Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

With a crack, Harry Potter appeared on the door step of his and Hermione's house in Godric's Hollow; the house his parents had left him after their death 21 years prior. The door was thrown open, scorch marks on the flagstones of the foyer. Spell damage marred the once pristine walls, and a red headed body was at the foot of the stairs.

"Ron!" Harry yelled, knowing it was no use. He was dead. Ron was only living with the Potters until he could find a new house after his had been razed to the ground following a Death Eater attack. He had barely escaped with his life. Harry ran up the stairs, fearing what he might find. He barreled into his room, but it was hauntingly devoid of life.

"In here, Potter. I have my wand pointed at your mudblood wife, whom is doing a very passable impression of Lily Potter." A high, cold voice said.

Harry burst into the twins' room. Voldemort was standing there, his 13.5 inch yew and phoenix feather wand pointed at his wife's heart.

"Just in time to see your mudblood wife leave, Harry. Avada Kedavra!"

Harry Potter didn't stop to think, he just acted. He leapt in front of the green Killing Curse with a roar, flinging his arms wide to prevent Hermione from catching the curse. Time slowed, the rushing sound of Harry's impending death filling his ears. The curse struck, knocking him backwards, to land a few feet in front of his wife, whose mouth was open in a soundless shriek.

"Now, little Miss Mudblood, time for you to join your dearly beloved…"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Hermione Potter bellowed, her voice shaking with hatred. The Dark Lord dodged the green curse with ease.

Come now, Potter, you can't beat me! I am immortal – not even the Great Albus Dumbledore could defeat me."

"You are not immortal – at least not anymore. Harry and I destroyed all of your Horcruxes. The diary, the cup, the snake… Nagini was her name, right? There was also the diadem, the ring, and the sixth piece of your soul – Harry Potter. You just stamped your own ticket to hell. Good Job." Hermione Potter finished wryly.

'Impossible! Harry Potter was not a Horcrux!" Voldemort shrieked, his anger blazing at this news. These insolent little bastards!

"When your soul left your body in 1981, it latched onto the last living soul in this building: baby Harry."

That's great. How about Ginerva Weasley? Do you want the low down on the only Gryffindor Death Eater?" He paused at the look of horror on Hermione's face, and laughed. "You thought she wouldn't betray you? Come now, you're said to be an intelligent witch. Do you think she would remain loyal when the prize was Harry Potter? Now, I really must be going. So, if you could just stand still, I promise that death should be painless; though I must admit, I have never died, so I wouldn't know. Avada Kedavra!"

Hermione flung her arms wide in front of her children. The curse slammed into her chest, but it bent back at the caster. The rebounding curse passed over Harry's body, and then his body vanished. The Dark Lord's eyes opened wide, and when the green curse hit him, his body slumped to the ground with a hollow thud – just as Hermione Potter screamed the name of her husband.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione Potter surveyed the remnants of the twins' bedroom in mute shock. The Dark Lord, the self styled Lord Voldemort, was dead, killed by a rebounding killing curse. Her husband, Harry James Potter, was missing, killed (as it seemed) by Voldemort's first killing curse that was in fact intended for her. Harry had done for her what Lily Potter had done for Harry in 1981; he had sacrificed his life to keep his family alive. Then, while the curse was rebounding from Hermione, her husband's body vanished. Their best friend, Ron Weasley, lay dead in the foyer, trying to fend off Voldemort long enough to for his godchildren and friend to get out alive. Her beautiful children , Lily Elizabeth and Albus James Potter, hadn't even cried. Lily was a spitting image of her mother, and Albus was a spitting image of his grandfather. The twins were almost two years old, having been born on Halloween of 2000. Harry had used Sirius Black's method of the secret keeper; make the secret keeper someone whom you'd never expect. So Harry had made the secret keeper Ginny Weasley. Ron played the part of secret keeper, and he had paid for his loyalty to his friends with his life. Now, most of the Weasley family was dead. Arthur and Percy at died when the Ministry of Magic fell, and Bill died defending Gringott's to the last. He was, in fact, the last being that was still breathing at the end. Molly and Charlie hadn't escaped harm, but at least both of them lived. When they found out about Ginny's betrayal, her fate would likely be worse than death. Now Ron had died, so one of the oldest pure blooded families was knocking on Death's door. There was a flash of fire in the center of the room, and Harry appeared. His skin was unblemished from where Hermione could see, the scar on his forehead gone, and she saw the scars from Umbridge's blood quill disappearing when he held out his arms to embrace her. The smile that fixed itself on his face was not a half hearted attempt to ease the fear and tension in the air; it was a pure Potter mischievous grin. It stretched across her husband's face – reaching to his emerald green eyes which were dancing with mirth and the light of an unburdened life. They had done it, Hermione thought as she wrapped her arms around Harry's wiry frame.

"I thought I had lost you, my hero." Hermione's voice was low and husky; it was threatening to crack from the emotions in her heart. She reflected on how skinny Harry had been during their Hogwarts years, mostly from something approaching malnourishment at the hands of his muggle guardians. She had agreed to marry Harry, and she had joked that there was a condition. She had been joking, but knowing Harry, her Harry, he had taken her as being dead serious. It wasn't anything corny – as he had confessed later that he had thought she was going to demand he wouldn't be unfaithful (he would never do that), or to love her forever (there was no doubt he would attempt to become immortal if anyone questioned his ability to love Hermione Granger forever just to spite them). Instead, she demanded that he fatten up, because, she joked, she didn't want child bearing to be too painful for him. His jaw had dropped in shock, but he readily agreed. He had been "punished" by her cooking before. True, she had been an awful cook on the Horcrux hunt, but after Ginny found out about Harry's plans on marrying Hermione (nothing nefarious was involved in her finding out; Harry had asked for her help in picking out a ring), she told her mom: Molly Weasley and Elizabeth Granger (Hermione's mom) had tutored Hermione in cooking. Now, looking back while in her husband's strong arms, she realized he didn't know of Ginny' betrayal.

"Harry?" she asked tentatively.

"Hmmm?" his voice muffled from Hermione's bushy hair.

"There's something you need to know about Ginny… She isn't dead, Harry. She wasn't tortured either. She is a Death Eater, Harry, she betrayed us."


	3. Chapter 3

With a "BOOM" that rattled the windows of the shops in Diagon Alley, Harry Potter appeared with a flash and a bang. Everyone in the general vicinity turned to regard the famous wizard. Small flames were dancing around his heels, his cloak and hair were swaying as if a gale force wind was whipping around him. His green eyes were blazing from behind a gold mask with a fury that made people shirk from his gaze.

"Where is Ginny Weasley?" He roared, the volume of his voice shattering the windows of the shops closest to him.

"Right here, Potter." said a cold feminine voice. There was a shimmer as the air around her unfolded in waves, revealing a very pretty redhead. With a flourish of his sleeve, Harry's wand appeared in his hand. He squared his shoulders, and strode forward. The crowd gave a gasp as Lord Potter's magic came to the surface, broiling the air around him. The gaze of the crowd was captivated by their hero striding into battle. The pavement behind him was cracking as if magical London was in the midst of a Sahara Desert-like drought.

"It's over, Ginerva! You have betrayed the light for the last time!" His voice echoed along the street, causing the crowd to break out into whispers. There was a crackling hiss, and a bright flash, and the crowd was silent. A globe of electricity was gathering over Harry Potter's head, and with a tempest of sound, it exploded. Gale force winds whipped through the streets, buffeting the loose debris around in a vortex.

"You'll have to beat me first, Potter!" Ginny shrieked. "I was trained By The Dark Lord himself, what chance do you stand?"

"I'll have you know, bitch, that your master is dead!" silence met this statement.

"Lies! I challenge you to a duel of honor, Potter!"

"I accept! To the death!"

"Your death!"

Harry flicked his wand; the power of the spell that left the tip of 11 and a half inches of Holly and Phoenix feather was so incredible, it caused everyone's hair to stand on end. With a flourish of her robes, Ginny turned and vanished, reappearing five meters to the left. It was barely enough to avoid the curse, but she miss judged the effects. The ground around her burst into brilliant, white hot flames.

She whipped her wand in a complicated wave, and the flames were shunted out of the way. It created an illusion of a figure shrouded in flames, feeding off her magic. Harry charged forward, raising his wand as he did so. He leapt right over the small wall of flames that had separated both foes, casting three spells in less than a breath. With a lazy wave of her wand that soon lead into a flick, and a swish, the three spells were defeated. However, her opponent kept on coming. The fear must have shown on her face, for she saw triumph in her former friends eyes. With a complex flourish, he brandished his wand. Before she had a chance to dodge his spell, she had cast her own offensive spell. They both dodged the backlash, Ginny barely avoiding the flames she had been unable to dispel completely. What followed next had the crowd gasping in astonishment:both duelists were casting spells, both offensive and defensive, in measurements of time so small, you could count several spells in the time it took for a heart to beat. They stood less than ten meters from each other, trading spells so fast, not a single spell was even distinguishable from the next. Great beams of light lit up the stormy sky, lightning flashing in a storm the likes of which had been unseen for centuries. A bright spell hit Harry, and his shoulder opened in a shower of crimson lifeblood. He slashed his wand through the air, and Ginny was lifted off the ground with the spell having a vise like grip on her throat. She didn't grasp her throat in a desperate attempt to get air, instead, she pressed a long, slender finger to her dark mark, just before her world faded to black. A chill swept the Alley, seemingly exempt from the flames that still burned around the two former friends; one crumpled on the ground, the victor standing above the traitor's body, deadly fire dancing in his emerald gaze. It took a shriek from the crowd that had gathered to bring him out of his blood lust, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the new threat. Ginny had summoned the dementors with her dying breath.

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Sorry for the long wait, and sorry for the short chapter. My muse seems to be fleeting these days, so if iI had to make an intelligent (gasp) estimate, I'd say to expect an update within 2 weeks. Thank you to diimortal for being the person to bring me out of my slump, as always, I am grateful for any and all reviews. I must thank all of those who have read, reviewed, or had the patience for little old me. Until next time, Anthony


	4. Chapter 4

He whipped around, his robes snapping sharply at his ankles in a perverted tango. He held his glowing wand aloft, and as he swept both his wand and wandless left hand in a wide swath, the flames rose to a height yet unseen in the duel. They formed crackling, sparking walls of dancing Hell's fire that splashed forward towards the dementors in a tidal wave of heat. Lord Potter growled, and hissed menacingly : " _Form in the shape of a stag." _No one thought he had been practicing parsel magic, because no one understood parsel tongue. The flames obeyed his hissed command with not a hesitation. The fire-stag charged forward, hoofs of fire clopping against the pavement. Harry, having distracted the dementors for now, snapped his wand like one would a bull whip, and a glowing stag formed. " Tell Kingsley: Dementors in Diagon Alley.", Harry said. The stag bowed, and vanished in a wisp of silver. The Boy Who Lived faced the dreaded soul sucking dementors, holding the wand in front of his body. He pulled it back, and then jabbed it forward. He concentrated on his memory of seeing his wife and children still alive after he returned from being in limbo, and screamed the spell so loudly, he felt as if his throat would never again be the same. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

There was the sound of a cannon blast, and an enormous stag formed before everyone's eyes. Its eyes were blazing emeralds, unusual for a patronus. It pawed at the ground, gouging scratch marks in the street. With a whinny, it lowered its head, and charged forward. Harry's wand began to shake, and a large dog formed next to the stag, followed by a werewolf. When the werewolf paused, and lifted its head to the sky, Harry knew what was going to happen before it actually did. Even though he knew it was coming, and braced himself for it, the patronus Moony let loose a hair raising howl. And when he did, Harry felt something snap within him. Something primal, untamed. Acting on instinct, he raised his wand high into the air. He traced the power to its source,and once again, acted on instinct. He forced it forward, to the surface. He then imagined it traveling through his veins, through his arm, and out his wand. The crowd was treated to a cacophony of tumbling drums in the heavens, and they watched as the sky lit up as if it was high noon. After the explosion of light, the sky went back to a dull matte gray. But, the crowd was awed by the falling drops of silver. A drop splattered on Fred Weasley's hand, and he stared at it in shock.

"Blimely, Harry..." George breathed. Fred's face had the look of euphoria, peace, and contentment. George connected the dots, and with a start, figured out what had happened: Harry Potter had conjured a patronus so powerful, he had caused it to rain patroni. Or essence of a patronus, he wasn't truly certain. The air was shimmering from the copious amounts of, for the lack of a better term, "essence of patronus", casting shadows on Harry's mask. With a staccato of cracks, Death Eaters appeared. With Harry's luck, the Aurors joined in immediately afterwards. Harry ran forward, and with a hissed command, the fire-stag that had been protected the crowd reformed into a basilisk, which then struck with the speed of a muggle missile. Death Eaters shrieked as the guardian of flames shredded their front ranks. A slim figure waved its wand, and the basilisk vanished in a wisp of smoke. Harry saw a spell careening towards him, but he dispelled it with a mere flick of his wand. He would not allow such insignificant flies to bite him. He had bigger fish to fry. He batted two spells aside as he skidded to a halt in front of the figure.

"So, baby Potty figured out how to play?" The mocking voice of his godfather's killer floated to his ears.

"Nexus!" was his answer. Her eyes widened as she dodged the ancient lightning curse. He did know how to play. She answered with a killing curse, and the battle began in earnest.


	5. Chapter 5

The general wizarding public had the honor this day of seeing not one, not two, but three duels of astounding power that they hadn't witnessed since Albus Dumbledore was in his prime. The first saw Ginny Weasley, an unknown Death Eater, die at the hands of Harry Potter. In the second "duel", they got to witness the dementors being brought into line by Harry Potter's awe inspiring patroni, and as many citizens rushed forward to join the battle, they were treated to a third. Harry Potter was dueling Bella LeStrange herself, the flashing lights dancing off of Harry's golden battle mask, rumored to have been discovered in Hogwarts. The dementors had fled the Alley, unearthly shrieks issuing from beneath their hoods minutes prior. Apparently, they hadn't been able to withstand Lord Potter's wrath.

It made many citizens glad that the new minister, Amelia Bones, had uncovered the truth behind Harry's brief imprisonment in Azkaban. He had only been in for a month, but a month in Azkaban was almost like a couple of years in a normal prison. He had been sent to Azkaban by Minister Scrimgeour's administration, for "High Treason against The Ministry of Magic". The charge, however, didn't hold much water after the public heard about it. For once, not only did the Daily Prophet print the truth, but the "sheep" of the wizarding world had stood by their savior, refusing to believe that he would join Voldemort, his nemesis since the age of one. The Prophet had been swamped for nearly two weeks with editorials beseeching the paper to put pressure on the ministry to mount an investigation. Amelia Bones herself offered to lead the investigation, and everyone readily agreed. She was well known throughout the British wizarding public as being fair, and honest to a fault. Within days of the initiation of the investigation, they discovered the truth : Harry Potter had been sent to Azkaban because he had refused the Minister's latest bid to gain control of his destiny. Facing criminal charges, and his own stay in Azkaban, Scrimgeour stepped down. The public voted Amelia Bones into office with a landslide of support, and due to her timely acts as Minister, the Death Eaters and their master had been forced to the defensive. Now, they were lashing back in retaliation. None knew of the Dark Lord's demise, as this wasn't a retaliation for his death. This had been a planned attack, and they had arrived surprised to see the dementors already there. But, Bella reasoned as she dueled Potter, she could figure out why after she killed the savior of the light. She focused back on the battle, as it seemed he had improved in leaps and bounds since their last duel. She ducked under a livid red curse, and twisted on her right heel to avoid a virulent yellow hex. She exploded upwards, swinging her wand forward. Silver sparks flew through the air, and with a contemptuous flick of the boy's wand, the steel darts shot away from him in a vicious swarm, embedding themselves into a wall twenty meters away. She dodged his answer, a dull green spell that she didn't immediately recognize. After all, that was the first rule of dueling. Avoid any spells you do not recognize. It was an unspoken rule for the most part, as if you didn't recognize a spell, you wouldn't know how to defend against it. She decided that while the boy may be powerful, she needed to end this before he really brought out his big guns. She knew he wasn't giving his all, because she felt his magic leaving cold trails through the summer air. His emerald eyes contained a fire that brimmed to the surface, begging to be unleashed to burn his enemies. She couldn't allow that to happen. She cast two killing curses one after the other, but Harry conjured a plate of thick glass, and sent it into the path of the curses. The first shattered the glass into small fragments, and without blinking, her opponent vanished with only the twirling of his robes. The second killing curse splashed against a store's wall, causing the business to burst into sickly green flames. With a crack, Harry Potter appeared in the spot he had been. The glass fragments began to fall, as this had happened in the space of a heart's beat, but Potter halted their fall with a lazy wave of his wand. With a snap of his wand, as if he was flicking a whip at a lion, the glass shards hurled themselves at Bella. She barely managed to deflect them, and in fact, she had managed to get hit by a few. She winced, and tapped her arm with her wand. The pieces of glass vanished, her wounds closing. She heard a yell of "Bella!" and turned to face Lucius Malfoy just in time to avoid Potter's Entrails Banishing Curse. She flashed Malfoy a quick sneer, and turned back to the duel. She threw herself into the duel with a furious staccato of curses. He threw them all off, infuriating her even more. As she opened her mouth to speak the infamous cruicatus curse, he sent a stunner at her, the charm heading for her much faster than normal. She gave a half hearted wave of her wand, throwing a strong Shield Charm around her. At the last possible instant, the curse changed to a familiar green, the green of her opponent's eyes. The green of the Unforgivable Avada Kedavra. Her eyes widened comically, and as the curse hit her, her world faded to black,her mind blank with shock, incredulity that Potter had thrown the Killing Curse.


End file.

Harry Potter, Fantasy, Tragedy