Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 33: Real Power
"Harry, what are you going to do?" Hermione asked. "If they go to a professor looking like this, they are going to suspend you, or even… expel you from school," she added with a tone of concern.
The grin on Harry's face made Marcus Flint tremble.
"Then I will have to make sure they can't talk to anyone."
One of the boys, who had his wand explode and injure his hand, got up in a hurry and attempted to escape.
"Incarcerous." Harry conjured a set of white ropes that wrapped around the ankles of the boy, making him fall down. He then followed this with another bone-breaker curse, shattering the boy's left leg.
"The next one who tries to flee will have both legs shattered." Before turning his attention back to Marcus, he glanced at Hermione. "Keep an eye on them."
"Okay." Hermione didn't seem too pleased with the order but would follow it nonetheless. She would do anything that he told her to do, even if it went against her moral code.
Harry knelt down next to Marcus, who was still nursing his broken hand and too scared to move.
"Show me your hand."
"W-what are you going to do?..."
"Fulgur." Sparks flew from the wand and hit Marcus in several parts of his body, making him scream and convulse.
This continued for a few more seconds and by the end, it left the Slytherin Captain sobbing on the ground.
"Painful, yes? You know, the Cruciatus may be the most famous torture curse, but there are many other less-known ones. A lot harder to detect as well. Do you want me to show you a few more?"
"P-please… no…" Marcus muttered.
"Then show me your hand," Harry repeated. "Not the broken one," he corrected Marcus. "The other one."
Marcus was terrified about what Harry planned to do, but not wanting to experience that pain again, he obeyed.
Harry used Marcus's own wand to trace a complex symbol on the palm of his hand before mumbling some strange words and finally tapping the symbol with the wand.
"Argh!" Marcus groaned in pain when the markings on his hand began to darken and transform into something that resembled a tattoo made with pure black ink.
His terrified eyes stared at the palm of his hand. "W-what is t-…"
"I was about to explain," Harry said. "That is a magical brand that is forcefully tied down to your soul. It's an extremely dark piece of magic that can only be removed by me."
"My soul?" Marcus didn't like the sound of that. It reminded him a lot of what his father had told him about the dark brand that Lord Voldemort used on his followers.
"The brand is under my control, and I can use it to inflict great pain on you from anywhere in the world, at any time that I please. If I want to, I can even use it to end your life."
"No… no, please." Marcus had never been so scared in his life. This was supposed to be a fun evening where they would mess a bit with Potter and then go get some Quidditch practice.
How did things devolve into this? The boy had no idea.
"Let me tell you what is going to happen next. If you or any of your friends over there tell anyone about what happened here today...you die. If I even get suspended or suffer any punishment for this...you die. If you think about taking action against me in the future or even look at me in a way that I dislike…"
"I die?" Marcus asked.
Harry smirked. "Exactly. So you will have to make sure everyone is kept in line. Because remember, your own life is at stake. Is that clear?"
"Yes…" Marcus lowered his head.
"Yes what?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, sir!" Marcus exclaimed.
"Better." He handed the wand back to Marcus. "I believe this is yours."
Marcus stared at the piece of wood with hesitation, not sure if he should take it or not.
"Go on, it's your wand." Harry insisted so Marcus knew that he had to take it, lest he would displease Harry.
"My apologies for breaking some of your wands," Harry told the others.
"I'm sure Marcus here will cover the expenses to get you new ones. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, sir!" Marcus hurried to answer.
"What happened here today shall not be spoken to anyone. You can consider it a punishment for interrupting my tea. If there is a next time…" Harry glanced at Marcus, implying that he would mark them as well.
"We won't!" one of the boys shouted immediately, their faces showing the terror they were feeling.
"Since we have a mutual understanding, you may go to the infirmary and get fixed. Make up some story to justify the injuries, like a sparring match that got out of hand."
Marcus was having trouble standing up while both his hands were hurting. He took another peek at his cursed hand and was surprised to see that the cursed brand had disappeared.
"It's still there." Harry could guess what he was thinking. "But it will only become visible when I activate it. Do you want a demonstration?"
"N-no!" Marcus exclaimed.
This made Harry chuckle. "I love the look of horror in your eyes. It's something that I will never get tired of." He then thought of something.
"Let me give you a piece of advice. Don't try cutting your hand off. As I said before, the curse is tied to your soul, so you will only be removing the visible part, but you will still be cursed. And you will have lost a hand for nothing."
Marcus lowered his face. He was too scared to look Harry in the eyes.
"Do you understand your situation, Mister Flint?"
"Yes, sir…"
"Your life is in my hands. You will never betray me, and you will do anything I say… correct?"
"Yes, sir…"
"Now see?" Harry grinned. "That right there… is real power."
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