A Devil's Vengeance

Author’s Notes: This is a response to a challenge fic posted by Incessant_Darkness. It will be slightly crossed over with a video game series called Devil May Cry, but it’s mostly Harry Potter, just borrowed several demons for the moment. This is going to take place after the fourth book, beginning during the summer of the fifth, so several things in the fifth and sixth books will be invalidated. Definitely Harry and Draco coming in this fic, so consider yourself warned. No like guy on guy, no read.

Disclaimer: The Author of this fanfic is not J.K. Rowling-Sama. Ergo, she does not own Harry Potter, though she buys the books. Please do not sue, am starving artist.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A Devil’s Vengeance
By: Amaranth

Challenge fic Response to: Incessant_Darkness

Challenge: [4. Vengeance taken for kin upon kin
an Avenging Kinsman; Guilty Kinsman; remembrance of the Victim, a relative of both]

/italics/ = Thoughts to Harry

//Italics// = Thoughts from Harry

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter 1: Devil of Vengeance

Harry Potter had long ago become accustomed to the abnormal. Or, more precisely, his normal had long ago become what most mundane, nonmagical people would call abnormal. He lived with his Aunt and Uncle, and overweight cousin, crammed under the stairs originally, but the last four years had permitted him a rise in station to the smallest bedroom in the house. This room had been Dudley’s junk room until Harry had started receiving strange letters, which had brought a psychotic attempt to keep him normal from his usually uncaring relatives. Then he had found out he was a wizard, and destined to be a Savior. That had been both a joy and a terror. A joy in that he finally found a place to belong, where strangeness was normal, and he’d made friends. A terror in that his life was constantly endangered by an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort. Voldemort, who had killed Harry’s Mother and Father, whose servant Wormtail had betrayed his family and then permitted the blame to be placed on Harry’s godfather Sirius. The wizard everyone believed dead and gone, resurrected last summer by Harry’s own blood.

So, all in all, the fact that Harry was sure something had taken up residence within his mind and soul wasn’t too far from his normal set of problems to cause him undue distress.

Part of it was moments that Harry seemed to black out for a few seconds. Moments that in general got him in more trouble then they were worth, as if someone borrowed Harry’s form and voice to speak harsh truths or insults. On the plus side to this, however, Dudley was now terrified of him. Whatever it was seemed to scare Dudley more then Harry ever could. It just got Aunt Petunia flustered, and it absolutely enraged Uncle Vernon. Not good, considering Harry’s scrawny frame was no match for his Uncle’s large fists. He had a spectacular set of fading bruises, and fresh ones got added off and on. Another thing was how a voice would occasionally whisper to him, refreshing spells he’d half forgotten or finding the right paragraph to use for his Potions essay. Snape might still give him bad grades, but it wouldn’t be for lack of the proper answers this time around.

And there were the dreams. Dreams Harry wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to have. Dreams about doing very, VERY uninhibited things with a partner he couldn’t quite make out. He’d long ago figured that he wasn’t going to have a lover of any kind, given the fact that he had evil wizard target stamped all over him. He wasn’t the type to risk another’s neck, only his own. Despite what Snape thought, Harry cared about his friends. He didn’t like risking Ron and Hermione’s necks during his battles with Voldemort. He just couldn’t seem to keep them out of it, was the whole problem. They followed him into the darkness, confident in his ability to get them all out alive, and that scared him. Because Harry knew one day he wouldn’t get them all out of it alive. After all, he hadn’t been able to save Cedric, could he really trust himself to save his best friends?

/Of Course You Can, Master. I’m Here to Help You do so, After All…/ Harry frowned, there was that whispering voice again! Soft and quiet, calling to mind owls and the deadly silence of midnight when something struck unseen and unhindered, it held something else. A promise, a tempting one. A promise of vengeance. Vengeance for his Mother, for his Father, for Cedric. Vengeance for the wrongs committed against Sirius. Harry wondered what it was that offered this so casually, as if it didn’t matter that it was offering the greatest guilty desire of Harry’s heart.

/Then Close Your Eyes, Master, So That I Can Speak to You Face to Face…/ Harry pondered what he was getting into. After all, this could be some trick of Voldemort’s, getting into Harry’s thoughts somehow and trying to seduce him to destroy him from within. Harry caught a flash of amused tolerance, as if the voice was waiting for him to make up his mind. Deciding that the risk was worth it, Harry closed his eyes.

He stood upon the crumbling battlements of a ruined castle. A dark sea crashed restlessly below, and a thunderstorm seemed to threaten, save for the fact that lightening flashed so constantly that the thunder became one long, low growl of rage. No rain fell, however, so visibility wasn’t hindered. Harry glanced around, wondering why he was in what could be considered the set for a cliché horror movie.

/I Will Admit the Scenery Could Use Some Redecorating, Master, but You Created it as Much as I. I Can Only Work so Much With What Little You Give Me. At Least You’ve Finally Acknowledged I’m Here. That’s a Start I Was Beginning to Think Wouldn’t Happen Any Time This Lifespan./ Harry jerked around to confront… himself? No, the mistake could be made that this was him, but closer looks revealed the man leaning on the battlement to be less a clone of Harry, more like an older brother. His hair was as black as Harry’s, and as untidy, but there seemed an order to the chaos that Harry’s hair lacked, as if the man had been looking for that effect. A lightening bolt scar marred his forehead as well, half hidden by a flopped piece of hair, and he had a light, lean toughness that somehow suggested he didn’t do silly workouts, but serious training. Most of the features were older, more refined copies of Harry’s, though the outfit the stranger wore was a patchwork of grays, dull browns, and shabby blacks. The thing that most disturbed Harry, however, was the man’s eyes. They were almost the same shade as lightening, a bright, almost white blue, with oval pupils, and they glowed as brightly as the lightening flashing about above. The stranger smirked, making a mocking half bow in Harry’s direction.

/Do I Pass Inspection, Master? I Will Admit the Similarities Are a Tad Obvious, but I Can’t Change Everything of How I Appear to Humans. I Suppose We Both Should count Ourselves Lucky That We Match so Well./ Harry felt dazed and disconnected, not entirely sure where to begin the conversation. After all, the… man? Creatures? … Lips hadn’t moved once during his little speech. Clearly he was communicating by thought rather then spoken words, so Harry decided to try that as well. After all, if he tried speaking out loud, Uncle Vernon might here, and then there’d be hell to pay.

//Who… No, WHAT are you? What are you doing in my head, offering me all of this? And what’s the catch?// His wariness clearly amused the thing, for it threw back its head in a silent laugh. After a few minutes, it responded, while weakly clutching the battlements for support.

/Several Questions, All Valid, Master. Some of the Answers You Probably Will Not Like. My Name is Alastor, The Black Dragon, and Lord of Vengeance. What I’m Doing Here in Your Head… Well, Suffice it to Say The Nameless Has Seen Fit to Partner Us For This Turn of the Wheel. There is No Catch, All I Desire is to Help You, Master, Since All of the Wrongs Committed Against You Have Therefore Been Committed Against Me as Well. As For What I Am…/ Alastor paused here, looking a bit more solemn. /Your Kind Refer to What Little is Left of Mine as Devils, Master./ Harry slowly processed this. He was sitting in his room, eyes closed, in some strange mental place, talking to a Devil. One that had clearly been here for a long time if Alastor’s words held any truth. Alastor said he wanted to help Harry, and the whole, screwed up thing of it was Harry believed him. Something about the expression in Alastor’s eyes made it clear that he wasn’t lying.

//Well, then would you mind explaining this whole thing? I mean, why are you here, any history that might affect all of this, other helpful hints?// Alastor nodded, smiling down at Harry. It was clear the devil felt plenty of affection for the young wizard already.

/I Will Attempt to Make the History Lesson Short, Master. Many Centuries Ago, There Was Another Human Civilization on the Same Level as This One is Now. Then a Foolish Team of humans Undid the Great Seals, Reopening the Gates and Permitting the Devil Emperor Mundus and His Legions Through. My Original Master and His Brother Sought to Reseal the Gates as Their Father Had Once Done, and I and Several Others Fought Alongside Them. In the End, We Were Partly Successful. The Gates Closed Again, but Our Species Was All but Gone From the War, and We Were too Few to Rebuild Anything Resembling a Race. The Humans and Masters Conferred, and in the End, Created a Spell That Bound What Few Devil’s Were Left to a Kind of Random Partnership. Most Lives We Sleep, at Best Our Master’s, or Avatars Depending Upon How You Look at it, Imaginary Friends During Childhood. Others, When the Darkness Mundus Seeks to Rise, Using Whatever Tools Might Come Within His Grasp, We Awaken and Fight. Great Danger to Our Masters Also Trigger an Awakening. Such as Getting in a Duel With a Powerful Evil Wizard Intent on Killing You./ Alastor concluded, watching Harry. Harry realized that Alastor was afraid, though doing his best not to show it. Afraid that Harry would want him gone, or something. That could be part of why he was acting out, as well as a desire to see Harry’s remaining back off on treating Harry like dirt. Harry smiled at Alastor, catching a visible sign of relief in the alien eyes. So Harry now had a life long partnership with a devil, just one more weird thing in a life full of weird things.

//Well, so that adds more to the mix. Hey, Al, can you find any of the others if they’re awake? Maybe introduce me around, so that I have a few more friends?/

//Of Course, Master, but Not Tonight. It is Well Past Time For Sleeping, and We Both Need Rest.// Harry nodded, opening his eyes back to his normal room, somehow feeling Alastor settle down and drop into the devil version of sleep. This was going to be interesting.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Reviews are good, they might get the next chapter out faster. No reviews might mean no more chapters, though since this is a challenge response, it might not. This is clearly going to be long, I should have known when Harry and Alastor both ganged up on me it would be.

Alastor: Oi, how come we’re getting blamed? And you usually have me babysitting Vergil and Dante’s kids, so I want a break.

Harry: Yeah, you got US into this.

Devil/Human Pairing Glossary:
Harry = Alastor
More to Be Announced

Pairings for Sex/love:
Harry + Draco
Ron + Hermione
More to Be Announced