"All the runes have been broken into and about sixty percent of them are recast. They were the basic ones. But the runes for advanced security weren't. Whoever did the job left in a rush," said Daphne once they appeared by the white tomb in the graveyard. Harry still remembered where it was. Deep sadness flowed through him. It had been many years and the pain of Professor Dumbledore's death had not totally left Harry. He couldn't be numb to this, and still carried around hidden wounds at the old teacher's passing. Wounds he didn't realise were still there until he was at the grave again.

"The elder wand. It's gone," said Harry, "when I put the wand there I put a ward rune around this place so I could check whether the object was still there or not. It's gone, it's not in this place anymore."

He had said the passcode in his head to reactivate the ward and heard the sound of bells in the distance that was the sign the object had been gone. If the object was still there he would near nothing but silence.

"That was how they broke the runes around the grave," said Daphne, "wizarding graves have very strong runes and wards near them to prevent any sort of magic. If another ward or rune is placed nearby it can interfere and weaken them. A skilled witch or wizard can find a way through. Whoever stole the elder wand must've been working at it for hours, possibly even close to a day or two, before they managed to break through. It was your ward rune laid over the top that weakened the structure Harry..."

"I know," Harry looked contrite, "I've learnt more runes for auror training. There's many used for protection and fighting, but I didn't take ancient runes as an elective at Hogwarts and I didn't know then, at the end of the war, when I hid the elder wand there and thought I was making it safer by putting a ward or rune on it...I put protection ones as well as one to check if it was still hidden here or not..."

"I took ancient runes. One of the first rules of meddling with ancient runes is that you don't deal with any sites that already have runes cast on them unless you fully understand the underlying runes. You can't have screwed it up on your own though. It was likely whoever cast the runes around the grave gave you some authority over them. Recognised you as a master of sorts. That was how you were able to put more runes on-" said Daphne.

"Great, so Dumbledore told whoever was meant to put the runes on his grave to give me power over them. And then I came and screwed it up?" Harry felt like kicking himself in the foot.

"You're alright though aren't you? You don't know where the elder wand is which makes you safer in some way. Whoever has the elder wand now will be in danger. Dumbledore's grave itself is left untouched, perhaps even better of without a wanted and sought for artefact so close to it. And since you're the master of the wards, you can fix up the remaining ones easier than a lot of other rune specialists can. Go on Harry, fix the remaining forty percent or so. Then let's get out of here. What's done is done, and nothing we can do here will make a difference. I also think we should get out because we attract some strange attention-" reasoned Daphne.

Harry did so and found that he could feel the wards easily, as if they yielded to his magic signature. He was able to identify the wards that hadn't been recast, and figure out how to recast them with his newfound auror knowledge. The wards burned so strongly and brilliantly once it was all over that any of the darkness he felt around Dumbledore's grave had been totally banished. He held onto Daphne and appariated them back to his house where owls were emerging from all over the place with letters that were falling in his mailbox and on the ground outside when there was no space. There was a pile of letters on the ground outside the door of the owl flap.

"From people I don't even know. Media outlets," Harry's face grew white as he peered at some of them.

"Let's go inside. The tabloids don't know where you live yet and we want to keep it that way. Another good reason to not throw a ball," said Daphne as she lead him up the gravel path, "how about a bit of lunch?"

"Don't. It's my own house. I should treat you," Harry forced Daphne not to cook as he began making some fish and chips. There were indeed edible fish that lived in the lake as he'd discovered and caught later. He also boiled some vegetables and bought out some vinegar.

"It gets done quicker with two hands and I like cooking," smiled Daphne as she wrestled the boiling of the vegetables from him, "I'll let you cook the fish. Lake caught?"

"Yeah, there are probably bigger ones further out. It's a miracle there were some this size so close," said Harry, "I haven't really had enough time to properly explore this place, even though I've been out a few times. But who would know I had the elder wand?"

The image of Mr Nott Sr blasting his wand out of his hand and him across the road came to mind. He had been caught of guard, unexpected. Just like how Draco had been the true master of the elder wand for a few brief moments because he'd disarmed Professor Dumbledore as he caught the teacher off guard, and Professor Snape's killing of him was agreed upon, Harry had been bested of his mastery of the elder want by Mr Nott, who disarmed him when he genuinely didn't expect it and took the ownership from him. One didn't need to kill to possess the elder wand, only win a duel, and disarming was one of the most common methods of winning duels, a wand sensed the passing of it's ownership from being disarmed, just that most people preferred to kill the previous owner of the wand for good measure across history.

"It was Mr Nott," said Harry, "remember how he disarmed me when I went to Grimmauld Place? How was he even there? Are him and the Parkinsons close?"

"It was probably him. I'd say most people," said Daphne, "the deathly hallows are definitely a common story among lots of wizarding children, especially in pureblood families. The elder wand is pretty traceable through history. Most people knew that Voldemort was after it, had it for a brief time, and probably assumed you might've had it as a weapon too at your disposal when it came to defeating Voldemort. It's one of the most easily guessed weapons you used against him."

"How did they guess it was in Dumbledore's grave?" asked Harry.

"You're a bit of a pacifist for all the fighting you've been thrust into," said Daphne, "anyone could've guessed your stance would've been to get rid of the elder wand's power and not use it. That you'd prefer to use your old wand, not really using the elder wand as your own. They could've guessed you'd feel better of finding a new home for it that wasn't so physically close to you, but you'll feel more comforted if it was around something magical. Professor Dumbledore's grave is one of the few magical sites that's relatively unguarded, private enough, and personal enough to you, that you might use. There weren't many places that could've come to mind so it was a simple process of elimination-"

"Alright. I guess it's pretty obvious to anyone who knows me which magical places have significance to me...Nott must've guessed all of it by the time he disarmed me with the Parkinsons at Grimmauld Place. Is he close with the Parkinsons? Do they know?"

"All pureblood families are close with all pureblood families," said Daphne, "certainly the Notts and Parkinsons have more communication between them than they do with a non pureblood family. Certainly they have some form of relationship and keep each other close. Whether or not they personally like each other is hard to tell. It's possible he merely used the Parkinson's involvement with you as a convenient situation to disarm you. Perhaps he thought you might buy the excuse that he disarmed you to prevent you from attacking them more once you appeared at that situation after finding out the unfairness of the deal. Perhaps he tagged on and fed them some reason for why he had to be there. Perhaps the Parkinson's knew of his personal desire to get the elder wand and invited him along, thinking it was a great opportunity to him. It's hard to tell-"

"Either way now Mr Nott is the master of the wand," said Harry, "he didn't seem like the type to want to duel though. He seems like the type to wait in the shadows and never want to come out in broad daylight-"

"He doesn't have to be the master of it and defend it from people in duels to use it for his own purposes," said Daphne, "he could easily have someone imperius, confund or magically influence someone else to disarm him unexpectedly, thus transferring ownership of the wand. He could then blackmail the other person. If that person makes him unhappy he'll let everyone know they're the new master of the elder wand - forcing them to go into hiding or fearing for their life. Not everyone wants to be the master of the elder wand. He could transfer the ownership to someone else then figure out some way to sell it, or simply wants to keep the dark artefact under his possession. The elder wand is still a dark artefact at the end of the day and the Notts along with the Malfoys store their wealth in them. Perhaps he wants to take it apart or experiment with it. There are many ways he could find to get use out of it that doesn't involve using it the normal way-"

"It doesn't sound like he wants to make trouble for it. Perhaps he will guard it better than I did...how did the reporters know to go to the grave? Do they usually camp out at Dumbledore's grave?" asked Harry.

"They probably hoped to find something fishy there after seeing that picture of you in a grave digger costume. Anything that was related to graves I suppose. They got their wish. They must've had a field day. Checking the runes around it for signs of tampering was probably one of the first things they did. Imagine their surprise when it really was revealed to be tampered with..."

"Can people who aren't masters of runes tell if they're broken into?" asked Harry.

"Of course they can, it's just merely harder for them to fix it," said Daphne, "the elder wand is probably safe for now. It's just a matter of insult. Are you...insulted by Mr Nott?"

Harry snorted, "he wanted something for himself. He saw a way to get it. It's so impersonal. I guess the power and draw of the elder wand is just too much to be hidden in a grave forever. Do you think Dumbledore even saw it coming? That's why he gave me some authority over his grave? So all of this could happen?"

"It actually isn't beyond impossible he could," said Daphne, "graves are actually one of the magically safest places due to the amount of runes and wards that have been invented and perfected over the years to look after them. For some poor families, a grave is also their biggest and most secure vault, after the one in Gringotts, and they have no choice but to stash things they don't want seen in the grave of their family members. Even the poorest family that gets a standard magical burial will have a skilled rune caster come and set very powerful runes and wards over the grave. It's possible he knew his grave might be a sort of hiding place, and he meant for you to learn some lesson from it."

"What? That the elder wand draws trouble wherever it goes? That I shouldn't keep turning to Professor Dumbledore and things related to him as a solution to all of my problems? That I don't understand magic? That..."

Daphne hugged him, "he must've known you would've tried to throw away the elder wand at the first chance you got after the war. He created a way for you to seek shelter for it for some time, before it set of on it's path again. Perhaps he gave you a smoother way to lose it, or transition the power away to someone else when the war was over. Afterall, Nott got it through breaking a series of wards that were already weakened by you. It was hardly something actually physically harmful to you right? It was just a bunch of abstract things changing around the grave..."

"I guess," said Harry, "so the message is that objects like the elder wand are too powerful to be contained and they'll set of on their path again, sooner or later. Regardless of attempts to get rid of it or destroy it."

"That's the idea," said Daphne, "and there are many more uses for it besides just for winning duels. You only focused on the latter because of the war."

Harry finished cooking the fish and chips, as did Daphne. They soaked the peas and carrots in vinegar and drank a bottle of apple cider from the fridge. Harry felt happy even though it had been a rocky day.

He accio'd the letters and read through them.

Hermione had written to say that both Ginny and her weren't giving any sort of interviews, and that neither of them believed it. She warned Harry to not give any interviews either.

Some of his auror coworkers told him work came first and they could work with him on field missions regardless of whatever the press said about him. Some of his coworkers wrote to ask for more details, it was clear they believed the tabloids to some extent. There were way too many requests to interview him from media outlets that he didn't even know. He was a bit scared reading through them.

"How many people read these tabloid magazines? It's really blown up," Harry asked.

"Most purebloods subscribe to a copy just to see what's said about them. In case it's anything serious. Some halfbloods do the same. Some halfbloods love these sort of tabloids. They're in the sweet spot to enjoy it. Not written about because they're not important enough, but in the wizarding world enough they read newspapers regularly and know what it is. The thing is, everytime there's a scandal it spreads around, everyone's talking about it, and so muggle-borns would also know if they were around halfbloods or purebloods. I'd say most people would've heard of the news, however briefly," said Daphne.

"Great, so I'm like a public clown," said Harry.

"Pansy and I theorised it's the halfblood writer's - most of them are - way of taking back what is theirs. They're upset the purebloods are born into their position in the world, and they get to profit of the backs of halfbloods just because they were purebloods. So they think because we're born with privileges, we deserve to give back in a way. If they can make money of us, they think they deserve to take some of it back..." said Daphne.

"That doesn't make sense. How exactly do you make money of the halfbloods?" asked Harry.

"A lot of things in the wizarding world are done by who you know," said Daphne, "in the ministry, any other career field, business deals. The purebloods have reputation and connections which opens doors to them. We can't do anything but we give each other first priority over muggleborns and halfbloods. We promote each other for jobs. We hire each other more. We lend to each other more, and for more risky endeavours. It probably costs the halfbloods some opportunities and that's how they see the money lost."

"Isn't that illegal?" asked Harry.

"The wizarding world law isn't that developed," was all Daphne said, "it just sort of does the bare minimum it needs."

"I thought the wizarding world was perfect when I first discovered it," said Harry, "and now I'm just..."

To his surprise Daphne merely chuckled, "I thought I was so much better than muggles when I realised I was magic. That I lived in a paradise I would never want to escape from," she recollected herself and smiled wanly at a spot in the distance, "now I see it's just as fucked up as the muggle world can be. Just with magic."

She collected the plates and began to wash them.

"Daphne it's my house," Harry fought to do so but Daphne proved better at household charms than he did and practically cast a protective shield that prevented any of his charms from doing the dishes or cleaning the table going through.

"I like chores," she admitted, "it gives me something to do, passes the time, and it's the only bit of work I ever get to do. I'm a socialite. I don't work."

"Aren't you afraid you're going to forget all your magic?" asked Harry.

Daphne just laughed even harder, "I'm a socialite. I socialise with purebloods and halfbloods wanting in on circles. Somehow trouble always finds us. I'll do plenty of magic in my lifetime, probably more obscure, harder and difficult ones than most halfbloods will ever see. There's no shortage of magic, but I don't have as much small magical things to do as many others, and I miss it you know...doing something..."

She finished washing up and levitated all the items back to their place with an ethereal grace Harry had never seen before. Mrs Weasley got the job done, but not in the perfect rhythmic ballet-like style of Daphne.

"You're pretty good at magic," he told her.

"Most people think I'm just a pretty face," Daphne told him sadly. She turned around and stared at him with wide open eyes as if to prove her point. With her smooth plain but pretty features, glossy long blonde hair, light blue-grey eyes, and hourglass body she was practically the most gorgeous girl around for miles, model material, and she looked like she had been told this and treated as such by people her whole life. She continued staring up at Harry with innocent wide open eyes as if proving just how beautiful and gorgeous she looked in that position. The way other people wanted to see her as, and she was giving it to them, that expression, that face.

"That you also are. What's stopping you from getting a job since you like magic so much and are good at it?" asked Harry.

"None of the really famous and wealthy pureblood families have worked for generations. Prominent families across the seas know us as the wealthy ones that don't work. If we were to work they would think our wealth has fallen and we'd get a lot less business with everyone else. Newspapers would also go wild with speculations, they'll think that we've been struggling with debt for a long time until we couldn't hide it anymore and one of us had to work, and we'll be written about for the rest of our lifetimes. Scandals will break out, old classmates will be interviewed, even if it was harmless at first, secrets will come out and we'll be destroyed. We don't actually have the option to work. All of us knows this. We just have to...find some other things to do with our time..." Daphne sounded sad as she waved her hand and some streams of water fluttered beautifully in the air all around her.

She seemed to truly love magic and was so good at the non-verbal type Harry could barely recognise the spells or enchantments she was using.

"You're kind of figureheads? If you look good, other people want to do business with you. If you don't, business deals go down. Kind of an advertisement for England's wizarding population?" Harry sussed out.

"Yes, and it was never a role we wanted to be born into. But we have to handle it with grace..." Daphne said.

Harry snorted, "you just told me you have no choice."

Daphne glared at him, "well I'm not the Greengrass that lets out family secrets, drops our name and loses our fortune. There's a threat of public humiliation and downfall and I'll handle my avoidance of that with grace," she said.

"Well what are you going to do about her? Most of the letters are outraged fanmail from ... Harry Potter fans apparently. But this mail from the Daily Prophet is something else," said Harry as he pulled out a newspaper excerpt written by a new name he hadn't seen around before, 'Celosia Juneberry' that was about Daphne Greengrass.

Daphne's eyes flew wide open, a wide-eyed look on her face this time, as she held out a hand to demand the paper.

Author's Note: What the heck happened to my hiatus? Okay I thought I was going to take one and stop writing but these chapters kept coming out and apparently not. I might take one soon, but I think I just have a really weird writing style where I sometimes think I'm going to take one, but I don't. I'll think more carefully before mentioning whether I'm going to be on hiatus or not in my author's notes because I get myself confused and stuff. Anyways, this chapter was to prove that yeah the purebloods aren't all nice despite the balls and stuff. Mr Nott Sr has no reason to like Harry and they all try to backstab each other and get things out of each other anyway. Harry is too powerless to do anything against Mr Nott Sr at all so he's just glad there's no more damage. And the elder wand is too powerful to be stopped by just that - it continues on it's interesting path again.