Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the HP universe, nor do I own any part of the lyric bits that I use… not that anyone bothers to read them…

A/N: Here's another abysmally short update. (about 4600 words.) Sorry, but something arrived today that forced me to post this before it was really done. You'll see what I mean when you read the "not-so-fun-fact" at the end. Expect a lot of grammatical and spelling errors… I haven't had the chance to read through it to correct them. I *may* be taking a break after this chapter… it all depends on how much of a demand there is for HP fanfiction after the proverbial shit hits the proverbial fan. In any case, reviews are always welcome, although I've been seriously negligent in replying to them of late… please forgive me. Just know that I do read them, and each of them is very much appreciated! There's a bit of stuff in this chapter that I planned on introducing before, but the opportunity arose here and I couldn't resist… (notice that I throw a bone to all of you 'Pig' lovers out there? (insert evil laugh here.)) Enjoy!

Chapter 44: Tormented Tormentors

Something takes a part of me.
Something lost, and never seen.
Every time I start to believe,
something's raped and taken from me... from me.

Sometimes I cannot take this place.
Sometimes it's my life I can't taste.
Sometimes I cannot feel my face.
You'll never see me fall from grace

Excerpt from the song, "Freak on a Leash," by the band, Korn.

-----~-----

When Harry offered a quicker and more comfortable way for Tonks to return to England, she quickly and gratefully accepted. She was fully prepared to turn a blind eye to the illegally created portkey that she was sure he would employ for the return trip. Needless to say, she was quite shocked when Harry returned from the bathroom after dressing himself, firmly grabbed hold of her arm, and then Apparated them both, landing them on the darkening street where the visitor's entrance to the Ministry of Magic was located.

-----~-----

The tiny brown owl had just cleared the outskirts of the storm as he made his way southward. He could tell that he was getting close to where he was supposed to deliver the message. His wings were aching terribly from flying against the raging winds of the storm he was quickly leaving behind. His feathers were almost completely dry when he suddenly lost track of his destination. He circled a few times, trying to get his bearings. He took a huge breath through the holes in his beak and let out a furious 'HOOOT!" as he readjusted his course and turned to head northeast.

-----~-----

Neither was prepared for what they found upon their arrival in London. The first thing that was apparent was the biting cold of the air around them. Bodies of countless muggles littered the street, lying motionless, seemingly frozen in place with looks of abject despair etched on their petrified faces.

Harry's hand instinctively went to his pocket, only to find that his wand, which had been so ruthlessly snapped by Umbridge days before, wasn't there. He felt himself get roughly pushed back against a wall as Tonks stepped in front of him protectively, brandishing her wand and yelling out, "Expecto Patronum!"

The large, silvery wolf emerged from her wand and charged ferociously forward against the horde of dementors that seemed to be everywhere. A menagerie of silvery, ethereal animals were emerging from within the opening below the destroyed callbox across the street, holding back the tide of the dozen or so dementors that were attempting to battle their way inside.

Tonks' patronus was able to drive off three of the approaching dementors before dissipating, which only seemed to enrage the score of others that were still advancing towards them. Tonks drew a breath, ready to recast the spell when Harry grabbed her around the waist from behind and Apparated them back to the island just as a pair of dementors that were descending from above their heads reached out for them. The two hovering dementors let out a screeching wail, annoyed at just having missed the two souls that would have added nicely to the feast they were having that evening.

-----~-----

The tiny owl didn't even bother to hoot. He was having a hard enough time keeping the wind that he had in his tiny, heaving lungs. He just resignedly changed his course again towards the southeast.

-----~-----

Upon arrival back at the island, they both collapsed onto the sand just outside the front door of the beach house with Harry's arms still wrapped tightly around Tonks' waist.

Hermione and Kotone emerged from the doorway to see Tonks wiping the tears from her eyes as she tried to shake off the dementors' emotionally draining effects. Harry had his eyes tightly closed and was visibly trembling, either from the biting cold or from whatever nightmares were conjured in his head from the dementors' close proximity.

"What on earth happened?" asked Hermione concernedly, "You were only gone for a few seconds!"

Tonks quickly composed herself, and freeing herself from Harry's arms, she shakily stood and said, "Dementors… hundreds of 'em. They didn't waste time making for the Ministry building."

"And I didn't have a wand…" said Harry angrily as he allowed Hermione and Tonks to help him up, "but there were so many… and they were so close… I don't know if I could have done much, even if I did have one."

Hermione looked pointedly at Kotone, who immediately understood what the older girl was getting at. Kotone wordlessly entered the house and returned a few moments later carrying a small, simply wrapped package. With a polite bow, she held it out to Harry and said in her coarse, gravelly voice, "Happy-a birsdai, Shishi-sama… I make special for you."

Harry took the package and inspected it curiously as he said, "You know, you really didn't have to give me anything… but thank you very much."

With a small smile, Harry carefully tore open the brown paper wrapping, exposing the strange, wooden-scaled gauntlet. He held it up and turned it over a few times in his hands. After a brief inspection of the wrapping paper, he realized that there was only one. He prepared to slip it onto his right hand, but saw that it was certainly too small to fit, as Hermione was the last person to wear it. Not daring to let his smile falter, he glanced inquiringly towards Hermione, who just nodded at the glove encouragingly.

Harry felt the scales of the gauntlet relax as his fingers entered the opening, conforming perfectly as his hand was fully inserted. He was slightly concerned when the opening, closed firmly around his wrist, making it feel as though he wouldn't be able to remove it again, but with the slightest pressure, the opening relaxed again as he slid it partway off. Now knowing that it wouldn't become a permanent fixture on his hand, he slid it back on fully. He flexed his fingers once again, and then briefly rubbed his hands together. He was amazed that he could feel his other hand through the glove. While he thought it was a very nice gauntlet, he wondered why there was only one, and what the significance of it was.

Seeing his perplexed expression, Hermione leaned towards him and softly said, "It's a replacement for your wand. Kotone, Hagrid and I retrieved some wandwood, and Kotone crafted it herself, hand-carving each scale and used her own hair to bind it together." She then gave him an encouraging smile and said, "Try it out."

Harry looked down at Kotone with no small wonder in his eyes. She was looking back at him expectantly. It was evident that she very much wanted him to like what she had made. He extended his gloved hand towards the beach and said, "Aguamenti."

A rush of water, similar to what you'd expect from a fire hose, erupted from the palm of his outstretched hand, arced over the sand, and splashed in a rather tight pattern just at the waterline about twenty meters away. Although he was surprised at the sheer volume of water leaving the gauntlet, he was even more surprised that there was absolutely no reactive force pushing back on his hand from the obviously powerful stream. He cut off the spell by abruptly closing his hand into a fist and watched the remainder of the water glide to the shore into the crater that had formed from the impacting water.

Harry turned back around to find Tonks staring open-mouthed at him with Hermione standing next to her giving him a beaming smile. He looked down to see Kotone looking up at him anxiously.

"You made this yourself?" asked Harry.

Kotone dropped her gaze to the sand at her feet as she nodded and said, "Father teach to me craft of wand to make." She then looked up to him with hopeful eyes and said, "Do… do you rike present?"

Harry just held out his gloved hand and said, "Orchideous," which produced a bouquet of bright yellow flowers in his palm. He knelt down in front of Kotone and placed the flowers into her hands, saying, "I love your present, thank you very much."

Kotone lunged forward and wrapped Harry into a brief but strong hug. She released him and stepped back, holding the flowers close to her chest and smiling happily.

"Well, since we're giving out presents…" said Hermione as she stepped up to Harry while holding out the parchment that Tonks had delivered earlier, "I was intending to give this to you tomo…"

"Wait!"

Hermione was silenced as Kotone snatched the parchment from her hand before Harry had the chance to reach for it. The little girl looked as though she were about to be ill as she looked up to Hermione and said in a clearly tortured voice, "Prease… exprain to Shishi-san. I… I cannot do it. You must show for him."

Kotone bowed her head as she opened the front of her kimono-robe, exposing her scarred, naked torso, causing Tonks to gasp when she saw the numerous, ugly scars that disfigured the young half-witch's body.

Hermione gave Kotone a small, understanding smile before she turned to Harry and said, "I asked Tonks to get that for you. It's a statement of adoption for Kotone. It will officially remove her from being a ward of the Ministry to being under your direct care… for all intents and purposes, she will legally be your daughter and sole heir to the Potter Clan. Normally, this document couldn't be produced until tomorrow when you 'officially' turn seventeen, but there's a slight unforeseen problem…"

Harry looked up to her after he hastily closed the front of Kotone's robe in an attempt to quell the awkwardness of her exposed body.

Hermione glanced uncomfortably at Tonks, then just let out a breath of a sigh before continuing, "It seems that the bloodline registry at the Ministry thinks that you're already seventeen… already an adult and the head of the Potter Clan… and as you know, also of the Black Clan."

"But, how…" began Harry, but Hermione spoke over him.

"Actually, you turned seventeen at ten forty-five this morning. It seems that the time that we spend while in our respective states actually ages our bodies faster… it's as though time is added to each day, making us older than our actual chronological age. Here, let me show you."

Hermione drew her wand as she reached down and lifted the front of Harry's shirt by the hem and exposed his torso. She involuntarily paused as her eyes passed over his naked chest. She blinked a few times, then drew a deep breath before running the tip of her wand down his chest while incanting, "Aetasaevum." She saw his body shiver slightly as her wand completed the movement. She then drew the wand across in front of them, revealing the glittery, golden words, 'Seventeen Years, Nine Hours, Three Minutes, Two Seconds.'

"I've been seventeen for nine hours already?" asked Harry quietly, seemingly lost in thought. Actually, he was trying to figure out what he was doing when he became of age. He had finished with the fish at quarter past ten… then they talked a while before they performed the ritual to repair the soul bond… then…

"That isn't all. Chronologically, I'm seventeen, and won't 'officially' be eighteen until September," said Hermione, interrupting his thoughts. She reached under her sundress with her wand and ran it down her own body while incanting the age revealing spell. The words hung suspended in the air, 'Eighteen Years, One Month, Twenty-two Days, Eight Hours, Twenty-Three Minutes, Two Seconds.'

"I've aged a bit less than five months past my true age. My age differential is more acute from my use of the time turner back in our third year."

Tonks was listening closely, although she wasn't understanding most of what they were talking about. She could comprehend the age difference from the time turner, but she had no clue what she meant by their 'state.' It appeared that Harry, however, did seem to comprehend, as she saw him look down to Kotone with a questioning look on his face.

"So what you're telling me is that Kotone is older than she seems."

Kotone didn't raise her gaze from the sand as she turned to Hermione and opened her robe once again. Hermione repeated the spell on her, and then displayed the words in the air before them, 'Sixteen Years, Nine Months, Twenty-Seven Days, Eight Hours, Eleven Minutes, Fifty-Five Seconds.'

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds before it was broken by Tonks' exclamation, "Cor, awfully small for sixteen."

"Harry, you must understand that she's had to be in her state to be able to communicate. She didn't know English, so she couldn't speak to anyone, not to mention the times she's helped us… I mean she really isn't…"

Hermione fell silent when she saw Harry reach down and take the parchment from Kotone's trembling hands. The little girl was shaking so badly that there were petals falling from the bouquet of flowers that Harry had conjured for her minutes before. She then watched as Harry raised his gloved hand and snapped his fingers. A high-pitched whistling sound pierced the silence as a quill from Hermione's overnight bag came flying from within the house. He caught it with practiced ease, and, without even reading the document, penned his full name with a flourish. The parchment gave off a blue glow, legally confirming the adoption. Kotone hadn't raised her eyes since the parchment was taken from her, so she had no idea what was transpiring. She was startled when Harry held the parchment out to her, and she slowly took it from his hand without looking up.

Without even looking at it, she held the parchment and the flowers tightly to her chest as a small sob escaped her, "I am-a so sorry, Shishi-san. I never meant to deceive… I did not know…"

"Kotone Potter!" said Hermione sternly, "Aren't you even going to give your father a hug?"

Kotone's tearing eyes slowly drifted up from the sand to lock onto Hermione's. The instant the connection was established, Hermione took the full brunt of the little girl's terrible despair. The waves of fear and sadness were so strong that Hermione felt as though she were about to pass out. Through the connection, she heard Kotone's voice, no longer light and airy, but had an urgent, desperate nature that took her by complete surprise, 'Please, do not let him send me away! I cannot go back! I cannot let him die! Please!'

Hermione wasn't sure what Kotone was trying to say about letting Harry die, but she did know that the girl had the wrong idea of what had happened with the parchment. She practically had to yell through the connection, 'He's not sending you away! He signed the parchment! You are his daughter now!'

Kotone abruptly went silent. Her wild eyes, which were the entirety of Hermione's perception, suddenly widened even more as what she was just told struck home.

'Yes,' assured Hermione, 'your name is now Mistress Kotone Oota-Black-Potter… Harry is now your adoptive father. You have a family again!'

To Harry and Tonks, the change in Hermione's appearance lasted only a fraction of a second. It came and went so quickly that they certainly would have missed it if they weren't looking directly at her. Of course, Tonks had no idea what happened, but Harry knew that his two girls had just engaged in some sort of conversation.

Just after he saw Hermione's dark image flash into and out of existence, Harry felt himself tottering backwards from the force of the little girl who had just launched herself from the ground and onto his chest. Her wild hair was instantly and firmly draped over his shoulders, her tail snaked around his left arm with incredible dexterity and speed, and her arms and legs were wrapped as far as they could reach around his torso. Kotone's face was buried in his chest as he heard her say in a choked whisper, "Father!"

"Well, congratulations on your new family, Harry," said Tonks brusquely as she began walking towards the house, "but I've really got to get back. You saw what was happening there, and I have no idea how long Arthur and the rest will be able to hold out. I'll have to floo back to my office to get into the Atrium."

Harry could see by the grim look on her face that she knew she was heading into a nearly hopeless situation. He suddenly wondered if he would be able to Apparate into the Atrium himself, considering that the wards on Diagon Alley didn't seem to affect him.

"Hold on, Tonks…" said Harry as he set Kotone down and walked up to her, "let me try something."

"I'm coming, too," said Hermione quickly as she grabbed onto Harry's arm, "Kotone, please wait here for us."

Harry looked pleadingly at Hermione, silently begging her to stay, but could tell that nothing he could say would convince her to remain behind. With a resigned sigh, he reached out and took Tonks' hand and Apparated the four of them away in a brief flash of blue light… they didn't realize that Kotone had surreptitiously wrapped her tail around Harry's ankle the instant before he Disapparated.

-----~-----

Needless to say, Pigwidgeon was having a very, very bad day.

-----~-----

A heartbeat after the four landed in the frigid Atrium, nearly all movement ceased. Harry saw Arthur Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt lying on the floor trembling uncontrollably, each with a dementor hovering menacingly above them. Three other aurors were lying near to the entrance where two other dementors were currently making an entrance. One of the aurors was on his knees with his wand held weakly in his hand as a few dying silvery wisps were sputtering out of the tip.

Upon their entrance, all of the dementor's shrouded faces turned towards them. They remained eerily unmoving, as if they were closely scrutinizing the new arrivals. When Harry focused on the dementors, he saw that they weren't looking directly at them, but seemed to be looking up to the ceiling above them. The oddness of their actions, or lack of them, caused the group to pause until Harry felt something brush past his leg. He looked down to see Kotone calmly walking up to the dementors.

The closest dementor, the one that was holding Arthur's head, abruptly released him and began backing away from the approaching half-demon, who began speaking loudly in what sounded like rushed, high-pitched Japanese.

"Harry," whispered Hermione, "Enter your state!"

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on the septagram that always seemed to appear when he was looking for it. Even before his eyes reopened, he heard the pitch and tone of Kotone's words morph into a deep resounding voice as it echoed throughout the large room. He opened his eyes to see the towering, angelic form of Kotone staring down at the cowering wraiths that appeared to be nothing but vacuous black space. He suddenly realized that he could understand what the young half-witch was saying. Not only that, but he could also hear the dementor's wheezy, rattling reply.

"…have abandoned the agreement? Do the old laws no longer apply to you?"

"We tire of feeding from the broken, corrupted souls that barely sustain us! Their taste foul… their nourishment pale and lacking… It is you elders that have broken the promise!"

"Nothing was promised… this was your punishment!" yelled Kotone, "Just as the punishment remains for the unfaithful servants who survived, the punishment of the treacherous slain must also remain!"

"We were slowly dying… starving… we were promised by the black viper…"

"You know you cannot die until your destiny is upon you! Your hunger is your punishment for your evil unspeakable! The promise of a mortal does not excuse you from the law to which you swore to abide!"

"Yes… we are not bound by the promises of mortals…" rattled the dementor with much more aggressiveness than he'd shown to that point, "but are you not also a mortal yourself?"

"Mortal, I may be, but I am still the agent of the forever ones! Kotone, daughter of Kyuushuu the Avenger, Guardian of the Emancipator! Leave now, back to your exile, or suffer the fury of the Oni!"

Harry could tell from Tonks' absurdly slow movements that the exchange between Kotone and the Dementor was happening in a very small fraction of 'normal' time. He glanced to his other side to see Hermione, now fully in her state, transformed into her dark, and strangely provocative alter-ego, intently watching the confrontation. When he heard the dementor next speak, his eyes snapped to Kotone.

"We will face the fury of the Oni, but you are not a true Oni, are you? You do look delicious, though…"

If he was not in his accelerated state, the movement of the dementor would have been frighteningly quick, but as he was, the dementor sluggishly lunged forward towards Kotone. He whipped his gloved hand towards the Dementor and cried, "Expecto Patronum!"

He wasn't sure if his Patronus would move just as lethargically as everything else around him, but was greatly relieved when he saw the massive golden stag race towards the unsuspecting dementor. In the past, it always seemed that the dementors had retreated well before any Patronus got near enough to touch them, as if they were like-poled magnets pushing against each other. He watched in amazement as his Patronus neared the dementor, it did indeed look as if it were being repelled at it's approach, but the speed in which the Patronus was traveling seemed to be greater than the repelling force. The result was that the stag's sharp antlers tore through the rotted, ethereal shroud that encompassed the dementor's being. An instant later, a shrill, horrible screech resounded throughout the Atrium before the foul creature burst into black, otherworldly flames. Within moments, the dementor was reduced to a smouldering pile of crusty ash. He saw the same thing happen to a second dementor, who was rammed by a metallic golden otter that he had just noticed was there.

The other two dementors, seeing that their brethren were cut down so effortlessly, darted towards the exit where a throng of other dementors were attempting to gain entry. Their movements were comically slow compared to the two Patroni, who savagely tore through their ranks and disappeared up through the destroyed elevator shaft, leaving piles of black smoking ash in their wake. The air was rife with the dying screeches and terrified wails of the doomed dementors.

Once Harry and Hermione dispelled their states, they could already feel the warmth of the room returning, driving out the unnatural cold that was produced by the fleeing dementors.

"Expecto…. Huh?"

Harry looked over to see Tonks, wand in hand, staring blankly at the group of men shakily pulling themselves to their feet.

"Cor! Where'd they go?" exclaimed Tonks dumbly as she looked around, searching in vain for the destroyed dementors.

Harry was checking on the other aurors while Hermione was helping Arthur to his feet. Kotone stood alone, staring at the debris-strewn floor and looking very discouraged. After Harry was sure none of the men had been kissed, he walked to Kotone and knelt before her.

"Are you alright, little one? Why did you come along with us? I knew it would be dangerous, and I wanted you to stay safe."

Kotone couldn't help but smile when he called her 'little one.' She let out a resigned breath and looked into Harry's eyes. The connection that was established washed over Harry so delicately that he barely noticed that his surroundings faded into darkness, 'Their time was not long…the tormented and the tormentors didn't realize how close they were to repaying their old debt. It is a sad path that they have chosen, being so close to their final redemption.'

'Kotone, you don't need to do this… I don't mind how you sound.'

Harry could feel the affection that Kotone was radiating towards him as she answered, 'I'm sorry, but I do not know the words, I will put on my mask.'

Kotone gently eased out of her state, then affixed her mask over her mouth. She looked at Harry worriedly for a moment, and then tentatively held her arms out to him. He couldn't help but to smile as he lifted her from the floor and she assumed her place against his side. He felt her hair gently wrap around him as she nestled her head against his shoulder.

There were many questions running through Harry's mind. He wondered whether she was referring to him when Kotone called herself 'the guardian of the emancipator,' but it could have just been another title that her true father bore. That led to his original unanswered question, "So why did you come along when Hermione asked you to stay on the island?"

Kotone didn't answer immediately, she just held him a little more tightly for a few moments and then said, "I was afraid for you. You must learn your power, and I must protect you until you do. Only then my responsibility will be over… only then can I be truly happy, and we can truly be a family."

"But we are a family… you and me…"

Kotone sighed as she leaned comfortably into his shoulder and said, "Yes, Father… we are a family. Let us go home."

The group spent a few minutes sealing and warding the entrance, effectively blocking all access to the Ministry building. One fireplace was set to deliver the team from the building, after which it would only open for the Minister himself after the crisis has been eradicated.

The aurors flooed out one by one until only Kingsley, Tonks and Arthur remained. Kingsley gave Harry a thankful smile before he disappeared in the flare of green fire.

Arthur shook Harry's hand vigorously as he said, "Harry, my boy, I owe you my life once again." He glanced at Kotone, then to Hermione and said, "I'm proud of you, but I think I'll refrain from letting Molly know the happy news. I don't know when we'll be able to speak again… just be sure to take care of yourself, and these two lovely witches."

With that, Arthur stepped into the fireplace and disappeared into the flames.

Harry turned to Tonks as he held Hermione's hand with Kotone still pressed against his side, "We're heading back to the island… please tell Remus we said hello, and tell him not to worry about us."

Comprehension lit up in Tonks' eyes as she suddenly realized everything that had happened that evening, "Oy! How were you able to Apparate inside…"

She never got to finish her sentence as Harry, Hermione and Kotone disappeared from the Atrium in a silent flash of blue light. She silently shook her head as she turned and stepped into the hearth and disappeared.

-----~-----

Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, a brown ball of feathers was weeping piteously.

-----~-----

A/N: Fun Fact: Well, this fact probably isn't going to be much fun for me… I just received my copy of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' I kinda know what to expect, but we'll see how motivated I am after reading it. If I'm as depressed as I expect I'll be, it may be a while before I update this fic… on a brighter note, I'm already planning to revise my 'Message in a Bottle' story to adapt to how I believe DH is going to turn out. It's going to take me at least a few days to read it… well… we'll see… :(