Disclaimer: I do not recommend following the instructions of any mysterious disembodied voices you happen to come across. Well, with the exception of walk signals and other similar items and even then, use your brain and decide if the suggested course of action is in your best interests to carry out.

Have Mercy

She didn't scream or cry when they pushed her down. Better to wait until they were tired, to endure it for a chance at revenge after they'd satisfied themselves and decided she wasn't a threat. Her heart raged at the injustice as she grit her teeth she promised herself that even if it took a hundred years, she would see every one of them die screaming for what they were about to do.

'Would you like to be strong?' a voice whispered in her ear. 'Strong enough to end this here, strong enough to never have to worry about something like this happening again?' The voice paused a few heartbeats. 'Perhaps a taste of what you could be?'

Blood began pounding in her ears.

'End them,' the voice demanded, 'leave none alive.'

She remembered reaching forward, the look of shock on the leader's face when she tore out his throat with a clawed hand and then nothing.

"Wh-what happened?" she murmured, the alley was littered with broken piles of meat and splintered bone.

'I awakened a bit too much," the voice chuckled. 'I'll have to remember to give you less next time we do this.' A low chuckle rang in her ears. 'Do you always want to feel this way? To feel powerful, to be a wolf among sheep?'

She nearly collapsed when all of her strength drained away.

'Or do you want to be one of the cattle, food for the predators? To be weak, helpless, a plaything for men like the ones you just killed?'

"I want to be strong," she said, voice even.

'Even without knowing the price first?'

"Would it be more than what they were going to take from me?"

'That is not something I can answer.'

"What is it then," she demanded, struggling to stand.

'Bodyguard, friend, teacher, and eventual lover.'

"What?"

'Thirteen years old and a runaway because you didn't want to give your new step father what he thought was his. Thirteen and dumb enough to think the streets were safer than your home. You learned today that the only choice you have is who goes first and perhaps last if you take my offer. Your step father, trash like the ones you encountered today, or my charge.'

"You want me to be a whore?!" she spat.

'I want you to teach him everything. Though that is a lesson can safely be put off for a good few years.'

"What are you talking about?"

His head rested against the wall and he could feel his knees pressed against his chest as he tried desperately to fit his body into a space that had become too small for it. Pain. Bruises he didn't know he had began to ache, his stomach adding it's own note to the chorus of agony. Cold. The blanket he desperately clung to did little to ward off the chill. Despair. No one cared, no one ever would.

She bent and messily emptied the contents of her stomach onto what remained of the gang's number two.

"What was that?" she demanded.

'My charge. Your potential everything. As I am, I can do nothing to help him. I need to find another to act in my place. One like you.'

"Like me?" the girl echoed.

'I can see it in your soul. What you should have been, what you could be.'

"You want me to take care of him?"

'I want you to be his everything.'

"What are you?"

'A being bound to guide and protect him. Your answer. Do you wish to strong?'

She bit her lip and took a leap. "Yes." And the strength returned.

'The leader has two thousand dollars in his pocket and a gold chain around his neck, take them,' the voice ordered.

"What about the others?" she asked as she complied with the instructions.

'Another four thousand and a few more chains, but we will not be needing it.'

"Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it," she shot back.

'Take their rings then as well,' the voice stated, conceding her point.

'Turn left and leave the alley, turn right and walk one thousand paces and then turn three times.'

Pausing only to wipe the blood off her fingers, she hastened to comply with the voice's instructions.

"Where are we going?"

'To join you to my charge,' the voice replied. 'To butcher the animals holding him captive, to the chance of a future filled with greatness.'

"I mean where are we physically going."

'Surrey.'

"Where's that?"

'Far from here, have patience and I guide you to your means of transportation.'

"Alright." She spent the next few moments in silence, contemplating the deal she'd made and wondering if it had been a mistake to make it.

'Do you see it?' the voice asked, ignoring her question. 'The subway entrance?'

"What about it?"

'Go in, don't worry about the gates or the locks. Just walk through them.'

"What?"

'You and your sisters count as magical creatures, they won't stop you.'

"I don't have any sisters," the girl muttered as she hastened to comply with the voice's instructions. Walking through the chains felt odd, like walking through a thick mess of spiderwebs, but she got through and walked down the stairs to another world. A world long since past.

There were people, of course, dozens of them dressed in styles not fashionable since rumrunners ruled the underground all walking down brick streets lit by gas lamps.

"Where the hell did you take me?"

'The magical world. Save your questions till we've united you with my charge,' the voice said sharply. 'Try to look confident, don't look around. We can not afford to draw attention or the delays it would bring.'

"Alright," she agreed, plastering a look of indifferent boredom on her face. "Now what?"

"There is a money exchange counter on your left. Ask for two eagles and the rest in limey. Half, mug the rest Galleons. Then give them the cash you took from the gang. They won't care about the blood.'

She managed not to flinch when she caught her first glimpse of the thing on the other side of the glass. Green and looking as if someone had attempted to craft a man out of melted wax, her mind froze as it tried to label the creature.

"What do you want?" it asked rudely.

"Two eagles, the rest limey. Half, mug and the rest Galleons," she growled.

"Ten percent fee to change," the creature said smugly.

'Five or I'll say your name,' the voice whispered.

"Five or I'll say your name," she repeated.

"Five," the thing spat, pushing a canvass bag through the partition.

'You are fifty galleons short, pretender to the name Eurypylus. You owe me a hundred for your treachery or I say your name, son of fake.'

She dutifully repeated the words whispered in her ear and was rewarded with a look of pure rage and loathing.

The creature pushed another canvas bag through the partition.

'Turn left and walk one hundred steps,' the voice ordered. 'You will come to a black building with a red sign. There will be a blue waterfowl on the sign.'

"Then what?"

'Go in and give them the two eagles, those are the gold coins with eagles on the back in the first compartment of the first sack. Tell them you wish to go to London.'

For this exchange, she was rewarded by a thick meter long piece of manilla rope.

"Now what?"

'Grit your teeth and try not to vomit.'

The world began spinning. Lights flashed in the back of her mind and images danced across her field of vision. It was like watching a slideshow with each slide appearing and disappearing in a split second, or an old film picture with the projector set at too low a speed. It was awful.

'Rise to your feet. Quickly.'

She was on her stomach on a cobblestone road, one of which was pressed into a rather sensitive piece of her anatomy. The air was filled with unfamiliar sounds and smells.

'Quickly,' the voice repeated. 'Before you're noticed.'

"I don't want to ever do that again," she groaned, following the voice's instructions.

'Time was of the essence. I suppose we can hope that things will not be so dire in the future,' the voice stated. 'Step back three steps and lean against the building. Take a few minutes to catch your breath.'

"Now what? Do I go meet him?"

'Now you have another man to kill. We will go see him after that.'

"Does he deserve it?"

'That I can not say. I can say that he would not have participated in what nearly happened to you because you would have a higher value to his customers if you were untouched.'

"That's good enough." She closed her eyes. "What's . . . what's the boy I'm supposed to meet like?"

'Power made flesh, and will be loyal to you above all others if you save him.'

"If he's so powerful, why does he need me to save him?"

'The same reason you needed me. Power is worthless if you can not access it, you have the potential to be almost without peer when it comes to personal violence. He has the same potential when distance is added. I chose you because you compliment each other.'

"Okay. I'm ready."

At the voice's direction, she moved down the well lit street and turned into a much seeder looking area. One in which most of the lights went unlit and where things lurked in the shadows with yellow eyes that followed her every move.

'The second shop on the left. Knock three times and tell the man you have coin if he has information.'

She complied with the instructions and soon found herself inside the shop facing a distinguished looking man of indeterminate age.

"What sort of information were you after?" the man asked. His smile deepened as he gave her a once over. "Depending on what it is, I may be willing to take some or all of my fee in trade."

'Break his arms and legs.'

With a coy smile, she leaned forward and took his right hand in both of hers. Her new strength meant that all she needed to do was twist and it was shattered. Another twist took care of the left and two stomps to the knees finished things.

"Can I shut him up now?" she asked, looking down at the screaming man on the floor.

'Not yet. Go two steps forward to the desk and rap on the third drawer four times with your left hand. Then open it and do not touch anything.'

She complied. Inside was a knife, it's single edge a bit longer than her forearm. It had no guard, the black tear shaped handle seeming to meld into the grey drop point watered steel blade.

'There is a glass on the side table. Break it and use one of the shards to cut his throat.'

"Why not the knife?"

'It would be unfortunate for you to touch it until we've prepared things first and we can not use metal for this.'

'Cover your hands with blood, do not miss a single spot. Now take the knife in your hands and repeat. By the life blood of your former master, I claim you as my own.' The voice paused while she complied.

"Now what?"

'On the shelf behind you are two bracelets made out of a black metal, do not touch them. Next to the shelf is a bust depicting the second Plantagenet king. Lift it and use it to break the shelf, then take the two bracelets off of the floor. Touch nothing else.'

"Can I pick them up now?" she asked, eyeing the two items on the floor.

'You may.'

"What are they?"

'I suppose one could say that they are your birthright. You certainly have more claim to them than the previous owner.'

"Birthright?"

'They are the prototypes of a pair that is currently being held in trust for one of your sisters.'

"I don't have any sisters."

'You have several. You will likely get the chance to meet them in the future.'

"My mother said I was an only child."

"The creature that called itself your mother, is not your mother. I am uncertain of how she acquired you, but I know that her soul did not carry so much of a hint of what you are.'

"So what am I?"

'Female perfection.' The voice paused. 'There are several more items in the building that my prove useful in the future. Follow my instructions to the letter.

She left the building three hours later with a pack that held many times more than it looked as if it should and a new found understanding of the art of detecting and disarming magical traps.

'There are three men following you. Go out the exit on your left and immediately take two steps to one side. The one at the rear is the most dangerous, kill him first.'

"Anything else I should know?"

'All three are werewolves. Use the knife I had you acquire at our last stop.'

Her new blade slid into the trailing man's back and sliced through his kidney on its way to severing the man's spine as if the organs were made out of butter. The others tried to turn, but it was as if they were moving in water. The second was only just becoming aware of the danger when her attempt at a neat throat cutting almost severed the man's neck. The third's eyes widened in shock and he managed a short aborted scream before she cut him off with a thrust through the left eye socket. It was over. they were dead and she alive.

'None of them have anything worth taking. Wipe the blade off and replace it in its sheath.'

"Where to now?" Her eyes darted around the alley, searching for threats.

'Turn left at the alley mouth and walk for sixty two paces until you come across a black sedan. It is unlocked and the keys are in the ignition.'

"Won't it get reported stolen?" No one seemed to be paying her any attention but she couldn't dodge the feeling that she was being watched by a hundred officers of the law, each waiting intently for their superior's command to bring her into custody.

'Three armed robbers are intending to use it as a getaway vehicle for a heist planned later this week. They are unlikely to report it missing if they notice it gone.'

"Are these the sort of people I should be stealing from?"

'No. But it will not be an issue so long as you are careful about being caught.'

"Yeah . . . um . . . can you teach me how to drive real quick?"

'You do not already possess the skill?'

"I grew up in the city, half the people in my old building didn't know how." No reason they should, it was both expensive and unnecessary thanks to the extensive public transportation network.

'Wait.' The voice went silent for several moments. 'Turn seventy five degrees left and walk for two hundred paces. You will find a red delivery truck. Offer the driver a hundred pounds to take you to Little Whinging.'

"What if he says no?"

'Tell him that you are aware that he's overly fond of the bartender of his favorite pub and that his wife is not. Ask him if he would care to have her enlightened.'

The promise of fifty pounds was enough. He hadn't even tried to talk her up from her initial offer. Yet another advantage of being young and adorable. It was dark when they arrived at her destination.

"Let me out here," she said, echoing the voice.

"Don't want your parents to see you pull up with a strange man?" the driver laughed. "Good luck getting in without being noticed."

"Thanks."

'Reach into the bag and think how much you want a sphere of confusion,' the voice commanded. It gave her a moment to comply. "Hold your breath and break it on the floor next to the driver. Now repeat after me. You gave a ride to a man who introduced himself as Lucius Malfoy, he talked kind of strange and kept calling you a muggle. You suspect that he was on drugs and you are quite certain that he was mentally unsound. After dropping him off, he asked you for directions to the Dursley house and was not pleased when you told him you didn't know.

She dutifully repeated the instructions.

'He then reached for what you were afraid might be a weapon so you pushed your foot down and accelerated away, you remember seeing some sort of green flash in the rear view mirror and suspect he was shooting a roman candle at you. Embarrassed, you abandon your idea of reporting the incident to the authorities until after you hear about the gruesome murders that were committed not far from where you dropped of a mentally deranged individual. You are certain he is the culprit.'

She finished speaking and took a deep breath. "What now?"

'Reach into the bag and think that you need a hand of glory and an ordinary candle. Place the candle on the hand, it will ignite itself, then enter house number four via the back entrance.'

"What if it's locked?"

'It is not.'

And it was not. Following the voices instructions she crept up the stairs and to the master bedroom. There were two lumps under the covers. A large round one and a shorter, narrower one.

'A pity we do not have the time to do this properly,' the voice sighed. 'Still, needs must. Place a pillow on the large one's face and push down with your left hand while slicing open his stomach with your right hand. You may use the knife or you may simply drive your fingers into his abdominal cavity. Do not release pressure with your left hand until after he stops struggling. Repeat the smaller.'

The blade easily parted the blankets and opened the man's gut, allowing the intestines to spill across the bed as he frantically tried to break her grip and get free. Surprisingly, the smaller lump did not awaken until it was her turn to experience the same treatment.

'A great pity we didn't have more time to do things properly,' the voice lamented, repeating its earlier sentiment. 'Be sure to use the knife this time, place the tip between the ribs over her heart and just lean down. Leave the blade in for a bit.'

"Why?"

'There is another in a room down the hall, ignore it.' She noted the fact that the voice did not answer her question. 'The boy you are here to meet is in the cupboard under the stairs.'

"I-is there a bathroom or somewhere I can wash up in?" she asked, suddenly nervous. "I don't-I want to look my best when I meet him for the first time."

'Turn thirty degrees and enter the first door,' the voice sounded pleased.

Her heart was pounding as she crept back down the stairs. "What if he doesn't like me?"

'He will adore you."

She paused at the cupboard door. "I'm-"

'Perfection. He will adore you and you him. Open the door,' the voice ordered firmly.

She did and found herself lost in a pair of green eyes. "Hello," she said, mouth cotton dry.

"Hello," the boy replied, looking just as nervous as she was.

"My name is Mercy." She took a breath. "What's yours?"

"Harry."

'Tell him that that his aunt and uncle are dead.'

The boy sagged at the news, a small smile blooming on his face. "Thank you," Harry said. "What now? Am I next?"

"No! I'm-I'm here to be your friend, to take you away from here," she said, not bothering to wait for the voice's prompt.

"I've never had a friend before," Harry had a tone of deep longing in his voice.

"I haven't either," she admitted. "We can be each other's firsts." Her cheeks reddened as her mind caught up.

'Reach into the bag and think that you need a piece of silk cord that is between four and six hands long,' the voice ordered. 'Hand it to him and tell him to tie your bracelets together using three knots.'

"What?"

'It has to do with what you are and how the gods made you. I do not know enough about it to explain things to you.'

Though obviously confused by the request, the boy was quick to comply.

'Tell him to break one of the crystal glasses in the kitchen and to use a sharp edge to make a small cut on the back of your hand. Promise him that it will not hurt you and that it will ensure that the two of you are able to stay together forever,' the voice continued. 'Now tell him to wet his right index finger with your blood and to trace it around his left wrist.'

'Now repeat after me, by my blood, I bind myself to you. From now until the end of time..'

She licked her lips. "By my blood, I bind myself to you. From now until the end of time." In a flash, the power drained out of her in an instant before rushing back, leaving her feeling twice as strong as she had the moment before.

'Tell him to say that he accepts and to state that he promises to hold your heart in his own, to guard your happiness as you guard his, and to ever cherish you.'

"What now?" She asked, after the boy completed his instructions.

'In many cultures, it is customary to kiss upon the conclusion of similar ceremonies,' the voice said calmly. 'You may also wish to ask him to undo the bindings holding your wrists together, you will not be able to do so yourself.'

AN: The binding the bracelets thing is a reference to the original WonderWoman comics which I would assume has been long since written out. The ceremony at the end was to take control of the blood wards, not that the mysterious voice will volunteer that information. It's kind of a dick.

Omake: Triwizard

Alastair awoke to darkness and screams. The last thing he remembered was leaving his house to check the perimeter and then he was here. Helpless and at the mercy of someone who likely had none.

"I am going to remove the hood for a split second," a girl's voice purred in his ear. "Do not try to move your head, do not try to move your eyes, do not open your eyes without permission. When permission is given, you are only to look straight ahead while I count to ten. There is a man, I want you to try to identify him. Do you understand?"

"Yes," he growled. "What happens if I don't follow your instructions?"

"I will kill you," she said bluntly. "As things are, you have a chance. You are not my target, you are someone who may or may not be able to provide me with a piece of information. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good." The hood came off. "Open your eyes. One . . . two . . . three-" It took a moment to adjust to the change in light and another to recognize the figure before him. It wasn't possible, he was dead, it just wasn't. The hood came back on.

"You recognize him," the voice said.

"I do," he agreed.

"His name."

"Barty Crouch Junior. A deadman."

"You are free to choose wheather to answer any questions from this point. There is no penalty for refusing to answer a question but know that if you do, I will stop asking them."

"And I won't have a chance to learn more about you by hearing what you want to know," Moody snorted. "Ask."

"Do you know why he kidnapped you?" a second, softer, voice asked curiously.

"I didn't know he was the one who did it," Moody admitted. "Thought it was you lot."

"It was not. Why did you call him a deadman?"

"He was supposed to have died in prison years ago." Moody scowled. "His father is going to have to answer some questions on how his son came to be out and alive."

"Do you know what happened to the-boy-who-lived?"

"No. I know it's more than the official story, Unspeakables say that someone worked some very old magic with the poor kid after killing his aunt an uncle, boy's cousin who was also in the house didn't have a mark on him."

"You didn't get anything from Malfoy after the arrest?"

"Don't know that it was Lucius Malfoy, despite the fact he got the bloody kiss for it. Don't even know if he was involved."

"You framed an innocent man?"

"I presented every scrap of evidence I found and the Minister decided to make Lucius the fall guy. Couldn't have happened to anyone better."

AN: Should give some idea of the Ministry reaction.

Joeyzoot, Alexander Cheezem

Omake by Veive

- a bit of wild speculation about the voice written as snippets of speech from the voice:

"My name?" The voice asked in bemusement. "I don't have one. I suppose you can call us Union. We didn't really exist until about ten years ago when we were created after a trio of human sacrifices sealed the protections that James and Lily potter had created for their son with a series of blood rituals. As a result I was formed out of small fragments of the souls of both of Harry's parents, as well as their murderer; a man named Tom Riddle."

-

"Why yes, we sealed the final ritual ourselves. The first two rituals saw to that."

-

"No, we don't have what most would consider to be a proper will or personality - there wasn't enough of the soul fragments for that, and the magical protections seem to be filling in the bits that are missing."

-

"Unethical? We do not understand the relevance of the question. In what way do ethics impact our actions? We were created to protect Harry Potter. That is what we do."

End snippets

Omake By Luan Mao

After Mercy made her vow, Harry stared at her in confusion. She tried to ask him to untie her hands but found she was unable to speak.

"It is nothing to worry about. You have to wait until he accepts your pledge," the voice informed her.

After just long enough for Mercy to start feeling awkward, Harry nodded, then leaned back to pull a bandage off of his chest. Using the fresh blood that came up, he drew a circle around Mercy's wrist and then promised, "By my blood, I bind myself to you. From now until the end of time."

"Voice? Spirit?" Mercy asked into the silence. "What do I do now?"

"That was unexpected," the voice finally replied. "You pledged to become Harry's bondwoman, something between a vassal and a slave. His pledge changed the nature of the bond. You can ask your husband to untie you now."

Omake by

"So, voice, who are you?"

'I'm God.'

"That's funny, you don't sound like Woody Allen."

'Well, no-'

"Or John Cleese."

'No.'

"Or Morgan Freeman."

'No, but-'

"Or George Burns."

'Would you-'

"Or Alan Rickman."

'STOP! Look, do you want my help or not?'

"Of course! But I can't just call you voice."

'Well, you could call me Dennis.'