Search:

SIYE Time:9:35 on 28th March 2024
SIYE Login: no


Over the Horizon
By Vermouth

- Text Size +

Category: Alternate Universe, Post-Hogwarts, Post-DH/AB
Characters:All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Romance
Warnings: Dark Fiction, Death, Disturbing Imagery, Extreme Language, Sexual Situations, Violence
Rating: R
Reviews: 88
Summary: Imagine a world where Voldemort had won. Now imagine a post Hogwarts' Battle Harry stumbling into it... One man: Harry Potter. One goal: to survive. One quest: to do the impossible. One word: Power.
Hitcount: Story Total: 52524; Chapter Total: 2641







ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter


Chapter Eleven

Innominabile Number Three: Aphrodite

As the week prior to the attack on the Death Eater settlement at Slytherin's Lair went by, Harry found that he enjoyed being in the company of Owl and Charlie, no matter how twisted and bizarre it still was for him.

However, Harry was unsettled. In just a few days' time, they would be attacking a camp of Death Eaters, a real live camp swarming with Voldemort's forces. Hell, maybe even the supreme Snake Chump would be there, too. Owl didn't think it likely, since Voldemort was very busy trying to blow up the planet; but this is Voldemort we are talking about. However, Owl did say that the chances of finding one of the Innominabiles were high.

That did get Harry very anxious. Out of all of Voldemort's elite, the one that unnerved him the least was Number Five, Ares. He seemed like the bookworm type from what he had heard. But finding him in the camp was as likely as Voldemort committing suicide. Ares was his stooge-boy, he planned missions for Voldemort. He was said to be an accomplished duellist, but he was not a prodigy.

Apollo wasn't the worst of the Innominabiles; in fact, he sounded very much like one Draco Malfoy — only deadlier. If he had to fight him, he would; but that didn't mean he was all eager to do so.

Aphrodite sounded like Bellatrix Lestrange. No matter how many times he was told that Bellatrix couldn't be Aphrodite, he didn't believe it. From what he had heard, Aphrodite and Bella were so similar they must be the same person. Call Harry mental, but one part of him was apprehensive about fighting against her, and the other part was looking forward to it. Last time, it was Mrs Weasley who had taken Bellatrix down; this time, if Neville didn't protest, Harry would be the one sending her six feet under.

The Innomnabile Number Two, Hades, was a puzzle to Harry. What did he do with the bodies? Could he be into some sort of necrophilia — the thought of that wanted to make Harry throw up all the food he had eaten during the past ten years — or could he be saving lives? Harry quickly dismissed the second option. This was the Elite, they wouldn't be double-crossers.

But Artemis, the Innominabile Number One, that girl he didn't want to meet. She seemed even worse than Voldemort. Riddle liked to brag and, blinded by his own prowess, he tended to make very silly mistakes. Mistakes that had saved Harry's life several times since that fateful night in 1981. But Artemis didn't brag. She was silent, she was the huntress. She was Voldemort's daughter.

Thinking about the Elite force gave Harry headaches. He couldn't for the life of him decipher what to do about them. Harry was an incredibly powerful wizard and a superb duellist, but until he had seen their style, he couldn't even plan a strategy to bring those five down.

Harry admitted that he should've thought that things wouldn't be the same in the two dimensions. It had been silly of him to ever suppose that. And now the sixth Horcrux was proof of that. If they didn't find what and where it was, they would be doomed. Harry thought that Voldemort may have made a Horcrux out of Artemis, since she was also a Parselmouth, but wouldn't that be extremely foolhardy, even for Voldemort?

He had made Nagini his Horcrux when Pettigrew found him at the end of Harry's third year at Hogwarts. In Harry's opinion, that had been a very hasty and unwise decision. Well, unwise for Voldemort, lucky for Harry. But back to the point; Nagini was a living being, not as complicated and difficult as humans, but still a living entity. As such, unless Nagini had Horcruxes of herself, she would eventually die. The thought of a snake having Horcruxes was so absurd it left Harry laughing for a long while.

Even though everything pointed at Artemis being the final Horcrux, Harry had doubts about it. Would Voldemort really be so reckless so as to implant one of his precious soul shards inside a person who risked her life with every mission he gave her? Harry didn't think so, especially because he hadn't been in the picture this time. Back in his world, Voldemort had been obsessed with him, and chose Nagini as his Horcrux so he could carry on with his evil plans to become the supreme ruler of the universe and doing Harry in. But this world posed no real threat to Voldemort, seeing that the "Chosen One" was pushing daisies. So there was no reason for hasty decisions.

Harry shook his head. Now was not the time to think about that. He had to focus on preparing for the attack. He needed to clear his mind and beat some Death Eaters to a pulp.

Most of the Renegades in Cherry Lane, plus Neville and Harry, were duelling to get ready for the attack; some were duelling in pairs, some were practising against dummies. The reason was that those who wanted to practise against a real live opponent worked in pairs, but they were banned from firing anything deadlier than Stunners or Stinging Hexes. Practising against a real person gave them speed, agility and a somewhat real battle experience. Par contre, those who chose to try deadlier techniques practised against magical dummies. Harry understood the reason for it, especially after he witnessed Owl's special "Purple Rain" Curse on a dummy.

Harry watched, amazed, as she pointed her wand at the dummy and did some sort of circular movement with her wand. Two circles, if Harry had been fast enough to catch the movement. Then a tendril of purple fire spiralled around the body, encasing it and burning it. As a final touch, the fire spiral around the body shifted into purple blades, which dug into the body. Needless to say, that curse could be messy if practised on a living being; on a dummy, it only made one hell of a mess of cotton and fabric. Also note that Owl had one hell of a dark sense of humour.

'Your turn now, Gryffindor,' she said brightly. 'Let's see how well you do against one of the dummies. You'll work on speed and agility later with one of our own, Renegade Princess Pingyang. She is working with Neville right now,' Owl added. 'Questions?'

Harry nodded. 'Yes, two. First, is she a real princess?' he inquired, apprehensive at the thought of attacking royalty. Who knew if her father the King would come and behead him for attacking his daughter?

Owl laughed. 'No, she isn't. She chose that name to honour a princess of old; one who, in a time when women were seen as mere child-bearers, went to battle for her father and killed many enemies. It's quite fitting for her.'

Harry sighed in relief. 'All right. Question number two. Rules for the "game"?'

'No rules,' she said, 'the deadlier and faster you are, the better your chances of surviving.' Owl smirked and commented in an undertone, 'So show us what the Chosen One is made of.'

Harry growled. He hated that nickname, almost as much as he hated "The-Boy-Who-Lived".

Harry rose to his feet and faced the warning those who were close by to move away in case in got nasty, he turned his wrist, oblivious to the looks he was getting, and his glowing red wand came out.

His face hidden under his special robes, he bowed to his silent opponent. Let the show begin.

'Fractum!' he yelled, putting in an average amount of energy and pointing at the dummy's knee. The dummy stepped backwards, but its leg didn't break as it was supposed to. Interesting, the dummies were magic resistant. Harry shot another Bone-Breaking Curse at its head, but the dummy only wobbled until it set itself straight again.

Harry circled around it, and to his surprise, the dummy moved. They seemed to be semi-sentient. Whoever had created these dummies had done a brilliant job. Owl, most likely.

Harry smirked. Time to use more power in his attack. 'Aqua!

'

His supercharged Conjuring Spell created a massive ball of water in front of him, and before the dummy could pull any other tricks, he sent the ball of water at it. 'Custôdiae!' The dummy was locked inside a prison of water.

Grinning, Harry pocketed his wand. That hadn't been too difficult. At least, it hadn't been too difficult until someone tapped on his shoulder. He turned around, expecting to see Owl, only to find a small herd on ten dummies, one of which, the closest to him, punched him. For a thing made of wool and cotton, the dummy sure packed a punch.

'Oh crud,' he cursed. He would really have to pull some neat tricks. 'Âter aestus flagellum!' he murmured with a grim resolution. A giant black fire whip appeared by his side; ignoring the gasps of the crowd, he waved his wand and shot the whip at two dummies in the background.

The other dummies didn't stand still. As soon as Harry attacked the two dummies with the Black Fire Whip Curse, the others became sentient and stated walking towards him like an angry mob. Harry had to control the whip, which had now burnt the two dummies, and defeat the eight dummies that were closing in on him. He waved the whip again, and another dummy got caught in it.

They were getting too close. His right hand controlling the whip, waiting for the third dummy to be burnt to ashes (who knew if the thing would get up again if not?), Harry lifted his left hand, 'Magia dêprômô!' He didn't wait to see the results of his spell. 'Lacerus!' he yelled at another dummy, supercharging his spell and taking two down.

More dummies appeared. 'Damnit!'

'Cordis eruptio! Impedimenta! Atlas fractum!' He pulled the whip over his head and threw it at another dummy, blasting to smithereens. He crouched and rolled over, and shot an Entrail Expelling Curse at the nearest dummy before he got up. He conjured a ball of light in his palm and sent it at another of the dummies from there, while he waved the whip at another one.

Keeping the whip alive was taking its toll on Harry. He swished his wand and it disappeared. He pocketed his wand, quickly raising a small ward in front of him to prevent the dummies from reaching him, and another ward to protect the rest of the Renegades. He then pressed his palms together. Concentrating as hard as he could, he called forth his magic while whispering 'Aura Mortis'. Pulling every bit of strength he had, he slowly separated his hands.

He could hear the gasps of disbelief when soft black tendrils appeared between his palms, emitting a low hissing sound. When Harry grasped the ends of the wisps and tore them in two, the temperatures dropped and the hissing from the black threads in his palms became furious.

If he didn't attack a dummy soon, the strands would attack him. He placed his hands at his sides, palms wide open, sweating from the effort of controlling "the Breath of Death". He nodded and the ward that separated him from the dummies fell down.

'NOW!' he yelled. The black tendrils shot furiously from his hands at the dummies, puncturing each dummy several times on the chest, howling madly with each "death". With each stab, the strand remained inside and went to another dummy. It wasn't a pretty picture.

Harry cancelled the spell when all of the dummies were on the floor and turned around to lower the ward behind him, panting.

Really, he should have expected it. The crowd gathered behind was looking at him in awe and fear. Not only he had displayed an enormous amount of magical power, but he had done it wandless. Way to go, Harry. Also, he had used one spell only a real powerful wizard such as Voldemort could control without killing himself. Plus, it was one of the darkest spells around, highly illegal, highly deadly, and highly painful.

To his surprise, Charlie was the break to break out of his reverie and went to pat his back, exhilarated. 'That was brilliant, Gryffindor! Can't wait till you pull that one on Moldyshorts!' He cheered, ignoring the fear that had spread through the hearts of his followers.

Harry smiled feebly at him.

Owl approached him gingerly. 'Where did you learn that spell? Supposedly, Voldemort created it during the first war, and he never said the incantation aloud,' she said, half scared at the sheer power she had witnessed, half annoyed at not knowing the answer to that puzzle.

Harry laughed, making half of the crowd cringe. 'He really said that?' he laughed again and shook his head. 'This spell was created by one of the Headmasters at Hogwarts in the thirteenth century, Pollux Black. It was so dangerous and lethal it was banned and eventually forgotten. Voldemort did not create it,' he explained. 'Never took Voldemort for a fraud. Guess you never really get to know a person,' he added, shaking his head in amusement.

'How did you come across this information?' she asked. Harry could practically see the cogs in her head.

He smiled mischievously. 'Wouldn't you like to know?' he teased. 'Come, I have a certain princess to meet.'

Charlie laughed merrily while Harry pulled a disgruntled Owl with him, leaving the crowd in stunned silence.

Nobody ever noticed the calculating looks that followed Harry.

-oOoOoOoO o-

"Princess Pingyang" turned out to be Harry's erstwhile crush: Cho Chang. He wasn't sure if Owl had done it on purpose. Fortunately, she didn't know who he was, since he was wearing the robes that hid his face between a smoky black veil. Well, to be entirely truthful, it was not as if Harry had a puff of black smoke obscuring his sight. It was an illusion for the rest of the world, Harry could see as clearly as he would've done without those robes.

'You did quite a neat job on those dummies, Gryffindor,' Cho said, arranging her combat boots. 'My rank is not high enough to know your real identity, but if you ever feel too burdened by the weight of keeping that particular secret, I'm always here,' she smirked.

Harry laughed. He liked this Cho better than the one he used to know. 'Oh, thank you, your Majesty.'

Cho grinned. 'So, ready to have your arse royally kicked?'

He rolled his eyes. 'Not another pun-loving fiend, please!'

This world's Cho turned out to be really fast. The speed with which she rolled and turned and shot Stunners and Stinging Hexes at him was most impressive. She seemed born to dodge and twist. Harry was very fast, but he had to give into Cho's superior skills. He barely had time to dodge her volleys of curses, let alone fire any hexes at her.

He realised soon enough that he wasn't a match for her, so he decided to change his tactics. He confused her by pulling his wand back into his sleeve.

'What are you doing?' she asked nervously, firing another round of curses at Harry.

Harry smirked under his hood. He ducked and rolled, twisted and turned. He was focusing on defending himself instead of attacking — but at the same time, with every dodge, he was getting closer to her.

He was enjoying this fight very much, he thought, as he began to close the small distance between them. He was so glad now that Kingsley had taught him more than just magical combat. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, barely a feet away, Harry prepared himself.

Cho kept shooting curses at him, getting more and more nervous as she saw him approach her. She tried to pull backwards, but he was fast. She never saw it coming when he ducked and stuck out his leg to make her fall. Harry had always wanted to try something à la "Sweep the Leg".

Harry took out his wand again and placed it on Cho's neck. 'Do you yield?'

Cho laughed merrily.

-oOoOoO oOo-

The morning before the attack found Harry sitting on a chair on one of the balconies in the Renegade House. It had taken him quite a long time to notice, but once he did, Harry found himself deeply troubled. He had changed, and not for the better.

It had started off slowly and innocuously enough. He had begun studying the different branches of magic. He had been wary of them, but he also had a grim determination to learn what he could in order to survive a second war. He had never been the studious type, but he admitted that, considering how unbelievably unprepared he had been, it had been nothing short of a miracle that he had bested Voldemort in the Battle of Hogwarts. But he couldn't always count on luck, could he?

Looking up at the cloudy skies, he smiled grimly. They reflected his mood so well. It had been so innocent at first: reading books of magic, practising new techniques, being tutored by Kingsley… that is, until he received the Headmasters' Ring, a Rowena Ravenclaw invention. He glanced at his hand where the wretched thing was. It was nothing special, just a simple ring, nothing ostentatious or terribly visible. But it had changed him without him even noticing it. Dumbledore had thought that it was just Light Magic from the previous Headmasters, but it wasn't like that at all.

It was subtle at first. He had been knocked out from the sheer magical force that slammed his brain. After he woke up, he felt as if some part of his brain had gone all blurry. Perhaps that was how people with amnesia felt: he knew it was there, only he couldn't retrieve it. But as each day passed, bits of knowledge from centuries past had started popping up in his brain. Spells he and the rest of the population had never heard of, and yet he understood them as completely as if he had studied each for a very long time - including the darkest of the Dark Arts.

Dumbledore had been right banning the Dark Arts from Hogwarts. Prior to him, some of the Headmasters such as Dippet frowned upon them, but most of them were still legal. Other Headmasters had been blatantly biased in favour of them. Pollux Black, the creator of the Breath of Death, was only one out of a huge set of dark wizards who rose to the headmaster position at Hogwarts. He had read about their lives afterwards, and was surprised to find that many of them had ended up either crazy or murderers. And now he had all of their knowledge inside his brain, the same knowledge that drove them insane and cruel.

He had never truly noticed the changes on him until he duelled those dummies in front of the Renegades. The Golden Boy of Gryffindor would have got sick at that display, but the new Harry Potter didn't; he even felt exhilarated after using Aura Mortis on those dummies. Dumbledore's favourite student carried the guilt from cursing Draco Malfoy in his sixth year, even though he hadn't known about the effects of the Sectumsempra. The guilt of nearly killing someone, no matter if it was that poncy git, rested heavily on him. This Harry Potter had left a man to die after he had kept him as a prisoner bound and gagged inside his trunk.

He barely recognised himself now. He was so aggressive, he was using the Dark Arts more than he used Light Magic. Granted, Expelliarmus wouldn't get him that far this time, but was it really necessary for him to change this much? Would Dumbledore approve of it? Would Lily and James be proud of what Harry was turning into?

Harry's thoughts shifted to Voldemort. His and the Dark Lord's upbringing had been very similar, to a certain extent. They had not known what a loving family was. Until Harry met the Weasleys, he had never been accepted for what he was. They had been called "freaks", shunned for their unnaturalness. When they turned eleven, a miracle happened for both of them: they got their Hogwarts letter, they had been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry — they were wizards. They had a new place in the world, far away from their rotting pseudo-homes. They had been given a second chance.

Harry had never realised before just how lucky he had been for meeting Ron on the Hogwarts' Express. Ron, although immature and awed by Harry's scar, had welcomed him and given his friendship to him from the start. He had been sorted into Gryffindor, and had been widely accepted by all of the residents in Gryffindor Tower. True, his Boy-Who-Lived status had helped, but even the unknown students were welcomed with open arms.

He didn't think Voldemort had had it that easy. He came from an unknown background with an unknown name and was sorted into Slytherin. There, bearing in mind that Tom Riddle seemed like a Muggleborn, he had probably been ostracised from the very first moment he stepped foot in the House of the Snake. When Harry thought about it, it was probably then that Tom Riddle started dying and Voldemort began to take over. Tom Riddle's dreams and hopes must've been crushed, and so the future Lord Voldemort began, friendless and alone, cruel and with no respect towards human life.

But that hadn't been Harry's case. Harry had friends and people who liked him for who he was. But now he was in this forsaken place, with nobody that really knew him. Yes, Neville was around now, but he was still too awed by the fact that he was in another world.

Harry knew about the soul-corrupting effects the Dark Arts had. What worried him even more was before Voldemort had died in the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry had been a capable wizard, but nothing in the league of the Dark Lord or Dumbledore. But now he was. The magical power inside his body was tremendous; he could feel it each time he moved his fingers.

Harry was alone, powerful, and giving into the Dark Arts. He had never realised that, very slowly, he could become something similar to Voldemort. That thought scared him more than anything else in the world.

'Nervous about tonight's attack?' said a voice behind him, breaking his line of thought.

Harry turned around and saw Owl smiling kindly at him. He shook his head. 'No, just thinking about stuff.'

She sat next to him in silence. He could hear her steady breathing beside him. She had been tremendously helpful since he had been with the Renegades, even if they did have a rocky start. He glanced sideways at her. Owl had her eyes closed and looked relaxed, as if she were enjoying the chill morning breeze on her face. But her eyebrows were slightly furrowed and her mouth was too tight.

Opening her eyes, Owl saw the furtive looks she was getting from Harry and smiled. 'You shouldn't worry too much, Harry. You'll do great. Everyone is impressed with you. Squeamish is so happy he has been bouncing up and down for the past week.'

Harry stared at her and sighed. 'It's not that, Owl. It's just — I don't know. I'm changing, and I don't think I like it.'

Owl arched an eyebrow. 'What do you mean?'

'I used to be so naïve it was ridiculous. I was Dumbledore's poster-boy, the incarnation of the Gryffindor values,' he started, laughing mirthlessly at his past innocent self. 'But now everything has changed. When did I start using the Dark Arts like mere Wingardium Leviosa's? When did I start enjoying destroying dummies like as if it were a game?' he asked, revealing his inner struggle.

Owl sat up, a cross expression on her face. 'Listen Harry, and listen well. We are at war. If you see a Death Eater, blast him. You say it as if your display of magic the other day was a bad thing,' she said sternly, 'and it isn't. It's wonderful news. We now have two immensely powerful wizards on our side, and that has increased our odds. But we are still vastly outnumbered. Even though we're the good guys, this isn't a fair fight and we cannot allow ourselves to follow the Gryffindor principles,' she continued, a slightly derisive tone in her voice. 'You can't go soft on the Death Eaters, because I promise you that they won't go soft on you. We will risk our lives for you, but you must pull yourself together and stop this nonsense right now. Otherwise, we are already dead,' she concluded, pulling herself to rest again on her chair and enjoy the chilly morning in Britain.

Harry's eyes were wide open in shock. He realised that no matter how much they looked alike and how scarily brilliant they were, Owl was not Hermione. Same as Dragon wasn't Charlie and Snorkack wasn't Luna. He had deluded himself into thinking that his friends were back. They weren't. These were different people who happened to have the same bodies and faces, but that was it. Hermione was his friend, but Owl was a warrior. Hermione would have never said that end justified the means, but Owl was clearly of that opinion.

He couldn't blame Owl, she was extremely gifted at what she did and she had been fighting everyday for the past seven years of her life. Criticising her would be unfair and stupid. She was a high-ranking member amongst the Renegades and had gone through hardships Harry couldn't even begin to imagine.

But Harry wasn't like that. Harry couldn't afford not setting himself some restrictions. Harry realised that he now needed his friends more than ever.

-oOoOoOoOo -

'You should have some rest Harry, it's going to be a long night,' Neville said, watching Harry pacing up and down. Neville was worried about Harry, but didn't know how to express it.

Harry smiled sadly and plopped on a couch. They had been with the Renegades for the past week, and Neville and Harry had been given a room to share. Inside it, with Dragon's permission, Harry placed several wards so that only Owl, Dragon, Snorkack, Neville and himself could enter the room. It was the only place where he could lower his hood and be Harry, not Gryffindor.

'It's just that — oh, I don't know. We are going to raid a Death Eater settlement tonight; we are actively attacking them, instead of the usual defending. I just can't wrap my head around it, you know?' he asked, more to himself than to Neville.

Neville nodded absent-mindedly. 'I agree. It's not what we are used to. I guess that is because of how things turned out here. Who knew not having a moody midget in glasses around would be so catastrophic?' Neville asked with a feeble attempt at humour.

Harry grinned. 'Hey! I'm not that tiny anymore. You should know that I am considered "tall" now. So there.' He could've stuck out his tongue just then, but that would be way too out of character. The grin left Harry's face. 'Sometimes I wonder if they actually know what they are fighting for, or if it's just the everyday routine. They are almost as ruthless as any Death Eater. I know they are the "good guys", but I just don't want to end up like them, you know?' he asked rhetorically.

'Yeah, I get it,' Neville said, grimacing. 'The thing is - this is a war, and this time we are the unfavoured side, so the tactics this time must be different than last time. The Renegades is a big force, but they are nothing against the army Voldemort has been able to gather throughout his years in power.' He sighed. 'This place is so screwed up.'

Harry laughed. 'Yeah, that about sums it up alright.'

Neville furrowed his eyebrows. 'The thing is - and this is something I always wondered - what should we do? I don't want to kill anyone, but considering our odds, it appears I will have to do so if I want to live to tell the tale. We are so outnumbered that Stunning Death Eaters just won't do this time. But do I want to lose myself by becoming a killing machine? No, I don't. So I just don't know what to do.'

Harry nodded. 'Agreed. I have seen what has become of Hermione, and I don't like it. She is supposed to use her enormous brainpower to baffle the rest of the world with her brilliance, not devise plans and techniques and hexes to torture and maim Death Eaters…' Harry finished, punching the couch in frustration.

'Yeah, she's very different. It's not her fault, obviously. But I don't like it either. It's just so wrong. Same with Charlie. Snorkack? She is a quaint as our Luna, but she has a maniac and dangerous glint in her eye Luna lacked. Can we blame them? No, we can't. But that doesn't mean we have to like it. Just,' Neville added, with a slight apprehensive tone in his voice, 'look, I know we will have to be efficient against the Death Eaters and I know that you were holding back the other day, but I only ask you to not use the Cruciatus Curse, okay?'

Harry smiled. He had never been so glad that Neville was there with him, another stranger in an Unholy Land. 'You can count on it, mate. I hate the Unforgivables. Been too much at their receiving end to like them.'

'Thanks, Harry. Oh, and leave Bellatrix to me.'

Harry laughed.

-oOoOoO oOo-

The team was composed of all of the Renegades in Cherry Lane save for Dragon. He had wanted to go with them, but Owl had convinced him in the end to leave for another Renegade house. Losing Charlie wouldn't be as magically devastating as losing Harry, but Harry was a secret weapon whereas Dragon was the leader of the Renegades. If something happened to him, the Renegades would fall.

Harry knew most of the members of the raid, even if he had never talked to them. At least he knew them by name, since most of them hid under their hoods while he was around.

They were all preparing to leave for the attack. Harry waited for them, sitting on a couch near the entrance and trying to stay as calm as he could. The truth be told, Harry was a nervous wreck.

'Excited about the attack, Gryffindor?' someone said.

Harry looked up to see the newcomer; Cho "Princess Pingyang" Chang. Harry was shocked to see how different she looked. Cho was wearing some tight elastic-looking leggings and a shirt, all black of course, and her combat boots seemed made of the thickest dragon-hide Harry had ever seen. She had a robe over that, but the hood was pulled down. It was her hair that seemed so out of place. Instead of pulling up some simple ponytail or whatever girls felt more comfortable with, she had the most intricate bun on her head Harry had ever seen. It was oriental-looking, metallic chopsticks included and all, and would have not been out of place at the Yule Ball. But for a raid? Harry rolled his eyes. Girls.

'No. I'm bloody nervous.'

'You shouldn't be. They are fun,' Cho said merrily.

'Fun? How could you consider killing people fun? And what about the lives of the Renegades? You know not all of you will come back!' Harry nearly yelled.

Cho shrugged. 'You get used to it. You learn never to get close enough to anyone so that you would miss them if they died. Sooner or later we will all die anyway. So if we are to snuff it, why not take as many Death Eaters as we can with us?' she asked, completely serious.

Harry stared at her. 'You have problems.'

She laughed. 'And you are too serious. I need to go and check in with my Captain. See you later!' she waved merrily at him, disappearing through a door.

That statement was yet another proof of how messed up this world was. So messed up Harry thought that even if they won the war, many changes would have to be made to bring things back onto the right track. He promised himself that no matter what happened, he was not going to become like them.

Shaking off his feelings about them and their lack of respect for human life, Harry went back to thinking about the raid. Just what the hell was he supposed to do? Was there even a purpose to this raid? Or was it just to kill off Death Eaters? And what did they expect from him? Flashy lights and a huge death toll behind his back? Wouldn't it be better if he kept his abilities hidden until the final showdown with Voldemort?

'Keep thinking like that and you'll be easy prey for Snorkack's Wrackspurts.'

Harry smiled. 'I think I have been possessed by Wrackspurts too many times already. What's once more?' he asked, looking up at Owl.

She shook her head lightly and sat down next to him. Harry could see that she was wearing the same sort of attire that Cho was, but Owl had knives in sheaths tied to her hip and thighs. Harry bet there were more inside her boots and arms. It was downright scary.

'We are all set to leave. Dragon and Squeamish are the only ones staying here, so they are giving the rest of the team a pep talk. You know, to cheer them up and all of that. To give them motivation.'

'So why aren't you there?' Harry asked curiously.

'I have had too much of his pep talks. They just drag on and on,' Owl answered sheepishly.

Harry laughed. 'That does remind me of Oliver Wood, the Crazy Quidditch Fan. Used to wake us up at five A.M. to give us one of his talks. Never managed to get through one without falling asleep at some point.'

'Oliver Wood? He is a Renegade, but not of this House. He is a Captain too, and very strict with his team. From what I have heard, he can be a nightmare. Makes them get up at the crack of down to jog around the house.'

He grinned. That was just so like Oliver. Good to know that some things remained the same. Changing the topic, Harry said, 'So where is the raid? Anything I need to know?'

Owl shook her head. 'No, you will arrive via Portkey. We don't tell the Renegades where they are going until they are already there. Safety precaution, Gryffindor. I was the one who tracked down this settlement, so only Dragon and I know where it is. What you need is to attack as efficiently as you can,' she explained quickly. Lowering her voice, she said, 'Please don't hold back, Harry. Attack them with everything you have.'

Harry nodded in grim defeat. He would get his hands stained with blood that night. He wondered why the Renegade leaders were so paranoid that they didn't tell the rest of their team where they were going. Wouldn't that handicap the team? Shouldn't they be learning about the way the Death Eaters were placed?

Then again, Harry realised that, after having watched them trained, they were ready for almost any sort of Death Eater formation. Also, remembering what had happened to his parents because they had trusted one of their old school friends, Harry admitted that it made sense. That way, their raid wouldn't be foiled because of a traitor. Even if there were such a double-crosser that would alert Voldemort of a raid, he wouldn't be able to tell him where it would take place.

Another question popped up in Harry's brain. 'Okay, so why are you carrying so many knives?'

Owl smiled wickedly. 'You never know if Artemis will be there,' and with that statement, she stood up and left.

Soon enough, it was time for Harry, Neville and the Renegades to leave. They were all dressed in the same robes, black from head to toe. Harry panicked briefly. If the Renegades were dressed in Black and so were the Death Eaters, then how would he separate friend from foe?

Ah, he then remembered one detail. Death Eaters wore masks. The Renegades had opted for a very freaky alternative. While the hood was simple cloth over their heads, their faces were another story. Where a normal visage should've been, there was only black void with two specks of white light were the eyes were. Just like zombies. Downright creepy. Then again, black smoke covered his face, so he wasn't one to talk.

'Alright team,' Owl spoke, 'we are ready. Squeamish is handing over the Portkeys. As soon as we all have our own Portkey, say "activate". In case you are injured or if one of your team has fallen down, put yourselves or your fallen comrade under a Stasis Spell. I'll be erecting anti-Apparition and anti-Portkey wards as soon as we get there, so nobody gets in or out until it's all over. All clear?' she asked, while placing the Portkey — a bracelet — around her wrist. With renewed fervour, she pumped up her first and cried 'To battle!'

'TO BATTLE!' the mass shouted.

Harry glanced at Neville and the both nodded at each other. 'ACTIVATE!'

Floomp.

Harry landed on the soft grass. Standing up, it looked like they were in a forest. It was very dark, so he didn't know just how big it was, but it did look like a very thick forest. He saw a figure beckoning them in silence — Owl, he supposed — so he walked up to where they were gathering.

Owl cast a few privacy wards, just like the ones Hermione had created when she, Ron and Harry had been "camping". Once she was done, she started speaking. 'We are in the largest islands in Loch Lomond, Inchmurrin, also know in Gaelic Scottish as "Innis Mheadhran". That bit of information is only important because of this: Innis Mheadhran Stage Two Camp is located on Inchmurrin Island,' she said, pronouncing each syllable very slowly. Harry supposed it was so the Fidelius could be thwarted. 'This island is very small, and it's basically empty. As H.V. Morton said, it's a "grassy isle, packed with memories," she explained, making Harry smile softly. This Owl was still a magnificent source of information.

'The isle belongs to the Scott family, and the population is mostly Muggle. The Death Eaters have formed a camp on the southern borders of this forest. The Fidelius Charm is now officially broken — at least for us — so you will have no problems finding it. This is a Death Eater settlement used for training. From the information Dragon and I gathered, it has eighty-nine recruits. Before you start protesting,' she continued, raising a hand to calm the Renegades, 'you should remember that this is a Stage Two camp, so they are basically newbies, but one day they will become fully-fledged Death Eaters - so don't go soft on them. Any Stage Two has already tortured, maimed and killed innocents. So don't hesitate to hit them with everything you've got.'

'There are fifty of us, so we are splitting into five groups of ten. The captains of each group will be Seeker, Italy, Joker, Patronus and myself,' she proceeded, producing four pieces of parchment from her robes, 'the sub-team you each have been assigned to is on this list. Once you have made the groups and seen your instructions, burn the parchments,' she instructed, speaking with authority to the silent crowd. 'That is all. May Merlin be with all of you,' she finished. Turning to where Harry was, she said 'Snorkack, Avenger, Gryffindor, Princess Pingyang, Loony, Eton, Hound, Fiendfyre, Jewel — to me!'

Nine figures approached Owl's silhouette and waited until she lowered the wards. After that, she gestured them to follow her. Pointing one finger at her feet, she cast a spell on them silently and started walking again. Harry understood that she wanted them to cast a non-verbal Silencing Spell on their feet, too, so he obliged her.

The rest of the teams were still close, but each was heading in a different direction. It looked as if Owl's plan consisted of surrounding the camp and then attacking the Death Eaters with everything they had.

As they came closer to the borders of the forest, they all started hearing human voices, Death Eater voices. Owl raised her hand, motioning them to stop. She then gestured them to crouch down to hide behind the bush in front of them. Crowded behind the bush though it was, at least they were safe enough and had a good deal of sight.

Two hundred feet away from their hiding place, Harry could see what appeared to be a Muggle camp. Several white tents were arranged in neat lines, with torches on the ground lit to illuminate the way around them. Further away from the tents, Harry thought he could see what looked like a huge stadium, probably used for battle training. What piqued Harry's curiosity was not the Muggle-ness of the camp, but a single tent. That particular tent seemed to be in the middle of the camp, flanked by numerous others. Unlike the others, this tent was not white, but some other colour. Night had already fallen, so Harry was not sure which colour it was. Perhaps black? In any case, Harry thought that one important Death Eater must be residing in that tent.

Harry was not the only one to notice, he felt the rest of his team tense when they all saw it. Owl caught their attention and lifted three fingers into the air, he face all over with worry. Harry had absolutely no idea what that was about, but it seemed to be bad news for them.

Owl drew out her wand and Disillusioned herself, signalling the rest of them to do the same and the follow her. Forming a line, Harry behind Owl, they approached the camp as silently as they could. Fortunately, it seemed that the Death Eaters were all in their tents, so they wouldn't spot their shadowy silhouettes moving.

The closer they got to the camp, the better he could see how it was. Harry nearly snorted at just how Muggle it looked. He drew his sight to the special tent and from that distance, he could see that it was pitch black and bigger than the rest of them. Who that tent belonged to, Harry didn't know. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

Harry heard a rustle and crouched to the ground, pulling Owl down with him. The rest of the team seemed to notice their move, and laid on their bellies on the grass.

It had been a wise move, because three figures emerged from the black tent a second later. They were far enough away that he couldn't see their faces perfectly, but it was definitely one man and two women. The man was tall and lean, wearing a dark grey robe, with nearly albino-white hair. He seemed quite young, even though he had a hideous fresh-looking wound that started above his eyebrow and went down across his cheek, jaws and neck to disappear under his robes, leaving his eye intact. It was very bloody and intimidating. He stood there with his arms crossed, a wand in his hand.

The figure next to him was that of a woman. She was tall and elegant, wearing long black robes, and had black locks that shone with the torches' fire surrounding her face. Harry gasped - Bellatrix was there. But something was amiss; she looked way too young. The change in Bellatrix was amazing, Harry couldn't grasp how different she looked in this place, where she had never been disfigured by spending many years in a stint in Azkaban. It was almost uncanny: she should be around fifty and yet looked like twenty-something. In any case, Harry surprised himself by thinking that Bellatrix was stunning. Shaking those disturbing thoughts, Harry moved to watch the last figure.

The third woman was petite and draped in a dark red robe. He couldn't see her face because she had a hood over her head. She was slim and small, but she stood there with a staggering air of confidence. Harry would bet that this woman was a very high-ranking Death Eater.

Forgetting all about the team, Harry's true Gryffindorly nature kicked in, he started crawling closer to the three Death Eaters. Fortunately or unfortunately, he didn't get very far, as he heard a scuttle behind him and then someone grabbed his ankle forcefully. Damn.

Straining his ears, Harry tried to eavesdrop on their conversation. Sadly, he could only hear bits and pieces.

'Obviously worried… can't explain… keeps dreaming about his death… Hades says they were safe… Don't know what it means…' he heard the small woman say. He knew that voice, but it was so cold he couldn't place it.

'… Renegades behind it… Trick… He's immortal… traitor… poison… don't understand,' the man muttered between his teeth. Again, Harry knew that voice; but where from, he didn't know.

'KILL THEM ALL NASTY ICKLE BABIES!' Bellatrix roared, true to her usual crazy self.

'Shut up, you idiot!' The woman ordered, placing the tip of her wand on Bellatrix neck making Harry open his eyes wide in shock. Nobody could ever do that to the fearsome Death Eater Lady, nobody. Only one could do that without being placed under the Cruciatus Curse until their brains resembled scrambled eggs, and that was Lord Voldemort himself. But it was obvious that this woman wasn't Voldemort — the different dimensions couldn't have changed that much, could they? So that could only mean -

Harry cursed silently. That woman was one of the Innominabiles.

It could only be Artemis or Aphrodite, but which of them was her? He had been told that Aphrodite was an incredibly beautiful woman, more so than Bellatrix, but her hood was up, so she couldn't see her face. Artemis was Voldemort's heiress, but the woman over there looked just so small he couldn't imagine her being the legendary Artemis. Then again, smiling despite himself, as George Weasley once said "size is no guarantee of power… Look at Ginny. You've never been on the receiving end of one of her Bat-Bogey Hexes, have you?"

Harry shook his head, concentrating back on the conversation ahead. The woman had taken her wand off Bellatrix's neck, but she was holding it up in a very menacing way.

'… Orders have been sent… do as you were told… set up as we speak… man in place…'

'… Trustworthy… means necessary… morons… fifteen Killing Curses… Wormtail…'

Harry's ears perked up. Wormtail? Did she say Wormtail?

'…Returning… dead…positions… Father… stick to the plan,' the woman finished, turning her back on the other two without looking back and disappeared with a soft 'Pop' into the night.

The man shook his head lightly. '… cool down… know how it is…erratic… Mudbloods… must go…' Harry couldn't quite catch the last words he said before Disapparating, but he did see that they left Bellatrix very worried. Good, though Harry. Anything that made Bellatrix unhappy was good news.

Bellatrix pulled her hood up and turned around to enter her pitch-black tent. Then Harry realised something and nearly laughed out loud. He had figured all out, and was surprised by how obvious it was.

The Innominabiles wore different colours, just like students from different Houses at Hogwarts did. The rest of the Death Eaters, Harry supposed, wore simple black, but the Innominabiles didn't. He didn't know why Voldemort would want them dressing in different colours, but then again he couldn't fathom the Dark Lord's mind sometimes, no matter how many times he had been wandering in his thoughts.

The man was an Innominabile and so were the other two women. Since there were three male Innominabile, he couldn't know which one he was. The woman in dark red robes, the one who had talked most of the time and threatened Bellatrix; that woman had been Artemis.

Harry nearly slapped himself. But of course! She had said "Father"! She must've been talking about her adopted father — Voldemort!

His thoughts turned to Bellatrix: she was the Innominabile Number Three; Bellatrix was Aphrodite. It all fit, Bellatrix's colour was black because she was a bloody Black! When Owl had lifted three fingers into the air before, that was because she recognised that black belonged to the Innominabile Number Three.

But before he could think any further, Owl grabbed him by the neck and whispered threateningly into his ear 'if you ever do that again, I'll kill you myself.' Harry gulped.

She pulled him up to his feet, and after making sure that the team was complete — by means unknown to Harry, since they were all still Disillusioned — she grabbed his hand and crept forward towards the camp.

Suddenly, she urged him to stop. He couldn't see a thing, but he could sense that she was moving her wand, presumably to check for any further wards. Harry doubted there were, the Fidelius was supposed to be impenetrable, so the Death Eaters would feel very safe and in no need of extra wards. That reminded him he'd have to ask Owl how she had managed to break the Fidelius. Well, he'd ask her when he was positive she wouldn't kill him on sight.

Feeling a tug on his sleeve, he realised that Owl wanted to tell the group something.

'All set. We are attacking them in ten,' she whispered. 'Thanks to the idiot next to me who could've jeopardised the entire mission,' she growled, 'we gathered that the Innominabile Number Three is here, and it's Bellatrix. Positive,' she continued, ignoring the small gasps. 'The plan is for each of you to raid each tent save for Bellatrix's, maintaining your Disillusionment Charms. Place a Silencing Charm on each tent before you raid it, so that the screams won't be heard,' she explained, her voice not giving away any feeling. 'When the battle is out, bring down the Charm, or else we won't recognise each other. Kill as many as you can, using whatever means you deem necessary. Put a small "X" on each tent after you have disposed of all the Death Eaters inside. Do not — under any circumstance — attempt to break into Bellatrix's tent. We will all need to work together if we want to bring her down. Understood?'

Silence followed that question, which seemed to be what Owl was looking for. He felt her next to him rummaging in her robes. Shortly afterwards, he heard her speak in an undertone, 'Seeker, our team is in position. You know the drill. Wait for our signal to attack. It will start raining in six minutes sharp.'

What a bizarre message, Harry thought. And how was she communicating with Seeker, the leader of another sub-team? He didn't have enough time to ponder about that question because Owl pulled him forward. Rather forcefully, if he might add.

They crept towards the camp slowly. As they shortened the distance between themselves and the camp, Harry started getting anxious. In another world, Harry would have stormed in with his Gryffindor bravado; the only thought in his mind would be to keep the ones he cared about safe. Now, it was very different. Gone were his reckless tendencies. And Harry knew the reason why: this wasn't to defend — this was murder.

The camp was practically silent. The only small sounds that he could hear came from inside the nearest tents. Owl tugged at his sleeve once again, and Harry took it as a sign that each team member had to separate and start killing Stage Two Death Eaters off. Gulping, he turned to his left and, careful not to knock over one of the torches, he slid very silently into the nearest tent.

The last time he had been in a magical tent had been at the Quidditch World Cup, where he had stayed with all of the Weasley boys. But where he had stayed that time and the tent he was in now were very different situations. At the Quidditch World Cup, he had been amazed that a house could fit in it; but this one was very small, almost Muggle, even.

Three Death Eaters were sleeping soundly on the ground inside, with thick blankets draped over them. What surprised him was that one of them had left a candle lit next to him. Furrowing his brows, Harry approached the sleeping figure and gasped.

The boy could be no older than twelve. The boy must've let the candle because he was probably scared. Harry then realised that he was the most ill-disposed man for the job. How on earth was he supposed to murder a preteen in cold blood? He shook his head — he just couldn't do it. He hoped that Owl would understand, but something in the back of his head told him that she wouldn't care about the boy's age, she would just care about him being a Death Eater and about Harry not killing him.

It dawned on him that there was a real difference between practising with dummies and the real thing. He smiled slightly at that; perhaps he wasn't so lost after all. He refused to do it, full stop. Swishing his hand, he cast a slightly overcharged Stunner at each figure. Powerful enough that a simple Ennervate wouldn't do, but not strong enough to stop their hearts. He then bound them and retrieved their wands, pocketing them inside his robe. Time to go out.

As soon as he stepped out, it started raining. Small drops at first that soon turned into a downpour. Harry wondered if that was the signal for Seeker's team to start the attacks. But how could Owl control the weather? She wasn't that powerful.

Harry shook his head, no wasn't the time for thoughts. Swishing his wand, he whispered 'Flagrate' and drew a small "X". With his free hand, he pushed the letter until it scorched the cloth from the tent. He sighed. His work there was done.

'BLOODY BRITAIN WITH ITS BLOODY RAIN!'

Harry's heart skipped a beat. Bellatrix had gone out from her tent. Damnit, that could go very wrong. Harry watched her, paralysed in fear as she fumbled with her wand, muttering and cackling insanely all the time. He prayed that she wouldn't notice anything.

'KERRIC! KERRIC!' she yelled, moving past her tent and straight into the one next to hers. Harry opened his eyes widely when he saw that the tent was marked with an "X". That meant that whoever was inside — Kerric — was dead. Harry shut his eyes tightly and waited. The seconds seemed to creep by, and for the longest of times he could only hear the nervous beating of his heart, quickly pumping blood through his body.

'EVERYONE UP!' Bellatrix roared, rushing out of the tent. 'WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!'

And so it began. Holding his wand tight in his hand, Harry gave himself one millisecond to breathe deeply, allowing himself to accept that his hands were about to get stained with blood.

As the first Death Eaters started running out of their tents, bedraggled and with their nightclothes on but ready to battle, Harry decided to go against Owl's order and kept the Disillusionment Charm on. Wand arm and left arm in opposite directions, he started shooting overcharged Stunners around, bringing Death Eaters down at once.

Harry moved, and suddenly he was in the middle of an aisle. Even though he wasn't visible, his Stunners were. As if on cue, no less than ten Killing Curses hit the place where he had been barely a second before. He pressed himself against a tent, trying to breathe evenly so that nothing could give him away.

Tiptoeing, he skirted around the tent and fired a couple of Stunners at the Death Eaters in front of him, grinning when he saw them fall. On to the next ones.

The battle was getting bloody. All of the Renegades had taken down the Disillusionment Charms and were fighting with their deadliest arsenal. From the corner of his eye he could see Owl duelling with Bellatrix, and to say that it was impressive would be the understatement of the century.

Harry crouched again, careful not to bump against someone lest he was discovered. He saw another three Death Eaters flinging curses against one of the Renegades. Using three of his fingers, he shot at them another three supercharged Stunners. He was pleased to see them fall to the ground, and even more pleased when he realised that Neville had been the one in need of help, and that he was perfectly all right.

Harry ran to him and whispered, 'Neville, it's Harry. I'm right behind you.'

Neville did a small jump but other than that pretended he hadn't heard him and continued firing curses at Death Eaters. 'What are you doing? Owl said -'

'I know, but I figured it'd be best if I stayed under the charm for extra back-up,' he muttered under his breath, dodging yet another Killing Curse from an approaching Death Eater, one who soon fell to his Stunner.

'What hexes are you using?' Neville asked, turning to face another enemy.

'Overcharged Stunners. I just can't,' Harry said in a small voice, half-ashamed, half-relieved that he couldn't go through it.

Neville nodded as he ducked a curse that looked very much like a Cruciatus. 'Neither could I,' he admitted, sending a Befuddlement Hex at another enemy.

Harry smiled briefly. 'I'm off to help Owl with Bellatrix, want to come?'

He could practically see the evil grin under Neville's hood. At Harry's request, he went back under the Disillusionment Charm. Swiftly, they moved towards the source of insane cackling, knowing that was Bellatrix. Who else would sound that mental?

Trying to avoid the centre of the aisles, they pressed their bodies against the rows of tents and moved as silently as they could, firing hexes and Stunners at each Death Eater they saw, trying not to distract themselves when they recognised one of their own down.

He saw Owl coming. Her hood was down and her hair was in complete disarray, bushier and wilder than he had ever seen it before, with matted blood in it. Tears were running down her face and washing the wounds on it. She was running and limping and firing Killing Curses at each Death Eater she saw, narrowly avoiding several curses herself. He could see that she was seriously distressed and that she was muttering something that made her even more distraught, but he didn't know exactly what until she came a bit closer.

'Where is he? Please don't — Avada Kedavra! — let him be dead… Please don't — Lacerus!' she cried, tears and blood running down her cheeks, clutching one of her sides with all of her strength.

Harry realised that she was wounded, so he and Neville started running towards her to help her. His feet couldn't move fast enough and he hoped that her wound wasn't too serious.

Something lurked in the shadows, ready to pounce. Harry, his reason frozen in the fear that he may lose Owl, didn't think about the repercussions and fired the first spell that came to his mind, the same spell he had seen Owl use on a dummy while they practised.

'Incendia Vesica!' he roared with all of his might, his eyes only long enough on his spell to notice a massive purple beam that went straight to the waiting Death Eater. His focus then got back on Owl. He didn't notice the Death Eater scream in excruciating agony, nor did he notice when the sharp steel tore the body into pieces. It wouldn't be until much later that he'd realise he had killed a man without a second thought.

They finally reached Owl and Harry pulled her into his arms as soon as she was an arm away. He gasped when he body hit his and he felt blood oozing freely from her stomach onto his robes.

'Owl, it's me. It's Harry,' he whispered soothingly, 'I'm here, you are safe,' he said, casting a Disillusionment Charm on her while lifting her up in his arms. Whistling softly at Neville, they both moved away from where the battle was taking place and hid behind a tent. When Harry felt they were safe enough, he lowered her gently to the ground and turned to immediately erect some basic wards, including an invisibility one.

'Harry,' she panted, her eyes firmly shut when Harry returned them all to visibility. 'Why — haven't you — done,' she coughed, splattering blood everywhere, 'As I said?' she asked, while Harry applied pressure to the wound in her stomach, barely listening to her. 'Always follow — your captain's orders,' she said with visible effort, 'Always, Harry,' she finished with a small smile.

Both he and Neville started working on her frantically. To his surprise, Neville pulled out a box from his robes and opened it, hastily taking out two vials of potion, one green and one red. 'I always carry this with me,' Neville answered to his unasked question. 'Just in case.'

Harry nodded, immensely grateful at Neville's good thinking, while he continued to apply pressure on the wound. His friend seemed to know what he was doing, so he focused on not letting any more blood run out of her body.

'She will not die,' Neville stated with a determined expression on his face. 'Continue applying pressure, I'll monitor her heartbeat.'

Owl started breathing erratically and coughing up more and more blood. Harry was so gripped with fear for her, he didn't know what to do. The battle before him seemed to be in the past, only an annoying buzz. The only thing that mattered to him was his friend lying down there, in a puddle of her own blood.

Harry concentrated on the wound beneath his hands. Focusing like he had never done before, Harry willed his magic to heal the wound, he forced his magic to shape itself in a way that would repair the damage done to her internal organs. He had never done that before, but he was exhilarated when he noticed a silver glow under his hands and what seemed to be a steadily closing hole.

Neville smiled at him and continued forcing potions down her throat, lifting her head so that she could swallow them better. But Owl had lost too much blood.

Her eyes started fluttering madly and she muttered something that sounded like 'I'm tired.' Harry yelled at her to stay awake, anguish leaking from his voice, his chest constricted. But Owl's eyes rolled to the back of her skull.

'NO!' he screamed.

'HARRY! CPR RIGHT NOW! You do the breathing, I'll take care of her heart' Neville ordered, while tearing open her shirt. Harry nodded, scooting his body closer to Owl's head and tilted her head backwards, closing her nostrils with his fingers.

Neville, one hand compressing rhythmically her stomach and the other one with his wand pointed at her chest and yelled 'Claustrum!' a beam of red light hit her, making her back arch.

Harry lowered his mouth to hers and exhaled.

'Claustrum!'

Tears leaking from his eyes, Harry pushed air into his friend's body.

'Claustrum!'

Owl opened her eyes, hyperventilating and coughing up blood.

Neville nodded at him while he fed her more potions. Harry in turn smiled feebly at him. They kept working on her frantically until Neville stated that she was very weak, but out of danger.

Harry sighed in relief, bloody thankful that Neville was there with him. If he hadn't been… if it just had been Harry all by himself — what would have happened… Harry would never have forgiven himself. Shaking off those dark thoughts, he decided to stop thinking about the "what if's" and concentrated on his friend lying there.

'You know,' he whispered, 'If Ron had watched this, he'd be after my blood, thinking that I was stealing you away from him,' he finished, smiling softly at her.

She tried to laugh but ended up coughing again. 'Silly,' said Owl, raising one hand at him as if to swat him. 'You and I both know you are Ginny's property,' she whispered, exhausted.

Harry chuckled at that. Truer words had never been said.

'Harry,' said Owl. 'Get back to the battle and kick Bellatrix's arse,' she wheezed. Winking one eye at him, she added, 'That is an order!'

He glanced at Neville who barely nodded at him and added 'she'll be fine; I'll take care of her while you are gone,' he gave him a reassuring smile.

He felt quite uneasy about leaving them here, but he had erected safe wards. 'I'll be back, I promise,' he said and took off running, adrenaline pumping back into his veins. He would do this for Owl, the consequences be damned! He'd deal with the guilt later, but now he needed to vent off his anger, the anger that had been repressed inside of him since he nearly watched his friend die.

He didn't know how long they had been out with Owl. Ten minutes? Half an hour? An hour? He didn't care. They battle was still raging and he had to find Bellatix.

He shot out like a bat from hell, jumping over the bodies piled on the ground and ducking curses thrown at him, sending back one of his own when he saw a clear target, his intention to maim but not to kill. He moved at an inhuman speed, looking out for Bellatrix; nothing else mattered. It had most likely been her who had rendered Owl in such a state, and the memory of her heart stopping infused enough anger in him to give him another boost of energy.

He found Cho Chang. She had her hood down and was wrestling a Death Eater.

'Where have you been?' she shouted at him, punching a Death Eater on the nose at the same time. 'Owl was dead worried about you!'

Harry shot a Severing Curse at the Death Eater's arm and he crumbled to the ground on pain. Turning to Cho he gritted between his teeth, 'Saving her life along with Avenger. Had to CPR her,' he explained while kicking another minion on the knee brutally enough to break it.

Cho took out one of the metallic chopsticks in her bun and threw it at yet another Death Eater, landing with a deadly accuracy on the throat. Ignoring the gurgling, she said 'Well, that one won't wake up. I infused it with Acromantula venom.'

Harry smiled briefly. Guess that complicated hair-do was more than just stylish. Wand at the ready, they both walked silently, looking out for possible threats.

'There were more than eighty-nine Death Eaters,' she explained out of breath, 'Plus, there was also Aphrodite and Rabastan Lestrange. The bastard is down, but the bitch isn't. She howled in grief when we took down her brother-in-law,' she added, smirking nastily.

'But we have had many losses,' said Cho, sobering up immediately. 'We've lost Loony and Hound in our team, and we have been the luckiest.' She threw another chopstick at another guy, stabbing him right through the heart, 'I lost my wand and was nearly killed, but Snorkack arrived just in time.'

'Here, wait,' Harry said, pulling out the wand he had stolen from the Death Eaters he had put to sleep. 'Pick whichever.'

Cho smiled at him in gratitude.

BOOM!

Cho wasn't by his side anymore but thrown twenty feet across.

'NO!' he started running, but someone blocked him.

Bellatrix.

'Aww w, does the itty bitty Renegade care for his kung-fu girlie?' she mocked him, twirling her wand between her fingers, smiling maniacally at him. 'Too late for her, darling, too late,' she singsonged at him, the unhinged smile unwavering.

Harry took a deep breath. Don't rise to the bait, she wants to provoke you so that you'll be clumsy enough to give away information, he thought. He calmed himself down and tuned Bellatrix out. He focused on his surroundings: they were near the border of the camp, barely ten feet away from where they had entered the camp. Bodies lay sprawled over the ground, covering most of it. Many torches had been knocked over and from the whiff of burning flesh he caught, it hadn't been a pretty sight. It was still raining, which was a relative advantage for him. Bellatrix seemed to despise the rain, which was to his advantage; but it was also a drawback because the ground would eventually turn muddy.

While Bellatrix cackled insanely, Harry observed her. She had a cut on her cheek and limped a bit, but it was barely noticeable. Harry frowned; there was something in the way she moved that didn't make sense. Her body language told him that she was tired and not as coordinated as she had been before fighting, but Bellatrix hadn't stopped laughing and twirling madly, which didn't make any sense. Well, then again, who was he to fathom the ways a deranged mind work?

Suddenly, she fired a Cruciatus-looking curse at him and Harry snapped out of his thoughts to dodge it. Panting slightly, he cast an Expelliarmus at her.

She laughed merrily. 'Come on, ickle Renegade, you can do better than that,' she taunted him, sending another two Cruciatus at him.

Harry rolled over to avoid the vivid-red curses and shot a Blinding Hex at her, which she dodged easily. He was testing her and she was testing him, and they both knew it. Harry narrowed his eyes; she was hiding her exhaustion very well. While duelling, she seemed as graceful as a cat, but Harry knew she was knackered. Good, because he wasn't tired at all.

Bellatrix had stopped her jaunts and started attacking in earnest. Testing time was over, or so it seemed. Harry ducked, rolled twisted and turned to avoid the stream of colourful curses thrown his way; some he recognised, some he didn't. No doubt they were all extremely nasty.

Bellatrix was fuming when she was done with her barrage of curses, most likely because none had hit her target and that was something she was not accustomed to. But Harry wouldn't allow her to continue attacking him without sending some of his own at her.

Making the decision of "act now, regret later" he flung hexes at her at random, some Light and some very Dark. 'Lacerus! Caecus!' He rolled over as she fired a Killing Curse at him, barely avoiding the rush of death that accompanied it. 'Incendia Vesica! Cordis Arrestum!' he yelled, taking Bellatrix by surprise as she threw herself to the ground, nearly getting hit by the last curse.

She lifted her head and Harry could see the anger swirling in her eyes. 'You dare -'

Harry dignified that with another volley of deadly hexes. He was itching to show her some of his wandless abilities, but since the duel seemed fairly matched while using his wand, he decided against it so he could surprise Voldemort when they met again.

While they both sparred, Harry began to employ the technique he had used on Cho: get steadily closer to her with every hex thrown and assault her physically. Considering her background, Bellatrix's hatred of everything that was Muggle would make her an easy prey to a physical attack, because it would be the last thing she would expect from another wizard.

'So tell me — Ardesco! — why is your robe different from the rest of your merry band of Mudbloods?'

Harry knew better than to pay any attention to what her mouth said if it wasn't a curse. He remained silent, firing a couple of Purple Rain Curses mingled with two overcharged Stunners and a Disarming Spell. Old habits die hard. He was pleased to notice that he was gaining ground and that she was very slowly moving backwards. Right then, Harry had the upper-hand of the duel.

'Mudblood! Answer to me when I'm talking to you! Anima exuro!' she yelled at him, enraged.

Harry opened his eyes and dodged the curse as effectively as he could. Bellatrix was getting very mad, only that could've prompted her to fling the Soul Incinerating Curse at him; one very difficult to perform that usually tended to backfire upon the caster.

He was so close to her then he would only need a couple more of minutes to reach her. He noticed dully that they had gone off the camp limits and were very slowly heading towards the forest. He was positive Bellatrix wouldn't anticipate a physical attack, but she had been more perceptive than Cho and moved backwards the minute she saw him move towards her.

'Lacerus! Lacerus!' he shot two curses at once, one pointing at her mid-section and the other at her heart. She dodged to her right and forward, placing herself right in front of Harry's arm range.

He didn't hesitate, with all the strength he could muster, he crashed his elbow on her face and kicked her abdomen as fast as he could. He had been right, she hadn't expected it. Quickly, he took the chance and plucked her wand from her hand, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back tightly to immobilise her.

Now that the fight between them had ended and that his mind was not one hundred percent concentrated on surviving, that close up he noticed that Bellatrix, looking far younger than she was supposed to, was indeed very beautiful. Perhaps not as much so as to say that his eyes were hurting, but enough to recognise that with one simple gesture, she could have tides of men at her feet.

But more than that, Harry took pleasure in the fact that he had faced Bellatrix and not only lived to tell the tale, but defeated her soundly. Two wands pressed on her carotid artery, he smirked at her and whispered, 'It seems that Voldemort's Elite has been bested by common, unworthy and vulgar Muggle fighting. How does that feel?' he taunted her, enjoying immensely not being on the receiving end of the jaunts.

He had expected her to start ranting about his having called her Master by his chosen name, besmirching his noble title with his unworthy Mudblood lips. However, she surprised him when she looked at him, square in the eyes.

'I'll be ready the next time I meet a brawling boy such as yourself,' she promised him, not a hint of madness in her midnight blue eyes. She turned her face and sneered at him. 'You won this round, you won't be so lucky next time,' she threatened, and with a 'Pop' she Disapparated.

Harry cursed. They had gone off the limits of Owl's wards so she was able to escape. Swearing under his breath, he went back to the camp, ready to be severely told off by Owl. It had been stupid of him to push her to a place where she could've escaped, and Harry berated himself all the way to the camp.

The battle was now over, the few surviving Death Eaters were being either executed or bound and gagged by those who had more mercy. Corpses lay at his feet, and he tried very hard not to look at them as he passed through the aisles. He was looking for Neville and Owl, praying that both of them were alright, safe and sound behind the wards he had placed.

He was overjoyed to see them both alive and well where he had placed them. Owl was still looking very pale, but the ghostly expression had left her face to Harry's relief. She was slowly recovering thanks to Neville's impeccable timing and skills, and wasn't surprised when Neville picked her into his arms and started walking to the borders of the forest where he would be able to Disapparate with Owl and take her home to be properly inspected by one of their Healers.

Harry, exhaustion pumping through his body, went to the rest of the Renegades and helped them with the corpses. It was a very scarring experience for Harry, piling up Death Eater bodies to incinerate them later, while carefully aligning those cadavers that belonged to the Renegades. Harry nearly choked when he realised that his former Astronomy teacher, Professor Sinistra, was now laying cold in his arms, her eyes dull and glassy and an expression of utter terror marked on her face.

'Yes, that was Loony, she was in our team,' said Snorkack, appearing out of thin air. He glanced at her, and he could see the coiling pain that danced in her eyes. 'She was always very kind to me and listened to me when I felt down,' she added, placing her hand on her cheek, not minding the caked blood beneath her hands. 'Don't close her eyes, Harry. Let her watch the stars she loved,' she whispered, tears rolling freely down her cheeks.

Harry nodded and laid Professor Sinistra on the ground with the other fallen Renegades.

He kept working diligently all throughout the night, focusing on his fight with Bellatrix more than on what he was doing. All the death and gore around him was getting to him, so he needed to shift his thoughts to something less traumatising.

Sighing, he supposed that Bellatrix was now getting severely reprimanded by Voldemort. He didn't know how Riddle treated his five Innominabiles, but he doubted he'd go easy on them, especially after such a failure on their part: Bellatrix had been the only one able to escape out of more than one hundred Death Eaters.

So there he stayed, incinerating and moving corpses, but his mind was on Bellatrix, gathering all the information he had pulled from his duel against her. She was as swift and deadly as ever, perhaps she was even faster than in his own world. She was as crazy and taunting as ever, save for that one time when she had looked at him square in the eye and Harry saw no hint of madness in her. All in all, Bellatrix was a nasty piece of work.

It wasn't until much later, already in his bed, that a staggering realisation hit Harry making him choke: Bellatrix didn't have midnight blue eyes — her eyes were black!

His heart missing a beat and feeling a pit of dread in the bottom of his stomach, it dawned on him that the woman he had fought against wasn't Bellatrix, but someone else pretending to be her! It hadn't been the fearsome Innominabile Number Three, but a replacement!

Harry swore so loudly the students in Hogwarts woke up with a start.

-oOoOoOoO o-

Reviews 88
ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter




../back
‘! Go To Top ‘!

Sink Into Your Eyes is hosted by Grey Media Internet Services. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related characters are trademarks of Warner Bros. TM & © 2001-2006. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions on this site are those made by the owners. All stories(fanfiction) are owned by the author and are subject to copyright law under transformative use. Authors on this site take no compensation for their works. This site © 2003-2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Special thanks to: Aredhel, Kaz, Michelle, and Jeco for all the hard work on SIYE 1.0 and to Marta for the wonderful artwork.
Featured Artwork © 2003-2006 by Yethro.
Design and code © 2006 by SteveD3(AdminQ)
Additional coding © 2008 by melkior and Bear