Broken Strings

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its associated characters; all copyright belongs to JK Rowling; I do own any OC spells explained at the end of a chapter;

Dedication: I would like to dedicate this story to StormyFireDragon as it is his works that prove to me that such writings don't always have to be graphic; I don't have a specific story to recommend, so I'll just say this: go and read them all.

Harry/Draco

Eventual Luna/Neville

Normal Speech

'Thought'

'Mind Link'

/Parseltongue/

"I…I think I'm starting to get the message," Sirius reasoned, his voice calm as he asked, "Now, what do you want to show me?"

"This," Tom explained, opening the cell that they were standing outside with a flick of his wand; entering the cell, he explained to Sirius, "It's not a bribe or an ultimatum; it's something that you and Harry have in common."

Stepping into the cell, Sirius gasped as he saw a body lying flat on the floor in front of him, the facial features and bodily strength of the body almost similar to his own save for an almost less-handsome appearance to him and a more defined jawline. The body was also shorter than Sirius and, where Sirius had shaggy black hair, this one had sleek, almost well-groomed dark hair, making it impossible for Sirius to deny the identity of the body;

"Regulus?"

Epilogue: The Dark Is Rising

Sirius couldn't believe his eyes:

His brother, whom many had said was dead and murdered by the man standing next to him, was actually alive – though not in the physical sense – and had been kept by Voldemort for this entire time. He knew that he couldn't question Harry about this as all his pup and the new Dark Lord knew was that Riddle was doing something to cement Sirius' allegiance to his pup.

'Well,' thought Sirius, 'If anything can do it, this can.'

Still looking at the form of his brother, Sirius asked, "How is it he's here after there were witnesses to his body and his death?"

"Those witnesses worked for me," Tom explained, his voice calm as he knew that this would hurt Sirius, "But they also ensured the truth was known not to the families, but to the Light. In truth, I sealed Regulus in a comatose-like state that ensured he would live while giving the appearance of death: I can, of course, revive him and bring him back, but think of it as…an ultimatum, Sirius: your brother's return for your permanent place at the side of my little snake. A fair deal, I'd say."

Sirius didn't hesitate: he rounded on Riddle and, drawing his wand, pointed it square between the man's red eyes, his words as cold as ice as he addressed the former Dark Lord, "Let's get something straight here and now, Riddle: I would die for that boy and, when he revealed the fact that he was allied with you, I was a little scared, but I knew where I belonged. However, I also told him that I would never abandon him, no matter what the price was; furthermore, you also said yourself that this isn't an ultimatum, which all adds up to one meaning: I'm not intimidated by you because my loyalty belongs to my pup."

"And yet you're still wanting to see him again, aren't you, Sirius?" asked Tom, indicating Regulus' body, "You want your brother to know the fact that the Black Family has remained tied to its dark legacy and then you wish to help Regulus know your pup and my little snake, isn't that right?"

Sirius didn't deny it, "Yes."

Tom just smiled before he chuckled once and, raising his wand, he told Sirius, "Then have my little gift, Sirius Black…and welcome back to the darkness."

A bright blue flash lit up the cell and, as Sirius looked to his brother's body, he felt shock and relief seep into him as a gasp of disbelief escaped the body, before the grey eyes of Regulus Black looked at Sirius, his voice weak as he asked, "S…Siri?"

"Hey Reggie," laughed Sirius, "About time you woke up."

As Sirius helped his brother to stand, Tom turned on his heel and left the room, leaving the brothers to reunite…

BrokenStrings

A soft knocking had Harry roused from sleep as he glanced to where Draco was resting on his chest before he asked in a hushed voice, "Who…who's there?"

"Remus," answered the werewolf, his own voice calm, but holding an edge of emotion that Harry couldn't quite place, "Can…can we have a word, cub?"

"Now?" asked Harry, noticing that Draco had opened his eyes and was watching his lover carefully, "Can't…can't it wait, Remy? I'm…kind of occupied at the moment."

"It's important," Remus answered, before he heard a sigh from his cub as Harry summoned his robe and, wrapping it around his body, unlocked the door to his room, allowing Remus to enter. Seeing Harry and Draco in the same bed and in each other's arms, the werewolf didn't need to guess or insinuate what his cub had been doing; with an embarrassed apology, he asked, "Harry, tell me the truth: did…did you arrange for Fenrir Greyback to teach me to control the change?"

"I did," Harry answered, groaning slightly as Draco moved his hands over his boyfriend's shoulders once more, soothing the early-morning tensions in Harry's body. "I…I told you that you and he…wouldn't share missions, but I didn't say that you'd never meet: besides, I know it's been…a desire of yours for a long time to…control Moony and his powers and I have given you that chance. Fenrir has been a wolf for a lot longer than you, Remus, so, as his Lord, or his Prince as I was when I told him about this, he knew that he had no real choice but to obey me. Why?" Here, he glanced to Remus with worried eyes, Draco trying his hardest to keep his lover calm and content, "Don't you like that I'm giving you the chance to do that which you've always wanted?"

"It's not that," Remus explained, a sigh escaping him as he addressed his cub, "It's just…I despise Greyback with a vengeance: a part of me accepts that he made me, but there's another part that wants to rip him apart and leave his mutilated corpse under the light of the full moon. To…to work with him, even for the ability to control the change, it…it's too much for me, Harry."

"So then why are you still here?" asked Harry, releasing Draco's soothing touch from his shoulder as he stood up, reaching to his bedside table for the wand he'd acquired from Tom, "Because if you won't allow me to give you this gift, then what use do I have for you, Remus? Why are you here speaking to me about this?"

"If you're going to curse me, then go ahead; I won't stop you, cub," Remus told him, his words calm as he faced Harry, "I just wanted you to know why it was I was risking betraying my promise to you to stick by you and follow whatever wishes you had for me. I'm sorry, Harry."

"So am I," Harry replied, lifting his wand as he commanded, "Spiria Relinquari Lupus!"

A jet of powerful silver magic flew from Harry's wand, the spell hitting Remus square in the chest, the eyes of the wolf widening as Harry kept his wand trained on the wolf. As soon as the spell hit Remus, the former Defence Professor cried out in pain as his mind felt like it was on some sort of super-heated overdrive, a long echoing howl ringing in his ears. Glancing to Harry, Remus asked, "What…what are you doing?"

"Making sure you keep your word," Harry told him, his wand releasing a second jet of silver light that struck Remus in the chest, "And if Remus Lupin won't obey me and serve me as he wished, then I'll just have to draw out the other you: Moony!"

"He'll…he'll kill you," Remus snarled, dropping to all fours, his fingernails extending into claws as he looked up at Harry with a flickering colour of feral gold in his eyes, "Cub: please…don't do this; I…I just can't…I won't work with Greyback."

"Then you are a traitor to your promise," Harry told him, Draco now standing next to his lover as Harry seemed to shake with his words, "And I have no use for more treachery in my life: goodbye, Remus Lupin!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLL!" Remus' howl was long and echoing, but, as it fell, the body of the man seemed to shift and contort; rather than change and cover itself with black fur, the body of the Professor seemed to grow stronger before, looking up, the man glanced at Harry with the same feral gold eyes, his voice slightly gruff as he remarked, "Thank you…my cub."

"Hello Moony," Harry replied, lowering his wand as he approached the man, "I trust that you, at least, will do what Remus would not? You will obey your Alpha and do as I command, won't you?"

"Of course, little one," Moony growled, baring his throat to Harry in submission, "The coward that I once was is now dead to me: there is only Moony and he wishes to command this power. So, my Alpha, my King, do you want me to learn from the elder wolf?"

"I want it and I command you to do it," Harry told him, Moony lowering his head in response before he turned on his heel and left the room; once he was gone, Harry's legs wobbled dangerously before he fell to the floor, Draco supporting his lover as Harry gasped out, "He…he gave me no other choice, Drake: I didn't really kill him…did I?"

"No, my love," Draco replied, holding Harry close to him as he soothed his lover with his touch, "Remus wanted to abandon your cause and betray his own desire to oblige you of your wishes. He deserved his fate: though I think that Greyback will now have a rival for Alpha of the Pack when Moony is finished with him."

"That," Harry reasoned, "I don't have trouble not caring about: I just can't believe that I had to use the spell that Greyback told me about to ensure that my own were-warrior remained loyal to me."

"Fools learn the hard way, love," Draco told him, placing a gentle kiss on his lips as he added, "Remus was never truly dark like you and I; it was inevitable that he would turn on you sooner or later. Now the man and the beast are one and the same and Moony sees you as Alpha: no Dark Lord I know and love could ask for more."

"I love it when you call me that, Drake," Harry whispered, before he surrendered himself to his boyfriend's embrace, Draco keeping him calm and in the right frame of mind for what would come next…

BrokenStrings

That same afternoon, the Court met up in the meeting room of Riddle Manor, Harry and Draco now taking their places at the head of the room while Tom joined the members of the court beneath the new Dark Lords. Glancing to Moony, who looked healthier and almost hungry for his first true taste of the flesh of his enemies, Harry heaved a sigh before he explained, "I see that there's been a few changes around here while I've been…distracted; from the appearance," he added, directing his words to Sirius and Regulus, "I'd guess that you would be Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius' brother and someone that's actually meant to be dead. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And it is my pleasure to serve your wishes, my Lord," Regulus answered, lowering his head to Harry as he remained by his brother's side, "I served Lord Voldemort faithfully and was rewarded with some sort of extended life-preserving coma; now my loyalty and my services are yours."

"Wise decision," Harry reasoned, before he lifted his hand and pointed to Moony, who stepped forwards, baring his throat to Harry who continued, "I also feel that you should know that when I tell you that you will be punished for abandoning me, I mean it: Tom may have used Cruciatus Curses and the Avada Kedavra to deal with deserters, but I use something far more powerful. I use my magic at its fullest capacities: here we have one such example: Moony; a werewolf soul that was held within the vessel of a coward who would rather choose to go against my wishes than gain that which he has wished for his entire life."

"But Remus looks exactly the same, Harry," Sirius piped up, earning a laugh from Harry as he shook his head in argument to his godfather.

"He may look the same, Sirius, but the man known as Remus is no more: now there is only Moony," Harry's smile was like that of a shark smelling blood in the water as he explained, "Remus wouldn't let himself be given the right to tame the change, which was something that I personally wanted for him and for that lack of faith in my wishes, I used a nice little hex to bring the beast out and kill the soul of the man. Remus Lupin is gone: or at least, the Remus Lupin that you and the rest of the world knew: this was the price of his loyalty and the penalty of his betrayals."

"A price that I was willing to pay to feel the full splendour of my true power, my Alpha," Moony growled, keeping his head bowed before his leader, "I am now free of the humanity that bound me: once more, the wolf roams free and he is yours to command."

"Good," Harry remarked, before he moved back to his throne and, facing Sirius, told him, "If you have something to say against this, Sirius, then say it now: I've had too many people stab me in the back and, compared to what the old me would have done, the new Harry James Potter is neither as merciful nor as lenient in giving people the chances they deserve. Which reminds me," here, he turned his attention to Neville, Luna, Fred, George and Draco. "When we return to Hogwarts for the Spring Term, we have a little unfinished business with Gryffindor House and a certain arrogant toad-bitch for what they did to me: I expect your full cooperation in this matter as I don't plan on using simple stunners to send my message."

"You know by now that we follow and obey your wishes, Harry," Neville told him, keeping his tone even as he addressed his Lord, "You lead and position us like a general leads his army: so, when you say strike, we will strike."

"That's all I ask," Harry sighed, letting his hand rest in Draco's as he faced the Court as a whole, "In the meantime, I think you should spread the word to the other Death Eaters that there's a new Lord on the throne and, to our contacts in the Ministry, I want any and all information on a certain old man and his ilk. I'm not waiting for Dumbledore to make his move: now I make the rules and I will be the one to strike first against him; any information and any confirmations are needed and ordered. Also, Lucius," he glanced to the Malfoy Lord, who was a part of the Court due to the Black Family – or what was left of it – being united under Harry's banner, "I want you to make a move and place a few of our people inside Hogwarts: we'll soon need a new Headmaster as well as a few new teachers."

"Yes, my Lord," Lucius replied, keeping his eyes lowered as he knew that Harry had anger and dark potential in him that Tom could only dream of; this wasn't an anxious little boy deciding his path; this was a Lord ready, willing and able to declare war on those that had stood in his way.

"It's time for me to stop pretending," Harry informed the Court, "The world made me into what you see before you; now it's time for me to show them the folly of their decisions."

"We're with you, Harry," Draco told him, placing a gentle kiss against Harry's cheek, his voice soft as he asked, "When do we start?"

"Drake," Harry laughed, facing Draco as he shook his head in amusement, "Don't you get it?"

There were looks of confusion from the other members of the group as Harry looked around, his eyes shining brightly as he told them one simple statement:

"It has already begun!"

YES: This is the end of Broken Strings and decisions have been made; I'm ending it here as it seems like I'm ending one arc of a great adventure; whether or not I do anything to follow this comes down to whether or not I can keep my inspirations flowing. So PLEASE don't ask me about a sequel: if there isn't one, then you are more than welcome to create one yourselves as long as you inform me of it's creation; if I DO post a sequel, I will keep up the excitement and intensity of this story.

So, a big thank you to everyone that has read, reviewed, followed and favourite this: it was my first real slash-pairing story and I think it's worked; I hope those that are yet to read this story enjoy it.

From DZ2, this is thank you and goodbye to Broken Strings;

Please Read and Review…

OC SPELL:

Spiria Relinquari Lupus: The Wolf Release Hex: WEREWOLF MAGIC: Draws out the bestial nature and spirit of the wolf within the cursed human;