February turned into March and the weather shifted, becoming warmer as the snow was starting to melt. Harrison wasn't overly fond of spring. Everything was wet and the temperature couldn't make up its mind about being cold or warm.

Usually, he spent spring sulking in his room. Even in his prison the walls seemed to grow damp under a period of time which he christened to spring and sulked at, chained to that stupid chair.

But there was no time for sulking this spring. Writing with Harry every other day reassured him that the teen was still holding on although Dumbledore was putting more pressure on him. Harrison wondered if he had a soft spot for Harry due to him being an alternative version of Harrison, or if he had started to like children.

Then Angel spent an evening crying and Harrison very nearly tried to stab her to make her go quiet, and so he concluded that while he did like children a bit more than before, they could still make him become murderous. Maybe he liked Harry more because he wasn't nearby, and also knew how to communicate what he was feeling. Angel, and even Lucy, wasn't quite able to do that yet.

Fred and George sometimes camped out in the Forbidden Forest to visit Harry, who was distancing himself from his friends. His parents didn't respond to his letters very often, and when they did, Harry told Harrison it was usually quite short and a written version of a 'man up'-speech.

Harrison did apologize in one letter, as he figured it was mostly his fault. Harry replied that even before Harrison had shown up, his parents had listened more to Dumbledore than Harry's own wishes when it came to fighting. They had otherwise been very attentive to what he wanted, but when it came to fighting Voldemort, they had told Harry that Dumbledore's words were absolute.

This told Harrison they probably didn't know Harry was a Horcrux; instead they simply trusted Dumbledore's words too much. It was his actions ever since he got out that made them listen even more to Dumbledore, to the point they probably dismissed Harry's worry as some teenage angst.

Harrison wondered if he should kill Lily. James' fate could be up to Severus, due to James' actions, and as for the rest of the Marauders… well, as long as they died, he didn't care who did the deed. Was Peter alive? Harrison hadn't seen him, or heard anyone mention him. Perhaps he stopped being friends with them? Or died in some unrelated incident?

"Master, are you even listening to me?"

"No," he answered instinctively, and received a smack on top of his head. "Ouch."

"Master, you nearly cut off your own hand last week and didn't even raise an eyebrow, I refuse to believe a smack actually hurt," Elise said.

"I didn't mean to almost cut off my hand, it was a complete accident," he replied. "Why were you talking to me? Why is this room so bright?"

"It's morning, master."

"Make it stop," he said and squinted.

"I can hardly stop the sun from rising," Elise replied. "Master, listen to me."

"Yes, you were saying something."

"We need to upgrade our wards," she told him. "The east wing is also in quite poor condition. I need some time to fix it."

"I have an east wing?" Harrison asked.

Elise looked at him.

"Don't look at me like that, I don't care what way parts of my home is pointing at," he defended himself with. "So what do you need to do? Major adjustments, or minor ones?"

"Major," Elise replied. "I need to take the wards down. If I have all the servants helping me, I can have the work done in less than a day."

The best Harrison could do in this type of situation was supply Elise with magic, because he was lousy with wards. Yes, he had done work on the wards at Hogwarts but that was with help. Elise was just good at wards and he ended up letting her handle it all.

"Less than a day," he repeated. "But it'll leave the manor exposed to anyone."

"Yes," she said, and that was the sole reason she probably had bothered to talk to him about the manor's wards in the first place.

"I'm a bit of a wanted man at the moment. What happens if you don't redo them right now?"

"Due to us taking your orders before you went to prison a bit too literally, the wards have been neglected for too long. They will collapse. It's better if I redo them as fast as possible."

Harrison tapped his fingers against his lips, thinking.

"I could act like a distraction," he said. "Cornelius is hunting me. If I let him know where I am and chase me around for a while, no one will notice that my manor appears. You can still tap into my magic to finish it faster."

"You should have someone with you."

"You need the servants," Harrison replied. "I'll take my children. What about Angel and Lucy?"

Elise thought it over.

"I think I can spare one servant to watch over them," she said at last.

"Choose Fred or George. They're the youngest and least experienced with wards."

"Understood."

"When will you do it?"

"The preparations will take a few hours as well," Elise said.

"Oh, I see. More time to prepare my route then. And also talk with Voldemort."

"Now?"

"Yes. Start with the preparations, I'll be back in a bit."

Harrison considered Apparating straight from the chair, thought better of it and stood up before Apparating.

Landing in the hall, several Death Eaters hastily drew back from him, wands out, but relaxed a tiny bit when they saw someone who wasn't about to attack them. Harrison didn't care for them and searched for Voldemort's magical signal instead, walking in the general direction until he pinpointed it.

Since last time they planned it, Voldemort was going over plans to attack the Ministry more intensely since he wouldn't be there to lead the attack personally. Neither of them would be. Harrison entered his office without knocking before remembering knocking was supposed to be a polite thing.

Oh well, Voldemort was probably used to him not being particularly polite.

"Harrison," Voldemort said. "Have you tested if you can get us into Hogwarts?"

"Yes. I can get you through the gate if you wish me to."

"The wards?"

"They respond to my magic just like the founders intended."

"And if Dumbledore tries to change the wards?" Voldemort asked.

"He can't change those wards," Harrison said. "So it's fine. I would like to give Hogwarts a chance to get students out of the way."

"You care for the children?"

"I care for Hogwarts, and the castle is designed to care for the children," Harrison replied. "There's no need to make her sad."

"Alright," Voldemort said. "We won't harm children, unless they attack us. Then they're fair game."

"I think that's only natural, and if said children don't expect us to retaliate then they're idiots. But anyway, that's not why I came."

"No? what is it then?" Voldemort wasn't paying much attention to him, staring instead at what appeared to be a Ministry floor plan.

Harrison just went for it:

"I thought I should inform you that Harry Potter is one of your Horcruxes. But maybe you already knew."

"… He's what?!"

"So you didn't know."

Harrison carefully tugged the plans from beneath Voldemort's grip, because he looked ready to either rip them apart or set them on fire.

"His scar," Harrison said. "It holds part of your soul. Never noticed that?"

"How the hell could I have? I haven't seen the bloody boy up close since he was a toddler!"

"Is that so," Harrison said. "Well, anyway, he is one so you can't kill him."

"I'd be an idiot to do so," Voldemort pointed out.

"Well, it's what Dumbledore hopes you'll do."

"What?"

"You actually think he's training your Horcrux to fight and win against you? No, you're meant to kill Harry and your Horcrux. Possibly only killing your Horcrux but he's prepared to sacrifice the boy for it to work."

"Are you serious?"

"Don't compare me to that Black person, if you please."

Voldemort frowned at him for a moment before he caught on. He growled and said:

"You know, if I didn't know you could kill me with your pinkie or something equally disturbing as that, I'd try to strangle you right about now."

"I tend to have that effect on people," Harrison replied.

-o-

Harrison returned back to the manor only to be literally attacked by Lucy. Fred and George came to a halt and said:

"She's Apparating! She must be, a kid can't be that fast!"

Lucy wrapped herself around Harrison's leg and giggled. He stared down at her.

"Is the thing imitating a barnacle?" he asked.

"No, she's just Apparating around the house," George tried with.

"She's five," Harrison told him. "Five-year olds don't Apparate."

"Then she's abnormally fast at running!"

"Or maybe you are too slow," he told the twins. "What were you doing anyway?"

"There's not much we can do to help Elise and the others," Fred said. "Are they really taking down all the wards around the manor?"

"Temporarily."

"But the Minister is looking for you," George continued. "I think the whole Ministry is. How will you…"

"I'll be playing tag with them," Harrison said. "Keep them busy."

"Tag?" Lucy said. "Can I come?"

"The barnacle speaks," Harrison said.

"I'm a girl," Lucy said.

"Well observed, you," he replied. "But no, no tag right now. We can play tag in the garden, at a later date."

"But I wanna play now."

"Isn't that what you just did with the twins?"

The twins looked at each other.

"You know, she just might be playing it with us," they said. "But why are we it?"

"Because I won," she chirped out.

"When?!"

She didn't answer them, just squeezed her arms tighter around Harrison's leg. He pried her loose and picked her up. She just hung in his grip, and Harrison sighed before slowly bringing in her in. Lucy grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Figured she'd go for the neck," he muttered. "You can play more tag later, once I'm out playing with Cornelius. But you'll only get one twin then, so you have to play nice, barnacle."

"Still a girl."

"Barnacle girl. Now, let's have some tea."

Harrison and Lucy had some tea while the servants were moving about the manor per Elise's instructions. Somehow Angel ended up with them, having her nap. Lucy had taken to the Muggle child like fire to wood, and Harrison supposed they were like sisters now, in a very strange family.

"Uncle Harrison?"

"What?" he asked, sipping some tea.

"Are you married to Elise and the others?"

The tea did not go down peacefully. Instead it was sprayed over the table and Harrison coughed the last of it up.

"Ew," Lucy said.

"Ew to the thing you asked!" Harrison replied. "Married, me? Married?!"

"You're not? But you live with them."

"There are men living here too, you know."

"Yes, but Elise and everyone listen to you…"

"If your definition of a wife is that she obeys her husband and calls him master, then I think you need to be educated about marriage," Harrison said. "Because that's not marriage."

"Oh. But they do listen to you."

"Yes, but not because they're… they're my, ugh, wives, or because they're women." Harrison rubbed his forehead. "You're giving me a headache, child."

"What for?"

"By asking stupid questions. Listen, the men listen to me too… everyone does listen to me. Most of the time, anyway. They serve me."

"Isn't that mean? Making people serve you?"

"Some might see it that way," Harrison admitted. "But I'm not hurting them, or forcing them to serve me."

Not anymore at least. The past Harrison… he was a different tale. A very different tale.

"Did you ever hurt them?"

What kind of question was even that? Why was Lucy so curious about things? Also, why was she so casual about stuff like that? Her first reaction to Dementors had been to poke them, not scream in terror which Harrison had seen firsthand to be the first reaction by other children.

"I wasn't very nice in the past," Harrison explained to her. "So you shouldn't ask about it, Lucy. Not yet anyway, Elise will give me hell if I traumatize you too much."

"But…"

"No buts," he told her. "I'll tell you, in the future, if you remember to ask again."

"I just don't get it. You're nice."

"A lot of people would disagree with you."

She looked at him. Harrison made a new attempt with the tea, and this time she didn't ask any weird questions. Angel began to fuss around, whining a bit. Not wanting to have her wail and cause a ruckus, Harrison placed a hand on her belly, patting gently. Angel moved a bit, and then settled.

"See," Lucy said. "If people saw that, they'd know you're nice."

He laughed at that.

"I don't think it would help, but I suppose it's nice that you think I'm nice."

Lucy began to talk about what she had been doing with Fred and George before Harrison came back. Harrison listened even as he felt Elise's magic shift around the wards, intermingling with his. She was dismantling some of the wards already?

He guessed he should plan where to go to play tag with Cornelius. Well, first of all catch the man's attention and then stay away from the manor. South England maybe? That was far enough from his manor. He gazed at Lucy, watching her hands move as she became more and more excited. Angel's chest moved gently beneath his touch, her calm breathing actually quite soothing.

Harrison truly wasn't like the Nightmare Lord of old, but he couldn't bring himself to regret it. It wasn't like he had grown weaker. At least not in a way that he noticed. Maybe he was just bored with killing people. He had been bored in the past, bored with the act of killing, but he hadn't had a goal.

Now, he didn't exactly have a goal here either but at least he was helping an ally with his goal. That, and those infernal children. Harrison didn't understand why he was so okay with them.

By the time he finished his tea, no more spillage happening, Lucy had run out of steam and was fast asleep on the couch next to him. Harrison could just leave her there. Both her and Angel.

But instead he made sure Angel couldn't roll off and get hurt, and he pulled a blanket over Lucy before dimming the lights a bit. He closed the door gently behind him, and went to his room to take the cloak that housed his Dementors. After that, Harrison went to the front doors and exited the manor. Elise caught sight of him and left her spot to greet him.

"We're almost ready," she said. "George will not participate."

"I left the girls in the downstairs living room," Harrison said. "They're both asleep for the moment. I'll be going then."

"The Dementors…?"

"They're here."

"I see. Good luck, master; don't get yourself killed."

"Elise, I'm me. I can't die."

"Not captured then," Elise said. "Preferably not injured either."

"I'll do my best. Cheers, have fun with the wards."

With that, Harrison Apparated.

-o-

It was easy to bait Cornelius into a chase, and Harrison had to laugh as he led the way from London, Cornelius and Aurors hot at his heels. He soared through the sky, Apparated and felt them chase after.

He had even been nice to let Cornelius think they caught sight of him, and not him actually dangling himself in front of them to catch their attention!

The Minister led the hunt, probably because it was Harrison, and Harrison ran around wildly in glee, probably confusing and frustrating them. It was so damn funny to see the looks on their faces as he disappeared just as they thought they had him.

Hours were wasted in this manner before he came to a stop in the countryside, breathing deeply. He waited. Soon enough people began to Apparate in. He looked around and grinned.

"So many people," he commented. "For little me? I feel honoured."

He side-stepped a cutting curse and flung another one right back at the attacker, hearing her scream as she went down.

"I mean, it's really lovely," he continued, as the woman breathed her last, gurgling breaths. "It reminds me of the old days."

"Monster!"

"Ah, is that you, Cornelius?"

Harrison turned to look at Cornelius. The man had a dangerous glint in his eyes. Harrison didn't stop smiling. Death didn't frighten him. Injuries were a concern however. Small scratches and broken bones he could force to heal, and he could also move without major organs present. But having limbs ripped off was more worrying. He should avoid that, both for his own sake as well as his servants.

With that in mind, he avoided another cutting curse and raced through the crowds. He split someone open, splattering blood into the face of a man who just started to scream. Harrison jumped up in the air, blocked a spell and flung several back at people, laughing. It was a good work-out to be honest. Maybe he had to do this more often.

The Dementors were making sounds, but he didn't let them out. Not yet anyway. He didn't need their assistance at the moment and knew what would come if he was to release them. That damn Patronus spell and judging by the amount of people, a lot of them would be coming towards him. That blasting, searing hot light… ugh, he hated it. Absolutely loathed it.

He found himself battling Cornelius himself. The man was fast despite his age and lack of duel experience. Harrison jumped away from a curse, dodged a spell and said:

"You'll be hit by one of those sooner or later, Cornelius."

"You damn beast!"

"Is that how you react to some good advice?"

The man roared and slashed out with his wand. Harrison heard the end of the spell and tried to move, but was too slow; the Patronus hit him dead on even as the Dementors fled the cloak to get away. Harrison screamed at the pain as it assaulted his body. The Dementors seemed to realize their mistake, moving away from their maker, but before they could move back Aurors and Order members surrounded Harrison and released their own Patronuses out at the Dementors.

Harrison fell to the ground, writhing. He didn't honestly know why the Patronus hurt him. Once upon a time he had been the youngest wizard to perform it. Was it some sort of punishment? Silly. Who would punish him? Fate herself? Why would he be punished? Because of what he had done? Maybe.

That didn't mean he'd care. Harrison didn't regret many things. He wouldn't let himself regret the actions that turned him into the Nightmare Lord.

He tried to twist away but more Patronus spells joined Cornelius'. He screamed louder, clawed at his face before curling up with his arms just around his head. It felt like his own skin was tearing off, inch by inch. Was it worse than the Cruciatus spell? At this particular moment, it was worse.

Harrison was so busy trying to throw the spells off, or block out the pain long enough to get away that he didn't notice Cornelius until the Minister was right on top of him. Patronuses lit up the air around them. He was turned on his back, and stared up at Cornelius. Harrison felt the man's legs on either side of his chest, saw his wand point down. Harrison couldn't move away. He tried to become shadows, but the light from the Patronuses was too strong.

Such a silly weakness.

Such a stupid weakness.

He couldn't hear what Cornelius said, couldn't look down at the wand. The spell was basically hitting him already.

Skin split open, and flesh parted, tore through muscles and nerves and through the breastbone. Harrison's eyes widened, he hadn't expected that, and blood bubbled out even as his eyes rolled up. Cornelius reached in and pulled his ribcage apart, and Harrison found enough strength to howl.

One of the hands slipped in deeper, closing in around one of his lungs. He wasn't going to… was he? As Harrison felt the pressure tighten, he realize that Cornelius was going to do it.

Cornelius pulled at the lung, pushing it through the broken ribs, and Harrison clawed at the ground. The wand came up again, and slashed through the air. The blood vessels was cut, and Harrison's lung landed on the ground. Harrison coughed, and more blood came up. He shook his head back and forth. The pain was coming and going in waves.

"Still with me?!" Cornelius screamed. "You're not going to pass out, are you? I'll just wake you if you do!"

He took a hold of Harrison's robes and shook him.

"I will remove every goddamn organ in your body! I'll take them, rip them out, step on them and then watch you crawl around on the ground like the spineless worm you are!"

Worms didn't exactly crawl, they slithered but Harrison figured Cornelius wouldn't appreciate the correction. He shouldn't worry about that either. He should worry about the fact Cornelius Fudge actually managed to remove a lung from his body. That was fairly embarrassing.

Also, the pain was getting intense. He could usually work through pain but now he also had to deal with the Patronuses. He hadn't recovered from those, and they kept coming, keeping his children at bay.

He felt the pain down to his fingertips and his toes, up to the roots of his hair. He couldn't think out an escape plan. He couldn't even stop his eyes from rolling around. It wasn't like he could see anything anyway.

At this rate he would be captured again. Where would they put him this time? An even darker room? Stronger chains? Maybe he would be cut into pieces and placed in different rooms.

Harrison couldn't do it. He wouldn't make it. He wouldn't sit there patiently. Not when he… not when he had become something so different from before.

He needed his servants. He realized he probably wouldn't mentally make it without them at this point. They were too important. They were… were, they were his…

His family.

The other lung was ripped out as violently as the first one. Harrison didn't think Cornelius had it in him to do such a gory thing, but then again, people changed. Harrison had changed so much since he was a teenager. He had changed over the years.

He started as kind. He became insane, and then cruel and insane. Then a bit better, not as cruel, not as insane, and now… not exactly kind but much better than he used to be.

Maybe Cornelius didn't feel different. Maybe he thought this was justified, and not just torture. Well, it probably was justified in his head, due to Harrison's actions.

Blood was trickling out of his nose. He could only smell blood. Stomach acid was coming up, his hands pushing mindlessly at anything they could reach.

He heard people laughing around him. He heard his children scream. Were they fighting to get to him? Oh, his poor children. Harrison was a sorry sight. They must be in pain to see him in such a pitiful state.

He had been an idiot. Lily's mind hadn't been lost, and she had seen his weakness against the Patronus spell. Only fools wouldn't use that to their advantage. Oh, he had been such an idiot. But sadly it wasn't a new thing.

His mind was going away. Harrison began to imagine his new prison cell, and if his servants would find him there.

But then there was a voice in the midst of all the chaos:

Harrison?

Harry's voice was small. Harrison's eyes widened as his focus was back.

'What's wrong?' Harrison replied.

I can't stay, Harrison. Dumbledore is taking me away after dinner, to an unknown location. He says… he says it's for the greater good.

No! Harrison clawed at Cornelius, kept his hands away from Harrison's still beating heart and then sent:

'When? When is he taking you away, do you have a time?'

After dinner, no later than seven. Mum and dad are here too, they aren't stopping him! They were too busy talking about plans to do more than greet me. They just kept repeating after him, the greater good, the greater good! I can't stay.

'I'll come,' Harrison managed to send. 'Draw it out. Eat slow, whatever, just prolong it. I'll be there.'

"Tempus!" he growled out loud, uncaring how Cornelius reacted.

Seven o'clock was just forty-five minutes away. How long had Harry been eating? How much longer could he draw it out before someone told him off? Harrison could probably find him at this unknown location but he wanted to take Harry away before that. Secure him faster.

That meant he couldn't let Cornelius win here. He couldn't let Cornelius take his heart. He could go on for days without his lungs, but sometimes he became very weak without his heart. So he gritted his teeth, worked through the pain and took a hold of Cornelius' hands. Harrison grinned up at him, channelled magic into his fingers and broke Cornelius' hands. A series of sharp cracks underneath a thin layer of skin sounded, and Harrison let the magic pool into him. Cornelius was screaming, and a kick sent him flying.

Harrison got up, swaying on his feet even as he spat out blood. He focused magic on his split chest, just managing to close it and ignoring his now useless lungs lying in the melting snow. He had to make new ones later. It would take days, oh, horrendous long days since the best way to recreate organs was for him to lie still and let his body focus on that.

It had been centuries since he had to create new organs. It would be painful, but he'd take that over a new prison cell, trapped in the dark to rot away from the inside out.

"Take him out!" Cornelius screamed. "His heart, take his heart!"

"Oh, no, Cornelius," Harrison said, defying logic and speaking despite missing his lungs. "I can't let you do that."

He relaxed, and imagined the cold settling into his body. The same iciness he had when killing entire villages, torturing multiple people for fun… slapping his servants around for daring to breathe too loudly on one of his bad days. He truly had been awful to them back then.

The cold kept him from over-thinking things. It helped him ignore the pain travelling through his body.

He moved. Elise told him once that while his body moved gracefully turning fights, sometimes not a single smile adorned his face. That he looked the most frightening during those times because he was simply not reacting to the horrors he was committing.

Harrison didn't care this time that he slaughtered the Aurors, using his hands and magic-enhanced brute force to tear them apart. There were no easy deaths, no merciful ones. He ripped them to pieces and those who survived that were devoured by the Dementors as the Patronuses failed with all the death and chaos around them.

By the time Harrison came back to his senses he had already ripped off Cornelius' arms and one of his legs. He came to a stop, kneeling over Fudge's groaning body. He felt exhausted. Fighting without lungs wasn't as easy as he thought. Dizziness crawled around in his head and he shoved it away. Later, when he had taken Harry home.

"You don't stand a chance against me," he told Cornelius. "Why did you ever think you did?"

"Monster…"

"Yes, I am a monster," Harrison said, digging his hand into Cornelius' neck. "I'm a terrible beast that shouldn't live. Yet here I am, victorious over the great Minister of Magic. You don't look so good."

"You… killed them all… with such speed."

"Yes, I tend to do that when I'm in a hurry." Harrison sat up more properly and flexed his free hand. "Shall I take your heart or your head?"

"What created such a beast like you?" Cornelius managed.

"Thank people like you," Harrison said. "The good guys. When I was young, they gave me the option. I would thank them as well, because I do like who I am."

"No, that can't be…"

"I could have stopped though. I could have chosen not to become like this. I chose this. They started the path, but I chose to walk down on it."

"Why?"

"Why not?" he replied.

"Why?!"

"My answer won't change. Even if it did, it wouldn't satisfy someone like you. Now, stay still."

He raised his hand. Magic gathered in the air. His eyes turned black, and his hand became a claw. Cornelius was screaming for help. There was no one alive to help him. The Dementors moved in.

"You probably wanted a more honourable death than this," Harrison said. "I also had so much fun with you, I probably would have given you one. But like I said, I'm in a hurry. This will have to do."

He swiped his clawed hand down, and magic slashed through the air.

-o-

Harry Potter had never felt his heart pump so hard against his ribs. He was sweating beneath the robes and feeling sick to the point he didn't have to pretend he didn't want to eat. He couldn't get much down around the lump in his throat.

He had been fine, ever since coming to know who Harrison really was. He went to classes, he spoke with his friends, he did his homework. He sometimes got letters from the twins, stuck underneath his pillow and one time, down a sock. He wasn't sure how they got in and out without being seen, but no one had reported seeing dead Weasley twins walking again so he felt they were in the clear.

But things had escalated. Of course he had been nervous about staying. Terrified even. That didn't mean he didn't try, for Harrison's sake and his own, to at least finish the year. Education was important, and Harry liked learning.

What escalated was Dumbledore and to Harry's horror, his own parents. Dumbledore became obsessed with defeating Voldemort even as the Minister was obsessed with finding the Nightmare Lord, often being at odds with each other. It was like a war between the two of which dark lord was more important to destroy.

James and Lily often came to Hogwarts to speak with Dumbledore in person, but their interactions with their own son became more and more impersonal. He felt like they treated him like a tool for winning the war. He was their weapon against Voldemort, whether he liked it or not.

Harry had never been treated that way by his parents. Lily always argued that Harry was a person first of all, not their weapon. James protested when they wanted to put Harry on the battlefield by the time he was thirteen. Too young, he argued, he'd die a fool's death and that was the last thing he wanted for his son.

Now they were eager to send him out. Eager to speak of their tool, their ultimate weapon. Harry was barely their son anymore and that frightened him.

Ron and Hermione weren't much better. Ron sulked and whined that Harry 'got all the attention' while Hermione nagged on and on about 'just because you're the hero you can't slack off on your homework! Honestly, Harry, have you even tried to read ahead?' and he was tired of it all.

The last bombshell was also the last Harry was going to tolerate from them. Special training, special location… all Harry heard was 'isolated, abandoned, alone'. So he called for Harrison, like Harrison had told him to and the man was coming. The Nightmare Lord himself was coming to Hogwarts for one single Hogwarts student. Harry was so happy he didn't even care about the possibility Harrison would bring Dementors or Inferi with him, or that a fight might happen.

His parents were here to help get him to the special location, eating and chatting at the Head Table, smiling away like they weren't about to send their son away from school, something they had been against just last year. Dumbledore hadn't said more than the location was to help him fight. Not to survive. Just fight. His parents hadn't protested.

Harry felt like he was staring at impostors, wearing his parents' faces. His mother wouldn't let even Dumbledore send Harry away from school and his friends. But his mother had been kidnapped and tortured, her sister murdered. His father had seen friends dead and mutilated by the Nightmare Lord's people. They weren't the same as a year ago. That didn't mean Harry wanted them to change, or care less about him like they had over the last few weeks.

So he was waiting for his own saviour. The same saviour that had caused all the grief his parents had lived through. Harry tried to feel guilty about it. He couldn't. Looking into Harrison's eyes was more calming than anything he had ever experienced. He didn't know if Harrison had slipped into his mind somehow and manipulated him, but now Harry didn't care.

Harrison was coming for him, wouldn't force him to fight. Harrison was going to save him. Harry kind of saw the irony of the situation, but couldn't bring himself to laugh about it.

"Harry? You haven't eaten at all!"

His friends. They were concerned but over who? Harry their friend, or Harry their saviour? He looked up at Hermione and Ron and cleared his throat.

"I don't feel so good," he said.

"You're going to train aren't you?" Ron said. "You better eat for that! Come on, just a bit."

"That's why I can't eat. I'm nervous."

"What for? You'll get training, and get away from school."

"Ron, don't encourage him to ignore school! You'll still do assignments and homework, right Harry?"

School and training, school and training… did they even realize Harry might die? That it might be part of Dumbledore's plans? But no, they didn't seem to realize it. Ron was barely over his sulk that Harry was special, and would be away from school and Hermione was still going on that he couldn't let his schoolwork suffer just because he was going somewhere for some 'wand-waving' and 'silly fighting'. Up until now they had made sense, his friends. Now they seemed like crazy people.

He tried to think on something else, anything else than what would happen later but it kept coming back. Would Harrison be in time, or would Dumbledore take Harry somewhere far away? Should he resist in that case? Should he protest, want to pack his trunk? Should he be slow about it, pretend to search for something? Harrison had been to the Gryffindor tower before, surely he could find Harry's magical signal there.

Wait, had Harrison been to the Great Hall? Did he know it was where the students ate dinner? With all these people around, it might be difficult to find Harry… but wait, this was the Nightmare Lord. He should be able to feel it, right?

Harry was worrying his bottom lip and feeling tears threatening to fall when the doors to the hall banged open. He looked up and while he knew who to expect, the shock on his face wasn't faked.

The Nightmare Lord was now an easy man to recognize, as pictures had been distributed to even the school so that students could see the 'monster'. But the pictures made him no justice, not as he stood there now.

First of all, he was covered in blood, his robes drenched in it and splattered all over his skin. He himself was paler than death. Second of all, his eyes were shining brighter than Avada Kedavra as they stared over the students and up to the professors at the Head Table.

And third… in his hand he held a head by the hair as if that was a normal thing. Harry didn't know. It might be a normal thing for the Nightmare Lord.

The professor and Harry's parents rose as one at the Head table, wands out and spells on the tips of their tongues when Harrison roared out:

"Everyone will remain seated!"

Magic surged and they all fell back into their chairs.

"Wands!" he continued.

The wands flew from their hands, gathering above the Nightmare Lord, as if a magnet had drawn them there. Harrison staggered a bit and then began to move. The students cried or screamed, tried to get away but couldn't rise. No one could move. The Nightmare Lord raised the head and several people screamed even louder.

It was Cornelius Fudge. Blood dripped down on the floor. Harry could see part of the spine sticking out amongst the red flesh. Harrison threw the head down the aisle, towards the Head Table, and then said:

"Evening. I hope I'm not interrupting."

"You beast," Dumbledore said, using words when he had no wand to attack the Nightmare Lord with. "You have proved yet again that you are an ancient monster that must be put down!"

"Yes, do spare the talk. I'm not in the mood. I'm simply here to get someone."

"Would that be me?" Lily Potter spoke. "Since you took me last time? Is this some sort of sick tactics of yours? Torture a person before letting them go for a while, then kidnapping them again?"

"What would be the point of that?" Harrison said. "Believe me, you are of no further interest to me. In fact, you're useless."

She flushed, grinding her teeth.

"No, the one I want called for me. Called for help."

"A Slytherin then!" James Potter spoke next. Harry should have cringed but he didn't. He still didn't recognize the snarling people supposed to be his parents. Lily looked insane, James furious. "Go on then, and then fucking leave! We'll kill you soon!"

"Then I will take my leave. Shall we go and pack your things, Harry?"

The screams died down, replaced by a gasp uttered by all. Harry rose up from his seat. Hermione and Ron tried to move, tried to stop him but they were not just forced to remain seated; no one could actually move more than a few inches. Harry straightened his back and walked towards Harrison, feeling strangely calm. Harrison was there. Harrison meant safe. Harry was safe now, even if Harrison was covered in blood and the shining eyes looked scary.

Harrison moved his hands, stretched them out and smiled. Harry walked into his embrace and ignored his now screaming parents. He closed out all sounds and looked up at Harrison.

"Why are you bloody?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, I ran into some troubles. As you see, I removed that trouble's head. What is this monstrosity around your neck?"

Harrison removed the Gryffindor tie from around Harry's neck and looked at it distastefully.

"Red and golden, such a clash," he muttered and shuddered, throwing the tie aside. "You're a Gryffindor? Godric never had golden, he preferred just red and he wouldn't mix the two anyway, that just isn't done. Not like that anyway."

"Harry! Harry, run away from him now!" Lily screamed, her face pale and eyes wide.

"Harry, get away from him, just run!" James tuned in after her.

Harry looked up at Harrison, then at his parents.

"He's saving me," Harry said, saw how Harrison's smile became a smug grin and shook his head at that. "Just like he saved professor Snape."

"I'd say I was sorry," Harrison said, "but I'm not. Come on, let's not dawdle. I much preferred the castle when she wasn't as full with idiots as she's forced to endure now."

"No!" Lily howled, along with many others. "I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"

"Such strong language in front of your son," Harrison said. "Shame on you. Bye then."

He then closed the doors behind them. Harry looked up at him, ignoring the shouts from the other side of the doors. It was like they didn't matter anymore.

"How do you know they won't follow?" Harry asked.

"I told them to remain seated," he replied. "They won't be going anywhere until I say otherwise, or until I'm outside the wards of the school."

Harry stared at him as they walked up to the Gryffindor tower, almost not realizing Harrison seemed to know the way just fine without Harry's help. But he was distracted once he looked Harrison over and saw he was a bit hunched over and his skin was a bit too pale to be normal for him.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked.

"Cornelius gave me some trouble before he died," Harrison replied. "I'll be fine, let's just get you out of here to start with."

Harry ran off to pack once in the dorm, hurrying up as he saw Harrison slump a bit against the wall, the eyes dulling as the minutes passed.

"Are you hurt?"

"Sort of," Harrison said. "I can manage."

"I'm almost done!"

It was clear Harrison was more than just a little hurt since by the time Harry had his trunk ready, the man was leaning completely against the wall and he was bleeding from the nose.

"Harrison!"

Harrison merely gestured for him to come closer. Harry dragged his trunk over and was tugged into Harrison's chest.

"Hold on to your trunk and to me," the Nightmare Lord said. "Tightly."

"Yes, but… Harrison… your chest isn't moving."

"Of course it's not moving. I don't have any lungs at the moment."

"What?!"

But magic surged once more and Harrison turned his face to the roof.

"Hogwarts," he said, "grant me a path through the wards."

Ancient magic moved. Harry felt the air compress and then separate, digging his hand into Harrison's robe, pressing his face into the chest that was comforting despite the absence of movement. Wind began to blow, and the wards became visible as they tore open around the two. Hogwarts moved the wards away from them so Harrison had nothing that stopped him from leaving within the castle walls. Harry stared at it, fascinated and then up at Harrison.

"Soon, my dear, the idiots that control you shall be gone," Harrison murmured to the castle walls, to Hogwarts itself. "And the founders' paintings will once more overlook the Great Hall, watching over their students. Like the old days. Like it should be."

Then he Apparated, taking the so-called Light's hero with him.

-o-

Finding Voldemort in the hall along with Lucius and Bellatrix was a bit of a surprise for Harrison. He was more or less now leaning on Harry who had dropped his trunk to the floor to help support him.

"Master!"

Elise, who had been speaking to Voldemort, uttered this with a gasp. Bellatrix managed a weak sneer that turned stronger once she saw Harry.

"Little ickle Potter, what is he doing here?" she sang and Harry flinched. "Shall Bellatrix play with the little boy?"

Harrison looked up and flicked his fingers. She flew into the wall and he coughed, bringing clotted blood up into his mouth and down his chin. He spit and gagged on it, pulling at strings of blood that made Lucius look away and Harry stared at the mess landing on the floor.

"Elise," Harrison got out afterwards, waving a hand and sending out magic further into the manor. "Ah, I might need your assistance. And your shoulder to lean on, I can't really trust my legs right now."

"Master."

She helped holding him up and Voldemort came closer, uncaring of Bellatrix's crumpled form. Harry was still staring at the bloody mess at their feet but raised his head once Harrison tugged at his shoulder.

"I just called for Severus," Harrison said. "He'll take you to your new room and the twins… will join you. Alright?"

"Yes, alright, just go and get treated! Hang on, how will you get treated? You said you didn't have any lungs!"

"I don't," Harrison said, "and it's starting to annoy me now. And it hurts, a lot. I haven't had to recreate any organs in a very long time so… Voldemort, nice to see you but I'm afraid I'll be unavailable for a few days."

"Losing your lungs, what were you thinking?!" Elise said.

"Can't be helped, Cornelius ripped them out," the man spoke and grimaced. "So I took his head. Ah, yes, Voldemort, I killed the Minister. Perhaps Lucius would be better off at the Ministry for now?"

Voldemort only had to look at Lucius. The blond nodded shortly to them both and left in a hurry just as Severus came down the stairs.

"Go on," Harrison told Harry. "Go to him."

Harry looked from Harrison to Severus and the potions master held out a hand.

"It's alright now, Harry," Severus said. "Master will be fine, and so will you. Come on."

Harry walked past Voldemort, passed Bellatrix without a glance and took Severus' hand before being led further into the manor.

Voldemort assisted Elise getting Harrison up the stairs. Harrison was starting to sway dangerously, hacking up clotted blood as well as fresh blood.

"I thought you couldn't die," the Dark Lord said.

"Do I look dead to you?" Harrison asked.

"You don't look well."

"My heart is still beating so I'd say I'm still alive. That doesn't mean I can't get injured to the point I shouldn't be able to live. Oh, I think he broke some ribs too. Or pulverized them. Some sharp edges are… poking at things they have no business poking at."

"I don't have the skills to heal that," Elise said as she kicked open Harrison's door.

"All I need you to do really is to get me horizontal," Harrison said. "I'll handle the rest myself. I have to recreate my own lungs; it won't work if any of you try to do that for me."

"Don't remind me that they're gone."

"Well, I ripped Cornelius' head off in revenge," he stated as he was helped to sit down. "Oh, ow, not good… definitely not good."

"How is he talking if he has no lungs?" Voldemort had to ask Elise.

"Master loves to defy logic," she replied.

"Master… right here," Harrison said.

"Oh, hush you, master."

Elise pushed Harrison down, not that she needed to use much power to have him flop onto the bed, and then she opened his robe after pulling off his cloak. Her hands paused and Voldemort stared at the badly healed wound. He saw muscles and flesh, white bones poking out and what appeared to be several severed blood vessels. Harrison felt around the wound and grimaced.

"I have to reopen it," he said. "And get a better look. I hate poking around in myself."

"Tell that to the thousands of corpses you've experimented with," Elise said.

"They're not me. Voldemort, are you here for something special?"

"Just to confirm how the Inferi was supposed to enter the Ministry but that can wait. I suspect there'll be a lot of chaos for the next few days."

"Yes, it might… will Lucius be fine?"

"The Minister wasn't the only one Lucius has in his pocket," the Dark Lord said and helped Elise getting Harrison in a more comfortable position. "Don't worry about him."

"Good, good… it would be a waste if he died; he's quite nice to look at."

"That's really all he cares about, isn't it?" Voldemort said to Elise who nodded.

"I'll go and get Lucian," she said.

"So he'll scream at me too?"

"Exactly."

"Evil servant," Harrison muttered. "Oh, I thought I was screwed for a moment…"

"What do you mean?" Voldemort asked as he sat down while Elise went to get Lucian.

"He nearly had me, Cornelius… I was focusing too much on the pain. I thought I'd end up in a cell again, I guess that prospect consumed me for a few moments… then Harry called for me. He cleared my head; I better thank him for that."

"How did he get you?"

"Lily Potter must have told them… about my little reaction against the Patronus spell. I can't stand it."

"… Like the Dementors?"

"I don't know who inherited what. If I got it from the Dementors, or if they got it from me. The fact still stands; we both hate that wretched spell." Harrison coughed, began to choke and Voldemort turned him on his side. Blood trickled out.

"That's disgusting," the Dark Lord said.

"Shut up, you're not… the one… who has to… cough it up," Harrison ground out.

Lucian arrived and the room became a flurry of activity, crowded even when the Dementors decided to come out. Voldemort had seen and done many things over the years but couldn't quite bring himself to see the Nightmare Lord pull his own chest open.

"Stop poking at your kidneys, they're fine," Lucian snapped.

"Let me do whatever I want," Harrison replied.

"You're playing around!"

"No, I'm finding pieces of bones everywhere!"

His ribs were shattered. In the end, Lucian dug in himself to retrieve them and Elise held the bowl where they placed the pieces. The Dementors hovered close by, being shoved back time and time again by both Lucian and Elise.

By the time they were finished and Harrison's chest looked normal again he was white and eyes barely open. His chest still wasn't moving but Voldemort saw a glow, beneath the skin. He came closer, waved the stench of blood away with a movement of his wand and then slipped it away into his sleeve.

"Is he awake?"

"I think so," Elise replied. "But he needs to rest."

"Don't tell… me what to… do."

"Master needs his rest," she repeated, this time to Harrison's face.

"Bossy… servant."

"I'll come later," Voldemort said. "For now we both need to know more about where the Ministry stands. You dealt them a great blow today."

"Oh, you know… evil lord and all that," Harrison mumbled. "That's what… we're… supposed to do."

"Right. I better go and plan how to top that."

"You do that…"

Voldemort left with Elise. Lucian stayed, gently moving him so the sheets could be changed. Harrison didn't move. Or rather, he couldn't at the moment. A cough brought out clotted blood and Lucian grimaced.

"How long will you keep doing that?"

"A while," Harrison replied. "Just… bring a bowl… or something."

Lucian did as he was told, then changed sheets and wiped Harrison down before putting him in a new shirt and trousers. As he did this, some colour returned to Harrison but he was still coughing up a lot of blood.

It was rather late when it knocked on the door. Severus opened it and Harry stepped into the room. Harrison waved at them before coughing and having the blood wiped away by Lucian.

"It looks worse than it is," Lucian told the two. "I hope at least."

"It's fine."

"Master doesn't get to speak when he's spitting up blood. He needs to rest."

"And his lungs?" Harry asked.

"Oi… in the room…" Harrison said. "Making new ones… as we speak…"

"Well, you need to stop speaking," Lucian said. "You're aggravating something inside you and it's not good."

Harrison huffed, or tried to, and then rolled his eyes.

"It's taking him a lot of magic to do this," Lucian continued, "so he won't be getting up in a hurry."

Another coughing session and blood was wiped away. One of Harrison's fingers twitched.

"This is damn… exhausting."

"Well, don't let anyone take your lungs next time then."

"I think… my heart doesn't like… the coughing."

"Don't tell me your heart is damaged too?!"

"It'll heal…" Harrison managed. "Just… oh, damn… this stupid… blood!"

This time he coughed so violently Lucian turned him to his side and brought a bowl. Clumps of blood were what Harrison gagged out in the end, along with fresh blood trickling down his cheek. Harrison tried to curl into himself.

"Don't put pressure on your ribcage," Lucian warned.

Severus helped stretching him out again and Harrison lay flat on the bed, sweat making his hair limp and flat against his skull.

"Harry wished to see you," Severus said.

"Not my… finest moment," Harrison replied and looked at Harry.

"It's alright. Can I… can I come closer?"

Harrison nodded a bit and Harry sat down next to him while Lucian went to empty the bowl and get a fresh towel. The smell of blood had returned since Voldemort left and this time Severus made it go away. Harry hesitated only for a moment before gently carding a hand through Harrison's hair.

"You know, you're kind of reckless for such an old man," he said.

"Ugh, don't remind me… of my age."

"Well, you look pretty. That's a plus."

Harrison huffed out a laugh.

"That's good… I guess."

He then coughed and a small trickle of blood came out. Severus wiped it away with a piece of his own robe and kneeled next to the bed.

"How long will you be leaking blood, master?"

"Until my body is satisfied," Harrison groaned. "Few hours, maybe. I don't remember it very well since the last time I had to get new lungs I was much, much younger… but I must say… the pain is refreshing."

"As I've stated before, there's something wrong with you," Severus said, dead-pan.

Harry laughed at that.

TBC…