Harry Potter and the Wizard Slayer

"Why have you come here, Hermione?" I glared at her with my old, darkened eyes. I didn't like to be disturbed. How dare she come here to my humble abode? It belonged to me!

She glistened with little fear. "To bring you news, Harry Potter." I could feel the icy tips that followed each word. She was angry. I didn't blame her. No one really cared for me anymore.

"I don't care for your news. Get out." I knew she would not leave. I'm no fool. Hermione Granger does what she wants to. Nevertheless, I wanted her to leave. This was my castle. It belonged to me.

I had indeed inherited one thing from Sirius Black. The only thing the poor man owned before he died. His legacy. It belonged to me, now. Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Such a depressing name.

Seeing how I had owned it for over a decade, I decided to give it a bit of a lift. Not myself, of course. I gave plenty of work to the disgusting house-elf Kreacher. He made it look presentable. But still, it needed a new name. I didn't want people saying that the Wizard Slayer lived in a grim old place. No, absolutely not. Someday, I would give it a name.

Hermione was a clever witch. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to get past the myriad of enchantments placed around my castle to prevent her entrance. Nevertheless, it was bound to happen. A pity there was no one I could trust to be my secret keeper.

"Voldemort does not fear you. Do you really think you can beat him alone?" What a foolish question. Of course I could beat him alone. That is the prophecy. I am the one who shall defeat him. Obviously.

"Child, I'd suggest that I do the thinking because it's clearly a strain for you." My tongue was quick and icy as well. I truly despised that girl. What did I ever see in her? Perhaps it was her genius. She was a genius. A far greater wizard than myself. The only thing she lacked was vigor. And the power to do what is right.

"Child? Harry Potter, who is the child here? You are lost in your own delusions of justice." I turned my back to her. Darkness. It was a dim room. Grimmauld Place was always dark. And there were still a few nasty creatures lurking around that Kreacher hadn't managed to remove. I'd have to do it myself someday. I did, however, destroy the portrait of that raving woman.

"Grow up, Harry. There is more to justice than your personal goals."

I was being patronized! How ironic.

"Justice? JUSTICE?" Justice, indeed. Justice will be served on a platter of demonic vengeance.

"Is that not what you seek?"

"I seek vengeance. Revenge. Pain. Death. But not justice. Justice is for the mortal realm."

"Mortal realm? Are we now mortals, Harry Potter? And you are some sort of... God? Is that it?" I laughed obliquely.

"Indeed, Hermione Granger. I have transcended your kind. Get out." She wouldn't leave, of course. I knew this. I knew her too well. She had come for a reason.

"Dammit, Harry. I only came here to tell you... to tell yo-"

"You're not an idiot, Hermione. So stop stuttering." I smirked. I was so evil. Where was my sensitivity? My wounded heart knew no mercy. Hermione knew this would happen. But perhaps she wasn't quite prepared.

It looked as if there were about to be tears in her eyes. "Find out what happened to Hogwarts by yourself then!" She began to run out the door.

Hogwarts.

"Wait, Hermione! What has happened to Hogwarts? TELL ME!" She turned around and glared at me with poisonous venom in her eyes.

With words that cut to the bone, she replied, "Only that it's gone."

"Gone?" As I stood there shocked, she slammed the door. No use following her. By the time I got there, she would have apparated. No use.

"Hogwarts cannot be gone, you foolish girl!" I walked out the door that she had just slammed and apparated to Hogwarts. An interesting feeling. Have you ever apparated? It's painful. It feels like your entire body is being compressed. Like when someone takes your blood pressure except it's all over your body. And then it's over.

Now, obviously, the reason I left Grimmauld Place before I apparated to Hogwarts was because I had powerful magic preventing apparition inside. The real question was: How could I apparate to Hogwarts?

I looked up at the once glorious castle that provided me with six years of education. Now it had been turned to rubble. It was nothing. NOTHING. My throat was sore. My eyes were blurry. This used to be my home.

"NO! I am the Wizard Slayer. I don't feel this pain. This is nothing but a psychological delusion. This doesn't really hurt." It did hurt. It hurt like hell. Hogwarts castle was destroyed. Above it, the Dark Mark could be seen looming.

"I am... I am...." My anger. How dare they? How dare they cast the Dark Mark! How dare they touch Hogwarts. How dare they...

It was all rubble. Everything. The grass swayed. It was dark. Nighttime. The only thing left untouched was the outdoors. The grass and the forest and the lake were still as beautiful as ever. But not the castle. No, Hogwarts was merely a pile of rubble. It was gone.

I looked at the Dark Mark in the sky with fury. They thought themselves so feared.

"So, you listened." I looked to my right and there she was. Hermione Granger. She wasn't crying anymore, but I was about to. This was my childhood home.

"It's really gone. I can't...how did this happen? How?" I looked at her. She had obviously gotten over the shock. I hadn't. This was my nightmare. They struck me where it hurt.

"It goes without saying that Hogwarts is now closed. There are no more schools in Europe. Harry..." She looked at me in desperation. "Harry, do you see now why we have to work together? We're not kids anymore. It's childish to fight. Please work with us."

"Us? What is left of us? Who survived this attack? Why wasn't I notified? What the hell happened?"

"Well, let's see... it's Christmas time. So there were only about a hundred deaths. Including all of the staff."

"That means Minerva, Hagrid, Trelawney... and all the others... are dead?" I looked into her eyes. Tragedy. The tragedy was that I thought I had hit rock bottom. The reality was that I could not reach the bottom until I died.

"It was rumored that Snape led the attack. I'm not really sure. I do know one thing, though. This is the sort of thing that happens when the resistance is scattered." She looked at me once more in desperation. I, Harry Potter, was her last bastion of hope. She needed me.

"Call me blind... but I didn't see this coming. How the hell could they destroy an entire castle before I heard anything?"

"Maybe if you weren't so busy hunting down useless Death Eaters. Don't you understand, Harry? You need a strategy. You can kill one Death Eater and they'll recruit three more. You can't win by yourself."

I turned around. I was Harry Potter, the Wizard Slayer. I worked alone. But deep inside, I knew she was right. I just couldn't say it. "Just... shut up. I work alone."

"But Harr-"

"Listen, I know you mean well. But I don't want to talk about it anymore. I work alone." Her eyes... they looked so empty all of a sudden. I didn't really want to deal with it. It wasn't my problem. I didn't care if they took over the whole world. I just wanted Voldemort. But at the same time...

"You know, the kids still believe in you."

"Do they?"

"Yes, Harry. They believe in you. They believe that someday, they will be able to go to school and learn to be as excellent a wizard as you. Someday, they believe that Voldemort will fall. The older wizards have lost their faith. But the youth of the world still believes in you. But obviously, you just... you just don't care."

"You've finally figured it out, Hermione." I turned my back on her and walked towards the castle. This was my castle. It belonged to me. How dare they... how dare they.

Severus Snape. He was the one responsible. I knew it the moment I heard his name mentioned.

The day Dumbledore died, Snape left Hogwarts castle for good. He was no longer a useful spy. That was fine. I didn't care. Except he killed Neville on his way out. The Longbottom legacy was dead.

I never liked Neville. So it wasn't that big of a deal. I had lost enough family to know that sadness and mourning did nothing. But I guess it still hurt a bit. I knew that day that no one was safe from death.

I was just a soldier. I was doing what I had to. Snape was my next victim. I chose my victims. One by one. Severus Snape... he had been low priority until now. I knew he was strong. And dangerous. And terribly annoying. I had focused my efforts on lesser Death Eaters. More prestigious, but lesser. Now I had to kill him. Once I chose my victim, he was sure to die.

I could still feel Hermione's presence behind me. "Harry..."

"Would you stop calling my name?" She stopped speaking. I didn't hear another sound. "Listen, I'm going to kill him. What's your next move?"

"Kill who?"

"Severus."

"You think that's going to change anything?"

"Haven't you figured it out, yet? I'm not killing people to end the war. I'm killing people for retribution."

"You've truly gone insane." She looked me up and down and shook her head. "Don't you have any humanity left? Don't you-"

I cut her off quickly. "Answer my question. What's your next move?"

"I'm going to America. The European nations have fallen apart. The Asian and African continents will fall quickly or worse, join them. The Americas are the only part of the world left to stand up and fight."

"Europe has not fallen. And it will not as long as I exist." I glared at her again. But she showed no emotion. I guess she didn't care about my opinion.

"You're contradicting yourself. You just said you didn't care about the war."

"Maybe I do... just a bit."

"How surprising." I bit my tongue. Dammit.

"Just tell me one thing. Where is Severus Snape?" I looked at her closely. There she was. Different from the old days. Her hair was straightened. She never straightened her hair back then. Except at the Yule Ball. I suppose that she cared a little more about her appearance now.

We all changed in little ways that most people don't notice. Little things... little things that don't seem important. After Dumbledore died... everyone did. For Hermione, it was her hair. For Tonks, it was her Patronus. For Ron, it was his courage. Yes, he became quite fearless.

Perhaps I was the one who changed the most. My eyes became black. My personality became dark. And my Patronus-

"He left you a calling card." She pointed upward.

I looked up. There it was. The haunting skull with ethereal snakes passing through it. Yet this one was different. The snakes were glaring at me. At me. As if they were alive.

"Strange... I wonder what it means." I looked toward Hermione and she shrugged.

"No idea, Harry. But if I were to guess, I'd say someone wants to kill you." She said it quite placidly.

"Big surprise. Maybe I ought to go up there and tell them hello. They look anxious to have a word." I chuckled but she turned her head in disgust.

"Do what you wish, Harry. Although I've never heard of anyone talking to the Dark Mark before. Try not to look like too much of a fool."

"Maybe because I'm the only one who can speak Parseltongue." With that, I leapt into the air towards the Dark Mark. I did not require a broom. Any experienced wizard was capable of levitating himself.

The wind blew through my wavy hair as I travelled upwards into the sky. The Dark Mark was brighter than any of the stars in the sky. Yet I did not squint my eyes. I did not fear it. I was above such mortal actions.

It came closer and closer to view until I was within arms reach of it. Yet the snakes did not speak in Parseltongue. It was different. I only heard whispers. Whispers.... of Dumbledore.

The images began to flood into my head. The images of the dark duel that would forever scar my forehead. NO. No... I would not remember this. I refused to. I did not want to remember.

IT BURNS! The scar burned again. I could feel his presence!

Not this dark duel. Never again. I never wanted to see memories like this again.

There he was... just like I used to be. Tall, thin, untidy black hair. Wearing those glasses. He stood there fearless with his wand out. Such arrogance. Such arrogance! I did not want to see this. NEVER.

James Potter stood in front of the two story cottage with his head held high. He would back down to no one. He was the world's cleverest wizard. He would not lose!

I would not see this memory. I would not. I REFUSE! But it burned too much. I could not resist screaming. The scar burned too much to resist. I could not stop it...

"This mortal infidel stands in front of my victim. Strike him down, Black."

There stood a man with beautiful, long black hair reaching to his ankles. He carried the elegance of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Yet he was shaking. His good looks were not equal to his courage in any respect.

"But... I cannot betray my broth-"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" From the hooded figure shot a beam of green light and the man called Black instantly fell to his death.

"My apologies, Mr. Potter. I gave this foolish servant of mine a chance to make up for his treachery.... apparently he didn't have it in him."

"You have killed your last victim, Voldemort. The Potter's will not let you do so again."

"Are you going to stop me? Stand aside, mortal, and I will consider letting you live."

"Is that so?"

"I see that you remain rebellious. Very well, Potter. This is the end."

"If this is the end, then so be it! But if fate desires you to live, then I must simply laugh!" James pointed his wand at the Dark Lord with no signs of fear.

The beginning of the end. This was the beginning of the end.

The hooded figure waved his wand and James' body collided into the cottage. The force literally ripped through the wall of the tiny house.

Injured and bleeding, James stood up again, glaring at the Dark Lord with his hazel eyes. Pointing his wand at the Dark Lord again, red light erupted and travelled with lightning speed towards the Dark Lord.

Voldemort simply waved his wand and the red beam of light reversed its direction towards James again. James sharply waved his wand again and the beam was reversed once again towards Voldemort.

The Dark Lord tired of the game and hissed the words, "Avada Kedavra." The massive green beam of light engulfed the red and travelled straight to James.

With quick reflexes, James nimbly dodged the jet of green light as it whizzed by his ear. Yet at the same moment, James' entire body turned rigid. He fell to the ground and could only glare at the one called Voldemort.

The Dark Lord stepped forward into the small cottage. He went straight to James who had so elegantly created an entrance. "Mr. Potter.... Mr. Potter... did you really think you could stop me? However, I must admit, I admire your courage. For that, I will let Lily live."

Voldemort chuckled as James only glared at him with a look of rage. "What's wrong? Can't speak?" He waved his wand over James' body and waited a moment.

"My, my, I allow you to speak and you still say nothing. Such rudeness will not be tolerated!" He grinned and removed his hood. He looked remarkably similar to James. He was tall... his hair jet black and handsome. Yet his face was sinister and old. That was the difference. His eyes were dark. "I think you should learn to RESPECT your master. Crucio!" He waved his wand with a cruel motion towards James' petrified body.

Incensed with pain, James Potter did not scream. He only continued to stare at the Dark Lord with immeasurable hatred. "You are resistant, Mr. Potter. You would have made a wonderful servant. But..." He sighed and pointed his wand for the last time at James Potter. "Avada Kedavra." And everything turned black.

-

I awoke to the quiet conversation between Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. They did not know that I was awake.

"He flew up to the Dark Mark and fell almost immediately after. I'm not entirely sure what happened. I've never heard of anyone going near the Dark Mark." Hermione spoke softly with uncertainty. She was worried. She had no idea... I knew what happened.

"So... is he going to come to America?"

"No. It seems that he hasn't given up on Britain. And he's going to kill Snape."

"That's right. I'm going to kill Snape. And I know where he is now."