Like Fish In A Barrel
Someone left a review that said I could have done better on this chapter. It’s been years since I wrote it, but I came back and did a little editing. I added to it and changed it a bit. I might go back and do the whole story, who knows.
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Harry had wondered if Draco was going to confront him like he had tried to do two weeks ago. He was surprised that the other boy didn’t say anything, just fired a stunner at him and ducked. Harry let the spell hit him and his world went dark.
For a few seconds.
As soon as he was knocked out a portkey landed on his robes, and he was whisked away. It was while he was in transit that the doxies revived him. He shook off the fuzzies and grabbed the portkey and hung on. He was going to surprised that son-of-a-bitch.
He landed in a bedroom. Going by the poshness of it, he figured it was Draco’s room. There was a huge bed that was covered with silk linens. There was an ornate desk that had a comfy, and stylish chair. There were two doors along one wall, which would be the closet and loo. So, Harry guessed. What else could they be? There was a bookcase, that was packed with books, along another wall. All in all, it was quite a room.
He had a thought that only a Malfoy could make a portkey keyed into the wards of the mansion. He did wonder if it was his father or the Dark Lord that taught him. Not that it mattered, he was here now. It was just where he wanted to be, so it was all according to plan.
Shaking out of his thoughts, he opened the bag. Hundreds of doxies flew out, they clouded the room with their presence. The queen sat on his shoulder as she was wont to do. She was directing everyone into place. They all hovered there waiting for instructions. They knew the plan but had to get the order to move out.
“Get your hats on and spread out. We don’t know who is here. Stunners at first. We’ll figure out the rest later,” he said, giving the directions to the generals. “Unless you see the snake, then kill it. I’ll handle Voldy, but you can shoot him with basilisk venom. Only once, it’ll give me some much-needed aid.” He was going to need all the help he could get. The man had decades of experience on him and all. Not to mention, loads of education as well. The knowledge that man had that he didn’t was vast.
They turned and started commanding their troops on who would go where. Hats were donned and Harry could no longer see them, but he could feel them. He went to the door and put his ear to it. There didn’t seem to be anyone on the other side. He put on his invisibility cloak and opened the door. The hall was empty. Charming himself silent, he moved out.
He could feel the presence of about twenty doxies following him as the rest spread out. Harry didn’t know what Draco’s plan had been. Was he going to come and send Harry to Voldy? Did he have someone here that was going to check that he made it? Maybe his mum? Did he hope that Harry would stay stunned until Draco somehow snuck away from the school? Harry didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to wait to find out.
He moved silently down the hall and looked around every corner. There didn’t seem to be anyone wandering around, so he moved further into the manor. He snuck down the stairs and noted a door at the other end of the receiving area. It was closed, and Harry wondered if he should investigate, or wait for back up.
He stood there on the staircase when suddenly the door opened, and Death Eaters ran out. That must mean that Sirius and the others were trying to break the wards. He was relieved that he and his army didn’t have to do it all alone. He hoped. He didn’t know how long it would take for the adults to drop the wards and there was a lot of Death Eaters pouring out of that room.
Spell fire came from the air, and the Death Eaters dropped like flies hit with bug spray. Those that weren’t hit were looking everywhere for the enemy. However, none could be seen, so they turned on each other, called the others ‘traitor’ and started throwing spells around. There were shouts of protests as well, but the spells didn’t stop flying.
Harry was almost hit with two. He dodged them, but it was close. He flattened against the wall and fired off a spell or two of his own.
It was at that time that Voldy came from the room and halted the chaos. “Fools, there is someone here. I can feel them. I’ll put my life on it that it is Potter,” he said in that soft voice of his. “Come out, Potter. We can have a nice talk,” the Dark Lord stated, looking at the staircase, but not directly at Harry.
Spells started flying out of nowhere gain, and more Death Eaters fell. There were some that were trying to revive the downed ones, but to no avail. “My Lord, they will not waken,” one cried out, probably hoping the Dark Lord could revive them.
Voldy went to one of the unconscious men and tried to resuscitate him, but alas the one-spell wands worked as advertised.
“This is not good,” Voldemort stated, dropping his wand to his side, he looked at the staircase again, when he was hit with an arrow. He slapped his neck and pulled the small projectile off his skin. “What?” was all he said, when the world started to spin. It was as if he had drunk an entire bottle of firewhiskey in one gulp. It was quite nauseating.
A snake came out of the room, and it was swarmed with arrows. Within seconds it looked like a porcupine. The number of arrows protruding from it was just that many. It went into death throes, hissing and thrashing around in anguish, and soon it was not moving. A cloud of dark mist erupted from the corpse and screamed. Then it dissipated and there was quiet.
Ole Tommy boy was pissed. He took his wand and fired at where he thought Harry was. Harry tried to move, but the spell knocked him back and his cloak came flying off. He was exposed and quite shocked. He quickly regained his footing and faced his adversary.
“Well, Tom, it’s been nice,” Harry said, pulling a dagger and throwing it at the older man. It hit Tom Riddle in the stomach.
“Fool, do you think something as simple as a dagger would kill me?” the Dark Lord said, still trying to get the room to stop spinning. He pulled the knife from his body and tossed it aside.
The few Death Eaters that were still awake lifted their wands, only to be called off by their master. They stood down but were not happy about it. They wanted their pound of flesh but obeyed their master in all things.
“He’s mine,” Tom said, staggering to the side, trying to climb up the stairs. He stumbled and grabbed the railing. He never felt this way before. He was uncoordinated and sick. His eyes were swimming, and he was discombobulated.
“You’re dying, Tom,” Harry said, readying his other dagger. He’d try to kill him up close and personal this time.
The rest of the Death Eaters fell to a barrage of arrows. The doxies using the last of their arrows to finish off the enemy, leaving only Harry and Tom. Harry looked at all the downed bodies and sighed in relief. He didn’t have to worry about interference or witnesses now.
“Don’t call me that insipid name,” Voldy yelled, still attempting to get to his target. “I am immortal,” he said, aiming his wand the best he could. He fired and missed, by a wide margin. He cursed up a storm and wove his way in Harry’s direction. He was holding on to the wall making his way up the stairs, while Harry waited.
“Come on, old man,” Harry said, knowing that this was it. It was time to do what he was training for. He didn’t like it, and he was getting cold feet. If it didn’t happen soon, he might just chicken out. He took a fighter’s stance and waited. The Dark Lord was almost to him. He knew the miniscule amount of venom was making the man ill. All Harry would be doing was putting the vile man out of his misery. That thought gave him some courage.
Tom fired off more spells, and Harry had to shield two, and ducked the rest. Voldy’s aim was really off. It was almost too easy. Harry felt like he had a handicap.
When Voldy got within ten feet of Harry, the teen pounced. He took the dagger and jammed it into the other man’s neck. That way if the poison didn’t kill him, he would die from blood loss. There was a sick feeling in his stomach as he did it, but he knew it must be done. The blood poured over his hands, making them sticky and hot.
Voldemort gagged and slapped his hand on the wound. He raised his wand again, only to have it taken from him by the queen. She had her own dagger, which she stuck in the man’s eye. She didn’t’ seem at all put out by what she was doing. There was a sadistic gleam in her eye while she killed the man.
Tom was dead before he hit the floor. All of the Death Eaters were knocked out, and the Dark Lord was dead. Harry slumped in relief. He hid the daggers and nodded to the queen to do the same. He would make sure the goblins got them back later.
It was then that his back up came into the house. They came rushing in wands drawn ready for a battle. They all looked shocked at the body strewn floor. It was too their relief when Harry said, “They’re not dead.”
“What happened?” Moody asked, checking on the downed Death Eaters, pulling off the masks as he did. “Oh, I didn’t know about him. He works for the ministry.” He continued down the line, demasking each individual and taking note of who they were.
“I think they were in a meeting,” Harry said from his seat on the stairs. “Once you started on the wards, they all came running out. It was like shooting fish in a barrel,” he added with a small grin. He wasn’t sure how to feel about killing Tom. No matter what, the man was still human, and Harry had taken his life. He was trying to rationalize it in his mind, and he was making some headway. He used his wand to get the blood off his hands, but he could still feel the stickiness.
“I’m just glad that you’re alright,” Sirius said, coming up the stairs, and skirting Tom’s body. He took Harry into his arms and hugged him. He knew the boy must be feeling terrible. The kid had a soft heart and wasn’t a killer.
“What did you do to Draco?” Harry wanted to know. It would get his mind off what had just happened.
“I just stunned him. He’s just a kid,” Sirius said, though there was a smirk on his lips.
“What did you do?” his godson asked, knowing that look. He’d seen it on the twins’ faces often enough.
“I didn’t do anything, but your doxies came from the school and hit him with every joke arrow they had. That is one colorful kid,” the godfather said, grinning like a fool.
“Thanks, I needed that,” Harry said, laughing a bit hysterically. He was going to have nightmares tonight; he just knew it.
“Come on, let’s get you back to Hogsmeade. No one needs to know you were here,” Sirius said, knowing the others of his group would agree. As far as the public knew the Dark Lord was dead. They were going to keep it that way. They never believed Dumbledore that the man had revived.
“I’m going to call Amelia,” Moody said, with a thoughtful face. “I can say I heard the Death Eaters were trying to resurrect Voldy. So, I came here to check it out and found them all like this. We’ll do something with the body of the Dark Lord,” he finished, taking out his wand and sending off a Patronus to deliver his message.
“What about the Death Eaters that will say I was here?” Harry asked, worried about being implicated.
“I’ll do a memory charm,” Mad-eye said, winking his good eye at the boy.
“Thanks,” Harry said, sighing in relief. He didn’t need to get caught out by some criminals who wanted a Get-out-of-jail-free card.
“Come on, Harry, let’s get you back,” Sirius said, taking his shoulder and leading him away.
“I’m ready,” Harry said, getting up and giving one last look at the dead Tom Riddle. He wouldn’t feel sorry for the man. Not after all he had done and was planning to do. It was better this way. “Wait,” he said, then whistled and held the bag open. He could feel them flying in and when the queen nodded, he said, “Now I’m ready.”
With that the two of them left Malfoy Manor and the other adults cleaned up the mess.
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It was later that night, after a successful day of not telling anyone what had happened, he was in his bed talking to Queenie.
“What will you do now?” he asked her, knowing that he no longer needed them.
“The goblins have offered to hire us on as curse-breakers. Well, not actual curse-breakers, more like helpers. With our ability to smell dark magic, we can help them avoid traps, or help find the things they are looking for,” she said with a full body blush, making her take on a purple hue.
“I think that’s great. I’ll miss you guys. Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” Harry asked, not sure if he was ready to let them go. They were his friends. He didn’t think he’d be able to visit them once they were working at Gringotts.
“I have given birth to another queen. She will start her own swarm. She is young yet, but she is as intelligent as I. I think you’ll like her. Besides, the goblins are going to try to make more doxies sentient,” she explained, not wanting him to think she was abandoning him. It was just too good of an opportunity to miss.
“You did? That’s great. I’m so glad that you are breeding true,” he exclaimed, very happy that the intelligence would not end with her swarm.
“Thank you,” she said, and bid him goodnight and dove back into the bag. They would stay with him until the end of the year. He could drop them off at Gringotts when school was out. That would give her enough time to train the new queen.
“Sirius Black,” Harry said to the mirror. When his godfather’s face appeared he asked, “What happened after I left?” he asked, really wanting to know.
“It went pretty much the way Moody said it would. Amelia came and arrested them for being part of a terrorist cell,” Sirius said, looking much better than he had this morning. “They couldn’t wake them, so they had to wait until the spell wore off. He had a bugger of a time memory charming them, but he got it done.”
“Oh, I should have left some salts,” Harry said, he hadn’t even thought about it.
“Nay, it was easier to haul them in unconscious,” his godfather stated, still grinning like a fool.
“So, no more Death Eaters walking about?” the teen asked, hoping the woman had thrown the book at them.
“Not even the Minister can get them off,” the other man said, a goofy grin still adorned his face. It was good for his soul to see them finally go to prison.
“That is the best news I’ve heard all day, barring Tom dying,” Harry said, then broke out with a huge yawn. “I’m knackered,” he said, yawning once more.
“Go to bed, you deserve a good night’s sleep. I know I do,” Sirius said, then bid him goodnight and signed off.
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The next morning saw many people, students and teachers, with different colored hair and green faces. There must have been a rash of criticism about Harry yesterday. Harry just laughed and ate his breakfast with his friends.
“How was your Saturday?” Luna asked, giving Harry a knowing look. She knew what he had done, but she wasn’t telling. He kept her secret, she was going to keep his.
“I accomplished all I ever wanted to,” Harry said with complete honesty.
“Wait, I thought you wanted to be just Harry?” Ron said, not sure what they were talking about, but pointing out that Harry didn’t want his fame.
“And now, I can be,” Harry said, picking up his fork and eating his beans. His plate was filled with a full English breakfast. He was just that hungry.
“I’m glad it all worked out for you,” his dreamy friend said in her wistful voice. She wasn’t sure about him being a murderer, but if it got him his lifelong dream…
“Me too,” he said, taking another bite.
“What the bloody hell are you two talking about?” Ron said, tired of being out of the loop.
“Let’s just say that the Boy-Who-Lived died last night,” Harry said, still not telling them what he had done. As far as anyone else was concerned the Dark Lord disappeared or was dead.
“Mr. Potter, the headmaster wishes to see you after breakfast,” McGonagall said, trying to ignore her colorful skin. It was tartan with red and gold borders. She must have been particularly hateful with her words about him.
“What about?” he asked, knowing that he wouldn’t get an answer.
“I will not have this discussion with you again,” she sniffed and turned away, only for her skin to change color yet again. This time the tartan pattern turned pink and purple.
“Bitch,” he grumbled under his breath.
“Harry,” Hermione chastised, scandalized that he would say that. She would never, to her dying day, say that about a teacher.
“What? She is acting like one,” he defended his actions, throwing his hand in the direction of the woman moving away from them.
“Please refrain from cussing,” was all she said instead.
“Whatever,” he stated, finishing off his breakfast. He then left for the headmaster’s office. The password was the same and he entered without knocking. He felt no need to be polite.
“Harry, my boy,” Dumbledore said, not taking him to task for entering without an invite.
“Albus, old man,” Harry returned, slumping in a chair. “What do you want now?” he asked, belligerently.
“What did you do yesterday?” the old man asked in a very serious tone. He knew the boy had something to do with the death of the Dark Lord, but he had no idea how, or why.
“I chatted with my friends, went to meet Sirius and browsed the shops,” Harry said, mostly truthfully. There was no way he was telling this man anything. He’d use it over his head forever.
“You didn’t leave Hogsmeade?” was the next question.
“Nope,” Harry lied with a straight face, making sure to look at the old man’s nose. His occlumency wasn’t up to hiding that much. He might get it there one day, but today was not that day.
“The reason I ask is because Professor Snape came to me this morning to let me know his Dark Mark is gone. Are you sure you did nothing yesterday?” Albus tried again to get him to answer by giving him something true. He searched the boy’s face looking for signs that he was lying but found only belligerence. Harry Potter truly hated him now.
“I did nothing I haven’t already stated,” Harry said, getting up from his chair. “We’re done.” He left the room. This would not be the last time he was questioned, but his answer never changed.
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It was graduation time and Harry was happy enough to be leaving Hogwarts. The last two and a half years had been wonderful. No one tried to kill him, no more rumors were started about him. Draco knew he had somehow killed the Dark Lord again, so left him alone. Well, only one rumor when he was caught in a closet with Luna, but they were a couple, so that was okay. They had hooked up in Harry’s fifth year, her fourth. They had been together ever since. There was talk of marriage when she graduated. It was up to her. She foresaw many happy years of them together, but… well, she wasn’t telling.
Queenie visited now and then, when the goblins didn’t need her. The doxies were thriving with the goblins, who were able to make more swarms sentient. They made wonderful curse-breaker helpers. They could detect dark magic, black curses, and deadly gases. So, they were wonderful tomb raiders and grave robbers. They were on every expedition.
The new queen, whose name was Rose, also birthed more intelligent doxies. It was getting to the point that all of the British doxies were now creatures and not pest. Well, that is if the government knew about them, which they didn’t. How they had kept that secret was a mystery, but Harry was sure it would get out with time. For now, they were going to enjoy the freedom of it.
There were still some pranks from the new swarm, but Hogwarts’ staff finally figured out that if they didn’t bother Harry, or bad-mouth him, the pranks stopped. They never figured out how the boy was doing it. He was never around when it happened, but he was the catalyst. Even they could be trained is seemed.
Snape got to keep the DADA position. Harry figured the curse died with Voldy, which didn’t make sense, but magic didn’t, so there was that.
Dumbledore tried every year to get Harry to tell him how he killed Voldemort, but Harry didn’t budge. To him, the Dark Lord was dead, and that’s all the old man needed to know.
“Harry Potter,” came the call for him to get his diploma.
There was cheering in the crowd, and Harry moved to take the parchment. Finally, his life at this school was over. Now, he could start anew with his fiancé Luna as Harry Potter, and not the Boy-Who-Lived.