The Embrace of Darkness

Chapter 8

“You know I have a few jealousy issues, mate. And I am trying to get over them. I've kinda finally realized the truth. It's the papers and random strangers that have this impression of you. Hell, even I did when I met you. I think I'm starting to let go of the last of it. I'll always be your mate, Harry.” Ron shrugged self-consciously, his face as pink as Tonks' hair.

“Thanks for the sentiment Ron, but if you side with me, you'll probably end up in a split with your family as bad as the one with Percy. Your mum and dad will side with the old man for sure. I don't know about Bill or Charlie, but the twins will probably follow me. I have no clue about Ginny. As for the rest of the Order... I know Sirius and Remus would follow me to Hell. Everyone else? No clue.”

“I know, Harry. I'm a tactician. It's why I'm so good at chess. I know I could end up having a huge row with my parents, could be seen as the enemy by the Order, but you're right and they're wrong. I'm with you mate. Until the end.”

“There's some things you need to know then, mate.”

***

A few hours later, Ron was ready to hex the Headmaster. The things Harry had old him... That meddling old sod had completely ruined his friend's life! There was no way in bloody hell he was going to lift a finger to help the old man in his machinations.

The thing that weighed most heavily on him was Hermione's betrayal. She was a payed spy, Harry's minder. She reported his movements, thoughts, suspicions, and progress back to Albus. He never suspected. His heart was nearly breaking at the fact that she could be so smart, and yet so blind. It was all an act... She was going to pay for betraying them.

“Time to go down stairs, Ron. Just keep in mind that they'll all get theirs, eventually. I can't wait to see their faces when they realize I'm not going to save them.”

The fact that Harry was going to go over to the Dark Lord didn't phase him much at all compared to all the other shocks he had received that day. It actually made a kind of twisted sense.

“Do you want me to implant some Occlumency barriers for you?”

“I think it's for e best mate.”

“The ones I'm giving you are impenetrable. It'll be like a swirling hurricane of the essence of madness. If anyone tries to press and assault, they'll be driven insane. It the same ones I use. Now there will be no more Snape of Dumbledore trying to get into our heads. We're going to go to the training room in the basement, and you'll watch while Moody and Snape test me. After they're done, I'll start training you. Deal?”

“Sure mate.”

Harry dressed in loose cream linen pants transfigured from a pair of old sweats and a tight cream t-shirt, also transfigured. He padded barefoot down the stairs, with Ron following behind. As soon as he touched down on the main level of the house, Dumbledore gestured him to follow him downstairs. It was obvious that Hermione had told him the latest development, but there was nothing he could do until Harry made his intentions known to everyone.

“Professor Snape and Alastor will be testing your abilities Harry. Your condition of waiting until the end of the press conference has been met. You will give them free reign, yes? Good. Have fun boys.” He left without giving the Griffindor a chance to say a word.

“You're looking forward to trying to break me, aren't you Sseveruss Ssnape?” He lapsed into the sibilant hissing accent of a parslemouth, though the words were still in English. He prowled the edges of the room, grace infusing his every step. The games were on.

A small shiver went up the Potion Master's spine. Harry almost sounded like the Dark Lord, and Merlin knew he got turned on by the snake language. It was the way Voldemort originally seduced him to the dark and eventually his bed. Harry of course knew this, and was trying to distract the older man. It as working.

Harry dropped to hands and knees, allowing Moody's curse to dispell against the wall harmlessly. “And you Alastor? Constant Vigilance! You want to see if I've been tainted by my power, want to know if you'll have to face me at wand point, want to know if you'll ever stand a chance against me.”

Ron watched from the sidelines safely behind a shield, admiring his friend's technique. He opened with a show of mild aggression, with a follow up of psychological attack. Let the enemy know you know what they're thinking, that you can anticipate every move they make. Brilliant.

Harry crawled on hands and knees, moving with the grace and beauty of a true predator, as if he had muscles in places no human was supposed to. A feral snarl spilled from his lips, before he jumped... straight up to the ceiling, where he perched upside down. He crossed his legs, placed his hands on his knees, and apparently began meditating.

The two dumbstruck men began firing volley after volley of curses and hexes, but none had any affect. Each and every one hit home, but were harmlessly absorbed. They couldn't cast any powerful hexes unless they wanted to risk bringing the house down around them, what with the boy being on the ceiling. It was actually a rather good defensive position.

In an effort to get Harry to react, Snape attempted to press into the boy's mind, but was met with a whirlwind of insanity. He could feel a whole and complete mind on the other side, and so correctly intuited that it was merely a wall. He was smart enough not to press forward, and so withdrew.

“Come on, Potter! This is a rest of how well you can fight, not a chance for you to show off!”

“As you wish.” Harry allowed gravity to exert her will on him and fell back to a standing crouch on the floor. A wave of his hand had a shock wave of power flash towards the two men. They tried to erect a shield, but it simply blasted through it without effort and knocked them to the wall, rendering them unconscious.

“You can come out now Albus, I know you were watching.” The Headmaster appeared in Ron's sight like an invisible curtain had been dropped. For Harry, he simply went from an all over orange translucence to orange-robed.

“Surely you know that this was completely pointless? I have the ability to reorder space and time if I choose to, though it would give me one hell of a migraine. Your petty tests and games are beneath me. Show some respect.” The old man walked out without another word.


A/N: a short kind of filler/interlude. Read and rewview anyway.