Bounty Hunter

Title: Bounty Hr
r

Rating: R-ish

Author: Snippy

Pairing: H/D, Hr/SS (a little)

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Co. do not be to to me. Sadly.

Summary: Warning: dark fic, character death and H/D slash. This story is not light and hope and puppies, people. The bounty hunter is going after the Death Eaters one by one, but at what price? This story is not about black and white, it\'s about shades of grey. Can people change? Can a hero become a villain? Can a villain save a hero? And which is which?

FYI:

(****) indicates a scene shift.

(*~*~*~*) indicates a flashback

(*word*) emphasis

A/N: There are two flashback scenes back-to-back, first thing in this part. Sorry about that. But, many people wanted to know how Hermione and Severus escaped, so that\'s one. And the other is continuing the story of how Harry got to be this dark, and I feel that it\'s important. But there\'s plenty of yummy stuff at the end. Again, I apologize if the flashbacks are confusing or you don\'t like them, but I feel that they are stylistically sound and necessary to the characterization and the plot.

Also, thank you to my reviewers, you mean so much to me. I promise to address each review as soon as I get the time! Thank you, thank you, thank you, with whip cream and Draco on top!

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Hermione looked at her feet as the guard cast a cleaning spell on her and Snape and then extinguished the light. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness before settling down in her favorite spot, against the wall, close to Severus. He immediately wrapped an arm around her, and sighing, she rested her head against his shoulder. \"Do you think Draco will be alright?\"

\"Of course. He\'s quite capable of taking care of himself.\" Snape set his cheek against the top of her head. There was a little voice in the back of his head that suggested the position was not proper, but he scoffed at it. What part of their situation *was* proper? Besides,was was no longer her Potions Master. And she had come a long way from her student days. Before she had been captured, she had been one of the ministry\'s prize witches, smarter and more talented than any pureblood they had working for them. She was the poster child for muggle-born success. Which is exactly why the Dark Lord had come after her.

Hermione had enduher her captivity well. She was clever enough to play the games Malfoy had set up for her protection. She remained patient, and mostly optimistic. She had believed that Harry would come for her up until the day Malfoy had informed them of his death on Christmas. Severus pulled her closer. She had cried, of course. But her optimism never failed. Hermione was a full-grown witch, capable and clever, his equal in every way. Which made it alright to hold her close and comfort her. At least that\'s what he told himself. Beyond that, he refused to examine the situation.

Severus was about to suggest they stretch out and try to get some sleep when two Death Eaters tromped down the stairs toward their cell. They pushed the guards out of their way, and with a quick wave of a wand the cell door flew open.

\"What\'s going on!\" Demanded one of the guards.

\"The bounty hunter just took Draco Malfoy,\" the lead Death Eater replied grimly, staring at Severus and Hermione, who were still crouched by the wall. \"During a secret meeting.\"

\"Strolled right into the inner circle, grabbed Malfoy, threatened our Lord and vanished,\" the woman behind him added.

\"Which means, it\'s time for these two to be moved,\" the first said. He turned to the guards. \"Arrange for a carriage to meet us out front. We\'ll tell the driver where we\'re going when we\'re ready to depart.\" They nodded and quicky headed up the stairs.

The two Death Eaters turned back to the prisoners who were now standing in the middle of the cell. \"Are you going to come quietly, or do we need to use \'Imperio\' on you?\"

\"N-no, sir. We\'ll go with you.\" Hermione\'s eyes filled with tears and her small form trembled. Slowly, she started to shuffle towards them, but then seemed to trip on a rock, rolling forward into the two and knocking them to the ground.

\"Quickly - their wands!\" Severus commanded, already moving to put his foot on the chest of the man. Hermione pointed the woman\'s wand at her, all shaking gone, eye\'s clear and bright.

\"You\'re never going to make it off Malfoy property,\" the man gritted out.

\"We\'ll see about that.\" Hermione glared over at him. \"Immobilus!\"

The two Death Eaters lay still and dazed, staring up at the ceiling. Snape smiled at her. \"Well done, Hermione.\"

\"Thanks.\" Adrenaline was rushing through her body. \"It\'ll only last about half an hour. Do you think that\'s enough time?\"

\"No.\" His eyes searched hers. After a second, she nodded and looked away. Grimly, he reached down, cupping the man\'s chin in one hand and skull in the other and twisted. Quickly he repeated the procedure on the woman beside him.

Hermione never flinched as she heard the bones snap. She felt a warm hand slip into hers. She squeezed it and offered Severus a smile. \"Let\'s get the bloody hell out of here!\"

\"My sentiments, precisely.\"


*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry stared down at the body of Blaise Zabini, fury roiling through him. His breath came in rapid pants and his fists clenched, knuckles flashing white. He resisted the urge to kick his dead former classmate. Slowly, he strolled out of the room and down the staircase where the battle still raged on, his rage still building inside him. He watched the aurors trying to fight fair, avoiding the unforgivable curses as much as possible. Harry and Moody were the only ones who ever cast the death curse on a regular basis. As he watched, he saw Cho go down, her body twitching from Crucio, and his anger increased. A green glow surrounded him, though he did not see it.

A masked Death Eater spotted him near the stairs and drew his wand. Harry barely registered the words \"Avada Kedavra.\" He simply waved his left hand and the curse did not hit him. He closed his eyes and threw one hand out in front of him, fingers spread and screamed, \"ENOUGH!\"

There was loud, rocking boom, and the room seemed to shake. Harry opened his eyes. All of the Aurors were crouched on the floor, staring at him wide-eyed. The Death Eaters, to a one, lay on the ground, most of them dead, the rest petrified. Harry met Moody\'s eyes as the older man rose to his feet, pride in his eyes. Harry nodded once in satisfaction, then turned and strode out the door. He had to find Hermione.

The next day, Harry clutched a cup of coffee as he entered the breakfast room at the ministry. Most of the Aurors spent so much time there, that they had ded ted to build a dormitory and cafeteria for them. Scanning the benches, he saw an open spot among Moody\'s squad. They generally ate together, and were currently in a flurry of discussion. He set his cup down, lightly sitting on the edge of his seat to sip his coffee. He was in a hurry, he had to look for Hermione again today. As he sat, the Aurors all shifted away from him, some of them even shivering as they did so. The conversation had come to a dead halt.

\"Something the matter, guys?\" He asked blandly.

\"Harry,\" Cho started off, the others giving her looks of encouragement. \"We wanted to talk to you about what happened yesterday.\"

\"What about yesterday?\" He could feel his guard go up, that air around him wary.

\"Well for one - you were using wandless magic.\" Neville pointed out.

\"That\'s hardly a crime.\" Harry replied. His face was impassive, but his heart had plummeted to his feet. They were all staring at him as if he were some kind of creature from the forbidden forest, some of them accusatory, some fearful.

\"You threw off the killing curse.\" Terry added quietly.

\"Wasn\'t the first time.\" He shrugged.

\"You killed over twenty people yesterday.\" Colin whispered.

\"I killed over twenty *Death Eaters* yesterday. I saved your lives.\" A hint of incredulity was sneaking into his voice.

\"What happened to Blaise Zabini?\" Seamus asked him. \"We found him with four broken fingers and a broken neck.\"

\"I did what I had to do.\" Harry said calmly, softly. \"I was trying to get to Hermione. I\'d do it again.\"

\"Harry, we just - \"

\"What? You just what?\" Harry spit venomously. \"What are you guys getting at?\"

\"They just don\'t understand your power.\" Moody put a hand on his shoulder, pride in his voice. \"They\'re scared of it.\"

\"And you understand it?\" Harry twisted around to look up at him, covering the hand on his shoulder with his own.

\"Well, not understand it, quite. But I respect it. That was good work you did yesterday, Mr. Potter.\" Moody nodded sternly at him, before leaning down to whisper, \"Carpe Noctem, Harry.\" Then he turned, and abruptly left the room the way he usually did.

Harry turned back to the table, noting how they all sat at least a foot away from him. He stood and faced Cho, leaning down until he was level with her face. His smile didn\'t reach his eyes. \"Is that true? Are afr afraid of me?\"

\"N-no.\" She tried not to lean away from him.

\"Maybe you should be.\" He laughed as he turned and walked out of the room, toasting the table with his coffee. Let them be afraid. He could feel new power surging through his body. It was time to test it. He would no longer be afraid of Voldemort and the other Death Eaters. He would lose no more friends. He was in control now. He had the power.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Draco leaned as far back against the wall as he could. \"What are you playing at, Potter?\"

\"Playing at?\" Harry grinned. His heart had lightened a littlth tth the knowledge that Hermione was free. He had yet to examine how he felt about Draco being a spy. He didn\'t trust him, but if it was true, he was one step closer to avenging Moody\'s death and completing his quest. \"Proper question might be \'who am I playing with?\' That would be you, Malfoy.\"

\"And if I don\'t want to play?\" Draco stared at the smirk spread across Harry\'s face. This was insanity. One moment he was staring down death, and the next . . . well, he wasn\'t sure what was going in Potter\'s head. Maybe he had finally gone off the deep end.

Harry licked his lips, Draco\'s eyes following the movement. Harry\'s smirk broadened. He carefully braced a hand against Draco\'s jaw, dragging a thumb over his mouth. \"Oh, I think you do.\"

\"I don\'t get you, Potter.\" Draco resisted the urge to lean into Harry\'s hand. Forget Potter\'s craziness. What about his own? He shouldn\'t be enjoying this. But he was. He should be fighting with Potter, exchanging insults the way they always had. Hell, dueling with him would make more sense than the primal longing that had taken hold of him. Had it really been that long since he had shagged someone? Or was something more urgent coming in to play now? \"I can\'t figure out whether you want to kiss me or kill me.\"

\"Feels like the same thing to me.\" Harry answered honestly.

\"Maybe I just don\'t want to play with *you*, Potter.\" Draco bit out.

\"Fine then.\" Harry\'s eyes flashed Avada Kedavra bright, as he stepped back, arms dropping to his sides. Draco let out a sigh of relief, a minute too soon. Harry grinned. \"Deny me.\"

Harry reached a hand behind his head, tangling his tan fingers in the pale strands, and pulling Draco\'s head back, firmly, but without causing pain. His other hand fisted in his shirt collar, tugging his face closer, and Harry\'s mouth descended on Draco\'s, hot and hungry. Gone was the tentative kiss of someone exploring the forbidden. This was a full fledged invasion of skill and finesse that only the Bounty Hunter was capable of. Draco moaned into Harry\'s mouth, giving in, letting go. Forget electricity, lightning shot through him as Harry conquered his mouth, fully tasting and possessing him. When Harry bit into his lower lip, then tenderly sucked it between his own, Draco\'s hands reached out of their own volition to tug Harry\'s hips against his own.

Draco spun them around, pushing Harry back against the wall, hard enough to hear his skull connect. He took over the kiss, his hands clasping Harry waist. Harry slid both hands up into Draco\'s hair, not wanting him to pull back, and thrust his hips against the other boy\'s. Harry was used to being in control, and he wasn\'t about to give it up, though. He began to walk forward, his mouth still molded to Draco\'s, one hand around his waist to keep contact, the other buried in hair that a Veela would have envied. Draco let him push him backwards until his heels connected with the mattress. Harry set both hands on Draco\'s chest and pushed him, watching with a hunter\'s eyes as he sprawled on his bed. \"Can you deny me now?\"

Draco opened his mouth tower,wer, when all the lights in the house blinked green twice. \"What the hell?\"

\"Death Eaters.\" Harry answered, reaching for his knife and turning for the stairs in one fluid movement. \"You had to know they\'d come for you.\"

\"How\'d they know where I was?\" Draco blinked, trying to clear his head.

Harry smiled at him, his eyes flashing with pure excitement. \"I left them a trail.\"

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