Absolute Power: Friend or Foe

Chapter One: Beginnings

"Kill the Spare"

Three words, three words that would change Harry's life forever. Curled up on his bed Harry looked out onto the woods behind the house. The scene that had occurred at the end of his fourth year replaying in his mind over and over again, every time only hearing those three words and seeing the flash of green light that would steal the life of a friend.

In an attempt to take his mind off the subject of Cedric's death; Harry delved into his shoebox of letters. Hermione had kept in constant touch throughout the summer, because of the resurrection of Voldemort she had not been able to visit Viktor Krum in Bulgaria and without any surprise she had been made a prefect. More importantly she had been mailing him issues of The Daily Prophet on a regular basis, allowing him, for the first time, to keep up with news in the wizarding world for the summer. Fudge had finally came out and announced publicly that Voldemort had indeed returned and there were efforts being made to track him down. Voldemort had been busy, but in an unusual manner. There had been sightings of Death Eaters and supposedly of Voldemort himself throughout Europe. But very few deaths related to those occurrences. In fact, there had been almost no deaths due to Death Eaters for the whole summer. Speculations on this fact had ranged from Voldemort searching for something to setting up strongholds all over Europe for one massive attack.

Ron's letters were very generic. After learning it would be impossible to stay with the Weasleys during the summer Ron had taken it as a personal quest to keep Harry informed to how things were going over at the Burrow. Fred and George had set new records for troublemaking over the summer, they had been forced to tone it down after nearly destroying their room with an experimental charm to make a person turn invisible, but not realize it. Ginny had begun playing quidditch with the rest of her brothers and was starting to show some talent as a chaser.

Harry sighed at he lay back in his bed. The next day he would be leaving the Dursleys via the Knight Bus and meeting up with Hermione at the Leaky Cauldron. Ron would be joining them three days later. He was looking forward to seeing the two very badly, instead of being horrible to him the whole summer, the Dursleys seemed to forget he even existed, a pleasant change in some regards but they still would have none of this "enjoyment of life" thing that he kept hearing about from Dudley. He ran a mental check to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, as anything having to do with his "abnormality", as the Dursleys called it, would be long gone when he got back. After confirming and reconfirming his list of things he needed to take he slipped into a peaceful slumber.

***

"Harry!"

Jolted back from his idle daydreams Harry looked up to see Hermione come through the door. She quickly made her way to the table where he was sitting and pulled him into a huge hug. He smiled and hugged her back. It was great to see her again, after living with the Dursleys for the summer any kind of friendly face was welcome. Suddenly he realized she was speaking.

"But anyway THAT nightmare is over. Now then shall we pick up our school things tomorrow? I know we've got a while but with O.W.Ls coming up and all I think we should get right into the new materials. There could be some really difficult subjects that we need all the time we can get to prepare for and..."

"Whoa!" Harry cut her off. "Ok, sure lets go get our stuff tomorrow, but are you really thinking about studying already? I mean the year hasn't even started yet, we have no idea what they are going to want us to know for O.W.Ls."

"Don't you know what the O.W.Ls really are?" Upon seeing the "raised by magic haters, do you really need an answer" face, she launched into an explanation "O.W.Ls are tests on anything and everything we've learned since first year. Which includes....."

Harry sighed as he watched Hermione talk, upon reflection of the conversation he decided that using the "nod and smile" routine would have been a much better route. But too late now.

***

Harry looked around, he was back in the graveyard. Two figures were standing about thirty meters away. He recognized Pettigrew easily by the glinting silver gauntlet where his arm used to be. Which meant the other could only be Voldemort.

"...he had broken through the charm long before we had arrived my lord! By the time we worked out where he had gone Dumbledore had already found him!"

"I want none of your excuses Wormtail, you've lost me a very useful ally, along with some very interesting magical artifacts. I have been lenient on your multiple failures to locate the tomb because of your part in my resurrection. However due to your aimless wanderings around Europe and following several sources that were at best unreliable, not only has my presence been made known, but those fools at the ministry have begun to severely shorten the sources inside the ministry I might have if my presence was kept secret."

"B-but master, you had rather emphasized that any means necessary were to be used in finding the location of the tomb."

"Perhaps, but regardless you have failed in the task and allowed a sworn enemy to take something that should have been mine. For this you will suffer. Crucio!"

Wormtail flailed on the ground, screaming in pain. After fifteen seconds Voldemort ended the spell and looked straight at Harry, sending a glimmer of pain through his skull.

"Funny thing this is Potter, I discovered this link several weeks ago, unfortunately due to my slightly weakened condition I am forced to sleep on occasion. I saw the strangest thing, you sitting in a room looking out a window. It explained a great deal I assure you, and should prove quite useful in the time to come. Sleep may even become a regular thing for me. Now Potter I am going to make you an offer."

Harry suddenly felt a cold shiver run through him. The link was two way, and now it seemed Voldemort was aware when he was being watched.

"I will give you Pettigrew."

Harry looked up, stunned, give him Pettigrew? Sirius would be free! Then the situation came back to him. "And what would you demand of me in return?"

Voldemort emitted a sound that almost sounded like a laugh "One small simple thing, a new student will be coming to Hogwarts this year, and he will not a first year. That is all the information I can give you because it is all I know about his situation at the school. You must say one simple phrase to him "The sealed will die by the hand of the sealer", you think you can handle that? Upon hearing this phrase he will give you something. I will appear again soon, if you have done what I asked, I will give you Pettigrew. If you do not, I will destroy him and all evidence of him ever being alive, rendering your dear godfather a criminal for life." Noticing that Harry was staring at him with some expression of hatred he simply shrugged "Your choice Potter, time to go."

Harry awoke suddenly. The room was brightly lit by the sun outside and he realized he had slept through the better part of the morning. His hand moved to his scar, which was slightly sore. He walked downstairs to find Hermione tearing into one of her new textbooks, Magical Item Creation and Control, Harry had flipped through it earlier but as far as he was concerned it was all gibberish.

"It's about time you woke up" Hermione spoke with a disappointed air in her tone "You have about a quarter of an hour before Ron is supposed to be here! Is something wrong? You don't look too good."

"Voldemort, he knows about my connection with him and he asked me to do something" Harry went through the dream as quickly as possible, Hermione's eyes growing wider after each detail.

"You have to tell Dumbledore."

"I believe he has told me everything already."

Harry and Hermione jumped, Dumbledore had just appeared in the doorway and for the first time in either of their lives, Harry and Hermione saw panic in his eyes.

"Your dream has some dangerous implications Harry, most of all Voldemort being able to see through your eyes at almost any time he wishes. This is a difficult problem indeed, as for the student he mentioned, he is here now, in the room next to you. I suggest you two get acquainted; you're going to be spending a lot of time together in this next year Harry. I must go for now, there are things that must be taken care of."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other worriedly, Dumbledore had never spoken that fast or appeared that worried before. With some reluctance they made their way to the next door over and knocked. A very American sounding "Come in" was heard from the other side of the door.

Harry pushed the door open and froze, Hermione let out a quiet gasp. It was unusual in the wizarding world to see a horse kept in one's bedchambers, it was even more unusual to see a unicorn in one's bedchambers, and if there was anything more unusual than that it was Nightmare standing in the middle of the room looking peaceful and mundane.

Harry suddenly realized why Hagrid had been talking about the creatures in so many of his letters, Harry only wished that the groundskeeper had mention that there might be one attending the school with a new student.

The voice came again, from the second room in the back "Don't let 'im scare yah! He may be a fire breathing demon horse from the abyss, but he's an exceptionally well mannered fire breathing demon horse from the abyss!"

The horse looked back towards the room with an expression that could only be described as a glare as it walked to the window and flew out. The body behind the voice finally walked out from the back room.

"He's tall" was the first thought into Harry's head. The boy was a little over six feet, his hair was blonde but seemed to shimmer with a brilliant red when the sun was at just the right position, and his eyes, his eyes were a fiery red, a color Harry, wizarding world or not, had never seen before. He was clothed from top to bottom, complete with a cape that clustered in a small pile at his feet, in what looked like dragon hide, a jet black dragon hide that reminded Harry of the color of the Hungarian Horntail he had flown past at the tournament the year before, and over the left breast of his robe there was a mark of a red bird, not incredibly detailed but to Harry it looked a bit like a phoenix. Slung at the boy's belt and crossing behind his back were two long swords, each with a very ornate handle.

The boy's eyes focused on Harry and flicked upwards towards his scar, an all consuming anger seemed to posses his features "You...." The single word was said and a split second afterwards there was a rasp of steel and Harry barely managed to duck out of the way as the sword slashed across where his head had been.

"Harry!" Hermione cried out from just a few feet away "Expelliarmus!"

The spell struck the boy full in the back, where it reflected off the dragon hide into the wall of the room. Harry stumbled backwards and looked up to see the blade of the sword hurtling down towards him. He closed his eyes and waited for the strike to hit. There was an incredible explosion, something that sounded like glass shattering, and more pain than Harry had ever experienced. Only a few scant seconds passed before his mind gave him the release of unconsciousness.

***

Voices

"You attacked him! The very person you've been assigned to protect and you try to kill him within twenty seconds of knowing him. You're damned lucky you didn't or I swear to all that's holy I'd have killed you, in as many unpleasant ways as I could dream up."

Harry slowly opened his eyes, squinting as that harsh light of the Hogwarts medical wing bombarded his senses. Sirius was standing over the bed across the room from him glaring at the patient with an expression that should have cleared up the question as to whether looks could kill.

"It's his fault, my best friend is gone forever and it's his goddamn fault! Why did he have to live! If the brat would have just died like he was supposed to I wouldn't have to face all this shit alone!"

Sirius's voice took on a deadly calm, the anger behind it was more frightening than anything Harry had ever heard, his wand was out pointing at the patient, who Harry recognized as the boy from the Leaky Cauldron "Keep going, give me any excuse and I swear to god I'll make you feel so much pain you'll be envious of your friend, you'll wish for death but it will never come, go on, I already have a life sentence on my head, it's no trouble, go for it"

The boys face took on a smug look "Big threats, and what makes you think you can do any of that, Dumbledore is counting on me for the next year at least, he's given me permanent access to level four, Cruciatus won't work with that active"

"Check again, he put the full restriction back on, you're nothing more than a slightly sensitive muggle"

The boy closed his eyes, when he opened them again there was fear, along with loathing. Sirius turned away and walked over to Harry's side "Oh you're awake, good, um are you feeling alright?"

"Why are you here Sirius? Why aren't you in you're animagus form? Someone will see you!"

"Calm down, there is absolutely no one here aside from myself, you, and our little friend over there. Everyone else is down smoothing things over at the Leaky Cauldron or still away for the holidays"

Harry looked surprised "What happened at the Leaky Cauldron, I just remember the sword coming down, and then an explosion"

Sirius nodded "Well, you know about as much as I can tell you, Dumbledore left you with that git over there" Sirius flipped his hand at the boy who was muttering to himself "and then the next thing anyone knows is a nightmare flys out the window, the whole building shakes, and our friend here comes flying out the second story window, all the furniture in the room was ripped apart, and you were lying there unconscious."

Harry's eyes suddenly widened "Hermione! Where is she? Is she ok?"

For the first time Sirius gave a genuine smile "Just like James, to hell with my own well being, where are my friends, Hermione is fine, she has been living at the Burrow with the Weasleys until the term officially begins."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, Hermione was okay and would be back with Ron in a week. Things were once again beginning to look up, there was simply the matter of finding out why he had just been attacked and an explanation of what he had just overheard. After voicing these concerns to Sirius, his godfather's face took on a serious look.

"I'm sorry Harry, but that information is only for Dumbledore to tell you when he feels it is necessary, the only reason I know is because of this little incident at the Leaky Cauldron. What I can tell you is first he's going to be joining your year for classes and living quarters, and while he's not attending classes, he's going to be teaching a select group some very interesting and difficult techniques and skills."

"A select group?"

"Well, there are many skills that just like your ability to speak parselmouth are very rare in the wizarding world. In fact for one of them I will be very surprised if more than three or four of the students have even the slightest trace of ability in."

Harry suddenly had a sinking feeling "Sirius, this may be kind of egotistical, but has he been brought here because I can do those things and he's going to train me too?"

Sirius looked straight into his eyes and after a second or two, a slow smile spread across his face "Not this time Harry, I have no idea if you have the abilities that are required for some of these skills, but with your track record I wouldn't be surprised if you qualified for one or two. Now go to sleep, Dumbledore will want to speak to you when you're a little better rested, drink this." Sirius handed him a glass with a clear blue liquid in it which Harry eyed warily

"Its just a mild rejuvenation potion, it effectively acts as a sleep enhancer, you sleep for an hour, the effects are like sleeping for two, and the best part is, its one of the few potions that a flavor can be added without ruining the potion" Sirius gave him a little wink as he slipped into his animagus form and curled up next to the bed.

Harry drained the glass(which happened to taste like chocolate) and closed his eyes against the cool pillow. The year had already begun to get interesting, Harry could only assume that it would continue and somehow he would end up half dead in the hospital wing by the end of it. He slipped into unconsciousness, and was greeted by a terrible face.