Harry Potter and the Dark Force

     --- Chapter 1 ---

     Division of Fate

Harry watched his own dead body fall lifeless to the ground. Suddenly there was silence in the dark corridor, which moments before had been filled with the violence of the desperate duels between Dumbledore and Voldemort, and then between Voldemort and himself. Still numb with shock at what had happened, and amazed to find himself still alive within Voldemort's body, Harry went over to his corpse and looked down on it from what seemed a great height. Voldemort's wand felt cold and dead in his hand so he pulled his own out of his former body's inert fingers. If only he could somehow return to himself ... but he didn't know any spell for this. It felt very eerie and disorientating to see himself from the outside, totally unlike a mirror or photograph. He turned at a noise behind him, Fawkes was tapping his beak hopelessly at Dumbledore's face, trying to rouse his master, making a sad keening noise which seemed to resonate within Harry's bones. Harry went over to where Dumbledore's body lay and reached out to stroke the phoenix, but Fawkes suddenly took to the air and swept around Harry's head, minutely examining him with its fierce black eyes. `It's ok, Fawkes,' Harry said quietly, in the icy voice of Lord Voldemort, `It's me, Harry ...' He wondered how he could ever become reconciled to inhabiting this body, and then suddenly realised what danger he was in, if members of the order were to come upon this scene now ... both Sirius and Moody, he knew, would attack first and ask questions afterwards ... As he tried to think what to do, Fawkes suddenly dived onto his shoulder and the bleak death-filled corridor disappeared in a blaze of golden flame, and moments later the interior of Sirius's mountain cave shimmered into existence around him.

Harry looked around as Fawkes flew up to a perch near the top of the cave. The signs of recent habitation were evident, copies of the `Daily Prophet' complete with the death's head and coiled snake emblem of Voldemort's regime, discarded food wrappers, and, propped against the wall of the cave, the small square mirror which Sirius had been using to communicate with Harry over the last few months. The other mirror of this pair was still under his bed at Durmstrang, Harry realised. He picked the mirror up in Voldemort's bone-white ghoulish hands and contemplated his new face with horror, staring aghast at the flat snake-like nose and red eyes with vertical pupils. They had won, he tried to remind himself, Voldemort had finally been destroyed, but it hardly felt like victory, with the loss of Dumbledore, of Ron ... and himself imprisoned in the body of the most feared and hated wizard in the world.

Had Dumbledore expected this, he wondered. Just what had the final prophecy concerning himself and Lord Voldemort actually said? How could he convince Sirius and the others that it was really him? The noon sunlight filtered into the cave through the entrance fissure, and Fawkes remained high in a mossy cravasse near the top of the cave, occasionally rustling his wings in a disconsolate manner and making a sad mewling noise, as if still mourning his master. Harry felt completely exhausted, and totally dazed by what had happened back at the castle. What would happen next? Would the Death Eater regime collapse without Voldemort? Would the Hogwarts students and other refugees be able to return to Britain? How could he let Hermione and the others know that he was still alive? They would all be devastated when his and Dumbledore's dead bodies were found, he realised ...

A feeling of guilt surged up inside him, he realised it had been his fault that Ron had risked his life by coming with them, he should have refused to let Ron take this needless risk ...

After about an hour, he happened to catch sight of his face in the mirror again. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but the ghastly image of Voldemort seemed to have become less pronounced, the nose a little sharper, the eyes a less vivid red ... After two hours there was no doubt, Harry could see that the face was becoming more human, returning to that of Tom Riddle, as Voldemort had appeared before the satanic spirit of Salazar Slytherin had entered him. Although much older now, they were recognisably the same features as those of the sixteen-year old boy he had seen in his second year, the boy who had grown up to murder so many people, including Harry's parents. He felt some relief at these changes, before realising that looking like Tom Riddle would hardly be much of an improvement as far as Ginny was concerned ...

After three hours, Harry was beginning to worry that something had happened to Sirius, when suddenly there was a pop of a wizard apparating into the cave, and Sirius was standing in front of him. Instantly Sirius raised his wand, staring in horror at Harry.

`Sirius, it's ok, I'm Harry,' Harry said quickly, `Voldemort was destroyed.' Fawkes flew down and landed on Harry's shoulder, as if to support his words.

Sirius backed away, still keeping his wand raised. `How is that possible?' he asked incredulously.

`I found a spell in that book you gave me. Because of the Nexus curse connection between me and Voldemort, I could use it to force us to exchange bodies, and when he cast the Avada curse at me I used this spell, and so he killed himself, in my body. What happened at the castle, is Ron ok? I don't know what Snape did to him ...'

Sirius sat down on a rock, still aiming his wand at Harry and wearing an expression of deep suspicion. `When we saw Dumbledore dead, and your body ... we thought Voldemort had won. Snape was there, he made some sneering comment about you and I couldn't tolerate it, I cursed him but Remus deflected it, Snape stunned both of us and by the time we came round he and most of the other Death Eaters had escaped. Ron is still in some deep coma, we've taken him back to Durmstrang. We didn't know it was Snape who attacked him, but I'm not surprised by anything that treacherous double-dealing creep does anymore.' He stared at Harry as if afraid to believe it was really him. `You're quite sure Voldemort has gone, for good this time?'

`Yes, I felt his terror, an instant before his death, his mind being torn away from the world, from its connection with me, dragged into some endless darkness ... and then nothing. I should have died too, I was expecting it, from what the book said ...' Fawkes swept back up to his perch.

`Fawkes brought me here,' Harry added, noticing that his voice had also become almost normal in tone, the slightly officious and formal voice of Tom Riddle, `I think he realised how much danger I might be in, if you or Moody came across that scene, or someone like Bellatrix turned up and realised her master had been defeated.'

Finally, Sirius lowered his wand, although still looking warily at Harry. `Mad-Eye is dead, Macnair and Dolohov killed him as we tried to enter the castle. But we got Macnair, his murderous career is over for good ...' He stared at Harry again. `I still can't believe it ... Voldemort dead, but you in his body ... it can't be true ...'

`What proof can I give?' Harry said, wondering if anything could be conclusive, since anything he might know about Sirius, or his parents, Voldemort could have obtained from his mind.

`Your Patronus,' said Sirius, very tensely, raising his wand again, `produce your Patronus.'

Harry realised why Sirius was asking this, the form of a Patronus was like a signature of a mind, unique to each wizard, and yet beyond conscious control. As he thought this, he wondered with fear if somehow Voldemort's Patronus, a monstrous serpent, might appear instead of his own. But if his own did appear it would also be a proof for himself, that he was at last free of the possession of Voldemort ...

Nervously he raised his wand and said `Expecto Patronum!', concentrating on seeing Hermione and Ron and Ginny again, alive and well ... A huge white form erupted from the end of his wand and cantered past Sirius to the entrance of the cave and then back to him, looking down at him momentarily with large silver eyes before dissolving into nothingness ... it was unmistakably his own Patronus, a stag in the shape of Prongs, his father's animagus form. Harry looked at Sirius and saw there were tears in his eyes.

`Yes,' said Sirius, smiling, his voice filled with emotion, `that was James, in every detail, exactly as he used to appear ...' He stood up and embraced Harry, who was now taller than Sirius. Harry felt overwhelmed with relief, but still wondered how Hermione and the others would react when they saw him ...

`Are we going to stay at Hogwarts?' Harry asked him.

`No, Remus and the others thought that would be too dangerous until the Death Eaters are defeated. Without Dumbledore the place is a trap, very difficult to escape from. But I'm supposed to stay here to keep watch on the situation.' He brought a small circular mirror out from his cloak, and said `Remus' into it twice. Harry could see it change to show Lupin's tired and lined face, he looked completely defeated by the morning's events. But as he saw Harry standing behind Sirius, his eyes widened in surprise. `Remus,' Sirius said, `Harry is ok, he's here, he managed to trick Voldemort into killing himself. We've won, Remus, we've won ...'

Harry could see Lupin was very suspicious about this. `He proved it to me,' Sirius continued, `he produced a Patronus in the form of Prongs, exactly as James used to appear, no-one else could do that, not even Voldemort.'

Lupin still looked very sceptical. `Perhaps we should not jump to conclusions too soon, Sirius,' he said, staring intently at Harry, `we all know what devious and unexpected actions Voldemort is capable of ...'

`It is me, Harry, Professor Lupin,' Harry said to the mirror, wondering just how many times he would have to go through this process of convincing people again, `I was just worried about Ron ... if he was ok.'

`He still hasn't come round,' said Lupin, `Madam Pomfrey is trying to find out what they used on him.'

`It was Snape that attacked him,' Sirius said angrily, `we should never have trusted that devious slimeball.'

`Also, I guess I should be revising for my NEWTS,' Harry added, having just realised this. It seemed bizarre to be worrying about exams with all that had happened in the last few hours, but of course he still needed top grades if he was to begin training as an Auror next year ...

Sirius turned and grinned at him, `That sounds like Hermione speaking,' he chided Harry.

`Yeah, but I _need_ to revise to do well, I can't just walk into an exam like you or dad used to do ...' Harry said resentfully.

Lupin was still regarding him thoughtfully. Harry realised that he was caught in a dilemma: if Lupin allowed him to return to Durmstrang it might put everyone else there at risk, but if he remained here with Sirius he would be at risk himself ...

`I'll ask Professor McGonagall's opinion,' Lupin said finally, `and as soon as we can be certain of what the true situation is, we'll make a decision ... in the meantime, if Sirius is willing to let you remain with him ...' Sirius nodded.

After Lupin had disappeared from the mirror, Harry asked `and what if the Death Eaters attack us here? Where could we go?'

`We'd have to return to Durmstrang, we simply have no base left in this country,' Sirius replied grimly, `once people begin to realise that Voldemort has gone things may be different, but at the moment everyone here is still ruled by fear ... the only people who were brave enough to stand up to him have been killed or forced into exile ...'

Dobby arrived in the evening, bringing food for them and the unwelcome news that the ministry was now being run by Snape, Fudge and Malfoy together, and that all members of the Order of the Phoenix had been ordered to remove themselves from the country. Dobby stared at Harry in astonishment when Sirius explained what had happened in the duel. `Dobby always knew sir was a great wizard,' said the elf, his eyes wide, `but now sir must be the greatest wizard alive, to have conquered He Who Must Not be Named.'

`I was lucky,' Harry said, embarrassed, `and I had to do something, after I'd just seen him kill Professor Dumbledore ...'

`That's terrible news,' Sirius groaned as they ate after Dobby had left, `Malfoy, Snape and Fudge in charge, three wizards united only by their bigotry and love of power ...'

The last low rays of the blood-red evening sun lit up the floor of the cave. Fawkes swept down to join them, pecking at seeds on the bread rolls.

`Unfortunately, that's also what most other wizards in this country seem to believe in as well ...' Sirius added cynically, `so it may take some time to get rid of them ...'

After dark, Sirius apparated out of the cave to scout around the area, leaving Harry alone to ponder his future and wonder how they could free the wizarding world. He was starting to drift into sleep as these unsolvable issues spun around in his mind, when a slithering sound near the entrance brought him back to full wakefulness. A long, lethal-looking snake was sliding into the cave, its tongue flickering as it tested the air for the scent of prey. Fawkes dived down and started attacking it, jabbing at its head with his sharp golden beak, driving it back into the night until it turned and slid away with a final angry hiss.

Disturbed, Harry could not return to sleep after this, but lay awake wondering where the snake had come from, and if he still had the power to talk to snakes, or if this had disappeared together with all the other elements of Voldemort that had been inside him. He was becoming aware more and more that some part of himself was missing, a part which he had always assumed was his own personality, but now, it seemed clear, had been a product of his constant connection to Voldemort's mind. In particular the impulse to unreasoning rage had disappeared from within him, which had never seemed remarkable before, but now made him feel ashamed, as he recalled all the times he had raged at Ron and Hermione over things which were not even their fault.

He was still awake when Sirius returned, looking very grim and tired. `There are Death Eaters and Ministry officials everywhere,' he told Harry, flinging himself down on the floor and grabbing a bottle of butterbeer. `They're trying to exterminate or drive away all Hagrid's creatures from the forest, there's a real battle going on down there, but I don't see what we can do, the order is still in a chaotic state after what happened this morning ...' He contacted Lupin again and reported what he'd seen, they were both very somber.

`I'll have to tell Hagrid,' Lupin said apprehensively, `it won't be easy ...' He told Sirius that Ron was still in an impenetratable coma and that there was a great deal of confusion, both in Britain and abroad, over the apparent disappearance of Voldemort and the death of Dumbledore. Harry could tell that Lupin wanted to believe his version of events, but was still unwilling to take the risk of bringing them back.

Sirius kept watch at the cave entrance while Harry tried to get comfortable on the crude bed of cloaks at the rear of the cave. Harry was almost sleep again when he remembered the snake, and got up and told Sirius about it. To his surprise Sirius suddenly looked very alarmed. `That's it, I'm going to insist that they let you return to Durmstrang, that snake could easily have been a lookout for the Death Eaters ...'

But as he spoke there came the soft whoosh of several wizards arriving by apparation, and Harry looked up to see that the cave mouth was suddenly filled with a dozen black-cloaked figures, their wands raised and pointing at himself and Sirius.