Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath

AN:

Last chap. Should i ever actually decide to write a sequel, one could consider this as a prequel, considering the story here is a bit meager to be considered a full story.

Chapter 14 Summer

Harry remained seated in his hospital bed with an unamused expression on his face.

The hospital wing was a dreadful place, and madam Pomfrey did the place justice by how much of a strict rule she ran there. Harry had so far been confined almost an entire day from school in the hospital wing by her orders, despite having felt completely fine after waking up in the morning.

In one of her checkups after the incident, she'd noted vocally that there was an irregularity with his heart. Harry had frozen in fear of Pomfrey finding out what it was, but Pomfrey put his mind at ease when explaining that it wasn't unheard off that people died from the torture curse, and sometimes people would experience problems with their hearts in the time after.

After Pomfrey asked whether it hurt and bothered him, Harry quickly lied and said no. Pomfrey brushed the case off and told him to let her know immediately, should there ever be some sort of uncomfortable pain.

He was tempted to be honest and get help for the issue that had been killing him slowly over the last couple of months, but he couldn't afford anyone taking a closer look or begin to investigate his body. He'd so far been incredibly lucky, but should anyone find out about his hobbies over the last months...

...The warnings in Ludvig's book rang in his head any time he even considered it.

But despite the horrid boredom that was the hospital wing, that was not what had him so unamused. Quite differently, it was the headline of the 'Daily Prophet' in his hands which drew his ire.

'The Tragic Tale of the 'Boy-Who-Won.'

His brow twitched in annoyance and gazed over the picture. It was a picture, seen from the side, moments before he entered the maze of the third trial. One could clearly see Harry standing here, haggard as he was, looking straight towards the crowd in the stands with a soft smile on his face among the other contestants. Looking back at him in just a somber, soft manner, Daphne smiled at him among the rowdy crowd. They were clearly the focus of the picture, casting them both in a romantic, yet tragic light as the 'Daily Prophet' explained, in a bit of a censored version, what had happened that night when Harry was abducted. While the name of the one who had taken Moody's position within the school and tricked the cup remained unknown to the public, his use of polyjuice to take the appearance of the former auror had been revealed.

It was clever, Harry had to give the man that. Risky, but clever.

Too bad for him and his master than Harry had won EVERYTHING in their failure.

Harry had months ago manipulated Rita Skeeter into writing a more partial article in his own favor, but the goal had never been to get more attention to himself. This, however, would undoubtedly lead to a lot of unwanted attention and questions that he honestly had no wishes to regale to anyone.

Harry frowned in worry. Daphne's family was sure to take offence to her affiliations with him, now that their...relationship, had gone public.

Harry smiled thinly.

Perhaps he could make some use of that prize money from the tournament to actually do something to help her. Money buys everything as it were, and while the official coronation of the tournament winner had not been done yet, the money was still his to do with whatever he pleased.

Harry had months ago been investigating possibilities of pulling Daphne out of the nightmare that awaited her outside of school. Strictly speaking, there was little he could do legally.

But money talks and money buys, legally or otherwise. Since Harry was a minor, he did not have access to the entirety of his family vault, apart from the stipend he was contracted to receive with a set limit he'd be allowed to take, but the prize money would be put in his hand.

1000 galleons.

Such money could sway a lot of people.

Just as Harry was thinking about who he'd send a letter with his proposition to, Daphne strode into the Hospital wing with a stride of purpose as she always had.

"Hey you.", Daphne murmured, seating herself at his side with a small smile.

"Hey yourself.", Harry grunted back, folding the newspaper in his lap.

As he moved to put it away, Daphne snatched it from him with a mischievous smirk, obviously having caught on to his annoyance and the source of it.

True to her word, Daphne had shown up early in the morning, waking him from his sleep with a worried frown to make sure he was still alright. It would have been endearing if Harry hadn't wanted to sleep as bad as he did. Even so, his grumbling had immediately put her at ease and they conversed for a short while before she got to class.

Harry had always known Daphne to be sharp, but Harry remembered her yesterday when she sensed he was not himself. Her intuition was frightening, something of which he had to remember at every turn from now on.

Even if she knew he had something to do with Nott's disappearance, Ludvig's warning still scratched at the back of his mind.

"Hoh, i look nice from that angle.", Daphne drawled, before fixing Harry with a saucy, yet overly innocent pouty expression. "'Beautiful damsel, struck by love', am i?"

Harry remembered reading that line himself and grimaced, which upon seeing made Daphne break out into a giggle.

"Well...", Daphne continued, folding the paper with a wistful smile. "...They weren't entirely wrong..." Before Harry could even get the chance to respond, Daphne put the paper on his bedside table and smiled brightly at him. "So, Pomfrey gonna let you outa here anytime soon?"

Harry, grateful for the change in topic, rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"If she gets her way I'm never going to leave i think."

"On the contrary, i don't ever want you to place your feet in here again for the rest of the year.", Pomfrey suddenly barked out from her office, striding through her door towards Harry. "One last checkup and I'l release you to the care of you girlfriend."

"Thank you.", Daphne sung lightly, grinning cheekily at Harry's admonishing stare when he wasn't given the time to respond himself.

Pomfrey checked him swiftly on proficiently, before allowing him to stand from the bed. With the parting advice on returning if he should feel any lingering discomfort, Harry was finally allowed to leave the dreaded hospital wing.

Smiling as Daphne droned on about the classes of the day, Harry couldn't help but let his mind wander.

He had so much he needed doing.

Weeks passed and day by day, summer creeped closer and closer.

The coronation was something of a large event that got all of the schools really excited, but Harry was glad when it ended. Afterwards the schools quickly took their leave back to their countries and the days fell back into the comfortable routines they had been before they had arrived.

Day by day was filled with the same monotony that plagued Harry's patience. He could feel himself dying, little by little as every day passed, but he had to remain patient.

He had to wait for the right moment.

While classes remained obviously one dimensional, Harry never seized his studies within the magics of the undead. His study within the fields of attaining undeath in particular was one he remained increasingly interested in, an interest largely motivated by the fear of death.

The memory of Nott still lingered.

While Harry was sure he could perform such a ritualistic process in attaining undeath, he was still wary of doing such a dangerous ritual on his own after the failed potion. He wanted a specialist, someone who knew what they were doing.

Those who knew about such magic were few around the world, most were extinct or bordering extinction from what Harry had read.

But he knew just who to search for.

Sirius had also been vehement in meeting Harry, worried to death after what had happened during the final parts in the trial, but Harry had managed to convince him to wait and be patient. It would be too dangerous to do anything but lay low considering the uproar both the ministry and the magical population of Britain found itself in after news of Death Eaters abducting the 'Boy-Who-Lived'.

Harry hated that title. It was a name given by the sheep like people, unable to think or do anything for themselves. As if just surviving the night which killed his family was worth being famous for.

Sirius would also be an obstacle in what Harry HAD to do during the summer. He only had a set amount of time and couldn't afford distraction.

As for Voldemort...

Voldemort would learn humility.

Voldemort hung from several spider silk strings, cocooned in Elize's silky embrace within the chamber Salazar's basilisk once slept in. Beneath the cocoon in which imprisoned the former dark lord, Harry sat with a content smile upon an old Victorian chair he'd transfigured himself just for these occasions.

There were no lights within the chambers, but Harry's enhanced eyes saw through the darkness easily enough.

Through the silky cocoon, only Voldemort's mouth was free, set in an angry snarl.

"...Are you going to sit there and gloat all day, boy...?", Voldemort hissed angrily, bringing Harry's smile wide.

"For now.", Harry murmured contently. Voldemort fell silent again and Harry just gazed gleefully at his mortal enemy. He hadn't asked him a single question yet.

His questions could wait.

"...Weren't you going to ask your questions...?", Voldemort eventually wheezed out again, and Harry sighed in response. "...A long time has passed...And you waste your time with silence...Is not my purpose here to answer your curiosities...?"

"Eventually. For now i have more important things to do." Harry grinned upon seeing Voldemort's snarl grow in intensity. It obviously rubbed the dark lord wrong to be brushed off as a second priority. "I will be leaving Hogwarts for summer, in just a couple of days."

Voldemort stiffened in his cocoon, his snarl lessening with confusion.

"...And what about-..."

"You will be taken care of.", Harry interrupted sweetly, closing his eyes as he let his mind reach out to feel the minds of every living creature within the castle. "Elize will take great care of you while i am gone, i am sure."

"...Wha-, your spider...!?", Voldemort scoffed mockingly. "...Seems the stupidity of your mudblood mother addles your brain..."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that.", Harry smiled thinly, a cold hatred settling in his gut as he glared at Voldemort. "Elize will bring you food. Whether you like it or not."

Voldemort seem to grow unease from his words, shuffling once within his cocoon to no avail.

"...Explain..."

"Elize will hunt. And then she will eat.", Harry grinned sinisterly. "You will eat what she has eaten, something of which she will regurgitate up and forcefeed you if necessary."

Silence filled the chambers.

The shocked confusion made way for a more hateful snarl on Voldemort's lips, the worst one yet that Harry had so far seen.

It filled him with elation.

"...I will kill everyone you hold dear, boy...! I will torture and murder anything you touch..."

"I am sure you will.", Harry scoffed, standing up and with one last gleeful glare at Voldemort, turned to leave the chamber. "We will talk again after the summer. We will have a lot to talk about."

"...I swear it boy, every joy you have ever had will be nothing but ashes...!"

"Have a good summer, Tom."

"...Are you listening to me? I SWEAR...!"

"So tomorrow is the day, huh...?", Daphne asked rhetorically, looking into the plate of her food with a despondent stare.

They sat alone at the edge of the Gryffindor table next to each other. It was late during the dinner, and the house points had already been read and the House Cup award to the proper house. Harry didn't care.

When the dinner and feasting began to die down, Daphne had finally come to join him at the table and now, an hour later, most had gone to prepare for bed.

It was nearly curfew. Today would be the last day he'd see her.

Seeing the dread on his friend's face, Harry reached over and grasped her hand in his, tightening his hold in comfort. Daphne smiled in response, giving him a thankful smile with watery eyes.

Nobody were anywhere close, the last few students present leaving slowly in scattered groups.

Neither Daphne nor Harry wished to leave the other.

Daphne knew that when she finally returned home to her family, a bleak future awaited her at the hands of unwilling matrimony.

Harry didn't envy her or how she felt.

Hearing her sniffle, Harry put an arm around her shoulder to pull her close. His heart went out for the girl, but there was little he could do.

"...I-I wish...I wish...", Daphne sobbed into his chest, her arms creeping around him to hold Harry tightly.

"...I know love.", Harry murmured softly with a frown as he held the girl close. "I wish things could be different."

"...Guess it would be i-improper of me to invite you to my wedding, huh...?"

Despite her sobbed words, Harry gave a somber snort which Daphne herself began to giggle at. The giggle broke back down into another fit of sobs.

Tightening his hold around her, Harry pressed his face down into the top of her head with an anguished frown.

He hated the thought that tonight might be the last time he would see her. He did his best to burn everything about her into his memory so he would never forget. How she looked, how she smelled, how she smiled and how she laughed. He wanted to remember it all. He wanted to remember the happy hours he had with her and even the sad ones.

He didn't want to ever forget.

"...Thank you, Harry...", Daphne whispered into his neck. "Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you, for all that you have done for me."

Harry took a deep breath, trying to control his welling emotions.

"...I'd do anything for you Daphne..."

It was the most honest thing Harry had ever known himself to have said.

"...Could...Could you maybe...", Daphne trailed off and Harry could hear the apprehension in her voice.

"...Anything...", Harry responded, pressing his lips into the top of her head.

"...Will you see me off, at the train station when we arrive in 'King's Cross'...?"

A pained flash went over Harry's expression before disappearing as quickly as it had come. Smiling sadly, Harry nodded.

"...Yeah..."

He'd do anything for her. Even lie to her.

Wrapped in his invisibility cloak, Harry walked swiftly through the castle grounds.

Everything he couldn't bring with him had been put in his chambers. Vernon and Petunia had been sent a letter explaining he would be gone throughout the summer. Hopefully, Dumbledore or Sirius wouldn't catch wind of it.

It would complicate things should they discover him gone.

Tonight was the last night before everyone went back to their homes. Now, he had until the school would start again to finish his work.

He couldn't fail.

Harry had muffled his feet, making him completely silent as he sneaked through the empty corridors of the school. The backpack he carried was heavy, holding provisions and notes that were essential to his trip.

He didn't dare bring Ludvig's book with him, which was why he'd written large amounts of notes, should he need the guidance. But Ludvig's book was too valuable to bring with him on such a Journey.

Harry eventually reached the gate and he wasted to time before making a beeline towards the Forbidden Forest.

Harry smiled and shook his head in amusement. A place that had once wrought fear in his heart now strangely comforted Harry.

If one knew where to step, it was not so dangerous at all. His dominating power made it all the more easier to remain undetected by both folk and creatures alike.

Unfortunately, because of Hagrid's job as the forest keeper, Harry had a long way to move to his destination. He had to go all the way to the base of the mountain, through the deepest parts of the forest where even Hagrid did not venture. The secrecy was a necessity.

Hours passed as Harry strode through the darkness, not daring to remove the cloak under any circumstances. The sun eventually began to rise, when Harry was finally at his destination.

Walking softly through the forest, Harry smiled in relief when he finally came upon a wide, burnt patch of forest. Bones of various animals littered the area but the scenery didn't frighten Harry one bit.

His mind easily picked up on a familiar presence, and Harry quickly removed and packed his cloak as he approached the presence at the base of the mountain.

Another minute of walking, and Harry finally came upon her.

The Hungarian Horntail.

She laid resting upon a big, flat stone at the base of the mountain, a pile of bones from various hunts littering the area. Harry hadn't made many trips throughout the year to visit her due to the length, but it proved unnecessary as she was able to take care of herself.

Sensing her master's prescence, the dragon opened its eyes and bristled its scales as it stretched, before waiting patiently and silently, as all creatures under Harry's dominion did.

Harry had to spend many hours learning charms to mask her presence just for this occasion, which proved difficult due to the magically resistant nature of dragons, but it wasn't impossible. Now, he just hoped it would hold.

Harry had decided to forego his wand altogether, seeing as the trace on his wand would no longer be hidden by the wards of Hogwarts. He was proficient enough without one and hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him too terribly.

Harry shook his head. It was too late to have second thoughts.

Reaching into his enchanted backpack which held more room than what it looked like, Harry pulled out a Hippogryph harness that he had stolen from Hagrid. He had customised it to fit the Horntail, further enchanting it to make the long trip a bit more comfortable.

Harry had never ridden a dragon before, but he didnt expect it to be pleasant considering how long he would be flying for.

Gazing up at the sky, Harry frowned. It was time.

As he put one foot in the footstrap of the dragon's rider harness, Harry hesitated.

Daphne would be waking up any moment know, hoping for him to be there for her. Supporting her as she took her steps towards something which she had once considered taking her own life in order to escape.

Harry shook his head with a smile, before stepping up fully on the Horntail's back.

Harry had done all that he could. Should he die on this trip, Harry could at least die with the comfort of knowing that at the very least.

"...Come on, girl.", Harry muttered and took a deep breath.

"To the Vampire Cove in Transylvania."

Daphne frowned, tapping her foot with impatience as people milled around her at the platform.

In just a few minutes, the train would leave Hogsmeade and take them back to London.

Daphne had made peace with her future. She was ready, no matter how much she wanted things to be different. She wouldnt torture herself or Harry any longer after the summer, but for now, she wanted him close.

Maybe it was a silly, childish love as she so often told herself, but it was something that had brought her giddy happiness ever since the first moment. Which was more than her family had ever given her.

She wanted at least a few, last hours with Harry before they parted. The trainride was supposed to be her opportunity to clear the air and say the things that needed to be said between them properly.

People were already filling the train, and he was nowhere to be seen.

Daphne had been worried when she didn't see him at breakfast, but told herself it was surely him being caught up in his study again, cramming up some last knowledge of Merlin knows what before summer. But now, as he still didn't show, Daphne was beginning to grow worried.

The cry of an owl suddenly called out from above.

Curios, Daphne looked up but had to lift an arm to shield the sun from her eyes.

A white owl, feathers the color of snow, flew towards her from the morning sky. Daphne widened her eyes in surprise as she noticed the owl being Harry's own.

She put out her arm for Hedwig to land on, frowning as she wondered what in the world Harry was up too.

As Hedwig landed elegantly, Daphne immediately noted a letter in her beak.

"Hey there girl.", Daphne murmured with a smile, having early on gotten a soft spot for Harry's own. "Is that for me?"

With an endearing hoot, Hedwig released the letter as Daphne grasped it, flying off without further issue.

The envelope was unmarked and unnamed, furthering Daphne's suspicions with narrowed eyes.

Daphne opened the envelope and took out the letter which she began to read with a wary gaze.

'To whomever this regards.

Someone has paid a substantial amount of money on your behalf to ensure your magical status within magical Britain is emancipated regardless of your age, which by law, places you currently as a minor. Should you complete this contract your benefactor has invested in, any arrangements either family or magical guardians have made in your name will be null and void.

To complete the contract it is asked of you to tell no one of the content of this letter and make sure you are not followed. Discretion is of utmost importance due to the legality of this contract. You will go to the bank of Gringotts and ask to speak with 'Goldbrother Ghpook'.

It is adviced that the receiver of this letter destroy it after sufficient memorizing of vital content.

GG'

Daphne's arms fell limply to her side, the letter clutched tightly in her hand.

Daphne leaned her head back with closed eyes, feeling the morning sun and the wind caressing her face as if it was the first time.

Her tears flowed freely as she drew a shuddering breath.

She had never felt happier.

"...You...You idiot..."