Chapter 16

Harry yawned, as Emily reset the chess board. "Emily, we've played six games. Why on earth do you want to keep playing? Its late and I can barely see straight."

Emily shrugged, "Maybe I just wanted to make sure you were sufficiently tired?"

"Okay, for what?"

Not even bother to look him in the eyes, she responded. "For our upcoming talk."

Harry eyed her skeptically before yawning a second time. "And, pray tell, why do I need to absolutely knackered for this talk?"

"I want you to be completely honest with me. If you're tired, you'll have to think harder for a lie and I'll be able to tell."

With a sigh, Harry simply shrugged. This was an awful lot of effort for something as simple as a conversation. "Well, its got to be a crazy subject, then. What's up?"

"How much thought have you given to your future, Harry?" Emily finally eyed him critically.

"You're kidding me, right? I think of almost nothing else, Emily."

Emily shook her head. "No you constantly thing of Voldemort and your fears. I'm asking you what do you plan for after we've gotten rid of her."

"Oh." Harry really had to ponder her words for a minute. "Well, obviously we're married. Its not strange that you're asking me this. I guess its weirder that we never got to the topic earlier in our relationship. But I don't really know. Lucius spilled the beans that you don't want me in the ministry. You don't want there to be a power struggle in your future bids for power. I used to think I wouldn't mind trying out for professional quidditch, but I think I should stay out of that particular area."

Emily nodded. "So, what does tickle your fancy, Harry?"

Harry couldn't help but shrug. "I guess I really don't know. Nothing really calls to me. Maybe being an auror would be c-"

"There is no need for you to become an auror, Harry. Such a task is not only beneath you, but its unnecessary. I want you to think up something that will make you feel fulfilled."

Harry chuckled. "Emily the only thing that fulfills me right now is you, and I don't think being a househusband is going to have the effect that you want."

"I don't know. I can't think of many better things that having you waiting on me, hand and foot, for the rest of our lives."

"Yeah, that's definitely not what being a househusband is. That's a house elf. And last I checked, you didn't care for those very much."

The two carried on the conversation for a good while, neither really coming to a conclusion. But Emily achieved her goal of really pushing Harry to think about what he wanted to do with his future. He'd been putting it off for so long, so focused on their upcoming fight, that he really had no idea what he wanted for himself. Even before Voldemort had come about, Harry never really thought about what he wanted to do outside of keeping Emily from doing something terrible.

Waiting for something, Harry found, was difficult. It was furthermore, even worse when waiting for something that you were dreading. Harry knew that things would end sooner rather than later, but he couldn't help the twisting feeling in his stomach, as ever hour passed.

It was two weeks later when Harry and Emily received their 'invitation' from Voldemort. It came in the broken and battered form of Draco Malfoy, courtesy of Dobby. The elf cried out for help, needlessly, as the two previous occupants had already begun moving.

"Shit, Harry, keep the boy alive, I'll go retrieve the father." Emily was already out of the room, yelling to make sure he heard everything she said.

Harry was already in action, however, and he already began stopping the bleeding when she left.

"Dobby did not know where else to take the Malfoy boy, Harry Potter sir. I brought him here so you could help him."

"Good work Dobby, he'll be fine, no worries." His words were more for the elf's feelings, as Harry wasn't even sure what was wrong with his classmate. Or at least, until he saw the dagger sticking out of Draco's abdomen.

"Its enchanted with deadly dark magic, Dobby can feel it. It will kill him if the dark magic remains." Harry could hear Emily cursing from the other room, clearly Draco was not their only problem.

"Can you do anything about the dark magic, Dobby?" Harry quickly pulled the knife out after making sure it was safe to touch. The bleeding picked up pace.

The elf shook his head, "House Elf magic is powerful, sir, but there is nothing I can do for him. Doesn't Harry Potter know something?"

Harry grimaced. "I do, but I haven't the faintest idea if its gonna work. A bit of ancient magicks Emily taught me for do or die situations. I can use my magic to smother the dark magic and snuff it out. Will halt the curse in either case." Harry began the incantation, only half paying attention the elf speaking beside him.

"The knife is a Black family heirloom, it is over a century old. Its magic has faded and isn't strong, Harry Potter will succeed." True to his statement, the bleeding stopped moments later as Harry slammed his magic onto the wound. The exertion made him dizzy, but the feeling was fleeting and after a moment Harry was healing the wound.

"Keep an eye on him Dobby, I'm going to check on Emily."

Harry pulled out of the room at a sprint only to slam onto the brakes at the foyer as he saw Emily and Narcissa Malfoy, both with wands out, kneeling over the still body of Lucius Malfoy. He hurried to assist, but before he could get a word out, a brilliant white flash took his sight away and he stopped in his tracks before he ran into them. When the light cleared from his vision, he was happy to discern that Mr. Malfoy was breathing.

"What happened to them, Emily?"

Emily leaned back, "Apparently, my doppelganger and Bellatrix decided to pay them a visit. They were given no warning. Lucius, at one point during Dobby's tenure as their elf, hexed the elf to retrieve Draco if his life was in danger and take him somewhere safe. Bellatrix threw a knife at the pair as they departed, and judging from the blood, I assume it was a clean hit."

Harry turned his focus to the other woman, to find her missing. "As soon as we got Lucius stable, she headed for Draco." Emily filled him in.

The man under them groaned deeply as he forced himself to a sitting position. Lucius had seen better days, certainly. His clothing was singed and he didn't even look lucid. Honestly it was impressive that he was even conscious. With his upper body swaying side to side, he opened his mouth to slur, "Draco," before attempting to lurch forward and immediately passing out.

Emily scoffed. "If I could have gotten my followers to have a fraction of the devotion to me that this man has to his family, I would be unstoppable. Best get him and his son to a bed and then question Narcissa about the events that lead to their surprise visit."

Harry levitated the man towards the room his son was residing in, asking Dobby to keep them safe and tend to them if they needed anything. He pressed the point that if they were rude to him, he was more than capable of telling them off. He was no longer a Malfoy house elf. He then asked Narcissa, who was seated next to her son, to please join him and his wife in the setting room. She looked uncertain at the request, but with some gentle nudging, she came along.

"Thank you for joining us Narcissa. I'd like to know the events that trans-" Emily was cut off.

"We are severing ties with you." The words were said with a tone of absolute authority, that Emily was taken aback. As far as she could remember, Lucius had always been the one to make the family's decisions. Narcissa had only ever been the aloof, cool, lady of the manor. But now, it seemed something had changed.

"I am very troubled by what has happened to you, Narcissa. And your family. But cutting ties with me will not prevent such things from happening in the future. Without my backing, your family may only find themselves in worse danger."

"And yet, with it, the Malfoy family has suffered. Our name dragged through the mud, my husband barely escaping Azkaban. My son, brainwashed by foolish notions. My husband may have pledged his loyalty to you once, but I am hereby breaking that oath."

Such a declaration twenty years ago would have resulted in the entire family being tortured and then hung out to dry. But then again, in the past, she couldn't afford to let her followers flee. If one got away, then others might try. Now however, she was the wife of Harry Potter and soon to be the vanquisher of the Dark Lord. What did she care if the Malfoy family abandoned her? She was the future and there was no stopping it.

"Such broken vows carry heavy consequences. Are you willing to bear the weight of that decision... for your entire family?"

The blonde woman paused, but nodded and Emily smirked. "Good then. I will release your husband of the Dark Mark once you have aided me in my final act against the Dark Lord."

Emily held her hand up to Malfoy matriarch and Narcissa once again paused for only a moment before grasping her hand.

"Harry, be a dear and bind this oath for me."

Harry stood, somewhat confused by Emily's actions, but willing to go along with things for now. In the two years he had spent with her, Emily had never revealed a way to reverse the Dark Mark. He couldn't deny his curiosity.

"Do you swear to help me tonight in my attempt to strike down my other self?"

"I do."

"Do you swear to keep my secrets to yourself and your family and no one else?"

"Yes."

"Then I swear to relinquish your husband from the vows he made to me, and I will not take personal action against you and your family."

The two of them moved their eyes to Harry and he took that as his queue to seal the unbreakable vow. When the light faded from the room, Harry felt now was a good time to get on track with Emily's plans.

"Okay, so what are we going to do?"

"We are going to kill my horcrux, Harry."

Harry groaned impatiently. "I know that. Care to expand some more on that with an explanation?"

Emily smirked. "She attacked the Malfoys and then allowed them to escape and come to us. This is her invitation. She'll have taken their home as her base. We go in and do the deed. She attacked the family knowing they were the last of my followers. So she now believes it will be just you and me. Of course, we will be walking straight into a trap, but it won't be too obvious or overwhelming. She wants you dead, and won't be willing to scare me off."

Harry nodded. "So you asked for Narcissa's help to make it three against two?"

"Yes, now get me some polyjuice dear, I need her to become you for a while."

Harry's jaw almost hit the floor. "No."

Emily sighed, before looking at him, grabbing one of his hands. She spoke, however, to Narcissa. "Narcissa, do you think that you are a better duelist than Harry? In any way, shape, or form?"

"No."

"See, Harry. She knows she is weaker than you. I don't want my secret back up to be weak. I want my secret back up to be strong. You'll be with us, armed with all the Hallows. Narcissa will use your holly wand. You're impossible to locate in that cloak. You can get behind them and take out Bellatrix. Best not try and take out the Dark Lord, I am very sensitive to magic and she may be as well. Then, with all three of us, we strike my horcrux down and I claim my rightful position in this world."

Harry nodded, but then paused. "What if we had more help? Lupin, Moody and Sirius."

Emily smiled, but shook her head. "If we tell any of them, they will let each other know. And I can't allow Sirius Black to be there."

"Why on earth not?"

"Because Harry, Sirius is nothing more than leverage against you. One fatal curse aimed at your godfather and you'll throw yourself in front of it. You're self sacrificing, you always have been. Honestly, I'm of half a mind to not allow Narcissa to come, because you may do something stupid for her."

"But I have... the you-know-what. I'm... sturdier than they are."

"Exactly why they can't come, Harry. I need a fighter, not a shield. Besides, even if we both go down, Lucius knows what to do." Emily gave a sharp look to Narcissa. "And I expect you to let him do what needs to be done, oath be damned. Harry is far too valuable for your family to just toss him away."

Narcissa nodded, and Harry wondered if she had any idea what they were talking about. But Harry had not let the topic go. "In that case, I think its best if you stay here, Emily."

Emily stared at him. "You're daft. Why would I stay here?"

"Why not? You're far more important leverage to me than anyone else that could possibly come along. So, by your own logic, you should sit this one out." The grin Harry shot Emily's way was complete reminiscent of the cat that ate the canary. Not even bothering to continue speaking about it, Emily went to the floo and Harry could hear her shouting at someone.

As she came back, she shot Harry a mean look. "I'm only doing this at your own insistence. If this fouls up and you get hurt because of this, I'm transfiguring all your friends into dolls that I can lock away behind an impervious glass cabinet."

Harry nodded, best to let his wife vent her anger before talking sense into her. After nearly an agonizing half an hour, an entire entourage of people were present. Of course, Emily had expected the four stooges: Moody, Sirius, Snape, and Lupin. What she hadn't expected were the arrival of Ron, Hermione, and a young lady in auror robes that Emily had never before met. Emily also disliked that the auror looked completely ridiculous with shocking lime green hair.

"I understand why you four are here. However, I completely object to the two children and whoever the fuck she is."

"We're not children, and you're barely older than us." Hermione interjected coolly. Ron and the young auror nodded as the four men groaned out loud. The younger attendees didn't know the true story about Emily, and it wasn't exactly something Emily wanted to reveal.

"Relax, Mrs. Potter." The patronizing voice came from none other than Moody. "The kids are here just in case a couple extra wands are necessary. They won't even enter the building. As for Tonks, she's our last lifeline. She'll stay with the kids, and if things look like they are going south, she notifies the aurors."

The woman, now known as Tonks, nodded. "Yeah, that's the plan at least. Of which, I am not a big fan of, mind you. I think we should go in with a full contingent of aurors and just level the whole damn building. Pick off anything that moves in the aftermath."

This caused Moody to snort. "Most of those aurors would be in the way, Tonks. A larger team invading a defended base is likely to fall into and trigger traps. Its why we're only letting the Potters and Narcissa go in alone. Us four," Moody motioned to himself and the other stooges. "Will surround the hall, secure an entry point, and when the spells start to fly, we'll come in wands blazing."

With that, the group began to finalize their preparations. Harry was told to remain quiet until the fighting started. Once the spells started flying, he would try to incapacitate Bellatrix and Emily's other self. Narcissa told him to stand right behind the front hall's staircase, on it's right side. Emily agreed, best that they know where he was so they didn't hit him with a spell. Once they had a solid plan they turned to the rest of the party.

"I hope everyone is aware of their roles here? The Dark Lord is mine or Harry's. No one else should engage her lest he and I go down. Is this clear?"

Everyone nodded, including Ron, Hermione and Tonks. Emily eyed them shrewdly. She knew that deep down, Harry's two friends would sooner charge in recklessly than wait for aurors. Making a mental note to seal the entrance after they entered, she sighed. They were as ready as they were going to get. Narcissa began to apparate them in groups to the Manor's gates.

"Why didn't we just apparate inside, Mrs. Malfoy?"

The blonde woman was now no longer present, instead Harry spoke to a mirror image of himself. "Anti apparition jinx. I can get through, but I am unsure if the Dark Lord has altered it. No amount of alteration could harm me, of course, but they could hurt whomever I bring with me."

Harry nodded. "Better to be safe than sorry, I guess. Okay, I'll follow you two. Once we are inside I'll begin making my way over. I've already muffled my shoes, so I'll just need fifteen seconds." Bringing out the silvery cloak from his robes, he wrapped it around himself. Before vanishing completely, he brought only his bobbing head to his wife and kissed her cheek. "Be careful. Let's finish this."

Emily's arm snaked itself around his waist and pulled him closer and she kissed him harder. "I'll be careful, but you need to be as well. This ends tonight, I can feel it. Do not die on me." Ignoring the gagging noises that the others were making behind them, Emily focused completely on Harry.

Harry's head gave her a smirk, one that always gave her butterflies and he nodded before his face vanished from sight. He had no intentions of leaving his wife alone either. Looking behind him, he took what was possibly his last look at his two best friends. The thought wrenched at his heart, but the feeling did not break his gaze. Thankfully they couldn't see his worry thanks to his cloak, but he wasn't sure if that was a comfort or not.

Emily nodded to Narcissa and the two of them made their way to the manor. Emily sneered at the pure white peacocks on the grounds. Stupid, audacious looking animals. Only Lucius would see any benefit in placing them on his property. Though, she was certain that they were capable of something... unusual. Lucius probably had them cursed to explode if the manor were being invaded.

The large doors were in front of them, and Emily knew for certain that her horcrux waited for her just beyond the entrance. "Lets get this over with." Emily placed her hands on the heavy doors and with a heave, pushed them open. As soon as she stepped inside, she began counting. The staircase was twenty paces away, ten paces further back than the pair that stood in the center of the room. Odds are than the four pests that Emily had brought for muscle wouldn't take much longer to get in position either. Emily saw herself and was instantly irked. The woman standing almost listlessly beside her looked almost out of place. Bellatrix looked lifeless, but Emily couldn't imagine the price the woman had paid for drinking unicorn blood.

Voldemort smiled at them. "About time the guests showed up. I was getting bored standing here with this lump." She gestured to the still figure beside her.

Emily once again trained her eyes on Bellatrix. Something was terribly off about the woman, and she didn't like the way it made her gut churn. "Oh no dear, focus on me, please."

"What drivel have you to say now? Your only help looks dead on her feet and I doubt you're a match for me, much less the pair of us." She motioned to the transfigured Narcissa beside her. "Now fulfill the purpose I gave you life for, and die."

Voldemort cocked her head to the side and slowly lifted her hand to the left of her face with her index finger outstretched. Had it been the middle finger, the gesture would have been offensive. "Your purpose for me is outdated. My true purpose is to free you from Harry Potter's control. He has to die for that to happen."

Emily scoffed. "Well, I don't need require your permission to force you to be useful to me. And what's with the finger? That's not the right one, if you're trying to insult me."

Voldemort smiled. "Why don't you ask Bella for the answer to that?"

Emily stomach dropped as she once again looked to Bellatrix. This was her, and her horcrux's, thirst for the dramatic. If she asked the question, the trap would be sprung. She briefly wondered how to circumvent the problem before the choice was taken out of her hands.

"I said ask Bellatrix, so why are you staring at Narcissa?"

It all came together with a click. A click that spanned only a fraction of a second. The same fraction of a second that Voldemort used to pull her finger down into her closed fist. The next moment, the invisible person behind the staircase gave a blood curling scream as his entire body exploded from the magical rune placed on the floor below his feet.

Emily's mind went into overdrive. Bellatrix had impersonated Narcissa and then betrayed them. She positioned Harry to stand on top of a blasting rune circle. Harry was now bereft without a body, but he had a horcrux, so it wasn't permanent. Things were looking grim, but she had an unexpected trump card. Seeing as Sirius Black hadn't blown through half of the wall, he either didn't see Harry's death or he didn't realize that Harry'd been hit by it.

"Kill her!" Emily screeched at Bellatrix, who was still in the guise of Harry. The fake Harry smiled, almost lovingly at her horcrux, before turning to her and shaking its head slowly. Emily was satisfied when the body slumped to the ground, dead as could be.

This caused Voldemort scream in a rage. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

Emily's smile could almost split her face in half. "What did you expect from a broken unbreakable vow? Death was the only option she had, it was either that, or kill you." For a moment, Emily allowed herself to believe she had won. Voldemort could do nothing to her, and Harry was only a ritual away. After that moment, she banished the whimsical thought. This wasn't over, not by a long shot.

Voldemort looked up to the sky. "The sacrifices we make. Is it not incredible? I, unknowingly, sacrificed the closest thing I had to a lover, to save myself." A deep, pained sigh echoed from her horcrux. "And you, have unknowingly, sacrificed your husband, to save your future. Accio box."

Emily was horrified to see, from the robes of the dead Bellatrix, a small jewelry box fly into the hands of her horcrux. A jewelry box that she had stored both her and Harry's horcruxes inside. Emily had hidden them in the house and had given Narcissa a letter for her husband, telling him the location of the box and the ritual to bring both her and Harry back to life. Clearly, Bellatrix had read the letter and brought the horcruxes with her. She waved her wand to summon the box to her right when Voldemort's fingers closed on it.

"So now, I believe we can say that I have won." Voldemort spoke mutedly. "I gave up everything for you, for us. And now, you have done the same."

Emily watched as the box gave a sharp jerk in her direction, but Voldemort did not relinquish her hold. Emily could only stare in horror as the woman opened up the box and brought out a single ring, before throwing the box to her, now only holding her own horcrux.

Emily took action immediately. Voldemort would expect her to catch the box, with such a prized thing as her final horcrux inside of it. She wouldn't expect her to mount an offensive.

"Bombarda!"

The powerful blasting spell sped towards Voldemort, but was effortlessly batted to the side by the bewitched Narcissa, disguised as Bellatrix.

Emily refused to let this be the end, and sent a barrage of spells at the woman that her befuddled mind couldn't keep up with. It took only a moment for the woman to drop and the path to Voldemort was clear again. In the background Emily heard the explosions from the walls as her ragtag team entered the fray, but she only had one purpose in her mind. Emily pushed her body to the limited and made a rush towards Voldemort. With her magical body pushed to the limit, she was like a blur. Her mind slowed every second down to an eternity. She watched as her horcrux stared at her ring, making no move to destroy it or stop her. Just when she was within a foot, knowing that there was no way she could be stopped now, did the fiendfyre erupt.

The blast was powerful enough that Emily's momentum was not only brought to a ferocious halt, but was even reversed. Her entire body was coated in the powerful, hungry flames, but they weren't able to consume her like they did flesh. Magic was hard to burn after all, and though the flames could harm her if left unattended, she put them out in moments. Gubraithian fire was far more dangerous. She picked herself up, to go back for Harry's horcrux only to find all hope had vanished before her.

Malfoy Manor was no more. The entire building had been demolished with that final rune circle. Even the albino peacocks were gone, a charred feather here and there was their only reminder. Emily was in shock, unable to process what had happened. Her horcrux had destroyed itself. After all of that, after losing her Harry. What was the point? What was the goal? Why couldn't Voldemort had died alone, why did it have to take her beloved with it.

The seconds stretched into an eternity until footsteps sounded and she looked up into the ash covered face of Narcissa Malfoy. Immediately her eyes went wide, surely if Narcissa survived, then Harry's horcrux had a chance. She jumped to her feet and bolted to the ruins, ignoring Narcissa completely as the woman tried to speak. She scoured the ground for hours not even noticing the contributing efforts of the people around her. Evening soon became night and Emily was still sifting through the debris. She had found her horcrux and in a fit of anger had flung it away from her, before summoning the box back and placing the ring on her finger. Soon, she'd place the ring back on Harry's finger, where it belonged.

Lucius and Draco had both shown up and began looking for her ring with her Narcissa and the others, though the male Malfoys clearly did not expect to find anything. But regardless of their expectations, the group of them remained out there with her for hours going over every inch of the grounds. Even the youngest Weasley and her family made an appearance, though Emily paid them little mind. By the time evening had set, most of the Hogwarts staff had shown up as well. However, once midnight had settled, the group had combed over every single inch of the property.

Though Emily didn't know everyone's reasons for coming, because surely not everyone knew of her and Harry's horcruxes, she did notice everyone as they left. Ron had to help Hermione walk back to the edge of the property to apparate away because the witch had collapsed into tears. Ginny Weasley had left the moment the entire grounds had been searched, before even the Hogwarts staff departed. Moody and Snape spoke briefly with Sirius as the man began sifting through the debris of the manor, certain that he'd find his godson where Emily and the Malfoys had failed. The two men then left. It was Remus Lupin that ended up having to drag Sirius away as the man wailed in distress.

"He needs me, Remus. Let go! Harry needs me, you arsehole. I need to find him, I have to help him!" The sight of the flailing man could have almost been comical, if it weren't for the tears streaming from his eyes. Not a single person spoke to her as they left, it was as though she were invisible to them all. It was only the enormous hand of Hagrid laying on her shoulder that broke her from her fervent search.

"Emily, I don' think yer gonna find him out here." His words were hollow and she shrugged his hand off and continued sifting through the debris. She wanted to say something to him, anything to the one person that Harry loved that bothered showing her any compassion, but she found that any kind words were completely lost to her at that moment.

"All I need is the ring, Hagrid. Just the ring." The hand left her shoulder after than and Emily watched as Hagrid's massive frame began lifting and moving the collapsed foundations of the home. The tears that threatened to spill from her eyes made her vision blur. She knew that Hagrid knew Harry was gone. The half-giant stayed to help her find peace of mind. But eventually, he too left to rest.

Emily had been sitting in the ash for hours alone as the black sky began to lighten. Surely there was more? Surely he wasn't gone? This wasn't how her life was meant to grind to a halt. Because it certainly couldn't continue on without Harry. There was no point to taking over the magical world, if Harry wasn't by her side. Emily slowly got up and brushed the charred soot from her robes.

"Silly boy, didn't I tell you that I'd never let you go. Any where you try to run, I will follow you and make you mine." Emily wasn't certain how she'd go about destroying her body to try and chase down Harry. She didn't even know if she could. Her soul was far more disfigured than his. Perhaps, his soul was whole enough to make the next journey. Perhaps he really had finally escaped her clutches.

"Nonsense." She spoke quietly to herself. "If the doors to the next life try and bar me from you, I will tear them down. You will never let you get away from me." With her mind made up she began to make her way to the boundary of the Malfoy property to apparate away.

"Leaving me alone, then? What happened to never letting me get away?"

As soon as the voice spoke, Emily had frozen. Not because she had ached to hear it. Nor was it because she knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was definitely the voice of Harry Potter. Because, both were true, but neither explained the dread that welled up in her heart.

Slowly she turned to the voice and a soft cry left her lips. Shimmering dimly in the light was the ghost of Harry Potter. And Emily could no longer feel her connection to him.