Hitokiri Potter

Chapter 1: First Blood

The pain was incredible. Searing, tearing, melting....

"MAKE IT STOP!!!" Harry screamed, clutching his scar. Pain so great Harry would die to make it stop....

"Harry!"

The boy shot up from his bed so fast that he fell forward and hit his head on the wooden floor.

"Harry!" said the voice again.

He still couldn't see due to the after-effects of the pain, but the pain itself had stopped. He felt himself being shaken. His vision cleared. Hermione's face appeared.

"Are you all right?" she asked. Harry looked around. He was surrounded by the inhabitants of the Burrow. It occurred to Harry to say: "I'm fine", but he knew he was far from fine.

The entire Weasley family and Hermione were on their hands and knees, eyeing him with great concern.

"Another nightmare?" asked Ron, who had his arms around the sobbing Hermione.

"Yeah..." answered Harry driftily. "What happened?"

"Well the usual, but this time it was much worse. It looked like you were going to die on us," said Charlie.

"What time is it?" asked Harry. The pain's after-effects were almost completely gone now.

"4:00 am, though you started screaming about 3:45."

The 'Boy Who Lived' couldn't figure out what had happened, or what was going to happen. He had witnessed no scene with Voldemort, just pain.

"Go back to sleep, everyone," Harry said, weakly. Mrs. Weasley brushed her tears away and nodded. As Hermione and Ginny, the last ones to leave, returned to their room, Harry and Ron fell into an uneasy sleep, Ron in his bed, Harry on the floor beside him.

Voldemort had won many battles. The Ministry of Magic was all but eradicated. Throughout his 6^th year, Harry felt very frustrated at not being able to do anything while he watched the Daily Prophet report attack after attack. There was Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix with their supporters to stop the attacks, but Harry felt he, as the primary target of Voldemort, should take part in the doings of the Order. But as in the summer of his 5^th year, Dumbledore wouldn't have it.

"At the proper time Harry, you will be ready," the Headmaster had said after Harry burst into his office one day in his 6^th year, demanding that he be let into the Order. Dumbledore did not specify when the proper time would be.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Harry dreamt dreams he couldn't remember when he awoke. He had been at the Burrow since his birthday, when he'd turned seventeen and was finally able to use magic outside of school. Hermione had arrived beforehand. She was sleeping in Ginny's room and Harry was sleeping in Ron's.

Harry went downstairs for breakfast, only picking at his toast and sausages.

"Don't let that dream get to you, Harry," said Mr. Weasley reassuringly. Harry got up.

"I'll just go for a walk, okay?" he said.

"Go ahead dear. Just make sure you come in before the storm comes, it looks like it'll rain today," replied Mrs. Weasley, fussing over Ron, who'd just come downstairs.

Harry got his wand from Ron's room, thinking he might de-gnome the garden. It was much easier if he stunned the gnomes before he tossed them over the fence.

Harry began his usual routine, striding around the garden, watching the gnomes munch on the vegetables. Harry tried to reach for his wand, but he just didn't have the energy.

As he strode past the hedge separating the house from the forest behind it, Harry heard a rustle.

"Reducto," said a voice quietly within the hedge.

Only Harry's quick Seeker reflexes saved him from decapitation.

"Protego!" he said, pulling out his wand and casting the shield charm. It worked; the Reductor Curse bounced off, hitting another part of the hedge.

An attack! he thought, sprinting toward the Weasley's house, triple-strengthening the shield as he ran.

"Impedimenta!" he shouted, jumping and spinning to aim his wand at the Death Eater pursuing him. The charm hit Harry's pursuer, but did nothing. Harry saw the Death Eater was Bellatrix Lestrange. She produced a jar from her pocket and opened it. Out sprang an Acromantula, as big as those from Aragog's hollow. It bared its fangs and leapt at Harry.

The jar must have been charmed, Harry thought as the spider leapt at him. He rolled out of the way.

"Stupefy Tria!" he shouted, feeling the triple-spell take its toll on his energy. But it worked. The spell hit the giant spider in one of its eight eyes, and it tumbled over, completely stunned. Surprised at his success, Harry only just had time to cast another double shield charm before Bellatrix's searing curse hit him. The purple flame crackled against the shield, and died.

"Inflammare Duo!" shouted Bellatrix. The flames from the double-spell were extinguished against Harry's shield.

"Stupefy!" cried Harry. The spell whizzed over the Death Eater's head. She came up again, readying another curse.

In that moment, all of the pain and suffering caused by Bellatrix killing Sirius Black came flooding back to him.

"REDUCTO TRIA!" Harry screamed in rage. The triple-spell hit Bellatrix Lestrange full in the stomach.

As the boy stood there, it began to rain. Bellatrix's body had exploded, showering Harry with blood. The water dripped onto him, washing the blood into his robes. The grass on the lawn of the Burrow stained red.

"Harry!" The Weasleys and Hermione were running toward him. Harry just stood there, rooted to the spot.

"What happened?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"Bellatrix Lestrange attacked me, and I killed her," Harry answered shakily. His wand was dripping of Bellatrix's blood. Blood seemed to be everywhere, the whole world becoming red....

Harry fell. Ron and Hermione only just caught him before he landed in the blood-soaked mud. He'd passed out.

The two friends carried Harry into the Burrow, with the rest of the Weasleys trailing behind. The remnants of Bellatrix stayed where they were. Harry Potter had killed.

Harry was drifting in and out of consciousness. He seemed to be watching Bellatrix's death over and over again, casting the triple-powered Reductor Curse... it hitting her... the force of it ripping her body apart... the blood, coming like rain from her....

Sirius' face hovered as the blood came down. He was not smiling as he usually did when he saw his godson. His face had a solemn expression on it, as if saddened at something that was to come.

"Sirius?" Harry whispered, trying to reach for his godfather. Sirius' face disappeared, leaving Harry grasping at Bellatrix's corpse. Then Bellatrix herself appeared, laughing.

"Potter!" she said amidst her shrieks of mirth. "I've now done more harm to you dead than I ever could have alive! How will you go on killing if you fall apart every time you take life? How will you be Dumbledore's hitokiri?"

"What?" retorted Harry.

"His personal killer, dear boy. You will kill again, that is certain. Do you not remember the prophecy?"

"How do you know what the prophecy says?"

"The dead know many things, boy. I plan to see you soon." Bellatrix grinned.

And then Harry woke up.

He was lying on the couch in the Weasley family's living room. Ginny and Hermione were asleep slumped in their chairs.

"Harry," said Ron, who'd come out of a half-sleep when Harry awoke. "What happened?"

After collecting himself, Harry began to tell Ron the story of the ambush, and of his dream afterwards.

"Ron," Harry asked after he had finished his story. "What happened while I was unconscious?"

"Well, you fainted, and we carried you back up to the house. You've been out for over 15 hours; it's 2:00 am right now. That's about it, really," said Ron, drifting off at the end.

Ron bent over Ginny, gently nudging her.

"Oh. Harry!" she exclaimed, shaking her drowsiness off and throwing her arms around him. "We've been so worried! Mum will throw a fit if she finds out she was asleep when you woke up." Harry looked around, and there was Mrs. Weasley, asleep in a chair opposite Hermione.

Hermione woke suddenly, jerking out of the chair in which she had been sleeping.

"Harry!" She embraced him as Ginny had, and then looked around. "I'm sorry I wasn't awake when you woke up," she muttered.

"That's all right," Harry replied kindly.

Ginny was now shaking her mother. The woman opened her eyes.

She crossed to where Harry was sitting, and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Why would they attack us?" she asked weakly, even though everyone knew the answer to her question.

"To kill me," Harry replied matter-of-factly. "But I can defend myself, and I will if need be."

Mrs. Weasley hugged him tighter. She didn't want to see Harry consumed by killing, as others had been.

"I'm all right!" Harry reassured the Weasleys for the fifth time. Everyone was fussing over him. "All of you need rest!" he said. Finally, he persuaded them all to go to sleep.

Harry replaced his blood-stained clothes with fresh ones. According to Mr. Weasley, Bellatrix Lestrange's remains had been cleared away, and the blood washed from the lawn. Harry looked out of the window and wondered if he would have to kill again.

Wanting something to get the events of the previous day out of his mind, Harry resolved to do his summer homework. He snuck into Ron's room, where his red-haired friend was sleeping. Harry levitated his trunk downstairs to the living room.

Several hours later, Harry was twirling his quill. The farthest he had gotten on his homework was taking out parchment to write an essay for Professor Binns. He just couldn't concentrate. The killing of Bellatrix plagued him. Exasperated, he put down his quill and went into the kitchen.

It was 5:00 am according to the regular clock beside the magical family one. Harry gathered some eggs and sausages. He also took out two frying pans. Once he'd put the eggs and sausages in separate pans, and the pans on the stove, he took out his wand.

"Incendio," he said to the stove. The effects were immediate; emerald-green flames leapt up, licking the bottoms of the pans.

Harry sat down at the table as he waited for his meal to cook, thinking again of Bellatrix.

Why did Voldemort send her? he thought. Voldemort knows what the Prophecy says: Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. Why was Voldemort pointlessly wasting his forces on a boy who could not be killed by anyone but the Dark Lord himself? Harry suddenly realized that his dream the night before had foretold Bellatrix's ambush.

Harry smelled his breakfast burning.

"Damn!" he exclaimed, leaping up and extinguishing the magical flames with his wand. Harry peered inside the pans. The eggs were black and his sausage, a hard, dry lump. Quickly, Harry vanished his ruined meal.

"Scourgify," said Harry to the pans. Soap bubbles appeared on the pans, and tried to scrub the burns off of them. After a few seconds with out success, the soap bubbles seemed to sigh in exasperation, and disappeared.

This is ridiculous! thought Harry.

"Scourgify Tria!" he said, forcefully, not wanting to wake the Weasleys. This time, the soap bubbles appeared with a scrub brush with very thick bristles. The brush proceeded to scrub the bubbles into the pans, pushing very hard. To Harry, it looked like this spell would get the job done.

Then Bellatrix returned to memory, laughing. Harry tried to focus on other things, but couldn't.

Exasperated for the second time that morning, Harry decided to go flying on his Firebolt. Flying, the remedy to almost any worry, thought Harry as he walked into the living room to get the broomstick from his trunk.

Harry walked out of the door and immediately jumped onto his broom. In that instant of kicking off, all of his conscious problems were swept away, left back on the distant ground.

The sun was just peeking up from behind the horizon. The sky had turned a light shade of violet, and in the east, dark yellow. The clouds from the storm the previous day were retreating to the south. Nature promised a clear day.

Harry sailed up and up as the sun rose higher, flooding the land with its golden light. He then leaned forward and rocketed down the length of the Weasley's lawn, heading toward a tree, then pulling up at the last minute, going straight up, then dropping into a dive, pulling up so he skimmed the grass of the lawn. It felt so good to fly again. As happened every time he soared on his broomstick, Harry came to the conclusion that he was born to fly.

Harry looped around a pine tree and shot upwards, so high as to soar above the few remaining clouds. He laughed with joy as he looked at the sunrise. This was truly amazing. Harry relaxed and hovered to enjoy the sight.

"Hello Potter," said a voice in his ear.

Harry whipped out his wand and pointed it in the direction of the voice. Antonin Dolohov was hovering right next to Harry on a Nimbus 2001.

"Protego Duo!" Harry shouted as Dolohov sent a searing curse at Harry. The shield held as the curse died. Harry zoomed away, looking around for other Death Eaters. There were four others that Harry didn't recognize. He assumed they were new supporters of Voldemort. Harry let down his shield as he executed his next move.

"Flipendo!" Harry cried, aiming at the Death Eater closest to him, on his right. The spell hit the Death Eater, knocking him off his broom. He plunged, screaming, to earth.

"Petrifictus Totalus!" shouted another Death Eater, from behind. Harry dived down to avoid the hex. He shot back up, clothes-lining the Death Eater in mid-air, sending him to join his companion on the ground.

Dolohov, above Harry, made a slashing movement with his wand.

"Protego!" Harry yelled. A streak of flame hit the shield, shattering it, but having no effect on Harry.

"Diffindo Duo!" Harry cried, aiming at another Death Eater's broomstick. The broom split down the center, rendering it useless. The Death Eater plunged to earth, screaming like his companions. The other Death Eater on Harry's left didn't look up fast enough. Harry's Petrifictus Totalus hex hit him full on. He fell, as stiff as his broomstick, to the ground.

"You are a very effective killer, Potter," sneered Dolohov who soared to face Harry. His comment cost him his life. Fueled with adrenaline he could only describe later as bloodlust, Harry blasted Dolohov off his broom with a triple-powered Flipendo spell.

As the Death Eater plummeted to the ground, Harry exhaled deeply. The slaying of these Death Eaters had not consumed him. He felt no guilt or regret with his acts.

Harry dived down to the ground. The Death Eaters' bodies were mangled and bloody from the fall. Harry heard a scream from the Burrow. He looked up and saw Mrs. Weasley, who looked like she'd just woken up, looking out of her window at the five corpses and Harry.

A pleasant sight to wake up to, Harry thought sarcastically. At least his robes weren't bloody this time.

Harry carried his broomstick inside and up to Ron's room, charming his trunk to come up with him. Ron just stared, open-mouthed at Harry as he put the Firebolt away in his trunk.

"I was attacked in mid-air by Dolohov and four others and they're dead for it," Harry said. Ron closed his mouth but didn't stop staring.

Harry realized then that he was tired. He was powerful, but he hadn't developed the magical stamina to not be tired after a duel. He flopped back onto the pile of blankets that made a makeshift bed on the floor. He pulled the top blanket over himself, and fell asleep.

Ron, not sure how to react to this, strode out of his room, closed the door, and went to tell the others what had happened.

Harry was in a vast cave. Death Eaters were crowded around him.

"You're next, Malfoy," said Harry.

"Nooooo. Please Master," begged Lucius Malfoy. He was at Harry's feet. "I beg you. I would be put to better use than this."

"So you are saying that you are afraid of the Potter boy," laughed Harry.

"He has killed Lestrange and Dolohov without being damaged at all. He must be more powerful than we all realize."

"Oh really? And you would defy me for that reason? You must be disciplined, Malfoy."

Harry raised his yew wand.

"CRUCIO!" he cried in a high-pitched screech.

"NOOOOOO!" moaned Malfoy, clutching himself, screaming. Harry laughed, chilling the air and the Death Eaters with his laugh mingled with Malfoy's moans.

Harry woke with a start. His scar was throbbing, though much less painfully than usual.

A simple Cruciatus Curse must not be much emotion for Voldemort, Harry thought.

Harry got up and stretched. He shook his head to get rid of the pain of his scar. After changing into some fresh clothes, he started down the stairs, hoping to get something to eat.

"Harry," said Ron, as he came up the stairs to confront Harry. "I need to know what's going on."

Harry would've preferred to ignore his friend and just keep going down the stairs, but he could tell Ron was desperate.

"All right," replied Harry. "Let's go into your room."

The two went back up the stairs and through the door. Harry sat on Ron's bed while Ron sat at his desk. Harry began to recount everything from Dolohov's mid-air attack to waking up from his dream a few minutes ago.

After Harry finished his story, Ron sat in his chair for a little while, processing what Harry had just said.

"Well... it seems that Voldemort is going all-out in trying to kill you," concluded Ron after a while.

"I don't think so. I think he might've learned his lesson after I killed Bellatrix without being harmed at all. But I'm not sure what he's really after."

"Bellatrix talked about you being Dumbledore's hitokiri? And that means, essentially, that you'll become an assassin for Dumbledore? Do you think Dumbledore would really do that to you?"

"I don't know. These are dark times, and we may need all of the fighters we can get. And I am prepared to fight if need be," said Harry definitely.

Ron sat, thinking of how much Harry had been through in just those two experiences of death and killing. From all of the stories of people like Godric Gryffindor, he would think killing people like Death Eaters wouldn't be such a big deal. But it was having a huge effect on Harry.

Harry stood up.

"Lucius Malfoy is coming," he said. "Ron, tell everyone to stay inside. I'll deal with him."

Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Harry glared at him. The force of it seemed to push Ron back in his chair a bit. After that, Ron didn't dare protest.

Harry grabbed his wand and brushed down the stairs. Within thirty seconds he'd stepped outside, his wand held ready.

Harry set up a quick ward around the Burrow, just powerful enough to block one spell before it failed.

"Accio Firebolt!" shouted Harry. His broom flew from his trunk, zooming through the Burrow and out the door into his hand. Harry leapt onto it and shot into the air, scanning the sky and ground for signs of Lucius Malfoy.

After a few minutes of searching, Harry saw a figure Apparate onto the road outside the lawn of the Burrow. Harry dived down to see who it was, casting a double-powered shield charm as he dove.

Harry saw it was indeed Lucius Malfoy. Harry jumped off of his broom as he passed over the unsuspecting Death Eater. He landed on Malfoy, slamming him to the ground.

"Petrifictus Totalus!" Lucius cried, pointing his wand over his shoulder at Harry.

Harry rolled out of the way, getting up and readying for Malfoy's next attack.

Lucius got to his knees, face to the ground.

"Stupefy!" he yelled, snapping his head and body up to a ready position.

"Protego!" Harry answered. His shield shimmered blue as the red light of the stunning spell hit it.

"Avada--" started Malfoy.

"Reducto Duo!" shouted Harry before Lucius could complete the Killing Curse. Malfoy's body exploded, blood spilling from it, but not showering Harry.

Harry flicked his wand, vanishing the little blood that had dripped from Lucius' body.

Harry retrieved his broom and climbed onto it.

"Wingardium Leviosa," he said, levitating Lucius Malfoy's body.

Harry sped away, back the to Burrow with Malfoy's body right behind him.

As he approached the house, Harry realized the others would demand an explanation. Though he didn't really feel like it, he would give them one.

Harry deposited Lucius' corpse at the foot of the side door, and went in. Just as he'd expected, the others were on him in an instant.

"Harry!"

"Please tell us what's going on!"

"Yes, tell us!"

"Who'd you kill this time?"

Harry sank down onto the couch.

"All right. I'll tell you everything."

Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Charlie, and Bill all tensed for Harry Potter's next words.