raised by dementor

chapter 54

"What the hell did she... it mean?" Draco asked looking at the three girls in obvious bewilderment, Hermione, Cho and Luna just looked at each other, equally unsure. They looked at the slumped form of Lily Potter,
"Love? Love can kill what?" Draco wondered hoping his friends held the answer,
"That," Crabbe answered for him gazing out of the window and Draco turned towards him, he was not a girl nor did the creature address him so how did he know. However he was pointing out of one of the huge holes in the wall to a figure hovering in midair.
"Oh God," Draco clicked what had happened,
"We should have known," Hermione cursed, of course Harry couldn't take on Dumbledore by himself, but his raw power could; so he did what he had done in years willingly. The shadow monster last year had been the result of a soul conflict but this was different, this was a powerful, unfeeling monster which was currently dodging spells from who he was facing.
"We did know, we just ignored it," Cho confirmed sighed realising Harry was at the moment a monster, then it clicked
"Love can kill the monster," Luna announced suddenly and everyone looked at her
"Well let's get us some love and stab Harry with it," Draco commented with a shake of his head, Luna glared at him followed by everyone else; including Crabbe and Goyle.
"Fine who loves him?" Draco asked looking at the three,
"Any takers?" he asked after a few long seconds of silence, the three girls were looking at each other,
"Who isn't the question Draco, the question is who does he love?" Hermione corrected in deep thought.
Meanwhile
"What are you?" Dumbledore demanded through legions of spells, ignoring the fact people were watching this duel and seeing him attack a third year.
"You are everything you made me," was the slow eerie response as Harry glided in a circle around the old man
"I didn't make you," Dumbledore spat trying but failing to hit the boy with a curse, Harry inwardly just felt the soul inside him and allowed hunger to overtake him even more.
"Oh you did and now I shall end you," Harry hissed as the roof of the clock tower shattered under immense pressure brought on by a force Harry conjured and used it to throw the old man off it, normally he would have fallen and died but Dumbledore had his wand and managed to cushion himself seconds before the fall. He landed in a courtyard surrounded by students looking at him with a mixture of disbelief and anger, the old man however simply drew his wand and aimed at the sky
"You cannot best me old man, you couldn't best my other self and you expect to beat me? A being of pure power and hunger?" the noise was loud and where it came from was unclear, Harry's new Dementor mouth ruled out it being vocal but everyone could hear it.
"I order you back?" Harry hissed and Dementors flocked to stop him hurting the students, then the moment his voice hit them they froze, somehow compelled to obey.
"Harry stop this," Lucy pleaded trying to approach her son and help him, or stop him
"I am not him mother, I am a product of your influence and the power this fool invested in Harry Potter, I am his true power," the dark Harry spat and with a wave sent her away, Lucy was helpless as invisible force dragged her away.
"Harry stop this," Dumbledore demanded looking at Harry who was no hovering directly above him,
"I am not Harry any more than you are the great Dumbledore, you are a cheat, coward and soon you will die," Harry announce softly and the students around them suddenly fell to the floor. The most potent Dementors chill ate into them and positive emotions were being funnelled to Harry.
"Avada Kedavra," Dumbledore shot to kill but the green light was easily dodged by Harry who extended his hand, a dark shadow was eating into his flesh but Dumbledore did not focus on that. He focused on the jet of black lightning which smacked into him, he gritted his teeth and tried to make no noise of pain but was weakened and tossed to the floor.
"Stupefy," Dumbledore tried a surprise quick spell but Harry dodged it with ease and instead forced Dumbledore back down with mental pain, images of those he lost and betrayed and also images of his sister and what he had done.
"Crucio," Dumbledore cast a spell he assumed would weaken Harry and while the spell hit him it felt like nothing more than a tickle, instead Harry laughed.
"Avada Kedav..." Dumbledore tried one final time but was again hit with painful bolts of energy which knocked him to the floor. Harry tutted loudly and wondered how best to hurt this man
"A fool's game old man, now you will watch as I devour your beloved students before taking you,"
Harry announced in a kindly voice but suddenly all the students twitched, inside the true Harry felt their very life force and soul combined slowly rise only to be pumped towards him. He felt like he did when he tried to eat the troll, it was a good feeling but unlike that time he was unable to stop it, he realised then that there was no way for him to stop these people dying.
"Harry?" the voice of minister Fudge turned him round but by then he was changing, already a dark colour was spreading from his eyes around his face, his nails were growing sharper and his body was becoming more twisted. Fudge and Umbridge then fell, he felt their souls being added to the mixture, the aurors followed suit and the process would take minutes at most.
Hermione
Was it her? She had known Harry longest from the day he went to Diagon Alley, she had followed him to the very end and always would. She trusted him and she hoped he trusted her, so as they ran through the corridors of Hogwarts following the dark feelings leading them towards a new Harry, Hermione wondered if he loved her? She loved him and she supposed everyone did in their own way but was she the one he loved back and how did she know someone actually did. How did she know if the monster was lying to them or not but one thing she knew, she had to stop Harry.
"
Oh no," Cho gasped suddenly seeing out the window, the courtyard in question was not far off and they could see what was happening.
"He's eating them," Goyle looked taken aback and swore, the entire castle it seemed was now defeated, they could see Dumbledore's men on the floor next to aurors who had separated from the others to fight individuals but this meant nothing to Harry's dark self. He was going to eat them anyway, it wasn't affecting them yet but Hermione felt something slowly being broken within and realised sooner or later she and the others would fall to.
"Come on," Draco called and Hermione knew he had worked the same out.
Courtyard
"Stop this," Dumbledore demanded rising to his feet, only to be blasted back down again, he did care for his students in some way but his motives did not matter anymore.
"Never!" Harry cackled with his eyes turning a glowing black and his hair shrinking to make him more like a Dementor, his hands were now skeletal and clawed but no matter his appearance he was growing stronger.
"Now for you," Harry decided and all the air was sucked out of Dumbledore's lungs, he felt even weaker and collapsed clutching his chest, he was shaking and his thoughts were dimming as he joined the mixture of people being devoured.
Cho
She and Harry had always been best friends, always been close and Cho liked him to a large extent, but she never asked or tried anything. She didn't want to ruin their friendship if he said no or it didn't work out, she however had been by his side most of the time and cared a lot about him, regardless of her suspicions she accepted who he was working with and was only annoyed he didn't tell her. When Harry had shown himself to be a Dementor she defended him and told Hermione that everyone had secrets, so was this how it came out? Was she the one the creature demanded save him? She was going to try nevertheless.
Harry
Inside I was desperate, feeling my dark self take over was euphoric but it was like being a side passenger, I could see and feel what my dark self was doing and while I needed to beat Dumbledore seeing the people I went to school with dying made me feel guilty. Even more so that I was relishing every second of devouring them while hating the fact I did, the feeling was just so good and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Luna
She was the fun one, the one who would do strange things and say sometimes true things. Luna had a strange barrage of emotions towards everyone and they got even more complex when it came to Harry. He had accepted her from the first day they met despite her hugging Lucy, he had helped her and taken her seriously while many did not. Harry was someone she relied on to be a friend and he relied on her to be there, to be the fun one who surprised him each and every time. But was this the foundation of love? She didn't know.
The courtyard
"Harry!" Draco announced tally and proudly as the six arrived to face him, slowly but surely he turned and they recoiled. Harry was turning even more Dementor with now rotting black skin and hardly any face left, his noise a sunken mess and slowly closing up eyes.
"Ahh the great friends of Harry Potter, those I have endured for long enough," Harry hissed in a cruel unfeeling voice as he studied them, he sensed their protection but it was he who gave it to them and with a blink it was gone.
"Come on," Draco ordered moving towards Harry but he was the first to go and Harry did not interfere, he watched simply as the boy fell and hit the ground. Crabbe and Goyle followed suit and the three girls were left.
"Luna," Hermione called for the second year when it became apparent the girl had fallen too and Hermione's lapse of emotion led to her being next,
"So it comes down to you miss Chang?" Harry asked with a slight chuckle but she only managed a few steps before she fell, inside Harry just froze up, lost at the loss of his friends and he knew his inner self was loving this. Not that his inner self was inner any more, the roles had been reversed.
Cho
"Only love can kill the monster," the creature's voice danced in her weakened mind as an almost fully Dementor Harry took over, she looked up with bleary ears to see him not far away from her. She forced her hands to prop her up and she saw Harry gliding in the air. She was slightly thankful that he was slightly shorter than her because she was in her fourth year, so when she lunged towards him and grappled to her feet she was able to force him round and kiss him, the gaping hole that was his mouth pulled on her throat. So it was me, she thought as she felt flesh and lips return to Harry's face.
Harry
The Darkness Falls and recoils, indeed with Cho's surge of emotion Harry was propelled by power and it quickly outmatched his inner self. The one who was now recoiling and suddenly he felt it resist but love was the thing that met its match and in a rush of power he released all those who had been his victim and felt himself return t his body. He opened his eyes to see Cho looking at him but then with a single blink she collapsed and broke the kill, had she willingly been given the Dementors kiss? Harry was lost and only when he looked up to see everyone around him did he speak.
"Help," he begged before collapsing with her and darkness overcame his vision.