Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Weapon	By : uqui Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 105435 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 26
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 66
- 67
- 68
15/04/2012

Thank you to SuryaPrakash for the betaing. If there are mistakes, they are my fault.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm very happy that people are enjoying the fic, and I fervently hope that they continue to enjoy the fic. Unneeded and LeaniaSTL don't worry about Severus, it will all work out.

Weapon LXVII The First Display

Harry sat under a tree near the lake. It was the first Quidditch game of the year - Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff - and usually he'd be watching avidly. It wasn't quite the same as playing himself, but today he just couldn't bring himself to watch. With the way he felt, if he was there he'd have said something or done something that he would have regretted.

He'd dreamed last night. He'd remembered everything that happened to him. And as each of the men had pushed him into their favourite position he'd been able to see Dumbledore, sitting in the high chair he used during feasts at Hogwarts just watching. He supposed that was his mind's way of trying to tell him who was responsible. A hot red anger was rolling around in him now and he almost wished that his mind had come up with another way of representing that. He felt dirty from the acts that had been inflicted, but it made him feel sick and ashamed to think that someone had been watching even when he knew that the Headmaster had not really been there and had not really been watching.

The problem was of course that the Headmaster should have been watching. He should have been keeping tabs on the Dursleys to ensure that everything was okay. He hadn't been. And that just made Harry even angrier. Why hadn't anyone cared? No one had been able to answer to him just why no one had bothered to check up on him for eleven years! Obviously Sirius couldn't and as a werewolf, Harry really didn't understand but he accepted that Remus would have been in trouble if he tried, but surely there were others? And the Shadows had been kind enough to check the Ministry for him and relate to him a few discrepancies in his case. Then they had wrapped around him tightly, lovingly, whispering that they would always be there. He thought perhaps that their presence was the only thing that had kept him from exploding. Fawkes presence in his mind had worked in the reverse then and he didn't know how it was possible but the phoenix song had just reminded him of everything that had gone wrong.

So he sat under the tree, holding back his power, trying to calm himself, when everything seemed conspiring to make him angrier. Perhaps he should just go to the Room of Requirement or even the Chamber of Secrets and just attack anything. Maybe that would help with the frustration he felt.

But no... He couldn't. Today he had been trapped, with the best intentions of course, by his friends. Ron had been reluctant since he wanted to watch the Quidditch game but had stayed as well and they were spread out around him studying, though Luna's text was sitting next to her upside down. Ginny was as close as she dared and he hadn't even been able to fake a wan smile for her. Hermione was a metre or so away with her books spread out around her, their pages weighed down by whatever was convenient, while Neville was beside Luna, chewing on the end of his quill. If Harry hadn't of been so angry he'd have been comforted and pleased by their actions.

The Shadows were lazily playing in the dappled light cast by the sun through the leaves overhead. No one had noticed them yet except for him and occasionally he smiled at their antics but the smile always faded. Today he could not forget and could not lose the anger. There was nothing special about today yet somehow he couldn't shake the mood and the techniques he usually used to calm down were ineffective.

Maybe it was because, in addition to the rage and almost hidden by it, there was a small scratchy feeling on the back of his neck; a feeling which didn't go away no matter how much he rubbed, the feeling of someone watching him. It hadn't been there all day. It had been there when he sat down and the others joined him. He'd irritably assumed it had been an overawed First Year but the feeling hadn't gone away and by now he'd have spotted an ikkle Firstie.

Someone or something was watching him and while they were good enough to avoid being spotted, they were not good enough to suppress their presence so he could not feel them. And that was just another thing he was angry about.

Draco sat in the Slytherin Common room. The Quidditch Game was on and most of his House was watching that which left him relatively alone.

Nothing was working out.

His mother expected him to recruit his generation, but how could he do that if no one even spoke to him? Blaise and Millicent weren't the only two who regarded him with disdain. Most of the Seventh Years had laughed in his face when he'd approached them. "Draco, your father is dead, your power is gone. Deal with it," was about the nicest rejection he'd gotten and he'd been hard pressed not to simply slam them all into the wall.

He was stronger than them. They didn't know it, but he was! Yet they continued to blindly follow the Serpent Lord. He supposed he really shouldn't be that surprised. HE had followed the man avidly and blindly for much of his school life, but then he had seen the truth. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out how to show them that truth. Every time he opened his mouth to hint, to guide, to suggest that Harry Potter wasn't all they thought he was, something clamped his jaws shut or made him say something inane. The one time he'd managed to get something out about the seemingly perfect Gryffindork, the student, a Fifth Year, had just looked at him like he was insane and agreed that, "Yes, Harry Potter was unusual, finishing his N.E.W.T.s at the end of his Fifth Year and now being enrolled in four Mastery's! Of course he was unusual."

That had ended the conversation and Draco had retreated in confusion.

For all his efforts, subtle of course, he'd only managed to convince some First and Second Year students that they should listen to him, and even that victory had been very short-lived when the Seventh Years had told the students something.

With a growl, Draco created a small ball of power and let it hover in his hand. It was his signature yellow and he spun it slowly, looking into the depths. They would learn. They would all learn that they should have listened to him. He'd be magnanimous and forgive most but there were a few who would suffer.

:Perhaps you will suffer,: There was a whispered voice and Draco looked around frantically, the power in this hand somehow hardening.

Words his mother had spoken to him came unbidden to his mind. 'If you hear a voice Draco, do not think yourself insane. Look around for the speaker. Look up, look down, look everywhere. Look into the shadows and if it seems as if there is something there, do not hesitate, kill it. Cast the strongest Solaris charm you can for what we fight against can be as insubstantial as shadow but should never be treated as powerless. In this, there are no second chances so it is best to strike and to deal with the aftermath in the event that we are wrong.'

He really hadn't known what she was talking about but as he looked around the Slytherin Common Room he began to understand. There was no one around but there were shadows and they did seem darker than they had any right to be. He brought his wand out and flicked it through the motions of a spell his mother had insisted he learn so completely that he knew he could cast it in his sleep. "Solaris!" he said, voicing the words of the charm and allowing his full power to flow through him.

The little ball of power in his hand blazed up like the sun and Draco expected to hear a hiss of pain or the patter of feet as whoever spoke retreated. He did not expect to hear the clap of applause.

"Well done, young Malfoy, but while such a thing may inhibit one of my children, it has little effect on me."

Draco let the light fade as he looked around. In the corner of the room there was a vampire, but not just any vampire, and he suppressed a shudder as he recognised the elder vampire, Xeoaph. This was the one his father had allied with and for a moment he felt a stab of anger. Why was this vampire alive when his father was dead?

The vampire laughed, stepping forward. "The play of your emotions is amusing, young Malfoy, but I am not here to hurt you."

Draco wasn't sure why he said what he said next; he was sure though that the vampire was not expecting it. "I don't think I meant it for you."

Xeoaph's blue eyes opened wide before he flicked them around the common room as the light from Draco's spell faded. "Perhaps not," the elder vampire agreed, turning back towards the blond. "Perhaps you are more ready than I thought."

The blond Slytherin knew exactly what the vampire was talking about. Perhaps he was more ready to fight Harry Potter, but even as Draco realised that he and the vampire saw the same enemy, something clamped down around him and he found himself unable to speak or even able to move in anything that could be taken as agreement. Echoing through his mind, he heard that blasted Potter's voice. "I don't mind that you remember what you've learned, but I really don't want you spreading it around. It would get too messy, you understand, and it really would be too easy for you!"

Why that conniving, backstabbing, honourless Gryffindor! Here he was, in the presence of someone who would believe him, who knew, but Draco could not prove what he knew and was unable to speak a word of it.

"I know the truth," he finally ground out. Truth was such a generic statement that it could apply to anything and it was the best he could do to let the vampire know he knew everything.

"Or do you only think that you do?"

Draco tried to scream but found the impulse denied. The vampire didn't believe him or thought that he was talking about something else.

"I know the truth," he said again, slowly, more forcefully. He really wanted to say 'I know the truth you know' but the final two words died in his throat and Draco could almost feel Potter's power tightening around his neck. It gave him something else to think about. There had to be some way of breaking the spell...

"Ah youth," the vampire dismissed him. "I was hoping for more."

Draco realised if he was going to say anything, then he had to go about it another way. "Given the problems you've had with the other youth, do you really want more?" No matter how much people had tried to keep the events of Potter's DADA practical quiet, there had been gossip and his mother was an expert at winnowing the truth from idle conversation.

Xeoaph looked at him sharply and for an instant Draco thought the vampire would see Potter's spell, but then his blue eyes softened and he looked away again. "I suppose not," he murmured.

"It can be troublesome, I know," Draco continued, not sure why he was speaking but feeling that he had to try. "But it will be brought low, eventually, if those who know the truth can see it."

"Perhaps you do know the truth," Xeoaph murmured. "But I cannot help you yet. When you can speak, come and see me and then we can consider the truth properly."

Draco nodded and he didn't even see the vampire leave. Perhaps things weren't working out the way he hoped they would, but he had something to focus on now. That pathetic Potter had put some sort of spell on him. It was time to remove it. First though he needed to know what type of spell it was and that required a trip to the library. Draco smiled, the voice completely forgotten as he began thinking which spell it was that Potter could have used.

In his werewolf form, Remus watched the skirmish before him. He was loath to call it a battle, but he supposed that's what it really was. Most of the pack leaders had decided to try their luck to become the Pack Leader of the Isles and most of them were embroiled in the brawl. As a sign of goodwill, the Shadows had offered all the Werewolf Pack Leaders either Wolfsbane or the spell, but Fenrir had been derogatory and most of the others unconsciously perhaps had also shied away from the possibility of maintaining their mind.

That was probably why Remus was one of the few just observing the brawl under the moonlight. Longtooth and Silverpelt were also watching, but they were older werewolves and possessed more cunning than the others. Why risk injury in a brawl when the winner took it all? Fenrir was predictably in his element and Lupin could see him, his long grey fur almost constantly moving, sliding in and out of the rest of them in the tussle, biting, clawing, ripping his way through the other pack leaders. Greyback fought dirty; he fought as an animal and Remus involuntarily shuddered at the thought of what the werewolves would become if he was their leader. He was efficient at clearing out the competition and several pack leaders had already surrendered.

Not enough, though... and Remus calculated that they would be fighting this out for a few months yet. That probably wasn't a bad thing, all things considered. Pack Leader of the Isles was a position for life so they would need someone with stamina and the will to see things through. He did hope that Harry and Sirius would forgive him his absence. They should, but he missed them.

With a snarl, Lupin leapt forward to bite and worry at the leg of one of the pack leaders who had fallen awkwardly near the edge of the brawl. He wasn't going to let himself be drawn into the fray until it settled down. There wasn't much point in fighting in a position where you could not see who had attacked and could not respond properly. Until it was thinned out more he would take his opportunities as they presented themselves. Some would call it cowardly to attack when they were down. Remus called it strategy. And he would need all the strategy he could get to win.

Sturges stood back. He really wasn't sure if he should allow this, but he supposed this was probably the best time for experimentation. He had his Auror team with him and he had the Auror Apprentice Harry Potter with them. They had surrounded a wizarding property believed to be a stronghold of You-Know-Who. Calling it a stronghold was really not accurate. It was a house, a small house that had been set up in the nature of a manor. It had the sweeping cream gravel driveway lined by small trees, and the pillared coach port covering the front door. Bay windows flanked it, but they were dark as the curtains were drawn tight. It sounded grand. But it belonged to a wizarding family whose fortunes had not been going so well so the trees were not neatly trimmed and there were places where the gravel was almost gone. If it housed Death Eaters though, Sturges didn't care about any of that. All he cared about was the most efficient way to get in.

They'd found this house using something the goblins have given them. It was similar to the scanning devices that monitored for underage magic, but it wasn't tied into a wand. It scanned for the signatures of magic. At the moment they could only scan a small area, but since they had found this house, it was enough to prove that the devices worked.

Now there were three things holding them back on the large-scale roll out of them – one, man power; two, a lack of devices; and three, a lack of recording of magical signatures. Man power would remain a problem for a while, lack of the devices could be easily rectified and the recording of magical signatures was already being conducted. It would only be a matter of time before they had one of the Inner Circle of Death Eaters on file. Then they could track them all.

Sturges shook his head. They were all problems for the future and for now, he had best focus on the present.

Dumbledore had had a quiet word with him before they left the school and Sturges wasn't sure he wanted to obey the Headmaster. It wasn't that the suggestion was bad, no the suggestion was logical; it's just that it set such a bad precedent! Dumbledore, for all his titles was just not a member in the chain of command and to accede to his wishes was not something Sturges wanted to get into the habit of. With a regretful sigh the Auror Captain realised that he really didn't have much choice this time. He had to go with the suggestion of the old wizard. Well...he didn't have to, but now made the best sense because now was not a life and death battle. This would be the best time to really see what Harry could do in battle, to see what Harry's servants could do.

Baross had not said much. Amelia had said more implying that the Shadows were merely spies but the smile Harry had given him when he had asked the young man what they could do spoke volumes. Somehow Sturges knew the Shadows were more than just spies for their master.

As they had set up the cordon, Harry had said a little more. "Predominantly they spy for me," he'd started softly, speaking only loud enough that Sturges could hear. "But under the right circumstances, they can do a lot more. If you let me, I'll show you. But I warn you now, Captain, I can either capture them or kill them. You have to make a choice before I start." Unbeknownst to Sturges the Shadows had grumbled and complained into their Master's head that they would not kill yet! They were being fully mysterious, but they were insistent that something had to happen before they would kill at their Master's command.

There really wasn't that much choice in Sturges' mind. Capture. They needed the information and he'd said as much to the young Potter. Green eyes had flashed and the Auror Captain wasn't sure what had passed behind them, but they had settled into understanding. Sturges had spent some time with Harry since they'd inducted him as an Auror Apprentice. He was after all, one of his teachers for his Mastery in Defence Against The Dark Arts and what he had learned of the Boy-Who-Lived was that he was a complex person. It might have been regret that it was not death that would be inflicted upon the Death Eaters. Harry had more cause than anyone to want them dead, but he also understood strategy and he was obedient enough that while his personal inclination might be otherwise, he would submit to authority in this.

Actually, Sturges wasn't quite sure what he was going to teach Harry for Defence Against the Dark Arts. The young man seemed to already know everything, and know it in such an ingrained way. He knew the theory and more importantly he knew the practical and he knew it so well that he could improvise no matter what the situation was that they had hypothetically created for him. The Auror Captain wondered if his other Mastery teachers, those for Transfiguration, Charms and Care of Magical Creatures were also running into the same problems. It would look really bad if they awarded him his Mastery in less than a year!

The signal interrupted his thoughts; everyone was in position and as far as the spies could tell, the Death Eaters were inside and unaware that they were surrounded. The anti-apparition and portkey wards were up and the house had been disconnected from the floo. Sturges turned to his Apprentice, "All right, Harry, you can begin, but remember we are here if you need back up."

Green eyes smiled at him and Sturges could almost see the laughter, but Harry nodded with perfect obedience and took a few steps forward towards the house before he unexpectedly sat down. "Harry?"

"It's all right," came the soft assurance. "I told you, I will show you what they can do." Accompanying his words was a flash of darkness and unconsciously Sturges' stepped back. He heard the "shing" of steel and he didn't know where or how Harry had gotten the blade but there was a sword resting across the young man's knees. Harry had one hand on the hilt and the other was extended palm pressed flat against the edge near the tip. Now the darkness seemed to surround Harry, almost hiding him completely in the night. The Auror captain couldn't look away and he knew that his squad was feeling the same.

Silently, a thin line of darkness traced itself along the ground towards the house. At an undefined signal the line split into two and almost instantly it stretched to surround the house. Sturges' couldn't see the end of it, but he could see the shape and he knew it was now a perfect circle, the circumference of which should not include any of the Aurors. Was what Harry about to do that dangerous?

"Wrap," this time he heard the soft command and watched with morbid fascination as the dark line extended, rippling along the ground to cover the house. If he could fly, the Auror Captain knew that all he would see from above now was a black circle on the ground with Aurors gathered around it. He tore his eyes from the House and glanced towards his second. Kingsley watched with the same rapt attention as the others. He may be a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but Sturges suddenly knew that this was their first time as well truly seeing what their youngest member could do. He suppressed a shudder. Ancient power or not, it was creepy, almost like a lethifold and he wondered if a patronus would have any effect and if Harry would let them try.

The young man was still just sitting there with the darkness wrapped around him. A wind ruffled his messy hair and fluttered the fabric of his robes, but he didn't notice. Instead his face bore a soft smile and the Auror Captain was startled at how peaceful it was. The most disconcerting thing was the silence. If they had done this the normal way, by now there would be the screams from the wounded and shouts from those still fighting. There would be the sounds some spells made and maybe the sound of fire. This was so quiet that Sturges could hear Kingsley's breathing; he could hear the faint noise of cicadas in the distance and he fancied he could hear the rustle of leaves in the garden beneath the shadow.

Harry seemed to be holding the shadow in place for a long time and the Auror Captain wondered what it was doing. It was just another thing to ask Harry about. He doubted that the young man would be able to explain the magical mechanics of what was happening, but he could at least explain what was physically happening within the shadow.

After what seemed an age, Sturges heard Harry whisper another command. "Hold and return."

The darkness seemed to surge and ripple and then great rips appeared and disappeared as it moved. The boundary of the darkness did not change but within it seemed alive and almost trying to break free of whatever was holding it in place. That was only for a few moments before the shadow almost vanished, but Sturges had not blinked. He had seen it sink through the house they had cordoned off, going inside while the rest of it wrapped its way around the trees and fence and everything else that was around the house. The cream gravel driveway now looked like a black ribbon.

Harry suddenly turned to him and the Auror captain wasn't the only one who resisted the urge to step back. The boy's famous green eyes were almost glowing and there was a small satisfied smile on his lips. "Would you like me to bring them out or do you wish to go in after them, Sir?"

Sturges' blinked at the question, for a moment not comprehending what the Auror Apprentice could conceivably mean. Sure the darkness had been in place over the house for a while, but it couldn't possibly be that easy, could it? "We will go in," he heard himself say, before he shouted a few orders to the waiting Aurors as Harry stood up.

"There is also a small cache of Dark..." Harry paused, frowning as his servants relayed the information. "Things," he said finally, "Dark things on the second floor that were in a safe. I've opened the safe, but haven't done anything with the items."

The Auror Captain nodded. "Very good," he praised. "If you are unfamiliar with what they are, then sometimes even opening their place of concealment can be dangerous, but not touching is definitely the best answer. Depending on what is there we'll deal with them, or call in the Unspeakables to handle the items." Sturges gave Harry the explanation as members of his unit began charging in the door. If they had of been fighting, he would have been with them, in the first group, but charging into a house that had already been subdued didn't require his personal touch in leadership. And besides, someone owed it to the young man to give him a proper explanation. Kingsley had gone in his stead.

They didn't have to wait long before the Aurors began frog marching out several people dressed in all too familiar black robes with white masks, though most of the masks were now pinned to their robes and were almost invisible under the ropes that were binding them.

"Don't have the guts to kill us?" One of the Death Eater's shouted towards Sturges, but he knew the taunt was directed at Auror Apprentice Potter.

"Don't have the orders," Harry shouted back, apparently unconcerned and Sturges smiled and nodded, ignoring the way the Aurors cuffed the Death Eater who had spoken.

"Very good, Harry, though you can just ignore them," Sturges murmured, watching. There were quite a few Death Eaters being brought out and he hoped Amelia would forgive him for the paperwork. He rather thought she would. Filling out the paperwork that went with incarcerating criminals was far more favourable than filling out the paperwork that went with reporting injuries and deaths in the team. And they had done this without a mishap.

"Thank you Harry, and very good work," Sturges said to his Apprentice. "Your efforts here have meant that no one has been injured and we have the chance to gain valuable information, and that's exactly what an Auror mission should be like, even if we did use somewhat unconventional tactics."

"Heh," Harry laughed softly. "Thank you for the opportunity," he replied to the Auror Captain. "Not many would trust in unconventional tactics enough to give them a try."

"Harry, when I signed you up as an Auror Apprentice, both Madam Bones and I took that signature seriously. We intend to give you the opportunity to fight to the best of your ability and so sometimes we will use unconventional tactics, while others we will go with a more traditional response. But at all times, we will consider you a skilled wizard and a resource to the DMLE and as much as you are willing, we will make use of that resource. All you need to do is let us know you are available and that's that. I don't care what the Order wants," Sturges said the last softly, but he knew the young man would hear the truth in his voice. "Both Madam Bones and I have been fighting this war long enough. Obviously, we don't want the Dark Lord to win, but we no longer care who gets the credit for ending it. The DMLE will go on either way." He was pleased to see the way Harry's eyes darkened slightly before the black haired wizard nodded in understanding. It wasn't just a polite nod, either. The Auror Captain could see that the boy really did truly understand what he was saying.

"Call me, and I'll come. I take my signature seriously as well, and I don't wish to leave the Aurors undermanned." It was almost a ridiculous statement for an Apprentice to make and Sturges could really do nothing but grunt a reply. "The Order isn't a part of the chain of command," Harry added with a very small smile towards the Auror Captain whose face had gone from carefully neutral to a full smile in an instant at his words.

It seemed not everyone was as enamoured of the Order as Dumbledore thought, and Sturges would be grateful to make use of that feeling. For now though he had that cache of Dark items to deal with and many, many prisoners to question.

Review please? :)
- 66
- 67
- 68
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Weapon