs and destroying his morals until only Lord Voldemort remained. Dumbledore was the opposite, he had stayed in the British Isle's most of his life, only venturing away for vacations but always coming back. It was his need to please his own country that had lead to his pursuit of a Grand Master's degree in the first place and had ultimately leaded to his defeat of Lord Grindlewald and his Order of Merlin 1st class. His whole life was built around acceptance and it was only now at 164 that Dumbledore realized if he had never strived for acceptance he wouldn't be half the man he was today, he would never have done half of the things he had. It was at 164 that Dumbledore realized motivation was everything and it was what lead Tom Riddle to the dark arts.

The old wizard bowed his head in acceptance. "Then, as there is no more business to attend let us feast!" He commanded, the plates and dishes filled with sizzling foods of every sort and the goblets flowed with pumpkin juice. A feast Dumbledore had commanded and so it was. Harry tapped his goblet with his still drawn wand and the watery pumpkin juice turned into a bottle of his favorite lager fortunately nobody noticed this transformation as they where busy discussing their holidays, sports and in the case of several girls which boys they liked. He stowed the wand away and piled his plate high with potato's, roast beef, Yorkshire puddings, carrots, peas and a generous serving of gravy all of which he devoured easily but did not go back for seconds instead he sat and waited patiently for desert to be served. He acknowledged the presence of several people around him making comments about his choice of attire and why the Ravenclaw emblem was not stitched onto the front when he had been sorted like all the others where.

He reached out and took another pull on the still chilled bottle of beer, taking a small moment form his busy schedule to look along the teachers table. Most of whom he recognized in one capacity or another. Hagrid the gamekeeper and more than likely the Care of magical creatures' teacher since there seemed to be no-one else there who was fit to handle magical creatures, save perhaps Dumbledore and McGonagall. The little Filius Flitwick the charms professor and dueling master of his time a true legend the man had caught the same number of Death Eaters during Voldemort's last reign as Auror Moody had and because he was primarily a school teacher this act had earned him the Order of Merlin 1st class.

Then their was McGonagall herself, the deputy head of the school and the only other person in the hall who it was known had a master's degree, her own being in Transfiguration. Harry took a long moment over her she seemed pleasant enough if you could stay on her good side-if she had a good side. She also seemed to posses some of Dumbledore's skill as her eyes twinkled as his did when she laughed at a joke and then it snapped in him and he saw it for the first time, it was so minute that he would have missed it if Dumbledore hadn't just told his joke about the 'three rabbi's walking into a bar' The twinkle in her eyes it signified her bond with him, with the old man, he would never have guessed. It seemed Dumbledore had found love in his life after all, even if it was well hidden by the two he could see it.

He moved on with an impassive face. 'Severus Snape' he thought and as he did the man's head snapped around. His grey expressionless eyes boring into his own emerald green ones, the gentle prod on his mind and then Harry's smirk as he dragged him into the depths of oblivion within the wasteland of his consciousness.

Snape stood before him across a baron landscape populated only by the burning clouds in the sky and the rotting corpses littering the ground. The stench was overpowering and he allowed the greasy bastard a moment to retch up what little dinner he had eaten. Harry motioned across the clouds and the wasteland before him. "This is my mind Severus, you wanted in well here you are. I will leave you to it then shall I?" With those last words Harry left his own mind and went back to happily drinking his beer.

Severus 'The greasy bastard' Snape was thrown from his chair screaming and clutching his head only moments later. His back and head respectively hit the stone flagged floor with cracks similar to that of breaking an egg. "Severus" Dumbledore called out in fear for the skinny man. "Are you alright?" Said greasy bastard slowly rose to his feet and took his place once more at the table. This time he purposefully looked away from the Potter child. "Fine Dumbledore" he said in his usual toneless voice. "I merely lost my balance for a moment. I apologize for the scene I must have caused."

"Quite alright!" Dumbledore said in his usual upbeat and generally jovial voice. For the rest of the evening Severus dare not look at Potter and occasionally had to shake himself so as not to tempt fate against the beasts that had prowled that boys mind. Harry sat with a grin on his face occasionally taking a swig from the bottle in his hand but no more did he stray to the teachers table with his thoughts. Instead he remained passive, only engaging in conversation so much as to growl at anyone who tried to engage him, before long the whole table ignored him or was whispering about him but he didn't care. After all he hadn't come to Hogwarts to make friends.

Not long after the final desert had been scraped clean from the plate of one Ronald Weasley did Dumbledore rise. His superiority and calm composure washing over the students in his care like a wave of euphoria. "Now that we are all fed and watered I do believe that it is time for bed. Prefects if you could please lead the lower years to their dorms." He said serenely, without missing a beat the prefects rose as did the other students and still Harry somehow managed to find Dumbledore's sparkling blue eyes on his own.

'They said he was a powerful wizard and he commands those he loves so easily. He would make a great king and more than likely that is what he has amounted to here.' Harry thought while still playing with his empty bottle. Only when the rest of his house had left did he rise and walk to the elderly man, his own robes flitting about in an unseen wind and bearing a huge black eagle that was outlined in silver on the back embellished with a waving banner that read. 'Rowena Ravenclaw' on the top and then below the eagle a similar banner with the words 'Harry Potter' burning red against the dull black. The emblem of the heir and it was more than likely that he would have those for Gryffindor and Slytherin as well.

'The hats final joke on me?' he pondered. With a sigh it was undone. A flick of his dazzling wand changed the emblem on the robes to a scene of a huge roaring dragon battling the animals of the four founders and winning by all accounts. Helga's badger was on the ground bloodied and beaten, Rowena's raven while still relatively undamaged was but a spec on the huge creature and was forgotten. Slytherin's serpent was being crushed underfoot despite its huge size and its mouth hung slack like it had been broken by a powerful swing of the dragon's barbed tail. Only Gryffindor's lion remained standing. Its glossy golden fur turned black and sticky with fire and blood its head bowed low in defeat and respect, the dragon had let him live for fighting such a valiant battle it seemed.

It was odd; the dragon had all the animals defeated but none where dead. Some where injured but not gravely, if the scene were allowed to progress it was certain that they would recover with naught but scars to show that a fight had even occurred. Harry had thought the scene up to rid himself of Rowena's crest; he would never belong under anyone's banner but his own. That was how he had lived. Free and unhindered. He would never allow himself to succumb to another's will. Not even in battle when commanded, he would fight his own wars and it was usually his decision to remain behind or hold the line that ended the slaughter. His courage and honour would not allow him to kill someone who only wished him good but at the same time he would never bow to them, and it was for this reason that he had not taken the Ravenclaw crest and refused any other.

Dumbledore rose and lead him from the hall, purple robes with small silver phases of the moon tight fitting and closed about his body showing the strain of keeping so much power in check without allowing himself a moment of freedom. The pair walked the halls of Hogwarts in respective silence neither feeling it necessary to destroy the calm with cheap words that would accomplish nothing. They reached the statue of a proud Griffin guarding an entranceway presumably to the headmaster's office and privet study.

"Strawberry whips." Dumbledore said with a light chuckle. Harry laughed as well; the old man had a sense of humor it seemed. Sweets for passwords how innovative and original not to mention how out of character it seemed for the greatest wizard alive. Who seemed so magical to allow a 'muggle' sweet to guard his most prized possessions. Harry saw the irony in it even if no one else did it seemed hilarious to him. The Griffin gave way to a spiraling staircase that lead upwards. Dumbledore showing his athletic grace jumped onto the leading step without so much as a fare the well. Harry grumbled something about 'Mad Old Bastards' before following the wizard up the stairs. The headmaster again jumped off the moving staircase with supreme grace and without missing a step pulled open the door to his office unleashing the 'ticks' and 'tocks' not to mention 'whirrs' and 'clinks' of various silver gizmo's and wizarding gadgets that he had collected over the years.

Harry walked in closely followed by Dumbledore who motioned him into a seat. With a wave of his wand the torch brackets sprang to life and doused the room in sparkling springy flames. Harry sat without a care in the world. The torch brackets, the fact that Dumbledore had the higher chair and that it was his office all dictated that this was a man in charge without actually confirming it. A neat trick and one that was easily over looked but it showed the mans authority.

"It's good to see you my boy." Dumbledore said happily as he slumped into his chair, still with that sparkle to his eyes making him look every bit the leader he was supposed to be.

"And you Dumbledore. The years have been kind to you!" Harry said politely. "Indeed they have my boy, now, we are not here to discuss such trivial matters as our good health are we? No of course not, come now. I am here to discuss why you have returned to us; surely you can understand that I feel you don't need the education. That little bit of spell work you performed on Madam Umbridge was enough to prove that." Harry nodded, letting out a long sigh as he did so, he had let himself go far too early as well.

"She was incompetent Professor, those spells could have been undone by a second year but as it stands yes I have had the luxury of a magical upbringing. However I do not mean to say that your staff will be able to teach me nothing I may have overlooked some things. I also hear that you and Filius are both former dueling champions I may be able to learn something there." Harry was being modest here and if his occlumency shields weren't so strong he would more than likely have been found out but as it was they where and Dumbledore took the compliment to heart and even went so far as to blush a little.

"Well then my boy I believe that everything is in order perhaps you could come up to this office another time and regale me with tales of your past. I look forward to witnessing what you have accomplished over the years you have been away." Harry gave a short nod and Dumbledore did the same.

"Only if you will promise me visions of your accomplishments as well sir, then I do believe we have a deal." He gave a gentle smile; one that would turn any woman's heart to mush in a second gave Fawkes the magnificent phoenix a long stroke from just under his beak to the red breast on his chest and the bird let off a long shrill note of ecstasy which in turn caused Harry to smile again. He glanced at Dumbledore once more over his shoulder, watching the old mans smiling face until the moment he descended the spiral staircase. Dumbledore had just seen the first of his accomplishments.

Harry walked back to the Ravenclaw common room, looking at the secret passages all the way but ultimately sticking to the main halls. He passed several suits of armor and paused to admire the ancient weaponry they had particularly the huge broadswords and glaives. He had even paused to touch one but was immediately challenged to a duel by the armor for doing so, he left the fight before it had even begun he didn't want to attract too much attention on his first night at Hogwarts.

He stopped at the entrance, a huge tapestry of Rowena Ravenclaw with a raven perched on her shoulder and other huge birds of prey flying in the background. Vultures, Eagles but the ones that stood out the most had to be the blue and silver phoenix and the black and green dragon, the dragon Harry recognized immediately but didn't stop to think about it.

"Knowledge is power." He said gently, the tapestry split down the centre and the left half swung back revealing the Ravenclaw common room. He strode in noticing only vaguely the amount of eyes on him, his long black robes swirled as his steps became quickened.

He was focused on Luna about half way across the room, her blond hair strewn in a mess and tears flowed down her cheeks as she desperately tried to retrieve a book that had been stolen from her by some intimidating looking seventh years. Harry saw that despairing look in her eyes, he had seen it enough times to recognize it a mile away. It sickened him.

He walked into the throng, feeling ever more disgusted as people began jeering at the young girl. She could do nothing, even if she had drawn her wand they where seventh years and where bound to know more spells, curses and hexes she wouldn't have lasted a second. Harry on the other hand was an unknown quantity. With a 'crunch' his fist broke the nose of the guy he came to first, the kid or adult in the magical world crumpled to the floor, immediately unconscious and spilling blood across the already red carpet. Instantly the others stopped their abuse, dropped the book they where throwing around and drew their wands and trained them on Harry's chest and head.

He could have laughed at them, stupid fools, had nobody thought to teach them how to duel. They stood straight on at him, bodies fully exposed to anything he threw at them. Had he tossed a 'reducto' they would have been blown to bits. Flesh and bone turned to nothing but as it was he chose not to attack until they did. Then he had plausible deniability and self defense on his side.

"Excrutio mortis" The largest yelled jabbing his wand at Harry's chest. With a wave a wand appeared in Harry's hand and a thick wall of blue light blocked the screeching yellow curse with a thud. There was a moment's pause form the others as they watched the spell impact the wall and then they fired their own spells. Cries of 'Expelliarmus' and 'Stupefy' were heard but as the first had they all impacted the wall and vanished without so much as a dent. "This is your only warning. Take your wounded and leave her alone I won't ask again." Harry said coldly without even looking them in the face.

Needless to say the Ravenclaw's did not stop there onslaught. Instead they switched spells. "Bennoemus" was the first spell to hit the shield, and the only one to hit anything from their second volley of spells. Harry dropped the shield and dodged the second spell, whipping his wand around in a long arc. A thin silver line trailed from the end extending to a length of twenty feet which he lashed overhead with a long 'crack'. The seventh years stepped back cautiously as if testing their luck against the madman with a whip. Finally they gave up and retreated to a few of the chairs near the fireplace. All where laughing in spite of the fight but Harry didn't care, he would put the point across another way.

With long lethargic movements he walked over to the book dropped on the floor by the gang of thugs. He stooped and reached out; Luna being ever observant noticed that his right hand was thickly bandaged in black. He stood with a smile and handed her the book back. No words passed between the two and Harry the ended the uncomfortable silence by walking away. Luna could have cried with happiness, she had never had someone defend her. She had never had a boy stand in front of her for more than two seconds without muttering what a freak she was before walking away with a jeering laugh, it was different, it was warm.

Harry woke early the next morning; he had moved his bed away from the rest of his housemates. He reasoned that if they hadn't come to defend the younger year then he shouldn't associate with them, and neither should they associate with him. He wasn't there to make friends after all. He pulled on a pair of jeans, wrapped a think belt around them, strapped numerous other buckles and sheathes to it and then finally wrapped two thick leather belts across his body that contained his greatest weapons, his biggest and most valuable swords. Finally he threw on his black robe, the one that depicted the dragon lording over the four founders. With great pride he left his dorm and walked down to the great hall, boots thudding on the stone floors and metal chinking against metal. None of the seventh years for the previous night dared to stop him or attack him because of his actions the previous night in fact the Ravenclaw's that he did passed cowed away from him like he was the plague or something.

With great relish he sat down to his meal. Flitwick being their head of house and the charms master he was had enchanted their timetables to appear next to wherever the person in question chose to sit for his or her morning meal. Harry picked it up his eyes scanning the parchment quickly. He sighed in defeat when he saw his first lesson of the day. Double Defense Against the Dark Arts, it seemed that Dumbledore wanted to test him already. He shoved a final piece of toast into his mouth and moved off along the corridor.

A/N Sorry that this took so long to get up I have been really busy with college. That being said the next one might not be up for a while. If anyone wishes to adapt this story I would be happy to read what they have done, if you could let me know that would be great. Best of luck to everyone. Thanks for reading and please find the time to review


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4: Lessons _

Harry moved easily through the halls, he wasn't sure of his direction but he had plenty of time to wonder aimlessly around the castle before his lesson started. So once again he delved into the secret passages of Hogwarts, clearing a path through spider webs but being cautious all the same. The last time he was at the school he had been forced to defend himself against thousands of dementors and before that he had slain a basilisk in its walls.

"What kind of school has a basilisk" he hissed angrily to himself. He had read books on dark creatures, bought from 'Borgin and Burkes' on one of his longer trips to Diagon and in turn Knockturn alley, they knew that the stare of the beast was fatal, that its venom was one of the most poisonous ever found. That was even without thinking about its size, most basilisks grew to around 60 or 70 feet some where longer of course but how many students could defend themselves against such a beast. Come to think of it how many teachers could?

As he continued his internal debate on the safety of Hogwarts he reached the end of the passage. The tunnel he had just being exploring was abruptly ended with the presence of a wall; he put a palm against the cold surface and examined it intently. His fingers slid down the solid stone; eventually he turned his hand over and wrapped his knuckles against it. There was a hollow thud from inside. Harry pulled his wand, becoming increasingly bored with the situation.

"Incendio reducto extrema." He whispered, a huge ball of molten slag roared from his wand crashing into the wall and hissing violently. Harry waited a moment watching the wall glow red and dissolve inwards onto itself. "Aquamenti" he whispered, a thin jet of water escaped his wand racing towards the molten slag wall. There was another loud hiss, followed by the escape of a huge cloud of steam. Harry's patience had reached its limit, he walked through the wall of steam and out into what ever lay beyond.

'A room' he thought sadly, his shoulders dropped and he seemed to sag in on himself. 'What a waste. Just another hole in the wall' Harry's disappointment was understandable, the room was huge easily the size of the entrance hall maybe not quite as tall but easily as wide and yet it was wasted space. The floor was paved in cold hard stone; the walls similarly where blank stone. No doors or windows where to be seen, but the room was pristine it could be used for anything. A dueling stage would fit in the centre easily a place for practicing with weapons a room for potions, another library but no it was wasted.

Harry hated things being wasted; it was insulting to him, watching people throw away perfectly good things. With waves of calm rather than anger crashing over him he raised his wand and began his work. With a flick the cold stone floor was replaced with warm hard wood, another flick and the walls where adorned with his crest and the crests of the four founders. With a final long lucid swoop of his wand a dueling stage appeared, the customary red carpet spilling over the sides. He took a step back, admiring his work. His gaze swept the room pausing to admire aspects and criticizing others, it wasn't perfect but it would do for now.

He turned back to face the hole in the wall, once again waving his wand as though it where an extension of his body, he replaced the hole with a grand door- thick wood and crossed steal would stop the strongest of trolls. Another twist of his wrist and thick magical locks sealed the door in place, it would take Voldemort or Dumbledore themselves to bring down that door and still they would find nothing.

The huge door swung open as he approached it. "Thank you." He whispered, almost incomprehensibly. The young heir of Potter continued back down the passage he had recently extended, it was not long before he came out into a corridor close to the great hall. He didn't go back in, he had already eaten breakfast and lessons where fast approaching. With an impassive face he moved off in search of his class room conjuring a bag and summoning his books as he did so.

He reached the class ten minutes early, he tried the door but found it locked. So he stood against the wall, satchel against his hip; hardly bothered by the weight of so many books in the bag- most of which where almost a thousand pages long. He watched other students move past, some at a run as there classes where far away. The older years seemed to dawdle, he couldn't blame them everything here would be so boring after seven years. He was grateful that no-one spared him a second glance, though having his head down could have something to do with that.

Closer to the lesson people started appearing for the same class, most of them his own house the Ravenclaw's some where Gryffindor's. He was pleasantly surprised by this, Gryffindor's where supposed to have Defense with the Slytherin's to try and promote inter house co-operation and to show that neither house was indeed intend to fight the Dark Art's or aid them. That itself was a huge failure, most Gryffindor's where to arrogant to admit that there house had been just as easily swayed by the Dark Arts as any other, and the Slytherin ranks where too full of purebloods to admit that not all of them where loyal to this Dark Lord or any other. They would be beaten by their house mates at the very least, at the worst they would be slaughtered along with there family and made an example of. Harry found this sickening but he heard of similar things happening where he came from, people had died for not swearing fealty to the king. Harry himself had been one of those sentenced to death, the man ordered to kill him had been a hired assassin and was well versed in muggle and magical methods of killing, Harry had killed the man in under thirty seconds and in the same day inherited by right all his wealth and power among some very shady circles.

The Slytherin's for the most part where not as versed as he when it came to killing a person, despite popular belief not all of them where versed in the Dark Arts and 'Stupefy' curses only went so far in a duel. The truly incapacitating curses required more energy and that ever important malicious intent to cast properly, Harry seriously doubted that in a fair fight any of them could best a Ministry Law Enforcement Officer never mind a member of Voldemort's inner circle.

It was only when he heard the door creak open that he snapped from his thoughts on the amount of Slytherin's that would be slaughtered if they ever openly admitted to not supporting the dark lord. He gave a quiet chuckle; it would certainly be worth it to see how many of them could actually match up to Tom's usually high standards. The room was bright and well lit though Harry could see no window, the back wall played host to a bookcase that was filled to bursting with all sorts of tomes dedicating to fighting the Dark Arts and Dark Creatures, he recognized at least half of them by name the others he was sure where definitive guides to nothing that he had thrown out once he had acquired enough insight to think for himself and form his own opinions on how things worked in the world.

"Good morning class, now I'm sure that your other teachers will impress upon you the seriousness of this year and the amount of work that comes with the joy of being a fifth year so I need not bore you with trivialities and instead we will jump in at the deep end so to speak. Can any of you tell me what this is please?" With a lengthy flick of his wand Dumbledore unfolded several wraps that covered the blackboard's that stood at the front of the room. Leading across the boards was a very detailed diagram of a man being hit with what was obviously a blood boiling curse. Harry regretfully put up his hand; it was one of his most hated things about himself, his want and need to answer every question laid out to him by a friend a teacher or anyone for that matter. "Mr. Potter." The headmaster said jovially.

"It's a blood boiling curse sir, invented in 1706 by Archamedies Chaser during his short trip to Vienna in that year. He was actually trying to find a way to chill the blood and imitate the effects of death through a curse because of his hazardous trade as a smuggler. He was eventually brought down by a member of the English Auror squad when he tried to molest the man's daughter in public; ironically he was killed by the very same curse he had hoped would save him. The curse doesn't actually cause the blood to boil, but it does increase the pressure of blood in the veins and there is an increase in temperature just not enough to kill as was originally believed." Harry said all of this slowly to make sure his words got through and also to see if people where actually listening or where doing things of their own accord. Most of the entire back row he had found where writing notes on a bit of paper and passing it around, most of the girls in the room where tapping quills on the desk and generally not learning anything. The guys however, surprising Harry the most had perked up when he had said 'blood boiling'.

"Excellent Harry, that's precisely the curse that is depicted here. I trust that many of you now recognize what we will be covering this year, we will not only study the ways to fight the dark arts but we shall grant ourselves a shallow view of them as well. This curse, though not unforgivable is highly frowned on by the ministry of magic for obvious reasons so it is recommended that we try not to practice it ourselves." His eyes gave a significant twinkle but only some of the class managed meager laughs the rest where still contemplating what Dumbledore had mentioned about the dark arts. "It is also imperative though that we learn to shield ourselves from such a curse. The basic shield charm is accentuated 'PROTEGO' and will stop this curse as it is not overly complex please begin practice of this charm immediately." He waved his wand around in a wide arc, Harry stood instantly his hand wrapped around the grip of one of the huge blades on his back the other pointed a black wand at Dumbledore who only saw fit to smile back.

"Again Mr. Potter has shown that he is dually capable of being in this lesson. Without foresight into my actions he was instantly on guard and ready to defend himself, well done Mr. Potter please take twenty points for Ravenclaw." Harry nodded his head but did not relax his grip on either the wand or the sword, again Dumbledore smiled at him. "I assure you Mr. Potter I am only about to banish the tables and chairs so that the class can practice in a relatively safe area." This answer seemed good enough to make Harry lower his defenses and then stir the class to attentiveness at which they scrambled to their feet. The class quickly paired up, Gryffindor with Gryffindor and Ravenclaw with Ravenclaw, leaving Harry alone. "Mr. Potter perhaps you could accompany me?" Dumbledore asked politely. Harry nodded and walked to the front of the room with the old professor.

"Are you ready Mr. Potter." He asked, at Harry's nod the old mage bellowed "Expelliarmus." Harry didn't even bother to try the protection charm, he simply swayed a little to one side and the curse sailed past him at an incredible rate. "Very good, but that was not the purpose of this exercise." Harry just nodded once more. Again the old mage proceeded with "Expelliarmus", Harry flicked his wand through the air and muttered "Protego" in a voice so low it couldn't be heard. The spell bounced harmlessly from the quickly erected shield and straight back at the Professor. Dumbledore countered the approaching spell with a "Protego" of his own however his sent the spell screaming into a wall. "Excellent Mr. Potter, but do you mind if I ask how you sent the spell back at me or was it simple good fortune?"

"The wand has to be exactly horizontal and parallel to the ground, if you do that then the spell will always bounce back to its original source. Of course it's not much good in a practical duel because your opponent is constantly moving or should be if they have any sense." Harry said quietly to the old wizard as they had acquired quite an audience when the spell had smashed into the wall. Dumbledore nodded wordlessly, he was thinking about the concept and coming to the conclusion that it seemed logical. "Would you mind if I tried?" he asked. Harry was more than happy to comply and proceeded back to the other end of the room. "Petrificus Totalus" he murmured, the spell raced from his wand and crashed with Dumbledore's shield rebounding straight towards Harry who once more sidestepped the curse with ease. "Excellent, Mr. Potter I am currently writing a book on the dark arts and ways to combat them, would you consent to allowing me to put in this modification to an already well known spell." Harry nodded once more and then proceeded to sit back down, he conjured himself a chair and placed himself in it while Dumbledore went around the room and corrected mistakes and providing his own brilliant insight.

When the end of the first lesson rolled around the class was once again placed in their seats while Dumbledore went back to the board. With a long flick of his wand his diagrams where replaced with a new set showing something far more dangerous. The Unforgivables. "Can anybody tell me the names of these three curses?" he asked, his brow furrowed deep in revulsion. "Thank you Ms. Granger." He said when only the bushy haired witch raised her hand. Harry felt that putting his hand up would only increase his ever degrading mood, since Dumbledore had asked him how to perform a simple shield charm effectively his entire opinion of the man had fallen slightly.

"The top curse is the Cruiciatus curse; it causes extreme pain in the victim and has often lead to insanity after prolonged exposure. The second is the Imperious curse; it causes the victim to bend to the will of the caster no matter what that will, may be. The third is the Avada Kedavra curse also known as the killing curse because it causes death instantly. All three, where created by the Dark witch Morgan before her rise to power in 1356."

Harry looked at the young witch, eyes surveying every aspect of her taking in her long bushy hair her eyes her face… a face he recognized, it was a pity though, that she didn't seem to recognize him at all. He gave a small smile and jotted down a few notes on the Unforgivables. He was still researching the killing curse so it would do him well to see what this world knew of it. He looked up only to see Dumbledore smiling benignly at the class. Harry had to hand it to Granger though, she knew her stuff and so did he, it ran in his blood after all,

"I want two rolls of parchment on the Unforgivable of your choice, each of you are welcome to use the Restricted section of the Library for your reports, assignments are t be handed to me next Monday. That will be all" Dumbledore said happily.

Let it not be said that Harry Potter was ever one to be surprised, he had seen many things in his short life. Indeed he had done many things in his short life, but Dumbledore allowing them to leave class almost half an hour early had surprised him. It had surprised him just enough to make him suspicious however he knew if there was anything wrong that Dumbledore was well equipped enough to defeat it after all he was the most powerful wizard walking the lands. So Harry, being Harry and without a doubt his mothers son walked down to the library and showed his pass to the librarian, a hawk faced woman he didn't like the look of one bit. Of course she was right to question it after all it was a fake; Harry had simply conjured it to have a look for books on the Unforgivables.

Twenty four minutes later Harry was once more walking down the corridor, his satchel once more slung over his shoulder and four rolls of parchment clutched in his hand. He knocked politely on the Defense room door and walked in without waiting for a reply. The three people in the room didn't shock him, in fact they where probably discussing him to some extent.

"Madame Umbridge, Minister Fudge." He said with feigned politeness, "Headmaster my essay detailing the Cruiciatus curse, I hope you will accept four rolls of parchment rather than the two you requested. I tried to cut it down but I felt that four scrolls where necessary." He handed the old Professor his document and left, he had no desire to speak with the other two and no desire to speak with Dumbledore until they had left. Instead he searched happily for the charms classroom and once again found it with ease, just as he had the Defense room. He stood outside of the door, twirling his wand between his fingers a habit he imagined he had picked up from his father.

The door opened next to him a small head poking out and looking straight up at him. "Mr. Potter" little Filius Flitwick squeaked up at him. Harry nodded his head. "Come in, come in my boy. I was meaning to have a word with you, as your head of house you know." Again Harry nodded his head and walked into the room, following the small wizards beckoning finger. The little man sat down at his desk, perching himself upon a stack of books and peering over the table. "A quarter goblin then?" Harry asked his eyes gleaming with recognition.

The small man gave a hearty laugh. "Indeed Mister Potter, you are the first to notice in a very long time. Not even your mother saw me for what I am and she was considered the most brilliant witch of her age don't you know. She had an aptitude for Charms as well, a brilliant woman. She had me beaten to a fault, a greater witch you would be hard pressed to find, but I digress unfortunately I did not ask you in here to discuss your mother, that can be done at a later time if you so desire. I asked you in here to discuss how you are finding Hogwarts so far, does it meet your expectations?"

Harry pondered the question for a moment. "_Does it meet your expectations?_" "To be honest sir, I didn't have any expectations of this school, I felt that it would meet my somewhat limited expectations of what would be offered but it has already surpassed those after Professor Dumbledore's insightful look into the Unforgivables and past Dark Arts. Quite excellent sir I must say. But I am curious as to why the students seem to have very little knowledge of the Dark Arts other than a fleeting one, I was told that Hogwarts was the best magical school in the world and yet it does not possess a well rounded view of all magic's how can this be so?" Indeed this was a question that Harry had been pondering for quite a while, he knew that since Dumbledore had become Headmaster the school had totally abolished any previous half formed ties with the Dark Arts but this wasn't until around fifty years ago. Before then the school had both a Defense teacher and a Dark Arts teacher that was also well rounded in dueling.

The small wizard and quarter Goblin pondered Harry's question thoughtfully for a moment, it seemed to the young wizard as though he where debating on whether to tell Harry the full story or merely an abridged version. "Mr. Potter." He said solemnly, "I believe that your question is particularly easy to answer. Do you understand that there is more than one governing body in the magical world, outside of Britain I men?" Harry nodded his head to confirm that he did know of such places, in fact he had visited several of them and was a member in some capacity of the ones that owed him favors. "Well then I suppose that it wouldn't be too difficult to point out to you that Britain has had more Dark Lords and Lady's than the rest of the Ministry's put together. Dumbledore believed that in some capacity that Hogwarts was responsible for generating these Dark Lord's by giving them the tiniest of glimpses into the Dark Arts. I can tell you as well Mr. Potter that I agree with him on some level. I feel that where this school to teach the Dark Arts actively such as Durmstrang would then we would have more young witches and wizards that would actively seek out the power of the Dark Arts. Do you understand me Mr. Potter?"

Harry did indeed understand where the small professor was coming from. He, as well as Dumbledore and no doubt other esteemed members of the faculty believed that by teaching the Dark Arts at a young age they where simply subjecting many of the children regardless of house to its nature, which was ultimately to cause pain. Harry gave a nod which seemed to satisfy the small man who beckoned him to sit down as lesson was to start soon. Barely paying any attention to the affairs of those outside, he grabbed his text from the satchel he had placed on the floor beside him. He acknowledged a low set of giggles coming from the doorway but immediately dismissed them, the girls must be pining after one of the Slytherin's he thought, immediately noting that Malfoy was seated somewhere close to the back of the room and was currently immersed in a game of 'Exploding Snap' that consisted of he and his two buffoons. No prizes there for deciding who would win then.

Charms itself was a dull affair, Flitwick who no doubt had been teaching the same way for as long as he had been at Hogwarts seemed a good enough teacher even if the entire student body with a few notable exceptions where absolutely abysmal and should never have been given a wand in their lives. Twice he had to restrain himself from beating Crabbe into oblivion, the boy was an imbecile and his partner was no better, it was a miracle in Harry's opinion that these two could actually figure out which end the spells came from-but then again they where dealing with magic and it was better to expect the unexpected. They practiced a simple charm that created fire the 'Incendio' charm for over an hour and still by the end of the lesson only a few had managed to accomplish it. In the back of his mind Harry wondered if this where some joke the headmaster where playing on him. He had learnt fire spells much younger than this in fact in his first year at the castle he had mastered just about every fire spell that there ever was and as it seemed most of the Hogwarts curriculum and he also knew that all the Slytherin's in the room where Purebloods, the same could be said for a few of the Ravenclaw's but why was it that none of them could do it. Had the magic in them simply deteriorated or did they just not embrace magic as he had done and simply preferred to spend their free time doing nothing.

At the end of the period he left the lesson shaking his head, if a wizard where born in his home country they would be trained hard and would know real magic. Magic that could be devastating, magic that could create oblivion and make the most brutal of storms seem but a mere gust while tempest swam from magic so effortlessly. But here it all seemed so difficult for them, but alas no he shook his head, he had no place to be telling people how to do magic and so his worries fell away.

Harry skipped lunch; he wasn't particularly hungry and instead went outside, into the still warm summer air. There was a lake a huge lake at that, Harry recalled it being named the Black Lake because some Dark Sorcerer had supposedly drowned in there while performing a ritual of some kind, he walked closer and peered down into the murky depths. It sure didn't look 'Black' he thought to himself, with nothing better to do he sat himself down on the grass and privately basked in the summer sun. He noticed a huge tentacle drift out of the water and reach over to him but he refused to move, instead allowing the thing to pet him as he might have it. Had any of the teachers seen him they would probably have thought him in grave danger but what danger was there to be had from a giant squid. Its skin was flimsy and would tear away easily enough if you could get a grip, personally Harry preferred his swords. He knew that they could very well cleave the beast in two, but what was the point. It was obviously there for a reason, that being more than likely to protect the castle in the past from being invaded by water fairing enemies.

A bell rang off in the distance and Harry rose from the waters edge, lightly batting away the Giant Squids tentacle and trudging back into the castle and to his final double period of the day. Potions. Harry didn't particularly hate any brand of magic but he felt that Potions was less like magic and more like cooking. Not that he didn't like cooking in fact it was one of his passions but that didn't mean that he enjoyed Potions, quite the opposite, he despised it but needless to say he was brilliant at it, perhaps less that other magic, but still brilliant.

Severus Snape on the other hand was a complete bastard, or at least that was Harry's opinion of him after spending two hours with the man who seemed tom want to do everything in his power to make Harry feel like shit or have him bend and break under the onslaught of questions that the greasy haired man bombarded him with. It was not enough that Harry got every question right, in fact that only seemed to increase Snape's hate, but then again there would always be people who hated him and most of them where Death Eaters just like Snape. The greasy haired and powerfully smelling man had ordered them to create the 'Draught of living death' and left them to it after putting the instructions on the board, Harry had made the potion before and quickly set about chopping and measuring but many of his classmates seemed to stare at the board for ages before finally moving and fumbling about in the cupboard for ingredients. Snape then proceeded to move around the class and belittle everyone. He took a total of 30 points from Hufflepuff that lesson because several of the potions where a shade off colour, as any potions master should know it didn't matter. If it had been the completely wrong colour, or heaven forbid the opposite colour then he would have been justified, but a single shade made no difference. Harry had in mind that if he ever got the chance he would hex Severus 'bloody' Snape into oblivion, hell he might even give him a lick of flame.

When the bell finally rang Harry walked from the room as though the dogs of hell where at his heals. He whipped his wand out and subtly cast several colour altering charms that where mood specific. He had basically taken away Snape's only defense, his want and need to seem at all times as though he detested the situation, place or everyone in a room with him. Harry once again skipped his meal and went up to his dorm. His eyes where instantly drawn to the sealed envelope on the bed, he twisted the letter over in his hands recognizing at once the seal on the back. The proud rearing griffin that belonged to the king.

He opened it swiftly, knowing that it would do no good to delay the inevitable, there where only two things printed on the inside of the parchment and those where the words:

"28 DAYS"

The king was coming in twenty eight days and Harry would have to fight him and win to become king himself and gain the title of the Grand Master or Magic. 'Shit' Harry thought suddenly as the one who was challenged by the Master it was he was to choose the location of the fight and by being in the school he had chosen the school as the place of the fight and Hogwarts rules demanded that he could not leave. His heart racing he left the common room, clutching in his hand the parchment he had just received. His legs pounded the stone floors and he soon reached Dumbledore's office only to realize that he didn't know the password. He whipped out his wand and brilliant blue light shone from the tip, the beam seemed to be around four feet long but it was strangely warped as though it twisted around upon itself, Harry swung the light through the statue and at once it leapt aside allowing Harry passage to Dumbledore's office.

"Albus!" he panted as he ran into the elderly man's office. "I'm afraid that I have done something most grievous." Dumbledore looked at him pensively for a moment, regarding Harry with a rugged smile that Harry had never seen the man use.

"Harry, my boy, I have known you all of a week and yet we correspond as though we have been talking all of our lives to one another, quite remarkable wouldn't you say?" Dumbledore said politely and it showed why half the student body thought him mad and it was easy to see why the other half granted him the respect he deserved, his power fell off him in waves. It was awe inspiring for anyone who hadn't been around it all their natural life. "Now then, what seems to be the problem?"

"Professor I have, in my lack of foresight, found myself in a formal wizards duel that is potentially to the death, because of the rules of this school that I have no doubt you are familiar with the duel must take place in the school or on its grounds." Dumbledore nodded but didn't seem at all concerned, quite the contrary his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Really?" He asked excitedly, the indentation of his glee registering in his voice. "I must say my dear boy that it has been rather a while since Hogwarts has seen a duel and a formal one at that; I suppose it was Mr. Malfoy that raised your ire and subsequently challenged you to a duel. Or am I wrong?"

"Albus" Harry chuckled lightly "I assure you that you are quite wrong, Mr. Malfoy has chosen not to speak to me since our incident on the train" At this Dumbledore raised an eyebrow but Harry was quick to come back, "But I assure you Professor it was nothing more than a scuffle, anyway this duel is to take place between myself and another man, from the same place that I come from, the Duel has been ten years in the making and cannot be postponed but Hogwarts demands that I stay and so the duel must be here."

Dumbledore steeled his fingers together, obviously deep in thought, some of his previous cheer had disappeared but much of it still remained. "Tell me Harry, this duel, your opponent rather. Is he a good wizard could he aid us in the war with Voldemort?"

Harry had never considered that option before. He knew like everyone else that the King was a great wizard and easily more powerful than Dumbledore but he truly didn't know if he would help in the war without expecting something in return. "He is a brilliant wizard Albus and he commands legion upon legion of troops that have incredible skill as well but I don't know if he would help in the war without expecting something in return." Dumbledore nodded his head thoughtfully, and then all of a sudden the sparkle returned to his eyes.

"The Duel then shall be held at Hogwarts and a feast will be held in commemoration of our guests the night before, as for his aid in the war I shall approach him when I can and I am sure we can come to some arrangement. You may leave Harry unless there is more that you wished to discuss?" Harry shook his head both in the negative and for not thinking Dumbledore a fool before, did he not realize the destruction that the Duel would cause. He wasn't mad exactly but he had expected Dumbledore as the Headmaster of Hogwarts to let him leave instead of having the duel on the grounds.

His head was a whirl of thoughts as he trod back to him common room and then thankfully on to bed. Visions of outcomes and spells streaking across Hogwarts, blasting the ageing castle to rubble plagued his thoughts until sleep over came him and Harry Potter finished his first day of Hogwarts.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5: An unwanted friend_

When Harry woke the next day he found himself almost disorientated, the room seemed to spin for a moment, and he pitched his head into his hands while he allowed the world to right itself once more. It didn't happen very often but disorientation was something he was becoming used to, it hadn't happened so much when he was younger but now it became slightly more frequent and unfortunately he knew the reason why. Harry had not liked his glasses, he had been ridiculed for having them and in his profession they where more a hindrance than a help in the situations he arrived in and so at the age of seven he had performed a ritual-alone to correct his eyesight, it was only a small one with very few potential losses but Harry was ecstatic when he found that he had performed it correctly, or at least to the best of anyone's ability. A subsequent side effect of this ritual was unfortunately minor disorientation from time to time.

He wished now though that he had waited longer and tried to find a more suitable ritual, perhaps one that would have enhanced other attributes and didn't leave the user disorientated from time to time, it was becoming a nuisance. But that was neither here nor there, and in the words of Harry himself 'What's done is done and can never be undone'

He slipped out of bed, quieter than the softest mouse, pulled on his robes and strapping various daggers about his person, concealing them neatly beneath the rich expanse of black that covered his body. For a moment he debated taking his swords with him, but he was almost sure that they would cause some undue problems, besides he had his daggers. With a last check of everything he waved his wand about his possessions and took his leave to the great hall.

Few people watched him as he set about picking at his breakfast with little enthusiasm; it wasn't that he wasn't hungry. He was just thinking about the duel to come. The aim was to kill your opponent, it had been that way for 4000 years and he was willing if not eager to kill his King and take his place at the throne, but then again did he want to subject the boys and girls of Hogwarts to death at such an age. The duel also posed another dilemma though, if he won he would have to become the King of his land and he could not complete both his mission and be there at the same time- it was impossible, which came first- his duty to the land or his own duty to avenge his parents and countless others. It seemed obvious to him, but he doubted that anyone else would understand the position he was putting himself in.

Along the table a little way away Harry spotted Luna once more, and once more it seemed she was being victimized. Lazily he took out his wand and proceeded calmly to expel the boys from the great hall. Now then with Harry being slightly more powerful than the average wizard or witch he banished the four boys with the speed of a runaway freight train and with the same effects. The four boys landed at the base of the stair way in a tangled mess that (Truth be told) look quite hilarious, the rest of the Ravenclaw table along with the entire Gryffindor table broke out into a thunderous bout of laughter.

"You shouldn't have done that." A voice told him from over his shoulder although it held much the same humor as everyone else seemed to be experiencing. "I disagree." He said lightly, releasing his frustrations on a bunch of idiots and morons that where said to be part of the house of the clever had calmed him a little as well as vented his more aggressive tendencies. "I think Dumbledore agrees with me though" Harry looked back over his shoulder towards the head table where Dumbledore had gone and was now walking down the row between the tables heading straight for Harry.

The boy-who-lived calmly regarded the ageing headmaster, eyeing him up and down and noticing with distaste his purple robes that glistened with twinkling stars. "That was the most disgraceful display I have ever seen." The old man said wearily, "Twenty points to Ravenclaw, however Mr. Potter. I'm sure that you will find your way to my office tonight at 7pm sharp." Harry nodded happily, noticing from the corner of his eye that Dumbledore still held that superior twinkle in his eye.

"Professor?" Luna asked hesitantly, "You are aware that you just gave Ravenclaw twenty points and not take them away aren't you?" Dumbledore regarded her for a moment as though silently judging her behind his half moon spectacles. "And you young miss are surely aware that Harry here aided a fellow member of his house, the fact that he used minor force surely makes very little difference. However if you insist I take points from Ravenclaw I would be happy to do so…" The old man trailed off somewhat expectantly and just as expected was Luna's quick butting in to retain the points that had been gained. "No, no professor of course I realize that. Sorry" she added, a little ashamed at her own act of stupidity. Dumbledore smiled benignly, as was his way, and once more left for the teachers table undoubtedly to inhale some sort of caffeine based beverage before he had to deal with a bunch of hyper active school children in his lessons as the substitute teacher. Privately Harry wondered if they would receive a new teacher, Dumbledore had asked for an Auror but surely an elite Unspeakable would be more applied for the job. He shook his head thoughtfully the Unspeakables would be too busy as they worked independently from the Ministry they had several side projects that wouldn't make a difference in day to day life, so the Minister couldn't call them in. Dumbledore could ask for a favour though, or he could but that was another story entirely, though he supposed if the Unspeakables would be busy then so should the Auror's and Dumbledore would know this. Why weren't the Auror's busy?

Harry chose not to watch the head table, nor did he choose to watch the sixth year Ravenclaws that where just now getting back to there feet and making there way groggily back to the hall. He chose instead to brood on matters regarding the ministry of magic. He refused to believe that any government either wizarding or muggle would not believe that a threat as big as Voldemort had come back, it made sense to prepare for the shadow war that was sure to come as it had when Voldemort had first come to power. He vowed to ask the headmaster more about it later, it was unfortunate that he didn't receive the Daily Prophet, but then again if he had he would have simply read that he was being slandered from all sides as where his peers Cedric and Dumbledore.

If he was honest with himself Harry would have acknowledged that something needed to be done. Plans needed to be set in motion so that the Dark Lord would not take as strong a foothold as he had in the first war. Their was no-one to blame for the first war, this was what he had come to realize, Voldemort had gathered an army a thousand strong by the time he had left Hogwarts and no one had known about it. Then the shadow war had played out, Voldemort had sent out raids, filling teams with the most sick and twisted people that the world had ever seen. They took it upon themselves to rape, kill, murder and destroy everything that they could. For ten years this had continued with no-one being able to point the accusatory finger at one person simply because they had no idea what was going on. It was on this ten year anniversary that the new Dark Lord chose to reveal himself and show his Death Eaters to the world. The panic increased ten fold, the Minister for Magic was booted from office and another was instated, one that promised to be more effective at combating the Death Eaters.

Harry growled to himself. If he had learned anything it was that history always repeated itself, so the Ministry of Magic was once again allowing the wizarding world to fall into panic and disrepair. Things needed to be moved along but that could only be done if Voldemort was to reveal himself, something told the young wizard that wasn't about to happen any time soon. Growling about incompetent bastards in green bowler hats he stalked off to charms and readied himself for another bad day.

The day couldn't have gone any slower, Charms had been a dull affair although it did seem challenging to others in his class and he had earned Ravenclaw another twenty points by the end of the session. Then he had been to ancient runes where he was forced to endure a woman telling him completely the wrong purpose, style and wording of several different Celtic runes. Arithmancy had been much better though, he was given a spell to look at and study the swishes, flicks or curls that made up specific parts, of course he had already studied this sort of thing and was very adept at it but it felt nice to do something that wasn't too far below his natural capabilities, he had earned his house another twenty points for this session. Ten for being the first to finish and another ten for being one of only three to do it correctly. Then he had dragged himself to the Potions chambers, forcing himself to endure Professor Snape for another two hours of his life was extremely difficult when he didn't think he could endure the man for more than five minutes without tearing his throat out. Once again the professor had forced them to brew a complex potion and one that had hundreds of potentially fatal quirks if done incorrectly. Just to spite the greasy bastard of a Professor, Harry had completed his potion perfectly before helping several of those around him. Harry didn't enjoy doing this but to see the irked look on his Professor's face it was well worth it.

He left the lesson with a smirk plastered firmly in place, hefting the satchel onto his shoulder in a more secure way he continued along the corridor and back to the Ravenclaw common room. He opened the portrait and snuck inside, depositing the bag in his truck and sealing it with a dozen spells. He knew it was far too much but for his peace of mind it was well worth it. He grabbed a book that had a series of long notes in the back from his nightstand and went back down to the common room, choosing to sit in the shady corner with his robes pulled tightly about him. A quill in his hands wrote feverishly across the parchment only pausing when Harry stopped to check something. More than once did he growl to himself in annoyance before putting a lavish X at the bottom of the page, marking out several reasons why and flipped over to the next page. The entire book was like this, over five hundred pages filled with Harry's miniscule writing of notes and possible theory's all of which where false. He had been working on this for the last year of his life and was sure that he would find a solution soon. It was to be one of his greatest achievements when it succeeded.

"Harry?" A light voice asked, penetrating his thoughts from the task at hand. Quickly he flicked the book shut pulling it together with his hand; he looked up at the face before him. It was Luna again, why did he always seem to run into that girl? "Yes" He replied allowing the annoyance in his voice to break through his normal emotionless mask. Wearily he studied her, quietly noting the radish earrings and butterbeer cork necklace, quite dissimilar to his own.

"Well, when we met on the train you promised that you would teach me how to fight a Dementor and I was sort of hoping that, umm well could you still please teach me?" He observed her lightly once more, this time wondering how long she had been building up the courage to ask him that tiny question. He nodded his head; he was after all a man of his word. "Great!" She said enthusiastically, "Well when can we start?" She questioned. Harry stood up, setting the book he was working on down at the table as he did so, with an un-noticeable flick of his wand the book had been returned to its place in his trunk.

"Now if you want?" He growled, patiently waiting for her response. To his utter dismay she nodded. 'Surely' he thought, 'this girl has something better to be doing right now than learning the charm'. "Very well" He led her out of the common room and followed several turns until he came to the passage way he had followed the morning previously. The young girl followed him, shaking slightly at the cold of perhaps fear that he had led her down into the secret place to have his way with her. He chuckled lightly to himself but kept his eyes on the way ahead, soon the way became filled with the rich dark wood that was the door to Harry's privet dueling arena. Without a word to the young girl or a single wave of his wand the doors opened to allow him passage. The young wizard whispered a barely audible 'Thank you' and warmth penetrated the cold room lighting several torch brackets and illuminating the dueling stage as well as the tapestries that adorned the walls. Harry continued to walk, heavy black boots not making even the lightest of sounds on the rich wood floors. He ascended to the top of the dueling stage in a manner that authenticated his livelihood and made Luna's spine tingle.

The girl followed, approaching him from the opposite end of the stage as was custom. She was shaking lightly, wondering perhaps if she could finally be rid of her mothers dying screams. She gave a low bow to her teacher who nodded back at her.

"You will be learning the Patronus charm. It was designed long ago by a very great wizard to combat Dementor's, since its creation their have been but a few variations upon it none of which are any more difficult to perform than this charm. The incantation is 'Expecto Patronum' repeat after me 'Expecto Patronum'" They chorused together. "Good, now wand out and thrust, make sure your body is straight and that your wand is directly out in front of you. Now, the most difficult part of the charm is that it requires the caster to use a happy memory to make it work. Dementor's thrive in negativity so it is only fitting that their downfall be the exact opposite." The young girl furrowed her brow, deep in concentration, thinking of the strongest good memory that she had.

"I have one" she gasped at last. "Is it strong?" he inquired with little interest. "I'm not sure, but it's the best that I can do." Harry nodded at this, they would know soon enough. "I will summon a Dementor and you will cast the charm. Do not under any circumstances loose the thought of your happy memory. Let it fill you, utterly and completely." The young girl smiled at him. He sighed and pulled a jet black bauble from around his neck, he held it tightly in his hand for a second before hurling it with all his might at the ground where it shattered into a thousand pieces. A huge ghostly black figure rose from the pieces. A black crown adorning its head, it took one long rattling breath and the room was swept into darkness.

"Expecto Patronum" A small voice squeaked, a tiny jet of light emitted from the wand but was quickly squashed and crushed by the power of the King of Dementor's. "Don't loose your happy memory" Harry yelled at her, his sounded far off and thick to her as though he where far away but she knew that he was only just in front of her ten, twenty feet at the most. "Expecto Patronum" she said once more, but already she knew it was no good. Her memory had vanished and her strength was failing her. She sank to her knees, feeling the wash of darkness pressing in on her. It was too much, it couldn't be done. The thing was too powerful. The screams filled her ears all along she wasn't sure if the screams where her own or those of her long deceased mother.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM" A huge voice yelled, loud enough to startle her away from the brink of unconsciousness. She watched in fascination as the darkness was swept away in one swift move by the blindingly white light that now filled the room. She had never seen someone look as powerful as he did in that moment, the long robes that billowed out behind him the crackle of magic about his body, the cold hard steel gaze of his eyes. He seemed to be what every wizard aspired to be. She remained where she was, watching him, even as she was warmed by the feeling of having something so pure beside her. From the corner of her eye he noticed the huge Dementor cowering in the corner, looking meek and destroyed. Harry strode over to it, pulling a bauble on a piece of string from his pocket as he did so. He held it out to the Dementor who immediately vanished and the clear bauble was once again filled with the same smoky black substance that had been inside the first.

"You did well Luna, you should be very proud of yourself. You stood up against the King of Dementors, few can say that they have accomplished such a task, and you managed to conjure a Patronus under its' gaze, fewer can attest to that." He summoned a bar of chocolate to him and handed it to the younger girl. "Eat it all, I will know if you haven't and try and get some sleep. I have an appointment to keep, I shall see you in the morning." She nodded at him; he spun on his heel and walked out of the room his boots lighter than air it seemed. They never made a sound.

The journey to the headmaster's office was uneventful, as it should be in a place as secure as Hogwarts, Harry scoffed, the very idea was ludicrous. Hogwarts was no safer than anywhere else in the wizarding world the only difference was that the old man was here and Tom wouldn't dare step within its halls

The stone statue moved smartly to one side when Harry approached, as if it didn't dare test the boy's patience with silly passwords. He walked up the still revolving staircase even as he admired how it was constructed. 'Fascinating' he would say or 'marvelous' it seemed the wards of Hogwarts and indeed some of the little tricks that revolved around the Headmasters office where greatly appreciated by the boy who lived. A gentle knock on the door later and Harry was standing inside Dumbledore's office, admiring the quantity of trinkets he had accumulated during his lifetime. Some where elegant and ornate while others simply decorative.

"Good evening Harry, I trust that your studies are going well?" the ageing old man asked politely with a gentle twinkle adorning his eyes. Harry gave a gentle smile, not the smirk he was used to giving but an actual smile.

"I hope so Albus, I cannot be sure at the moment. Perhaps you would enlighten me, how are my defense grades shaping up?"

"Actually Harry, the essay you wrote on the Cruiciatus curse was one of the reasons why I felt that it would be prudent for me to speak with you this evening. I have several questions regarding your answer, it was both specific and general at the same time and I cannot find for the life of me how you managed to answer in such a fashion." It was Dumbledore's eyes that gave him away, Harry decided that as he was speaking. The man was worried at how Harry had such an extensive knowledge about the curse, some of which was practical application including diagrams.

"I have trained to fight the curse since you came to my doorstep and I vanished. It has involved both, numerous applications of the curse as well as the method by which it is cast for me to learn what I know now. Does that answer you question adequately?" Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment, stroking at his long white beard, which was at the moment tucked into his thick leather belt. "Since you asked me a question Albus may I ask you one?"

"You have already my dear lad, but feel free to ask another."

"Why is it that Ministry forces are not gathering to repel an attack from the Dark Lord, why are Auror's not stationed at the school to protect the students?" Harry asked politely, he had been wondering the answer to this question all day. Dumbledore looked shocked at Harry, something the boy-who-lived had seen only once.

"My dear boy, do you not read the papers?" Harry shook his head, they where full of propaganda and it bothered him; he had not touched a newspaper since his ninth birthday. "Harry the Ministry of magic refuses to hear of his return as a consequence this school is left defenseless. Minister Fudge is adamant that we, me and you Harry, are looking for publicity and are nothing but stir-mongers" Dumbledore finished and looked defeated in himself.

"It won't matter in a couple of months." Harry said breaking the dead silence that encompassed the room.

"Whatever do you mean Harry?" Albus asked, feeling every bit his considerable age.

"In due time Albus, it shall become clear. I have met Minister Fudge only once in my life and at that time he seemed a bumbling fool, now in a time of war when his country needs him to stand up and take charge he still plays the bumbling fool, he is smarter than he looks I'll give him that. Nothing more. I will take everything" Dumbledore was confused, he prided himself on very rarely being confused but Harry Potter was an enigma, a puzzle within a puzzle and was often found to confuse Dumbledore, but he was a puzzle and the flaw of all great puzzles was that they could be solved.

"Well then my dear boy, as I said at the start of term I wish to learn a little more about your past and you can, in turn, learn about mine if you wish." Harry nodded his head but remained silent. "Very well, if you would be so kind as to choose a memory and deposit it, in this basin, I would prefer something from earlier on in your life but it is up to you." The old man asked pulling a basin up from underneath his desk and then another. Harry consented and whipped out a wand before pointing it at his right temple, he pressed gently and then pulled it away leaving a long trail of silver flitting in its wake, with a swish it was deposited in the bowl and Albus had done the same to the one next to it.

Harry looked at the elderly man with a smile, "Well then, into the abyss once more it seems" he said with a delighted chuckle, and with that he submerged his head in the smoky liquid.

Harry felt himself falling, visions and other memories that intertwined with this one flashed by until he landed, he looked up, gathering his bearings. Dumbledore stood in front of a huge oak door, his wand flashed about him with the grace of youth even though he where still an old man, Harry watched the wards that Dumbledore was apparently battering with a concussion of spells and runic magic, something to behold if you had never seen it before defiantly.

There where fountains of sparks shooting from the doors in every colour of the rainbow, it would have been funny perhaps even delightful if Harry hadn't sensed the fury and worry that was palpable in Dumbledore's memories. Clearly there was something in the building that was important to either him or the mission that he had embarked upon. Finally with a last well placed concussion hex the wards collapsed and the doors where flung from their hinges by the raw magical power that flitted about Dumbledore.

"MORRIGAN" he screamed, as though a sonorous had been cast upon his lungs. The walls shook and the ground trembled at the terror the man was to behold at that moment. When know answer came to his calls Dumbledore proceeded further into the keep, passing door after door but never looking in any one of them. Harry soon realized that Dumbledore had already learned to feel magic by this stage in his life, an accomplishment no doubt.

A bang went off like a gun from somewhere out in front; Dumbledore didn't pause in the slightest as the near black spell rushed towards him with terrifying power. At the last second but without any rush Dumbledore shielded himself and suppressed the potential of the spell. 'Quick' Harry thought with a smirk. There was an explosion all the same, Dumbledore's shield however did not break as it should have and still kept its master safe from the hexes that followed. Reds and yellows rained down on the wizard like a fireworks display, but nothing of merit was to behold. It seemed as though the powerful 'Dark Arts' spell had been one of a kind.

When the lights had finished assaulting him, and the smoke had cleared, Dumbledore rose to the offensive. Curses and hexes flew from his wand, careering up the hallway with devastating effectiveness; chucks of wall and floor where ripped up by the sheer power accompanying them. Yes, Harry Potter could defiantly see why Albus Dumbledore was considered the greatest wizard of his age. Wizards, clad in grey robes where blasted back, some twenty or thirty feet, before they skidded to a halt. It was all over in two minutes; Dumbledore had decimated a contingent of twenty wizards and didn't seem to be out of breath in the slightest.

"MORRIGAN!" he screamed once more, this time though, he was answered by a deep rich voice that was filled with hatred and malice. "Good evening Albus, such a pleasure to see you once more." Harry watched Dumbledore slump, his shoulders sagged in and his entire body seemed to wither before his eyes. This man, this Morrigan was holding all the cards, and it was all Dumbledore could do to play the game. It seemed as though winning would not be an option.

"Let her go Morrigan, this duel is between you and me. She has no part to play in this and you know it." Dumbledore said calmly, but Harry could tell from the way his eyes darted about him that he was valiantly looking for a way out. A way to find this woman or girl that he had stormed a castle for.

"YOU FOOL!" Morrigan bellowed, his voice shaking the foundations of the castle just as Dumbledore's had 'Well this was going to be interesting' Harry thought happily "She has everything to do with this, she will be your undoing Dumbledore, and I will see to it!"

"You will not touch her" Dumbledore said in a falsely calm voice, though he did seem more controlled than he had been a second ago.

"Oh, and I suppose a great muggle loving fool like you is going to stop me. I'm not so sure Albus, not with her life on the line" The man said with conviction, his head glanced back, looking over his shoulder at the wall. He couldn't make out exactly what was there but Dumbledore soon focused himself and he too looked at the wall, which in turn made it clearer for Harry to see. There was a young woman chained up to the wall, she could be no older than twenty five at the most. Her head was limp on her shoulders and blood leaked down her face, cutting a river through that which had already dried.

This image, rather than defeat the headmaster, seemed to invigorate him. Spells where flying from his wand, even as he ran forward, Morrigan was caught of guard but quickly ducked the first spell, rolling out of its way and coming back up he raised a makeshift shield. Even at Harry's considerable distance he could see that it was shabbily done and wouldn't stand up to Dumbledore. Indeed it didn't within the time it had taken Morrigan to draw another breath Dumbledore had let loose a flurry of hexes that shattered the shield and dissolved the magic before knocking the wind out of the man once more. Morrigan was sent crashing across the floor, his body bouncing at odd intervals, he couldn't catch himself.

Dumbledore was still moving, this time he had changed his tactics somewhat and had transfigured some of the smaller stones into birds of prey that took off like a shot to the winded man. Morrigan, not to be out done, flicked his wand at the birds and they dissolved off their temporary flesh and turned back on Dumbledore as winged skeletons. He rose to his feet, shaking off the effects of Dumbledore's hex before creating with a gentle flick off his wand, a seven pointed pentagram rather than the normal five. This act elicited a gasp from Harry, what kind of a fool would dare to summon a creature from the seventh gate of hell, especially one as weak as Morrigan. As these thoughts came to mind the man was already sat in the outer circle of the pentagram, protected by a further three layers of old magic.

Harry watched in amazement as Morrigan's lips moved as though without intent, Harry couldn't even here the words that he spoke as they where wrought with such fervor. Dumbledore had not been sitting idle though. With a stroke and flick of his wand, the woman was removed from her bindings and set to the floor gently. Now he turned back to face Morrigan without an ounce of surprise on his face. Calmly he sent an 'Expelliarmus' at him but it did nothing other than bounce off a blood red shield that materialized just in time to save Morrigan.

"Old Magick" Harry heard Dumbledore mutter to himself. Then without warning Dumbledore began crafting his own seven star pentacle into the air. Muttering words the whole time, Harry noticed though that when a demon was summoned candles of black wax had to be placed at the point of each of the stars. Dumbledore's pentacle was not for summoning then. With a long lavish wave the last rune was created at the seventh point and the whole thing immediately combusted, flames sprang from ever available point. "Eneranzza" Dumbledore yelled at the pentacle, the flames intensified burning black, screeching to be let free of their confines within the pentacle. Harry felt his own magic scream back to it, as though in answer, the fact that this was just a memory didn't seem to matter to it.

With a hand pressed against his creation Dumbledore rammed his other hand into it, his magic reacting with the pentacle and sending it forwards.

Morrigan glanced up, his mouth had stopped moving and the magic in the air around him had grown thicker. He had finished the ritual, and Harry could see the effects, both the man's palms where slit and blood had already crusted over the skin. His face was gaunt and pale, his magic was drained, it was completed successfully then. As if in answer, the middle of the pentacle was bathed in smoke and lightning crackled from it. Then from the corner of his eye, Harry saw Dumbledore's pentacle, with the Black fire smash into the shield that protected Morrigan, for a moment Morrigan seemed content in his victory. Then the pentacle burst and the black fire spread over the magic, sucking it away and fueling its own delight.

Harry's own magic screamed out in joy, it seemed to enjoy the black flames success, and Harry watched with a delight all his own as the flames ate away the magic and continued to do so until everything was consumed, Morrigan screamed until the moment his throat was devoid of flesh, and his bones where charred black. The demon he had summoned as decimated by the flames as they ate the runes and continued to grown and spread.

"Don't fuck with my family" Harry heard Dumbledore growl in a low voice. "For that you will burn in hell Grindlewald." Dumbledore then gathered the woman up in his arms and apparated away, the memory was ending but even so Harry distinctly heard the sound of breaking glass, a clear sign that the Apparition wards had been broken. Colours once more flooded his sight and he re-emerged in Dumbledore's office.

The old man emerged from Harry's memory a moment later, looking pale and very old indeed. Harry gave him a smile and that seemed to at least placate the old man enough so that he could sit down without throwing up.

"Perhaps we should discuss what you saw at a later date Albus, when you have had time to wrap your mind around things." Harry asked, Dumbledore gave a half nod and Harry took that as his cue to leave. He walked back to his common room, with thoughts washing about his head. The black fire had been interesting, nothing new but certainly interesting. He hadn't thought for a second that Dumbledore would know such a spell.

The summoning had been another shock. "Fool" Harry growled to himself, only an idiot would summon from the seventh gate when they where so weak regardless of the fight that they where in. Dumbledore's choice of words had confused him a little as well. Harry had thought the old man something of a hermit, until he came to Hogwarts, but children was certainly not beyond the old man, even grand children or perhaps great grand children by this stage in his life. It was something to consider.

Harry flicked his wand at the portrait, moving it aside easily, he couldn't remember the password right now and bloody Ravenclaw's being Ravenclaw's they changed it every day to pose a challenging. It wasn't a challenge it was annoying and Harry was not in the mood.

"How was your detention?" A voice asked him destroying his reverie in one swift move. Luna he thought, turning to face her.

"What detention" he asked, in truth he had no clue about a detention. He hadn't been assigned one and his trip to Dumbledore's office had been nothing more than a cordial exchange of information from one wizard to another.

"The one with Dumbledore, how did it go?" she snapped.

"Fine" he answered, thoroughly amused by the shade of red she turned. "Why did you stay up anyway, not a chance in hell that it was to have this conversation?"

"Well I wanted to say… Um… Thank you, you know for sticking up for me when those guys where picking on me. No-one has ever done that before…so…um…Thanks." Harry raised an eyebrow at the girl, unique he thought, that was probably the nicest thing he could say about her. Then again uniqueness wasn't exactly a bad thing was it?

"Your welcome" was all that he managed before the younger girl bounded over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. Quickly she moved away and continued her 'uniqueness' as she bounded up the stairs to her dorm. Harry watched, stunned for only a second before he began walking to his own dormitory. Before he had ascended the staircase he made the mistake of looking back. A thought flitted through his head, one that he hadn't even contemplated 'What if I make more than friends at Hogwarts' and then, complimentary to this thought, came another, completely independent to Harry. "Fuck" he answered himself, softly. The rest of his walk to bed felt as though he where dragging a tree behind him. He had come to kill Voldemort nothing else, how had he gotten so tangled up in all this.

He placated himself with thoughts of the battle that was to come with the King, and his own rise to power. That would be a day to remember, all hallows eve wouldn't be long after that and he was sure that Voldemort would do something then. The man was insufferable when it came to things like that, the fifteenth anniversary of his fall from power. Yes he would defiantly do something, and Harry was ready for him when he came.

He could bring his Death Eaters, he could bring trolls and giants, he could bring dragons and Dementors, and he could bring vampires and werewolves. Harry would kill them all, and he would be happy to do it.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6 – The Arrival_

Weeks passed in the blink of an eye and it had accordingly rolled around to the day before Harry was due to face the King in combat. It had not been spent idle either Harry had trained his body beyond any previous limits and expectations; he was by default a student in any case and as a student he had assignments to complete and had neglected to keep his body in shape. He had tried to repair some of the damage done and had pushed himself further and further to get the results. He was now much more the man he had trained to be all his life rather than the kid Hogwarts forced him to be and he would never let that happen again.

At the present Harry was sat in the Great Hall finishing up his breakfast, Dumbledore had excused him from classes today so that he would be able to relax for the upcoming battle. Harry on the other hand had no such intentions, relaxing now would fray his nerves and put him on edge. Harry was going to train and he had the entire Quidditch pitch and all day to do it. Most of the students had already left the great hall for lessons those that where left where sixth and seventh years with free periods. The staff had left as well, except for Dumbledore who defiantly looked his age as he sat in his place at the Head Table only occasionally to glance up and look at Harry.

Harry feared that Dumbledore had come to regret his decision about allowing Hogwarts to play host to the battle that was due and Harry couldn't blame him. Dumbledore's fears now where probably akin to what Harry had feared when he had told the old man, but a deal was a deal and Hogwarts would play the host. It had already been announced to the students the previous night at dinner that they could come and watch, rumors had begun to circulate that not only Hogwarts would be watching but a whole host of representatives from others countries as well. Harry had good reason to suspect that these rumors weren't completely fabricated either. He had it on good authority that England's head of Magical Security and Defense would be there as well as several UNSPEAKABLES; the Minister of Magic was set to make an appearance as well as the Headmistress of Beauxbatons and the headmaster of Durmstrang. In short order it was to be a world class event. Harry hoped that Voldemort would choose it as a suitable place to attack because of all the prominent targets; it would be, educational to say the least.

Regardless of all the security that was to be placed around the event, Voldemort would be sure to mark it as a target simply because it offered the chance to eliminate so many un-known factors in the war. Harry being one of such un-known factors, though it had yet to be assessed how many men Voldemort had they would certainly come; the Dark Lord himself may even make an appearance.

Harry had spent previous days exercising his magic, pulling it through the countless channels that the body offered, widening the flow of his power similar to creating a canal of any kind; Harry was simply widening the banks. Doing this would provide a greater resource of magic and would not make him work as hard to get it. Most of the time Harry narrowed his channels and wore suppressors so that he could contain his magic more efficiently, the suppressors could be and would be removed if it proved necessary and that was likely to happen given the strength of the person he was due to battle. There was a single suppressor however, that even young Harry feared to remove, he had spent the better part of his life learning how to control it's devastating power but as of yet to no real avail, it was a combination of sheer will and over a hundred rune sets that kept this power veiled and under wraps.

It was because of his power that he was forced to wear the suppressors, when he was young he had the most powerful accidental magic of anyone person or magical being on record, his teachers and particularly the King had been worried that he would become angry because of his age and destroy the world they had built. Looking back Harry couldn't doubt their judgment on the subject and as a result he was even more powerful now and he certainly wasn't arguing that.

He left the great hall and went out to the pitch where he had been practicing days before, the wide open space it offered was something akin to what Harry would be fighting on tomorrow. His people didn't really believe in dueling stages, they restricted the possibilities of the duel and Harry was keen to fight in wide open spaces. Over on his left not two hundred meters away from the lake he saw wizards hard at work preparing the grounds for Harry's duel. A huge rectangular area about the size of a football pitch with stands all around it. The spectators would be protected from any stray spells because of the wards that Harry and the King would have to formally erect before the duel.

Harry cast his mind back to Luna, just like the wizards building the area she had bee working hard as well. Her Patronus although not yet corporal was still able to fend off the King of Dementors for a few seconds and she was now able to retain control of herself when faced with the terrifying creature. She was spirited he would have to give her that and not as alone as even she thought she was. He had noticed on the odd occasion that she left Ravenclaw tower that she was accompanied by the only female Weasley still at Hogwarts, the two seemed to have developed a tentative relationship but they seemed happy enough. He even noticed Hermione talking to her once or twice but she seemed reserved about Luna's unique outlook on things.

He was done thinking such thoughts quickly, he strode out onto the middle of the pitch and removed his cloak, it was windy today but still warm and he held no reservations about removing his clothes. A scarred chest appeared and immediately fell into long fluid movements, contracting and expanding quickly and easily, some might have thought it odd to see a wizard running through martial arts and those that knew the martial arts would not have recognized this. It was unique, Harry's own blend of magic and a long forgotten fighting style.

Magic is in the blood, wizards cast spells through a wand because that is all they know but magic is at its strongest in the blood. The blood flows through wizards the same as it does in Muggles, through the arteries and veins that line the body with main organs being situated throughout the body, the heart, lungs, kidneys, intestines and brain. At any one time there are 136 points in the body that can stop the flow of blood and thereby the flow of magic within. Harry was intimately familiar with all of them and the ritual on his eyes allowed him to see them in other people if he focused hard enough, it was rare that Harry ran through his martial arts to such a degree, only when he fought Muggles in competition did he use it really, but here he was fighting the King and Harry would take any advantage he could, going so far as to even conjure an exact replica of the King and checking the veins and arteries within its body, and analyzing the pressure points with the enchantment on his eyes.

Hitting any of these points with a single strike could stop the flow of magic, however if it was done using magic the point could be blocked permanently. Harry was so familiar with these points in his own body that he could release magic from any point he wished, his fingers, his eyes, his lips anywhere, it was a truly unique gift but he only ever used the magic he had at his disposal in combat or in very rare cases with women.

Magic didn't care what it was used for, you could use the killing curse in combat or on an unarmed woman and the magic would still work, Harry could use is own magic in anyway he desired. Magic was a tool that few wizards have in abundance but all wizards have it, still even fewer of the truly powerful wizards through the ages had been able to focus and manipulate the ebb and flow of magic within their own bodies. Even the great Merlin himself was unfamiliar with it and used his own unique method of working his magic, a staff.

Staffs where the wrong choice of focus for a wizard for so many reasons it was unfathomable, they provided non of the intricacies of a wand, they where big and heavy and couldn't be charmed for fear of disrupting the multiple cores inside, the wood used was often brittle and would snap at a moments notice and finally they offered too much power. Power was usually a thing to be disputed between powerful wizards and witches so let's take an example if you sat Dumbledore and Voldemort down in a room together and made them through unknown means discuss the most powerful focus for a wizard they would both agree that it had to be a staff.

If you then asked them why neither therefore used one Dumbledore would politely reply that it would mean cutting the possible number of spells that could be used in half because of the bulky nature of the staff. Voldemort, after some argument would agree and would more than likely argue the fact that it was unbecoming of a pureblood.

Harry chuckled to himself as he extended his arm and sent a pulse of magic through it, if anyone had cared to look they would have noticed the gentle and almost non existent explosion centered at the tip of Harry's most extended fingers. Harry himself didn't notice this and was busy moving his leg and extending it before similarly sending a pulse of magic through it. The same result happened and again it went unnoticed, finally Harry returned his leg to the ground and fell into a simple bow.

It was done.

He was ready.

The rest of the day passed quickly for all involved in it, most of the students where eagerly looking forward to the duel between Harry Potter and some unknown, if for no other reason then that they got to miss classes for as long as the duel progressed. Some, such as the student Ronald Weasley where simply looking forward to the feast that would accompany the arrival of tonight's guests.

Harry, after completing the rest of his exercises had sought out the headmaster and requested to speak with him, the meeting had been a long one, extending until the King had arrived with his entourage.

"Professor Dumbledore, I was hoping that I might have a word with you before the King arrives?" Harry asked politely as he arrived in the headmasters chambers, once again he noticed that Fawkes was there, gently preening its gold and orange plumage with a sharp beak.

"Of course Harry, what was it that you wished to discuss with me?" The headmaster replied while motioning Harry into a seat opposite himself.

"Actually sir I wanted to discuss what will happen tomorrow…" Harry held up a hand to stifle any protests that the headmaster was about to argue with. "I realize sir, that what is in my memories may appear like an indication of what will happen tomorrow but I assure you it won't be. The grounds and the stands will be warded by me and the King in a show of good faith to the spectators, you and your staff may add wards as you choose to…"

"It's not the wards that bother me Harry, I have the utmost faith that you and this King can protect the spectators well enough, it is the sight of death that I don't want them exposed to but alas it is too late now, I have promised them that they will be allowed to watch and I am a man of my word"

"As am I Dumbledore, I have a responsibility to fulfill. From here on out there are two roads my life can take one of them leads me to a Kingdom under my rule and the second leads me into battle and I know which one I want Albus, I feel it, like a pulse under my skin I know which one I want to pick, which road I want to follow."

"We are often faced with a choice Harry, doing what is right against what is easy, I have spent most of my life trying as hard as I could to do what is right over what is easy and I hope that you will choose to what is right over what is easy"

Harry bowed his head to Dumbledore. "Thank you Albus, I shall do my best." Harry turned to leave and was almost at the door when Dumbledore called him back.

"Harry, may I ask you something?" Harry turned and sat back down.

"Of course"

"As I was reviewing several pensive memories that have, through various ways come into my possession over the years I noticed one that was wrong." Harry looked quizzical over this, it was very rare that memories where wrong. Often they came from a different perspective but almost never wrong, Dumbledore continued. "Well you see in this memory, the person in question had passed out but the memory continued"

"Was Legilimency involved?" Harry asked sharply.

"There is nothing in the memory that would lead to such a conclusion; perhaps you might have a better idea if I told you where the memory was situated." Harry gave a nod, and the headmaster said four words and gave no explanation.

"The Chamber of Secrets"

Once more Harry nodded. "Indeed, would we perhaps be discussing the memory of one Ginny Weasley?"

"That is correct Harry; I assume that you are the person that slew the basilisk that day?"

"You would be right to make that assumption headmaster." Harry said with a wry grin, his hand reached his neck and traveled down into his robes pulling out a necklace with various fangs on teeth on it, after a moment he held one out above all the others. "That particular basilisk's minor fang" he said with a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Could you perhaps be more forthcoming with information regarding Miss Weasley's memory?"

"Of course, little Ginny Weasley continued to see and therefore her memory continued. There is a spell Dumbledore that allows ones own memories to be changed into another's perspective, I gave Ginny some perspective."

Dumbledore gave a nod, looking thoughtful for but a moment. "Was there any reason you did this Harry, allowing that girl to see what became of a monster she summoned?"

"There is a reason for everything if one looks hard enough, I'm sure Albus that if you think about it, really apply that noggin of yours to the task you will arrive at a reason." With that Harry lent back in his chair, savoring the comfort against his back. He watched Dumbledore as he thought, his brow wrinkling and unknotting itself, a sign of a difficult task if there was ever one.

Finally the wizened mage opened his eyes, a twinkle dancing around in them as though he where the keeper of the most wonderful secrets the world had to offer.

"You wanted her to face the beast, to see that no matter how powerful an inner demon it can be overcome with will and determination…"

"And skill." Harry finished. "The girl is a natural occlumans and there is no doubt in my mind that the basilisk will still prowl her head and visit her in her most violent nightmares."

This seemed to shock Dumbledore and the twinkle in his eye dimmed slightly before returning full force. "A natural you say, there hasn't been a true natural in over a hundred and twelve years."

"Actually…" Harry said with a half smile on his face, "More like fifteen years Dumbledore"

"What level?" The old man inquired.

"3"

"And Miss Weasley?"

"Level 2, but with the proper amount of training it will be enough, that Basilisk will work with her I'm sure of it."

"I'm sure that it will, a natural level two might have more than one you know that don't you?"

"Oh she will have, the others will be constructs though, remember she needs a balance for the darkness of the basilisk, maybe a phoenix I would suggest a unicorn but they aren't very good Legilimency probes"

"Darkness to protect a pure mind? Will it work?"

"Normally I would agree with what you are thinking right now, but the basilisk is already there and it is too slow to be a Legilimency probe, we both know it so it will have to work, besides, she is a strong girl. The darkness touched her and she beat it back, I watched her do it. This is the only way, she needs to be taught."

Dumbledore quickly voiced his agreement. "I will extend the offer to her and if she agrees I will attempt to persuade her parents."

Harry gave a dry chuckle. "The great Albus Dumbledore teaching their child an extremely rare magical ability, what person would refuse?" Dumbledore and Harry's warm laughter filled the chamber and for a moment, the magnificent phoenix that was Fawkes joined them in a trill of enjoyment.

Harry had left the office not long after, Dumbledore had promised to seek out the youngest Weasley and begin to train her in the intricacies of Occlumency. Harry had agreed and allowed the man to teach her at his leisure, Harry was not about to force the old man to do anything, it would be stupid and idiotic at best.

He had to prepare before the King and his entourage arrived and there where still things to be done. He took to the Ravenclaw common eager to get to bed before he was overcome with fatigue; alas it seemed that it was not meant to be. Luna, stood in the middle of the common room, Harry was pleased to see that she was no longer being harassed but the girl tapping her foot like that could only mean trouble.

"You missed our lesson." She snapped at him.

"I had a meeting" he countered easily. The young girl seemed to see through his indifference however though whatever she may have seen she took the wrong way.

"You might have said so at breakfast!" she said in a calm voice that almost betrayed her ferocity.

"It was last minute Dumbledore needed to see me about one of your friends" Instantly she paled, fearing the worst it seemed.

"Which one?"

"Ginny Weasley, I believe that you grew up with her correct?"

"I did, is…is she ok?" she said, with fear and hope both prominent in her small voice.

"To the best of my knowledge" Harry said "She is fine" Relief washed over the young girls face.

"Then why did you need to see Dumbledore about her?" she questioned, invulnerable it seemed to Harry's desire to go to bed.

"It's not my place to say" Harry said wearily "Nor is it Dumbledore's, it is only her place to speak of what is happening, I for one suggest that if she wishes to speak to you, you should listen" Luna nodded, unsure of what he was talking about but wanting to help the friend that had helped her.

"Ok" she said in that same small voice that he was becoming so fond of.

"I'm going to bed; I have a big day tomorrow as I am sure you already know. Sleep well Luna" he said as he passed her to reach his dormitory. The others in his dorm didn't shift at the presence of another in their midst, all too busy talking or sleeping; he caught snippets of the conversation though something about 'Minerva's latest contribution to Transfiguration Today' interesting, he might have joined in had he not been so tired

He pulled the curtains about the four poster and flicked his wand at them, stiffening them so they wouldn't move unless he undid the spell. He piled clothes on the end of his bed and left them their, they would be gone by morning and returned within the week. House elves really were incredible creatures.

He awoke because of a smell, something he had not smelled in a long time. His wand was instantly in his hand and the spell on the curtains dropped almost without thinking, in seconds Harry was inside his trunk pulling free long black robes and dragonhide boots he had received as a gift from a man he couldn't remember. He dragged the garments on before pulling free a long sword that had runes flitting about on its surface. Wand in one hand and the troll sized sword in the other Harry took off through the common room entrance and vaulted down the stairs.

Ravenclaw tower started on the seventh floor, Harry had just vaulted the banister on the seventh floor and was now stood at the entrance to the school. In all honesty he was a little surprised to see Dumbledore awake and stood at the doors as though he had been up for hours. The great doors that protected Hogwarts from siege where flung wide, the fresh morning air blustering its way into Hogwarts.

"A sword Harry, is that really necessary?" Dumbledore asked with a chuckle.

"We shall see" Harry replied, his face a grim mask. Dumbledore's chuckle died and his wand appeared in his hand. "Can you smell it?" Harry asked after a moments pause.

"I have smelled it a few times in my life Mr. Potter; very few men recognize such a sweet smell for what it truly is." Harry nodded; death did indeed smell sweet, something like fresh baked bread and cinnamon.

Harry took a deep breath, the scent filling both his mouth and nostrils. "Cyagra" he whispered.

"What was that my boy?" Dumbledore asked politely even as he stuck his smallest finger in his ear and feigned deafness.

"It isn't death that comes Dumbledore, it is something much worse."

"And pray tell, Harry, what is that?"

"Home" Harry said through dry lips. "I didn't expect them this early."

"Nor did I my dear boy, but then again we can never expect a wizard to arrive at our opinion of the correct time" Harry gave a dry laugh at that, he recalled Dumbledore saying something similar in a book by some other equally famous magician. 'A wizard is never early, nor is he ever late, he arrives precisely when he means to'

"Would you like to go to breakfast? I am sure we will be dually warned when they arrive" Dumbledore asked the younger man at his side.

"Wait a moment" Harry said with a grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

Dumbledore looked to where Harry was staring, and, although he had to strain to see it he could make out a black speck at the gates of Hogwarts, half a mile away. "What is it?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"My pet" Harry answered with a grin dwarfing his face. Dumbledore looked back to the speck; it had grown considerably and looked to have covered at least half the distance between the gates and the two wizards. Dumbledore saw the beast, jet black and on four legs barreling towards the school with unimaginable speed.

"Take a step to your right" Harry advised, Dumbledore thought better than to question Harry's request. Not a moment after he had moved the huge beast, easily the size of a bear when it to was on four legs careened through the doors and skidded to a stop, its claws gouging deep marks in the floor. Still it skidded past where Dumbledore had stood and ruffled the old mans robes before finally coming to a stop near the staircase.

When finally it had stopped moving it turned with a look of pure joy on its face and bounded over to Harry, with its tongue lolling out of its mouth like some huge dog. Harry caught it easily in his arms, as though it weighed nothing and proceeded to scratch the panther like creature behind the ears.

The creature let out a content purr and melted as though to liquid in Harry's arms, collapsing in a big heap on the floor. Harry sat down beside it and patted it heavily on the side of its enormous body. The young wizard beckoned Dumbledore closer, urging his too to pet the beast. Caution was prominent in the old wizard as he moved slowly forward, eventually putting an old withered hand on the creature's side just beside Harry's hand. Once more did the creature purr, causing Dumbledore's face to light up.

"Do you know what species it is?" Dumbledore asked.

"She" Harry said irritably.

"Excuse me?" Dumbledore asked.

"She, is a nundu" Dumbledore's breath hitched but just for a second.

"And how may I ask did such a creature come to be a pet to you?"

"Her family was killed when she was just a pup, Black Ridgebacks, I don't think I need to tell you how deadly those can be" Dumbledore shook his head, having once had an encounter with such a beast in his youth.

"Well I was passing, trying out a new broom that had just come out and saw what was happening. I remember Dumbledore loosing my parents, growing up like that is hard, I didn't want her to suffer, but I wasn't fast enough. The parents where dead and so was her sister, I wasn't about to let them have her as well. The first dragon succumbed to my wand, the second to my sword and the third I ripped apart with my bare hands."

"But it wasn't enough was it?" Dumbledore asked sadly.

"It never is, I couldn't take away her hurt and I couldn't bring them back. 'Magic can't bring back the dead' so I took her, and I raised her as best I could."

"It looks as though you have done a good job, Harry" Dumbledore said kindly. "Now come, we have a breakfast to attend." Harry rose, as did Dumbledore who was crouched. The huge nundu rose along side them, flicking out its long tail like a cat. Harry patted it on the head and walked to the hall where breakfast was already waiting for them. Dumbledore made his way to the head teachers table and Harry to the Ravenclaw table with his pet in tow.

The cat leaped up onto the table and gracefully lowered herself to that she was unable to crush anything with her considerable weight but so that her face was also only an inch away from the bacon. Harry took a spare plate and spooned the bacon onto it and placed it next to his own for the nundu to eat from, he didn't want his pet getting slobber all over the food. When she was happily tucking in and her tail was flicking back and forth in the air like a happy dog Harry went to get his own breakfast, making sure to pick only the foods with high carbohydrates and protein.

One by one, and then in groups people started to file into the hall, some wondered why the doors where open when they where usually closed this early in the morning. Most however came over to see the big cat on the Ravenclaw table, the kids had fun petting her and the girls cooed at such a magnificent creature. That was only until someone made the mistake of pulling her tail. The nundu was up like a shot, her eyes red and dangerous her fangs bared in an act of defiance.

Harry was up beside her, his wand trained on the person who had pulled his pets tail, his other hand was wrapped around the thick fur on the back of his pets neck, refusing to allow her to attack.

"Who pulled her tail?" Harry asked, his voice faking calm.

"I did what of it?" The blonde boy he had under his wand confessed. Harry vaguely thought he recognized him from somewhere but as soon as a name came to the front of his mind he lost it again.

"She is my pet. I'll not have you pulling on her"

"A Malfoy will do whatever he likes." The boy said arrogantly, his chin jutting in the air.

"Draco Malfoy?" Harry asked

"What of it?" That was enough for Harry.

"Petrificus Totalus" The boys limbs snapped together and he fell forward like a tree on its way down, Harry heard the unmistakable crack of bone on concrete and knew that his nose had shattered. At once the nundu settled down and lay back on the table, helping herself to more bacon.

"What is going on here?" came Professor Flitwick's tiny voice as he made his way through the crowd to the centre of the commotion, stepping deftly over Draco's limp form so as to get to the huge creature on the table. "Shoo" he said to the nundu, waving at it with his tiny hands. She gave him an uninterested look and went back to eating.

Flitwick drew his wand and was preparing to banish the creature when Harry's voice rang in his ears. "I wouldn't do that if I where you Professor" he said calmly.

"What you and I would and wouldn't do is inconsequential I think Mr. Potter" he replied, lifting his wand a little higher, as though to begin an orchestra.

"I disagree professor, but if you think banishing a nundu is a good idea then please be my guest" Harry said with a smug grin. Several people backed off at that announcement while tiny Flitwick stowed his wand away.

"Ah yes, well…" he stammered before scurrying away, no doubt to inform Dumbledore of what he already knew. Harry settled back into his breakfast, ignoring anyone who came near, his nundu would tell if anyone unsavory was nearby so it didn't really matter. His bacon and eggs finished he leant back in his chair, reaching out a hand to stroke his pet.

"Mr. Potter when breakfast is finished a word if you please." Dumbledore's voice boomed over the hall. Harry nodded to himself, all classes where cancelled today for the duel that would take place later. Dumbledore probably wanted to finalize things with him before the big event.

Even as the late sleepers filed in, even more where filing out having finished there breakfast they where undoubtedly heading out to make the most of the day until the guests arrived later. Harry moved over to where Dumbledore was sat, leaving his nundu on the Ravenclaw table with her admirers. Dumbledore motioned him out of the hall and fell into stride beside the smaller wizard as he went out onto the grounds. The smell of fresh bread and cinnamon had become even stronger, they where a little over the crest of the furthest hill away. By lunch they would be hear and the duel would begin almost immediately.

Neither Dumbledore nor Harry said anything for a long time, until finally Dumbledore broke the silence.

"I contacted the Weasley's today, this morning in fact not long before you performed that little piece of acrobatics. They have agreed to have me teach their daughter the art."

"It's not their decision" Harry reminded him.

"I agree, but it is best to ask. I will ask her what she thinks later" Harry nodded. "But what of you my boy, any fears or doubts before this battle?"

"Doubt is the path to failure, respect lets me be humble. I respect the power of him, his skill, but at the same time I do not doubt my own ability. If I doubt I have lost half the battle. Fear…well what is there to be afraid of." Harry said softly.

"You could fear death I suppose, many people fear losing in front of such a large crowd; you might fear forgetting your spells?" Dumbledore asked but at the same time he knew Harry wasn't afraid of any of those things. Harry chuckled and Dumbledore looked at him.

"What do you fear Dumbledore?" he asked casually as though discussing the weather.

Dumbledore pulled at his beard for a moment in deliberation.

"Power" he said finally, though his voice was drowned out by a thunderous crack like lightning, a huge dome of light spread out in front of the two wizards.

"Showoff" Harry muttered under his breath though he was sure Dumbledore had heard him.

The light remained for but a moment before it fled as swiftly as it came, revealing an army of people. Some dressed in robes, others in armor with long cloaks of red or black trailing the ground. At the head of the procession was a man of about forty with a white beard flecked with grey extending to the top button of his robes. His hair was brown, but was receding and graying at the temples. Harry took in the crown, a simple design made of the finest white gold and inlaid with over a hundred precious gems. It sparkled eerily in the early light.

"Albus Dumbledore meet King Demas, Kind Demas meet Albus Dumbledore" Both men reached out and shook hands pleasantly.

"Is Cyagra here?" Demas asked suddenly. Harry gave a nod.

"She arrived early this morning"

"Oh good, I was afraid I would have to chase her through another nine dimensions. She loves you, you should never have left her!" he reprimanded.

"I wanted her to become self sufficient, you know that. I told you expressly not to let her loose, your lucky I haven't stabbed you, what if you had lost her, huh, what would you have done then?" Harry said angrily.

"She is found now, it matters not" Demas said dismissively. Harry threw a punch at the man that connected heavily with his face and sent him sprawling to the ground. He sat there for a moment, panting heavily and then spitting blood.

"I told you before Demas, you will not talk about her like she is nothing." Harry said while his robes flitted about him in some incredible show of power.

"That's King…"

"NOT TO ME IT ISN'T" Harry thundered. Dumbledore subconsciously took a step back. "We duel at ten, get your strength back before then. You may not step one foot inside Hogwarts until this is finished. Anyone wishing to challenge that can step forwards now." No one moved, not even Dumbledore dared to move any further away fearing Harry might take it as an insult.

"I thought so. Ten O' clock Demas, in that stadium, this will be settled."

With that said he and Dumbledore walked away from the King and his entourage. Dumbledore took stride beside the young man, panting to keep up. It was not often that Dumbledore felt old but as Harry Potter marched he felt every day his age.

'A duel to end all duel's' he thought to himself. 'The Unspeakables will be overjoyed'

(A/N: Thanks to everyone who took the time to review, it means a lot to me to have your support. I hope this chapter puts some things in perspective for some reviewers as well. Keeping reviewing and thanks)


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7- The Battle_

The wind whipped the short grass into a frenzy, the pitch of the gale had grown since the morning and now it was difficult to stand in it without being knocked over. Still the two wizards, both dressed almost identically in black robes, the only thing separating them was that the younger of the two wore black boots while the older and more regal looking of the two was wearing scarlet boots and had a fine wizard's hat atop his head. The grounds that had been converted into an arena was huge, easily as big as an international Quidditch pitch. Harry was satisfied with it in any case.

Dumbledore moved out onto the pitch, a door halfway along had masked his arrival. He stood as well for a moment, looking both of the competitors up and down. Harry had to stifle a laugh, Dumbledore had changed his robes, these where bright yellow with little green moons and stars on them. Dumbledore seemed not to mind that his current state of dress was attracting so much attention in fact the old wizard seemed to keep his mind in the here and now.

"This duel will be fought between Mr. Harry James Potter and King Gabriel Demas. The duel will have no disqualifying factors and shall continue until one wizard has died or forfeits." Dumbledore's voice although quiet also seemed to carry to the very corners of the stadium and easily reached both competitors.

"Mr. Potter" Dumbledore called to him. "Are you ready?" Harry gave a nod.

"King Demas, are you ready?" He asked again. Demas nodded as well.

"Very well" Dumbledore yelled to make sure his voice was heard. "DUEL!"

Immediately the old wizard vanished the same way he had entered. Demas drew his wand with speed that many would be hard pressed to match. Fortunately Harry was one of the few that could. A volley of hexes closed the gap between the two warriors all flying from Demas's side of the field. Harry flicked his wand and a shield snapped into place. The curses thudded against it but none managed to penetrate it. Harry retaliated in kind, throwing hexes that where all at least potentially lethal in force, several where caught in the air by a second volley of curses from Demas. Harry rolled to avoid the few that made it through and came up running. He heard the sound of explosions behind him.

'Demas had already started with blasting hexes?' he thought with some disbelief. Blasting hexes where difficult to control regardless of the power of the wizard. Their very essence bordered on chaotic magic if he was throwing them around this early then it was possible he was looking for a quick win.

Harry snapped from his thoughts when a decaying jinx smashed into the ground next to him immediately destroying all life there, Harry snapped his wand around creating a long arc, a cutting curse flew from his wand with a crack. Demas slapped his own shield in place, another flick of Harry's wand and the cutting curse wrapped itself around the shield and crushed it until it snapped from the strain. For a moment Demas was confused and Harry pressed his attack. He waved and flicked his wand faster then the eye could follow. Several yellow spells with pointed tips flew from the tip and soared straight at Demas while several blades of grass where turned into long knives and where banished at the King as well.

Demas was not done for however, with agility that belied his age he rolled away from the first yellow arrow spell and came up only to handspring away from the next. His handspring however sent him into the path of the knives, he waved his wand at them and the knives quickly turned into large birds that changed their course and headed immediately after Harry. The rest of the arrow spells slammed into a strong shield that now covered Demas almost completely.

Harry was not put off; he turned the birds into large rocks and hurled them back at Demas following them with a brain boiling hex, a blood crushing hex and six bone breakers. He didn't stop there though he quickly moved; to stay in one position for too long would be suicide. As he moved he watched Demas banish the rocks into the ground and dodged away from the spells choosing to loose his shield in the process. As the king moved he elected to take potshots at Harry whenever he felt he had the chance.

Stunning and disarming hexes where all that he fired really, the others Harry paid no mind to, they where merely low level dark arts that had very little power to worry him. The stunners he dodged with a grace that would have made the most gracious ballet dancer jealous and as he moved he fired spells of his own, it was luck really that allowed the banisher to hit the king. He was diving away from one of Harry's blasting hexes and took the spell in the side where it flung him into the stands.

The king chose not to stay down however and came out of the smoke with his wands blazing and hexes flying every way possible. Harry saw the Avada Kedavra before he took in anything else, the green curse was the only one that was aimed anywhere near him and he felt, subconsciously, his survival instincts kick in. He dived to avoid the curse and landed in a roll, when he came up he swung his wand out searching for a target only to have a blasting hex catch him square in the stomach.

Harry was rocketed backwards, with his stomach bleeding and charred heavily. Bits of his robes had been burned into the flesh and now smoked and sizzled away. His short trip was ended abruptly as he crashed into the ground, his shoulder took the brunt of the impact and personally Harry felt it was something of a miracle that it didn't snap. The dirt kicked up around him creating if nothing else an optical barrier. Harry tried valiantly to stagger back to his feet but every time he made it half way he would collapse and fall back to the ground. He was under the impression that something had been seriously damaged inside him.

Quickly and without the finesse he was used to he cast an x-ray charm on himself and noticed that his bottom two ribs where broken and that he had seriously internal bleeding. 'Fuck' he hissed sharply. He gripped his wand with both hands and plunged it straight into his stomach, a pained moan escaped his lips but nothing else. He willed healing magic into his body and was pleased to see a golden glow under the skin. As soon as he saw the glow starting to disappear he pulled the wand out and healed the spot where it had entered. Flecks of blood sprayed along his robes but there was nothing he could do about it.

Spells flew at him from what seemed like a hundred different places. Running out of options Harry decided that the only safe thing to do was create a blood ward, the blood on his wand already would suffice. His wand was swished quickly around his body and then tapped once on each hand, instantly it came into being creating a blood red dome around Harry. The spells washed over the magic like rain on a car windshield.

Harry gasped, he had poured far too much magic into that spell and it seemed Demas wouldn't be pressing anything with that magic in place though it was hard to tell. The spells had stopped in any case but smoke and the darkness of the shield blocked Demas's activities from view. Mentally Harry assessed the magics strong enough to bring down a blood ward, he assured himself that a blood spell of Demas's own wouldn't happen as no wizard or witch would injure themselves in battle. Normal spells save the killing curse couldn't bypass the ward, which left runic magic. 'Shit' Harry uttered even as he heard the telltale whistle that accompanied a moving rune. He flicked his wand and disassembled the ward easily and then turned it into a blood magic blasting curse, he twisted his wrist and sent the spell at the rune.

The blast was epic, it picked Harry up and tossed him back a good fifty feet and although he couldn't see it he didn't think that Demas had gotten off any better. Harry immediately felt a good deal of pity for rag dolls, but immediately washed the thought from his mind and gathered himself up. He tried to spy Demas but couldn't see through the dust cloud in the middle of the arena. For good measure he pointed his wand at the ground, two large chunks of rock sprang out. One hovered while the other changed into a massive stag easily the size of any of the largest.

He didn't need to say anything to the magnificent animal it simply charged off in search of its master's foe. Harry leaped up on the levitating rock and it hurled skywards. He was looking for a vantage point, he had not made it halfway to the point he wanted to reach when a spell blew the rock out from beneath his feet. Harry flipped and landed on the ground hard, he had failed to see the spell coming but at least he had learned that Demas was alive and kicking. He tapped himself on the head and a trickling sensation overcame his body. Invisible he searched for the other wizard.

A killing curse appeared from nowhere and nearly struck him, his reflexes where good though and he forced himself to the ground as it passed over his head. What the hell was he thinking turning himself invisible, Demas could see magic almost as good as he could turning invisible would be the equivalent of having a search light on him. He cancelled the charm immediately and then conjured several more large animals to aide in the search for him foe. Three wolves, a lion and an elephant appeared and quickly scattered into the search.

When they left a flick of his wand cleared most of the smoke away and the atmosphere had done most of the rest, all that remained was a thin layer of dust. He could clearly see his conjured animals, he could see them even better when he looked for magic but no matter where he looked he couldn't see Demas. A blow struck the back of his head, waves of pain crashed through him and for a moment all he could see was black. Instinct took over, alerting him to the danger behind him. His fist snapped out and caught the side of the cloak Demas wore. It tore a little with the blow but remained mostly undamaged. Another blow connected with his chin, knocking him up and off his feet. Harry's foot lashed out and caught Demas in the face with the heel of his black dragonhide boots. A spurt of blood was the only reward for his effort.

He landed in the dirt, hard. His side absorbed most of the impact but he still felt a good deal of it in his chest and felt his already bleeding gut worsen. He was sure that the last blow had split his lip but was unsure of anything else. He rolled back to his feet shaking off the effect that both blows had on him. The blood acted as a trail he found and although he couldn't see Demas he could see the trail of blood breaking his nose had caused.

With little more then a flick of his wrist Harry conjured a sword in the air, a thin blade with a wide hilt. In seconds Harry was in pursuit of the trail of blood. We brought the blade down slicing through the air with the greatest of ease; the blade sliced cleanly through the front of Demas's robe but didn't inflict any damage. The robe was quickly discarded and the king conjured his own sword to combat Harry's. His blade was thicker and a little shorter, but still extremely deadly. Demas lunged and Harry twisted to avoid the strike lashing out with his own sword in a swing that would have take the kings head off if he hadn't moved to avoid it. Harry allowed himself to be carried with the force of the swing and flipped sideways over Demas's body landing defensively with his sword diagonally in front of his body.

Demas attacked with fury, power lanced off his body in every direction imaginable. The boy was infuriating every move he made the boy dodged or parried as though he where just that little bit faster, that little bit more skilled and overall just that little bit better. He had even tried throwing in magics with his thrusts, concussion hexes, brain busters he had even throw the killing curse at him more times then one but nothing worked. He just moved, like a shadow, like a wraith. Regardless of what he did he couldn't hit him, couldn't kill him.

The stands watched in awe as curses where dodged at point blank range, magics that they had neither imagined nor could they comprehend sprang to life and where crushed so easily. This was one of their own, a fifth year wizard battling a full grown wizard with magic that Dumbledore himself would be pressed to match. Solid conjurations, enchantments and spell casting that one would expect to see in the world dueling tournament. Harry had set about conjuring animals. Not transfiguring them, conjuring them from nothing. That was master level work easily. Further up in the stands with the officials from several countries where the Unspeakables, each of them had roll after roll of parchment in front of them that where quickly being filled with information by quills with enchantments on them.

One man was analyzing the power out put from Harry. Another was analyzing the power output from Demas. A further one was assessing the spells used. There was a heavy set man that was taking notes on the movements of both warriors and thinking of ways to incorporate them into his own training schedule. One thing they all held in common was the awe and respect they had for the two combatants. Currently they where only fighting with blades and yet the waves of magic they emitted where enough to rip up the ground around them and send blades of air slamming into the stands.

Harry ducked to avoid a swipe from Demas's sword, he was then forced to roll to his left when a killing curse left the other mans wand. He came up in a one armed cartwheel and flicked out his wand. A bludgeoning hex hit the king in his left hand, the one holding his sword. Immediately the weapon was dropped as the king moved to shield his injured arm. Harry pressed his advantage charging at his enemy with as much force as he could muster. Harry's sword rammed easily through his defense and tore into the flesh beneath. There was a sickening sound as the flesh was forced apart and blood leaked out over the weapon.

Slowly Harry looked up, directly into Demas's eyes. He was dying; he could already see the spark leaving his eyes. It was only a gut wound though; it would take time for the man to die. Harry extracted the sword and stood to attention facing his mentor. A smile graced the older mans lips, it was demonic. That was the only way Harry could have possibly described it. The blood staining his teeth was disgusting. The smile twisted then, becoming feral.

"Avada Kedavra" The old man snarled. Harry dodged it easily, the aim was way off and so was the trajectory. That thought slammed into him like a freight train, there was no way Demas would miss, not even if he was on his death bed. His eyes swiveled to follow the green light.

"Luna" he whispered in shock and surprise. His sword fell to the floor with a tingle of metal on rock. Harry twisted on the spot, his body compacting as he joined the waves of magic. He felt as though he where being squeezed from all sides as simultaneously pushed forward. He felt his body crash into the first ward and begin to expand to put him back on the ground. He ignored it and forced all his magic into breaking the ward and pressed forward.

The sight from the stands was one to behold, the protective wards surrounding the students and staff collapsing. Rainbow colored magic rained down from all sides of the stadium, the hum of power increasing as the remaining wards tried to fill the void left by the others failing before they themselves where broken and fell away like glass.

Harry snapped into existence with a crack. Luna looked up at him, her eyes befitting her shock at seeing him there. Not a moment ago she had thought she would loose her life when the Avada Kedavra was cast at her. But now she wasn't; now she was safe. Harry was there and he would make sure that things where ok. She gave him a small, timid smile and he didn't even have time to smile back before the curse slammed into him. Green light spilled all the way across his back but all Luna could see was a flare and then the light leave his eyes.

He didn't even move when he died, so strong was his grip on the chair in front of her. His knuckles white as he clung on. It was only now that she took the time to survey him, his robes where bloody, his torso was blackened and burned and even now blood poured down him. His body was covered in sweat from the force of slamming his body through the wards. He looked as though he had walked through hell and still even now in death he looked so strong, so much stronger then she could ever be she thought to herself.

Harry was dead and the duel was a bust. The King, Demas had cheated. Firing a spell of lethal power into the crowd was grounds for disqualification and as a result Harry had already won, but he was dead and Demas was dying.

Demas pointed his wand at his chest. The wound from Harry's sword immediately closed and healed itself so completely that even a scar wasn't visible. He still felt a little weak but that was nothing a little blood replenisher wouldn't take care of. He looked at Harry's conjured sword, it was light and long. Perfect balance and it was jeweled as bonus. It would make a fine trophy for such a fine enemy. He conjured a sheath for the magnificent blade and tied it at his hip before dispelling his own weapon.

The grounds where silent, no cheers had come, not even from his own people. His most trusted advisors stayed silent. They all knew, he had preyed on Harry's weakness and cheated for his win. It was a hollow victory, he had killed his greatest general and one of the most powerful sorcerers of all time and he had cheated to do it. He knew Harry couldn't bare to watch an innocent die; it was simply luck that had it be someone he actually cared about.

He walked to the only exit, Dumbledore's door. The old wizard came storming out magic crackling about his body like a true mage. His wand was held in his hand and was shaking with little restraint holding it in place. He had to admit, he was more then a little afraid of the old man at this point in time.

"The duel is over and I declare Mr. Potter the winner for such a vile show of disgraceful conduct by his opponent." Dumbledore's voice roared through the stadium and nobody spoke up against him. Demas could stand being the looser if it meant he still had his Kingdom. Demas pressed forward, eager to get out of the stadium without further reprimand from the old man. "Hold it Demas" Dumbledore snarled his magic whipping his robes around him in a wind that the old man seemed to generate. "Your magic threatened my students and I enforce my right to a duel because of your actions."

Demas would have killed the old man in a duel had he accepted however as it stands he did not. He was far more concerned with the clouds gathering over head, clouds of pure blackness. He had only seen those clouds once before. His head snapped into the stands, searching for the boy, searching for Harry. There was a faint rumble that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once followed by a blinding flash of light. Demas shielded his eyes but still the flash partially blinded him for a few moments. There was another rumble of thunder, except this one didn't sound at all like thunder, but more like a roar. A huge roar from some epic beast.

Harry's eyes snapped open. It had worked then; his defense against the killing curse had worked. Six months of research had paid off; he had survived the killing curse. Slowly he stood to his feet, intimately familiar with all the aches and pains that seemed to cover every inch of his body. Slowly his thoughts came to bear. Demas, Demas had cheated and had cast the killing curse into the stands. He had won then, by default. It seemed a hollow victory. He called forth his magic, the clouds in the sky where whipped away and replaced with those of pure darkness.

He looked down at Luna and finally returned her smile. "Wow, that was fun" he said happily "There's work to do" and with that he leaped from the stands, falling backwards as he changed. His body warped, skin changing into scales. Hands and feet changing into claws, with deadly ends, his tail bone extended producing a tail with a whip like end. Spines lined his spinal column each long and deadly until they ended at the tip of his tail. His eyes remained green but changed until they where draconic in nature. Then his body grew becoming larger then any known dragon, he filled half the stadium easily with his presence. Slender but heavily muscled; his dark green scales appeared almost black. He roared into the sky, embers spitting from his mouth as he did so.

The grand dragon of death had risen.

Demas glanced over, his eyes covering every inch of the stadium. He had missed the boy and had missed him transform as well. The roar shook him, nearly knocked him off his feet and then he found him. The grand dragon as he was called by the people. Harry was a relative of no known species of dragon, it seemed the beast had sprung from his imagination and now he was it and it was him.

Flames screamed across the ground towards him. It was Dumbledore that saved his life, his shield to stave of dragon fire saved the both of them. The fire wasn't anywhere near close enough to the stands to get anyone killed but they all felt the heat. Dumbledore's shield felt it the most though, all 12000 degrees of it. Demas began his own transformation, becoming an Arch Griffin one of the last of the species. The head of a great eagle and the body of a Pegasus he was easily twice the size of any normal Griffin but still nowhere near the size of the grand dragon.

He rose to the air on powerful feathered wings and launched himself at the eyes of the dragon. A huge roar caught his wings and dragged him off course; eagerly he gained altitude for a dive at the huge beast. The dragon took off after him, spreading huge leathery wings that flapped once and caught the Griffin. Desperately Demas clawed for altitude, pulling away a little from Harry. Then he realized that the boy was toying with him, a dragon could out fly almost anything. As his rage grew so did his desire to turn around and fight, eventually, finally he gave into it and turned. His body taught his wings folded in on themselves and he dived at the dragon.

Teeth bared the dragon looked at the Griffin as a challenge to his existence. The thing was attacking him and he soared up to meet it, huge powerful wing beats destroying the distance between them. The Griffin bared its front legs. Those with the talons of an eagle present, a vicious caw came from its beak it continued its descent. The dragon opened its mouth, snapping at the Griffin which in turn dodged nimbly around the gaping maw. Its talons cut briefly into the dragons hide before it was swatted away with a powerful swipe of the dragon's claw.

Demas hit the ground hard; he felt bones break under him. Painfully he reverted to his human form and raised his wand in a pitiful attempt to defend himself. He felt more then heard the dragon land, the shocks in the ground made him stumble. He could barely see through the pain but what he did see made him wish he had made him keep his eyes shut.

Harry reverted back from his dragon form. His entire body pulsed with raw magic, being a dragon always left him feeling an indescribable high. He pulled out his wand and aimed it at the man in front of him. He barely noticed the triple gash along his torso where the Griffin had torn into his dragon form. Wordlessly he separated Demas from his wand and continued walking at the man. When he was close enough his fist rammed into his face and knocked him to the floor. The man scrabbled valiantly for his wand until Harry's boot slammed into his chest and knocked the wind from his lungs.

"Do you yield" Harry roared at him, his magic jumping around and numerously striking the other man all over his body. In a voice that was little more then a tremor the man answered.

"I yield"

Harry's boot was instantly removed and the duel was called to an end. Dumbledore yelled out to everyone that Harry was the winner. There was a moments silence before screams and cheers rang out from all around the stadium. Even the Unspeakables had risen to there feet and where screaming well done at him. Over it all Harry liked to believe that he could hear Luna's voice. It was impossible of course, but Harry had always fancied himself as someone who made the impossible possible. People raced out from the stands to congratulate him in person. His hand was snatched in numerous directions until Harry was confronted with Hermione Granger.

"You saved my life. In my first year?" she said although it was posed more like a question then anything else.

"The troll thing? I guess so" Harry said lightly as though it posed little problem for him at all.

"Then I owe you a life debt" she said seriously. Harry held up his hands trying to stop the girl from doing a stupid thing, he didn't want this; she was smart she was supposed to get away from the old ways. "I Hermione Jane Granger do hereby pledge my life and magic to Harry James Potter until such time as my debt to him is paid in full, so I say solemnly so is it witnessed by the high Lord of magic I pledge it so." There was a binding golden light that encompassed her wrists and then extended to Harry's magical core where it stayed.

Harry nodded his head and it was done. The magic fell away and Hermione walked away with it. Next in line was a red headed girl. Ginny, he thought. Luna's friend.

"You saved my life as well didn't you. It was you in the chamber of secrets, you killed the basilisk and destroyed Tom's diary. It was you who put the memory in my head as well wasn't it?" she asked as though looking for confirmation even though she seemed pretty damn sure anyway.

"Memory?" Harry asked with barely disguised surprise.

"Of the basilisk being slain. I was unconscious but it's there in my head. I can feel it" she said softly, so softly in fact that Harry almost didn't catch it.

"Indeed I did Ms. Weasley I believe we can expect you to grow into a powerful witch. You would make a fine Auror"

"I would?" she asked surprised.

"I have known many in my time. You could be great if you learn control of your gift your magic will come naturally." She smiled at him, a full smile one that showed off her perfect teeth.

"I Ginerva Molly Weasley do hereby pledge my life and magic to Harry James Potter until such time as my debt to him is paid in full, so I say solemnly so is it witnessed by the high Lord of magic I pledge it so." The same thing happened to the girl as happened to Hermione and she similarly walked away. It was then Harry who was knocked down by the flying ball of golden blond hair. He hit the ground hard, all the wind being pushed out of his lungs.

"I thought you where dead. You bastard" Luna screamed into his chest even as he held her tight and tried to calm her weeping into his chest. He whispered soothing words to her and after a while she calmed herself down enough so that she stopped crying. When she looked up at him again her eyes where red and puffy, her lower lip trembled. Harry's heart truly went out to her.

"I thought you where dead" she repeated.

"You can't get rid of me that easy" he replied with a rueful shake of his head. She hugged him tight, almost breaking his ribs in the process.

"Mr. Potter" a distinctly feminine voice said through the waves of people gathered around him. Harry looked up and around for the sound of his name being called again or the person who had called it in the first place but he could find neither. Finally a witch made it to the front of the crowd. Her hair was long and golden, her eyes a shining bright blue.

"Fleur?" Harry said in surprise. Inwardly he groaned, he thought he had dealt with this four years ago but it clearly wasn't enough. The girl had come all the way to England to pester him a little more. You would think having your life saved would slip most people's mind but apparently not. Veela's it seemed where strangely eager to cancel any and all debts that their race owed any other.

"Come now 'Arry. You should 'av allowed my muzzer to bond wi'z you all tho'z years ago. Now I am forced to bond you myself" The girl's lips opened to speak once again but Harry's wand was faster. He silenced the girl as fast as he could which was by all accounts faster then the speed of lightning. Harry gave a long loud whistle.

"Now you listen here I did not save your life to bond with you, I didn't save your mother's life to bond with her either. You will return to the Veela and tell them if they try to bond with me again I will not be pleased. Do I make myself clear?" The blonde nodded and Harry undid the spell with a flick of his wand.

"Ze Veela, zey vill not be happy with this. We must give you zumzing" The young girl said anxiously. Harry shared this thought; he had no idea what he could want that would make the Veela give up this idea of bonding. Harry shook his head and commanded her to go. The girl obeyed and left to go back to France and explain to the Veela once more that Harry Potter had refused them in there offer of one of their own. When Harry was sure that she had left, he stood up. Lifting Luna with him, gently he set her down on the ground.

Dumbledore pushed through the crowd happily. Harry had somehow survived the killing curse, a feat thought impossible. The Unspeakables followed him, all of them nervous about meeting Harry for the first time.

"Harry" Dumbledore said kindly.

"Albus" Harry said in kind.

"These are some friends of mine from the ministry of magic in particular the department of mysteries they call themselves Unspeakables. They wish to ask you about your latest survival of the killing curse" Harry nodded and the Unspeakables look on in glee.

"Alchemy" Harry said simply.

"Alchemy?" The lead Unspeakable questioned.

"The magic of transforming one thing in its base form into something else. A base of transfiguration and potions if I'm not much mistaken at the Ministry of Magic's description of the science behind it."

"I am well aware of what Alchemy is Mr. Potter, I happen to have a mastery in it" The Unspeakable argued. "I also happen to have been working on a way to counter the killing curse for the last ten years of my life. Now could you please explain how you managed to survive the killing curse."

"Alchemy" Harry replied.

"You already…" Harry cut the man off before he could continue with what would undoubtedly be a tirade of epic proportions.

"I changed the killing curse into something more manageable by draining the killing magic from it and changing it into light. The spell is fairly simple to cast it is the calculations really that took most of my time to figure out."

"Can you show me your research Mr. Potter? Perhaps I will be able to figure out a stage I have missed" The Unspeakable asked. Harry shook his head with a smile on his face.

"I have to keep something to get me accepted as an Unspeakable" he said happily.

"Indeed Mr. Potter" he said dryly. "But imagine all the good you could do if it was released to the public. People wouldn't have to die from the killing curse anymore, they would be safe." Harry shook his head.

"You're an idiot" he said without a touch of venom in his tone. "If people could survive the killing curse then Death Eaters just wouldn't use it. There are worse ways to die then by the Avada Kedavra, far more painful ways," The Unspeakable shuddered at the truth in those words, there where worse ways to die and he had seen many of them.

"Agreed Mr. Potter"

"Good now if that's all I have some degree's to obtain." With that Harry left. He simply cracked out of existence in the wizarding world. Along with him, King Demas went as well as the entourage of people that had come with him. The only thing that remained was Cyagra who looked distinctly displeased at being left behind once again. Dumbledore merely smiled his all knowing smile that seemed at this time to be reserved for Harry and Harry alone. Luna looked upset but gripped the thought that he would return. He had survived death for her; he would definitely be coming back. The Unspeakables gaped and then broke out laughing.

Dumbledore's hair was bright blue and stuck on end so that he resembled a troll doll. Harry Potter had struck again.


	8. Chapter 8

The Rise of Lord Voldemort

Chapter 8: Unchained Magic

The dark lord sat atop his throne, one fashioned from the bones and the skulls of long dead enemies. It had turned black and decayed with time, sinew and muscle was still present and gave off such a stench that it made many of the masked death eaters retch. Voldemort was blind to all of this however and his attention remained solely on one of chosen. Severus Snape, the last to return to his side when he was reborn.

"Severus" he hissed, his voice really wasn't the same since the ritual. Neither was his appearance for that matter. The servant approached him, on his knees something akin to a worm in his mannerisms. Inwardly Voldemort shook his head, a disgusting thought to have one of his chosen comparable to a worm. His ruby red gleaming eyes shot up towards the rest of the gathered Death Eaters, even his inner circle gasped at the sight. They were dismissed with nothing more than this look and hastened in their retreat.

"Severus, you where the last to join my side. Why is this?" Voldemort hissed.

"My Lord I do not wish defiance it is only that Muggle loving fool Dumbledore that stopped my return. Your last order of me was to..."

"DO NOT DARE TO PRESUME MY IGNORANCE SNAPE. I KNOW WELL WHAT MY LAST ORDER TO YOU WAS. CRUCIO!" The curse was spat from the Dark Lords lips with such malice that hissed as though a poison. Snape's screams echoed through the chamber, reverberating from every surface. Voldemort showed no pleasure from the act, nor did he show any emotion on his serpentine face. He simply watched until Snape regained his senses and fell before his master once more.

"My Lord please I have learned much from my stay at Hogwarts as well as my induction into the Order of the Phoenix." Snape stammered out, still shaking and quivering from the effects of the Dark curse. His entire body gleamed with sweat that could be seen easily in the light of the dim flames that lit the chamber.

"The Order of the Phoenix has fallen Severus. Gideon and Fabion were there best and I destroyed them before my reduction to a spectre." Voldemort said in a calm voice that failed to do justice to the anger and fury he had commanded only moments before.

Snape swallowed but kept his head down. Thinking not for the first time that the Dark Lord had gone completely insane with all the rituals he had done to attain the power that he now commanded.

"My Lord this is no longer the case. Several have joined the Order since your first rise. Alastor Moody..."

"Is a deformed old cripple and not a threat to me Severus"

"I beg your forgiveness my Lord I only wished to announce that he trains the new recruits and despite his failing age my Lord he remains an accomplished spell caster and a powerful duellist. I myself would not want to participate in a fight that pitched me against 'Mad Eye'"

"You would risk my ire Severus so much that you would fail to meet a fellow man in combat. Now now Severus, you where an accomplished duellist in my first rise and during my absence my spies tell me that your skill has only grown. Twice you have been crowned a duelling champion and you would still not face Moody"

"My Lord I meant no disrespect I only wished to broach my own feelings on the subject"

"In the future my servant you would do well to remember that if i wanted your feelings to become an ongoing factor of my campaign I would curse them from you. Get out"

Snape new better then to try and tell his Lord anything further and quickly fled from the room, still shaking and quivering. His heart thumped fast in his chest and when he stumbled he thought for sure that another blast of the Cruciatus would spurn him where he lay. It appeared however that the Dark Lord had other plans and let Snape flee without further punishment.

Snape sprinted down the corridors his legs where shaking underneath him but he urged himself forwards. Even now his mind was focused on nothing other than the pain that had befallen him and some far and distant part of him knew that he had to get a potion in him though for the life of him he couldn't remember what that potion was or where he might find it. Clumsily he reached inside his robe and pulled out a single golden pin. He gazed at it; a bird was the only thing present. No rubies or sapphires just a single flawless bird and even in his pain induced state he felt that this bird held some divine significance, something that his, at present, feeble mind was unable and unwilling to comprehend. Moving faster towards the exit he gripped the pin tightly in his hand, the black walls seemed to close in around him as his vision narrowed. His breathing laboured he stepped out into the cold night air. For a single moment there was a flash of light, blinding in its intensity and then Severus Snape was gone.

* * *

Harry Potter had done his job. He had beaten the King in an unfair duel and walked away with his life mostly intact and as per the rules he had taken them back to their country of origin. What he had not specified to Dumbledore or any of his other Professors for that matter was that he would be staying for a time. Even now as he sat alone, watching the stars and feeling the cold air upon his skin he was unsure of his true reasons for staying. Theoretically he wanted to stay and learn a skill that he had seen Dumbledore use but in truth he was far from proficient at it and this frustrated him to no end.

For perhaps the seven hundredth time that day Harry clenched and unclenched his fist but for the seven hundredth time that day nothing happened. Harry pulled free the quill that was behind his ear and grabbed the notebook that sat next to him.

_Trail 716: I am still unable to make even the most basic of spells work for me. After attempts 1-715 I feel that __i__ am wasting my time and that it is impossible. But Dumbledore has tried and succeeded in this branch of Magic and I feel that I must as well._ _My attempts to focus on the feeling of the spell prove fruitless as well as my concern that levitation is simply too unnatural to work._

He let the quill fall as he closed the small leather bound diary that held all of his life's work. Despite the appearance that it was small the diary actually held more than a thousand pages that detailed spells, enchantments, book references and obscure rituals. He had forgotten to add that after searching six separate libraries in the kingdom he had yet to find a single reference to what he was searching for. Tomorrow he hoped to have better luck when he searched the King's privet library. Regardless he went back to opening and closing his hand, his mind focused on the rushing winds and the telekinetic energies that accompanied the powerful levitation charm.

Morning came around and found Harry James Potter still clenching and unclenching his fist. He knew that regardless of the fact that he had no focus he would still feel something when he achieved his goal but sixteen hours into his experiment and all he had achieved was an aching hand. He had felt no rush of power, no greater understanding of his magic that allowed him to achieve his goal and nothing that appeared wrong to his eyes.

Wearily he stood and tucked the leather note book into his robes as he did so before making sure that the quill was stored safely away in a compartment of the finest design that he had created and was once again stored safely inside his robes. He walked purposefully from his manor relishing in the sights and sounds that his grounds had to offer. Large griffins and wild animals of the Muggle variety often frolicked in his front yard but this morning everything remained still and for that he was grateful. Once Harry reached the front gate and checked the ground to make sure his ward stones where still active and in place he apperated away with nothing more than the most minute of 'pops'.

It was with the same noise that Harry re-appeared standing before the large and imposing walls of a castle that was legally in every way his. He pushed at the wrought iron gates and felt there magic tackle his own. Harry pushed them aside like a child's toys and they squealed and fell back easily on their hinges. For a moment Harry imagined that they might be sentient but quickly squashed such a ridiculous notion.

The castle rightfully belonged to the King of the land and as Harry had defeated the previous King the grounds and castle where his, however he had given them back quickly and without sadness that he was giving up such greatness. He was a Prince until the day King Demas died and then he would take the throne happily. Or perhaps if he had children by then he would give them the honour. At present however it bore no thinking about, he had a goal currently and it failed to include his kingship.

The early morning wind was cold but soft and gentle on his face. With purpose he strode along the long driveway, his thick leather boots crunching the gravel underfoot. His robes fluttered about his well built frame. It was without fear that he opened the huge iron doors and no one came to stop him. No one dared.

He looked around the room; the light was as poor here as it was in the rest of the castle. It was furnished tastefully, with whites and creams a perfect combination for royalty. It was in the privet rooms that true colour came into play, he knew for a fact that the King's room was done in black and blood red and was furnished with tools of war. Harry's room was a sanctuary, a home away from home that he could use for study. He bypassed the room quickly and ignored the six separate anti-chambers that led into rooms that held little purpose. He moved straight up the grand staircase that spiralled two floors up and opened out into the library.

The huge room was perhaps the most well lit room in the entire castle. Looking through all the tomes and scrolls in here would take years but it was a well known fact that you needed good light to read by. Harry withdrew his wand from the inner folds of his robes; it was almost purely black lined only with spots of white. Absently he flicked the wand in the direction of the shelves thinking clearly about what he wanted. A single book floated towards him, its cover old and beaten but it remained in one piece and for that Harry was ecstatic. The book flew into his hands and he opened it almost reverently as though afraid of the secrets he might find inside.

With his heart beating faster than he could ever remember it doing he flicked to the index. The book was a diary but it had been published at some point probably around the time of the Crusades. _Magic...Magic, Unfocused Magic page 674._

_Of the Magic Unfocused I have only this to say. To the wizard whose mind is protect by a thousand walls magic will not flow in your veins. Your mind must be free and your magic will become loose and powerful._

That was it. Three months of searching, seven hundred and sixty attempts and he had failed. All that was written on the subject was three lines. A whole fucking library and only three lines where written about it. His Occlumency was the only thing holding him back and so he had a choice, his mind could be free and unguarded or he could have the ability to wield magic with his limbs, without focus.

Harry screamed in frustration. He was a natural Occlumans and this was ridiculous, he couldn't very well leave his mind unprotected when Riddle was such a powerful Legilimans, he would be killed in minutes if not seconds. Then he sat, and with the control that only a natural Occlumans possessed began the laborious process of ripping down his mental shields. All 450,000 walls came down and then he deconstructed the mindscape and finally everything was gone. Even as he looked he could see thoughts and feelings running through his mind unchecked, unchained and he felt filthy because of it.

He opened his eyes and noticed that his power had gone unchecked and with his mental focus everything was gone and his magic had changed things. The desk which he had sat at before now walked happily around the room and took great pleasure in jumping up on the other furniture. The library had been filled with a thick yellow smoke that crackled with charged particles. Harry felt it all swell inside him, the construct of all his magical energies all at once.

For the first time since he had built his first shield he felt free, he felt unrestrained and he felt powerful. With a rush he threw out his arm and the bookshelves across from him where flipped backwards, the books where thrown all around the room and then held motionless as though time had caught them and they remained still at his whim. Suddenly he realised what he had done, what power he commanded with his fingers it was astounding.

It was too much and all too powerful for one person. He shouldn't have this power he was only young. Dumbledore had a hundred and forty years of preparation on him. All that time to prepare all that time to learn, all that time to make him what he was and Harry had none of it. He didn't deserve it, he hadn't earned it. Violently he pushed it away and started to rebuild his shields. It wasn't a difficult task, not for a natural at the skill anyway. It was done though he was disappointed with the result, he had accomplished what he set out to do but the cost was too great and he had let it go. Harry walked calmly from the library after correcting all that he had done with his magic, he found at first that something done without a wand resonated on a different magical frequency something akin to the magic that was performed by magical creatures. That alone would win him sorcerer of the year if he could prove it.

He exited back out into the grounds and pulled all his magic together for a trans-dimensional appiration there was a blinding flash of light and a sound similar to that of a gunshot and Harry James Potter vanished from one plane of existence only to reappear in another. Shots of lightning crackled all around his body making his long black hair stand on end. He was panting and his chest hurt as it often did after the expansion of such power. For a moment he wondered what it would be like to cross dimensions with all his power at his disposal but quickly pulled himself out of those thoughts.

Harry knew exactly where he was going, it called to him like a sixth sense and he was glad he had the foresight to arrange a meeting with the soon to be new Minister for Magic and Dumbledore as well. Despite his own skills it would be foolish to think that he could enter and exit this meeting alone. Casually he took his wand from the folds of his robes where it had been replaced only minutes before and flicked it gently towards his robes. Through unspoken commands the robes twisted, rearranged and re-dyed themselves, now they were completely black. With some reverence Harry lifted the hood, lowered it to obscure the top half of his face and carried on.

As he neared the meeting point he heard several 'pops' some louder than others but none so quiet as Dumbledore's which was as near silent as you could get, even Harry thought that his was a little too loud compared to the Headmaster's. It took the boy wizard a great presence of mind not to whip out his wand and jinx everything in sight but it was testament to his skills that he did not. What did surprise him however was that neither party had come alone. Dumbledore was flanked by Alastor Moody who looked as though he had seen perhaps six too many battles. Stood close to these two where Madame Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour both of which where people that Harry held a large amount of respect for.

"You received my message then?" He asked Dumbledore while he clearly already knew the answer.

"Of course my dear boy, one does not simply take a stroll in this neck of the woods. Your methods of communication though are highly irregular, and disturbing at least when one is trying to conduct a very important staff meeting."

"My apologies Professor but it is a gift that I have been given and not one that I will ever hideaway in shame" Harry replied defiantly while Dumbledore merely looked on, all knowing with that annoying twinkle glistening in his eye. "Regardless, that is not why we are here, if you would all be so kind as to follow me."

He led the way forward without waiting for a response. He knew they would follow; curiosity always killed the cat after all. Within minutes he had brought them to yet another clearing but in this one there where things other than themselves. Huddled over a table where twelve figures, each of which looked to be around the same height at around six feet and each cut a very defining and frightening posture. At their hips hung swords, some jewelled and ornate while others clean and simple made for killing as much as for show.

Harry apparently paid this no mind as he walked on without hesitation as to the intentions of these people who had so invaded his ground.

"Gentlemen" he said pleasantly.

Immediately eleven heads snapped to face his own even as the twelfth rocketed forward with such speed that it was hard for the humans to follow his movements. With surprising strength for someone who looked so frail he hoisted Harry in the air with one hand, his long bony fingers crushing his larynx with ease. Then he sniffed at the boy, similar to a dog with a wet nose trying to find something it had lost or something it had forgotten or something that smelled so far away that it couldn't be so near.

"One of us?" A voice hissed into Harry's face.

"Not quite, but a Lord none the less" Harry replied. Harry was dropped to the ground as swiftly as he had been lifted and landed standing, his knees remaining straight throughout and there was no look of discomfort that graced his features for even a moment. To bend was to kneel, and to kneel was to show weakness.

"And the blood bags?" It asked without permeable.

"Friends, from the world of wizards. They are more powerful then you or I in there world." Harry responded, making sure to keep his answers strict and to the point.

"You are not from this world. I would have felt you" The voice proclaimed, once more focusing its attention on Harry then on the 'blood bags'.

"A very bold statement to make. But one that is true none the less, I am not from this world but in mine I am a Lord just as you are."

"Do you bleed and live and die?"

Harry leaned towards the figure with a fire lit in his green eyes that seemed to be unquenchable. His posture turned from that of a respectful submissive to being that of a powerful warrior, a tyrant and a Lord all in the shrug of his shoulders, as though he had thrown back shackles that kept him restrained.

"Do you Vampire?" he snarled.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Meeting's in the Dark

Harry's fist snapped forward with blinding speed and snapped the bone and cartilage of the vampire's nose with ease. It fell back but made no move to correct the bone of to stem the flow of blood. The young Lord watched as the eleven stood and there shadows crawled through the darkness like spiders.

As the first Vampire had moved Dumbledore had drawn his wand and held it in front of him like a great swordsman. The Auror's stood beside them knowing now why Voldemort so feared him. His power shone like a beacon in the darkness and his posture was staunch as though he feared nothing in this world or the next. Those who knew him personally could attest to this fact.

The old man watched impassive as Harry shattered the nose of the vampire. He noticed with little care that this one was undoubtedly the youngest if he were to make such a bold move against an unknown adversary. His gaze moved over to the others who had moved up from the table. Each of them moved like a coiled serpent, with poise and a dangerous quality about them. Beyond his sense he could feel them, always just out of reach like wraiths with unquestionable power and skill. These were some of the oldest and most powerful vampires. The ones who had centuries to perfect skills he couldn't even dream of.

Harry felt the thrill of battle loom over him like a newly awaked god that could whisper into his soul and greet him with ridiculous proportions of power. He snapped his wand out and whispered a spell 'mucro caecus incendia', before dragging the tip down his right forearm. Blood spilled out, quickly covering his arm in a dark crimson that was almost immediately covered once more by a blinding flash of white. The power that flowed from it was immense. The vampires covered their eyes as one, as though it was holy fire that had burned them. It wasn't, it was however the most powerful fire that could be created, equal in proportion to that of the sun.

'The sword of blinding fire' his grandfather had created it and it had almost immediately been classed as a dark art. The fire was capable of ripping through anything; it could tear through bone and flesh just as easily as steel or concrete. It had been used only once, when cornered by a Chimera the 42nd Lord of Potter had torn through its impenetrable magical armour with but one blow and shed the soul of the Chimera into the next life.

Without even a whisper Harry shot forward and slammed the blade into the Vampire's chest. The fire lanced through its body and burned all it touched into ash, the Vampire had ceased to breathe long ago, when it was turned in fact but now, now was when it truly died.

It's now hallow corpse smoked on the field. Unlike the young ones they did not turn to ash when they died, they stayed there, forever to be buried along with their brothers and sisters of old. Harry turned and with fire coursing through his eyes stared down the remaining vampires.

"We come to you in peace." He said softly, his cold tone carrying no fear but anger and the promise of pain. "And you great us with nothing but violence." He raised his wand at 

the vampire closest to him. Its tip glowed a brilliant red, the colour of blood. The air steamed and smoked from where it met the brilliant red light.

"You come to us with you magic and you kill our brethren" The tallest spat.

Harry's grin became almost feral and was tainted with sadistic pleasure derived from the killing of others. Dumbledore took a step backward in shock, he knew Harry had faced wars and evil but he had not even in his wildest imaginings thought that Harry was capable of the same violence.

"Oh yes." He snarled. "Yes I did and by the laws of your Covent I am now the twelfth. How unfortunate for you." He gave a chuckle, and then a look of anger crossed him and his foot crashed down on the vampires arm and by innate reflex its hand snapped into the air. Harry reached down and pulled off the ring that adorned its pale finger. A blood red ruby marred by three black spots in a perfect triangle. The ring of the Covent. He slipped it onto his own finger with ease. The ring was completely devoid of magic, it was merely a symbol and a powerful symbol at that.

The eleven looked at him, as though for the first time purveying the madness that he had brought to them. A human, a mere mortal in the Covent of Vampires. It was unacceptable and yet there it was and without challenge they could do nothing about it.

"You have no idea mortal, what wrath you have brought down upon yourself."

"I have killed the twelfth with a single spell. What makes you think that you can do any better? You millennia of time to perfect skills I could only dream of, and yet I can destroy you. Perhaps then, you should listen to what I say, hmm?"

The eleven glanced at each other, simultaneously as though they were linked through one mind. No words were spoken but they sat at the table and waited.

"Splendid" Harry chuckled a grin forming on his face. He walked over to the table and sat down at the high backed chair that awaited him. With a keen eye he took in all the Vampires, surprisingly it was one of the younger looking ones that was the first. He seemed, surprisingly enough to be around twenty five although since Vampires didn't age this information proved irrelevant. He looked to be of French origin's judging by his high aristocratic cheekbones but nothing Harry could tell for sure. The vampire guarded himself well.

Dumbledore and the Auror's flanked him and with but a flick of his wand Dumbledore conjured a trio of comfy chairs for them to sit at. Neither the vampires at the table nor Harry seemed in the least bit fazed by the impressive display.

"Tell us then mortal why do you seek us out?"

For the first time that night Harry adopted a sombre expression.

"We are at war..." The vampire moved to cut him off but Harry held up a hand to stall him. "Not just the wizard world, but all of us. Voldemort will bring his darkness to the ends of the world."

"And you do not believe we would revel in that darkness Mr. Potter?"

"Quite the contrary, you would be dead. Voldemort's world can never include the creatures of the night. He wants a world of pure blood. My blood" The vampires laughed then, a cruel laugh that was mocking in its intensity.

"Are you honestly so arrogant to believe that he can't kill you like I killed your brother. He is a powerful wizard and the Covent normally would be wise to join him, though as I have said you will eventually die."

Harry's tone stopped the laughter and once more all eyes were on him. Including Dumbledore's, they boy had not seen fit to tell him of his plans but as they came out they seemed even more surprising then he had imagined.

"And what would you suggest we do wizard." The first said, his voice filled with pain and an air of time that had long passed.

"There will be a day not long from now when the world will join. You will be more exposed then you could possibly imagine. If you join us now there will be no need for death."

"Are you threatening us now boy" The fourth snarled, his long fingers gripping the table's edge as though in a vice.

"I make no threats; I have no need of them. You have a choice here and now to join us and grow or leave us and die. Know that if you join Voldemort I will kill you, all of you."

The first seemed to bear the weight of this decision on his shoulders and his alone. The council was merely an advisory tool; it was he alone that made decisions that in the end would affect all the vampires of the world. He was the oldest. The first. With a long fluid motion he stood and pulled a long black coloured wand from his robes. A feeling of ceremony overtook them and Harry stood as well as the others.

"The war will take from us what we have worked hard to build." The first said and the eleven echoed it. "So we will go to war." Again the eleven echoed it. The first conjured a ceremonial dagger and slit his palm, the blood steamed down his palm and then leapt into the air as though it was a rope. The eleven did the same and eleven ropes of blood moved forward and joined into a ball.

"So it is spoken" There was a flash and then the ball of blood vanished.

"I bind the Vampires to Harry James Potter." The first said. A leap of magic jumped from his body and into the young Potter.

'Oh fuck' Harry thought.

"Now then." Harry said "What was that for?"

The first gave him an odd look and for a moment Harry wondered if the vampire was sizing him up, unconsciously he shifted his weight to his right leg and adopted a stance that he had derived especially for duelling.

"I once knew the first Lord Potter, a great man much like you young one. I see much of him in you, but you understand I trust you with a great deal. I do not want my brethren to fall the moment this war is fought. Your binding will give you conscience to do what is right."

To say the least Harry was upset. Upset that his plan hadn't executed easily. Upset that he had to kill one of the twelve. Upset that a vampire new potentially more of his family history then he did. Dimly he noticed that his palm still bled and was dripping continuously onto the table. He clenched his fist, turning his knuckles a stark white in seconds while his fingers became meshed with blood. With a snarl he opened the bloody palm and slammed it onto the table, a bloody handprint in its wake.

"By blood and latent magic sealed within my soul I ask that the leader of the Vampire Covent release unto me the secrets of my past. The knowledge of the first be to me the keeper of the soulless." Ancient runes of power and sealing and knowledge where formed from the blood on the table creating a seal that wrapped closely around Harry's hand. The magic was so strong that the others had to look away; only the first seemed compelled to look into it. As though the vast mysteries of life where slowly being revealed in the fathomless pit of the seal.

Harry stood amazed at the power. It was a while since he had attempted a blood seal and this one had come to him purely by accident. Slowly, so slow it seemed as though eons had passed before it finished the seal entered his skin and was absorbed.

"The gods above claim me victor on this day." He chuckled.

His eyes snapped open glowing with a brilliant white light that seemed never to fade even in the darkness around them. To a lethifold or a dementor the effect might have been similar as to looking into the very heart of a corporal patronus, except the Childs eyes held no warmth. They lacked compassion and where devoid of emotion. They where white and pure and at the same time they held nothing. A world of possibilities created and maintained in the void of white.

The eyes tore through the flesh of the vampire in an instant, seeking something far more substantial. 'Blood memories'. Something that elders where gifted with. Everything that they had seen in their lives contained within their blood, every book they had read everything they had experienced contained solely in their blood.

The actions of the blood seal were very specific seek out any and all knowledge pertaining to Harry James Potter or his clan. Since the first claimed to have known the first Potter he would undoubtedly come to his mind as well.

Images flashed by, some of children being born others of books read. Of notes scattered across tables in times long past. Of wars fought side by side with a man of dashing good looks and a head of jet black hair. Of the Potter's come and gone. This man, the first seemed to have known them all.

"Forty four Potter's I have known little Harry and soon thanks to that little seal of yours you will know them too. When you reach the first you will see what true power is."

With those final parting words the eleven, once twelve vanished into the night. No trace was left, no table no chairs. Nothing.

Power.

'The power the Dark Lord knows not' the words of the prophecy echoed in his head. Stilling him but racing his heart. Was he no match for Voldemort as he was? He had 

injured him, and with a poison knife at that. No magic had been used; the Dark Lord hadn't had time to gather his wand.

His first foray into the unknown chilled him. He yearned to find the secrets of this Dark lord's power but at the same time he had no desire to fling himself into the darkest pit on earth and see what results it would bring. There was more to be done, the Dark Lord had to be stopped and even as he was thinking he could feel the shifting of the winds. The chill that ran through him too cold to be human.

"Come" Harry hissed to his companions "It is unwise to linger in the shadows"

The group assembled around Harry and he led them quickly from the clearing. Not once did he turn back to see the vampires, he took them to where he had waited for them only a few hours earlier and watched impassive as they vanished. Soon only he and Dumbledore remained in the clearing and Harry took a moment to admire the old man.

"Well Mr. Potter, once more have you shown me the darker side of being a wizard" The old man said with a small smile although the twinkle in his eyes was suspiciously absent.

"My apologies Albus I had no idea things would become complicated, when that happened in my world I was treated a little better and the old one had not yet left the Covent, the young one was unexpected."

"Fear not my young friend, I have seen and done much with this old body of mine, this will have to be another thing."

Harry gave the briefest of nods to the old man. The younger mans eyes narrowed and he seemed to perk up in the slightest of motions. Dumbledore could see from where he stood that Harry's hand was the briefest of movements away from grabbing his wand.

"It's time that you left Albus" Harry said softly.

Dumbledore responded with a soft pop as he vanished from sight only to appear moments later at the gates to Hogwarts hoping to a higher power that Harry Potter knew what he was doing.

Harry turned his head, his ears responding gently to the pounding that he could hear over the ground. He could almost feel them coming ever closer as the rumble grew to an almost deafening roar. Deftly he swished his wand about him cloaking him in the black of night. He stared up at the moon for a long moment; a blue moon the English called it the second consecutive full moon in two days.

He gave a sigh, thankfully a blue moon failed to happen very often, even less often than a red moon when the moon was bathed in the fiery red glow of father Mars. A blue moon pushed a werewolf to truly unimaginable limits, two nights in a row caused almost all the wolves to lose their minds in the freedom of it.

'Dangerous' Harry thought to himself. 'Very dangerous'

Harry kneeled in the long grass near to where Dumbledore had left him. With casual eyes he watched the fully transformed beasts run by him. There must be some village close by he mused, to warrant the hunting of a full pack.

With surprising speed Harry gave chase on the creatures.

Fenrir Grayback raced alongside his pack, he could smell there lust for blood almost diminishing his own. He was a powerful wolf; anyone would surmise that for themselves should they see him. Even in this slender form his muscles where thick and strong without a doubt he could topple a tree with a swipe of his claws.

After living almost a hundred years as a wolf he had learnt a few things. He had gathered knowledge and seen things that others would never again bear witness to in their lifetimes. He was by no means a stupid man but neither was he intelligent, his lust for power had become almost insatiable before he was turned and after it had only grown. He had slain his master for control and now he feared his children may do the same.

"Lupin" he snarled with venomous rage. It exited his mouth as nothing other than a ferocious howl that caused the younger in his pack to shiver in fear.

He surrounded himself in power; even in his children they were strong, stronger than any other pack in Europe, all except for the one. The Lupin he was powerful, dangerously so. The only one of his children who could remove him from the head of his pack.

"Remus Lupin" he growled softly. Even the boys name made reference to the moon. He should have known that before he had bitten him. A mistake, they had fought three times since then and never had he Grayback been on top at the end.

He took out his frustration by increasing the pace of his pack, they trailed behind him now and he was left to revel in the feeling it provided him. A gift if ever there was one, he was free and would never be captured. He was Grayback, the silent death.

He cocked his head to one side looking for his brethren, for the briefest of instants he thought he had found a flicker of the shadows a spectre in the night but just as quickly it had vanished and was replaced by nothing. The enormous wolf shrugged it off; no one would dare to try and assert their dominance over him while he ran for solace.

He took long sniff of the air. He could smell human flesh on the breeze, children in fact. His favourite, they didn't have the gamey aftertaste of adults, the stick of panic on their flesh was truly terrible. Children however tasted of un-realised dreams, of potential and immortality, everything he wasn't then.

As his lust for flesh grew it transferred easily into his muscles, urging them onwards he felt limitless for that moment not bound by the constraints of humanity for the first time in a long month. Great globs of drool, where swept from his mouth so caught was he in his imaginings. He could almost feel the flesh break under his fangs and the rush of blood into his maw.

His head snapped to the left catching the glint of black on black even though it shouldn't be possible. It took him a moment to master himself and pause in his running. Once could be imagined, twice couldn't. Not when then person in question was a hundred year old werewolf. His thick claws dug into the ground and he dragged himself forcibly to a halt.

His keen eyes roamed about taking in everything from the long grass to the thick trees that they had become engulfed in. His pack slowed to a stop just behind him. Some of them sniffed suspiciously at his body but he waved them off with a well placed growl and swipe of his paw. He couldn't see anything untoward and that frightened him more than a little.

"You noticed me then little wolf" came a voice from the darkness.

Grayback's response was to bare his thick fangs and raise his heckles looking like some enormous kitten for a fleeting second. A very dangerous, very deadly cat, that could have pawed Harry's head off with but a motion.

A thunderous roar descended the clearing as Grayback made his displeasure known. His pack slunk away from him, becoming as meek as they dared without further fuelling Grayback's fury.

"Oh come now, no need for anger. I'm only here to take your pack, can't have you allied with Voldemort now can we?" Harry said jovially. Grayback stared for a moment looking all around him in the darkness and still he could not see from where the voice emanated. From an outside perspective he could feel himself growing furious but it failed to matter. Someone, a child from the sound of the voice had dared to challenge him. On the day of a double moon no less, he felt his anger give rise to the beast that was a werewolf, something that in a dark creature no joy could take the place of.

A figure stepped from the darkness; to Grayback it seemed that the figure had wrapped himself in the very darkness itself. There was no way to tell where it stopped and where he began or if the figure even began at all. Grayback roared at the figure, spit flew from his gaping jaws. For all of the power the werewolf displayed the shadow seemed unperturbed.

"Enough posturing wolf, it's time for you to die and the world will rejoice in your absence. Have no fear it shall be honourable." The figure stated as he stepped for the first time out of the shadows into the light of the full moon. The light bathed his clothes in a milky glow and yet they were still as black as the night. His eyes though, a piercing green that made Grayback shiver. Suddenly anger wasn't at the front of his mind; it was replaced by something far greater.

The old wolf let out a snarl. A boy, regardless of those eyes, he was still a boy. Anger reared its ugly head in his mind once again, a child, a child dear to usurp his power. Unbidden images of Lupin doing the same thing flooded into his consciousness, the child asserting his place as the strongest male.

With a roar of fury he leaped forward. Eight inches of claw sinking through the ground as though it weren't even there. His muscles seemed as taught as steel cables, straining against his hairy flesh.

Deftly Harry stepped to one side and quickly drew his wand, he turned to face the werewolf again and a saw it shift mid leap. With an awareness that even Harry couldn't have predicted the wolf sprang from the trunk of a tree. Its claws accommodated most of the impact and provided the base for an accelerated leap.

"Clever fuck" Harry mumbled even as he dove to the side to stop those thick claws from cleaving him in two. As it turned out he couldn't move quick enough to completely avoid the claws, one of them cut a bloody path through his back even as he moved. He swished his wand violently at the wolf and darts exploded from the tip. Harry didn't wait to see if the spell met its target he flicked his wand summoning up a wall of flames that separated him cleanly from his enemy.

Grayback gave a roar of pain and frustration as one of the darts cut a swath straight through his right leg. He turned to face the child who was easily as gifted with the magical arts as Remus had ever been if not more so. As the flames came into being he roared in frustration once more. He weighed his options quickly and then leapt straight at the flames.

He had expected to come out on top of the child, who would have been lacking in the time necessary to move and provide a viable counter attack. That was where his plan fell to pieces.

Harry dived to his right almost instantly after throwing the fire spell, instinct over the years had taught him to never underestimate the blood lust of a werewolf. He wasn't at all surprised when the wolf jumped through his previously occupied space and chomped down on where his head had been not a second previous.

He twisted his wand and transfigured several pieces of the long grass into a lion that leaped into the fray. Its powerful jaws sunk into the werewolf's side eliciting a scream of agony before the beast was ruthlessly torn apart by the huge claws of the wolf. Harry watched the scene and dispassionately fired off a bone breaking hex that slammed into Grayback's chest.

Fenrir felt the air being crushed from his lungs. His side was in tatters after that lion had opened him up; he looked at it on the side bleeding but still alive. The boy had conjured something truly alive then. That was interesting. There was no dishonour in losing to a more skilled opponent.

'Yet' spoke a part of him that he rarely listened to, his more rational side. 'I'm not dead yet' Grayback half stood, hunched over in his agony, blood pouring from the wounds that had been inflicted upon him. Even now breathing was a labour he was not fond of, he bared his fangs in anger against the boy and looked into his eyes.

Empty.

The boy didn't fear him, didn't pity him. There was nothing there, the eyes where simply devoid of anything and everything but a blank endless nothingness. He saw the boy raise his wand, a simple gesture that served to fill his heart with terror.

"Ecarpus dissectum" the boy spoke softly. A purple beam rushed from the tip of his wand and Fenrir Grayback erupted in a fountain of flesh and blood. Huge chunks of the werewolf where scatted to the four winds only to fall a few short meters away, what was left of the once terrifying wolf slumped to the ground in a heap.

Harry turned to the rest of the wolves; an easy smile adorned his face. He twisted his wand in a spiral and long golden flames in the shape of a whip fell to the ground burning away at the moist grass.

"Challengers?" he asked with a growl. The wolves seemed to cower away from him as they had done for their former master and leader. One of the pack gave a pitiful whine and Harry was forced to accept their submission.

"You will not ally yourselves with Voldemort do I make myself clear?" he snapped. He was answered by several long howls that he took to mean that they understood. "Very well" he replied now talking more to himself then Grayback's pack. Harry turned sharply on his heel and had soon vanished as Dumbledore had.

'This is where it will happen' he thought sadly staring up at the imposing figure of Hogwarts. He admired the grounds in a far off way, analysing there use in war noting with some degree of satisfaction that the forest would provide a large amount of cover for both side meaning that Voldemort was likely to use that as his attack point. He fingered his wand by his side, only just resisting the temptation to burn the entire forest to the ground and leave Voldemort with no place to hide when he tried to storm Hogwarts.

With a scowl on his face he made his way back up to the school and to the dormitories, tomorrow was another day after all.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Dumbledore's army

Harry felt stiff the next day, as though he had been torn up and then pieced together crudely. With a wry chuckle he summarised that he probably felt how 'Mad Eye' looked.

Well so long as he didn't look like the man he thought as he slipped on a black t-shirt to go under his robes. He noticed the stirring of his dorm mates and wondered even in the house of the clever if any of them would or could understand what he had done last night.

A shrug of his shoulders later he was on his way down to breakfast, robes flitting about his ankles like black smoke. Absently he noticed smaller things about Hogwarts then he had considered before, the temperature for one.

Despite the numerous glowing torches along the halls it was still rather cold. Not even close to temperatures that he was used to but cold none the less. On a whim he moved over to the wall and shoved his hand in the fire.

It was warm certainly but not burning as it should have been. He checked for magic in the fire and indeed all the fires in the hall but not one of them carried even a trace.

"Strange" he muttered to himself, his brow furrowed even further in confusion. "Very strange" At the moment no answers presented themselves indeed not even a theory saw fit to grace his mind.

The great hall was exactly as he remembered it being on his first night, if not for the absence of most of the student body. The Ravenclaws where usually some of the first up but this morning Harry had left them all in bed. He noticed with a small amount of annoyance that breakfast hadn't even been sent up yet.

A low growl bubbled in his throat, he was hungry now. Killing werewolves and meeting with vampires the night before would do that to a guy. He shook his head violently, his long black hair fanning out behind him, what was all this, where was this anger coming from.

Never before had he considered himself a selfish individual but these thoughts where certainly. Once more he shook his head, trying to clear his head even as he knew that wasn't the problem. His Occlumency had not failed and his shields where as strong as ever, he should be in control of his emotions. So why wasn't he?

With the ease of years of practice he threw himself into his mindscape where he could check on his mental shields from a Legilimans' point of view. What he saw made him groan in frustration, his walls had been changed.

Now they where honeycombed chunks of metal and not the solid barriers he had constructed. He wondered if this was his unconscious mind trying to tell him something and indeed there was nothing wrong with the shields they were just different.

He neglected to change them for now it seemed almost redundant to do so. There was nothing wrong with them after all, they were just different. He just sat at the table with nothing to do other than pen his observations in his notebook. He had decided that one day his theories, notes and spells might end up in his family 'Grimoire' but he hadn't decided what he would do with all the spells he had learned from other families.

Before the third war Harry had known a family that was well practiced with fire spells and had even invented several of their own. They had been wiped out and having the youngest child being 45 Harry had inherited the fortune and the knowledge of one of the founding fathers of his world.

It had happened half a dozen other times as well. That was one of the most promising though. He sat at the bench for a good time before the staff came down and began to talk amongst themselves. The raven's still weren't up yet but several Hufflepuff's and even a few Slytherin's as well had come down, a few where sat with books pegged open and where already revising for N.E.W.T's.

Several minutes later the food began to appear and he helped himself. He was hungry after all, Vampires and Werewolves where exhausting and demanded that food be eaten afterwards. Unfortunately it had been later than he had expected when he had returned and the house elves had all been off doing other things, cleaning he imagined.

That immediately put another thought in his head. If the elves cleaned and cooked and generally did all the manual labour around here then what the hell was Filch hired for. Maybe Dumbledore had owed his family something or maybe the man directly. Life debts where very powerful things- and he had been owed several in his time. Fortunately zero people had come to his aid when in trouble so he owed none in return.

As more and more student began to trickle in he put more and more thought into his classes. Now that he had degrees he didn't need them. The argument was could he be doing more good outside these walls. As he sadly shifted his eggs about his plate he realised the answer.

Yeah he could. He could do so much more good away from Hogwarts and he wasn't even leaving it undefended. Dumbledore was arguably the best thing for this school and then they had McGonagall a transfiguration mistress so they where fine. He looked to the head table his eyes seeking out Dumbledore, he hadn't come down yet. Last night had probably been trying for the old wizard.

He decided that he would wait for the old sorcerer and then let him know of his plans to leave Hogwarts for a short while, or a long while depending on what happened while he was gone. Hopefully he would be able to make several allies that he desperately needed. Sects of vampires and werewolves where one thing but giants and trolls could prove far more problematic. Then there was the threat of the dragons, if Voldemort somehow managed to tame them unlike the first war, they could prove a powerful threat.

Dumbledore swished into the hall. Wearing robes of the deepest purple and decorated with several constellations. Powerful men often fell into eccentricity and more often than not it provided hilarity for all that stood around them. Finishing his breakfast he stood and walked directly to the man.

Before he was even halfway Dumbledore turned to him, a smile on his face.

"I'm leaving sir" he said, something deep inside him stirring enough to respect Dumbledore's age and wisdom put the sir on the end of his sentence. "I can do more good outside these walls."

"After last night my boy I had imagined you might leave. You do not need this school; indeed you never have but know that its doors are always open to you."

With a soft smile Harry replied. "Thank you."

With that the two wizards clasped hands and as they both admired one another for the last time in months Harry began to fade from view. A shimmering silver dust was left in his wake; all that symbolised Harry Potter had ever entered Hogwarts at all laid at Dumbledore's feet.

A single tear slid from the old man's eye as thoughts of the boy mage ran through his head. 'Even though I know you will return Harry, why does it feel like I have lost you again' The quiet contemplation of Albus' was drawn away by the gasps of students who had watched Harry go. One in particular seemed to take it harder than the others.

Luna Lovegood heiress to the Lovegood fortune and the only heir to Lord Xenophillius Lovegood stood in the entrance hall. Looking at where her friend had vanished only seconds before. He had only just come back.

A powerful wind whipped up in Norway, ripping the grass from the meadow. A figure slammed into the ground, the magic still whipping about him in an unnatural force. With a measured stare he regarded the mountains that towered high above him, beautiful things, Snow capped with a silvery shimmer. Even from such a distance he could see movement near the peak.

"Giants" he breathed, his breath smoking in the air.

A grin split his face and he began his walk to the peak of the mountain. The scent of magic in the air was thick. Giants had a powerful magic, it smelled old like the mountains that protected them. He could feel the ageless power that radiated from them in unimaginable waves that crashed upon him like tsunamis. It was understandable that men fled from these beasts, they where immense both in power and stature.

As he reached the base of the mountain the air frosted and became thinner as though he where a thousand feet up. "Strange" he muttered to himself, looking about him with his wand drawn at his side. He watched dispassionately as the ground around him withered and died. For a moment he thought it was a dementor, or ten for their powers to be amplified in such a way. Then he saw the beast round the corner.

"A dryad?"

The plants turned to dust before his eyes and blood rushed through his heart. Adrenaline pounded in his ears rushing to his brain and turned his thoughts to mush. The cold air was pressed in on him and for a moment he felt as though he where drowning. He collapsed to one knee, eyes piercing the wraith like figure. Stunned he watched as long piercing blades protruded from under its cloak until they were held into the air like a fan of blades.

"Singu" Harry whispered pointing the wand directly at his chest. The magic churning in his body suddenly stopped, for a moment it was still. Screams tore through the scene as Harry was torn asunder and his body split into two each half slowly forming into another distinct clone of Harry.

With an angry glare the mage's simultaneously turned their wands on the approaching dryad.

"Not another step!" The two Harry's growled in sync, the echoed words providing a strange symphony to the macabre proceedings. The dryad seemed not to hear him or if it did it took little notice. The creature had no feet and seemed to glide along the ground in a manner that would have looked almost attractive if the beast didn't look so wicked.

Without wasting further words Harry flicked his wand and slammed a wall of fire into the progressing monster. For a moment it halted and then the flames dissipated, the attack being cast aside as though it where nothing. The second clone had not been stood idle though and cutting curses ripped through the air, these where not shrugged aside as effortlessly as the fire attack had been and two of the blades where cut from the air landing in the grass meters away.

The two Harry's came together momentarily and while the first covered the front and held off the attacking dryad with a myriad of offensive spells the other wove a sealing circle. Runes burned fiery in the air from a powerful 'flagrate' spell. Fourteen runes later and the chain slammed into the dryad. A ring appeared around its body holding it stiff in a manner similar to a body bind. The difference between the simple first year spell and the master level rune binding was numerous. The first could be broken with enough power; the second could only be broken with the correct counter runes. The dryad would certainly not know the correct counter runes and even if it did it couldn't use them with its arm constantly poised to strike.

"A dryad then, has Voldemort really sunk so low?"

The creature let out a piercing wail, the noise causing Harry to momentarily cover his ears. Harry swished his wand through the air and quickly conjured a hundred knives before banishing them with as much force as he could muster at the screaming beast. Each of them slammed into the dryad and a bluish green blood slowly began to seep from its body.

"Are you allied with Voldemort?" Harry snapped.

"N-no" the creature gasped out, its voice sounding something similar to a rat being strangled to death. A combination of low squeaking gasps and loud hissing grunts. The answer gave him something to think about however, had the creature attacked him for personal gain, certainly the giants wouldn't employ such a creature.

"Who do you work for then?"

"The Dark Lady" Now Harry was shocked, there was a Dark Lady? The potential problems there where astronomical, Voldemort was a problem on his own and combined with another 'Dark Lord' they presented a potential threat. There was a possible upside in that it might be little Bellatrix Lestrange that had styled herself as a 'Dark Lady'.

"Really?" Harry mused aloud, "and who is this 'Dark' lady then?"

"I don't know" the creature wheezed.

From what he could tell Harry thought that the dryad wasn't lying. Its body language and the way it spoke conveyed effectively that it was beaten. It was enough for Harry to lower his wand and look at the creature in front of him with no hate in his eyes.

For all the stupid mistakes that Harry had made in his life, admittedly few and far between this was one of the greatest. Letting an enemy, even an incapacitated one have any leverage what so ever would always be a mistake. The dryad took Harry's inaction and slashed one of its powerful knives through the barrier, in one fell swoop the runes collapsed and the remaining energy exploded into the air around them.

Harry was blown clean off his feet and sent flying across the ground. He felt his arm graze and then the skin give way and blood poured down his arm. Reflex dictated that Harry protects his arm and in so doing his wand was dropped. Feebly he brought his arms up to protect his face noticing dispassionately that it was shredded and destroyed.

With a shriek the dryad lunged at him piercing his arm into the floor. Harry bit back a scream as the blade sliced through his already damaged arm. Fortunately Harry had some training with things like this and his other arm lashed out catching the beast in the sternum with a closed fist. He heard a thick snap as bone broke beneath the wet flesh of the creature.

With a howl the dryad redoubled its attack whipping about its claws like a samurai. Harry's hand caught the wrist but still managed to find his other arm slashed as though it had been put through a blender. He bit back a scream by biting on his cheek until he felt the deep coppery tang of blood run down his throat. With a roar he pulled the monster in close and smashed his forehead into the nose of the beast.

Once more it roared, this time in pain and it no longer attacked. Harry on this occasion chose to attack rather than let the creature go. He snapped the blade from his useless arm and brought it across the dryad's neck in a lethal slash. The creature being in pain didn't react in time and before it knew what was going on it was spitting up blood even as it bled out.

With a groan Harry made his way back over to where his wand had been dropped and snatched it up. For a moment he did nothing other than look around, checking all angles for a potential threat. When he found none he waved the magical focus over his body, slowly he knit the tissue back together. A trained healer could do it in half the time, a professional maybe a quarter. Harry was nowhere near that good and only knew precious few medical spells, they had served him well so far and he had no desire to expand.

Slowly he walked back to the dryad and opened its long and tattered cloak. Only now did he get a good look at the thing. Its long blade like digits glinted in the dying light, its wet skin that seemed almost like wax and its dead black eyes that slowly leaked blood into its gaping maw.

Harry snapped the fingers off and tucked them away inside his cloak. Those blades where strong and he had no desire to see them go to waste. Quickly he checked the body pulling free the loose armour that the dryad wore. With a smile as he realised that it would fit his frame he strapped it down pulling taught thick leather cords to trap the dragon hide to his cloak.

He scowled back at the already decaying beast and continued on his way to the giants, each step bringing him closer. Around him raw magic bubbled in the air, sparks crackled on his skin and danced over his new armour. In the distance he saw one of the great beasts. Its form was staggering; it stood massively over him its shadow covering what seemed like half of the mountain side.

"Hello?" he called over.

The giant turned to face him, the club in its car sized hand swinging dangerously close to where he was walking.

"Human" it grunted "What do you want?"

"Your leader" Harry growled pulling free his wand once more. It seemed that all these things responded to was violence, which was fine for him. Violence was what he did best after all.

He flicked his wand and the giant fell to the floor with an earth shacking slam.

"Tobias" he screamed, the giants word for leader rolling from his tongue as though he had been speaking the language his whole life.

The rumble in the mountains was his answer. From behind a snow capped peak a monster appeared. The giant towered over the previous one by at least five feet. A simple loincloth covered its genitals but in its hand it held a club as big as the giant itself.

"Boy?" it growled.

"I need your help" Harry said unashamedly.

"Over my dead body" the giant laughed. With its roaring laughter more giants appeared, soon enough the entire clan was gathered and they viewed the boy with displeasure.

"Then so be it" Harry said without emotion.

With a swish of his wand the giant was on its knees. Power flooded his veins, magic begging him to let it free. For a moment he almost did, the rush felt so intoxicating. This had to be the power that all Dark Lord's felt when they looked down on society and threw around there magic like gods and truly he felt the same.

"Listen to me giant" Harry snarled as he walked over to the immense creature.

"You will serve Dumbledore in this coming conflict; you shall bow at his feet and crush his enemies. If you fail to do this, I'll kill you and this entire clan."

Slowly fear seeped into the giants' eyes and Harry knew he had the upper hand. He pointed his wand into the crowd of giants gathered behind them.

"Which one is your son?" Harry asked, seemingly innocently.

The giant gasped. Few knew it but the giants were very protective of their children, many though that it was the opposite but that just wasn't the case. Long since they had acknowledged that their race was nearly extinct and they protected their children fiercely as a result.

"N...No" the giant stammered.

"What was that?"

"We'll serve" the beast roared. Then in a somewhat subdued voice it continued. "We'll serve"

"Very well, I expected you to arrive to see Dumbledore within the week. Goodbye"

A/N

monkei10- Thanks for the review, prompted me to write this so i hope you like it. I hadn't really given the Vampire abilitys aspect much thought but i will and it may work itself in somehow.


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