Paid In Blood

by zaterra02

After decades of an empty life and wars that claimed all he ever held dear, the greatest dark lord in living memory and his most loyal servant are finally ready to challenge fate and once again bring down their vengeance upon their enemies. AU, extended universe, Time-Travel, bashing and HAPHNE.

10. Chapter 10

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Disclaimer

I own nothing of the Harry Potter franchise.

Glad to clear that up

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Chapter 10

Wanting to dress casual, Harry dressed a mere white t-shirt under a grey sweater and black trousers with black snickers that seemed to be normal shoes. Nothing like have a house elf to make the shopping and magic to make the adjustments. He put on his robes, his casual black ones, with sleeves with the length of half his arm, long enough to reach his shin and with a hood. Those robes had been created by Dobby based on the design of the combat robes that he had used in the future, with some minor quirks and modifications, namely minor enchantments such as warming charms, lightweight charms, impervius charms and dirt repulser charms.

Looking himself in the mirror, he noticed the stubble growing in his chin and in his face. Picking his wand, he trimmed his beard and found himself enjoying the sight.

Smirking, he crossed his arms behind his back and made sure he had the living chambers ready to accommodate him and Daphne for several hours later on, noticing the KitKat and the Crunch bars Dobby had acquired during the night, by the tea cups.

He intended to tell her the rest of the story of Voldemort before he started the story of their own lives together. He sighed, wondering how Daphne would accept it...

Not wanting to think about that, he picked his glasses from the desk and called for Dobby and had himself popped to his bed at the Slytherin dorms. Leaving the bed and hearing his dorm mates snoring, Harry left the dorm room and went into the common room. The events of last night were still fresh on his mind, the not so subtle interrogation by his dorm mates, namely Blaise and Theo who did most of the talking, asking him about the status of his relationship with Daphne. Honestly, they seemed to be nothing less than gossipers. He gave them almost nothing, stating only that they had started to date that same afternoon and nothing else. They clearly wanted to know more but accepted it either way.

Being sunday there was no one on sight. He sat at a chair by the fireplace and watched the magical fire burning while considering the next stages of his plans. The recent events had stopped his plans short, at least those concerning Voldemort.

He considered it again the need to kill Voldemort with witnesses around. It would be so easy to just destroy all the horcruxes and just kill the bastard almost effortless... and decided to go against it. He would need influence in the future and nothing beat the influence gained by vanquishing a powerful enemy. The example of Dumbledore came to mind... Who cared if the fight was rigged from the beginning, as long as Harry would win? Maybe it was time for him to pay Voldemort a visit at Riddle manor and put him under a veritas imperio spell to make sure he behaved, just like he had planed... and get the damn ring on the same night.

Concerning the ball, he was ready and so was Daphne. They still had a week and two days for it but time would fly quickly, especially with all he needed to tell Daphne.

Daphne... The woman he had broken the laws of magic, time and space to be with, once again. She was taking it rather well. Granted, she had discovered everything by a mere accident but still, she had accepted his story and was willing to believe her. He would never lie to her but she didn't know that and yet, she still believed him. He decided that he had to give her something more for Christmas besides what he was planning already. She deserved it.

Meanwhile, with Daphne

Daphne woke up softly, letting the memories of the previous day flood her. She smiled to herself, remembering that she had started to date Harry Potter. She frowned when she remembered the inquisition in her room the previous night. Tracy, Millie, Pansy, her own sister and two of her friends, two fifth years and a sixth, all girls decided they had to know details. She was forced to tell them about their lunch date and how they kissed the first time, eliciting a general sigh from all the girls.

Yes, Harry was a romantic. She knew it, better than them. Then, Tracy had to moan about her newest acquisition, Persistent Mistletoe that she bought at Zonko's specifically for the both of them. The mistletoe would hover above them and prevent them to part before they kissed. Now it was useless.

Daphne rose from her bed and went to have a quick shower. While there, she thought carefully about everything Harry had told her. His alternative past, the return of the dark lord that he was already working to prevent, a convicted death eater that had put his name on the cup that he already dealt with... their fifth year together, when she and him became close and he helped her to become a powerful witch... although nothing compared with himself, she wagered. She shivered, thinking about the memory he showed her about the duel on the graveyard on the night of Voldemort's resurrection. For a fourteen year old, Harry had been amazing, able to withstand the dark lord himself. Few could claim that.

He had been a naive idiot but according with his own admissions, he had been conditioned by his upbringing, even though he tried his best to prevail... his former friends didn't help, though... Then she remembered, Weasley and Granger had been his friends before, in his former life. What happened for him to snap against them? Probably something big... then, her mind went to herself and Harry's words:

"I lost you and wasn't able to deal with it..." he admitted, looking into her scared sapphire orbs "So I tried my best and was able to create a ritual that would bring me back just to be with you and prevent it to happen."

She was afraid but whatever fear she felt, it disappeared when she remembered his words as well. He had comeback for her, to save her. How could she not feel safe around him if he would do those things? Not only that, she remembered their wedding... the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. A tear of happiness fell from her eye and she smiled. She had no idea what to think but she would know soon. Harry had promised to tell her everything.

She dried herself and went back to the room, where she already had her clothes prepared. She dressed a black skirt and a green sweater, wearing her winter robes of dark green satin with sheepskin lining. She was comfortable and that was what she cared about. She applied a bit of makeup and put on her shoes, deciding to go down to the common room to wait for Harry.

For her surprise, Harry was already in the common room, sat by the fire with a pensieve look. His elbow was on the chair and he held his head on his fingers, looking at the magical fire with an intense gaze. She almost felt she was interrupting something. Somehow, he was surrounded by power, focused on him and she could swear that the flames were burning stronger than she had ever seen.

She moved forward and he looked at her, his focused gaze quickly being replaced by a smile. He rose from his seat and walked to her, kissing her cheek as a good morning. Daphne smiled and looked at him.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked, accepting his invitation to sit by his side.

"I did. What about you?" she nodded.

"Did your room mates give you any trouble?" he asked, seeing her scowl.

"Tracy, Millie, Pansy, Astoria and two of her friends, Isabella Miller and Sophie Marbrand, Grace Steele and Hanna Newborne from fifth year and a sixth year, Julie Murton." she counted them, explaining him how she had to tell them what had happened during their date and how they had started to date.

"Apparently, my sister thinks I'm a very lucky girl." Harry scoffed.

"Tell Tori that if anyone is lucky, that's me." he said and she lift her eyebrow "What? We were family, remember?"

Daphne chuckled, nodding.

"What do you want to do?" he asked her "I have everything prepared downstairs for our talk. I would suggest to go for breakfast and then maybe a walk and then go down there."

"I can agree with that." she replied and he rose, giving her his arm, which she took gladly.

"Are you sure you're fine? With what I told you yesterday, I mean?" he asked her, concern clear in his face. She looked at him and nodded.

"I'm scared, that's true. I have no idea what you'll tell me and I know I won't like it, especially about me, but... I don't know, you're here. I feel safe with you, for some reason." His reply was a soft kiss and a smile.

"If you need something, just say, Daph. You're dealing with this better than I expected but still, I want you to feel comfortable." he said and she nodded again with a smile.

They walked out of the common room, talking and laughing at first about Daphne's story and then about Harry's. Half way to the great hall, they met Peeves.

"Potter and Greengrass, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Peeves glided around for a bit, repeating his song and then came upon Harry with a huge grin.

"The twins have a stash of fireworks hidden on the second floor, near the painting of Anaclet of Sodonia." the poltergeist said and Daphne saw a vicious grin on Harry's lips.

"Can you take it into a secret location? We can use them to make them a wakeup call when the term begins anew." Peeves grinned and pretended to consider it.

"So Peevesie does all the hard work again? Peevesie should have a reward."

"Fine, I'll get you a box of dung bombs. Two if you..." started Harry, being interrupted by Peeves at that moment.

"Peeves promises not to use the bombs on the snakeys. Not on purpose." Harry grinned.

"That's all I ask. " Harry replied and Peeves glided away, laughing. Daphne mocked sighed.

"You enjoy pranking the dorks too much." said Daphne with a smirk.

"Daphne, how could you think that about me?" Harry said in a shocked tone, his eyes betraying his mirth. She decided to lift an eyebrow in reply "I never said anything about pranking only the dorks."

Daphne smiled and shook her head in amusement.

"I don't even want to know."

"That's good, gives you a plausible denial." he replied and Daphne chuckled.

"You were supposed to be wise and mature." she teased "Why all the pranking?"

He shrugged.

"I like to think I am, but I am also a fourteen year old boy again, who wants some revenge for misdeeds done to him. Almost none of them are innocent. The dorks happen to be on the top of my list and it wouldn't do to curse them to death while in school, would it?" he asked with a cold smirk and Daphne kept that information to herself, simply nodding with a smirk of her own. Harry hated the dorks. Why? That was something she needed to know. Something had happened between him and the dorks, of that she was sure.

They kept walking and entered the great hall. It wasn't that early, almost half past nine and the hall was almost empty. Only a couple of students were around, several firsties from Ravenclaw, two Hufflepuffs, a group of four girls from Beauxbatons, one of them being their champion and two boys from Durmstrang.

They ignored all of them and sat at their table, face to face.

Daphne sat with her back to the wall and Harry sat with his back to the rest of the wall.

"What do you think will happen because of yesterday?" asked Harry, filling two cups with tea. Daphne picked one and added sugar.

"I don't know, really." she replied, looking at Harry "But I do know that all the girls that visited me talked a lot about you and what you did. Keep in mind, they are all of neutral families or at least supposed neutral. I think your fangirl club grew a lot last night."

"Joy." he mumbled sarcastically and Daphne smirked.

"Astoria asked me if they could see the chamber." revealed Daphne with a pensive look, attracting Harry's eyes "I told them they had to ask you but I also told them that the chamber was a refuge and not a tourist attraction."

"I see. If the others ask for the same, I may be forced to take everyone there." he mumbled, shrugging "But let's not talk about that now." Harry drew his wand and waved it around, casting the silence ward he had used the previous night.

"We never talked about it, but yesterday, I was able deceive my uncles and conscript them to my cause to help me with the tournament." Harry said, looking at her "We were also able to go to Gringotts and claim by lordship." Daphne looked at the green eyed wizard in awe and respect, noticing how the Potter family ring shimmered into existence in his fingers for some moments "We got evidence of Sirius innocence, that was relayed to the DMLE and soon, there should be some official statement about Sirius fate."

"That's good to hear." she replied, baring a toast "But what if they do nothing?"

"Sirius will be free by the end of the year." said Harry and Daphne saw his eyes flaring "By the end of this school year, it will be all done and we can have the life that was denied to us." he said and Daphne wasn't sure if he meant her as well. Then, he looked at her.

"Lupin is a werewolf that takes his wolfsbane. Is that a problem to you?" he asked her and she shook her head.

"As long as he takes his potions, I don't mind... He's not less of a person for it. I won't be on the same room than him in the night of the transformation, though." she replied and Harry nodded. He could live with that.

"Very well, then." Harry said with a happy smile that remembered her of the Harry during the marriage memory.

"By the way, in the memory, who were the lady and the child at your side?" asked Daphne.

"Andromeda Tonks née Black, my unofficial grandmother after the war and Sirius Black cousin and the little brat was Teddy Lupin, her grandson and my godson, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks son, both who died in the war, who happened to be a metamorphmagus just like his mother. Luckily, he didn't get any werewolf trait from his father. They were the closest family I had left, for all takes and purposes, apart you, of course."

Daphne widened her eyes in shock.

"Metamorphmagus?"

Harry mumbled something that sounded an amused 'Figures' and smiled while nodding.

"Wow." she said, noticing him go sullen "What happened?"

"Teddy died." was Harry's reply. His eyes flared in anger, although not at her "I will tell you about it, of course." she nodded, after a gulp and they went back to their breakfast. Harry started again.

"Yesterday, I told you about my fifth year, I was a pariah, seen as a looney and a murderer. The ministry appointed Umbridge as our teacher and inquisitor in the school. She started to make edicts, forbidding clubs and normal things teenagers do. She was also a horrible teacher and we were forced to make an illegal club to do some self study. All the while, you and me were also in a different club of our own, in which we worked on our school work and DADA together and alone. You taught me about my station and actually trained me in pureblood protocol. I gave you access to the chamber and we were able to set an alternative password on the toilet just for you, to give you entrance."

"Why not use Dobby?" asked Daphne with a raised eyebrow.

"Back then, I hadn't been bonded with Dobby. The bonding only occurred on our seventh year, or what should be our seventh year." again, Daphne rose an eyebrow.

"And what do you mean by that?" she asked and he smirked.

"Patience, Ms. Greengrass." he smirked, his eyes looking at her in mirth. She huffed but was only half felt, nodding.

"We were able to make use of some of the chamber resources and turned it into our personal training area. I helped you, you helped me, it worked very well. Yesterday you asked me about us, right?" he asked and she nodded with a small blush. Harry smiled fondly.

"Let it be said I was a disaster with girls. I was asked by Cho Chang, for a date for Valentine's day." he said, almost scowling. Not as much as she did. Luckily she said nothing "My guess was that she wanted me to be her rebound guy. Well, I said no because I had plans with you. NOT a date." he added quickly, noticing her blush "You didn't want dates and I wanted to spend the time with you, so naturally, I was a little sneaky about it to get what I wanted." he added, having Daphne's full attention by then "We met in the morning and we worked on our school work in the chamber, trained our duelling and ended up in going to the kitchens for a snack at the end of the day. We had fun and after our meal, you gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me to keep it up because our not date was actually pretty good." he said with a smile, looking at her with an accusatory grin "Of course you knew very well what I wanted from the very beginning but you went with it and had fun with me and at me. I believe your words were 'I'll make a proper Slytherin out of you yet.'. You did it, by the way." Daphne smirked and saw the smile taking shape in Harry's lips, imagining what he was describing. It sounded nice "I had a shit eating grin for days after that." they both chuckled "Nothing actually happened until after our OWLS, except us growing closer. Then, the battle of the DOM happened, Sirius died and I was a mess. I don't know exactly how it happened but somewhere between chewing me, slapping me to get me some common sense and comforting me, you kissed me. We began to date that night."

Daphne looked at him, happy about what she heard and carefully analysing his words.

"What was the battle of the DOM?"

Harry sighed.

"To answer that, you have to know that for some reason, unknown back then, I was able to have visions from Voldemort and he was able to provoke them as well." Daphne was shocked "Back then, the old man theorized that it was probably because of our link, since the Halloween of his first fall." Daphne nodded "We discovered the truth later and let us just say he was very wrong."

"I assume that was the reason you had to learn occlumency?"

"Very true. It didn't help in the end, though." Harry replied, seeing her inquisitive look "During Christmas, I had a vision of Mr. Weasley being attacked by Voldemort's snake. I managed to alert Dumbledore and the man's life was saved by a thread. Then, he decided I had to learn occlumency, from Snape, without even explaining why. Hadn't it been for you, I would never learn it properly. And in the end, it didn't help at all, Voldemort crushed all my defences, all thanks to the bloody link, which were considerable and sent me a vision of him torturing Sirius in the department of mysteries." Daphne groaned, predicting the rest of the story. She hid her face in her hands, groaning.

"Tell me you bloody didn't." she demanded, looking at him with angry eyes. Harry gulped and just kept silent "Well?"

"I'm not going to lie..." he said.

"You bloody fool." she hissed in an angered tone "What could have possibly possessed you to do something so foolish?"

"Sirius was my last remaining family then, with Remus. I tried to call him on the floo but he was unavailable. It didn't help that his house elf hated him and me and wasn't useful at all. Sure, the elf was a bastard and told me he wasn't available. I understood it the wrong way and... "Harry hesitated, seeing the angry look Daphne was giving him. It actually demanded him to speak "It was on our history OWL, our last. I got the vision, was forced to leave the OWL and went outside, ranting on what I saw. I didn't see you and if I had, you would probably make me see some sense. I didn't and came up with a plan to go to London, after break in Umbridge's office and use the floo. We rode thestrals into London."

"Thestrals?" asked Daphne, her curiosity replacing her anger "And who's we?"

"Thestrals are type of winged horse that can only be seen by those who have witnessed death close. " Harry explained "We will study them next year. The we are me, Granger, Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Weasel and weaselette."

Daphne noticed how the names were said with spat. Daphne looked at him carefully and saw the regret in his eyes. She grabbed his hand and looked at him.

"Tell me everything." He did. He told her how they flew into the ministry, how they entered the department of ministries and found the prophecies. She flinched when he told her of the ambush and was in awe when he told her of the battle, how six school kids with Harry Potter's training managed to battle twelve death eaters. That clearly meant something. She found it hard to believe that Longbottom stood by Harry all the time, being the second best in their group. Apparently, they had worked him hard and be became a powerful wizard under Harry's watch, especially motivated after the Lestranges escape from Azkaban. She also noticed the disdain in Harry's words when he told her that but made no questions.

He told her about how they were trapped in the veil room, how the Order of the Phoenix appeared to help and how they joined the battle, how he was duelling Lucius Malfoy with to his godfather and how Bellatrix Lestrange hit Sirius with a curse, causing him to fall into the veil and into death. The vacant look Harry took told her everything she needed to know and squeezed his hands. She didn't hug him because she was in the opposite side of the table. Then he told her about how he ran after Lestrange and how he tried to cast a crucio on her. He failed and then both Voldemort and Dumbledore came in and engaged in a most amazing display of duelling skills. How Voldemort possessed Harry thanks to the link and how Harry managed to banish him from his mind. Only then the DMLE appeared with the minister, who saw Voldemort with his own eyes, being forced to recognize he was indeed back. Then, the death eaters captured were arrested, the students sent to Hogwarts and Harry was told of the prophecy that had been made before he was even born, by Dumbledore that instead of prepare Harry wanted him to have a fucking childhood?

To say that Daphne was in shock was an understatement. Maybe she should expect it, after the graveyard but still... and the prophecy part was...insane. And that made her quite angry.

"What was that damn fool playing at?" she hissed and Harry shook his head.

"What IS that damn fool playing at, Daph." Harry corrected, looking at her. He shrugged "I gave up trying to understand his actions a long time ago. He made huge mistakes because he felt it best... but he actually tried to take a more active role with me in our sixth year."

"That doesn't justify all the rest." she snapped.

"No, it doesn't. I never said I forgave him, mind you." he replied with a smirk.

"Good." she replied, letting go of his hands "Do you want to go for a walk?"

"With you? Always." he replied with a grin, making her smirk in amusement. Harry dropped the wards but before they were able to rise and leave, Fleur Delacour came behind Harry.

"Bonjour, meester Potter. Could I zpeak with you?"

Harry turned to the blond veela, who sported a pleasant smile. He also felt her allure focused on him.

"I did tell you to mind your allure, didn't I?" asked Harry, rising from his sear at the same time Daphne did "And no, you can't because I have plans to spend the day with my beautiful girlfriend." Daphne smirked as she saw the shocked look on the french champion's face.

"I know what you're trying to do." Harry said calmly and coldly, looking at the veela, making her actually gulp, although she would never admit that she also felt some excitement "You want a powerful partner, someone who can endure your allure." Fleur nodded, much to Daphne's shock "I'm not available and even if I were, don't you think your actions towards me were, shall we say, demeaning?"

Harry turned to Daphne with a nod, both started to walk, leaving a flabbergasted Fleur standing on the same spot.

"You know her, don't you?" asked Daphne, a hint of worry in her voice. Once again, Harry's wand was waved between the both of them in the corridor outside the great hall.

"Yes. I knew her. She was a friend of ours for a while until..." Harry hesitated.

"Tell me." asked Daphne, more demanding.

"Veelas want powerful mates that can endure their allure. No, that didn't happen last time, I wasn't this powerful before." Daphne scoffed. Of course he wasn't... he duelled Voldemort by luck. Idiot. Ignoring Daphne's sarcastic snort, Harry continued "She married an englishman in the beginning of our seventh year and he was all she wanted, I think. But then, her sister-in-law was an accomplice of a crime and ended up dead by blood vengeance laws. Some stuff happened and her husband decided to avenge his sister with the help of some of his brothers. They all died at the hands of the one they wanted to kill." Harry told her. It wouldn't do to tell her that Ginny Weasley had been an accomplice on her murder and killed by Harry when he discovered it. And that the eldest Weasley son decided to avenge his sister later in life, wanting to be an hero, no doubt. He was killed by the Dark Lord Potter, with his brothers Percy and the twins.

Daphne rose an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.

"She never condoned her sister-in-law's actions, specially because she was a close friend of the victim and that was a source of conflicts between the family. After her husband's death, she fled to France with her children. When I'd saw her, she would be less than polite towards me. After a while, I never saw her again."

Daphne thought very careful in all he told her, deciding to wait for more information before making her own conclusion. She nodded and held Harry's hand as he dropped the wards around them. The both of them walked to the outside quietly and calmly, to the lake.

"Could you show me the memory?" asked Daphne, out of nowhere and Harry was actually startled "I mean the memory when you and I kissed after your godfather..."

"Oh, right, that one, sure, of course." he replied, actually scared, something Daphne took notice.

Weird.

"Remember me when we are back in the chamber, will you?" she nodded and asked him to continue his story. He waved his wand and two comfortable chairs appeared before them. He invited Daphne to sit in one and sat on the other, raising the privacy wards again.

"You know, I don't recognize that spell." Daphne said, meaning to have said it before.

"You wouldn't. You won't learn it in any book." Harry replied with a mocking grin, making her cross her arms.

"And why is that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in defiance, making him chuckle.

"Because I created it from scratch." he replied, making her widen her eyes in surprise.

"Really?" Harry nodded.

"It creates a ward in an area that is keyed to specific magical signatures. Which basically means that when I create the ward, I key us into the ward structure. I can't key anyone else nor can anyone not keyed join us. If they do, they'll still hear nothing."

Daphne was amazed. Harry just shrugged.

"I had a lot of free time... I had better do something useful. It was a shame I never shared my knowledge. This time, I'm hoping it will be different, though." Daphne understood his meanings and slightly blushed, all the while appreciating his confidence in her.

"I would be honoured if you shared your knowledge with me." she said with a small blush.

"And I would be honoured if you let me share it with you." he replied with a small smile. Daphne squeezed his hand and Harry caressed it with his thumb, looking at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked in almost a whisper.

"I'm just enjoying it." he replied, looking at her "Sometimes I can hardly believe that it worked and that I am here, with you." Harry smiled and a tear fell from the corner of his eyes. Daphne barely saw it.

"Why? Why do I mean so much to you?" she asked, lowering her eyes.

"Where did magic come from?" Harry asked, although it was a rhetoric question "No one knows. It just is. Why do I care so much about you? Why are you my everything? I don't know. It just happened. It just is."

Daphne almost shed a tear. Almost.

"But I'm... I'm me. One month ago we barely knew each other and now, you time travelled from the future, we're together and you're telling me about your past that was supposed to be my... our future. You're changing it for the better, I'm sure, at least the better for you but... What if I don't become what she was?" Daphne asked, fear clear in her voice.

"Do you know the difference between you and future Daphne?" Harry asked, turning to her. Daphne saw the intensity on his eyes "Your age." Harry said, his eyes never leaving hers "It's your choice. It's always our choice, Daph. Like it was my choice to come back to you. The way I saw it, I would be happier if I knew I did everything I could instead of dying and pray to whatever entity ruled the afterlife to allow us to be together." Daphne held a breath and shed another tear as Harry rose from his chair, looking at the lake with his arms crossed in his back.

"You were foolish. You could have died. Or disappeared forever." she said even though if she didn't feel the words.

"True." he replied, turning slightly at her "But I had nothing to lose anymore and guess what, it worked." he said, turning back to the lake "And it has been well worth it."

Daphne rose from her chair and hugged him, burying her face on his chest. He could feel her sobs and hugged her tight, kissing her head.

"Don't be stupid anymore. Don't, please." she mumbled. He didn't reply, caressing her back.

"Harry, look at me." she said and when he did, she leaned in. He did as well and they both kissed. After a while of holding each other, Daphne broke the silence.

"Tell me about the sixth year." she asked.

"By the end of the summer, I was named Heir Black by Sirius will and thanks to my emancipation on my fourth year, I was made both Lord Potter and Lord Black. I kept it a secret, of course, sharing it with only with you and Dumbledore. My name became Harry James Potter-Black." Daphne was amazed but said nothing, letting him continue "I was also a prisoner again at the Dursleys, and was being heralded as an hero. Dumbledore recruited me to help him convince a professor called Slughorn to return to teach. We actually managed to convince the man and then he sent me to the Weasleys where I spent the rest of my summer, when I wanted to be with you. Just for you to know, we talked by letters every day. I met you at the train and let's just say that we had some snog time alone in an empty compartment. We stayed there together for a while and then we had to go back. I was bombarded by questions where I was but said nothing. Snape taught DADA that year, instead of potions. As it turns out, Slughorn was Snape's teacher."

"Yes, it's a known name." she said, her head still buried on his chest.

"Are you going to stay like that?" he asked.

"Yes. Keep going." was her reply.

"Fine... So, you brought to my attention that Malfoy was acting weird and started to investigate it in the common room. Not only that, I started to have special classes with Dumbledore."

"Better late than never." said Daphne and Harry snorted, making her unbury her face from his chest "What?"

"Those special classes were scheduled in a way that we met only once a week and for the first three months we saw only memories about Tom to understand him better." scowled Harry. Daphne was shocked.

"Please tell me you're kidding." she asked and he didn't say anything "No combat training, no special spells?"

"Nothing. I did learn about Tom, though. His mother was Merope Gaunt, a almost squib. She lived with her brother Morfin and their father Marvollo. She was in love with a muggle squire and brew a love potion to ensnare him. Then after getting pregnant, she had the brilliant idea to stop giving him the potion. Naturally, he left her alone and pregnant. She died at child birth and Tom was dumped in a muggle orphanage. Then, when he was eleven, Dumbledore was the first to meet him and let me tell you, Tom was a pretty scary kid, naturally cruel and with a great control of magic. A almost prodigy. He rose in power in Slytherin, naturally and eventually opened the chamber of secrets and killed Myrtle... But that was just extras, what Dumbledore truly wanted was a memory from Slughorn that I had to help to get."

"This ought to be good." Daphne mumbled.

"It was a failure at first. First, I improved my potion skills a lot with the help of a book filled with notes. Then I had Slughorn's attention, with the additional of being who I was but he still wouldn't give me the memory. Eventually, I got the memory, thanks to you." he smirked, looking at her appreciatively. "Granger is said to be the smartest witch of our age... They have no idea what you can do, my beautiful and cunning snake." Daphne blushed.

"Slughorn had a party of his Slug Club, to make contacts and invited the both of us. We went each alone and managed to dance a couple of times during the party and actually talk. Our excuse was that that night, there was no houses, only alliances in the making. You don't imagine how Slughorn was ecstatic by hearing that. Of course, a lot of people didn't like the idea, not that we cared. We acted polite to each other and then you cast a compulsion charm on his glass to make sure he would get drunk while I distracted him, since he was very interested in show me around. We convinced him to give me the memory with another compulsion and then we enjoyed the rest of the party, after making sure he didn't remember anything..."

Daphne was shocked and amused and Harry noticed.

"All your plan." he said "You were tired to see me fail and decided to help me."

"I knew about your special lessons?" she asked and Harry nodded.

"Of course you did. I told you everything." Harry said and she nodded appreciatively "The memory, however, told us a horrible secret. Tell me Daphne, what do you know of horcruxes?"

Daphne narrowed her eyes.

"I have never heard about it."

"I know." he said with a smirk "Future you didn't either. As it turns out, a horcrux is a container to a piece of soul. While it houses the piece of soul, the wizard will be technically immortal and to kill the wizard, the horcrux has to be destroyed, either by fiendfire or basilisk poison. They can only be made by murdering someone and Riddle made several."

"A piece of soul? But that... that's disgusting!" she said. Having being raised in a magical home, she knew the soul was sacred in the magical world and to tamper with it was a heinous act " You said several? Then, that means that he survived because he had...?" Daphne concluded, quick to the point. Harry nodded.

"Voldemort had already made several horcruxes that night. We believed that he intended to use my death to make another. Fortunatly, my mother did something that saved me and destroyed his body, reducing it to a shade of vapour." Daphne was shivering in disgust. Then, she widened her eyes, looking at him.

"The diary!" she gasped and he smiled.

"Yes. That was the very first he created." Daphne shivered even more in anger, fear and disgust against the dark lord.

"Have you destroyed them all already?" she asked with disgust. He shook his head.

"We never knew if he sensed the destruction of his horcruxes. I collected several but I'm still missing three. I intend to do it soon and destroy them all together before striking at him once and for all."

"What are they?" she asked and he started to count them.

"The diary which is gone, the Gaunt ring I know where it is, Ravenclaw's diadem is already in my possession, Hufflepuff's cup is in Lestrange's vault, Slytherin's locket I already have, his familiar snake that is with him and the last one, that was accidental... and was me." Harry said and Daphne gasped in shock.

"Turns out that extract a piece of a soul from an item to another is easy, if you know what to do." Harry said with a smile, caressing a still shocked Daphne "I successfully extracted the piece of soul into an old Dobby's sock." Daphne was baffled, looking strangely at Harry.

"But... But..."

"Like I said, I had a lot of time and made a lot of research." Harry said and Daphne huffed.

"You carried a piece of Voldemort's soul with you for all this time?"

"In my scar, yes." he replied, pointing at it. Daphne noticed it and could see only a faint outline of the famous scar "Without it, the scar is gone, my eyesight improved a bit but I still needed to heal myself... It was a leech on me and it was the link between us, completely unknown to the both of us."

Daphne was shocked but nodded.

"It's gone?" she asked and he nodded.

"I have them in one of the locked containers. That's why I didn't want you to pry. Those things are very dangerous, they could attempt to possess you." he said and she accepted it, trusting him and his reasons.

"What else, then?" she asked, trying to change the subject, even if she knew she couldn't.

"Well, back then, Dumbledore had the ring but was cursed retrieving it. A rotting curse that rot his hand and was slowly killing him because he wasn't careful enough."

Daphne widened her eyes in shock.

"Dumbledore, dying?" Harry nodded.

"Nothing could be done for him except slow the curse progression. What else, Oh, Malfoy. You discovered that he was going to the Room of Requirement but we weren't able to discover what for in the beginning. So, my brilliant girlfriend wondered if there was a way to keep tabs on him and the room he was using, which led me to call for Dobby, who proposed himself to spy on the little shit. One month later, we discovered that he was fixing a vanishing cabinet to bring death eaters into Hogwarts."

"What?" asked Daphne in shock and Harry's vicious smile was uneasy for her.

"We destroyed the cabinet and left the room. When Malfoy discovered, he was so terrified and scared that he wouldn't even talk. He actually thought he was going to die for failing. You even said he was too quiet in your common room. Quiet and terrified." they both laughed of the thought "I don't even want to imagine what would happen if I didn't have your help."

"What about your friends?" asked Daphne and Harry snorted.

"Weasley started to date Brown after becoming a keeper and actually managed to do something good for a change, Granger was angry at me because of the book I mentioned before, since I got better marks than her..." Daphne scowled "And you'll never guess this, but the bint started to date."

"And who was able to deal with her?" asked Daphne and Harry was scowling.

"Longbottom." at first, Daphne was shocked. Then she started to laugh while Harry smirked.

"The Know-It-All and the Squib?" she laughed.

"Not really a squib." admitted Harry with a scowl, attracting Daphne's attention "The idiot is using is father's wand that isn't compatible for him. That and he had self esteem problems. The DA helped him during our fifth year with his problems, bringing out the wizard and then he bought a new wand for sixth year and started to work hard with Granger's tutoring, becoming a rising star in our year." the scowl and the anger was all there for Daphne to see.

"You had problems with them, didn't you?" Daphne asked and Harry actually laughed, cold and threatening, his aura flaring around him, fuelled by his anger and his hate.

"Oh, you have no idea how much I hate those two pieces of shit, wastes of magic and life." Harry admitted. Daphne could just look at him in shock while he breathed in to calm himself. Daphne thought about Harry's interactions with the dorks and actually made sense. Harry hated the dorks but was more aggressive towards Granger and Longbottom. The episode when he summoned Zael against Longbottom came to mind... She never thought about it. Harry did hate Longbottom more.

"Why?" she asked and Harry looked at her with broken eyes.

"Later in the story." Harry almost begged, his voice torn with emotion. Daphne nodded and actually lean to him, kissing him softly, which became a more intense kiss by Harry.

"It was only me and you, Daph. Eventually they came to me and joined us but by then it was only me and you. I loved it." admitted Harry and Daphne smiled and kissed him again.

"Carry on with the story." she ordered and he chuckled.

"Dumbledore asked me to tell my friends everything, because I would need their help eventually. I did tell them but I only cared about you knowing. Meanwhile, he actually taught me something useful and helped me with duelling. By the end of the year, Dumbledore was able to retrieve the location of another horcrux, the locket. He took me and... let us say it was bad. It was a cave that could only be opened with an offer of blood. There was a inner lake filled with inferi and a boat. To touch the waters would wake thousands of inferi against us. There was an island in the middle of the lake with a stone basin filled with a potion that would cause hallucinations. To get the horcrux, one needed to drink the potion... Dumbledore drank all of it and was severely weakened... and started to hallucinate to the point that he started to see his dead sister... and entered the waters before I could stop him."

Daphne widened her eyes and Harry carried on.

"I got him back to safety but it was too late. I had the horcrux and the inferi were stirring. We ran to the boat but those things stopped us... we had to fight." Daphne looked in shock and awe at Harry while he recounted everything "Flame spells were very effective. I used as many flame spells I could, as well as confringos and Dumbledore managed to cast a firestorm that solved our problem for a while. We got to the boat and reached the other shore left the cave, locked it again and could finally rest. Dumbledore was terribly weakened but still managed to cheer us up... until we discovered the horcrux was a fake."

"All that trouble...?"

"For a fake, yes." Harry said while Daphne was gaping, shaking her head.

"We came back to Hogwarts and Dumbledore went into the hospital, asking me to meet him with my friends to whom I had told the secret, as soon as possible. I got them and you."

"Me? But..." she started and Harry stopped her.

"You knew, you were my girlfriend, had helped me a lot and I wanted you to, more than the others. However, I understood that we needed help. I was able to convince you to come as well and believe me, it was a shock for them."

"I can relate." replied Daphne in a whisper, although she was smirking.

"Do you want to see the memory?" Harry asked and Daphne looked wide eyed at him.

"Sure." she replied with a smirk.

"Then let's get to the chamber. I need to show you the memory when we started to date, too."

Daphne smiled and held the hand he gave her.

"Dobby!" the elf appeared and after a 'Good Morning Mistress', he held his hands, popping them into the chamber.

"Before anything else..." Harry said, taking Daphne to the table prepared beforehand, picking the chocolates "This is a KitKat and this is a Crunch bar." he said, presenting her each of them. Daphne smiled at his gesture "Have a taste and then you can tell me which one you prefer, although I know you'll enjoy Crunch bar more."

"And you know this why?" she asked, opening the KitKat only to challenge him, all the while smirking. Harry grinned.

"Because it was your favourite, too" he whispered at her year after approaching her. Daphne felt a shiver of excitement run over her and smiled while Harry kissed her softly, leaving for the pensieve, already focusing on the memory he wanted to extract.

Just like Harry said, after tasting both, Daphne preferred the Crunch bar.

Harry placed the pensieve on the table with a wave of his wand.

"The memory is the one of the night we started to date." he said, extending her his hand "Shall we?" Daphne held his hand and with a nod, both teens went into the pensieve.

They found themselves in a dark training room, a setting of the Room of Requirement. Daphne saw an emotional Harry Potter casting spell after spell against a number of training dummies that repeatedly repair themselves. Harry didn't stop his casting.

"BOMBARDA!" the orange light hit the cackling dummy, destroying it to pieces "Defodio, Confringo, Depulso, Diffindo" he casted against three others, destroying them. Then, a training dummy took the shape of a cackling Bellatrix Lestrange, making Harry growl.

"AVADA KEDAVA!" he shouted and the green light hit the dummy.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" an angry voice shouted by the entrance of the room, scaring memory Harry and Daphne, who was shocked seeing the spells used. She looked at Harry but he didn't even flinch. He did, however, flinch when the familiar voice shouted from the entrance of the room.

"What does it look like?" memory Harry asked. attempting to cast another spell. He lost his wand, which flew into the hands of memory Daphne, making him glare at her.

"Give me my wand, Daphne." he demanded and she glared at him.

"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded, her anger clear on her voice. Memory Harry didn't say anything, just glared at her "Harry, please, I am concerned about you. You disappeared before the OWL finished and didn't answer my summon. Where have you been? " she asked again but this time more emotionally. Memory Harry closed his eyes and Daphne could see something shinny falling from his eyes.

"He's dead, Daph... He's dead and it's all my fault." he said, starting to sob. Memory Daphne ran to him as he fell on his knees and held him close as he sobbed.

"Harry, tell me, what's wrong?" she asked again. He told her, everything. From the moment he had the vision until the moment. He told her everything that had happened, including the prophecy Dumbledore had told him.

Memory Daphne was angry. Maybe even furious.

"You invaded the ministry, the department of mysteries in fact, with five other school children and fought twelve death eaters, survived time enough to get reinforcements and still managed to capture eleven of them, fight Voldemort and reveal him to the world?" memory Daphne asked and Harry nodded "It would be impressive hadn't it been for just one thing." Memory Harry looked at her and both real Harry and Daphne flinched as the slap hit memory Harry.

"What could have possess you to do something so stupid?" she demanded, angry "It was clearly a trap and if the house elf told you he wasn't there, that doesn't mean he had been captured."

"What was I suppose to do? What if it had been true? Was I to let him be tortured?" memory Harry demanded and memory Daphne snorted.

"Then let's go underprepared, with no plan at all, jump into fucking Thestrals with five other unreliable school kids and let us wish the best." she drawled sarcastically and Daphne saw memory Harry flinch "You should have told me!" she shouted, tears falling from her eyes "You could have died." she said and memory Harry sobbed.

"I didn't think and I was scared that you would convince me not to go, all right? Or worse, that you would want to come." Memory Daphne looked at him back in shock.

"Why?" she asked in an angry tone.

"I wouldn't stand it if something had happened to you." he whispered. She slapped him again.

"You are a selfish bastard, Potter. You wouldn't stand... what about me? What if something had happened to you? How would I deal with it, knowing that there was nothing I could have done because I wasn't there with you?" Without more words, she grabbed him by his shirt and kissed him for all his worth, holding him tight to herself. After the initial shock, memory Harry held her tight and kissed her back. When the kissed ended, memory Daphne was crying.

"I'm sorry." begged Harry and Daphne looked at him, kissing him again.

"At least you're not hurt." she said, noticing her mistake "Physically, I mean."

"The others are..." he tried to say but she shut him with a glare.

"Well, tough luck for them." she growled "They aren't any of my concern. It wasn't your fault that they were hurt, was it? They wanted to accompany you when you said you didn't want them to. People get hurt in wars and that's what this now is." the way memory Daphne spat the words confused real Daphne, who decided to ask Harry later on. For her surprise, Harry agreed with her.

"I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"Let's make one thing clear, Potter. You can't save everyone and you are not responsible for everyone's choices. Only yours." Memory Harry nodded and she kissed him again "Now what is this about a prophecy?" Harry told her the prophecy again and Daphne frowned.

"That idiot knew all this time and instead of preparing you, he just let you be to have a fucking childhood? That's it, I'm going to kill him." Daphne clenching her fists in anger.

"That I wouldn't mind to see." chuckled memory Harry, earning a glare from memory Daphne.

"And what's that about love being the power he knows not?" Harry shrugged and Daphne huffed and sighed. "It's not your fault." Daphne said again, sitting on the floor close to him.

"I know. He was mocking Bellatrix instead of being serious." Harry said.

"Actually, with all you told me, I think he was being Sirius." Harry snorted of the bad joke and Daphne actually chuckled.

"What would I do without you, Daph?" he asked.

"You don't want to know." was her reply, leaning her head on his shoulder. They remained like that for a while.

"Daph?"

"Mh?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?" memory Harry asked hopefully.

"Yes." she replied, getting even closer "Besides, I spent too much time training you to let you go to a hussy."

"We wouldn't want that." memory Harry said and memory Daphne smiled. The memory ended with one last kiss.

Harry and Daphne left the pensieve and while pleased with what she saw, Daphne frowned.

"Why all the hate for the dorks?" she asked, sitting on her chair.

"Well, while I never truly forgave the dorks for turning their backs on me, you never even considered doing it. According with you, it showed their stupidity and made them nothing less than blood traitors and scum. You became somewhat accepting of them in our sixth year, though, despite them turning their back on me this year."

Daphne nodded.

"I suppose you are aware of the Potter-Longbottom alliance?" she asked and Harry flinched.

"Yeah, I know. That's one of the reasons I despise Longbottom. Besides, can you imagine what his grandmother will do to him when he becomes the responsible for the breaking of the alliance?" Harry's vicious grin actually made Daphne chuckle. Harry took back the memory into his head "Was it everything you expected?"

"I don't know what I expected." replied Daphne, looking at Harry "But I liked it."

"I'm glad." he replied, starting to remove another memory from his head.

"What did I mean with my summon?" Daphne asked and Harry looked at her.

"Well, your brilliance allowed us to develop a protean charm in a bracelet we always kept hidden under charms, to send messages to each other. We laughed when the so called smartest witch of our age came up with the same thing for the DA, only far rudimentary than our method."

Daphne appreciated the compliment and almost blushed.

"You make it sound like it was my idea and my work." she replied and he shrugged.

"It was. It was also that that made me study runes with you and after some really intense study, I was able to get my OWL in it. Let's just say it was a surprise to everyone but you."

Daphne nodded again with a smile, then a frown.

"Then, why aren't you taking runes now?" she asked and he shrugged.

"I will be taking a special exam to evaluate my knowledge with runes and arithmancy in the end of December and make the class changes. I wasn't allowed to before the exam, at least that was what Snape said."

"And this is the first time I hear about this, why?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Surprise?" he tried with a chuckle. She shook her head amused. Harry pointed then for the pensieve.

"This is the discussion after Dumbledore and I returned from the horcrux hunt. Are you ready?" she nodded and held Harry's hand again, both of them entering the pensieve.

Daphne saw herself entering the hospital wing next to a dirtied Harry Potter. Both of them walked in stride and next to each other, to the furthest bed in the hospital, ignoring the surprised looks madam Pomfrey gave them. They reached Dumbledore's bed, where Weasley, Longbottom and Granger were already.

"Harry, where were..." Granger's words died on her mouth as she saw who Harry came in with. Daphne was able to see the surprised looks on everyone as she and Harry moved to be able to see everyone's faces. Granger was shocked, Longbottom was surprised but had half a smirk on his face and Weasley was red in anger. Dumbledore was half surprised, half amused, his twinkling eyes looking to both memory Harry and memory Daphne.

"She's the one you said you still needed to get?" Weasley shouted in anger, being silenced with a wave of Harry's wand.

"Now, we are all here because the headmaster asked me to call you guys here, everyone to whom I had told what my special classes with him were about." Harry said in a cold tone, focusing mostly on Weasley "We will go no further in this conversation until I have an oath from you to not say a word to anyone about what we will speak in here."

"Harry, I hardly think that's necessary." said Dumbledore, looking at Harry with tired eyes.

"With all due respect, headmaster, your opinion is valid but I want this to be kept a secret and leave no untied ends." Harry said and Daphne could swear she saw a smile under the ancient man's beard.

"I agree." said Memory Daphne, holding her wand up "I, Daphne Persephone Greengrass swear upon my life and magic to keep this meeting a secret and not share its contents with anyone unless given explicit permission by Harry James Potter-Black, so mote it be." a golden light surrounded her and memory Harry looked amused at her.

"Potter-Black?" asked Longbottom with widened eyes, looking at the both of them.

"Since when are you Potter-Black?" demanded Granger, ignored by Harry who was looking at Longbottom.

"Do you trust her, Harry?" asked Longbottom, earning a glare from the Ice-Queen and surprisingly, from Harry Potter.

"With my life." was Harry's reply, shocking everyone. Dumbledore smiled.

Longbottom looked to memory Daphne and memory Harry and nodded, giving the same oath.

"Neville!" shouted Granger, shocked.

"'Mione, just make the oath." the boy said and Granger huffed, giving the oath, having to be corrected when she didn't add Harry's proper name. They all turned to Weasley and Harry dropped the silence spell.

"She's a slimy Slytherin whore!" memory Daphne twitched, keeping her cool, glaring at the buffoon but memory Harry didn't, pulling his wand on Weasley.

"Harry!" shrieked Granger. Longbottom twitched seeing the glare from both Harry and Daphne "Let's try again, Won-Won, either make the oath of piss off. I won't give you another chance." Ron felt properly mollified and made a shaken oath. Harry nodded and hissed in parseltongue, raising some wards around them.

"What was that, Harry?" asked Dumbledore curious, as everyone else but Daphne flinched.

"Parseltongue silence wards. More powerful and harder to break." explained Daphne, everyone turning to her in surprise as Harry finished to raise the wards "Although they don't stop intruders to pass them."

"But... but that's dark." said Granger, making both the real Daphne and memory Daphne roll their eyes.

"It's a tool. It's up to you what to do with it." memory Daphne replied with a glare, earning an appreciative smile from the headmaster.

"Well Harry, I can see you have being keeping some secrets. Would you mind to do a proper introduction?" asked Dumbledore with a smile, making Harry smirk.

"Daphne Greengrass, meet Albus Dumbledore, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Everyone, meet my girlfriend of the past year, Daphne Greengrass."

"WHAT?" shouted Weasley while Granger and Longbottom just widened their eyes. Memory Daphne smirked, holding memory Harry's hand.

"A pleasure." memory Daphne smirked, amused with their reactions.

"I see." replied a even more amused headmaster "Well then, Harry, will you tell about our evening?"

Harry did and by the end of his tale, everyone was gaping at him, including real Daphne. Then, memory Harry opened the locket and revealed the note inside, reading it loud.

"To the Dark Lord

I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more.

R.A.B."

They all looked at each other and Daphne saw memory Daphne thinking.

"Any idea, headmaster?" asked Harry and Dumbledore shook his head.

"It most likely is a discontent pureblood but I am not sure..."

"Braddock, Bainbridge, Baldock, Bhagat, Bhatia, Bishopper, Black, Bletchley, Bole, Boyle, Brody, Bulstrode, Burke..." she said and everyone looked at her "Those are a few of the pureblood families that start with a B." Memory Harry had a huge grin.

"That's my witch!" he said, kissing her soundly in front of everyone, making them gap and Dumbledore chuckle, who was thinking on what Daphne had said. Real Daphne felt embarrassed.

"Not now, honey." memory Daphne admonished him with a smile, turning back to Dumbledore noticing the looks from the other teens "What? didn't you pay attention to your politics classes?" she asked and Longbottom blushed and Weasley just made a weird face.

"Actually, Ms. Greengrass may have a point. I shall check the Hogwarts registry for a name started with R and A and ends with a B." Then Dumbledore's eyes widened in shock.

"Regulus Arcturus Black!?" he wondered, heard by Harry.

"Black?" he wondered, looking at Daphne who shrugged "Wait, Sirius Brother? Kreacher!"

The old house elf appeared before them and immediately scowled. Granger almost ranted had not been silenced by Longbottom.

"Nasty halfblood master called for Kreacher?" the elf asked with a sneer.

"Kreacher, Regulus Arcturus Black, Sirius brother. How did he died?" asked Harry and the house elf immediately stiffened.

"Kreacher doesn't wish to answer to filthy half blood master." the elf replied and Harry's magic flared.

"I am Lord Black, elf. Answer me!" he shouted, scaring everyone but memory Daphne noticed another thing. The elf noticed the fake locket.

"Harry, stop." she said and he did. Everyone turned to her, who took the locket from Harry "Do you recognize this, elf?" she asked and for everyone's surprise, he nodded.

"Kreacher, do you know where the horcrux is?" Kreacher turned to Harry in shock.

"Why does master wants the nasty thing?" the elf asked hopeful.

"To destroy it." Harry replied and Kreacher's eyes filled with tears. The elf started to tell them the story how he had to helped master Regulus to swap the horcrux by the fake. But then, Regulus was dragged underwater by the inferi and Kreacher was able to escape, promising to destroy the locket as his master wanted. He had been unsuccessful so far. The Real Daphne, who was holding Harry's hand was baffled.

"Can you bring it to us, Kreacher?" asked memory Daphne and the elf looked at her.

"Kreacher can, mistress." then he popped away, leaving a chuckling Harry, a baffled Daphne, three confused teenagers and a very amused and hopeful headmaster.

Kreacher came back in moments, carrying the locket.

"Master Regulus wanted it destroyed." the elf said and Harry nodded, taking the thing and feeling its dark magic. Memory Daphne looked at the elf and gave him the fake locket.

"You fulfilled your master's last wish, Kreacher. We will destroy it. You can have this one as a memento, if you wish." Kreacher's eyes bulged and he nodded.

"Thank you mistress." the elf said.

"Why do you call her mistress?" asked Granger, attracting their attention. Real Daphne wondered that too.

"Because Kreacher can feels master's magic on mistress." That made both memory Harry and Daphne blush and Dumbledore actually laugh with mirth. The others didn't understand at all what Kreacher meant "Master, the thief brought in by previous master steal the possessions of the house of Black. What does master want to do?"

Harry was shocked with the change of demeanour in the house elf.

"What thief?" Harry asked.

"The one called Dung." the elf said and Harry's magic flared

"Seal the house. No one goes in or out without my consent. If you can, retrieve everything."

"Yes, master." replied Kreacher, popping away. Harry turned to Dumbledore.

"You better do something about Dung or he will pay for stealing from my house." Harry threatened and Dumbledore nodded, actually shocked with both the revelation and Harry's behaviour "Now, about this thing, we should destroy it."

"Before we do that, it is possible to use one horcrux to find the others?" asked Daphne, hopefully, looking at the headmaster. His face gave her the reply she didn't want.

"I have no idea, Ms. Greengrass, although I did think about it."

"Great." she replied sarcastically.

"Then, what? Should we destroy it? Should we keep it in safety?" asked Harry, looking at the both of them.

"I have clues in regard to the nature of the other horcruxes. I believe we may destroy it. Meanwhile, I'd suggest to keep it in a silk bag. It reduces the influences of the Horcrux upon us." Harry immediately conjured a red silk bag, making Daphne sniff.

"Too flashy." she mumbled, summoning a green one of her own and placing Harry's bag with the horcrux already inside into hers. Harry grinned and Daphne showed him her tongue, smiling. Clearly it was a inner joke of them, thought real Daphne

"Are you sure? Shouldn't we keep our cards near our chest?" asked Daphne and Granger almost snapped at her for doubting the headmaster.

"I am sure, Ms. Greengrass." Daphne snorted.

"As much as you were when you decided to leave a one year old orphan baby at the doorstep of magic hating muggles in a November night?" she snapped, making Dumbledore flinch.

"Daph..." said Harry putting his hands on her shoulders, clearly making her more at ease.

"If it makes you at ease, Ms. Greengrass, I know of nothing we can do but destroy them."

Daphne sighed.

"Fiendfire or basilisk poison, right?" she asked and Dumbledore nodded while both teens grinned.

"See? I told you it was a good idea to keep a gallon of the poison to ourselves." said Daphne and Harry chuckled.

"I remember agreeing with you?!" he replied and both laughed "Fine, let's go deal with it. Can you come, headmaster?" asked Harry and Dumbledore was actually curious but unable to join them.

"Alas, I can not but I would like to speak with you after you finish your task." Dumbledore said. Harry and Daphne looked at each other and she shrugged.

"I can do it myself. If not, you'll join me down there either way, so..." Daphne said. Harry nodded and kissed her in front of everyone.

"I assume you mean the chamber of secrets?" asked Dumbledore, curious "How will Ms. Greengrass gain entrance if she's not a parselmouth?"

"Not a problem for her. Why don't you three make yourselves useful and go with Daph?" Harry asked to the three teens, bringing them from their shock and surprise "And make sure she's safe."

"I hardly need help, Harry." she replied, crossing her arms with the green bag in her hand and a mock pout.

"Indulge me, will you?" he played with her. Harry turned to Longbottom "Pretend she's the Lady Potter."

Longbottom nodded immediately, grinning all the while and stepped forward, followed by Granger after him. Weasley sneered at Daphne but went to after being coerced by Dumbledore.

"I can see you kept you secrets very well, Harry." the headmaster said with a grin "I must say, I never saw it coming."

"There's a lot of things you never saw it coming, headmaster." replied Harry in a polite and amused tone, making the old man chuckle.

"True, but how will Ms. Greengrass gain entrance to the chamber?" he asked again.

"We tweaked the password charms using parseltongue and I managed to add her magical signature to the ward of the door. That and I recorded the password in parseltongue into a memory crystal she always caries with her. If she touches the door with her magic and used the crystal to say the password, the doors will open for her. It will only work for her, though."

"Very ingenious, indeed. I suppose I should award you points for it. Twenty points each." said Dumbledore with a smile and Harry nodded.

"I can finally understand the changes in you since last year, Harry." said Dumbledore "Ms. Greengrass has been a most positive influence on you."

"I like to think so, too."

"Tell me, Harry, would you say you love her?"

"With all my heart, although I don't understand how that is relevant and please, don't talk about the prophecy." Dumbledore chuckled of Harry's words.

"Love is a most powerful magic, Harry. I believe that soon you will understand it. However, it was not because of this I wished to talk to you."

"Then what was it?" asked Harry, making himself comfortable at Dumbledore's request.

"I wish you to disarm me, Harry." Dumbledore said. Harry just looked at him as if the old man had two heads.

"You never do anything just because and even still, you try to make it look like you're a bit off. What is it you're not telling me, headmaster?" asked Harry and Dumbledore laughed.

"Harry, my wand is quite powerful and it is not my original one. I wish you to keep it to help you in your future endeavours but alas, the wand has to be taken by force from its wielder. That's why I want you to disarm me, so that you can have the loyalty of the wand." Harry looked at him strangely.

"Have you finally gone insane, sir?" asked Harry with a frown and Dumbledore chuckled.

"I believe so, Harry, although a long time ago." Dumbledore said and Harry actually rolled his eyes, casting the disarming spell on Dumbledore who chuckled. Then, Dumbledore's wand jumped to his hand and Harry felt the rush of power flowing through him.

"What... What was that?" the teen asked, looking scared at Dumbledore.

"Promise me to keep the wand a secret, Harry. Promise me that you will use it carefully." Harry nodded and Dumbledore believed him.

"Sir, what type of wand is this?" asked Harry again.

"Does it matter, Harry? It is a wand, no matter how powerful. It is a tool, nothing else. It's up to you to decide what to do with it, as Ms. Greengrass put it so well."

"I know you're hiding something else, sir." Harry said and Dumbledore actually looked sullen.

"Some things I'm not actually sure, Harry. But now, off you go, meet your beautiful girlfriend. You're only young once, you know?" Harry smiled and the memory started to fade.

Harry and Daphne exited the pensieve and Daphne looked at Harry, curious.

"What kind of wand was that?" Daphne asked.

"A legendary one. Remember the story of the three brothers?" Harry asked and Daphne looked at him as if he had grown two heads. Then she paled.

"Merlin, that's the elder wand?" she gasped and Harry nodded. Daphne felt dizzy and fell on her chair "But... it's only a story. The hallows are only a story."

"No, they are real." Harry replied, kneeling at her side, making sure she was fine "At one time, I had the three hallows. As of right now, Dumbledore has the elder wand, Riddle has the resurrection stone, even if he doesn't know it and I have the cloak."

"The cloak?" Daphne gasped again and Harry chuckled.

"It has been passed down in my family for years without losing its power. I'd say that was an indication of something, wouldn't you say?" Harry asked and Daphne could only mumble. She felt her mind spin and working too fast for her as she tried to assimilate that her boyfriend had a hallow and had been the master of the three in the future from he had travelled from.

"What... What was it like? To be the master of death?" she asked, her voice betraying her awe.

"I don't know. I never felt different and I never embraced its power. Maybe it was a mistake but I never cared about it and just kept the Hallows safe. Barely used them in fact." Daphne heard his words and was able to detect the regret and the sorrow.

"Why?" she asked and he looked at her.

"Because if I did, I might had been able to save you." he replied in a whisper and her awe was replaced by shock. She caressed his face, filled with sorrow. She hugged him close to her and felt Harry crying without a sound. She felt the wetness of his tears as he grabbed her close.

"Maybe." she said, trying to channel the wisdom of the older self she had come to admire "But it doesn't matter now. Not anymore."

Harry stayed in the same position for a while until Daphne asked him to continue. He just cast a tempus spell and was able to see that it was almost noon. Since none of them was hungry, they opted for continuing with Harry's story.

"What happened after?" asked Daphne, playing with Harry's hair, finding it very relaxing for the both of them.

"You destroyed the horcrux by dipping it on the poison, Granger threw a fit because we didn't allow her to check the library on the chamber and then we came all back. We separated for the night and nothing else happened until the end of the term."

"What happened?" asked Daphne, knowing it would be big.

"Voldemort made his move." replied Harry in a dark tone.

Hi, everybody.

I hope you liked it and that you're not drawing the pitchforks to hunt me down because of the cliffie. Originally I intended to add the seventh year to this chapter but I got tired for the day and decided to stop here. Other stuff to do and all.

The next chapter will depict the seventh year and the aftermath of the war, with some more Haphne moments, both in the future/past and in the present timeline.

Hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave a comment.

I have a question, did you found it hard to read? Confusing perhaps? Let me know.

Cheers and cheer up. Tomorrow is Monday. AHAHAH NOT!

Zaterra02