Chapter 21: The end of another year.

Daphne was learning about 'the Internet' from Neville. He had offered to give her extended explanations after Ronald had discussed the basics. While her ability to use the mouse was somewhat shaky, she found herself capable enough. After exploring for some time, she found herself in a movie folder that was shared across all of the computers that Sirius had installed.

"So there are about 1,000 'movies' in this thing?" Daphne asked Neville.

"Yes. It is called a Network share. Whatever Harry drops into that folder is available to all of us. Just drag any of the folders to the desktop and you can make a copy. There are probably thousands of movies from all over. Some of them, they have already seen. Their favourites."

"This is brilliant! Why don't they teach about computers in the Muggle Studies Syllabus?"

"Because magicals would have to admit that Mundanes are better at doing communication. Do you think using this is complicated? Think about the people who built it. And then satellites facilitate a lot of the communications. According to magicals, mundanes cant build rockets."

"Oh right. Tracey is already playing her drumkit. She hasn't put down the sticks since morning. So Star Wars Collection. Right…..says 40 minutes to copy."

"Why those particular movies Daffy?" Neville asked.

"Ronald said that Harry loves them? So I am curious. I do like watching cat videos on Youtube. Ronald gave me a little crash course earlier. I want a cat now!"

"Cat videos are fun. There are also T.V. Series too. Like movies but the plot occurs over three months. So like a 12 hour movie?"

"Oh, I want to see those too!"

"Luna and I are watching the Simpsons. Mum and Dad are keeping me company!"

"I am happy you can enjoy some time with your parents. How are they going?"

"They are beginning to get sensation in some places. They are fine. I have to admit, this is the best Yuletide present ever. Harry and Hermione know that I will never top this one out, I guess I will have to settle for defeat."

"A good defeat them?"

"The best one yet, Daffy."

One hour later, Daphne was watching the Phantom Menace, and began to appreciate where Harry had gotten the idea for his sword. She also found it unusual that mundanes who did not have an inch of magic in them, could think about magical things. Then she remembered something that Hermione had mentioned yesterday.


"According to Moldypants, Muggles are a threat to magic. He fails to understand that if Magic is such a beneficial trait to have, eventually the entire Human species will evolve or obtain the ability to produce magic. Nature always selects beneficial traits." Hermione explained.

"So all muggles will become magical?" Daphne asked.

"Muggles are already magical. They don't have enough magic to cast spells. With every generation that passes, they get closer and closer and then ta-da! You get Mundane wizards and witches like me. I will go as far as saying that if the gene pool in Magical England gets thinned out, the purebloods will eventually lose their magic."

"Many of them aren't too bright. That is not a bad thing if they go extinct?" Tracey replied.


Daphne began to wonder if perhaps the muggles, or mundanes as Harry and Hermione preferred to call them, had magic buried in their minds. And perhaps they expressed their magical ideas with whatever tools are available to them? Two hours later she was convinced that The Phantom Menace was the greatest thing she had ever seen, and she was not moving until she saw every single movie by tomorrow afternoon. Later that evening when Daphne's extended family dropped in for dinner, her father for the first time found her mind elsewhere.

"Daughter, are you alright?" Cyrus asked.

"Oh yes. I was busy…."

"I suppose you are a bit absent minded, as you are trying the new…entertainment?"

"I guess? I already saw two of the Star Wars movies. They are the greatest piece of art I have ever seen! And I still have four more to watch!"

"Ah yes, Harry loves that one. I understand James and Lilly loved it too. Is it that good?"

"YES!"

"Maybe I will watch it with your mother, to pass some time." Cyrus pondered.


At the Weasley residence, there was a similar set of activities that were occurring.

"Bill, where is Ronald?" Molly Weasley asked.

"In the gym. I can't get him to put the weights down. He also loves the boxing bag. At this rate, he might punch all of the Death Eaters into oblivion."

"He really is a badger, isn't he?" Molly asked.

"He just keeps going, like the Hogwarts Express. Fred and George won't be able to call him 'ickle ronnekins' anymore. He told me he is aiming to be Remus sized."

"He is looking a little bigger. A startling amount of growth for only three months. It is a bit unusual."

"Harry and Hermione look like they could be a well developed mundane fourteen or fifteen. Or a pureblood sixteen. And they have massively athletic builds. It might be possible mum, that everyone will fill out early. Even I have seen some muscle growth and I am already an adult. Harry's workout program is brutal." Bill replied.

There was some noise as some light feet seemed to rush down the kitchen stairs.

"Hello, Aunty Molly!" Astoria chimed.

"Oh hello you. I thought you would have been with your family today?"

"I will go back home a bit later. Ginny wanted to build something."

"I suppose she wants to use all the bits and bobs Harry gave her? I know he gave both of you his old tools?"

"Yes! I am excited too, Aunty Molly!"

"Go on Astoria, have fun! Lovely to have you over!"

Fred and George were at the kitchen table, and were reading James' notes. Both of them were already planning a prank item that was so putrid, that it would forcibly empty the castle. Of course, the trick was to design the prank in a manner where any of the commonly known charms would be ineffective. Harry and Hermione had provided some runic arrays that would do the job, and the plotting was proceeding full steam ahead.


Late into the evening after having a fun time with some of the videogames, Harry found himself looking at a pile of parchment that seemed to be a story. He read the note that was attached to it and realised that this was the item that Tracey had promised. According to her, this was a 'story' that she was working on for fun, and she had warned Harry that 'it would make him uncomfortable…'

"The Pureblood Princess Chronicles: Larry Hotter and Daffy Redbush"

Harry already suspected where this was going, and spent the next hour reading the manuscript. Suddenly Peverell Manor was filled with Harry's laughter as he examined the lurid descriptions in the book. Hermione had appeared, immediately volunteered to read the raunchy descriptions out aloud.

"This is mentally scarring. But pretty funny! Since it stars you as the studmuffin!" Hermione replied. She was now crying, as she caught her breath.

"I know. Tracey is a severe pervert. Now I am wondering if she has discovered Internet Pornography?"

"Obviously. She is a wild thing. But you know her plot was pretty good. This is miles ahead of the hag and a troll falling in love. This could be one of the best things we sell on the dataslates?" Hermione genuinely wondered.

"How about if we make the 'me' in the story muggleborn – that will make it controversial. We can ask a publishing house to have a look at it. We send back the improvements, and ask Tracey if the changes are acceptable. Then we offer the book as a dataslate only purchase. We can take a ten between us and she can get the remaining ninety per cent?"

"We can aim to get it translated too. I will get Lorna to handle this, Lord Studmuffin!" Hermione laughed.


It was Boxing day.

For most of the Peverell and Granger residents, work had resumed. William and Jean were at the Dental Clinic, as the patients filtered into the reception area. Amba and Molly were also in the kitchen, and Remus was already back to managing his portfolio – he was preparing the materials to manufacture at least sixty thousand dataslates during January. A new workflow and some other optimisations were being tested. If they could debug the possible problems, only the preparation of the materials would be necessary to keep the machines running. Harry now had a manufacturing line that was no different to any of the standard factories that produced thousands of items per hour. It could even be argued, that his methods were still behind – he took about fifty seven seconds to manufacture a dataslate from start to finish. The four assembly lines were usually active for about ten hours daily and took up an entire wing in Peverell Manor.

Current smartphone manufacturers were taking thirty seconds to assemble a smartphone. Harry was aware that he was a small timer, in comparison to the technology giants like Samsung.

In any case, most products were run on different production cycles until they had enough stock – the Wizarding world could only buy so much at a time. And then, there was a penalty to keeping his operations secret – while he had automated many things, he needed more people to work for him and he was not going to risk that until the war was finished. When the dataslates were finished in January, they would switch to the Quidditch products. Parts for the Rudra and Morrigan would be manufactured from the beginning of February. The combination of these items along with the camera drones would allow Quidditch broadcasts and products to go live from March.

Sirius was at Gringotts, as preparations were being made to facilitate Hermione, Harry and Nymphadora's adoption into House Black. The pair spent the morning, as they worked to reverse engineer the Marauder's Map. Hermione began a "runic dump" to translate the item's magical essence into runic arrays, and Harry was working on a rail gun.

"Out of curiosity, why the rail gun?" Hermione asked.

"You never know what unusual thing we will create, and it will solve a problem elsewhere…"

"Oh yes, we have been lucky when that works to our advantage. But other reasons?"

"The energy based weapons give away our position. The rail guns would be excellent for long distance engagements or for just putting down a large number of rounds. I am thinking about a five gram piece of aluminium at hypersonic speeds. We can power it from the reactor."

"Oh nice! One of the other things we have to do Harry is to add encryption schemes to our magic. For example, if a person wanted to use their protean to tie into our protean link, they have to provide a cryptographic key. This will also prevent other people from hijacking our stuff. We will have to implement that within the RuneOs."

"Isn't it possible to hide ward signatures with that too? That could make it difficult for enemies to bypass our wards. Just imagine a Death Eater trying to break our wards and they have to crack a number in the trillions. Find two nice but large primes that give that number. Ha!"

"The Dark Lord defeated with Mathematics. Sounds exactly like us.

I am also thinking we could interface with foreign magic with a virtualisation layer. No different to how we can get software to emulate hardware. That would allow us to control unwanted magic safely. Whatever magic is foreign to our systems, we keep it in a box. I mean the magical radar from the mission was fantastic, but what if it had crippled the avionics?"

Harry became white, as he realised that this was a big security hole that they needed to plug. No foreign item should have ever interfaced with the avionics system in the Thunderbolt, directly. That was rather dangerous. Harry nodded, as he continued to listen to Hermione's other suggestions.

"That will be a challenge but I think it is worth it. Security is important Harry."

"It is – I can't believe we didn't think about that! What about a finite only works to cancel our spell if it has the correct encryption passkey?"

"That is also another thing we should develop. Anyway Harry, what do you think about these illusions for the map?"

"They are damned amazing. I always loved the Deadspace styled map, it is one of the best I have ever seen. I appreciate how we can watch the entire castle in three dimensions and just zoom into a place. Getting multiple floors at once is also good." Harry commented as Hermione began to conjure the other features. Now there were cross sections, highlights, tags and other creative ways in which they could look at the castle.

The conversation and prototyping continued until it was time for their afternoon break. Harry and Hermione changed into their speedos and began to work through the training dummies. Hermione loved the Wing Chung dummy as it allowed her to practice short, controlled and powerful strikes. Harry preferred the Ju-jitsu dummies, and he found them challenging as he could not progress beyond the third level of difficulty. Both of them continued their workouts well into the afternoon, as the music blared in the workshop.


Astoria and Ginny arrived, but unlike their usual visits, they had company. Daphne and Tracey had come along, if only because they were curious. Daphne was very excited about visiting Peverell Manor, and Tracey had come along to watch Daphne's face. Of course, the Ice Princess of Hogwarts would try her best to hide her facial expressions, but her pale cheeks would become rosy red when she was nervous or embarrassed. Tracey was waiting for the tell tale sign that would indicate that she had come by to admire the 'one and only Harry Potter.'

Astoria and Ginny made their way over to a welding cart and borrowed some items. They had gotten Remus to design their Go-Kart frame, and he had offered to help them fabricate the item after they did the prep work. However, the new visitors had not bothered to observe the Peverell regulars. All eyes were on Harry and Hermione who were practising their combat.

Daphne and Tracey who had not seen any Martial Arts before found themselves spellbound at the type of fighting that was possible with a person's hands and feet. Daphne found what she saw to be similar to the movies, but this seemed more realistic. Hermione continued her drills as she practised against the pegs of the wooden training dummy. Harry seemed to be struggling and was tired, as the training dummy was relentless.

Harry was distinctly aware that perhaps by the standards of British Wizarding society he was a fearsome fighter. But if this dummy was a training dummy and he was barely getting by, which how much preciseness and talent did the Japanese magicals fight with?It was a logical question – perhaps the different magical cultures of the world had different specialities. As the music stopped, Hermione and Harry made their way over to the small benches and Daphne and Tracey were now clapping loudly.

"Ah, we have visitors! Enjoyed your Christmas?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Now I can drum to whatever music I want! Thank you so very much!" Tracey replied.

"And what about you Ms Greengrass?" Harry asked.

"I saw the first three Star Wars movies between yesterday and today. It is the greatest thing I have ever seen! Now I know where you get your ideas from!"

"That one is a favourite with both of us. I see that you are surprised, yes? I suppose you have never seen Martial Arts?" Harry asked.

"No. I thought all fighting was with a wand I guess?" she replied, somewhat unsure and embarrassed.

"And what happens when your wand is taken away? No, when your body is a weapon, even with the absence of armour and weapons, or even a wand you can still be dangerous. People with broken bones, cannot hold wands. And people with broken necks cannot cast magic. Perhaps a demonstration?"

"I would like to see?" she replied anxiously.

Tracey listened to the conversation between Harry and Daphne while cutting sounds occurred in the other room, adjacent to the workshop. Hermione summoned her wand from the table and began to throw traditional stunners that were not optimised. Harry to the surprise of the girls, could easily sidestep all of them. As Hermione began to increase her speed, she was now casting a barrage of multiple optimised stunners at a rate that resembled machine gun fire. Harry was finally knocked out, and Hermione skipped over and ennervated him. He shook himself off, and then explained:

"Well, she got me good there. But then, not even some of the more talented Death Eaters could cast like that. And I had no cover. If you have objects in the environment, it becomes easier. Don't stand like a headless chicken in the middle of the road, and assume that people are afraid of your robes. Tactics are how you win. Well…..that is how we win, generally?"

"Could I learn to fight and doge like that?" Daphne asked.

"To dodge? Yes. For the fighting? Not sure. My house Magic is specialised towards combat and transfiguration, so it won't be overnight development for you. About three years ago, you were easily better fed and probably even taller than me. My mother had to rebuild every system in my body…..."

Daphne appreciated that the boy loved his mother, and was quite proud of her. He continued:

"Let me get in touch with Lorna. She might be able to source our training dummies to teach you the basics. The apartment will be done in time for January the 1st. Perhaps you can use the gym to practice."

"Can we live in the apartment?" asked Tracey.

"More accurately, it is an entire house. And yes, that is the plan. The transporter will take you from anywhere in the castle to the building. We asked our French contractors to build three floors downwards from ground level. Basement three is weapons and food supplies. "

"Three basements?" Tracey asked.

"Yes. Basements two and one are living quarters. Three rooms each. The gym, practice mat, kitchen and Laundry area are on the ground floor. Fully powered and has all the amenities. The first floor is also living quarters, and the topmost floor is a small lab and a recreational area. Everything under Goblin illusion wards. The construction is almost finished and Hogsmeade residents have no idea. The perimeter has a forcefield to physically keep people out, and we have some choice defence cannons."

"So nine personal rooms then? I want to guess the five of us, along with Ginny and Astoria. Who are the other two spaces for?" Tracey asked.

"It could be for me or Hermione if we need to crash. We have another apartment that we are building on another lot of land, right next door. I inherited three lots of land in Hogsmeade. One of them will be built into a store, and maybe the other one can be a living area for Charlie, Percy and the Twins. Tonks might stay there too."

"I hope we don't have to fight for the shower?" Daphne joked.

"Oh no, that won't be necessary. Each room has its washroom and shower. Each room is about 6 meters by 8 meters." Hermione replied.

"Meters? I wanted to ask about that. Is that related to Kilometers?" Daphne queried.

"Oh right, you don't know metric. Say 24 ft by 18 ft. I am sending you home with a chart. Only America uses Imperial units in the mundane world."

"That is absolutely huge!" Tracey exclaimed.

"Yes, we extended the footprint of the original building. I don't like congested places. We are even building a tunnel to connect the buildings, and then we will tunnel straight into Hogwarts." Hermione replied.

"Why a tunnel to Hogwarts?" asked Daphne.

"Emergency escape, or we could build a war shelter. As long as it is there, we will find a use for it. You never know if we might need to hide from a pink coloured hag?" Harry replied, as he thought about Dolores Umbridge.

"I suppose you like being prepared, so I will defer to you on that," Daphne replied.

"Since you decided to drop by, how about if we look into those nice new wands for you? Come along, I might as well have fun!" Harry replied as he and Hermione dragged both of the girls off.


The next morning on the 27th Harry, and Hermione, found themselves in the Black Accounts Lobby. Barchoke had prepared the Inheritance bowl and the six people included Harry, Hermione, William, Nymphadora, Andromeda and Ted. Ted and William were present to observe the ritual. For them merely being attached to House Black via a child or spouse was enough.

"Ah, so many faces today. A polite season's greetings to you Artificer Peverell and Priestess Granger. Mr Tonks and Ms Black-Tonks a warm welcome. Mr Granger, Ms Nymphadora Tonks and finally Lord Black, it is good to see that you are making wise choices. The inheritance bowl has been prepared." Barchoke replied.

"Well, here we go," Sirius mentioned as he dragged the ceremonial gem-studded knife across his palm. The blood dripped into the inheritance bowl before he recited the oath.

"By the blood of my line, by the blood of my ancestors, by the blood of thyself, I welcome Palatine Artificer Lord Peverell into House Black, as a son of House Black. I welcome Lord Peverell as the last living son of my blood brother James Potter. I welcome both Lord Peverell and the last scion of House Potter as my adoptive son in the eyes of magic….."

Herald manifested, and suddenly Harry's rings flared as the Peverell Atom and the Potter Griffin arose from his rings. Harry then grasped the dagger and cut himself, before dripping some of his blood and reaffirming the oath. Harry replied:

"By the blood of my line, by the blood of my ancestors, by the blood of thyself, I acknowledge myself as a son of House Black. I acknowledge Lord Sirius Black the 3rd as my guardian and as the blood brother of my father and mother, James Potter and Lilly Potter. I acknowledge Lord Sirius Black as my adoptive father."

Herald nodded and the Griffin roared. The Peverell atom buzzed with activity before fading into nothing. Sirius began the ritual for Nymphadora:

"By the blood of my line, by the blood of my ancestors, by the blood of thyself, I welcome Nymphadora Tonks into House Black, as a daughter of House Black. I welcome Nymphadora Tonks as my niece, in the eyes of magic….."

"By the blood of my line, by the blood of my ancestors, by the blood of thyself, I acknowledge myself as a daughter of House Black. I acknowledge Lord Sirius Black the 3rd as my guardian. I acknowledge Lord Sirius Black as my uncle."

Herald snaked over to the girl and inspected her. He gave a nod of approval with all of his nine heads before wrapping around her protectively and infusing his essence into her. He then uncoiled himself and began to watch Hermione anxiously. Sirius began the process once again, to adopt Hermione:

"By the blood of my line, by the blood of my ancestors, by the blood of thyself, I welcome Rune Priestess Lady Granger into House Black, as a daughter of House Black. I welcome Lady Granger as my niece, in the eyes of magic….."

Hermione replied:

"By the blood of my line, by the blood of my ancestors, by the blood of thyself, I acknowledge myself as a daughter of House Black. I acknowledge Lord Sirius Black the 3rd as my guardian. I acknowledge Lord Sirius Black as my uncle."

Hemione's magic flared, and the periodic table began to glow and shuffle. The arithmantic points of magic began to spin and animate themselves. Herald touched the sigil and there was an exchange of small whisps. The Granger magic faded away and Herald nodded with approval before he announced to the crowd:

"The Black magic is satisfied. Powerful and worthy children have been welcomed into House Black. Righteous children. I will watch over you, as you have watched over me….." Herald whispered as he waited for the naming ceremony to be completed. Sirius opened a small box and then three small signet rings appeared.

"It is Black Tradition to choose a name that comes from the stars. Harry Potter and Lord Peverell, declare yourself!" Sirius commanded.

"I name thyself Pulsar Black! I name thyself after one of the fiercest objects in the heavens! Titanic by weight and mysterious in its radiance! This is my namesake." Harry slipped on the signet ring and it glowed before disappearing. Hermione announced herself:

"I name thyself Aurora Black! I name myself after the beauty that results from the protection of life! That which is beautiful and that which gives us hope! This is my namesake." Hermione slipped on her ring.

"I name myself Nebula Black! I name thyself after that which is luminous and that which resides among the night stars! That which is easily seen from afar, yet non-existent when observed from near! That which hides itself and is simultaneous present! This is my namesake." Nymphadora slipped on her ring.

There was a short pause and Sirius smiled. Then he added, "Excellent names. Glad that hambug is done."

"Thank you Harry and Hermione for helping me with my piece. I memorised it before I came. I generally fumble with a lot of stuff…" Nymphadora laughed.

"No problems Tonks. Alright, let us get home." Harry replied.


While Harry was not the direct inheritor of the Black lineage, he was happy enough to be a son of House Black. Sirius had promised the Black Magic an heir, and Harry and Hermione were excited about having a new child to fawn over. While that was a prospect that lay in the distant future, Harry considered his dual ownership of two houses to be enough power. Sirius was alive and he would suffice. On that basis, Harry insisted that Sirius adopt him only as his son, in the eyes of magic. Harry also considered making Remus Lupin a steward of House Potter, when he could access Potter Manor. He was aware that the Gryffin within his ring, approved of such an action.


Daphne on the other hand was listening beyond earshot to her parents, as she desired to ascertain what memories had been provided to her father.

"Well husband, what did you see from his recollections of his mission?" Ophelia asked.

"An entirely new class of magic. The armour offers far more protection. They have improved the guns, and they hit with far more energy. Their detection system can sense magical signatures from thousands of yards. That allows them to map the battlefield before they arrive."

"Impossible seems to be a usual day with that pair?"

"Definitely Ophie. He didn't provide all of the memories, but they were able to fire from the men from the sky. The ability to control all the guns at the same time? They killed the initial group of men by producing enough spellfire that would require at least five hundred wizards casting at a rapid speed. The unique construction of the ship gives them the ability to position themselves in mind-boggling directions. The final combat was even more impressive."

"How so, husband?"

"Harry can use his feet to create shockwaves. It allows him to make Wizards lose their footing. He can also pull weapons out of their hands. Hermione can conjure water wandlessly. And finally, their work with blades is quick. Killing blows."

"What about the women?"

"At least twenty three. All of them went were rescued. Harry tagged the drugs and the weapons with an item that allows me to listen to people. I also have access to a location. He wants me to figure out who is involved. If other magicals are responsible, then Harry and Hermione will get involved. If they are mundanes, we pass it off to Interpol. I believe they handle that sort of issue."

"Did you see the killing?"

"Yes. Watching these memories are difficult – Harry's memory storage artefact not only shows provides the memory but even some of the thoughts that he was thinking. I can even feel when he regrets killing. There is even some fear, and there is the feeling of his House Magic that thrives in combat. His ability to process information is impressive."

"He is only a boy. Daphne is only four months older than him!"

"I am not so sure about that – his mind feels like an adult. Focused. His experiences are terrible and humbling. And his intellect? Sadly the boy had to die, and the man took his place. It pains me to say it, but it is, what it is….."

"Lady Hecate guide him and Hermione. Their actions have saved so many people. He gives much of himself…."

"He does. I will continue to monitor the developments with the narcotics and the weapons and I will inform him, as soon as I have solid information. I hope he appreciated his gift?"

"Oh, he loved it. He cried a little. I felt happy to give him a copy of those letters and some of our more candid pictures. I wish Lilly was here with us. She died and her husband died, so that we may have freedom. And her only son and his family stands as a singular force against the tides…."

"No wife he is not alone. He has our support. The Dark Lord does not plan to tolerate Neutrals. You heard the recording. I have hinted to Cillian that the darkness is coming. We will work silently."

"What about your gift husband? The jetbike looks impressive. And very fast. I can trust Harry to pick out good manly gifts for you, every single time."

"Oh Ophie, I experimented with the bike yesterday. It is very easy to ride if you are already accustomed to brooms. I would like to carry you for a ride."

"Oh, that would be welcome! Yes, please! It will be like those broom rides we used to do in year seven!" Ophelia giggled.

"Harry and Hermione are having a training session for the older wizards. Percy, Charlie and Nymphadora are his main targets, tomorrow. I think Gabrielle and Fleur, Clementine's granddaughters will come too. It will be nice for Daphne and Tracey to meet them. Two days of utter hell, according to the pair. I want Daphne to be present, to observe their methods, or participate if she is brave enough."

"Ah yes, Harry explained that both Daphne and Tracey had never seen Martial arts. I could remember popping into the workshop and seeing them practising many months ago. It is really something. Daphne has expressed interest in learning?" Ophelia explained.

"That is excellent. Her ability to deliver devastating blows with her hands could equalize being wandless. I have come to appreciate how broken hands and fingers are useless for casting spells. Talking about wands, Harry and Hermione had one of those busy bee evenings. Tracey and Daphne both have new wands, so I am happy about that. Darling this Lobster Bisque is fantastic!"

"Thank you. I love learning new recipes. I have new ingredients to experiment with, and I know you like seafood. Daphne seems to be…busy as of lately?"

"Well wife, she has made up her mind to win Harry over. She is currently watching all of the Star Wars movies, and she even seems to be studying a mundane subject. I barged in on her room last night. Tea and computer programming."

Daphne's eyebrows were raised, as she realised that she had been made out.

"Husband, I will enjoy her struggle as she steps out of her comfort zone to win him over. Frankly, I was on the edge of begging him to just give us a contract and be done with it. Lilly and I have been plotting this before their birth."

"That thought crossed my mind too. But Harry seems consumed by the war and doesn't seem to be bothered by his loins one bit. And when he decides to have fun…he has fun by…doing more work. Next year it is Imperial College for them. I did some research on the place. It is one of the best mundane universities in the entire world."

"Well, you can expect no less from him. Astoria and Ginny on the other hand seem to be overly concerned with loud things that explode. I find that..unusual?"

"From pureblood princess to rebellious tomboy. The Diagon Alley experience was good. Draco has a bleak future ahead of him, dearest wife."

While Daphne listened to the conversation, she found herself plotting. She needed to see those memories. Daphne decided to do the one thing that she had promised to do – she would beg Astoria. She walked into Astoria's room and found a long piece of clear pipe, with a potato lodged in it. Ginny was also present.

"What is this?" Daphne asked.

"Potato Cannon. A rite of passage for all mundane children. We aren't missing out!" Ginny answered.

"Could I have a word in private with my sister?" asked Daphne. Ginny nodded and Daphne erected a privacy ward. Astoria with her full crop of black hair was watching her sister curiously.

"Stori, I need help with something, please?" Daphne begged.

"Are you begging me?" Astoria asked incredulously.

"Yes? I will owe you a favour. I promise."

"What is it?"

"Do you know the password for the memory item?"

"I do. I overheard when he set the password. Why do you want to see his memories?"

"For reasons…."

"Admit it. You really like him, don't you? Do you want to marry him?" Astoria asked, teasingly as she grilled her sister. Daphne paused with the most torn look on her face. She understood that her sister enjoyed the affair. Daphne had always insisted that she would never belittle herself to beg her sister (the annoyance) for anything. Suddenly her face stilled and she even smiled a little, and Astoria was a bit surprised.

"Maybe one day. Yes, I like him but not because he is famous. I like him because he saved my mother. And he saved you. And because he is brave and kind. But he is…..complex….I want to understand him. I know what I will see will be terrible. I want to know him, through the good that he does for others. Even if it is….killing. He only ever kills those who deserve it."

"Well, the favour I want is for you to officially make him my brother-in-law. Mum isn't making any more, you might as well get that sorted." Astoria replied very casually as if she was giving a command. Daphne's eyebrows lifted, as she processed the statements. Apparently, she was stating that she knew Harry far better than her and that she 'approved' of their prospective relationship. Daphne found the role reversal somewhat comical and presumptiously bold.

"I will try? I have to learn about the entire mundane world. His world is a place between the magical and mundane. And he does both with a lot of competence. Technically, he and Hermione know esoteric magic at a far better competence than any pureblood. Measuring up to that is challenging."

"Awww, my sister might believe in true love now! The password is SPOCK. S-P-O-C-K. He is a Star Trek character. Carry the pensive to your room, late tonight."


Daphne later that night found herself looking at the Pensieve, as she emptied the memories, after putting in the password. Her parents had taken a ride on the 'jet cycle', For the couple, it was exhilarating and romantic and they had retired early for the night. Ronald, Neville and Luna were 'jamming' at Tracey's house, as they were experimenting with the instruments. She found the illusion based keyboard on the memory device to be a fantastic piece of magic, as she looked at the silver swirling whisps in the Pensieve.

"Well here it goes…" she whispered to herself.


She found herself looking at Harry's explanation of the rifle and advancement. Now the holiday had made sense. Harry had gotten back and even his passive knowledge was impressive. Then discussions occured and they armoured up and left the compound.

Next, she temporarily felt the force of flying at such a severe speed. She immediately understood that Christmas Eve was just a mild prank. Her chest was in pain. Then the sensation eased off, as Hermione rechecked the directions. The next memory put the pair at the edge of the rainforest, as they set down the gunship.

In Harry's memory, was the awareness of the augments and all the other background information that was required for him to use the armour. The feeling of the muscle weave was there, and even the HUD was another item that Daphne had to adjust to, quickly. She observed as they tagged items, and they could view the suit energy, along with if projectiles were triggering their shields. There were also counters for their guns that showed how many shots they had, and what power settings were available.

Then was the joke about "predator vision" which Daphne understood as a movie item they had engineered. Harry and Hermione had modified their eyes and they could see far-off distances. The heat vision was shocking to her. The pitch black of the forest meant nothing. She could even feel Hermione's presence as Harry and Hermione occasionally borrowed each other's eyes and ears as they stitched together far more complete awareness of the battlefield. And then, from the live camera feeds, William Granger continued to monitor the situation.

At this moment she understood – this is what combat looked like for Harry and Hermione. They were centuries ahead of the others.

Then the first terrible thing occurred.

After the initial investigation of the environment, the easy going Hermione lopped a man's head off. Daphne who had never seen death and blood, began to cry a little. It was one thing to hear about death but to see it? Daphne released that these recollections were a horror show.

After the plan was decided upon the next recollection was a quick check on the weapons systems. From Harry's subconscious recollections, it became crystal clear that they were going to drown the area with spellfire. Worse yet, if FiendFyre was not scary enough, they had managed to reverse the spell, in a manner where the 'Cryo' rounds would instantly freeze tissue and make it brittle. As Hermione prepared positioned the gunship, Harry's eyesights were now down the barrel of the various guns. He took turns as he targeted each gun emplacement manually with his HUD and the joysticks.

Then the discussion followed about the incomplete control system in the Gunship. Even though Harry's link, Daphne could feel as the gunship took easily to their magic. Now she could tell that Hermione was toggling the engines and control surfaces directly. Harry's awareness was split among thirteen different pieces. Daphne's brain could barely cope with the information overload. Harry was capable of pointing all of the guns in different directions and triggering different spells. And he could articulate all of them at once?

Now the ship was something else, and they were somewhat laughing – the performance of the ship had been a pleasant accident. Hellfire and ice reigned on the men in the forest. Daphne could feel the periphery of Hermione's mind in the recollection as she seemed to flip, swivel and tilt the aircraft in all sorts of configurations that left her feeling disoriented. After all of the men had been dealt with, they exited the aircraft as Invictus grabbed control of the gunship. They verified the bodies and found a single straggler. He was bound and dragged off, as they examined the artefact.

Now Daphne was getting a flood of information from Harry's brain. They quickly adapted the piece of ancient magic and made their radar. Daphne looked on the first hand and saw as Harry pulled out billet alloy and forged the shapes on the workshop table. Hermione and Harry then worked in the runes, and now had crippled the artefact, as the panic on the radio arrived. The next recollection was sometime later, but what had happened was obvious – Harry had ripped the information from the man's mind. When he sharpened his mind, his mental presence felt like a fortress.

They landed and took a rest as the next day arrived. When Harry woke up, he gulped down the hot coffee and ate something as they got armoured up

and prepared to continue. Afterwards, Hermione got them into the air. Now they were scanning the area with the new artefact that they had created and they knew exactly how to approach the situation. They surveyed the area and did some reconnaissance, before deciding on shielding the hostages and a full-on frontal attack on the men in the encampment. The decision was made – Harry and Hermione were going to "fuck their shit up".

Grace was linked to Harry and she could talk. She had learnt her words from Harry and now they were connected via the spinal artefact. This was how they had helped Neville. She found Grace's chit-chat to be hilarious.

The next memory was some recon by Harry, as he carefully checked for every possible trap. When Hermione was finished with the bubble shield, they discovered that two women were out of the container. Daphne realised that hearing about rape, and seeing sexual assault somewhat in progress was a different affair. Hermione had dealt with her case, and Daphne laughed when Harry had suggested that Hermione was cutting from the other direction, this time around. Now she and the woman were already waiting, as Harry transported into the gunship. Daphne was not prepared for what happened next.

Harry descended with his jetpack and the wand shunts were deployed.

They had developed an artefact to destroy wands in a specific area. Now the men could not fight back with magic, and Harry's comment was illuminating.

With this artefact, they could put entire armies to waste. And the idea was rather simple – it was just that nobody had considered such an exploit. Daphne even felt terrified, as her mind mingled with some of the conscious implications of Harry and Hermione's decisions behind the development of the device.

Suddenly another of Hermione's augmentations were switched on and now their breathing was enhanced. The pair then executed the modified apparition, while Harry punched men, summoned lightning and beheaded men. He ripped guns out of the hands of enemy combatants before he stomped the ground. His application of magic was creative. He did not seem to be concerned with learning spells. He fluidly wielded magic and weaved it as necessary into his physical attacks. Hermione summoned water and used steam to burn the men to death. She used her shotgun and preferred light agile movements. They understood the battlefield based on their instincts. Daphne had felt her mind being washed away in the stream of sensory information and awareness.

One hundred and twenty men were killed in less than a minute.

Then the gunship was set down and the women were freed from the metal box. Harry looked like a legend made real, as he tossed the metal door away. The weapons and drugs were then tagged. Haphazard modifications to the craft to lift the 'shipping container' had been necessary. Daphne had a chance to see Harry's deft hand as he controlled the weld puddle and he transfigured the molecules to overlap each other. Just the experience had been enough to teach her how the atomic model was utilised along with magic. She also appreciated the skill in his hands – as her father had mentioned, Harry did possess many talents. Then Hermione checked over the children while Harry took reactor safeties off and made adjustments.

Daphne cried long tears as the women looked on at Harry and Hermione. As Harry cloaked the container that was outside of the ship's invisibility field, Hermione transported the container with so much expertise that the occupants felt nothing. As they arrived at the agreed meeting place, Daphne met Luis Delacour and his squad through Harry's memory. The last memory within the forested area, was of a quick tour of the gunship before Grace left.

On the return journey, Hermione began to push both the aircraft and their bodies. Now Daphne understood what pain felt like….it seemed like Harry had dulled the recollection to make it manageable, but it was horrendously painful. They had very high pain tolerances. Then a practical demonstration of the jump drive occurred. It was a 'Hail Mary' as Hermione expertly managed the fuel and the jumps as they returned to England in less than two hours.

Daphne had exited the Pensieve and silently placed the item in her father's study. She left the memory device exactly the same way that she found it, and went to the bathroom.

Then she vomited.

After she cleaned her evidence away, she went to bed and tried to sleep. Under the revelation of what she had seen, she cried for Harry and Hermione.

Justice had a cost. Killing was a burden. There was no glory in it. No, there was only the price of being haunted by it. And yet it had been necessary.

Daphne understood that Harry did not consider himself a hero.

He looked upon himself and saw a sinner.


It was the 28th of December.

For the residents at Greengrass Manor, there was another laugh on the way. Rita Skeeter had dropped her signature article on Lord Malfoy that had been promised some time back. Now, the skeletons were now wide open. On the other hand, Cyrus was looking forward to 'Hell on Earth' as it was going to be a brutal workout for the older wizards in Harry's group. He hoped to expose Daphne to the reality of combat, unaware of her excursion to the Pensieve. She ate her waffles, eggs and bacon strips which were rather new to her, while her father enjoyed a laugh at Lucius Malfoy's expense.


The House of Malfoy! From Royalty to Pure-blood Supremacy.

-an exclusive by Rita Skeeter.

Hello my lovelies!

It is your girl, Rita again. Today I am following up on that juicy promise that I made some time ago. I did promise you that I would dig up the Malfoy secrets? I have come prepared to deliver!

So, the Malfoy family arrives in the late 14th century in Wizarding England. Before that, they were well known to the French aristocracy. The claim that their family has been in existence for a long time, is true. They could easily be as old as the Blacks if we were to look at their combined history in both places. So why did they move to Wizarding England?

Alban Malfoy, the great Malfoy patriarch was in love with a certain witch. But because of a favour that was owed, the girl was married off to House Dubois. A life debt was involved. Not much is known, but the girl had little choice. She was considered a commoner, and her family could not negotiate for her. It is acknowledged that the girl, named Simone was the exact opposite of what the current Malfoys would find acceptable. She was a muggleborn witch - more fascinating was that the girl had returned the feelings of young Lord Alban too.

So motive was present.

This arrangement resulted in the eventual murder of Lord Dubois. When the allies of the House began a systematic manhunt for the perpetrator, the young man had already left France after emptying Malfoy Manor. The Manor was then burnt to the ground by the allies of House Dubois.

Lord Alban did not arrive in England, empty-handed. He had premeditated the murder and stashed the entire family wealth at safehouses. As time went by, the young lord secretly moved all the wealth to England and he recommissioned Malfoy Manor. Of course, Lord Alban Malfoy was required to work with all types of people at the time to rebuild, but he wasn't a pureblood extremist. He eventually married Lydia Black, who was the youngest Black daughter at the time.

Allain Malfoy was different from his father, Alban. He was a ladies' man. Handsome, talented with a sword and a bit of a lout – he loved to drink and tell jokes. Allain one day found himself in a situation where he thwarted the assassination of a royal. And this was not just any royal.

This was Elizabeth I, the Queen of England!

Based on this achievement, Allain became a nobleman and the Malfoys continued to share a close relationship with English royalty until the 17th century. During this time, House Malfoy was wealthier than even House Black! They soon began to collect heritage art, gold, jewels and all sorts of antiques that the British Muggle Monarchy had acquired, as they began to colonise other parts of the world. They even specialised in the trade of Muggle goods. The house generated most of its wealth by participating in many things that were considered by today's standard to be 'filthy.'

Their money and vast financial power came from open fraternisation with 'mudbloods.' Ha!

Eventually, Abraxas Malfoy enters the story – the great grandfather of the current Lord Lucius Malfoy.

Abraxas Malfoy at the time believed that House Malfoy had enough wealth and that they did not need to participate in the muggle world. At this time the perspective had changed in magical England – the Houses which had minted their seats in the Wizengamot, had decided that they had a better chance of survival because they could not wage war with the muggles, despite possessing magic.

This is another strange admission - the disgust began not because of the blood issue, but because the magicals had not bothered to outthink the muggles. Instead of admitting that they were defeated by 'their inferiors', they closed themselves off from the world. All because it was a difficult narrative to deal with? It was an open admission that the 'muggles' were better at a lot of things.

And the purebloods for a time inadvertently followed the muggles too!

The pure-blooded houses began to adopt 'muggle' perspectives. The Aristocracy of Muggle England were enjoying obscene levels of wealth as they set their eyes on the colonisation of many foreign nations. To be born of royal blood, meant that you would never experience poverty – a reality that was associated with commoners. With the rise of Victorian culture, our 'pure-blood' wizards copied many standards from the muggle court of England, and they combined it with the reasoning of 'ensuring magical dominance' and 'keeping the riff-raff out. The recent Witch burnings at that time were cited as reason enough.

Today House Malfoy is certainly a successor to the values Abraxas had encouraged. The Great Grandfather of Lord Lucius Malfoy was a person who believes in 'proper breeding' despite the majority of their relationship with the crown of Muggle England. And to think that Lord Alban murdered in the name of love, for a muggleborn woman. Now they are a beacon for ultra-conservative pureblood perspectives that are a direct contradiction to their history.

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.

Lord Lucius Malfoy has attempted to reinstate their place many times, but the French aren't having any of it. The French have merely stated that the Malfoys were involved in activities that 'did not suit their taste' and that the family had nothing to offer. And in any case, many of the people who are born in Great Houses in France see their titles more as upkeeping family tradition. The magicals of France after the recent French Revolution did away with class separation. Everyone is of equal value, as long as they speak the language and they identify as French.

Stay tuned, as we look at some of the other 'darker' houses and their hidden histories!

Until next time!


Draco had not seen his father so angry. And yet after checking the family Grimoire, his face had become white. Draco observed as the books went missing the same evening, as a bonfire was made in the backyard. Another portrait was burnt, and Draco realised that not everything was as simple as it seemed. Dobby the house-elf was used like a ragdoll, as he screamed from the numerous kicks. Lucius took his rage out on the poor house elf.

Harry decided that he would try to get Dobby out of that house one way or the other, as the abuse of the elf cut him deeply. As far as Harry was concerned, if Draco did not change, both he and his father would be eliminated when the war arrived.