A/N: So you want an explanation to Harry's behavior? I'll give it to you: Ever since he got to Voldemort's little hide out Harry got tortured in every way possible. His wounds were just as much physical as emotional. The Cruciatus curse wasn't helping and the DE used the curse so much that only a little more would turn Harry into a vegetable/Neville's parents. He was suffering immensely and after a while his body reacted by forgetting so he could heal better. However, suddenly the situation changed and he was accepted. Because he didn't remember anything and didn't know a thing about moral anymore he naturally embraced the opportunity to escape more pain and prove himself worth something. As for why this happened it is all a part of the plot, which has been planned since the beginning. Please don't tell me you haven't been warned in the earlier chapters, because you have - ever since the first chapter when Harry wanted to curse his past classmates. He has the potential, but he still won't be completely dark. This is probably the darkest you will see him... for a while. (wink;)
Huge thanks to my new beta Aurabolt!
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.
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Ch25: BLOOD AND DIAGON ALLEY
And in a short time
You're never the same again
The distance is streamlined
between decision and defense
Disorient the senses, loss of identity
No one to trust, no one to trust
Life runs through this trade
I am no killer, but I still hide my face, in the coming days
(I am the Killer - Thursday)
After they had put the Dark Mark over the house they quickly portkeyed away. They ended up in the same room as they had left, though this time they were completely alone. Harry swallowed nervously, withdrawing his hand from the portkey. He knew that only the Dark Lord was able to make portkey in and out from the place and only from that room. The Dark Lord was obviously waiting for Harry's opinion because he was tapping his foot slightly and twirling the wand between his fingers. Harry cleared his throat.
"I don't think it went too bad, my Lord. I could have done better, but it takes some time to get to used to. Each time I kill someone I feel something inside of me and I don't know what to make of it."
"You did not brake that vase on purpose," the Dark wizard stated and Harry shook his head, lowering his eyes.
"No, my Lord."
"You were not especially original."
"No, my Lord."
"You know what I demand from my Heir."
"I think so, my Lord."
"Yes or no?"
"Yes, my Lord," said Harry quickly.
"Good. Do you regret the killing?"
Harry quickly suppressed the guilty thoughts. "No, my Lord. It just feels weird."
The Dark Lord regarded him closely. After a minute he finally seemed convinced that Harry was telling the truth. "That is quite normal," he said. "Your soul is not used to it yet. It will get easier after a few more kills. Can you feel the urge now?"
"The urge to kill, my Lord?" asked Harry and the man nodded. Harry closed his eyes and searched within himself. What did he feel really? He was a mess inside, especially in his head and he still felt torn like his soul had been parted to several pieces... however, he after a while he realized that the piece of him that enjoyed the power from killing had grown slightly bigger. Opening his eyes, Harry finally answered: "Yes, my Lord."
The Crimson eyed man smirked. "Then I believe you are ready. Even if you change your mind later the killing will always be a part of you. I know you practiced the Three Most Powerful curses before you came here and that makes it easier."
Harry's ears perked up with the mention of his past, but again something held him back for asking about it. He decided to ask about it after he had gotten a more secure rank within the Death Eaters. He bowed to show his respect.
"Now, there is a few other things I want to inform you about." The Dark Lord snapped his fingers. "Bella!"
Bellatrix LeStrange came running through the door and bowed in front of him. "You called, my Lord?"
"Yes. I want you to be young Harry's wife as soon as possible."
Both Harry and Bellatrix gasped at the same time. "What? My Lord-!"
"You have proved yourself to be quite valuable in this war, Bella. You are the only woman who has been loyal to me from the start. This will be your reward."
Bellatrix stood gaping like a goldfish for several seconds before stuttering: "What about Rudolphus? I'm already married to him!"
The Dark Lord sneered. "He will be dealt with as soon as possible. It will not be a problem. Now, it is time to give you something, Harry... I believe you are ready. Follow me. Bellatrix - stay here."
Puzzled and slightly nervous Harry followed the Dark Lord into a new room he had not noticed before. Immediately as they entered the room a horrible stank washed over them, making Harry almost double over and gag. He controlled himself, however, and he was glad because the Dark Lord's eyes were full of glee, as though expecting Harry to like the smell.
"What is this?" asked Harry instead, studying an enormous, black cauldron on a bench. Moving closer Harry peered over the edge and saw a light green, almost transparent liquid. He quickly moved away from the stank and returned to the Dark Lord's side.
"This," said the Dark Lord, "is one of my newest project. We still miss a few, crucial ingredients though."
"Oh," said Harry, "who is brewing this?"
The Dark Lord's eyes darkened dangerously and Harry almost took a step back. "A Wizard from Russia is. The other we had was... incapable."
"How?"
"He was a traitor. He will be killed of course."
"Oh," said Harry again, but this time a new thought had entered his mind. Did he really have a choice? Could he turn away from the Dark Lord if he wanted and escape? Could it be another destiny for him out there? He would have to hide of course...
No, he stopped himself. There was nothing outside the Stone Edge that he knew of. The other Death Eaters had taken care of him when he was hurt and helped him up to his feet. He had to show his gratitude; he owed them his life. He'd never bow for another master. He was loyal. He was better than this other.... potion master. Yes... he'd stay true. He had to be true. "What do you want me to do?"
The dangerous look flew from the crimson eyed man and the glee returned. "Why, I want you to add your blood in it... then I want you to drink it. Smells good, does it not?"
Harry nodded, even though it smelled anything but. He had a feeling he'd regret it if he told the truth.
"This potion is very complex. It has been brewed for three months. Every week I have added my own blood in it. Now it is almost complete. However, I could not give it to you before, because your soul was not dark enough. You did not know the pleasure of controlling another humans life. Yet, you already had some experience with the Three Most Powerful Curses and that made the whole process easier. You see, Harry, the Dark Arts affect the soul of the caster. For every spell it turns darker and for every spell you get more power. This potion can only be drunk by one who has experienced this. Had your soul been light it would be most... unfortunate. It would not be pleasant for either of us. It could kill you actually - all the effects are not known."
"Erm," stuttered Harry, trying to look away from the potion. "What is its purpose?"
"For every cup you drink you will be more like me. There is three in total. However, I still need your blood or the shock will be too big for your body. Give me your arm."
Harry ignored the alarm bells that went off in his mind and did as he was told. The Dark Lord took his arm and led him over to the cauldron. Harry gulped nervously as the man took out his red wand and pointed it a little below Harry's elbow. Suddenly Harry felt his skin be ripped off in a cutting spell that went far to deep and he gasped. Dark, red blood poured down his fingers and fell into the cauldron, making the potion hiss maliciously.
Harry bit back a whimper and gripped the edge of the cauldron tightly. He soon felt lightheaded and dark spots danced in front of his eyes.
Stop... please stop...
However, the Dark Lord held Harry's arm firmly over the edge. The blood flowed so fast... Harry felt nauseous and wanted to get away. He wanted to get away from everything... why was the world spinning?
-
Harry woke up in a start, not knowing where he was. Someone was standing over him.
"Drink," a voice ordered and Harry felt a cool goblet at his lips. He gulped the metallic - tasting content down, not yet registering what was happening. Another goblet was placed to his lips, one that smelled horrible...
Harry tried to turn his head away, but strong hands grabbed each side of his face and forced the content of the goblet down. The burning liquid went down his throat and down to his stomach and he immediately felt ill again. He started to cough and his eyes watered. Someone or something held his arms down and then the real agony began.
The only thing that Harry could compare the potion with was the Cruciatus curse. Even though the curse itself was worse the potion was not far beyond. It started bad and then it got worse; the burning turned into something that was eating him inside - out and it wouldn't stop. Then a hard, stabbing pain ripped through him and he cried out, trying to move something, anything that was his, but he could not move anything. The pain got worse and worse, until it suddenly stopped and another emotion filled him: Darkness and bitterness. It felt as though all joy had been sucked out of him and nothing mattered anymore, nothing except power. He did not want to feel weak again.
Tiredness washed over him and he fell back to sleep, dreaming about a girl he had forgotten and that he would still not remember the next morning when he woke.
-
The next few days Harry himself could barely restrain himself from cursing Bellatrix or anyone that crossed his path. He felt as though his body has become addicted to the curses and he could not stop thinking about using them. Sometimes he even played with mice and spiders to get some of the energy out. However, something else inside him had awoken: The urge to run away.
Harry was ashamed of this, but he couldn't help wondering what else he could experience. He was tired of being inside the Stone Edge and he was tired to always be commanded by someone else. Never mind that he was going to be a Heir, he wanted to be his own master.
Luckily for him, however, the Death Eaters were planning a raid to Diagon Alley and Harry was invited to come along. He accepted instantly and soon he was getting his cloak and mask. Together, Harry and fifteen other Death Eaters began to walk out of the building so they could portkey to a place named Knockturn Alley.
Harry had never really figured the way out of the Stone Edge so he kept close attention to where they went. Right, right, left, right... Their footsteps echoed in the hall and Harry saw several portraits of old wizards, all of them with the same past name: Slytherin.
Eventually they reached the two large, green doors with silver snake handles. A dark forest and a river met them on the other side, though the air smelled like rotting corpses. The followed the river for about then minutes, then a wizard named Lucius Malfoy pulled up a piece of something that could only be human skin and those who could took a corner of the skin and the rest took a good grab on the wizards that held it. When all of them were ready Lucius whispered "activate" and they were wisped away.
-
Harry could not remember ever being in Diagon Alley before, so he when they ran up from Knockturn Alley and appeared in the middle of the crowdie street and people started to scream he could only stare in wonder. However, someone running into his elbow woke him from his trance and he started to look around for victims.
Not much to his left he saw an old lady with a little girl in her hand, running as fast as the girl's little feet could carry them. Harry quickly cast a stunner after them that missed them with inches, but did not hunt them down. For some reason he did not find it much fun to torture little kids.
A fellow Death Eater grabbed him right where he had his Dark Mark and he winced, but followed anyway. He was led further down the alley to a large, white building called Gringotts. They turned left there and hurried down the street, then inside a small door to their left. They banged the door open and Harry saw they were inside a Apothecary. Only three people were inside, and Dolohov - the Death Eater that was with Harry - quickly killed one of them and waited for Harry to kill another. Harry knew they had orders to not leave him out of sight and let him practice. He was just about to raise his hand again when something from outside the building disturbed him, just enough for the owner of the store to cry "Revaldo!" and Harry's mask left his face. He blinked for a moment, surprised, before coming to senses and blasting the roof above the owners head. The roof collapsed and the man went with it.
Harry quickly turned to the only person who was still alive, the customer. However, when his eyes met hers she gasped in recognition, her eyes bulging out of her toad - like face.
"YOU!" she cried in a very girlish tone, but was quickly silenced by Harry's companion.
"Incarcero!" cried Harry, effectively binding the woman.
The woman was one of the ugliest human beings Harry had ever seen. She had short and curly hair, a short neck and a wide, slack mouth. She was dressed in a pink dress with green flowers and had white stockings. Her short wand fell to the floor and she started to drool in fright.
"Who is this?" asked Harry.
"She is an Ministry employee. It doesn't really matter. Kill her." The answer was curt and reluctant and
Harry got a feeling the Death Eater was hiding something from him. It did not matter though, he had a job to do. He
quickly killed her - feeling the now familiar rush of satisfaction - and helped with collecting some of the more
expensive ingredients. This time the death did not bother him at all and he unconsciously took a look at his hand where
`I must not tell lies' was written. His lips pulled up in a twisted smile.
Checking that all the ingredients were safely hidden in their pockets they went out of the shop, only to meet the sight of green skulls in the air. Dolohov mock bowed to Harry.
"Want the honor?"
Harry grinned, pointed his wand up in the air and cried "Morsmorde!" A skull equal to the others appeared and they quickly began to run away. They were just on their way to Knockturn Alley where they were supposed to portkey away when they ran straight into a red haired boy.
"Hey, watch where you are going!" the young man said, but froze in shock and stared at Harry, who cursed inwardly for forgetting his mask inside the shop. Harry quickly pointed his wand at the red head as menacingly as he could and the boy quickly took a step back. Dolohov appeared at Harry's side.
"Come on, kill him!"
Harry nodded, "Avada-"
"Harry, no! It's me, Percy!"
Harry hesitated by the mention of his name. How-?
"Harry, please! I'm sorry for writing that letter to Ron! I didn't mean it, well, I meant it, but not anymore, I promise!"
Harry stared at him blankly. "Huh?"
"KILL HIM!" barked Dolohov, but suddenly there were a lot of pops and they were surrounded by Aurors.
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