Harry Potter & Hell\'s Assassin

*

When he awoke next it was to excruciating pain. He thought at first that he might be under the cruciatus curse. Then the pain ended and he remembered. The wasteland of a world. The river of rotting corpses and finally, the cell, where he had killed one of those…things. He forced open his eyelids and found himself staring at a cathedral ceiling. The blackness of the stones used to construct it seemed to make the height greater.

“Get. Up.”

Harry felt his heart miss a few beats. That was most defiantly not the voice of Ukimu Noul. It was far too deep, much too angry and belong to something much, much bigger. He did as he was told. Once he was on his feet and had steadied himself from the aftermath of this world’s version of the cruciatus curse, he raised his eyes.

A strangled cry escaped his lips and he shrank backwards. It was horrible. He knew it for a demon right away. It was big, standing taller than Hagrid and broad through the shoulders. It walked upright like a man and in general was proportioned as one, though the resemblance ended there. It’s skin was black and spiky, with clusters of spines sticking out everywhere except its face, which was flat and devoid of expression, it’s features buried so completely that at first glance it seemed possessed only of blazing red eyes that fixed on him with a burning intensity. It wore no clothes, but an assortment of bladed weapons was strapped about its body, some shaped in ways he had never seen. Massive and powerful, he wanted to look away but those terrifying eyes held him captive. They held him in place. He could feel their power.

Harry was more terrified than he had ever felt while facing Voldemort. This terror was a true and completely primal feeling. His spine tingled with chills, the little hairs all over his body stood on end; all those inborn instincts that told you to run for your life were ringing like sirens in his head.

But he could not move. He did not dare.

The creature spoke again. Its horrible voice penetrating the air around him, resonating within his very skull.

“You have killed one of the Dachen. And wounded two others.” The monster stared down at him with those burning eyes. “This will not go unpunished.”

Harry felt fear churn his stomach. The demon sounded angry, but also pleased. This was not going to be good.

“Around your neck you wear a collar.” Here, the monster leaned forward in his throne. “We have magic of our own in these lands, wizard.” he hissed. “Do not test our power! If you disobey a command or speak without permission, the collar will cause you sufficient pain to make you wish you hadn’t. Nod if you understand.”

Harry nodded.

“Get down on your knees and bow to me.”

For the second time in an hour, Harry was unsure if he had heard correctly and stared up at the demon in disbelief. Within seconds, excruciating pain exploded all through him, radiating out from the collar like strands of barbed wire into his throat, his body and his limbs. He screamed at the assault, unable to stop. Clutching himself, he dropped to his knees and lowered his head towards the demon.

“You will speak only when told to do so. Nod if you understand.”

Harry nodded at once. The collar no longer tore at his nervous system, but the pain lingered in small waves that rose and fell with every breath he took.

“When you speak to me, you will address me as Master. Nod if you understand.”

He nodded.

“Would you like some water? You may answer.”

His jaw clenched in fury. “Yes, Master.”

“Give him water, Ukimu.” The demon’s mouth was like Ukimu Noul’s; a thin lipless opening on the bottom half of a flat face.

The Dachen brought him a cup filled with water that tasted of metal and smelled of swamp, but he drank it anyway. Dust had filled his mouth and his throat was parched from it. When he was finished, the Dachen backed away at once.

“Do you know where you are, human?” The demon spoke to him again. “You may answer.”

Harry shook his head reluctantly and almost immediately pain ripped through him once more, dropping him into a fetal position, where he lay moaning and sobbing. The demon studied him for a moment before taking a step forward.

“Answer me as you have been taught. I want to hear you speak the words you were told to speak.”

He squeezed his eyes shut against the humiliation and rage he felt, fighting to keep from breaking down completely. “Yes, Master.”

“Do you know where you are?” He repeated. “You may answer.”

“No, Master.” He opened his eyes again and looked up. The demon was walking away from him and Ukimu Noul had moved off to the side of the room a bit more. Perhaps he thought it might be a safer distance at which to view the proceedings.

“You are in the Azure: The Realm of the Devil. This world is also called, by the lesser, more primitive species that dwell here, The Slave’s Land.”

He barely heard this; his head was still buzzing with the aftereffects of the collar’s pain. The demon waved his hand at Ukimu Noul and the Dachen moved to fill the water cup once more, pulling Harry to his knees so that he may drink from it again. He excepted the gift wordlessly.

“You may thank me.” Said the demon.

Harry took a deep breath. “Thank you, Master.”

The demon nodded. “Ukimu is not please with you. You made him work much harder than he intended. You made him feel inadequate. He is my catcher. My finder and keeper of specimens. He is the one you must rely on for food and water; you do not want to upset him.” Here the demon turned a hard gaze on Harry. “Ukimu Noul is very cunning and my most trusted Catcher. He uses traps meant to lure his quarry by sights, sounds and smells that speak to their deepest needs. He is very good at it. I have acquired many specimens form his cleverness. You are the latest, and perhaps the most important. But you are still only a specimen. Do you understand?”

A specimen. Harry kept the anger from his expression and voice with great effort. “Yes, Master.”

“Good.” The demon’s eyes blazed, “I am Raken Ver'tora, Azure Lord. I rule here. I rule this fortress and everything from the Dragon Ridge north to the Skelgarth south, from Shade Moors west to the sweeping Stillfields east. I rule you. Learn to accept this. I am your master, now and forever.”

There was silence and then, “Get on your knees again and bow to me.”

Harry did so, a deep chill settling within his stomach as he realized how deeply in trouble he was.

“I am glad to see you learn quickly. Perhaps this will not be as painful for you as we had originally thought. That is also good. Your training will not take so long.”

Harry was now thoroughly confused and the sickening nervousness had returned. What wasn’t going to be as painful? Training? He wondered how much pain he was going to be in soon. Were they going to torture him for fun? He didn’t believe for a second that was not a possibility. And what were they training him for?

“You have great strength within you, and a power that is most impressive. That is rare in humans, especially in one so young. It is there, however, I can sense it beneath your flesh.” a pause and then, “Has your wound fully healed?”

Harry was confused a second before he realized there was no pain in his arm. He raised it experimentally, rubbing his other hand over it. There was nothing, not even the raised skin of a scab. He looked back up at the demon, his amazement, temporarily overriding his fear and anger, were showing plainly in his face.

“Yes…very powerful. You will serve your purpose well. Be glad that I am finished with you for now, human. Take him, Ukimu.” The Azure Lord ordered and, without bothering to wait, turned and ascended a set of stairs, disappearing into the gloom.

Ukimu Noul stood before him then and pressed a strip of cloth across his eyes. Harry didn’t protest, the collar made it pointless. If there had been any chance of escaping before, it was thoroughly dashed now. If he managed to make it out of his cell in the first place, a feat that had already been highly unlikely, there would be no way for him to know where he was supposed to go. He suspected that whenever they took him out of his prison, a blindfold would be over his eyes.

He followed blindly and silently as he was led out of the chamber. He had hoped that the demon would have explained why he was here. What was wanted of him? They had obviously just found him by chance but the Azure Lord had said he was important. What were they going to do with him? So far it seemed as if they wanted him as a pet. The thing he wore about his neck was no better than a training collar for a dog. Maybe that is what he was to them. An animal. A pet kept solely for the purpose of entertainment value. But that didn’t seem all that important. He discarded the pet idea. It just didn’t fit in with what he had been told. He didn’t think he was merely a play thing, a toy for them to play with and entertain themselves. But what if he was…?

Then a horrible, terrifying thought struck him. What sort of things did these creatures consider entertaining?

He was steered around corners, through doors, up stairs and down stairs and then finally up a lot of stairs before the blindfold was removed and he turned to see Ukimu Noul closing and locking the bars of his cell. His eyes traveled to the ground. There seemed to be much more blood there than he remembered. If he tried, Harry could just pretend that it was a wet patch on the floor, like he had kicked over a bucket of water. There was even a bucked over in the corner of his cell. He frowned. He hadn’t noticed that before. It was new. Then his face scrunched up in disgust when he realized what it was. A waste bucket.

Well at least they didn’t leave him to go on the floor. That would have been the ultimate humiliation.

* * * *

“Do you really think Harry is out to some training camp?”

“I dunno…that’s what Dumbledore said though.”

Ron Weasley glared at the floor in front of the fire. He still couldn’t believe what Dumbledore was telling everyone. The old man had made the announcement after dinner that very afternoon. When everyone was full and happy. Ron, Hermione and Ginny had all sat down together for the feast, but none of them had eaten anything. They couldn’t. Not when they knew the Headmaster was about to announce to the school that Harry Potter was missing…and presumed dead.

But then Dumbledore had commenced his speech, going over the customary welcome to the first years, adding to the list of forbidden goods, and repeating again that the Forbidden Forest was exactly as its name suggested. Then he had become silent for a moment, his blue eyes sweeping over the hall to come and rest a little longer on the Gryffindor table. He looked sad, and the usual twinkle was absent from his kind eyes. Everyone in the hall seemed to sense that something important was about to be announced and, more than a few students had already noticed Harry’s absence.

“As I am sure most of you have already noticed, Mr. Potter is not with us this evening.” Again, the old man paused, and Ron realized just how hard this must be for the old man to say. “I regret to say that he will not be joining us for some time. Perhaps not at all…”

Ron folded his arms across the table top and pulled his eyes from the Headmaster. Here it was. He was going to say it. For some reason he had dreaded this moment. It seemed like, if Dumbledore, someone so powerful and wise, had given up hope for Harry’s life, than what chance was there that he was still alive?

“Harry Potter has decided to attend a training facility.”

Ron’s eyes flew open and his head snapped around to stare at the Headmaster in disbelief. A quick glance across the table showed similar expressions on Hermione and Ginny’s faces.

Dumbledore would not meet their gaze.

“I cannot tell you were the facility is, for I do not know myself. I only know that Mr. Potter is in good hands and will learn a great deal, which will help him immeasurably in the feature.” The wizened old man heaved a great, weary sigh and waved his hands in the direction of the huge doors. “Now, off to bed with you all. You have classes to attend in the morning.”

The end of the speech was short and not at all up to Dumbledore’s usual standards. The students seemed to hesitate momentarily, wondering if the Headmaster had perhaps forgotten to say something. But the wizened old man had already turned from the podium and was headed off to the side of the hall, where there was a small door leading out.

Ron didn’t get up with the rest of the hall. He sat rooted to his seat, still staring at the empty space Dumbledore had occupied in shock. Hermione and Ginny both turned to him, by the looks on their faces, they had bypassed the incredulity and were now red in the face with anger.

“What is he thinking?!” Ginny hissed. “Do they think that they will be able to cover for Harry forever?”

Hermione shushed the girl quickly, looking around them at the crowd as if to say ‘not here’. She grabbed Ron’s hand and pulled him to his feet, dragging him through the mass of people and out the doors of the Great Hall. Only when the three of them were locked within the boys dormitory did Hermione turn around and vent her anger.

“What are they thinking?!” She shrieked, her hands waving through the air, “Did they think this would actually work for any length of time? Why are they even bothering? They must know how angry the public will be when they find out they were lied to! Harry was a beacon of hope to most of the wizarding world! How are they going to feel when they realize Harry’s been gone! And not just off to some training camp, but -”

“Don’t finish that sentence.”

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, her tirade forgotten as she stared at Ron. The redhead was twisting his hands in his lap, sitting cross-legged on top of his bed. He wasn’t looking at either his friend or his sister, instead choosing to stare at the bedspread.

Suddenly all the anger and frustration she felt left her and she was left tired and drained. She let her hands fall to her sides and mumbled and apology. She knew that Ron was going to have a more difficult time with this than she or Ginny. Not that either of them loved Harry any less. It was just that Ron had always had more trouble dealing with his emotions than most people and loosing his best friend had not been something he had ever thought would happen. At least not this soon.

Ginny sighed heavily, sounding much like Dumbledore had in the Great Hall. “I just don’t understand why the Order decided it was best to lie. Why not tell everyone now and get it over with. The longer they wait, the more it will hurt when the truth is revealed.”

Hermione shook her head slowly. “I don’t get it either. I mean, surely they must have thought of that as well.”

“Not to mention Voldemort will most likely leak it to the press any day now. He’d want to gloat.”

Both girls found themselves staring at the red head. He still had his gaze firmly planted on the mattress and his hands were still clenched in his lap.

“I hadn’t thought of that.” Ginny whispered, looking ill.

“Maybe the Order hasn’t either.” Hermione suggested.

Ron laughed sharply, the sound was bitter. “Yeah, right. I’m pretty sure they would have thought of something as simple as that. They know Voldemort better than we do. They fought him the last time too.”

Ginny looked thoughtful when she said, “I don’t know. They’ve been so busy, obsessed really, with coming up with the best thing to tell the public that they may have overlooked what Voldemort might do. After all, he has accomplished the task he set out to do fourteen years ago. They may think that he wont bother doing anything else.”

“Ron’s right though. They know Voldemort really well. I’m sure they would have realized that he would want to rub salt in the wound.”

Suddenly Ron pushed himself off the bed and glared angrily at the two, but there was a strange gleam in his eye that told the two girls he was not mad at them.

“So what if they didn’t think of it?” he snarled, making Hermione blink in alarm.

She didn’t think she had ever heard Ron sound so angry.

“Let them be in the dark for a change! Let them be horribly surprised when they open the paper and see Harry’s picture in the Daily Prophet! We wont be shocked! We’ll have known already!”

Ginny was shaking her head, tears in her eyes, “Ron, calm down, you’re not making any sense.”

He rounded on his sister. “YES I AM! Don’t you get it? They keep everything hidden from us! All the information about Harry! Everything to do with Voldemort’s plans! Everything! And they still expect us to fight in this war with them!” Ron paused in his yelled to drawn a breath. “And I’m sure if it weren’t for Sirius, the three of us wouldn’t be any more informed than the rest of this school. We’d be sitting here wondering why Harry hadn’t told us he was going to some training camp! We’d be going about every day as if he weren’t dead!”

It seemed to take a second for Ron to realize what he had said. When he did, he clapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide. Ginny looked sad, sympathy shinning in her eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Ron whispered. “I didn’t mean…”

“It’s ok, Ron.” Ginny choked out, her voice cracking with emotion. “You need to deal with this.”

“Acceptance is the first step.”

“I don’t want to except it. I haven’t excepted it!” Ron cried. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself that this was true. “Harry’s too strong. He’s made it through so much already, why would I think that he couldn’t make it through this?”

Hermione and Ginny shared a look, both silently agreeing on the same thing. Ron had to deal with this particular problem on his own. There was nothing they could do for him. They could not force him to accept what they themselves had already admitted. He would have to come to terms with loosing Harry himself. But the two women decided that they would do the best they could to help Ron, even if that meant enduring his sporadic bouts of rage.

* * * *