I'm too beastly to be mistaken with someone like J. K. Rowling, who by the way owns Harry Potter.
It should have been expected. Someone like Cornelius Fudge just couldn't play fair. And I'm not talking about changing place of the hearing at the last moment.
When Harry Potter stepped into court room ten, he didn't understand why the full body was present for a simple case of under-age magic. It soon became clear, when charges were read. It appear that Minister wanted to make sure Harry was tried for something, and brought forth not only last case, but everything he could come up with.
Beside the encounter with dementor, there were charges regarding everything, from every bit of magic he did in his aunts home taken into question, through affairs with heirs of pure-blood families like Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, to some as ridiculous as that he should be charged for causing disturbances at Halloween 1981, when he survived a killing curse and wizards were openly celebrating.
Anyone could see that it was a trumped list. But it was made to ensure that something, as little as it was, would stick. Everything else made a background, making everything look worse than it was.
Dumbledore who came in when they were halfway through the list, and obviously appointed himself Harry's lawyer, voiced objection at how the hearing was proceeding. It was stated as a hearing regarding Harry Potter, right after he was sent an warning of under-age magic use. Now seeing that it was regarding multitude of different topics, Dumbledore pleaded for time too prepare, and to make sure that every available evidence was gathered.
That didn't end the way he intended.
With accusation of disrespecting a noble family, pure-bloods on the court used multitude of charges as an excuse that Harry Potter should be placed in a holding cell until proven not guilty. Bad luck didn't stop at that, and after some excuses regarding cells being renovated because of a flood that happened some time before, Harry was sent to Azkaban of all places.
Even thou he was placed in a low security ward, it was once again clearly stated that dementors didn't respect boundaries or orders when it came to their need to feed. Even in this part of the island so far away from high security part of the island, some of them would come to feed, if there were insufficient amount of inmates, due to no new arrivals, deaths, or just that some lost their minds, not even comprehending what fear was.
Because that was what they feed on. Fear. They weren't sucking all the happiness from you, leaving you with only bitter memories. They made you relive your worst nightmares, and lavished in the dread emanating from you. Given appearance of a dementor, it was "You are what you eat" kind of thing. One of the reasons why dementors kiss was used as an execution, was because it was believed that after soul was sucked out of your body, it was trapped in world of nightmares, meant to spent infinite time in continuous torment. Your private hell, to say it short.
But at first it wasn't that bad for Harry. Yes, having to repeat moments when his parents were killed wasn't a time of his lifetime, but after a while, you knew dementor was coming, you anticipated it, you could prepare. It also was also a little better when he concentrated on remembering his parents, mostly their voice, and forgot circumstances in which it happened. That in itself lessened the horror of the experience, that thought that he had a connection with his parents, and it stopped being his worst nightmare. What came next, was much worse.
What he saw next was bizarre mix of every wrong thing that happened near him. The horrifying thing about is, that he blamed himself for it. He haven't noticed that Ginny was acting strange, so it was his fault that she nearly died. He should have done something earlier. Sirius was still on the run because he kept him from killing Petigrew. Remus lost his job because of that night too... On and on, every thing that he remembered, the blame was always his.
One would say that it was good that dementors only stayed a short while to feed, before returning to their proper place. But in truth, the most damage was done when he was alone. In that time between dementor-driven guilt-trips, he kept pondering what he just saw. His mind torn between what he just experienced, and simple idea that he couldn't be responsible for everything. That war that he was fighting against what he felt to be true, convincing himself, and replaying known facts. That was what did most damage to him.
Trying to think if, and how much guilt, he had in each case, he kept taking events apart, like one would take frames out of the movie, and he kept asking himself "Is this my fault?" or "Is this somehow connected with me?". That didn't help, as with next visit of a dementor his nightmares would only twist and bend more and more, showing his involvement in a whole new way.
But he just couldn't stop. He just couldn't stand that unanswered question "Is this really all because of me?". He kept taking apart memory after memory, event after event, to the point where he couldn't remember what really happened, and what was simply one of many possibilities that he came out with. But it didn't stop at that. With those blank spots in his memory, dementors fed on his uncertainty, and showed everyday occurrences in very disturbing way. Like every whisper at school was spiteful. Like everyone was mean, just acted civil when he approached them, hiding what they really thought of him.
And it just started again. "Is it true?" he kept asking himself. "Is it all true?" he thought as he again tore his memories apart, clawing through everything he knew to find an answer. He kept doing that to his mind, not really knowing what he was doing any more.
'Oh, yeah. Sirius was right that dementors aren't as scary to mindless creatures.' he noticed when it was too late. And it was last thought Harry Potter concieved before his conciousness was plunged into darkness.
Albus Dumbledore with his many years of experience in bureaucracy, still didn't comprehend why it made thing so much difficult, when it was meant to keep order and make things so much easier to accomplish. Proving Harry's innocence in every case from the list of charges that Wizengamot came with wasn't difficult. Just immensely time consuming. Whenever he made attempt to clarify some things, they contradicted him as much as they could, then simply stated that it was in fact very clear that charge couldn't be true, and as such, needed new set of paperwork to be filled, and lots of time to make it done.
Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, seemed to be pleased that Harry spent time in Azkaban. Clearly it didn't matter why that was, as long as he stayed there. In fact it was partly true, because everyone remembered that someone was sentenced for time there, while not necessarily knowing what he spent time for.
But after nearly two months of information gathering, paperwork filling and arguments, it was clear that Harry Potter wasn't guilty of any punishable crimes, and any minor offences could easily dismissed.
That's why, on insistence of Albus Dumbledor, there was a guard walking through Azkaban prison in the middle of the night, to retrieve Harry Potter. He was to be transferred and under healers supervision as soon as possible, so he could recover for his next year at Hogwarts which was to begin in only couple days time.
Given the late hour, and natural gloom of Azkaban, the guard on duty wasn't surprised by the darkness filling every place in the prison. Cells were no exception, and because of that, after opening the door to Harry's cell, he saw nothing more than pair of gleaming eyes staring from the darkness.
'Wait. Gleaming...' but no sooner he begun this trail of thoughts, he was slammed against the wall by the shadow that leapt from the cell.
Lying half concious on the floor, he watched how the figure seemed to jump between spots of moonlight as the person was getting further away from him. When he caught to what that meant, he immediately cast a quick spell, notifying wards about escape attempt. Torches everywhere lit up, back up was sent his way, and lock down of the prison commenced.
Regaining his footing and shaking his head to clear hid mind from dizziness that still lingered, he watched as the man still kept running away from him, and he just couldn't understand why he was running straight to the arms of a dementor.
In fact, the man didn't stop and crumble under the pressure of dementor this close. Instead, he swung his arms at the demon and tore him apart, leaping straight through the rain of tattered robes. Dementor reformed itself moments later, only to pursue him further.
The man kept sprinting through the prison, bashing his way through more guards, not noticing if they were man or dementor, and not caring how many of them there was. His only care was to get out, and as far away as he could.
He was caught only when guards collapsed an entire section of celling on top of him.
This year of Hogwart started more or less like any other. There was a train ride, Sorting Ceremony, feast, and a big gossip. The most different thing, was the gossip. School was just barely standing with all the news of Harry's time in Azkaban, and the fact that he was kept in the Hospital wing even when the year haven't even started.
Draco Malfoy just couldn't let this occasion to pass. That was why he made his way into the infirmary, disregarding signs of "knock in case of emergency" and "do not enter". His resolution wasn't even damaged by the compulsions on the door, or that he need to use unlocking spell to get in.
Inside, standing by the bed he usually was placed, stood Harry Potter, just staring out of the window.
"Hey, Scar-head. Had pleasant vacation?"
There was no response. Harry just stood there. Motionless.
"Sleeping with dementors couldn't be much worse than any kind of hole you crawl into during summertime." Draco tried again, more forcefully, while stepping closer.
This time Harry turned slightly to look at the Slytherin, his face emotionless, and still not responding with any word.
"You think you can just disregard me? Or should I make sure that you still have your voice?" Malfoy sneered, stepping right in front of Harry, and drawing his wand.
Again, Harry just barely shifted his gaze to the wand at his throat, making Draco scowl at his lack of response. Slytherins pondering of the expressionless face was ended by one single sound.
Snap!
'He snapped my wand!' immediately came to his mind. 'How dare he...' but before he got any further, he looked away from Harry's eyes that were again pointed at him, and to the piece of wood that was a little lower.
'Huh? My wand seems to be whole, but is pointing in wrong direction...' so he directed his eyes lower still, and noticed Harry's hand holding his forearm, and that it was twisted in a way it clearly wasn't supposed to.
It's really bizarre what little burst of adrenaline do to you, because what seemed a really long while to Draco, was just a fraction of second between his arm being broken, and pain catching up to him when he crumbled to the floor, screaming in pain.
Moments later Madam Pomfrey came back to the hospital wing with potions and supplies, dropping them when she spotted a student lying on the floor and cradling his arm. His shouts that Potter attacked him would fall on deaf ears, and even his fathers intervention didn't help answering how he was taken inside in the first place, in spite of everything that should keep him outside.
But that didn't interest Harry Potter. As soon as Draco fell to the floor, he got back to what he was doing earlier, ignoring screaming that filled the infirmary the whole time until the nurse took care of him. He just stared out of the window.
"What happened to him?" was main question Albus Dumbledor wished to be answered during this meeting. Madam Pomfrey, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, and he himself were the only people present.
"I healed injuries to his body after he was brought from Azkaban. Surprisingly, he wasn't in as bad condition as having a ton of rock thrown at you would cause. Physically he's fine, but..." Poppy Pomfrey stopped, not knowing from where to start.
"I used Legilimency, to asses if there were any mental traumas from what little exposure to dementor he should have." Severus Snape took over, his usual sneer absent. It was clear indication at how serious situation was, since he himself didn't feel there was any place for it. "What I found... " he stopped, shaking his head. "His mind is more and less than empty."
"More or less." Minerva corrected out of habit.
"No. I mean it when I say more AND less than empty." Snape replied, still shaking his head.
"Could you clarify?" prompted Dumbledore.
"Right, so, maybe..." Severus begun, not knowing how to simplify subtle art of mind magic. "Lets say that we have a new born child. Since no one ever attempted Legilimency at someone that young we can't know for certain, but lets assume that there is only first memory. Something like first face, first time hearing parents voices. Anything. Of course as peculiar that memory would look, being filtered by a undeveloped mind, it would be one picture."he stopped to make sure everyone understood this far. "Now, Potter's mind as he is now, is less than empty, that's obvious. But is more than empty than even newborn child. Looking into his thoughts, isn't like shifting through pictures of memories. It's more like standing in a snowstorm, with his memories being the snowflakes. There is no single memory. It's like they were all torn to dust." he stopped, again only shaking his head, not knowing how something like that could happen.
"What does that mean?" asked Minerva, still not understanding the implications.
"It means, that he's no more than an animal." answered Dumbledore in a tired whisper.
"What? How can you say that?" Gryffindor Head of House asked Headmaster, turning to the Nurse for some help, some proof that it wasn't so.
Madam Pomfrey just hung her head.
"As crude of a statement, it's essentially true. While many deny it, humans are only another kind of species on the planet. The main difference is our mind. Our ability to perceive more complex ideas. But without that developing... Mr. Potter right now acts only on instinct and what little he can remember, if any of it. He doesn't mind me when I'm in infirmary, but I think that's mostly because I treated him. In spite that, the first time he woke he was a bit jumpy when I was around. But when he was threatened by Mr. Malfoy, he just removed threat that was in front of him. We all know how that ended. That also explains why he tried to escape from Azkaban. His instincts telling him he was in danger."
"They say he kept running at full speed for nearly ten minutes, meanwhile tearing dementors apart and throwing guards against the walls." Snape said, once again taking part in the conversation.
"I can't explain it, but I would guess it was accidental magic." replied the nurse.
"Accidental magic? How so?" asked Dumbledor, interested in any amount of information that could be used.
"Before children even hear about magic, like muggleborn's do, they can do accidental magic. They just will things to happen. Since Mr. Potter acts on instinct, I think he just disregards everything, and wills things to happen."
"So you say he can do anything he wants without a wand?" asked astonished Transfiguration Professor.
"No, not anything. Like I said before, without a mind to process more complex ideas, you have only instinct. So if he wants to run long enough till he finds exit like he did in Azkaban, I think he would. That also explain how he wasn't badly injured when they captured him, his body acting on instinct, protecting itself from the rocks. I don't know if when he's hungry food would just float to him, but I doubt it. And I also don't think that he can jump as high, or run as fast as he wants. Magic will enhance his strength, greatly. But on one point, his body would just fall apart, no matter how much energy he would use."
"But to tear through dementors?" asked McGonagall.
"Dementors affect mind, causing feelings of terror and dread." explained Snape, knowing more about dark branches of magic than anyone else in the room. "Since there isn't much left of Potter's mind, he isn't affected too much, an can just walk past them. As for the "tear apart", it doesn't do much damage to dementor. They are after all demon spawn. Demons can be held of, like in this case, with Patronus charm. But to defeat and destroy them completely, there is always a price involved." he finished.
"But what now?" asked Minerva after long silence. "What do we do? Should we tell someone about this?"
"And what would you say?" asked Dumbledore, twinkling gone from his eyes. "How would you explain to anyone that Harry Potter is... mindless?"
AN. If you like this idea, and would like to see more of this, any thoughts/suggestions/etc. would be useful. I would certainly appreciate someone to write this with.
Now, this fic is mix of quite some things. I got an idea "what if Harry was emotionless?". He wouldn't want power, no dark spells, rituals or anything. Just being ruthless about dealing with anyone who is stupid enough to cross his path. That scene with him breaking Malfoy's arm "just like that", wouldn't leave my head.
But since I didn't want to write a psychopath eleven year old, like I would need to if I were to write from year one, I had to think of something else. But how do you throw everything that was before out in an interesting way? That's how you get Azkaban!Creature!Harry. Obviously, this will be a little dark, gory, violent, and anything else like that.
And, if you want to whine that people aren't animals, then check your biology book, or encyclopaedia. Look under Homo sapiens.
I don't know how often I will update this, since for now I treat this as a place where I can unleash my darker side when I have bad mood. Simply said, for now I won't try very hard to add anything. Maybe if I get in really bad mood and just want to kill someone... Maybe...