Harry Potter and the Dungeon Heart

DISCLAIMER

Harry Potter © Copyright JK Rowling
Dungeon Keeper © Copyright Electronic Arts UK

AUTHOR'S NOTES

This story is set during the events shortly after the first book, and effectively rewrites the story from there.

Due to FFn's rather dire way of dealing with paragraphs, I have had to use a different way to split scenes to normal.

Admittedly, This is also my first foray into this genre, and I wish to pardon the speed that some sequences seem to pass by in.

"For many centuries, Powerful wizards dealt with their problems using underground dungeons, seizing power from the foolish lords of the lands.

Unfortunately, in their infinite wisdom, they got xenophobic of normal humans, and ended up sealing those dungeons, allowing huge and expansive dungeons to go unused for years, waiting for the master of the aboveground location of the dungeon to go down and summon creatures back to their side…

I’m still waiting you know!" - Horny, the Horned Reaper

“Severus, I need to discuss something with you…” The message, delivered by a house elf, read.

As he approached Dumbledore’s office, he noticed, rather than the usual gargoyle, a familiar, imposing figure blocked his path.

“PASSWORD?” Hornicus D. Reaper snarled, scowling at him.

“Voldemort.” He said, smoothly, not even sweating.

“YOU MAY PASS.” The monstrous beast rumbled, “TELL THE KEEPER THAT I DO NOT LIKE DOING THIS. TOO MANY OF THE WARLOCKS AROUND HERE ACTUALLY GET THE PASSWORD RIGHT... AND THAT MEANS NO-ONE GETS KILLED.”

“I’ll let Dumbledore know.” He lied, knowing full well that Dumbledore barely even listened to his dungeon’s forces, never mind Hornicus, preferring to let Severus work on building up the vast network of traps and other chambers that made Hogwarts so impregnable…

While Dumbledore and Snape were discussing matters pertaining to Dumbledore’s dark secret, along with a group of people that, for now, will remain nameless and unknown, Harry James Potter was attempting to get a figure just as imposing and threatening as Hornicus, and just as fond of causing suffering to even his own flesh and blood, to give him a mile, never mind an inch, about his school supplies

“I have been hearing rather ominous creaking sounds from the cupboard…” Harry said, “Is the cupboard OK for such a heavy trunk?”

“It’s fine. You can’t take your things out of there until after the summer.” Uncle Vernon said gleefully, suspecting that a particularly bad case of damp, during that winter, had got to the cupboard’s floor.

This was actually painfully accurate, the damp having left the floorboards almost completely rotten… not that he really cared. Already, the floorboards had taken rather a lot of abuse over the years, since instead of normal things like suitcases and suchlike the cupboard had been housing a young child for years, causes it's own wear and tear on flooring that is half forgotten suitcases would never cause…

“Can you just look into the creaking?” Harry asked, “Or even let my owl out?”

“Tell you what…” His uncle said, sighing, before unlocking the door and releasing the owl, which flew off, “Now, you’ve got till the bloody owl gets back. Check what the hell you like, but no opening the trunk, and none of the M-word.”

Harry looked at him suspiciously, but climbed into the cupboard, hearing the door lock. The creaking sound got even more ominous, the floor around the trunk beginning to sag.

“Uncle Vernon… I think the floor…” Harry began, then there was a loud cracking, and he was pitched forward as damp and years of neglect finally got to the old boards… or was it the imp who took a large chunk out of the foundations below them?

He didn’t really have time to notice the fact he was falling many miles, or the gothic architecture of the strange construct he was falling towards, or the strange creature that stopped his trunk smashing on the stone flooring nearby…

His last thought, instead of thinking about all of those things, was “I’m going to get blamed for this…” before he died a rather painless death.

Now, In another timeline, Harry James Potter’s first death was on a battlefield, fighting against a supposedly dark wizard. I do know dark wizards, and this Voldemort guy sounds more like a mercenary for magical folk. A real dark wizard, well, Someone like Dumbledore, manipulating everyone to do his bidding.

Anyway, In this timeline, He had a much more glorious death, as he fell a few hundred feet into the newly minted Heart of a Dungeon which was meant to belong to a wizard who had passed away 2 days ago, due to a heart attack.

Notably, the imp who accidentally uncovered the flooring of every house on Privet Drive while digging rather too enthusiastically was ordered to replace all the dirt a few months later, or to dress up like a white rodent with green hair in a blue shawl, and go do something suicidal.

Well, We wouldn’t want just anyone falling through that hole… Would we?

Harry woke up to three realizations.

Firstly, he had perfect vision, but he wasn’t wearing his glasses.

Secondly, the king size bed he was lying upon had very nice silk sheets.

Thirdly, despite him taking a swan dive into some kind of hidden chamber miles beneath his house, he was still alive.

“Good morning, sire…” A creature right out of someone’s nightmares said, and he died again. Hornicus looked at the corpse, and called out to a unseen person.

“Sire, Hornicus is sorry about the heart attack, but we do need to deal with your new duties.” A voice said, as he woke up again from dying.

“What the hell was that thing?” Harry asked, trying to work out where the voice was coming from.

“Hornicus D. Reaper… Also known as the Horned Reaper, or Horny by some particularly childish Keepers. You will not be dealing with him often, thankfully, since a contract with him requires that you slay 4 particularly powerful Keepers and tribute their souls to the Dark Gods…” The Voice said, “In the olden days, it involved a mystic talisman, but that particular contract went by the wayside when the kingdoms of old died, and most of them were destroyed or lost...”

“Who are you?” Harry asked.

“Just call me the Mentor.” The Voice said, “I am talking to you through a mental link that was formed when your old body died.”

“Died?!” Harry said, shocked by the revelation that he had, indeed, died a short time ago.

“Yes… Unfortunate that… Had some really interesting hexes and curses on it too…” The Mentor said, “Never thought someone would put that many blocks on a warlock’s magical core…”

“WHAT?!” Harry said, his voice raising a few octaves.

“I don’t know who, but there were many blocks placed on your magic, Keeper.” The Mentor said, not letting him counter the titleas a scroll appeared, showing a large impressive construction that looked familiar in the middle of a vast empty space, “Now to your training... This scroll will allow you to magically work on your dungeon… Just touch the runes with a quill, or other pointed implement suitable for the job…”

Harry touched a rune that was glowing, the word ‘DIG’ appearing next to it, with a nearby quill, noticing a faint grid appear on the paper, the same glowing effect highlighting a area near to the Heart, which he drew around, watching as the area slowly began to be dug out on the map.

“You have the ability to create Lairs and Hatcheries.” The Mentor advised, the runes for each glowing, “I would suggest you create both, Lairs for your minions, and Hatcheries for creating chickens for food.”

“Can there be other options besides chicken?” Harry asked, as he placed a Hatchery in the dug out area.

“At Christmastime, We sometimes have a change… Turkey.” The Mentor said, sardonically, before, in a different tone, “Someone is examining the Hole.”

Hermione had planned to surprise Harry, after Hedwig arrived at her house rather suddenly.

“I’ll kill him… Love to know how he made himself invisible…” Vernon Dursley was saying as she arrived, and he pointed out the fact that the cupboard under the stairs was apparently empty and locked.

“Can I check he's really invisible?" Hermione said, thinking of a few ways, including his cloak, but that wouldn't explain the missing trunk, and apparating was a definite no-no with the Ministry.

“Go right ahead.” He said, watching as she walked in, then there was a quiet ‘eep’, and she vanished.

"WHEN YOU GET BACK, I'LL SLAUGHTER THAT BOY!" She heard yelled towards her as she fell through a really deep hole that wasn't there before... to her knowledge.

Far below, Harry watched, with barely disguised anger, as Hermione did a rather undignified drop into the Dungeon Heart. “Get me the imp who dug the roof of this dungeon!” He snapped.

“Apparently, It thought that a illusion wall spell would work well enough in stopping people stepping into the area that was damaged…” The Mentor said, “Well, I see three different work vocations for her… “

Harry mentally scowled.

“We either let her soul be eaten up by the power of the heart… or we rebirth her as one of your minions, with her mental faculties intact, just the capability for you to work through her on things, and she also will be unable to die again until your Heart is destroyed, whereupon it’s likely you’ll be pushing up daisies yourself.” The Mentor said, “I prefer the latter option.”

“What vocations is she good for?” Harry said, giving up.

“Warlock, Mistress and Dark Angel.” The Mentor said, before, after a long pause, saying, “When you have a Library, I will put her as priority on the Warlock pool.”

Harry had a feeling why the Mentor made that decision for him, and looked into the runes on the construction scroll, building up his dungeon in order to earn the Library…