21 September 1986—Lovegood House

"Pipi, how is Gilly?" Pandora asked, sitting with Luna on a couch in the Lovegood sitting room.

"Gilly not bad but other Potter elves bad."

"Could you bring him here so we can talk to him about the other Potter elves?" Pipi nodded and blinked away.

It had been a little over a week since Harry had arrived at Gringotts, and the healing process was still ongoing. Rita, Xeno, and Pandora were all taking turns keeping an eye on Harry while he recovered. Tonight, Rita and Xeno were taking shifts, which meant Pandora was at home with her little girl, who was busy reading yet another book about a creature—Timmy the Troll and the Secret Rock. Pandora caressed Luna's ivory hair and listened to her humming in happiness.

But tonight wasn't just about relaxing with Luna. The goblins had spent a week trying to find ways to help the Potter elves survive when the only Potter was a child recovering from near-fatal injuries. Eventually, they decided on one idea. Now it was Pandora's job to bring that idea to life.

When Pipi reappeared, she was holding Gilly's hand, the Potter elf looking weaker than he looked a week earlier.

"How can Gilly help smart lady?" Gilly asked, his eyes cloudy and his skin pallid.

"Gilly, how are the other Potter elves doing?"

Gilly looked down and tried not to wail. "Not good, smart lady. Need mistress-master healthy or Potter name die and Potter elves die."

The odd name Gilly gave Harry gave Pandora pause. "Gilly, why do you call Harry Potter 'mistress-master'?"

Gilly looked confused. "Because she was mistress but she master now."

Pandora thought about this. "So she was born a mistress but is now a master?"

"Yes, smart lady."

"Will Harry always be a master, or will he become a mistress again?"

"Mistress-master will soon be mistress-master-mistress, smart lady."

Pandora nods. "Thank you, though I don't quite feel like a 'smart lady' today."

"You's always smart lady, just as miss Rita scary lady and miss Luna wise lady."

"Well, I can't argue with that" she said, laughing. "But I'm getting off-track. You say the other Potter elves are dying because the Potter name is dying. So once Harry is feeling better, he will be strong enough to heal you and the others?"

Gilly looked down. "When mistress-master becomes mistress-master-mistress, Potter name will die. Potter magic will live, but Potter name is powerful and we will lose it. Our magic needs name to make our magic strong."

"So if Harry changes his name from Potter to something else, you lose the power associated with the name because there are no other Potters left?"

"Yes, smart lady."

Suddenly, Luna looked up at her mum. "Can't they stop being Potter elves and start being Costaros elves once Leda's name changes?"

She smiled and kissed the top of her daughter's head. "Tell me, is this possible? When Harry changes his name—which, you're right, will happen soon—can the elves change from the Potter name to the new one?"

"We too weak. We would die if we tried—die faster than if there was no Potter at all."

"So when Harry is no longer called Potter, you lose a lot of your power, and since you are already weak, that loss of power will kill you all. Right?"

Gilly nodded, sadly.

"What if we recharged your power now—before the name change happens in a few weeks?"

"Only Potter magic can heal us, not Lovegood magic."

Pandora smiled and pulled a small box from a pocket in her robe and held it up. "This is a containment box. It walls off anything inside it so no one, not even elves, can know what is inside. I sometimes use a box like this to transport dangerous potions. But there are no potions in here now. Instead, inside this box is an orb. The goblins built this orb and then imbued it with Potter magic that they siphoned out of the Potter vaults. Since the vaults themselves are alive with Potter magic and since they are currently still in the hands of a Potter, they think you can use this orb to regain your strength. It won't bring you back to your normal selves, but it should give you enough strength to perhaps survive Harry's name change."

Rita then handed the box to Gilly. "Don't open this here. Let Pipi take you back to Potter Manor. Open it there. Then, if you can, come back and tell us how it went."

Gilly looked uncertain and even a bit terrified, but he nodded and, with Pipi's help, he disappeared.

"So when does Harry become a girl?" Pandora asked her daughter who looked at her with a blissful expression.

Luna smiled. "I told you—she already is."

"So it's a glamour?"

Luna shook her head. "Lady Magic—"

Suddenly, there was a crack and Gilly appeared by himself looking better, stronger, and happier.

"We's better, smart lady and wise lady! Lady Magic told Gilly mistress-master will be mistress-master-mistress soon! Lady Magic told Gilly some Potter elves be Costaros elves but other elves to stay Potter elves. My wife, Mel, be Costaros elf soon to protect Lady Leda against old goat."

1 October 1986—Gringotts Bank Albion Hospital

Trainee Healer Doings was standing in one corner of Harry Potter's hospital room taking inventor of the potion supplies. The boy remained in an induced coma because he was still recovering from a fortnight of difficult potions and procedures. However, the potions have all been administered and the procedures all complete save the purging that would take place in a few days.

As she worked, she was listening to the child gently breathing. In her mind, there was no more beautiful sound than the sound of Harry Potter sleeping peacefully and quietly.

When Harry first arrived at Gringotts, the healers took one look at him and were ready to march on Hogwarts and set fire to Dumbledore's ugly robes. How anyone could allow a child to endure such pain is unfathomable. Soon, however, that rage was replaced by the urgent need to save the boy's life.

Even with magic, it takes time to repair injured organs, regrow bones, and heal bruises. Given the severity of some of Harry's injuries, Lead Healer Ulx predicted that it might take a fortnight before the boy would be fully healed. Indeed, that is exactly how long it took.

At the moment, though, things were quiet. That's why Trainee Healer Doings was allowed the job of monitoring the child—there was little to do and little that could go wrong.

Several different potions supplies were either empty or running low, including Calming Draught and Pepper Up. Rather than waiting until her supervisor yelled at her for shirking her responsibilities, she turned and headed for the door, hoping to find a fellow Trainee Healer who might assist in her restock.

But something stopped her along the way—Harry. Why was his hair a different color? Why was it so much longer? Why were his face and arms so different? Has he…she…?

She wanted to pull back the bedsheets and inspect the rest of the child's body for changes, but she knew she was not supposed to touch a patient without a certified healer present. So she raced for the door and called out for assistance. Lead Healer Ulx happened to be nearby, and came racing into the room along with two other healers. All three immediately spotted the problem.

Ulx turned on Doings and angrily asked, "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Doings said, tearing up. "I was just taking inventory of the potions and was about to call someone to get a few more when I turned and saw him. I did not touch him at all!"

"Liar! How can you expect us to believe this…happened on its own."

"Actually, ma'am, I can confirm her story," another voice cried out. On the other side of the room, the witch Healer Freya suddenly appeared out of a disillusionment charm. She came and stood beside the bed and began softly stroking Harriet's hair. "I was protecting our patient, and I can assure you that Trainee Healer Doings was nowhere near the patient when it started."

"When what started?!" Ulx asked.

"A soft, golden glow filled the bed and hid the child's features. When it vanished, the boy was no longer a boy, as you can see for yourself."

"A soft, golden glow? Really?" one of the other healers, Ungi, asked, clearly not believing a word of it.

"Get a pensieve and I'll show you the memory. It happened and the proof is right there on the bed. Besides, I was expecting this. Skullpiercer told us all what seer Luna said to him after the Potter child was brought in. Remember Luna's words—'Lady Magic protects her own.' This was Lady Magic's doing, and I suggest you stop questioning Lady Magic."

With that, Freya vanished from sight, leaving the three four goblin healer staring at one another.

"Was that…Lady Magic?" Ungi asked, her hands shaking.

The three other women turned to Ungi and considered her words but said nothing. Then they set about doing their jobs, scanning the girl to ensure these changes had not interrupted the healing process.

They worked silently until they all agreed that no harm had been done and…Harriet's?… vitals were stable. Ulx then ordered Ungi to remain in the room and monitor the child, attended by Trainee Healer Doings, while she went to Skullpiercer to inform him of this news.

As the others were leaving, Ungi muttered, "I thought she'd be taller," to no one in particular.

1 October 1986—Potter Manor

It started as a low rumble heading towards Potter Manor. Then the ground beneath the stately home began to shake. Then the portraits on the walls started to shake and scream. Several vases fell and broke into pieces, and some books in the library flew off the shelves and onto the carpeted floor below.

The elves, however, stood their ground. Lady Magic had warned them of this approaching event, and she assured them they and Potter Manor would be safe.

Suddenly, they heard a loud crack that felt as though the house was being torn in half. Then everything stilled—no sound, no movement. It was over.

The elves looked at one another. There were some smiles, some tears, and some relief in all their faces.

"Miss Leda is better," Gilly spoke for all. "But Miss Leda is no longer a Potter. That way is blocked for her. But the Potter name will live again one day."

"But until then?" Mel, Gilly's partner, asked.

"Until then, we must listen to the words of our former masters." With that, Gilly and Mel popped into the main portrait room. There, on a wall, stood two portraits. The first housed an older couple: a woman with black hair and grey eyes and a man with dark, messy hair and blue eyes. In the second, there was a younger couple: the green-eyed woman's auburn hair sparkled beside a be-speckled man with scruffy hair similar to the older man's.

All four of these faces looked down on the two house elves.

"Well elf," the older man said, "is it done? Is the Potter name truly gone?"

Gilly looked at the man and nodded. "For now, former master. But one day it will return."

"Then Potter Manor must return to stasis until that time," the man declared.

"C'mon, dad," the young man cried. "It should be Hari's—I mean Leda's. It's her birthright. She's a child and had no choice in any of this. Why punish her for this?"

"If anyone should be punished, it should be Dumbledore," the younger woman added. "He's the one who drove Lady Magic to make this change. Without him, she would have grown up with the Longbottoms or Remus or even the Weasleys."

"Let's not get too crazy, Lily," the older woman said snidely. "But Charlus is right, James. If Leda ever takes possession of Potter Manor, then the whole of Britain will know that Harry's death was a lie. If that happens, then a lot of good that his 'death' will bring about will be undone. We can't allow that."

"Sounds a lot like 'for the greater good,' Mother," James said, snidely.

"Don't you dare say that, young man! Leda is not a sacrificial lamb we're sending out to slaughter along with a whole army of child warriors. She is a little girl who has suffered terribly but who has found herself a new family and will no doubt grow up to be a beautiful, brilliant girl just like her mothers. Losing the Potter name and all that comes with it is sad, but in exchange she gets to live a long, happy life."

"But if," the older woman looks down at Gilly and Mel, "in the future, the little girl wants to know about her Potter heritage, then please share this conversation with her. Hopefully, it will set her mind at ease to know that we all love her and care for her deeply and that we take this step to protect both her and all the good things that are going to happen as a result of what she has sacrificed."

"But mum—"

"That's enough," Charlus declared. "Son, if you wanted the responsibility for the Potter family, you would have taken the Lordship after my passing. You did not. Therefore, as the last Lord Potter, it is my decision and mine alone. Lady Magic herself removed her from the Potter family. I trust Lady Magic did this for a very good reason, and so we must honor Lady Magic and respect the traditions. When there is, once again, a new Lord or Lady Potter, then we will welcome that person and his or her family to our ancestral home.

"Until then, however, let all of Potter Manor, all other Potter properties, and all Potter house elves return to stasis—with two exceptions." Charlus looks down at Gilly and Mel. "I charge you two to become part of Leda's new family, to guide her and care after her until such time as a new Heir Potter is born. If she ever asks about any of us, please tell her all that we have said here. And tell her that we love her deeply and we look forward to seeing her at Potter Manor one day."

"We will obey," Gilly and Mel said in unison before popping away.

"So say I, so mote it be." With these words, Potter Manor sealed itself up from the world."

1 October 1986—Department of Mysteries

Unspeakable Brown was walking past the Hall of Prophecies when she heard a hissing sound, followed by a crack.

Concerned that there might be a intruder in the room, Brown went to investigate, using her wand to point her towards the remnants of the sound.

When she arrived at row 97, she saw smoke billowing out of one of the shelves. Taking a closer look, she noticed that the smoke came from a blackened and cracked orb.

When an orb turns black, it means the prophecy contained within has either been fulfilled or has been rendered moot by time and circumstances. A cracked orb, on the other hand, indicates that one or more of the individuals mentioned in the prophecy had died before the prophecy could be completed.

Taking a closer look at the orb itself, Unspeakable Brown noticed the initials "HJP" and "TMR" written on the outside along with the date in 1980 when the prophecy was made. She also noticed that the crack in the orb cut directly through the "P" in "HJP."

"Well, fuck," she said aloud before racing out of the Hall in search of her supervisor.