The Prince of Paxinia by nrnik
Summary: Post OotP/AU. Loosely inspired from Harem War. Ron/Hermione/Dumbledore/Molly bashing. Harry discovers his friends and mentor had been betraying him. He comes to know his family's legacy, grows to be a powerful wizard, finds love and ultimately, confronts his primary enemy. Story will be very flamboyant and Harry will have superhero powers. HP/GW.
Rating: R
Categories: Post-OotP
Characters: None
Genres: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 2014.11.25
Updated: 2014.11.25
The Prince of Paxinia by nrnik
Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Author's Notes: The sun had partially disappeared behind the large mountains and darkness was slowly descending upon the area. Harry Potter continued to sit there on the banks of the Black Lake, his mind very unlike the tranquil waters spread before him. His face was haggard and his otherwise sparkling emerald eyes were dull, carrying the entire horrible experiences he had had to endure. Small currents of air occasionally wafted past him, gently ruffling his hair and clothes.
'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches.. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies.. And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not.. And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..' The words of Sybil Trelawney's prophecy continuously reverberated through his mind as he sat there, gazing at the lake, but not seeing it at all.
How can I defeat Voldemort? He asked himself, never expecting an answer. He thought about Sirius, his mind churning with guilt and self-loathing. How much he wished Sirius was there now? To hold him; to assure him that everything would be fine. No, it was never going to happen. His godfather was never coming back. Sirius had gone beyond the boundaries of the mundane world; had become just a memory. And he was the reason for it. He was the reason for the death of Sirius. He was the reason why his friends were in hospital wing now. Stupid Harry. Stupid stupid Harry. How he wished he had listened to Hermione! But no, he was too stupid to realise that Voldemort had been playing tricks on him. And look where it got him to! Now he was once again alone, deprived of a family.
Harry breathed deeply, struggling to keep the tears at bay. The effort turned out to be futile, however, and a few drops escaped. He quickly wiped them away. His mind returned to the prophecy again. Anger bubbled up inside him, mostly directed at Dumbledore. The man knew the truth all along, but never found it fine to tell him. Yes, he was too young to be burdened with such a knowledge; that he was destined to be a murderer or to be murdered. But Dumbledore knew how much he hated not knowing what had been going around him. And Harry had seen and experienced things well beyond the others of his age could ever have. Last year had been hell and Dumbledore never acknowledged his attempts to talk to him. He just gave instructions and he was supposed to follow it. A part of his mind tried to find reason behind Dumbledore's actions; to understand the old wizard's position. But no matter how hard he tried, no matter to which extent he agreed with his headmaster's actions, Harry couldn't ignore the fact that the old wizard had been running his life for too long for his liking. From his placement at the Dursleys to his occlumency lessons with Snape, he had too many bitter experiences, thanks to Dumbledore's decision making abilities.
No more Harry wanted to play according to the whims of the headmaster. Sure, Dumbledore was a great wizard and he could only dream of attaining that level any time, if he would at all. But the man was not infallible either. Harry knew, he couldn't do anything completely alone and would need Dumbledore's help from time to time, but he was not going to reduce himself to a mere puppet.
A soft patter of footsteps broke Harry's chain of thoughts and he turned to see Ginny approaching him. She had grown to be a friend of him during last year, from his best mate's little sister. She looked fine to walk, albiet a bit unsteady. Apparently she had earned nothing greater than a minor ankle injury at the ministry and Harry thanked heavens once again for that.
Ginny came to sit down beside him. Neither of them talked for a few moments, each watching the sun gradually disappearing behind the hills. The giant squid moved on the lake lazily, its huge tentacles splashing water around.
"You got released then?" Harry asked eventually, attempting to break the silence.
Ginny turned to him, her eyebrow raised as if asking him whether it wasn't obvious. Nevertheless, she replied, "Yeah, Neville and Luna too. Ron and Hermione are still there. Madam Pomfrey said she will let out them in while though."
"Oh." Harry shifted his gaze again to the lake and silence ensued.
"I can't believe he has gone." Ginny stated after a few moments. Harry knew she was referring to Sirius but he didn't say anything. He didn't think he could say his godfather's name without breaking down, not yet.
"We were close, you know, not as much as you and him of course. But, before you came to Grimmauld Place, we used to sit and chat. He spoke to me about Azkaban and I told him about the dairy and Tom. He loved you very much, Harry. I could read it from his face every time he spoke about you. He told me that you were the most caring and selfless person he had ever met. He was terribly sorry that he missed out many years of your life. And he was proud, you know. He was proud the way you held yourself up... amidst all these."
Ginny's sound had become unsteady in the end but Harry still didn't look up. He was sure she too was struggling to hold the tears back.
"I miss him too." Ginny's voice was nothing above a whisper when she said that but Harry had no trouble to hear it.
"Yeah, I made sure of it, didn't I?" Harry couldn't help but ask with a bitter laugh.
Ginny shook her head. "Harry, I know you are blaming yourself for what happened to Sirius. I would have too if I was in your place. But remember one thing, that V-Voldemort tricked you." Harry opened his mouth to retort but Ginny raised her hand to stop him.
"Let me finish Harry. You know what happened in my first year. I used to blame my myself too. But then I started to think rationally. Even-though I was such a stupid girl to write in that diary, I was being controlled and manipulated by the most powerful evil wizard of our time. He was in my head for almost an year, showing and telling me the most vile things and making me do what he wanted. Soon I became defenseless, I couldn't throw out him. How many people almost died because of me? How many would have? If you hadn't come to the chamber that moment.." Ginny trailed off with a shudder. He could see a lone tear rolling down her right cheek but Ginny wiped it away harshly.
Harry turned his head, totally unprepared to deal with a crying girl. Well, Ginny was not exactly crying, not as Cho, but he still felt uncomfortable in the situation. At the same time he felt partially responsible for making Ginny cry. He knew Ginny could almost relate to his experience. She had a firsthand knowledge of being fooled and possessed by Voldemort. He also realised with a pang that he had never inquired about her well-being following the chamber incident.
He turned towards her but before he could say anything, Ginny continued. "So, you don't have to blame yourself for falling in a trap set up by the most evil wizard of our time, Harry. Dumbledore told me after the chamber incident that more clever and powerful people have been tricked by Tom." She didn't notice Harry's face darkening at the mention of Dumbledore. But he refrained from commenting about the headmaster.
"It's... It's difficult, Ginny." Harry said after a stretch of silence. "I am lost."
"I understand."
"No, you don't. It's not just Sir.. him. There are other things... I..." Harry trailed off, running his hand through his ebony locks. Ginny looked at him expectantly but he only offered a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. They still reflected shame and torment and Harry was struggling not to let them overtake him completely.
Ginny didn't ask him what he had been going to say and Harry was partly relieved. He just wanted to pour his heart out, tell someone everything; his sorrows, his doubts, his fears, about the prophecy and many more. But he didn't want burden Ginny with his harrowing thoughts. He thought about Ron and Hermione, and if he was going to tell about the prophecy to someone, he knew it was going to be them first.
Apparently, Ginny knew not to push him and they sat for a while in companionable silence. Harry felt oddly comforted in the quietness and the presence of Ginny. He spoke up after a while.
"I think it's time I took charge of my life. Others have been running it for too long, I suppose."
Ginny frowned at him without comprehension.
"I mean, there are certain things I have to do. I have been relying on others for everything. But I want to be independent. I need to change my attitude towards some things.
"Oh," Ginny said, apparently still confused but then a smirk formed on her face. "And it's time you stopped brooding all the time," She stated wryly. "And stop your emotions getting the better of you."
"Oh, look who is talking. The owner of infamous Weasley temper," Harry smirked despite himself and Ginny huffed, though she was trying to hold back a smile.
"I will have you know that it is a family trait."
"Yeah, yeah," He laughed but turned serious again. "But you are right though. I have to control my temper well and think more rationally. Like I said, I need to change my attitude."
Silence fell again and neither of the two teens ventured to break it any soon.
"Let's go back," Ginny said after some time, breaking Harry out of his stupor. The sun has gone out of their view completely and darkness had blanketed the area.
"Yeah, let's go to hospital wing. I want to check on Ron and Hermione."
"They might be already out of there."
"Maybe, but let's go there first." Harry stood and helped Ginny up. She passed him a small smile and together, they set off towards the castle.
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