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batsutousaiTitle: Xerosis
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
batsutousai
Beta:tsuki_no_suzu & magickmaker17
Rating: T
Pairings: Voldemort/Harry (post-Harry/Ginny)
Warnings: SLASH, AU, character death, super!Harry, Dark!Harry
Summary: Harry's world ends at the hands of those he'd once fought to save. An adult-Harry goes back to his younger self fic. Super!Harry
Disclaim Her: I apologise in advance for any misstatements made about the British government during this time-period, but politics and I very much do not get on, so much of what I found went right over my head. I did my best. Please feel free to rant at me if it makes you feel better. (Also do keep in mind that I'm American, so the British system is, at times, inconceivable to me.)
A/N: So, originally, I completely forgot about putting anything in about Terry's brother or Barty-stalking. And then you people were like, "OMG, BARTY-STALKING!" or "Please show what Harry does to Terry's brother?" and I was like "*sigh* Okay..." So those scenes are for you guys. Because I love you. (And because Barty is too much fun. XD)
-0-0-0-
Rage Like Fire
-0-0-0-
Harry hummed to himself a bit as he curled up in the library chair with a book. If Sirius saw what he was reading, he would be most disproving, but the man was off checking the progress on the wards over the cottage, and a ward on the hallway outside the room would warn him before anyone entered the room. Not that Harry expected anyone would, since most people avoided the house unless there was a meeting. Or they were watching him, in which case they avoided the library unless they needed him.
As Harry had half expected, his godfather had offered the use of his mother's house for the Order. Dumbledore had quickly placed it under Fidelius, having no intention of allowing Voldemort to find the building, especially once it was agreed that Harry would spend most of his summer there. Understandably, Sirius avoided the building as much as possible, so Dumbledore had set up a rotation of adults to stay in the house during Harry's stay. For all that the teen was mature for his age, the Headmaster wasn't willing to leave him completely to his own devices, no matter how much Sirius insisted Harry didn't need a baby-sitter.
Molly Weasley had been quite beside herself when she found out that Harry would be staying at Grimmauld Place by himself. She'd put forth various ideas of him coming to stay at the Burrow or perhaps all the Weasleys moving in with the boy to keep him company. Thankfully, Dumbledore had immediately refused any mention of Harry staying somewhere besides Headquarters or Sirius' cottage. Harry, himself, had been the one to veto anyone else staying with him full time, citing his need to get his work done in peace and catch up with his extra reading. Sirius had supported him, knowing well how Harry enjoyed his alone time during the summer. (Not that Harry didn't like the Weasleys, but he really had no interest in putting up with Ginny's crush or Ron's jealousy for the entire summer.)
Molly and her four youngest were often around, as the motherly woman had been quite adamant about spending some time around the Ravenclaw teen, and Dumbledore did seem to like the idea of him becoming friendly with the Weasleys. His close friendship with Lillian and her Darker friends had probably worried Dumbledore, for all that the man approved of reforming Slytherins.
As for the Dark Order, Voldemort had moved on to staging weekly attacks on mundane shopping areas, moving from city to city at random to keep the Order from guessing where they were going to strike next. Xerosis almost always appeared with him, making a point to use NEWT-level spells or above as often as possible to keep people guessing as to his real identity. He and Voldemort also made a point of scheduling attacks around lunch or supper-time, when someone would be certain to see Harry Potter in the kitchen, just in case some brainless Order member finally connected Harry's similarities to his other self.
Snape was, for the most part, at least told about the attacks before they happened, occasionally being dragged along with for the Dark Lords' amusement. Snape was directed to not tell about some attacks or give misleading information on others. Every once in a while, he was allowed to forewarn the Order about an actual attack, to keep them from getting too suspicious. As far as Harry could tell from sneaking in to Order meetings, the spy was behaving himself, but Dumbledore occasionally gathered his forces to respond to an attack too quickly to have not been forewarned, which meant Snape may be relaying the information directly to the Headmaster, leaving the Order out of things. Harry didn't have any way to check, however, not with the way Fawkes had watched him the last time he'd shadowed in the Headmaster's office to watch Snape and Dumbledore talk. Without clear evidence of Snape's wrongdoing, he and Voldemort were at a bit of an impasse about whether or not to kill him, especially since he was still useful in giving them information on the Order and misleading them about half the time.
According to Lucius, who'd heard it from a distraught Fudge, the mundane Prime Minister was quite distressed by these attacks on his people and the magical government's inability to do anything about it. The mundane people themselves were freaking out a bit, and the Ministry couldn't seem to obliviate everyone who saw an attack, which caused all sorts of wild reports to be circulating about what the attacks actually were.
For the most part, Harry and Voldemort enjoyed the fear they were striking in the mundanes' hearts, but they also remained wary of potential back-lash, often picking up a mundane paper or finding a free telly and flipping it to the news to keep an eye on things. Lucius' reports also helped, since the Prime Minister and his Cabinet didn't seem to have any thoughts of returning fire. Yet. (Harry and Voldemort, who were silently following the political strife already ongoing in the country, privately agreed that the Prime Minister was too busy fighting with his party behind the scenes to take much care about the deaths of his people. Once Major handled things behind the scenes, he'd probably turn his attention more fully on the magical-mundane war brewing on the horizon.)
Harry glanced up as his alarm in the hall triggered and carefully switched the Dark book he'd been reading with a sixth year Transfiguration text he'd found in Regulus' old room. Moments later, the youngest Weasley poked her head in, cheeks flushed with heat. "Mum sent me to tell you lunch is ready, Harry," she breathed.
Harry sighed and nodded, waving her off. Every time he had to put up with this Ginny, he tried to find the woman he'd married, but all he saw was a young girl in the throes of hero-worship. He had to remind himself that this Ginny had never been touched by a Horcrux, had lived a sheltered life. Even now, she was sheltered, for all that a war brewed in the streets beyond their residence.
Ron was equally a problem. Harry saw a jealous boy where he'd once seen a brother and auror partner, whining about Harry's money or fame or about how he got to live in Headquarters and find out all about the Order's plans, etc. Harry had almost cursed him three times in the four weeks since school let out, and he never saw the boy except for the occasional meals. True to form, Ron avoided the library like it was a cursed tomb, which made it the perfect space for Harry to hide out.
The twins, on the other hand... Harry smiled to himself as he heard Ron let out a disgruntled shout down the hall, a sure tell that Fred and George had pranked him again. With them being seventeen, they took great pleasure in setting all sorts of traps for their younger brother or apparating straight to their siblings or mother. They'd tried catching Harry a few times, the first week, but his vampire senses often gave him warning of their tricks, and if it didn't, his knowledge of them and his own ability to wordlessly and wandlessly check anything and everything for unusual magics or potions warned him away from things. He'd also utilised a little-known personal ward that kept them from apparating within two metres of him, which kept them from surprising him like they did the rest of their family.
They were absolutely stumped that they could never catch him, but really it was just a new challenge. They occasionally tossed a few things at him, just to see what would happen, but he was still avoiding things without even seeming to try. They'd been pretty well behaved for almost a week, now, so Harry expected they'd try again soon.
"Oh, good." Molly smiled fondly as Harry entered the kitchen. "I hope you're hungry, Harry-dear."
"We know we are!" the twins chorused, dropping their arms around Harry's shoulders.
"Hm," Harry replied, ducking the silent giggling hex they both tried casting at him. As they started helplessly giggling, he took a seat at the table and shot Molly a smile at the offerings on the table. "This looks wonderful, Mrs Weasley."
"Well, tuck in!" Molly replied, beaming.
The twins finally managed to get themselves sorted and sat down on either side of Harry, wearing matching grins as they served both themselves and Harry. Harry cast his spell before tucking in, absently making a note not to eat the broccoli.
When he finally stood, having avoided participating in any conversation, the twins frowned at his plate, which had only broccoli on it. "You're not eating your veggies," Fred commented, eyes glinting happily.
"Pot, kettle," Harry replied, stepping over to the fridge to grab some carrots out of the crisper to munch on. "Didn't much feel like broccoli today. Sorry, Mrs Weasley."
Mrs Weasley smiled at him in response. "Don't worry about it, Harry, dear." Then she turned to her sons. "He's right, you know. Eat some broccoli."
Fred and George traded resigned looks, then reached for the pile of green on Harry's plate. They let out simultaneous squeaks before turning into red-haired mice.
The other Weasleys were momentarily stunned, then all started laughing. Harry chuckled himself and slipped from the room. The twins had ensured that the rest of their family had served themselves before they served Harry, so their broccoli had been free of spells. Mostly, that had been to keep Harry from catching on to the prank, but it never worked anyway.
-0-
"Jim Boot?" Harry asked, leaning against the doorway into Terry's brother's flat.
The teen who had answered the door frowned. "Yeah? Who're you?"
Harry smiled a cold smile, which only widened as the other boy took a few steps back in surprise. "I'm a friend of your brother's," he offered, slipping into the flat and shutting the door behind him
"You're just another freak!" Jim snapped, straightening and trying to appear unafraid.
Harry chuckled at that. "Yes, I am," he agreed. "However, I'm a freak who hates people without magic. Especially people without magic who hurt those with magic." He narrowed his eyes as the room chilled a good thirty degrees. "You've found pleasure in beating up your brother."
"Freaks should be beat!" Jim spat, eyes flicking around for an escape even as he kept his air of superiority. "Terry was a good kid before you lot got your claws into him!"
"Terry is still a good kid," Harry replied coolly, leaning back against the closed door without a care. "Any changes in his personality can be attributed to your abuse."
Jim glanced up and down the kid in front of him, a superior smile curling his lips even as he shivered a bit at the chill in the air. "You're the same age as my brother, aren't you? Terry told me about how freaks can't use magic until they're of age."
Harry smiled at that. "The Ministry of Magic places wards around the homes of mundane-borns to keep them from using magic, but you live here, by yourself, so no magic I perform will be picked up." His smile grew as Jim's eyes widened in understanding. "That's right, Jimmy-boy, no one's going to stop me from ripping your heart out."
"You're just a kid!" Jim tried, backing away from the boy with the cruel eyes.
"I am," Harry agreed. "However, I've also killed a couple hundred mundanes. What's to stop me from killing you?"
"Terry!" Jim insisted. "Terry won't let you kill me!"
Harry laughed and absently put silencing wards around the flat as he started towards the teen. "Terry's the one who gave me your address," he replied before snapping his wand forward and hissing, "Crucio."
Jim let out one long scream as he crumpled to the ground, twitching with pain.
Harry ended the spell after a couple minutes and came to kneel in front of the mundane. "You want to know a secret, Jimmy?" He smiled. "As far as the magical world is concerned, I'm pro-mundane. They expect me to be the one to save your sorry species."
Jim let out a faint whimper and struggled to drag himself away from the younger teen next to him.
Harry chuckled and pointed his wand at Jim's crotch. "Execo. Just to make sure there's no chance of you spreading your magic-hating genes," he offered as blood bloomed at the spot and Jim let out a pained cry. Harry got back to his feet and twirled his wand a bit. "Hm. Well, I have options, I suppose. I could cut you up some more. Which would be fun! But not nearly as satisfying. I could crucio you a bit more... Also fun. Maybe a bit of both? Crucio," Harry cast, then set about utilising the cutting curse to bleed the other while he screamed in pain.
By the time Harry ended the curses, there wasn't much left of Jim Boot except a slowly dying body. Harry leaned over him, careful to avoid the spreading blood, and smiled at what little sanity was left. "You know what's the best thing about my gift?" he asked rhetorically. "It doesn't need you to be sane to work." Then he opened his mouth and sucked down Jim's soul.
As he'd hoped, Jim knew of a few other anti-magic mundanes. Harry would have to visit them soon.
-0-
"Barty, is there a reason you keep looking over your shoulder?" Rabastan wondered drily as Barty did just that.
Barty twitched faintly and turned back to the chess game he was losing. "I can't help it," he whispered. "I swear there's someone watching me."
"...all that time under your father's thumb has made you just a little bit insane," Rabastan decided. "There's no one there."
Barty twitched again and looked over his shoulder at where he swore he heard a faint giggle. There was a shadow under a table with just enough space for a child the size of their young lord. "You're only saying that because you can't see him," he insisted. "But he's there. I swear he's there."
Rabastan sighed and got to his feet. "Where do you think this mystery person is?"
Barty pointed to the table, only to feel the eyes watching him disappear. "He's gone," he offered as Rabastan went to check.
The slightly older Death Eater gave him a disgusted look from next to the table. "Barty, there was never anyone there!"
Barty let out a faint whimper as he felt the eyes again and slowly turned to look at a new shadow. Bright green eyes glimmered at him for a moment before vanishing. The man shuddered again and hunched down in his chair. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry!" he complained to the room as Rabastan sat back down across from him.
"Barty..." Rabastan sighed, shaking his head.
"Oiy, Crouch! Stop being a loon!" another Death Eater complained from behind the day's Prophet.
The faintest of kisses pressed against Barty's cheek and he whimpered again. "Poor Barty," the young Dark Lord's voice whispered against his ear. "Scared of a shadow."
"Please, my Lord?" Barty tried.
"Barty, it's your turn. Stop talking to your imaginary friend," Rabastan called.
"He's not imaginary," Barty insisted.
A throat cleared in the doorway to the sitting room and all the Death Eaters immediately jumped to their feet and bowed to the Dark Lord. "Xerosis, stop stalking Barty."
The apparent vampire ended his invisibility spell and appeared just behind Barty's chair, making Rabastan jump in shock. "But he's so much fun."
"You're late for our meeting," Voldemort added before turning and leaving the room.
"Is it that time already?" Xerosis wondered, glancing over at a clock. "Hmm. Oops." He leaned over and kissed Barty's cheek again as the frazzled Death Eater returned to his seat. "I'll see you later, Barty."
"My Lord, please?" Barty tried again.
Harry chuckled and skipped out of the room, leaving all the other Death Eaters staring after him in disbelief while Barty whimpered and covered his face with his hands.
-0-
Harry was relaxing in the sitting room with the twins and a purple Ron when the whole place shook. A few car alarms out on the street started going off and all four teens ran to the grimy windows overlooking the street.
Far in the distance, a great cloud of smoke was rising, like some parody of a balloon. Down the street, someone was starting to cry.
Harry slammed the window open, startling Ron, who stood next to him. He strained for even the faintest sound of a telly or wireless, but heard nothing. He let out a few Chinese curses under his breath, then spun and dashed downstairs to the kitchen, hoping the wizarding wireless would prove more useful. Behind him, the three Weasleys traded shocked looks, then hurried after him.
"What was that banging about?" Mrs Weasley asked as Harry slid into the room, but he didn't speak, only switching on the wireless and twiddling the dial to see if he could find something. Anything.
There. '...reports now coming in from just south of Regent's Park of a massive explosion. So far no certain reports of the numbers of dead, but the area is known to house a number of magical families...'
Harry gritted his teeth. Regent's Park was as much a mundane area as it was magical. Magical families with a lot of money and some knowledge of the mundane world often bought houses over there to show off their wealth and their fondness for mundanes. Tonks' parents – Andromeda, 'call me Andy,' and Ted – lived over there, as did Anthony Goldstein and his mum. He and Voldemort hadn't had any plans for an attack today, but it was just as much a possibility of it being a magical attack as it was a mundane one.
The floo in the kitchen flared green as the news started repeating again that nothing so far was known and they all turned to see Dumbledore brushing off his robes. He offered them a strained smile and requested, "I think it's best if the children retired elsewhere for a moment, Molly."
Molly nodded as the floo flared again, admitting more of the Order, and turned to the five children – Ginny had been in the kitchen when the boys had all come running in. "Come on, now, off you go."
Ginny bit her lip and turned towards the door obediently. Ron followed her with a disgruntled look while the twins had a moment of silent communication. "We want to know–" they started.
"Upstairs!" Molly ordered and the twins sulked towards the stairs. She turned to Harry with a smile, assured that he would leave without a fight as he usually did, but this time his eyes were hard. "Harry, dear–"
"I'm not leaving," Harry said quietly, absently noting that the four Gryffindors had stopped on the stairs up.
"Now, Harry, this really isn't a meeting–" Molly tried.
"One of my friends lives near Regent's Park," Harry interrupted. "And Cousin Andy! You can't just expect me to sit upstairs without a word! Voldemort already attacked my friends once this year–"
"This attack wasn't Voldemort," Dumbledore interrupted gravely.
Harry's breath caught. So, the mundanes had finally made their move.
"Not You Know Who?" Ron asked from the stairs, squeezing past his brothers.
"Upstairs!" Molly shrieked.
Harry briefly debated being obstinate and demanding to stay, but he was much more interested in finding out what had actually happened than sitting around listening to the Order argue, so he spun and stalked up the stairs without another word, brushing past the Weasley children a little more roughly than necessary, but he had other things on his mind, like getting to Regent's Park and seeing the devastation himself. Anthony wasn't really his friend, but Andy was family. She had been the one to raise his godson and taught Harry so much about taking care of a family. And when Sirius had introduced them in this life, she'd been just as cheerful as he remembered her, insisting right away that he call her Cousin Andy.
If Andy and Ted were dead, it wouldn't just destroy Sirius, it would hurt Harry, too. He didn't want the first deaths of this war to be Andy. Wasn't losing Ginny right off the last time punishment enough?
He hurried to his room, grabbing his broom and Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk. He took a moment to make sure his extra wand and time-turner were in his robe pocket, then slammed his window open and awkwardly shuffled out onto the ledge.
"Good thing muggles can't see this building," George commented from the doorway.
"Yeah, they'd think you were committing suicide with a cleaning implement," Fred agreed.
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "What do you want?" he asked, not looking back at them.
"You really think you're going to make it safely to Regent's Park in this climate?" George wondered.
"They'd shoot you out of the sky in a heartbeat, those muggles."
Harry turned carefully and cocked an eyebrow at them, lips curled with an ironic smile. "What's this? A couple of Weasleys speaking of mundanes so poorly?"
"You heard Dumbledore–"
"–this wasn't the doings of You Know Who–"
"–and we all know the Order and the Ministry wouldn't try something like that–"
"–okay, the Ministry might."
"True, brother. True."
"But not in Regent's Park. Maybe at Malfoy Manor–"
"No, no, not Malfoy Manor. Not with the way Malfoy sucks up to Fudge all the time."
"Very good point. But, anyway, not the Ministry, not the Order–"
"–that only leaves one more possible group of people."
"Radicals from France?" Harry suggested drily, even as he slipped back into the room, intrigued. Given, the whole mess wasn't that hard to catch on to, but to see a couple of teens from a Light family laying it out so...
The twins smiled grimly at Harry's poor joke, then chorused, "The muggles did this."
Harry watched their grim faces for a long moment, then commented, "Magical people often underestimate what mundanes – muggles – are capable of. They look at them and they see a lack of magic, they see a people capable of nothing. It's like looking at a baby tiger and thinking, 'Oh, it's so cute and helpless, surely it's no threat to me'."
"Until the tiger grows up," Fred murmured.
Harry smiled without humour. "The mundanes grew up a long time ago, we just hadn't really crossed paths. Maybe we poked them with a stick now and then, but never enough to really catch their attention. This time, the stick couldn't be ignored – won't be ignored – and they're going to fight back with weapons far greater, far more destructive than simple claws and teeth."
"It's all You Know Who's fault," George muttered.
Harry let out a loud laugh. "Voldemort may have been the cause behind it coming right this minute, sure, but this would have happened eventually. You can't keep obliviating them and hope they'll never notice something is off. You can't continue sharing the same land, the same cities, and think they'll always over look everything."
"You think they would have eventually, what?" Fred asked.
"Spotted a dragon running around in a preserve?" George suggested.
"Or, maybe, they'd think a kneazle was a little too smart."
"Or, maybe, one day, they'll elect in a Prime Minister who will find out about our world and they'll be scared," Harry said quietly, not smiling at their thoughtless jokes. "Maybe that Prime Minister will happily announce to the whole world that magical people exist. And, sure, some people might think that's pretty cool, but more people will be scared of what they can't understand and they'll fight it in the only way they know how."
"And how's that, then?" Ron demanded from behind the twins. "Throw a couple of punches our way."
Harry smiled then, almost amused by his once-brother's sense of superiority. "No, Ron, they'll destroy the world." Then he turned and, tossing his Cloak around his shoulders, scrunched back out onto the ledge and jumped onto his broom and away.
"Muggles can't destroy the world," Ron scoffed as Harry was making his escape.
The twins traded a worried look; they weren't so sure of that.
-0-
Xerosis appeared in Voldemort's meeting room about half an hour before the explosion just south of Regent's Park and strode forward, uncaring that he'd interrupted a meeting. Voldemort turned to glare at him, but whatever he might have said was halted when he saw the cold expression on the teen's face. Xerosis didn't even sit down like he was wont to, just stood next to his chair and intoned, "We are about to have a very large problem."
The Dark Lord grimaced at that and waved his Inner Circle out. "What happened?"
"One moment." Xerosis turned to the retreating Death Eaters. "Lucius, how close is Narcissa to Andromeda?"
Lucius turned back to the young Dark Lord, blinking in surprise. "Andromeda, my Lord? Not particularly, why?"
Xerosis sighed. "Would she be willing to invite Andromeda out for tea? Perhaps a shopping expedition in Diagon?"
"Xerosis," Voldemort warned.
The apparent vampire turned angry eyes on his partner. "Don't you interfere," he hissed, then looked back at Lucius, who flinched away from the fury-filled eyes. Xerosis sighed and reached up to rub at the bridge of his nose. "Please, Lucius, it's important. To me." He looked up at the man, weary from his three-hours long trek through the ruins. Perhaps using the time-turner to protect his cousin was cheating, but he had the means, and Fate owed him.
Lucius nodded his head. "I will do what I can, my Lord." He sketched a quick bow, then turned and finished herding the Death Eaters out into the hall. Bellatrix was one of the ones he had to herd and Xerosis vaguely heard her snarking about her eldest sister.
Xerosis dropped into his chair, slumping tiredly to one side. "In maybe twenty minutes, there will be an explosion about five blocks south of Regent's Park, most likely caused by a mundane bomb. There's a small group of houses down there that are owned by magical families with mundane ties that have money. All of them, as well as many of the surrounding buildings and businesses, will be completely destroyed."
Voldemort frowned and leaned back in his chair, focussing on the problem the teen had just handed him rather than at his anger for being snapped at moments before. "There's no way to stop the explosion?" he asked.
"There may well be, but we didn't do anything about it," Xerosis replied tiredly. "Practically the whole of London north of the Thames felt the explosion."
Voldemort sighed and glanced at the teen, considering the rips in his robe and the brushing of dust. "You went to the scene."
Xerosis let out a choked laugh. "I had to see it myself, figure out exactly what happened. See if..." He ran a hand over his face. "Andy lives there, with her husband. I never really got to know Ted, but Andy is my cousin. I wanted to know if she might have been killed."
The Dark Lord silently bemoaned his partner's familial attachments. "If nothing else, this will show the magical world that the muggles can and will attack back."
"Never mind showing how much damage they will do, and how many innocent lives will be lost in the middle," Xerosis agreed, sitting up in his chair.
"Do you know who set the attack?"
"So far as I could tell, they have no idea. There were mundane teams all over the place, looking for any clues at all, but they were having a hard enough time deciding what had actually done the damage, never mind setting about finding anything. There were a couple of magical teams mucking about, too, but they were completely at a loss." Xerosis snorted. "Merlin, wizards are so useless when it comes to the mundane world."
Voldemort glanced up in a plea for patience. "What did you find out?" he asked, knowing the teen was capable of finding things out on his own.
Xerosis was silent for a long moment, then quietly replied, "From the looks of the aftermath, I'd say a gas pipe exploded. Since no such thing happened in my original timeline, I'd say it was done on purpose by someone. When the... attacks really started, there was a group of mundanes who would snoop around for areas where two or more magical people lived within a couple of blocks of one another. They'd block off a large second of the sewers or underground tunnels in the area, fill the blocked off section with gas, then set it off. It would blow up much of the surrounding area and take out more mundanes than magicals, but still..."
"You think someone thought of something similar," Voldemort commented.
"Yes. They don't have the same technology as they did then, but it wouldn't be too hard to set a pipe bomb or other improvised explosive to go off after a set period of time. It probably wouldn't be too hard to block off a section of sewer, either, though it might be harder to do with the underground tunnels at this point in time. After the government starts falling apart, sure, underground is fair game, but not yet."
Some running and the distant sounds of shouting came from out in the hallway before someone dashed into the room, falling to their knees in front of the two Dark Lords and flinching like they expected to be cursed.
"What?" Voldemort demanded, already guessing what was going on.
"My Lords, apologies, but there's been an explosion in London. It wasn't set by any of us!"
"It's the mundanes," Xerosis replied comfortably, relaxing in his chair and absently pulling out his stolen wand to fix the tears in his robes. "They're making their move. Send Lucius to us."
"Yes, my Lord Xerosis," the Death Eater whispered and scrabbled out of the room before one of them could curse him.
"We'll have to use this," Voldemort commented, twirling his wand between two fingers. "A couple of whispers in the right ears..."
"Rita Skeeter would take this story and blow it completely out of proportion," Xerosis commented, spelling patches of dust out of his abused robes.
"I take it you're familiar with her?"
"You could say Rita and I have some history together, yes. She's not aware of it, but I've got some blackmail on her that will have her citing whatever we want her to say."
"Can you set something up, or should I use a Death Eater?"
"Mmm... She's an unregistered animagus. A beetle." Xerosis shot Voldemort a smirk and the man smirked back in understanding.
Lucius swept into the room and bowed quickly. "My Lords," he offered, then focussed on the apparent vampire. "Narcissa got Andromeda to agree to a meeting in Diagon about ten minutes before the explosion, my Lord. She should have been away from the house at the time, but I have yet to hear anything back from my wife."
"Andy may very well run back to her home to see what happened," Xerosis commented, more to himself than Lucius. "We shall have to wait and see. At any rate, thank you, Lucius."
The Malfoy patriarch offered the faintest of smiles in response.
"Lucius, have someone else wait for word on Narcissa's return. We need you in the Ministry, twisting this to fit our needs. The attack was put together by mundanes, likely using a mixture of gas and a pipe bomb. No, you don't need to know what it means, just make it sound good," Voldemort ordered. "Have someone fetch Jenkins for me on your way."
"My Lords." Lucius bowed to them and hurried from the room to do as bid.
"Jenkins is...?"
"A mudblood, disgustingly enough, but he married well and despises muggles. He found Lucius and requested an audience with me shortly after Christmas. He lives in London, and his muggle knowledge should help him spin things properly for your Miss Skeeter."
Xerosis nodded, absently tapping his chin with one finger. "From the sounds of things, the Order is aware that this attack was mundane-created, so we shouldn't have too much trouble from them. If the mundane government declares this to have been a gas main leak, the Ministry could very well try a cover-up."
Voldemort smiled cruelly. "It's good you have a time-turner, then, isn't it?"
Xerosis responded with a smile of his own, then glanced towards the door as shuffling footsteps approached.
The man who entered walked with a slight limp, his left foot dragging slightly, but he didn't seem impeded by it, bowing and murmuring, "My Lords."
"Jenkins, Lord Xerosis has a task for you," Voldemort offered, shooting the teen at his side a smirk.
Xerosis rolled his eyes, then focussed on the Death Eater. "We need to put the right spin on this attack, preferably before the mundane government starts pointing fingers and getting everything mixed up. Lord Voldemort says you live in London?"
"I do, my Lord."
"Were you at home when the explosion occurred?"
"I was, my Lord."
"Excellent." Xerosis smiled in pleasure. "I love it when things work out. We'll have you setting up a meeting with the reporter Rita Skeeter. Knowing her, she'll be digging everywhere for someone to talk to, and you going to her will make her absolutely ecstatic. You'll be mixing a bit of your actual experience with what Lord Voldemort and I have figured out from the attack, so make it sound good."
Once Jenkins had nodded in understanding, Xerosis explained, "That explosion was caused by gas, of that I have no doubt, but I'm also doubtful on how natural the cause was. The gas line in that area is slightly off to one side, not directly in the middle, however there is a sewer line which runs through the centre of the explosion. It is possible to seal off a portion of the sewer and fill it with gas. Something simple, like a pipe bomb, could then be set off inside the sealed cavern, setting the gas alight."
Jenkins frowned, considering everything, but his eyes had the light of comprehension, so Xerosis just sat back and let the man work everything out in his mind. After a few minutes, he nodded. "I should be able to create a believable story from that, my Lords. How am I expected to keep Skeeter from adding her own spin on things, however?"
"Miss Skeeter is an unregistered animagus," Voldemort reported. "A beetle, to be exact. If she doesn't want pictures of her form provided to the Ministry, she will take your testament as fact and stick to it."
Jenkins' lips curled with a smile. "As my Lords command."
"Go forth and create chaos, Mr Jenkins," Xerosis ordered and the man shuffled out. Once he was gone, the teen turned to Voldemort and commented, "I like him."
"I thought you might." The Dark Lord nodded. "When do you need to return by?"
"Hm. I spent three hours in the rubble, so going back any time before I used my time-turner should be acceptable."
Voldemort snorted. "You're waiting to hear news about your blood traitor."
"I am," Xerosis agreed, seeing no point in denying the truth.
Voldemort shook his head, then glanced over at the teen, who scowled at him. "If you're so desperate for news, go wait downstairs in the receiving room. If nothing else, you might be able to calm the idiots down there who are, no doubt, panicking."
"I very much doubt I will calm them, but they'll certainly shut up," Xerosis agreed, standing. "Always a pleasure to see you, Tom, darling."
"Potter," Voldemort growled.
Xerosis smirked and blew him a kiss, then dashed out of the room, ducking a curse. He chuckled to himself as he started down the hallway, familiar enough with Malfoy Manor after regular meetings in the building for the past two years that he didn't require a guide.
The receiving room was, indeed, full of witches and wizards who were arguing about the attack. Xerosis leaned against the doorway and watched them argue until he was bored, then started casting curses until they'd all run for it, leaving only one tired wizard in the far corner. "Why are you in here?" he demanded.
The man hurried to his feet and sketched a quick bow. "Forgive me, my Lord, but Mr Malfoy insisted I remain here until his wife arrived and bring her straight to you."
Xerosis waved his hand. "Go get some sleep. I am more than capable of waiting for Narcissa on my own."
The man bowed again, relief crossing his face. "Thank you, my Lord. You are a great and wonderful Lord."
Xerosis sighed and, as soon as the man was gone, dropped himself into a comfortable couch and considered his robes. The hem was a little ragged from his trip through the rubble, but coming back with a perfect robe would probably make everyone suspicious. Coming up with a badly destroyed robe, however, would put many of them into a panic. The hem was fine as ragged as it was, but he'd have to spell some dust back onto his clothing and maybe one or two rips. Certainly not as many as had existed when he first shadowed into Malfoy Manor.
Xerosis had just finished applying the last of the damage to his robes when the sound of apparation came from the secured room off to the side of the receiving room. He glanced up and smiled when he saw Narcissa step in. "Narcissa! Brilliant!"
The woman startled a bit at his voice, then sighed when she recognised him. "Forgive me, my Lord," she offered.
Xerosis frowned, seeing the pain in her eyes and the dust marring her lovely blue robes. He stepped forward and gently took her arm. "Narcissa, sit. What happened? You look like you've been to the site of the explosion."
Narcissa eyed his own robes and smiled tiredly. "As do you, my Lord."
Xerosis waved that away and snapped his fingers to call a house elf. "Some water and chocolate for Lady Malfoy," he ordered the creature before turning back to the woman, who offered him a grateful smile. "Is Andromeda okay?"
"She is... distressed, but alive," Narcissa offered, taking the drink and sweet that the house elf conjured on the table next to her. "Her...husband is dead, killed in the explosion, but her daughter, as far as I know, is alive."
"Nymphadora was at the Order meeting that was called moments after the attack," Xerosis agreed. "Andromeda heard the explosion and had to go see what happened, I'm guessing."
Narcissa nodded. "Yes. I agreed to go with her, since I had asked her out in the first place. My Lord, it was..." She looked away, closing her eyes.
"Mundanes are capable of terrible deeds," Xerosis murmured, knowing all too well what she had seen. "And that was a mundane attack, of that I am certain."
"Can we truly stand against them?" Narcissa asked, glancing back at the young Dark Lord. His child-like appearance often made the Death Eaters think him soft, and he occasionally had to remind them with a heavy hand that he wasn't to be looked down on, but at times like this, he was glad for his youthful form.
"I don't know," he admitted, "but we must try. This war we have started with them will have happened one day or another on its own, through causes outside our control. Better to strike pre-emptively and have a fighting chance than to wait for them to attack us and have no other option but to run for our lives." He took one of her hands in his. "Narcissa, I don't know if we'll survive this, but I'm certain that we have a fighting chance."
The woman searched those pale eyes, so much older than her own, and nodded her head. "Thank you, my Lord."
The apparent vampire smiled. "Thank you, for getting Andromeda out of there. Was she suspicious?"
Narcissa let out a quiet laugh. "Of course she was, right from the start, but she was willing to have tea with me. It wasn't until after she saw the skeleton that had been her house..." Narcissa took a sip of water, shaking with the reminder of the scene. Xerosis broke off a piece of chocolate for her and, once she'd eaten it, was able to continue. "After she saw it, she turned to me and demanded to know why I'd insisted we go out for tea at that very moment. It's not polite pureblood custom to have tea out of the blue like that. I..." She looked away. "My Lord, forgive me, I told her an acquaintance of mine insisted I take her out for tea at that very moment."
Xerosis shook his head. "Estranged or not, I hardly expected you to lie to your own sister, Narcissa," he assured her, patting the back of the hand he still held. "If she asks for my name, you may tell her it was Harry Potter who asked the request."
Narcissa gasped. "M–my Lord, is it wise to mention the boy?"
Xerosis smiled knowingly. "Mr Potter is hardly as against us as he leads the world to believe, Narcissa. I am in contact with him, and it was he who worried after her health. That the request came from my lips instead of his, is a minor item to debate over. If she brings it up with him, he will no doubt agree to have sent the plea."
"Andromeda is very clever, my Lord. Will the boy be able to lie well enough to convince her it was all him?"
"Mr Potter will manage, I am certain," Xerosis assured her. "Now, will you need assistance in making your way upstairs, or will you manage on your own?"
Narcissa straightened and brushed some dust off her robes. "My Lord, I am the Lady Malfoy. I am always capable of making my own way."
Xerosis chuckled fondly and dropped a light kiss to the back of her hand. "Then, my lady, I bid you adieu. There's much work to be done if we want those foolish witches and wizards to pull their heads out of the ground. As it is, their rear ends make fantastic targets for the mundanes."
Narcissa covered a smile and rose to offer a quick curtsey to the young Dark Lord before he stepped backwards into a shadow and vanished.
-0-
Harry saw no reason to hide what he'd supposedly been doing for the last hour. Knowing the Weasleys, one of them was certain to have told the adults that he'd left with his broom and the intent to visit the site of the explosion. Considering none of them had ever appeared at the site, looking for him, they had probably only just gotten out of their meeting before he'd returned. With any luck, Andromeda would be there and he wouldn't have to play the panicked cousin anymore.
He was just reaching to open the front door when it was pulled open and he found himself blinking at Sirius, with Tonks, Remus and Andromeda behind him. They all stared for a moment, and then Harry dropped his broom and shouted, "Andy!" jumping forward to hug her.
Andromeda caught him and hugged him tight. "Oh, you stupid, stupid little boy," she whispered. "What were you thinking, flying to the site of the explosion? You could have been hurt!"
Harry bit his lip and gave her the most pitiful look he could manage without tears. "I'm sorry, Andy, but I had to make sure you were okay! No one else seemed to care to check and their meetings always take forever! You could have been buried under rubble, crying for help, and no one could hear you."
Andromeda sighed and hugged him tighter. "Harry Potter, you're supposed to be a Ravenclaw, not a silly Gryffindor."
"Oiy!" Sirius cried from behind Harry, and Harry knew his godfather had forgiven him for running off.
"I have a saving people thing," Harry admitted, putting just the littlest hint of shame into his voice.
Andromeda sighed. "At least you admit you have a problem," she decided.
"Oiy!" Sirius complained again, tugging Harry away from his cousin and holding his broom in front of the boy. "Don't go dropping expensive brooms on the stoop."
"Sorry, Siri," Harry intoned, green eyes sparkling.
Andromeda smiled at him and shook her head. "Go put your broom away, child, and maybe a change of clothing. Molly's working on a lunch for all of us."
Harry blinked. "You too, Andy?"
Andromeda managed a pained smile. "I'll be staying with you and Dora in Grimmauld Place until Sirius' cottage is finished, then we'll be moving in there with you."
"You're certainly not going back to your old house," Sirius pointed out gently.
"No," Andromeda agreed. "There's not a whole lot to go back to."
Harry darted forward and hugged her again, then dashed down the hallway and up the stairs to his bedroom. There, he stashed his broom and Cloak in his trunk, then set about pulling out new robes, sighing a bit over the ones he'd been wearing, knowing that Sirius would probably insist they should be thrown out. He'd quite liked the dark blue set. Maybe he could talk his godfather into getting him a new one. Or two.
The Weasley boys didn't bother him again while they were still there. Ron seemed rather disgusted that Harry wasn't punished for leaving Headquarters like that, while the twins just kept watching him, as if trying to figure out a particularly complex puzzle. Considering how often they looked at him like that when trying to prank him, no one thought anything of it, though Harry was a little concerned about what they were thinking.
Andromeda was the one to make supper that night and Harry happily compared it to one of Molly's usual meals, which made Andromeda flush with pleasure. She then proceeded to ask him about his cooking, likely knowing exactly how useless Sirius was in the kitchen and guessing that Harry made all the meals. Harry tried downplaying his own skills in the kitchen, but Sirius had chosen to join them and had no problems telling all about Harry's skills. Andromeda shot the teen a knowing look and he flushed, caught in his own lie.
That night, Harry was just drifting off to sleep when the faint sounds of someone crying woke him up again. It didn't take him but a minute to recognise Andromeda's voice, then he slipped from bed and padded down to the sitting room, where she was curled up on one of the couches with a cup of tea. She glanced up when Harry stopped in the doorway. "Oh, Harry," she said, subtly wiping at her eyes. "What can I do for you?"
Harry watched her for a long moment, expression understanding, before he slipped over to sit next to her on the couch. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "about Ted. He was... kind of cool."
Andromeda let out a quiet laugh and ruffled Harry's chin-length hair. "Thank you, Harry. You're a good kid."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I bet Mrs Weasley doesn't think so, after the way I acted earlier."
"One minor blow-up after over a month of quietly walking away from those meetings? I'm sure she thinks you're an absolute angel. Or, at the very least, a normal teenager." She shook her head, smiling fondly. "Go back to bed, Harry."
Harry considered her. "You'll be okay?" he asked.
Andromeda leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'll be just fine. Bed. Go on."
Harry nodded and with a quiet, "G'night, Andy," he left the room and made his way back up to bed. When he didn't hear her start crying again, he mentally patted himself on the back and snuggled in to sleep.
-0-
Chapter Six, Part Two
Chapters:
Pro - If We Could Only Turn Back Time / 1 - Long Road
2 - Never As It Seems ||| 3 - The Bad Man, the Sad Man ||| 4 - Armies of Robbers and Thieves
5 - Fear Falls Like Rain |||6 - Rage Like Fire ||| 7 - Born From Conflict
8 - Reach Any Star ||| 9 - Cold Fields ||| 10 - Ice Inside Your Soul
11 - King of Anything
Author:
batsutousaiBeta:
tsuki_no_suzu & magickmaker17Rating: T
Pairings: Voldemort/Harry (post-Harry/Ginny)
Warnings: SLASH, AU, character death, super!Harry, Dark!Harry
Summary: Harry's world ends at the hands of those he'd once fought to save. An adult-Harry goes back to his younger self fic. Super!Harry
Disclaim Her: I apologise in advance for any misstatements made about the British government during this time-period, but politics and I very much do not get on, so much of what I found went right over my head. I did my best. Please feel free to rant at me if it makes you feel better. (Also do keep in mind that I'm American, so the British system is, at times, inconceivable to me.)
A/N: So, originally, I completely forgot about putting anything in about Terry's brother or Barty-stalking. And then you people were like, "OMG, BARTY-STALKING!" or "Please show what Harry does to Terry's brother?" and I was like "*sigh* Okay..." So those scenes are for you guys. Because I love you. (And because Barty is too much fun. XD)
Rage Like Fire
-0-0-0-
Harry hummed to himself a bit as he curled up in the library chair with a book. If Sirius saw what he was reading, he would be most disproving, but the man was off checking the progress on the wards over the cottage, and a ward on the hallway outside the room would warn him before anyone entered the room. Not that Harry expected anyone would, since most people avoided the house unless there was a meeting. Or they were watching him, in which case they avoided the library unless they needed him.
As Harry had half expected, his godfather had offered the use of his mother's house for the Order. Dumbledore had quickly placed it under Fidelius, having no intention of allowing Voldemort to find the building, especially once it was agreed that Harry would spend most of his summer there. Understandably, Sirius avoided the building as much as possible, so Dumbledore had set up a rotation of adults to stay in the house during Harry's stay. For all that the teen was mature for his age, the Headmaster wasn't willing to leave him completely to his own devices, no matter how much Sirius insisted Harry didn't need a baby-sitter.
Molly Weasley had been quite beside herself when she found out that Harry would be staying at Grimmauld Place by himself. She'd put forth various ideas of him coming to stay at the Burrow or perhaps all the Weasleys moving in with the boy to keep him company. Thankfully, Dumbledore had immediately refused any mention of Harry staying somewhere besides Headquarters or Sirius' cottage. Harry, himself, had been the one to veto anyone else staying with him full time, citing his need to get his work done in peace and catch up with his extra reading. Sirius had supported him, knowing well how Harry enjoyed his alone time during the summer. (Not that Harry didn't like the Weasleys, but he really had no interest in putting up with Ginny's crush or Ron's jealousy for the entire summer.)
Molly and her four youngest were often around, as the motherly woman had been quite adamant about spending some time around the Ravenclaw teen, and Dumbledore did seem to like the idea of him becoming friendly with the Weasleys. His close friendship with Lillian and her Darker friends had probably worried Dumbledore, for all that the man approved of reforming Slytherins.
As for the Dark Order, Voldemort had moved on to staging weekly attacks on mundane shopping areas, moving from city to city at random to keep the Order from guessing where they were going to strike next. Xerosis almost always appeared with him, making a point to use NEWT-level spells or above as often as possible to keep people guessing as to his real identity. He and Voldemort also made a point of scheduling attacks around lunch or supper-time, when someone would be certain to see Harry Potter in the kitchen, just in case some brainless Order member finally connected Harry's similarities to his other self.
Snape was, for the most part, at least told about the attacks before they happened, occasionally being dragged along with for the Dark Lords' amusement. Snape was directed to not tell about some attacks or give misleading information on others. Every once in a while, he was allowed to forewarn the Order about an actual attack, to keep them from getting too suspicious. As far as Harry could tell from sneaking in to Order meetings, the spy was behaving himself, but Dumbledore occasionally gathered his forces to respond to an attack too quickly to have not been forewarned, which meant Snape may be relaying the information directly to the Headmaster, leaving the Order out of things. Harry didn't have any way to check, however, not with the way Fawkes had watched him the last time he'd shadowed in the Headmaster's office to watch Snape and Dumbledore talk. Without clear evidence of Snape's wrongdoing, he and Voldemort were at a bit of an impasse about whether or not to kill him, especially since he was still useful in giving them information on the Order and misleading them about half the time.
According to Lucius, who'd heard it from a distraught Fudge, the mundane Prime Minister was quite distressed by these attacks on his people and the magical government's inability to do anything about it. The mundane people themselves were freaking out a bit, and the Ministry couldn't seem to obliviate everyone who saw an attack, which caused all sorts of wild reports to be circulating about what the attacks actually were.
For the most part, Harry and Voldemort enjoyed the fear they were striking in the mundanes' hearts, but they also remained wary of potential back-lash, often picking up a mundane paper or finding a free telly and flipping it to the news to keep an eye on things. Lucius' reports also helped, since the Prime Minister and his Cabinet didn't seem to have any thoughts of returning fire. Yet. (Harry and Voldemort, who were silently following the political strife already ongoing in the country, privately agreed that the Prime Minister was too busy fighting with his party behind the scenes to take much care about the deaths of his people. Once Major handled things behind the scenes, he'd probably turn his attention more fully on the magical-mundane war brewing on the horizon.)
Harry glanced up as his alarm in the hall triggered and carefully switched the Dark book he'd been reading with a sixth year Transfiguration text he'd found in Regulus' old room. Moments later, the youngest Weasley poked her head in, cheeks flushed with heat. "Mum sent me to tell you lunch is ready, Harry," she breathed.
Harry sighed and nodded, waving her off. Every time he had to put up with this Ginny, he tried to find the woman he'd married, but all he saw was a young girl in the throes of hero-worship. He had to remind himself that this Ginny had never been touched by a Horcrux, had lived a sheltered life. Even now, she was sheltered, for all that a war brewed in the streets beyond their residence.
Ron was equally a problem. Harry saw a jealous boy where he'd once seen a brother and auror partner, whining about Harry's money or fame or about how he got to live in Headquarters and find out all about the Order's plans, etc. Harry had almost cursed him three times in the four weeks since school let out, and he never saw the boy except for the occasional meals. True to form, Ron avoided the library like it was a cursed tomb, which made it the perfect space for Harry to hide out.
The twins, on the other hand... Harry smiled to himself as he heard Ron let out a disgruntled shout down the hall, a sure tell that Fred and George had pranked him again. With them being seventeen, they took great pleasure in setting all sorts of traps for their younger brother or apparating straight to their siblings or mother. They'd tried catching Harry a few times, the first week, but his vampire senses often gave him warning of their tricks, and if it didn't, his knowledge of them and his own ability to wordlessly and wandlessly check anything and everything for unusual magics or potions warned him away from things. He'd also utilised a little-known personal ward that kept them from apparating within two metres of him, which kept them from surprising him like they did the rest of their family.
They were absolutely stumped that they could never catch him, but really it was just a new challenge. They occasionally tossed a few things at him, just to see what would happen, but he was still avoiding things without even seeming to try. They'd been pretty well behaved for almost a week, now, so Harry expected they'd try again soon.
"Oh, good." Molly smiled fondly as Harry entered the kitchen. "I hope you're hungry, Harry-dear."
"We know we are!" the twins chorused, dropping their arms around Harry's shoulders.
"Hm," Harry replied, ducking the silent giggling hex they both tried casting at him. As they started helplessly giggling, he took a seat at the table and shot Molly a smile at the offerings on the table. "This looks wonderful, Mrs Weasley."
"Well, tuck in!" Molly replied, beaming.
The twins finally managed to get themselves sorted and sat down on either side of Harry, wearing matching grins as they served both themselves and Harry. Harry cast his spell before tucking in, absently making a note not to eat the broccoli.
When he finally stood, having avoided participating in any conversation, the twins frowned at his plate, which had only broccoli on it. "You're not eating your veggies," Fred commented, eyes glinting happily.
"Pot, kettle," Harry replied, stepping over to the fridge to grab some carrots out of the crisper to munch on. "Didn't much feel like broccoli today. Sorry, Mrs Weasley."
Mrs Weasley smiled at him in response. "Don't worry about it, Harry, dear." Then she turned to her sons. "He's right, you know. Eat some broccoli."
Fred and George traded resigned looks, then reached for the pile of green on Harry's plate. They let out simultaneous squeaks before turning into red-haired mice.
The other Weasleys were momentarily stunned, then all started laughing. Harry chuckled himself and slipped from the room. The twins had ensured that the rest of their family had served themselves before they served Harry, so their broccoli had been free of spells. Mostly, that had been to keep Harry from catching on to the prank, but it never worked anyway.
"Jim Boot?" Harry asked, leaning against the doorway into Terry's brother's flat.
The teen who had answered the door frowned. "Yeah? Who're you?"
Harry smiled a cold smile, which only widened as the other boy took a few steps back in surprise. "I'm a friend of your brother's," he offered, slipping into the flat and shutting the door behind him
"You're just another freak!" Jim snapped, straightening and trying to appear unafraid.
Harry chuckled at that. "Yes, I am," he agreed. "However, I'm a freak who hates people without magic. Especially people without magic who hurt those with magic." He narrowed his eyes as the room chilled a good thirty degrees. "You've found pleasure in beating up your brother."
"Freaks should be beat!" Jim spat, eyes flicking around for an escape even as he kept his air of superiority. "Terry was a good kid before you lot got your claws into him!"
"Terry is still a good kid," Harry replied coolly, leaning back against the closed door without a care. "Any changes in his personality can be attributed to your abuse."
Jim glanced up and down the kid in front of him, a superior smile curling his lips even as he shivered a bit at the chill in the air. "You're the same age as my brother, aren't you? Terry told me about how freaks can't use magic until they're of age."
Harry smiled at that. "The Ministry of Magic places wards around the homes of mundane-borns to keep them from using magic, but you live here, by yourself, so no magic I perform will be picked up." His smile grew as Jim's eyes widened in understanding. "That's right, Jimmy-boy, no one's going to stop me from ripping your heart out."
"You're just a kid!" Jim tried, backing away from the boy with the cruel eyes.
"I am," Harry agreed. "However, I've also killed a couple hundred mundanes. What's to stop me from killing you?"
"Terry!" Jim insisted. "Terry won't let you kill me!"
Harry laughed and absently put silencing wards around the flat as he started towards the teen. "Terry's the one who gave me your address," he replied before snapping his wand forward and hissing, "Crucio."
Jim let out one long scream as he crumpled to the ground, twitching with pain.
Harry ended the spell after a couple minutes and came to kneel in front of the mundane. "You want to know a secret, Jimmy?" He smiled. "As far as the magical world is concerned, I'm pro-mundane. They expect me to be the one to save your sorry species."
Jim let out a faint whimper and struggled to drag himself away from the younger teen next to him.
Harry chuckled and pointed his wand at Jim's crotch. "Execo. Just to make sure there's no chance of you spreading your magic-hating genes," he offered as blood bloomed at the spot and Jim let out a pained cry. Harry got back to his feet and twirled his wand a bit. "Hm. Well, I have options, I suppose. I could cut you up some more. Which would be fun! But not nearly as satisfying. I could crucio you a bit more... Also fun. Maybe a bit of both? Crucio," Harry cast, then set about utilising the cutting curse to bleed the other while he screamed in pain.
By the time Harry ended the curses, there wasn't much left of Jim Boot except a slowly dying body. Harry leaned over him, careful to avoid the spreading blood, and smiled at what little sanity was left. "You know what's the best thing about my gift?" he asked rhetorically. "It doesn't need you to be sane to work." Then he opened his mouth and sucked down Jim's soul.
As he'd hoped, Jim knew of a few other anti-magic mundanes. Harry would have to visit them soon.
"Barty, is there a reason you keep looking over your shoulder?" Rabastan wondered drily as Barty did just that.
Barty twitched faintly and turned back to the chess game he was losing. "I can't help it," he whispered. "I swear there's someone watching me."
"...all that time under your father's thumb has made you just a little bit insane," Rabastan decided. "There's no one there."
Barty twitched again and looked over his shoulder at where he swore he heard a faint giggle. There was a shadow under a table with just enough space for a child the size of their young lord. "You're only saying that because you can't see him," he insisted. "But he's there. I swear he's there."
Rabastan sighed and got to his feet. "Where do you think this mystery person is?"
Barty pointed to the table, only to feel the eyes watching him disappear. "He's gone," he offered as Rabastan went to check.
The slightly older Death Eater gave him a disgusted look from next to the table. "Barty, there was never anyone there!"
Barty let out a faint whimper as he felt the eyes again and slowly turned to look at a new shadow. Bright green eyes glimmered at him for a moment before vanishing. The man shuddered again and hunched down in his chair. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry!" he complained to the room as Rabastan sat back down across from him.
"Barty..." Rabastan sighed, shaking his head.
"Oiy, Crouch! Stop being a loon!" another Death Eater complained from behind the day's Prophet.
The faintest of kisses pressed against Barty's cheek and he whimpered again. "Poor Barty," the young Dark Lord's voice whispered against his ear. "Scared of a shadow."
"Please, my Lord?" Barty tried.
"Barty, it's your turn. Stop talking to your imaginary friend," Rabastan called.
"He's not imaginary," Barty insisted.
A throat cleared in the doorway to the sitting room and all the Death Eaters immediately jumped to their feet and bowed to the Dark Lord. "Xerosis, stop stalking Barty."
The apparent vampire ended his invisibility spell and appeared just behind Barty's chair, making Rabastan jump in shock. "But he's so much fun."
"You're late for our meeting," Voldemort added before turning and leaving the room.
"Is it that time already?" Xerosis wondered, glancing over at a clock. "Hmm. Oops." He leaned over and kissed Barty's cheek again as the frazzled Death Eater returned to his seat. "I'll see you later, Barty."
"My Lord, please?" Barty tried again.
Harry chuckled and skipped out of the room, leaving all the other Death Eaters staring after him in disbelief while Barty whimpered and covered his face with his hands.
Harry was relaxing in the sitting room with the twins and a purple Ron when the whole place shook. A few car alarms out on the street started going off and all four teens ran to the grimy windows overlooking the street.
Far in the distance, a great cloud of smoke was rising, like some parody of a balloon. Down the street, someone was starting to cry.
Harry slammed the window open, startling Ron, who stood next to him. He strained for even the faintest sound of a telly or wireless, but heard nothing. He let out a few Chinese curses under his breath, then spun and dashed downstairs to the kitchen, hoping the wizarding wireless would prove more useful. Behind him, the three Weasleys traded shocked looks, then hurried after him.
"What was that banging about?" Mrs Weasley asked as Harry slid into the room, but he didn't speak, only switching on the wireless and twiddling the dial to see if he could find something. Anything.
There. '...reports now coming in from just south of Regent's Park of a massive explosion. So far no certain reports of the numbers of dead, but the area is known to house a number of magical families...'
Harry gritted his teeth. Regent's Park was as much a mundane area as it was magical. Magical families with a lot of money and some knowledge of the mundane world often bought houses over there to show off their wealth and their fondness for mundanes. Tonks' parents – Andromeda, 'call me Andy,' and Ted – lived over there, as did Anthony Goldstein and his mum. He and Voldemort hadn't had any plans for an attack today, but it was just as much a possibility of it being a magical attack as it was a mundane one.
The floo in the kitchen flared green as the news started repeating again that nothing so far was known and they all turned to see Dumbledore brushing off his robes. He offered them a strained smile and requested, "I think it's best if the children retired elsewhere for a moment, Molly."
Molly nodded as the floo flared again, admitting more of the Order, and turned to the five children – Ginny had been in the kitchen when the boys had all come running in. "Come on, now, off you go."
Ginny bit her lip and turned towards the door obediently. Ron followed her with a disgruntled look while the twins had a moment of silent communication. "We want to know–" they started.
"Upstairs!" Molly ordered and the twins sulked towards the stairs. She turned to Harry with a smile, assured that he would leave without a fight as he usually did, but this time his eyes were hard. "Harry, dear–"
"I'm not leaving," Harry said quietly, absently noting that the four Gryffindors had stopped on the stairs up.
"Now, Harry, this really isn't a meeting–" Molly tried.
"One of my friends lives near Regent's Park," Harry interrupted. "And Cousin Andy! You can't just expect me to sit upstairs without a word! Voldemort already attacked my friends once this year–"
"This attack wasn't Voldemort," Dumbledore interrupted gravely.
Harry's breath caught. So, the mundanes had finally made their move.
"Not You Know Who?" Ron asked from the stairs, squeezing past his brothers.
"Upstairs!" Molly shrieked.
Harry briefly debated being obstinate and demanding to stay, but he was much more interested in finding out what had actually happened than sitting around listening to the Order argue, so he spun and stalked up the stairs without another word, brushing past the Weasley children a little more roughly than necessary, but he had other things on his mind, like getting to Regent's Park and seeing the devastation himself. Anthony wasn't really his friend, but Andy was family. She had been the one to raise his godson and taught Harry so much about taking care of a family. And when Sirius had introduced them in this life, she'd been just as cheerful as he remembered her, insisting right away that he call her Cousin Andy.
If Andy and Ted were dead, it wouldn't just destroy Sirius, it would hurt Harry, too. He didn't want the first deaths of this war to be Andy. Wasn't losing Ginny right off the last time punishment enough?
He hurried to his room, grabbing his broom and Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk. He took a moment to make sure his extra wand and time-turner were in his robe pocket, then slammed his window open and awkwardly shuffled out onto the ledge.
"Good thing muggles can't see this building," George commented from the doorway.
"Yeah, they'd think you were committing suicide with a cleaning implement," Fred agreed.
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "What do you want?" he asked, not looking back at them.
"You really think you're going to make it safely to Regent's Park in this climate?" George wondered.
"They'd shoot you out of the sky in a heartbeat, those muggles."
Harry turned carefully and cocked an eyebrow at them, lips curled with an ironic smile. "What's this? A couple of Weasleys speaking of mundanes so poorly?"
"You heard Dumbledore–"
"–this wasn't the doings of You Know Who–"
"–and we all know the Order and the Ministry wouldn't try something like that–"
"–okay, the Ministry might."
"True, brother. True."
"But not in Regent's Park. Maybe at Malfoy Manor–"
"No, no, not Malfoy Manor. Not with the way Malfoy sucks up to Fudge all the time."
"Very good point. But, anyway, not the Ministry, not the Order–"
"–that only leaves one more possible group of people."
"Radicals from France?" Harry suggested drily, even as he slipped back into the room, intrigued. Given, the whole mess wasn't that hard to catch on to, but to see a couple of teens from a Light family laying it out so...
The twins smiled grimly at Harry's poor joke, then chorused, "The muggles did this."
Harry watched their grim faces for a long moment, then commented, "Magical people often underestimate what mundanes – muggles – are capable of. They look at them and they see a lack of magic, they see a people capable of nothing. It's like looking at a baby tiger and thinking, 'Oh, it's so cute and helpless, surely it's no threat to me'."
"Until the tiger grows up," Fred murmured.
Harry smiled without humour. "The mundanes grew up a long time ago, we just hadn't really crossed paths. Maybe we poked them with a stick now and then, but never enough to really catch their attention. This time, the stick couldn't be ignored – won't be ignored – and they're going to fight back with weapons far greater, far more destructive than simple claws and teeth."
"It's all You Know Who's fault," George muttered.
Harry let out a loud laugh. "Voldemort may have been the cause behind it coming right this minute, sure, but this would have happened eventually. You can't keep obliviating them and hope they'll never notice something is off. You can't continue sharing the same land, the same cities, and think they'll always over look everything."
"You think they would have eventually, what?" Fred asked.
"Spotted a dragon running around in a preserve?" George suggested.
"Or, maybe, they'd think a kneazle was a little too smart."
"Or, maybe, one day, they'll elect in a Prime Minister who will find out about our world and they'll be scared," Harry said quietly, not smiling at their thoughtless jokes. "Maybe that Prime Minister will happily announce to the whole world that magical people exist. And, sure, some people might think that's pretty cool, but more people will be scared of what they can't understand and they'll fight it in the only way they know how."
"And how's that, then?" Ron demanded from behind the twins. "Throw a couple of punches our way."
Harry smiled then, almost amused by his once-brother's sense of superiority. "No, Ron, they'll destroy the world." Then he turned and, tossing his Cloak around his shoulders, scrunched back out onto the ledge and jumped onto his broom and away.
"Muggles can't destroy the world," Ron scoffed as Harry was making his escape.
The twins traded a worried look; they weren't so sure of that.
Xerosis appeared in Voldemort's meeting room about half an hour before the explosion just south of Regent's Park and strode forward, uncaring that he'd interrupted a meeting. Voldemort turned to glare at him, but whatever he might have said was halted when he saw the cold expression on the teen's face. Xerosis didn't even sit down like he was wont to, just stood next to his chair and intoned, "We are about to have a very large problem."
The Dark Lord grimaced at that and waved his Inner Circle out. "What happened?"
"One moment." Xerosis turned to the retreating Death Eaters. "Lucius, how close is Narcissa to Andromeda?"
Lucius turned back to the young Dark Lord, blinking in surprise. "Andromeda, my Lord? Not particularly, why?"
Xerosis sighed. "Would she be willing to invite Andromeda out for tea? Perhaps a shopping expedition in Diagon?"
"Xerosis," Voldemort warned.
The apparent vampire turned angry eyes on his partner. "Don't you interfere," he hissed, then looked back at Lucius, who flinched away from the fury-filled eyes. Xerosis sighed and reached up to rub at the bridge of his nose. "Please, Lucius, it's important. To me." He looked up at the man, weary from his three-hours long trek through the ruins. Perhaps using the time-turner to protect his cousin was cheating, but he had the means, and Fate owed him.
Lucius nodded his head. "I will do what I can, my Lord." He sketched a quick bow, then turned and finished herding the Death Eaters out into the hall. Bellatrix was one of the ones he had to herd and Xerosis vaguely heard her snarking about her eldest sister.
Xerosis dropped into his chair, slumping tiredly to one side. "In maybe twenty minutes, there will be an explosion about five blocks south of Regent's Park, most likely caused by a mundane bomb. There's a small group of houses down there that are owned by magical families with mundane ties that have money. All of them, as well as many of the surrounding buildings and businesses, will be completely destroyed."
Voldemort frowned and leaned back in his chair, focussing on the problem the teen had just handed him rather than at his anger for being snapped at moments before. "There's no way to stop the explosion?" he asked.
"There may well be, but we didn't do anything about it," Xerosis replied tiredly. "Practically the whole of London north of the Thames felt the explosion."
Voldemort sighed and glanced at the teen, considering the rips in his robe and the brushing of dust. "You went to the scene."
Xerosis let out a choked laugh. "I had to see it myself, figure out exactly what happened. See if..." He ran a hand over his face. "Andy lives there, with her husband. I never really got to know Ted, but Andy is my cousin. I wanted to know if she might have been killed."
The Dark Lord silently bemoaned his partner's familial attachments. "If nothing else, this will show the magical world that the muggles can and will attack back."
"Never mind showing how much damage they will do, and how many innocent lives will be lost in the middle," Xerosis agreed, sitting up in his chair.
"Do you know who set the attack?"
"So far as I could tell, they have no idea. There were mundane teams all over the place, looking for any clues at all, but they were having a hard enough time deciding what had actually done the damage, never mind setting about finding anything. There were a couple of magical teams mucking about, too, but they were completely at a loss." Xerosis snorted. "Merlin, wizards are so useless when it comes to the mundane world."
Voldemort glanced up in a plea for patience. "What did you find out?" he asked, knowing the teen was capable of finding things out on his own.
Xerosis was silent for a long moment, then quietly replied, "From the looks of the aftermath, I'd say a gas pipe exploded. Since no such thing happened in my original timeline, I'd say it was done on purpose by someone. When the... attacks really started, there was a group of mundanes who would snoop around for areas where two or more magical people lived within a couple of blocks of one another. They'd block off a large second of the sewers or underground tunnels in the area, fill the blocked off section with gas, then set it off. It would blow up much of the surrounding area and take out more mundanes than magicals, but still..."
"You think someone thought of something similar," Voldemort commented.
"Yes. They don't have the same technology as they did then, but it wouldn't be too hard to set a pipe bomb or other improvised explosive to go off after a set period of time. It probably wouldn't be too hard to block off a section of sewer, either, though it might be harder to do with the underground tunnels at this point in time. After the government starts falling apart, sure, underground is fair game, but not yet."
Some running and the distant sounds of shouting came from out in the hallway before someone dashed into the room, falling to their knees in front of the two Dark Lords and flinching like they expected to be cursed.
"What?" Voldemort demanded, already guessing what was going on.
"My Lords, apologies, but there's been an explosion in London. It wasn't set by any of us!"
"It's the mundanes," Xerosis replied comfortably, relaxing in his chair and absently pulling out his stolen wand to fix the tears in his robes. "They're making their move. Send Lucius to us."
"Yes, my Lord Xerosis," the Death Eater whispered and scrabbled out of the room before one of them could curse him.
"We'll have to use this," Voldemort commented, twirling his wand between two fingers. "A couple of whispers in the right ears..."
"Rita Skeeter would take this story and blow it completely out of proportion," Xerosis commented, spelling patches of dust out of his abused robes.
"I take it you're familiar with her?"
"You could say Rita and I have some history together, yes. She's not aware of it, but I've got some blackmail on her that will have her citing whatever we want her to say."
"Can you set something up, or should I use a Death Eater?"
"Mmm... She's an unregistered animagus. A beetle." Xerosis shot Voldemort a smirk and the man smirked back in understanding.
Lucius swept into the room and bowed quickly. "My Lords," he offered, then focussed on the apparent vampire. "Narcissa got Andromeda to agree to a meeting in Diagon about ten minutes before the explosion, my Lord. She should have been away from the house at the time, but I have yet to hear anything back from my wife."
"Andy may very well run back to her home to see what happened," Xerosis commented, more to himself than Lucius. "We shall have to wait and see. At any rate, thank you, Lucius."
The Malfoy patriarch offered the faintest of smiles in response.
"Lucius, have someone else wait for word on Narcissa's return. We need you in the Ministry, twisting this to fit our needs. The attack was put together by mundanes, likely using a mixture of gas and a pipe bomb. No, you don't need to know what it means, just make it sound good," Voldemort ordered. "Have someone fetch Jenkins for me on your way."
"My Lords." Lucius bowed to them and hurried from the room to do as bid.
"Jenkins is...?"
"A mudblood, disgustingly enough, but he married well and despises muggles. He found Lucius and requested an audience with me shortly after Christmas. He lives in London, and his muggle knowledge should help him spin things properly for your Miss Skeeter."
Xerosis nodded, absently tapping his chin with one finger. "From the sounds of things, the Order is aware that this attack was mundane-created, so we shouldn't have too much trouble from them. If the mundane government declares this to have been a gas main leak, the Ministry could very well try a cover-up."
Voldemort smiled cruelly. "It's good you have a time-turner, then, isn't it?"
Xerosis responded with a smile of his own, then glanced towards the door as shuffling footsteps approached.
The man who entered walked with a slight limp, his left foot dragging slightly, but he didn't seem impeded by it, bowing and murmuring, "My Lords."
"Jenkins, Lord Xerosis has a task for you," Voldemort offered, shooting the teen at his side a smirk.
Xerosis rolled his eyes, then focussed on the Death Eater. "We need to put the right spin on this attack, preferably before the mundane government starts pointing fingers and getting everything mixed up. Lord Voldemort says you live in London?"
"I do, my Lord."
"Were you at home when the explosion occurred?"
"I was, my Lord."
"Excellent." Xerosis smiled in pleasure. "I love it when things work out. We'll have you setting up a meeting with the reporter Rita Skeeter. Knowing her, she'll be digging everywhere for someone to talk to, and you going to her will make her absolutely ecstatic. You'll be mixing a bit of your actual experience with what Lord Voldemort and I have figured out from the attack, so make it sound good."
Once Jenkins had nodded in understanding, Xerosis explained, "That explosion was caused by gas, of that I have no doubt, but I'm also doubtful on how natural the cause was. The gas line in that area is slightly off to one side, not directly in the middle, however there is a sewer line which runs through the centre of the explosion. It is possible to seal off a portion of the sewer and fill it with gas. Something simple, like a pipe bomb, could then be set off inside the sealed cavern, setting the gas alight."
Jenkins frowned, considering everything, but his eyes had the light of comprehension, so Xerosis just sat back and let the man work everything out in his mind. After a few minutes, he nodded. "I should be able to create a believable story from that, my Lords. How am I expected to keep Skeeter from adding her own spin on things, however?"
"Miss Skeeter is an unregistered animagus," Voldemort reported. "A beetle, to be exact. If she doesn't want pictures of her form provided to the Ministry, she will take your testament as fact and stick to it."
Jenkins' lips curled with a smile. "As my Lords command."
"Go forth and create chaos, Mr Jenkins," Xerosis ordered and the man shuffled out. Once he was gone, the teen turned to Voldemort and commented, "I like him."
"I thought you might." The Dark Lord nodded. "When do you need to return by?"
"Hm. I spent three hours in the rubble, so going back any time before I used my time-turner should be acceptable."
Voldemort snorted. "You're waiting to hear news about your blood traitor."
"I am," Xerosis agreed, seeing no point in denying the truth.
Voldemort shook his head, then glanced over at the teen, who scowled at him. "If you're so desperate for news, go wait downstairs in the receiving room. If nothing else, you might be able to calm the idiots down there who are, no doubt, panicking."
"I very much doubt I will calm them, but they'll certainly shut up," Xerosis agreed, standing. "Always a pleasure to see you, Tom, darling."
"Potter," Voldemort growled.
Xerosis smirked and blew him a kiss, then dashed out of the room, ducking a curse. He chuckled to himself as he started down the hallway, familiar enough with Malfoy Manor after regular meetings in the building for the past two years that he didn't require a guide.
The receiving room was, indeed, full of witches and wizards who were arguing about the attack. Xerosis leaned against the doorway and watched them argue until he was bored, then started casting curses until they'd all run for it, leaving only one tired wizard in the far corner. "Why are you in here?" he demanded.
The man hurried to his feet and sketched a quick bow. "Forgive me, my Lord, but Mr Malfoy insisted I remain here until his wife arrived and bring her straight to you."
Xerosis waved his hand. "Go get some sleep. I am more than capable of waiting for Narcissa on my own."
The man bowed again, relief crossing his face. "Thank you, my Lord. You are a great and wonderful Lord."
Xerosis sighed and, as soon as the man was gone, dropped himself into a comfortable couch and considered his robes. The hem was a little ragged from his trip through the rubble, but coming back with a perfect robe would probably make everyone suspicious. Coming up with a badly destroyed robe, however, would put many of them into a panic. The hem was fine as ragged as it was, but he'd have to spell some dust back onto his clothing and maybe one or two rips. Certainly not as many as had existed when he first shadowed into Malfoy Manor.
Xerosis had just finished applying the last of the damage to his robes when the sound of apparation came from the secured room off to the side of the receiving room. He glanced up and smiled when he saw Narcissa step in. "Narcissa! Brilliant!"
The woman startled a bit at his voice, then sighed when she recognised him. "Forgive me, my Lord," she offered.
Xerosis frowned, seeing the pain in her eyes and the dust marring her lovely blue robes. He stepped forward and gently took her arm. "Narcissa, sit. What happened? You look like you've been to the site of the explosion."
Narcissa eyed his own robes and smiled tiredly. "As do you, my Lord."
Xerosis waved that away and snapped his fingers to call a house elf. "Some water and chocolate for Lady Malfoy," he ordered the creature before turning back to the woman, who offered him a grateful smile. "Is Andromeda okay?"
"She is... distressed, but alive," Narcissa offered, taking the drink and sweet that the house elf conjured on the table next to her. "Her...husband is dead, killed in the explosion, but her daughter, as far as I know, is alive."
"Nymphadora was at the Order meeting that was called moments after the attack," Xerosis agreed. "Andromeda heard the explosion and had to go see what happened, I'm guessing."
Narcissa nodded. "Yes. I agreed to go with her, since I had asked her out in the first place. My Lord, it was..." She looked away, closing her eyes.
"Mundanes are capable of terrible deeds," Xerosis murmured, knowing all too well what she had seen. "And that was a mundane attack, of that I am certain."
"Can we truly stand against them?" Narcissa asked, glancing back at the young Dark Lord. His child-like appearance often made the Death Eaters think him soft, and he occasionally had to remind them with a heavy hand that he wasn't to be looked down on, but at times like this, he was glad for his youthful form.
"I don't know," he admitted, "but we must try. This war we have started with them will have happened one day or another on its own, through causes outside our control. Better to strike pre-emptively and have a fighting chance than to wait for them to attack us and have no other option but to run for our lives." He took one of her hands in his. "Narcissa, I don't know if we'll survive this, but I'm certain that we have a fighting chance."
The woman searched those pale eyes, so much older than her own, and nodded her head. "Thank you, my Lord."
The apparent vampire smiled. "Thank you, for getting Andromeda out of there. Was she suspicious?"
Narcissa let out a quiet laugh. "Of course she was, right from the start, but she was willing to have tea with me. It wasn't until after she saw the skeleton that had been her house..." Narcissa took a sip of water, shaking with the reminder of the scene. Xerosis broke off a piece of chocolate for her and, once she'd eaten it, was able to continue. "After she saw it, she turned to me and demanded to know why I'd insisted we go out for tea at that very moment. It's not polite pureblood custom to have tea out of the blue like that. I..." She looked away. "My Lord, forgive me, I told her an acquaintance of mine insisted I take her out for tea at that very moment."
Xerosis shook his head. "Estranged or not, I hardly expected you to lie to your own sister, Narcissa," he assured her, patting the back of the hand he still held. "If she asks for my name, you may tell her it was Harry Potter who asked the request."
Narcissa gasped. "M–my Lord, is it wise to mention the boy?"
Xerosis smiled knowingly. "Mr Potter is hardly as against us as he leads the world to believe, Narcissa. I am in contact with him, and it was he who worried after her health. That the request came from my lips instead of his, is a minor item to debate over. If she brings it up with him, he will no doubt agree to have sent the plea."
"Andromeda is very clever, my Lord. Will the boy be able to lie well enough to convince her it was all him?"
"Mr Potter will manage, I am certain," Xerosis assured her. "Now, will you need assistance in making your way upstairs, or will you manage on your own?"
Narcissa straightened and brushed some dust off her robes. "My Lord, I am the Lady Malfoy. I am always capable of making my own way."
Xerosis chuckled fondly and dropped a light kiss to the back of her hand. "Then, my lady, I bid you adieu. There's much work to be done if we want those foolish witches and wizards to pull their heads out of the ground. As it is, their rear ends make fantastic targets for the mundanes."
Narcissa covered a smile and rose to offer a quick curtsey to the young Dark Lord before he stepped backwards into a shadow and vanished.
Harry saw no reason to hide what he'd supposedly been doing for the last hour. Knowing the Weasleys, one of them was certain to have told the adults that he'd left with his broom and the intent to visit the site of the explosion. Considering none of them had ever appeared at the site, looking for him, they had probably only just gotten out of their meeting before he'd returned. With any luck, Andromeda would be there and he wouldn't have to play the panicked cousin anymore.
He was just reaching to open the front door when it was pulled open and he found himself blinking at Sirius, with Tonks, Remus and Andromeda behind him. They all stared for a moment, and then Harry dropped his broom and shouted, "Andy!" jumping forward to hug her.
Andromeda caught him and hugged him tight. "Oh, you stupid, stupid little boy," she whispered. "What were you thinking, flying to the site of the explosion? You could have been hurt!"
Harry bit his lip and gave her the most pitiful look he could manage without tears. "I'm sorry, Andy, but I had to make sure you were okay! No one else seemed to care to check and their meetings always take forever! You could have been buried under rubble, crying for help, and no one could hear you."
Andromeda sighed and hugged him tighter. "Harry Potter, you're supposed to be a Ravenclaw, not a silly Gryffindor."
"Oiy!" Sirius cried from behind Harry, and Harry knew his godfather had forgiven him for running off.
"I have a saving people thing," Harry admitted, putting just the littlest hint of shame into his voice.
Andromeda sighed. "At least you admit you have a problem," she decided.
"Oiy!" Sirius complained again, tugging Harry away from his cousin and holding his broom in front of the boy. "Don't go dropping expensive brooms on the stoop."
"Sorry, Siri," Harry intoned, green eyes sparkling.
Andromeda smiled at him and shook her head. "Go put your broom away, child, and maybe a change of clothing. Molly's working on a lunch for all of us."
Harry blinked. "You too, Andy?"
Andromeda managed a pained smile. "I'll be staying with you and Dora in Grimmauld Place until Sirius' cottage is finished, then we'll be moving in there with you."
"You're certainly not going back to your old house," Sirius pointed out gently.
"No," Andromeda agreed. "There's not a whole lot to go back to."
Harry darted forward and hugged her again, then dashed down the hallway and up the stairs to his bedroom. There, he stashed his broom and Cloak in his trunk, then set about pulling out new robes, sighing a bit over the ones he'd been wearing, knowing that Sirius would probably insist they should be thrown out. He'd quite liked the dark blue set. Maybe he could talk his godfather into getting him a new one. Or two.
The Weasley boys didn't bother him again while they were still there. Ron seemed rather disgusted that Harry wasn't punished for leaving Headquarters like that, while the twins just kept watching him, as if trying to figure out a particularly complex puzzle. Considering how often they looked at him like that when trying to prank him, no one thought anything of it, though Harry was a little concerned about what they were thinking.
Andromeda was the one to make supper that night and Harry happily compared it to one of Molly's usual meals, which made Andromeda flush with pleasure. She then proceeded to ask him about his cooking, likely knowing exactly how useless Sirius was in the kitchen and guessing that Harry made all the meals. Harry tried downplaying his own skills in the kitchen, but Sirius had chosen to join them and had no problems telling all about Harry's skills. Andromeda shot the teen a knowing look and he flushed, caught in his own lie.
That night, Harry was just drifting off to sleep when the faint sounds of someone crying woke him up again. It didn't take him but a minute to recognise Andromeda's voice, then he slipped from bed and padded down to the sitting room, where she was curled up on one of the couches with a cup of tea. She glanced up when Harry stopped in the doorway. "Oh, Harry," she said, subtly wiping at her eyes. "What can I do for you?"
Harry watched her for a long moment, expression understanding, before he slipped over to sit next to her on the couch. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "about Ted. He was... kind of cool."
Andromeda let out a quiet laugh and ruffled Harry's chin-length hair. "Thank you, Harry. You're a good kid."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I bet Mrs Weasley doesn't think so, after the way I acted earlier."
"One minor blow-up after over a month of quietly walking away from those meetings? I'm sure she thinks you're an absolute angel. Or, at the very least, a normal teenager." She shook her head, smiling fondly. "Go back to bed, Harry."
Harry considered her. "You'll be okay?" he asked.
Andromeda leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'll be just fine. Bed. Go on."
Harry nodded and with a quiet, "G'night, Andy," he left the room and made his way back up to bed. When he didn't hear her start crying again, he mentally patted himself on the back and snuggled in to sleep.
Chapter Six, Part Two
Pro - If We Could Only Turn Back Time / 1 - Long Road
2 - Never As It Seems ||| 3 - The Bad Man, the Sad Man ||| 4 - Armies of Robbers and Thieves
5 - Fear Falls Like Rain |||
8 - Reach Any Star ||| 9 - Cold Fields ||| 10 - Ice Inside Your Soul
11 - King of Anything
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Date: 23/6/11 20:28 (UTC)I really need a distraction right now (planning to drive to work tomorrow, and I hate driving and am running on too little sleep), so when I finally noticed that it's Thursday... I promise to leave an actual review (for Broken also) someday soon.
cloe
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