Children of the Night Part 1: The Book of Death

Chapter 1: The Fall of The Dark Lord

by Polydicta

Summary:

Harry seeks revenge after Hermione is killed, but finds that they have both undergone a life-changing event. Violence, blood, character death, normal marital relations, necromantic themes. ON HIATUS.

This story is on PERMANENT HIATUS - that is, until I feel inspired to add anything more to it. I know where I want it to go but lack the inspiration or the drive to get there. I'm hoping that the guilt of leaving everyone hanging will motivate me … or something.

Disclaimer:

All fiction is derivative and fan fiction doubly so. I make no claim to own any part of any of the following, all I have done is an attempt to put together the elements in a novel fashion, using words and ideas like Lego ™ bricks.

There is no money involved – all I do is to share what I do for my own amusement.

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Children of the Night Part 1: The Book Of Death

Chapter 1: The fall of The Dark Lord

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1. The Department of Mysteries.

It was dark in the Hall of Prophesies, but Harry saw the Death Eater make a slashing motion with his wand, releasing a gout of purple flame that hit Hermione.

She fell, and Harry's mind froze …

Neville said, "there's a pulse," and Harry's mind unfroze. He was once more able to fight.

His friends didn't notice him using more powerful hexes, all of a sudden. Dolohov wouldn't be harming anyone again in a hurry, not with a broken neck, anyway.

"Hermione, come back to me, please. Come back…"

Picking up the two dropped wands, he lifted his friend, carrying her to the exit, and into the rotating chamber. The students ducked into one of the rooms they hadn't tried yet. There was some kind of a portal there, a squat gateway of some glistening, grey material, not metal and yet not quite stone. A tunnel about two meters through by about the same high and wide surrounded by a massive … grey … frame.

They looked, there didn't seem to be anything in the aperture, they went around the back, avoiding passing through, hoping to hide behind the thick uprights of the pylon. It was covered in low-relief carvings, hieroglyphs and esoteric symbols that seemed to hint at impressions of memories of meanings just out of reach.

They were out of sight. Lucius Malfoy entered just as Hermione let out a gasp of pain.

Malfoy smiled thinly and moved to the right, sufficient to see Hermione's dangling feet.

"Accio Potter's prophecy!"

Harry felt himself dragged by the glass globe, trapped inside his robe between Hermione's body and his own. As he was catapulted through the gateway, the globe ripped free and smashed against Malfoy's face.

Harry felt as though he was floating, the journey through the gateway seemed to take forever. He thought he had lost consciousness.

.

There was darkness around him, the blue velvet darkness of a desert night sky. He was stood on a dark surface. Suddenly he was surrounded by a blue-white light. There was a flash of pain in his scar that was gone even as he felt it.

"Your friend is dying. What would you have us do?"

"Can you heal her? It is my fault that she has been hurt. I don't want her to die. I couldn't live if she died."

"And what will you give for her life?"

There was no hesitation. "Anything."

"Even your own life?"

"Yes, even that."

He felt Hermione taken from him. He could see her some way off, stood in her own pool of light.

Then she was beside him again.

"The prophesy you were given is a poor reflection of your first task. You have changed and the world about you also.

"Your ultimate destiny is unchanged, though you can neither complete it alone. Together you may yet triumph. Regardless, your destiny will consume your lives.

"We gift you the power that you shall require, but be warned that donning the mantle of power will change you both in ways you may find … distasteful. Once accepted, either way, your payment will be made."

There was a flash of light that seemed to turn dark into dazzle.

"Go! Hunt well and tread always the path that your heart tells you is right. Ammnn-RA!"

They landed in front of the still blinded Malfoy.

Harry kneed him in the groin. When he fell, a booted foot caught him behind the ear and they heard a stomach-turning crunch. Harry stooped and took the death eater's wand.

"Harry, are you alright?"

"Yeah, we're okay, guys. Malfoy's dead, or at least, seriously brain-damaged."

The others emerged.

"Hermione, you're okay!"

"Um, something happened going through the gateway, but … "

"… we're not really sure what."

Neville said, "They're fine if they're still completing each other's sentences."

.

They tried the next door and found themselves in yet another chamber, this containing a vast and ancient stone arch stood on a naked rock. The scene seemed to be illuminated by an otherworldly glow. There was a veil of pale light rippling across the opening and they could all hear the distant whispering of voices.

"Ooooh, guys! This is … they want me to go to them …"

"It's alright Ron. It's nothing, just something a bit weird."

"If you say so … I feel … they're coming …"

There were a series of thunderclaps as the remaining Death Eaters apparated into the chamber.

Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny were captured before anyone could react. Bellatrix Lestrange was cackling and crowing.

Suddenly, "where's Lucius?"

Harry said, "dead. Same as your friend Dolohov."

"You filthy half-blood scum!"

She launched a curse at Harry, who simply dodged the glowing magic.

"Where's the prophesy?"

"Gone. It was destroyed. Want to hear it?"

"Yes! Give it us or watch your friends die."

"Fine. Here you go then."

"Don't give it to them, Harry!"

"No, it doesn't matter. Your lives are more important than the inane ramblings of some half-mad seer. They've worked hard to get it, they've won. They may as well know…"

Harry cleared his throat.

"Har … no!"

"Hermione, yes…

Harry's voice became dreamy as he tried to recall the prophecy.

"The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches … born to those that have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the dark lord will mark him as his master… and the dark lord must die at the hand of the other for the one may not yet live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …"

There were a series of pops and crashes as further apparators arrived. Harry and Hermione recognised members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry's friends were suddenly free of their captors. Bellatrix was immediately on the rock with her wand under Harry's chin.

"I'm going to kill you and then I'm going to play with your mudblood friend here …"

"Get away from my God-son!"

Sirius landed a punch on the woman's jaw.

"Sirius!"

"You've done wonderfully, now let us take it from …"

Hermione blocked a stunner from Bellatrix, interrupting Sirius' speech.

Two more Death Eaters joined her and a fire-fight ensued, Harry and Hermione fighting alongside Sirius. Two of the Death Eaters were down as Bellatrix started to cast the killing curse.

"Avadr …"

Harry stamped forward with his left foot, pointing his wand. "Ptah!"

Rings of pale light leapt from his wand.

"…a Kavadra!"

Bellatrix's curse impacted one wall of the chamber as she impacted the other with a sound like a massive insect being crushed. The way she landed said that she hadn't survived.

"Nice one, Harry! What was it?"

"Egyptian banishing hex."

Together they left the chamber, the Death Eaters being bound and levitated. Unnoticed, Harry had accio'd Bellatrix's wand. He also surreptitiously annexed the other Death-Eater's wands. For some reason, he felt they might be useful.

There were the sounds of retreating footsteps running from the chamber.

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1.2 The Dark Lord

Once in the Ministry Atrium, they were confronted by a slit-nosed, black robed figure.

"You were foolish to come here, Harry Potter. You should learn the difference between what is real and what are dreams. You are weak, and you will die."

"Not as weak as you, Tom Riddle."

The phoenix wand flicked as Voldemort cast "crucio!"

"Pa!" Harry's left hand was held in a gesture of denial.

The curse crackled on the surface of his shield. The Dark Lord's eyes widened and then became slit-like.

"You have learned. We will duel."

There was a flare of green from one of the fire-places, and Dumbledore stepped into the chamber.

"It was foolish of you to come here tonight, Tom."

With a gesture, the Headmaster banished the people in the atrium to the relative safety of the edges of the chamber and duelled with the Dark Lord.

Eventually, Voldemort knew that he was outclassed and disappeared. Harry was suddenly wracked with pain as Voldemort began an assault on his mind.

"Harry …?"

Dumbledore was kneeling, looking into the red eyes of the boy.

"You will lose, old man…"

Somehow Harry managed to wrench his thoughts back to his life, his friends … friends … family … the gentle words and looks …

Then he saw Hermione, looking on, eyes huge and with tears in her eyes. Hermione mouthed the word Harry?

Harry Potter remembered the looks and the hugs and the closeness with Hermione, his best friend in all the world, and more than a friend. Harry embraced what he had become, and his feelings for those around him. Harry Potter, the weak, abused child was consigned to the past. Harry Potter the well-loved young man took his place.

There was an unearthly scream, and a black cloud burst from Harry's body, coalescing into Voldemort's form.

Dumbledore immediately started casting hexes at Voldemort who defended himself, the dazed teen forgotten behind him.

.

Green flames flared as people started arriving in the atrium.

Fudge simply said, "he's back …"

"Avada kavadra!"

Green flared from behind Voldemort and the Dark Lord collapsed, the sick, green light of the curse dancing over him like foxfire. Harry was stood behind, with his wand pointing at where Voldemort had stood, the green light flickering along his scar.

At Harry's feet, the dark lord slowly changed, turning into a pool of snake-venom with a few streaks of teen blood, a severed hand and a few dry and decaying bones.

"No, Minister, he's finally gone forever."

.

The fact that one of the captured death eaters turned out to be Peter Pettigrew meant that, suddenly, Sirius was a free man, bailed from custody until the Department for Magical Law Enforcement could complete their investigation. A series of pensieve and veritas serum testimonies ensured his release.

Back at Hogwarts, the Ministry Six were being checked over by Madam Pomfrey.

"There is something strange about this, Mr Potter. My readings don't tally with anything on your records … Nor do Miss Granger's …"

"We did have some rather strange experiences while we were in the Ministry. It would be fair to say that we've all changed, learned. We've all grown up a bit, I guess."

"Poppy, if I may?"

Dumbledore brought out what he referred to as his soul analyser. The puffs of magical smoke were white, or almost so.

"Well, Harry, it would seem that the darkness that was infecting your soul has gone. It would seem that Lord Voldemort has, indeed, gone forever."

.

Harry turned to Hermione. "Hermione, now that Tom's finally gone … well, I've liked you for ages and ages, I mean, not as a friend but … umm, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd really, really like you to be my girlfriend and, umm … maybe even more?"

The girl who had believed that Harry would never want to see her as more than a friend was speechless.

Harry was about to apologise for being a prat when he was engulfed in a seriously bone-crushing hug. He captured her lips with his own. Oblivious to the world, they never heard Madam Pomfrey or Dumbledore leaving.

.

1.3 Thereafter

Ron, after being attacked by the psychovores, decided to not return the following autumn. In an attempt to purge his mind of the after-effects of the attack, he started drawing and then painting his nightmarish dreams. He discovered in himself a talent for painting these strange and alien scenes, and was soon in demand as an artist in both the muggle and magical worlds.

The following two years were blissful for Harry and Hermione. Without Voldemort or Ron's distractions, Harry had found himself enjoying his studies. By the time that NEWTs came around, Harry had caught up with Hermione in everything, including arithmancy and ancient runes.

Their sixth year was served as prefects and their seventh as head boy and girl. Harry, of course, continued as quiddich captain for those two years.

In the August after they graduated from school, the pair were married in a wonderful ceremony on the lawns of Hogwarts. Later that day, in a very private ceremony at an ancient, sacred well, far inside the forest, they underwent the oldest form of marriage rites in the world.

Harry was accepted onto the auror training program at the same time that Hermione became a researcher in the Department of Mysteries.

Harry, having learned the art of studying and with his experiences, completed the three year training inside eighteen months, and progressed immediately to the advanced course. Three years after leaving school, Harry was finally on the job he always wanted, and he was rapidly acknowledged as one of the best aurors on the force for many years.

At the same time, Hermione had progressed to the point where she was heading up the special projects division and was, in all but name, an Unspeakable.

Their home, Grimmauld Place had been renovated by them, Sirius, Harry, Hermione, Remus and Tonks had redecorated, renovated and, in the case of certain features, removed. Kreacher had died, at last, doing what he enjoyed best – complaining.

Kreacher was replaced by Dobby and Winky. The two elves had come to accept their freedom, but needed to be with a family. Harry surprised his wife by allowing the elves to bind themselves, but he changed the form.

"I accept the binding of the two elves, Dobby and Winky, to House Potter as members of the family. Welcome Dobby Potter and Winky Potter."

The two creatures were overjoyed, but unexpected changes came over them during the next several months.

.

"Potter!"

"Yeah, Shack?"

"Bones wants to see you. Drop everything."

Harry blinked and put his paperwork down. "Okay, Shack, any guesses?"

The dark-skinned chief auror grinned and shook his head. "Promotion or a reaming, I'd guess."

.

"Madam Bones? Hermione!"

"Come in, Mr Potter. Mrs Potter and Mr Croaker need to discuss something with you. Now, before I let them have you, I will tell you that your record has been exemplary, and I will support your decision in this, whatever you decide. Now, since I don't have clearance for this, I will leave and I'll see you shortly."

The monocled head of Magical Law Enforcement left.

"What…?"

Hermione smiled. "Mr Coaker is here to make an offer, Harry. We need your particular skills."

.

Half an hour later, the three of them left the office.

"Suzy, could you thank Amelia for us. Harry needs to see her after he clears his desk."

.

"Shack?"

The auror looked up.

"It was a promotion and a transfer. I'm not allowed to discuss it, but it is effective from lunch time, so I'm here to clear my desk."

"That urgent? Well, congratulations, Harry. We'll miss you, but it is starting to get slow here. Don't forget to look in whenever you're in the area."

"I will do. I'll need to liaise anyway. I can tell you that I'm going to be based in the building."

"Damn, ninth floor and below?"

Harry just looked him in the eye.

"Fair enough. They have their own canteen down there." He grinned.

.

"Hi all!"

"Good evening Harry, Hermione. Good day at work?"

"Hi Dobby. Not bad. Harry's had a promotion. He's working with me now."

Winky appeared with a gentle pop.

"Congratulations, Harry."

"Hi Winky, how you feeling?"

Winky grinned. "Brilliant thanks."

"And the little one?"

The elf put her hand to her round belly. "Kicking. I think he's going to be a footballer."

.

The following months were filled with training for Mr and Mrs Potter as they learned how to work as a special operations team.

"Harry, why are you picking them off one at a time?"

"Target practice, 'Mione. Are we on a schedule?"

Hermione nodded. "Table reservation's at seven. It's half four now."

"Okay."

He stood and cast a series of banishing and engorgement charms on a handful of pebbles. There were seventeen puffs of dust as seventeen animated mummies were dispatched.

They went and examined the next door, removing the hexes and curses in short order.

Once the doors were opened, further traps were rapidly disarmed and the tomb declared safe. They left to make their report.

.

"Right, graduation time. One last test, straight pass or fail. This is an international portkey, it'll take you into South America. There is a site that needs opening and evidence of magic removing. Any special-knowledge artefacts to be transferred out when you return."

After fetching their field packs, they grabbed the parchment and left.

Two days later, dirty and covered with cuts and bruises, they returned.

"Hi Crock. Here's the goodies. Some are pretty dark and some are just unusual. Site's clear and fit for muggle tourists. Paperwork with the Peruvian Ministry is all dealt with."

Harry placed a shrunken trunk on the desk, Hermione placed their report on top.

"Okay, go get some sleep. The Peruvian Ministry send their thanks on a job well done. They wanted to complement you both on a quick, clean and thorough clear-up. Oh, by the way, you've both passed admirably. Two weeks leave of absence, so I don't want to see you around here until September first.

Croaker was intrigued to see in their report that there were two vampires in the chamber. Harry had dispatched both by hand, a most remarkable feat. He felt vindicated in insisting on recruiting the young man, especially when teamed with his brilliant wife.