A/N (Rant): trust me when I say that I love getting favourited as either an author, or just this story - but if you like it then it only takes a moment to review and say 'Good job! Keep it up!', and it keeps me happy. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Harry looked over the books and books of numbers with a groan, and then turned to the small creature beside him with an expression bordering awe. "How in Merlin's name do you not go insane?"
Griphook grinned up at him; his sharp teeth glinting in the candlelight. "Insane Harry? But we're only just getting started."
Harry thumped his head violently into the solid wooden desk on which they were working, and Dekyla, who had just walked back into the lounge, forced back a laugh. "Harry dear, you come by only every so often, and you know how we just love banking…"
Harry made it very clear with his deadpanned look precisely what he felt about that. "If I see another number in the next five minutes Dek, I will scream."
The female goblin sat opposite him and rested her chin on her clasped fingers. "A little girly scream just for me? I feel flattered."
Harry cracked a grin and sat back in his own chair; not daring to look at the piece of paper that Griphook was scribbling furiously away upon. "Only for you my dear…and perhaps Bellatrix, but that's beside the point."
Dekyla leaned forward eagerly, a teasing glint in her eyes. "Ooooh…perhaps Bella takes more of an initiative in your relationship than I thought?" Harry's eyes widened at the connotations, and the goblin laughed uproariously. "Oh Harry! I thought you were about to hex me!"
"I nearly was."
"You do that and I'll grab my axe before lopping your head off."
Harry shrugged at the still-writing Griphook. "But I'd just come back after a few minutes and start hitting you back twice as hard."
"Do you want to risk that Harry?"
The tone in the banker's voice was less than conversational, and Harry gulped nervously. "Nah, but I mean…you wouldn't actually do that – right?"
Griphook paused from his calculations and grinned up at Harry once more. "Just as much as you would hex my wife."
Harry smiled and nodded. "Indeed. No risk then."
Griphook returned the smile. "Indeed Harry. Now if I'm not mistaken, you have a meeting to attend to at The Ministry."
Harry peered down at his watch and nodded. "I do Mr Dhuthiran." He stood from his chair and tipped an imaginary hat, earning him a rolling of the eyes from a grinning Dekyla. "Till tomorrow then?"
"Till tomorrow Harry," came the dual reply, and Harry grinned before popping away.
He arrived in the middle of a press swarm, but a moment later felt familiar skin touch his own, and he smiled warmly despite the crowd around him. "Hello Love."
A moment later Bella managed to squeeze in beside him, and she smiled warmly up at him. "Hello."
The life in her eyes, and in his for that matter, was unrivalled. Bella's severing of the last reminder and anchor to her life as Lestrange had been liberating, just as Harry's with his abusive childhood, and never before had either of them felt so free. Their freedom caused five lives to be extinguished, but both considered it a small price to pay. So did The Source.
"How are Dek and Grip?"
They moved with the press crowd unnoticed and Harry shrugged with a grin. "Loving banking as usual. Oh, Dekyla wants us to come over for dinner next Thursday and she said that Alyssa and Teddy were more than welcome as well."
Bella's eyebrows raised a fraction. "She actually said that? That's quite an honour."
Harry nodded his head in agreement, and broke eye contact with his wife only to glare murderously at the Ministry Courtyard as they passed by. "Yeah, but they see how we trust those two; they see who those two really are. How are they going? With Tonks I mean."
Bella sighed and squeezed his hand gently. "I- they're at least civil Harry, but it's been nearly two entire months and neither Teddy nor Alyssa have smiled at her once." She looked vaguely around the atrium for threats as they passed through on their way to the Aurorial Briefing Room, still in the middle of the excited crowd, and sighed. "I'm worried for them, I really am."
Harry shook his head with a small smile. "Don't be. We were already soul bonded in Azkaban, and so by the time we arrived at Andy's house we were completely in control of ourselves. Our emotions were far less raw. Teddy and Alyssa however, had just gone through the shock of initiating a Soul Bond, and on top of that were fighting off the effects of Dark Magic. Their emotions were bared completely without protection, and so when Tonks threw that at them…well they reacted just as we would have."
Bella's eyes widened, "I hadn't thought of it like that."
Harry shrugged with a small grin as they entered the room, completely undisguised. "You don't have to; I'll do it for you."
She smacked his arm playfully, and then sat down on his lap in one of the darkened back corners…artificially shadowed of course. "Git."
"But you love me for it," he grinned back, and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly at his reply.
"Bring to order!" yelled the familiar voice, and Harry watched in loathing as Hermione stepped away from the stand to allow the hideously pink-suited woman her audience. Bella saw his mental image of walking up and slamming the woman's head violently against the stone stand behind which she stood, and stifled a laugh, much to several other reporters' disapproval. "Today we gather to discuss the latest developments in regards the criminal organization Phoenix." A few murmurs met her opening, but Harry forced himself to stay quiet. "The leaders of this group are dangerous convicts who will not hesitate to do anything to achieve their goal – as clearly shown just under a month ago when they brutally murdered Aur-"
"But he was later, posthumously accused and proven guilty of the rape and murder of over fifty seven mug-"
"Miss Skeeter," reprimanded Umbridge in her gratingly high voice, "they were mere muggles; their deaths and such were of little consequence. Now as I was say-"
"So Muggles are inferior to us then?"
Umbridge looked at Harry directly, but didn't recognize him due to the heavy shadow over his face. She looked almost appalled. "But of course they are!"
"And why is that?"
Harry saw her jaw clench, and smirked to himself. The bitch was truly digging herself into a hole, and Harry was more than happy to ensure that she made her grave there. "They cannot perform magic; they are substandard rejects of what we are as a race."
"Which is why they can do stuff like this then?" He pulled out a grenade from his inside pocket, and Hermione's eyes immediately widened in horror. Umbridge however, hadn't the faintest at just what was being shown to her. Harry decided upon enlightenment. "This here, Miss Umbridge, is a high explosive fragmentation grenade. I pull this pin here," he did so, and it popped out of its housing, "and it is armed. If I throw it, and my fingers stop applying pressure to this little metal clip looking thing, it will explode in three seconds."
Umbridge snorted. "We can defend against such a primitive weapon easily."
Harry's voice was shocked when it emerged from the shadows. "Pray tell?"
A hint of irritation entered her answer. "A shield of course."
"I'm afraid Miss Umbridge that the only four people who are capable of erecting shields powerful enough by using just their own magical cores are the leaders of this Phoenix Organization of which you speak."
The woman's eyes narrowed, and several aurors took a step towards the concealed pair. "And how did you come by such information?"
"By asking nicely for it."
The woman gritted her teeth. "And who did you acquire this information from?"
Harry hummed dramatically, "Ahhhhhh, none of your bloody business." Aurors surged forwards, but found themselves frozen a moment later; completely unable to move. Umbridge, Hermione and Ron all noticed the lack of movement, and their expressions betrayed their wariness. Harry however, was intent on enjoying every single solitary second of getting under their skin. Still hidden by the impenetrable shadow, Harry leant forwards and flicked open a pad before poising a muggle-made ballpoint pen over it.
Umbridge's jaw clenched almost imperceptivity.
"Missus Weasley, a few weeks ago you were essentially shot with your own weapon. How did that make you feel?" Harry tried not to laugh at the look of rage on his traitor's face, he really did, but a snigger escaped his lips.
This of course, had the effect of Hermione finally blowing up and pulling out the discussed pistol before aiming it at where she assumed her tormentor's head would be. Her face was red with anger and humiliation, and Harry would have felt sorry for her had she not stabbed him in the back. That wasn't the case at all however, and so he was quite content to sit back in his chair; run his hand tenderly through Bella's hair; and conjure a bowl of popcorn. Judging by the blotches of purple that appeared on the Unspeakable's face at the latest action it was going to be more than just the rudimentary screaming match.
Never before had people ever gotten such an accurate view of precisely who Hermione was, and Harry was pleased to see pretty much every single journalist in the room pulling out quick-quote quills to that they didn't miss a single word of the outburst. "THAT MAN WAS IN PHOENIX! I WAS DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY FROM THE DISEASE OF HALF-BLOODS AND MUDBLOODS THAT THREATEN TO OVERRUN US; THAT WILL OVERRUN US IF WE DON'T TAKE ACTION!" She huffed for a moment to gather her breath, and then continued on with her rant, "THE FILTH THAT ARE GOBLINS AND HOUSE ELVES; THE VILE CREATURES; WEREWOLVES AND VAMPIRES THAT BETRAY US AND LIE TO US! I AM PROTECTING THE PEOPLE THAT DESERVE TO LIVE!"
Harry's eyes narrowed, and his popcorn sat forgotten on his lap. "And what about you Missus Weasley? You are a muggleborn yourself, are you not?"
The brunette snorted in disgust. "I stepped away from that horrid existence years ago; my blood is pure."
Harry's eyes sharpened as information flooded into his mind, and he snarled when the ritual required for such a thing integrated itself into his memories. He thought back to the one and only time he had met Hermione's parents; how nice they were to him, and how happy they had seemed, and then he looked right into the eyes of their daughter standing mere meters away from him. In their first year at Hogwarts she hadn't been the person she was now – he had relived those memories over and over again in his mind for years, and had she been that person now then he would have been proud to have called her his friend. He could remember the child-like wonder and joy in her eyes as they learnt magic; her heart-lifting giggle; the wide, genuine smiles that she would give to him when he succeeded in what he had set his mind to, and yet now none of those things was anywhere to be seen.
There was no trapped soul within her eyes as there had been with the woman against his chest; there was no innocence left at all in fact; all that remained was greed and a coldness that made Harry feel sick. "You murdered seventy two innocent children so that you could change your blood?"
This time her eyes narrowed, and she glanced suspiciously at the frozen aurors. "Who are you? I order you to tell me." Harry felt the magic around him move to enforce her command, but then abate when it realized who he was. She scowled when he didn't answer immediately, and Harry glared angrily at her from within the shadows. Harry heard the safety of her gun click off and immediately erected several highly powerful kinetic shields around himself and his wife, which made Hermione scowl angrily. "This is your last chance; who are you?"
"Giving chances now? Not something those innocent children were offered I'm sure," he spat, and a loud crack rung out in the room. Having seen what the weapon could do mere weeks ago, virtually everybody dived to the ground and covered their heads. Harry didn't even blink as he felt it tear through several of his shields before tinkling to the ground, and he slowly stood from his chair; Bella close behind him. Hermione, it seemed, had finally gotten the proof she needed as to his identity, and Harry confirmed it when he stepped out of the shadows. A few loud gasps came from reporters around him as they recognised him after a moment, and Umbridge looked near ready to faint.
Hermione looked positively murderous; a look which Harry returned with twice the force. "You've become the one thing that you always despised; a pureblooded, bigoted, corrupted bitch."
A circle flashed to life beneath Harry and Bella, the latter's face finally being illuminated much to Hermione's shock, and then anger. "YOU!"
Bella scowled disgustedly at her. "Yes me, you cruel little squib."
Hermione's cheeks flushed a deep purple, and another shot rang out in the room, only to be deflected once more by Harry's shields. The man himself looked at her, only the thoughts of revenge holding him back from simply killing her right there and then. "Did you know that there's a Hell? I've seen and experienced all of the levels of it, and I can assure you that Caïna awaits you." He scowled almost triumphantly, "Your treachery will not go unheeded Hermione; perhaps even Chiron and Pholus will pull your soul to their circle for a few million years before sending you onwards."
Hermione was trying not to look shaken, and her gun dropped to her side as she realized how useless it was against the man in front of her. She had attempted to call the Unspeakables and Aurors to her aid, but had found a barrier surrounding the room that prevented her message from being received – and she had no qualms that it was the man stood in front of her that was the cause of that. "You would know all about Hell, wouldn't you? You killed innocents to try and immortalise yourself, and yet the only two people to do so aren't you!"
Harry almost smirked, but forced it down into himself; to give away such a thing would not be wise. "How do I know what hell is like? I know what it's like because I stared Eurynomus in the eyes without protection."
Hermione snorted disdainfully. "You? Summon a demon? You're not aligned to the dark."
He saw her realize her slip, and move to correct it, but grinned ferally and began speaking before she could. "Everybody in this room, I'm sure you are all aware of who I am?" Nods of affirmation, and he grinned wider, "I also assume that you know just why I was sent to Azkaban?" More nods, and Harry pointed his finger at Hermione with a snarl, "And I am also assuming that you know that she testified that I was the next Dark Lord?" More nods, and expressions of understanding this time – and he felt Bella snicker against his chest. "Well then, would somebody please read the last words that she spoke?"
"Quoted verbatim, 'You're not aligned to the dark'."
Harry smiled at the reporter, who surprisingly smiled warmly back, and nodded. "Thank you very much Rita; please note the sudden change." He turned back to Hermione and cocked his head. "You however, seemed to know just who the demon I summoned was."
She sniffed, "Of course, I'm an Unspeakable; I need to know these things."
"Just as I was an auror, and needed to know those things," he fired back, and she scowled at his irrefutable argument. He simply smiled back and then fell backwards into a cloud of black tendrils which caught him and his wife before solidifying into a black leather couch. Harry had to admit, the demons knew what comfort was, no matter how much he hated most of their kind. Hermione clearly realized what had happened, and her jaw dropped comically – which made Harry laugh, and drew the attention of all the reporters in the room. He decided then and there that a more public approach to his problem would be more beneficial to Phoenix's cause.
After erecting a barrier between the entire media and the Ministry personnel, most notably Hermione and Umbridge, he turned to the gathered witches and wizards with a small, but friendly smile. "However much I hate to admit it, the people in front of us have the power to strip your memories of this entire meeting, and more, away from you."
Blood drained out of quite a few faces, and Bella spoke for the first time with a smile – shocking many who only knew her as Bellatrix Lestrange. "Harry and I can protect you from that." She pointed to the three Aurors, two Unspeakables, and Minister that were trying to break through the barrier, "Of course, they will likely take all of you in for processing after obliviating you to make sure that this doesn't reach the outside world."
Harry shrugged easily and pointed happily to his wife, "Bella's better at mind magic that I am, and I assure you that she can make it so you have a false mind which they can obliviate. I really wouldn't put it past them to do it so thoroughly that you won't remember your own names, so Bella would likely make a full projection in your minds."
Many look confused, and so he left it to the specialist herself to explain. "I will make a copy of your minds which you will primarily use, and place it in front of barriers that I will construct in your minds. When they obliviate you, the projection will get wiped; not your actual selves. Once you're safe from prying eyes, which will probably be when you're delivered to St Mungo's Long-Term Resident Ward, then your real mind will restore itself to your consciousness."
Silence followed her explanation, and one man with wide eyes said the thing that was on most people's minds. "Wow…"
Harry chuckled, and then kissed Bella lightly on the lips. "Yeah, she's amazing." She smiled sweetly up at him, but then turned back to the next reporter that spoke.
"Why would we be in the Long-Term Resident Ward?"
She pointed to Umbridge, whose face was now a fascinating puce colour. "You think she's going to let you leave here with all the information you've now got in your heads? She'll make doubly sure that you won't remember a thing, and I really don't thing that a few destroyed minds will poke at her conscience."
"Ah."
"Can I get an interview with you two?"
Harry looked at the man who had asked the question and narrowed his eyes when he skimmed the surface thoughts of his mind. "No, and I'm going to let you be obliviated you little worm."
The man looked stunned, and Harry turned back to the rest of those present. "Any other questions?"
"Are you really terrorists?"
Harry shrugged, "I don't think so."
Bella shook her head, "We're not. We just want to live in a world where everybody can live in peace, without being discriminated against."
A few murmurs followed that, and Harry raised an eyebrow. "So could I get a show of hands as to who trusts my wife to protect you?"
Every hand went up, and Harry rolled his eyes at the Ministry mole who had asked for an interview. "Okay then, Bella?" She nodded, and then closed her eyes before concentrating on the minds and auras around her. Several minutes later each and every reporter felt a rush of warmth encase their consciousness, and not one of them, minus a certain man, was left without a smile. "Obliviate."
Everybody watched as the mole wavered on his feet for a moment, and then shook himself before looking completely confused. "What?"
Harry nodded. "Perfect." He lowered the barrier, and then casually wiped away a cruciatus curse that flew at him. "Sorry about that. As for the two people that you said had achieved immortality…well they're on our side." He shrugged, "Sorry about that, but it seems that corruption really doesn't appeal to them."
"WHY YOU LITTLE SH-"
He silenced her with a vague wave, and continued. "So Missus Weasley, do you still stand by your statement that I am not aligned to the dark?"
"No," she spat, "I was simply implying that you're not knowledgeable in regards that aspect of magic."
"And why is that?"
She sneered at him, superiority written all over her features. "Because you were always substandard compared to me."
"Says the woman that can't cast a lumos to save herself." She turned a deep red and Harry shrugged before seeming to listen to the air around him. His eyebrows rose, and he shrugged before weaving a complex pattern in the air. "Well perhaps you can now; but I am going to warn you that-"
"Bombarda!"
Once more he brushed the spell aside and sighed. "Well as you can see, you do have your magic back now, but only because it was getting quite boring facing you without it." He watched as she forcefully pulled magic into her, and rolled his eyes. "Good to see you took my advice, but before I depart, which you have no control over," he added before she could speak, "I just want to prove you wrong – hold on a moment."
He thought for a while, ignoring the annoyed huffs and whispered orders from Umbridge to her lackeys, before settling on a suitable candidate. He stepped from his chair and then knelt down to the stone floor; the entire room flashing a deep purple as soon as his fingertips made contact.
Hermione paled.
He easily recited the summoning ritual, and he saw all the blood drain from the Unspeakables' faces when they realised the form he was using; the one which could only be used when the desired summon had actually given permission to the summoner to call upon them. He finished with the words, "Ego voco ut is letalis plagiarius Abigor," and all of the Unspeakables' eyes widen. A pentagram burst forth from the tips of his fingers, and a dark fissure immediately made itself known in the air above it. Anybody near the outlawed magic scurried away, and looked on with horrified fascination as the rift widened, and then a leather boot poked its way through. A moment later a covered leg followed, and then the demon himself stepped through. Harry smiled warmly and immediately pulled the being into a friendly hug before pulling back and looking him over. "Looking as slick as ever," he commented, and the tall human-looking man chuckled.
"I could say the same about you. Been a while since I last saw you though – how long has it been?"
Harry shrugged with a cheeky smile, "Ah, only about eleven years in this realm." Harry was dying to burst into complete hysterics at the expressions he was receiving from all of the Ministry personnel that realized just who the demon was, and how friendly he was – but held it in somehow. Bella, likewise, was disguising her sniggers with loud coughs. The demon looked at the short-haired woman by Harry's side with a surprised expression. "I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before."
Harry jolted, and then slapped himself on the forehead. "How rude of me; Abigor, this is Bellatrix, my bonded; Bella, this is Abigor: Grand Duke of Hell and commander of sixty legions of demons; Lucifer's advisor in warfare."
The demon smiled at Bella and held out his hand. "It truly is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance; Harry often spoke of a woman whenever we met, and by your aura I can tell it is you."
Bella took the offered hand without fear, and smiled warmly when she felt the complete lack of pain or danger when their skin touched. "Likewise I've heard a lot about you Abogor, none of it bad."
The demon released her hand and laughed. "Well that's good to hear, but I assume that I am here for more than just a visit?"
Harry smirked and nodded to the front of the room, prompting the battle master of Hell to turn and raise an eyebrow at the looks he was receiving. "Ah, I assume that this is the woman who Adramelech and Caym are constantly yabbering on about?"
Harry's eyes lit up in amusement when he saw Hermione's face contort in horror, and he looked to Abigor with his mirth threatening to break free. "Oh?"
The demon nodded and fell back onto a chair he had summoned in the same manner as Harry, and waved cheerily to the shocked reporters before continuing. "Yeah, oh man you should hear them! I'll tell you what, some of their ideas make even my toes curl – and that's saying something!" He looked at her and sniffed distastefully. "Evil though he was, at least Grindenwald was selfless. She however," he stabbed his pointy finger at the shaking witch, "is a one in a trillion treasure for us down there; murder, greed, anger, fraud, treachery…Hell, we just don't know where to send her first!"
Harry's grin couldn't contain itself any further, and Bella chuckled when she saw it finally break through. "Good to know."
Abigor rolled his eyes with a good-natured smile. "You vengeful dolt."
Harry shrugged with a grin. "And yet you're still my friend – what does that say about you?"
The man grinned and slouched back in his chair. "Up until a month or two ago it caused me a lot of grief, ever since you blew raspberries at Lucifer however I've only received jealousy." Harry's eyebrows shot up, and the reporters around them scribbled furiously at their notepads; this was truly the catch of the century. The next words however, made them freeze in shock. "Oh, and since you charmed Lucifer with that indestructible, beautiful bouncy golden hairdo that would, and has, made Aphrodite jealous… let's just say that you've gained a whole lot of respect down there."
"G-golden hair?" Rita was silent for a moment before bursting out into hysterical laughter, and Harry looked at her in shock.
"What happened to you?"
Abigor pulled out a notebook from inside his leather duster jacket and thumbed through it until he reached the page he was looking for. "Rita Faye Skeeter… had a demonic compulsion charm placed on her by Merihim just for kicks at the age of ten. When you made that deal with her you shattered that charm, but of course since it had been on her for so long it had become self-ingrained. It took a while for her psyche to bounce back from years of suppression."
Rita had stopped her laughing as soon as she heard her name mentioned, and stared at Abigor in shock. "I- I didn't do all that of my own free will?"
The demon shook his head, snapping his notebook shut as he did so. "Nope, one hundred percent demonic influence right there."
She seemed to deflate, and Harry looked down at Bella with a raised eyebrow. She was staring at the previously-horrible reporter with a pensive look on her features, and then gave a small nod when she saw Harry's questioning expression. Harry walked over to her and laid a hand on her shoulder, raising his eyebrows when he felt his magic react and surge from his fingertips. She jumped in shock at the feeling, and then popped away with a deep thud when he grinned at her. He wondered what she would think when she arrived at The Sanctuary.
"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL DID SHE GO?"
"Don't you fucking yell at Harry." Hermione's anger disappeared instantly, and instead a terrified look appeared on her face. Abigor snapped his head irately back at Harry, "Are you sure I can't just take her back with me?"
Harry sighed with a small grin, "Yes, I'm sure; I do need to get my revenge first."
Hermione paled, and the demon sighed, defeated. "Fine, but you'd better make sure she makes it down there Harry."
Harry grinned predatorily. "Of course."
"Well I'd better head off." Harry nodded and stood with his demon friend, who turned back to him after a moment. "Oh, before I forget I got engaged to Proserpine – you're invited to the wedding, along with your bonded of course."
Harry grinned widely before pulling the man back into a hug and then shaking his hand. "Congratulations! When's the wedding?"
The demon shrugged and started forming a rift back into Hell, "Few hundred years I suppose – I want to wait for at least a millennia, but she's pushing for around five hundred." He froze just as the fissure stabilized, and his face fell. "You'll be in heaven by then though! Damn it Harry, I wanted you as my best man!"
Harry's eyes widened, and then warmed completely at the demon in front of him. "You have no idea how privileged I feel to hear you say that, really. Bella and I will make it though, because of this." He reached out and brushed his hand over the demons, and a moment later the man burst out into laughter. "So that's why he was so annoyed! Wonderful Harry, and you too Bella! Oh this really is great…right then, so you'll be my best man?"
Harry slapped him friendly on the shoulder. "Of course I will – now get on back; I'm sure your fiancé is waiting for you."
"That she is Harry." They shook hands one last time, and the demon gave Bellatrix a warm hug. "Either of you feel free to call on me any time you like, I really do enjoy being topside once in a while, and I really enjoy your company Harry. Bella, if you're anything like your bonded then I'll like you too."
With one last gesture the demon slipped through the inter-dimensional rift, and disappeared from the mortal realm once more. Harry collapsed back into his chair happily and stared at Hermione. "Well that was enlightening, wasn't it?"
