章 11: Chapter 10.
Chapter 10
The Nightmare Man
Summary: In the depths of the Ministry, there is a cell for the world's most dangerous man… and he wants out.
Pairing/s: None.
Warnings: Time travel, OOC-characters, Light!bashing, Twisted!Harry, Evil!Harry, violence, mention of gore. Yeah, stuff like that.
Disclaimers: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I make any money writing this.
-o-
Edited 2020
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Chapter Ten
A few days after Severus' departure from Hogwarts, Voldemort came to Harrison's manor along with Lucius. They found the Nightmare Lord outside with Elise and Severus. Severus looked just fine, if it wasn't for all the dirt and blood he was covered in. Harrison wasn't in much better shape, digging through the earth.
"Do you really enjoy this?" Severus called out to Harrison.
"Don't you?"
"Why would I?"
"Well, you make potions."
"Potions don't make a mess," Severus said. "You're making a mess."
"Then how come potions always make a mess when I do them?" Harrison wondered.
"Because you want them to explode in your face, master," Elise said.
"I don't want that!"
"If you don't want them to, then you would measure things. You never measure things."
"I will make you water this garden if you don't shut up, Elise."
"Garden?"
They turned around, and Voldemort wondered if they truly hadn't noticed him or Lucius, or just decided to ignore them. Harrison wiped his hands on his robes, and Elise put a hand over her face once she saw that.
"What are you doing?" Voldemort asked Harrison.
"What do you mean?" Harrison said, looking around.
"Are those dead bodies?" Voldemort said as he came closer. "Are you planting dead bodies?"
"Dead bodies don't grow," Harrison said.
"But you are putting them in the ground, and it's not because you're burying them."
"I'm making my new garden," Harrison replied, grinning. "You'll love it. Oh, I used to have so many but they were burnt down by idiots."
He turned around and Voldemort approached Elise.
"His gardens demands corpses?" he asked her.
"It's the best nutrient he found," she replied. "He breaks the ribcage open and allows the heart to become the core."
"Hence the blood," Severus said. "Why is he enjoying himself?"
"Master always does when it comes to blood," Elise said. "But I'm surprised he's making progress, because he's also very easily distracted."
"Don't talk about me as I'm some sort of child, Elise," Harrison called out. "I know where your tongue is."
"Tongue?" Voldemort heard Lucius say to Severus.
"Master used to rip them out when he found us too annoying," Elise said. "Don't worry, Severus, I believe he's grown past that stage. He just likes to remind us."
Harrison came over, pushing a blood-covered hand through his hair. Elise palmed her face again, and Voldemort didn't blame her.
"Now, the bodies are all placed out," Harrison said. "All that's missing are the seeds."
"What kind of seeds grows in hearts?" Voldemort asked Elise.
"Special ones," she replied.
"Better make them," Harrison said, apparently ignoring them.
"Make them?" Severus said. "Don't you mean buy them? Or find them? Or whatever you do with seeds."
"No, I create these seeds," Harrison replied.
"And it looks revolting," Elise added.
"Now that's just rude."
"Well, it does, master. Because you vomit them up and all this black liquid follows."
"Because seeing me vomit up some black liquid is the most revolting thing you've ever seen," Harrison said to her. "You have literally pieced me back together and probably seen all of my organs in their slimy glory."
"Wasn't much left of them, to be honest," Elise replied.
"But what was left was probably slimy, right?"
"… Please just make the seeds, master."
Harrison looked at her for a few moments, but Voldemort noticed the magic building up. Black veins began to appeared just beneath paling skin, and the greens of his eyes began to be swallowed up by an odd hollowness. He opened his mouth wide and gagged.
Something thick and black was coming out. He cupped his hands and let it fall down to them. The ooze kept coming, overflowing, and falling to the ground, where the grass began to smoke a little as the liquid landed.
After a minute or two, it stopped and Harrison spat the last of it out as the black veins retreated. He licked his lips and straightened up. The ooze finished trickling out of his hands, and left were several black seeds.
"There we are," Harrison said.
"Revolting," Elise maintained.
"Are they made out of your magic?" Voldemort wondered. "Purely out of your magic?"
"Magic and emotions, I suppose."
Voldemort had never seen anything like it. He hadn't even known it could be done.
"What will happen?" he asked. "What will the garden be like?"
"Oh, you'll see," Harrison said and held up the seeds. "I've made sure they'll grow quickly at the start."
"But what kind of seeds are they?"
Harrison merely grinned and ran off.
"Surprisingly like a child," Severus said.
"You'll get used to it," Elise said. "Just wait until he gets a body on a table to play around with."
"Dead bodies?" Severus said.
"Not always. Depends on his mood."
"His mood?"
"Sometimes he wants them to be dead, and sometimes he wants to listen to them scream."
"… I think I shouldn't have asked."
"You'll get used to that too," Elise reassured Severus before turning to Voldemort. "How was the information master shared with you, Voldemort?"
"Oh, quite nice," Voldemort said as he followed Harrison's movements across the dug-up field. "We've found some of their safe-houses, but they might give them up now."
"Because I knew the location," Severus said.
"Well, we're keeping an eye on them just in case," Voldemort replied.
"Do people know you and master are working together, my lord?" Severus asked. "Or that you know of one another?"
"Some must suspect it at this point," Voldemort said. "Albus in particular, and his Order, since they know you were a Death Eater before Harrison got his hands on you. But the public probably doesn't know yet."
Harrison was coming over to them, hands empty, and he was grinning.
"All done."
"Do you have to… do you water this… garden?" Voldemort said.
"Not for the first few days," Harrison replied. "They like to get up on their own."
"What?"
Not that Harrison needed to explain, when it was already happening. Lucius backed away. Severus stared. Elise stood still, arms crossed, and said:
"I will still not water them."
Them in question was what was coming up from the chest of the half-buried corpses. They grew gnarly and twisted, a blank sheen on them as if they were wet. Some sort of black slime dripped from the branches forming, and Voldemort realized it was trees. But what kind of trees were they, to grow like that, and look that sickly?
Roots rose up, then tore into the ground for support as the tree trunks grew thicker. The black liquid starting oozing, and the ground sizzled where it landed before turning grey. Harrison clapped his hands.
"Aren't they just lovely?" he said.
"You're delusional, master."
"Elise, shush now. Tongue."
By the time they stopped growing, around thirty trees stood five feet tall, and Voldemort noticed they weren't still. They were almost shivering. The branches moved, brushing against each other, or just feeling the air. As if the trees were alive.
"This is weird," Severus noted.
"Don't step too close right now," Harrison said. "When so young, they have a tendency to attack. They'll learn later who they can and can't eat."
"They're alive?" Lucius said.
"Not alive as we are, but… aware?" Harrison tried with. "They can be a bit hostile at the start, but I'll work with them. Now, I heard something about people suspecting we know of each other, Voldemort. Wouldn't it be fun to reveal it to them?"
"Might be," Voldemort said. "What exactly do these trees do? You didn't grow them just for the shock factor, now did you?"
"They have a purpose, but they aren't ready for that yet. They need to mature a bit before it starts."
"That sounds mildly alarming," Voldemort said. "I'm looking forward to it."
-o-
A few days later Voldemort Apparated to Harrison's manor. Having being granted entrance through Apparition, he appeared in the hallway of the manor this time. He was planning a raid and was curious to see if Harrison wanted to join him, but before he could look around for Harrison or a servant he heard a scream outside.
Then the sound of something heavy swinging through the air. He walked outside instead, wand slapping into his hand just in case.
Severus turned around where he was standing, and nodded once he saw who it was. Voldemort put away the wand as he saw the trees in Harrison's garden moving quite energetically.
"Master is watering the trees," Severus said.
"With what?"
"Blood. From still living people. Well, they don't live for long but it's going everywhere."
The trees had grown a lot over a few days. Their branches were also moving more freely, like arms almost, and a few even grabbing at the two bodies Harrison was holding up so that the blood poured into the soil.
"Alright, alright, just wait… oi!" One of the branches had pulled so hard on an arm it snapped and twisted. "Greedy. I'm still emptying these, take him instead."
There was a man on the ground, moving feebly. He didn't have long left, Voldemort noted, with the paleness of his skin and sluggish movements. One of the trees reached for him, and a moment later the man was thrown up in the air. Several trees caught him, and the man uttered one final wail before they began to rip him apart.
"So they eat people," Voldemort noted. "Trees… eating people."
"Oh, Voldemort!" Harrison turned around, blood all over him. "Just give me a minute."
"I see why Elise doesn't want to water them," Voldemort said to Severus. "Why does he enjoy bathing in blood so much?"
"It freaks people out?" Severus suggested. "I'm surprised they aren't eating master. He said they're still young."
"They don't eat me because I'm their creator," Harrison called out.
"So they are like your children?" Severus asked.
"No, not really," Harrison replied, throwing one body aside before shaking the other, getting as much blood out as possible. "They are aware enough that I'm their creator, and I will destroy them if they try to do something."
"So what do they grow?" Voldemort said. "They appear more dead than alive at this point. Rotting, almost."
"It has started, but it takes time," Harrison said, letting the branches take the last body from his hands. "I've learnt to be patient with them. A little bit."
He left the trees behind, and Voldemort felt a wave of annoyance towards Harrison's refusal to just tell him more about the trees.
"Oh, did I annoy the big, bad dark lord?" Harrison said, grinning.
"Yes, you are annoying, I'm learning that."
"Are you here on a social call? Are you the big, bad dark lord that doesn't actually do things?"
Voldemort wondered if it would be worth it if he sewed Harrison's mouth shut for just a few minutes. Looking at the Nightmare Lord, he figured he might just get killed by accident and decided to endure.
"Would you like to participate in a raid?" Voldemort asked instead.
"Oh, raids. Sounds fun. Tell me more."
-o-
Voldemort did call it a raid, but it was more testing the water, and seeing the strength of the Ministry as well as the Order. The Ministry had actually shaped up after Cornelius' return, although a lot of manpower was used on searching for the Nightmare Lord. Voldemort told Harrison that before that, the Ministry was pretty much incompetent.
Harrison did suspect that, as the Ministry had been much the same in his youth, but refrained from commenting.
He knew that this time, he wasn't going to hide and remain unseen. This time, he would be standing next to the Dark Lord and tell the other side exactly what to expect; two dark lords joining together. One young, one ancient but both frightening in their own way.
Bellatrix still glowered at him every chance she got. At first, Harrison found it funny, but now it was more irritating than anything. He wasn't sure if she knew, but he could kill her with a snap of his fingers and a tiny bit of magic; the only thing stopping him was an odd sort of respect to Voldemort.
She did have her uses, being powerful and apparently quite unpredictable in duels. She had also been forbidden from attacking Severus, and if she did it anyway both Severus and Harrison was allowed to retaliate. According to Voldemort, Severus and Bellatrix were pretty even in terms of magic and experience, but there was no way Severus would lose in a duel against her now. Should he run out of magic, he could tap into Harrison's, like the other servants could.
Glancing back at her now, Harrison noted she was a bit fidgety. Looking forward to the raid perhaps. They had all gathered in the throne room, waiting for Voldemort. Harrison had Christian with him, figuring this raid would be good exercise for him. His other servants were all experienced duellers, while Christian had confessed to never done duelling outside of some training duels.
"Why did you bring me here, master?" Christian asked now. "I said I wasn't good at fighting."
"So, time to get some practice in," Harrison replied. "Don't worry, I won't let you out of my sight."
"But I've never been in a fight before!"
"Think of it as training then, with me acting like your supervisor. Don't focus so much on attacking; pay attention to your surroundings. Learn to read people's movements, and to see everything. If you spot someone open for attack, go for it, but only if you're certain you don't leave yourself unguarded."
"Have the other servants gone through this?"
"Well, some of them were already experienced. Severus is closest to you in age, but he's led a completely different life than you have. Elise and Lucian for example, they were already quite experienced before they became my servants. Ywgraine and Joanne however, they needed some training like you."
"So I'm not the only one who feels nervous?"
"It's normal to be nervous. I was terrified during my first battle."
"When was that?" Christian asked.
"Hmm… I must have been fifteen at the time. Surrounded by morons and enemies."
"Fifteen years old? How did you end up in that battle?"
"Oh, I didn't choose it," Harrison said. "I was just a gullible idiot as a child. You live and learn, always."
A hush came over the room as Voldemort entered, most Death Eaters focusing on him. Harrison stood a bit to the side, but not near the actual throne. He could tease the Death Eaters some more, but it would just be annoying if they got angry and made a fuss right before the raid. Most of them also appeared to remember his actions from Hogsmeade, and stayed away, but a few had been glaring at him.
Harrison already knew where they were going and the details, so he didn't focus too much on what Voldemort was saying to instead take a look around the room. He watched Christian too, and to his credit the young man was focused on both Voldemort as well as the surrounding Death Eaters. He glanced down at the masks held in their hands.
"Is there a point to remember the individual masks?" Christian whispered to Harrison.
"Not really," Harrison replied. "But remember to not call out anyone's names, except for Voldemort's if necessary."
"No names. Should be easy, as I don't know most of them."
"Still, stay close to me and everything will be fine."
But there was a slight concern, and that was if Bellatrix and the other defiant Death Eaters felt like it, they could try and attack Harrison, passing it off as an accident. Because raids were chaotic. They were meant to be chaotic. He didn't want that to happen due to two main reasons; it would cause an annoyance, and he didn't want Christian to try and shield him.
Because it had happened a few times throughout the centuries, the servants using their own bodies to protect Harrison from whatever curse or spell that was thrown on him. Harrison had instructed them not to, but one never knew if they would try and defy it. Christian probably wouldn't dare.
Elise and Lucian, old as they were, had started finding it hilarious to disobey him. He wouldn't put it past them trying something reckless like that just to see him lose his composure.
Voldemort finished speaking, and the Death Eaters roared. They were truly devoted to their lord. Back in the old days, few dared to follow Harrison and he had had no fondness for anyone. People just feared him instead. Voldemort had found a balance. Some feared him, some respected him.
Harrison had just found it easier to make people fear him. Back when he was Harry Potter, there were some difficulties with the aspect of respect. Most treated him like a foolish boy, yet expected him to fight an experienced Dark Lord and be a flawless hero.
Respect was hard to get, and harder to maintain. Fear was easier. Well, despite that there had been people who… liked him? Respected him even, but that was mostly because they had no problems with Harrison's murdering tendencies.
As Voldemort swept out of the room, Harrison was close to follow. Bellatrix's face was that of a scorned woman, and Harrison felt like making her even angrier. But then Voldemort turned his head and said:
"What are you doing to Bellatrix?"
"Nothing at all," Harrison replied.
"That grin says you were about to do something, master," Christian pointed out.
"Oh, shush. You've learnt too much from Elise already."
"Since you weren't listening to me just now, you remember where we're Apparating?" Voldemort asked as they moved out of the manor.
"I do, actually. Why not a spot like Diagon Alley, though?"
"Because that's a bit too violent against the general public," Voldemort replied.
They were moving to the edge of the wards where his followers could Apparate. He, and now Harrison, was two of the few able to Apparate inside the manor itself.
The target for today was a newly established point for wizards and witches, consisting mostly of Aurors and other officials from the Ministry. They were probably expecting an attack every day, but taking down any number of Aurors would be good for future plans. Well, Voldemort's future plans; Harrison was only along for the ride.
Voldemort Apparated and Harrison grabbed onto Christian, following. They arrived a bit from the temporary camp, their magical signals hidden behind a ward Voldemort must have erected earlier or just as he arrived. Harrison stepped up to Voldemort's side, Christian behind him.
"How do you plan to begin?" Harrison wondered.
"Not sure yet. Any ideas?"
"I could do the same attack from Hogsmeade," Harrison said. "Make them realize I was there as well."
"Feel free," Voldemort said and swept out his hand. "But don't take out too many of them. That wouldn't be as fun."
"I wouldn't dream of it. Christian, stay with me."
"Yes, master."
Harrison released magic with a stomp of his foot and roots tore through the ground, towards the camp. Spells lit up the area just moments later and Harrison grinned.
"It's always more fun when they fight back," he said.
Voldemort didn't wait long, and set off in a whirlwind of power. Harrison could see him approach the camp with remarkable speed, and the Death Eaters followed in his wake. Harrison kept track on those who didn't like him by finding their magical signals, and then began to move with Christian by his side.
The Aurors and Ministry personnel had formed a unified wall against the Death Eaters and Harrison supposed it was good of them to do that. They had to know how to act in battle at this point.
The roots had been hit hard though, several of them charred beyond repair. Harrison waved his hand, and the roots retreated, going back underground and becoming dormant for now.
Voldemort broke the line of defence. Voldemort had potential. He could use raw power to overwhelm people, like Harrison did. He had seen it a few times before, but they grew brittle with age. Weakened. Maybe Voldemort would be different. As far as Harrison remembered from his time's Voldemort, the man feared death.
Sending a spell that threw several people off their feet, Harrison glanced at Christian. The man had his wand out, pointed towards the ground while he was watching their surroundings. Harrison continued to move.
Death Eaters broke off groups of people, and some saw his more leisurely pace, as well as his unarmed hands. Harrison let himself be surrounded, wands pointing at him and Christian.
"Hello there," he said. "Lovely night, isn't it?"
"You're a fool for a Death Eater, wearing no mask," one of them said.
"Oh, I'm not a Death Eater," Harrison replied.
"Then who are you? Someone trying to impress Voldemort?"
"I hardly need to do anything to impress him. I swear there were posters."
"What posters?"
"You really have no idea who I am," Harrison said, and saw only slightly confused looks. "Fine, that's fine. I suppose I don't mind. It's not like a lot of people have seen my real face, I'm sure the posters are not quite me anyway."
"Who the fuck are you?" one Auror demanded.
"You may call me the Nightmare Lord."
Many of them stared. A few seemed hesitant. Harrison smiled.
"Or killer works fine," he continued. "Bastard. Evil. Monster. People had so many names for me. I wouldn't mind hearing your suggestions, it's actually kind of fun."
Then he swept out with his arm and magic tore out. Now, Harrison used spells for some things, and for some things he didn't. He just made do with the raw magic, forcing it out. During his imprisonment, he hadn't been able to use it like now, and even if he had been free for a while he hadn't used magic like this.
So it screamed inside of him, and he felt the shock of it move through his body. He had also rushed his garden, putting a lot more magic in it than he used to, and he was by no means too weak to fight. He just maybe should be a bit more careful.
But that wasn't in his nature. He was a fool of a dark lord, who disregarded his own safety and well-being for a spot of fun.
Shields glittered through the air, but his magic broke several of them, throwing people back and Harrison ran forward. Spells, only half-formed in his head, came forming out of his hands and he threw them at people with delight. He blocked their attacks with swipes of magic, and when they seemed to expect a long-ranged attack he moved up close and even used physical force, using magic to make his limbs stronger than what was humanly possible.
Christian seemed to be focusing on protection, and used mostly shields. Well, not all of his servants were attack-focused.
"Take him down already!" someone screamed.
"Nothing works against him!"
"Anything!"
Their screams made Harrison laugh. But he had to give them some credit, they were alert. He wasn't getting away with relaxing. He had to move, block fast, and jump away from their spells. It was so much fun.
He still went close, punching and kicking. Spells seared at his robes. Some grazed him, but not enough to stop him. His adrenaline was starting to pump.
Did he look insane? His servants said he often did when he was having fun, and he was having a lot of fun right now. But Christian was falling behind, he really wasn't an experienced fighter, and so Harrison slowed down and grabbed the former guard. He directed one last kick to one Aurors, adding enough magic to his bones to shatter the man's breastbone and leave him gasping for breath, blood trickling out of his mouth.
Harrison moved, turned halfway into shadows and practically flew across the field that was lit up with spells from both sides. He found Voldemort, and sent off a rare killing curse at a young woman. She dodged and screamed at him:
"You fucking murderer!"
"Not very original," Harrison commented, and wondered why she was crying.
"Oh, that's Susanne," Christian said.
"You know her?" Harrison asked.
"She was a friend of mine. She's quite hot-headed so she doesn't focus much on defence."
"Well, that will get her killed fast."
Harrison deflected her spells, and noted Christian was rather quiet.
"Do you want her to die?" Harrison asked.
"Have you ever had friends?" Christian asked.
"What a thing to ask in the middle of battle, but oh well." Harrison dodged a curse and sent one right back at her. "Of course I had friends, that's why I asked."
"What?"
"I killed my friends," Harrison said. "They tried to have me killed first though, so it's not like we were great friends in the end. I could just knock her out."
"She won't give up. She never does. And since I'm here, and not on her side, she'll want revenge."
"That sounds annoying. I could kill her quickly; she won't even notice it."
"… Yes. Please."
Harrison nodded and moved in on Susanne. He slammed his hand into her chest. Ripples of magic destroyed every organ in her body, as well as shut down her heart and brain at the same time. She fell to the ground, not a single hair out of place. She would make a good Inferius corpse.
But taking a friend of Christian's was probably a bit cruel, so he left the corpse and moved on, pulling Christian with him. He soon landed at Voldemort's side.
"Are you having fun?" he asked.
"Quite. You?"
"A bit, I must say."
Christian moved, and Harrison turned. Lily Potter's face was pale but her eyes were dark with intent; she fired off a spell heading straight for Christian. Harrison pulled him back and raised his arm. The shield forming held against the spell, but she put a lot of force behind it.
"Alright?" Voldemort said.
"Just fine," Harrison said. "I'll deal with her."
Voldemort moved on, and started setting fire on the tents erected in the middle of the camp. Somewhere, Bellatrix was laughing.
Harrison turned his attention back to Lily. She couldn't possibly be living at the camp. Had she come to support them, or had she been here when they started attacking?
He tilted his head and tried to see his mother in her. But he couldn't. Probably because his own mother had been but a ghost he had seen twice in his life, and that ghost would want nothing to do with him now. And he would want nothing to do with her.
So he felt nothing for Lily standing in front of him. She was nothing but a nuisance.
"You killed Severus," she said, wand aimed at him. "You took him away."
"Well, that's just a lie," Harrison said. "The first thing you said, anyway. The one who nearly killed him is closer to you than you think. But I saved Severus."
"You turned him into your slave!"
"Servant, not slave. Servant, get it right. He's a defiant one as well. Or well, he's his usual self."
"No. He can't be. I'll kill you and free him."
"If you say so."
He dodged her spell, twisted around and fired off one in response to hers. Lily narrowly avoided it and ran towards him. They entered a dance of firing spells and dodging or blocking with shields. Harrison wasn't being serious; he wondered if she realized that, or if she thought she kept him on his toes.
But unlike with a group of people attacking, one-on-one wasn't that difficult to defend against even with his magic still not responding to his will as quickly as it used to, and would soon enough again.
He thought of the ghost Lily, the mother he didn't have any memories of, except of hearing her last moments before she died. How she said she loved him. Harrison remembered loving her and James, even before he saw them as ghosts.
How quickly things could change. He couldn't give less of a shit about them now.
In the end he grew tired of playing, and grabbed Lily around the throat. He squeezed and picked her up, just enough to have her dangle from his grip. She was choking, hands clawing at his wrist. Harrison held on and said:
"It was an accident, Severus' near death. An accident caused by someone you hold very dear. But he could've tried to save Severus. He chose not to. So I took Severus instead. His loss, my gain."
With that, he gathered magic into his arm and threw her away. She flew away from him, and if she had the wits about her, she'd make sure she survived the landing and not come after him again. Because if she did, then he would probably kill her.
"Why didn't you kill her?" Christian asked.
"… I'll do it if she attacks me again."
Harrison grabbed Christian and vanished into the shadows again, racing across the battlefield and occasionally stopping to kill an Auror or Ministry personnel. People seemed to recognize him now, and satisfied with that, he went to find Voldemort.
Who was facing Dumbledore. So maybe Lily arrived with the Order. Harrison stepped up next to Voldemort and Dumbledore looked at them both.
"Albus," Voldemort said. "I would like to introduce my ally, the Nightmare Lord. Have you met Albus Dumbledore, my lord?"
"Briefly," Harrison said. "Can't say I enjoyed it very much. Christian, don't be shy."
Christian peeked over Harrison's shoulder, and Dumbledore seemed to recognize him as one of the guards.
"You took him," Dumbledore said.
"Yes, I did. Christian was very nice and helped me out."
"You enslaved him."
"That's not really my thing," Harrison replied. "Or is it? No, they're servants. Not slaves. Why do you people keep calling them slaves?"
"Because slaves sounds more evil?" Voldemort tried with.
"Oh, that is true. But everyone already knows I'm evil, why do they need to try and make me more evil?"
"Not everyone knows," Voldemort replied. "They know you exist, but your deeds are forgotten. So they try to shape you into the monster they need."
Harrison looked at Dumbledore. The man wasn't protesting.
"Well, I'm not about to fall into someone's category box just because they want me to. So, are we fighting him?"
"Not today," Voldemort replied. "Today was just a show."
A bit callous, and just perfect. Harrison could see Dumbledore did not like hearing all this death and damage was just a show in their eyes, and grinned. Voldemort sent out his signal, and the sickly green colour of the Morsmordre painted the grounds around them.
The Death Eaters began to Apparate away. Harrison spread out his fingers and shadows rose from the ground, causing Dumbledore and several others to quickly back away. It wasn't as if the shadows could actually do anything, they were more for effect than anything useful, but it was fun seeing their reactions.
"So I guess we'll see each other again," Harrison said to Dumbledore.
Then he snapped his fingers and the shadows covered him, Christian and Voldemort completely before they Apparated.
-o-
His little run-in with Lily Potter could have ended there, if it hadn't been for a nightmare some time later. He woke up in the middle of the night, with one thought running through his head:
I want to kill Petunia Dursley.
It was not a new thought. In fact, he had thought it a lot over his long life-span. But he hadn't thought of Petunia for say, a hundred years now. Must have been the fight with Lily that brought that awful woman up again.
Well, who knew how awful she was now. Maybe she was really nice.
But Harrison didn't care. He wanted her dead, in a painful manner. He wanted to hear her scream and plead, and he wanted that quite soon. Even if she and her family had helped him to become what he was today. He hadn't liked their cruelty back when he was a child, and he had a habit of holding stupid grudges for way too long.
So he got dressed and left the manor, Apparating to Surrey and setting out to find Private Drive.
He found it with little problem, but the issue when arriving was that there was no Dursley family living there. Private Drive number four was easy enough to break into, but there were no wards. No pictures of Dudley on the walls. The house wasn't as pristine as Petunia demanded. The cupboard under the stairs held cleaning supplies, not his childhood room.
Harrison found the couple living there, and looked at them for a while with his arms crossed. He weighed the pros and cons of killing them. But they weren't Petunia, and the disappointment of not finding her here was taking away his need to kill something. At least for the moment.
So he went and found the bedroom that one, in some other time, perhaps in another dimension, had housed him from age eleven to sixteen. What he saw was a crib, and a baby watching him. Harrison walked closer. The baby didn't make a sound. Instead it waved its arms around. The pink suggested it was a girl. Harrison couldn't be sure.
"I'm going to assume you are a girl," he informed the baby. "Apologies if that's a lie."
With that he gingerly picked her up, and the baby gurgled, giving him a gummy smile and he sort of smiled back.
"Hi," he said. "This room is a lot more cheerful now."
The baby cooed and waved her arms. He slowly held her closer. He had killed children before. Lots of times. Even those as small as her. And she was a Muggle, and it would devastate her parents.
But he didn't feel like killing her.
"I'm a bit conflicted," he informed the baby. "You see, I was searching for a person. My… aunt? More or less. But she's not here, and I woke up wanting to kill something, and now I'm not feeling like killing you. Which is weird, because you're a Muggle."
Her hands slapped against his cheeks. While flinching, he still didn't feel the murderous intent to ruin her parents' lives by having them discover a corpse in the morning.
"But I still want to kill my aunt," he continued, looking into the baby's eyes. "Which means I have to find someone who might know where she is."
And he already knew who he had to kidnap.
-o-
"Master… is that a baby?"
Christ, why was Elise even awake at this hour? Was it because he had left? Because she had to sleep at night, right?
Wait, what did she mean by…
Harrison looked down at the baby.
"Oh," he said. "Well, fuck."
-o-
Harrison could try and pretend he meant to steal a Muggle baby all along, but he could see none of the servants believed him. Ywgraine had squealed, jumping on the spot. Joanne kept poking the girl's cheeks and whispering:
"Chubby cheeks…"
She wasn't wrong. Everyone took a liking to the baby immediately, even Severus.
"Do you want kids?" Harrison asked Severus, while thinking of how to kidnap Lily Potter and make her tell him where her sister was.
"I thought about it," Severus said.
The pink onsie was gone, and the girl was dressed in black; the best the servants could whip up with most likely.
"But with the life I had, children weren't an option," Severus continued.
"Oh, I suppose so."
"How about you, master? Did you ever want children?"
"I have no idea how to take care of one."
"Which is why you stole one."
"Oh, shut up. I get it. I can hear the other ones, you know; they think it's hilarious that I didn't even notice I didn't put the baby back. I can't exactly go back with her now, can I?"
"Why were you there in the first place?"
"Reasons. I was wrong, though. I don't like it when people move around unexpectedly."
"You know a Muggle that was supposed to live there?" Severus questioned.
"Last time I remember, they did, but then again, maybe they never lived there in this time… or whatever. I didn't find her, that's the point."
"Someone you care for?"
"Hardly; I want to kill her."
"Someone who betrayed you then?"
"No, Severus. Her name is Petunia Dursley. It is Dursley, right? I can't think of a Petunia who wouldn't marry that whale of a man."
Severus looked at him for quite a while, and then put the girl down in the crib Elise had gotten from somewhere Harrison hoped hadn't been in his manor this whole time. Severus walked over to him and said:
"How do you know about Petunia Dursley?"
"It's a long story, and by that, I mean it's really long. Don't tell me she's… ugh, nice."
"Far from it," Severus replied. "One might even say she's the complete opposite."
"Sounds like the Petunia I knew. Hated magic?"
"Very much so."
"Vernon too?"
"He even tried to engage me in a fist-fight over it."
"Since when did he meet you?"
"Lily invited me to a family dinner once, when Harry was young. I don't know why she even bothered; Petunia outright told her magical people was the worst thing in existence, and Vernon drank too much, hence the fist-fight thing."
"Oh, that sounds like Vernon alright. He always gets a bit violent when he's had too much."
"How do you know them?" Severus asked.
Harrison looked at him. Then he motioned Severus to follow him and walked out of the baby's room, prompting Joanne to sneak inside to coo at said baby, swiftly followed by a curious-looking Christian. Harrison didn't really get what was so fascinating about babies, but whatever.
He went up to the attic where he began digging through some boxes. He carefully put a few paintings aside, dusting them off while he was at it, and finally finding what he was looking for.
"Pensieves are priceless, and you have one just laying around amongst rubbish?" Severus asked.
"Yes, I do," Harrison said. "And it's not all rubbish. These paintings are made by Rowena Ravenclaw. Very smart girl, talented in many areas, but art was… well, wasn't her thing. Godric was better at it, and Helga made some nice sculptures I believe. They're around, somewhere."
He was pulling memories out of his head as he spoke, shaking them down into the Pensieve. Once he was done, he gestured at the ghostly substance to Severus.
"Watch that," he said. "It's pretty much the whole story, and it means I don't have to tell it, with my words, because while I like talking, I don't like talking that much. Come find me again when you're done."
As soon as Severus dipped his head down, Harrison felt a weird flutter of nervousness in his stomach, and thus he promptly fled. So what if that was considered being a coward? Harrison was awesome at being a coward, and a fool. Sometimes at the same time.
Severus did find him around an hour and a half later, that half-hour spent looking for Harrison who had decided to hide out in the baby's room again, shooing his servants out. The door slammed open and the girl cried out at the loud noise.
"Hush," Harrison said, tapping her nose. "That's annoying."
She did stop, but whined a little bit, squirming in Harrison's arms. Was that normal? Did Elise know if that was normal? Harrison did know he shouldn't drop her, but that meant she should stop squirming.
Awkwardly patting her back as Severus approached, Harrison was ready to put her back in the crib but then she stilled, blowing a bubble. He looked up at Severus and said:
"If you say I'm Harry Potter, you will find I'm very good at ripping out people's tongues and then stuffing said tongues down their throats."
"They betrayed you," Severus said. "When you were… a child."
"Child? I was seventeen, and was old enough to realize something was not quite right. But I suppose I was naïve even as a teenager."
Severus fell into a nearby chair, and Harrison sat the baby up. He realized the child should have a name. He could just continue saying 'baby', but had a nagging suspicion Elise would eventually get annoyed by that.
"What's a good name for a girl?" he asked Severus.
"That's what you're concerned about right now?"
"Should I be worried about something else?"
"You're going to kidnap Lily to find out where Petunia is."
"Yes. Wait, should I not do it; do you care for Lily? I could make her tell me without hurting her too much. Maybe."
"She's… one of the good people," Severus said. "I'm not sure I ever quite was. Also, she loathes you and apparently that's enough for me to not care about her anymore."
"Oh."
"You sound surprised."
"I guess I am a bit surprised," Harrison replied, stiffening a bit when the baby grabbed onto his fingers. "Don't chew on my fingers, please. That would be gross. Anyway, what was I saying? Thinking of saying? Ah, yes, the Severus Snape I knew more or less died for her."
"For you," Severus replied. "He died for you."
"But only because I was Lily's son."
"He still did it."
Harrison didn't care much about that anymore. The Severus Snape he grew up having as a professor was long since dead, and wouldn't care about this conversation. He would probably be quite upset to be considered a good man.
"How about Angel?" Severus said all of a sudden.
"Angel?"
"The baby."
"Angel," Harrison repeated, looking at the baby. "It's drooling."
"She, not it," Severus said. "Besides, Angel isn't a bad name. She's also the only thing around here that actually looks a tiny bit like an angel."
Harrison waved his hand, getting the drool away, and looked at the baby. Her hair was blonde and kind of curly, and her eyes were very, very blue. She smiled at him, eyes scrunching up.
"Naming the baby will make this permanent," he said, gesturing at said baby.
"You're the one who suggested a name."
"I didn't though."
"You heavily implied it."
"Alright, maybe I did," Harrison said. "Still, if it—she, now is Angel, that means I can't just kill her if her crying is annoying me. Or when the drool disgusts me."
"You like holding entrails in your hands."
"Entrails and drool are two different things, Severus."
"Well then, just tell us when Angel is annoying, and we'll take her somewhere where you can't hear her," Severus said. "Because you're not killing her."
"How do you know that?"
"Elise said so."
Elise did know him rather well. Harrison had never kept a baby. Had never held a Muggle baby. But looking down at it—her, Angel, was kind of weird, because he had no desire whatsoever to see her in pain.
"This is getting too mushy," Harrison concluded, staring at it, she, Angel, who responded by blowing a spit bubble. "Can we go and kidnap Lily instead?"
-o-
Lily Potter woke up, groggy, and realized she was strapped to a chair, still in her night clothes. She kept her breathing slow and steady, and peeked out between the strands of her hair.
Severus was at a cauldron, chopping potions ingredients, his shirt sleeves rolled up. The unmarked skin on his left forearm stuck out to her, since she was so used to seeing the dark mark on him. As his eyes flicked and caught in the light, she noticed they were almost completely black again, just the hint of silver around the pupils.
He looked… content, in a way she had never seen before.
"Well, it seems you're more interesting than me this time around, Severus."
The Nightmare Lord's voice made her jerk up in the chair.
"People usually notice me right away," the Nightmare Lord continued.
"Well, get me loose and I'll pay attention to you!" she screamed, kicking out at him.
"Hush now, you don't want to bother Severus now do you? What if your screaming makes him chop the wrong things?"
"Let him go!"
The lord laughed.
"Monster!" Lily shouted and strained against the ropes across her chest.
"Ugh, such a boring insult. Be more creative, will you? I thought modern people had evolved their insults a bit more."
"I don't think that's the issue here, master. Can you hand me that jar?"
"What jar?"
"That jar."
"Well, point at it; you know I only give the wrong ones out of spite if I don't get told exactly which one to hand over."
"You're such a petulant child, master. The jar with the red string on it."
"See, was that so difficult, Severus?"
"Oh, shut up."
The Nightmare Lord handed it over, and Severus continued with the potion as if Lily wasn't even there. When the lord saw Lily staring, he grinned. She hated him even more.
"You don't like being ignored?" he asked. "Learn to live with it. Severus' potion is worth more attention than you."
"What have you done to him?" she said.
"Healed his wounds? I didn't completely alter his mind; he's pretty much intact up there."
"Severus, it's me," she said, deciding to change tactics.
Severus didn't even look up.
"Please," she begged. "It's me, you know me. It's Lils, Severus."
"Lils, eh?" the Nightmare Lord said. "How… friendly. Oh, speaking of friendly, how's Tuney doing?"
Lily was certain Severus didn't know, or didn't remember the nickname Lily had given Petunia. She looked at the Nightmare Lord and he said:
"He didn't tell me that part. I knew it already."
"How…?"
"I know a thing or two. But what I don't know right now, and what I'm sure you do know, is where Tuney is currently living."
Lily and Petunia didn't get along, hadn't ever since Lily got her letter to Hogwarts. Once it was confirmed that Lily was a witch, and Petunia wasn't, there was a wall between them that Petunia refused to tear down.
But she was still Lily's sister.
"Fuck off," she told him.
"Ah, I did expect that answer. Not that it'll matter. I'll just break through your Occlumency walls and get what I want."
He knew Legilimens? How good at it was he? Lily knew she could withstand quite a lot of prodding, having trained since early age to strengthen her walls.
"I can be good at it," the Nightmare Lord said. "Or I can just go for it and… rush it. I tend to do the latter. I break people, and take far more than I need. It's not like it's my problem in the end."
Lily tried to find some leeway with the ropes, and the lord watched her struggles for a few moments.
"I'll give you some time to think about it," he said. "Either you tell me willingly where you sister is. Or I find out on my own. Severus."
Severus looked up. He stirred in a last ingredient, turned the fire low and then followed the Nightmare Lord out of the room. The moment Severus closed the door, Lily began to struggle in earnest.
The ropes bit into her skin, and eventually broke it but when she saw the blood helping her, she worked through the pain. Had the Nightmare Lord not tied her up hard enough? Had he been sloppy?
Either way, she was wriggling and twisting and one hand got loose. She began to pull at the ropes, and finally got it looser, to the point she could get out. Lily got out of the chair and surveyed the room.
She didn't have her wand. She had no memory of how she got here. She didn't even know where she was. A hideout to the Nightmare Lord? Or perhaps even his home, if he had one?
There was nothing useful in the room, the knives Severus had used were gone, and lugging around with a cauldron filled with an unknown potion was not a risk Lily was willing to take. So instead she snuck up to the door and listened. Hearing no footsteps or voices, she eased it open a little bit.
Underground, judging by the lack of windows and torches lighting up the corridor. Lily breathed in, and got out, half-sprinting down the corridor until she reached stairs leading upstairs. Glancing up, she saw no one and therefore walked up slowly.
Another hallway, and a sword mounted on the wall. She ran over to it. There was a plaque, but the writing was strange. Like English, yet not. She didn't care to search for any names.
Had she taken the time, she would have been left to wondering why Godric Gryffindor had gifted the Nightmare Lord a sword.
She found the weight uncomfortable, she wasn't used to heavy swords, but it was better than nothing. She looked around, but there were no portraits. No one that could report back to the Nightmare Lord, but also nothing that could aid her in finding out more about said lord.
Wondering if the sword was just for decoration, she used it on a nearby drape. The sword was sharp, which surprised her; from what she had read, the Nightmare Lord didn't appear to use weapons when fighting.
Lily wandered over to a door and eventually came to the grand hallway, and what appeared to be the entrance doors, as well as stairs leading to the upper floors. Someone was coming down. Lily hid in the shadows of the stairs, breathing quietly.
The Nightmare Lord came down, robe gone and dressed in pants, shirt and vest. He looked relaxed. Severus wasn't with him. He was alone. Lily had her chance.
She charged. She expected resistance, or to be blocked. Something that would go horribly wrong and she would die in the process.
But instead the sword sank into the lord's back like parting warm butter, and came out of his stomach. The Nightmare Lord coughed, blood coming out of his mouth and he staggered to the wall, green eyes staring right at her. Lily let go of the sword and took off towards the doors. She threw the open and ran out, naked feet on cold ground.
The Nightmare Lord's voice rang out, but it wasn't a human sound. Lily had no interest in knowing what kind of language that was, and tried to Apparate. Nothing happened. Wards then.
"Shit!"
She took off in one direction, but was distracted by Dementors near some sick-looking trees. She had never seen Dementors without their hoods and cloaks. Once they noticed her, their mouths opened wide and they shrieked. Clawed hands reached out as they began to move in on her, and from the manor the Nightmare Lord came out with the sword still inside his stomach. He grinned, showing off bloodied teeth.
Lily focused on her happy memories, let them fill her up and held out her hands. Her Patronus leapt out of her hands, glowing brightly and she couldn't believe she had just used that spell wandlessly!
The Dementors howled as the Patronus shone brighter, and then she heard the Nightmare Lord. Lily whipped her head around. He was holding his arms out, as if the Patronus… the Patronus hurt him. Like it hurt the Dementors.
He could be defeated by a Patronus?
"Not so tough now, are you?!" she screamed at him. "As soon as you're dead and buried, Severus will return to normal! We'll kill Voldemort next, and the world will be free of both of you!"
The Dementors crowded the Nightmare Lord and she saw those hideous hands reach out to hold him, help him up, and also shielding him from her Patronus. They were willing to bear the brunt of the Patronus spell in order to protect him?
"I hope it burns you, Nightmare Lord!" Lily screamed. "I hope it kills you!"
She could hold the spell. She could escape. She just needed to get outside the wards and then-
"Don't be foolish, Lily; you are already in a lot of trouble for that little stunt you pulled."
She turned around, facing Severus, and before she could say anything he thrust a sword right through her. Pain tore through her abdomen, and as her legs folded, Severus held her up with the sword. The sharp edge dug into her skin and flesh, touching her intestines and Lily screamed.
Her Patronus vanished as her focus shifted to the pain and the fact Severus had just stabbed her. The Dementors began screeching, and Severus let go of the blade. She fell to her knees, and coughed up blood.
"Severus," she gasped. "Something's wrong with you."
"I'm no longer on your side, Lily. Face it. I belong to the Nightmare Lord, no matter what he represents."
"That's very nice of you, Severus."
"I would say I live to please, master, but that would be a lie. You have a sword in your stomach."
"Yes, she stabbed me. Didn't quite expect that."
Lily looked up. The Nightmare Lord had moved over to them. He didn't even seem to notice the sword in his stomach anymore. The Dementors moved around him, their rotten hands pawing at his shoulders.
"Look at what you did," he told her. "You made me wake up my children sooner than I planned."
"What…?"
"Oh, did you think these ones were old?" he asked and laughed. "Have a look at those trees, Lily Potter."
She looked, because what could she do at this point? Her legs wouldn't hold her. Even if they did, she wouldn't get far. So she looked, and the trees were shivering. Moving on their own, and near the roots were… lumps?
The lumps moved, and long-fingered hand pressed against one of those lumps, stretching the wet surface. She saw a shape, a… a Dementor.
Those trees grew Dementors. Lily pushed against the ground with her hands. It was useless to run, but she had to… she had to move, she had to warn the Order, anyone on their side… had to warn them about the Dementors, warn them about the lord reacting to the Patronus.
She couldn't get her feet to move. Couldn't gather the strength. Her vision was blackening around the edges.
Someone grabbed the sharp end of the sword sticking out of her back, and twisted. Lily screamed as she was pulled back.
"Severus, get her up."
Severus did and the Nightmare Lord walked around. His hand was bleeding heavily from where he grabbed the sword, and he reached out with that hand to grab Lily's face. Warm, wet blood smeared on her skin. His eyes were so very cold now.
"We'll do it the careless way then," he said. "Let's hope I don't break too much of you."
Her Occlumency walls were good. Dumbledore had praised her ability to block unwanted mental attacks.
The Nightmare Lord smashed through those walls, uncaring if the shards cut into him or her. As Lily began to scream, he began to laugh. She passed out to the sounds of her own shrieking voice echoing around the grounds.
-o-
Petunia Dursley had been perfectly happy in Surrey and their normal neighbourhood. But Lily forced them to move, insisting they weren't safe. Well, why did Lily have to bring her freakishness into Petunia's perfect life?
The calm village, Petunia had been assured, consisted of normal people and none of that magic nonsense would be happening there. Luckily, Dudley quickly made new friends quickly, and at least Lily made sure Vernon had a good, respectable job waiting for him after their move.
So Petunia had settled in. She made friends with the other housewives, and was glad she didn't have to see Lily or her freakish family as often as before. She told everyone that her sister was dead, and she couldn't bear to have any pictures of her up in the house. Most understood, and moved on to other subjects, which suited Petunia just fine.
The knock on the door was unexpected; Dudley was over at a friend's house, and he never had to knock when coming home! Vernon couldn't be done at work already, could he? But why would he knock?
Was it perhaps Violet from across the road? She did always have the latest gossip ready. So Petunia went out to the hall and opened the door, a ready smile on her face.
It wasn't Violet. It was a man, with quite long hair, which made her hesitate a bit. Was he a criminal? But he was dressed in a suit. Why did he have long hair then?
His eyes were a bit like Lily's, and Petunia's judgement wavered a bit. She said to everyone in the village that Lily was dead, but there was a picture of Lily on her bedside table. Because Lily was her little sister, even if magic took her away from Petunia.
"Mrs Dursley?" the man said.
"Yes?"
"May I come inside?"
She felt something in her head. Something cold and firm. A voice, and the man smiled. There was nothing good about that smile. He was dangerous.
Dangerous people are after us, Lily had said once. They'll want to kill you too, Tuney. I can't risk that. I'm sorry.
"Back up, now," the man said. "Wouldn't want the neighbours to wonder what's going on, now would we?"
Petunia backed away from the door. All she managed to do was scraping her nails against the wall, a desperate attempt to stop her feet from moving. An attempt to stop her from letting the man inside.
The man looked at her, and smiled wider.
"Are you afraid of me?" he asked.
Petunia was shaking. He stepped inside, and those clear, green eyes were burning.
"Let's have some fun, Tuney," he said.
The door closed resolutely behind him.
To be continued…
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