Author's notes…. As always, the original copyright holders retain their rights, and this is intended for the non-commercial enjoyment of the readers. Comments and reviews are always welcome, as long as they bear in mind that I am not a perfect typist, do not always get timelines right, muddle items from manga and anime without regard for canon, and have other personal quirks like my low sense of humour. I plan on staying on the ecchi side of things, but these last few entries are definitely mature in outlook.

An apology to everyone expecting regular updates. First excuse is that I generally work in spurts and usually for just one story. The second excuse is that I seem to have a massive case of writer's block whenever I pick up my laptop and want to do some grinding out.

I also encourage reviews and discussion of points, even suggestions of plot elements. However, I really ask that you post your review after logging in so that I can reply to you. The use of "guest" reviews (even if you put in your login id) will generally get tossed in the digital garbage bin. I've been trolled one too many times.

If you like this story, might I suggest taking a look at my other stories, which are mostly Harry Potter or Ranma 1/2 stories, with a few other stories thrown in for good measure, such as the "A Certain ... Railgun" series. Please read and review. BTW, my getting Japanese names or the Academy City characters straight is something some people complain about. However, not going to rewrite the stories to correct names; so you have been warned.

Actually, I just bumped into a story "You Know I Believe In Love " by uragaaru, it's chapter 3 ("Bent Desires") that has Ranma at home by himself with everyone else out of the house, permitting him to partake in his hidden desires with no one to disturb him or to call him a pervert (like Akane). Everything falls apart when Akane comes home unannounced and finds Ranma in the dojo en femme and ... Well, you'll just have to read the chapter to find out what happens.

- Saying good-bye and the saying hello….-

September 1, 1996, ten miles out of King's Cross Station

Harry, Hermione and Neville flopped down in the rearward-facing seat and looked at their travelling companions: Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis.

Harry stood up and grabbed the strap on the window and then pulled it up until the window closed and latched.

He looked at Hermione and Neville and nodded.

The two in question immediately stood and the three pulled out their wands and started casting "Don't pay attention", window glazing, privacy and room-sealing spells, putting layer upon layer until they were standing gasping and seating with their efforts and draws upon their magical cores.

They flopped down again and slowly gathered their breaths and then put away their wands.

"Okay," went Harry. "This is absolutely private and doesn't go beyond this compartment."

The others nodded and reached for their wands and took magical oaths to do exactly that.

Susan looked at the threesome. "And what is this deep dark secret that we can't speak about? You'd better start at the beginning, Harry, and tell us everything. Hermione and Neville, don't start correcting Harry or interjecting missed items. Otherwise, we won't get out of here until two weeks into classes, or get rescued by the other wives."

Neville looked embarrassed and nodded. Hermione looked astonished and then whacked Harry on his shoulder and then humphed and crossed her arms and then pointed looked at Harry. "Well? You heard her. Start at the beginning."

Harry leaned forward and steepled his fingers, then drew in a deep breath and whooshed it out, then looked at the others on the opposite bench.

"You know about the trials of the survivors from the sheep pasture. One of them was Bellatrix Lestrange, but she wasn't in the greatest of shape. In fact, it's a wonder that she didn't drown in Black Lake. Anyway, she had managed to splinch all of her limbs trying to Apparate when the bombs hit but before they went off. She made it as far as the edge of the crowd, but got caught in the liquification and the pasture splashing into the lake. She got fished out and then was sent to Saint Mongo's where they stabilized her until she could stand trial. She got found guilty and was sentenced to the Veil."

Susan nodded and the chimed in before the others on the seat could say the same thing. "Yes, we know all that. Okay, there's something else going on. She was one of the first to go through the Veil, and that was in late July."

Harry nodded. "Bellatrix admitted to everything that she was accused of, and actually pled to go through the Veil as quickly as possible. What you didn't hear is that she spent a lot of time with her sisters between the start of the trail and her passage through the Veil. In fact, it was her sister Narcissa who pushed her chair through the Veil, and she almost went through with Bellatrix."

"What!?" went the foursome. Harry nodded and continued.

"What everyone found was that Bellatrix wasn't the same as what you'd usually expect. Gone was the manic and maniacial and homicidal Bellatrix. Everyone saw a person resigned to their fate and actually looking forward to her life ending, rather than looking at years of being unable to do the simplest thing on her own except to wiggle around a bit. No magical core as that had been burned out when she attempted to Apparate and then got splinched. The shock of that event may have affected something buried deep in her psyche. The mind doctors got involved and then got the surprise of their lives. Turns out that the mad, crazy and destructive Bellatrix that we all know and loath was a façade for the real Bellatrix that had been Imperiused into her at some point, and that the shock of the loss of her core and splinching had broke the Imperius. Effectively, she had been mind-raped. Digging a bit deeper, they found the real Bellatrix, who'd been a prisoner in her own body. By bringing the original Bellatrix to dominance, they uncovered a couple of things that wound up bringing in her sisters and the three of them spending weeks getting to know each other before Bellatrix started talking about what she could remember. That wound up being the morning of her execution."

Harry sighed.

"Bellatrix has no real memory of about two years, starting sometime in 1969 and ending on her wedding day with Rodulphus Lestrange in 1971. That's the point at which the mind-rape occurred and the Bellatrix that we all know came into being."

"What she does remember, if it can be called that, is holding a small baby, possibly newborn. Even that is not a real memory, according to the mind healers, but what they call a 'body memory'. Her medical records do show that she had given birth at some time, but the actual date is unknown."

Susan Bones wiggled her fingers, mentally doing calculations. "If it was during that period, then the baby would be what, maybe 25 years old."

Harry smiled. "Actually, that's not far off. However….. She's now 35 years old. She was found in a dumpster in Adelaide, New South Wales, Australia on September 1st, 1961."

The four sitting opposite were gob-smacked until Daphne Greengrass stuck her finger in the air. "Time charms! But they're really hit-or-miss. Just as likely to into the future. Wait, we're talking about the Black family here. If Bellatrix did have a baby and the father was a muggle or worse yet, a half-blood, yes. Mom and Dad Black might be more than willing to do something like this, especially if there was a betrothal agreement with another pureblood family in the works."

Harry smiled produced a Snickers bar from his robe pocket and handed to her. "Exactly. In her case, she was adopted by a loving family, named Nancy Elizabeth or Blessed and Consecrated to God, grew up in a loving family, went to university, married he childhood sweetheart, got married had three children – girl, boy and boy, and they emigrated a year ago, to East Sussex of all places. The girl, Rachel Ruth or Innocent Lamb and Companion, has been showing strong accidental magic and is listed in the Australian Registry, and her records were transferred to the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts. Two months ago, she received her Hogwarts Letter."

Susan started waving her hands. "Hang on, Harry. Hang on. How did you and that includes all of your wives, manage to dig up Bellatrix's daughter, find her on the far side of the world, and then track her back to England, and verify that she was Bellatrix's daughter. Plus there's the matter of Bellatrix's estate. Does Nancy Elizabeth and Rachel Ruth have any claims on it? And why are you just sitting there all smirky or is that snarky, looking like a Slytherin with the big secret. Sorry, no slurs intended Misses Greengrass and Davis."

"None taken, Miss Bones. However, how did Harry and everyone else crack this mystery so quickly in what, two months or less? Lord Longbottom, time for you to answer the question, since Lord Potter-Black and Lady Granger-Potter will probably make us stew in our juices for a while. Hmmmmm, Neville?"

Neville looked at Harry and Hermione, then blushed. "Yes, it was me who figured out the blind spot in what was possibly a perfect crime, a witness to most of the events and who could come and go without triggering magical alarms, even to the point of time travel under specific directions."

Hanna Abbott put her hand in the air. "House elves! But how did you find the house elf and make them talk about the events. House elves are bound by their loyalty oaths not to divulge family secrets."

"True," went Neville. "But you have to trace the Black house elves that were there then and what happened to them and if their loyalty oaths had been released. Actually, we've been tripping over one for years. Turns out that he was also the house elf who took the future Nancy Elizabeth back in time and all the way to Australia."

"Dobby!," went Susan.

"Bingo!," went Hermione.