Inevitable 75/80: Chekhov's Gun (Anita Blake/Harry Potter) PG13
Inevitable 75/80: Chekhov's Gun
A Harry Potter/Anita Blake crossover
by mhalachaiswords
Summary: A late-night run-in with werewolves in the woods outside St. Louis dumps Harry Potter into a whole new world of trouble. Now Anita Blake has to deal with a new charge as well as Death-Eaters come to town.
Fandoms: Anita Blake and Harry Potter
Disclaimer: Laurell K. Hamilton owns all things Anita Blake. J.K. Rowling owns all things Harry Potter. Only the story is my own.
Rating: PG-13 this part.
Words: 9,420
Spoilers: Spoilers for Half-Blood Prince, Incubus Dreams. Nothing for Deathly Hallows, unless you want to draw bare inferences into Snape's behavior (and hey, who hasn't?).
Note: Still Oct. 31, the longest day in Harry's life. If you spot the Harry development conspicuously absent from this chapter, you're paying close attention to this story.
Previous parts here.
~~~~~~~
"I told you about the Horcruxes," Harry said again. "That's all that's important."
Anita let out a growl. "Are you being intentionally stupid?" she demanded. "I'm talking about what's got you spun around so hard that you're convinced that the only way you can save the world is to die!"
Harry tried to shush her. "What if someone hears?" he asked.
"So magic us up a Cone of Silence!" Anita snapped. "Did you know about these Horcrux things when you were in St. Louis?"
Harry whipped out his wand and sent up a wall of sound-blocking haze around the alcove. "No, of course not!" He sat on the stone window seat, toying with his wand. "You want to hear something stupid? I didn't even figure out I was a Horcrux until yesterday before the ball," he said bitterly. "There I was, trying to help Dumbledore find a way to find and destroy the Horcruxes, and all along I was one of them myself!"
A warm hand settled on Harry's shoulder. "Is this what that stupid prophecy was all about?" Anita asked.
"I guess." Harry picked up a leaf from the ground, probably tracked in on someone's shoe, and transfigured it into a feather. He waved it through the air. "Back in the summer, I think Nathaniel figured out what was happening. But I didn't want to listen or I just didn't want to believe he was right, but he was." Harry let the feather drift to the ground. "He usually is."
"How are you sure he's right?" Anita asked.
Harry exhaled. "The prophecy said, 'either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives'. Nathaniel thought that meant that for Voldemort to die, I have to die too." He transfigured the feather back to a leaf. "That has to mean that because I'm the Horcrux, he's right. If I want to stop Voldemort, really stop him, I'm going to have to die."
"Stop saying that," Anita said. "I don't care what happens, we'll find a way to save you--"
"Even if it means letting Voldemort win?" Harry interrupted. "I can't do that, Anita! Stopping Voldemort has been my whole life for the past seven years! He killed my parents and he used their murders to shove a piece of his soul into me! My own parents!" He shrugged Anita's hand off his shoulder. "I used to wake up remembering the flash of green light that killed my mum! The only thing I can remember of her voice is the way she was screaming for me when she died!"
"Harry, you need to stop," Anita ordered.
Harry kicked at the stone floor. "I just don't know what to do," he said. "I hadn't told anyone but you and Jason about being the sixth Horcrux. The others know about the rest of the Horcruxes, that we have five of them. I was going to tell them about me today, but then the thing with Moroven happened and I didn't have time."
"Who are the others?"
"Ginny and Luna and Ron and Hermione," Harry said. "Neville knows about the Horcruxes too, I had to tell him because his wand is one, but I can't tell him this. Although maybe it may make him feel better about his wand."
"Is he your friend?" Anita asked.
"I guess."
"You guess?"
"Fine, yes, he's my friend."
"Then learning that you're in danger isn't going to make him feel any better." There was something careful in Anita’s voice that made the words even more painful to hear.
Harry imagined telling Neville about the sixth Horcrux, and all he could picture was the look of horror and pity Neville would give him. "Probably not," Harry muttered.
"You said the Horcruxes are in the school," Anita said. "Are they safe?"
Harry nodded. "The underground cavern I told you about, there's no way to get in or out except by portkey." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small metal box he'd taken from Dumbledore’s office. "This is the portkey."
Anita looked at it. "Is it supposed to be that shiny?"
"No, not that," Harry said quickly. He opened the box and rattled the pebble. "This is the portkey."
Anita frowned. "That little thing?" she asked, reaching for the stone. Harry caught her hand.
"It's activated by touch," he said. Anita's skin was cool and her palm felt fragile. Too late, Harry realized he had grabbed her injured hand, the one with the angry red welt stark against her pale skin. He eased up the pressure of his grip, but he didn't let her go. "It goes off every half hour if it's in contact with skin or clothing."
"What if you have to get down there sooner?" Anita asked. "Can you do that Apparition thing?"
"You can't Apparate on Hogwarts grounds."
Anita raised her eyebrows. "Then what the hell good of a hiding space is that?"
"Dumbledore chose it." Harry closed the box on the precious stone.
"Like he chose to tell you about the Horcruxes so you'll end up killing yourself for him."
Harry shot to his feet, but now Anita was the one holding on to him. "That's not it!"
"It's not? When I left you at the train in September, you promised me you'd do anything you could to come out of this alive! Now I get here and you're all suicidal?" Anita stood and turned Harry's hand over in hers. In the light, the red scars on their palms looked identical. "I have no idea how you did it, but you saved my life, you saved Nathaniel's life." She swallowed hard. "Now I get to return the favor."
"You don't have to return any favor," Harry said, unable to tear his eyes away from the reminder of pain on her palm. "How could I not help?"
Anita tapped his hand until he looked her in the face. "I am not going to let you think that the only way to stop this guy is to sacrifice yourself."
"You saw the part of Voldemort's soul that's in me! He's the man who killed my parents, he killed so many people! He has to be stopped!"
"So we stop him." Anita's eyes were dark. "Like Jason said, crazy necromancer here."
"But..." Harry wasn't sure what to say. "What about that thing Jason mentioned this morning? With that guy Chimera? You said you pulled his soul out of his body, could you do that again?"
A shadow passed over Anita's face. "It's a long story," she said, releasing his hand.
"You're the one who said Dumbledore could wait."
The corner of her mouth twitched. "I think I liked you better when you weren't being cheeky."
"Cheeky?" Harry echoed. "Since when do you use the word 'Cheeky'?"
"I call them like I see them." Anita sat on the stone ledge. "You want to hear this story or not?"
If Anita was willing to talk about something that obviously bothered her, Harry would listen. "Go ahead."
Anita shook her head. "This isn't common knowledge among the police back home, so I'd appreciate if you kept this to yourself."
"Does Jason know?"
"Our lycanthropes and vampires know," Anita admitted. "I'm not sure if Elsa and Christoff know. I hope not."
"I won't tell anyone," Harry promised.
"Good." Anita fixed her eyes at a point on the wall over Harry's shoulder. "I'm not sure where to start."
"With Chimera?"
"Not that simple." She gripped her hands together in her lap. "It starts in New Mexico, with Edward and with... with Olaf."
Anita had grown paler as she spoke, until Harry feared she was about to pass out. He opened his mouth, sick to his stomach that he'd reminded Anita of him, but she kept going.
"It's not really a story about Olaf, but he was there." She paused to take a breath. "Back before I met Micah, Edward called in a favor so I went down to New Mexico. There were a bunch of really gruesome deaths, people being ripped apart or being skinned alive. Only they weren't alive, we discovered later, but were really zombies. So down I went, only since I wasn't talking to Jean-Claude or Richard at the time, I didn't realize that it probably wasn't the wisest idea."
It was on the tip of Harry's tongue to ask why she'd been fighting with Jean-Claude and Richard, but he managed to restrain himself. "What happened?"
"The Master of the City was a vampire named Itzpapalotl. It means Obsidian Butterfly, and if you think it sounds silly, you're wrong. She's fucking terrifying. All vampires are told to avoid her territory. If I'd been speaking to Jean-Claude, he'd have mentioned this, but by the time I realized that it was too late for that. Me and Edward and Olaf went to see her, to ask her if she knew what was killing those people. She knew, all right, but she pretended she didn't... or maybe she really believed that she didn't know."
"Was that what made her so scary?"
Anita glared at him. "What do you think?" she said. "What made her scary, outside the fact that she really thought she was a goddess, was that she had the power to suck out someone's..." Anita waved her hands in the air. "I guess you could call it their life force. Her human servant would suck a person dry, leaving them as a husk, but they'd still be alive." She looked back at her hands. "They'd still be alive and aware of everything that happened to them, but she and her human servant had their energy."
Harry had to fight to swallow against the churning in his stomach. "But if they were just shells--"
"They could also put the energy back into a person, make them whole again," Anita continued. "She let me see into her head. She touched my hand and I saw it all, how she became a vampire, her powers, all of it."
"So you saw how she did it?"
"I could if you stopped interrupting me!" Anita exclaimed.
"Then just tell me!"
"Fine!" Anita rubbed at her left palm. "I saw her power and how she used it. I saw it and I knew how to use it! And when Chimera came to St. Louis a month later, I stopped him. I used Obsidian Butterfly's power to stop Chimera before he killed everyone I cared about. I sucked out his life force and it was like I had his soul in my hands, and I let it go." She stopped suddenly. Her hands were shaking. "I decided to kill him, and I pulled his soul out of his body and I let it... I let it go."
The silence pressed down on him, but Anita's shaking hands and her quiet words made the story worse than Harry could have imagined.
"I was touching him, that's how I did it," Anita went on, relentlessly. "He had to die, I had to stop him before he could hurt or kill anyone else, or let him poison us anymore, but I was touching him when I did it."
Her voice shook on the last word. She must have heard it, because she clenched her fists.
"When I'm using my powers, my necromancy, I usually do it from a distance. You've seen me raise zombies. With Chimera, I had to be touching him to kill him." Anita looked up at Harry, her eyes wide. "It's the same way with the ardeur, now that I think about it."
Finally, something he could talk about without breaking into a screaming fit. "I thought that was something you got from Jean-Claude."
"It was, after I got back to St. Louis." Confusion passed over her face. "I didn't think they were connected, but maybe--" She shook her head. "Stop trying to distract me!"
"I'm not trying to do anything!" Harry said hotly. "You brought it up!"
"You brought Jean-Claude into it!"
"Are you going to tell me the rest of the story or not?"
"I will if you stop interrupting me!"
She was trying to distract herself by arguing, Harry could see that, but she was succeeding in making him angry in the process. He'd forgotten how easily she could push his buttons. With an effort, he closed his mouth.
"Thank you!" Anita crossed her arms over her chest. "The end result is that I killed Chimera by pulling his soul out of his body, which is exactly why we are not going to try it with you!"
"You said Itz.. Itz... Obsidian Butterfly, she could put the energy back in, right? So you can suck me dry and see if you can take out Voldemort's soul and then put all the energy back!"
"I did not say that! I used that power once to kill someone!" Anita shouted. "I think I could put the life force back into the body, but I've never tried it--"
"If you think you can do it--" Harry spoke over her, but she reached over and hit him in the shoulder. It hurt.
"I'm not going to risk killing you!" she exclaimed.
"I'm fine with the risk," Harry insisted.
"But I'm not!" She stood and paced to the edge of their enclosed sanctuary. "I am not okay with the risk! Don't ask me to do something that may get you killed!"
"But Voldemort--"
"Fuck Voldemort!" There was a wildness in Anita's eyes, something Harry had seen before, one hot summer night as he'd held her down, screaming, in the Missouri forest. "I almost lost Nathaniel and I almost lost Jason and I am not going to lose you! Do you understand me?"
Everything was all messed up, mixed around in Harry's head, and he felt sick as the echo of Anita's tortured screams played at the edges of his memory. Still, he had to try. "But I have to stop him," he pleaded.
Anita moved so fast he could barely see her, closing the distance between them before he could move. One hand closed around his throat, forcing his head back hard against the stone wall. His gasp of pain was knocked clean of his lungs as Anita's fingers tightened. Not choking. Not yet.
"Shut up," she hissed coldly. She was close enough to kiss Harry or to bite him, so close he could see himself reflected in her pupils. "Do not ask me to kill you because I'm not going to do it." She let go of his throat. "I may be many things, Harry, but I'm not going to kill someone I've sworn to protect because it would be easier than looking for another way." The cold fury left her just as suddenly as it had come, and she was left looking so tired. She turned away from Harry. "I don't kill my friends. I'm not that much of a monster. Not yet."
"You're not a monster at all," Harry said. He resisted an urge to rub his throat.
"Then you're not paying attention." It sounded as if she was trying to make a joke, but the misery in her voice ruined the effect.
"Don't say that. You know it's not true."
"Harry--"
"Do you think I'm a monster?"
She swung around, startled. "What are you talking about?"
"What have you done that I haven't?"
"God, where would you like me to start?" Anita demanded.
"I can't raise zombies, but I've got my own magic, right?" Harry said. "Most everyone in the Wizarding world thinks I'm a dangerous lunatic, I've got powers they are afraid of--"
"Like what?" The question was a challenge.
"Like being a Parselmouth!"
"So what if you can talk to snakes? I can raise the dead! Try explaining that one at the family reunion!"
"I killed my Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in first year! And what about Bellatrix Lestrange this summer?"
"I kill people on a regular basis--"
"You only kill when you have to! To protect people who need protecting!"
"Oh, like you go around bumping people off for fun?"
Harry jumped up. "That's exactly my point! You can't say you're a monster and say I'm not one because we're both the same kind of person!"
Anita glared at him. "This is a stupid conversation, and you are missing my point."
"You are missing my point!"
"Oh my god, are we seven? You're not a monster!"
"And neither are you!"
"You have no idea what I can do!" Anita hit the stone wall with a closed fist. Harry jumped as her knuckles slammed against the rock. "I don't just raise corpses, I can do things you haven't ever dreamed about!"
Her hand was bleeding. As Harry watched, a tiny droplet of red slid over her fingers and fell to the floor. Was it his imagination, or did the castle sigh as the blood hit the stone?
When Harry looked back up, Anita was cradling her injured hand against her chest. "You're just a kid, Harry. It's all still black and white to you. You shouldn't have to give that up, not yet."
Harry wanted to argue with her, but could he? Voldemort was evil and he had to be stopped, there wasn't anything good about him left to be saved. "Are you still talking about Chimera?"
"No." Anita clenched her injured fist tight, then let her hand fall to her side. No more blood fell from her skin. "This isn't about Chimera."
"Is it about Olaf?" From her silence, Harry figured he had guessed right. "But he's dead. I saw Edward kill him."
"Edward killed him, but not before Nathaniel almost died." Anita lifted her eyes. Her blank expression scared Harry more than anything else he'd seen that day. "I could have brought Olaf back."
"Why would you do that? How could you bring someone back that was already dead?" Harry asked. He could barely speak, his mouth was so dry. "You said that zombies don't have souls, that they're just dead bodies."
"There's a way to do it." Anita was staring at him, motionless. He couldn't even see her breathing. "To put the soul back in the body. I could have made him pay."
The quiet words, said simply and quietly, sent a bolt of ice through Harry. I could have made him pay.
"There's a reason that most people think necromancers are evil," Anita went on. "My grandmother tried to shield me from it when I was learning, same with Manny, but there comes a point where you just can't bury what you know. And right now..." She shook her head. "I'm in so deep I don't think I'll ever see daylight again."
"But you wouldn't do that," Harry said, finally finding his voice. "You protect people, you don't hurt them."
"But I could," Anita replied. In Harry's mind, all he could hear was an echo of her words, I could have made him pay. "You know anything about voodoo?"
Harry shook his head. "That's raising zombies?"
"Not just zombies, it's a whole religion based around the old magics. It has its roots in West Africa, and it was brought to the West Indies during the days of the slave trade. I'm not into that, I just raise the zombies, but my grandmother was a Bokar, a voodoo priestess. John Burke, that guy I work with, he's a Bokor too. When you're vaudun, it's not just cutting off chicken's heads and raising zombies." She lifted her hands, palms up. "Do you know what it means to serve with both hands?"
"No," Harry said, almost inaudible. He didn't want to be here anymore, didn't want to listen to Anita tell him stories of horrible death magic.
He didn't want to know what evils were running around in Anita's head.
"Servir a deux mains, it's called." Anita pressed her palms together. "It's a reminder that good and evil are in all of us, and there's a balance that must be kept between the two in everything we do."
"But why not just go with the good?" Harry asked. "No one has to be evil!"
"No one can be good all the time," Anita shot back. "It's one thing to say so, but it's not in our nature."
"Whose nature?"
"Human nature." Anita rubbed at her wounded knuckles, and the dried blood came off, leaving her skin flawless. Her injury had already healed in the few minutes they had been speaking. "All the good and evil in this world comes from human nature, and that nature is never going to change. You do good, you do evil, and there's always a reason to what you do, but that doesn't change your fundamental nature."
"You mean we," Harry said. "You mean, 'our nature'."
"No, I don't." Anita blinked, but didn't look away. "Lycanthropes and vampires were all born human, they carry that same nature with them for their entire lives. I wasn't born human at all."
"That's not right!" Harry exclaimed. "You're as human as I am!"
"No, I'm not. Anyone who ever taught me anything, Manny, my grandmother, they always held something back!" Anita stepped forward, invading Harry's personal space, but he wouldn't let himself flinch away. "They saw something in me, they must have suspected what I would be capable of one day. When I was only three years old, my grandmother saw something in me that scared her. She was a vaudun priestess of the old ways, and I scared her when I was juts a baby!"
"You're not evil!" Harry said. "I've seen the things you do, you're powerful but you're not evil!"
"When is that line crossed?" Anita asked. "When do the powerful become evil? When does 'necessary' evil just become evil?"
"I don't know, but you're not it!" Even as he spoke, Harry remembered something a Voldemort-ruled Quirrell had told him, six years before. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it. "You may know how to do dark magic, but you don't do it, that's the point! I know spells that are dark magic, but I don't do them."
"Could you raise an army of the dead and siphon off their energy until you're invincible?"
Harry flinched and overbalanced, taking a step back to avoid falling over. It took him a moment to realize what he'd done, but by then it was too late to take the movement back. Anita clenched her jaw.
"See?" Anita said in a hardened voice. "I win."
She backed away from Harry and walked along the hazy cloud closing them into the alcove. She trailed her fingers over the haze, sending sparks like miniature lightening into the air.
"Would you really do that?" Harry asked when Anita reached the far wall. "Raise an army of the dead?"
Anita pushed her hand into the haze. "It's called Bokor Majeur." The name sounded like a curse in Harry's ears. "And it's not just raising the dead. It's like... It's like an addiction. After a while, the person using it needs more dead to feed the addition, and if they can't find a large enough source of death, they start killing." Anita pulled her hand back, trails of mist sticking to her fingers. "Wars have been started for Bokor Majeur, plagues inflicted upon whole continents. So much death, and in the end, it's never enough."
"Were they stopped? These people who did those things?"
"Eventually. The Vampire Council dealt with the last one, a hundred years ago."
"How?"
Anita shook her head. "It won't work."
"What won't work?" Harry asked, confused.
"You won't be able to use that way to stop Voldemort."
"I wasn't..." Harry couldn't even finish the lie. "How did they do it?"
Anita passed a hand over her face. "The Council sent an army. Jean-Claude told me they couldn't kill him, so they locked him away in a cavern without food or water, but he can't die, so he exists there like that to this day."
Harry wrapped his arms around his chest. He couldn't imagine being locked up all alone for eternity. "Is that really going to hold him?"
"Maybe not," Anita said. She gave a ghostly smile. "But if it doesn't, there'll be someone there to stop him."
"You?"
"Or someone like me, or the vampires."
Harry shook his head. "How can you say that and still think you're a monster?" he demanded. "You always do things to protect people!"
Anita flinched. She held up her hands in a motion that in anyone else, Harry would have called surrender. Anyone but Anita. "Remember, Harry. Every time I hold a weapon, I'm using both hands."
~~~
Harry and Anita stared at the closed door to Dumbledore’s office. "One of us should knock," Harry said.
"Or you could finish telling me what else has been going on here with you," Anita retorted.
"Like what?"
"Like what's with those two girls with Jason?"
"Ginny and Luna?"
"Are there others?" Anita turned on him. "Nathaniel told me you didn't know anything about girls!"
"I don't!"
The potentially humiliating argument stopped abruptly when the door to Dumbledore’s office swung open to reveal the Headmaster himself.
"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore said. "I was beginning to suspect that my message had gone astray. I sent for you almost three-quarters of an hour ago."
"We got the message," Harry said. Dumbledore stood aside, and Harry walked into the office. "We had to go over some stuff first."
"And this 'stuff' was important enough to disobey a summons from the Headmaster?" came a sneering voice from deeper in the office. "What an important life you lead, Potter."
Harry stopped so abruptly that Anita walked into him. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.
Snape rose from the armchair by the window and swooped towards Harry, black robes billowing out behind him. "What place do you have to be questioning a teacher, Potter?"
Anita disentangled herself from Harry and stepped around him. "Who are you?" she asked sharply.
Snape drew himself up. "I could ask you the same question, muggle."
"Don't you talk to her that way!" Harry exclaimed. He would have gone for his wand, school rules be damned, but Dumbledore’s voice froze everyone in place.
"That's enough!" Dumbledore walked between Snape and Harry, drawing off the tension of the argument. "Severus, this is Anita, one of Harry's American relatives. She came when we feared Harry would succumb to his injuries."
"There are no Potters in America," Snape said, never taking his eyes from Harry.
"Anita is related to Harry through his mother," Dumbledore replied.
It was as if Dumbledore had sent a hex at Snape. The man started back, paling underneath his sallow skin.
"I was unaware that Lily had any American relatives," he said.
Harry was about to demand what Snape knew about Lily, anyway, but Dumbledore kept talking. "The family ties go back two generations. Now, Severus, if you will excuse us, I need to speak with Mr. Potter about last night's vampire attack."
"Headmaster--"
"I will take your concerns about school safety into account, Severus. If you will excuse us."
Glaring daggers at Harry, Snape gathered himself up and stalked from the office. The door closed behind him.
"What was with that?" Anita asked as soon as the door latched. "Why didn't you want him knowing who I was?"
"Because, Ms. Blake, I would prefer to keep your presence at Hogwarts quiet," Dumbledore said. He sat down behind his desk. "A muggle relation of Harry's muggle-born mother will not raise suspicions. But your full name is known among certain wizards, as are rumors of your powers. I simply wish to keep matters uncomplicated."
A high laugh from the corner made Harry jump almost out of his skin. "He means he doesn't want Voldemort to find you here. What a tasty treat that would be!"
Elsa slithered down from the high window, robe hiked up so Harry could see her white knee socks and shiny Mary Janes. She flashed a wide, insincere smile at Dumbledore.
"What were you doing up there?" Harry asked.
"Watching the scenery," Elsa said in a mocking tone. "It's not every day I spend time in Scotland."
"Yeah, I bet Moroven puts a real crimp in any sight-seeing plans," Anita interjected.
"You have no idea," Elsa said. A faint German undertone was creeping back into her words.
"Does anyone know why Moroven attacked Harry last night?" Anita asked.
"Because he challenged her?" Elsa suggested.
"No, I don't think it's that simple." Anita crossed her arms over her chest. "See, Harry may have been stupid enough to challenge a Master vampire on her own turf, but that doesn't explain why she was here in the first place, trying to grab little werewolf boys from the castle."
"Then what do you think brought such a Master vampires to these woods, Executioner?" Elsa asked.
Anita glared at Elsa. "Harry thinks that she wanted to give us one of the Horcruxes so she doesn't have to get personally involved with destroying Voldemort. And if you think about it, it makes sense."
Dumbledore had leaned back in his chair and was looking at Anita over steepled fingers. "In what way does it make sense to you, Ms. Blake?"
Anita turned her attention to him. "She comes to the forest and lures someone outside, it didn't need to be Harry at all. She had a bit of fun, shoves the cup onto the kid or whoever she pulled outside, and sends them back inside the school. She probably knows you're a powerful wizard, if you've been on her territory for as many years as Harry said. She probably figured that you'd know what the cup was."
Dumbledore’s eyes slid over to Harry. "Quite possible. What I am uncertain of, however, is how Moroven would know about the Horcruxes?"
Harry's heart sunk into his stomach. "I, um..." He took a deep breath and lifted his chin. "I saw Elsa in Hogsmeade in September, sir. I mentioned the Horcruxes to her at that time. Moroven said last night that Elsa hadn't been discrete about asking about them."
Elsa sauntered across the room, her heels clicking on the stone. "Gryffindor to the end, putting the blame squarely on someone other than himself."
"Hey, I said that I was the one who told you in the first place!" Harry said hotly. "And it's good that I did, because how would we have gotten Moroven's Horcrux otherwise? We wouldn't have had any idea where to look!"
Elsa raised an amused eyebrow at Harry. "Always willing to rewrite history to put yourself into the role of hero. Some things will never change."
Harry gave up. He turned to Dumbledore. "That's what happened, sir. Do you have the Cup now?"
Dumbledore gave a inscrutable nod. "It is with the others."
How was that possible? Harry thought he had the portkey. Unless Dumbledore had another way of getting down there, Harry said to himself. Of course he would, or else he'd have asked me for the portkey back!
"So if you and Elsa weren't talking about Horcruxes or Master vampires, what were you chattering about?" Anita was asking. "Were you talking about Harry?"
"Always a one-track mind," Elsa muttered. She spun in place, robe whirling out dangerously close to the knick-knacks on a nearby table. "We were catching up on old times."
Old times? Harry looked at Anita, who only shook her head.
"It has been many years since I saw Albus Dumbledore," Elsa continued. She stopped moving, locking eyes with Dumbledore. "Ever since he took the credit for defeating Grindelwald on the backs of hundreds of dead soldiers."
Harry stepped forward, and only Anita's hand on his arm stopped him from saying something stupid. He looked pleadingly at Dumbledore. The man would never do something like that, not what Elsa was claiming! Dumbledore would never take credit for something he didn't do!
Dumbledore didn't speak, and the silence stretched out, screaming on Harry's nerves. Finally Dumbledore separated his hands and nodded his head again. "We have had this conversation before, Elsa, and I fear that we will never reach an agreement on what happened in 1945."
"What happened in 1945?" Anita asked.
Elsa twitched her robes into place. "Before we came to London, Christoff was Master of our lands in Germany for centuries. The battles of Grindelwald and the battles of the Allied forces alike came to our doorstep. That was where I met young John Cassidy."
"You met him back in the day?" Anita asked. "Was he as annoying back then too?"
"He was an idealistic child who saved his men through sheer luck alone, not any special magical powers." Elsa shot Harry a look. "Rather like you."
"Can we get through one conversation without bringing up my 'obvious short-falls' again?" Harry asked. "I thought you were going to talk to Dumbledore about the Dragon's Breath bomb that Nigel Spencer built for Voldemort."
Dumbledore sat up. "Bomb?" he demanded sharply. "Harry, what are you talking about?"
"All I know is that Anita talked to Auror Cassidy about some bomb," Harry said. "Built with Dragon's Breath."
"Cassidy said Spencer had all the components for a big bomb, but that everything had gone missing right about the time Bellatrix Lestrange killed Spencer," Anita said, digging in an inner pocket of her jacket. "He also said that no one in your government was going to accept any help from the American Aurors." She pulled a small packet of papers out of her jacket. "I was trying to figure out a way to get this to Harry, it's something Cassidy gave me with information about the bomb."
The papers flew from Anita's fingertips into Dumbledore’s outstretched hand. The Headmaster placed the paper in a fold in his robes. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Ms. Blake," he said. "I will look into this at the earliest opportunity."
"Which means what, exactly?" Anita demanded. "Spencer was into some pretty fucked-up shit, who knows what else might be up with that bomb? He raised his dead wife as an Inferius and locked her in a cage in his basement, he was a magical arms dealer who wasn't above dealing with Voldemort. The only thing that stopped him was Bellatrix jamming his wand down his throat and killing him with magic!"
During her tirade, Dumbledore hadn't moved. After she wound down, he spoke. "There exist all sorts of people in the Wizarding world, as there are all sorts of people in the muggle world. Magical power does not alter fundamental human nature."
Hearing Dumbledore echo what Anita had said earlier that day made Harry look at him sharply, but the man continued.
"Now, Harry, if there is nothing else, you will excuse me. I have things to attend to."
"Hey, hold on!" Anita interrupted. "You're the one who called us up here, and we're the ones who did all the talking!"
"Perhaps because you will never shut up," Elsa muttered under her breath.
"I asked you to my office to ask Harry how he is faring, and to discuss the incident with Remus Lupin, but in the intervening time, Auror Tonks and Professor Snape both came to me with information that led me to believe that the matter has been resolved."
"Resolved in what way?" Anita asked. "You have a werewolf that totally loses it on Jason in a school full of children, and you talk to two of his friends and it's water under the bridge?"
"Rest assured, Ms. Blake, that Professor Snape's first priority is the safety of the students in this school." Dumbledore ignored Harry's sputtering. "Auror Tonks conveyed a message to me regarding the conversation between Mr. Lupin and Mr. Potter earlier today. As you did not bring up the incident with Mr. Lupin when you came in, I thought that an accord had been reached."
"Hardly!" Anita snapped. "Other stuff came up that may still come up to bite us in the ass, but that doesn't mean that I'm done with Remus!"
Elsa sighed. "I cannot believe that your Master has never told you to fight the battles that you can win," she said. "The day is growing old, Anita. Pick your battles and let go of the ones you have already won."
"I haven't won anything--"
Elsa whirled on her. "You saved your werewolf," she snapped. "Any day when your people do not die in your service is to be considered a win."
"Ms. Blake," Dumbledore said. "You and Mr. Schuyler are invited to join me at the teacher's table for dinner this evening. We will be having our Halloween banquet, and I can introduce you to the Hogwarts teachers."
"Like Remus?" Anita asked.
"Mr. Lupin is also invited to dinner tonight," Dumbledore conceded. "As is Elsa."
The witch in question just rolled her eyes.
"We will discuss sending you to London tomorrow morning," Dumbledore continued. "In the meantime, please enjoy Hogwarts hospitality. I hope we can put to rest some of your concerns about Harry's education."
"Come on, Anita," Harry said. "Let's go find Jason and the girls."
Anita didn't budge. "What are you going to do about the Horcruxes?" she asked. "You need a plan or something, you can't just keep them in a school."
"We will continue to seek the remaining Horcruxes and a way to destroy them," Dumbledore said.
"And what about asking for help?"
Dumbledore stared at Anita over his half-moon glasses. "Unlike certain wizards in the Ministry of Magic, I have no qualms about asking for help when it is deemed necessary."
Harry couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Then why not ask Anita to help us?" he exclaimed. "Horcruxes use death magic, and Anita's a necromancer! Maybe she can help!"
In the blink of an eye, Elsa was at Harry's elbow. "Do you mean these words you say?" she asked, cold power in her words. Harry's knees went weak under the onslaught. "Do you advocate using the one kind of magic that could have you expelled from your world?"
Her eyes were burning, intense, and Harry almost fell into her power. With an effort, he wretched his mental shields up and pulled himself free. "If that's what it takes to stop Voldemort, then yes!"
The portraits in the room went still. The air itself had changed, as if the world had shifted around them, but Harry had no idea what was wrong.
Grudging approval came into Elsa's expression. "So you have picked a side after all," she said cryptically. "I did not think you would."
"What do you mean?" Harry demanded. "It's the same side I've always been on! The 'stop Voldemort' side!"
Elsa shook her head. "Brave, but still stupid." She stepped away from Harry and made shooing motions with her hands. "Go away. I must question Albus Dumbledore on developments in his world since he left us in Hamelin."
Anita made a weird coughing noise. "Hamelin?" A half-smile spread over her face. "You and Christoff are originally from Hamelin?"
Elsa flopped down into an armchair and pointedly ignored Anita's question.
"Ms. Blake, we will see you at dinner," Dumbledore said. "I truest Harry will be able to entertain you for a few hours."
"But--" Harry started to say, but Anita grabbed his arm and dragged him out the door.
"Come on," Anita said. Her voice was bubbly with repressed laughter. The door closed behind them. "Oh, that’s just perfect."
"He didn't say anything to my suggestion," Harry protested. "That we ask for your help with the Horcruxes!"
"You're the one who said that necromancy is frowned upon here," Anita pointed out. "Is what Elsa said right? Necromancy can get you kicked out of the British Wizard club?"
"I have no idea. Hermione said something like that, when she was getting on my case." Harry pulled his arm away from Anita and led the way down the spiral staircase. "What are you so happy about?"
"Come on, Harry, Elsa said she and Christoff are from Hamelin!" At Harry's blank expression, Anita sighed. "Christoff's animal to call is the rat! And they're from Hamelin?"
"So?"
"So didn't you ever read when you were a kid? Don't you know the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin? He rid the town of rats and when the villagers didn't pay up, he took the children." The smile slid off Anita's face. "Actually, now that I think of it, that is particularly disturbing."
Harry led Anita down a corridor, not really taking in where they were going. "He could have at least said yes or no!"
"Harry, let it go." Anita drew abreast of him, walking fast to match his pace. "We'll figure out how to fix this. Without you getting hurt."
"Good luck," Harry muttered. He looked down the hall. "I should have told him about me. About being the sixth Horcrux."
"No, you shouldn't," Anita said. "You're not going to tell that man a thing until I find a way to save you."
"But what if--"
"In case there is an 'if', I will deal with it, understand?" Her jaw was set, and Harry knew the futility of trying to argue with her when she looked like that. "We need to find Jason. Where would those girls have taken him?"
"I have no idea," Harry said, mentally throwing his hands up. He slowed as he approached the Entrance Hall doors. The castle corridors had been fairly empty, but there were groups of students in the Hall. Conversations died off as students of all houses stared at him. Or were they looking at Anita?
"Let's go check for them outside," Harry muttered. He clattered down the stairs, his footsteps loud in silent chamber.
Softer footfalls followed him. Anita was right behind him as they walked the gauntlet of staring children.
The outside air was sweet and clear. Harry took a deep breath as the air chased away the cobwebs in his head.
"That was decidedly unfriendly," Anita observed. "Do all the kids at this school hate non-witches?"
"It's not that." Harry rubbed his face. "They must have heard what happened with Remus."
"Ah." Anita faced into the wind and closed her eyes briefly. "I guess you guys are more used to magical shoot-outs."
"Duels," Harry corrected. "We call them duels."
"That's bullshit and you know it." Anita looked over her shoulder at Harry. The wind caught a few loose curls and blew them around her face. In all the craziness of the day, with all the pain and panic and revelations, Harry hadn't looked too closely at her. But now in the watery sunlight, he could see the faint hollowness in her cheeks, the circles under her eyes. She'd lost weight since September, and there was a lingering pain in her eyes that not even Bellatrix's torture had caused.
I could have made him pay.
"Harry?" Anita frowned. "Are you really going to be fine?"
"What? Oh, yeah. I was just..." He coughed, not sure if he should ask her about her physical state. "I missed you, that's all. You and Jason and everyone. What's bullshit?"
Anita raised her eyebrows. "We missed you too, but don't go trying to distract me. I'm talking about calling a magical fight a duel. Trying to cause each other violence with magic isn't a 'duel', it's bordering on attempted murder."
"We don't all use magic like the Death Eaters do," Harry said. "And we're not supposed to use magic in the corridors at school."
Anita shook her head. "Are you going to tell me you suddenly obey the rules?"
"Of course not." Harry shrugged. "It's all a matter of not getting caught, isn't it?"
"It's good to see they're teaching you about the morality of your actions."
"Didn't we already have a conversation today about right and wrong?"
"That was good and evil," Anita corrected. "They're not always the same thing."
Harry must have looked as confused as he felt.
"Sometimes, doing what is 'good' can be the wrong thing to do," Anita said.
"Like what?" As they talked, Harry led Anita down the steps and out onto the grounds, towards the lake.
"Like... like stopping a dangerous vampire. They may be destructive, but what if getting rid of a dangerous Master of the City would throw the city into more turmoil, causing more humans to die? You can tell what's good and evil, but what's right and wrong there?"
"What about the other way? You can't tell me that evil can ever be right!"
"Back to the idea of necessary evil," Anita retorted. "Is killing another human being anything but evil?"
They were both talking about Bellatrix, Harry knew. By taking away her wand in a crowd of angry werewolves, he had killed her as sure as if he had sent the Killing Curse at her. But what else could he have done? He was sure it had been the right thing to do.
"Maybe this just proves that you and me shouldn't be teaching a magic morality class," Harry tried to joke.
"Or maybe we should be." Anita shook her head. "I can't see myself as teacher, in any event."
A gaggle of first-year girls ran past, chasing an enchanted pumpkin. Their excited giggles sounded out of place.
Maybe I'm the one who's out of place, Harry thought.
"They're having fun," Anita said. "Is Halloween a big deal over here?"
"Not in the muggle world, only once we got to Hogwarts." Harry tried to smile. "What ever happens on Halloween, anyway?"
His mother, screaming, and high-pitched evil laugher.
Anita stared at him. "I thought your parents were killed on Halloween."
"They were." Harry pushed his hair back from his face. "I was trying to be ironic or something."
"Well, don't. You really suck at it."
"What's this?" Jason's voice came around a bend in the hedge. "Harry sucks?"
The werewolf appeared, followed closely by Luna and a flushed and excited-looking Ginny.
Harry stopped short. A wild wave of jealousy flamed in his chest. What had Ginny been doing with Jason to look like that?
Then, right behind the group, Ron tromped onto the scene. He was as flushed as Ginny.
"Of course Harry sucks, he wasn't at Quidditch practice today," Ron grumbled.
Quidditch?
"You can't blame him!" Ginny snapped at her brother. "He was hurt by a vampire last night! McGonagall wouldn't have let him fly in any event!"
"He's looking fine now, isn't he?" Ron gripped Harry's shoulder briefly, unspoken relief in his eyes. "You're okay?"
"I'm good, Ron." So much had happened that day, things that Ron hadn't been a part of, and suddenly Harry couldn't wait to talk to him. "Where's Hermione?"
"Minor Head Girl emergency," Ron said. "We decided to have a short Quidditch practice, once Ginny bothered to show up."
"I was trying to make sure Harry wasn't dead!" Ginny exclaimed. "And don't pretend you weren't trying to do the same thing!"
"We watched the practice," Luna interrupted serenely. She smiled at Jason. "Mr. Schuyler wanted to see people flying."
"Back home we only have flying vampires, and I thought I asked you to call me Jason," he said.
A faint colour came into Luna's cheeks. "I don't know you well enough to call you by your first name."
"Whatever you want, Miss Lovegood."
Ron was glowering at the interchange. Harry wasn't particularly pleased himself, watching Jason hang all over Luna. He turned to his side. "Anita, this is my friend, Ron Weasley."
"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Anita said. She held out her hand to Ron, but Ron didn't move.
"Awkward," Jason muttered out of the corner of his mouth as the scene stretched on.
"Ron," Harry said warningly.
Anita dropped her hand. "Don't worry about it, Harry," she said, voice deliberately neutral.
"We should go shower before dinner," Ron said. "I'll tell Hermione that you're all right."
All the friendly feelings Harry had towards Ron vanished in that moment. "Why don't you go do that?" he said coldly, stepping to Anita's side.
"Fine." Without looking at Anita, Ron stalked off.
Ginny stared after her brother. "That unbelievable--" she started to say, but broke off. "I can't believe him!"
"Don't worry about it," Anita said. "I get that a lot."
"That doesn't make it right!" Ginny turned to Harry. "I'm going to go beat some sense into his head!" Quick as a flash, she darted in and kissed Harry on the cheek. "I'll see you at dinner!"
With that, Ginny bolted after her brother.
"He's been listening to Hermione again," Luna said.
"So what?" Harry demanded.
"She's been doing more research on why necromancy was prohibited in European Wizarding comminutes." Luna pulled her wand from her sleeve and tucked it behind her ear. "She doesn't want to believe that the vampires in France manipulated most of the magical governments into making the laws."
"Where did you hear that?" Harry asked.
"It was in those books you had on vampires," Luna said. "The ones Ginny borrowed to read."
"I didn't loan those to Ginny."
"She said she borrowed them, not that you loaned them to her." Luna looked at Anita. "Mr. Schuyler-- Jason says that you raise zombies that are very different than Inferi, is that right?"
Anita cleared her throat. "Yeah, it is, but I don't know if I should tell you..."
Luna waved her hand around her head. "All books in the library on necromancy are rather biased," she said. "It would be fascinating to hear about the subject from a practitioner."
Jason grinned at Luna like an idiot, and that stirring growl of jealousy came back to Harry.
"She's in Ravenclaw," Harry said, tearing his attention away from Jason and Luna. "They like to know things."
Anita shrugged. "I can't see what harm it would do."
"That's my girl," Jason said. It took Harry a moment to realize he was speaking about Anita, not Luna. "How long do we have until dinner? Do we get to stay for a while to make sure Harry's okay?"
"Yeah, Dumbledore invited us," Anita said. "And Elsa."
Jason nodded. "Figures that she's sticking around."
Harry closed his eyes. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and get some sleep--
"Who is Elsa?" Luna asked.
-- except it didn't look like that was going to happen.
Harry breathed out in a sigh. Hopefully, the night would end early, and he could go to bed right after the banquet.
Then he could get some well-deserved sleep.
~~~~~~~
In spite of Anita's loud objections, Harry had been forced to sit at the Gryffindor table during the banquet. He perched on the edge of the bench, watching Anita more than he paid attention to his food. He ignored Ron and an uncharacteristically silent Hermione.
On his left side, Ginny was talking non-stop. Harry nodded in what he hoped were the right places, not really paying attention.
Anita, Jason and Elsa were at the far end of the head table, beyond Snape. Jason had made a few attempts to speak with Snape, who had looked at him as if he were some noxious form of slug.
At the other end of the table, flanked by McGonagall and Tonks and the other Aurors, sat Remus. He still looked pale. When the werewolf looked up, Harry gave him a smile and a nod. After a moment, Remus returned the nod.
Reassured, Harry went back to scanning the head table. Hagrid wasn't there, not really a surprise, nor were Professor Sinestra and Professor Flitwick.
The hall was awash with the noise of hundreds of excited children. The younger classes were having a grand time. More than once, Harry spotted young Reece laughing with his fellow Hufflepuffs. Harry felt better, seeing that even an attack by a psychotic vampire couldn't dim the boy's spirits.
"And then Luna took off her knickers and we were both completely naked and covered in chocolate."
Harry whipped his head around so fast he hurt something in his neck. "What?"
Ginny smirked at him. "I knew that would get your attention." She inched closer to Harry on the bench. "Did it work?"
The idea of Ginny and Luna naked certainly brought parts of Harry to attention. "I... what?"
Ginny moved even closer. Harry slid back, surprised at how predatory Ginny was looking.
He bumped into Seamus Finnigan, sitting on his right. Seamus gave Harry a shove, pushing him into Ginny. Harry put out his hand to brace his fall, and thanked the heavens that he grabbed her arm, and nothing softer.
"Watch what you're up to!" Seamus exclaimed, amid Dean Thomas's laughter. "You should get Madame Pomfrey to give your skull a good look!"
Face flaming, Harry gave Ginny a weak smile and adjusted his robes. His eyes slid to the head table again. Jason was helping himself to more food, while Anita pushed a sprout around the plate with her fork.
"Hey, Harry, who's the little girl?" Seamus asked.
Harry, remembering Anita's amusement over Elsa's hometown of Hamelin, snorted. "Little Red Riding Hood."
Seamus looked confused, but Dean snorted. "The portraits are saying that Professor Lupin attacked the muggle werewolf," he said under the din of the hall. "And that your cousin shot him with a gun?"
Down the table, Hermione said something under her breath. Harry continued to ignore her. "She's not my cousin," he said vaguely, but Dean shook his head.
"Cousin, aunt, whatever. Was it true? Why did she have a gun? Did McGonagall really take it away from her?"
Harry knew Anita was carrying her second gun loaded with silver bullets under her jacket, but there was no need to tell anyone else that. "She's a federal marshal," he said. "It's like being in the police--"
"I know what a federal marshal is, Harry! Muggle-raised, remember? We used to watch American movies all we could." He paused to gulp down some pumpkin juice. "Was it as loud as in the movies? The gun?"
"It's different, more like a popping sound." Harry flexed his hand, remembering the recoil of the gun he'd fired in target practice in St. Louis. "It echoes more in stone corridors. Like today." He looked back at his plate.
Under the table, Ginny took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He squeezed back, glad she was there.
Across the table, Neville leaned over his plate, almost putting his tie in the gravy. "Why would Professor Lupin attack someone in the school?" he asked. "Did that werewolf try to hurt you?"
"Who, Jason?" Harry said incredulously. "No! Jason was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Remus just made a mistake!"
"And did a vampire really attack you last night?" Dean asked. "McGonagall was in a right state when she broke up the dance and sent everyone back to our dorms."
"I'll tell you about it later," Harry mumbled as he spotted Dumbledore rise. The Headmaster tapped a spoon against his glass until the room fell silent.
"Thank you," Dumbledore said. "Before we move on to desert, I wanted to say a few words about what has been happening in the school over the last few days."
Harry looked at Anita. Her eyes were fixed on Dumbledore, a faintly annoyed expression on her face.
Then her face was wiped clean. She dropped her fork to the tabletop with a clatter, loud in the silent hall. A violent shudder ran through her body, throwing her head back. Her eyes were wide, but she wasn't looking at anything in the room.
Harry followed her horrified gaze to the side of the Great Hall. Over the hundreds of lit candles, the enchanted ceiling let in the light of the moon and stars.
As Harry watched, a sickly green glow began to gather on the outside horizon. A thousand glowing green sparks coalesced into an enormous shape, rising higher and higher into the motionless night sky.
The gleaming green skull opened its toothy mouth, and a snake made of glittering green sparks slid out hissing into the night.
The Dark Mark.
The Dark Mark at Hogwarts.
All around him, terrified screams ripped through the Hall.
so it begins
A Harry Potter/Anita Blake crossover
by mhalachaiswords
Summary: A late-night run-in with werewolves in the woods outside St. Louis dumps Harry Potter into a whole new world of trouble. Now Anita Blake has to deal with a new charge as well as Death-Eaters come to town.
Fandoms: Anita Blake and Harry Potter
Disclaimer: Laurell K. Hamilton owns all things Anita Blake. J.K. Rowling owns all things Harry Potter. Only the story is my own.
Rating: PG-13 this part.
Words: 9,420
Spoilers: Spoilers for Half-Blood Prince, Incubus Dreams. Nothing for Deathly Hallows, unless you want to draw bare inferences into Snape's behavior (and hey, who hasn't?).
Note: Still Oct. 31, the longest day in Harry's life. If you spot the Harry development conspicuously absent from this chapter, you're paying close attention to this story.
Previous parts here.
~~~~~~~
"I told you about the Horcruxes," Harry said again. "That's all that's important."
Anita let out a growl. "Are you being intentionally stupid?" she demanded. "I'm talking about what's got you spun around so hard that you're convinced that the only way you can save the world is to die!"
Harry tried to shush her. "What if someone hears?" he asked.
"So magic us up a Cone of Silence!" Anita snapped. "Did you know about these Horcrux things when you were in St. Louis?"
Harry whipped out his wand and sent up a wall of sound-blocking haze around the alcove. "No, of course not!" He sat on the stone window seat, toying with his wand. "You want to hear something stupid? I didn't even figure out I was a Horcrux until yesterday before the ball," he said bitterly. "There I was, trying to help Dumbledore find a way to find and destroy the Horcruxes, and all along I was one of them myself!"
A warm hand settled on Harry's shoulder. "Is this what that stupid prophecy was all about?" Anita asked.
"I guess." Harry picked up a leaf from the ground, probably tracked in on someone's shoe, and transfigured it into a feather. He waved it through the air. "Back in the summer, I think Nathaniel figured out what was happening. But I didn't want to listen or I just didn't want to believe he was right, but he was." Harry let the feather drift to the ground. "He usually is."
"How are you sure he's right?" Anita asked.
Harry exhaled. "The prophecy said, 'either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives'. Nathaniel thought that meant that for Voldemort to die, I have to die too." He transfigured the feather back to a leaf. "That has to mean that because I'm the Horcrux, he's right. If I want to stop Voldemort, really stop him, I'm going to have to die."
"Stop saying that," Anita said. "I don't care what happens, we'll find a way to save you--"
"Even if it means letting Voldemort win?" Harry interrupted. "I can't do that, Anita! Stopping Voldemort has been my whole life for the past seven years! He killed my parents and he used their murders to shove a piece of his soul into me! My own parents!" He shrugged Anita's hand off his shoulder. "I used to wake up remembering the flash of green light that killed my mum! The only thing I can remember of her voice is the way she was screaming for me when she died!"
"Harry, you need to stop," Anita ordered.
Harry kicked at the stone floor. "I just don't know what to do," he said. "I hadn't told anyone but you and Jason about being the sixth Horcrux. The others know about the rest of the Horcruxes, that we have five of them. I was going to tell them about me today, but then the thing with Moroven happened and I didn't have time."
"Who are the others?"
"Ginny and Luna and Ron and Hermione," Harry said. "Neville knows about the Horcruxes too, I had to tell him because his wand is one, but I can't tell him this. Although maybe it may make him feel better about his wand."
"Is he your friend?" Anita asked.
"I guess."
"You guess?"
"Fine, yes, he's my friend."
"Then learning that you're in danger isn't going to make him feel any better." There was something careful in Anita’s voice that made the words even more painful to hear.
Harry imagined telling Neville about the sixth Horcrux, and all he could picture was the look of horror and pity Neville would give him. "Probably not," Harry muttered.
"You said the Horcruxes are in the school," Anita said. "Are they safe?"
Harry nodded. "The underground cavern I told you about, there's no way to get in or out except by portkey." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small metal box he'd taken from Dumbledore’s office. "This is the portkey."
Anita looked at it. "Is it supposed to be that shiny?"
"No, not that," Harry said quickly. He opened the box and rattled the pebble. "This is the portkey."
Anita frowned. "That little thing?" she asked, reaching for the stone. Harry caught her hand.
"It's activated by touch," he said. Anita's skin was cool and her palm felt fragile. Too late, Harry realized he had grabbed her injured hand, the one with the angry red welt stark against her pale skin. He eased up the pressure of his grip, but he didn't let her go. "It goes off every half hour if it's in contact with skin or clothing."
"What if you have to get down there sooner?" Anita asked. "Can you do that Apparition thing?"
"You can't Apparate on Hogwarts grounds."
Anita raised her eyebrows. "Then what the hell good of a hiding space is that?"
"Dumbledore chose it." Harry closed the box on the precious stone.
"Like he chose to tell you about the Horcruxes so you'll end up killing yourself for him."
Harry shot to his feet, but now Anita was the one holding on to him. "That's not it!"
"It's not? When I left you at the train in September, you promised me you'd do anything you could to come out of this alive! Now I get here and you're all suicidal?" Anita stood and turned Harry's hand over in hers. In the light, the red scars on their palms looked identical. "I have no idea how you did it, but you saved my life, you saved Nathaniel's life." She swallowed hard. "Now I get to return the favor."
"You don't have to return any favor," Harry said, unable to tear his eyes away from the reminder of pain on her palm. "How could I not help?"
Anita tapped his hand until he looked her in the face. "I am not going to let you think that the only way to stop this guy is to sacrifice yourself."
"You saw the part of Voldemort's soul that's in me! He's the man who killed my parents, he killed so many people! He has to be stopped!"
"So we stop him." Anita's eyes were dark. "Like Jason said, crazy necromancer here."
"But..." Harry wasn't sure what to say. "What about that thing Jason mentioned this morning? With that guy Chimera? You said you pulled his soul out of his body, could you do that again?"
A shadow passed over Anita's face. "It's a long story," she said, releasing his hand.
"You're the one who said Dumbledore could wait."
The corner of her mouth twitched. "I think I liked you better when you weren't being cheeky."
"Cheeky?" Harry echoed. "Since when do you use the word 'Cheeky'?"
"I call them like I see them." Anita sat on the stone ledge. "You want to hear this story or not?"
If Anita was willing to talk about something that obviously bothered her, Harry would listen. "Go ahead."
Anita shook her head. "This isn't common knowledge among the police back home, so I'd appreciate if you kept this to yourself."
"Does Jason know?"
"Our lycanthropes and vampires know," Anita admitted. "I'm not sure if Elsa and Christoff know. I hope not."
"I won't tell anyone," Harry promised.
"Good." Anita fixed her eyes at a point on the wall over Harry's shoulder. "I'm not sure where to start."
"With Chimera?"
"Not that simple." She gripped her hands together in her lap. "It starts in New Mexico, with Edward and with... with Olaf."
Anita had grown paler as she spoke, until Harry feared she was about to pass out. He opened his mouth, sick to his stomach that he'd reminded Anita of him, but she kept going.
"It's not really a story about Olaf, but he was there." She paused to take a breath. "Back before I met Micah, Edward called in a favor so I went down to New Mexico. There were a bunch of really gruesome deaths, people being ripped apart or being skinned alive. Only they weren't alive, we discovered later, but were really zombies. So down I went, only since I wasn't talking to Jean-Claude or Richard at the time, I didn't realize that it probably wasn't the wisest idea."
It was on the tip of Harry's tongue to ask why she'd been fighting with Jean-Claude and Richard, but he managed to restrain himself. "What happened?"
"The Master of the City was a vampire named Itzpapalotl. It means Obsidian Butterfly, and if you think it sounds silly, you're wrong. She's fucking terrifying. All vampires are told to avoid her territory. If I'd been speaking to Jean-Claude, he'd have mentioned this, but by the time I realized that it was too late for that. Me and Edward and Olaf went to see her, to ask her if she knew what was killing those people. She knew, all right, but she pretended she didn't... or maybe she really believed that she didn't know."
"Was that what made her so scary?"
Anita glared at him. "What do you think?" she said. "What made her scary, outside the fact that she really thought she was a goddess, was that she had the power to suck out someone's..." Anita waved her hands in the air. "I guess you could call it their life force. Her human servant would suck a person dry, leaving them as a husk, but they'd still be alive." She looked back at her hands. "They'd still be alive and aware of everything that happened to them, but she and her human servant had their energy."
Harry had to fight to swallow against the churning in his stomach. "But if they were just shells--"
"They could also put the energy back into a person, make them whole again," Anita continued. "She let me see into her head. She touched my hand and I saw it all, how she became a vampire, her powers, all of it."
"So you saw how she did it?"
"I could if you stopped interrupting me!" Anita exclaimed.
"Then just tell me!"
"Fine!" Anita rubbed at her left palm. "I saw her power and how she used it. I saw it and I knew how to use it! And when Chimera came to St. Louis a month later, I stopped him. I used Obsidian Butterfly's power to stop Chimera before he killed everyone I cared about. I sucked out his life force and it was like I had his soul in my hands, and I let it go." She stopped suddenly. Her hands were shaking. "I decided to kill him, and I pulled his soul out of his body and I let it... I let it go."
The silence pressed down on him, but Anita's shaking hands and her quiet words made the story worse than Harry could have imagined.
"I was touching him, that's how I did it," Anita went on, relentlessly. "He had to die, I had to stop him before he could hurt or kill anyone else, or let him poison us anymore, but I was touching him when I did it."
Her voice shook on the last word. She must have heard it, because she clenched her fists.
"When I'm using my powers, my necromancy, I usually do it from a distance. You've seen me raise zombies. With Chimera, I had to be touching him to kill him." Anita looked up at Harry, her eyes wide. "It's the same way with the ardeur, now that I think about it."
Finally, something he could talk about without breaking into a screaming fit. "I thought that was something you got from Jean-Claude."
"It was, after I got back to St. Louis." Confusion passed over her face. "I didn't think they were connected, but maybe--" She shook her head. "Stop trying to distract me!"
"I'm not trying to do anything!" Harry said hotly. "You brought it up!"
"You brought Jean-Claude into it!"
"Are you going to tell me the rest of the story or not?"
"I will if you stop interrupting me!"
She was trying to distract herself by arguing, Harry could see that, but she was succeeding in making him angry in the process. He'd forgotten how easily she could push his buttons. With an effort, he closed his mouth.
"Thank you!" Anita crossed her arms over her chest. "The end result is that I killed Chimera by pulling his soul out of his body, which is exactly why we are not going to try it with you!"
"You said Itz.. Itz... Obsidian Butterfly, she could put the energy back in, right? So you can suck me dry and see if you can take out Voldemort's soul and then put all the energy back!"
"I did not say that! I used that power once to kill someone!" Anita shouted. "I think I could put the life force back into the body, but I've never tried it--"
"If you think you can do it--" Harry spoke over her, but she reached over and hit him in the shoulder. It hurt.
"I'm not going to risk killing you!" she exclaimed.
"I'm fine with the risk," Harry insisted.
"But I'm not!" She stood and paced to the edge of their enclosed sanctuary. "I am not okay with the risk! Don't ask me to do something that may get you killed!"
"But Voldemort--"
"Fuck Voldemort!" There was a wildness in Anita's eyes, something Harry had seen before, one hot summer night as he'd held her down, screaming, in the Missouri forest. "I almost lost Nathaniel and I almost lost Jason and I am not going to lose you! Do you understand me?"
Everything was all messed up, mixed around in Harry's head, and he felt sick as the echo of Anita's tortured screams played at the edges of his memory. Still, he had to try. "But I have to stop him," he pleaded.
Anita moved so fast he could barely see her, closing the distance between them before he could move. One hand closed around his throat, forcing his head back hard against the stone wall. His gasp of pain was knocked clean of his lungs as Anita's fingers tightened. Not choking. Not yet.
"Shut up," she hissed coldly. She was close enough to kiss Harry or to bite him, so close he could see himself reflected in her pupils. "Do not ask me to kill you because I'm not going to do it." She let go of his throat. "I may be many things, Harry, but I'm not going to kill someone I've sworn to protect because it would be easier than looking for another way." The cold fury left her just as suddenly as it had come, and she was left looking so tired. She turned away from Harry. "I don't kill my friends. I'm not that much of a monster. Not yet."
"You're not a monster at all," Harry said. He resisted an urge to rub his throat.
"Then you're not paying attention." It sounded as if she was trying to make a joke, but the misery in her voice ruined the effect.
"Don't say that. You know it's not true."
"Harry--"
"Do you think I'm a monster?"
She swung around, startled. "What are you talking about?"
"What have you done that I haven't?"
"God, where would you like me to start?" Anita demanded.
"I can't raise zombies, but I've got my own magic, right?" Harry said. "Most everyone in the Wizarding world thinks I'm a dangerous lunatic, I've got powers they are afraid of--"
"Like what?" The question was a challenge.
"Like being a Parselmouth!"
"So what if you can talk to snakes? I can raise the dead! Try explaining that one at the family reunion!"
"I killed my Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in first year! And what about Bellatrix Lestrange this summer?"
"I kill people on a regular basis--"
"You only kill when you have to! To protect people who need protecting!"
"Oh, like you go around bumping people off for fun?"
Harry jumped up. "That's exactly my point! You can't say you're a monster and say I'm not one because we're both the same kind of person!"
Anita glared at him. "This is a stupid conversation, and you are missing my point."
"You are missing my point!"
"Oh my god, are we seven? You're not a monster!"
"And neither are you!"
"You have no idea what I can do!" Anita hit the stone wall with a closed fist. Harry jumped as her knuckles slammed against the rock. "I don't just raise corpses, I can do things you haven't ever dreamed about!"
Her hand was bleeding. As Harry watched, a tiny droplet of red slid over her fingers and fell to the floor. Was it his imagination, or did the castle sigh as the blood hit the stone?
When Harry looked back up, Anita was cradling her injured hand against her chest. "You're just a kid, Harry. It's all still black and white to you. You shouldn't have to give that up, not yet."
Harry wanted to argue with her, but could he? Voldemort was evil and he had to be stopped, there wasn't anything good about him left to be saved. "Are you still talking about Chimera?"
"No." Anita clenched her injured fist tight, then let her hand fall to her side. No more blood fell from her skin. "This isn't about Chimera."
"Is it about Olaf?" From her silence, Harry figured he had guessed right. "But he's dead. I saw Edward kill him."
"Edward killed him, but not before Nathaniel almost died." Anita lifted her eyes. Her blank expression scared Harry more than anything else he'd seen that day. "I could have brought Olaf back."
"Why would you do that? How could you bring someone back that was already dead?" Harry asked. He could barely speak, his mouth was so dry. "You said that zombies don't have souls, that they're just dead bodies."
"There's a way to do it." Anita was staring at him, motionless. He couldn't even see her breathing. "To put the soul back in the body. I could have made him pay."
The quiet words, said simply and quietly, sent a bolt of ice through Harry. I could have made him pay.
"There's a reason that most people think necromancers are evil," Anita went on. "My grandmother tried to shield me from it when I was learning, same with Manny, but there comes a point where you just can't bury what you know. And right now..." She shook her head. "I'm in so deep I don't think I'll ever see daylight again."
"But you wouldn't do that," Harry said, finally finding his voice. "You protect people, you don't hurt them."
"But I could," Anita replied. In Harry's mind, all he could hear was an echo of her words, I could have made him pay. "You know anything about voodoo?"
Harry shook his head. "That's raising zombies?"
"Not just zombies, it's a whole religion based around the old magics. It has its roots in West Africa, and it was brought to the West Indies during the days of the slave trade. I'm not into that, I just raise the zombies, but my grandmother was a Bokar, a voodoo priestess. John Burke, that guy I work with, he's a Bokor too. When you're vaudun, it's not just cutting off chicken's heads and raising zombies." She lifted her hands, palms up. "Do you know what it means to serve with both hands?"
"No," Harry said, almost inaudible. He didn't want to be here anymore, didn't want to listen to Anita tell him stories of horrible death magic.
He didn't want to know what evils were running around in Anita's head.
"Servir a deux mains, it's called." Anita pressed her palms together. "It's a reminder that good and evil are in all of us, and there's a balance that must be kept between the two in everything we do."
"But why not just go with the good?" Harry asked. "No one has to be evil!"
"No one can be good all the time," Anita shot back. "It's one thing to say so, but it's not in our nature."
"Whose nature?"
"Human nature." Anita rubbed at her wounded knuckles, and the dried blood came off, leaving her skin flawless. Her injury had already healed in the few minutes they had been speaking. "All the good and evil in this world comes from human nature, and that nature is never going to change. You do good, you do evil, and there's always a reason to what you do, but that doesn't change your fundamental nature."
"You mean we," Harry said. "You mean, 'our nature'."
"No, I don't." Anita blinked, but didn't look away. "Lycanthropes and vampires were all born human, they carry that same nature with them for their entire lives. I wasn't born human at all."
"That's not right!" Harry exclaimed. "You're as human as I am!"
"No, I'm not. Anyone who ever taught me anything, Manny, my grandmother, they always held something back!" Anita stepped forward, invading Harry's personal space, but he wouldn't let himself flinch away. "They saw something in me, they must have suspected what I would be capable of one day. When I was only three years old, my grandmother saw something in me that scared her. She was a vaudun priestess of the old ways, and I scared her when I was juts a baby!"
"You're not evil!" Harry said. "I've seen the things you do, you're powerful but you're not evil!"
"When is that line crossed?" Anita asked. "When do the powerful become evil? When does 'necessary' evil just become evil?"
"I don't know, but you're not it!" Even as he spoke, Harry remembered something a Voldemort-ruled Quirrell had told him, six years before. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it. "You may know how to do dark magic, but you don't do it, that's the point! I know spells that are dark magic, but I don't do them."
"Could you raise an army of the dead and siphon off their energy until you're invincible?"
Harry flinched and overbalanced, taking a step back to avoid falling over. It took him a moment to realize what he'd done, but by then it was too late to take the movement back. Anita clenched her jaw.
"See?" Anita said in a hardened voice. "I win."
She backed away from Harry and walked along the hazy cloud closing them into the alcove. She trailed her fingers over the haze, sending sparks like miniature lightening into the air.
"Would you really do that?" Harry asked when Anita reached the far wall. "Raise an army of the dead?"
Anita pushed her hand into the haze. "It's called Bokor Majeur." The name sounded like a curse in Harry's ears. "And it's not just raising the dead. It's like... It's like an addiction. After a while, the person using it needs more dead to feed the addition, and if they can't find a large enough source of death, they start killing." Anita pulled her hand back, trails of mist sticking to her fingers. "Wars have been started for Bokor Majeur, plagues inflicted upon whole continents. So much death, and in the end, it's never enough."
"Were they stopped? These people who did those things?"
"Eventually. The Vampire Council dealt with the last one, a hundred years ago."
"How?"
Anita shook her head. "It won't work."
"What won't work?" Harry asked, confused.
"You won't be able to use that way to stop Voldemort."
"I wasn't..." Harry couldn't even finish the lie. "How did they do it?"
Anita passed a hand over her face. "The Council sent an army. Jean-Claude told me they couldn't kill him, so they locked him away in a cavern without food or water, but he can't die, so he exists there like that to this day."
Harry wrapped his arms around his chest. He couldn't imagine being locked up all alone for eternity. "Is that really going to hold him?"
"Maybe not," Anita said. She gave a ghostly smile. "But if it doesn't, there'll be someone there to stop him."
"You?"
"Or someone like me, or the vampires."
Harry shook his head. "How can you say that and still think you're a monster?" he demanded. "You always do things to protect people!"
Anita flinched. She held up her hands in a motion that in anyone else, Harry would have called surrender. Anyone but Anita. "Remember, Harry. Every time I hold a weapon, I'm using both hands."
~~~
Harry and Anita stared at the closed door to Dumbledore’s office. "One of us should knock," Harry said.
"Or you could finish telling me what else has been going on here with you," Anita retorted.
"Like what?"
"Like what's with those two girls with Jason?"
"Ginny and Luna?"
"Are there others?" Anita turned on him. "Nathaniel told me you didn't know anything about girls!"
"I don't!"
The potentially humiliating argument stopped abruptly when the door to Dumbledore’s office swung open to reveal the Headmaster himself.
"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore said. "I was beginning to suspect that my message had gone astray. I sent for you almost three-quarters of an hour ago."
"We got the message," Harry said. Dumbledore stood aside, and Harry walked into the office. "We had to go over some stuff first."
"And this 'stuff' was important enough to disobey a summons from the Headmaster?" came a sneering voice from deeper in the office. "What an important life you lead, Potter."
Harry stopped so abruptly that Anita walked into him. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.
Snape rose from the armchair by the window and swooped towards Harry, black robes billowing out behind him. "What place do you have to be questioning a teacher, Potter?"
Anita disentangled herself from Harry and stepped around him. "Who are you?" she asked sharply.
Snape drew himself up. "I could ask you the same question, muggle."
"Don't you talk to her that way!" Harry exclaimed. He would have gone for his wand, school rules be damned, but Dumbledore’s voice froze everyone in place.
"That's enough!" Dumbledore walked between Snape and Harry, drawing off the tension of the argument. "Severus, this is Anita, one of Harry's American relatives. She came when we feared Harry would succumb to his injuries."
"There are no Potters in America," Snape said, never taking his eyes from Harry.
"Anita is related to Harry through his mother," Dumbledore replied.
It was as if Dumbledore had sent a hex at Snape. The man started back, paling underneath his sallow skin.
"I was unaware that Lily had any American relatives," he said.
Harry was about to demand what Snape knew about Lily, anyway, but Dumbledore kept talking. "The family ties go back two generations. Now, Severus, if you will excuse us, I need to speak with Mr. Potter about last night's vampire attack."
"Headmaster--"
"I will take your concerns about school safety into account, Severus. If you will excuse us."
Glaring daggers at Harry, Snape gathered himself up and stalked from the office. The door closed behind him.
"What was with that?" Anita asked as soon as the door latched. "Why didn't you want him knowing who I was?"
"Because, Ms. Blake, I would prefer to keep your presence at Hogwarts quiet," Dumbledore said. He sat down behind his desk. "A muggle relation of Harry's muggle-born mother will not raise suspicions. But your full name is known among certain wizards, as are rumors of your powers. I simply wish to keep matters uncomplicated."
A high laugh from the corner made Harry jump almost out of his skin. "He means he doesn't want Voldemort to find you here. What a tasty treat that would be!"
Elsa slithered down from the high window, robe hiked up so Harry could see her white knee socks and shiny Mary Janes. She flashed a wide, insincere smile at Dumbledore.
"What were you doing up there?" Harry asked.
"Watching the scenery," Elsa said in a mocking tone. "It's not every day I spend time in Scotland."
"Yeah, I bet Moroven puts a real crimp in any sight-seeing plans," Anita interjected.
"You have no idea," Elsa said. A faint German undertone was creeping back into her words.
"Does anyone know why Moroven attacked Harry last night?" Anita asked.
"Because he challenged her?" Elsa suggested.
"No, I don't think it's that simple." Anita crossed her arms over her chest. "See, Harry may have been stupid enough to challenge a Master vampire on her own turf, but that doesn't explain why she was here in the first place, trying to grab little werewolf boys from the castle."
"Then what do you think brought such a Master vampires to these woods, Executioner?" Elsa asked.
Anita glared at Elsa. "Harry thinks that she wanted to give us one of the Horcruxes so she doesn't have to get personally involved with destroying Voldemort. And if you think about it, it makes sense."
Dumbledore had leaned back in his chair and was looking at Anita over steepled fingers. "In what way does it make sense to you, Ms. Blake?"
Anita turned her attention to him. "She comes to the forest and lures someone outside, it didn't need to be Harry at all. She had a bit of fun, shoves the cup onto the kid or whoever she pulled outside, and sends them back inside the school. She probably knows you're a powerful wizard, if you've been on her territory for as many years as Harry said. She probably figured that you'd know what the cup was."
Dumbledore’s eyes slid over to Harry. "Quite possible. What I am uncertain of, however, is how Moroven would know about the Horcruxes?"
Harry's heart sunk into his stomach. "I, um..." He took a deep breath and lifted his chin. "I saw Elsa in Hogsmeade in September, sir. I mentioned the Horcruxes to her at that time. Moroven said last night that Elsa hadn't been discrete about asking about them."
Elsa sauntered across the room, her heels clicking on the stone. "Gryffindor to the end, putting the blame squarely on someone other than himself."
"Hey, I said that I was the one who told you in the first place!" Harry said hotly. "And it's good that I did, because how would we have gotten Moroven's Horcrux otherwise? We wouldn't have had any idea where to look!"
Elsa raised an amused eyebrow at Harry. "Always willing to rewrite history to put yourself into the role of hero. Some things will never change."
Harry gave up. He turned to Dumbledore. "That's what happened, sir. Do you have the Cup now?"
Dumbledore gave a inscrutable nod. "It is with the others."
How was that possible? Harry thought he had the portkey. Unless Dumbledore had another way of getting down there, Harry said to himself. Of course he would, or else he'd have asked me for the portkey back!
"So if you and Elsa weren't talking about Horcruxes or Master vampires, what were you chattering about?" Anita was asking. "Were you talking about Harry?"
"Always a one-track mind," Elsa muttered. She spun in place, robe whirling out dangerously close to the knick-knacks on a nearby table. "We were catching up on old times."
Old times? Harry looked at Anita, who only shook her head.
"It has been many years since I saw Albus Dumbledore," Elsa continued. She stopped moving, locking eyes with Dumbledore. "Ever since he took the credit for defeating Grindelwald on the backs of hundreds of dead soldiers."
Harry stepped forward, and only Anita's hand on his arm stopped him from saying something stupid. He looked pleadingly at Dumbledore. The man would never do something like that, not what Elsa was claiming! Dumbledore would never take credit for something he didn't do!
Dumbledore didn't speak, and the silence stretched out, screaming on Harry's nerves. Finally Dumbledore separated his hands and nodded his head again. "We have had this conversation before, Elsa, and I fear that we will never reach an agreement on what happened in 1945."
"What happened in 1945?" Anita asked.
Elsa twitched her robes into place. "Before we came to London, Christoff was Master of our lands in Germany for centuries. The battles of Grindelwald and the battles of the Allied forces alike came to our doorstep. That was where I met young John Cassidy."
"You met him back in the day?" Anita asked. "Was he as annoying back then too?"
"He was an idealistic child who saved his men through sheer luck alone, not any special magical powers." Elsa shot Harry a look. "Rather like you."
"Can we get through one conversation without bringing up my 'obvious short-falls' again?" Harry asked. "I thought you were going to talk to Dumbledore about the Dragon's Breath bomb that Nigel Spencer built for Voldemort."
Dumbledore sat up. "Bomb?" he demanded sharply. "Harry, what are you talking about?"
"All I know is that Anita talked to Auror Cassidy about some bomb," Harry said. "Built with Dragon's Breath."
"Cassidy said Spencer had all the components for a big bomb, but that everything had gone missing right about the time Bellatrix Lestrange killed Spencer," Anita said, digging in an inner pocket of her jacket. "He also said that no one in your government was going to accept any help from the American Aurors." She pulled a small packet of papers out of her jacket. "I was trying to figure out a way to get this to Harry, it's something Cassidy gave me with information about the bomb."
The papers flew from Anita's fingertips into Dumbledore’s outstretched hand. The Headmaster placed the paper in a fold in his robes. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Ms. Blake," he said. "I will look into this at the earliest opportunity."
"Which means what, exactly?" Anita demanded. "Spencer was into some pretty fucked-up shit, who knows what else might be up with that bomb? He raised his dead wife as an Inferius and locked her in a cage in his basement, he was a magical arms dealer who wasn't above dealing with Voldemort. The only thing that stopped him was Bellatrix jamming his wand down his throat and killing him with magic!"
During her tirade, Dumbledore hadn't moved. After she wound down, he spoke. "There exist all sorts of people in the Wizarding world, as there are all sorts of people in the muggle world. Magical power does not alter fundamental human nature."
Hearing Dumbledore echo what Anita had said earlier that day made Harry look at him sharply, but the man continued.
"Now, Harry, if there is nothing else, you will excuse me. I have things to attend to."
"Hey, hold on!" Anita interrupted. "You're the one who called us up here, and we're the ones who did all the talking!"
"Perhaps because you will never shut up," Elsa muttered under her breath.
"I asked you to my office to ask Harry how he is faring, and to discuss the incident with Remus Lupin, but in the intervening time, Auror Tonks and Professor Snape both came to me with information that led me to believe that the matter has been resolved."
"Resolved in what way?" Anita asked. "You have a werewolf that totally loses it on Jason in a school full of children, and you talk to two of his friends and it's water under the bridge?"
"Rest assured, Ms. Blake, that Professor Snape's first priority is the safety of the students in this school." Dumbledore ignored Harry's sputtering. "Auror Tonks conveyed a message to me regarding the conversation between Mr. Lupin and Mr. Potter earlier today. As you did not bring up the incident with Mr. Lupin when you came in, I thought that an accord had been reached."
"Hardly!" Anita snapped. "Other stuff came up that may still come up to bite us in the ass, but that doesn't mean that I'm done with Remus!"
Elsa sighed. "I cannot believe that your Master has never told you to fight the battles that you can win," she said. "The day is growing old, Anita. Pick your battles and let go of the ones you have already won."
"I haven't won anything--"
Elsa whirled on her. "You saved your werewolf," she snapped. "Any day when your people do not die in your service is to be considered a win."
"Ms. Blake," Dumbledore said. "You and Mr. Schuyler are invited to join me at the teacher's table for dinner this evening. We will be having our Halloween banquet, and I can introduce you to the Hogwarts teachers."
"Like Remus?" Anita asked.
"Mr. Lupin is also invited to dinner tonight," Dumbledore conceded. "As is Elsa."
The witch in question just rolled her eyes.
"We will discuss sending you to London tomorrow morning," Dumbledore continued. "In the meantime, please enjoy Hogwarts hospitality. I hope we can put to rest some of your concerns about Harry's education."
"Come on, Anita," Harry said. "Let's go find Jason and the girls."
Anita didn't budge. "What are you going to do about the Horcruxes?" she asked. "You need a plan or something, you can't just keep them in a school."
"We will continue to seek the remaining Horcruxes and a way to destroy them," Dumbledore said.
"And what about asking for help?"
Dumbledore stared at Anita over his half-moon glasses. "Unlike certain wizards in the Ministry of Magic, I have no qualms about asking for help when it is deemed necessary."
Harry couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Then why not ask Anita to help us?" he exclaimed. "Horcruxes use death magic, and Anita's a necromancer! Maybe she can help!"
In the blink of an eye, Elsa was at Harry's elbow. "Do you mean these words you say?" she asked, cold power in her words. Harry's knees went weak under the onslaught. "Do you advocate using the one kind of magic that could have you expelled from your world?"
Her eyes were burning, intense, and Harry almost fell into her power. With an effort, he wretched his mental shields up and pulled himself free. "If that's what it takes to stop Voldemort, then yes!"
The portraits in the room went still. The air itself had changed, as if the world had shifted around them, but Harry had no idea what was wrong.
Grudging approval came into Elsa's expression. "So you have picked a side after all," she said cryptically. "I did not think you would."
"What do you mean?" Harry demanded. "It's the same side I've always been on! The 'stop Voldemort' side!"
Elsa shook her head. "Brave, but still stupid." She stepped away from Harry and made shooing motions with her hands. "Go away. I must question Albus Dumbledore on developments in his world since he left us in Hamelin."
Anita made a weird coughing noise. "Hamelin?" A half-smile spread over her face. "You and Christoff are originally from Hamelin?"
Elsa flopped down into an armchair and pointedly ignored Anita's question.
"Ms. Blake, we will see you at dinner," Dumbledore said. "I truest Harry will be able to entertain you for a few hours."
"But--" Harry started to say, but Anita grabbed his arm and dragged him out the door.
"Come on," Anita said. Her voice was bubbly with repressed laughter. The door closed behind them. "Oh, that’s just perfect."
"He didn't say anything to my suggestion," Harry protested. "That we ask for your help with the Horcruxes!"
"You're the one who said that necromancy is frowned upon here," Anita pointed out. "Is what Elsa said right? Necromancy can get you kicked out of the British Wizard club?"
"I have no idea. Hermione said something like that, when she was getting on my case." Harry pulled his arm away from Anita and led the way down the spiral staircase. "What are you so happy about?"
"Come on, Harry, Elsa said she and Christoff are from Hamelin!" At Harry's blank expression, Anita sighed. "Christoff's animal to call is the rat! And they're from Hamelin?"
"So?"
"So didn't you ever read when you were a kid? Don't you know the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin? He rid the town of rats and when the villagers didn't pay up, he took the children." The smile slid off Anita's face. "Actually, now that I think of it, that is particularly disturbing."
Harry led Anita down a corridor, not really taking in where they were going. "He could have at least said yes or no!"
"Harry, let it go." Anita drew abreast of him, walking fast to match his pace. "We'll figure out how to fix this. Without you getting hurt."
"Good luck," Harry muttered. He looked down the hall. "I should have told him about me. About being the sixth Horcrux."
"No, you shouldn't," Anita said. "You're not going to tell that man a thing until I find a way to save you."
"But what if--"
"In case there is an 'if', I will deal with it, understand?" Her jaw was set, and Harry knew the futility of trying to argue with her when she looked like that. "We need to find Jason. Where would those girls have taken him?"
"I have no idea," Harry said, mentally throwing his hands up. He slowed as he approached the Entrance Hall doors. The castle corridors had been fairly empty, but there were groups of students in the Hall. Conversations died off as students of all houses stared at him. Or were they looking at Anita?
"Let's go check for them outside," Harry muttered. He clattered down the stairs, his footsteps loud in silent chamber.
Softer footfalls followed him. Anita was right behind him as they walked the gauntlet of staring children.
The outside air was sweet and clear. Harry took a deep breath as the air chased away the cobwebs in his head.
"That was decidedly unfriendly," Anita observed. "Do all the kids at this school hate non-witches?"
"It's not that." Harry rubbed his face. "They must have heard what happened with Remus."
"Ah." Anita faced into the wind and closed her eyes briefly. "I guess you guys are more used to magical shoot-outs."
"Duels," Harry corrected. "We call them duels."
"That's bullshit and you know it." Anita looked over her shoulder at Harry. The wind caught a few loose curls and blew them around her face. In all the craziness of the day, with all the pain and panic and revelations, Harry hadn't looked too closely at her. But now in the watery sunlight, he could see the faint hollowness in her cheeks, the circles under her eyes. She'd lost weight since September, and there was a lingering pain in her eyes that not even Bellatrix's torture had caused.
I could have made him pay.
"Harry?" Anita frowned. "Are you really going to be fine?"
"What? Oh, yeah. I was just..." He coughed, not sure if he should ask her about her physical state. "I missed you, that's all. You and Jason and everyone. What's bullshit?"
Anita raised her eyebrows. "We missed you too, but don't go trying to distract me. I'm talking about calling a magical fight a duel. Trying to cause each other violence with magic isn't a 'duel', it's bordering on attempted murder."
"We don't all use magic like the Death Eaters do," Harry said. "And we're not supposed to use magic in the corridors at school."
Anita shook her head. "Are you going to tell me you suddenly obey the rules?"
"Of course not." Harry shrugged. "It's all a matter of not getting caught, isn't it?"
"It's good to see they're teaching you about the morality of your actions."
"Didn't we already have a conversation today about right and wrong?"
"That was good and evil," Anita corrected. "They're not always the same thing."
Harry must have looked as confused as he felt.
"Sometimes, doing what is 'good' can be the wrong thing to do," Anita said.
"Like what?" As they talked, Harry led Anita down the steps and out onto the grounds, towards the lake.
"Like... like stopping a dangerous vampire. They may be destructive, but what if getting rid of a dangerous Master of the City would throw the city into more turmoil, causing more humans to die? You can tell what's good and evil, but what's right and wrong there?"
"What about the other way? You can't tell me that evil can ever be right!"
"Back to the idea of necessary evil," Anita retorted. "Is killing another human being anything but evil?"
They were both talking about Bellatrix, Harry knew. By taking away her wand in a crowd of angry werewolves, he had killed her as sure as if he had sent the Killing Curse at her. But what else could he have done? He was sure it had been the right thing to do.
"Maybe this just proves that you and me shouldn't be teaching a magic morality class," Harry tried to joke.
"Or maybe we should be." Anita shook her head. "I can't see myself as teacher, in any event."
A gaggle of first-year girls ran past, chasing an enchanted pumpkin. Their excited giggles sounded out of place.
Maybe I'm the one who's out of place, Harry thought.
"They're having fun," Anita said. "Is Halloween a big deal over here?"
"Not in the muggle world, only once we got to Hogwarts." Harry tried to smile. "What ever happens on Halloween, anyway?"
His mother, screaming, and high-pitched evil laugher.
Anita stared at him. "I thought your parents were killed on Halloween."
"They were." Harry pushed his hair back from his face. "I was trying to be ironic or something."
"Well, don't. You really suck at it."
"What's this?" Jason's voice came around a bend in the hedge. "Harry sucks?"
The werewolf appeared, followed closely by Luna and a flushed and excited-looking Ginny.
Harry stopped short. A wild wave of jealousy flamed in his chest. What had Ginny been doing with Jason to look like that?
Then, right behind the group, Ron tromped onto the scene. He was as flushed as Ginny.
"Of course Harry sucks, he wasn't at Quidditch practice today," Ron grumbled.
Quidditch?
"You can't blame him!" Ginny snapped at her brother. "He was hurt by a vampire last night! McGonagall wouldn't have let him fly in any event!"
"He's looking fine now, isn't he?" Ron gripped Harry's shoulder briefly, unspoken relief in his eyes. "You're okay?"
"I'm good, Ron." So much had happened that day, things that Ron hadn't been a part of, and suddenly Harry couldn't wait to talk to him. "Where's Hermione?"
"Minor Head Girl emergency," Ron said. "We decided to have a short Quidditch practice, once Ginny bothered to show up."
"I was trying to make sure Harry wasn't dead!" Ginny exclaimed. "And don't pretend you weren't trying to do the same thing!"
"We watched the practice," Luna interrupted serenely. She smiled at Jason. "Mr. Schuyler wanted to see people flying."
"Back home we only have flying vampires, and I thought I asked you to call me Jason," he said.
A faint colour came into Luna's cheeks. "I don't know you well enough to call you by your first name."
"Whatever you want, Miss Lovegood."
Ron was glowering at the interchange. Harry wasn't particularly pleased himself, watching Jason hang all over Luna. He turned to his side. "Anita, this is my friend, Ron Weasley."
"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Anita said. She held out her hand to Ron, but Ron didn't move.
"Awkward," Jason muttered out of the corner of his mouth as the scene stretched on.
"Ron," Harry said warningly.
Anita dropped her hand. "Don't worry about it, Harry," she said, voice deliberately neutral.
"We should go shower before dinner," Ron said. "I'll tell Hermione that you're all right."
All the friendly feelings Harry had towards Ron vanished in that moment. "Why don't you go do that?" he said coldly, stepping to Anita's side.
"Fine." Without looking at Anita, Ron stalked off.
Ginny stared after her brother. "That unbelievable--" she started to say, but broke off. "I can't believe him!"
"Don't worry about it," Anita said. "I get that a lot."
"That doesn't make it right!" Ginny turned to Harry. "I'm going to go beat some sense into his head!" Quick as a flash, she darted in and kissed Harry on the cheek. "I'll see you at dinner!"
With that, Ginny bolted after her brother.
"He's been listening to Hermione again," Luna said.
"So what?" Harry demanded.
"She's been doing more research on why necromancy was prohibited in European Wizarding comminutes." Luna pulled her wand from her sleeve and tucked it behind her ear. "She doesn't want to believe that the vampires in France manipulated most of the magical governments into making the laws."
"Where did you hear that?" Harry asked.
"It was in those books you had on vampires," Luna said. "The ones Ginny borrowed to read."
"I didn't loan those to Ginny."
"She said she borrowed them, not that you loaned them to her." Luna looked at Anita. "Mr. Schuyler-- Jason says that you raise zombies that are very different than Inferi, is that right?"
Anita cleared her throat. "Yeah, it is, but I don't know if I should tell you..."
Luna waved her hand around her head. "All books in the library on necromancy are rather biased," she said. "It would be fascinating to hear about the subject from a practitioner."
Jason grinned at Luna like an idiot, and that stirring growl of jealousy came back to Harry.
"She's in Ravenclaw," Harry said, tearing his attention away from Jason and Luna. "They like to know things."
Anita shrugged. "I can't see what harm it would do."
"That's my girl," Jason said. It took Harry a moment to realize he was speaking about Anita, not Luna. "How long do we have until dinner? Do we get to stay for a while to make sure Harry's okay?"
"Yeah, Dumbledore invited us," Anita said. "And Elsa."
Jason nodded. "Figures that she's sticking around."
Harry closed his eyes. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and get some sleep--
"Who is Elsa?" Luna asked.
-- except it didn't look like that was going to happen.
Harry breathed out in a sigh. Hopefully, the night would end early, and he could go to bed right after the banquet.
Then he could get some well-deserved sleep.
~~~~~~~
In spite of Anita's loud objections, Harry had been forced to sit at the Gryffindor table during the banquet. He perched on the edge of the bench, watching Anita more than he paid attention to his food. He ignored Ron and an uncharacteristically silent Hermione.
On his left side, Ginny was talking non-stop. Harry nodded in what he hoped were the right places, not really paying attention.
Anita, Jason and Elsa were at the far end of the head table, beyond Snape. Jason had made a few attempts to speak with Snape, who had looked at him as if he were some noxious form of slug.
At the other end of the table, flanked by McGonagall and Tonks and the other Aurors, sat Remus. He still looked pale. When the werewolf looked up, Harry gave him a smile and a nod. After a moment, Remus returned the nod.
Reassured, Harry went back to scanning the head table. Hagrid wasn't there, not really a surprise, nor were Professor Sinestra and Professor Flitwick.
The hall was awash with the noise of hundreds of excited children. The younger classes were having a grand time. More than once, Harry spotted young Reece laughing with his fellow Hufflepuffs. Harry felt better, seeing that even an attack by a psychotic vampire couldn't dim the boy's spirits.
"And then Luna took off her knickers and we were both completely naked and covered in chocolate."
Harry whipped his head around so fast he hurt something in his neck. "What?"
Ginny smirked at him. "I knew that would get your attention." She inched closer to Harry on the bench. "Did it work?"
The idea of Ginny and Luna naked certainly brought parts of Harry to attention. "I... what?"
Ginny moved even closer. Harry slid back, surprised at how predatory Ginny was looking.
He bumped into Seamus Finnigan, sitting on his right. Seamus gave Harry a shove, pushing him into Ginny. Harry put out his hand to brace his fall, and thanked the heavens that he grabbed her arm, and nothing softer.
"Watch what you're up to!" Seamus exclaimed, amid Dean Thomas's laughter. "You should get Madame Pomfrey to give your skull a good look!"
Face flaming, Harry gave Ginny a weak smile and adjusted his robes. His eyes slid to the head table again. Jason was helping himself to more food, while Anita pushed a sprout around the plate with her fork.
"Hey, Harry, who's the little girl?" Seamus asked.
Harry, remembering Anita's amusement over Elsa's hometown of Hamelin, snorted. "Little Red Riding Hood."
Seamus looked confused, but Dean snorted. "The portraits are saying that Professor Lupin attacked the muggle werewolf," he said under the din of the hall. "And that your cousin shot him with a gun?"
Down the table, Hermione said something under her breath. Harry continued to ignore her. "She's not my cousin," he said vaguely, but Dean shook his head.
"Cousin, aunt, whatever. Was it true? Why did she have a gun? Did McGonagall really take it away from her?"
Harry knew Anita was carrying her second gun loaded with silver bullets under her jacket, but there was no need to tell anyone else that. "She's a federal marshal," he said. "It's like being in the police--"
"I know what a federal marshal is, Harry! Muggle-raised, remember? We used to watch American movies all we could." He paused to gulp down some pumpkin juice. "Was it as loud as in the movies? The gun?"
"It's different, more like a popping sound." Harry flexed his hand, remembering the recoil of the gun he'd fired in target practice in St. Louis. "It echoes more in stone corridors. Like today." He looked back at his plate.
Under the table, Ginny took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He squeezed back, glad she was there.
Across the table, Neville leaned over his plate, almost putting his tie in the gravy. "Why would Professor Lupin attack someone in the school?" he asked. "Did that werewolf try to hurt you?"
"Who, Jason?" Harry said incredulously. "No! Jason was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Remus just made a mistake!"
"And did a vampire really attack you last night?" Dean asked. "McGonagall was in a right state when she broke up the dance and sent everyone back to our dorms."
"I'll tell you about it later," Harry mumbled as he spotted Dumbledore rise. The Headmaster tapped a spoon against his glass until the room fell silent.
"Thank you," Dumbledore said. "Before we move on to desert, I wanted to say a few words about what has been happening in the school over the last few days."
Harry looked at Anita. Her eyes were fixed on Dumbledore, a faintly annoyed expression on her face.
Then her face was wiped clean. She dropped her fork to the tabletop with a clatter, loud in the silent hall. A violent shudder ran through her body, throwing her head back. Her eyes were wide, but she wasn't looking at anything in the room.
Harry followed her horrified gaze to the side of the Great Hall. Over the hundreds of lit candles, the enchanted ceiling let in the light of the moon and stars.
As Harry watched, a sickly green glow began to gather on the outside horizon. A thousand glowing green sparks coalesced into an enormous shape, rising higher and higher into the motionless night sky.
The gleaming green skull opened its toothy mouth, and a snake made of glittering green sparks slid out hissing into the night.
The Dark Mark.
The Dark Mark at Hogwarts.
All around him, terrified screams ripped through the Hall.
so it begins