AN: Finally, the chapter I've been waiting quite a while to release! This one ought to shed more light on Harry's...Tarkin-esque behaviour, as well as its effects on those around him.

However, before we go on, I've been asked a relevant question in a review that I think I should answer.

Ginny's Work - Although I've not gone very in depth on Ginny's work, rest assured that, despite no longer attending Hogwarts, she still works for the Imperial Intelligence Centre (or I2C). She, along with Blackthorne, remain the Potters' ears and eyes, both in Great Britain, as well as the rest of the world (Blackthorne more so than Ginny in the international aspect).

Background questions are still welcome! Any I find relevant enough to answer would show up in a Historical Vignette.


When Lily found Ginny after a few hours of searching throughout the Potter Complex, also known as Griffin Keep, the girl was found sitting on the windowsill of the highest level of the Tower of Angels. Not the most welcoming place, seeing as how it'd been originally built as a prison, back in the 13th Century.

"Ginny?" asked Lily as she approached the girl.

"Is it on its way?" Ginny asked simply, her eyes still on the distant horizon.

Lily was about to nod when she realized how ridiculous the action was, seeing as how Ginny wasn't even looking at her. So, she instead said, "Yes. The airship took off about three hours ago."

Ginny merely nodded as she stared silently out the window. Lily walked up slowly to the redheaded girl and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"We were worried,"

Ginny nodded again.

"Ginny, what's wrong?"

Ginny seemed to be slowly cracking, apparently, as silent tears began to slide down her pale cheeks.

"I miss him."

"Oh, honey…" comforted Lily as she grabbed the petite girl in a hug. "We all do. James is positively wracked with nerves right now," she told her daughter-in-law. "He is our only son, after all."

Ginny nodded slowly, her face buried in Lily's dress.

Seeing that she wouldn't get any word out of Ginny, Lily decided to keep talking. "Drives you mad, doesn't it? The waiting? I had to go through it myself when James was in the service, along with Maximilian and Matthew. Granted, I at least had Harry when that happened, to keep me company and keep my mind off things."

Unfortunately, that didn't seem like the best approach, for the young Potter heiress seemed to burst into sobs at that. Lily looked alarmed as she tried to comfort her son's wife.

"Ginny, I'm sorry! Did I say something wrong?" she apologized rapidly. Instead of answering, Ginny merely cried into Lily's dress.

Ginny managed to regain her composure, however, and shook her head once more as Lily asked what was wrong.

"N-Nothing's wrong, Lily…" she answered, "It…It's just that I-I n-never got to tell him…"

Lily gave Ginny a confused look. "Tell him what?"

Ginny sniffed before saying, very softly, something that froze Lily in her seat, sending up a very piercing chill up her spine.

"I'm pregnant."


Lily's reaction had definitely not been what Ginny had been expecting. The petite teen was sure that had it been made to her own mother, Mrs. Weasley would have been jumping for joy and ecstatic (if one ignored the whole "I'm not talking to my mother" thing that was going on at the moment). For a brief moment, Ginny became suddenly afraid that perhaps Lily and James didn't approve of her marriage to their son as much as they claimed to.

"Lily?" she asked, nervously. "Are…are you mad at me for having Harry's child?"

That seemed to break Lily out of her stupor. The Potter matriarch got to her feet quickly and turned to look at Ginny grimly.

"Ginny, I need you to come with me right now," she told the girl.

Ginny's nervousness increased at the older woman's grim tone. What was going on here? What was wrong?

Nervous as she was, however, she nonetheless got to her feet and began to timidly walk after Lily as the older woman made her way down the spiral staircase of the Tower.

Though the trek was initially made in silence, Lily finally broke it as they neared the bottom of the staircase.

"Have you noticed anything wrong with Harry, Ginny?"

The comment in and of itself took Ginny completely off-guard. From her reaction to her pregnancy announcement, Ginny had expected Lily to blast her for getting impregnated. Thus, it took her a few seconds to recover her balance and answer her mother-in-law.

"Err…how so?"

Lily cast a worried look over her shoulder as she strode out of the Tower into the Keep's courtyard.

"Has he seemed a bit…different, lately?" repeated Lily. "Colder, more withdrawn," she hesitated now. "Cruel?"

Ginny visibly halted in movement as she gaped at the Potter matriarch, who'd also stopped to turn and look at Ginny worriedly.

"How can you say that?" she whispered. "Your own son!"

Lily's gaze narrowed a fraction. "It is because he is my son that I ask this!" she shot back. The comment took Ginny aback and made the petite girl take a few steps back.

"Harry is Harry!" protested Ginny. "He hasn't changed at all!"

Lily looked at her sceptically. "Really? He's never changed at all?" she asked. "Never once in his letters did his tone seem to change; the loving words begin to falter; the tenderness seem to fade?"

Ginny was about to immediately refute Lily's claims when memories began to assault her. She remembered how, in her fifth year, the tone and frequency of Harry's letters had suddenly changed. When she had previously received over fourteen letters a week, full of love and promise, his letters had gradually become more and more scarce, until she only received about seven a week—one a day.

His tone, too, changed. He became less open, less loving in his words. He became more official, more logical.

She nearly kicked herself literally for not having seen the differences. How could she have missed that?

She stopped herself there. She knew she hadn't. She'd merely reasoned his change as a result of stress.

"What happened to him?" she asked finally.

Lily shook her head sadly as she turned and began walking towards the building that Ginny only knew as the Conservatory of Knowledge—the Potter House's private library.

"We—that is, James and I—have no idea," admitted Lily as she discreetly twisted her wedding band once. "We thought maybe you could help us with that."

Soon, they were at the gates of the Conservatory, and Ginny was surprised to see James arrive quickly minutes later.

"I got your signal," he told Lily with a worried look. "What's wrong?"

Lily motioned towards Ginny. "Ginny's pregnant."

James paled at that, making Ginny even more nervous. What had happened to her husband? Did whatever happen to him affect the baby? Was it okay?

James grabbed Ginny by the shoulders and levelled her with a look. "Ginny, I need you to be straight with us. Have you—"

"I already asked, James," interrupted Lily. Catching his attention, she elaborated. "Ginny didn't realize anything was wrong until a few minutes ago."

James swore under his breath. He then gave Ginny a worried look, but smiled nonetheless. "I want you to know, Ginny, that no matter what has happened, we couldn't be prouder and happier to know that we're about to be grandparents."

Ginny blushed a bit before whispering, "Funny way to show it," somewhat bitterly.

James and Lily winced at that but recomposed themselves quickly.

"We have a reason for that, actually," offered Lily, catching Ginny's attention. "We're worried that whatever's caused Harry to change might be…well…hereditary."

Ginny, however, didn't see the problem. "Well, if it is, then a good environment for the child will take care of that, won't it?"

James shifted at the counter. "Unfortunately, it's not so simple."

"Oh?"

James winced at the harsh tone his daughter-in-law was taking. "Whatever has affected Harry is not within our genetic pool. We've done extensive bloodlines research, and not one of our ancestors has displayed such…ruthless tendencies. Not even Augustus Potter."

Here, James frowned a bit. It was common knowledge that the Potters had one ancestor that was looked down upon: Augustus Potter, one of Gryffindor's famous Four Generals. Alongside Andrew Bones, Octavian Weasley, and Claudius Longbottom, he had been one of the most respected knights of his day. However, of the four, he had also been the most bloody of them; taking a decidedly harsh stance against the Dark Arts and seldom giving mercy to his male opponents. His only redeeming factors had been that his ruthlessness did not extend to women or children, and that he was a great father and influential in the reconstruction efforts after the wars.

Which is why James was worried about his son. Harry had not extended a shred of mercy against any of his opponents for approximately one and a half years now. At every single engagement, he'd ordered the immediate killing of any of his enemies, without ever resorting to diplomacy or the such. Not even when they got to their knees and begged for mercy did his son spare them. He killed them all—men, women, and even children if they were amongst his opponents.

Which was why he'd been very vocal in his objections against sending Harry to Hogwarts. He knew that, given the chance, he would've put up every single son of a Death Eater not under his employ against a wall and had them shot. Not to mention what he would've done to Snape. Harry would have probably hung him from the Whomping Willow.

"So what does that have to do with my child?" asked Ginny, not a little irritably. She was quickly losing her patience with the two elder Potters.

"We're not positive about this, but we think that if whatever is affecting Harry is on the genetic scale, then it's possibly been designed to be triggered, despite the way he's been raised, at a certain age."

Ginny glared at James. What did her child have to do with any of this?

Lily gave Ginny a pitying look. "Unfortunately, we think that if it's indeed genetic, then your child may have this same trait."

Ginny froze. They couldn't possibly mean…

"And if it does?" she asked in a whisper as her hands instinctively went to her stomach protectively.

Lily noticed the movement and gave her an alarmed look. "No! We'd never harm the baby!" she assured the girl frantically.

Ginny sighed in relief as James nodded. "We'll simply try to reverse whatever it is that's affected Harry. Of course, this is only relevant if the changes are genetic. If not…"

Ginny nodded at James' words, but then came to a sudden realization. "Is this why you two haven't had another child?" she asked.

James nodded as Lily looked away. "We're afraid that perhaps we might be wrong on the bloodline theories, and that another of our children will turn into…well…you understand."

A monster was the unsaid thought that permeated all three of their minds.

Still, Ginny remained sceptical at the Potter elders' claim. "He doesn't seem all that cold, though. Are you sure we're not reading too much in this?" she asked.

James nodded. "It's a pattern we've figured out. Harry will usually act like he used to before his change—kind, chivalrous, loving. Until something, some event triggers his darker side."

"Have you figured out what triggers it?"

Lily nodded. "Usually stress, or some sort of negative emotional stimuli."

Ginny nodded. "Have you checked him for spells? Maybe it's just a mood-affecting spell he got and never noticed?"

James shook his head. "Already checked. It's not a spell."

Ginny was confused. "Then why haven't you checked his genetic makeup yet? I mean, can't you just do a spell to find out?"

James shook his head. "No such spell. The only way is through Muggle technology. Unfortunately, getting him to donate some genetic material for research without bringing up his suspicion is…well…nothing short of impossible."

"How come?"

"Well, as a wizard, all he needs is a potion and a quick spell check-up to see if he's fine. There's no need for needles, blood donating, or any such thing."

"What about a wound?"

"A quick Evanesco is all he'd regard as necessary for the blood. If we swabbed it and didn't throw away the napkin or swab immediately after, it would look suspicious, no?"

Ginny nodded reluctantly. "So how do we find out?"

Lily gave her a look. "We can take a genetic sample out of your child, Ginny. It won't harm it," she reassured her quickly at seeing Ginny give her a dirty look.

Ginny mentally debated whether or not to refuse their request but, seeing the elder Potters' concerned looks, decided to give in.

"Fine."


Post-Story AN: NOTE: I am looking for a beta! (Or rather, someone I can bounce ideas off of) Send offers by PM!