m"Not with a half-blood"

Chapter Fourteen: Unwanted Visitors.

Daphne found Harry in the parlour reading the magical construction book, and suggested that he make a pool, as that would mean getting to go swimming, without Harry braving Malfoy Manor.

"I don't know" said Harry. "I'm not a big swimmer."

"I could teach you" said Daphne. He looked like a constipated poodle as he thought about that.

"Uh okay" he said, and flicked through the book to find an appropriate page "Uh, is that all" he said "I'll just go do that" he added, and walked out the door.

Daphne followed, for a little bit, and went to her office, to deal with paperwork. From the smell, dinner was going to be delicious. Again.

Quite a bit later, someone banged the kitchen door open.

"We're being attacked. Harry Potter says to get out, it's death eaters!" shouted Mr Tweedle breathlessly.

Daphne tried to imagine that, but was interrupted by Harry's silvery patronus-elk-thing jumping into the room through the wall, and speaking with Harry's voice.

"We're under attack by wanna-be death eaters. Get to Grimmauld where it's safe then call for help." said the silver elk, and then it vanished. Harry had sounded… annoyed.

Oh, wannabe's.

Daphne dropped her quill, drew her wand, and stood up, time to get out of here.

She found Jimmy turning off the oven, of all things.

"I don't want the house burning down" said Jimmy, looking pale-er, and he went to the fireplace, and threw in floo-powder. The fire went green, Jimmy said "Number twelve Grimmauld place" and stopped in.

And he didn't vanish.

"Oh shit" said Daphne. "The floo's blocked!"

Jimmy got out of the fireplace, and a moment later, "Maybe if I try it again?" he asked.

Daphne cast a quick loud-speaking charm "FOSTER!" she shouted.

Mrs Foster bustled in a little later.

"Maam?"

"We appear to be under attack by wanna-be Death Eaters" said Daphne. Mrs Foster's eyes widened.

At that moment the kitchen door banged open, and Tweedle dashed in, panting.

"Harry says try the floo" he said "Apparation's blocked."

"Floo's blocked too" said Jimmy, and Tweedle's face collapsed, and he braced himself on the kitchen bench.

Mrs Foster broke into tears.

I am not going to panic. Just because older adults are panicking.

Daphne cast a door-blocking spell on the kitchen door, and started layering on protective charms.

That seemed to help Mrs Foster, as she started casting strengthening charms on the door instead of shivering..

There was a soft pop from the middle of the kitchen, and standing there, swaying on his bare feet, was Kreacher.

"Mistress" he croaked "Kreacher – " Kreacher swallowed with difficulty "Is here."

Kreacher took many deep breaths and finally stood up straight-ish for him. There was a muffled boom from outside, as if something had just exploded.

"Master commands that Kreacher take Mistress and the staff home to Grimmauld place" croaked Kreacher, and he swayed in his feet like a reed in the wind.

Daphne stared. Harry had called Kreacher? Well, he'd managed to get here, presumably he could get home to Grimmauld place.

"Everyone, come hold my hand" said Daphne, and she went and held Kreacher's long fingers.

Kreacher's bloodshot yellow eyes looked up at Daphne, and his eyelids were twitching.

"Proper mistress" he croaked.

"PLEASE HURRY!" said Daphne, and Mrs Foster and Tweedle and Jimmy finally moved, and came and held on.

"Now Kreacher" said Daphne, and with a strange twisting sensation, they were no longer at Riddle house, landing on the kitchen floor at Grimmauld Place.

Kreacher collapsed, only Daphne's hand holding him up. He really weighed very little.

Daphne lowered Kreacher to the floor, and he squinted at her "Mistress" he whispered.

"Kreacher, rest, I'll get you a restorative potion presently" said Daphne, but she was unable to stop a few tears wetting her eyes.

"Master said Kreacher must save mistress" croaked Kreacher.

"And you've done very well" said Daphne.

"What should we do?" asked Jimmy.

"Well, we'll need some lunch" said Daphne hurriedly, looking up at Mrs Foster, who was looking very pale, and she was wringing her hands.

"Mrs Foster, please sit down" said Daphne "You'll be quite safe here. We have very strong protections."

"They can cut off the floo!" cried Mrs Foster. "They could come here!"

Daphne looked over at Tweedle, who was shivering.

"Jimmy, put the fire out and chain the fire-irons together. Harry does that to block the floo." said Daphne. Jimmy started moving.

"Kreacher, what was Harry doing?" asked Daphne.

"Dodging curses, master is badly outnumbered" croaked Kreacher, with a sly smile.

'Want Harry dead, do you?' thought Daphne. "I'm sure he'll survive" said Daphne "He can defeat dark lord, a few wanna-be's are no threat!"

Mrs Foster chose that moment to burst into tears.

For some reason, that made Daphne imagine Harry dead, mutilated by dark curses. Her skin ithced, her eyes felt too big, and her stomach hurt.

"Foster, go to your room. Jimmy, get some food going, make tea, Tweedle, go to the back hallway, make sure the coach-house is secure, charm it as strongly as you can, and then the back stairway doors." The metal door Harry had made.

And Daphne sobbed over Kreacher, who blinked. Stupid bloody Gryffindor. He could have fled.

"Mistress?" he croaked "Mistress worries?"

"I'm worried Harry might die, Kreacher!" she snapped. And cousin Bertie will inherit.

Kreacher frowned, and coughed "Half-blood, not good enough for mistress" he croaked softly, his pupils dilating slightly, his hand going limp as noodles in hers.

"Kreacher?" she asked, but he didn't react.

Daphne bent low over his mouth and listened, and heard nothing.

Daphne felt tears filling her eyes.

"You stupid old elf" she said "You were too old to come to Riddle house. And Harry's going to die."

Daphne felt her face twisting into undoubtably a very ugly expression, and she sobbed over the dying house elf. Kreacher let out a faint croak. Daphne straightened up and asked "Kreacher?" but he didn't react at all. Finally, Daphne poked him,

Kreacher gasped, and looked more lively. He even looked at Daphne.

"Kreacher won't mind if master made Kreacher a stone" Kreacher said.

"You're not going to die, Kreacher" said Daphne firmly.

"Goodbye mistress" gasped Kreacher, and then melodramatically crossed his little arms over his chest, and lay still.

"Kreacher, don't be a bloody ham!" said Daphne, tired of his silliness.

Kreacher didn't move. Daphne poked him again, and his head rolled limply to one side. Mrs Foster gasped from behind her. Daphne bent low and listened, and he didn't sound like he was breathing. She picked up one arm, but he was limp as a… dead animal.

Daphne eyed her dead house elf. He'd saved her, and died doing it, and been happy. She pushed away the thought that he'd mostly been happy that Harry was going to die, but a wave of tears carried her off. Finally, she wiped her eyes, sniffled, and picked up the poor old elf, and carried him into the cold room, and put him in the corner, cast a preservation spell, and as a sop to Jimmy, cast a disillusionment spell on Kreacher, so he wouldn't have to see it. Then she stood up, pulled her dress into tidiness and apparated to her bathroom. She was not going to be seen like this. All snotty.

The Daphne in the mirror had bloodshot puffy eyes, and was extremely ugly. Daphne washed and dried her face, and now just looked miserable. She swigged calming draught, guessing the dose. It tasted foul. She put the bottle back in the medicine cabinet.

Not feeling like walking, she apparated to her bedroom, and sat at her dressing table.

In the mirror behind her, the portrait of the two Daphnes taunted her with misery. Daphne slathered on some more foundation till her face looked more even, used some eye-lotion to reduce puffiness, and combed her hair, clipping it back with Harry's favourite clip. And that was enough to have her sniffling. Which was stupid, as it was her favourite clip as well.

Daphne changed into a hard-wearing dress not covered in tears and snot, and wondered if Kreacher had soiled anything expiring, animals did. Just vanish it.

Daphne took a serious pose, and apparated to the front hall with a loud crack.

Mrs Foster must have been in the dining room, as she came out.

"Maam? What should we do?" she asked. Not having gone to her room.

"I'm going to lock the front door" said Daphne, and she walked over to the big, black-painted thing, The latch was inside the door, so Daphne slid the deadbolt over, its lever swung down with a gratifying thud. What had Harry said? Blood to lock it, that's what he said.

Daphne drew her wand, and cut her right thumb slightly, and stared at the drops welling on her thumb. How does one do this? She wondered. Straight down would have to do.

Daphne rubbed her bloody thumb down the door, willing it to lock, and her cut felt like it was burning, her wedding ring felt like it was red-hot. She looked at her left hand. Not marred.

"Blood magic!" whispered Mrs Foster a bit loudly.

Well, that had been anticlimactic, thought Daphne, as the burning subsided. A small smear of blood on the door. She healed the cut on her thumb. A moment or two later, the door caught fire with blood-red flames picking out runic inscriptions all over the door, and then some of the runic circles rotated ninety degrees.

"The door" said Daphne as evenly as she could "Is locked."

She turned to face Mrs Foster, who bobbed in a curtsy. "Maam, I'm sorry I didn't know."

"Nothing will get in now" said Daphne. "I'm going to the kitchen, to turn the protections up… I think I can do it."

And Daphne walked down the white-painted steps to the kitchen, trying not to remember the way the blood-red flames had illuminated the inscriptions on the door. Flames the colour of her blood.

Mrs Foster followed her.

Daphne arrived in time to see Jimmy pulling a roasting tray out of his apron pocket, which had a steaming rolled beef on it.

"It's probably okay" said Jimmy, putting it into the oven. "Got the idea from your robe pocket" he added.

Daphne glared at the cooling fireplace. What was going on at Riddle house? Was Harry okay? Were the bloody Aurors coming. That, she could do easily, she realised.

She threw floo-powder into the fireplace and lit it with an incedio. The fire flared green.

"Auror office, DMLE" said Daphne, and she thrust her head into the flames.

The view of the Auror office was odd, the fireplace off to one side. An Auror walked over and knelt before the fire she was peeking out of.

"Hello" they said.

"This is Daphne Black, reporting an incident at Riddle House, our house just outside Little Hangleton in York" said Daphne quickly, "The house is under attack – "

"Please calm down maam" interrupted the Auror, some stupid older man with brown hair.

"– By wanneabe death eaters who blocked apparation and disabled our floo connection. I'm calling from a different location. Harry is fighting them off, please come quickly!" Daphne finished.

"Wannabe Death Eaters?" asked the Auror.

"My servant saw them, but Harry sent me a message. He needs backup." said Daphne insistently.

"Right" said the Auror, standing "We'll get right on that."

The Auror turned and surprisingly, yelled "ASSAULT ON HARRY POTTER AT YORK HOUSE!"

It's Potter-Black thought Daphne, and she pulled her head out of the fireplace, which stayed green for a moment, then went out with a sputter.

Daphne stood up, and turned from the fireplace, to see Mrs Foster wringing her hands and biting her lip.

"The Aurors are on their way" said Daphne as confidently as she could. "I'll just go look up how to turn up the protections."

Daphne disapparated off to the Library, and looked for a really old book by the Blacks. Harry had said something, but how do you turn it off afterwards? Trapping everyone in the house would be stupid beyond belief.

Quite a frustrating, long search, during which the feeling of helplessness kept irritating Daphne. Harry had not told her how, and she hadn't thought to ask, because… well the idea that Harry wouldn't be lounging around in jeans, making sarcastic remarks… it just.

He wasn't really going to kill himself saving her today, was he? She wondered. Andromeda had been speaking metaphorically ,surely. Her stomach felt like lead.

Stupid bloody husband, she had a good mind to sleep in the other room. He didn't need to hang around, he could have left, and come home to Grimmauld place. The morons might have ruined the house, but it was only a house. A comfy, centrally heated house with ensuites, but still.

Half an hour later Daphne apparated down to the kitchen.

"Any news?" she asked. Jimmy shook his head. Daphne eyed the bloody owl. Better send someone sensible a note. Granger was more dangerous than Weasley, probably, so Granger it was.

'Granger,

Our house in York was attacked by what Harry described as wannbe Death-eaters. They managed to block apparation and disconnect the floo. Harry used house-elf apparation to get us to safety.

I'm telling you so you can spread the news to friends. The Auror office have responded, so it should be all over soon.

Sincerely,

Daphne Potter-Black.'

The bloody owl still bit her hand when she tied the letter on.

Mrs Foster healed it up for her.

"That owl's not the sweetest tempered thing, is it?" she asked.

"Quite" said Daphne, and went back to the library, hoping to find the instructions for the house. Only an idiot turns on something they can't turn off.

Mrs Foster knocked on the doorpost to the library some time later.

"The Auror office are calling for you, Mrs Black."

Daphne's stomach started to curdle.

Daphne turned, and Mrs Foster gave her a tiny smile "They say he's alive." Daphne's chest filled with warmth like she'd just stepped into the sun. And that shouldn't have made her chest fill with warmth. But it had, but… work to do.

Daphne apparated straight to the fireplace and bent down, to eye a head in the coals.

"Hello?" she said.

"Mrs Black, the Auror team on site has secured the area. Harry Potter is largely unhurt and the floo is reconnected" said an Auror.

"Yes?" said Daphne as politely as possible. A tight knot in her chest undid itself.

"There have been a lot of deaths" said the Auror.

"Define a lot?" asked Daphne. Not Harry, so she didn't really care but the details would inform the logistics of recovery.

"All of the attackers, as far was we can tell" said the Auror. "One of ours. It's a crime scene, so don't go there, Mrs um, Black?"

"Goodbye" said Daphne curtly. The Auror pulled their head out and the fire went back to glowing faintly yellow. Don't go there? Her own house, not bloody likely.

Daphne kicked the chain off the fire-irons, kicked them apart, threw in floo powder, and stepped into the fire, said "Potter house" firmly, and swirled off through the floo network.

She stepped out into the kitchen, which smelt off somehow, and there was an Auror standing around.

"Mrs Black, this is a crime scene!" said the Auror, their red robes looking quite new, they advanced towards her, hands raised. Daphne glared at them.

"I'm out here!" Harry yelled from outside, out the front somewhere. Daphne side-stepped the Auror and headed for the front hall.

Daphne came out of the front door and found Harry sitting on the park bench by the door, his robes in tatters, dripping with blood from many small cuts. The air smelt of burnt wood, and blood and like well, like the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts. Like… like a charnel house.

"Harry!" she said, and felt quite concerned, "You're hurt" and dashed over to him, drawing her wand and starting with a gentle cleaning spell, to see what was going on.

"Most of that's not mine" said Harry, with a slow crooked smile.

"Oh really" she said, pulling a fragment of glass out of his cheek "And this is just a bit of mud?"

"Bits of the greenhouse" admitted Harry "Bastards blew it up." What swine.

"I heard there were a lot of deaths" said Daphne, sitting sideways on the park bench next to Harry, casting episky on small cut after cut, and pulling out bits of glass.

"I'd say it's not as bad as it looks out here, but it really is. The barn's destroyed as well, the lawns trashed, I had to blast the rose garden. And some bastard blew a chunk out of the left side tile roof. I've got a tarpaulin on it, but the tiles and wood are beyond repair." said Harry.

Harry was babbling.

Daphne looked around, many trees blown over, or shattered, the roses were gone, and the lawns had massive divots, fiery cuts, and the barn was in pieces, with smoke rising from it.

"The Aurors said an Auror was killed" said Daphne.

"Yeah" said Harry, looking fixedly at the gravel.

"Hermione Granger's coming as soon as she can" said Daphne. Harry's head jerked down, and he hunched up.

"The Auror that died… was Ron" croaked Harry.

Daphne saw another glinting piece of glass in Harry's forearm, and pulled it out, and charmed the cut closed. His hunched back had many chunks of glass. Several chunks later, with admirable restraint, she asked "How close where you to the glasshouse when it exploded?"

"Too close" admitted Harry.

"They used a lot of big spells" observed Daphne.

"Mostly me" admitted Harry. "Though one of them knew Dolohov's organ curse; that was far too close for comfort."

"I… have bad news for you" said Daphne, not knowing how to tell Harry. She settled for simple, "Kreacher has passed."

"I suspected he might, but I had to get you to safety" said Harry, "I meant, you and the staff" Harry corrected himself.

Daphne suddenly felt oddly reluctant to touch Harry. He'd… he'd sacrificed Kreacher to save her. And admitted it, then lied very badly about it. She concentrated on her hands, which were shaking ,and stilled them, and went back to work, pulling glass out of a reckless Gryffindor. She started picking out glass chunks again. She cast 'Episky' over and over again, then paused.

"I've placed him under a preservation charm, we can organise his funeral later." said Daphne "He was a very loyal elf." She didn't mention his nasty little smile.

"Eventually" said Harry. "He helped kill Sirius indirectly."

"He certainly turned over a new leaf, in that case" said Daphne "How ever did you earn his loyalty?" Apart from his dying wish that Harry might die, that was.

"Regulus left Kreacher with a task he couldn't perform, and I did it for Kreacher. He started being more polite after that. After I married you, well he practically worshipped you." said Harry.

Daphne slid along the park bench to sit right near Harry, because the day was a bit cold, and cast another episky on a cut on his other arm, then she started inspecting his arm, opening up the small rents in his shirt with her fingers to check the cuts. So many fragments of glass, splinters, and lots of cuts.

"How are you" asked Daphne, her hands resting on Harry's arm. He was very tense. Shuddering slightly, in fact. One sympathised.

"They didn't get me with anything" said Harry. "You've got most of the glass out."

"That's not what I asked" said Daphne, taking Harry's right hand hand checking it for cuts, and if she used two hands to do so… she was just looking for broken glass. His hands were cut, so not usual dry, strong, slightly calloused Harry-ness.

Harry was staring woodenly at the gravel, and the sides of mouth were right down.

"Ron was your best friend Harry, it's okay to be upset" said Daphne.

"UPSET" said Harry, surprisingly loudly, "my best friend died from a stupid mistake. One squeaky floorboard."

Daphne slid further over on the park bench, "You can cry you know" said Daphne. "A friend died, you can cry." Daphne slid over till she was pressed against him and put an arm over his shoulders. Harry sniffled and slowly cried.

Harry had never cried, he'd been uspet, had nightmares… but never cried. Daphne snuggled into his neck and inhaled the smell of slightly sweaty Harry, overlaid with burning wood and the metallic tang of blood.

"Harry!" yelled Granger from inside the house. Harry's neck tensed like a whip.

Daphne sat upright and started slowly checking Harry's far shoulder for cuts. Not that she was embarrassed to hug Harry in front of Granger or anything. But she hadn't hugged Harry for his comfort before, and it was a bit awkward.

"Harry, are you all right ?" asked Granger, running over to stare at Harry "How did your clothes get ripped?"

"Harry fought off all the attackers" said Daphne, bravely giving Harry a half hug. "He got hit by glass from the greenhouse when it got blown up. I've got it out and patched him up."

"Hi Hermione" said Harry, he looked red-eyed and tired.

"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Granger.

Daphne conjured a wooden chair for Granger. It wobbled and fell over. Fuck. Now I look like an idiot. I should have taken more calming draught.

"Harry, a chair for Hermione?" said Daphne, vanishing her conjured chair.Her hand shook, and she put her wand down against the bench.

Harry drew his wand and stabbed it at the ground; a chair of stone rose from the ground.

"Hermione, please sit down" asked Daphne very politely.

Granger cast a cushioning charm and sat down on the stone chair.

"The Aurors came to help" said Harry hollowly. "I'd got all of the wanna-be Death Eaters, I think, but one was sneaking around disillusioned inside the house."

Daphne gave Harry a squeeze and surreptitiously waved her wand, which bound Granger's hands to the stone with a sticking charm.

"Why is that important?" asked Granger.

"They've been using Ron to go in first. Good reflexes, lots of experience" said Harry "He got unlucky and the death-eater got him. I was in the room under my cloak, so I got the death-eater right away, because I knew where he was then."

Oh merlin, no wonder he's upset.

"How badly hurt is Ron" asked Granger, shakily.

Harry shook his head "Ron's dead, Hermione. Piercing hex to the head." said Harry tonelessly, his eyes watering. Daphne clutched at Harry, poor Ronald.

Granger went very still "What?" she said, eyes growing shiny "That can't be, we survived a war against Voldemort, Ron can't die fighting one wannabe death-eater." she said, increasingly loudly.

Harry gave a strangled sob "I couldn't stop it" said Harry, looking at the ground.

"Go and get the damn rock and the wand" said Granger harshly, "Go get them and fix this. Or I'll never speak to you again!" she shouted. What damn rock? What Wand?

"Please calm down" said Daphne evenly, wishing she had the calming draught handy.

"She's right" said Harry to Daphne "I have to try at least" Harry conceded. Try what?"

"You're in no shape to go anywhere" said Daphne. His robes were wet with blood in many places, and he was a nervous wreck.

"Fine, you can side-along me. We need to go to Hogsmeade." said Harry. He sniffed. "Hermione, please stay safe. Of my first three friends, you're the only one alive now."

Oh Merlin, the war had not been kind to him.

Harry stood up "Well, come on Daphne, time for you to learn a family secret or two." WHAT?

"You're taking her?" said Granger, trying to stand and finding her hands were stuck to the chair.

"Unstick my hands, or I will make you regret it" said Granger angrily.

Harry flicked his wand and the chair exploded silently into gravel that fell to the ground.

"Hogsmeade, near Hogwarts" said Harry "On three, everyone" Daphne grabbed Harry by his upper arm, holding firmly, and Daphne apparated Harry to Hogsmeade. That that meant holding her husband firmly was incidental. He smelt of blood and smoke.

They reappeared in Hogsmeade where the carriages picked up students returning from day trips, Granger appeared with a crack a moment later.

Harry and Granger drew their wands. Harry looked almost punch-drunk.

"You do realise I don't know where it is exactly" said Harry, staggering off towards the forest.

"When has that ever mattered" said Granger huffily. "What's she coming along for anyway."

"I'm coming because Harry's going mad with grief and I want to stop him doing something stupid" said Daphne. And I want my fucking husband, you insensitive cow.

"It's a bit late for that" said Granger bitterly "He married you."

"I actually like being married to Daphne" Harry rebutted gently, as they hurried towards the forest. Oh, you like being married to me, do you? I'd never guess, by the way you snog and kiss my hand and shag me silly. Well, obviously.

"What, you like kissing a human iceberg" Granger snapped.

"Hermione, I understand you're angry, but you don't need to be rude to me" said Daphne. "I was brought up to be reserved with strangers, But I'm not made of stone." You are an obnoxous mudblood.

"That was a bit out of line Hermione." said Harry "I quite like kissing Daphne. And no I'm not showing you a demo." Thank merlin for that, thought Daphne I'd go to pieces if we stopped for a snog. And his hair's all bloody and yuck.

"Fine, bring Blondie" said Granger bitterly. 'You're getting yours later, frizzball,' thought Daphne angrily.

Harry got to the edge of the forest and found a trail that led among the trees towards the general area he wanted. In the forbidden forest, the one full of monsters.

"Are there actually werewolves in this forest" asked Daphne nervously.

"Only on full moons" said Harry "We won't be that long, and most of the acromantula are gone after the war." Well that's hardly very reassuring.

"I remember why I hate going places with you, Harry" said Granger. Danger Granger didn't like Harry adventures? But Danger was … well Danger? What?

"You didn't even meet old Aragog" said Harry "Bastard thing."

"Hagrid buried him by his hut" said Granger "I saw from the tower. That was close enough."

"Who was Aragog?" asked Daphne nervously. "How did he die?"

"He was a spider, and he died of old age" said Harry. "Ah, this is the right way" he said, reaching a wide track though the forest lined with smashed trees.

"Are you sure" asked Hermione.

"Oh it was a pretty memorable walk" said Harry. "And no Dementors this time."

Dementors. I'm going to die. "Can you not say things like that" said Daphne nervously "I've still not got a working Patronus charm, I need months more training."

"You're learning the Patronus?" asked Granger, seemingly jolted out of her mood for a moment.

"Harry's teaching Astoria and I" replied Daphne. "It gives me a terrible headache."

"Most of the DA learnt before they turned sixteen" said Granger a bit snidely.

"Hermione, don't be bitchy, please" said Harry tiredly. She couldn't help being a bitch because she was one, thought Daphne.

They walked along the fairly wide path through the forest to eventually, the sun low in the sky, an overgrown clearing. "This is it" said Harry.

"Well, where's the stone?" asked Granger.

"I dropped it" Harry admitted.

"You dropped that!" said Granger shrilly, "I thought you'd leave it in the fork of a tree or something."

"Accio Resurrection Stone" cast Harry, waving his wand. A clod of dirt flew over to Harry's hand. Harry crushed the clod in his hand and dropped dirt on the ground, leaving a black stone in his palm.

"Time for a spot of grave robbing" said Harry. "Back to the edge of the forest, apparating on three."

What? This was beyond an elaborate prank, the Resurrection stone?

"Do you expect me to believe that you just found the Resurrection stone from The Tale of The Three brothers?" asked Daphne, even for Harry – 'don't mind me, I'll open the chamber of secrets,' this was some premium bull-plop.

"The tale of the three Peverell Brothers" corrected Harry "My ancestor left me the cloak; which saved me again today. Tom's ancestor left him, sort-of the stone. I dropped it here after I used it. The Wand, well I hid that." And he sounded sincere. And more importantly, he is a terrible liar. Mostly.

"Has he gone mad?" asked Daphne "His life is so weird, it's hard to tell sometimes."

"Harry found the stone before the end of the war." explained Granger. "It's the only hope for Ron now." Danger believed him, about the Deathly Hallows. Believed in a children's story.

Harry disappeared with a crack. Daphne followed as quickly as she could, her hands clawing with rage. I told you not to, you berk.

The trio left the dark forest and walked out across the Hogwarts grounds led by Harry towards Dumbledore's marble tomb.

"Harry, don't apparate again" snapped Daphne crossly. He was clearly far too tired, let alone the blood loss.

"Disillusion yourselves" Harry ordered, and vanished. Daphne disillusioned herself, and huffed. Granger had huffed as well. What? He was pissing off Granger?

At the tomb of Dumbledore, some time later, Harry just said "Well, I'll have the wand now" and waved his wand slowly. The marble slab slid slowly sideways with a deep grating that shook the earth.

He wasn't kidding about grave-robbing.

Daphne cancelled her disillusionment, as did Granger.

"Bubblehead charms" said Harry, and cast one on Daphne, and one on himself, then one on Hermione. Harry reached into the tomb and gingerly retrieved a white wand with carved berries.

Daphne tried to block out the memory of the disgusting mess she'd just seen. She stared over the lake. Dead body, rotting, getting sucked into the stone… so disgusting. Possibly the grossest thing she'd ever seen.

The massive slab shut like with a grinding noise that shook the earth.

Harry put the wand in his tattered sleeve "Back to Little Hangleton" he said. "The Aurors have probably moved him by now."

"Does that really matter to you now?" asked Granger.

Harry disillusioned himself and walked back to the edge of the forest "Everyone here?" he asked "Apparating to Little Hangleton in three… "

Daphne grabbed his arm with both hands "Oh no you don't" she said.

With a crack the three disappeared, and reappeared at Little Hangleon, just in front of the park bench by the front doors.

Daphne's blood was boiling. HE KEPT NOT LISTENING!

Harry drew the white wand and delicately drew a circle in the air. Around the hill, fog rose from the ground, blocking out the view of Little Hangleton and environs. Professor Dumbledore's wand was amazing, thought Daphne.

Harry walked to the front door, jabbed the wand at it, and it jerked upright and the glass mended. Daphne hurried after him.

He headed upstairs quickly, outdistancing her with his long legs. Granger pushed past her on the stairs and stomped into her parlour to confront Harry, who was casting cleaning charms?

"What are you doing!" Granger asked "This isn't helping Ron."

"Ron's dead, nothing's urgent now" said Harry dully. "The blood and gore in our Parlour aren't helping."

The gory patch where the Death Eater had died melted under a jab from the wand.

Daphne stood just inside the parlour with her arms crossed "You can do such a good job of cleaning, you've been holding out on me" she remarked, slightly sarcastically. Harry pretended not to have heard her.

Harry went into the bedroom, there was a splintering sound and a crack of disapparation.

He'd bally apparated again. He was getting cold feet under his leg tonight.

Granger stared at the wall, and started to sob.

Time passed, and Daphne cast a few cleaning charms in the bedroom to clean up the remaining mess.

With a crack of apparation, Harry appeared in the parlour, and swayed in a way far too reminiscent of Kreacher.

Daphne glared at him from the bedroom door.

"Harry – " said Granger.

Daphne interrupted, seething with anger "Granger, I'm going to take Harry into our bedroom and speak to him in private for a minute. Please don't interrupt."

Harry swallowed.

He walked into their bedroom, and Daphne followed, then closed the door and cast a privacy charm.

"What did I tell you, not forty minutes ago" she asked.

"Um, Not to apparate, I was in no shape to" replied Harry.

"And what did you just do?" asked Daphne.

"I, uh Apparated" admitted Harry.

"You're too tired to do anything, you giant arse. I'll bet all your spells went wrong. You could have splinched yourself." said Daphne, feeling furious and upset at the same time.

Harry opened his mouth, then closed it, "You're right" he admitted "I managed to do the roof, but everything else went wrong."

"Go and have a shower, and put some clothes that aren't rags on" ordered Daphne.

"Will you help if I find more cuts?" asked Harry.

"If I deign to ever look at your sorry, thoughtless, reckless carcass again it will not be today!" said Daphne.

Harry went to the en-suite and washed. Daphne vanished his clothes and threw clean clothes onto the en-suite floor from outside the room.
While he showered, Daphne stripped the bed, which had holes in the bedding, and vanished the ruined bedding.

The shower stopped and Harry came in a quite a bit later, his hair not really sitting down, wearing the clean clothes. Coincidentally a green polo shirt and blue jeans and trainers.

"I left Mrs Foster with a quick outline of where things were at Grimmauld Place" said Daphne. "She will have it ready for us after dinner, and Jimmy will cook there." Which was true enough for now.

"I, you, anyone can fix the windows; the house is nearly fixed" said Harry.

"We are going home to sit behind the strongest protections we have and eat a good meal, then sleep. If we have to stun Granger, that's an acceptable solution" countered Daphne.

"Yes Dear" said Harry. Oh, he was yes-dearing her, was he? He was so getting cold feet under his leg.

Daphne spoke "Mrs Foster and Davis were very upset. They both lived through Death Eater raids in the war. Raids that killed their families." Harry's eyes widened.

Harry took Daphne's hand, bent over it and kissed it. He stood up and Daphne looked at him, feeling very angry at his recklessness, and more significantly his inability to obey sensible instructions.

"We will be flooing" said Daphne, opening the door.

"I made Harry wash and get clean clothes on" said Daphne. Granger was standing like a waxwork, staring at the wall.

"Come on Hermione, we're going to Grimmauld, where we'll put the house on maximum protection, bar the floo and have a decent meal." said Harry.

"You will be staying the night, and in the morning, we will take a well-rested Harry and go perform whatever ridiculous plan you cook up" explained Daphne, crossing her arms and fixing Granger with a withering glare.

They floo'ed over to Grimmauld Place where the Jimmy was cooking, Davis was nowhere to be seen and Mrs Foster must have been doing laundry, as sheets were dunking themselves in and out of the laundry sinks.

Harry used the signet ring and the right magic words to turn Grimmauld's security right up. Granger startled at the green flames in the gas-lamps.

"The house is now locked down" explained Harry "Nothing can get in, not even mail."

"Dinner," Jimmy said "is in twenty minutes."

Harry took the stairs up to the drawing room and looked in the drinks cabinet.

"You're not getting drunk" said Daphne "Have some ginger beer, the crock's at the back"

Harry sipped the ginger beer, while Daphne made Granger a Fluffy duck. "A fluffy duck" she explained to Granger, who was looking like a madwoman. "You need something soothing."

Daphne then took a moment to apparate away to the bathroom and get more calming draught, and apparate back "This is calming draft" said Daphne, and poured some into a glass and drank it herself. It tasted bad, but the urge to wring Harry's neck was subsiding.

Harry sat on the couch and stared at the ceiling.

Mrs Foster appeared at the drawing room door "Dinner in a minute or two" she announced, and left.

Harry and Daphne and a red-eyed Granger trooped downstairs to the dining room.

Harry sat down at the dining table after kissing Daphne's hand, Daphne at his right, Granger at his left. Nobody said anything. Hermione gave Harry an odd look.

The plates were the old black ones, not the usual white set.

Mrs Foster came in presently with floating trays, and laid out the meal.

Jimmy had made roast beef with all the trimmings.

It was quite good, thought Daphne.

"Sir" asked Mrs Foster as she finished laying out the food "Why did you know to use a House-Elf to get us to safety?"

"We've done that before" explained Harry "In the war, we escaped a very bad place by having a House-Elf pop us away. That elf died saving us; he'd been stabbed. Kreacher was too old for such a long trip, but he adored Daphne, so I suppose he died happy."

"He did, sir" said Mrs Foster. "Said he didn't even mind if master made him a stone?"

"I gave the other elf, my Friend Dobby, a headstone for his grave" explained Harry, and Harry's eyes grew wet.

"How could you make Kreacher do that if you knew it would kill him!" Granger angrily interjected.

"Kreacher was nearly dead just coming to Little Hangleton" admitted Harry "He knew perfectly well what I was asking. He did it to save his mistress. That makes two of us. Must be a family thing."

Granger stared at Harry, blinking, then at Daphne.

"Kreacher did like me rather a lot" admitted Daphne. "Though he knew the family succession was safe in Teddy." And she felt a bit guilty that her parting words were 'Kreacher, don't be a ham!'

Granger didn't say a word for the rest of dinner, until confronted by a slice of one of Jimmy's desserts, brought in by an impassive Mrs Foster.

"What's this?" asked Granger.

"Banana cream pie" explained Mrs Foster. "It's pretty good today, considering."

"Thank you Esme, that will be all for the night" said Daphne.

Mrs Foster spoke up "Your rooms are warmed, and beds turned down, Maam. I wasn't sure which rooms you wanted, so I did yours and the best visitors' room for Miss Granger."

"That will be fine" said Daphne. "Wrap up well in bed, the place gets cold overnight."

"I'll charm the fireplaces to burn longer before I turn in Maam" noted Mrs Foster, and she left.

Granger waited a bit then said "How can you treat her as a servant" she said.

"We pay her four hundred galleons a year to make the house run smoothly" said Daphne. "She's doing her job, and they all had dinner before us."

Granger protested rather indignantly "I only make two hundred and ten a year working in the ministry!"

"Mrs Foster is up before us, though she'll be in bed in a few minutes. I can banish the dishes to the kitchen" said Daphne. "Harry, you try touching your wand and there will be consequences." she said crossly. Harry looked at her and had the whole 'Gryffindor Quidditch player' trying to think look on his face.

"He's worn out?" asked Granger.

"I'm right here" objected Harry. "Not petrified or silenced."

"Yet" spat Daphne. Cold feet would be only the beginning.

They went to bed in her room, Foster had got Harry's pyjamas from his room and put them on her bed. Which showed real sense, she'd realised that with Harry so tired, he wasn't apparating or walking up another flight of stairs.

Harry got into a pair of pyjamas left out on Daphne's bed. Daphne put in her nightgown and started winding her hair up.

"Are you all right" she asked Harry.

"I'm fine" said Harry.

Daphne let her hair go and crossed her arms in frustration, "Now tell me how you are really doing and don't be all macho about it."

Harry sat on the bed "I'm not hurt" he said.

"How do you feel Harry, don't be an arse" asked Daphne sitting into the bed and wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind. He was very tense.

"How do you think?" grumbled Harry "My best friend died in front of me, from a wannabe-death eater."

"Who you killed in the parlour" said Daphne tightly.

"I got the stains out" Harry quickly said. Like that had been a priority.

When Harry lay down, she wrapped her arms around Harry. He slept restlessly, waking Daphne a few times, but that interrupted her nightmares of well um, being widowed, of everyone being tortured to death, so that was … fine, she supposed.

When Harry woke up, Daphne asked "How are you feeling?"

"I had nightmares all night" admitted Harry.

"I did as well, and you were very restless" said Daphne. I got four hours sleep at best.

"Why did you have nightmares?" asked Harry.

"Because we were attacked, and you sent Kreacher to take us all away then we heard nothing. You could have sent another Patronus." said Daphne "Mrs Foster and Davis were reliving bad old times, and I felt helpless. I hate feeling helpless."

"I couldn't" explained Harry. "I just… I just needed to be alone for a while." He'd gone off to do macho sulking, is that he'd done.

"I was worried, and you just went off alone" said Daphne. "Don't do it again." He was still a selfish, insensitive prat at times. One bloody patronus, it's not like he wasn't capable of doing it at the drop of a bally hat!

Daphne pulled on clothes "We're doing breakfast downstairs" she said. "Or Mrs Foster would have to do room service."

Hermione arrived for breakfast, and picked at her plate. Harry only ate toast. Daphne had a kipper with pepper sauce, and two teas. She felt half-awake once the tea took effect.

After travelling to the ministry, the Auror office were reluctant to let Harry and company see Ron.

"Don't make this difficult" said Daphne evenly "They're his best friends."

The morgue was a cool room behind a lot of doors and short hallways and offices.

Ron, still in his Aurors robes lay on a slab, a grisly hole in his forehead.

Granger drew her wand, and with a silent spell, stunned their Auror escort.

"Honestly, no reflexes" said Granger dismissively. Daphne poked her wand at the Auror and obliviated his last fifteen minutes. It had been so useful at school to prevent boys working out who hexed them in the bits.

Harry pulled the small black stone out of his pocket, unfolded the cloak out of his other pocket and half wore it, then drew the white wand.

"Wait a second, you actually have all the Deathly bloody Hallows?" said Daphne "Even for you, that is an unlikely thing." He is going to be bloody insufferable. Doubtless he'll reveal he has Peverell family slippers he's been concealing, though, he would look good with a Peverell sigil as a collar closure. Dark and sexy. Dammit, girl, snap out of it. I'm cross with him.

"It's how we won the war, sort of" admitted Harry "Well, how I survived it, I know it sounds a bit contrived, but it really happened."

Harry rolled the stone and the corpse of Ron Weasley sat up "Ow" it said, a hole in its skull "My head really hurts." Fuck, he really is a necromancer, my husband the DIY doing dark lord killer, is a necromancer. And Ron Weasley's an animated corpse. Hmmm.

"That's probably the piecing curse that killed you by drilling through your skull" said Daphne. "People were wrong about Ron Weasley, he clearly did have a brain; but lots is now missing."

"Oh" said Weasley "That would account for the strange dream I was having." And that was the sound of a liar, Daphne was sure. He was as bad a liar as Harry. If not worse. And had taken the crack about having brain missing without comment. Was Weasley actually smarter than he acted? Surely not? And how did that work when you were a reanimated corpse anyway?

Granger slapped Weasley, then berated him "How Dare you get killed. Harry, fix him up properly. Use the wand." Wow, Danger was… she was really mental. How dare you get killed indeed. I… I am the most reasonable woman Harry knows… is that why he um… likes me? Can I be less reasonable? Would he still like me if I … dunno, demanded things?

"Sorry Hermione" apologised Weasley. "I um didn't see whoever got me, and I really didn't suffer." Ron gave Harry a side-eye. Harry made a tiny nod in reply. Oh my god the pair of them were the most incompetent liars that had ever lied. No wonder Granger liked them.

"You can't be dead" denied Hermione "You just can't." Her lack of grip on reality was probably due to extended exposure to Harry's life, Daphne mused.

"I think I can" said Weasley "I have come back, I know stuff now. I have to go back, you know?"

"Is there an afterlife" asked Daphne. Weasley was practically drawing a picture, after all.

"Why not just ask Mr Black there" said Weasley "He can tell you in bed." It didn't sound… like the sort of question one asks in bed, really. And I don't want to think about Harry being dead. I've… slept with him, that's gross.

"You can't say that!" denied Granger crossly. Her dreadful eyebrows were like beaters bats.

"Come on Hermione, Harry's not going to pass up a fit bird like Greengrass." said Weasley.

"Language Ron" Harry scolded. Granger and Weasley both turned and looked at Harry.

"Mate, we're having a moment, so butt out" said Weasley.

"She's my wife Ron, I told you about being crass about her." said Harry. "Hermione, make peace with Ron. I'm not sure even this wand can bring him back for real."

"Well even if you could, I'm probably officially dead. Oh wow, I'd get my Auror death benefits. That's heaps these days." Weasley mused. That… that is true. Weasley's … smarter than I thought.

"I've got the perfect alias "Roonil Wazlib" Harry suggested. Weasley looked like a peeved inferii for some reason. Some in-joke, she assumed.

"Harry, use the wand" commanded Granger.

"I'm sorry, I don't know actually know necromancy" protested Harry, pointing the elder wand at Weasley's forehead "It's not like I can just" 'episky' Harry cast. The hideous wound in Weasley's forehead closed up. Oh, it was another one of these days, thought Daphne. I'll end up as mad as Granger. But with a better figure and much better hair, at least till I completely crack.

"I did not expect that to actually work" admitted Harry. He sounded like he was telling the truth.

"Try something for my headache?" asked Weasley. Daphne tried not to snort – he'd had great chunks of brain blown out of his skull, obviously that hurt.

Harry hissed out a long spell in parseltounge, and tapped Weasley's head. Weasley fell over in a boneless heap and then convulsed, then stopped twitching.

"You've killed him!" complained Granger. This was like certain other Harry stuff-ups, thought Daphne.

"He's dead Hermione, the stone's magic is a curse" sighed Harry "It's in the story."

"The modern versions are less grisly" interjected Daphne.

"We had the runic first edition from Professor Dumbledore" said Granger casually, bending down and trying to untangle Weasley's legs and arms. Who took a deep, rasping breath. Granger's hands froze "You've done it?" she asked, looking up at Harry "I knew you could" she said.

"That makes one of us" admitted Harry, disarmingly honestly.

"Harry dear, did you just bring Weasley back from the dead, as in permanently back?" asked Daphne. You bally fluked that, she thought to herself.

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment then said "I think I might have."

"I would suggest, Hermione" suggested Daphne "That you make sure that Ronald ceases to be an Auror immediately. Do we even want to let them know you did this?"

While Granger thought about it, Harry, after looking rather uncharacteristically sly, transfigured the chair the desk in the room into a limp Weasley, which collapsed onto the floor. Oh, a dummy dummy, thought Daphne. She levitated the fleshy dummy over to the slab Weasley was now lying beside in a tangled heap. Harry looked at the dummy Weasley.

"Needs a hole in its forehead" he said thoughtfully.

Daphne pointed her wand at dummy Weasley "Oh, I'll do that. I often wanted to at school when he called us all slimy snakes" 'Percutio!' a hole blew in Dummy Weasleys head, splattering blood and gore around. It's all over me, thought Daphne. Blerk I did not think that through.

"Harry, get this off me" she said, unwilling to move in case the slimy bloody mess rubbed.

Harry waved the elder wand and the gore was gone, just like that. But the memory lingered.

"I'm going to need to wash rather a lot" Daphne said, wanting to vomit. Harry cast some small cleaning charms and colour changed the Auror robes Weasley was wearing to green.

Granger looked up "I'm quite disturbed at how readily you two faked a corpse" she said, trying to straighten unconscious Weasley out.

"Well the family that plays together, stays together" quipped Harry sarcastically.

"If you think you're playing any time soon, after yesterday, you're a bloody optimist" said Daphne. Harry didn't even try to rebut that.

Harry knelt down and helped Granger wrestle Weasley into a more comfortable looking position, lying on his back again, but on the floor, not a slab. Weasley's chest rose and fell minutely.

"He's unconscious" said Granger rather redundantly.

"I expect being resurrected is a bit of a shock to the system" said Daphne, and clearly Granger had been badly affected too.

"About forty minutes" said Harry. "I think that's how long it takes to walk back from the clearing in the forest to the front courtyard of Hogwarts. Maybe a bit longer, Hagrid had to pick me up."

Daphne frowned and tried to work out why he'd shared that non-sequitur. Harry took her hand and kissed it, bending low. Oh, he was trying to butter her up was he?

"Will you stop doing that" complained Granger. "It's weird."

"This is a socially acceptable way to kiss my wife in public" explained Harry. "It's quite nice, and also works well when I've just put my foot in it."

"You'd need to kiss my hand a million times" Daphne said. And a few moments later she realised what the significance of forty minutes was."You… you've figured out how long you were dead for last time."

"Not my fault" denied Harry "Cousin Tom."

Granger looked at Harry "Cousin Tom?" she asked, brow furrowed.

"Tom Riddle's mother was a Gaunt, and they were descendants of Cadmus Peverell, so Cousin Tom." explained Harry.

Granger looked lemony "That's a very distant cousin" she said.

"And the Gaunt's spoke parseltounge as descendants of Slytherin, and so can I, I rather think from my mothers family, green eyes" said Harry. He did not wave a hand dismissively, at least.

"Harry has a scroll from Slytherins' wife, she liked his eyes the colour of mugwort" said Daphne.

Granger looked up at Daphne "She what?" Granger asked incredulously.

"Better than Ginny Weasley's poem" said Daphne. "As green as a freshly-pickled toad indeed."

"Can someone help me with Ron please?" asked Granger.

Harry cast a spell on Weasely, who straightened up and floated in mid-air as if on an invisible stretcher, then Harry draped the invisibility cloak over the near-corpse, who was then invisible.

"We can leave now" said Harry "Ron will follow me."

"Easier than riding a dragon" said Granger, as they left the morgue through the several doors and short corridors to the ordinary halls of the ministry. Daphne cast a lazy enervate at the stunned Auror as they left. "I under-powered it, he should wake in a bit" she explained.

"Do you think we'll get in trouble for stunning an Auror?" asked Granger.

Harry stopped still "You know, we probably will" he said.

"I obliviated him of the last fifteen minutes" said Daphne. "I always found if you obliviate, boys never remember who hexed them" Daphne continued with a slight smile, walking along. The Gryffindors caught up.

"Why were you hexing boys?" asked Granger conversationally as she walked.

"Mostly for trying to touch my sister or I, or asking me out" said Daphne. "I couldn't possibly go out with boys, not with the contract hanging over my head."

"You never went to Hogsmeade or anything?" asked Granger, opening a door and going into another small room.

"I always had to keep my reputation, in case father and mother needed to make a dynastic marriage. It was quite likely, because I don't have a brother" said Daphne evenly.

"Nobody ever said anything about you" said Granger.

"In the dorms you were mentioned" said Harry. "More in lists of girls from Slytherin that some people would date given a chance."

Daphne blushed slightly, and worse, Harry winked at her. While one is breaking a reanimated corpse out of the Auror morgue is not a suitable time to flirt.

The trip back to the Atrium, while tense was uneventful, except for people staring at Harry. Harry grabbed the bundle that was invisible Weasley, and ducked into the fireplace and disappeared back to Grimmauld place.

Daphne came back through the floo with Granger, who was looking shaky.

Jimmy was preparing something. "Trip to the Ministry went okay?" he asked, with floury hands.

"We got what we went for" said Daphne "Upstairs, Harry" she said and apparated away with a crack to the second floor hall.

A loud crack of apparation, and Harry was there too. He pulled the invisibility cloak – The Invisibility cloak, really, off Weasley and stowed it in his largest pocket.

Hermione appeared with a crack, and knelt down next to Weasley , checking on him, she bent low over his mouth, listening with her ear to his mouth.

"He's breathing" she said nervously.

"I'll put Ron into one of these second floor rooms." said Harry, leaning down and holding Weasley by an arm. "Hermione, you can drop by; we've got staff to keep an eye on him."

With that, Harry levitated Weasley to an empty second floor bedroom. Hermione followed along closely, Daphne hung back. "Drawing room" she said, and disapparated.

She poured herself some port, skulled it, and poured another, to sip, and closed the door with a wand-flick, and cast a privacy spell. Harry would be down presently, she assumed.

A little later, Harry apparated into the drawing room. He gave her a crooked grin.

"You are the last Peverell, and you have all the Deathly Hallows, and have brought Ron Weasley back from the dead?" said Daphne.

Harry walked over to Daphne, and took her hand and kissed it "Harry Potter Black, last Peverell, Necromancer and Master of Death, at your service." Harry looked up from her hand, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

Daphne frowned at him, and Harry kissed her hand again.

"You can't just kiss my hand to butter me up" said Daphne.

Harry drew Daphne closer and kissed her gently on the lips. His lips were so soft.

"And what do you call that?" protested Daphne.

"Kissing my wife" said Harry.

"That was pathetic" said Daphne. Harry kissed her again, more… thoroughly. And that merited a firm kiss in reply. But someone was still a reckless git. Harry stopped kissing her.

"Don't you dare do something stupid like fight an unknown number of enemies ever again" said Daphne.

Harry's eyebrows moved, and he looked vague for a few seconds.

"I uh, yeah, I'll not do that again" he said.

"I had no idea where you were, what was going on" complained Daphne.

Harry looked like a shaved monkey for a moment, then swore "Oh shit!, Mrs Weasley, the Auror office will be contacting her soon."

"That poses a problem" said Daphne. "To the Burrow, post-haste" she said, and picked up her dirty port glass and apparated downstairs to the kitchen. There was no point making work for Mrs Foster.

Daphne put the glass on the wash-bench and walked briskly to the fireplace, Harry already had it green and calling "The Burrow" they stepped though.

"Harry!" said Mrs Weasley from the kitchen "What are you doing here."

"We've got some news for you, and it's not the best" said Harry. Daphne braced for Harry's best attempt at a lie. This was going to be pathetic, she realised.

"What?" asked Mrs Weasley, looking at Daphne in a very critical way.

"Our house in Little Hangleton was attacked by Death Eaters, well wannabe ones. Daphne and the staff got to safety by having Kreacher pop them." said Harry.

"The strain was too much for Kreacher" said Daphne.

"Well, he was never the nicest house-elf" noted Mrs Weasley.

"I stayed behind," admitted Harry "Like an idiot, to fight them. The house and grounds got damaged. I'd nearly finished when the Aurors came. They blocked apparation and portkeys, and I went inside the house. There was a Death-Eater there, invisible. I had to be very careful."

"Then the Aurors sent your son Ronald in, they find him good at room entry" continued Daphne.

"Ron got unlucky" finished Harry "He's been badly hurt. The Auror office think he died."

Actually that was a good lie, thought Daphne, surprised.

Mrs Weasley sat down heavily on the nearest chair. "Ron? My poor Ron" she said, tearfully.

"He is at Grimmauld, Hermione is holding his hand" said Daphne. "It is possible he will make a complete recovery. He's currently unconscious."

"Unconscious? Why isn't he at St Mungos?" asked Mrs Weasley.

"Harry used some family magic to try to heal Ron" explained Daphne "The healers had given up on him." That, Husband, is how one lies. By telling the truth.

Daphne continued "We will be at Grimmauld with our staff for a few days while everyone gets over the shock. Our grounds-keeper and housekeeper, they both lost their families to Death-Eater raids. It was far too much like that again." Harry had the grace to look embarassed at that.

"We can tell Jimmy, our chef to cook extra if you want to drop by" said Harry "You know we've got spare rooms. Ron's on the second floor."

"That woman is not welcome" said Daphne. "Nothing against you, Molly, but I can't tolerate that."

Mrs Weasley grimaced. Did not like the taste of that potion, did she.

"She's his sister" said Mrs Weasley.

"We will transfer Ron to the Burrow in a few days" said Harry.

They left quickly after that.

"Jimmy" said Daphne after they left the fireplace in a burst of green flames "Expect three extras for meals. They might not show up."

Daphne apparated up to the drawing room immediately afterwards.

And Mrs Foster was there, so Daphne briefed her. Omitting the necromancy and family magic.

"Mrs Foster, Harry's friend Ron was injured in the attack on our house." she said.

Mrs Foster nodded, they were all so famous, some things could be left unsaid.

"I've transfigured a soup ladle into a bell for meals, as the house is a little large" said Mrs Foster.

Daphne nodded, that was very sensible.

Harry arrived from the hallway.

Daphne saw him, but continued, "Mr Ron Weasley is recovering in the yellow second floor bedroom. Miss Hermione Granger will take the pink room probably. Mister Weasleys mother, Molly Weasley may turn up wanting to see Ron. She and her husband may need fed. They'll probably floo home, but in case, a bedroom."

"Right away Maam" said Mrs Foster "Hello Mister Black" said Mrs Foster to Harry as she bustled off.

"That woman is a one-woman army for the forces of order" said Daphne. "Any new news?"

"I was thinking about going to see Ron. He should be a bit better soon" said Harry.

"Don't let me stop you," said Daphne, "I've got post to attend to."

"Thank you dear" said Harry, and walked over and kissed Daphne's hand.

"Nine hundred thousand – " started Harry and Daphne glared at him. He was so not doing that joke.

"Well, I'll have to try harder" said Harry, flicking his wand at the door, which shut, then pulling Daphne by her arm into an embrace, and kissing Daphne. Quite satisfactorily.

"I am not a load of bricks to be pulled about" said Daphne. It had sort-of been a dance move, but it was the principle of the thing.

"You are far too pretty to be bricks" said Harry. Oh, that was a real compliment.

And then Harry took another kiss with his hand in her hair, and… Oh a Snog. Daphne kissed back. Then unexpectedly, Harry let her go and apparated away. She felt suddenly colder. And slightly annoyed. He'd just apparated off.

Well, there was the business to attend to. Daphne apparated to her office, and found her records here, were weeks out of date. Bother. Her notebook was at Riddle house, so she'd have to just concentrate on longer-term projects. Like a French lawyer.

Which meant reading a newspaper – fortunately there were some in her trunk from Paris.

Daphne found two lawyers who didn't, based in their advertisements seem too expensive.

She started copying out the details of the French property – the Chateau and all the other ones.

A bell rang out from downstairs. Daphne assumed that was the lunch bell. She apparated from the office to the downstairs hall, and walked into the dining room. Mrs Foster was waiting with soup bowls and plates.

"Maam" she said. "The soup is mushroom, the bread is what we could find."

Daphne nodded, and Mrs Foster left the dining room, pausing in the door.

"Maam, you won't be doing that sort of thing as the door at the new house, will you?"

"No Foster, that's a Black family thing." said Daphne. No I won't be doing blood magic, no.

Mrs Foster left for the kitchen stairs.

Daphne sat down and waited. Surely Harry would come for a meal?

There was a crack of apparation in the front hall. Daphne assumed it was Harry.

"Lunch, Harry" said Daphne.

Harry sauntered in, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose, replacing his glasses and then continuing to his chair. He looked tired.

"What have you been up to?" asked Daphne.

"Very slowly learning a parseltounge head injury spell" said Harry. "It's slow going. Hermione made a head-injury potion and went off to work." Of course she did, as one does.

"She made a medical potion she'd never made before in how long?" asked Daphne.

"An hour, two" said Harry. "She made polyjuice in second year, in a disused toilet stall."

"Okay, Granger is good at potions" admitted Daphne, feeling utterly inadequate. Her OWL in potions had been an A. One assumed Granger got an O, and was clearly more than capable of an O at NEWT level.

"Daphne, did you get a long bath yet?" asked Harry.

"I did not, I've been running the business this morning" said Daphne.

"Do you have time for one this afternoon?" asked Harry "I'll give you a massage afterwards if you'd like?"

"A massage?" Daphne asked.

"Warm oil?" asked Harry. "You'd feel better."

"And the bit where you get to rub warm oil into my skin?" asked Daphne.

"My hands could do with the moisturising" said Harry "It was dry scrolls all morning."

Mrs Foster arrived with mushroom soup, home-made bread and a green salad.

"Jimmy is a marvel" praised Harry "Mrs Foster, tell Jimmy to get some lobster for dinner. Thermador."

Daphne crossed her arms stared at Harry. What a waste of money.

"Come on Daphne, you know you like it?" Harry cajoled.

"Hmh" went Daphne.

As Harry ate the last of his soup stopped, drew the elder wand and cast something behind her.

Daphne turned around to look. A hutch was missing. "Did you vanish that?" she asked.

The wall had a textured dark brown wallpaper above a wainscot with a rectangular clean patch the size and shape of a hanging picture.

"Made it invisible" explained Harry mildly. "Brown textured wallpaper, hanging pictures."

"Leather wallpaper" Daphne explained in a drawl, and turned back to the table.

After lunch, a Patronus practice, then your bath" said Harry. "You can use my bathroom. I will make sure the bathroom and my bedroom are warm."

Daphne cast a privacy charm "If you think I'm sleeping with you this afternoon, you're misreading my mood" she almost hissed.

"I was rather expecting to sleep with you this evening, in your bedroom. Otherwise we'd both get cold" said Harry. "I appreciate that you're very annoyed."

"If you'd died, my stupid cousin would inherit the Greengrass business and lose it all" said Daphne.

"Huh?" asked Harry.

"You might have forgotten, but unless I have an heir to the Greengrass name, my cousin, who can barely count will be running the Greengrasses business into bankruptcy." explained Daphne, convinced that the killing curse had caused brain damage.

"Oh" said Harry "Do you want one soon?"

"You are an optimist" said Daphne. Want one soon?

"I've always wanted a family." admitted Harry "And the thought is nowhere near as intimidating as it used to be, though I'd probably get you a house-elf beforehand. One that was actually good with babies."

"How gracious" said Daphne snidely.

"Well, it's that or have to get up all night for it according to Bill and Fleur." admitted Harry "I think we'd both do better with a little helper, and a lot more sleep"

"What a pure-blood attitude" drawled Daphne sarcastically.

"Practical" said Harry "Money becomes an elf, which means we'd sleep every night, seems cheap at the price."

"And you wouldn't use a human nurse" asked Daphne dryly.

"They don't come when you call out and take messages to the other parent" said Harry "Seems worth it."

"Your mother did not have a house-elf" noted Daphne.

"She was a genius, but she and my father were a bit impractical. They had the money for a house -elf. If they'd had one, we all would have lived." said Harry.

"Look at you, Harry Potter, raised by muggles, now he's used to having a house-elf" said Daphne "We have to bury Kreacher yet"

"He'll wait" Harry observed "Might not need to." His face was a little shaded, and the way he said 'might not need to' He was clearly contemplating more necromancy.

"You're going to resurrect a house elf?" asked Daphne.

"Well, he keeps Grimmauld place. Though Andromeda's right, he's not a good babysitter" said Harry casually ignoring the moral issues inherent in resurrecting a house elf. Or anyone.

"He's dead" said Daphne. "Were you planning to do this all along?"

"Does that make me look better, or worse?" asked Harry, rather sarcastically.

"Slightly better" admitted Daphne.

"Then I definitely planned it" said Harry lightly. "I'll have a go while you're in the bath. The potions lab will do fine."

"It's not under all the protections, use a spare bedroom" corrected Daphne.

"The staff are on the first floor?" asked Harry.

"Indeed, and Mrs Foster's in the Green room on the second floor" said Daphne.

"Ron's in the yellow room, Hermione's in the pink room. Has to be the blue room."

"The back of the library." countered Daphne "Nobody goes there except you."

"You're safe enough" said Harry. "Where is he?"

"Disillusioned in the cold pantry, back wall" said Daphne.

"Well if it doesn't work, I'll bury him" said Harry, and shrugged.

"Is Weasley actually going to wake up?" asked Daphne. "For real, not just the stone?"

"His brain injury is very bad. The potion Hermione made is helping. More will be needed; I assume Hermione made a bottle-full. The spell will definitely help. Parseltounge healing spells are very good. This one is hard." admitted Harry.

Daphne walked up to Harry's floor and found it all warm, so she investigated the bathroom and found Harry there, and he had just drawn a bath. She tested the water with a finger "Adequate, Go engage in necromancy, it seems to be your new hobby."

"You practice your patronus for an hour then have a bath" ordered Harry, and disapparated.

I married a necromancer. From a family of necromancers. Who's been dead once. Why couldn't he have been a nice ordinary half-blood.

The Patronus charm continued to be frustrating and caused a headache.

The bath was still a perfect temperature. Daphne soaked. Oh, that felt better. Maybe a mud mask too.

Much later, someone knocked on the door.

"What?" was the perfect reply.

"Your massage Mrs Black" drawled Harry through the door.

Oh shit, massage. Daphne wiped her face off, pulled the plug and started the shower. Suds washed off, she dried and went in towels to Harry's room.

Harry flicked his wand the door shut. Daphne lay on her belly the bed, and unrolled her sheet, leaving her bottom and legs covered.

Harry after some delay, started to rub her shoulder blades. And that felt great. A lot of tension she hadn't realised she had started to ease.

"Mmmmm" murmured Daphne.

Harry kept at it, and Daphne felt more and more relaxed.

"Thank you, Harry" said Daphne, and she sighed "Sorry to have snapped at you, I was upset."

"Eh, I understand" said Harry, and he rubbed where her neck met her shoulders.

"Mmmmm" hummed Daphne. "You keep that going, and I'll get fond of you." she drawled.

"I doubt it" said Harry "I just hope you don't snore tonight."

"Ah!" huffed Daphne "As if."

"Do your legs?" asked Harry.

"Calves are a bit sore" said Daphne.

Harry pulled up the towel and rubbed and squeezed Daphne's calves, then the massaged soles of her feet; which was lovely. Harry sat up, gave Daphne's towel covered bum a pat and flicked the towel over her back. "Kreacher took two goes" Harry admitted. He'd done necromancy again. He hadn't been joking.

"I figured something was up" said Daphne, turning her head. "You all right?"

"He's well enough" said Harry "I cast a heart healing spell on him Should buy us time. I've told him to stay undetected. Oh, and there's a flashy tombstone for him in the garden. He can keep it clean till he needs it."

Daphne snorted "Making him clean his own grave. You really are a necromancer."

If she'd gone to sleep draped over Harry, well, one had to make sure he didn't go do something dangerous somehow, and he was nice and warm. I don't snore.