The Shadows Within: A Dark Harry Potter Chronicle

When the first owl arrived in front of Harry with a bright red envelope clutched in its talons, Harry did nothing other than to stare at it, confused.

In fairness, he wasn't a morning person, and he had gotten to bed later than usual the previous night. Everyone had wanted to know what had happened at the trial.

He had seen Howler's before, of course. Longbottom had gotten one, as had the Weasley twins.

Nevertheless, Harry simply stared stupidly at the red envelope in front of him, which had now started smoking at the edges.

"Open it! They're worse if you let them explode!" Draco hissed. Opposite him, Theo and Daphne were nodding furiously.

With shaking hands, Harry slit the envelope open.

It was fucking loud.

"AND YOU THINK YOU'RE NEARLY AS GOOD AS GILDEROY LOCKHART! YOU ARROGANT, JEALOUS LITTLE BOY! HOW DARE YOU TAKE YOUR JEALOUSY OUT ON SUCH AN AMAZING WIZARD! YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A DISGUSTING ATTENTION SEEKER, AND-"

It went on in this vein for quite a while. Harry stood, mortified, throughout the whole tirade, while around him the Great Hall seemed to acclimatize to the shouting in it. After around ten minutes, the rant was finished.

Harry sat back down, beet-red.

"Sounds like Lockhart's fans aren't so happy with you, eh," Theo said snidely.

"What gave you that impression?" Harry asked.

Within the week, Harry received an additional fifteen Howlers. One of the Prefects had taken to casting a silencing charm on them as soon as they arrived, and Harry eagerly learned the charm.

More than that, though, was the sixty or so angry letters. About twenty of them were from one Gladys Gudgeon, who claimed that she was going to be sending Harry a curse. He started incinerating every piece of mail he got from someone he didn't know.

He decided to ignore Snape's advice and to read what that reporter had written about him.

It wasn't actually that bad.

He was quoted, almost word for word. She had left out about his being a Parselmouth though, and he was quite glad for that.

In actual fact, she had made him look good. She described him as "Bravely telling the truth to ensure justice is done", and having "Rugged-good looks" which was embarrassing, but gratifying. The one thing Harry wished she had done differently was when Lockhart accused him of being jealous of his fame. She wrote, "While The Boy-Who-Lived denied this hurtful accusation, he did not bring any articles of proof to show his denial".

What was he meant to do? Have a notarized letter saying that he wasn't jealous?

And the angry letters continued. Professor Snape pulled Harry aside and told him that if he would be opening the letters he should wear his Dragonhide gloves. Apparently, it wasn't unknown for people to send corrosive substances or harmful potions in letters! ' What the fuck is wrong with these people? The man is probably a child rapist, but it's me they hate?'

Snape had been pleased when Harry told him that he had started burning all the letters.

And the letters and Howlers continued. An opinion piece appeared in the Daily Prophet, written by none other than Gladys Gudgeon, about how Harry Potter had framed the wonderful Gilderoy Lockhart in an attempt to steal his fame.

The next day, Harry received five Howlers at breakfast alone and twenty angry letters.

And Harry's rage grew.

Professor Snape pulled Harry aside again, to tell him that Dumbledore would be willing to intercept Harry's mail and ensure there was no more Howlers or hurtful letters. He said Dumbledore hadn't been willing to do this beforehand, due to the egregious breach of privacy it would be, but if Harry wanted, he would do so.

He had to think quite hard about it. It would be a big plus, not having to worry about the letters he was receiving.

Then again, he didn't want anyone else reading his private mail. Not that he had much of that, but still, it was the concept more than anything else.

He turned down the offer.

The next day, there was an opinion piece in the Prophet, written by Mrs. Weasley, about how Lockhart was an evil, disgusting man, and how Harry was totally in the right.

There were very few letters or Howlers the next day. However, there was an article in the Prophet, about how Ginny Weasley had her memory modified by Lockhart. It also had all sorts of theories and speculation about what exactly Lockhart did to her.

Ginny went home early.

The next day, Rita Skeeter published an apology. It apparently was very rare for her to do so, but it wasn't really an apology. It simply said " We were incorrect to publish details of a minor, and should not have done so"

It wasn't even in a particularly big font.

Draco made a stupid comment to Ron about how now, not only was his sister a poor blood-traitor, but she was also used goods.

Ron hexed Draco.

Harry hexed Ron.

Granger hexed Crabbe, who was about to punch Longbottom for some reason.

Luckily, Snape found them. Gryffindor lost thirty points, and Weasley, Granger, and Longbottom all got detentions.

Exams began, and difficult as it was to keep his mind on the subjects at hand, Harry managed. He thought he did ok until the results came.

Then he found out he came top of his Slytherin year, and in the top three in his year overall.

He figured if he didn't have the boundless stupidity of humans to deal with, he would have come in first.

As usual, he made plans to go to Draco over the break. It was gratifying, to be invited back to the Malfoys. Draco made it a lot better when he told him that all incoming owls were automatically tested. And Howlers weren't allowed.

"And you'll see Harry, by the time we start next year, they'll all have forgotten about the whole Lockhart thing"

At the End-of-Year feast, Harry was called up to the Head Table. He had his picture taken, shaking Dumbledore's hand and holding his very own trophy for 'Special Services Offered'

Of course, Slytherin won the House-Cup. It would have been difficult for them not to.

As they got on the train and settled in for the long ride back to London, all Harry could hope for was that next year would be better.

Albus Dumbledore rested his chin on his steepled fingers and sighed, thinking of the events of the year. Fawkes cooed softly beside him, and he changed position to scratch his head.

He was terribly worried.

The terrible things Harry had been through hadn't ended when he left the orphanage. No, he was suffering at Hogwarts.

Albus had watched as Harry became more and more ostracized as the year went on. He tried to help, but there was little he could do. The Heads of House could announce punishments until they were blue in the face, but it simply wouldn't stop children from being afraid, or even hating another student.

And so Harry had suffered.

And then, Harry had gone into the Chamber, aiding the Task Force. It had been wonderful, and Albus had been sure it would begin the healing he so desperately needed. He watched, overjoyed, as students from other houses came and apologized to Harry for their conduct. He knew Harry hadn't necessarily appreciated the apologies, but they would begin closing the gaps.

And then Gilderoy had struck.

When Minerva's Patronus had come into his office, Albus had near had a heart attack. Harry was in the center of things, yet again.

And after the trial, the furious fans.

Albus was truly afraid.

Harry was in a prime position for his heart to fill with hate. For his soul to be consumed with rage. Albus would be loath to let that happen to any student under his care, but Harry Potter? Son of James and Lily, people he had felt proud to call comrades in arms? The child of prophecy foretold to defeat Voldemort, through his capability to love.

No.

Albus could not let that happen.

The problem becomes, then. What could he do?

The boy needs nothing more than love, care, and attention. The boy needs to be made to feel accepted. This was not entirely in Albus' control.

Remus would help. He was a good choice for Defence Against the Dark Arts. He would be able to hold the class' interest, and more importantly, to impart knowledge to them.

And Remus was a warm, kind man, with a truly gentle soul.

And Remus had been close to Harry's parents.

' Yes. I will ask Remus to try form a relationship with Harry. It can only help him. Help him truly flesh out his parents, into real people. I doubt Severus has been much help with that' . Dumbledore suppressed a snort. The only person worse than Severus to ask about his parents would be the caretaker. Or at least, about his father.

But still, that wouldn't be enough. ' No. I have delegated the issue of Harry Potter for too long. And why? Because I am too afraid to face my mistakes. I must attempt to draw the boy in. To show him, love. Shown love, he will warm'

Yes. That would be it. Perhaps offer tutelage in Magical Theory? He seems interested enough in that. Or maybe even something not offered on the curriculum. Maybe offer to teach him whatever he wants to learn.

' He does seem to love knowledge. He could easily pass for Ravenclaw, in fact'

It was settled, in Albus' mind at least. He would offer Harry lessons in whatever he wished. That should be enough to bring the boy closer.

Severus Snape wished he could simply kill himself.

Watching the thestral-drawn carriages depart the school, Snape knew he would soon be receiving communications from his master. And no matter what Harry chose, he would suffer. He would be terribly tortured if Harry rejected the Dark Lord's offer, and he would feel pain whenever he looked at Harry if he accepted it.

Severus Snape simply wished he could kill himself. But alas, he could not. So he went back to his potion brewing and awaited his summons.

And in the study of Malfoy Manor, one of the chairs was occupied. The Malfoys had gone out, wanting to do some shopping before picking up their precious son and his friend from the train. In the meantime, their guest sat and went over his plans.

And waited.