Hi :) And welcome back to the second to last chapter. I'll be traveling again tomorrow, so I am not quite certain when the last one will be up, but it will be sometime this weekend. I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 11

Harry had to give it to Daphne Greengrass. She was a good friend for Hermione. Together they managed to right the situation with her. Hermione got too caught up in her guilt over what happened between him and Ginny. It turned out, Daphne's suggestions had been indeed exactly what was needed to break the kind of vicious circle that Hermione had been spiralling down.

Harry blamed himself. He hadn't been careful after his break up with Ginny. Hermione had seen him on the couch crying, and he had told her more than he had meant to. Her reaction really had been foreseeable.

Once Hermione's 'slave-side' had been able to accept that the break up wasn't Hermione's fault, actual Hermione managed to get control back over her emotions, that had been all over the place before. Things went back to normal after a month or so. Well... normal except that Harry wasn't with Ginny anymore and Hermione and he were invited to the Weasleys less regularly than they used to.

On the other hand, Daphne started inviting Hermione to dinner with her family more regularly, and as she now knew the situation, she invited Harry as well, knowing it would be easier for her friend to enjoy herself if she could remain close to her 'Master'.

Their plans were starting to bear fruit. Daphne had introduced a bill to allow certain enchanted Muggle objects to be sold in shops, after the Weasley twins had successful tests and demonstrations of the appliances. The law went through without a lot of opposition, even the part that offered more funds to the Office of Muggle Relations and the Office against the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts (to oversee the invention and production of such items).

In another law, Daphne had actually taken up a suggestion of Harry's. From now on, Muggleborn witches and wizards and their families would have to be informed of Hogwarts and the Magical world at least half a year before they would start, to give them sufficient time to decide and then prepare. Hermione smiled at the antics of her two friends. Daphne pretended stubbornly not to like Harry, while Harry remained cordial but distanced with Daphne. But Hermione knew better. They were on their way to become friends.

She knew she had to thank both of them for her newfound happiness in her life. Daphne now knew, and Harry had allowed Hermione to talk to Daphne about everything she wanted to share with her. She hadn't told her about Ron, yet, but being able to talk to her was helpful. Sometimes Harry just wouldn't understand what some of his orders did to her, he always had the best intentions but sometimes he overshot the target when trying to help her. Then she could go to Daphne and she would talk to Harry. Harry trusted Daphne's judgement more than Hermione's in these situations, probably because her mind wasn't clouded by a slave spell, Hermione mused.

Hermione only wished Harry would stop researching this stupid spell. Then they would finally be able to settle down and start to make their peace with the situation. Unfortunately, that part even Daphne didn't understand and she was vehemently supporting Harry's decision. She and Astoria had helped Harry to access the Department of Mysteries library and so Hermione had no hope that Harry would stop in the foreseeable future. It was a big library.

Over the next two years, Astoria Greengrass observed Harry Potter daily working in the Department of Mysteries. His knowledge must be quite an asset by now, but she suspected that's not what he was out for. He was researching about obscure dark spells, mostly. She knew, because one evening she had looked up the books he had taken out to read.

She knew Daphne was fully aware of what Harry Potter was trying to do and that she supported it, but she didn't tell Astoria. That alone told her that it was important.

To be fair, there was one thing Astoria kept from everyone else as well, including Daphne. She was not at all a secretary in the department. She was training to become an unspeakable. She had had the best NEWTs in her year and in fact, the best ones in several years, though she suspected Granger not really taking hers aided her in that. Of course, no one knew, because the Department had changed her marks before they were sent out. They had approached her as soon as her marks were set by the testing commission.

She had to keep it a secret from her family for only a little while longer. Once she was a full unspeakable, her work in the Department would be put under a full secrecy charm that worked similar to the fidelius. People would only remember that she was an unspeakable if she or the chief unspeakable told them. Until then, telling her family was not allowed and grounds for firing her, because secrecy is very important to the Department. While she did trust her family with her life, the Department did not, as a matter of course.

Though her family had enough to be proud of at the moment anyway. Daphne was doing great things on the Wizengamot, together with Neville Longbottom and Susan Bones and working more in the shadows, Hermione Granger. Hermione Granger. She was the reason Harry Potter was spending all his free time in the Department of Mysteries, of that, Astoria was sure. She respected him for that. He antagonised many people who asked for his political help. On the other hand, she also thought that there had to be a point when it was enough. He was still very popular, but he wouldn't remain popular forever. He could single-handedly change the political course of Wizarding Britain, improve the lives of thousands and thousands of witches and wizards, especially those that were disadvantaged at the moment, but he didn't, because of a futile search for something that would help a single witch.

Really, Astoria didn't know what to think of him. She was awed and inspired by his devotion, that much was sure. But she also had liked the self-sacrificing side of him, that she had seen glimpses of during and before the war, when she first came to Hogwarts.

And when Astoria wasn't sure of something, she always did one thing. She observed.

Daphne was angry. It had been three years since she had found out about Hermione's situation and by now, she understood where her best friend was coming from when she said she wanted to settle down and accept it. It must be devastating for her to see Harry leave for the Department of Mysteries everyday hoping and fearing at the same time that he might find something, but being disappointed and relieved in the evening, because it had been another day of nothing.

Her problem was that Harry couldn't accept it. No matter how hard she tried to make her other best friend see it, he just refused to listen in that regard. No matter how much she tried to get his attention to other things he could do, he refused. And Daphne felt herself getting angry with him. This had long stopped being about Hermione. This was about him. That's what Daphne had a problem with.

She did acknowledge that not everything was great. Daphne knew that Hermione would not ever try to find romantic love and that she had dreamed of children but wouldn't have them. Daphne had suggested that Muggle had ways to have children without the romance involved, but Hermione refused. She didn't want children if she couldn't put them first like she should do and Daphne understood what she meant. Any child would notice if it was only second most important to his mother, even if the mother loved it properly.

Not to mention the little things. Having to serve Harry... well having to was more becoming a wanting to with Hermione. She had just gotten used to it by now, Daphne assumed. Anyway, she did acknowledge all these things and she understood that they were good reasons to try and find something. She just respected Hermione's wish to stop the search. But Harry couldn't.

Astoria knew that there was tension between Harry Potter and her sister. She had first been surprised when they had become friends, but not any longer. By now, she was wondering how they hadn't been friends for seven years while in Hogwarts. They were made to be friends, in Astoria's not so humble opinion.

And Astoria also noticed something else. At some point, during her observation, she had developed more than just a... scientific interest in her object of study. She wasn't sure what it was. The things Daphne told her about Harry, maybe. After all, for Daphne to tell so many good things about someone had to mean something, Astoria knew. Or the way he bantered with her when he and Hermione came over for family dinner? They had come twice a week for nearly a year now and Astoria had found herself looking forward to them more and more. But it wasn't that. Really, it was the thing only she really knew, only she could observe here in the department. None of them could really appreciate what the search down here in the libraries took out of him. And the devotion to his friend that made him continue his quest even if no one wanted him to, including said friend. She had found it in that... the self-sacrifice she had admired when she was younger and more naïve.

By now, obviously, she knew what he was looking for. And she knew where he could find it. She hoped it would finally get him to do the things he needed to do. Tomorrow she would be able to help him. Tomorrow she would be a full unspeakable and then she could reveal herself to him and give him what he was looking for. Well not exactly what he was looking for, but the only thing there was.

Spring 2003, Harry thought idly. How long did he want to keep this up. By now Daphne was pretty angry at him and he knew Hermione would be, if she could. He needed to stop this at some point. No one wanted him to continue looking. To be honest, he wasn't even sure he wanted to myself.

Harry had had these kind of thoughts for quite some time now. Just, whenever he thought of not going back into the DoM in the morning, he felt like he was letting down Hermione. And he just couldn't bear that feeling. So he went back everyday to find something, that with all probability, wasn't there.

It wasn't like there was nothing else to do. Both Daphne and Hermione had frequently asked for his help in this endeavour or another. Of course he understood that they had done so to stop him from his search, but making the wizarding world a better place, even through politics? That sounded quite enticing at this point. That he refused to help was another reason why Daphne was not happy with him at the moment.

By now, with all the knowledge he had picked up during the last years, he could also take up a Mastery quite fast. Maybe become a teacher. He had liked teaching the DA. Or maybe he could join the Aurors now. It had been a while since he had had a nice exchange of spellfire, and a small part of him was missing those. But he just couldn't stop his search. He couldn't let Hermione down.

BANG!

Harry was shocked out of his musings, as his table shook slightly. He looked up, to see Astoria Greengrass standing opposite of him and noticed that she seemed to have dropped quite a thick and old book on the table. Harry was confused that she was here, but not unhappy to be able to take a look at her. She was breathtakingly beautiful. More so, in his opinion, than her sister was, even though many probably wouldn't agree with him. She was just a little bit smaller than Daphne. Her body was more athletic than Daphne's, and while he would never dream of describing Daphne as insecure, Astoria's stance always seemed to broadcast an amount of confidence that Harry felt was contagious, without taking on the expression of slight aloofness, that Daphne oftentimes wore.

But the real difference between the two were their eyes. Daphne's ice blue had been legendary, even during Harry's time in school. He hadn't heard from the younger years, but he assumed much the same had been true for Astoria's eyes. But while Daphne's eyes still were the same legendary colour, Astoria's had changed. Harry had heard the story over dinner once. He had asked Daphne first, but she said that it was Astoria's story to tell. And so Harry asked her the next time over Dinner.

During his seventh year, Astoria's fifth, she had guarded a group of Slytherin first and second years from sixth and seventh year junior death eaters. The children got away and Astoria had managed to take out three of the group of five, before she was hit by a dark blinding curse. She had taken out one more despite being unable to see, before the fight was broken up by Snape, who took one look at her eyes before bringing her to the hospital wing. She had nearly lost her eyes that night. Luckily, Madam Pomfrey had seen the curse before. She managed to fully restore one of her eyes, the right, that still had the same colour as Daphne's. But when she could start working on the other one, it had been too late for that. While she did still manage to restore full vision, Astoria's left eye mostly remained discoloured, black. However in some parts, little swirls, the colour was restored, though not to the original blue. The blood that the curse had put in her eyes had somewhat changed the colour, and so her left eye seemed like a dark pit, in which small storms of blue, red and sometimes purple always fought for dominance.

Her eyes were what made her prettier to Harry than Daphne was, though he wasn't quite sure if it was the unique colouring, or if it was what it stood for, or maybe even the fact that she didn't seem insecure about her uncommon looks.

A somewhat mocking smile formed on her face, and Harry noticed that he had been lost in her eyes a bit too long to feel comfortable with. "Astoria, hi. What are you doing here?"

"Evening Potter, I understand you and Hermione are coming for family dinner tonight?" She asked. For some reason she insisted on calling him Potter, even though Harry had tried many times to get her to stop. She usually just would look at him seriously and say something like 'somebody has to remind you who of you are' and would just continue calling him Potter. At some point, Harry gave up trying to change her mind.

Truthfully, he enjoyed talking to her quite a bit more than he thought he should. If he didn't have Hermione to care for, he might even have asked her out. But he was afraid of another repetition of what happened with Ginny. Astoria could have a bit of a temper sometime, just like Ginny had. On the other hand, the two were very different. Yes, Harry had compared Astoria to his ex-girlfriend more often than he cared to admit to himself.

"Yes, I believe so. Well, once Daphne and Hermione remember what time it is and I can actually get them to stop working and go over to yours, I guess."

Astoria grinned. "Poor you, always having to get between my sister and her work. I'm amazed you are still walking, Potter."

"I am quite good at dodging curses, after all." This actually awarded him a small chuckle from Astoria.

"Well, see to it that you get them there early today, or they will miss the big announcement I have to make." Astoria said, suddenly sounding serious.

Harry looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "I will."

Astoria smiled at him. Harry liked it when she smiled at him, it made him feel content, at ease. But she wasn't really supposed to be here. "Astoria, not that I'm not grateful to see you, but I thought only unspeakables were allowed into the library?"

Astoria nodded, but continued to smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help you, Potter."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said, I want to help you. But I want something in return as well."

Harry found that weird. Until now, Astoria had always given him advice freely. Like, how he could manage to get Daphne over their latest squabble, or how to support this or that political endeavour, without spending too much of his own time on it. Harry knew she was quite clever. He had been told that her marks had suffered due to the war, and so she wasn't able to get a job other than secretary, but Harry knew she was clever. In fact, though he couldn't base this assumption on a lot of first hand experience, from what little he had seen and what he had been told by Daphne, he assumed Astoria could give Daphne and Hermione a run for their money.

"Help me with what, Astoria?"

Astoria took on mock hurt expression. "Really, Potter, don't try to play me. I'm much cleverer than you are, so you will lose anyway. I know what you are looking for here."

Harry was shocked. How had she known? Daphne had promised him time and time again that she had told no one, not even Astoria. Wait, maybe she was trying to trick him.

She smiled victoriously and as if she could read his thoughts she said "I can prove it. Here in this book." she pointed on the book she had dropped on the desk. "On page forty-two is what you are looking for."

Harry looked at her for a long moment but she remained silent and just gave him an encouraging smile and nod, pushing the book a little closer to his side of the table. Harry, like in trance, reached out and took it. It was an old book. The pages nearly broke when they were moved. Carefully he went through the pages until he read the number 42. The heading of the double page read 'Freeing victims of power based enslavement spells'.

Harry started to read. 'As discussed previously, power based enslavement spells are the hardest ones to fight. Some of that family, such is 'vis tibi servienda est' are notorious for being irresistible. Therefore, anyone fighting against mages so dark that they employ such matters, should know the spells listed in the following pages. But one should also be aware of their weaknesses.'

Harry stopped reading and looked back up to Astoria. The smile was gone from her face and she looked back to him with a serious expression.

"How?" he simply asked.

Astoria breathed in deeply. "I have observed you here for a while now. It was quite easy to retrace your research and find out what you were looking for." She smiled at him encouragingly. "Daphne and Hermione are lucky to have a friend with your devotion. Don't let my sister tell you any different."

Harry's heart jumped at her unexpected warm words. But he was still confused. "But Astoria, you can get into big trouble for even setting foot in here. Retracing my research?"

"You have enough to worry about already, Potter. Don't worry about me." She took another deep breath. "The truth is, I have not been completely honest with everyone. That's what I want to announce today at dinner." She looked down. "Harry. As of 11 am today, I'm an unspeakable. I was in training nearly for the last three years, and while in training, it has to be an absolute secret. You are the first one to know."

Harry felt his mouth fall open. Then he stood up and walked around the table, there he stopped, uncertain what exactly he was going to do. In a spur of the moment decision, he pulled the woman into a hug. "That's great, Astoria. Congratulations." Joy felt his heart when Astoria returned the hug, lying her head onto his shoulder.

They parted, and Astoria smiled at him. "Does that explain how I was able to track your research without committing a series of crimes?"

Harry nodded. Then Astoria got more serious again. "Sit down, we have to talk."

Harry did as told. "Harry, I understand why you aren't stopping your search. I do. I have seen you here every day. Believe me, I understand more than Daphne and Hermione can right now. They haven't seen either the desperation in your eyes, or the amount of blood you lose due to paper cuts on a long day."

Harry was amazed at how soft and at the same time passionate her voice sounded but also confused where this is going. "I'm sorry, Harry, but you won't be able to help her in the way you hope for." She pointed back at the book.

Harry started reading again. The description of the counter spell was confusing to him but after two tries he thought he got the gist of it. "So it can free the person from slavery, but it can't restore the priorities to what they were previously to being hit by the curse. It basically deletes the slavery from the core of their priorities, but it doesn't replace it. Is that right?"

Astoria nodded sadly. "Yes. After the counter spell, the victim is left with nothing to really live for. They will become depressive. Some of the accounts later in the book warn of suicide attempts."

"But couldn't we find a spell that replaces the slavery with something else after removing it?" Harry asked.

"That would work," Astoria said, "but do you really want to decide what should be the most important thing in someone's life? It wouldn't really be any different from being your slave. Hermione would find most important what you think she should find most important. Right now, she seems happy with her life, most of the time. I realise there will be some things I can't imagine that are difficult for her, but do you really want to risk her current happiness for an attempt like that?"

Harry looked down on the pages. He knew she was right. "Maybe… maybe there is something else…" Harry looked up again and Astoria looked back to him with pity as she shook her head.

"No, Harry, there isn't anything. As an unspeakable, even during training, I have more powerful ways to search for information and more leeway as to what kind of information I request, even about magic as dark as this." She shook her head again. "This is the only book we know about… in the world. I found out about it two months ago, it took me another month to locate a copy and then one more to bring it here. I got it yesterday. I'm sorry Harry, there is nothing else."

Harry looked at her and saw the truth in her eyes. She wasn't saying it just to get him to stop looking. How… how much time had she spent helping him from the shadows? He wondered about it, while he felt tears in his eyes. He wasn't sure whether they were tears of relieve or of sadness, or maybe both? His search had come to an end now, he knew it. He couldn't help Hermione, but at least he hadn't let her down either. The tears started running down his cheeks and he was only dimly aware that Astoria had sat down beside him, taking his hand into her own, slowly rubbing his back with the other.

He did however hear her voice. "Shh… Everything will be alright. You did everything you can and more. She is lucky to have you." And other such nothings was all she said, but to Harry it felt more soothing than he could say.

After a while, Harry composed himself and wiped his tears off with his sleeve. He turned around to Astoria, who released his hand, but smiled back at him. "Thank you, Astoria. I can't tell you how much you helped me."

"You don't have to, Potter, I know you would have been lost without me." She answered, grinning mockingly.

Harry chuckled, but his voice remained serious when he picked up from somewhere at the beginning of their conversation "Whatever it is you want in return, just tell me."

Astoria continued to smile as she stood up. "Be punctual for dinner. Dress nicely. And then, after dinner, come talk to me and ask me out for a date."

With that she left a once more gaping Harry at his table.

Hermione was happy with her life. Ever since Harry had stopped his search, she felt content. There were still things she would wish she could do but couldn't, but she had made her peace with that. She was also happy for Harry. Astoria was good for him

The two had been going out for a bit more than three and a half years now, starting the evening after Astoria's big announcement about joining the unspeakables. Harry had apologised to Hermione the next day and told her about his findings. He told her that he couldn't help her and that he would stop searching now. Hermione hadn't seen him as free as that for at least a year. She knew that Astoria had helped him somehow, had gotten him to stop searching, but neither he nor Astoria talked about it.

Harry had gone on to study for masteries in DADA and Ritualism, banking on the knowledge he had collected during his research to help Hermione. He had passed DADA two years ago and Ritualism just last month. He had managed to get one of the elected Wizengamot seats and was now the leading reformer amongst the elected members. Daphne was his counter part for the family seats. Hermione had stopped working for the Muggle Relations office and had become Daphne's personal assistant. The two of them still came up with most of the plans and political manoeuvres to get what they wanted, while Harry usually just lend his political muscle as the man-who-conquered. That gave him enough free time to pursue his studies. Sometimes he would come up with an idea of his own, though Hermione often suspected a certain amount of Astoria behind Harry's ideas.

Sometimes Hermione thought about what Ron would do now, if he wasn't… dead. He would have become an Auror, wouldn't he? Or maybe he would have made it as a quidditch keeper? Maybe he would have decided to do something Hermione couldn't even imagine right now. In those moments, she still felt guilt well up in her for killing him, for taking all that away from him…. But the times when she thought like that had become rarer, the guilt she felt more like a shadow of its former self. She had good friends who wouldn't let her become like that for long. Harry, Daphne and lately Astoria were a great help to her.

They still were invited to the Weasleys from time to time, but it had become slightly awkward when Ginny had started going out with Oliver Wood, and even more so later, when Harry had started going out with Astoria. The Greengrasses were not the Weasleys' favourite people, though they did their best to hide that sentiment whenever Harry and Hermione came over. Still, contact to the family remained. Fred and George still viewed Harry as their partner and included him in all major business decisions. Ginny also regularly sent them tickets to her Quidditch Games, which always was a nice change of pace for all of them. She even included tickets for Astoria, once her and Harry's relationship had become public knowledge. By now, Ginny and Oliver were married.

Starting next year, Harry would take up a part time teaching job in Hogwarts, mostly grading papers for charms and transfigurations while studying for his mastery in both subjects. Masteries in DADA, Charms, Transfiguration and one other subject would automatically grant a Mastery in Duelling, which was what Harry was out for. Hermione believed he eventually wanted to take up a full time position at Hogwarts and found a proper Duelling Club. Harry had become quite enamoured with Sport Duelling lately.

But today was Christmas 2006, and as always in the last three years, Harry and Hermione had Christmas dinner in Greengrass manor. Hermione was slightly surprised when instead of Lord Greengrass' usual Christmas speech, it was Harry who stood up to talk.

"Dear friends, I wish you all a merry Christmas. I know, you are expecting the usual Christmas speech given by our host, and he will still deliver it, but he allowed me to say just a few words before.

In the last years I have come to appreciate how great my friends are even more than before. I wouldn't know what I would do without them. Without their advice, their help, their encouragement. I would truly be lost. That's why I want to take this time to thank them. Thank you, Hermione and Daphne." Harry raised his glass to them and took a sip, as did people around the table. Hermione noticed that Astoria looked at him just as surprised as she felt. Astoria hadn't known about this? That was odd.

"However, it was just the more surprising to me when I found out lately that there is another person I do not want to live without anymore. Her counsel, her presence, her support and simply her smile." Harry's eyes searched Astoria's and found them. The two smiled at each other, before Harry continued. "Astoria has been with me for the last three and a half years and if there is one thing I learned during this time, it is that I would be a fool to delay this any longer." He put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a delicate but beautiful ring. Hermione felt a smile form on her face. "Astoria, will you marry me?"

Instead of answering, Astoria jumped up and kissed him possessively.

Three years later, Lilly-Sophie Potter and Andrew Ronald Potter were born shortly after Harry had finished his Masteries. Astoria continued working for the unspeakables, while Harry stopped part time teaching with the understanding that he would be the next in line for the full time DADA position. It would be a few years until the current Professor would retire and Harry wanted to use the time to support Daphne and Hermione in their politics, while caring for the twins.

Another three years after that, Daphne ran for the office of Minister of Magic, and won with the help of Harry's endorsement. She immediately hired Hermione as her undersecretary. The three were commonly referred to as the second golden trio in the political news, due to their successes in beating back discrimination in most forms. For the next five years they would continue to do so even more successfully. The name was a bit awkward to Hermione, because she had to think of Ron whenever she read it. It made her feel uncomfortable, to say the least, that it sounded like they had simply replaced him. But she got over that eventually.

Sadly, Daphne only held the office for one five year term, before she lost re-election. Her opponent, a pureblood hardliner had started rumours about Daphne and Hermione being more than just friends, and while Wizarding Britain was becoming more modern, they weren't that modern yet. As Daphne flat out refused to fire Hermione, it painted a strong enough picture for Daphne to lose by a very narrow margin at the end of five years.

In the same year, Lord Andrew Greengrass retired from his position as head of the Greengrass family, and Daphne's and Astoria's little brother Tobias took over the family business. He continued Daphne's politics in the Wizengamot, but decided to fill the seat himself. It would look weird for the head of house to not be available in the political arena. Andrew could only get away with it previously, because he had filled the seat for many years before handing it over to Daphne.

I hope you enjoyed it :) Sorry to those of you who where hoping Harry would find something to free Hermione.