Chapter XII I will not bow

Time had passed smoothly for Harry. He had to admit that things had been going well this run through. Umbridge had been charged with abuse of power and attempted murder and he and Sirius had pushed for the maximum punishment, which meant a short walk through a dark veil. School had settled and Snape had even stayed rather civil with Harry, and he couldn't have been more happy at a normal year. The only thing that he still needed to deal with, was Dumbledore and his manipulation of Hermione, Severus, and Remus. They had been doing some digging, passing information to Hermione and Harry over the last six months and still had no clue as to why he would control Harry, but Harry knew from John why he had. Dumbledore wanted the Potter Fortune, and someone to control it through. Dumbles knew he wouldn't have been able to through Hermione, but Ginny Weasley would be the perfect conduit. Harry had to agree since Remus never fully trusted the old goat, and knew he wasn't the great light leader he pretended to be. So it all boiled down to money. Which pissed Harry off, since all anyone had to do was ask him, and he'd have helped. He did have to admit that the prankster side of things had gone smoothly. A few color change charms, photos of embarrassing behavior, and one more trip to the toilets from the whole of Ravenclaw this time, which involved the bathrooms in the upper levels, and the rolls attacking them as they tried to use them, everyone knew to avoid Harry or his friends to avoid an accident of huge proportions. But this wasn't bothering Harry at the moments. Right now, he was standing in the Room of Requirements with Fate. He gestured for her to start.

"We have a problem Harry." Fate began.

Harry groaned.

"Every time someone starts with that line, it means Hell opened the floodgates." He muttered.

"This time it's has."

That sobered Harry up quickly and he was more attentive.

"What happened?"

Fate took a deep breath and looked at him with sadness.

"We have a breech. Someone has been infected with that soul sucking parasite Voldemort. And they have altered my plan."

Harry hardened his gaze.

"What do you mean? How can they alter your plans?"

Fate sat down and sighed.

"It used to be only me with the power to do so. But five thousand years ago, the Council came together and forced me into an agreement to give them access to the tapestry of Fate. Back then, it used to be just a tapestry. Now, it's nothing more than an excel sheet. And some one with Administrator access has altered and locked the document sections pertaining to Hermione." She explained.

"And?" He asked dangerously.

"It's not the first time it's happened. You know of the first. And you can figure out the second if Voldemort is involved." She explained.

Harry rose to his feet, power radiating off of him in waves.

"No. If she dies, I'll kill myself. Fuck what John needs. If he really wanted me to survive, he'd stand up for me."

"He did." She shot back angrily. "He went against Corporate and has gone into hiding while he tried to fight the plan and prevent it."

"What?" Harry felt his rage disappear quickly.

"Yes. He made an unauthorized departure to this realm and gave you orders pertaining to the original plan. If he's found, he is to be executed." She explained.

"But…how can he die if he already is?"

"Death for us is different. It isn't like your's. When we die, we cease to exist." She explained to him.

Harry blinked in surprise as Fate took several calming breaths.

"I've been using my own powers to hide him from them. But it will only work for so long. And I've come to give you a warning."

"What?"

"They strike at Christmas. Hermione's life will end then." Fate told him.

Harry pulsed his magic hard enough that objects around the room either exploded, burst into flames, or simply disintegrated. Fate watched him and hoped John had things under control on his end.

-x-x-x-x-x-

John stared out across the city as night fell. If only the people on the streets knew just how much danger they were in. If they knew that their world was teetering on the edge of destruction, they'd freak. His musing were cut short by the arrivial of the person he was waiting for.

"Well…look who shows up. You got a lot of nerve showing up here, Shepard." The man challenged him.

John sighed and glanced at him. The man was about five ten with close cut brown hair, green eyes, and a scar that ran from his left eyebrow to just below the eye. His clothes were simple. A black hoodie and dark blue jeans with black boots. To the unknowing, this man looked simply like such. A normal man. But to John, he was Sergeant Horner, former Afterlife Special Forces. John looked back over the city, not even bothered by the man's gruff stance.

"Now is not the time. This world is in danger."

The man blinked before he shrugged his shoulders.

"Why should I give a damn? You and your buddies fucked me over."

John shook his head.

"Let's not go there. I need your help."

The man grinned dangerously.

"Oh no. We'll go there. You want my help? I don't care. After what you did to me…damn, I never thought you'd be this stupid."

John snapped his gaze back to him and rose to his feet, raw energy pouring off of him.

"You think I wanted to judge you? You don't think I agreed with you about Hitler?"

"You should have let me go after that bastard! We knew he was receiving help from our realm! You knew! And yet you slammed the book on me! You stripped me of my rank, my status, and threw me here for ten thousand years! Why the fuck should I help you?" He demanded.

John had to restrain himself before he responded.

"It's Potter. Some one has edited the Tapestry to kill his soul mate. You remember the importance of that detail, don't you?"

Horner paused and turned serious.

"How bad?"

"She dies."

Horner shook his head.

"Then war is on the horizon. But…" He trailed off before smirking. "He can help us. If they take her, we have an avenue to attack. If what you're telling me is right, and based upon my own assumptions, Voldie is somehow connected to this, correct?"

John nodded.

"Yes. His soul shard escaped from containment when some idiot researcher decided it needed some fresh air."

Horner shook his head in disgust.

"And no guards were present. Great. So that taint can be upon anyone with level one security access. Just great." He paused and eyed John curiously. "What's the plan?"

John simply grinned darkly and began to lay out his idea.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Fate watched as Harry calmed down before speaking to him.

"Don't worry Harry. we're going to fight this. It may be harder than Hell to fight what is written on the tapestry, but it can be done."

Harry nodded and opened his mouth to speak before he heard the door open. He spun around and froze as Luna entered and stopped short. The long pause was eventually broken as Luna gave a smile to Fate.

"Hello future me."

Fate returned the smile.

"Hello past me."

"I guess what mum told us turned out to be true."

"Indeed."

Luna nodded and turned to Harry.

"Best of luck on your mission to correct everything Harry. I know you're in capable hands."

Harry blinked in confusion before turning back to Fate.

"What just happened?"

"Something that was supposed to happen anyway and nothing that concerns you. Now, you'll have to go find her later and ask what she wanted. But first, we have to make sure Hermione lives."

Harry nodded and bared his teeth.

"I'll storm the gates of Hell itself if they take her from me."

The evil grin on Fates face made Harry just a bit scared of her.

"That's just what I wanted to hear."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Any sign of the Reaper?"

A shadowy figure shook it's head, the hood of the robes covering the features of it's face.

"We can not find him. His is being hidden by a being more powerful than any of us."

The central figure nodded slowly, rubbing it's chin.

"If this is true, he will be aiding the Potter child. But we can not allow him to interfere in the course of fate."

"What of the true course of fate? Surely, allowing him to prevent the Granger's death would help us."

The central being chuckled.

"True, but alas, if it does not happen, the change in guard can not commence. This is something that is needed."

The figure next to the leader sighed.

"Your complex and bizarre plans make no sense half the time, yet the always come together for the best outcome in the end. We will follow your judgment, but please, next time, make a plan that does not sound like a badly written novel. Sometimes I wonder if we are nothing than characters in an elaborate story as well."

The figure chuckled.

"Something are better left unknown."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tome Riddle slowly looked around the room at his assembled Death Eaters, noting which ones seemed likely to enjoy this plan the most and his eyes landed right on Bellatrix. The Black wanted nothing more than to bed him, but he was repulsed by her advances. On top of that…she was just too damn crazy for even him, and that was saying something. Sure, he enjoyed the occasional torture, killing, maiming and such, but she took it to levels that made even his stomach protest. He pushed those thoughts aside and nodded his head as if confirming some stray thought.

"I have decided it is time to strike a blow at Potter, personally. If we find a target suitable enough, we can break his will. And if his will is broken, we can turn him." He glanced around the room and saw the surprised looks. "Think of the look on Dumbledore's face when Potter helps us to take the wizarding world! That will be the greatest blow to him and his ilk."

Around the table, a few of them nodded in understanding, while others seemed to still be wieging the pros and cons of such and action when Lucious rose to his feet. Riddle nodded briefly in his direction for the man to speak.

"My Lord. My son, Draco, has reported to me in several letters that Potter is currently dating the Muggleborn girl, Granger."

Riddle leaned foreword, smiling darkly.

"Tell me more."