Short Fuse

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its corresponding ideas and themes. If I did, well, never mind; that\'s a big if.

Summary: This takes place in Harry\'s 7th year. Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape... are they really what they seem? Some things in Harry\'s life aren\'t as simple as they seem, and with his powers growing, he begins to learn this in a difficult way.

Notes: Yes, I am one crazy mother... Welcome to the Insanity.

\"I\'ve got things that make me feel un-ordinary
Not necessarily in need of therapy
But I know things have been slipping
Loosening my grip
How much closer until
I\'m bound to hit the ground
Sound the alarm
But remain calm
My time is drawn
Never meant to cause anyone no harm
This time things will be different
I promise, I really promise
And this time things will be different
It grows and grows and grows\"- \"Quicken\" by Thousand Foot Krutch

******
Prologue.

He stood overlooking a wasteland, the stench of rotting and burning corpses rising to his nose. Screams and shouts of anguish bombarded his ears. Fire crackled, lights flashed, but above it all, all he could hear was a maniacal cackle that sent shivers down his spine. Beady red eyes met his own, and Harry Potter woke with a start in his bed, hand jumping to his forehead, rubbing the scar that pained him there. The Golden Boy brushed his covers back, standing from his bed and pacing the room in anger at the stinging scar. He knew what this was. It was a vision, one of many Voldemort had sent him since the battle at the Ministry. He had been plagued with them, and subsequently his insomnia had grown. He slammed his fist into the wall in annoyance as another wave passed through him.

The problem now was that Harry Potter simply didn\'t give a fuck anymore. He was sick of Voldemort and his insane idea of blood superiority. The fucking hypocrite wasn\'t even pureblood, and he still had the nerve to want Harry dead because of some prophecy made by an old bat with no actual skill in divination whatsoever. Harry was sick of the death threats from followers of the bloody git. He was sick of the idiocy of the ministry and that bumbling fool that was Minister, who still insisted HE was the one who was unhinged. He was sick of all the people dying because of this whole fucked-up mess. Bertha. His parents. Cedric. Sirius. So many people dead because that bastard and his insane agenda. And to top the whole fucking mess off, he was sick and tired of Dumbledore. The old fool had lied to him as long as he himself had known the boy, and even now continues to keep him in the dark about every move of the Death Eaters and the Order. It pisses him off to no end!

Harry muttered to himself as he paced, ignoring that something within had taken over, letting his magic loose and turning it against his surroundings. The storm that gathered sent shock-waves all over Surrey, all over the UK, all over the world, calling to those who could feel it, and shaking the foundations of the very structures that surrounded him. He suddenly snapped up when his door had been thrown open, and a very purple-looking Vernon Dursley came barreling into the room, shouting something that was un-intelligible over the howl and crackle of the energy. His fist came up and out, striking Harry on the side of his head, and the boy went sailing into the wall. Vernon stood over the boy, his eyes glaring down at his nephew, watching the glow settle and disperse.

\"You little freak!\" the man yelled, reaching down to pull Harry by his collar to meet him face to face. \"What did you think you were doing? Trying to tear our house apart? You have always been ungrateful you little brat, but this is enough! You will be punished for your freaky-ness!\"

Harry glared up at the piggish man, anger in his eyes, but fatigue as well. He didn\'t catch the fist as it connected the next few times with the side of his face, and he barely felt as he was dragged from his room, down the stairs, through the halls and living room, out onto the concrete, and thrown into the door of his uncle\'s fancy company car. A few more punches, and Vernon threw him into the back, and got into the car himself. They were driving when a surge went through Harry, and energy flared through him again. The response to his call burst forth from the car, tearing the vehicle apart, and the resulting explosion demolished the block.
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Miles away in Malfoy Manor, Draco Malfoy shot up in his bed as his father burst into the room, out of breath and eyes glazed over. Draco rose, pulling his robes on and watching as Lucius took a suitcase and started piling it with Draco\'s clothes. He seemed panicked.

\"Father? Father, what are you doing? What is going on?\" Lucius turned to his son.

\"Draco, something has happened. We need to get to Hogwarts right away. We must go to Dumbledore and pledge our allegiance!\" Draco\'s eyes bulged slightly, his mouth a-gap, before he came to his senses, dressing quickly and following his father to the gates of the manor.

\"What do you mean? What had happened that makes you want to pledge us to that old fool instead of the current fool we serve?\" Draco responded, adding an icy tone to his words, but keeping his eyes on his father in case he needed to move. Lucius rounded on his son, arms shooting out and grabbing the boy by his shoulders, pulling him close to his own face. The look on Lucius\'s face scared Draco, who stared back into his father\'s maddened eyes.

\"We will never align ourselves with that fool.\" Lucius spat, increasing his grip on Draco before letting the boy go, and turning on his heal as he waved to Narcissa to hurry to their side. Draco furrowed his brow in confusion.

\"But I thought you said...\"

\"I said we would be pledging our loyalty to someone, but I never said anything about pledging to him. Our loyalty will go to someone way more powerful.\"

\"Who?\" Lucius grabbed hold of Draco\'s and Narcissa\'s arms, letting them carry the bags while he got ready to apparate to hogsmeade.

\"Potter, he\'s come into his inheritance. Didn\'t you feel it?\" Draco shook his head, and heard his mother gasp, before the trio disapperated and appeared before the Three Broomsticks. His father turned to him, grabbing ahold of him harder, and stared at him wide-eyed.

\"You didn\'t feel it? The energy was tremendous, and we felt it from Surrey. Draco, son, this may be important: Did you feel the Golden Boy\'s energy?\"

Draco once again shook his head. \"No, I didn\'t father. I was sleeping up until the point you came into my room and woke me up.\" Lucius watched his son carefully, trying to see any sign that the boy could be lying, but even to Lucius, he looked like he was telling the truth. The aristocrat\'s face grew grim, his lip set in a solid line, before turning away from Draco. \"What does it mean, sir?\"

\"I... don\'t know, Draco.\" Draco blinked at his father as the man started walking towards the gates of Hogwarts. In all of the years listening to his father, he had never heard him stop mid sentence like he just had. Something wasn\'t right. Narcissa sniffed slightly and turned to follow Lucius. Draco shook his head and took off after them. What did it matter if he could feel Potter\'s inheritance or not?

His thoughts were interrupted as something pressed against the back of his eyes, and something over-powered all of his sense. He could hear his mother\'s cry as he fell towards the ground, and slipped into nothingness.
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A small boy poked his head around some bushes, eyeing the fire and rubble on the street before him. He cocked his head to the side as he saw a flash of green within the flames, and he dove towards them to save the person inside, ignoring the sting of the fire and the smell of burnt flesh.
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Most chapters wont be this short, they\'ll have plenty more detail, I promise. Yeah, this will be a lot better then it starts out to be... I hope. Read, write, and review. Hell, you know what? Tell me I\'m talentless! Still good to know you\'re reading! Later!
-Ghost Boy