Daphne hadn't spoken to Harry since Gus's revelation about Lydia's true parentage. She had gone straight to Crouch House, where she refused to talk to Lydia until they were alone.

Harry had shrugged and sat down with Julian, "Chess?" he'd suggested while Hermione watched the two sisters with narrowed eyes.

"He'll beat you," Hermione had said, drawing her eyes away from the door, "He was a sad drunk who played chess with house-elves for years."

Julian had snorted, "Thank you for that, Katherine love. What a way to demean me in front of my soon to be nephew-in-law."

"Oh, Merlin," Hermione had muttered as she left the room, "We're going to be related."

Harry and Julian had chuckled, all the while wondering about the nature of the conversation going on upstairs…

Lydia shut her bedroom door and looked at her sister pointedly, "Okay – we're alone. What's going on?"

"I know who your father is," Daphne said.

Lydia's eyes widened, "How?"

"I can't tell you," Daphne admitted, "The person who told me shouldn't have done. But they are a reliable source, trust me."

Lydia narrowed her eyes at her sister, "I don't like the way you're looking at me. Who is it?"

"Nicomedes Nott," Daphne said carefully, "Our cousin Theo's much older brother. He was in our mothers year at school, and he died in 1979 when you were a baby."

"Nott?" Lydia echoed.

Daphne nodded, "It's all a big secret, but Aunt Almina was Alfred's second wife. His first wife was a woman called Kyra who went missing, and then he pocketed half of the Burke family fortune. It was all hushed down because everyone thought he'd killed her. Nicomedes was their son."

Lydia was silent for a long moment.

"The dark fire," She said.

Daphne frowned and looked up, "What?"

"Ancestral magic," Lydia explained, "I knew I wasn't a Greengrass because I never had the affinity for ice or water like you and Astoria. I could never manipulate air the same way. But I have always been able to conjure fire when I'm angry, and the flames are black."

"Like Lily with her hands," Daphne realised, "She thought it was because she was losing control of her magic, but it's a sign that she's from a powerful bloodline."

Lydia nodded, "I knew whoever he was, he was a pureblood, but I didn't expect him to be a Nott."

"This changes everything for you though, Lydia," Daphne pointed out, "The Nott estate is vacant because Alfred – your grandfather and uncle, coincidentally-"

Lydia made a face.

"I know," Daphne sympathised, " – But he's dead, and Theo is dead. You may have been illegitimate, but you are still the heir to all of it. You could marry a Muggle-born and carry on the Nott name. You inherit all of it."

Lydia frowned and shook her head, "But I don't want it. I mean, did my father even know I existed?"

"I think so," Daphne confessed, "Something my source said made me think so anyway. But to be sure, we're going to have to ask Mother."

Lydia laughed then saw the look on her sisters face, "Oh no, you're serious?"

Daphne nodded, "I'm serious. We're going to Greengrass House for supper tonight, and we are going to get you all of the answers you deserve and an apology."

"Good luck with that," Lydia said dryly, but she didn't refuse to go with Daphne, so the younger girl deemed that a success.

Harry was surprised when he saw Tom sitting by the fire in the drawing-room of Peverell Court. He was in ordinary clothes as he stared forward thoughtfully, an open book in his hands.

"Should you be up and about so soon?"

Tom chuckled, "This from the boy who awoke from actual death and only stopped when he realised he had a head injury?"

"Fair point," Harry mused with a smile, "Lily's been catching you up then?"

"On the events of the battle, yes," Tom agreed, looking up at Harry, "But she does not know everything, of course. She was not present at the post-battle Death Eater meeting you presided over."

"I didn't tell her about it," Harry confessed, "She was still recovering, and I saw no need for her to apparate or floo sooner than she needed to."

"I agree with your decision," Tom said.

Harry sat down opposite the older man.

"She says that she feels fine, but I doubt that it is the truth," Tom added.

"She'll be tired for a while yet," Harry said, "She lost so much blood…it takes a while to replace all of it. The internal bleeding has healed now, though, so that's something. I suppose she'll have to wait a few weeks to get the final verdict on the long-term effects."

"What long term effects?" Tom asked.

Harry looked over, "She didn't tell you?"

"Apparently not," Tom replied, his eyes flicking to the door in case Lily walked in.

Harry doubted that it would bother Tom anyway, so he told him the truth.

"The Healer who fixed her up said there was a pretty good chance her injury would affect her ability to have children in the future," Harry said, "But I'm not convinced she ever wanted them anyway, and you have your heir in Amalthea."

"Indeed," Tom said, but Harry was sure he heard confliction in his voice.

"Anyway," Harry pressed on, "We did suffer a pretty heavy loss in the final battle, but the light lost completely. Those who didn't die ran away, but we killed all of the important ones, the ones who are likely to surge back someday."

Tom nodded, "Yes?"

"And we will have to keep an eye on the likes of Piper and Kiera Shacklebolt as they grow up. We wiped out their family. There's a chance they try and get revenge for that after all," Harry added.

"I agree," Tom mused, "Who did we lose?"

"Remus Lupin died, for Lydia Greengrass actually, so I owe him one there," Harry said, sighing sadly at the thought – he'd gotten Remus back for all of five minutes, just to lose him.

"Terrence Higgs, Lisa Turpin, Oberon Parkinson, Osiris Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle," Harry listed them off, "And Alfred Nott."

At that, Tom's eyes flashed with emotion, "Alfred?"

Harry nodded, "I know that must be difficult for you. He was the last of your 'first' followers, wasn't he?"

"He was," Tom mused, "And he was an old friend. We were at school together. Dumbledore called them my followers, but in truth, they were my friends and allies and now? They are all gone, most of them long dead. Cyrus Lestrange died in 1961 from a cursed wound he received as a young man. We always knew it would be the end of him someday, but we thought he would have longer than that."

Harry had never seen Tom reminisce like this.

"Alexander Avery, 1979 – an Auror killed him," Tom continued, "Geoffrey Mulciber, 1994. I found out he had died not long after Pettigrew brought me back…"

Tom gave himself a mental shake and continued, "Of course we lost Albert Rosier to the first battle of this war, and now Alfred Nott to the last one."

"Maybe you think that leaves you alone," Harry said, "But it doesn't. Your old friends may be gone, but your new friends are right here, patiently awaiting your return, and you have a family now, Tom. You didn't have that back then."

"No, I did not," Tom agreed.

He didn't dwell on it for too long, though. Instead, he looked up at Harry, "The full moon tomorrow seems like an opportune moment to announce my recovery and perhaps put Draco's mind at rest by letting him avenge his father?"

Harry nodded his agreement, "I completely agree."

Tom chuckled, "You nearly said 'my lord', did you not?"

"It's autopilot these days," Harry joked, the air between them calm and lighter than it had ever been.

I could get used to this, Harry thought idly.

"I do not suppose you would like to stay and discuss political plans with me?" Tom asked.

"I would love to," Harry said, "But I can't."

"No?" Tom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Trust me, I would take political talk over what I actually have to do any day," Harry said with a shake of his head, "Lydia Greengrass has just discovered that her father was a Nott and that she is the sole heir to the Nott estate. That means her mother has spent her entire life lying to her, and I have to sit through that supper with the family this evening."

Tom chuckled and looked back down at his book, "Good luck. I shall see you for the full moon tomorrow, preferably in one piece?"

"And now he does jokes," Harry said, torn between laughing and glaring at Tom as he left the room.

As suspected, an argument kicked off the moment Harry and Daphne walked into the house with Lydia and Rhea in tow.

"What is she doing here?"

"With all due respect, Cygnus, she is the reason that I am alive and that Daphne is alive," Harry said before any curses could be thrown.

Lareina stepped into view behind her husband, so Harry began to sign his words while he spoke, "She ran from the Order of the Phoenix to warn us of the battle. If she had not done that, if we had not been prepared, we may all have died."

Cygnus narrowed his eyes, "And noble as that may be, she is still no daughter of mine."

Lydia glared at her father and spoke while signing to her mother, "I know I am no daughter of yours – I am a Nott."

Lareina's eyes widened, " How do you know that?" she signed.

Daphne signed back, " I found out from a source who would rather not be named, but he is reliable, Mother, so I know it to be true."

"Of course, it is true," Cygnus snapped, "But should we really talk about your Mother's affair in front of Lord Potter?"

" Harry will be my husband in a few short months," Daphne pointed out, "He will know all about this family's dirty laundry soon enough."

Harry couldn't argue with that. He looked over at Lareina, who had tears in her eyes and signed, " I think it was more than an affair , and I think it is only fair that we hear your side of the story."

Lareina did not let her tears fall. She held herself up straight and signed, "He was my friend for a long time, and I spoke to my father about arranging a marriage contract between us. Because of the controversy surrounding his parents and due to his mother's disappearance, my father did not approve. He arranged a contract between myself and Cygnus Greengrass instead."

Harry nodded, " But you still loved him , which was how you ended up pregnant with his child upon your marriage to Cygnus."

Lareina nodded.

"Love," Harry said with an amused smile, "It's a bitch, right?"

Cygnus did not find the joke funny. He turned his heated glare on Lydia, "I raised you under this roof as if you were my own daughter, but you understand why you could never inherit, do you not?"

"Yes," Lydia said, narrowing her eyes at him, "Which is why you used Rhea as an excuse to disown me and discredit me, I suppose?"

"It was not an excuse," Cygnus said hotly, "She is a squib!"

"Is she?" Lydia asked, holding Rhea out in front of her, "This child?"

Before anyone could stop her, Lydia dropped Rhea, and for a second, time froze.

As the one-year-old girl fell to the ground, the others moved to catch her, but nobody could get to her in time. Then, seconds before she hit the ground, she stopped and hovered for a few seconds before dropping the last inch, her feet hitting the floor as she giggled and clapped her hands.

Lydia looked at her father stubbornly, "She doesn't look like a squib to me!"

"Please tell me you knew that before you dropped her," Daphne said weakly.

"Of course she did, she may only be our half-sister, but she's not stupid."

Lydia looked up and beamed when she saw Astoria coming down the stairs.

"Astoria, you're okay."

"Relatively speaking, anyway," Astoria replied, hugging her older sister tightly.

Lydia hugged her back, then said, "And of course I knew she wasn't a squib. I've known since Lee and I fought in front of her, and she got upset then set fire to her cot."

Daphne snorted, "She's definitely your daughter then, isn't she?"

"You always had a temper," Astoria agreed.

"Maybe it's the Nott blood," Harry mused.

Cygnus sighed and looked between them, "What now, then?"

"I don't know," Lydia answered, "Despite everything you have done, as far as I am concerned, you are still my father. You raised me, and you, and this family, is all I have ever known."

Cygnus's eyes softened.

"Lee is dead, and all I want is to be with my family," Lydia said, "To see my little sisters. I am not asking to stay in your home or for you to love me. I just want to be a part of this family."

Lareina stepped forward and hugged her daughter. When she pulled back, both she and Lydia had tears in their eyes.

" And you always will be," Lareina signed.

Lydia swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded, " Thank you, Mother. I love you."

"I love you too."

Harry smiled warmly at that, "If we're all friends now, should we move this into the lounge?"

"What a splendid idea," Cygnus said dryly, "I need firewhiskey."

"You and me both," Harry said, rubbing his eyes and fighting a yawn.

"Long day?" Cygnus guessed.

"Long week," Harry admitted, "But Tom is awake now, and he is feeling much better, so I don't have to be the boss anymore, at least."

"From what I have heard, you made a good leader in his absence," Cygnus remarked.

"Maybe," Harry mused, "But that doesn't necessarily mean that I enjoy it. I have decided to go into a different line of work."

"Have you?" Cygnus asked with interest.

"Yes," Smiled Harry, "I have applied to be an Unspeakable."

"Interesting," Cygnus said – it was evident from the look on his face and the tone he had used that he approved, though.

Harry was handed a firewhiskey, and he and Cygnus sat down by the fire, just out of the three sisters hearing range.

"I have a gift for you, by the way," Harry said after taking a sip of his whiskey.

Cygnus raised an eyebrow in response.

"You asked me to hand you Matthias Jones. I believe you had a violent death in the cards for him?" Harry suggested.

"I believe what I actually said was that I wanted you to make it painful," Cygnus pointed out, "You captured him during the battle, I presume?"

"Yes – we took both him and Severus Snape alive," Harry mused, "Snape because he was a traitor and as such, will get a horrific death, no doubt."

"Hm," Cygnus mused, "A practice that has not changed since medieval times. Even Slytherins – as shrewd as you can be – consider betraying your own family, friends or brethren as the worst crime that one could commit."

"Which is interesting," Harry agreed, "Because being a traitor is a sign of cowardice, and until I became a Slytherin, I associated that house with cowardice. Now, though? Well, now I can see that anyone can be a coward – the man who betrayed my parents was a Gryffindor, after all."

"The man who deafened my wife was a coward, and he was a Gryffindor," Cygnus added, "And he was selfish and ambitious. All he cared about was his family, to hell with any collateral damage."

"He will get his comeuppance now," Harry promised, "But I thought I ought to consult with you before I did it. I understand that you don't want to get your hands dirty, and I have an idea."

"Continue," Cygnus said calmly.

"I believe in killing people with karma," Harry said. he shrugged, "That age-old, an eye for an eye thing."

"I have heard such rumours," Cygnus confessed, "You killed Pettigrew with the killing curse to avenge your parents."

Harry nodded, "My abusive muggle relatives told me my parents died in a car crash and never told me they were magical, so I had my uncle drive their car off the bridge and so on. Anyway, I've already completed part one of his comeuppance; I cut his ears off in the duel that I captured him in."

At this, Cygnus smirked.

"I thought I should imperius him into taking a magical bomb into his precious castle then blowing it and himself to smithereens," Harry said, looking at his future father-in-law.

"The same way he deafened Lareina and killed her sister."

"I think that would be incredibly fitting," Cygnus said.

Harry nodded. Cygnus was cautious about what he said and did, and Harry knew why. He was the CEO of a global company, a leading one in the wizarding shipping industry. If any rumour that he was involved in Matthias Jones's death came out, it could bring that all tumbling down.

As such, Harry didn't push when he could tell that the conversation was over.

Therefore, having conducted their 'private' business, the two men made their way over to the girls who were talking amongst themselves, Lareina watching them but not interjecting.

"Ah, Harry, I meant to ask - have you set a date for the wedding yet?" Cygnus asked calmly.

"Uh, we are discussing options," Harry said evasively.

Daphne waded in to save him, "We aren't sure if it will be during Beltane or Midsummer yet."

Lydia snorted and looked away from Rhea, who was chasing a cat around the room, "I suppose that will depend on whether your pregnant or not."

A stunned silence filled the room for a split second until Daphne broke it by flicking an icicle in Lydia's direction, "Lydia, why did you say that?!"

Lydia caught it and crushed it into black smoke, which she blew away.

She smirked at Daphne and held out her hand, "Would you like to explain to our parents?"

"Not really, no!" Daphne said irritably as she glared at her sister.

Harry brought his hand up to his face, shaking his head in disbelief.

"We may have partaken in a festival ritual a little early," He explained.

Daphne looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole, and Astoria giggled.

Harry glared at her, "What's funny about this, pipsqueak?"

"Oh, how uncomfortable it's making you two mostly," Astoria said with a grin.

Little shit, Harry thought to himself.

"An Imbolc ritual," Cygnus said dangerously, "Before you were married."

"I know it was wrong, Father, but please hear us out," Daphne said quickly, "If we had not done it, we would both be dead. Combining our magic on a night as magically charged as Imbolc meant that we could share elemental magic and without that, neither of us would have stood a chance in the first phase of the final battle."

"We were outnumbered, under attack with only five minutes to prepare," Harry agreed, "And undoubtedly, what we did saved our lives."

"And yes, it came with a risk, but we were well aware of that risk when we took it," Daphne continued.

"Which is why, if Daphne is pregnant, thank you for dropping us in that, Lydia," Harry said, glaring at his future sister-in-law, "We will get married on Beltane, and no one will be any the wiser. Neither of us plans on returning to Hogwarts anyway. We will take our N.E.W.T's at the ministry instead."

Cygnus and Lareina shared a look that seemed to convey more words than a conversation could.

"You have a plan, at least," Cygnus said after a moment, "And while I understand what you did, I want you to know that I do not approve of sexual relations before marriage, not least ritualistic ones."

"Oh, Dad, if you could have been a fly in the wall for my seventh year at Hogwarts, you would have died of shame," Lydia said, raising an eyebrow at her father.

Astoria nodded, "She's right, Father. People don't do the whole waiting for marriage thing anymore unless they are from a really strict family."

"This is a strict family," Cygnus snapped, "And you are far too young to be thinking about such things."

"Oh, Merlin," Astoria muttered, "I didn't mean that I was."

Daphne chuckled and said, "Astoria is the one who will have to marry a Muggle-born to carry on the Greengrass name, after all."

"Unless we have two sons," Harry said, looking over at her, "That was in our marriage contract – if we have a second son, he's the Greengrass heir."

Daphne nodded thoughtfully.

Lareina tapped Lydia on the shoulder and signed, " What will you do? Now that your husband is dead?"

Lydia sighed and shook her head, " I don't know. Should I claim the Nott estate and title? I don't feel entitled to it."

"Your father would have wanted you to have it," Lareina signed, " He never met you. It was imperative that I married Cygnus and kept up the charade for public appearances , but he knew that he had a daughter , and he would have wanted that daughter to carry on the family name if she could."

Lydia frowned and tapped the table, thoughtfully, " That means marrying again and having another child."

Lareina nodded and signed, " Which is why I said if you could. I would understand if you chose not to remarry."

Lydia smiled sadly and nodded, " Thank you."

The air was sober, but that was better than awkward, Harry supposed.

"Right, well, if all of the family secrets have aired, how about a game of charades?" He asked in an attempt to brighten the mood.

The others laughed or nodded in agreement, and Harry smiled – Daphne looked so happy, her family was reunited, relatively peacefully. However, he could already tell that the Greengrass sisters would be an unholy trinity when they got together for drinks.

Daphne looked like a weight had been lifted from her chest, and she looked as light as Harry felt.

"Want to help me kill someone?"

"Not particularly," Draco drawled.

Harry rolled his eyes and leant in the doorway of Draco's bedroom, "So what, you're going to spend the next 24 hours lying in bed eating ice cream and crying about your life? Cause I'm not indulging in your chick-flick moment."

Draco looked up at Harry in disbelief, "I swear, sometimes I do not understand your language."

Harry snorted, "Come on, get off your arse. I need a wingman to help me blow Matthias Jones to smithereens."

"For someone who is 'done' with murder," Draco said, using air apostrophes, "Your eyes really do light up when you talk about it."

"Merlin, you are a sarcastic prick," Harry muttered, "I like murdering shitty people, which is probably wrong since normal people don't like murdering anyone. But this guy made Daphne's mother deaf, and he killed her aunt, Theo's mother ."

"So this is some weird 'I'm sorry you died, and I started screwing your cousin Theo, but I'll make up for it' vengeance thing?" Draco quipped.

Harry gave him an irritated look, "Do you know what? Fine. If you're going to be like that, I'll find someone else to be my killing buddy."

"Be my guest," Draco drawled.

Harry rolled his eyes and left the room, muttering irritably about Draco under his breath as he did so.

"What's up with you?" Sadie asked when she came across him in the entrance hall.

Harry looked up and said, "Draco Malfoy."

Sadie made a face, "Tell me about it. He shuns me every time I try to speak to him right now."

"You and me both," Harry said with a shake of his head, "But hey, at least he's not breaking my nose anymore, I guess."

Sadie snorted and made to walk away. Then Harry had an idea.

"Hey, Sadie – fancy being my killing buddy?"

Sadie turned around and narrowed her eyes at him, "You are joking, right?"

"Totally joking," Harry said with a nervous laugh, "See you later."

Sadie gave him a sceptical look but carried on up the stairs.

Harry sighed and thought to himself, Lucius would have helped if he were here .

"Who exactly are you killing?"

Harry glanced over and saw Narcissa emerging from the drawing-room.

"No one," He lied.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow, "You are a terrible liar. Try again."

"Matthias Jones," Harry admitted, "It's a vengeance thing – he's the reason Lareina Greengrass is deaf, and he killed her sister."

Narcissa nodded, her eyes darkening, "It was a horrible thing; what happened to the Crouch sisters," she agreed.

Harry saw the dark look in her eyes, "How is Andromeda?"

Narcissa looked up, "She is adjusting, slowly admittedly. She lost her husband and daughter. I could not imagine how I would feel if I had lost Draco. I do not think I could have gone on…"

Harry nodded, "But she has you, so that makes her pretty lucky, in my opinion."

Narcissa smiled weakly, "You ought to take Draco with you when you face Matthias."

"I asked him, but he wasn't interested," Harry admitted.

"He is not interested in much, apart from vengeance," Narcissa said quietly.

"I'm sure once he gets it, he'll start to feel better," Harry said, taking the woman he thought of like a mother's hand and looking into her eyes, "Trust me, I did."

Narcissa nodded, albeit tearfully, then left the room en route for the makeshift hospital wing where she cared for Andromeda.

Harry leant against the recently repaired staircase, and as he looked up at it thoughtfully, he understood what Lucius had meant about it not being easy to fix mahogany. Where the bannister had been repaired, there were small cracks or imperfections in the wood – little signs of where it had been broken and repaired, and by Merlin, if that wasn't a metaphor for how he felt on the inside.

"I could help you kill him."

Harry spun around in surprise. He hadn't expected to hear that voice, and not here for sure.

"Daphne-"

Daphne stood her ground, "Since I now know that you made up the clause in our contract about not being able to take me into dangerous situations."

Harry grimaced, "Your father let that one slip, did he?"

"No, I snuck into his office last night and read the contract in its entirety," Daphne said, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

"How much shit am I in?" Harry asked sheepishly.

"Let me help you kill Matthias Jones, and we'll call it even," Daphne said.

Harry nodded and gave her a half-hearted smile, "Deal," he said, holding out his hand to his fiancé.

Daphne took it, so he led her into the depths of Malfoy Manor – to the dungeon where Snape and Matthias Jones were being held. There were the two doors, then the trapdoor, which, as Harry knew from experience, led to a tiny, pitch-black pit. It was where he had fed Artemis after she hatched – Artemis, I need to go back to Hogwarts and feed her – and it was where Harry knew Snape was currently being held.

Matthias Jones, however, was in one of the cells. Harry, being on the manor's wards, was able to unlock the door by touching it.

When it swung back, they could see Matthias Jones in all his misery. He was shackled to the back wall, and he looked like he was on death's door anyway. Both of his ears had been sliced off, and the wounds cauterised.

"Did you do this all by yourself?" Daphne mused, seemingly not disgusted by the evidence of Harry's anger.

"I cut them off, and Lily made sure he wouldn't bleed to death before I decided to kill him," Harry answered.

Daphne nodded and cocked her head at Matthias, "I hope he is terrified. I hope he's watching us, with no idea what we are saying and he's terrified. Just like my mother was after what he did to her."

Harry narrowed his eyes and looked into Matthias's, "He is."

This caught Daphne by surprise, "You're in his head?"

Harry nodded.

"Without using the incantation?" Daphne breathed, her eyes wide.

Harry turned to her and smirked, "What you think you know that Tom has taught me? That's just the tip of the iceberg."

"Clearly," Daphne said smoothly, and although she tried to hide it, Harry knew that she was impressed.

He looked away from his fiancé to cast the imperius curse on Matthias. Then he ordered him to do exactly as they said. They unshackled him, bound him, and took him out of the manor.

Grabbing an arm each, Daphne and Harry side-apparated Matthias to the edge of the wards where Castle Jones stood.

"Take this," Harry said, handing Matthias a small glowing blue orb.

Matthias did.

"When you walk through the front door, drop it," Harry said, his eyes flashing, "And then, burn in hell."

Matthias walked towards the castle like a zombie. He went straight through the wards, up the little hill, and lowered the drawbridge simply by raising his hand. He walked across it, and as it was drawing up behind him, he dropped the bomb.

The place went up instantly, and Harry and Daphne stood and watched it burn.

Daphne kept her composure, but Harry could feel her unease.

"You see why I told you revenge isn't always worth it?"

Daphne shook her head and turned to look at Harry – the fire in the background reflecting in her eyes, "It wasn't revenge."

Harry frowned and opened his mouth to question her when she elaborated, "Revenge is an act of passion. Vengeance is an act of justice. Injuries are revenged, and crimes are avenged."

Feeling more like Tom than ever, Harry put his arm around her and nodded.

"Indeed."

~ TBC ~