Harry Potter and the Turning of the Sun

by Lord umbrex

AU past OP-After Harry is thrust back in time, he has to survive his final years in Hogwarts and live his new life around people he knows will become Death Eaters. Can he beat his prejudices and give people a chance, or will he crumble under the pressure?

38. O Come, All Ye Faithful

Harry Potter and the Tides of the Moon

Disclaimer: All JKR's, not mine.

Summary: AU After OOTP- After Harry is thrust back in time, he has to contend with surviving the rest of his years in Hogwarts and living his new life around people that he knows will one day become Death Eaters. Can he find the balance between giving people a chance and doing what he knows is right or will he crumble under the pressure that comes with knowing the future?

A/N: Thanks for the reviews everybody. Oh, and review again!

S/N: Sorry for the long wait, I truly and honestly apologize.

S/N2: I extended an arc to encompass this entire chapter so I think they'll probably be two more chapters, plus the epilogue. As you recall, there is going to be a long time jump, which I think will be about two years in the future coming next chapter. I originally thought it would be this chapter that the jump took place, but I had a lot more written for this arc than I thought I did.

Chapter 38: O Come, All Ye Faithful

It had been two months since the wedding and the school year had just started as Harry sat in the back of the library, reading a passage in Dumbledore's journal. He cross referenced the information the older wizard had left to him with a book that he had open next to him, one that taught various magical places that had become famous over the years due to one reason or another. He had learned about places like Avalon, a grove of apple trees near Tintagel in Cornwall that was hidden by the muggle repelling charm, or Hy-Brasil, the patch of land in the west of Ireland that the famous witch Morgan had used in order to teach her magic in the early fifth century. Unfortunately, no spot had seemed likely for a hiding place for Voldemort's horcruxes, but he was quickly narrowing down the locations, and indeed, he was ready to search for a horcrux that day.

After another hour or two of research, he grabbed his things, packed them in his bag, and headed out of the library. Some students said hi to him, remembering him from the year prior, but his route was unimpeded as he headed towards the Headmaster's office. As he walked, he found that while the hallways were exactly as he remembered them, they surprisingly didn't give him the same sense of home now that he had a place with Bellatrix—she was his home, and if she wasn't there, no place on Earth felt like home. Hogwarts would always be near and dear to him, for it was his salvage from the terrible life with the Dursleys, it no longer represented the same things that it did when he was eleven.

After saying the password and jogging up the stairs, Harry entered Dumbledore's office. "Sir," Harry started, having already given their greetings to one another when Harry had arrived earlier in the day. "When Tom Riddle came to visit you that day he asked for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, how long was he in Hogwarts for?"

Dumbledore looked up from his desk, a long role of parchment opened in front of him that was occupying his mind. Harry could just make out the seal of the Ministry, and he presumed correctly that the letter was from the Minister herself. "It was twenty minutes from when he entered the gates to reaching my office, fifteen minutes while we discussed, and five minutes from leaving my office to exiting Hogwarts grounds," Dumbledore gave a precise answer after moment of thought. "Why do you ask?"

"I think Voldemort left a horcrux inside Hogwarts when he came," Harry opined, staring at Dumbledore directly in the eyes. "You didn't question the disparity between getting to your office and leaving? That's over twice the time it took."

"You must remember, Harry, at this time he was not known to be the monster he has since become," Dumbledore answered, though to be frank, he had yet to even begin to think that Voldemort would dare to create horcruxes, which meant to him, that there was no reason to think that Voldemort would hide something inside of the school. "I knew of many of his deeds, but Lord Voldemort was not open and notorious like he is today. In my heart, I still believed that there was a sliver of possibility that Tom Riddle would renounce his misdeeds. An old man's flaws, a teacher wanting what was best for the student."

"I think I know where the horcrux is, too." Harry said, not giving Dumbledore's reasons another thought—it wouldn't help, what was done in the past was in the past. "You gave me one hint for this one: 'Hogwarts?'."

"Where?" Dumbledore asked with a raised eyebrow, his curiosity piqued in ways that he rarely experienced.

"The Chamber of Secrets," Harry answered with a bit of a grin, knowing that the answer would come as a shock to the aged wizard.

"You know where it is?" Dumbledore inquired, surprised as he had never been able to find the chamber himself even decades after it had been opened in the 40s.

"Yes," Harry nodded in the affirmative, gesturing for Dumbledore to follow him. "Let's go."

The pair exited the office, walking through the halls of Hogwarts as they made their way to the bathroom that was haunted by Moaning Myrtle. They only saw a few students as many were still in classes, allowing them to move at a relatively quick pace. As they walked in the corridors, down the stairs, and through the halls, Dumbledore kept checking his pocket watch, as if he had somewhere to go, though by the way he immediately jumped from his seat at the mention of the Chamber of Secrets, Harry doubted that his schedule was full for the rest of the day.

As they neared the entrance to the bathroom on the second floor, Harry pointed to the door and said, "It's in there."

"The Chamber of Secrets is a bathroom?" Dumbledore smiled jokingly, fully understanding that the doorway itself was in the bathroom, rather than the chamber as a whole. They both entered, Dumbledore having performed the revelation spell to be sure no was in there prior, and were both relieved that Myrtle herself was gone, presumably haunting the hallways somewhere else.

"Open," Harry hissed, staring at the snake engraving on the metal tap as he imagined a large snake in his mind. Though he had absorbed the parselmouth ability entirely as Dumbledore had predicted months prior, it still felt a tad unnatural to him, which still made it difficult to summon the ability without a snake in front of him.

The sink disappeared into the floor, revealing a long, thin, narrow passageway that led into darkness below. With a small grin, Harry jumped into the passageway, allowing himself to fall and slide down the pipe, knowing that the landing would come soon after, having experienced it once before six years earlier. He landed with a thud, and stumbled a bit, but was able to gather himself before Dumbledore appeared.

"The chamber is right through there," Harry gestured to the metallic door that was just in front of him upon the older wizard's arrival.

He began to walk towards the doorway, but paused when he saw Dumbledore wasn't moving. "I don't believe the horcrux will be found in there, Harry," Dumbledore mentioned, looking down at his pocket watch. "To travel from my office to here has already taken ten minutes, and we have yet to reach our destination. While it is certainly possible that Tom ran when he entered the castle, I think it is far more likely that he hid the horcrux some place else. Plus," he said, looking towards the door, where he knew hid a great beast that Tom Riddle had summoned three decades prior. "I'd rather not experience a fight with what I presume to be a basilisk."

"It would take too long, wouldn't it?" Harry muttered, suddenly realizing that it didn't seem feasible that Voldemort would be able to travel to the chamber in a quick enough time—and not be seen by anyone inside the school at that. "Unless there is another entrance, but I don't think there would be. I mean, hiding one entrance from prying eyes is hard enough, but to hide another?"

"Exactly," Dumbledore said, nodding in agreement.

"So how do we get back up? I had Fawkes' help the last time," Harry questioned, disappointed in himself that he didn't think ahead for an escape plan.

"Look down," Dumbledore said while pointing, showing Harry that there was a planned exit by just underneath them. "It's a platform that I assume levitates."

"Up," Harry hissed, and with a jerk the floor below them slowly began rising upwards.

"Now that I know it's here, it's obvious," Dumbledore said as they arrived back in the bathroom, his eyes roaming all about the entrance to the chamber, seemingly marveling at its work. "You can detect trace amounts of magic if you know what to look for, and once you find that trace, you can perform spells that will reveal more of the magic, assuming you know how." Dumbledore whipped out his wand, and muttered, "Claudo Revelio."

"What is it?" Harry questioned, wanting to know what Dumbledore had found out about the spell-work on the entrance.

"Simple enough," Dumbledore said to himself, shaking his head all the while. "When I'm done performing the spell, say something, anything, in parseltongue, okay?"

"Okay," Harry nodded, listening and watching as Dumbledore silently performed a spell. Seeing the headmaster had completed it, Harry hissed the only thing that came to his mind in a low tone, and then nodded to the taller wizard, who gave one last swish of his wand and gave a smile.

"What did you say?" Dumbledore inquired, curious as to what Harry had said, being only capable of translating certain words and phrases in parseltongue after intense studying.

"Snuffles," Harry repeated, this time in English.

"The new password to the Chamber of Secrets is now snuffles," Dumbledore grinned, presuming that the new spell would be more than enough security on the chamber for the time being.

"I'm sure that would make Slytherin turn nauseous in his grave," Harry chuckled, before shaking his head. "I'm sorry this was a waste of time."

"It wasn't," Dumbledore disagreed, seeing the positives of the venture. "Now the Chamber of Secrets will never, ever be opened again. It's a fine solution. And as for the horcrux, we'll find it."

"Where could it be then?" Harry asked out loud. "You thought it would be in Hogwarts, and I just can't think of any other place that Voldemort would place it."

"You are searching for Ravenclaw's artifact, no?" Dumbledore questioned, his brow furrowed as a thought popped into his mind.

"Her diadem, yes," Harry nodded in the affirmative, having been studying the texts about Ravenclaw's tiara for the past month or so.

"The tiara of myth," Dumbledore agreed, recalling all of the stories that were told about the tiara. "There are many places in Hogwarts one would go to hide something. The dungeons, the turrets, behind portraits, inside secret passageways, hidden rooms, each would serve as an exception place to put an item of great significance."

Harry furrowed his brow as he pondered everything that Dumbledore had said, trying to think of where the artifact could be. "Out of all of those places mentioned, which one would Voldemort have the easiest ability to get to and over to your office in the allotted time?"

"There is a room," Dumbledore started, his voice thoughtful. "It is on the seventh floor, across from the tapestry of dancing trolls, called the Come and Go room, as it can appear and disappear whenever needed."

Harry paused for a moment, wondering if Dumbledore was talking about a specific room that he had used many times over his lifetime. "You mean the Room of Requirement?"

"I see that you know of the place about which I am speaking," Dumbledore murmured, a tad surprised that Harry himself had found the room. "Do you know about the room of hidden things?"

"Not that I know of," Harry shook his head in the negative, not recalling having heard that name ever before.

"I have come across it a few times over my time here at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "It is there where I found the Mirror of Erised not a few months before you came to this time. I believe that may be the room that we seek—it is a place to hide things"

Harry cocked an eyebrow, wondering if it could be that easy. "And Voldemort would have the time to go there?"

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed with a nod of his head, before turning and beginning the trek up the stairs to the seventh floor. "Especially considering that the entrance to my office then was on the seventh floor. It changes every few years or so."

"In my fourth year, the entrance was on the second floor," Harry remembered, thinking about how Dumbledore's office was on a different level. He had never noticed when he first arrived since he was being brought to the office by Hagrid, and had subconsciously gone there without thinking ever since.

"And now it is on the third," Dumbledore smiled. "I expect it to move soon enough, but since even Hogwarts knows about the war with Voldemort, perhaps the floor plan will have some mercy on me." Dumbledore mused.

"I once heard you say that you had found a room full of chamber pots one time, but had not been able to find the room again since," Harry informed Dumbledore, recalling the time during the Yule Ball that he had overheard the headmaster's story. "I took that to mean that you had yet to discover the Room of Requirement."

"A room full of chamber pots?" Dumbledore questioned in an amused tone, thinking back to the time that he had needed to use the latrine but was unable to find one until Hogwarts had provided one in the form of the Room of Requirement. "Ah, that was when I was first appointed Headmaster at Hogwarts," Dumbledore smiled at the memory. "It has been a while since that day, so I've had more than enough time to experiment and find out some secrets."

"I see," Harry replied in understanding, realizing that it was probably just a joke when Dumbledore had told that story to Karkaroff. They arrived soon enough, and Dumbledore summoned the room of which he spoke. As the pair entered, Harry's eyes went wide and he gave out a mirthless laugh. "I have been here!" Harry exclaimed in recognition, not remembering his time there with Bellatrix nearly two years prior.

"If Tom was to hide something, this would be the place. It makes perfect sense, after all, since Tom would believe that he and he alone found the deepest secrets of Hogwarts and as such, would not believe that anyone else would know about this place."

"You mean the place where people have been hiding things for centuries?" Harry asked, skeptically. "You're joking, right? How stupid is Voldemort? Wouldn't he take one step in this place and realize that people have, in fact, found it and have been using it for years?"

"I think," Dumbledore started slowly. "He found the Room of Requirement, and asked for a place to hide where only he could find it. The room answered with a solitary chamber, which Voldemort placed the diadem inside, but when he left, he did not know that the diadem would immediately go to this room." He paused as he picked up a book that seemed to be lost a day or two prior as it was brand new to the curriculum this year. "That, or he wanted it to be lost in all of these things—hiding it in a mound of garbage is a rather ingenious plan, but Voldemort's arrogance knows no bounds so I'm skeptically that's what he was planning.

"Wizards and witches are not the most logical bunch," Harry said, earning a laugh from the headmaster. "I'm serious, muggles are much more logical than wizards. You want to hide a horcrux? Use a broom, fly into the middle of the ocean, put it on something heavy and send it to the bottom of the sea. Boom, it's gone." Harry said, remembering when Hermione herself had criticized wizard kind for not having an ounce of logic when she was trying to solve Snape's potion puzzle back in their first year.

"Modern thinking has yet to come to the wizarding world, I'm afraid. However, in that specific situation you used as an example, I am thankful for that," Dumbledore said, knowing that if Voldemort had indeed done that, they would never be able to defeat him permanently. "Again, if our theory is correct and he thought no one had found the deepest secrets of Hogwarts, it once again proves that he underestimates that which he does not value and his skewed perception of himself, his myopic view of reality, will prove to be his downfall."

"Unbelievable," Harry shook his head, hoping that they would leave with the first horcrux in their search.

"Shall we?" Dumbledore questioned, gesturing to the aisles of garbage they would have to search through in order to have a chance of finding the horcrux.

"Sure," Harry nodded, making his way into an alley in between towers of books. "Think we can just summon it?"

"Unlikely," Dumbledore replied, not believing that Voldemort would be so careless. "I'm certain that he would have put the necessary enchantments to protect such actions."

Harry and Dumbledore both started their endeavor, running their eyes over everything that they could. They saw hats made of wool, axes covered in crust, swords that were broken in half, but no diadem. They tried to look for any jewelry, knowing that the diadem would probably be in that section, but the piles of jewels that they had come across so far were fruitless. They opened up trunks and cabinets, searching inside every cranny and nook, their gaze moving over every object in their immediate vicinity.

As Harry made his way through the aisle across from Dumbledore, he paused as he looked at a book that was flung onto the ground, remembering it as the one that Bellatrix had tossed aside when they were there nearly a year prior. "It couldn't be, could it?" Harry whispered to himself, as the memory of a tarnished silver tiara flashed into his mind. He quickly ran deeper into the city of junk, Dumbledore following closely behind him, until he reached the trunk that held the cache of jewels. He rummaged through the treasure until he found the tiara, and then held it up to Dumbledore.

"Is this it?" Harry asked, wondering if the older wizard would know if it was the tiara for which they searched.

Dumbledore held his wand in his hand as his gaze moved over the tiara, immediately seeing how shoddy and ugly it was, not at all like the precious object that he conjured in his mind. He believed that both the incredible craftsmanship and the various protections placed upon the tiara would keep it in better condition, so a shoddy piece would not be what they sought. "I don't believe it is."

With a sigh, Harry chucked it into a discarded pile and moved on. It took another forty minutes before either came across anything that looked remotely like a diadem, but eventually, throughout the skyscrapers of books and piles of junk, they each reached an old cupboard which held the bust of a pockmarked stone warlock wearing a dusty old wig adorned with an ancient, discolored tiara on top. Harry jumped and knocked the bust down to the ground, where it smashed against a dilapidated wooden rocking chair—the diadem skidding into Dumbledore's foot all the while.

Harry watched as Dumbledore reached down and picked the tiara up in his right hand, his wand held tightly in his left hand. "Is that it?" He questioned, hoping that their quest would be over and end in success.

Dumbledore ran his wand over the tiara, and a small smile appeared on his face. "I believe it is, Harry."

"That's really it?" Harry said in a surprised tone, shocked that it was that easy. "Ravenclaw's Diadem?"

"It's definitely a horcrux," Dumbledore said, feeling the dark energy that was emanating from the silver tiara, a clear sign of a very evil curse that had been put on it. "Let's go see if it's actually Ravenclaw's Diadem or not."

"How?" Harry questioned, not knowing what Dumbledore had in mind. From his research, he was under the belief that no one on Earth knew what the diadem looked like exactly, save for the somewhat inaccurate sculpture of it found within the Ravenclaw common room.

Dumbledore moved his gaze over to Harry, a small smile appearing on his aged face. "You know the Grey Lady?"

"The ghost of the Ravenclaw house?" Harry inquired, wondering how the ghost fit into the story.

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "That is Helena Ravenclaw herself, the daughter of Rowena."

"Wait, really? How did I not know that?" Harry asked, surprised that he had gone through all of his years of Hogwarts never finding out the secret that the Grey Lady held.

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, then added, "I only found out from the portraits of the Headmasters in my office."

Harry asked for the tiara, wanting to see what made it so special for Rowena Ravenclaw. It was a silver diadem with a large, blue oval-shaped emerald in its center, which gleamed as the light from above bounced off of it. Additionally, its crescent was shaped like raven's wings showing fine craftsmanship that Harry presumed was done by the goblins of Ravenclaw's time. Once he was finished studying it, he handed it back to Dumbledore and both started towards the Ravenclaw common room, where they hoped to find the Grey Lady.

As they neared their destination, they came across Nearly Headless Nick, who greeted them with a warm smile. "Have you seen the Grey Lady, Nick?" Dumbledore asked, hoping the ghost had seen his associate to make their search easier.

"Indeed I have," Nick nodded, his head nearly flapping off all the while. "She was in the library when I saw her last."

"Thank you," Dumbledore replied, turning and heading towards the library along with Harry.

Sure enough, outside of the library, they found the Grey Lady floating down the hallway. While he was a member of the Ravenclaw house, Harry had never really given the ghost a second look, though now he took the time to do so. He supposed that she was pleasant looking, being tall with long brown hair and dazzling eyes, but she also had a haughty appearance that prevented her true beauty from being seen, not unlike Narcissa Malfoy. Underneath her arrogance, however, Harry could just make the sight of an immense amount of regret, as if she had been carrying around a heavy burden for a thousand years, though Harry knew not of what it could be.

"Headmaster," The Grey Lady said respectively, finding Dumbledore to be a worthy successor to the post. She had personally met each of the Hogwarts founders, and couldn't help but find that Dumbledore stacked up with them all, including her mother, a witch that she had been jealous of nearly all of her life.

"I have a question for you," said Dumbledore, forgoing the pleasantries, knowing full well that the Grey Lady would not appreciate the deceit. "Is this your mother's diadem?" He inquired, holding the diadem up for her to see, allowing the ghost to gaze upon it for the first time since her death.

Helena's grey gaze moved from Dumbledore to the object in his aged hands, and her appearance immediately transformed into that of a ghoul. "How did you get that?!" she screeched, her eyes going wide at the sight of her mother's famed circlet.

"Tom Riddle," answered Dumbledore, presuming that the Grey Lady would recognize the name of the Head Boy that had charmed out of her the knowledge that had been lost for a millennium.

An angry look appeared on her haughty face, an expression of complete abhorrence; as if she had witnessed someone do something deplorable right in front of her eyes. "That is it, yes; he had assured me he would destroy it."

"He turned it into something evil instead," Harry replied, informing Helena of what had actually happened to the diadem in lieu of its destruction.

"Disgusting," snarled Helena, her feelings on the matter clear to all around her. "Do away with it and do not remind of its presence ever again," she angrily said, before, without another word, leaving their presence and floating away in a rushed manner.

"That's one down," Harry said with resolve, thrilled that they had finally found one of the horcruxes. "Should we destroy it now?"

"No," Dumbledore said, shaking his head in the negative as they both walked towards his office. "Until you find them all, there is really no point in doing so. We have one chance, we can't take any risks. I have no idea if he will feel it if we destroy one, which may change where he hides them in some way. Not worth the risk, we will wait."

"Well then, I'll get searching for the next one, though I'm fairly certain I know where the diary is," responded Harry, believing that the diary of Tom Riddle would have been given to Lucius Malfoy by this point—Lucius Malfoy had become a leader for the Death Eaters as the previously leader's, Hektor Pyrites, worth to the Dark Lord became less in doing political maneuvers and more about physically leading the attacks against muggles.

"What about the cave, have you returned?" Dumbledore asked, wondering about the cave hiding spot that they had found empty two months prior.

"I go back on the first of the month each month; it has yet to be defended. I think when it is, I will give it a few weeks before trying to get the horcrux out," Harry replied, turning the opposite way and heading to the front gate of the school, where he would grab a quick lunch at the Leaky Cauldron before taking his duty on Diagon Alley. "I'll be seeing you, professor."

When he got back to his place later in the night after a long day on Diagon Alley, Greta and Bellatrix were sitting in the living room, seemingly chatting about something or another. Harry raised an eyebrow, surprised by the pair being so close, but couldn't help but smile, thrilled that one of his closest friends was quickly becoming his wife's best friend. While he knew that she enjoyed Frank and Edgar's presence, and tolerated Xenophilius' madness, she had never expressed any interest in Greta as far as Harry was aware, so this drastic of a change greatly impressed him.

"Hey Harry," Greta said, rising to her feet and giving her friend a large smile. "I was just heading out."

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Harry asked, wondering why the blonde witch was not in Hogwarts since she still had one year left.

"I'm not taking too many classes this year, I have tons of free days," Greta laughed, knowing that she had numerous days off. "Just don't tell the Professor Telemus that I took the floo here."

"Your secret is safe with me," Harry replied, using his hand to mimic a zipper over his mouth. Greta gave them both a wave, before disappearing in the green flames of the fireplace, announcing her destination as the Ravenclaw common room. "Becoming friends, are you?"

"She needed help with a spell," Bellatrix lied, not wanting to admit to Harry about the lessons just yet. She planned on learning as much as she could and surprising him at Christmas, though she did not know how she would do it just yet.

A month passed, and eventually, Alphard and Bellatrix were sitting at the dinner table when Harry walked into the home, his body dirtied and beaten. His eyes showed a tiredness to them that went well past a normal day's activities, alerting the pair already in the kitchen that something had happened. "What happened?!" Bellatrix said, jumping to her feet at the sight of him.

"There was an attack on the Moon family," Harry said, allowing Bellatrix to lead him to the seat that Alphard had just occupied. "I'm not hurt, don't worry, I defeated the Death Eaters that attacked me, I'm just tired. Hektor Pyrites blew up a muggle's car, so I needed to deal with that while also trying to protect the muggles that were in harm's way."

"They're attacking purebloods now?" Alphard scowled in abhorrence, perplexed on how people supposedly fighting for pureblood rights could justify attacking other purebloods.

"Blood traitors to them, they've been trying to intimidate other purebloods into joining the group and becoming 'faithful soldiers of the true and rightful way' as one of the Moons told us," Harry answered, knowing that it was all just a scam and Voldemort had no interest in the purebloods, but rather, was just using it as an easy soapbox to gain more power. "Voldemort is truly a Prince of Peace, isn't he?"

"Terrible," Alphard sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. He was starting to feel that his neutrality on the issue was not something that could be allowed anymore, though he did not know what he could do to help.

"He has been trying to amp up his recruitment lately, trying to get as many faithful followers that he can since he is running out of disposable ones," Harry informed them of what he knew about the Dark Lord's actions. "And the Death Eaters leader, Pyrites, is a real psychopath, but luckily, I was able to capture him tonight. He's on his way to Azkaban as we speak."

"He's from a family of psychopaths," Alphard spat, shaking his head in dissatisfaction of what was going on in the world. "I'll make you some dinner."

"None of the Moons got hurt, thankfully, they all escaped in their vanishing cabinet, but still, it's dangerous out there," Harry informed them as Alphard worked over a pot.

Bellatrix took a towel and cleaned off a cut that Harry had on his arm, a gash that had been created by flying debris. Her eyes moved over his entire body as a look of disgust took shape on her face, clearly affected by what Harry had seemingly gone through. She didn't know how much longer she could take it, the late nights and the early mornings, the various injuries and sacrifices he had made, it was all starting to add up on her and all she wanted was for it to be over. She wanted her husband, fully and completely, and the only way that was able to happen was for the Order of the Phoenix to defeat the Dark Lord, an outcome she hoped would come soon, though she couldn't tell when it would actually happen. With a sigh, she placed the towel down onto the table and got Harry a drink, intending on enjoying the rest of the night with her husband.

A month later, Harry and Bellatrix were walking down Diagon Alley with their Christmas gifts a few afternoons before Christmas Eve. While the alley was bustling more than other days, it still was not nearly as busy as it would have been had Voldemort not been around. Instead of enjoying themselves, the shoppers went from store to store as quickly as they could, only wanting to get whatever they needed and depart, each not wanting to spend anymore time there than necessary. It was disheartening to Harry, who spent a good portion of each day on the alley, that many shop owners had to close up their stores because they couldn't support themselves any longer. With a sigh, he nodded his head to Dorcas Meadowes, who gave a subtle wave back before walking away, presumably to get something to eat now that Harry had taken over watching the alley for the day.

"The house down the street from my Uncle Alphard's is on sale, you know," Bellatrix said, looking over at Harry intently, wanting to gauge his reaction.

Harry looked up at Bellatrix, raising an eyebrow. "Is it nice?" He inquired, fully aware of where the conversation would be leading—she had been hinting at it the entire day.

"Yes," She nodded in the affirmative, impressed with the house on the outside, though she hadn't seen the inside yet. "It has a lot of land for being in a city. It's not a simple row house."

"That's good," Harry said lowly, before looking down Knockturn Alley and taking note of all that he saw. He could tell Bellatrix's gaze was on him, and he couldn't help but smile at that. "I guess we should go check it out then, no?"

"Really?" Bellatrix erupted excitedly, thrilled at the prospect of buying a house with her husband. "Tomorrow?"

"On your birthday? Sounds good to me," Harry nodded in agreement, happy that she was happy. All he wanted out of life was to be with her and make her happy, so to see that his actions were doing just that meant the world to him.

The next afternoon, after a nice long lunch to celebrate her birthday, Harry and Bellatrix entered Alphard's house while speaking in loud voices. They walked towards the living room, where they saw Alphard sitting with Andromeda and Nymphadora. "What is it?" Alphard said curious tone, intrigued as to what would make the pair argue when they so rarely did.

"Harry wouldn't allow me to use magic," Bellatrix growled, giving Harry a scowl as she took a seat next to Andromeda.

"She wanted to charm some poor muggle into accepting our offer on his house," Harry laughed, finding it funny when Bellatrix pouted.

"You should have let me!" Bellatrix said, though her heart didn't appear to actually be in the argument.

Alphard looked between Harry and Bellatrix, a confused expression on his face. "Thinking about moving?"

"We only looked because it's just down the street," Harry said, recognizing the intent behind the question, adding, "We'd still be here every night." Alphard furrowed his brow, but stayed silent, allowing the conversation to drift off into something different.

"You still should have allowed me to charm him," Bellatrix said sadly, as if someone had taken away the one Christmas toy she truly wanted.

"Maybe next time, but either way, happy birthday, Bellatrix," Harry replied with a small smile, only to earn Bellatrix sticking her tongue out at him as she normally did whenever he took away her fun.

During the early afternoon of Christmas Eve the next day, Bellatrix was to meet with Narcissa and Lucius for a festive celebration. As she was sitting in front of her mirror getting ready for the day, Harry walked into their bedroom and watched her for a few moments, appreciating how beautiful she was. Her hair was long and straight and the deepest black that he had ever seen, while her face was pointed with a strong jaw and high cheekbones. While her eyes were indeed heavy-lidded, the color of her irises were an unnatural violet, darkened by the shadows that her unique eye shape created, which combined to create a mystique about her that was quite attractive to Harry.

"I need you to do something for me," Harry started, as Bellatrix continued to run her wand over her hair. "When you're over the Malfoy's, I need you to go into the secret room under the drawing room and steal a journal marked with the name Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"Why?" Bellatrix questioned, moving her gaze from the mirror to her husband in the doorway.

"Because it needs to be destroyed if Voldemort is to fall," Harry answered, honestly, knowing that if they did not get the journal, there would be no way for them to defeat Voldemort.

"Harry…" Bellatrix sighed, not wanting to be between her sister and her brother in law. She was willing to do a lot for Harry, even go against promises that he had made to her previously about not getting involved, but this was not something she wanted to do.

"I know, I know, but please, this is important," Harry said, understanding that it was a lot to ask considering he would not be attending the lunch with his wife. "It's a horcrux for Voldemort, and so long as it exists, Voldemort cannot be defeated."

Bellatrix stayed silent for a few moments, shaking her head before she opened her mouth and said, "I'm leaving in an hour."

"Thank you!" Harry grinned, rushing over to her and engulfing her in his arms. With her eyes closed, she sighed, enjoying the comfort that Harry gave to her. "Don't forget your rings."

"I decided I'm not taking them off anymore," Bellatrix said, disliking leaving it at home whenever she had to see her family.

"What are you going to do then? Are we changing plans?" Harry questioned, wondering if their plan of keeping their marriage quiet to the general public until Voldemort's defeat would be changed.

"No, no," Bellatrix shook her head in the negative, not having meant that at all. She grabbed her wand and tapped both her engagement and wedding ring twice, and instantly, her gold rings turned invisible. "There, I can still feel it but no one will know."

Before long, Bellatrix found herself enjoying a nice cup of tea and dessert with her sister as a fire burned in the fireplace on the other side of the room. Across from them there stood a large, full Christmas tree, adorned with golden baubles, silver tinsel, and a brilliant yellow star at its top. On the floor underneath its limbs were a mountain of gifts, each wrapped with classy gold and silver paper. The air in the room smelled like baked goods, with a large pile of delicious looking items next to the tea pot on the table in between the pair of sisters.

Lucius had left to handle some business a few moments prior, allowing the two sisters to converse amongst themselves for the time being. "Mince pie?" Narcissa asked, picking up the tray and levitating it over to her younger sister.

"Certainly," Bellatrix nodded, unable to pass up the treat. "Dinner was delicious, but nothing beats a good dessert."

"Always the sweet tooth," Narcissa smiled, appreciating that her sister could never pass up something sweet.

"I'm a sweetheart," Bellatrix smirked, making light of her more hardened nature and personality. To her sister, she was always strong and resolute, never showing a softer, kinder side that she had grown to show around Andromeda over the preceding months.

"Speaking of sweethearts," Narcissa started, placing her tea cup down onto the table in front of her. "Rodolphus Lestrange was asking about you before he left for Germany, you know."

"Cissy…" Bellatrix sighed, finding the constant chatter about the Lestrange man tiresome. While Narcissa did not know that she and Harry were married, she did, and even just discussing another man felt wrong to her.

"What? Is it that wrong for me to want you to marry him? I don't know why you're with that muggle-loving fool," Narcissa sneered, disgusted by the thought of Harry being in her family tree. "He's probably fighting against the Dark Lord as we speak."

"He's not," Bellatrix lied, not wanting to reveal that Harry was more connected to the fight against the Dark Lord than nearly anybody else.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow at her sister, wondering how she could be so sure. "How do you know?"

"Because I know him," Bellatrix replied, knowing in her heart that Harry did not hide anything from her. "The only way I would be with him is if he didn't force his misguided and foolish ideas upon me; likewise, I promised I would not force my ideas upon him as long as he stayed out of the war."

"What's wrong with Rodolphus?" Narcissa asked, referencing the oldest Lestrange boy that had been smitten with Bellatrix since they were children. "Eventually he will ask you to marry him, and what will you say then? Or will you allow his unworthy self to waltz into our family tree? Rodolphus is good and proper for a Black."

"Can we drop this?" Bellatrix ordered, not wanting to fight with the sister that she went out of her way to keep in her life. She understood that Narcissa was a very difficult person to get along with, but before she met Harry, they had never fought even once and got along splendidly.

"You know I disapprove of your beau yet you stay with him?" Narcissa questioned, having never witnessed Bellatrix going against the family in her entire life. "Auntie is this close to blasting you off of the tree, you know, what with Alphard bequeathing that money to you and your choice of suitor."

"She can shove off for all I care." Bellatrix scowled, angry at the idea of her aunt having any sway over her actions. While she cared about her mother and father's opinion, and wanted her sister in her life, even she thought her aunt was crazy and, potentially, unstable.

"Ladies, I trust you are having a pleasant tea," Lucius Malfoy said, walking back into the room with his platinum blond hair pulled back and his walking stick in his left hand.

"Always" Bellatrix nodded, giving him a smile, happy that his entrance would change the subject. While she didn't dislike the man like Harry, she certainly didn't respect him as she was a much more powerful and knowledgeable witch than he was wizard.

"Hello darling," Narcissa said, getting to her feet and walking over to where Lucius was standing. Lucius leaned in and whispered something to Narcissa, who gave a small nod and looked over to her sister. "I will be back in just a moment, Bella."

"Okay," Bellatrix said, taking a sip of her tea nonchalantly. Her gaze watched as they left the room, waiting for the perfect time to act, realizing that it was now or never if she were to retrieve the journal as Harry had requested.

When she heard both Lucius and her sister walking up the stairs to the second floor, she quickly and quietly jumped to her feet and ran over to the drawing room, where she slid down onto her knees and tapped the floor with her wand three times. Summoned by magic, a small stairway appeared from out of nowhere in the center of the room, leading downwards into a small, dark room that held all of the Malfoy secrets. There was a wooden door that appeared in a stone archway at the bottom of the stairwell, appearing as if it was a gateway into a dwarfish cavern. Moving as quickly as she could, she rushed down the steps with her wand tip lit and spelled the door open, allowing her to see the room that housed all of the Malfoy's illicit items.

To the left of her was a small bookshelf that held countless of illegal and expensive tomes of dark magic. She ran her finger over the binding, reading the title, checking to see that each one was not the journal she sought. She paused on a black leather book, and she immediately pulled it out and gazed at the cover: Diary of Belgard the Belligerent. She tossed it onto the stone floor and moved over to the table that was on the other side of the room—again, the journal wasn't there. She hopped over to the potion shelves, which housed many concoctions that could kill someone within minutes, and looked through them, trying to see if perhaps the journal was hidden. Then, in the corner of her eye, she saw a small drawer that was concealed inside the wall, and she quickly rushed over to it, wondering what could be so important that Lucius had to hide it from sight within a room that was itself hidden. She tapped her wand on the drawer and it opened up slowly as a result, revealing a brown leather journal that had 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' scrawled across the cover in gold letters.

Knowing that she didn't have much time, she picked the book up from the drawer and ran her wand over it, muttering, "Geminio." Immediately, an exact replica of the book appeared in her hand and she tossed the duplicate journal into the drawer and locked it back up, keeping the original journal in her hands. She made towards the stairway again and then headed up the stairs, but before she reached the door, she twisted her wand and said, "Return." As a result of the spell, everything zoomed back into place, as if no one had been there in the first place.

Hearing voices from the stairs in the foyer, she rushed upwards, closed the secret compartment and then dashed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. "The things I do for him," she growled, shrinking the journal and placing it inside her blouse. Preparing herself, she walked out of the bathroom and back into the tearoom, where Narcissa was waiting for her.

"Are you all right?" Narcissa questioned, immediately noticing Bellatrix was breathing more heavily than normal and that her face was a tad flushed.

"Just a bit of a dizzy spell is all," Bellatrix replied, returning to her seat to resume the pleasant day the sisters were having. She could feel the journal slipping inside of her blouse, so she subtlety shifted her body, hoping that the journal would stay there until she was able get a chance to secure it more appropriately.

"Do you want to leave?" Narcissa asked worriedly, hoping her sister was not getting sick. She had heard there was a rash of Dragon Pox running through the population, though she supposed her relatively healthy sister was not in any danger from it.

"No, no, I'll be fine." Bellatrix smiled, hoping that her sister did not suspect anything. "Shall we open presents?!"

A few hours later, Bellatrix arrived back at Alphard's house just in time for dinner. The whole family, including Sirius, was sitting at the table, seemingly waiting for her before they started eating themselves. She smiled and took her seat next to Harry, saying hello to Sirius, who responded in kind. The tension between them had seemingly disappeared, with Sirius backing off from his feelings when he witnessed how far she was willing to go when it came to being with Harry. To him, a person that was willing to hide her marriage just to be with someone as safely as possible was someone that deserved a fresh start, which was something he was more than willing to do. With that, they all dug into the delicious meal that Alphard had prepared, each person at the table grateful for each other's presence.

After dinner, the family adjourned to the living room, where they enjoyed desserts made by Andromeda. The conversation flowed and laughs were had by all, but eventually Alphard departed to his bedroom for the night. While Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphadora were staying the night in Alphard's spare bedroom, Sirius went to back to his flat, leaving Bellatrix and Harry alone. Upon securing Riddle's journal to deliver to Dumbledore after the holiday, and still wanting the night to go on, Harry floo called all of his friends and met them at the Three Broomsticks, enjoying the holiday with his wife and all of their friends. And in the seasonal festivities another great announcement came, when Edgar and Charlotte revealed that Charlotte was pregnant and would be due come the summer, which was news that just added to the celebration.

"Happy Christmas to you all," Alphard said the next morning as the small, but happy family started their breakfast.

"Merry Christmas!" They all responded in kind, each still wearing their pajamas in an effort to give Nymphadora the best Christmas she could have.

Afterwards, at the insistence of Nymphadora, who for the first time in her young life understood that Christmas meant toys, the family went into the living room to open their gifts. Alphard turned on the wizarding wireless, while Harry handed out everyone's presents dressed as Father Christmas. They all watched Nymphadora rush through her presents, opening up one and playing with it before moving onto the next, all wearing smiles on their faces at the sheer enjoyment that the young girl had for the day. With every present that she opened, her hair would turn a different color, as if she was unable to contain the magic that she held deep inside of her.

Bellatrix in particular watched Nymphadora with great attention. She knew that Voldemort would view the younger witch as a disgrace to her bloodline, as someone that needed to be disposed, and Bellatrix herself had those thoughts before she met Harry, but now that Nymphadora was in her life, she couldn't help but be protective of her. She watched as the little girl played with her toys with pure joy, with energy and innocence that only a child could conjure, energy that she received from just watching her play. She also noticed the happiness that Nymphadora brought to her parents, two people who were warm and kind, and while she knew Narcissa and Lucius loved each other, they expressed it differently than Andromeda and Ted did, allowing Bellatrix to see how all of her family interacted. She didn't know why, but then and there she made a promise to herself that she would protect her family no matter what she had to do to do it.

When all of the presents were opened, Alphard had summoned one more for Harry and Bellatrix to enjoy together. A small box zoomed into the couple's hands, and they both opened it, revealing a simple blank piece of parchment. "What is this?" Harry asked, not understanding what Alphard was getting at with his gift

"It is a placeholder for the deed of my actually gift to you," Alphard started, a small smile appearing on his face. "I'm giving you my home."

"What?" Harry and Bellatrix both said, each as confused as the other as to what Alphard was referencing.

"You were both going to receive it after I passed away, may as well allow you to use it now," Alphard said with a laugh, understanding how surprising the gift would be to the couple. "We'll switch, you two live here, I'll live in the apartment."

"But...why?" Bellatrix asked, not understanding why Alphard would be so generous as to give her his own home.

"You two deserve a place where you can grow," Alphard replied, rising to his feet and giving her a hug. "I'm so proud of you."

"We can't accept it," Harry said, not wanting Alphard to move into a smaller place just to help them out. He was not one that needed charity, so the idea of forcing an old man out of his home was not something with which he could live.

"You can and you will," Alphard answered, not allowing them to do differently. While he had always intended on giving them the house in his will, the knowledge that they were looking for a home down the street changed his plans and he decided that sooner was better than later for them to start their lives.

Harry looked between Alphard and Bellatrix, immediately noticing the strange expression that Bellatrix had on her face. "We'll think about it," Harry replied, not wanting to upset Bellatrix anymore than she already appeared to be.

"Merry Christmas!" Ted interjected, wanting to bring a little more levity to the situation. He could tell that it was a conversation that needed to be continued, though it was apparent to all that the time was not then.

The rest of the day was spent playing with Nymphadora, listening to the wireless, and snacking on treats before they all sat down at the table for a dinner prepared by Bellatrix in her first effort as a cook. While Harry, Alphard, and Andromeda helped a little, she insisted that she be the one to perform the majority of the work. To that end, she had woken up earlier than the rest to prepare the meal, and continued checking on it throughout the day as her turkey cooked. Everyone could see the pride that she had as she levitated the turkey onto the table, it glistening in cooked perfection that couldn't help but put a smile on her face.

After saying a few kind words to each other, they all started eating. It was tender and juicy, and showed that Bellatrix's lessons from Greta had truly paid off. They all gave her their compliments and in between bites they talked about light subjects, with Nymphadora complaining that she wasn't allowed her toys at the table. However, they all enjoyed themselves immensely, each considering the others their loving family, which made both Alphard and Harry extremely happy since neither had much family prior. Overall, as they completed the meal and started on dessert, it was a great Christmas for them all and one that they all hoped would be the start of a long lasting tradition.

It was five days after Christmas that found Harry sitting around the table at an Order of the Phoenix meeting. Frank and Edgar flanked him on both sides, while Regula Moonshine sat across from him. Unlike normal, where they would be making small talk, there was a somber tone around the room, each lost in their own thoughts as news of the murder of Dorcas Meadowes had been announced. The meeting had been called in a hurry, with Dumbledore wanting to announce the member's death and pay tribute to a lost colleague and friend.

"How did this happen?" Marlene McKinnon inquired, having been good friends with Dorcas throughout their years in the Order.

"Apparently a shop owner on Diagon Alley was loyal to Voldemort and captured her," Dumbledore explained, having gotten word from the Minister of Magic herself. "She was tortured for whatever knowledge she had on us before being murdered. Her body was found outside of an alley in Glasgow late last night."

"We kept switching sides, she would take one side and I would take the other, I have no idea how this could happen," Harry indicated, truly at a loss for words for his comrade's death. "We had gotten information that they were trying to recruit people on Diagon Alley, so we wanted to see if we could find out about their recruiting methods. We tried to take turns, with me working the night and her the morning before switching every other day to protect our covers."

"It's not your fault, Harry," Regula Moonshine said, seeing that the wizard blamed himself for Dorcas' death.

"Blame Voldemort, not yourself," Elphias Doge agreed, not wanting the younger wizard to feel as if it was his fault when it was simply the Dark Lord's actions that killed her. Many around the table nodded in agreement, finding truth in the wizard's words that it was the Dark Lord at fault.

"I just wish we knew what they were doing, what they had planned, what they were up to, maybe then we could protect ourselves more," Frank said, saying out loud what many members felt inside: they hated having to react to an attack, rather than being on the proactive side for once.

"I wish we had someone close to them," Moody announced, wanting to get more information on Voldemort's actions than they could get form captured Death Eaters alone. "Or someone who could infiltrate their ranks."

"While I understand your desires, we must make do with the information we can gather," Dumbledore whispered, not wanting to risk the lives of any members needlessly.

Harry perked up at what Moody said, his mind racing as he went over the idea of being a spy. "I'll do it," Harry said loudly, willing to take on the dangerous mission if it protected everyone else. Just as Regula had thought, he did indeed feel partially responsible for Dorcas' death as he knew that if he had been the one watching the far end of the alley, perhaps he would have been the one that was attacked, rather than her.

"How will you get into their ranks?" McGonagall questioned him, wanting to know of the plan that Harry would use to infiltrate them considering he wasn't friends with any Death Eaters as far as she knew.

"I'll find away," Harry affirmed, knowing that he could figure a way to be recruited.

"They know your face," Edgar said, knowing that many of the Death Eaters already knew who Harry was, having witnessed many of them fighting him within the halls of Hogwarts, if not outright against them during his dealings with the Order.

"I have built in disguise," Harry replied, flicking his gaze over to Dumbledore, who was thinking over the idea silently. If he was to go undercover as a Death Eater, he could simply drop the glamour that Dumbledore had placed on him, allowing him to appear different than the appearance that many knew.

"Will you still be able to perform your duties?" Dumbledore asked, making reference to the search for the horcruxes, which was just as important if not more so than infiltrating the Death Eaters.

"Yes," Harry nodded, confident that he would be able to do all three for the Order—research the horcruxes, watch Diagon Alley, and be a spy.

"Think on it, and if you still wish to try, we will discuss it at the next meeting," Dumbledore ordered, not wanting Harry to make the decision right there for he knew it was a big endeavor that would need to be planned, rather than made by a spur of the moment decision begot by a guilty conscience.

Harry returned home an hour or so later after talking with Frank and Edgar, ready to tell Bellatrix about his plan. He knew it would not go over well with her, but he hoped that she would understand that the Order of the Phoenix needed it and that he would not do it unless it was absolute necessary. He understood that it was more dangerous than nearly anything he had done up to that point in his life, for one slip up would likely mean his death, but he also understood that the longer the war went on against Voldemort, the more danger Bellatrix would be in due to her being labeled a blood traitor. To him, so long as she was safe, the danger was a cheap enough price to pay.

"You're back already?" Bellatrix questioned as she got to her feet from the couch and gave Harry a hug. Then, seeing his face, she questioned, "What's wrong?"

"I have a mission…a dangerous and important one," started Harry, wanting to tell her straight away rather than try to break it to her gradually.

"What is it?" She replied slowly, bracing herself for the worst, but hoping the overly emotional Harry was simply dramatizing it.

Harry gave a small, mirthless laugh, knowing how absurd what he was about to say would sound. "I'm becoming a Death Eater to spy on them for the Order."

"You?" Bellatrix gasped loudly with her eyes narrowing on him, as if she immediately knew something that he didn't. "You can't."

Harry noticed her gaze, and believed that she was simply worried about the danger that it presented, rather than anything else. "Bellatrix, I know it's dangerous, but…"

"No, that's not what I mean." Bellatrix stopped him, not wanting him to think that it was the danger alone that worried her. She knew his skills as a wizard, how resourceful he could be when needed, so she was confident that he could do it...if he was anybody else. "I mean you physically can't. In case you forget, Rodolphus, Mulciber, and Avery hate your guts, they'd tell the Dark Lord that you're a muggle lover before you even lasted a day as one."

"That's a risk I'm going to have to take, it needs to be done," replied Harry, knowing that he would be able to take off the charms that Dumbledore had placed upon him in order to become a brand new person. "I look different naturally, remember?"

"Oh, shove off, you look exactly the same except for your hair and eye color," Bellatrix barked, not allowing him to use that as an excuse. "You literally look like a clone of James Potter, yeah, that'll help a lot considering the Death Eaters hate him, too."

"It needs to be done," Harry said, shaking his head, resolved in the idea that they truly needed a spy within Voldemort's ranks just as he knew Snape would be in the future.

Bellatrix opened and closed her mouth a few times, as if unable to find what she wanted to say. "No, you don't have to do it," Bellatrix replied, as a thought fluttered into her mind: she would do it for him. Until Voldemort was out of the picture, she could not live happily with him; she couldn't slowly interject him into her family's lives, and her being on the sidelines, watching as he would come home half-dead late in the night was starting to bother her more than she cared to admit.

"Someone needs to, and if it's not me, then someone else will be at risk, and I can't let that happen," Harry replied, knowing that the risk was too great to allow someone else to put themselves at danger simply because he had made enemies with the Slytherins. "It needs to be done. The knowledge that I have of the future, the information that I remember, it's useless. Dorcas Meadowes died yesterday. I had just seen her the day before, too. She shouldn't be dead, she wasn't supposed to die—it's all different. I need to do this, because someone needs to do it and if not me, then who?"

"Me," Bellatrix said, her voice not betraying how surprised she was internally at what she said.

"What? No," Harry shook his head in the negative, vehemently against the idea. "You're not going in there. You can't do it."

Bellatrix raised an amused eyebrow at that, giving him a small, confident smile. "Are you forgetting who it was that taught you occlumency?"

"That's…that's not what I meant." Harry replied, awkwardly, as he shuffled in his stance. When he said he couldn't, he wasn't speaking about her ability to do it, he knew she could do it expertly, but rather, it was his desire to not have her be in the presence of Death Eaters that made him forbid it.

Bellatrix saw the look on Harry's face and realization dawned upon her. "Oh, I get it; you think if I go in there I won't come back to you? That I'll turn back to my old ways; that I'll turn into the person that I was in your own time?"

"Bellatrix…" Harry said slowly, not wanting to go down the path he foresaw them going.

Bellatrix huffed and threw her hands up into the air as anger started to well inside of her. "No, so I guess 'till death do us part' or 'for better or worse' don't apply to me, just to you, right?"

Harry furrowed his brow as he thought about what she had said. "That doesn't even make sense," Harry replied, not seeing the correlation between their vows and the situation at hand.

"You know what I mean." Bellatrix answered darkly, clearly steamed. "I promised you that I wouldn't enter that world, that I wouldn't kill and torture."

Harry growled under his breath, not enjoying the idea that she would use the promises that she gave to him without recognizing the promises that he had given to her. "And I promised you that I wouldn't force you to love muggles or muggleborns, did I not?"

"You're not forcing me," Bellatrix assured him as her anger eased in an attempt to make sure he understood that it was her decision. "I want to do this, and I would rather it be me than you. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I can handle myself," replied Harry, his stance wavering a bit as pride of her started to swell up inside of him.

"I know you can, but people in the Death Eaters' circle want to hurt you and they will stop at nothing to do it," Bellatrix informed him, knowing full well how much many of the Slytherins in their year wanted to hurt Harry for what he had done to Rodolphus years prior.

Harry looked down for a moment, thinking about everything that she relayed to him. Then, with a small, almost unnoticeable nod, he said, "Are you sure?"

"They will recognize you, Harry, regardless if you drop the spells because you sound the same, you act the same, you just...it's not enough. They're not smart, but they're not stupid, either. They may not understand that you look different now because of a spell, but they may think you look different then because of a spell and at that point, there is no real difference," voiced Bellatrix, her resolve on the matter unwavering. "I will do it for you under one condition."

"What is that?" Harry inquired, wondering what it was that was on her mind enough to dictate a condition. While he had yet to make up his own mind on whether or not he would allow her to become a spy, he did want to make her happy as much as he could, regardless.

"When this is over, it's over and it then becomes us," said Bellatrix, wanting nothing more than to leave the Order of the Phoenix and Voldemort in the past and instead focus on them. A part of her disliked the idea of having Harry risk his life against Voldemort, but she knew that if he didn't do it, he would not be able to live with himself, though that wasn't to say that she was going to allow him to continue to do it should a new Dark Lord rise after Voldemort's defeat.

"Absolutely," Harry agreed, wanting nothing more than that. "I'm not one hundred percent on board with it, but if you still want to do this in the morning, we can go to Dumbledore and chat with him about it."

The next day, both Harry and Bellatrix appeared in Dumbledore's office, explaining to the older wizard that Bellatrix was going to be the one going undercover. While Harry was hesitant, Dumbledore was more willing, understanding that Bellatrix needed a chance to actually do good, rather than just stay neutral on the sidelines. If she was to be able to help, Dumbledore felt that she had a duty to her continuous growth to do it, instead of stagnating like Harry apparently wanted of her.

With that in mind, the older wizard tested out her ability at occlumency, and gave a nod of approval after finding it more than satisfactory. He knew that Voldemort was an accomplished legilimens himself, which meant that any information gained from the Death Eaters by an intruder would need to be profoundly protected in order to keep said intruder safe from retribution. "If you want to do this, Bellatrix, you can, but be sure this is what you want to do. It will be dangerous."

"I'm aware," Bellatrix replied, fully cognizant of the fact that she would be going into a very dangerous situation. However, even with that knowledge, she still wanted to do it solely to protect Harry from needing to do it himself.

"There is no way I can talk you out of this?" Harry pleaded one last time, not wanting to see Bellatrix be forced to take the Dark Mark. "Please, anything you want, I'll do, just…please, just tell me."

"No," Bellatrix answered, shaking her head in the negative, having committed to the plan fully.

Dumbledore stared at Bellatrix from behind his desk, weighing all that he knew about her: she was a smart, highly magical woman that was willing to stop at nothing to get what she wanted. In many ways, she was someone that he greatly respected, though he knew she had her flaws, as well. "How do you plan on getting in contact with them?"

Bellatrix flicked her gaze over to Dumbledore, before giving a smirk. "By going to my sister and Lucius, and throwing Harry to the wolves."

It was a basement that Bellatrix found herself in the next day. There were a group of nearly three dozen dark cloaked people circled around her as she bowed at the feet of a tall, thin wizard: Lord Voldemort. She wore a black cloak and a white bone mask that covered much of her face, preventing anyone from seeing her, though they could just make out a few strands of hair that escape from the hood. Her violet eyes stared at the stone floor, not daring to look away for fear of what Voldemort would do—she was unsure of him, having only heard stories from other Slytherins up until that point in her life.

"We have a new member in our collective tonight," Lord Voldemort's voice said through the chilly night air, needlessly announcing that fact.

"We all live to serve, my lord!" A Death Eater yelled in a tone of exultation, happy in exalting Lord Voldemort above all others.

"Welcome to our family," Lord Voldemort whispered, though his voice carried for all to hear. "Yes, this is a family—a pure, uncorrupted, untainted by muggle filth, family. I hear you were with a traitor to our cause for a time, being with not only a half-blood but a relation to my sworn enemy, as well, is this true?"

"Yes, my lord, a mistake that I have since learned from, I promise. I was misinformed about his true intentions, and once I learned about the truth, I punished him and left," Bellatrix muttered respectfully, hoping her cover story would prove satisfactory. "He is an embarrassment of my past, but my future will be in your service."

"Learned from it?" Voldemort let out a cold, mirthless laugh that cut through the room. "Not yet you haven't," Voldemort scathed, taking his wand out and holding it lightly in his right hand. "Crucio!" Voldemort barked as a flash of red light sparked from the tip of his wand.

Bellatrix immediately felt it: undeniable pain. It was like a thousand hot knifes were poking her all at once, their burning points rolling over every inch of her body. She bit down on her tongue, not daring to scream, not daring to let anyone see how much she hurt, not allowing anyone to see her weakness. She pounded the ground with her fists, though it looked more like convulsions, desperately trying to escape the pain. Then, just as the pain seemed as if it would never let up, it was gone and she was still alive.

"Never again, my lord," Bellatrix whispered, hoping to end the torment by kowtowing to whatever he wanted for the time.

"Crucio!" Voldemort barked once more, sending a new wave of pain into the witch. Again, Bellatrix bit her tongue, not allowing herself to give into the pain that was besieging her. Her eyes grew dim, and her senses began to fall her as the pain intensified before, just as quickly as it had overcome her, it stopped as it did the previous time. "Very good," Voldemort shouted in what sounded like admiration, though Voldemort never felt any such emotion, not now, not ever. "I shall make use of your strength. Now get up, and come to me, so you can receive your mark and join your family in the circle properly. And let be that a lesson for all, that Lord Voldemort will always welcome all the faithful, no matter their past. Come all ye faithful and Lord Voldemort will accept!"

"Glory to our lord!" A Death Eater shouted, though Bellatrix could barely hear it as the pain continue to ransack her body. "Glory in the highest!"

Bellatrix got to her feet, slowly walked over to the Dark Lord, and rolled up her left sleeve. Voldemort gruffly grabbed her wrist and pointed his wand down at her forearm, hissing the spell that he had invented to mark his supporters so they would be able to answer his every call. Immediately, there was a distinct smell of burning flesh, and almost instantly, the picture of a skull with a serpent extruding from its mouth appeared on the inner part of her arm, hued an ominous color of black. Then, as quickly as the smell came, it ceased, and the mark became a vivid red tattoo, like a brand that one would find on muggle cattle. Once it was complete, Bellatrix unrolled her sleeve and walked over to her spot in the circle, in between her cousin, Evan Rosier, and her brother-in-law, Lucius Malfoy, both of whom had vouched for her.

Groggy and aching from the torture she had just received, she distractedly listened to what the other Death Eaters had to say. They spoke about various assignments Voldemort had given them, relaying their successes or failures, with the latter being met with a scolding and a curse from Voldemort. The meeting was seemingly about recruiting new faithful servants for Voldemort, with the Dark Lord appearing to be needing new Death Eaters in order to push harder against the Ministry, who was starting to fight back more harshly now that Barty Crouch had taken the over the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The meeting continued on in that way until the Dark Lord moved onto the next subject, which Bellatrix had no knowledge about.

Later that night, Bellatrix apparated onto the small porch of Alphard's home once the meeting was completed, walking quietly through the garden and into her house, she yawned tiredly and threw her black robes onto the kitchen chair. She saw a plate of food on the table, protected with the bubble head charm, waiting for her, but she paid it no mind, not being particularly hungry. Yawning again, she walked into the dark hallway and towards the stairs, passing by the den that was still alit with the light of the flames dancing in the fireplace. She paused for a second, cocking an eyebrow, until she saw Harry sitting in a chair, staring back at her with the paper in his lap.

Upon seeing her, Harry immediately jumped to his feet and rushed to her, engulfing her in a hug. She flinched slightly, making Harry pull back and give her a once over—she looked tired and her shoulders were slightly slumped. "Are you okay?"

"Tired, that's all," she said, not wanting to get into any further than that. She knew that many nights would end like that so to her, the quicker they got over it, the easier it would be.

"Bellatrix…" Harry started, his heart dropping at the sight of her form. She looked tired and beat up, as if she had been in a fight all night long and had just barely made it out with her life.

"He used the Cruciatus on me," Bellatrix replied, revealing what had happened to her in an effort to make the resulting conversation quicker than it would have been had she kept it to herself. "I just want to take a shower and go to sleep."

"He did?" Harry growled angrily, rage welling up inside of him. The thought of his wife being hit with the unforgivable Cruciatus Curse was something to which he did not take kindly, regardless of the circumstances surrounding it. "You're not doing this anymore."

"This says differently," she snapped, rolling up her sleeve to reveal the vivid red mark of the Death Eaters. "We expected this, Harry; I'm not giving up after only one night."

Harry stared down at the mark, feeling a tad revolted that the mark of death had tarnished her perfect and uncorrupted body. His eyes drifted from the mark up to her eyes, where she stared right back at him, frowning slightly at the sight of Harry's disdain. "Okay," Harry sighed as he rubbed his forehead, knowing that she was very tired and did not want to argue with him about it. "You go take a shower; do you want something to eat? Or how about something to drink?" He questioned, bringing her closer to him and kissing her forehead.

"No thank you," Bellatrix shook her head, turning and taking the first steps onto the stairs. "I'll see you in bed."

Harry nodded, and watched her walk up, still frowning slightly. He didn't know what he could do to make it better for her, but he was willing to do whatever it took, whatever was necessary to get her back on her feet. Deciding on something, he walked into the kitchen and made Bellatrix a plate of cookies, hoping that they would make her feel better. Making her a pot of tea, he placed lemon and sugar on a tray, along with the plate of cookies, and levitated them behind him as he walked upstairs to the bedroom.

Bellatrix was still in the shower when he arrived. He placed the tray down onto the bedside table, and got ready for bed himself. He then jumped into bed, paper in hand, and continued to read it, wanting to see if anything good was happening in the country. The consistent news of the horrors of Voldemort littered the pages of the paper, but still, he continued to hold out hope that someone somewhere would have a happy story worth telling.

Before he finished, however, the door to the bathroom opened and steam let out, revealing Bellatrix, who was wearing a white bathrobe with sopping hair. Her eyes met Harry's, before flicking down to the tray that was on the table next to her side of the bed and a brief smile appeared on her pretty face. She quietly walked to the bed, disrobed, and got under the covers, the coolness of her wet hair feeling good against her back. She stayed under the covers for a few minutes, enjoying the comfort of her bed, before rolling over and wrapping her arm across Harry's waist.

Harry looked down at her, raising an eyebrow, amused by the display of affection that she used very rarely. She wasn't a person who liked cuddling, Harry had known, as physical affection was not something she was used to employing. However, that night Harry knew it was not for him that she was cuddling, but instead for herself, clearly still hurting from the Cruciatus. Knowing that, Harry tossed the paper onto his bedside table, and leaned back in his bed, gently running a finger through her damp hair. Before long, she was asleep, earning a smile from Harry as he waved his wand and turned off the lights, intent on falling asleep himself.

That was not to be, however, as his mind was too focused on Bellatrix. He hated having her go through all that she went through, and desperately wished he could go back in time and prevent himself from agreeing to it. He couldn't help but believe that if only he hadn't fought with the other Slytherins during Hogwarts then, maybe, she would have felt comfortable with him being the spy, rather than putting herself in danger. He didn't know how long he stared at the ceiling thinking about her, but eventually, he heard a soft moan from next to him, and Bellatrix's voice started to cut through the darkness.

"Harry, do you think, you know, when this is all over and you defeat the Dark Lord, and it's finally just you and me that you would, I don't know, want to have a baby?" She asked, opening her eyes and gazing up at Harry, though the lack of light made it difficult to see each other fully.

Harry blinked at what Bellatrix said, startled by the suddenness of it. Then, slowly, a smile appeared on his face as great joy filled his heart. "When we defeat the Dark Lord, you mean," He started, knowing that she would be playing a tremendous part in the end now that she had taken on the great duty. "And yes, yes I would."

"Really?" She said, more energetic than Harry believed she could have mustered in that moment.

"Of course!" Harry exclaimed, finding it funny that she would think otherwise. "I'm actually surprised you want to have one, to be honest."

"Not very motherly, am I?" She inquired, realizing that many qualities of a great mother were lost on her.

"No, because you've never mentioned it, but as for being motherly, that's only because you're not a mother, yet," Harry grinned as he kissed her, not wanting her to think she wasn't going to be a fantastic mother. "What would you want to name her?"

"So sure it's going to be a she, are you?" Bellatrix smiled as the pain from the Cruciatus receded into the back of her mind. "I want to stay with the naming theme of my family, I've always liked it. You know, after stars or constellations, I've always found that to be a family trait that is quite cute."

"I want to name her after a flower, like my mother," Harry said, wrapping his arm around Bellatrix as they snuggled. "And it should probably start with an A to keep with the whole pretend Dumbledore thing."

"No naming her after a family member," Bellatrix ordered, not wanting her child to have to live with being named after another—she wanted her son or daughter to be their own person. "That goes for me as well. And no naming boys after family members, either."

"Deal," Harry conceded, biting his lip in thought. While he had no intention of naming his daughter Lily, he did want to keep the theme of a flower in honor of his mother and the last name of Potter, which he felt was a fair compromise.

"Asteria," Bellatrix quickly said, as if she had the information already on her mind, though Harry knew it was unlikely.

"Hm?" Harry replied, having heard what she said but not understanding what she meant by saying it.

"That's what I want to name her: Asteria," Bellatrix whispered, her voice beginning to tail off at the end. "Aster is a flower, it basically means star, it starts with an A; it's a perfect compromise."

"Asteria?" Harry said to himself, thinking about the name in more detail. It sounded nice to him, perhaps a bit old, but still, it rolled off the tongue and felt natural. "What kind of flower is it?"

"It looks like a purple daisy, I think," Bellatrix answered, assuming she was speaking about the correct flower that she had on her mind.

"Purple, your favorite color," Harry chuckled, seeing that the name was nearly perfect for them. "Asteria Dumbledore. I like it."

Harry felt Bellatrix smile in his arms, which made him smile as well, happy that she was happy. "I would also say Asterope, but I'm not certain that's a flower, even if it is one of my favorite names," she said, making conversation in an effort to keep her mind off of the pain.

"I like Asteria," Harry reaffirmed, truly liking the name—it was original without being weird. It was beautiful, creative, and matched their personalities, he felt, which is exactly what he wanted out of a name. "I was worried you would pick something really, really out there."

"Like?" Bellatrix said lowly, her energy clearly drained.

"I don't know," Harry shrugged slightly, not having anything specific on mind. "A weird name, like Delphini or Ophiuca or something like that."

"I'm not that weird," Bellatrix smiled, seeing how Harry could believe that she would want to name her daughter those names—they were similar to some of the names in the Black family tree.

"Your sisters named their children Nymphadora and Draco, what do you think I'd expect from you?" Harry teased, not worrying about revealing that Narcissa would have a son named Draco to her.

"Draco, hm?" Bellatrix whispered, realizing that he was speaking about both of her sisters and not just Andromeda. "What about for a boy?"

"We still have time, don't you worry," Harry smiled, having never seen her so tender before. He didn't know what brought it on, but he enjoyed the side of her personality that she only revealed to him, a softer, more gentle side that belied her harsh appearance.

She went silent for a moment, Harry briefly thinking she fell asleep, but her hand running over his chest betrayed that belief. "Harry," Bellatrix said quietly, using every ounce of her strength to nuzzle as closely to him as she could.

"Yes?" He questioned, wondering what else it was that she wanted to say to him.

"Happy New Year," She replied playfully, realizing that the clock had just passed midnight and it was the first of the year.

"Happy New Year," Harry smiled, kissing her forehead. He got more comfortable in bed and closed his eyes, inwardly hoping that the next year would be the year that Voldemort was finally defeated once and for all. He truly hoped that it would be a happy new year for all.

A/N: Merry Christmas! As is tradition, a new chapter on Christmas! I'm so glad I could continue the tradition of naming the Christmas chapter title after a Christmas song, this time "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (Adeste Fideles). I wish all of you a very happy holiday, whatever you may celebrate. I hope you and yours all have a Happy New Year.