The Devil in Me

I Savour Hate As Much As I Crave Love

The chapter title is from the song:

God & Satan by Biffy Clyro.

The day of the full moon passed relatively peacefully, but Harry hadn't spoken to many people. Not because he was brooding for once, but instead because he was thinking, primarily about Hermione and whether she really would be able to handle the initiation tonight. He still wasn't sure if the new Hermione was genuine or just a persona.

"So much brooding," A familiar voice said, causing Harry to look up from the book he was pretending to read.

Tom smirked down at him, "Your self-loathing is suffocating you, my friend."

Harry sighed, "I'm not brooding, and how is it that you know all of my hiding places?"

Tom looked around the hidden nook that Harry had curled up in. He was silent for a moment, but when he did look at Harry, he saw the same torment in the Dark Lords eyes that he had felt himself on several occasions.

"Because I was young once and I, like you, liked to find hidden places to steal away to in this castle," Tom replied, his voice softer than usual.

It elevated Harry's irritation somewhat, "Yeah, that does sum it up…"

Tom remained in the entranceway of the nook, the tapestry behind him swaying slightly in the draft.

"I wanted to commend you on your decision to press for the initiation of the Crouch girl," Tom said smoothly, "It appears that she may be more capable than even you believed."

Harry frowned at that and closed his book, "What do you mean?"

"She contacted me. I presume you told her how to do so?"

Harry shook his head, "No, but she knows that Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort are one and the same, so I can understand how she was able to contact you. What did she want?"

"To put in a request regarding her sacrifice this evening," Tom replied, looking at Harry with interest.

That caught Harry's attention, "She requested someone specific? Let me guess, a muggle boy who bullied her for her bushy hair and big teeth in school?"

Tom smirked and cocked his head at Harry, "Better."

Harry frowned, "Who?"

"Rita Skeeter."

The laugh Harry barked out then was uncontrollable, "Of course, yeah, that makes sense. You granted her request, I presume?"

"Of course," Tom replied, "I have no use for her. She is a half-blood, born into the Perks family. They are aligned with the Order of the Phoenix, so why not have the half-blood disgrace of the family disposed of? We will be doing them a favour, yet they still rise against us."

Harry nodded, "Still…do you think she'll follow through on it?"

"I do not tend to think about such things. If someone informs me that they are going to do something, I expect them to do it," Tom said matter of factly, "However, Lilith believes that you underestimate the Crouch girl."

"Yeah," Harry mused, his mind on the evening that was to come, "Maybe I do."

Harry was intercepted on his way to dinner that evening.

"Oh, Harry, there you are. I was looking for you."

He looked up at Daphne in surprise, "Were you?"

Daphne looked ready to go out, she had her winter boots and cloak on, "Yes, I need to go and talk to my Uncle Julian, and you're coming with me."

She handed him a cloak, and he frowned, "Uh…why?"

"Because he needs to find out before the initiation that his daughter is alive, and as the person who worked it out, you kind of need to be there," Daphne said matter of factly.

"But I was just on my way to the great hall for-"

Daphne rolled her eyes and cut him off, "We can eat at Uncle Julian's, it wouldn't be the worst idea to get some food in him and sober him up before tonight anyway."

Harry opened his mouth to object, but before he could, Daphne grabbed his hand and gave it a yank, "Come on, we don't have that much time."

He could have put Daphne in her place if he wanted to, but the trouble was that he didn't want to. In much the same way that it would pain Tom to have to punish Lily at a Death Eater meeting, Harry didn't want to hurt Daphne in any way. That included her feelings, which meant that he didn't want to say no to her.

So he bit back a smile and let her drag him into the grounds.

"Where does your Uncle Julian live anyway?" Harry asked as he let go of her hand to throw on his cloak. The minute it was gone, he missed her touch.

"Crouch House, in Somerset," Daphne replied airily, "You're practically neighbours, actually."

Harry felt like he should have known that, but beyond what Pyrites had taught him in the summer, he didn't know much about his family history. To avoid saying anything stupid, he, therefore, opted not to say anything at all.

They left the grounds of Hogwarts together and apparated to Crouch House, which was apparently near his family home, the one that he had never been to and was pretty sure was a ruin.

Crouch House was relatively small as far as pureblood manor houses went, but it was still majestic to behold. It had some original medieval features, but for the most part, it was a grand Tudor country home with terraced gardens.

"He doesn't look after it, his army of house elves do," Daphne remarked, "If it weren't for them, I doubt my uncle would still be alive. He lost his will to live after the first war, you know why now."

Harry nodded. He walked up the path with Daphne, who didn't bother knocking. Instead, she placed her hand against the heavy oak door, and it swung open because the blood wards had recognised her.

Inside, the house was like a miniature Hogwarts in style. He tried not to be too nosy as Daphne led him down a long corridor towards a door that was elf-sized. She ducked down and headed through it, so Harry followed her into an impressive kitchen with a flagstone floor.

"Tokey," Daphne said, snapping her fingers.

One of the elves (Harry guessed there were about ten of them) turned around and bowed, "Miss Greengrass."

Daphne waved off the title, "How many times do I have to say it? Daphne is just fine. Do you mind preparing dinner for three tonight? And has my mother dropped off a supply of sober up potions for my uncle recently?"

"Yes, miss," Tokey said, bowing lowly once more, "We prepares the nice hall for dinner for you and your gentleman guest. And your mother was dropping off potions for Master yesterday."

"Thank you, Tokey," Daphne said kindly. She turned to Harry and asked, "Are you coming?"

Harry followed her blindly. They left the kitchen and crossed the entrance hall. Daphne stepped into a library then pulled back a tapestry with a narrow staircase behind it. She jogged up the stairs into a small study with a locked potions cabinet at the back of the room.

"Give me a second, the security on this thing is ridiculous," Daphne said with a shake of her head.

Harry wondered why a potions cabinet needed such high security; it wasn't like any children were living here who could accidentally swallow a potion and poison themselves.

Daphne pointed her wand at the cabinet and said, "Alohomora!"

The cabinet opened, and inside was a leather and metal box. Daphne aimed at it and cast, "Cistem Aperio!"

The box blasted open, and then a voice prompted Daphne for a password.

In Latin, Daphne said, "Ante bellum."

Once Daphne had spoken these words, several shelves folded out of the box, and Daphne perused them until she found what she was looking for. She pocketed three vials, then put all the enchantments back up and turned to Harry, who must have seemed as bemused as he felt.

Daphne shrugged, "He's an alcoholic and manic depressive. We don't let him into his own potions cabinet for that very reason."

Harry gave her a sympathetic nod, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

Daphne stepped past him, and they made their way back down to the library. With a glance over her shoulder, she said, "You should probably stay here while I go and convince him to wash up and humanise himself before dinner. With any luck, he might be feeling sociable by then."

Harry just nodded, then he looked around the library. There were a few portraits on the wall of people who looked like Barty Crouch, but Harry guessed that it made sense since this was Crouch House. He pulled an interesting old book from the shelf and sat down in a comfortable armchair just as commotion sounded above.

"Oh, piss off, girl! I've told your mother-"

"I don't care what you've told my mother," Daphne's dulcet tones floated down the stairs, "I've got Harry Potter in your library, and you are entertaining him over dinner tonight, so get these potions down you, shave and for Merlin's sake, wash up because you smell disgusting."

Harry snorted in amusement as the sound of incoherent muttering and cursing from Julian came next. After that, it fell silent, so he lost himself in his book until Daphne reappeared. She had changed her school uniform into a full-length black dress with a dark green lace hem and sleeves.

"You look nice," Harry commented.

Daphne chuckled, "This? This is just one of my mother's old dresses. I've got much nicer dresses in Greengrass House, but I won't mention that in front of my uncle. My mother married up when she met my father, and I think my uncle still has a chip on his shoulder about it."

Harry laughed and cast a transfiguration spell on himself to turn his school robes into plain black velvet ones. He pulled his tie off and cast a polishing charm on his black school shoes, "How do I scrub up?"

"You'll do fine," Daphne promised.

Harry gave her a teasing look, and she cocked her head, exasperation written all over her face, "Not like that."

Harry smiled and pushed himself to his feet, "So your mother grew up here?"

With a nod, Daphne replied, "Yes. My grandparents, my mother, my Aunt Almina and my Uncle Julian all grew up here. Technically speaking, it should have gone to my Great Uncle Barty, but he left home when he was 17 and said he wanted to get by on his own. he would never accept a penny of the family money, so the house fell into the hands of his younger brother - my grandfather."

"Sounds like Barty Crouch," Harry said dryly, "And look at how that went for him."

"Yep," Daphne agreed, "It's a shame, such a lovely house being so empty now. It would be a hovel if not for those elves and my mother. She comes around here every few days and makes sure my uncle is eating and taking his potions, his body is falling apart because of all the poison he has put in over the years."

"All because he thought he had lost something that has been out there all of this time," Harry said sadly.

Daphne glanced out into the hall and bit her lip, "Now you see why I wanted back-up? I have no idea how he is going to take this."

"Yeah, you were right to bring me," Harry agreed.

Daphne opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could get the words out, they heard footsteps on the staircase, so they fell silent.

Julian Crouch then stepped into view, he had cleaned himself up a little, but he still looked like a broken man. He had the same white-blond hair as Daphne, which he had combed out of the way as it was shoulder-length. His blue eyes were dark and empty, and the bags beneath them suggested that he hadn't slept in days.

"I hear we are entertaining," He said dryly.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Can we at least sit and eat something before you two decide to butt heads?"

Julian gave his niece an irritated look and said, "You know where the dining room is."

With a tut, Daphne took Harry's hand and said, "So rude. If Mother knew-"

"Tell your mother anything, and I'll suspend your allowance for a month," Julian cut in, a smirk on his lips.

Daphne made a face, "If it weren't for the fact I use that to pay the elves who care for the horses, I'd sell you out."

"You have horses?" Harry asked with interest as she led him across the hall towards the dining room.

Daphne nodded, "Father thinks it's pointless, he prefers Hippogriff, so he told me that if I wanted horses, I had to put them up myself, so I did."

"After begging me for an allowance when you were what age, 13?"

"12," Daphne said, smirking at her uncle, "And you were not exactly difficult to convince, Uncle. You like horses as much as I do."

Julian grunted, "Horses are loyal, unlike people."

"I can see why you would prefer them to people," Harry confessed.

"They don't have false intentions, and they don't lie," Daphne agreed as they stepped into a small but grand dining room.

"Sounds refreshing," Harry said, giving her a small smile and pulling out her chair for her.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "How did you know where I would sit?"

"I did spend a summer at Malfoy Manor. I learned a thing or two about tradition and etiquette," Harry replied as he pulled out his chair and stood at his place. But neither of them sat down until Julian had taken his seat at the head of the table.

"Tradition," Julian muttered, "A fat lot of good that does. Look at this family, we've followed tradition, and where has it left us? With two names that will die out within the generation."

Daphne clicked her fingers, and the first course appeared on the table, "Actually, thanks to the Dark Lords marriage law, the Greengrass name will not die out so long as Astoria or I marry a muggle-born."

"You'll leave that up to your sister then, I suppose," Julian said, looking his niece in the eye, "Her being the quiet little Ravenclaw that she is and you being the social climber."

"You might say that, Uncle, I couldn't possibly comment."

Julian snorted and tore a piece of bread in half to dunk it in his soup, "I always knew you would be the one that married well, and Astoria would be left with the dregs. You are your father's little princess; he would never marry you off to a muggle-born."

"More to the point, I wouldn't let him," Daphne corrected, picking up her spoon and shooting Harry an exasperated look.

Julian snorted, "Pity that marriage law didn't exist last year when your sister got disowned for marrying one, eh?"

Daphne gave her uncle an irritated look, "I know you disagree with what happened to Lydia, but that wasn't the reason she got disowned-"

"Hm right," Julian agreed darkly, "She had a squib child, according to the kooky witch doctor your father took the baby to see in France, you know, after he kidnapped her."

"He didn't kidnap her, Uncle Julian, don't be melodramatic," Daphne remarked under her breath.

Julian laughed, "He took her from her parents without consent for an entire day."

Harry grimaced, "I hate to admit it, but that does sound kind of kidnappy-ey to me, Daphne."

Daphne shot him a glare, and if looks could kill, he would be six feet under.

"I am trying to be polite because we are in polite company, but if you keep digging that hole deeper, I will stab you."

Harry smirked, "With a steak knife?"

"It has serrated edges; it would hurt," Daphne assured him.

Julian barked out a laugh. "You two, sweet Merlin. I feel like I'm back at Hogwarts. This is what your folks were like all the time."

Julian had directed the comment at Harry, and despite the fact he felt completely out of touch with his parent's ideals lately, it still made him smile.

"The point I was making was that my father had a valid reason for doing what he did," Daphne said calmly, "And he was proven right because the reputable specialist he went to confirmed that Rhea was a squib."

"Uh-huh," Julian said, leaning back in his chair, "Cause that's how the Greengrass family treats squibs, isn't it? Finds out as early as possible so they can shun and disown them faster. It makes it easier to cover up so that when the likes of Harry Potter is eying up a Greengrass girl for marriage, he doesn't get put off by all the squibs that family seem to produce."

This time, Daphne turned her glare on her uncle, "Really, Uncle Julian?"

"The boy ought to have all the facts," Julian pointed out.

Harry looked between them, "Who said I was eying anyone up for marriage?"

"Trust me, kid, the way you look at her, it isn't half obvious," Julian said with a roll of his eyes.

"And he's exaggerating," Daphne said with a shake of her head, "Two squibs, Harry, that's how many there have been in the last five generations."

Harry shrugged, "I don't really care anyway. Even if I was eying you for marriage, and I'm not saying that I am, I wouldn't look into how many squibs were born into your family, just like I wouldn't spend hours debating a dowry with your father."

Julian nearly choked on his soup, "Are you serious?" he turned to Daphne, "He's not serious?"

"No, he's not serious," Daphne said, shooting Harry an amused look.

Harry raised an eyebrow, and Daphne's eyes widened.

"Actually, I'm 100% serious," Harry said, smirking at them, "I've thought about marriage a little bit, mainly because Narcissa keeps pressing me to think about my future. But the other person I considered for a while was Reyna Rookwood, so I think that will tell you how I feel about status, lands and money."

Julian surveyed him for a moment, then narrowed his eyes, "I don't know if I like you."

Harry snorted, "You and everybody else in this country, get in line."

Daphne bit back a laugh at that but said nothing.

"Anyway," Harry continued, "We were talking about family lines dying out, and I think you would like to know that with any luck, the Crouch line won't end with you either."

Julian looked up and laughed, "Oh, so you want to marry me off to a muggle-born too, do you? Not happening, kid. I'm quite happy wallowing in my misery."

Harry leant forward and asked, "Would that still be the case if you had something to live for?"

"Get to the point, kid. I can't be bothered with any bullshit," Julian drawled.

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wallet full of photographs. He had kept it in his robe pocket all year, despite the fact he and Hermione had been on opposing sides up until recently. It contained three photographs, one of himself and Hermione at the Quidditch World Cup, another of them at the Yule Ball and the most recent one had been taken before Slughorn's Christmas party the previous year.

He held the wallet out to Julian and said, "Given your impassioned rant about the Greengrass family's treatment of squibs, I'm going to hazard a guess that you're still in love with Betsy Wood."

Julian's eyes flashed dangerously, so Harry continued promptly, "This is my best friend, Hermione Granger. She recently found out that she was adopted. Does she look familiar to you?"

Julian stared at the photograph for a long moment, and Harry realised that he was holding his breath. Julian pulled a pocket watch out with a shake of his head and flipped it open to look at a photograph inside – it was of a woman with olive skin, bushy brown hair and dark brown eyes, she looked just like Hermione.

"No…Katherine died."

"No, the Ministry just wanted everyone to think that," Harry said quietly, "The entire family had been wiped out. They thought the safest place for her was the Muggle world. Muggles adopted her, and she grew up thinking that she was a muggle-born."

Julian didn't say anything.

"I only found out recently from Augustus Rookwood, who was arrested that night," Harry admitted.

Julian's eyes flashed, "Arrested for killing Betsy!" he snapped.

"No," Harry said firmly, "She killed herself, Julian. She was terrified of what the Death Eaters would do to her if they captured her because she was a squib."

Julian shook his head and pressed his fingers against his temple, "I know! Because I was the one who warned her about that, but I never wanted her to…I never imagined she would do…what she did."

Daphne gave Harry a warning look, so he fell silent.

Julian looked down at the photographs, his eyes flicking between Hermione's ones and the one of Betsy Wood.

"Hermione, you said she's called now?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, and she knows that you are her father, but she doesn't know that her birth name was Katherine."

Julian swallowed, his appetite completely forgotten about, "And does she want to…meet me? Or is she not on our side?"

"She's on our side, and I think she would love to meet you," Harry confessed, "That's sort of why we needed to talk to you today. She's going to be at the initiation tonight."

"She's getting marked?" Julian asked, looking up in surprise.

With a nod, Harry replied, "And not because I asked her to either, but because she wants to. She wants to prove herself, and I think she wants revenge. The light lied to her and used her, just like they did to me."

Julian sighed but said nothing.

"So please make a bit more of an effort to clean up before you meet her," Daphne prodded.

"Yeah," Julian said, but he sounded distracted, "Listen, kid, could I keep one of these?"

"Sure, yeah, take whichever one you want," Harry replied with ease.

Julian slipped the photograph of Hermione made up for the Yule Ball out and handed the wallet back to Harry. He didn't thank him with words; he just gave him a stiff nod and looked down at his soup.

"Are you yawning?"

"I've had a long day," Harry said, opening one eye to look at Draco, "Actually fuck that, I've had a long week."

"Don't curse while lying on the stone circle," Draco scolded him, "You shouldn't even be lying on the stone circle; it's the winter solstice next week."

Harry pushed himself up, "I know," he said as he looked out into the garden where everyone was gathering.

"You seem kind of distracted at the moment," Draco noted, "Is it about Granger?"

"Crouch," Harry corrected.

Draco made a face, "Just doesn't sound right, and I can't call her Hermione."

Harry snorted in amusement as they strolled towards the main gathering together, "Things are changing, with Neville and Hermione joining us, you know? The tide is changing, and my old life and my new life…they're getting mixed up and bundled together in ways I never thought they would. It's just a bit hard to wrap my head around, I guess."

Draco didn't say anything at first; he just looked across the garden as Tom sat down upon his throne. Lily smiled up at him, and Tom bowed his head. His facial expression gave nothing away, but Harry felt a wave of fondness overwhelm him, and it wasn't his own.

"Yeah," Draco eventually said, "You know…I've been thinking about that too. With your old friends changing sides, I…" he frowned, "I hope you won't forget your new friends."

Harry smiled slightly and nudged him in the ribs, "You're not my friend. You're like my brother. You think I'm ever going to forget that then you've got another thing coming."

Draco smiled.

"But enough with the hallmark moments, okay?"

"The what?"

"It's a muggle thing," Harry said with a wave of his hand.

Draco couldn't question him further, not that he had intended to anyway, because the recruits had just been led out into the garden.

Harry watched them with interest - Neville and Tracey kept their heads down, but Hermione did not. She walked through the crowd of sceptical Death Eaters with her head held high, and man, Harry was proud.

He looked across the garden at Julian, who was staring at Hermione as if she wasn't real. Of course, she had no idea who he was, and she wouldn't do until after her initiation.

When the trio reached the Dark Lord, they all bowed respectfully to him. Tom rose to his feet and spoke quietly, but his voice carried across the garden.

"This full moon is as ever, an important one," Tom said, addressing all of the Death Eaters, "The Winter Solstice is upon us, and with it, we shall give thanks for the magical gifts bestowed on us. However, this December, we also celebrate excellent gains, such as the loyalty of the Greengrass family."

Tom looked at Cygnus, who bowed his head respectively in response.

"And the marking of the head of the Longbottom family," Tom continued, looking at Neville, who, of course, hadn't understood what he had just said.

"The youngest Davis sibling also joins us," Tom added, "And a child, thought to be lost, has found her way back to us in the most remarkable fashion."

He looked around at the Death Eaters, "I recall that some of you objected to the Marriage Law that will come into legal effect next month. Some of you wished for Muggle-borns to be tortured and imprisoned."

Yaxley looked down shamefully.

"The likes of Dolores Umbridge were amongst those who ignored my warnings to collect data from said Muggle-borns," Tom said, "And she was sorely punished for her disobedience."

Harry and Hermione locked eyes at those words, and although she was relatively far away, Harry could have sworn he saw her smirk.

"If it were not for my order to collect such data, then Miss Hermione Granger would never have found out who were birth parents were, and she would have spent the rest of her life believing herself to be a Muggle-born when she is, in fact, the Crouch heir."

There was a general intake of breath across the garden.

Tom smirked and nodded to Hermione. She pushed her hood back and walked towards the Dark Lord.

"And now that we have shown her the truth, she has returned to her true home."

Harry watched Hermione with interest, but she did not look disgusted or annoyed by the Dark Lords words. Instead, she bowed her head respectfully.

Tom nodded at Lucius, who brought forward a captive and forced her onto her knees in front of Hermione.

"Miss Crouch, would you please explain why you chose this woman to sacrifice?" Tom asked, taking a step back.

Hermione looked at Rita Skeeter with absolute hatred in her eyes; there was no way to fake that, Harry knew from experience.

"Because she is a vile woman," Hermione said, "She lies, and she spreads those lies. She ruins people's lives to satisfy her ambition."

Rita was not crying, but she did look scared. She looked up at Hermione, "I'll stop writing. You can tell me who to go after, and I will. I'll deface your enemies. You can make me suffer, but please don't kill me."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Listening to you has been enough suffering for all of us," she said, eliciting laughs from some of the other Death Eaters.

"I'm sure you would have loved to get this exclusive," Hermione said savagely, "You would have spun it, you would have made it into something it wasn't, but all the same, you would have loved to have been the one to spill the beans. It's a pity you'll be too dead to do so."

Hermione raised her wand, and Harry wondered how she would do it. He knew the killing curse wasn't her style, and although she had beheaded Umbridge, Harry doubted that would be her preferred way of dealing with Rita.

"Here's a news story for you," Hermione said, her voice a little quieter now, "Mediocre Journalist Rita Skeeter crushed to death."

Harry frowned and stupidly looked at the sky, thinking Hermione would conjure a meteorite or something equally dramatic. Instead, she pointed her wand at Rita and cried, "Fortiter facti sunt quod animalis intra!"

Rita disappeared, and Harry realised what was happening faster than most people did.

By his side, Draco grimaced, "She just turned Skeeter into a bug then crushed her to death, didn't she?"

Harry cocked his head at the little platform as Hermione twisted her boot then lifted it.

The beetle that had formerly been Rita Skeeter had been flattened and was most definitely dead. Hermione levitated it onto the bonfire with a flick of her wand then cast another spell that forced it to become human again.

This elicited a whole host of groans and disgusted noises, but Hermione didn't care. She turned to Tom, who looked incredibly satisfied by her show of loyalty. She made an Unbreakable Vow, then got to her knees and offered her arm to the Dark Lord.

Harry wasn't sure how she would take it, he knew she didn't have a pain threshold as high as his, but then again, very few people did.

When the mark began to burn itself into her flesh, Hermione gritted her teeth and her eyes watered. She did not sob or cry or scream, but it was apparent that she was in pain. However, the Dark Lord was impressed with her resolve; Harry could feel it resonating off of him.

Once she had been marked, Hermione whispered a glamour charm that vanished away the evidence of her tears and pain. Then she got to her feet and turned to face the other Death Eaters.

Harry was about to edge forwards. He wanted her to know that she had someone to fall back on, someone to keep her safe if she felt worried in the crowd of Death Eaters. However, at that point, Bill and Charlie nodded to her and stood one on each side, as Fred and George usually did.

He felt a wrench in his gut; she doesn't need you anymore, he thought to himself. At his side, Draco gripped his wrist and pulled him back a little. Harry looked up and gave his friend a grateful nod, and Draco nodded back, dropping his wrist.

Tracey was up next. She didn't have any grudges and was therefore tasked with killing a muggle. Like Hermione, Tracey was guarded and quite hard to read, so she did not let it show if she did feel any remorse. Interestingly enough, she was capable of using the killing curse but looking at her twin brothers with their dark hair, dark eyes and sombre expressions, Harry wasn't surprised by that.

As she was from a loyal family, Tracey made a standard vow and then she was marked.

Harry found it quite challenging to watch Tracey being marked because it made him flashback to Theo's marking, and that was hard because it made him think about the boy he wanted to forget.

Tracey screamed in pain, unable to control it or the tears that fell down her face. When the Dark Lord finished, it took Tracey a moment to get to her feet. She looked pale, like she might physically throw up from the pain. Her brothers were just as protective as Hermione's adoptive ones; they took an arm each and ushered her over to them. One of them (Harry didn't know which one was which) pulled her into his arms.

This left Neville, and Harry was intrigued to see how the marking would go down with Neville being deaf. Neville stepped forward and spoke in sign language with Tom. Even from a distance, Harry could work out most of what was being said. Neville was explaining who his sacrifice was and why he had chosen him.

Once he had finished, Tom explained, "Neville Longbottom is deaf, he was made so by a banshee, but as you will see, it has not altered his magical power. If anything, it has strengthened it. This is ironic considering that this man-"

Lucius kicked a relatively short, overweight, balding man to the ground in front of Neville.

"- spent the first 11 years of Neville's life trying to force the magic out of him for fear that he was a squib," Tom said, pacing back and forth, "He dangled him out of a window and dropped him, he even pushed him off a pier. As such, Neville, quite rightly, would like his revenge."

Tom motioned for Neville to come forward, so he did. He looked the man, who Harry guessed was his Great Uncle Algie, right in the eye and raised his wand.

Neville closed his eyes, Harry supposed he was focusing on his magical core, and when he opened his eyes once more, Harry could see that he was right. His eyes glowed, not a specific colour like Ginny's did when she went 'banshee' or when a powerful witch or wizards did when they used elemental magic. No, Neville's eyes seemed to be their usual colour but with a glow, a power, behind them that Harry had never seen the likes of.

Without any words, Neville slashed his wand through the air, and a red light enveloped Algie. An unearthly scream filled the air as the red light turned into a fire that engulfed Algie where he stood.

Still not using any incantations, Neville flawlessly levitated his Uncles burning body onto the bonfire, and with nods from their masters, Sarris and Lennox lit all three bonfires.

Tom smirked and held out his hand to Neville. While they made the Unbreakable Vow, Neville spoke, but his pronunciation and volume were a little changeable. All the same, they still managed to make the vow.

And once that was done, all that remained was for Neville to be marked. He knelt before the Dark Lord and offered his arm, and Harry smiled proudly when Neville took the mark like it was a minor scratch. He did not make a sound, and although there were signs of discomfort on his face, he barely let it show. Harry had always known that Neville was stronger than he looked, but now everyone else did too, which made Harry immensely proud.

Some of the Death Eaters cheered and clapped, but noticeably so, the Lestrange brothers were not amongst them. Bellatrix was not present, of course, and by now, most people had guessed the reason behind her prolonged absence, but nobody dared to bring it up in conversation with the Dark Lord.

Neville looked around for a familiar face and spotted Harry. In response, Harry signed, "Come here."

Neville did, and he stood silently with Harry and Draco while Cygnus Greengrass confirmed his family's loyalty. He bowed, and his wife, Lareina, curtseyed to the Dark Lord and made a vow of loyalty, much like lords made to their king back in the medieval period. Strictly speaking, Daphne and Astoria did not have to join their parents in this, and while Astoria hovered nervously on the side-lines with Narcissa, Daphne boldly joined her parents.

"Good luck keeping her away from the Death Eaters," Draco muttered.

"I won't let her join," Harry murmured back, "Too many people I care about are Death Eaters," he looked from Draco and Neville to Hermione, then to Blaise and then to Tracey. Finally, his eyes settled on Reyna.

"I don't want to lose anyone else," Harry said, his voice low, "And I don't think I can handle losing her," his eyes moved away from Reyna to fall on Daphne.

The blonde girl got to her feet and looked straight back at him, and there it was again, the feeling that lightning had struck him when she looked in his eyes like that.

When the initiation finished, the Death Eaters broke apart to socialise as per usual. Charlie touched Hermione's wrist and murmured, "Sarris can lick it if you like? Her saliva has healing properties."

"I know it does, but I'll be fine," Hermione promised Charlie, "Besides, I feel like I need to feel the pain because not feeling it? That seems like the cowards way out."

"A true Gryffindor," An unfamiliar voice said.

Hermione turned around and looked at Julian Crouch. She had no idea what to say to him, and it seemed like he had no idea what to say to her either. He just looked at her face as if he was never going to get the chance to look upon her again.

"You look just like your mother," Was all that Julian could say to verbalise all that was happening inside his head.

Hermione swallowed, "Do you…have a photograph of her?"

Julian pulled his pocket watch out and flipped it open. Then he held it out to Hermione. She took it with shaking hands and stared down at the photograph in awe – the woman she was looking at looked so much like her; it was scary. They had the same bushy hair, dark brown eyes and button nose.

"She would have been in Gryffindor had she gone to Hogwarts," Julian said.

Hermione looked up at him, "You fell in love with a squib, and the Dark Lord let you live?"

Julian shrugged, "He let me live, but he punished me."

"He tortured you?" Hermione asked, casting her eyes back to Tom, who was currently whispering to Lily about something.

"In a sense, I suppose," Julian replied. He sighed and said, "He knows more Dark Magic than Grindelwald could ever have dreamed of. Cursing me so that I could no longer have children to ensure I sired no more with a squib was his way of punishing me."

Hermione made an indignant noise, "Then I guess I'll be the last Crouch."

Julian frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I was cursed a couple of years ago," Hermione explained, "It was a dark curse, home-made," she eyed the perpetrator across the garden, "So there was no cure, and the curse damage ensured I would never have children of my own."

With an irritated nod, Julian glanced behind him, "One of Dolohov's, was it?"

Hermione just nodded in response.

"Maybe you could talk to Rookwood about it," Bill said from behind Hermione, "Reversing curse damage is something that the Department of Mysteries is always working on."

Charlie nodded, "You have the resources available to you now, Hermione. Why not see if someone can fix it?"

Hermione shrugged; she didn't want to get her hopes up. She looked up at Julian; he was still studying her as if she would disappear at any second.

"I hope you know that, had I known you were alive, I would have taken you in and raised you in Crouch House with me," Julian said.

"I know," Hermione said, smiling at him, "And I'm sorry that we have lost so much time, all because the Ministry did not bother conducting a simple blood test on me to trace my magical family."

"The first life lesson, never trust the Ministry," Julian said.

"Or Dumbledore apparently," Hermione said with a frown, "Surely he would have known who I was when I was enrolled at Hogwarts?"

"He would have done. You are quite right," Julian agreed.

"And do you know who else would have known?" Hermione asked, looking up at her father, "Emmeline Ollivander. She was my mother's sister-in-law, there's no way she didn't know there was a baby in that house, but she said nothing."

"She fled, like a coward," Julian agreed, "But she married into the Wood family. She was a Ravenclaw, but you have the Gryffindor spirit of the Wood family firmly implanted in you."

With a small smile, Hermione asked, "What house were you in?"

"Ravenclaw," Julian replied, "The Crouch family are viewed as a dark one thanks to my insane cousin Barty. He was the Dark Lords favourite once like she is now."

He looked over at Tom and Lily, and Hermione mentally noted down that piece of information.

"But most of us were in Ravenclaw," Julian continued, "My younger sister Almina was in Ravenclaw like myself, and my older sister Lareina was in Slytherin."

"Lareina? That's Daphne's mother, isn't it?" Hermione asked, looking across the garden at the Greengrass family.

"Yes, Daphne and her sisters Lydia and Astoria are your cousins," Julian explained, "And Theodore was too before he met his tragic end too young, just as his mother did."

"I'm so sorry," Hermione said, making Julian look up sharply, "You lost the girl you loved, your daughter and your sister to the war, and I'm sorry for that."

With a sad smile, Julian said, "Thank you, but I am just glad to have gotten something back."

Hermione looked at him warily for a moment, then she stepped forward and hugged him, and it seemed like the breath had been knocked from his lungs. He stood, frozen, for a moment before he wrapped his arms around her and sucked in a shaky, steadying breath.

"Alright, Granger?"

Hermione turned to look at the person who had called her. It was a Slytherin who had been a few years above them; he was a Montague named Graham.

"It is Crouch now, and it will be legally so very shortly," Hermione responded.

Montague laughed, "You'll always be Granger to me, and it doesn't matter who you have managed to fool. You'll always be a filthy little mudblood too."

Hermione's eyes flashed, and she pulled her wand out.

With another laugh, Montague said, "What are you going to do? Jinx me like a little schoolgirl? Your pups aren't here to protect you now, are they? Too busy howling at the moon, I expect."

"Ebublio!"

"Aqua Eructo!"

Hermione rolled her eyes as the twin spells encased Montague in a bubble that floated high in the sky then exploded, dropping him into a tree with a loud, girly shriek. She turned around and looked between Charlie and Bill, "Did the twins put you up to this?"

"Did the twins ask us to protect the girl that they love because they were terrified of her spending the night surrounded by Death Eaters?" Bill asked sarcastically, "Gee, I don't know. Char, did the twins do that?"

Charlie nudged Bill in the ribs, "Yes, William, I believe they did."

Hermione pocketed her wand and remarked, "I can look after myself, you know?"

"We know that," Charlie promised, "We were just following orders."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Aren't the older siblings supposed to give the orders, not follow them?"

"In most cases, yes, but in this case, we agreed with the twins," Bill admitted, "We knew you were going to get a lot of hate, and we wanted to have your back."

Hermione's eyes softened, "Because that's what this family does. We look out for each other."

Charlie smiled and gripped her shoulder, "Exactly."

"What are you smiling at?"

"Oh, Hermione and Julian getting a happy ending," Harry said with a wave of his hand, "It's pathetic, I know."

Daphne chuckled, "No, it's not. Believing in fairy tales? Now that would be pathetic."

Harry contained a snort as he thought of the Deathly Hallows and how they were real, despite being a 'fairytale'. He caught Tom's eye across the garden and felt the Dark Lords amusement wash over him too.

"He invited her over to Crouch House," Daphne added, "Not that he knows about her three-way with the werewolf twins yet, mind you but still."

"I don't think he'll care much," Harry confessed, "I think he's just happy to have her back."

"Yes, I think you're probably right," Daphne said. She looked at them across the garden and added, "That's the beauty of love, though, isn't it? It's unconditional."

"That kind of love is, yes," Harry said, his eyes darkening, "And I suppose true love is too."

"True love?" Daphne questioned.

Harry sighed and looked over at her, "I know it sounds cheesy, but there is such a thing. True love is making the ultimate sacrifice for the person you love like my dad did for my mum."

Daphne smiled, "Sweet sentiment if it exists. Most people just fall into ordinary love, nothing true about it."

Harry sighed, "And it's a waste of time. I've been in love; it's painful, pointless and overrated."

Daphne looked up at him with interest, "So you have finally admitted to yourself that you loved Theo?"

Harry just nodded.

"What took you so long?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Years of suppressed emotions and internalised homophobia, I guess," Another familiar voice said.

Despite the insult, Harry smiled and turned to the woman by his side, "Hi Reyna. You know Daphne, right?"

"Of course," Reyna said, looking Daphne up and down, "The self-professed Ice Queen."

Daphne responded with, "Reyna Rookwood, or the Ravenclaw broom as they otherwise referred to you."

Reyna's eyes darkened, and Harry said, "Ladies – no arguing. We're all Death Eaters here."

"Apart from me because you refused to let me join," Daphne said, eyeing Harry with interest.

"Not good enough, are you, princess?" Reyna remarked.

"No, she's more than good enough," Harry cut in to defend Daphne, "But I don't want her to be a part of this. It's easier to protect her if she isn't one of us."

Reyna rolled her eyes, "Wow, nice to see how much you care about protecting me," she said sarcastically, but Harry could tell that she was mostly joking.

Harry held up both of his hands, "I am not getting into a love triangle with you two."

"For this to be a love triangle, I would have to harbour romantic feelings for you, which I do not," Daphne pointed out.

"And you know you can't compete," Reyna added.

Daphne didn't lose her temper. She just looked Reyna right in the eye and said, "Please, we both know that I could rip you to shreds and do my nails at the same time. I am a Greengrass, sweetie; you are merely a Rookwood."

Reyna reached for her wand, but Harry grabbed her wrist, "Don't," he said, meeting her eyes with the command. The look he gave her said 'back off', and while Reyna stared back irritably, she said nothing more.

Daphne watched the exchange with interest.

Harry eventually turned to her and said, "Reyna and I are going to have a little chat about her insubordination. I'll see you back at school."

Daphne understood the dismissal. With a nod, she headed back over to her family. Harry looked at Reyna and shook his head, "I swear sometimes, I want to throw you off of the nearest bridge."

Reyna smirked, "The empty threats are cute."

With an amused smile, Harry said, "I had my Muggle family drive themselves off a bridge, remember? So is it really an empty threat?" he asked, pulling her inside the house.

Reyna rolled her eyes but followed him through the corridors.

It wasn't until he placed his hand on a wooden door with the initials "H.J.P" burned onto it that she realised where he was taking her.

"Well, aren't I being upgraded?" Reyna joked, "From a tree in the woods to a cabin, and now the bedroom."

Harry pulled a hipflask out and looked over at Reyna, "I'm not actually bringing you here to sleep with you, Reyna. I just thought you looked like you needed to talk and maybe drink."

Reyna sat down on the edge of his bed and watched as Harry flicked his wrist at the fire, causing it to light in seconds. He took a swig from the hipflask and threw it to Reyna. She caught it deftly and took a swig herself.

"You are my friend, after all," Harry added.

"Uh-huh," Reyna mused. She took another swig then handed Harry the hipflask, "Do you actually like that Daphne girl?"

Harry shrugged, "Yeah, I do."

"I think she's a bitch," Reyna said before throwing herself back on Harry's bed.

Harry sat down in an armchair by the fire, "I thought that too when I first met her. But then again, I thought that about Lil, and now she's one of my best friends."

Reyna didn't say anything, but Harry could tell something was bothering her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Reyna lied.

Harry caught her eye and shook his head, "No, you aren't."

Reyna sighed and tore her eyes away from his, "I don't know how I'm supposed to lie to you when you give me those big green puppy dog eyes."

Harry chuckled but didn't push any further.

"It's what she said about me being Ravenclaws broom," Reyna said with a shake of her head, "I mean, yeah, I've been with a few people, but I didn't seek out a lifestyle like that. I was just stupid, naïve and reckless."

Harry felt bad for her, "Hey, I'm not going to judge you based on how many people you've slept with."

Reyna sighed, "It's not as many as she would have you believe. There was Roger Davies, who was a year older than me when we started dating. I was in sixth year, so it wasn't like I was sleeping around at 14 or anything."

She shrugged, "Anyway, that didn't work out because he was a vain idiot."

Harry snorted in amusement.

"Then there was the one who got away," Reyna said quietly, "You know the one person you think you might be able to spend your life with until the universe fucks it up?"

With a thoughtful nod, Harry said, "Yep. What fucked it up?"

"Dad got out of Azkaban," Reyna replied, "And as romantic as the Romeo and Juliet situation is, sometimes you can't get away from the fact that one of you has a Death Eater for a Dad and the other has an Auror."

She shook her head, "It's fun, the secret meetings in the woods, the sneaking around, but then reality kicks in and you realise you're on different sides of the war raging all around you."

"Who-"

"You won't know him," Reyna said with a sigh, "He was in my year. He was a Hufflepuff."

"Jeez, you do have tragic taste in men," Harry joked.

Reyna made a face, "Eddie was different from your average Hufflepuff. But then he also kept trying to sleep with my best friend, so," she shrugged.

"Fair enough," Harry said. He frowned at her, "Then were was Fawley?"

"Then Stuart, yeah," Reyna said, her hand automatically touching her side where the last scar he had left her with was.

Harry noticed, and it made anger bubble up inside him, "You deserve more, Reyna."

Reyna met his eye, but before she could get the wrong idea, Harry spoke again.

"And I don't mean me. I don't think either of us can picture a life together," He said, "We're friends, and the physical part of our relationship has always been about hurt and comfort, I think."

Reyna nodded, "It's comfort and friendship. But it isn't love."

"Not the sort of love you want," Harry agreed.

"Maybe I'm not built for love," Reyna said sadly, "Every time it's within my reach, I fuck it up."

"Maybe because every guy you go for, and I'm including myself in this, by the way, is a complete and utter douchebag," Harry pointed out.

Reyna laughed weakly, "So what do you think I should do?"

"Honestly? I think, to begin with, you need to become the type of person who doesn't spend all of her time thinking about the opposite sex," Harry confessed.

Reyna gave him an amused look, "So what, like a lesbian?" she asked sarcastically.

"Not the worst idea in the world," Harry said, shooting a grin in her direction.

She threw a cushion at him in response, and they both chuckled.

~ TBC ~