None of the stuff you recognize from canon belongs to me. Pretty sure that's obvious. I won't be stating this again, as once per story should be more than enough. Now, on with the show!

Harry Potter's family was currently extremely demoralized.

Not the Dursleys. They don't factor into this.

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna all sat in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express on their way to their sixth (or in some cases fifth) year at school, trying to distract themselves. Ron and Neville were having a chess match as Hermione read a book, Shakespeare in place of a schoolbook, this time, while Luna went through an upside down issue of the Quibbler and Ginny munched on some Bertie Bott's beans.

The only sounds in the compartment were Ron and Neville's whispered commands to their pieces and the scrape of turning pages. Luna sighed as she glanced up at the others, eyes sad. They were all trying to avoid thinking about the circumstances of their sixth member after the events of the previous week. She closed her eyes to try to keep the tears from coming.

The events of the week before had been seared into her mind, and again, she couldn't keep from remembering.

Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys had just arrived in Diagon Alley. They'd left their school shopping late, the Order worried about their safety, and now only a week remained till school started again. As a consequence, they'd arrived when the Alley was at its most crowded, the place packed with people, all moving around with purpose despite the obvious tension in the air now that everybody knew Voldemort was back.

After promising Mrs. Weasley that they'd be careful, Harry, Ron and Hermione had gone their own way.

"Bloody hell, I can barely move…" Ron grunted as he forced himself between a couple of shoppers, trying to make it to Flourish and Blotts but being slowed by the crowds.

"It is pretty absurd." Hermione agreed, having more trouble than her slim companions due to her curvier figure and assets.

Harry, who was only a few steps behind Ron, grunted as he was practically shoulder checked into a shop window, once again cursing his short stature. He had really been hoping for a growth spurt by now, but it looked like it was not to be. He seemed to be destined to be the shortest boy in their year forever.

If the trio had been hoping for a respite once they reached the shop, they were sadly mistaken. While they could move more freely among the stacks of books, that really only meant that they could take slightly longer steps.

"For crying out loud, how are we supposed to get any shopping done like this?" Harry growled in irritation as the trio moved to the side in a section regarding household magic, which wasn't as trafficked by shoppers.

Ron ran a hand through his hair. "You got me. I'm afraid I'll hit someone in the face if I lift my arms."

"It is quite an ordeal, isn't it?" Came a dreamy voice from among the crowd.

Harry turned and smiled as a petite blonde made her way towards them, a thick book on runes in her arms. "Hello Luna. Good summer?"

Luna nodded happily as she stopped beside him. "Oh yes. Daddy and I had a marvelous time out on our magizoological expedition. I saw so many interesting creatures. I almost brought home a very pretty sort of butterfly that could change colors, but I decided to leave it where it was. I took pictures, though!"

"I look forward to seeing them later." Harry said, making Luna beam.

"Oh bloody hell…" Ron said before moving forward to help Neville out of the crowd, the no longer quite so portly boy breathing heavily and catching his breath after apparently almost being squeezed to death by the crowds.

"Thanks… huff… Ron…" He said with his hands on his knees.

Harry clapped a hand on Neville's shoulder. "How you been, mate? I should have written and asked before, but your gran wasn't too angry about your wand, was she? I'll pay for the replacement, if she wants."

Neville shook his head before looking at Harry with a smile. "Actually, she was really proud of me. Said I'd done something to bring honor to the family name. She was happy to buy me a new one." He brought his new wand out. "Thirteen inches, made of Cherry and with a Unicorn Hair core." He said proudly.

"It's very nice, Neville." Hermione said with a smile.

"Looks like the crowd's thinned out some." Ron said. "Let's hurry and grab our stuff while we can."

"Good idea. Then we can all go to Fortescue's for ice-cream, my treat." Harry said.

The group quickly gathered their books and brought them to the counter to be rung up by the harried attendant before heading back out into the crowded street. It was a relief when they finally made it to the ice cream parlor.

It took some time to find seats, but they managed to find a large enough table to seat all of them. They sat and enjoyed the brief reprieve from the crowds, and Luna was laughing madly at one of Ron's dumb jokes when Ginny came upon them and slumped into the last free seat at the table.

"Ugh, finally got away from mum." She stretched like a cat, making Harry and Neville look away with light blushes as the action made her budding breasts more prominent. Ron scowled at them, but was prevented from doing anything as she continued. "Geez, these crowds are horrible. It took almost forty minutes just to get me robes."

Hermione licked her spoon. "Yes, it is pretty annoying. We've only managed to go to get our books before Harry decided we needed ice cream."

"Like you're really complaining." Harry said with a smirk.

"So I guess you haven't gone to Fred and George's shop yet, then?" Ginny said.

Neville shook his head. "No, not yet. Did you?"

"I haven't gone in, but I saw the building. It's just like them, loud and obnoxious." She said with a giggle.

Ron snorted. "Shocking."

As they continued talking, Ginny getting some ice cream of her own, Luna noted the look on Harry's face as he watched them interact, a soft sort of smile. "Harry, what is it?"

"Hmm?" He glanced at Luna. "Just glad to be with my family again, that's all."

Luna was surprised, her eyes widening. "Family?"

Harry took a bite of his never melting ice cream as the group turned to him. "I had a lot of time to think while I was stuck at my relatives' house." He said. "After what happened at the Department of Mysteries, I had to take time to get my head on straight. I'd just lost Sirius, and even if I'm not entirely to blame, I do bear at least some guilt."

"Oh Harry…" Hermione murmured sadly.

"I found out through the Daily Prophet that he was innocent and your Godfather. I'm sorry, Harry." Neville said gently, prompting a soft smile from Harry.

"Thanks mate." He took another bite before continuing to talk. "I was thinking that I didn't have family left. My Aunt and Uncle don't count." Nobody said anything regarding the venom in his voice at the last words. They all had some small idea that Harry's home life wasn't exactly stellar, but only Ron had a real clue about it, remembering the bars on the window before their second year. "Then I had a sort of revelation prompted by the TV." He said with a small grin.

"The TV, Harry?" Hermione asked, surprised. She'd never really been one for television, preferring books, though she always had time for Doctor Who.

Harry tapped his finger against the table before continuing as everybody watched him intently. "'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.'" He quoted, voice pensive.

"Shakespeare." Hermione said, surprised. "Henry V."

Harry smiled as he nodded. "Yes. When I heard that on the telly…" He looked at his two best friends, a soft look in his emerald eyes. "After everything we've gone through, Ron and Hermione are closer to me than anyone else. We've done things you wouldn't believe together. Seen wonders and horrors. They are my brother and sister."

Hermione teared up at his words, and Ron became a bit choked up as well, the tips of his ears red as he looked away.

Then Harry turned his gaze to the others. "But a few months ago, you all willingly came with me to the Ministry, despite knowing we'd end up in a fight. You fought by my side, and all of you got hurt. So I realized…" He offered them all a soft smile. "I apparently have more siblings than I thought."

Luna stared at Harry, slightly shocked, while Ginny bit her lip, blushing terribly, and Neville couldn't help but straighten his back in sheer pride.

"Thank you for being at my side, guys." Harry said, his smile widening at their reactions.

Luna offered him a slightly tremulous smile. "Any time… Big Brother."

The group went silent after that, all lost in their thoughts, but feeling a closer bond than they had before.

Which, of course, is when the sounds of multiple apparition cracks rang out, followed by the unmistakable boom of an explosion and the chorus of people screaming.

The group immediately jumped to their feet and moved towards the windows, wands in their hands. Ron groaned. "Really? They had to pick bloody today?"

"Voldemort is way too good at fucking up my day." Harry groused as well. "Seriously, he needs a damn hobby."

"What's the plan, Harry?" Ginny asked as she watched people desperately try to get away, the density of the crowd working against them, offering the dozen Death Eaters a perfect target rich environment.

"Stay in cover, survival is a priority, but beyond that don't hold back. Use every non-lethal option you've got to put them down. We can't afford to play around like we did in the Ministry. Try to take and/or destroy their wands if possible. They'll be useless without them." He took a breath before shaking his head. "I should have focused more on combat scenarios and practical applications in the DA rather than just teach spells."

"Well, you can adjust your lesson plans accordingly for next year." Neville said, gripping his new wand tightly. "Are we ready?"

They all tensed before Harry whispered "Go, go, go" as he dashed out, flipping one of the outdoor tables onto its side and ducking behind it, aiming his wand at the nearest Death Eater, who had a woman under the Cruciatus, laughing. He launched a bludgeoning spell at him and watched, satisfied as it impacted the man's arm, breaking it and making him cry out in pain, his wand dropping from his fingers.

Ginny, who was kneeling beside him, launched her infamous Bat-Bogey Hex, making a Death Eater shriek in surprise as his mask was knocked off by the gigantic wings emerging from his nose, revealing Crabbe Sr., who flailed about as he panicked trying to get them off.

Several of the Death Eaters turned towards the defending students, and the group could tell that they were surprised to encounter resistance. That didn't stop one of the masked wizards from launching an ugly orange spell at them which barely missed Neville as he dashed across the alley to take cover in a shop's entryway.

Luna launched her hare patronus from behind another table to harass the enemy, who couldn't do anything to get rid of it as it darted about, even though a couple stupidly launched spells at it. Crouched beside her, Ron launched blasting curses at the floor underneath the Death Eaters, hoping to make them lose their balance or, even better, break their legs. It caused the enemy some issues as they had to keep dodging.

Hermione was in the ice cream shop's doorway, most of her form hidden from view, as she stuck out her wand and launched a barrage of esoteric spells which the Death Eaters had trouble defending against, one of them, a woman for once, dropping to the ground as she let out some rather inappropriate moaning, her hips moving suggestively. Harry and Ron couldn't help briefly glancing at Hermione with raised eyebrows, to which she simply blushed and shrugged.

The group wasn't having it all their way, however. More Death Eaters turned from the random mayhem they were causing to focus on the opposition now that a lot of the shoppers had run away. Their cover was slowly being destroyed as the dark wizards launched far more damaging spells than the students could. So Harry made a decision. "Neville, Hermione, focus on defense and covering the rest of us! We'll stay on offense!"

The group immediately shifted tactics, Neville and Hermione focusing on using shielding spells and levitating debris into the path of various spells. This allowed Harry, Ron, Luna and Ginny to focus on attacking, their offensive spells coming faster now that they didn't have to worry about protecting themselves as much.

Eventually Harry caught sight of something that made his eyes narrow. A stocky Death Eater was emerging from Ollivander's store, the elderly wand maker being dragged along.

Harry didn't know what Voldemort wanted with the man, but he wasn't going to let them take him without a fight. He whispered to his cover companion. "Ginny, shift your focus on the Death Eater in the back with Ollivander with me. We need to get him free and give him a chance to escape. Once he gets away from the Death Eater's grip, focus on protecting him from any spellfire while I resume the attack."

Ginny nodded and after a moment the two shifted focus to aim at the enemy holding Ollivander, launching a blistering assault of spells at him.

The Death Eater was caught by surprise and quickly fell to the assault, his grip on the old man breaking as he dropped to the ground, various undesirable effects on his body.

"RUN!" Harry yelled at him, and Ollivander didn't need to be told twice, moving away as fast as he could while Ginny protected him from errant spells.

"Damn you, you mudbloods and blood traitors!" A Death Eater screamed as he saw his objective escaping, unable to follow due to the group's assault. He snarled out a spell, and the debris around them suddenly shifted into stone animals that attacked Harry and his friends.

The group immediately had to shift to defend themselves against wolves, snakes, bears and other golems that were coming in to maul them. They managed to destroy the various constructs, but this meant that the Death Eaters had managed to move into a more advantageous position, making the fight harder.

Harry was desperately trying to think of what to do, and wondering there the hell the aurors were, his eyes darting around the alley for something he could use. His eyes stopped at the sight of a group of Death Eaters beside a store that sold premade potions and his mind clicked with an idea. "Neville, see that potions shop?" He asked.

Neville glanced at it, seeing into it from his angle, seeing bubbling cauldrons full of liquids of various colors. "Yeah?"

Harry's eyes glinted. "Imagine you're in Potions with Snape, and he's right behind you, watching you."

Neville shuddered, but he got the idea after a few moments. Immediately he aimed his wand and concentrated, murmuring under his breath. Unseen by the Death Eaters, cauldrons in the shop began to levitate, pouring their contents into other cauldrons, causing various reactions. Neville kept this up for several minutes, his muttering growing faster as the Death Eaters started gaining ground in the fight without him helping. Finally, the reaction he was hoping for happened, and one of the cauldrons exploded violently, causing a chain reaction in the store.

One of the Death Eaters only had time to glance at the sound of the explosion when a blast of multicolored fire blasted out of the shop, sending him and his fellows flying, slamming into the other shops and onto the ground several yards away from where they'd been. Later the aurors would find the Death Eaters suffering from a variety of maladies, from boils to burns. They would not be having a fun time.

With over half of their number down, things were looking bad for the Death Eaters, especially as they hadn't managed to inflict more than some minor wounds on their opponents. An embarrassment, considering they were dealing with school children. They were just about to portkey away when the tide changed yet again.

There was a softer than usual crack of apparition, and everything stopped as Voldemort arrived on the scene. He turned to his followers before speaking softly, his high pitched voice dangerous. "Why have you not returned yet?" His red eyes traveled along them, lingering on the fallen. "Where is Ollivander? And who have you been fighting? The aurors should have been delayed enough for you to be able to accomplish your mission without any trouble." Abruptly he turned, quick as a striking snake, to parry a piercing spell aimed at his back, his eyes narrowed as the landed on the half standing form of Harry, who's wand was aimed at him. "Ah, why am I not surprised? Hello Harry."

"Tom…" He said, eyes serious even as Voldemort's nostrils flared at the use of his true name. "I've got to ask, do you have any hobbies? Normal hobbies, I mean? Because ruining my day all the time isn't a valid use of your time."

"Laugh all you want, Harry, but soon I will be more powerful than I ever was before." Voldemort said silkily.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Really? What, did you find a TARDIS? Maybe a Death Star?"

"I have no idea what you're prattling on about, boy. No, I've entered into a lucrative partnership. I've already received a, how shall I put it… a down payment. Once the rest of the deal goes into effect in a a few weeks, not even that old fool Dumbledore will be able to stand against me." Voldemort said with a sick smile, eyes glinting malevolently. As Harry made to speak, eyes furrowed, he continued. "Not that it'll matter to you and your little friends, Harry." He raised his wand at Harry, who immediately went on the attack.

"GUYS, RUN!" Harry yelled as he launched a desperate barrage of spells at Voldemort to buy his friends time to escape, each one being parried effortlessly.

"Like hell!" Ron snarled as he took aim at a Death Eater who was aiming for Harry. The Death Eater, caught by surprise, dropped with a scream as his wand burst into splinters, mangling his hand.

The others attacked as well, keeping the Death Eaters off of Harry while he tried to hold Voldemort off long enough for help to arrive.

Harry knew Voldemort was toying with him. He was tiring after fighting this battle for so long, and Voldemort barely even seemed to register his attacks. He'd learned to avoid the brother wand effect by simply batting away the spells rather than launch any of his own. Harry knew that he'd attack the moment the opportunity to do so without activating that effect presented itself, though.

Finally, a series of pops rang out from the opposite end of the alley, revealing a mass of aurors with wands at the ready. One of them cried out "Bloody hell, it's You-Know-Who!"

Voldemort frowned. "It seems it's time for this game to end, Harry." He shifted his aim and launched a spell at Ginny, who had stood slightly to better aim at a Death Eater.

Harry didn't have time to think. He grabbed Ginny and flung her away with all his strength, the spell catching him in the arm. He was promptly launched through the air, crying out when his shoulder dislocated as he was pulled by it towards Voldemort like a fish on a line.

Voldemort grinned darkly as Harry landed at his feet, wandless after dropping it during his flight thanks to the pain. "So predictable, Harry…" He reached down and grabbed Harry, pulling him up slightly with surprising strength before turning to the mass of aurors, who Harry could see included several Order members like Tonks and Kingsley. "Well then, it's been fun, but I must go. I didn't get my original target, but…" He hefted Harry higher. "This seems like a fitting replacement." He laughed, and before anybody would react, he disapparated with Harry in tow, the conscious Death Eaters following suit, leaving only the unconscious and incapacitated ones.

Neville was shaking as he stepped out into the open, seeing the girls' shock slowly turn into tears. Ron dropped onto his ass, looking disbelieving.

"Bloody hell…"

Luna was shaken out of her thoughts as the train began to slow, indicating they were arriving at Hogsmeade. She folded up her paper and put it away in her bag before following her friends out, sticking close to Ginny.

The group walked under the stormy clouds to the thestral drawn carriages, lightning crackling though no rain was falling. They could hear Hagrid's voice calling for the first years, trying to be upbeat for them, yet not sounding like he was managing it.

Silently they all got into a carriage together, feeling it begin to move once the door was shut. Luna looked out the window, her eyes taking in the welcoming sight of Hogwarts, standing firm against the threatening storm, a bastion guarding those who sought its protection. Her leaden heart felt slightly lighter.

It was with reluctance that she went to the Ravenclaw table, wishing she could stay with her friends. But she knew that she had to sit with her house for the Opening Feast.

She did notice she was getting strange looks from her housemates, however. They were glancing at her with curiosity and something else, which it took her a bit to realize was respect. Apparently the news that she had fought not only in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries but the fight in Diagon Alley had had changed some people's opinions of her.

She shrugged it off. While it was nice to think that her school experience might be improving, it felt empty without Harry around.

The Sorting went by without incident, Luna clapping at the appropriate moments, and the food was delicious as always, but it was when Dumbledore stood to make his normal start of term announcements that things went wrong.

"I want to welcome everybody back to Hogwarts for another year of learning." The aged Headmaster set his hands on the table in front of him. "I know that many of you feel fear and apprehension in these dark times, especially due to… recent events." His gaze flicked to the Gryffindor table, which had been despondent all evening, nothing like its usual boisterous self. "No matter what, we must remember that even in the darkest nights, the dawn is always-" He was interrupted by the students starting to scream at something behind him, making him whirl around with his wand out and at the ready.

Projected on the wall of the hall behind the teachers' table, like a muggle cinema screen, Voldemort leered down at them all with a smirk, a group of masked Death Eaters standing silently behind him. "Hello, Hogwarts."

"Voldemort." Dombledore glowered as the other teachers gathered around him, wands at the ready. "What are you doing?"

Voldemort's smirk widened, his red eyes glinting malevolently. "Well Albus, I wanted to contact you all and share some news you will all no doubt be overjoyed to hear. But first, we should wait for our guests, shouldn't we?"

"Guests?" Dumbledore asked, only to turn, wand at the ready, as the doors to the Great Hall opened, admitting Amelia Bones and a group of aurors, who stopped in their tracks at the sight of the projection of Voldemort on the wall.

"Albus." Bones began. "I suppose this is the emergency you owled my department about?"

"That was my doing, actually. I thought the prospective Minister should be present for this." Voldemort said, still looking sadistically gleeful.

"Present for what, exactly?" Dumbledore asked calmly, though his eyes were like chips of ice.

Voldemort spread his arms wide. "Rejoice, Hogwarts, for your savior, Harry Potter, is alive!"

There were gasps throughout the hall, and Luna felt hope bloom in her chest. She glanced to see Hermione on the verge of tears, Ron gripping her shoulder.

Then Voldemort continued, and Luna felt that faint ember of hope almost gutter out completely.

"…And now, you all will see him –die-." The monster said with a sick grin on his pale lips, prompting screams and cries of denial.

"What've ye done!" Hagrid roared.

Voldemort laughed. "I decided that, as satisfying as killing him myself would be, I would much rather the insolent little brat die in fear and agony." He leered down at Dumbledore. "I left him in a certain castle in Transylvania."

Dumbledore wasn't the only one to pale at that news. McGonagall spoke up in disbelief. "That place has been lost for centuries! If the governments of the world knew its location, an army of wizards and magically aware muggle troops would march on it immediately!"

"I was able to find it, after carefully searching and following clues. Nothing is impossible for someone such as Lord Voldemort." He grinned. "Now, you will all get to see the last moments of that wretched little thorn in my side. I have placed a monitoring charm on him so we can see every instant of his demise." He chuckled darkly. "Please, enjoy."

Voldemort's image disappeared, replaced by something else. "Harry!" Hermione screamed.

Indeed, it was Harry. He sat in what looked like a cell, similar to what there was in the deepest of Hogwarts' dungeons, except for the fact that this cell had a high window that let moonlight in.

Harry was sitting on the ground, back against a corner, eyeing the heavy wooden door warily. His clothing was tattered, and his limbs gave an occasional involuntary twitch. Despite the babble of voices in the hall it wasn't hard to hear Pomphrey mention Cruciatus exposure. It made Luna feel sick.

Several people, including Ron and Ginny, tried calling out to Harry, but it was obvious he couldn't hear them. This experience was one way only.

For over ten minutes everybody watched the screen, waiting for whatever Voldemort had planned to come to pass. The teachers had half-heartedly tried getting the students to leave, but not even the first years moved from their seats, and the effort was abandoned. Bones was in a furious discussion with Dumbledore and the other teachers, all of them glancing at the screen constantly.

Everything stopped when the door to Harry's cell rattled. Everybody turned to stare as Harry got up, his eyes wary as his muscles tensed, ready for anything. There were gasps as the door opened and a figure entered, followed by several screams as they saw what it was.

An animated skeleton entered the room. Its gait was slow and ponderous as it entered before turning its eye sockets towards, a baleful fire in them that glared at Harry with obvious malevolence.

The Hogwarts denizens watched as Harry tensed, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the skeleton. They held their breaths as the two glared at each other before the skeleton suddenly launched itself at Harry, its taloned hands reached out to rip into Harry.

Harry dodged, having obvious trouble due to whatever Voldemort had done to him, but he turned and swung his fist at the thing's skull, making it rock back. "Fuck!" He yelled in pain from striking hard bone with his bare fist, the first word they heard from him since the projection began, but took the opportunity to run out of the cell.

He was in a hallway lit by guttering torches and high windows, full of doors to more cells. The sounds of movement were all around him, and several of the doors rattled. Harry's eyes were zipping around as they tried to find a way out.

"Alright, Potter, think, which way is the exit?" He snarled to himself before one of the doors banged open, something growling menacingly from within the darkness. "…Nope." He turned in the opposite direction and began to run like hell.

About a minute or so later the students screamed when Harry almost slammed headfirst against a zombie in samurai armor, of all things, dripping blood and shambling forward with a katana in its hand, which had been around the corner he'd just taken. It raised it arm and brought the sword down on a frantically backpedaling Harry, who was cursing loudly, the chipped blade becoming further damaged as it struck the stone floor.

Hearing more movement from behind him Harry took a breath and stepped forward with a kick, slamming his foot against the walking corpse's wrist. It let go of the sword and Harry quickly dove down to grab the blood slick hilt before scrambling back to his feet and beginning to run around the zombie, which flailed as it tried to catch him.

Once he was around another corner he looked down at his new weapon. "Not a wand, but definitely better than nothing."

Hermione moaned in fear. Her fingernails close to carving furrows in her cheeks. "Harry, you don't know how to use a sword…"

"He's got to use something, Hermione." Dean said from where he sat, eyes riveted on the scene in front of him.

"Besides, he used a sword in the Chamber." Ginny pointed out.

Harry continued running, trying to find a way out of whatever prison he was in. He came across another zombie, this one unarmed and unarmored, dressed solely in rags. Harry, rather clumsily, swung his sword at its neck with a grunt of effort. The blade cut through the rotting flesh with only moderate difficulty, and surprisingly for an already dead thing, a large amount of blood sprayed out, some hitting Harry in the face, prompting some curses from several students and a couple of aurors.

Harry pulled the sword free as the monster dropped to the ground, its head rolling away, and tried to wipe his face clean with his ragged sleeve. "For the love of… Why can't things be easy for once?"

As Harry tried to at least clear his vision, several students started crying out as they saw something moving behind Harry that he hadn't noticed. They desperately tried to get his attention even though they knew it was futile.

It was luck that saved him. The figure's feet scraped the floor as it pounced at Harry, and he managed to whirl around after hearing it in time to bring his arms up as the thing crashed against him, forcing him back a step.

It was a small humanoid that would barely come up to Harry's knees. Its eyes were red, and bulging with madness, spittle drooling from its lips as it shrieked madly, trying to gauge out his eyes with small, clawed fingers.

"Gerrof me, you little bastard!" Harry growled as he tried to protect himself, finally managing to launch the little monster away. He picked up the sword and swung it like a baseball bat at the monster, which was flying through the air towards his face in a prodigious jump considering its size. The sword crashed into the little beast and bit deeply into its body before launching it against the wall.

Harry panted as he caught his breath, eyeing the small form warily to make sure it didn't move again. "Alright, seriously, where the bloody fuck did Voldemort dump me?"

After a minute to catch his breath her resumed running. He could see a large door at the far end of the corridor he was currently in and began making his way to it, only to yelp as something small struck the stone in front of him from another hallway intersecting his own. He moved into cover before peering around the corner, seeing a trio of skeletal figures with what looked like early nineteenth century muskets in their hands.

"What are those things they're holding?" A Hufflepuff pureblood student asked.

"They're guns." A nearby Ravenclaw said, frowning. "They launch small pieces of metal with a lot of force, piercing through flesh and some armor."

Harry, everybody saw, quickly had to pull his head back as it was almost shot off. The skeleton that had just shot reloaded its weapon as the other two kept their own leveled with inhuman steadiness.

Harry took a breath. "Alright, no choice but to try. You can do this…" Getting ready to run he tensed before dashing towards the other wall of the hallway. A trio of shots rang out, and the students gasped as he cried out in pain, though he didn't stop till he was back in safety.

"Oh god, where was he hit!?" Hermione asked almost hysterically.

Harry reached down and groaned as he felt the rip in his pants, which had a bit of blood, but nothing serious. "Whew, just a scratch…" The he frowned and shouted back down the hallway. "Did you seriously just shoot me in the ass!?"

There was some startled laughter in the Great Hall, the students not expecting something so humorous to happen in this situation. Everybody watched as Harry continued walking, grumbling to himself and approaching the door.

Inside was a decently furnished room, nothing high class, but utilitarian. It was the large window with a balcony that drew Harry's attention though. He quickly opened it and stepped out before gasping, as did almost the entirety of those watching.

Harry could now see he was in a high tower of a castle bigger than Hogwarts by far. By the light of the full moon he could see a large wall surrounding what looked like a medieval city on the castle's grounds, a large lake partly within the perimeter. Beyond that he could see that he was in a valley surrounded by mountains.

The room he was in was higher in the air than the Hogwarts Astronomy tower, and looking up he found he was only about three quarters of the way up the entire height of the castle. The entire place emanated an air of darkness and mystery.

Harry stared around before sighing. "Great. Something tells me getting out of here won't be so easy…"

He looked up as something monstrous flew by, obscuring the light of the moon.

"…Fuck."

Welcome to my new fic. As should be obvious, this story won the poll for what I should write next. Never fear though, the others will eventually get at least first chapters as well.

I meant to have this out by Friday, but work, laziness and procrastination took their toll, so this is this week's story. Brightest will be updated next week.

So, some things to point out about this story. The concept of Harry being stuck in Castlevania is actually an unused idea for the beginning of Brightest in Shadow. It was this, or Silent Hill. I decided on Silent Hill because it would have a bit more long-term impact in how it affects Harry personally and psychologically. Not to mention a trip through Drac's place would take longer than SH did.

However, I found this idea too good to just drop, so I added the concept of Harry being watched as he tries to survive and added some more planned events for him to endure. More bosses, etc.

So, in light of that, I do want to let you all know that this story will have some similarities with the Silent Hill portion of Brightest. Again, they were, after all, both being considered, and they would have had similar roles. The power of trapped souls will be one of them. That said, it will still be its own separate thing, with just as many differences as similarities. It's not as dark, for one thing. This is more of a horror themed action romp, as Castlevania should be. Too bad Konami forgot that.

Fuck Konami. I feel that needs to be said. I kickstarted Bloodstained for a reason.

Honestly not sure how I'll do with the audience aspect of the story. It's something experimental. I've always wanted to do one of those fics where characters read their books and such, so this will be an interesting experience. Hope it goes well.

I think that's all I needed to say. Hope you enjoyed, and please review.

Oh yeah, forgot to say, I have decided that this fic's theme song shall be Indestructible by Disturbed. Take that as you will.