The new face of evil - 8 years out

Ginny had been sitting with Sirius waiting for Harry to wake up when they felt like they were hit in the face with a wave of water. Jumping up, they both saw that Harry's eyes were open. He looked around confused and then without doing anything, his glasses flew to his face. Ginny tried to get to him but the shield stopped her. "Can you get rid of this thing?" she exclaimed.

Sirius was already casting the counter charm to drop the shield and as soon as it was down, Ginny was next to Harry with her hand on his head. "How do you feel?" she asked. She saw Harry mouth something but couldn't hear so she lowered her ear to his face. "Kiss me," she heard him whisper and she instantly got a huge smile and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

Just then the Hermione and the doctor came in. "Ginny. Give the man a break," Hermione said walking over to Harry.

Hermione grabbed his hand with tears in her eyes and said, "We were worried about you."

"Is everyone all right? Did they hurt Parvati or Ruth?" Harry asked in a gravely voice.

Ginny spoke up. "Thank goodness no. Parvati said they didn't do anything to them, and kept them together in a room until just before Hermione showed up. They were just scared."

"Are you ok Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Just a scrape. The doctor took care of it right away," Sirius answered.

"So, I'm the only stupid one that got hurt," Harry said trying to smile.

"You saved my life again. I'm bad for your health," Hermione added.

Harry smiled and said in a very soft voice, "No. It's better that your back."

"How do you feel?" Hermione asked.

"Just tired. The doctor here is much better than Madame Pomfrey," he said trying to joke.

The doctor asked him a few questions, made him drink another potion and then said, "Think about it," to Hermione before she left. Ginny looked confused but Harry smiled knowingly.

"I was so worried," Ginny said giving Harry another kiss.

"Everything turned out ok," Harry said. "So Hermione. What do you think of Dr. Antoine?"

"She's an amazing woman. I've read all about her."

"I know. Remember I used to read your magazines when you were off at school," Harry injected.

Harry was trying to listen to Hermione telling Ginny and Sirius about her talk with the doctor and he fell asleep again. When he woke sometime later, he found Ginny sitting next to his bed still holding his hand. He reached over and stroked her hair and she looked up and smiled. "When I asked you to come over tonight, I didn't mean here?"

"It's better than being home alone," she said.

"Come up here, I think there's room," Harry asked.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Let me worry about that, I want you next to me." Harry slid over and onto his side and let Ginny crawl up next to him. It still hurt when he breathed deeply or moved his arms too quick, but he managed to get comfortable curled up behind her. He put his arm over her and kissed the back of her neck. "Um... much better if you ask me."

"I was really scared. There was so much blood on Hermione when she came back," Ginny said softly.

"Are you going to be ok? This was a bad one. I hate Muggle guns. I'd rather get cursed all day than get shot."

"I'll be ok; I just don't like to think of you being hurt. We just got together and I don't want anything to happen to you," she whispered.

"Try not to think about it. I don't want you to worry. I don't want you to have any regrets about being my girlfriend."

"Oh, I don't. Except for just worrying about you now, I've been happier than I ever imagined."

"Good. Do you think Ron will get off my back about dating you now?"

"Maybe. I didn't think he was ever going to let go of Ruth and Parvati when they got back. Ruth keeps saying her daddy saved her and mommy."

"That's sweet," Harry said and started kissing her neck.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Just seeing if it hurt when I did that. I've never messed around in a hospital bed before," Harry said and nipped her ear.

"Don't you dare. You're supposed to rest and if you won't do that with me up here, I'll go back to my chair. I want you home as soon as possible."

"Yes boss," Harry said and laid his head back down.

"Don't you forget it," Ginny replied and they both were quiet until they fell asleep.

They were still asleep the next morning when the lights came on. "I liked it better when your girlfriends didn't come up here," Dr. Antoine said loud enough to wake them up.

Ginny quickly sat up and Harry said, "She's special," sounding half asleep.

"I gathered as much. Let me check your wounds," she said and removed his shirt and the bandages. "It still amazes me how quickly you heal. Even with the phoenix tears, you'll be pretty sore for a while since there was so much tissue damage. Someone was watching over you, that's all I know. The bullets passed through without tearing things up too much."

"So, can I go home?"

"It's too soon Harry," Ginny exclaimed.

"Not necessarily Ginny. If all he's going to do is lie in bed here, he can do that at home. Winky can make sure the bandages are changed. You will stay at home won't you?" Dr. Antoine asked.

"Don't I always do what you tell me?" Harry said with a sly smile.

"Not hardly," the doctor replied. "There are a few more things I want to check, just to make sure everything on the inside is ok. You should be out of here after lunch."

"Why don't you go on to work Ginny? I'll go home as soon as she lets me."

"I guess I should. There're things I need to take care of. Is it ok if I come over tonight?"

"It's always ok if you come over. You don't have to ask," Harry said. Ginny leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before leaving.

"Not your usual type," Dr. Antoine stated with a smirk.

"Maybe not my usual type, but definitely my type," Harry replied with a sigh. "What do you think of Hermione?"

"It's like looking at myself a few years ago," the Dr. replied.

Hermione was still at the castle when Harry appeared. "What are you doing here so soon? I thought you would be there for days. Ron and Parvati wanted to come see you but Sirius wouldn't take any of us back."

Harry, feeling a little weaker and sorer than he expected slowly sat down and said, "She's got more important things to do than to deal with me. She's good."

Hermione came and sat down next to him. "I'll never be able to thank you enough for saving me twice in the past few months." Harry started to say something but Hermione interrupted. "Let me finish. When you saved us at Stonham, I was amazed and grateful but it didn't really hit me how serious it was. This time is different, I saw how bad you were hurt. I can't stand for you to be in so much pain because of me."

"It's not because of you," Harry quickly said.

"Ok, not because of me but you got shot to keep me from getting hurt. Why?"

Harry thought for a minute. "For a long time, you were the most important person in the world to me. You were my best friend ever and if I'm being honest, I think I really loved you as more than a friend since our seventh year. I would have done anything for you," he said hesitating.

"But..." Hermione started to say something.

"Let me finish. Things may never be like they were, but you're still a great friend and I wouldn't want to see you get hurt. You put yourself in danger to help Parvati and Ruth, my goddaughter. I would never let anything happen to you."

Hermione gave a small chuckle. "Since we're being totally honest. I think I loved you as more than a friend since sixth year as well but you were with Cho. I kick myself even today for not going to the reception for the Giants because you ended up taking Kristi and then you two started dating. Do you think things would have worked out with us if we had admitted our feelings back then?"

Harry thought and said, "Probably not." Hermione got a look of surprise on her face, this wasn't what she expected. "I mean we would have been great until your graduation from the university. You would have still taken the job in Venice and I would have followed you but I think the job would have still come first in your life and we would have split eventually. At the time, I didn't mind coming second, but couldn't even imagine that now. Family and friends come first to me and that's all I can understand." Hermione looked like she could cry then Harry added, "But, I think for those four years until you graduated, we would have been awesome. At that time, I don't think there would have been a better couple than us. If we could have stayed that age forever, it would have been perfect."

Hermione thought for a few seconds and then said, "I agree we would have been great together. I don't know what would have happened after graduation. Maybe having you around would have changed things. Those four years were the best times of my life."

"Same here. And now, we have to be responsible adults. You were always responsible of course, so you just added adult," Harry joked then became serious. "Do you think you'll take Dr. Antoine up on her offer? You could make a huge difference."

"I don't know."

"It would be a big change for you. You don't have to make it permanent you know. There is something she is working on right now that is extremely important and you would be the best person in the world to help. If you ever wanted to do me a favor, I'd love for you to help her try to finish this project. Then, if you don't like the environment, or just want a change of scenery, you can leave."

"What's this project you think I can help with?"

"A counter potion and spell for that drug formula. Once we have the counter, the original formula won't be so valuable. She's been working on it since a month or two before you left the company and thinks she's close to a solution."

This shocked Hermione. "How could she have been doing that? Without the formula, it would be almost impossible to even try to come up with a counter."

Harry gave a big smile. "She had the formula all that time of course."

"I'd like to ask how you managed that, but I doubt you'd tell me. Is everything you do legal?"

Harry sighed. "Honestly no. We try to look at the bigger picture. If bypassing some laws means that we can really make a difference, we do it. Eventually, we tell the Ministers most of what we've done. I hope that doesn't make you think less of me. We try to do things legally but sometimes we just can't wait."

"I'm not sure I can approve of that, but it seems you do have the best interests of the wizarding world at heart."

"Do you think Dumbledore followed the law all the time? He was harboring a wanted criminal for years. He regularly bypassed the wishes of the Minister of Magic. He did what he thought was right all the time. If certain laws got in the way of that, he chose to ignore those. We try to follow the same model. I can assure you that we try to do what we think is right. Remember, this is not just my opinion of what is right, Sirius and especially Lupin decide these things."

"I guess I can agree with that. It would be interesting to work with Dr. Antoine, she's very smart," Hermione said.

"One thing to keep in mind though. You may see more of Sirius and me in um...uncomfortable situations. You couldn't talk about that to anyone, not even Ginny. Would you be able to keep that part of our life away from our friends?"

"It would be hard, but I'm sure I could." Hermione thought a bit. "You know, I'll do it. I can't keep sitting around here doing nothing. Will you tell her for me?" Hermione asked.

Harry smiled slyly and summoned a Muggle-looking pen. He handed the pen to Hermione. "This is your portkey. Click it open and then closed and you'll go to her area. I hoped you would help us out and asked Sirius to make this a couple weeks ago. I was just trying to find the right way to introduce you to Dr. Antoine."

Hermione shook her head and said, "You just think you're so smart don't you? Think you've got me all figured out."

"Oh no!" Harry said quickly. "I'm constantly surprised by you, I just like to be prepared, that's all."

"I should probably go see her tomorrow now that the formula is out in the open," Hermione said looking sad.

Harry laughed. "Haven't you learned anything about Sirius and me since you've been back? We would never allow that formula to get into their hands. That parchment had a couple items missing AND it burst into flames two minutes after it left your hand."

Hermione looked at her friend in awe again. "How did you get to be so sneaky? You're not the same clueless boy I used to know."

"I'm learning from the masters. Sirius and Remus have taught me a lot the past few years. Not to mention we deal with some not so honest people. And, I'll have you know I am still clueless, I just hide it better."

"Do you think he was behind this as well?" Hermione asked, not needing to say the person's name.

Harry breathed a few times and said, "I'd bet on it, but I doubt we'll prove it. I really need to think about how to deal with him."

"What does Marauders actually do?" she asked.

Harry smiled a bit and said, "Mostly, we design security for companies. You know anti-Apparation wards, invasion detection, and stuff like that. Lupin, Sirius and even Snape are amazingly smart about company and personal security. As weird as it was to start working with Snape, I'd say he's even better at thinking about security than he was as a potions master. You'd be surprised how much money the company makes off of that stuff."

"But that's not all you do," she said raising her eyebrow.

"You know the other part. There are probably five of us that are involved in that part and Sirius is the brains. Snape is also really good with understanding the criminal mind," Harry said with a chuckle. "Lupin is the one who keeps everything on track."

"What about you?" Hermione asked.

"Me? I just do what the others tell me to do," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Hmm. Somehow I don't totally believe that."

Harry gave a small groan and said, "I'm going up to bed for a while. Ginny may come over later."

"I'll send her up if she does." Hermione appraised her friend. "You know, I am happy for you two. You both deserve it."

This made Harry smile broadly. "Thanks Hermione, that really means a lot." Instead of walking, Harry just popped up to his room.

Ginny ended up coming over, but Harry was already asleep, so the girls sat around talking the rest of the evening, and Ginny went home after that.

Harry ended up having nightmares all evening about his friends being hurt. He woke up more angry than he could remember being in a long time. Sirius came to the castle to check on Harry and found him physically looking much better and in the kitchen with Hermione. Harry had been in a very foul mood ever since he got up and Hermione hadn't been able to comfort him much. Finally Harry asked his godfather, "It was him again, wasn't it?"

Hermione knew whom Harry was talking about and heard Sirius answer, "It looks like it."

Harry stood up and started pacing and the other two started feeling the change in him. When Harry turned to pace back toward them, they saw no trace of the friendly person they loved. Pure hate and power were radiating from Harry, who said, "I've got to stop this. No matter what happens to me, I've got to stop him."

Sirius spoke up quickly, "I have some thoughts, but you've got to calm down before we discuss them."

Hermione added, "Harry, please calm down. Don't do anything that would get you into trouble."

"Why don't you go work out some frustrations and we'll discuss the options after that," Sirius firmly stated.

Harry looked quickly between the two of them, and the both felt the turmoil he was feeling. After a few seconds, he said, "That's probably a good idea; I'll see you both later."

Before he could leave, Sirius said, "I'll come down in a minute." Harry quickly disappeared.

"What's he talking about?" Hermione asked, concerned for her friend.

"He's going to the Unspeakables to train for a bit. It allows him to relieve his tensions without actually hurting people." Sirius sighed and said, "He doesn't have any other avenues to take it out on things without causing real damage."

"Take me with you," Hermione demanded. "I've been away for too long, and I've shown I can keep a secret."

Sirius thought for a second, turned to the fire and said, "Sirius Black for Fletch, Department of Mysteries."

After a few seconds, a head appeared in the fire, "Sirius, what can I do for you?"

"Good to see you Fletch. Is Harry there already?" Sirius asked the head.

"Oh yes, he seems really intense," the head replied.

"Can I get clearance for myself and Dr. Granger to come and observe?"

The head hesitated and then said, "I'll give her a one time access, but she can't see anything on the way. Give me two minutes," the head said and vanished.

"Ok, do what I do," Sirius said stepping into the fire saying, "Department of Mysteries." A ghostly voice said, "Identification." Sirius replied, "Sirius Black" and heard "granted." Then Sirius disappeared.

Hermione followed the same steps, worried about the whole thing, but was also granted access and when she arrived; Sirius and another man were there. "Welcome to the Unspeakable department Hermione. This is Fletch."

Hermione extended her hand and a man took it saying, "Good to meet you Dr. Granger, I've heard a great deal about you."

Hermione shook the man's hand and was still appraising the surroundings and said, "I can't say I've ever heard of you before."

Fletch laughed and said, "That's why we like Harry." Fletch looked at Hermione and said, "I'm sorry to do this but we have to do a Confundus charm on you so that you will not be able to identify or recognize anyone you see on the way to the training room. As soon as we arrive, I'll cancel the charm."

Hermione nodded and Fletch quickly cast the charm. The three walked down to a training room and then Fletch removed the charm and Hermione started recognizing people and areas again. She saw Harry through some windows as he was fighting a couple wizards. She noticed he didn't seem to be using much magic, so she asked, "Why isn't he using magic?"

Fletch replied, "Harry doesn't feel like it's much training when he matches them magic for magic, so he tries to not use much unless he really needs it."

The three watched Harry fight the wizards and saw him not block spells, but Apparate out of the way and then use hand-to-hand techniques to subdue them all. After handling a few wizards like this, suddenly a werewolf came charging out of a room, causing Hermione to scream. Harry couldn't hear her but did see the werewolf and instantly changed into a griffin and charged to attack the werewolf. The two animals met in the middle of the room and after many loud growls and squeals, the werewolf was sent flying into the wall with a huge chunk out of its side.

The griffin quickly changed back into Harry as a mountain troll started to attack. Harry dodged a few blows from the club and while he was preparing another dodge, he heard a sound and turned to see another troll swinging a club. He couldn't dodge this blow and was sent flying into the far wall, striking it very hard. Harry fell to the floor in obvious pain while the trolls approached slowly. Harry was on his hands and knees, his hand was glowing white and he was rubbing his hand over his chest. Hermione gasped, "What is he doing?"

Fletch answered, "Probably trying to heal himself, he hit the wall pretty hard."

Sirius was pressed to the glass as was Hermione. They saw one of the trolls raise its club and prepare to strike but Harry didn't move. Hermione screamed, "Stop this! He's going to be killed!" Neither of the men did anything. The troll swung the club and when it was merely centimeters from his head, Harry disappeared, reappearing on the far side of the training area. He quickly started saying a spell and one of the trolls started attacking the other. Once one of them had defeated the other, it turned its attention back on Harry. This time, he held out his hand and a thick beam of white light formed at the end of his hand. When the troll approached, Harry stood tall, and when the club came close, he disappeared, reappearing behind the troll and driving the beam of light straight into the back of the troll causing the creature to fall to the ground.

Harry was still stumbling, not having fully recovered from the blow from the club when another enemy appeared. Harry turned and when he saw the next enemy, he kind of stumbled back before he heard, "What's wrong Potter, can't stand the truth?"

Harry was looking at the form of Draco Malfoy across the room. Harry still didn't say anything and heard, "Do you see her with him when you sleep? He got to her before you had your chance. You didn't win."

The observers saw the change in Harry instantly. He pulled himself up seeming much bigger than he actually was, and they couldn't see any indications that he was hurt or tired. Harry started walking toward the fake Draco. Draco started casting spells, but Harry casually blocked each of them, not taking his eyes of the blonde haired wizard. In the observation room, Fletch said, "Look at his eyes!" The other's noticed Harry's eyes were starting to glow deep red, nothing like the normal green, or even dark green they had seen before. When Harry was almost on top of Draco, the observers saw his hand start to glow blue, then saw Harry drive his hand into Draco's chest. Draco started screaming as Harry's hand went right through his skin until only his wrist was visible. There was no blood or gaping wound, the hand just sunk into the man. Draco started flailing his arms, beating Harry around the head, but Harry didn't flinch at all and kept staring into Draco's eyes, his hand buried into the man's chest. After a few minutes, the observers saw Draco start to turn blue, and within another minute, the enemy was totally blue and rigid. Suddenly Harry yanked his arm out of the still man, pulled back and hit the man in the face with a brutal punch. This punch caused the blue man to shatter into millions of little parts, like an ice sculpture hit with a club. Once the parts contacted the ground, they immediately disappeared.

The observers stood around in silence, trying to realize what had actually happened. Harry flicked his hand and a silvery phoenix came flying out and he instantly disappeared. The phoenix flew straight into Sirius who turned to Fletch and said, "Harry went to the doctor."

Fletch seemed to compose himself and turned to Sirius and said, "You tell him I want to talk to him about that performance. I'm concerned he ended it like that."