Dark Love

AN: As one reviewer said in another fic, my muse needs a better bodyguard. OMAKE inspired by that comment at the end.

AN2: a Special Wasabi and cream cheese cyber cookie to the ones that can guess where the inspiration for the chapter title came from.

AN3: I am going to be massively exaggerating Hermione's love of authority, a love that would've, in cannon, be dulled by her friendship.

Chapter 1: The Death and Life of Harry Potter

He was 'falling,' the last thing he remembered was his defense professor crumbling under his hands.

The next thing that came to mind was the absolute betrayal that he discovered from the only two he ever called friends.

That he ignored due to having nobody else.

It all started with Ron, one week before.

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Flashback.

It was a week before, and Harry was walking down one of the hallways when he heard voices, and curious, he approached. Only to stop in shock when he heard the conversation.

"It's time for my payment for being friends with Harry professor Dumbledore," Ron's voice sounded from around a corner.

"Of course my boy, ten galleons, strait from the boy's vault. Anything to report?" said the old headmaster.

Harry walked away before the answer came with tears in his eyes.

At least he still had Hermione.

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Flashback end.

He felt even emptier when he recalled what happened next.

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Flashback Mk. 2.

Harry was still thinking on the issue of Ron three days later. When he over heard another conversation, one that crushed him even further.

"Thank you for the information Miss Granger. Here's another book from the Potter library for your help. Remember to not show anyone them," Albus said.

Hermione sniffed and replied as she took the book, "These would be wasted on Harry, he's too stupid to understand them, in fact..."

it was a broken boy that walked away during her insults. He knew he would still pretend to be their friends simply because he had nobody else.

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Flashback mk 2 end.

He stared lifelessly at the hole he was falling towards, absently noticing what looked like a girl, probably 'five' years older than him running towards the hole.

She was black, a near uniform pitch black that no amount of light could lighten, and the light that she passed barely could throw her features into definition. Her ornate 'dress' moved oddly with her motions. Her slim delicate figure made one think she was fragile. The most striking thing about her though was her eyes. The yellow eyes stood out starkly on the blackness that was her face.

All this was noticed by the empty shell falling towards the pit of death, where all souls go when they die. Next to him, also falling, was what looked like an ugly baby.

As he was falling into the hole near the edge, a hand grasped his. With the sudden orientation change his empty eyes met the yellow of the girl whom had his hand in hers.

In the realm of life this would've ensured he didn't fall, this was the realm between life and death where will was everything, and while she wanted him to live, he had no such desire, having nothing to actually live for, and so despite her strength, he slipped through her hands into the abyss.

"NO!" she shouted, and a single tear fell from her to accompany the boy in his fall.

"Sister," a voice sounded, cold and inhuman. A full grown woman whom looked like she was carved from ice in a perfect mimicry of the human form moved to stand near the sobbing 'girl'.

"So, that is the boy you've been breaking the rules to visit. You're lucky it was I that saw you, the others wouldn't have let you off without punishment. New let us go."

"No," sobbed the 'girl'.

"You know it takes a strong will to live to escape the abyss of death, and since he couldn't muster enough even with your help, he obviously doesn't have it. Not to mention he has passed the point where no mortal has ever came back. Now come," the being of ice demanded.

"Let me hold onto the hope for a while longer... please?"

the Ice elemental's eyes shut for a second and sat down next to her fellow elemental, "I will wait with you today, but I expect you to return home with ,me tomorrow."

The miserable Dark elemental nodded in sorrow.

And thus the story of a boy hero ended...

…

or did it?

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The Ministries of Live & Death, Destiny & Fate, Elementals, and Magic in the upper planes were in turmoil.

They had to figure out how to correct this massive screw up, who was to blame, and how did a high dark elemental sneak into the mortal realm without getting caught over a hundred times in ten years.

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As Harry fell his head turned and he saw the tear.

'Why didn't you accept her help?' A voice in his head asked.

'What would be the point? I have nothing to live for.'

'That's not true.'

'Unwanted, unloved all that cared were pretending.'

'that's not true.'

'Nobody cares if Harry Potter dies, they just care about their precious 'boy who lived'.'

'No, there is one.'

Harry's main mind came up blank, and the voice continued.

'Do you remember? Those times when you were locked in your cupboard? The voice that offered you comfort? The one that set your bones? The one that you sobbed into on the rare times she said she could arrive? DO YOU REMEMBER?

Harry paused in his angst. Yes, yes he remembered. He never saw her. She claimed that she had to sneak to see him, she comforted him, she held him and allowed him to express his sorrow in the darkness.

She just now tried to save his life, for no other reason than she cared.

'Do you see now? There is someone. Will you let her shed more of those tears?'

Harry's eyes came into focus. There were focused on the single tear that had kept pace with him. With a motion he caught it in his hand.

His other hand caught on nothing, as if his fingers had gripped a ledge.

He made his decision.

'No.'

'No?'

'I will not let her shed more tears for me.'

'Good, you've fallen far.'

'I know.'

'it will be hard, nearly impossible.'

'I know.'

'but for her?'

'I will succeed,' Harry thought with determination. His tear stained hand reached up, as if he was climbing a cliff gripped a handful of nothing, and lifted himself higher.

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THUD.

In the real world, a pulseless body's heart beat... once.

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With a shaking arm, Harry reached up again.

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THUD.

In the real world, a pulseless body's heart beat again, tripping some monitors, and a lightning bolt scar leaked black with a piercing scream, drawing attention to the body.

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A third hand hold, a fourth, a fifth, a slip down to the position that the fourth had him in, a sixth.

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THUD. THUD. THUD. Pause. THUD.

The heart of a body legally dead beat in time with the boy clawing out of the abyss.

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On the edge of the abyss, the two sisters felt something change. It was a spike of energy from the hole, and it sparked hope in the sobbing dark elemental, and a sense of disbelief from the ice.

'It's impossible,' thought the ice. 'he's fallen too far, a demi-god would have trouble getting out.

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The ministers paused in their shouting match as a message bearer came in with a note.

The four turned on a TV to show the reason for their current problems, and hoped.

It would solve so many problems if the boy succeeded.

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On his thousandth hand hold he fell the equivalent of fifty. Only to be stopped when a hand grabbed his arm. He looked up, and saw a red headed woman holding his arm, as he clawed for purchase. Her green eyes tinged with sorrow as she held him until he could start again. As he started climbing she smiled and vanished proud of her son.

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In the real world the school nurse and the headmaster were both staring at the body. A body that was dead, yet was struggling to live.

No dark magic was present, in fact the only magic present was the boy's own trying to reignite.

There was only one thing that went through both of their minds.

'This is impossible.'

Although the old man was relieved about something, if Harry does come back, he probably won't need to die.

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The abyss was throwing a real fit, something was pushing beyond the boundaries of what is allowed, and winning.

Or someone.

The Dark Elemental leaned over to look down. Even with her affinity she couldn't see anything, and was knocked on her cute butt when another shock-wave of power blasted out of the well.

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Harry slipped down a thousand hand holds on his ten thousandth hand hold.

He was caught again, this time by a man, whom with the exception of his eyes, looked like Harry was looking into a ageing mirror.

The man smiled and jerked his head toward the top. Heartened by what he saw he gripped the nothingness again and continued his climb. With miniature lightning bolts springing up now with every 'step'.

James Potter smiled at the will shown by his heir as he faded away.

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The body's pulse was growing stronger, with occasional lapses. Dumbledore, against his better judgment, called in an unspeakable. They had agreed to not harm Harry in case he came back, but demanded they be allowed to watch and record the event.

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The hole representing the abyss was throwing lighting bolts and bolts of darkness. The ice elemental backed off while the dark refused to.

It was fortunate that despite the light and dark show that the abyss of death can't be broken.

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One million hand holds had passed, when he slipped again. After falling ten thousand he was gripped again, by a hand that felt like condensed sunlight.

Unlike the other times, the owner of hand holding him spoke. "Look up my decedent from long in the past."

As he did so he saw a pin prick of light above him. A pin prick that hadn't existed when the boy had started climbing. His eyes widened, he was beginning to loose hope, but the evidence that he was actually making progress lightened his heart.

"Those that helped you couldn't do more than hold you up so you can rest, but I can do slightly more. These hairs are from one of my aspects, have a new wand forged when you leave," with those words and noticing that the boy had a secure hand hold she departed with a smile on her face.

He never even got a look at her, but he knew the hairs were secure in a small box in his pocket, he could feel it.

He pushed on still feeling the sun like after effects on his arm. He WILL succeed. The lightning bolts were now replaced by small flashes of sunlight.

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Harry's body was performing many of life's acts by this point. Frequently stopping one or more yes, but enough that the unspeakables were growing more alarmed that it was possible, and that it was a mere slip of a boy doing so.

The boy's arm now had the tattoo of a rising sun on it.

This would bare watching.

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The dark elemental was squinting she thought she could see flashes of something far into the abyss. Her sister was long gone, but she remained. There was only one 'pebble' that she could think of that could have this much of an affect on the abyss.

Granted, many many people had fallen in at the same time he did, but none were as defined. As if the boy had been touched directly by fate.

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With the evidence that he was closing in on his goal, Harry's pace picked up. He still slipped, but he caught himself, loosing only a handful of steps of progress every half million. Then it happened, he completely lost his grip. And fell several thousand hand holds worth of space, but he landed on something hard, he had thought of how much better stairs would be, and next thing he knew he had landed on what felt like stairs. With a smile he started running up them. A small flash of sunlight, no more than a dim flashlights worth, accompanied every step.

He stumbled and fell every hundred, but the light was now a recognizable disk. And he was moving much faster.

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The body was recovering color, and the vitals were stabilizing. The unspeakables were now on their fifth full role of parchment, each, on their observations.

It was truly unfortunate for them that the man that would be assigned to carry and sort them at the ministry would trip and take all of them, and himself, through the veil of death.

The department would be most displeased.

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The sole elemental remaining at the lip of the Abyss had here eyes glued to the flashes of light. She was right, it was him, and making pretty good progress to boot. He was now no more than five hundred feet from the top, and approaching fast despite the stumbles and slight setbacks.

All she could do at this point was wait.

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Harry looked up, and saw that he was close, and at the lip of the hole, was the one he clawed his way back for.

He put all his effort into closing the distance. When he was three feet from the top, the stairs he was climbing gave out. And he made one last lunge.

His fingers fell short of the edge by three inches.

He started to fall once again.

He had failed...

…

or did he?

A black hand gripped his wrist hard, and unlike last time his hand gripped hers.

She pulled, Harry out of the pit, and back into the boundary between life and death. On the edge of the clearing the ice elemental couldn't believe her eyes. The boy came back. It shouldn't have been possible. She knew her sister would have to part with the boy, as there are only a few situations that would allow an elemental, much less a high elemental, to enter the mortal realm on a mostly permanent basis.

…

…

and much to the panic of the ice elemental, her sister was instigating one of them.

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It was unusual situation for Harry. Normally he was the one crying in her, having the larger girl cry on him was distinctly unpleasant. All of the unpleasantness stemming from the fact that she was crying because of him.

"I wish you could come with me without having to sneak around," Harry said, and was rewarded by a watery smile.

"There is one way we can, and it's the only way beyond hard to reproduce circumstances. A pact," she replied.

"Pact? That doesn't seem to bad," Harry commented which made the Dark elemental grimace. "What's wrong?"

"A pact is when we merge our magics. We would be separate beings but we would be bound for the rest of our lives. You would share my life span, but if you were killed I would die too. Also the human in the pact always looses something of him/herself. Like beauty, speech, charisma, singing ability, and eyesight being just some examples. It's as much a boon as it is a chain," she explained.

"I'm willing if you are. You are the only person I have met that has every actually cared for me for me," he whispered in her ear.

She smiled and gave him the instructions, and with those given, the sat across from one another, and started.

The dark elemental placed her hand over her chest and soon she held in it a ball, that shined with a pitch black light. Harry's head hurt from the paradox that statement caused.

Harry did the same, and ended up with a white ball streaked in a sunny yellow.

The two heard a shout but ignore it as they touched them together.

"I High Dark Elemental Leilah enter a pact with Harry James Potter of my own free will, let our magics merge."

"I Harry James Potter enter a pact with High Dark Elemental Leilah of my own free will, let our magics merge."

Harry started fading at that point as his body started to call back his soul, but before he completely faded he heard Leilah shout, "Summon me when you get there! Just use the words in your heart!"

He blacked out...

He awoke staring at the ceiling in the hospital wing of Hogwarts, feeling physically good for some reason.

He sat up, powering through the Medi-witch's attempts to keep him down and looked around. A bunch of unknown men in cloaks? Check. Dumbledore? Check. The two traitors? Check. He then stood up.

"Harry you should lay down for longer you just..." was as far as Hermione got when Harry's fist smashed into her eye. She went down clutching it.

"That bitch was for taking stolen books belonging to my family from Dumbledore, and not giving them back," Harry snarled.

Dumbledore was about to scold Harry for hitting the girl, but stopped at what Harry said. That was not good. Harry knew about Hermione, but at least he didn't know of...

"And Ron, I know you've been receiving money stolen from my accounts. I will be finding out whom the authorities are and contacting them to get everything back, both from you, and HIM," Harry said wrathfully ending up pointing at the headmaster, whom knew he was in trouble.

"Harry, we need to verify you are whom you claim and not just a shell possessed by a ghost. And that no illegal magic was used." one of the hooded men explained.

"And you are?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes.

"Unspeakable Life. Well that's my code name anyway. I investigate unusual matters dealing with life and death," the man finished with a chuckle.

Harry gave his permission and the next half hour was spent getting some spells cast at him. Another Unspeakable was called in when the first found some unusual readings.

After the spells were cast the unspeakable spoke again, "Well, you're Harry, but I need you to call your pact partner to register. If it's too big we can move outside."

Harry nodded, and recited the words to summon Leilah, words that weren't a formal spell, but were engraved on his heart by the feelings he felt towards her.

"The only one that cared for me.

The only one I care for.

You came to me in the darkness.

You soothed my heart in the darkness.

I rejected the peace of death to meet you again.

You were the only one that believed I could.

We forged the pact to remain together.

So, I call you back to my side.

High Dark Elemental Leilah."

During Harry's chant a black pentagram flashed into existence beneath him, and afterwords he was being hugged from behind by said elemental.

Pandemonium broke loose as they misinterpreted Leilah as being a being of dark magic, rather than elemental darkness.

It would be a long resurrection day for Harry.

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End Chapter.

OMAKE Inspired by a Review of a separate story:

"You're fired," Kithrin shouted at his employee.

"But why?" Neptune cried in her normal form.

"You couldn't prevent my muse from being abducted again!"

"But... but..."

Kithrin stalked out of the room. He was muttering about having to find a new bodyguard. Perhaps Blanc would have the time.

End OMAKE.

Leilah ~ Dark beauty, dark as night.