As expected, the Dark Lord heard her plea that Draco was the most trustworthy person to run her shop while she took her place as 'disciplinarian' at Hogwarts. That was supposed to go to the Carrows, as they also were going to be teaching Defence Against The Dark Arts and Muggle Studies, respectively. However, according to Dumbledore's plan, Severus had managed to convince Voldemort that they needed someone to patrol the halls, and that Filch was now too old to do it.
Harley had been sitting next to her father at the table when he made the play.
"Harley is willing to let Draco Malfoy take over the running of the shop in the daytime because he is trustworthy, and she will do Hogwarts patrols," Severus said.
"And whose idea was this?" Voldemort asked.
"It was hers, my lord," Severus said. "Spurred by my telling her how poorly Filch has gotten over the years. He might have been decent up until 1995, but it was downhill from there, I assure you."
"Miss Snape, from what I have seen from you with Bellatrix, I think you would be perfect to patrol Hogwarts," Voldemort said. "As for Draco...I have found him to be more trustworthy than his own father. Very well. We will try it this way, but I will be getting reports on you from Alecto and Amycus, to be certain you are not slagging off. You understand what will happen if you are."
Harley nodded, the phantom ache in her bones reminding her of her previous punishment. "Of course. That is quite fair, my lord."
The night before the Hogwarts term began, Harley and Severus were at Spinner's End.
"Harley, how do you plan on explaining to Longbottom, Lovegood, and that Weasley girl what you're doing at school, a staff member?" Severus asked.
She shrugged. "I was thinking a scare tactic of wearing my mask in the halls. Except possibly for Ginny, no one will be the wiser as to who I am. And I can always use a Memory Charm if necessary, but I will try to avoid it."
"I don't know why Dumbledore had to let you do this," Severus said, closing the latch on his suitcase. He would not be back at Spinner's End until the summer holiday, just like always. "Keep an eye on Malfoy, will you? His mood swings since last year are...unpredictable."
Harley nodded. "I know that. I've already dosed him with Veritaserum once, and I will do so every night when I check in with him."
She saw Severus smirk at her. "Maybe you take after me a little too much."
Two months into the school year, Harley was once again ready to call it quits. What the Death Eaters were doing to the students was frightening, and she had no way to get the Order involved. Instead, she did what she could to keep students as safe as possible, and keep the Carrows from injuring them.
Ginny Weasley got herself and Longbottom into trouble with Alecto, and Harley had just managed to catch the insults the two were hurdling before she saw that Alecto was going to give them the Cruciatus Curse.
"Carrow!" she called from the doorway. The two students looked at her apprehensively, and she was sure that she looked frightening, as the only Death Eater to wear the mask and robes inside the school. "I'll take them. Put your wand away...now."
Neville looked as though he had been beaten already, and Harley's stomach twisted when she thought about what must have been done to him. Ginny seemed unharmed. What they got was less than other students, however, because purebloods were treated with preference, even blood traitors like the Longbottoms and Weasleys. "Come with me."
"Where are you taking us?" Ginny asked defiantly. The girl was a Gryffindor through and through.
"To the Headmaster." Harley turned on her heel and let the two of them follow her. "One word from either of you and I'll put you back in there with Carrow."
"It's better than Snape," Neville spat.
"Oh, has the little misplaced Hufflepuff suddenly learned how to roar like a Gryffindor?" Harley mocked. "I don't give a damn how you treat the others here, but you will show your Headmaster some respect. Ten points from Gryffindor." She was glad the mask changed how her voice sounded.
They reached the gargoyle that guarded Snape's new office door and Harley gave the password to take her upstairs to see her father.
He glared at the two Gryffindors over Harley's shoulder. "Well? What happened now?"
"Causing trouble and disrespect in Muggle Studies, sir," Harley replied. "I thought you'd prefer to punish them in Carrow's stead."
Snape made a notation on a parchment. "Fine. Twenty points each from Gryffindor and detention in the Forbidden Forest, nine PM tonight, both of you." He looked at Harley. "Will you inform Hagrid?"
"Certainly." Her smile was hidden by her mask. Sending students into the Forest as punishment had been Dumbledore's idea, and she found out her brother had been sent there during his first year. Despite its many dangers, it was by far safer than being tortured, and Hagrid would help keep them from harm.
After informing Hagrid, she went to see her father again, who was staring blankly out the window as rain hit the glass.
"We're doing the best we can," Harley said, knowing what her father was thinking.
"Are we?" Severus asked. "Or are we just biding our time, preventing the inevitable downfall of the Wizarding World?"
Deep down, she was wondering the same thing. "Father, we cannot give up. Despite the Order's best efforts, you and I are the only ones who are actually doing anything. Remus is on a bloody suicide mission for no reason, the three of them are hiding somewhere in the wilderness without a prayer of finding a horcrux, and everyone else is barely holding themselves together. You and I cannot afford to lose hope."
Severus turned to her, and she saw a deep, dark sadness there in his eyes. "Harley, I lost hope when your mother died. Now all I want is to make the Wizarding World a safe place for you, and fulfill my promise to your mother to keep Harry safe."
She walked further into the room, placing her hand on his shoulder. "There's always hope. You know that, deep down. And we are going to restore that hope to everyone else. And when it's over we can be a proper family. That's what's getting me through this. You and I. Fred. Giving you grandchildren." She smiled up at him and he ruffled her dark hair, an oddly affectionate gesture from him. She hoped that when the war was over she could see that sweet side she knew he had come back to the surface.
An owl made its way through the rain and tapped on the window. Severus let it inside, grimacing at the trail of water it was leaving in its wake. The owl handed Harley a sopping wet letter and she fed it some seeds she kept in her pocket for when she went to visit the Owlery. Since remaining at Hogwarts, she's had her mail redirected.
Using a charm to dry the parchment, she opened the letter. It was Fred, writing in as much of a code as he could, using the nicknames they'd gotten from Lee Jordan's Potterwatch radio programme.
"Raven, this is Rapier. We could use a new station tomorrow night. Can you recommend a warm, dry place? Owl me back at the Mail Order HQ. Love you."
They needed a place to safely project Potterwatch. Where the Hell could she put them? Not her shop, obviously. She mused about it, when Severus said, "What about our house?"
Harley laughed. "Are you serious?"
"Why not? No one is there, and it's, as Bellatrix put it, a Muggle dunghill, so it is unlikely anyone will see them. I have no personal things except photographs of you to show whose home it is. I will make an excuse for you to be absent from Hogwarts tomorrow."
"Thank you, Father."
Over the Wizarding Radio the next day, as she was preparing to go to Spinner's End, she heard a report that Snatchers were sighted in woods, chasing after an unregistered Muggle-born and someone possibly linked to Harry Potter.
"Oh, Hell," she said. It had to be the Golden Trio. Apparating herself to the closest point to where they had been spotted, she heard a commotion. Running that way, she saw a small group of Snatchers and took out her wand. "Stupefy!" One went down. "Petrificus totalus!" There went a second and third. The other three turned to see who their assailant was, but two of them went down thanks to Hermione, and Harry took care of the third one.
"Harley!" Harry cried. "What are you doing here?"
"There was a report on the radio about-what on Earth happened to Weasley?" Ron was the color of cottage cheese, his arm in a sling and leaking blood.
"He Splinched," Hermione said.
"All right. You're all coming with me. Harry, take my arm. Hermione, take the other one and hold on tightly to Ron," Harley ordered.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.
"Somewhere safe, at least for the night." Harley Apparated them all inside Spinner's End, making sure they could not see where they were. The house was a little dusty from being empty for two months, but a few spells would take care of that.
Everyone was looking about themselves, even Ron, who had promptly lain down on the sofa with a pained groan.
"You two keep him awake. I'll be right back." Harley removed her cloak and went into the basement, where she and her father had a workshop set up for experimental potions. She came back with the one he'd made to fix wounds, particularly those caused by Splinching. Going back to the sitting room, she removed Ron's bandage and groaned herself. It was disgusting, but she'd seen worse.
"All you had was dittany?" she asked Hermione.
"It was all I could make," she replied sheepishly.
"I've got some stuff I can give you," Harley offered as she healed Ron's wounds. "Silence. This will hurt," she warned him as his flesh began to grow back at a rapid rate. He screamed into one of the cushions to muffle the sound.
Harley stood up. "Good as new. Looks like we'll be able to send this for approval at the Ministry so I can start selling it soon." She looked over the three of them. "You all look like death warmed over. When was the last time you had a decent meal...or a bath?"
All three shrugged. "Wash up. I'll fix something. Fred, Lee, and I'm not sure who else will be coming to broadcast Potterwatch tonight."
"Where are we that's so safe?" Harry asked. "No Death Eaters, you can hide me, you can get Potterwatch on the air. Doesn't seem possible."
Oh, Harry, if you only knew you were talking to a Death Eater right this second! "Remember what Ginny said, anything is possible if you've got enough nerve," Harley replied, going to see if they had left anything edible and not for potions in the kitchen. She had managed to keep them in the dark about their location, but possibly not for long. Hermione was bright, and Harry was persistent.
Finding things they could actually consume, she sent trays floating into the sitting room.
Hermione was perusing the bookshelves with a pursed mouth. "Harley, these can't be yours, right?"
Harley took a sip of her liquor-strengthened coffee. "No? Why not?" She chuckled. "This is the home of someone I trust. I have stayed here before when necessary. It is not safe in the long run-I don't think anywhere is-but this is a Muggle town, and unlikely to receive any unwanted visitors for now.
Harry was looking at the photographs on the mantle. Many of Harley, from the album Severus had asked for in her fifth year. One of the NEWT Potions class. And one of Lily. Hermione joined him, a few books in her thin arms.
"Harley...this used to be your family's house, didn't it? Your Wizarding family?" she asked. "Did you find them?"
Harley sighed, thankful that she was a good liar. "I did. And I cannot say anything more or else they will come under fire with the Dark Lord as well." She scoffed. "They. Right. I think I have the smallest family in history."
"Is your father in the Order? I know there are people we haven't even met involved," Hermione said.
Harley nodded. "Yes, he is. Now come on, you all need to eat something...and clean yourselves up. No more about my family. My father will be killed for simply being related to someone helping Harry Potter and you know it. When the war is over everything will be much...clearer."
Hermione read more than she ate, trying to devour everything she could on the Dark Arts. Ron was too out of it to do much, but even his pain and fatigue did not keep him from eating, and Harry kept looking at something in his pocket. Harley caught a glimpse of light. Why was he carrying a broken shard of glass with him?
"What is that?" she asked.
"A Wizarding Glass," Harry replied. "Sirius used to have the other half of it, and I swear I've seen someone looking into it, but Fletcher stole it, and I have no idea who he sold it to. Claimed he didn't remember when we asked him about it and Slytherin's locket."
"The horcrux? You brought a bloody horcrux in here?"
Harry nodded, looking back from the Glass and up at Lily's photo. "When was that taken?"
"Third year at Hogwarts," Harley replied. "Would you like a copy of it?"
He shook his head. "It still hurts that Mum cheated on Dad. I think if your father walked in here right now, I'd duel him."
Harley swallowed a laugh, picturing what Severus would do to Harry. The half of her that was not amused was reaching the end of its long fuse. Since she was fifteen she had been holding in the fact that James had basically drugged Lily, tricking her into being in love with him when they were teens. Harry always thought that his father was some sort of saint, as did everyone else who knew him.
He had even lied to his friends, to the other Marauders, about what he'd done, the little weasel. He lied to Dumbledore! He hadn't deserved the scum on the bottom of Lily's cauldron.
"Your father was no great charmer, Harry," Harley said. "Mum never loved him. Ever. And all of you go around leading the James Potter Fan Club like he was a hero. He was a bully, and not in the sense that sometimes kids can be a little mean. He tried to kill Severus Snape when they were mere children! He tormented people, Harry, my father included. Do you really think Mum would've forgiven him for what he'd done so easily?"
"You're mad. Your father's probably got you brainwashed that Dad was a bad person!" Harry said defiantly.
"You naive little child! My father has told me nothing I did not already know," Harley replied. "It's in Mum's own words that James Potter gave her a love potion, bewitching her into an emotion she never really felt!" She had not meant for that to come out, but she was sick of her father always being the creep, the bully, the bad guy. He was a victim who made poor choices. James Potter was born a monster.
"What do you mean, in Mum's words?" Harry asked. "Harley, tell me what you mean!"
"Mum kept journals. And they were given to me to learn more about her."
Harry's green eyes were wide behind his spectacles. "Are you kidding? And you never thought to tell me about them? Why were they given to you and not to me? How do you know they're authentic?"
"One question at a time, Potter. They're real, I assure you. They were saved from Godric's Hollow before Muggle police could find them. They were not given to you because... well, because you would not have appreciated their value. Those are not my words, mind you. I did not show them to you because I know what it is like to have my father's name repeatedly dragged through the mud. It hurts terribly. I did not wish to hurt my own flesh and blood the same way. I thought it was better if you did not know," Harley said. "He's dead-James, I mean. What would be the point in telling, aside from hurting you? I have enough of our mum in me to not want to do that." Though my father's side is very pleased to see how the truth about James hurts you so much.
The looks of shock on those three faces was identical. Harley felt great satisfaction at their now knowing what James was really like.
"I tried telling Sirius, and he didn't believe me. I have not told Remus. He's been through enough without knowing the truth about his friend. Do what you will with the information, Harry, but do not come into this house talking poorly about my father. Mum loved him more than anything, and he loves her still."
Before Harry could respond, there was a knock at the door, done in the specific Morse Code Harley had asked Fred to use.
Opening the door, Harley brandished her wand at Fred, who was being followed by Lee Jordan.
"Both of you: what House did Lee Jordan tell Fred and George Weasley that I belonged in on the train ride heading into our fifth year?" she asked.
At the same time they replied, "Slytherin," and she let them in gratefully. Fred wrapped her into his arms and she held him tightly. It had been too long since she'd seen him, and every day she checked the Prophet to see if he was alive or not.
There was the expected exclamations on the Trio's presence in the house, and Lee started setting up his equipment, all the while giving the home a questioning glare.
"Man, this is one creepy place," Lee commented. "This yours, Harley?"
"Not exactly," she replied.
"It looks like a place I'd expect you to live in," Fred said. "A lot of dusty books and darkness. It suits you." It was hard for Harley to believe, but he really did mean that kindly.
Lee was finished setting up when he asked if Harry wanted to go on air.
"No," Harley answered for him. "We're working our arses off to save his life, and you want to put him on the radio! Don't be foolish."
Lee muttered something under his breath and changed the subject. "You'd think whoever owns this place would have taken that down." He meant the photo from the Potions class. "Is this your Muggle family's place and they don't know what that greasy git did?"
"It was an honour for Fred and I to be in that level of a class," Harley snapped. "And do you want to give me the third degree or simply be grateful I am allowed to use this place to help you and the Order?"
Lee didn't answer, just finished setting up. After a few minutes of getting nothing but feedback, he finally found the correct frequency to begin the broadcast.
"Hey, what's up witches and wizards?" he said. "Lee Jordan coming to you live from what might be the creepiest house in Britain, here with Rapier and Raven. Yes, folks, Raven. She really exists and she has some brilliant news for us about the earlier report regarding the pursuit of Harry Potter. Raven?"
Harley had never been on the air, but had sent in what reports she could gleam from Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. "Yes, I do, Lee, and thank you for the compliment on the house. This afternoon Snatchers were on the trail of Potter, but it is with great...joy that I can tell you he is alive, safe, and well after a brief duel. If the Order is listening, or if the Dark Lord himself is, Potter and those with him are all still kicking."
"Any other news from your area?" Lee asked her.
"Students were spotted with Professor Hagrid from Hogwarts in the Forbidden Forest. Ginerva Weasley and Neville Longbottom. All three also seemed perfectly fine. That's really all I've got for you."
Lee and Fred went on talking, ending their broadcast with an ad for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
As Lee was packing up his things, Fred snapped his fingers. "That's it! This is the town we visited when we went to find your father! Is this his place, Harley? Have you found him?"
"Yes and yes. And I can't say anything else till the war ends, or else he could be killed. You understand why I never said anything before, right? The Dark Lord does not need to have any other targets." Harley said.
Fred nodded. "I'm really happy about this. I can't wait to meet him. ...Wait...he doesn't need to approve of me, does he? He won't be all judgy about us? Bad enough I had to ask Snape's approval; I doubt I could do it again!"
Harley smiled at his nervousness. "Fred, relax. He's perfectly fine with our impending marriage, despite my being so young. It's my place in the Order that's got him worried. And I suppose I should apologise to you on his behalf. When you came poking around here with me before sixth year, he gave you a slight Memory Charm. Which is why you don't really remember being here before."
Fred started to laugh. "So that's where you get it from! I really can't wait for this all to be over: I'm excited to finally meet him. He sounds a lot like you."
"I'd curb that excitement, love," Harley warned, reaching up and kissing him. "Do you want to stay? I'd have to wake you at dawn, however. I'm still on the job for the Order. This was a sabbatical I could not quite afford to take." Her heart wrenched at the thought of what that bastard Amycus was doing in her stead this night.
"Then why did you?" Fred asked. "You didn't have to do this. What could happen?"
"Worse case scenario? There are a thousand possible victims to be subjected to torture before seven in the morning," Harley replied.
Fred looked aghast. "And you let that be a possibility to help me?"
I'd let it all go to Hell if it meant you'd be okay, Harley thought, realising that this was another trait of her father's. Unconditional love. "I love you, Fred. The only person whose life I'd put before yours would be my father's, and even that is quite the tight race."
"Thanks a lot!" Harry spat. For a moment, Harley had forgotten that they were not alone.
Fred laughed. "Sorry, mate, looks like you're a very distant third place to your big sister."
"Who said he was third?" Harley asked, as close to a joke as she'd come with her dry wit. She never thought she'd be able to joke at all, but she guessed that tragedy somehow brought out her lighter side.
"Harley, listen...don't ever do that again. Don't put me before the safety of others, okay? It makes me feel pretty great, but not at the cost of others' pain," Fred said.
Harley nodded, not about to commit to something like that. She'd always put him first, just as her father had put Lily first, even over her husband and son.
She Transfigured the sofa into a small bed on which both Harry and Ron could fit. She let Hermione use her bedroom for the night. She had no plans to sleep, too keyed up, and it looked like Fred was feeling the same way.
"Can you talk about what you're doing?" Fred asked. They were sitting in the kitchen, having tea.
"Better not," Harley replied. "It was Dumbledore's last request for me before he died. A bit risky, but then his whole plan for me was risky from the get-go. ...Look, can we talk about anything else?" To think about what was happening at Hogwarts made her sick.
"Of course." Fred nodded. "How about where we're going to live after we get married? I'd never make you come to our flat, and yours isn't practical if we ever have kids. Which I guess I should have asked you...do you even want kids?" He looked so nervous, as if he was expecting her to get angry for talking about something so nice as having a family.
"Well, I admit I never liked children, but ever since you proposed...I don't know. I guess I want a couple of kids after all...just not too many. I see how you Weasleys breed!" She loved making Fred laugh. He brightened up her life and she wanted to return the favour. "In fact, I was just discussing that with Father. I'd love to have a normal Wizarding life once the war is over, and that includes you and children. My father is a half-blood, you see, and he would love to see our surname not only blended with that of a pureblood family, but to fade from Muggle history and have an wholly Wizarding connection. From what I gather, his Muggle side of the family was awful. He won't really talk about it."
"I wish you had told me about your dad. When did you meet him? How?" Fred asked. "You were looking for so long."
Harley shook her head. "Can't say. You will know everything soon, I promise. He's in the Order, one of the members who hasn't been to Grimmauld Place in a while." Like since he killed our leader. "So he is involved and very undercover alongside me. To say his name or how I found out who he was to me to anyone would be to blow his cover sky high and possibly get Harry killed. For sure he and I would be killed."
She paused and then said, "As to where we might live...a mile from here, in the more populated residential section of town, there's a little three bedroom house. It's currently vacant. ...It was my mum's house when she was a child. I've done some digging, just to see, and I know we can hook up the Floo Network there, as well as make sure we can Apparate indoors. I found wards and charms to make Muggles be unable to see inside or spot any Wizarding activity."
Harley had done this over the summer, having been shown the house by her father before he had Apparated away, unable to say any more. The home was dingy and dark. Once her father had described it as a bright place where he used to spend his summers, to get away from his family. It had been warm and welcoming for him. She wanted to make it seem that way again.
Fred took her hand and kissed her palm. "That sounds like a great plan. We can Floo to work, when we have kids they'll live in walking distance of their grandfather and can easily Floo to the other grandparent set." He stood up and pulled her up, into his arms, looking unusually solemn for the bubbly man she fell in love with.
"Harley, I promise you, we're going to have a great life. No noseless git is going to stop us."