Chapter Seventeen
"They called me a Dark Lord wannabee in my youth. They called me a Dark Lord because I opposed them, they relished the fact that I was a Dark Lord and they were the Light Lords... they wanted a Dark Lord so badly... I just spat on the Light side for the third and final time, and I gave them the Dark Lord they wanted so badly, one that would be their death and complete destruction."
Daphne looked at Harry, wide eyed and shocked.
"Dark Lord?" she asked softly in what seemed to be a whisper, to which he nodded softly.
"Yes," he replied, still holding her softly in his arms.
"Why?" she asked in another whisper, looking Harry in the eyes, feeling her own moistening yet again.
"Revenge, anger, hate..." he replied in a whisper, looking at her. "What would you do in my place?"
Daphne attempted to hide a sob, failing completely.
"K-Kill him." she replied, and Harry nodded.
"I won't defend myself, Daph," Harry admitted, looking into her tearful eyes. "I became a Dark Lord and I did it knowingly, so I won't defend myself and be a hypocrite about it. I snapped, and all I wanted was revenge... Being a Dark Lord is nothing but having a fancy title that gives you power over the masses, nothing else."
"I know," replied Daphne, much to Harry's surprise. "I know it's just a title, I know you told me you were at war, and I know that you told me that they already considered you one, but... knowing that is one thing, but it's another to actually hear you say that you became one..."
"I had a choice," he replied with his eyes closed, feeling the nervous beat of his heart in his ears, knowing that the following moments would be decisive in his relationship with Daphne. "I could have chosen the right path and continued my war, slowly undermining them and rallying support to bring the Longbottoms down, or the easy path. In my anger I chose the easy way out, but I don't regret it. All my regrets died the moment my...our daughter was struck down, and I didn't care anymore."
"What then?" Daphne asked softly.
"That same night, in front of my friends, followers, and the body of our daughter, I executed the captured Paladins in cold blood, mostly to send a message to their masters," explained Harry. "At that moment, seeing the horror and the fear in everyone's face, I knew what I had to do and by doing it...I ended the war in but a few weeks."
"What... what did you do?"
"Like I said, I killed the Paladins."
"You alone?" she asked, and Harry nodded. "How?"
Harry removed a memory from his head and put it in the Pensieve.
"It's not something I can tell you about," he replied, offering Daphne his hand. For the first time that night, Daphne refused the hand and went straight into the Pensieve, followed by Harry.
Daphne found herself on the grounds of a partially burning Nott manor, noticing there were several people milling around. She noticed that those closest to Harry were near him. She saw Tracey and Theo, looking sad and shedding tears, as were Blaise and Millie. Their children weren't around, probably for safety. The others were there as well, Hannah and the man who Harry had said to be her husband, Justin, and Professor Flitwick. Astoria was there too, kneeled next to a small bundle covered with a black cloak. Daphne's eyes teared, recognizing what the small bundle truly was. Astoria was crying, being held and caressed by Jason Hallys, who had his head bowed in sorrow.
Harry Potter was kneeling opposite to Astoria, unable to move, his tearful eyes looking only to the bundle. Daphne approached him and was able to hear him mumbling:
"I'm sorry, Daphy. I'm sorry Daph. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Forgive me, I'm so sorry."
"Why?" demanded Astoria, attracting Daphne's attention, seeing her sister being held tighter by Jason "Why?"
"I don't know, Tori," Jason whispered, and Astoria sobbed, hiding her face in Jason's chest, who held her even tighter.
"Harry..." Theo said, approaching him, generating no reaction. "Harry, we have to go before the Paladins send reinforcements. You have to take Daphy's body away."
"No..." mumbled Harry.
"We'll deal with the prisoners," Theo said, not noticing how Harry had gone stiff. "We'll incapacitate them as usual, make sure they won't be a threat in the future, but you must go now. We'll meet up..." He never finished because memory Harry rose from his position next to his daughter's body and started to walk faster in the direction of where the prisoners were being kept.
"What the... Harry?" demanded Theo, making everyone notice where memory Harry was going.
Memory Harry reached the group of Paladins sat on the ground, without their masks, items, or wands, most of them injured. Those that weren't injured had been stunned during the battle and revived afterwards.
"You Dark Wizard scum, give me back my wand," Daphne heard a familiar voice say and stiffened immediately. Memory Harry heard it as well, walking in its direction at once.
"Weasley," memory Harry snarled, making said redhead turn to him at once.
"Potter, you Dark Wizard scum! You and yours surrender now and I can guarantee you that you will be given a fair trial, which is more than you deserve," Weasley snarled, getting up to his feet. "It's a shame that Neville failed to kill you, but I won't. I challenge you to a wizard's duel."
Memory Harry's reply, instead of verbal, was a quick punch to the nose, knocking Weasley to the ground.
"Denied," memory Harry snarled, kicking the redhead in the ribs. "Why did you come here?" demanded Harry, drawing his wand. "How did you know?"
"Screw you, Potter," spat Weasley between gasps.
"WHY?" Harry demanded, and for the first time in a long time, a yellow light was released from his wand, making Weasley scream in pain. "Why did you come here? Why did you attack today? What did you want?" Weasley said nothing, not because he didn't want to, but because he was unable to speak under the Cruciatus. "SPEAK!"
"We discovered that you'd be here!" a Paladin said, hoping to make memory Harry drop the curse on Weasley.
"How?" demanded memory Harry in a cold tone, ending the curse on the redhead.
"We don't know," the Paladin replied, only to feel a blast on his chest that threw him away. He didn't move after it.
"Lord Oberon didn't say how," another Paladin replied in fear of the same fate, "Please!"
"Your Lord Oberon killed my daughter," replied memory Harry in a cold tone, to confused looks from the Paladins and many of his own followers.
"Y-You d-don't-t ha-have a-a-a d-d-d-daughter, P-P-P-Potter," replied Weasley, still on the ground, trembling from the effects of the Torture Curse but still sneering.
"Yes, I do, Weasel," replied memory Harry, his eyes tearing again.
"P-Probab-bly w-with a w-whore," Weasley said, and memory Harry stiffened.
"What did you say?" demanded memory Harry, looking coldly to Weasley.
"P-Probab-bly w-with a w-whore," Weasley repeated, only to be kicked in the face by memory Harry, who pointed his wand at the fallen Paladin. Weasley began to cry in pain and even with his screams, everyone around them could hear the sound of his bones cracking, his legs bending at unnatural angles and the bones breaking in half, exposing the bone through the muscle. With another curse, the flesh of one of Weasley legs started to darken and rot, while the other started to melt into a goo after being drenched by what seemed to be a yellow liquid conjured by memory Harry's wand. During all this, Weasley's screams were heard by all, but the Paladins only begged for mercy. None of memory Harry's friends or followers said anything, feeling sickened by the sight.
With another wave, one of Weasley's arms was stretched and the skin started to be cut with as if by a thousand sharpened knives, the blood dripping to the ground and the pain filling Weasley even more.
"You want a Dark Lord?" asked memory Harry, as his voice filled with pain, anger, and sorrow rang out among the screams of pain. "They killed my wife. They killed my daughter... Do they want a Dark Lord so badly?" he asked again, stopping the torture, the only sounds now Weasley's sobs and whimpers of pain. "Now they have one!"
With one final wave of his wand, spikes erupted from the earth and pierced Weasley's whole body, paralyzing him. Weasley didn't move anymore, only whimpered as he bled out. Only then did Harry turned his attention to the other Paladins.
"P-Please, mercy," one of the Paladins begged, terrified as memory Harry rose his wand.
"No more," memory Harry whispered before the orange flames erupted from his wand. "NO MORE!"
Daphne was shocked and unable to say anything, seeing only fiery serpents, chimaeras and dragons consume the screaming Paladins in mere moments, some still begging for mercy. When all the Paladins turned to ash, memory Harry went slowly back to the small bundle and picked it up lovingly, with tears in his eyes. No one dared to say anything, still shocked by what had transpired, and neither did he speak to anyone.
The memory ended with memory Harry apparating away, and Daphne found herself in the Chamber once again. Daphne looked to Harry and saw him looking solemnly at her, waiting for her judgement.
"You killed them...so what?" Daphne asked in a whisper, with and a shiver. "They deserved it."
"Do you really believe that?" asked Harry hopefully, and Daphne balled her fists.
"What does it matter?" she replied, looking tearfully at him. "They were with Longbottom. They were your enemies, and you were at war. Are you that weak that you need to have my approval for all you did?"
"No, I don't, but I want you to understand..." he tried to explain, only to be interrupted once again.
"I do understand, better than you think," Daphne replied, tears falling. "The fact that you think I wouldn't makes me wonder if you truly knew me at all, or if you just regret your actions." Harry didn't reply, instead just looked on as Daphne dried her tears. "I don't care as long as they paid for it. First it was me and then my baby girl... I don't care what you did, what you became, or what you are, Harry. I won't let them get away with it, not again. I won't let them hurt me, you, or my baby again. I won't."
"They won't hurt anyone, Daph, least of all you," replied Harry softly. "You know I won't let them."
"You may not let them, but I won't stand around and see you do everything yourself, whether you want me to or not. You caused this. You told me everything, and now we're in this together," Daphne replied, looking at him coldly. "You either accept it, or I walk away and I will still hurt them without you." Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise. Then, seeing Daphne's anger he started to smirk, much to her surprise.
"Do you really think I would deny you this, after all the times I told you that you were my partner in all things?" he asked her, with a grin taking shape. Daphne's anger slowly disappeared from her face, replaced by sorrow and tears. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed, before being embraced by Harry.
"It's all right, Daph," he whispered, but she ignored him, burying her face in his neck. "They died once and they will die again, but I need you to be strong. I need you to be brave, cunning, and to help me. I can do all this alone, but I want you at my side."
Daphne nodded silently and Harry held her tighter.
"How did they die?"
"Oberon first, and Titania days later." Harry replied.
"How?" she asked forcefully.
"After leaving Daphy's body with yours, I started attacking the Paladins in the street and even some of the regime supporters in their houses. I killed all who supported the regime, not caring about the consequences, and always alone."
"Idiot," whispered Daphne. Harry chose to ignore her.
"Eventually, I calmed down, and thanks to the fear and panic I had caused by attacking so many, I was challenged by Oberon to a duel, in the paper."
"Clearly a trap," mumbled Daphne, and Harry nodded.
"Obviously, so I made my own trap over it," explained Harry, once again with Daphne's full attention. "I expected them to raise anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards the moment I arrived at the site to trap me and prevent reinforcements, so I did next best thing."
"Which was?" asked Daphne, raising an eyebrow and looking at Harry.
"I announced Godric's Hollow as the duel site, days after sending my followers in advance with pre-prepared rune clusters set to raise my own anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards, ready to be activated the moment they arrived. I also replaced all the inhabitants of the village with my battle-ready followers. When they set their trap, mine was already settled." Harry chuckled darkly, "They had no chance."
"You replaced the village inhabitants?" asked Daphne with a raised eyebrow, making Harry shrug.
"It was easier than you would expect," he replied, "Godric's Hollow was already filled with supporters of our cause, and as soon as they saw our people entering the village, they actually welcomed them and aided them in their mission. When the Paladins arrived to set their traps, they actually sabotaged them with our people's help. Then, on the day of the duel, the Paladins had no chance."
"Oberon died," stated Daphne, and Harry smirked, adding a nod.
"Oberon died," he replied. Daphne pointed to the Pensieve, and he knew at once what she was demanding. "Are you sure?" as a reply, she glared at him, making him chuckle. He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her softly.
"Gods, I love to see that look on your face," he whispered, making Daphne blush. Harry chuckled again and withdrew the memory from his temple. They both held hands and entered the Pensieve, seeing the world getting darker.
Daphne recognized an older Harry, walking stiffly and determined, approaching a village that had to be Godric's Hollow. The outskirts of the village were calm and devoid of people, not that it stopped the dark clad man. He stopped a short distance from the village, and Daphne looked to the entrance, recognizing the robes and armour of the nearly fifty people waiting for him. She sneered as she recognized Oberon in the center of his Paladins, his arms crossed, waiting for Harry.
"Glad to see you showed up, Dark Lord," Longbottom said, and Daphne could swear she heard the sneer in his voice. Harry said nothing in reply. "You will finally end this, Potter. You will pay for all the lives you have taken."
"Will I?" asked Harry in a cold and defiant tone. "And how do you intend to do that? By sending your minions against me?" memory Harry snorted, and real Harry smirked. "It is supposed to be a duel between the two of us and I did come alone."
Real Daphne raised an eyebrow, looking back at real Harry.
Oberon/Longbottom snorted.
"Do you really think I'm crazy enough to face you alone?" he asked, and the Paladins chuckled at his side "I know you are powerful, and I know that even with my power and all that my wife taught me, I still am no match for you!"
"So, you concocted a trap," memory Harry snorted. "How predictable. Tell me, Longbottom, how long did you and your pathetic generals take to plan everything, then?"
"And yet, here you are, alone and defenceless against our superior numbers," Longbottom replied. "Not even you could stand a chance against us, you cannot escape by portkey or apparition, and will have no chance for reinforcements. Surrender now and we will grant you a fair trial."
"Allow me to offer you a counter proposal, then," memory Harry replied, drawing his wand calmly. "Surrender now and I will let you live."
"You what?" demanded Daphne to Real Harry.
The Paladins all laughed.
"Surrender to you?" laughed Longbottom, as did everyone else. "Open your eyes, Potter. Open them and look around you. You're alone, we have raised wards to prevent your escape. Your reinforcements, your portkeys are useless, and I have the people of Godric's Hollow on my side should I need them. Why would I surrender to you?"
As a reply, all Harry did was laugh coldly and powerfully. He raised his wand and a white flash was seen all around them. At first glance, nothing seemed to have happened. Only then, when one of the Paladins looked up, alerting all others, Daphne looked up and saw two wands crossed in the sky.
"What's that?" she asked, curious.
"My version of the Dark Mark... The Black Wands mark."
"What is your point in casting your dark mark, Potter?" demanded Longbottom, and Harry just smirked. A huge flash was seen around them and suddenly, dozens of people were surrounding them. Daphne looked around and saw people carrying wands, others carrying swords and axes. Those who carried wands were clearly wizards, and of the others carrying weapons, some were ragged and looked savage while others looked simply pale as the dead. She also saw giants and trolls within their numbers and most unexpectedly, battle-ready centaurs. That wasn't all though. The people that lived in the nearby buildings started to come out and much to their surprise, blocked the Paladin's escape, their numbers bolstered by the remaining inhabitants of the village.
The Paladins were surrounded.
"Meet my army, filled with all those people you and your wife wronged for all these years," scowled Harry. "Wizards, Witches, Werewolves, Vampires, Giants, Trolls, and Centaurs... and we all want your blood."
"We surrender!" shouted Longbottom after some tense moments, eyed by blood thirsty looks from Harry's army. Everyone looked at Harry and saw him chuckle.
"Do you, now?" he asked, and Longbottom nodded.
"Yes, you offered us our lives in exchange of our surrender," replied Longbottom, dropping his wand to the ground. "We surrender to you, Lord Potter."
"Neville, Neville..." Harry replied with a scowl, "I lied." A yellow beam left Harry's wand, striking Longbottom and making him scream in pain. "SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!"
The vampires, being the fastest, were the first to jump in the fray, followed closely by the werewolves. A bloodbath took place, the Paladins having no chance, being skewered by weapons, claws, and fangs. The centaurs' arrows felled several of the Paladins, and the spells of the witches and wizards supported their comrades. It had been decided that it was too dangerous to cast curses at the Paladins knowing that the werewolves and the vampires would be in the way.
Daphne widened her eyes, seeing the cold efficiency of Harry's army, the lethal dance of the vampires, and the savagery of the werewolves, tearing all Paladins apart and painting their gold and white uniforms with red gore. She felt her stomach complaining but stood firm, watching the one-sided battle...no, massacre or onslaught would be a better description of what she was seeing.
She turned to memory Harry, who simply stood cursing Longbottom with spell after spell, not only the Cruciatus but also Reductos that crushed the other man's knees, making him scream and cry in pain.
The battle was over in mere moments, the vampires gorging on the blood of the fallen, everyone's attention turning back to their Lord and Longbottom.
"You lose, Longbottom," said memory Harry with a scowl at the fallen man.
"Screw you, Potter. You have no honour." Memory Harry chuckled.
"Honour?" he asked, casting a cutting curse that made Longbottom bleed and scream even more. "You dare to speak to me about honour? You, who stand atop the bodies of thousands? Ask them, my Lord Oberon, ask them what honour matters to the dead," memory Harry growled, "and then, when you do that, ask my wife and my daughter to tell me to spare your life," Harry taunted with a scowl. "I guess this is the right time to make a speech, to gloat about my superiority and my power, my righteousness... to announce my victory to the world and make an example out of you..." he added, his features morphing in anger, "But I hate you TOO FUCKING MUCH!"
Lightning hit Longbottom, burning his armour and his skin. The man screamed in pain, and everyone recognized the smell of burnt flesh. Daphne stood near memory Harry, closely watching Longbottom in his final moments, wearing an icy expression. However, real Harry felt her clenching his hand, as if she was nervous. He hugged her from behind, both of them hearing the screams of one of the people who had ruined their lives.
"Go to hell, you son of a bitch," she whispered, heard by Harry.
Memory Harry dropped the Lightning Curse. Longbottom could barely scream. His skin was much darker, and his armour and clothes had started to burn. With a twitch of his wand, he was lifted in the air, his arms and legs stretched to his sides. With another twitch, his clothes and wearables were all ripped from him, leaving him naked in the air. Then, with a massive surge of magic, memory Harry cast a powerful spell, the result causing Daphne to nearly vomit. All of Longbottom's skin was perfectly ripped from his muscles and dropped to the ground. The rest of Longbottom, a body devoid of skin, with darker and injured flesh in the chest, open eyes, and an eternal smirk didn't even moan in pain, apart from the occasional whimper.
Several curses were cast against Longbottom, all by memory Harry and always the same: a sickly greenish-grey curse.
"What's that curse you're casting?" Daphne asked, curious.
"It's a Fast-Rotting Curse," he replied, and in fact Daphne was able to see the effects of the curse.
"Is it painful?" she asked hopefully, and Harry nodded.
"He would feel the pain of rotting from the inside, his organs shutting down...I would say so, yes."
Where the curse hit, the muscles started to turn greenish-grey and atrophy. The corruption started to propagate throughout the body. Once it reached the heart, Longbottom would die. Of course, memory Harry wasn't done yet, as he cast a new volley of Cruciatus Curses on Longbottom. Surprisingly, he didn't scream, as he was already dead.
Memory Harry let the body hit the floor, ignoring the chants of his army, of victory, and his own name, watching the body crumple even more, rotting away in front of him.
"POTTER! POTTER! POTTER! POTTER!" they all sang, and Daphne saw memory Harry raise his head.
"Get yourselves prepared. In two hours, we join our brothers and sisters in the march against the Ministry. Let us end this damned war once and for all!" memory Harry announced, receiving shouts of agreement and glee from everyone.
The memory ended then, both teens leaving the Pensieve.
"That was disgusting," Daphne whispered with a small smirk, looking at Harry, who just shrugged. Then, she held his hand and embraced him, not shedding tears but holding him tight.
"Thank you," she said, and he held her tighter without saying a word. "Where were Theo, Tracey, my sister, and everyone else? What about Titania?"
"That wasn't my full army, only a part of it," Harry admitted. "The other half was preparing for the assault on the Ministry, and they were with them, along with every other Black Wand. While Longbottom was a priority, the Ministry was the top priority."
"I can guess they didn't like the idea," joked Daphne, and Harry rolled his eyes.
"Of course not, but in the end they did as I told them to," replied Harry. "The plan worked."
"And very well, I have to say. But what about Titania?"
"Before we took care of her, we invaded the Ministry and captured everyone who was considered high profile in their regime. Many were executed, and we established a provisional government in less than a day, with a council of humans, werewolves, vampires...everyone in our alliance," Harry told her, and Daphne raised an eyebrow.
"And everyone accepted that?" she asked, and Harry chuckled.
"They didn't have a choice. Those who complained quickly learned not to. Also, much to our surprise, we were already heroes to the people, and we had celebrations in Diagon Alley and pretty much everywhere else, making all those celebrations for Voldemort's demise pale in comparison."
Harry chuckled and Daphne's an eyebrow lifted in amusement. "That afternoon, we were able to locate Titania's location, and everyone wanted to go with me. In the end, I took half of the army and Theo, Tracey, Blaise, Millie, Tori, Jason, Hannah, and Justin. All the others remained behind to keep the peace and clean up the Ministry, St. Mungo's, and a few other locations.
"At the end of the day you found her...and?"
"We invaded the new Longbottom estate, and our superior numbers crushed the Paladins' resistance. No one was able to oppose us as we conquered the grounds and the manor. In the end, I walked alone into the library, where she was hiding."
"I want to see it," demanded Daphne, and Harry nodded, pulling the memory from his mind. The both of them went into the Pensieve once again and found themselves in a manor, accompanying memory Harry, who was walking through the corridors, his wand in his hand.
Memory Harry waved his wand, and a massive door exploded, allowing him passage. He entered what seemed to be a library and walked carefully.
"Come no further!" demanded a shrieking voice, filled with panic, fear, and anger. Daphne recognized Hermione Longbottom from the previous memories she had seen, only this one was wearing gold and white robes, as well as being pregnant and carrying a strange leather book attached to a chain by her waist.
"You don't demand anything from me, bitch," was the Dark Lord's reply.
"You monster! Reducto!" shouted Hermione Longbottom, and memory Harry waved his wand, deflecting the curse. He also shot a curse of his own against her, a Confringo that she shielded herself from with a red shield charm that Harry didn't know, which deflected the curse and blasted the shelves of books behind her, not affecting her at all.
"So says the woman responsible for thousands of deaths, among them her own godson, my wife, and my children," memory Harry said, casting a purple curse at Titania, who hid behind a shelf of books.
"I told you it was an accident. It was regrettable what happened to Daphne..." memory Harry snarled, blasting the shelf into smithereens. For some reason, Titania's shield still remained up, although she felt the blast that time, nearly falling on her butt.
"DON'T EVEN DARE!" he shouted.
"Teddy was an accident as well!" Hermione Longbottom shouted, her wand pointing at Harry. "He started to develop werewolf strength and speed. He was our best chance to learn how to cure the disease. It was unfortunate that he died in the lab tests..."
"Unfortunate?" roared Harry, "As was my wife's death, because she drank the potion that was for me?"
"If she hadn't drank it, she would still be alive, you would have voted for us, and everything would be fine..."
"You aren't blameless in all this," asserted memory Harry, only to receive a snort in reply.
"Our path was righteous. We intended to bring change to our world, and sometimes sacrifices needed to be made to achieve our goals. Ginny wanted you and we gave her a way to have you. All she had to do was make sure you voted for us. Otherwise, we didn't care."
"Are you even listening the filth you're spewing?" demanded a wrathful Harry, "You caused all of this. You and your husband nearly destroyed us and our way of life."
"We made it better!" replied Titania in anger, "We brought the Wizarding World to the twenty-first century! We took the power from the old families and gave a voice to the oppressed, the muggleborns and those ignored by the old regime."
"And yet, most of them also fight for me against you."
"Traitors, that's what they are. They will be dealt with."
"Is she stupid or was she...I don't even know...what the hell?" wondered Daphne with a raised eyebrow. She knew Hermione Granger was bossy, authoritative, demanding, and some other less than pleasant things, but the Hermione Longbottom she was seeing and listening to seemed to be a little...off. Harry snorted.
"You seem to think that you will leave this place alive," snarled Harry, casting a red spell that was deflected by her shield against another shelf, breaking it in half. "What is that shield?!"
"Ancient Magic, Dark Lord," she replied with a cruel laugh, "You cannot touch me. Surrender now, swear your allegiance to me and I will let you live."
"Don't be ridiculous," Harry shouted, casting several Blasting Curses against Titania and her surroundings. The magic may not be able to penetrate the shield, but the impact blasts were felt, he had seen it. Titania held her ground, focusing on the shield, only to be brought down by the blasts, falling on her butt and creating an opening after she dropped her wand.
"I'm going to kill you, you bitch..." promised Harry, summoning her wand from the ground. Titania looked wide eyed at him, as he picked up her wand and broke it with one hand.
With a snarl, Titania picked up the strange leather book she had at her waist and raised it above her head "RHASSEL'THOTH, I ORDER YOU TO COME TO MY AID!" she shouted, anger and hate in her voice and her face. Memory Harry steeled himself, not knowing what she was doing.
"What is she doing?" demanded Daphne, and Harry grimaced.
"You'll understand soon enough, but I can tell you that she's even more stupid and weak than you believe," Harry replied, crossing his arms with a scowl. Daphne looked at him and saw pure rage towards Titania. She turned to memory Harry and saw the surprise in his face.
"Was something supposed to happen?" he asked with a snort, walking towards Titania like a predator towards his prey.
"TRAITOR! TRAITOR! GIVE ME YOUR POWER! COME TO MY AID!" shrieked Titania, only to suffer a punch from memory Harry. The red shield may stop magic, but it didn't stop physical attacks. The leather book fell to the ground, as did Titania, and Harry pulled her up, his hands round her neck, squeezing it tightly.
"Beg..." he whispered as he squeezed, seeing Hermione Longbottom's eyes start to fill with blood. Her hands tried to punch memory Harry's away from her, but to no avail.
"Please...I'm pregnant," she begged.
"SO WAS DAPHNE!" he screamed, tears in his eyes.
"My child is innocent."
"SO WERE MINE!"
"Please," she begged with a gasp, feeling the tightness around her neck ease. He threw her down to his left, breathing hard, trying to calm down as she panted, trying to recover, massaging her hands to her neck.
Daphne raised her eyebrow, turning to real Harry, not understanding what was happening.
"My Daphne, my wife, my life, my heart, my everything...she died because of you. She died because of your stupidity and your manipulations," he said in a whisper, dropping his wand into his holster and drawing a knife from his belt, making Titania and real Daphne widen their eyes.
"She was taken from me because of you two... As were our children, who she never held in her arms, who she never saw growing...and you dare to beg for your life using your own unborn child?" he asked, wielding the knife, glaring at the terrified brown-haired woman on the floor. "I will kill you for all of that..." he said in a whisper, "But I'm not as cruel as you are."
Then, in a flash, Titania was held against the ground by Harry's strong left hand. She screamed in fear, only for the scream to become a shriek of pain as she felt the cold steel ripping into her belly and her womb.
Daphne stepped back, seeing what memory Harry was doing, too shocked and appalled to look away.
"No... No..." she whispered, tears in her eyes, unable to watch. However, she was surprised to see that real Harry had also looked away, looking pale and disgusted.
"Why?" Daphne asked him, and Harry looked disgusted with his own actions. "Why didn't you just kill her? Why that?" He just shook his head, pointing to the ground, but Daphne looked to where he was pointing and saw only several books on the ground.
The screams stopped, replaced with whimpers.
"There," both real Harry and Daphne heard memory Harry say, "You can die now, having held your son once." Daphne turned to them and saw a tiny baby in Titania's arms, the latter of whom was just whimpering in pain and suffering, having to be helped by Harry to hold the baby. The red shield had collapsed, her white and golden robes were stained red with blood, as were Harry's hands. "More than you deserve, you damn bitch."
Daphne saw the gasps of Titania, indicating she would be dying soon. She approached memory Harry and to her astonishment, she saw that the whites of his eyes had become black.
"Harry, what's happening?" Daphne demanded, concerned.
"Something far worse than an Imperius Curse, Compulsions, possession, or anything you know of that can control a person."
"C-Control? Control how?"
"To control someone is making them do what you want them to do, most of the time against their will... but that...that was all me. I wanted to kill her, I wanted to do that...he only...filled me with power, anger, rage, and regrets. He encouraged me by breaking my inhibitions, or at least that's what I think he did, because he encouraged me to dispose of Titania in such a gruesome manner."
"W-What?" she asked, not understanding what he meant. "Who's he?"
"The soul, or piece of soul inhabiting that damn book on the ground," Harry replied, pointing once again to the floor. This time, however, Daphne recognized the book Titania had held moments before.
"Wait, soul? As in a Horcrux?" she asked, and Harry shook his head.
"I thought so too...but no, it's something far worse, far more dangerous."
They heard a huge blast, and the light of the coming twilight poured into the library. Harry approached the hole and saw his entire army looking up at him, along with all his friends. He waved his wand and the bodies of Titania and her unborn baby passed through the hole, in view of everyone.
"MY FRIENDS!" Harry shouted, his voice amplified by the Sonorus Charm, "WE HAVE WON!"
Then, as the bodies were displayed in the air, the chants began, chants of victory and of his own name.
"VICTORY!"
"POTTER! POTTER! POTTER! POTTER! POTTER! POTTER! POTTER! POTTER!"
To her bewilderment, Daphne thought she had seen her sister snogging Jason Hallys, but she was too far away and couldn't be sure.
Harry dropped the charm, and the bodies fell to the ground all the way from where they had once been hovering. No one cared much about that, as the celebration started and messages were sent, informing everyone of their victory.
"You did well," a strong and raspy voice made itself heard, and memory Harry stiffened, looking around and seeing no one in the room. Daphne did the same, not seeing anyone but real Harry glaring at the book. "That worthless witch dared to command me, but she was weak, she did not have the capacity to understand real power. My power."
"Who's there?" demanded memory Harry, his wand in his hands.
"My name is Rhassel'Thoth, mortal," the voice said in amusement, "Pharaoh Rhassel'Thoth, arch wizard of the two kingdoms, master embalmer, and the creator of what you mortals now call necromancy."
Daphne widened her eyes in fear. Turning to real Harry, she saw his anger and hate, still directed at the book. When he noticed her, his anger subsided.
"Don't be afraid, nothing happened," he said, but Daphne gulped. She was frightened.
"Where are you?" demanded memory Harry, hearing only a chuckle in reply.
"You have seen my vessel, mortal. Seek the tome the foolish woman held, demanding my power. That is my vessel."
Memory Harry did, and Daphne was able to see that his eyes seemed to have turned a darker green. Daphne was really concerned but asked no questions, instead choosing to wait and see what would happen, carefully observing both memory Harry and real Harry.
Memory Harry picked up the leather book and held it, examining it closely. It was old leather, brownish and cracking, but above all else it radiated power, alluring power.
"What is this?" he wondered.
"This is one of my tomes. Human leather, written in human blood," the voice said. "One of the many artefacts I created in my life, in which I left a piece of my essence. The witch and her husband obtained my vessel during a trip to what you now know as Egypt. They brought me here, away from my enemies."
Memory Harry opened the tome and saw it was full of hieroglyphs. Somehow he was able to understand them, comprehending diagrams of rituals and ancient spells so powerful that current ones paled in comparison…all in the book, not to mention what else the pharaoh could teach him...
"Yes, I can see you are already enthralled by my knowledge," the voice chuckled. However, despite sounding like amused chuckle, Daphne thought she could sense a dark intent behind it.
"Harry, what is going on?" she demanded, much more concerned, "I can sense its evil, why couldn't you?"
"I couldn't because I was already under its power," Harry replied, ashamed of himself, making Daphne gasp. "The moment the bitch raised it in the air, the moment I felt my bloodlust, the moment I ripped her open and...by that time, I was already falling under its power...I was moments away from being consumed and becoming something far worse than Titania and Oberon could ever have been."
"I taught the witch and her husband, who came to me willingly... She amused me as she tried to deceive me, wanting to know what I could teach her, when she really wanted to end the Dark and the Dark Diseases, as she called them. She never understood real power, believing herself strong willed, a leader..."
"She was so easy to manipulate. I didn't even need to force my will upon her, all I did was promise my help to her cause. She became much more amusing, fighting and trying to end the Dark in the world, unknowingly serving my purposes," the voice laughed maniacally. "I have seen it all, and all she did served my purposes well. She ended those that could oppose me in this land and gave me the beginnings of a powerful army of servants and pawns...but you... You are so much more, you are what she wanted to be, strong, powerful, and a leader, and yet, you can become even greater. It is you I need to force my will upon. Your power needs to be mine, Harry Potter. You're far too powerful to be left unchecked."
Daphne gulped, actually seeing memory Harry becoming enthralled as he read the pages of the tome, his eyes getting darker and darker.
"Take my vessel with you, Harry Potter," the voice commanded. "Take it and protect it with your life and the lives of your kin. Serve me, gather my servants and my remaining artefacts, help me return to the world of the living, and in return I shall grant you your heart's desire."
"Daphne...Daphy..." memory Harry whispered, and the voice chuckled.
"Ah, your wife and child. Bringing them back from the word of the dead is nothing. Even you will be able to do it after I teach you. All I need is your allegiance, a pact in magic and blood. Do it and all you desire will be yours once again."
Memory Harry closed the tome, his eyes even darker, the green almost becoming black. Daphne felt herself panic, her eyes moving from memory Harry to real Harry, who was still staring at the tome in disgust, as if he could destroy it by glaring at it.
"My love... my child... my children... all I want..." memory Harry whispered, even more enthralled. Then, as he picked his knife to swear in blood and magic, something happened. A whisper, a memory…Daphne wasn't sure, all she saw was Harry gasping and much to her delight, his eyes started to become white and beautiful green again. "What?" memory Harry questioned, looking around the room before looking back at the tome.
"HOW?!" the voice demanded, and memory Harry's eyes widened as he felt an attack on his mind. He simply threw the tome away in panic and raised his wand, casting Fiendfyre towards it and incinerating everything around the ancient book.
"NO!" the voice shouted, and much to both Daphne's and memory Harry's surprise the tome didn't immediately burn, the snake-like flames being repelled. However, the Fiendfyre proved more powerful in the end, and soon the leather started to burn, consuming it all.
"NNNNOOOOO!" the voice shouted again, a grey smoking figure taking shape among the flames, the shade of a long dead necromancer roaring in fury. The eyes of the shade turned to memory Harry in anger, pointing at him as if he would cast a spell against him. Fortunately, the shade screamed again before disappearing among the smoke and flames, the same flames that had started to burn the whole library around memory Harry.
"Well done, Master Potter," a new voice declared. Memory Harry turned to the voice and saw a lone man standing by the door, wearing chainmail and red robes, his sword in his hand. "I feared I would have to kill you, but I'm glad it didn't come to that."
"Who... Who are you?" memory Harry asked, and the man smiled, revealing his fangs and his nature.
"My name is unimportant, for now," the vampire replied. "Just know you have made powerful friends this day, Master Potter."
"But..."
"We need to leave, before we're consumed by the flames," the vampire retorted, "I don't know about you, but I have no intention of dying in a roaring inferno."
Memory Harry seemed to hesitate, but he eventually started to run behind the vampire, away from the library.
The memory ended in a flaming swirl, and Daphne looked appalled and terrified when she turned to Harry, who just sighed.
"You know, I was really afraid..." he didn't finish his speech because Daphne hugged him, squeezing him to her, sobbing. He just caressed her back, "It's all right, Daph."
"What... What was that thing?" she asked between sobs.
"More than a Horcrux, less than a man. A piece of an enormously powerful wizard's soul, but at the same time, a piece of a soul capable of so much more than what I knew about Horcruxes..."
Daphne stopped crying, regaining her courage. After one shared kiss, she was fine again.
"I just wanted to see Titania killed, I wasn't expecting that..." she whispered.
"Titania was dead, as was Oberon. We won the war, created a new government, and we finally had peace..." replied Harry, and Daphne looked at him, wondering.
"And yet, that thing…" she said, and he shook his head.
"That vampire wasn't lying when he said I had made powerful friends," Harry explained with a soft smile. "According to what I was told, that was the very last artefact. With its destruction, a war more than four thousand years old that had cost thousands of lives on each side, ended."
"That's so unbelievable and yet... there is no way to discard what I saw..." Daphne whispered in a low tone, held tightly in Harry's arms.
"It was just a coincidence," Harry replied, and Daphne snorted.
"So, Oberon and Titania were corrupted by the...tome?" asked Daphne, unsure of how to ask.
"You heard him, he said they went to him willingly and all they did was of their own accord," replied Harry.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to excuse them," replied Daphne hastily, "I'm just trying to understand how it happened."
"They got the book in Egypt and were taught by the shade in the tome, but in the end, everything they had done was up to them, and the shade found it very amusing," explained Harry.
"Somehow, it feels like a pyrrhic victory, doesn't it?" Daphne asked, and Harry shook his head.
"Not really." he replied "Oberon was dead, Titania was dead, eventually I discovered that Rhassel'Thoth was dead, so, no problems. Life quickly returned to the normal..." he hesitated, "loneliness and regrets."
Daphne smiled softly.
"Not anymore," she told him, grabbing him by the head and snogging him for everything he was worth.
"Wow..." he said, after several moments later.
"That's for winning the war, resisting the corrupting influence of the shade, and avenging our..." Daphne went silent, once again being embraced in a hurry by Harry, "Daphy...our baby girl." Harry played with her hair for some time, in silence. "How did you endure it?"
"I barely did..." he replied softly. "I tried to bury myself in work, spent some time with family, but barely held myself together. Sometime around my fiftieth birthday I found some mind spells that allowed me to create a version of you and Daphy in my mind, but I spent so much time with them that I almost died of hunger and thirst..." Daphne's eyes widened.
"So I tried to learn all I could, keep myself occupied, just because...I really hated my life," Harry sighed. "If it wasn't for Astoria..."
"Why?" asked Daphne at once, and Harry noticed the concern in her voice.
"Astoria was only a sister to me," he replied promptly, quickly realizing what Daphne must have been thinking. "She was my sister, my closest family, and we spent time together but nothing ever happened. Nor did we want it to happen."
"Good," Daphne whispered, wondering from where the jealousy had come.
Harry yawned. He waved his wand, and both of them were startled to learn that it was now very late, nearly four in the morning.
"Wow, time did fly," Harry said with a chuckle, as Daphne also hid a yawn as she sat in the chair, both of them still wearing their dress robes from the ball. "Now you know the truth about why I despise Longbottom, Granger, and the Weasleys. The truth about who I am, and what I am. Does it change anything for you?"
"Yes," Daphne replied, and Harry nodded, waiting for her to continue. "I can't stay idle and let you do everything alone. You say I am your partner in all things, and I want to be. I want to help you, against Voldemort first, then in having our vengeance against those two bastards that nearly destroyed our world, killed me and our daughter. Then, I want..." Daphne blushed.
"What?" he asked, as Daphne shed a single tear.
"I want Daphy back, Harry. I never knew her, but I want her." Harry rose from his seat and knelt by her side.
"Daphy may be lost to us, Daph... Millie never told me where she got the baby that became our Daphy, nor the recipe for the potion. We can have another daughter, but she will not be Daphy," he whispered, and Daphne nodded, tearful.
"I know," she whispered, and Harry held her close to him.
"Do you want to rest?" he asked in a whisper. "It's been an emotional night for you."
"I do. I feel tired," she replied and felt Harry nod.
"Dobby can take you to your dorm." Daphne felt something inside her telling her not to.
"No, I don't want to be alone tonight," she said, looking at Harry with a blush. "Can... Can I stay with you? Nothing will happen, only sleeping," she felt the need to add, making Harry chuckle. He nodded with a smile and Dobby was sent to Daphne's dorm to get her pyjamas.
"I should tell you, I usually sleep in my underwear," Harry said, not noticing how Daphne had flinched at that. "But I think my older self had some pyjamas in the trunk, let me check. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
"You wouldn't," she replied in a whisper as Harry went through his trunk.
"Do you mind if I sleep only in pyjama trousers?" he asked, turning to Daphne as she nodded her agreement.
"Is this it, Mistress?" asked Dobby, popping into the room with a silver pyjamas.
"That's right, Dobby. Thank you." Dobby conjured a shield for Daphne to change behind and took her dress back to her dorm when she was done. Once Daphne was ready, she sat down on the bed, waiting for Harry and pondering all she had discovered. Harry arrived minutes later, shirtless, making her eyes widen slightly, and not because of the scar on his arm.
"Comfortable?" he asked as he climbed into bed, and she nodded, hiding a blush. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Daphne only nodded again. "If you're sure..." he laid down, and Daphne snuggled up to him. Harry turned the lights off, and both of them laid there in silence for a time, both of them starting to think how right it felt.
"I missed having you at my side..." he whispered in the dark and silence of the room, holding Daphne.
"It feels so right..." whispered Daphne as well, with a small smile.
"Harry?" she asked a moment later.
"Mmh?"
"In the memory, I thought I saw my sister and Hallys kissing...was that right?" she asked.
"Oh, yes," replied Harry, "They started dating during the war and married after it. They asked me to do the ceremony myself."
"What?" Daphne asked, stiffening. "And you didn't think to tell me that, why?" she asked, rising from her position and looking at where Harry's head was supposed to be. Even in the dark, he could feel the blue eyes looking at him.
"Not really important, yet?" he asked unsure, hearing her snort.
"Turn on the lights, Potter," she demanded, and Harry did at once, finding himself under Daphne. "Was she happy with him?"
"She truly loved him," Harry replied, "and he truly loved her."
"Good enough, I guess," Daphne replied, wondering. "Why did they ask you to do the ceremony? Did you become some sort of priest?" she asked with a grin.
"HAHA, Greengrass. Very funny," he replied with a chuckle, making her laugh. "Astoria made sure Jason would respect tradition and he asked me for my permission to marry her, since for all intents and purposes I was Astoria's older brother, and the only family she cared about. Then, they asked me to preside over the ceremony because I was the Dark Lord and the Minister of Magic, and there was no higher authority in Britain..."
"What?" she asked, baffled.
"What, what?" asked Harry.
"Minister of Magic?" she demanded, and Harry rolled his eyes.
"Yes, about that," he started, "As it turned out, the new Wizengamot decided that there was only one person they wanted as their leader, and that's how I got the Minister of Magic and Chief Warlock jobs for nearly fifty years," he said, rolling his eyes. "Hurray!"
If Harry didn't love Daphne so much, he would think she was mocking him with her sudden laughter.
"If you can stay awake a bit longer, I can show you the memory of when our friends convinced me to accept the positions," Harry said.
"At this point we might as well," agreed Daphne, "but after that we should get some sleep."
Harry nodded, before continuing, "As odd as it may seem, this memory will also show the first time I was contacted by the 'powerful friends' the vampire mentioned after I destroyed the necromancer's artefact. Their representative came to me right before the conversation with our friends about my becoming Minister."
Daphne looked questioningly at Harry as they stood up from the bed and starting walking back to the Pensieve. "That does seem like quite an unusual coincidence, but this is you we're talking about, so…" Daphne teased.
Harry just rolled his eyes and placed the memory in the basin, and they both once again entered the Pensieve.
Harry was in a dark room, sitting in a comfortable chair and drinking a red liquid from a glass. He was in a waiting room at the Ministry of Magic. For some reason, the new Wizengamot had requested his presence, intending to offer him an Order of Merlin for all his efforts, despite him being a Dark Lord. The only reason he showed up was because Astoria had forced him to, using the wife and daughter card.
"Your wife and daughter would be proud to see you receiving the reward for all your efforts," she had claimed, and Harry had no reason to say no.
As he waited, a newcomer entered the room. He was wearing red and gold robes, looking every bit an aristocrat.
"You are the Dark Lord Harry James Potter-Black, correct?" the man asked, attracting Harry's attention.
"I am indeed. I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," Harry replied. Just because he was a Dark Lord, there was no reason not to be polite and well mannered. While it was necessary to be ruthless and powerful, he needed to be charismatic as well.
"I am Count Bahadir Asil," the man introduced himself with a bow, "From the Meharjhai clan."
"I have never heard of it," replied Harry.
"I'd be surprised if you did, Lord Potter," the count replied with a smile. "Our clan is ancient and secretive, even for a clan formed by all kinds of magical creatures."
Then Harry took a look at the man and realized he was pale and had prominent fangs.
"You're a vampire."
"Indeed, and I bring you a message from my sire and clan master, Patriarch Rhamessu-Sethi," the vampire claimed, extending Harry a scroll. Harry took it and opened it, finding only hieroglyphs on it.
"My apologies, but I don't know how to read this."
"If I may, I can translate." Harry gave the scroll back to the count and waited as the man read through it once.
"As I suspected," the man replied pleasantly, "My patriarch offers you a formal greeting in his mother tongue, that's not really important, salutes your bravery and your victories, and considers you a great warrior." Strange, thought Harry. "He also wishes to extend his gratitude to you and your kind, for the victory against the great enemy, Rhassel'Thoth."
That had Harry's interest.
"Hold on, the necromancer's soul in the tome?" he asked, and the vampire nodded.
"My patriarch offers a short resume of the great enemy and the Meharjhai clan's history. If you wish, I can translate it to you." At Harry's nod, the count continued. "Millennia ago, in what we today know as Egypt, a powerful wizard was born, being named Rhassel by his parents. He became an embalmer and used his magic to experiment with the sacred proceedings of the dead. He discovered how to partially reanimate corpses, force them to do your biding, entrap souls, dominate minds, and create spells to destroy and control life. Ancient legends state that he experimented upon my kind searching for a method of achieving eternal life.
At the height of his power, he named himself Rhassel'Thoth and gathered an army, which he used to conquer the kingdoms and become the Pharaoh. They were dark times for nearly one hundred years until the first Meharjhai, a group formed by priests and soldiers, decided to oppose him. After many long battles, the physical shell of Rhassel'Thoth was destroyed, but our ancestors came to learn of the many artefacts created by him, each of them housing a small sliver of his essence."
"Like a Horcrux?" asked Harry, and the count shook his head.
"Regrettably, Herpo the Foul created such horrid things by studying one of the great enemy's artefacts. While inferior, the Horcrux serves the same purpose as the enemy's artefacts, even forcing one to mutilate his soul."
"Then, what was that thing?"
"I believe that the best explanation would be a window." Harry raised an eyebrow, making the count chuckle. "The great enemy is dead and beyond the world of the living, but not completely. While the artefacts remained, the enemy would have a "window" by which he could partially manifest in the world, and he could do this through any of them, possessing living creatures or casting spells. Luckily, our ancestors managed to destroy some of the artefacts all those millennia ago, crippling the great enemy's chances of returning...although that didn't stop him."
"Now, we Meharjhai have been at war against the great enemy since the beginning. We managed to destroy several artefacts throughout history. I am not sure if you are aware, but Carthage was actually corrupted from within by one of these artefacts, forcing the Meharjhai to sponsor Rome to destroy the city."
The power these Meharjhai wielded had to be significant if they were able to achieve such a thing, even in the ancient world.
"But that's irrelevant. All that it matters is that some years ago, we located one last stronghold where the Tome was housed. We attacked in strength, but the high priest, an individual known as Varrard'Thoth, claiming to be the great enemy's greatest disciple, escaped with the book. The disciple was found and destroyed but he had protected the tome and we were unable to locate it."
"In Egypt?" asked Harry, and the count nodded. "This Varrard'Thoth must have passed it to someone, and the Longbottoms acquired it."
"Our suspicions, as well. We managed to discover a trace of the tome and came to Britain nearly four years ago, while staying hidden. We were unable to infiltrate the Longbottom estate, so some of our warriors joined your army, hoping to achieve the same goal."
"The vampire..." remembered Harry.
"Viktor Arpad," the count said, "Vampire, and a good infiltrator. He spoke highly of you and of your battle of wills against the enemy. He mentioned that you nearly yielded. May I ask you where you found the will to resist?"
"For a moment, I believed I saw my wife and daughter calling for me from behind a glass wall, doing everything they could to break the spell... It was enough."
"Yes, it is very true that love is a great power. Thankfully, you were able to destroy the tome and for that, we Meharjhai are in debt to you. We would like to reward you and do some business with you, as well."
"Oh?"
"Yes, this also leads us through the rest of the missive from the Patriarch. Those who contribute to our mission are usually offered membership in our clan. After becoming a member, you would have access to all of our lore, and it would be requested of you to add to our library, as well as provide assistance to our members should they stand in your area of influence. Moreover, should you be interested, you could approach some of our werewolf and vampire members of prestigious clans and request their gift."
"I see," replied Harry, and the count nodded.
"I believe you may be wondering if there is a catch. Well, apart from the possibility of being summoned to battle and providing help, there is nothing more the clan requests of you apart the vow of silence and secrecy. I was tasked to make you the offer and give you time to consider. I am staying at the Savoy for the next week, and you can contact me there anytime."
"Your offer seems interesting. But if Rhassel' Toth is vanquished, why would you still recruit?"
"Just because a flood has passed, that doesn't mean you don't prepare for the next one," the count quoted wisely. "One never knows when the next great enemy will arise."
"I am a Dark Lord."
"You wouldn't be the first in our midst," the count replied.
"You mentioned business?" Harry inquired, and the count nodded.
"We would like to learn the spell you used to destroy the tome. Viktor Arpad was no wizard and was unable to provide us with a name."
"What's in it for me?"
"What do you want?"
"You can't give me what I want."
"No, I cannot," replied the count, knowingly. "You are not the first to lose everything, Lord Potter-Black," the man said, returning to the letter. "That said, the missive ends with cordial salutations and a request to address me with your doubts and questions. Respectfully, Rhamessu-Sethi," the man said, rising from his seat. "Like I said, I will be staying at the Savoy throughout the next week, and you can contact me there anytime with both the answer to the membership offer and your price for the spell. Now, people are coming. Have a nice day, my lord," the vampire said, fading from view, leaving an amazed Harry alone in the room.
The door to the room actually opened, bringing several of his friends into the room. Theo, Tracey, Blaise, and Millie were among them, followed by Astoria and Jason.
"Hello, Harry. How are you?" asked Tracey nervously.
"Would you like something to drink, Harry?" asked Millie, and Harry knew something was up, especially when Theo, Blaise, and Astoria looked nervous, while Jason looked amused.
"What's going on?" he demanded, crossing his arms.
"Well, my lord, I'll be blunt," stated Jason, ignoring the mumbles from Astoria. "We need strong leadership in this time of need. Strong, unbroken, powerful, and ruthless. In other words, you."
"No," was Harry's reply.
"Unfortunately, the Wizengamot has stated the same, and three quarters of the body have named you to the positions of Chief Warlock and Minister of Magic, with all the emergency powers they impart, and accepting no other candidate," replied Blaise, making Harry facepalm himself.
"Harry, we need someone strong to set an example, someone that can lead us and prevent another fall like what just happened..." started Astoria, but Harry wasn't hearing her, thinking of another Greengrass girl talking about the problems in the Wizarding World and her ideas on how they could be approached, and solved for a better future. "A strong wand, a strong voice, a charismatic person...you."
"I don't like politics," Harry said, having everyone's attention, "But I owe it to Daphne."
"Does that mean you'll do it?" asked Astoria, and Harry nodded.
"I'll lead and our world will rise again," Harry replied, "One way or another."
The memory ended, and Daphne and Harry again saw themselves by the Pensieve. Daphne had an amused look on her face but wasn't hiding all the pride and respect she felt for Harry. For his part, Harry was pensive, knowing what would happen in the future, leading to the Witching Wars and his near nomination as dictator of Magical Britain.
"That was it, really."
"I guess you also said yes to the Mehar- Mehardjhai?" asked Daphne, mangling the name as Harry chuckled.
"Meharjhai. The secret of Fiendfyre for the manual on how to fade, and I said yes, gained access to many more troves of knowledge, studied them, increased my own power and abilities, and expanded my library, adding to what I had from this very Chamber and my family library."
"Did they ever ask you for something in return?" asked Daphne, and Harry shook his head.
"Nothing special apart from what the count said, but I made several contacts that helped me in the long run."
"Slytherin approach, then."
"My heart was always Slytherin," Harry replied, pulling Daphne into a kiss. When he finally broke the kiss, the two decided to go back to bed, this time to stay there and rest.
As Daphne snuggled with Harry, she couldn't help to think in Harry's words, "My heart was always Slytherin." Not only she did find them suitable and adequate, but she found them simply perfect, especially the double meaning.
"I love you, Harry," she whispered. In the dark, she missed the smile that formed on Harry's lips.
"I love you too, Daphne."