Harry Potter and the Crystalline Darkness

Katling

Story Summary:
Continues on from Guild of the Night. Harry's sixth year is over, the Battle has been won and he's off for a summer with Sirius and Remus and then the Weasleys before starting his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Life seems to be pretty good right now - or is it? What has happened to his old enemies? And what is happening with the looming, crystalline darkness?

Chapter 24

Chapter Summary:
Dumbledore and the illusion of Harry go to see Aunt Petunia - here is what results...
Posted:
06/20/2005
Hits:
4,298

Chapter 24

On Saturday morning Harry made his nervous way up to Dumbledore's office to find the Headmaster, Sirius and Remus waiting for him. He smiled at them and slumped down on the couch next to his godfather.

"Are you ready, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry nodded and pushed himself off the couch. He walked over and stood next to the Headmaster. He lifted his wand and began the process of creating the illusion of himself, this time including the spell that would allow him to see and hear what was going on. He paused before activating the illusion and looked over at the energy swirls of the Headmaster.

"Activate it," Dumbledore said kindly. "It's time he and I were going."

Harry nodded. "Vivo," he said quietly and the illusion came to life. Again he saw it pause and activate the Oversight.

Dumbledore walked over to his desk and pulled a cane almost identical to Harry's out from behind it. He then walked over and handed the cane to the Illusion-Harry.

"Come, Harry," he said calmly. "It's time to go."

The illusion, with its knowledge of every Harry knew up until the moment it was created, nodded nervously. It then looked over and Harry and grinned wickedly.

Harry grinned slowly back it his double. "Be nice," he said quietly.

His double laughed then placed a hand on the book Dumbledore was holding out. "Of course I will," the illusion said. "I'm you after all."

The Headmaster then activated the portkey and the two of them disappeared. Harry swayed a little and Sirius leapt up from the couch to steady him. He then led his godson over to the couch.

"Are you okay," he asked urgently.

Harry nodded absently. "Yeah, just following what's happening. The portkey was strange."

Sirius sat down beside him and the two men watched with worry and some interest as Harry followed the actions of his double.

*************************************************************************

Dumbledore and the double arrived in the middle of Arabella Figg's living room, startling the old woman and her cats.

"For goodness sakes, Albus!" Arabella scolded as her cats fled the room. "Give a body some warning next time."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at the old woman. "Arabella, I told you we would be arriving this morning."

"Yes, but not into the middle of my living room," she said archly. "And please enlighten me as to why you feel it necessary to endanger Harry like this. I thought you said this was probably a trap."

"This is not Harry," Dumbledore replied, smiling at the illusion. The illusion grinned at the two adults and Arabella's eyes widened.

"An illusion?" she breathed. "Like the ones of James and Lily you told me about?"

Albus nodded. "Indeed. Harry did a wonderful job of creating it."

"Why thank you, Headmaster," Harry replied with a shy smile.

Arabella blinked. "Are you sure you have the right Harry, Albus?"

Albus chuckled. "I certainly do but the illusion is very accurate."

"So I see," Arabella said, still staring at the illusion with some awe. She then shook her head and glanced at the clock. "You'd best be going, Albus. You don't want to be late."

Dumbledore nodded and ushered the illusion out of the room. They walked along the street towards Privet Drive and Dumbledore looked around, apparently admiring the houses.

"Any sign of them?" Harry murmured.

"No, but no doubts they are here," the Headmaster replied calmly. "They would not pass up this opportunity."

"Well, that's why I'm here," the illusion replied pragmatically. "By the way, did you know that I can communicate with the real me through this spell of yours?"

"Why yes, I do believe that is part of the spell," Albus said, his eyes twinkling.

The illusion's lips twitched. "He said to tell you that you're a manipulative old bat." He paused. "Oh no, hang on, that was meant just for me."

Dumbledore chuckled, rather intrigued at this illusory Harry. If he recalled Lily's notes correctly the illusion spell tended to reproduce the best of the personality of the caster. This then was Harry at his best, without the doubts, fears, brooding and unhappiness that so often was there. This was a Harry that perhaps only Ginny, Remus and Sirius and maybe Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna had ever seen. He felt rather like he had been given a gift to see this Harry.

"Tell him that this is normal," he said softly. "That Lily's spell takes the best of the person and tries to leave as much of the sadness and such like as it can."

The illusion almost seemed to look inwards for a moment then it smiled softly. "He understands. He knows himself and he knows that that is exactly what I am. He just never seems to get much of a chance to show this."

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "You realize that we will have to get...accidentally separated at some point today."

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. Inside the house or outside?"

"We'll try both," Dumbledore replied.

"Inside will be easy enough since they're still living in the same place," Harry said thoughtfully. "He suggests I just go to the bathroom. Outside will be a little harder."

"Rush out of the house," Dumbledore suggested. "Like you cannot wait to leave. Rush out and I will endeavour to lag behind sufficiently."

Harry nodded as they walked up to the door of Number Four. The Headmaster rang the doorbell and they waited. After a couple of minutes the door opened and Petunia Dursley stood in the doorway. When she recognized them she gave them a genuine smile which surprised Harry.

"Hello, Professor," she said politely then she looked at Harry nervously. "Hello, Harry," she said quietly. "You're...looking well."

"Hello, Aunt Petunia," Harry said softly after Dumbledore had said his greetings.

"Come in," Petunia said, stepping aside for them.

The two men walked into the house and Petunia closed the door behind them. She then led them into the living room and gestured for them to sit. Harry sat a little nervously, having never really been welcome in this room before. He wondered if he really was welcome now.

"I...I'm sorry to drag you all the way back here," Petunia said quietly. "But there were some things that Professor Dumbledore spoke of that I didn't understand and he can't seem to explain to me. I was hoping that you might be able to...translate."

Harry looked at his Aunt and saw in the ghostly overlay that she was looking rather different from the last time he had seen her. She looked much more careworn now, tired and overworked. And yet there was also a hint of honest pride about her as well as though she had faced a task she hadn't thought herself capable of handling and had succeeded nonetheless. Harry supposed that was indeed what had happened; she had been forced to take up the reigns with Uncle Vernon in prison and do everything for herself. She had obviously found herself more than a match for the task at hand and was quite pleased about this. He wondered what would happen when Uncle Vernon got out of prison. Somehow he couldn't see things going back to the way they had been.

"I'll do my best," he said, little confused. He couldn't imagine the Headmaster not being able to make himself understood to anyone then he caught Dumbledore's quick but careful glance around the room and understood. Dumbledore had wanted this trap to be set, hence the reason behind sending the illusion and not the real Harry. The Headmaster had wanted to force Draco's hand, to find out just what cards lay in it. He could feel the irritation, annoyance and grudging admiration coming from the original Harry.

Petunia looked relieved and brought up the first of the points she wanted clarification on. The illusion Harry gave the Headmaster a hard glance then turned his attention to his Aunt. It took nearly two hours to work through all of the issues Aunt Petunia had and both Harrys had to conceal their amusement at the thought of the irritation and impatience that Draco and his cronies must be suffering right now. Finally Aunt Petunia seemed satisfied that she understood what Dumbledore had been saying about Dudley's erstwhile companions and she was not happy with the news. When the Headmaster said that it would be dealt with, the only proviso she gave then was a rather curt entreaty not to hurt Dudley. She then paused and suggested that they allow him to keep the memories of how he had been used as a salutary lesson.

"Would you like some lunch before you head back?" she asked as they rose at the end of the explanatory session.

"That would be marvellous," Dumbledore said and Harry nodded.

"Um, I...just need to go to the bathroom," he said hesitantly.

"Well, you know where it is," Aunt Petunia said as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Dumbledore winked at him as he followed her and Harry slowly walked upstairs. He could feel that the real Harry was still a little taken aback at this new and improved version of Aunt Petunia and from their shared memories he could certainly see why.

Maybe she's done some growing up?

he suggested to the original.

Maybe

, came the slightly disorientated reply.

The illusion slowly walked along the upstairs corridor and hesitated for a moment outside the smallest bedroom. He then shook his head and headed for the bathroom. There was no point in dwelling on the past and if Draco was indeed going to make a move then they both needed to have their wits about them. After he finished in the bathroom and headed back downstairs, he felt the original Harry getting his equilibrium back.

Hang on to that thought,

he said dryly. I think we're going to need it. Looks like Draco's going to make his move after we leave.

We probably should have expected it

, was the reply. Dudley probably asked that nothing be done to risk his mother. He probably does love her, at least as much as the spoilt prat is capable of loving something other than himself.

He walked into the kitchen and was forced to discontinue the conversation. Lunch was simple but surprisingly pleasant and when the time came to leave, Harry was able to thank his Aunt quite politely. He then winked at Dumbledore and made a beeline for the front door, looking for all the world like he couldn't wait to get out of there. He heard his Aunt gasp behind him and then Dumbledore's soft voice soothing her as he walked out of the door, slamming it behind him.

He stalked down the path towards the gate, his cane tapping lightly in front of him, and he heard the soft sounds of someone moving around behind him. He heard a familiar voice say, "Stupefy" and then he knew no more for a time.

**************************************************************************

When the illusory Harry woke, he found himself bound and lying on the floor of a large well-lit room. The floor was carpeted and there were a couple of chairs from the shapes in his Oversight within his field of vision. There was heat at his back and he assumed he must be near the fireplace.

"We know you're awake, little baby Potter," came the sing-song voice of Bellatrix Lestrange and Harry swallowed a growl.

He lifted his head slightly and looked around and much as he could. The insane witch moved around until he could see her energy form and he was surprised to find that he could also see her dimly in the ghostly overlay. She smiled viciously at him then in a lightening quick move, pulled her wand out and cast the Cruciatus Curse at him. He screamed and arched in his bonds and heard the voice of the original Harry chanting reassurances in his mind. He clung to that voice as the curse washed over him. He dimly heard a voice saying Bellatrix's name and then the curse was ended. He gasped for breath for several minutes and slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Bellatrix lying unconscious on the floor and his eyes narrowed with hateful delight. Then he saw a pair of boots move to stand in front of his face. He sighed and shifted himself so that he could look up and see their owner.

"Hello, Potter," Draco Malfoy said with a smug grin. "I see you are still as stupid as ever."

"Hello, Draco," Harry said pleasantly. "And I see you are still believing everything you see."

Draco's eyes narrowed and he stared hard at Harry. His eyes became slightly distant and then pain exploded through Harry's scar. He could feel the pain coming from the original and could only assume that Voldemort had also come out to play. Draco's expression became suspicious and confused.

"That's a genuine reaction," he said though Harry felt it wasn't directed at him. "Polyjuice?"

Again there was silence as the blond boy seemed to listen to something then he grinned maliciously down at Harry.

"Well, only one way to find out," he said. "Enjoy yourself Potter."

Draco stalked out of the room and Harry sighed with relief. The further away from him Draco went, the less his scar hurt.

Are you okay?

came the query from the original Harry.

Yeah,

was the illusion's reply. I gather you only feel it if Voldemort comes out to play.

Uh, yes,

came the hesitant reply.

Good, no sense both of us suffering and besides, I'm not really real,

the illusion said as cheerfully as he could. Have you told Dumbledore about what you've seen so far?

Yes,

Harry replied. He's put a tracking charm on you. Not a strong one because they would have noticed. He knows your general location. He's already called in Tonks and Moody. They might have a better idea where you are. They know where all of Malfoy's properties are and some of Voldemort's as well.

Good,

the illusion replied. Tell them to hurry. I may not be real but that curse hurt. He paused then grinned. Are you enjoying seeing Bellatrix like this? He asked as he looked over at the unconscious witch.

He got a sense of amusement and agreement from the original then he sensed that Harry was a little distracted and he settled down to wait. After about half an hour, Bellatrix began to moan as she slowly came round. The Illusory Harry watched nervously as she came back to herself and stood up shakily. She glared down at him then gave him a swift kick in the stomach before stomping out of the room. Harry gasped and curled up a little but inwardly was glad that that was all that happened. He slowly relaxed over the next hour and actually started to get a little bored. He knew what Draco was doing and he found the idea a little amusing. Did he really think they would risk using Polyjuice? With all the attendant problems that the potion had.

An hour after he left, Draco came sweeping back into the room, accompanied by three other people. Harry recognized Bellatrix and Pansy immediately but the other man, while familiar, was not one he knew the name of. Draco stopped in front of him again and once more both Harrys' scars burst with pain.

"No Polyjuice then," Draco said with a hint of disappointment. "So what exactly are you?"

The illusion Harry grinned up at Draco. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Unless you're stalling, of course," the blond boy said with narrowed eyes.

Harry lurched as best as he could towards Draco and grinned again as the other boy jumped backwards looking alarmed. "Twitchy little ferret, aren't you?" he mocked.

Draco snarled silently and then stared hard at Harry. "You are Potter," he snarled then he, like Bellatrix, lashed out with one booted foot. His caught Harry on the side of the head, knocking him backwards and leaving him with his head ringing.

"Temper, temper, Draco," Harry said with a slight slur. "Not going to learn anything if I can't speak."

Draco reigned his temper in with visible effort. Both Harrys felt their scars flare and assumed that Voldemort had had to step in and calm the boy down.

Draco leaned over and grabbed the front of the illusion's shirt, lifting him off the ground slightly. "Who are you?" he growled.

"Harry Potter," the illusion replied with a wicked, if slightly lopsided, grin.

Draco glared at him fiercely then let go of his shirt and let him drop to the floor again. The blond boy paced back and forth for a moment then Pansy stopped him. She whispered in his ear and a slow, malicious smile spread over Draco's face. He looked down at Harry and leaned over.

"Maybe leaving you to Bella's tender mercies would convince you to stop playing games," he said in a deadly tone.

Harry sighed. "Alright then, I'll confess. I'm really Professor Snape." Draco snarled and Harry raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'm Remus Lupin." Draco's face became livid. "Um, Sirius Black?"

Draco reared back and raised one foot as though to lash out again. He suddenly froze then that raised foot came thumping down onto the ground. He screamed and grabbed at his head as the Death Eaters watched in surprise and horror. Harry inched away from the blond ex-Slytherin as best as he could and watched with wary interest. He had a very uncomfortable suspicion he knew what was happening.

Draco suddenly screamed and arched backwards sharply, falling to the floor. Bella and Antonin both leapt out of the way and started edging towards the door while Pansy hovered, seemingly unsure as to what to do. Harry kept inching backwards, having been seemingly forgotten by the others. As he watched, Draco gave one last shrill scream and then fell silent. The room seemed to freeze as everyone waited for the outcome of whatever battle had been going on within Draco.

The silence stretched on for several minutes before Draco slowly pushed himself upright. The Illusion Harry was the first to see his face and the look in the blond boy's eyes drew a startled gasp out of him. It was partly due to the fact that the overlay of Draco had changed. It was now the strongest and clearest overlay Harry had ever seen, including those of Sirius and Remus. It took a few seconds for the reason for that to filter through. There was only one person Harry knew better than anyone else, the person he had shared a link with since he was fifteen months old. That was confirmed when his scar exploded with pain.

Voldemort/Draco looked around the room as he slowly settled in. He had finally managed to take over the boy's mind though not quite in the way he had intended. He had hoped to evict the boy entirely but it seemed that whatever Draco had done originally to bind them together had been more or less permanent. So instead of being able to evict the boy he had only managed to meld them completely. That had instigated a minor battle to determine who would be the dominant personality, a battle that Voldemort had won convincingly. Draco was still there, subjugated and fuming but essentially powerless.

He turned his gaze on Bella, Antonin and Pansy. The two Death Eaters immediately recognized the look in those eyes and fell to their knees, grovelling and whispering platitudes to their Lord. Pansy looked at him suspiciously, trying to work out what was wrong. Voldemort/Draco walked over to her and placed one hand under her chin, raising her head and looking into her face.

"He's right," he said with a smile. "You really are lovely, little flower."

Pansy's eyes widened as the implications of that statement sunk in and she tensed. Voldemort/Draco's hand tightened on her chin fractionally and she warily relaxed her posture.

"Very good, little petal," Voldemort/Draco crooned. "It seems you are everything he claimed for you." He ran a gentle finger down the side of her face.

Pansy preened under the compliment and caress then smiled winsomely at the Dark Lord in the body of her fiancée. A low snarl from the side of the room startled her and she turned to see Bella launching herself at her, a look of insane fury and hatred on her face. Pansy's eyes widened but she never had a chance to do anything else. Voldemort/Draco held out one hand and said quite calmly, "Doloroglacialus."

Bellatrix was slammed to a halt mid-leap and held frozen in place. Only her eyes could move and Pansy could see in them the intense pain she was clearly being subjected to. Voldemort/Draco walked over to the frozen witch and walked around her, smiling viciously.

"My dear Bella," he said in a nasty purr. "While I admire your possessiveness, it is entirely misdirected. What you fail to realize is that I am not yours. I have never been yours and I will never be yours. You are mine. To do with as I please. Do you understand that?"

He eased the intensity of the spell he had cast and Bellatrix nodded imperceptibly. Voldemort/Draco smiled and released the insane witch. She crashed to the floor and immediately grovelled in front of him. He stared at her for a moment then lashed out with a sharp kick.

"Get out of my sight," he snarled and Bella quickly stood and left the room.

Voldemort/Draco walked back over to Pansy and cupped her cheek in one hand. "Do not fear her, little petal," he crooned.

Pansy nodded, torn between nervous fear and pride at her new place in the Death Eater hierarchy. Voldemort/Draco stroked her cheek once more then turned his attention back to where he wanted it.

"Harry Potter," he said menacingly as he stalked over to where the illusion had backed himself into a corner. "No more little games. I am no Draco to be taken in by your foolishness."

The Illusion Harry pushed himself around so he was sitting up as best as he could. "No, I guess you're not," he said solemnly. "Goodbye." He raised an eyebrow and slowly faded into nothing.

Voldemort/Draco's eyes widened then his face suffused with rage. He rounded on Antonin and Pansy and pulled out his wand.

"Crucio!" he screamed. "Where has he gone? What was that?"

But the man and the girl could do nothing more than scream.

**********************************************************************

Harry winced as his scar throbbed with pain and he leaned into his godfather. Both Sirius and Remus were tense with worry. Harry had been talking to them, albeit in a slightly distracted manner, about what was going on but had suddenly fallen silent shortly after the Headmaster had returned. Since then he had flinched a number of times and then finally had gasped with a look of utter horror on his face. But in all that time he did not speak to them nor did it seem like he even heard them. The only thing he had uttered was a frightened, "Abeoumbra Harry Potter."

When it all seemed to be over, Sirius wrapped his arms around his godson and exchanged worried and almost frightened looks with his oldest friend. Remus leaned over and ran a hand through Harry's hair but neither of them pressed him to speak. Sirius could feel how much he was shaking and was wondering just what in hell could have induced that kind of reaction other than the obvious pain. Albus stayed quiet still in the chair he had taken and waited patiently. Like the others, he knew they would get their answers if they waited for Harry to recover.

After what seemed like hours, Harry finally lifted his head. His face was pale and his eyes full of horror but he seemed to be alright. He took a deep breath and sat upright. Sirius let him go but placed an arm around his shoulders. Harry smiled weakly at his godfather then gave Remus a second weak smile when the werewolf moved over to sit on the other side of him on the couch.

"Would you like something to drink, Harry?" Dumbledore asked gently.

Harry nodded. "Pumpkin juice," he murmured and the Headmaster summoned a house elf and passed on the order. The little creature returned quickly and handed the tall glass of orange-coloured juice to Harry. The Gryffindor took it with a polite thank you and drained half of it in one go. He sighed and seemed to relax a bit more before taking a few more sips.

"Professor Snape's going to say I told you so," he murmured after a few minutes.

He got curious looks from the three men. "Why do you say that?" Dumbledore asked with a small smile.

"Maybe I should start at the beginning," Harry suggested.

"Good idea," the Headmaster said and with a wave of his wand he refilled the glass in Harry's hand.

Harry gave him a small smile in thanks that didn't extend to his eyes. "I...well, my illusion, he woke up in a room. Draco and Bellatrix were there," he said, glossing over a lot of what happened. "Draco and my illusion talked to each other and I...he...made them think that he wasn't what he seemed to be. Draco seemed to think that maybe we used Polyjuice and left the room to wait it out."

"And Bella?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"Er, she...left too," Harry said hastily. "I told my illusion about the tracking charm and that you were trying to locate him. After about an hour, Draco came back. He had Bellatrix and Pansy with him as well as a man I kind of recognized but I can't put a name to him. They realized that it wasn't Polyjuice and Draco started asking the illusion who he was. I...he started...taunting Draco, I guess you'd call it."

"Did you have something to do with that?" Dumbledore asked.

"Kind of," Harry replied nervously. "I just suggested he try and drag things out a bit. To give you and Tonks and Moody a chance to find him. But Draco got angry and...something happened."

"What?" the Headmaster asked calmly.

"I'm...not really sure," Harry replied hesitantly. "But I think Draco getting angry caused...I don't know, something to happen in his mind. I think Voldemort took the opportunity to take over."

There was silence from the three men and an air of resignation settled in the room.

"Tell me everything," Dumbledore said decisively. "Leave nothing out, not words, not actions, nothing."

Harry nodded and gave as detailed an account of what happened as he could.

"And what about just after you dispelled the illusion?" Dumbledore asked after Harry had finished.

"He was angry but I couldn't see what was going on," Harry replied. "I just got the emotion."

"And now?"

Harry shrugged. "I think he's calmed down. I'm not getting anything through my scar anyway."

Dumbledore nodded and lapsed into thought.

"What did you mean about that comment about Severus?" Remus asked curiously, trying to change the subject a bit.

"Um, he and I got onto the subject of Draco about a week or so ago," Harry explained. "I said something about not being sorry that Voldemort was trying to find a way to take over Draco's mind just because it was Draco. Professor Snape told me I ought to be worried about it because if Voldemort did manage it then he would have what he wanted. A body again." He sighed. "I guess he was right."

"I don't think we could have anticipated this," Dumbledore said, surprising them a bit. "Oh, we knew that Voldemort wanted his freedom but we could not have anticipated that he was so close to achieving his goal." He paused and looked kindly at Harry. "Sirius, Remus, take Harry back to the suite. I think you all need some rest. I will send your dinner there."

"Sir? What are we going to do?" Harry asked wearily as Sirius pulled him to his feet.

"Nothing for the moment," the Headmaster replied. "At least for you. Christmas is in a few days and I think that should be what you must concentrate on. I doubt Voldemort will make a move in a hurry. He will need to find out how much support remains for him. We shall revisit this after the New Year."

Harry nodded and allowed his godfather to lead him out of the office.


Author notes: Thanks for all the reviews!

123123 - I'm not that good at thinking up pranks! It took me ages to come up with the few that I have for Guid of the Night and Crystalline Darkness.

alwayssariana - Yes, I know. It was a litle but you're right in that it was for scene-setting, particularly the second section.

flashgordon - Yes, a very bad week for Draco. Did you like what I did to him?

littlemissvoldemort - Pansy torture will come, don't you worry about that! Voldy was building up to what you just saw - there will be more Voldy-thoughts on what happened in a later chapter. Somehow the thought of two Freds and two Georges is frightening........ *LOL*

southernryne142 - There is motorbike riding to come (and a rather dramatic plot twist at the same time)! :)